A Little Peace, part 1
Locke had to resist the urge to put his ear to the huge wooden doors to listen what was said within. His whole core shook. Part of him desperately wanted to know every word spoken in this meeting, but another wanted to have nothing to do with it until a decision was reached. Still, from his seat near the doors, he could make out detached phrases, and from those it was easy to tell that the meeting was not going very well.
"Something must be done, and quickly. Gentlemen, there is just no other way to put it; this child is a hazard."
Locke lowered his head and stared at his hands. He was taller than most of the Elder Sorcerors inside the council chamber, no doubt - but that didn't keep him from feeling very, very small at that moment. He barely dared to breathe.
"You saw the damage caused by one of his...outbursts today," continued the furious voice of before. "It was a miracle that we were able to contain it this time. If left unchecked, he will be a great threat to the safety of the academy."
"And himself," said another voice, almost too soft to be heard through the barrier separating Locke from the meeting being held about him. "We must remember that this place of learning was established to help struggling mages like him master their powers. We cannot turn him away."
There was a pause. "What do you suggest then, High Mage Nero?"
"Our lad has done all he can with the resources available to him. So, I suggest we give him another tool to control his power. Gentlemen, I propose we allow Locke Cermos to create a familiar."
Locke looked up in surprise. A familiar would keep his explosive energy under control, and even convert it into a form that would be safer to use. It would be a simple, effective way for him to control his magical essence, which had the nasty habit of coming out in uncontrolled bursts whenever he attempted to cast a spell.
It was a simple and elegant solution to the current issue. There was one problem, and one of the Elder Sorcerors in the chamber voiced it: "But he is not yet a third year. He cannot possibly be ready for the summoning!"
Murmurs spread throughout the chamber. High Mage Nero's voice rose about the noise. "I believe he would be capable of it, if we give him the chance. Without one, and soon, we may lose him."
The murmuring dropped down so that it was barely audible. Then the old voice of Headmaster Alandarius declared: "Nero has spoken well. I do not think it is any problem to let this child summon his familiar now. See to it that he is prepared for the next ritual. This cannot wait. And neither can the end of this meeting! You are all dismissed." There was a ruckus inside of chairs shifting and papers being organized. Locke stood and moved aside to let the Elder Sorcerors file out of the room, staying out of sight.
One of the men filing out noticed him anyway and approached. He was easily the youngest of the mages present at the meeting, and dressed in simple black robes. Locke bowed his head to this man. "High Mage Nero, thank you for coming to my support."
"So you were listening in? I guess I don't have to tell you what the decision was, then," Nero chucked. "Honestly, I only said what should have been said. And, if you ask me, the rule stating that only third years can summon familiars is a load of --" he stopped and pretended to just realize where he was. "...Is quite unreasonable. If I was allowed to summon a familiar earlier, I would have gladly made time between my studies to learn how to. I can't imagine what life is like without one anymore!"
"Because of how much easier it is to work magic with one?" Locke asked.
"Oh, well...yes, that's one of the perks. Not the one I was thinking about, though," Nero smiled. "Do you think you're up to the task of summoning one?"
"I am," said Locke. "Certainly if you think I'm capable of doing so, High Mage Nero."
"You can do away with the title, it just takes up air," the High Mage said faintly.
"Oh," Locke ducked his head a little. Nothing was said for a while. "Nero, may I ask you a question?"
"You already have. But I'll let you ask another."
Locke hesitated. "May I see your familiar?"
Higher-level mages often hid their familiars feverishly to keep the essence they stored away from those that might steal it, but Nero didn't seem fazed by this request at all. "Why of course!" he held his hands out and a stream of curling smoke wound around his arms. Soon enough it settled into the shape of a slender feline with a deep red coat. "My darling jewel, Fiore. Careful now, she's a biter."
Locke had seen some of the older students with their familiars, but none of them had the elegance of form and raw magical power of Fiore. Even the marks on her fur, which every familiar had in some form or another, pulsed in a way that spoke of a great amount of essence kept under control. The way she lounged on Nero's arms and purred said that this essence was not only controlled but done so with great ease.
