I really intended to post this pic around October 25th, in time for Halloween. But no, my job refused to let that happen, so it demanded me to work excessive hours to the point that my creative energy has been heavily drained. Sorry for this little rant. *sigh*



Browsing through their guild’s library, two young sorceresses have discovered an ancient, but well-conditioned book about summoning circles. Floor-bound and elaborate in design, these circles serve as a portal connecting all known types of paranormal entities. The largely untouched tome is rich in illustrations depicting their designs, purposes, and procedures.

These witches go by the name of Sophie and Claire. Sophie is an ixi, a deer-like species, who lived alone during her latter childhood and teenage years, learning the ways of the swamp. Claire is your typical goth-flavored housecat, also growing up self-sufficient, though she gets some help here and there from her more easy-going brother Edgar. Entering maturity, these girls studied together and shared the same passion for magic.

Sophie and Claire were at this point masters of the cauldron, knowing a great deal of creating potions and conjuring other stuff with them. But they were still barely intermediate when it comes to magic circles. The book provided an opportunity to sharpen their skills. Also, the ladies wanted to enjoy a thrilling experience: to be able to just visually travel through time and witness firsthand several events in their community’s vast history. That desire, of course, is officially forbidden.

Nevertheless, they found their spell and followed its instructions vigilantly. One night, having collected the required materials, the pair of best friends set off to fulfill their quest. They located a temple in a heavily forested district and set up a perimeter of candles around an existing, blank circle. There, they proceeded to draw their complex iteration with surprising, pinpoint accuracy. Next, the girls, who were already barefoot, went on a ceremonial walk through a dirt-floor, underground labyrinth that occupies the temple’s foundation. The soles of their soft, massive feet gathered particles of the sacred ground, linking mortal flesh with the ageless forces of earth. Returning to the central chamber and placing a basket load of offerings on the circle’s core, Sophie and Claire began the ritual itself by standing at opposing ends, facing each other within the octagram. Closing the eyes, they performed an opening chant simultaneously. Then came a four-line incantation, where they stepped onto the next clockwise locus with each passing line.

Silence.

Ten seconds passed. Then twenty.

At thirty seconds, Claire and Sophie, standing still but with increasing frowns, were about to utter their frustrations when the circle abruptly glowed with fluorescent brightness. Then the ground began to shake. Just as they intended to move, flaming mist of the same green color erupted from below, hissing as the girls were temporarily disoriented. Parts of the mist condensed into tendrils, grabbing the sorceresses and knocking them off balance. The notes they carried for the summoning were snatched from their hands and cast away with the rushing wind. The offerings were also ejected from the chaos-ridden site. As they were restrained to the cold stone floor, Sophie and Claire caught a glimpse of two goat-demons whirling around them, grinning and laughing maliciously. Relishing in the torment, the one hovering beside Claire spoke up. “You really thought you could simply defy the laws of time. Well I’ve got news for you, sweeties. We were punished way back for attempting the same thing. Now we serve as guards assigned to stop foolish souls from doing such crazy things.”

“Wer’e sorry!” cried the unfortunate witches, flailing and out of sync. The goats remained unconvinced.

“By the way,” the other goat said. “You ladies have such gorgeous feet.”

Before either Sophie or Claire could reply in confusion, the demons proceeded to tickle their big stompers. Hellish screams of female laughter ensued.

To be continued…. (or not?)



The four-line coda was written in runic text and was erroneously and ambiguously translated into the book. Therefore the girls did not know the true meaning of its passage. Here is the corrected English version:

Spirits of dark places
Come fourth tickle bare
Giant feet of two mages
Named Sophie and Claire



Sophie the Swamp Witch is a plot character from Neopets. She has appeared in the video game “Neopets: The Darkest Faerie” and the plot comic “A Tale of Woe”

Claire is the central character of the animated short “The Summoning,” which was the first episode aired on Cartoon Hangover, thanks to Elyse Castro and Go! Cartoons.

Artwork and story is mine, mine, mine.