Once upon a time in the Southlands, when the rains had stopped and the air had chilled, the friends of the Fire Demon and the Wild One were invited to a party. In the yard behind the Bivouac were the Pit of Fire Demon and the Cage of the Wild One. These two proposed to make a fire in the Pit, to warm their guests, and promised not to lock any of them in the Cage.
Because these two fierce creatures are not without a sense of humor, they conceived of a prank. The Wild One was moderately versed in the ways of pyrotechnology, and had access to materials. The Fire Demon knew their friends would be unsuspecting, and perhaps a little gullible.
The guests arrived, bringing with them potions and other offerings. They waited in the house (where it was moderately warm) for the entire company to assemble. The friends included the Beautiful; his consort, the Young; Brother yiB; the Boy; Greer (the young God Emperor who did not yet know himself as such); the woman called Spice; and many others. The air smelled sweet with the scents of a warm drink made by the woman called Spice. The friends drank and made happy jokes. When at last the company was all present, the Fire Demon led them out to the Pit.
All looked in wonder at the Pit of the Fire Demon, for it was laid full with large pieces of wood. At right angles leading from the Pit were wires.
"How are you going to get that fire going?" they asked. "What are the wires for?"
The Fire Demon addressed them. "We are going to try an experiment," he said. "We are going to try to light that fire by Magick."
The assembled friends looked at each other, some with furrowed and skeptical brows, some with knowing smiles. (It should be noted here that those with knowing smiles were wrong about what they thought they knew.)
The Fire Demon stood on a log used as a bench around the Pit, and began to speak. "We have long stood out here chanting over fires, calling on Goddesses (except when they are already here), and generally purporting to do Magick. Tonight we will put all of that to the test. We will Make Fire!"
There was ooing and aahing among the friends. Finally, one asked, "But what are the wires for?"
"Ah," said the Fire Demon, "you know how we must ground the energies we raise when we purport to do magick?" They nodded in reply. "Well, for an operation of this size, we must ground thoroughly. The wires are symbolic, ritual representations of Grounding."
"So we ground the fire?" one of them asked.
"We ground the fire," the Fire Demon assured them.
All the gathered company circled the Pit. The woman called Spice led them in the opening ritual chant and dance ("Ko Ka KoLa Ahds Lihf! Hey! Die Et Kok Ahds Haflihf! Hey!"). Eventually everyone remembered the steps, and the Fire Demon continued the proceedings by starting the calling of Fire. Great swells and noises arose, with words like "ignite" and "burnbabyburn" occasionally discernible in the din. All eyes were closed in concentration. Stealthily the Wild One slipped out of the circle.
The Fire Demon lead the chanting to a repetition of "Fire, fire, fire!" When the chanting reached it's peak, the Wild One (who had stealthily slipped into the Bivouac) threw a switch. Current ran down the wires, and ignited the powder in the pyro pot hidden at the base of the fire (and to which the wires were really attached). There followed a loud explosion, and a fireball which briefly engulfed the circle before dissipating, taking a few sacrificial eyebrows with it.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the gathered friends began to laugh. "We did it!" they cried. "I can't believe it!" "That was incredible!" They congratulated themselves for a few moments more, until they realized that the Wild One was not with them, and that the Fire Demon was rolling on the ground, incapacitated by hilarity.
...
"We've been had."