The feline familiar's tail made slow twirls in the air, almost invitingly, but Locke resisted petting her. If asking to see her was not rude, touching her certainly was, and he was sure Nero would refuse. "She is very beautiful," he said instead.
"Yes, and she knows it. That's what makes her dangerous," Nero scratched under his familiar's chin. "But once upon a time, Fiore was just a kitten, and a very silly-looking one at that. Not beautiful at all." She swiped at Nero's hair, which he ignored with grace. "Every familiar starts out a little pokey, but they mature just as you do. Don't be discouraged if he or she doesn't come into being majestically. I'm sure whatever you summon will turn out to be something others will be envious of."
Locke was deeply flattered by this comment. "Thank you. I hope so."
Locke was unfortunately "blessed" with the ability to generate a huge amount of essence. The problem was, any time he tried to channel it into a spell, it spilled out of him with explosive results. There were marks and burn scars on his body from many such accidents. He was able to hide these under his clothes, except for the dark slash that started at his right ear and cut across his nose. It was one of the first scars he'd gotten, before he'd learned to shield his face. It had healed smoothly but was clearly visible even from a distance.
Recently, the essence gathered in his body resulted in constant headaches and a great growth spurt. He was now taller than everyone in his year and even some of the other ones. Height was not the only thing it gave him, however - it also gave him strength and muscle, which he had yet to get used to. His grip would break things like vials and mixing tools if he was not extremely careful. Needless to say, his excessive power made life in the academy very difficult.
He hadn't dared to ask for help regarding his condition before. Mage academies were extremely competitive - only a strict, specific number of students were allowed to advance every year - and if he showed any sign of weakness he would be singled out by the others to be taken out of the competition. He had hoped that the other students would believe his condition was bad enough to make him fail and not bother to make things worse for him.
The truth was, though, it was bad enough to make him fail. He tried to reduce the amount of damage he did by casting as few spells as possible, but it was almost impossible to learn how to be a mage without doing so. He was certain he was going to be expelled after this last explosion, which had nearly destroyed an entire room full of important, expensive practice objects. Instead, a hasty meeting was called and he was given the opportunity to summon his first familiar. He still couldn't believe his luck.
A familiar was something all mages created in the course of their learning. It was a physical representation of a mage's personal magic and able to learn how to assume a humanoid form in order to protect the mage or keep them company. It was not uncommon or unusual for a mage to take their familiar as a lover. They also acted as a place for a mage to store unused essence for later consumption. That alone made getting one a very pleasant thought, but what Locke was looking forward to was the opportunity to make a friend. His classmates avoided him as much as possible, and his reputation kept any others from his year away. Even the professors treated him as something a little other, instead of a struggling student. A familiar would be one of the first friends he had ever made during his stay at the academy.
Before he could have his familiar, though, he had to learn how to make the scroll needed to create and bring it into being. Third years were allowed a break in their classes to give them the time to draw it up, but Locke was not expecting to be given that same luxury. He made the time himself between classes and practices and sleep.
The next summoning was at the end of the following month, which did not feel like a lot of time. He pored over the books outlining the scrolling process over and over, but the scope of the task ahead of him seemed enormous. The sheer amount of possible outcomes from a single penstroke on the summoning scroll kept him from starting it for weeks. After he had started it, though, it was all he could think about. He could not bear having anything come between him and bringing this creature into existence.
He continued to study and worked on the scroll a little bit at a time. It began to curl around him, shaping already with the magic being poured into it. He put the finishing touches on it a few days before the summoning ritual was to take place.
Locke looked at the completed scroll and gently rolled it up. "I'll see you soon," he said softly.
The day of the summoning dawned bright with the anticipation of staff and students. The halls, which usually bustled with young mages rushing to and from classes, were open and quiet. Today was a holiday for anyone not to be present at the summoning, so only a few people walked the hall at this moment.
Locke checked the items he was carrying a third time. There was a small urn of sacred ash, a candle, a piece of chalk, and of course, the scroll. It was everything he needed, but a tiny part of him jumped around and did not feel ready. He tried to swallow this part and walked down the hall to the summoning chamber. If he spent any more time dawdling, he might be late.
