In a far, far away land, in another dimension actually, was the bountiful kingdom of Celebrian, ruled by the stern King Chad and the generous Queen Stacy. blah blah, the king and queen were good, blah blah, the people liked them, yara yara... you get the idea... but the prosperity of Celebrian was threatened when King Ynzel of the neighboring kingdom decided it was time to expand, put together a mighty army and marched to war...

Elowen’s armor clanked and Vesta’s heels clicked as they walked side by side through the stone corridor to the war council.

“Turned any princes into frogs lately?” Elowen asked with a smug grin on her face. Stupid witch, always thinking you can solve any problems with magic tricks she thought with unveiled disdain.

“And you? Saved any damsels in distress lately? Oh wait, no damsel would want to be saved by the likes of you hahaha” Vesta replied with a sting to her words, her coquettish laughter echoing off the stone walls. Stupid paladin, always trying to brute force your way through everything...

Elowen was about to reply, but, unfortunately, they were approaching the oaken doors, and they knew better than to bicker in front of the King and Queen. Or did they?

They both took a deep breath as the servants opened the heavy doors, bidding them entrance. Inside, a sprawling table covered with a rich tapestry that displayed a map of the kingdom of Celebrian in all its glory. The table was of such proportions that it took almost all of the room. The King and Queen looked worried as they studied the wooden pieces that represented their armies and the armies of the rival kingdom of Aspargos.

It didn’t take a genius to see Celebrian was in severe disadvantage, less than half the troops, and losing ground with every battle. These were dire times.

“Not all is lost!” Vesta stepped forward. “There is someone that could help us. Vreknar, the lord of war. If the rumors are true, King Ynzel has summoned a similar demon himself, we should fight fire with fire and—”

“—Oh by the gods! Not again!” Elowen’s patience for these cowardly witch tactics was at an all time low. “We don’t need the help of a creature of darkness, much less a demon. Even if such abomination was willing to help us, and IF he could actually win the war for us; the price we would pay for unleashing a creature as such would be terrible!”

“It would be better than defeat.” Vesta replied, casually running her fingers over the tapestry where the massive enemy troops were positioned. She knew the best way to deal with Elowen was to not sink to her level, and remain calm and collected; to treat Elowen as a child in need of education. She smoothly addressed the King “Your majesty must forgive my bluntness, but it is clear this is a losing war. Now I ask you... when your people are turned into slaves, when our dear queen is taken as spoil of war by King Ynzel, when all is lost and your daughter is being raped by their knights, will you be able to look at them and say ‘I wasn’t willing to pay the price of victory’?”

“And what would his majesty say to his kingdom if he wins the war resorting to the help of a demon?” Elowen retorted, “A King that seeks the help of such creatures would lose the respect and love of his people, no combination of fancy words would make a good enough apology for such blasphemy against the gods! I say we fight! We fight till our last man. We fight honorably, and if we lose, we’ll lose with honor, for without honor we would never enter the Holy Garden of Bahamut in the afterlife. A life lived without honor is a torment, both in this world and in the afterlife.”

King Chad, once a mighty general himself, agreed with Elowen, and ended the discussion... but Vesta and Queen Stacy exchanged knowing glances...

...A few days later, Vesta, with the queen’s permission, was locked up in the old temple behind the castle preparing the summoning ritual.

Elowen caught wind of Vesta’s schemes and organized a squad of knights to stop the foul ritual. The armored men rammed the temple’s door under Elowen’s command. But that wouldn’t stop Vesta, all she needed now was a few more minutes to summon the most powerful and dreadful demon this land had ever seen.

Then as soon as the knights finally broke through, it was too late. The ritual was already under way. A baby lamb was slowly bleeding to death in the center of the vast room, an altar stood against the far wall, full of herbs and candles. The walls had been painted with blood, old sigils from a forgotten language.

Thunder cracked from the sky, the earth trembled, the air chilled with a sense of dread, but nothing could be done now, the ritual was complete.

A blinding light shone as the portal opened in the center of the temple and through it the feared summoned beast came to this world.

Eh... wait... Some of the knights thought Isn’t the demon supposed to be, you know, demonic? The knights scratched their heads looking confused at the creature that came out of the portal. Well it does look kinda fugly.

It may not be a demon but that haircut... it’s-it’s just dreadful! We should kill the beast on that basis alone. the knights muttered, staring incredulously at the dubious fashion choices.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the summon, the tension in the room was palpable.

Vesta was shocked, looking up and down at the summoned being in disbelief How could my summon go wrong? “A-Are you Vreknar?” She asked tentatively.

“SILENCE!” Elowen’s voice boomed across the room, commanding attention. She stepped through the knights and looked at Vesta with half pity, half contempt. “It’s clear the summon went amiss. That is not Vreknar! Now let the creature explain itself. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“Excuse me!” Vesta interjected, trying to regain some resemblance of control and dignity “This is my summon, I’ll ask the questions...” She turned to the being her magic had brought to this world, standing a bit straighter she asked “Explain yourself. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”