^^ Erfan ^^

— Johnathan —

My mother was a lovely person. Kind, caring, gentle, and polite. She also happened to be incredibly smart, when it came to social interactions, understanding and interpreting people's emotions, and strategies built upon said understanding of her opponents' Psyches. She was differently Gifted from myself, -who was not good at understanding Psyches, but could comprehend complex and even theoretical mathematics instantly,- but she was still no less Gifted than I. She was, however, unable to lie to me, instead choosing to talk around or ignore subjects she didn't wish to discuss with me, either because I was too young and innocent, or because she was sure I'd disapprove of whatever she'd done, usually in service of keeping me alive or happy.

About three weeks prior to today, she'd gone off to work for the day like usual, then stayed the night, which was also mostly not unusual; she'd called that night and again in the morning, and I could tell that everything was fine, though I sensed some urgency or nervousness from her at first. Then, she'd come home, and she'd brought bodyguards home with her. This was new, but not greatly surprising; many of her more high-paying clients often wanted to keep her around, and this one seemed to have finally made her an offer she couldn't refuse. I suspected that this involved my health, and I was proven correct soon after that when she revealed that the client had agreed to pay all my hospital bills going forward.

Then, she'd been given a new building by her Client, -though she didn't want me to know that at the time, and had tried to hide it,- and she'd opened a Branch Office for Mrs. Farman's Salon inside what had to be the coolest building to ever exist: a 200-Year-Old, 100ft tall Tower, built by the British Government of the New York Colony during the height of the Revolutionary War, likely to prevent the rebels from sneaking down through the Catskills and into New Amsterdam/New York to attack them unawares. The tower was in good repair, and in fact was easily modified with a technological method I couldn't understand yet, that had replaced all the stone inside with metal and glass, which was then turned into the worlds largest privately-owned aquarium, I was absolutely sure of it.

On top was an observatory, -just for me, Mom said, but I let the other people in all the time, so long as Doctor Goodwin and Miss Agnus said it was alright,- a large cafeteria/food court/pool hall type place, a greenhouse, a chemical laboratory, (which I was only allowed into with direct adult supervision, unfortunately,) and an Aquaponics Garden, with a dome over it all made of photovoltaic glass. Once Doctor Goodwin had seen the Trio of Laboratory, Observatory, and Greenhouse, he'd moved our lessons into the Towers, and most of the kids the ladies brought with them to work started doing their schoolwork up there as well, both online schooling and homeschooling, while their mothers were usually in the Food Court just outside the wide doors unless they had work.

Then, the Grand Opening Ceremony came around, and I was informed about my upcoming surgery, my sixth one in just the past two years. I wasn't allowed to come to the Grand Opening, due to it being a Brothel and Casino and thus not a place for children, no matter how mature they were, but I didn't mind, because Agnus stayed with me, helping me with an experiment in turning Water into Ice without any Imperfections. Essentially, I needed to get the water to a temperature that it would stick together at, a super-freezing temperature, but not give it any shocks which would result in the formation of asymmetrical ice crystals. It was a delicate experiment, one that required incredibly precise calculations, so we messed up multiple times, but neither of us minded, continuing the experiment until there was something of an explosion as lightning struck the Generator, making all the lights flicker and some black out completely, so we had to go inside until the Dry Lightning was finished, and by then it was very late, so we both went to bed.

Now a few days later, the day of my Surgery had come, and I found myself in a building that was clearly not a doctor's office, but was nevertheless a clean and sterile building with good hygiene, and multiple people going about their business in fancy scrubs and robes that were more at home in a LARP or DnD session than in a building that purported itself to be an Organ Clinic or Hospital. The room Mama and I had been brought to was a standard surgery room which wasn't very different than the various others I'd been in several times before, besides what was outside of it.

Soon enough, a lady Doctor arrived, an older woman about Mrs. Farman's age wearing a proper white coat over yellow surgery clothing. "Hello, let's get to work, shall we? I have four patients to deal with today, and one of them has a severed spinal cord, so this shouldn't be too much of a drag on time, it's just replacing a Lung. You may stay or leave, Lady Chamberlain, but you will vacate the Surgery Area. Now: Hello, Johnathan, my name is Doctor Zora, I am in charge of this Surgical Clinic, as well as head physician, as it were. Today, we are removing your diseased lung, replacing it with a healthy lung Your body will accept as genuine, and removing the source of your sickness from your esophagus; do you have any questions before we begin?"

I shook my head, removing my shirt at her direction and lying on my back with my eyes closed while a familiar oxygen mask was placed over my mouth and nose; within moments, I was sleeping.

—

A deep breath of fresh air greeted me as I found myself awake and in my bed, though it felt a bit smaller now, for some reason. My clothes fit when I pulled them on, however, so clearly I had been imagining things; soon I was walking, though I wasn't sure to where. My room was the same as always, a long and round shape that occupied the Tower portion of our Apartment, with a spiral staircase to the loft, where my sitting area was and also where Agnus camped out most nights, even though she and Zawahili had an apartment across the hall from us.