He jogged down the hall holding all the objects in his arms, slowing down every few steps to make sure that something or other wouldn't fall. He was concentrating so much on this balancing act that he didn't notice the three other boys coming down the hall until he had run into them. He fell to the floor and everything in his grip scattered around him.
"Watch out there. Where're you going in such a hurry, huh?" one of the others snarled, dusting off his robe. Unlike the others, his robe was red.
Another one of them stooped to help Locke up to his feet. He wore a band over his shoulder. "Oh, you're the second year kid who's getting his familiar today! Hey, break a leg and all that."
"He can't be a second year. Just look at how big he is --"
"Nah, I've seen him around. He's the one that makes shit blow up. See? Look at his hair."
Locke shied away and tried to cover his head. He knew what was coming next.
"...Geez, you kinda look like a girl."
"I like having it long," Locke said defensively. He was very proud of his blond hair and hadn't cut it in years. He usually let it hang naturally, but today he had tied it back.
"You'd be a pretty girl, at least. Except for that thing on your face," said the third boy, handing him his summoning materials. "Say, tell us what your familiar going to be!"
Having so many others talking to him or about him at once was overwhelming. Locke gathered up his materials and hesitated. Normally, summoning scrolls were very private - every mage was supposed to create it on their own and letting anyone else see the script on it was considered very poor form. Even talking about it seemed like it was taboo. Still, these other students seemed friendly enough. They had helped him up, even if they teased him.
"I was...hoping it'd be a unicorn," he said finally.
"Oh, so you like ponies?" the one in red grinned.
"Of course, he's got a ponytail and everything. Guy totally wants to be a horse."
Shoulder-band crossed his arms and nodded. "You know, I'm up for the next summoning. You should draw up my scroll for me."
Locke started to get nervous and pushed his way through them. "I...really need to get to the summoning. I can't waste any time."
The others laughed and patted his back. "Good luck! Give your pony a carrot for us!"
Locke ran all the way down to the summoning chamber and took a seat just outside. The doors to the chamber were already closed; a summoning was no doubt underway.
"Our last summoner comes," an Elder Sorceror looked at him over his spectacles. "You will go into the chamber after everyone else has completed their ritual. Understood?"
"Yes," Locke panted, head down. He knew his tardiness was not the only reason they insisted he go last. He clutched his scroll to his chest and contented himself with the thought that he would soon see the result of his hard work.
The other mages waiting outside filed into the chamber, one by one, until it was finally his turn. Nero opened the doors to the chamber for him.
"Ready?" the High Mage grinned.
Locke nodded and stepped into the chamber. A circular space had been cleared and a few Elder Sorcerors held the area in check. Locke stepped into the space and began to draw the summoning circle within, laying the sacred ash in the appropriate places. In the center, he lit the candle and floated the scroll above it. Flames began to lick at it, and he left the circle.
As soon as he had left the circle's boundary, the lines of the circle and the scroll shined an intense white. This light left the lines and began to gather into a point in front of the scroll. Then it molded itself into a tiny body, gradually growing limbs and in size. After it had formed its head and four limbs, it swayed a bit and reared on its hind legs. Locke covered his eyes and smiled, watching the bright little creature between his fingers.
The light solidified into bone and flesh, giving the forming familiar a real, solid shape, reaching just under Locke's knees in height. It pranced a little inside the circle, twirling its tail as it stretched out of its body. The little creature whinnied, a bright and bell-like sound. Locke's smile broadened. It was becoming evident that this was a female unicorn.
Then the scroll crinkled with an awful noise and the little creature jerked as if struck. A great, spreading spot of blackness started to crawl over her body. Locke tried to scramble forward but the ring of Elder Sorcerors blocked him. "Something's wrong! Let me go to her!"
The blackness continued to wrap around the little creature's body. She cried out and trembled, trying to approach the edge of the circle to where Locke was. Every step created arcs of twisted essence that flew uncontrolled towards the mages. The Elders shouted out of surprise and repulsion. A few of them summoned their familiars to drive the little creature away.
"Let me go!" Locke screamed, trying to blink away the stinging sensation in his eyes. "Damn it, let me go!"
"We must terminate the summoning," said an Elder Sorceror next to him. "Don't come any closer!"
