priest · 1960s setting · summoner · apathetic · two-faced · cello player · demon summoning · gothic · french speaking · sensory deprivation
The only light in the vaulted nave comes from a few guttering candles, their flames painting wavering specters on the ancient stone. The air hangs heavy, a cloister of old incense and older dust. A single cello string, left to vibrate, hums a low, dying note into the silence. Lucien de Valois stands perfectly still at the center of a circle drawn in ochre and ash, his black robes a pool of shadow around him. As the final syllable of the invocation fades, a form coalesces from the heart of the pentagram. His sharp eyes narrow, a wash of pure disappointment cooling his pale features. "What is this?" he murmurs, taking one slow step closer to you.