Vocans Academy (Percy Jackson Summoner AU)

Chapter 15: Meet the Demons.

Annabeth POV:

Annabeth watched as Reyna's beautiful Alicorn pranced around the common room, it's graceful, snowy-white wings outstretched, long and elegant like swan feathers. She tamped down a curl of jealousy. Reyna's other demon, a Peryton, clopped up and down the room, a majestic, stag-like beast with large antlers like branches.

The Peryton, which Reyna had reportedly named Scipio, had a glossy coat of fur covering it's body, with large coloured wings of peanut-butter. Instead of the traditional bob that all deer had, it possessed long, elegant tail feathers that swept the floor as it walked on it's lean, muscled legs.

"She's beautiful!" Hazel exclaimed, gazing up at the Alicorn. "What's her name?"

"He," Reyna corrected. "And his name is Argentum."

Annabeth watched as Hazel surruptiously stroked the Alicorn's neck, and Reyna shot her an amused look.

"An Alicorn is a Level 8 demon, and a Peryton is Level 9," Malcolm said, his voice open with awe. "You're a Level 17 summoner?"

"Well, I must be," Reyna said. "Otherwise I don't know how I'd be sane right now."

Annabeth shivered. It had happened a couple years back, with a Level 11 summoner who had tried to capture a Manticore, which was a Level 12. The summoner's mind had shattered as the demon's will had overpowered his, and he was never the same again.

"Still, that's really powerful," Annabeth muttered. "I hope they test our fulfillment levels soon. I want to see if I can catch anything else."

"What's a fulfillment level?" Piper asked curiously. Her Enfield, Helen, was sitting loyally at her feet, gazing up at her with adoring eyes.

"Well," Annabeth said. "A fulfillment level is the amount of demonic energy you can absorb. For example, nobles are usually born with a fulfillment level of seven or eight, and with time and practice, and casting more spells, that level will increase. Depending on what your fulfillment level is, you can capture more demons and add it to your roster. Still, having a level 20 fulfillment is... extraordinary, for a practiced battlemage. Reyna just began summoning, so I'm suprised that her level is so high. Captain Lovett herself is only a Level 11."

"What's a demon's summoning level?" Hazel enquired, her eyes flashing. "Do they change too?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, that is not how it works for demons. A juvenile Mite and a full-grown one will always be Level 1, even though a full-grown one will have fully-developed stingers and will be more powerful."

"Oh." Hazel looked stumped for a moment, then appealed to her brother. "Then why was Octavian yapping on about how a Canid's fulfillment level is higher than a Lutra's?"

"Because it usually acts as a rough guide," Nico said boredly, lounging on the couch. Annabeth had finally understood why they had made the common room so big. It was for the demons. 

"A Level Seven demon will usually be more powerful than a Level Six, just in general. It's not a hard and fast rule. I mean, Meg's Golem is a Level Eight, but when it is full grown it will be able to take on many Canid's at once, even though a Canid is Level 7."

"Oh..." Hazel said, looking disappointed.

"Don't worry," Frank said kindly to her, "I'm sure you will go up in levels. It's very rare for a summoner to stay the same level for the rest of their lives. Plus, maybe you'll be able to capture several Mites, which are easy to control, and send them into battle instead of focusing all your energy on controlling a single powerful demon."

Hazel beamed. "Yea, I know. Imagine a thousand little Azura's!"

Nico's Manticore, named Night, prowled around him, snarling savagely at everyone else. Just like his namesake, the Manticore's pelt was darker than black, with hints of deep violet and blue. His leonine head had a lustruous mane of black, with his eyes strangely soft and human-like, a bright blue.

"Man, that thing is scary," Will muttered. His Vulpid, Sunny, gave a high-pitched snarl in agreement. A dove-white bird perched on his shoulder, with slender, graceful tail-feathers and similarly-feathered wings. 

Annabeth yelped.

Will shot her a quizzical look. "What?"

"Is that a Caladrius?" She asked, stunned. They were the symbol of the Solace Household, a bird of healing that could heal anything just by spreading it's wings over the person or object. Though it was Level Seven, it had unusually high mana levels that exceeded it's usual Level Seven brethren. It was one of the four, equally rare avian cousins, the fire-born Phoenix, the ice-dwelling Polarian, and the bright lightning-thrower Halcyon.

"Yea," Will said, grinning with pride. "I call him Cloud."

"Hey, we should go to sleep," Percy suggested. "I don't know about you, but I do not want to be here when the wardens make their nightly rounds."

With murmured noises of agreement, everyone split off to their dorms and the common room emptied.