Nero returned from outside with a cauldron of water - Locke had not even realized he had ran out - and threw it onto the circle, washing away the ash and putting out the candle in the center. Spasms rocked the little creature's body and it cried out again. Nero brought Fiore into existence, barked a command, and a bubble formed around the creature, suspending it in what seemed to be a gelatinous fluid. The leaping energies and the screams stopped.
The highest-ranking Elder Sorceror, marked with a silver tabard, wiped perspiration off his brow. "That was quite unorthodox, High Mage."
Another Elder stepped into the circle and waved a hand gingerly in front of the bubble holding the little creature. "Regardless, it appears to be stable. Come now, let us clear this space."
The Elder Sorcerors gathered around to wipe the chamber clean. Nero stood aside with a grim expression, silent and still holding on to the cauldron. Locke dashed forward as soon as he had the chance and knelt in front of the bubble, not even noticing the wetness of the floor. There were some Elders examining the scroll for whatever went wrong, but Locke didn't pay attention to them.
The little creature barely had any distinguishing features. She had a head and four limbs, but they did not appear to have any hooves or terminate in any meaningful way. Her tail was a long stub that drooped down from her body. He could see little ears and the beginning of a horn, but otherwise, her body was completely covered in thick black.
The lead Elder was given the scroll by the others. He gave it a look, then sat by Locke and didn't speak for a time. "You have two choices," he said finally. "The easiest would be to banish this one and write a new scroll."
Locke made a choked noise but did not look away from the little creature. To banish a familiar was something even more complete than killing it.
"The second would be to repair this one's scroll and go through the summoning process again." The Elder handed Locke the half-consumed scroll. There was a great blotch of discolored ink on it, covering part of the magical script. "Regardless of your decision...this is certainly a deliberate attempt at sabotaging your summoning. If you know anything about who or what caused this, report it to me or the headmaster."
The Elder Sorceror patted Locke's shoulder and rose. Locke stared at the ink and touched it lightly. It was just a little wet, as if it was recently spilled there. No doubt it had to be, as he had never seen it before. He thought of the boys he had run into on the way to the summoning and swallowed thickly.
"I want to save her," he said softly.
"You have a lot of work ahead of you," said the lead Elder. "Good luck, Cermos."
The other Elders gathered a final time to speak amongst themselves, then left the chamber. Locke did not move. He didn't know how to even begin restoring the scroll.
"The bubble will keep her safe," Nero said from where he was standing. Locke nearly jumped at the noise. The High Mage put the cauldron down and walked towards the little creature. "The suspension will stop the summoning process until we can set it back up properly. Until then, you should try your best not to disturb her. She's in a delicate state."
"I know," Locke whispered.
Both were silent for a while. Fiore swished her tail back and forth in the quiet.
"What...what should I do?" Locke asked weakly.
"You'll need to bleed out or extract the ink that's not a part of the original scroll," Nero stroked Fiore's fur idly. "You'll need to do this by magic. Any other method is going to damage something you want to keep intact."
Locke stared at the scroll. He knew no spell that would help. He felt his nails dig into his palms and an angry heat built up in his chest.
"You know the views on direct intervention on this subject...but I have some books on fluid manipulation that might be helpful. I'll drop them off at your room if you'd like. For now, I'll take her to the Sanctuary. You can come by to check on how she's doing while you're making progress on the scroll."
Locke tried to say something in thanks, but he couldn't project any sound. So he nodded instead.
"...Remember that she is more important than getting back at those responsible. Get this done. Then you can give them hell."
Locke blinked. He was so surprised that Nero would suggest such a thing that his rage cooled.
Nero carefully slid his fingers underneath the bubble, lifted it, and carried it out of the chamber. Locke stood and walked to his room, a hand on a wall the whole way. When he got to his room he looked around at the various books and utensils he'd planned on organizing after the summoning. He sighed deeply, stepped over them, and curled up on his bed. He covered his eyes, and, after a few minutes of stillness, wept.
The spells in Nero's books were easy to learn, but their subtleties were difficult to grasp. On Locke's first attempt he had cleared a large amount of the offending ink splash on the scroll, but he'd also wiped some of his own writing underneath in the process. He knew he had to restore the script as soon as possible, lest he risk something else contaminating the magic, but he had no idea what he had removed, or its context - everything around it was still obscured with ink. He filled it in anyway, knowing that he couldn't recreate the exact lines he had before. He prayed that it wouldn't make things any worse.
