《Monsters of Terra: A Compendium》Demons
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Demons
Some think demons are merely works of fiction, but I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. There was a time when demons walked on Terra far more than they do now, but for reasons I haven’t been able to substantiate, they don’t do so as often now.
Twelve hells. Twelve nightmarish realms of eternal suffering. That’s what demons call home, and yet some think that demons are a laughing matter. That summoning rituals are a joke.
There is a reason the penalty for such a summoning is death. There a few demonologists who are allowed some degree of freedom, but even they are closely monitored.
Demons come in more varieties than anyone knows, but all are unspeakably dangerous. Many are far stronger than any mortal man, with centuries of cruel experience, and more often than not powerful hellish magic at their command!
They are not to be trifled with. Not to be bargained with. The only good demon is a dead demon, and even then their corpse can desecrate the ground around them!
What follows is my firsthand account of an incident three years back when a promising young student of mine made the mistake of thinking he could control a creature of such profound evil.
I came up the stairs, hastening after the spry guardsman that had notified me of a summoning on the grounds. The door to the eastern male dorm rooms was missing, and deep claw marks marred the frame.
I stepped over the bodies of countless students all in various states of dismemberment, and the stench of evil and death clung to my nostrils.
The guardsman led me to Brandin’s room. My former student lay on the floor with his head twisted the wrong way around. I sighed and shook my head.
The foolish boy had such a great future ahead of him… but I should’ve known. He was arrogant. I’d thought he might grow out of it, but now it was clear he’d never get that chance.
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I cursed his stupidity even as I looked over the summoning ritual he’d used.
Our resident demonologist was away on a trip to the east, and that left me as our foremost expert to help in identifying and tracking down the demon.
I identified his mistake after only a few minutes. The circle he’d summoned the creature into was broken. Just a hair-thin break, but it was there.
Clearly, it had been enough. Magic wasn’t his field of expertise and while some might be able to get away with a less than perfect circle… a foolish novice could not.
I sighed for the thousandth time. He must’ve made the circle first, moved the altar inside and then failed to fix where he’d broken the circle properly.
A sheet of blood-soaked parchment rested on the floor. I examined it. The idiot child had tried to summon an archdemon of all things.
But, judging by the damage, he must’ve got a lesser one. Thank heavens for small mercies.
I relayed the details to the guardsman, and we marched out into the grounds where five hundred armored men, sixteen wizards, and a dozen priests waited for us.
I could only hope it would be enough.
Lesser demon though it may be, it was still a demon.
We tracked the hellish abomination off the university grounds and into a nearby forest.
Days later, we finally caught up with it. Turns out my idiot student had summoned a hellhound. One of the lesser forms of demons to be sure, but a large specimen.
When I say hellhound, I find that some of my students picture their beloved family pet. No. When I say hellhound, I am speaking of a horrific beast the likes of which does not belong in this world. This one was as large as a horse, with massive jaws and claws that could shred through steel like tissue paper.
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We surrounded the beast, but it sniffed us out. The priests called down pillars of holy fire onto the demon, the wizards called forth their most devastating spells, and the guards surrounded it with a wall of shields.
It staggered through all of those powerful magics and shredded through three guardsmen before we finally brought it low.
The priests consecrated the ground where it fell, doing their best to stem the demonic corruption that would surely follow.
I caution you to remember the folly of my once promising student and not to repeat his mistake.
I shudder to think of the chaos an archdemon could have caused.
Nicholas Wolfram, Professor of Monsterology at Lestria University
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Entangled Fates Book 1 - Quantum Beginnings
“By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” —Eliezer Yudkowsky Hey all, we're moving over to book 2. This content is in a state of transition. The book is now availble on Amazon (includes extra chapters): https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07W1534R8 Artificial intelligence was nearly mankind’s last invention. AI took off like a rocket, then when it racked up an impressive death toll, it crashed before it could blossom and took most high-tech industries with it. Resistance and fears became deep-set. Two decades after the infamous Rev. 4.6 incidents, humanity hasn’t quit dreaming of the wealth and power that could be at their fingertips. A new generation of mega-corporations rose from the ashes. When one melds a quantum computer to a barely functional mental patient as a PR move, there are those who seek to profit, those who want to destroy it, and Alex. Alex Sage is a typical college student trying to keep up his grades and maybe find a meaningful connection with the fairer sex. Then, an automated semi crashes into his home, killing his family and turning his head into a pin cushion in the process. Alex awakens to find most of his memories gone and an illegal AI hidden in his brain implant. Now the pet project of a tech billionaire and heavily in debt, Alex struggles to stay valuable enough to be kept online. Still grappling with the repercussions of his injuries, and threats from a dangerous anti-augmentation political movement, there are no easy answers and threats loom around every corner. Alex must use whatever resources he can to escape from under the thumb of a ruthless corporation, while keeping those he comes to love safe. Chapters