Extraordinary Comics:HOMUNCULUS
An octagonal chamber lit by hundreds of candles placed among complex geometric patterns covering the floor. In the exact center of the chamber stood a classical marble statue. And on a pentagram among the patterns stood an elderly man in a dark suit, chanting. By the beads of sweat on his forehead, he appeared to have been chanting for a long time.
Suddenly the candle flames flickered and turned from pale yellow to deep orange. The man stopped chanting. “Finally,” he said and took out a clear, rune-carved class orb from his pocket. Holding it aloft he intoned: “I call upon the spirits of the Fiery Void! I call you into this hollow statue and bind you to it by the power of the Nine Seals! Come forth, take residence, and give life and will to unliving stone!”
For a while, nothing happened. Then the flames started flickering angrily and there was a creak as the statue shifted slightly. “Yes!” the man exclaimed. “It is working!” Holding out the glass orb, he intoned: “By the power of the symbols around you, may your Controlling Essence be drawn and bound to this orb!”
A spark appeared in the orb, and then grew to fill it, making the orb feel warm and glow with orange light. The statue was now clearly moving. Flexing its limbs, bending, twisting its facial features. Stiffly at first, but with each movement the movements became more supple and humanlike. Then the statue turned to look at the man.
Holding the orb, the man said: “Spirit of the Void! I hold your Controlling Essence! I am your master now!”
The statue merely smiled in reply. Taking this as a sign of submission, the man said: “Come along. I already have a mission in mind for you. Let’s get you suited up.”
But the reason for the smile was that the superhumanly perceptive being had noticed something about the runes in the orb. The tiniest of imperfections, invisible to human eye.
The elderly man was sitting at a table with another man, apparently even older than he was. The other man had a long, well groomed and completely white beard. “…And then I sent it to spy on the local Council chapterhouse,” the younger man explained. “Just a test mission. I have plans more ambitious than that. With something like that at my disposal, the secrets of the Council of Staves will be known to us, and after that we can start dealing with the council members. The void being can do more than spy.”
As the younger man finished his explanation, the white bearded man looked grim. “You should perhaps have consulted me first. There are dire warnings about trying to permanently bind spirits of the Fiery Void.”
The other man waved his hand nonchalantly. “Didn’t we both agree that the rules of the Council of Staves were needlessly stifling and hidebound and holding us back from the true potential of what we could achieve?”
“I am not talking about the council rules,” the older man said. “I have in my possession several forbidden tomes from the time predating the council, and even in those times of no oversight the masters of the craft warned not to try what you did. The spirits are willful beings who can see things we cannot. They dislike being shackled, and are well known for breaking their bonds.”
The younger man started to look uncertain. “The ritual instructions did not say anything about that… But I did everything as instructed, and I have the spirit’s Controlling Essence.”
“Show me,” the older man said.
The other man reached into his pocket – and went pale. The orb, previously warm, felt cool to the touch. Hastily pulling it out, he noticed that it was clear and empty, the glow within gone. “No…”
“The spirit has recalled its Controlling Essence,” the older man stated. “Your ritual could not contain it. This place is now compromised, and we need to leave. Take what is important, set fire to the building, and come with me.”
Meanwhile
A group of bikers were hanging out at a shabby roadhouse when a stranger walked in. The new arrival was lean and short, only about 5ft 3in, and completely dressed in black, including a mask that left only eyes visible. His appearance caused laughter and comments such as “Look out, it is a ninja attack!” but the man ignored the comments. He swiftly glanced around the room, walked up to a biker close to his size and said: “I am going to take your outfit and your motorcycle.”
This caused even more laughter. The biker stood up beer bottle in hand, said: “You forgot to say please!” and broke the bottle over the man’s head.
The man in black did not even flinch. The laughter died down.
“I see we are familiar with the same movie,” the black clad stranger said to the dumbfounded biker. “So you know what is going to happen next.”
A short violent episode later
Leaving behind a room full of groaning bikers, the man, now in a biker outfit, walked out and casually plucked a bullet out of his palm. The hole left behind was glowing with fiery light and already closing. He walked to a bike and turned it on. Taking one more look at his new clothes he said: “They fit, but I don’t like the gang colors. MC Giants? I need to do something about that. But right now I need to visit the ‘master’.”
A while later
Sitting on his bike, Homunculus looked at a building engulfed in flames. “So you fled,” he mused. “But I will remember you should we meet again.” Turning the bike around, he said: “But for now, this world is mine to roam and the road is open and beckons.”
