The Demons of Rome

X - Dueling Dwarves

Tribune Scipio was tall, very tall. He had to duck through doors and his legs stuck out from under his desk, he had thin, pointy features as well; pointy nose, gaunt cheeks and sharp cheekbones. He also took the lessons of theoretical demonology. The classroom was simply adorned with solid yellow walls and wooden floors. Scipio sat at his desk at the head of the classroom with the desks in a horseshoe around him. Again Iatus' work with Aelith had paid off and he could answer every question the teacher asked. The girl from Persia also distinguished herself.

"So, what are the categories of demon that we generalise all demons to? Amber," the Prefect asked.

"Imps, Jinni, Shedu, Mara and the Forgotten Ones," she answered assuredly.

"Very good Amber, yes. Now, can anyone tell me what a Forgotten one is? Yes Iatus,"

"A Forgotten One or Ancient One is a demon whose power is beyond that of a Mara. They are the most powerful type of demon in existence."

"Yes, now, we only know of one time in history when a forgotten one has been summoned. Can anyone tell me when?"

The room went quiet.

"Oh, so there is something you don't know Amber, Iatus," Scipio joked and Aelith perked up on Iatus' desk.

"It was during the war between Romulus and Remus. As you know, Rome was founded by one of two brothers, Romulus. His brother founded another city near it called Rela. Over time the two brothers grew jealous of the others wealth and power and wanted it all for themselves. No-one knows who struck first but we do know there was a great war which claimed the lives of thousands of men and hundreds of thousands of demons. There were so many combatants that the demons blocked out the sky and the men stained the earth red. The war eventually reached a stale mate, nobody could win, men and demons alike were killed in great swathes. Eventually Romulus grew desperate and drew a great circle along the walls of Rome, and he summoned the most powerful demon to walk the earth, its name, was Jupiter, yes the God. Such was the power of Romulus. Jupiter decimated Rela in one blast of lightning, all of Remus' mara and shedu and jinni could not stop it. Romulus and Remus were the most powerful magi to ever live. Only a handful of men ever manage to summon mara, let alone something that far beyond them. Romulus won the battle because he was willing to take a great personal risk. Some would say it was brave, others would think it foolish. It really depends on the perspective. However Romulus had to dismiss it within minutes of its arrival because he could not support it, the experience was said to have reduced him to a broken old man and he died soon after."

The room went silent again as the students processed this information.

The lesson went quickly after that, it was nothing that Iatus didn't know already and Aelith was yawning with boredom by the end of it. They left the classroom and the crowd dispersed. Iatus and Max walked together and were just about to head back when Iatus heard his name. The fat boy was standing behind them with his little demon which pulled a face at them from behind the boys legs.

"Yeah, you, you are making us all look bad with your know-it-all attitude, I bet you spend your whole life in the library at night, studying up. You know what a magi's duel is? No? Ha, guess you don't know it all squirt, come with me to the roof and I'll show you, unless the little brat is too scared," Capitus laughed.

The boy didn't wait for a response, he just sauntered up the stairs, the little demon stayed behind and laughed manically. Iatus felt his cheeks flush with anger and was about to follow when Max put out a hand.

"Don't do it Iatus, he is just messing with you, let it go, let's just go back to the rooms," he said, a little pleading crept into his voice.

Iatus looked at his friend and relented, he was right. As he turned to leave a gust of wind hit him and pushed him back so he fell on the floor. The air spirit laughed and did a little dance. Max offered him a hand up and he took it.