Summoner: Origins The Prequel (5 page)

9

Arcturus stumbled into the summoning room, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against it with his eyes closed, taking a deep breath. Sacharissa nuzzled him and he buried his face in her fur, waiting until his heartbeat returned back to normal. After a few moments, he lifted his head to find a bemused looking Elizabeth watching him.

‘You know, when I said stand up for yourself, I didn't mean to the teachers!' she chuckled, walking towards him. ‘Lady Faversham is the king's cousin, not to mention her husband is the king's best friend . . . well, second best, after Provost Forsyth. Then again, it's not like she was particularly fond of you to begin with, what with you taking her son's demon.'

‘I had to show everyone I have a backbone. Who better to make an example of than Lady Faversham?' Arcturus said, more to himself than to Elizabeth.

‘Let's just hope she doesn't make an example out of you,' Elizabeth whispered softly, lifting him to his feet.

The summoning room had a high ceiling, with heavy oak floorboards covered in a spiral of pentacles, varying in size and shape, from the size of a man's hand to twice the length of a horse. There were lockers lining the walls on either side, and Arcturus could see leather gloves and aprons on hangers inside. The only source of light came from flickering torches in embrasures above the lockers, giving the room a smokey scent.

‘Elaine tells me her brothers got most of the attention when her father taught summoning and you're completely new to all this, so I think it only right I give you both a crash course in summoning,' Elizabeth said, sending a wyrdlight into the air and allowing it to float aimlessly around the room. Elaine was sitting cross-legged on the floor, stroking Valens's carapace.

‘Elaine, please explain to Arcturus how to create a wyrdlight,' Elizabeth asked, crouching in front of the young girl.

Elaine groaned and sent Valens fluttering into the air, then scrambled to her feet.

‘Every demon has a source of
mana
within them. Mana is the power source for all spells and every demon has a different amount, depending on their species and how experienced they are,' she spoke in a bored voice, as if reciting from a textbook. Arcturus stared in rapt attention, trying to memorise as much as he could. If King Alfric considered him a threat he might need to escape from Vocans and go on the run.

‘A wyrdlight is just a ball of raw mana. The summoner must transfer mana from the demon to their own body via a mental link, then push the mana through their finger, like so,' Elaine continued, brandishing a finger in the air. For a moment, nothing happened, and Arcturus wondered whether she knew what she was doing. Then, in the blink of an eye, there was a blast of light that illuminated the ceiling above her, beaming from her finger.

‘The summoner must then control the mana and make it into a ball. By concentrating, they will be able to manage the size, shape and movement of their spell, in this case, a wyrdlight. If they do not, the spell will come out in a blast, wasting a whole lot of mana, as I just showed you.'

‘Very good, Elaine!' Elizabeth said, smiling at the girl and holding her hand up for a high five. Elaine rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Valens, who has settled on her shoulder.

‘Well . . . er . . . let's move on to more advanced spellcraft,' Elizabeth said, dropping her hand with disappointment. ‘As Elaine said, a wyrdlight is just a ball of raw mana, which can be controlled with a bit of practice. It's only real use is a light source, a flash to blind your opponent and occasionally, target practice. It disappears as soon as you touch it.'

Elizabeth snuffed out her wyrdlight with a snap of her fingers, which also served to return Elaine's attention back to her once again.

‘The real power we summoners wield comes from etching. Please watch closely. I send the mana to my finger, rather than through it.' Elizabeth held up her hand. Her fingertip glowed a dull blue, growing steadily brighter until it burned almost white and Arcturus had to shield his eyes.

‘When your finger is bright enough, you draw a symbol, like so!' Elizabeth sketched a strange, jagged triangle in the air, leaving glowing blue lines, like the afterglow of a cinder being waved in the air.

‘This is the shield spell. It is one of the four battle spells that every summoner uses when fighting. The others are Fire, Lightning and Telekinesis.' She demonstrated by drawing each in succession, the first a flamelike, curling symbol, the next a zigzagging bolt and the final a hypnotic swirl. Arcturus wished he had pen and paper to draw them, but instead focussed on memorising the shield spell. Better to be able to protect himself than hurt someone else.

‘You must hold your finger in the very centre of the symbol until it fixes,' Elizabeth continued, putting her finger in the middle of the shield symbol. It pulsed once, and as she waved her finger in the air, it followed the tip. It was as if it were fixed there by an invisible frame. This time, Elaine watched closely, her eyes wide as she took it all in. Arcturus grinned, glad that this was all new to the young girl. It seemed he wasn't as far behind her after all.

‘You need to maintain a steady flow of mana to your finger, otherwise the spell will disappear,' she said, nodding at the other symbols as they faded in the air. ‘The most difficult part is pushing mana both
to
and
through
your finger at the same time. Like so.'

Elizabeth frowned with effort, then a thread of opaque material streamed from the symbol, pooling in the air like frogspawn underwater. Sacharissa growled at the strange material, but Arcturus hushed her with a ruffle of her ears.

‘You then shape it as you wish, in this case, like a shield.' The pool shifted, then folded itself into an oval that floated in front of her. ‘This will protect you from projectiles and other spells, even a sword blow.'

The shield dissolved into a floating globule once again, then she sucked it back in through the symbol.

‘You can conserve mana by absorbing the spell once you're done with it.'

‘Why don't you make it bigger?' Elaine asked, passing her hand through the space the shield had been in.

‘The thicker your shield, the more punishment it will take, before it cracks and eventually shatters,' Elizabeth replied. ‘If you make it too wide, you lose durability. Too thick and you waste mana.'

