Failing successfully

On the second week of March, I set out to compel a spirit into a ring—to be a sort of familiar and friend to help with the magician during the work. I should note that the compelling was a voluntary suggestion rather than an attempt to force the spirit to do what I say. I believe I had done this successfully before when creating the witches’ pins, as found in the folk magic section of my stores compendium. However, after the creation of the initial witches’ pins, I didn’t find much success in making more.

Of course, I’m not one to give up so easily, so I committed to making a ring in the same vein. I set out preparations and contracts, then called on a local spirit that might like to work alongside a magician to enter the ring while it was molten and reveal its face in the metal to show agreement.

After my attempt, a very subtle image did appear, but it was a far cry from the original witches’ pins I made. So I went for a second attempt and, as you can imagine when dealing with molten metal, half the ring ended up being consumed by the flame, and the subtle image disappeared. As one of the conditions of the contract was that destroying the ring would free the spirit and end the contract, I decided to do so, as there might still have been a spirit attached to it.

Not long after, while in the kitchen, the weather took a turn for the worse, and I felt an ominous aura watching me from the darkness. Wherever I went, it followed. So I decided it best to address the spirit politely and honour it, after which the presence faded.

Up until the point I felt the presence, I considered the ritual a failure. After that moment, I considered it a success—which gives us the title of this chapter: “Failing Successful.”

The difference between success and disappointment can be mere moments.