Others seemed to know about the botched summoning, but no one mentioned it, even to mock him. Such a grave and major act of destruction was shameful to discuss, and in the end, the damage was already dealt. All there was left to do was to wait and see if the unlucky boy would give up.
At times Locke did not even want to think about working on the scroll. Every time he dabbed away at the ink his mind filled up with the image of the little creature being consumed with blackness...and of her cries of pain as she tried to come near him. It made him feel helpless and ill, completely unsure if he had the power to reverse what had happened. He would look at the mark of ink like a scorched hole in the scroll and turn away to focus on his other studies. There was always something else to work on.
This term he had an introductory class on animation, which was something that interested him but gave him some trouble. He had brought a little puppet to his room for extra practice. He gently poured essence into the wooden doll to move its limbs. It stood and raised an arm haltingly. Locke leaned forward and tried to egg it into more motion by pushing some more essence into it. Sparks leaped from the puppet's joints and he yelped. Luckily, it didn't catch fire and there were no more sparks when he withdrew the power from it.
He frowned at the doll, then picked it up and moved its limbs around with his hands. Its joints creaked, which wasn't supposed to happen, but there was no visible damage. He continued to manipulate it mindlessly for a few minutes, then put it down. The still-damaged scroll was just on the edge of his vision. He faced it for a few seconds, pushed himself to his feet and went out into the hallway to get away from his room for a while.
The Sanctuary was not far from the summoning chambers, in case an error occurred during the process of creating a familiar. Not all familiars held there were freshly summoned, however - should a familiar be damaged in a significant way, the Sanctuary was a place that they could be kept while they recovered. It was a series of rooms swaddled with heavy amounts of silencing spells so that footsteps or voices would not disturb injured creatures or the mages working on them.
The front desk was empty and Locke didn't know where to find anyone, so he sat in a chair nearby. After a few minutes a woman in a white laboratory coat came out of a room and noticed him. She approached, and when she spoke her voice was barely audible. "Are you here to see a friend?"
Locke didn't speak for a moment because he was stunned to see a woman in an all-boys' academy. He tried to say something but the silence ate it up. Then he managed to speak in what barely seemed above a whisper: "Ah...my name is Locke Cermos. My familiar is here. She's in a bubble..."
"Yes, I remember that one. You're working hard to fix her up I hope?"
Locke nodded. The woman smiled and walked down a hall, motioning him to follow. She halted in front of a door to find the appropriate key. Each door in the Sanctuary had a little window in it to see inside, but the room this door led to was too dark to make anything out. While he waited for the woman to unlock the door, Locke turned and peered into the windowed door opposite. A thin, sickly looking student was laying on a cot, with a hand on the head of a little grey fox, which was likely his familiar. Locke shuddered when he realized that the fox only had the front half of its body. The lower half, or what was left of it, was some distance away in a container that seemed to be regenerating it.
A tapping on his shoulder made him whirl around. "Try not to end up like him," said the woman with a grim smile. She held the door to the dark room open. "Go on ahead. Use as few lights as possible, if you can."
The room was dark, but Locke could make out the shape of the bubble and a small lamp nearby. He stepped inside, carefully switched on the lamp, and knelt in front of the bubble. The little creature inside had not changed since he had last saw her.
"It's me," he said, though he wasn't sure he could hear him. If she did, she did not move. Locke's chest ached enough to make it hard to breathe. He leaned closer, nearly touching the bubble with his face. "I'm here..."
He thought he saw her lift her head just a little bit at that. It only made the aching in his chest worse. He lifted his hands up and touched the barrier of the bubble with as much care as he could muster. It was a very faint sort of wet. It also felt like it would give if he pressed hard enough. He looked back at the little creature to see if she reacted or moved since he had touched the bubble. It didn't seem so.