‘Maybe I can practise with Sacha,' Arcturus murmured, rubbing the demon's head fondly. Sacharissa was his most powerful weapon. He would make sure it was not just he who benefited from his training at the academy. He looked up to see Elizabeth shaking her head.

‘Unfortunately, shields are useless against a demonic attack, nor do attack spells do them much damage either. Should you be attacked by an orc's demon, or any other for that matter, you will be better off using that dirk I gave you than a spell.'

Elaine gave a horrified gasp, holding her hands up to her mouth.

‘Not that this should happen any time soon,' Elizabeth said swiftly, as even Arcturus's face paled. ‘It will be years before you graduate as a battlemage and face the orc shamans on the frontier. Not to mention that most of their demons are low-level. You and Sacha shouldn't have much trouble fending one off, even now. You too Elaine, although your Mite is quite young. I can see it hasn't developed its stinger yet. When it does, you'll be able to paralyse an opponent . . . although an orc takes a few stings before they go down.'

‘Does that mean that a low-level demon is a weak demon?' Arcturus asked, remembering that as a Canid, Sacharissa was a level seven demon. A Mite was only level one.

‘Yes and no. The level a demon is, simply refers to what level of summoner you need to be to summon them: A level ten summoner can summon a level ten demon, or two level five demons. As a rule of thumb, the higher a demon's level, the more powerful it is, both in mana, size and strength. That being said, as a demon becomes more experienced, they can improve in all these counts. A well trained Canid might be able to take on an inexperienced Griffin, which is level ten.' Elizabeth brandished her fingers as she said each number, as if Arcturus might be incapable of counting. He forgave her for assuming – there were plenty of commoners his age incapable of reading or writing, and older besides.

‘Then there's the fact that some demons are simply more powerful than their level might indicate, even if it is roughly accurate. A level seven Felid will beat a level seven Canid almost every time, despite them being the same level. It's even capable of beating some higher level demons. There are also anomalies, such as Golems, which are level eight. When they are young, they are small. But after a few years they can grow to be as tall as nine feet and just as wide, but they will always remain level eight. So you see, it's just a rough rule.'

‘I understand,' Arcturus said, trying to internalise it all. ‘I can count by the way. You don't need to use your fingers.'

‘Sorry,' Elizabeth grinned, lowering her hands. ‘My husband wasn't very good at numbers when I met him. Now, I think it's time you tried to produce a wyrdlight. Learning to shape and control one is the first step to learning spellcraft. It will leave you well prepared for when you eventually start using spells.'

‘What, now?' Arcturus asked, his palms suddenly sweaty. ‘I haven't even . . .'

‘Exactly, you haven't even tried yet. Learning by doing, that's the summoner way. It's all reflex at the end of the day, there's only so much you can learn from books and lessons. Let's see if you have a knack for it. I'll tell you what, Elaine can try as well,' she looked for the girl and found her on the other side of the room, playing her silly game of tag with Valens once again. ‘Elaine, stop playing with your demon and pay attention!'

‘That doesn't make me feel any better. Now I'll get shown up by a thirteen year old girl.' Arcturus muttered.

‘So?' Elizabeth asked. ‘You're newer to this than her, of course she's likely to do better. What does age or gender have to do with it?'

‘Umm . . . nothing,' Arcturus said, shuffling his feet.

‘Too right,' Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Now, most noviciates find it easier when they are sitting down for the first time. Why don't you sit down with Sacha beside you. Your connection with her won't change no matter how far away she is, but it can't hurt.'

Arcturus settled down, cross-legged, and laid Sacharissa's heavy head in his lap. The weight was comforting, and he twisted his fingers in her soft, black fur. Her warm, blue eyes gazed at him with trust, before she closed them and let out a contended rumble. He followed suit, waiting for the next instructions.

Elaine sat on the ground beside to him, and he sensed the young girl give Sacharissa's tail a surreptitious stroke. The demon snorted and Arcturus heard the thwack of her tail and a yelp from the young girl.

‘Serves you right,' Elizabeth said, tutting.

She knelt on the ground behind Arcturus and laid her hands on his shoulders.

‘Sense the connection, where you feel Sacha's emotions and intentions,' Elizabeth murmured, her voice soft in his ear.

Arcturus searched for the mental umbilical cord that held Sacharissa and him together. As he touched it, he felt Sacharissa shudder, then relax as he gently grasped it with his mind. Instantly, his body began to suffuse with a sensation both cold and hot, rushing through his blood with every pulse of his heart. His breath quickened.

‘That's enough, let go for now. It's just a small spell and you don't want to drain her. Now, take the mana and push it through your finger. As it comes out, open your eyes and try to shape it into a ball,' Elizabeth's voice was low and confident, quelling Arcturus's doubts. ‘You can do it.'

He pushed the mana through his finger, the energy rushing through him like a whitewater rapid. He snapped his eyes open, and contorted his mind, willing the mana into the shape of a rough ball. Light curled, slowly, emerging from his finger and spinning into an orb that hung in the air in front of him.

‘Excellent,' Elizabeth breathed, still behind him. ‘Now, why don't you try and float it up towards the ceiling.'

Arcturus's mind felt as if it might snap, his brow furrowed so deeply he could feel the muscles cramping. He nudged it upwards, and his heart soared as the orb responded to his touch. It spun and ascended, until it touched the ceiling and disappeared.

‘Well done. That's better than most students manage their first time,' Elizabeth said.

Arcturus smiled as another, much smaller ball floated aimlessly in front of him.

‘I did it!' Elaine yelled, punching the air beside them.

Arcturus watched as Valens buzzed around the ball, making mock dives at it.

‘You know, that's probably enough for your first lesson,' Elizabeth said, standing up and stretching with a groan. ‘I still have to move into my quarters.'