A winged dragon with the face and hands of a man rolled into Solomon's court. Its body was scaled like a serpent, but its limbs were human, and great wings folded against its back. Solomon stared. "Who are you?"
"I am the Winged Dragon," the spirit said. "Once I was worshipped as a god among men, but now your ring and the wisdom of God have brought me to nothing." Solomon condemned it to saw marble for the Temple, invoking the angel Bazazeth, who sits in the second heaven.
Then came Enepsigos — a female demon with two extra heads sprouting from her shoulders, each with its own pair of hands. Three faces, six hands, one malevolent will.
"I have my dwelling in the moon," she said, "and for that reason I possess three forms. At times I am invoked as Kronos. At times I descend in another shape entirely. The measure of my celestial body is beyond your comprehension." She was defeated by the angel Rathanael, who sits in the third heaven. Solomon sealed her with a triple chain.
But Enepsigos prophesied before she was silenced: "After a time, your kingdom shall be broken, O king. This Temple shall be torn apart. Jerusalem shall be undone by the kings of Persia and Media and Chaldea. The vessels of this Temple will be profaned. The jars in which you imprison us will be shattered by the hands of men. And then we shall pour forth in great power across the earth, and lead the world astray for ages."
Solomon heard this prophecy and marveled. He did not believe it — not yet. But he wrote it down in his testament for the children of Israel, recording the powers of the demons, their shapes, and the names of the angels who defeat them. Only later, when every word came true, did he understand.
Next a sea-demon appeared — half horse in front, half fish behind — with a voice like thunder. "I am a fierce spirit of the sea," it roared. "I am greedy for gold and silver. I become a wave and throw myself upon ships, capsizing them and hurling sailors into the deep. I do not covet their bodies — I hurl them back onto shore. I want their treasure." This demon served Beelzeboul and had come up from the sea at his command. It was defeated by the angel Iameth. Solomon sealed it in a flask with ten jugs of seawater, sealed the mouth with marble, asphalt, and pitch, and deposited the vessel in the Temple.
Then came a spirit with gleaming eyes, bearing a blade — a demon born from one of the giants who perished in the great destruction. "I dwell in graveyards," it said. "I sit beside those who walk among the tombs. I take the form of the dead. If I catch a living man, I destroy him with my sword. If I fail, I cause him to be possessed, to devour his own flesh, and his beard falls away." Solomon sealed this spirit too.
And then, thirty-six spirits appeared at once. Their heads were shapeless — like those of dogs — but their bodies were human, with faces of donkeys, oxen, and birds. They spoke with one voice: "We are the thirty-six rulers of this darkness. We present ourselves before you from ram and bull, from twin and crab, lion and maiden, scales and scorpion, archer, goat-horn, water-pourer, and fish — all twelve signs of the zodiac, three spirits to each."
Solomon invoked the name of the Lord of Hosts and questioned them one by one. Each confessed its disease, its affliction, and the angel that defeats it:
Ruax causes headaches. Defeated by Michael.
Barsafael causes migraines. Defeated by Gabriel.
Arotosael harms the eyes. Defeated by Uriel.
Iudal causes deafness. Defeated by Uruel.
Sphendonael causes tumors and lockjaw. Defeated by Sabrael.
Sphandor paralyzes the shoulders and sucks marrow from the bones. Defeated by Arael.
Belbel distorts hearts and minds. Defeated by Arael.
Kurtael sends bowel cramps. Defeated by Iaoth.
One by one they confessed. One by one they were sealed. The ancient war between angels and demons was being waged not with swords but with names — and Solomon held the seal that compelled every dark spirit to reveal its weakness.