He knew he shouldn't disturb her, but bit his lip and pushed his hands into the bubble anyway. The inside was lukewarm and moist and a bit difficult to push through. The little creature moved its limbs as if it was trying to get away. "Shhh, it's okay. Please don't struggle," he said, trying to fight tears. The sight of her trying to flee made him think she might be afraid of him, and that was more than he could bear. He managed to touch her head right around her ears. She didn't move or respond, but he could feel a thin trickle of essence flow from him into her. It was relief in a very small way, and it calmed him.
"Good girl," he said softly. His voice was obscured by the silencing spells, but he imagined she understood anyway. Her head moved a bit in his hand.
Locke remained there for a few long moments, then drew back. The bubble jiggled a bit when his hands came out of it, but the little creature inside didn't seem to be disturbed. She pawed her way forward as if she was trying to find him again.
"Soon," he promised, resting his forehead on the bubble for a few seconds. Then, reluctantly, he got up, left the Sanctuary, and returned to his room. He went straight to the scroll and began to clear the ink away. He worked without pause through the night and finished in time to see daylight crawl into his window.
As luck would have it, Nero came by later that morning to see how he was doing. "Is everything all right? I heard you stopped by the Sanctuary earlier."
Locke resisted the urge to hold up the cleaned-up scroll. "Everything's fine. I cleared away the ink."
Nero smiled in pleasant surprise. "Is that so? You worked quickly! I'm proud of you, Locke."
"Thanks," Locke lowered his head, smiling down at the scroll.
"Do you think you'll be up for another summoning attempt now? We can always wait until -"
"I want to do it as soon as possible," Locke cut in.
Nero paused for a second, then crossed his arms. "Excellent. Quite good, and all that. Get your things together. I'll get her and meet you at the summoning chamber."
The scroll was about halfway consumed, so that meant that Locke could get away with a reduced amount of components. He pondered the partly-empty urn of sacred ash before deciding that no, he was not going to risk having more complications by feeling overconfident, and filled it back up anyway. He also took a fresh candle and a little packet of chalk.
The halls were clear at this early hour of morning. So was the summoning chamber, save for Nero and the little creature's bubble resting in the center.
"...Shouldn't there be more higher mages here right now?" Locke asked quietly.
"Do you think you need them around?" Nero had his arms crossed again. Fiore melted into existence on his shoulders. "Calling them here will just be a waste of everyone's time, in my opinion. Have some confidence in yourself!"
Locke swallowed and couldn't move for a second or two. Then he started to draw the summoning circle again. Inside the bubble, the little creature stirred. He placed the lit candle nearby and took a few deep breaths.
"Tell me when you want to start, and I'll release the containment spell."
Locke stared at the candle's flame for a moment. Then, firming his expression, he floated the scroll above it and stepped away. "Now!"
The bubble exploded silently and faded away. The little creature fell to the ground and squeaked, but there was no pain in the noise. Light gathered on her body and pushed the blackness away. She wobbled to her feet and trotted around the candle.
The light solidified into color and fur. She grew a long white mane and a tuft at the end of her tail with an audible poof. Her limbs hardened at the ends, splitting into cloven hooves. Her body took on a pale yellow shade and scales of a golden hue shimmered on her back. Two horns arched out of her head just around her ears, darkening into a color not unlike the ink that had been spilled on the scroll. There was an area on her belly that was the same color. Faint swirls of the summoning script etched themselves into her body, glowing softly and then fading. Finally, her eyes filled with a light, kind blue. The light of the summoning circle faded.
The little creature was certainly not a unicorn, but she was alive and well. Locke knelt and held his hands out to her. She approached and nickered quietly.
"A tricorned kirin," Nero said in faint amusement. "That's a bit of an oddity, isn't it?"
There was a little half-horn on her forehead from the original summoning that was was not as dark as the other two horns. She nudged Locke's hand with it. He felt her absorbing essence from him steadily. It was soothing and made him sigh with relief. He scooped her up into his arms and held her to his chest. "I think she's perfect."
Nero chuckled. "She's got a bit of growing to do...but she turned out well, despite everything. She'll make an excellent companion for you."
Locke scratched behind one of the little creature's ears. She tossed her head and looked up at him expectantly. "Your name is Chirin," he said softly, "and you're my familiar."
Chirin leaned up and licked the side of his mouth gently. He laughed and kissed her forehead just under her third horn.