"Dominic?" I whistled softly, approaching the bookshelf in the loft, which was mysteriously empty. None of my dogs answered, which was odd; all four were perfectly trained, and soon three of them would be going to the Service Animal Program permanently, so I'd have to deal with that and get some new Puppies to train with Dominic's help, who was simply my dog forever. My hand reached up and found a new book on the shelf, the only book that wasn't either a fantasy novel or a textbook or an encyclopedia, which I removed listlessly; I hadn't intended to grab the book, after all. Still, it was in my hands now, a small red leather book with a weird half-rough half-smooth texture, like scales. The cover didn't have any words on it, just a glyph of some sort, and when opened, there were no words in there, either, or at least not of any Latin-Based alphabet. They had a familiarity to them, like I'd seen them before, but there was nothing when I searched my memories, so I turned away to sit down at the desk, only to pause at a grinding sound behind me.

The bookshelf had slid open, it seemed, revealing a red glass staircase and a similarly red glass tunnel that led down into the other levels of the Tower. At first, I hesitated: I wasn't allowed into the other levels of the Tower, because there were usually naked ladies roaming around in bathrobes they didn't bother closing unless they saw me, but it was a Spa, so no one could really blame them for being relaxed. Still, this was a secret door and a secret tunnel in my room; you couldn't have kept me out of it for long without a pair of handcuffs and/or a roll of duct tape and an office chair.

There was no sound in this stairwell as it spiraled tightly all the way down the tower, a curious pattern of the same runes from the book I still carried. As I walked, I compared them all, trying to find correlation that would allow me to understand them, but as far as I could understand, the only similarity to be found was that all of them were bound within a circle, like an Egyptian cartouche. "Perhaps it's a list of Names?" I wondered aloud, then doubled over as my gut seemed to drop out, and when I opened my eyes I found myself on the bottom step of the stairs, looking up at a giant crystalline door looming over me. Branded on the red crystal was the same Rune from the cover of the book, only embossed in gold. There was no handle to this door, and no hinges, either, so it was the type that rose into the ceiling when it opened. "Wow... Mama and Doctor Goodwin really went all-out on my Birthday Present this year... so how do I open this... it's the same as the book, so maybe if I translate it I get the password?" I hummed curiously at the book, sitting with my back against the door and reading through to the blank pages at the back, of which there were a few dozen. Flipping through them casually, I made a new discovery that made me gasp: pressed into the the leather interior of the back cover was a simple bone quill with a sharp Ruby for a tip, glowing softly.

"Oh cool!!!" I grinned and pulled it out, tracing it through the air like a sparkler and amazing myself with it as it left the same trails in my vision as a sparkler did. "That's awesome... now does it Write, I wonder..." I placed the tip of the quill against the page and drew the Rune from the cover as carefully as possible.

Immediately, I felt a small pain in my fingers where I was holding the quill, and a voice that sounded nearly the same as Doctor Goodwin's (but much younger, and a bit... haughtier,) came from within the pages of the book. "Erfan, a Queen of Shadows. A Contract Devil."

I flinched away from it for a moment, then grinned slowly. "Whoa... is this our new DND campaign starter? Sweet, I'll bite: What's a Contract Devil?"

"A Contract Devil: A Being who makes Unbreakable Magical Contracts called Devil Deals, using the Soul of the Supplicant to power various Runic Magics and create magical effects they call 'Gifts'."

"Okay... what's a Gift?"

"Devil Deal 'Gift': a Magical Spell carved directly into the Soul of a Supplicant; activating this spell creates a Runic Magic Effect, at the cost of a sliver of the Soul of a Supplicant. In language Familiar to you: Spell Slots."

"Whoa... okay, so they're Warlock Pacts, right? How do you get one?"

"1-Primary Response for Query 'On the Subject of Pacts': You should think of Gifts as Warlock Pacts; Prospective Warlocks accept a Contract for Magic, but in return for their paltry 'Gifts' they offer a Tithe of their Soul every time they use said magic, giving them a very limited amount of spell usage per day. 2-Secondary Response for Query 'On the Subject of Pacts': You, Johnathan, are a Sorcerer, having been borne from a Magical Bloodline, on your father's side. You already have a Gift for Magic in your Blood from Clan Aric, an ancient and powerful Clan of Sorcerers that dealt mainly in Potions before its eventual fall from Grace, and you don't need a Devil to wake it up for you. 3-Tertiary Response for Query 'On the Subject of Pacts': Proper applications of Runic Magic can easily replicate Pact Magic and Ritual Magic, and as such they are no replacement for hard work and study. Especially considering casting such Magics without the use of 'Gifts' results in an effect that is at least 250% more efficient than its Gifted Counterpart. In other words, Young Johnathan, stay in school, learn Magic the hard way, and by the time you're a Man I Swear by my Name, Johnathan St.Valentine Aricsson, that you'll be at least Five Times more Powerful than any mere Warlock, and with a Variety to your abilities that none can even attempt to match, to boot!"

"Alright, so my backstory is I'm the Heir to Clan Aric, huh? Noble Background, sorcerous origin... aw man, I woulda wanted Dragon-Blood Sorcerer if I was gonna be one instead of a Wizard!!!"

