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Arkon lifted his front paws and took another deep breath. The smell of burning candles was in the air. And yet there was something else. The blue fox had carefully drawn an incantation circle on the ground. The last few days he had spent in careful preparation. He could not allow himself any mistake here.
The fox intentionally breathed out slowly, then closed his eyes. Even his tailmaw behind him seemed to focus and kept quiet. Then the fox began to hum softly. A single note carried out into the night. All around, everything seemed to grow even darker as Arkon laid his will into what was happening, giving the sound an eerie power.
Arkon began to speak. Softly, and yet swiftly, the fox spoke the incantation. He had memorized every word, every syllable - every single letter - well in advance. Almost gracefully, the black magic fox maneuvered through even the most difficult parts of the incantation.
Around one of his fore paws, the darkness began to condense and take shape. It seemed as if the shadows were becoming graspable. But then a spark of magic jumped from the paw onto the shadows, igniting them like dry straw. The spiraling shadows quivered like blood-red flames encircling the paw of the fox.
Just as the summoning rite reached its climax, Arkon once again sent all his will through his words and the shadow vortex changed color from blood red to a brilliant green and thereafter the summoning circle began to glow.
The symbol took on the same green color as the magic Arkon was weaving. The darkness seemed to creep into the center of the circle, filling it with an otherworldly blackness. A light wind accompanied the night as it seemed to fall into the summoning circle, like water over the edge of a waterfall.
And then it appeared. The heavy, sweet smell of decaying flesh. At first very faint and barely perceptible. As if the farmer's cat had hidden a mouse in the dry well in a hot summer's night. But then the smell grew stronger. And it got closer.
Sounds could be heard coming from the magic circle. As if damp fur was rubbing over dry branches. And something dripped down again and down again. At first it had only been single drops - but then the drops became big and bigger... and also stickier.
With a loud, gruesome groan, a partially skeletonized dog's skull lifted itself out of the ban circle. There wasn't water dripping there. It wasn't even blood. It was what had become of the once life-giving bodily fluids after the process of decomposition. The rotting liquid oozed out of the broken skin and ran over aged bones and decayed, partially liquid flesh.
Arkon had to suppress a triumphant grin. He had made it. Almost! But he could not make a mistake at this point ... he continued to concentrate on his magic and looked at the undead Hellhound, which was slowly rising further out of the summoning circle. The first head was followed by a second, and then a third. There was so much Hellhound in the summoning circle by now that it almost looked like the underworld was trying to spit out the undead demonic canid and leave it for the mortal world.
The Hellhound looked around. The eye sockets, which had no real eye - or what was left of it - in them, gave off a ghostly glow, giving the Hellhound something like eye color again.
And those eyes were now focused on Arkon. The Hellhound grinned sinisterly wide on his maws, stretching its partially remaining flews like old, emaciated leather.
A few drops of the malodorous liquid splashed onto Arkon's hind paw as the fully soaked fur caught on a bone and was strained. For a brief moment, the fox turned his gaze to the spot where the liquid seeped into his fur. But by then he realized what he'd done and once again looked up at the Hellhound.
"A mistake had been made!" the Hellhound triumphed, shuddering with laughter from his three large maws.
And then the undead hellhound leaped in the fox's direction.
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Drawn by
\n\t\t\t\t\tChickenzaurArkon (Fox) (c) by
\n\t\t\t\t\tarkonderwolfPattarchus (Three-headed hellhound) (c) by
\n\t\t\t\t\tPattarchusIf you like this piece of art or if you want to share your opinion, please leave a comment! :)
Comments are very appreciated.
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