Emett:


    I found myself floating in a featureless black void for the second time in as many days. I guess this was just part of my life, now.


    Before me, Salamander raged in all his flaming, serpentine glory. Somehow, the earthen golem, who I knew now to be Gnome, was also in front of me. So was Undine, and so was the ball of wings and wind, Sylph. It was like I was looking in four different directions at once.


    "So," Salamander hissed, "the prodigal Summoner deigns to make a pact."


    "I do," I said, strangely calm. This must be the work of the circle, or the book, because I definitely should not be okay with being so tiny in front of so much power.


    "Not with me, I see" Undine purred, staring daggers at Salamander.


    "He had the choice," Salamander insisted.


    "Hardly an informed choice, though," Undine replied.


    "It isn''t our responsibility to make sure the summoner makes a wise choice," Salamander said, "only that they don''t receive something for nothing."


    "Salamander, Undine, please," Sylph said, her voice sounding as if it were carried in on a breeze. "Not in front of The Summoner."


    "Don''t mind me," I said, "I''m just sort of floating here."


    Gnome grunted. "Do you know what that book you''re carrying is, Summoner?"


    "Other than ostensibly an artifact of some sort?" I asked. "No. It''s just a blank book as far as I can tell, albeit one with a very nice cover."


    "The Ars Goetia," Gnome provided. "A book on the summoning of spirits in general, but with an emphasis on demons. Not something particularly useful, however..."


    Sylph made a small bobbing motion, visibly catching on to Gnome''s train of thought. If she had a face, I''m certain she''d have picked up a grin. "Oh, I see where you''re going with this. Do we want to try for the Elementium?"


    "He has the potential," Salamander said. "It''d be a hefty price on his end, though."


    "A lot of power in return, though," Undine mused. "Ultimately, it is his decision."


    "What''s my decision?" I asked.


    "The short version," Salamander said, "is that, with your permission, we could hijack the Ars Goetia, and transform it into the Ars Elementium, breaking some of the normal rules that bind Pacts."


    "That''s potentially interesting," I said. "What rules?"


    "The biggest," Undine said, "would be allowing you to hold a pact with Salamander and I, as well as Gnome and Sylph, at the same time."Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "It would also act as a manual of sorts on our power, helping you keep track of it all," Gnome said. "Which comes in handy when you end up with multiple pacts."


    "So," I said, "I have the option for a Pact with multiple of you?"


    "Yes," Sylph said, "in any combination. Granted, it would not be an easy Pact, and you''d be giving a lot up in the process."


    "What would each of you ask in return for a Convocation Pact?" I asked.


    "I would take your potential for the Occult summoning methods, Necromancy and Demonology," Salamander said. "Not that you would need anything that inferior with my assistance.


    "I would ask for your potential for any conventional magic," Gnome said. "All the magic you would do would come from entities you''ve summoned."


    "I''m not a fan of the Nature spirits," Sylph said. "Terribly boring and inflexible. I would take your potential to summon those."


    "You intrigue me," Undine said, "and I am quite irritated with what Salamander attempted. I would ask only for the conversion of the Ars Goetia to secure my assistance."


    "Very well," I said. I couldn''t help but notice none of these Pacts were mutually exclusive. The price was steep - if I accepted all of them, it would essentially be shutting me out of being able to handle anything except the Elemental Spirits. In return, though, I would be gaining a phenomenal amount of power. The answer was actually pretty clear to me. "I would accept all of these terms. I would like to form a Convocation Pact with all of you."


    "That is amenable," Salamander said.


    All four reached their power out to me, and my senses were overwhelmed.


    A small tongue of flame brought with it all the fury and passion on a flame unbound, fiery destruction and endless hunger coursing through my veins. At the same time, it brought promises of rebirth, of corruption purged, and of darkness banished.


    A pebble bounced off my forehead, and I understood the strength of the earth. It brought slow yet relentless change, imperceptible day-to-day, yet slowly making itself known as time wore on.


    A breeze across my skin spoke of the wind, from gentle breezes to raging hurricanes. It did as it pleased, and it would skirt around any obstacles it had to in the process.


    A faint trickle of water promised of the inevitability of the seas, ebbing and flowing, yet always present, slowly wearing down any resistance. It sang of the currents, chaotic from within, but ordered when seen from a distance.


    Most overwhelming, though, was the sensation of loss. Latent connections to magic I never knew I had were severed, leaving me reaching for senses I had never used before and finding nothing there. It was almost enough to make me weep, but before this could set in, the world lurched, and I found myself sitting once more in a golden circle in a familiar room.


    The four statues in the corners were glowing brilliantly, as was the book in my lap. Evan and Emmy stood staring at me, their mouths hanging open.


    "Already?" Emmy asked. "You''ve already made a Pact?"


    "Yes?" I asked. "That was what I set out to do, right?"


    "That couldn''t have been more than fifteen seconds!" Evan said.


    "It felt a lot longer to me," I said, taking a closer look at the book. The circle had changed, now featuring four gems prominently on the cover. It also no longer appeared to consist primarily of blank pages. I''d have to read it later.


    "And a Pact with all four of the spirits?" Emmy said. "That shouldn''t be possible!"


    "It wouldn''t have been," I said, "if not for the book. Or so they said."


    "Then..." Evan said, trailing off, "I''m guessing the book is a focus of at least two of the Pacts, but more likely all of them."


    "What does that mean?" I asked.


    "Well," Emmy said, "before we get into it, we should work out how long we''ll have you."


    "I''ll have to meet with the rest of the Disciples to decide for sure," I said, "but you said you initially wanted a week? I''ll see if they can keep themselves busy for that long before we set out to whatever''s next."