"On the Subject of Query 'Whining about receiving Cosmic Power through a Genetic Lottery': Young Johnathan, don't be ungrateful, please? Unlimited, Unfettered, Awesome. Cosmic. Power. is nothing to be taken Lightly."

"Hmph... coulda at least let me pick my own backstory..." I grumbled at the book and stood up, pointing my hand at the door and speaking the words that'd started this whole thing. "Erfan, Queen of Shadows!"

The door creaked instantly, slowly rising and revealing an old-fashioned polished silver mirror, but with a painting across it instead of a reflection. The painting depicted a beautifully painted pale young woman with curiously white hair and piercing blue eyes sitting in a swing made of vines, sipping tea from a pearly white cup. Her long black Victorian-esque skirt seemed to connect to a living mass of shadows all around her, turning all the negative space in the picture into a part of the Art. "A bit lazy, as far as ways to fill negative space go, but beautifully rendered nonethelesss... I wonder what I'm supposed to learn here? The woman depicted here who is apparently a 'Queen of Shadows', and there don't seem to be any more hints... Hmm... unless these Shadow swirls on her dress are Runes, like in the Book?"

Comparing the runes in the book, I did find, over about a half-hour studying session, that each of the curious swirls was a Rune from the Book, and Drawing them in the book resulted in that same young Doctor Goodwin voice reading them aloud and giving explanations to what type of Demon or Devil they were. Most, surprisingly, were Devils, and all were subordinates of the Queen of Shadows. As I wrote the last one, which had been hidden in the reflection of her Eye, that same voice spoke out again.

"Ressaf, Fool of Ink: a Lesser Ink Devil, usually found within Ancient Libraries with large amounts of Grimoires. This one was spawned by the Library of the Aric Clan, and Contracted to Me, Johnathan Aricsson. He was my first familiar, and he's a perfect first Summon for an Up-and-Coming Shadow Sorcerer! Give it a shot! The Summoning Circle can be prepared by Lady Erfan. Don't worry, by the way, she can't hurt you, even if she wanted to: she is Bound to the Service of the Aric Clan, and she's also something of a Softy, as far as Devil Queens go. Also she's trapped in the mirror, so don't ever let her out, no matter what she offers you."

I tilted my head at the book, then looked up at the painting, only to find the lady in the mirror standing up and staring directly at me, then, even more terrifyingly, she began to speak, her voice filling the room like liquid shadows, followed by the smell of peaches. "I give to thee my most humble Greetings, Young Aricsson... it's been a very long time since I've seen a Scion of the Aric Clan capable of Summoning Me, and especially in this Bound Form... I wonder at your father and mother letting you meet someone such as I alone and unattended, but I cannot say I don't enjoy the company... the only beings within this mirror are my own servants, after all, and they are... boring. I've eaten them at times to stave off said boredom, so you may be disappointed to find that most of them are... no longer with us... hmm... why are you not speaking, dearest Young Lord Aricsson? Does this form displease you? I can alter it if you like?"

I was reading the book again carefully, ignoring her as she began to morph her body into different body types, some less innocent than others. "Okay... what puzzle am I meant to solve here? I activated the mirror... what next? I have to hand it to you, Doctor Goodwin, this is a difficult riddle..."

"Goodwin? What does that Brat have to do with me?!?" The woman surprised me by suddenly hissing venomously, slamming her fists into the mirror from inside angrily to get my attention.

I frowned up at her, answering slowly and distrustfully; this could be part of the Riddle, after all. "Doctor Vincent Goodwin... the one who made this puzzle for my birthday present? My teacher?"

She sneered at the name, turning away and summoning a new cup of tea after she'd apparently tossed the old one at the mirror. "Humph... as if some Human like-... hmm... I don't know a 'Doctor Vincent' Goodwin, but I suppose it's a common enough name... what is your Mother's Name, child?"

"Angelina Chamberlain, the Lady of the Glade!" I declared proudly, smiling up at her.

She blinked a few times from her height above me, even sitting down in her swing once more, (which soon morphed into a throne, instead,) and then she hummed curiously. "The Lady of the Glade? A fine little title, perhaps befitting an Aricsson's Bride... and your Father?"

I debated answering honestly or sticking to the backstory that the book had given me, but in the end decided to mix the two together. Backstory was always easier to remember if it was simple, after all. "Johnathan St.Valentine Aricsson, apparently, though he died before I was born."

She blinked again, her blue eyes dilating to stare down at me with an odd expression. "I see..." her eyes flicked away from me, looking at something behind me with a fresh sneer on her lips. "Who invited You into this sacred place? Name yourself, Wench!!!"

A chilling voice responded, snapping out a response that made my spine reflexively straighten. "My name is Angelina Wysteria Chamberlain, the Lady of the Glade and the Enchantress of the Tower of Glass, wherein you currently stand... at this moment, you are in my Tower, with my Son, without MY supervision!!! As such, from now into perpetuity, You. Will. Watch. Your. Fucking. Tone, Bitch."