Pacts are agreements made between akathartoi and their summoners, be they supernatural or mortal.[1]
Overview[]
Summoning[]
Pacts are made first by summoning the demon. This is done via a ritual, each tailored to the demon in question.[2] All rituals, however, are composed of both a lure (an act of sin that garners the attention of the akathartos)[3] and the invocation, which calls out the name of the demon and compels it to appear.[4] Once it is summoned, the occultist and the demon enter negotiations, the difficulty of which varies depending on the nature of the demon’s intelligence (i.e. whether it is more animal, spirit, or human in intellect).[5]
Making a Pact[]
Pacts themselves are composed of three facets: the benefit, the sacrifice, and the duration.[6] The first is the very reason for summoning the demon at all, and may include such things as regrowing limbs, curing diseases, getting revenge, or boosting one's physical traits.[6]
The second, the sacrifice, can be divided further into minor, major, and deadly sacrifices. Though these may run a wide range of potential effects, the scope of minor sacrifices is in limiting potential or in minor injury.[7] The scope of major sacrifices is in permanent negative effects such as disfigurement.[7] Deadly sacrifices, meanwhile, can only be paid by providing the demon with a victim's body and soul; the victim must have consented, but that consent need not be informed.[7]
The duration, though often permanent, is not always so. So-called "minor pacts" can be made for shorter lengths of time. In exchange, the sacrifice is one step lower than is normal for the benefit in question.[8] Such minor pacts run the risk of striking the summoner with addiction to the process, however.[8]
Supernatural Beings and Pacts[]
Supernatural beings are just as capable of making pacts as mortals, and the mechanics are largely the same, with some minor additions and caveats, usually related to the specific morality rating and energy pool of the type of supernatural in question.[9]