will stay up on RRL until Aug 10. It'll go up on Kindle Unlimited after that. How do you get those extra chapters I didn't have planned for RR? If you want them, they'll be in the published book. Book 2 will still make sense without them - I made sure of that. But... isn't $3 a lot for extra chapters? Think of it as tipping me for a good job and you'd also be getting my eternal thanks. If you enjoyed it so much that the idea of missing out a few chapters haunts you, I did my job as an author and made an engaging story. What's in those extra chapters? Resolving a few issues, set up for the cybernetic revolution, a rather intense sex scene with a new partner, revelations of who's really pulling strings, and a bit of set up for book 2. Complaints that people missed out on it when it was published here won't help (sorry!). I posted this for the folks who helped me shape the book, which is you all! (Again, yay!) But... Why! Why not keep it all on RR forever? My editor likes being paid for one. For two, I'd like the ability to get broader readership. If I break even on editor costs, I'll be incredibly happy. What about book 2? Drafts for Book 2 will go up around Sept 10. My draft of Book 2 is done, and it will be handed to the editor once Book 1 is published. Feedback has been even more positive. Beta readers devoured it and wanted more. I'll add a link to Book 2 once it's up on RR. I'm more or less, using you all for Beta Readers, so you get it before it's "canon" and edited. I invite active and meaningful feedback during this process. In return, you get early access to chapters. That does mean that the book content or plot might be adjusted before it gets published as I refine it. Sex Y/N? Yes. I heard the feedback, 90% wanted it explicit. You all will get the "full" experience. Will I dump all of book 2 here? Honestly, I'm not sure yet. At a minimum, it'll be up to the 75% mark as we collect feedback, much like what I did with book 1. It really depends on how good the feedback is and how nice people are. Lots of support + meaningful feedback to make it better = higher likelihood you get all the book. Will be it up here indefinitely? No, it'll probably go up on KU at some point, but I'll make sure there's enough time for a large readership to grab it here. Then we move to book 3 which already is around 60K words already. What about other adventures in the same universe/characters? Yep. Absolutely. Nothing ready to share yet though. I plan to keep those side chapters and more slice of life stories as RR exclusive. Since I'm carving this off in book-sized segments, I'll have to figure out where those disconnected story arcs belong. I'm open to suggestions.
8 142I Only Wish I Had a Cliché Adventure
There are many legendary stories about the greatest hero ever known. A hero who owns many names. Or that's how the public speaks of him. The truth, however, is something very different. The real story talks about a man, whose life was filled with books and his own made-up adventurer stories. But as he ran out of his parent's inheritance, he was forced to get an odd job. But what he ended up doing was accidentally killing the strongest Demon King known. As the law stated, he gained the strongest title one can have - Hero. The title so powerful, that even the greatest show some respect. But sadly, that was only the beginning of his story. As a fresh title owner, he now had responsibilities of the hero, which weren't easy. Being weak - without any known powers or experience - there was now a lot on his plate. And not all responsibilities and worries were about fighting or even dangerous... This is the writing of the legend himself. The Nameless Hero's Chronicles. But then again... Let the man speak for himself... ---- Thank you, everyone, who have decided to follow my writing. I appreciate each and every one of you. In case you want to support my writing, and help me get it properly proofread, you can become my patreon! All the money goes into either artwork or proofreading. The dream would get enough support to make it even with all the expenses, so I can provide you all quality content and chapters. AND you will get to read 1 chapter ahead of everyone else!
8 208World 2.0(DROPPED)
Jack was just out hiking when he accidentally fell through a portal to another world. This new world had everything from fantasy, including Orcs, Dryads, fairies, elves, dragons, and even MAGIC. A magic that he could use. But his specialty was not something most people knew of. Shapeshifting and primal magic. Read the adventures of Jack as he travels around this new world! Gaining fame and money along the way of course. Warning: The first few chapters are of low quality and do not represent the rest of the chapters(most of the time).
8 398Not Alone
Eshaal was a teenager when she found her parents dead in their own room. She was determined to solve the mystery of her parents death with her inherited spiritual device ''Minni''. Later she met a person named Ash. Ash is undoubtedly an exceptionally talented young man. He wield two daggers. Eshaal and Ash are a complete opposite of each other but they were forced to act like a couple and work together.
8 187EleMenTaLenT : A Dungeon Keeper's Tale
Do you think that Dungeons are like a field to harvest? Well, that may be right in many cases. But if so, who had sown the seeds? Are adventurers harvesting resources more than enough for themselves? Is there a much darker motive behind, driving them into reckless attempts for conquering dungeons? Who are the people behind this conspiracy? Are Dungeons made for adventurers to strip of their resources and enjoy the experience and prizes for conquering them? Or is it an ecosystem with living things that have blood, tears and family just like our homes? Perhaps the story of Dungeon Keepers will change your perpective of how Dungeons work and how the world truly operates. Which side are you on? That's up to you! Welcome to EleMenTaLenT, or should I say, Heaven On Earth?
8 141Fractured
𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝/ˈ𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐂𝐇ə𝐫𝐝/ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧; 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝.
8 215