Summoner school, p.4
Summoner School, page 4
“Summoner,” he said in his gravelly voice.
“Summoner,” the headmaster said with a grin. “Not bad, Mr. Hall, nod bad.”
“What does that mean?” I asked and looked between the three of them.
“It means that you will be under my domain,” the tall woman gave me an intense look with her purple eyes. “Go join the other two.”
“Summoner,” the gray-bearded man said and shook his head. “Not many of those around. Can’t say that I’m surprised.”
I looked out toward the crowd of people that had already been tasted and headed that way. There were two people off to the side that had also been named as summoners, and neither of them were human. One of them was the young minotaur that I’d seen earlier, and the other was an elf that looked like he’d eaten something sour.
“You cannot be serious,” the elf sneered. “A human?”
“I do pity you,” the snobby redheaded elf woman laughed. She was surrounded by another group of people that was made up primarily of elves and a few pixies.
“Why’s that?” I asked and stuck my hands in my pockets.
“Humans are terrible at magic,” the haughty woman said and looked me up and down with disgust. “Really, I don’t even know why the school invites you. At least the half-breeds have some kind of saving grace. But full-blooded humans? Eeewww. Useless. You don’t even live long enough to really study it. What’s your average lifespan? Seventy? Elves aren’t even considered adults until we’re a hundred.”
“Right,” I said with a shrug. “If you say so.”
I tried to keep my voice nonchalant, but my mind was on hyperdrive. There was no way that Zenlar and the headmaster were right. I didn’t have a magical bone in my body, or at least there hadn’t been any indications of it. Of course, grandma hadn’t performed any magic tricks, either, and yet she had a magical amulet that took me to a strange world.
It was only a matter of time before they realized their mistake and kicked me out. That might not be an entirely bad thing since it would bring me back to the human world, but I also wanted to know how the amulet worked so that I would have the option to come back. The best approach would be to fake it until I could figure out the amulet and talk to my grandma.
“You can’t honestly think that you’ll make a good summoner,” the woman laughed.
She lifted her hand, and a flame began to dance in her upturned palm. It moved and twisted as Sarya added some kind of dust, and then the dark red fire began to take a lizardlike form. The elf watched as what looked like a salamander materialized, stretched, and then looked around at all of us.
“You can summon a fire salamander?” the male summoner next to me gasped. “I can’t even do that.”
“What else do you expect from a Kaylen?” a woman with blonde hair laughed. “There’s a reason that her father is the head of the council.”
“Naturally,” the redheaded elf said and flipped her ponytail, banished the small creature, and then looked haughtily at me. “I’m already more powerful than you, and I sincerely doubt that a full-blooded human like you could even reach that level.”
A crowd had started to gather around us as more people were tasted and told their affinities. Sarya clearly had a lot of power at her disposal, especially if her father was head of some kind of council, and everyone looked really impressed with her fire salamander. I had to admit that it was really cool, but she was so full of herself that I couldn’t help but start eye rolling every time she stuck her nose up in the air.
I’d already drawn enough attention to myself by being announced as one of three summoners in the entire crowd, and I was totally in over my head. The plan was to find the lavender-haired girl, have her explain how to use the amulet, and then go back to my world and interrogate my grandma. I should just keep my mouth shut and ignore the annoying woman since she didn’t know anything about me. After all, the headmaster had said that if I was there then it was for a reason, so maybe I could be good at magic. The only thing that I knew for sure was that everyone was looking at us, and I needed to act the part.
“That was a pretty neat trick,” I said with a shrug. “But didn’t Zenlar say that you’re a fire elemental or something? So your fire lizard is probably the best that you’ll ever get. And the headmaster did say that we’ll be learning a lot about our magic. I’m sure that by the end of the first semester I’ll be able to surpass you with no problem whatsoever.”
The elves around us all burst into laughter like the idea of me surpassing Sarya was the most ridiculous thing in the entire world. It didn’t take long before the pixies and even the minotaur joined in, and my hackles rose in challenge. They could laugh all they want, but if the headmaster and Zenlar were right, then I might stick around and learn magic just to prove all of them wrong.
“Why are you guys laughing?” the lavender-haired girl asked. “He’s right. He may be human, but there have been some really amazing human mages. My dad told me about Engar the Great who helped us nymphs revolutionize our gardens. He was better than even the tree people at replanting forests. And wasn’t there a guy named Johnathon that helped you elves with working metal and cement into your fancy towers?”
“She does have a point,” one of the pixies said. “There have been some pretty powerful humans. Even if they do have a shorter lifespan than the rest of us.”
“That just means that we have to learn faster,” I said with a shrug.
“Exactly,” Atlesia said with a pleased smile. “And if Zenlar said that the human is a summoner, then he is. My father and all my family were told their affinities by him, and he’s never been wrong.”
“You really think that a full-blooded human could actually be as powerful as one of us?” Sarya asked and rolled her silver eyes. “That’s just as ridiculous as them being admitted into this university in the first place. We should just lock out the human world forever and move on. Who cares if there were a couple of decent mages that were humans? It’s a fluke.”
I watched as everyone started to lose interest in our conversation. It seemed like most of them were more excited about their affinities than a human that may or may not be a summoner. I let out a sigh of relief as the attention left me, and I glanced back at the stage.
The ceremony was over since everyone had already passed through Zenlar’s taste test, and the ebony-haired woman had a list in her hand. She and the lizard-man talked and compared notes while the headmaster looked out over the crowd. His eyes landed on me again, and it felt like he’d looked right into my soul.
There was something about him that made my skin crawl, like he was more powerful than he seemed, but that was a problem for another time. The headmaster had known my name and hadn’t been shocked to see me when I’d walked up onto the stage. I wondered if grandma had sent me to look for the amulet to send me to this world on purpose.
“Alright, everyone,” the headmaster said and clapped his hands together. “You’ve all been tasted and know your affinities. It’s getting late in the afternoon, so we have to hurry. Let’s go to town. Your future professors and a few student volunteers are waiting to sign you up for your classes. Please find the banners that have your specific affinities. As a freshman you’ll be in general education classes and a few specialty classes. I know that you think you know about magic, but there are bound to be gaps in your knowledge.”
“Headmaster,” the ebony-haired woman said. “The time.”
“Ah, yes,” the gray-bearded man said. “You’ll hear more about that later. For now, just head into town.”
“Are you really excited?” Atlesia asked as she bounced next to me. “I am. My entire family has walked through these halls at some point. There are a few other schools that offer help with magic, but those are usually for the people who can’t get the invitation to Magia Schola. Only those with real magical potential are brought here.”
“Really?” I asked and started to follow the crowd. “That’s cool. So, everyone here is from a magical family?”
“Mostly,” the lavender-haired woman said and glanced at Sarya. “The elf is practically royalty. Her family is super rich, and most of her relatives are part of the council or work for the magical government. They help make most of the decisions throughout the realms. It’s probably why she’s such a snob.”
“What about you?” I asked. “What does your family do?”
“Oh,” she said with a thousand kilowatt smile. “My family does a lot of gardening. Mostly food. I’m a nymph. Not sure if you humans know what that means.”
“The legends say that nymphs are tied to a specific plant,” I said. “How can you come here?”
“Ugh,” Atlesia said and rolled her eyes. “That’s so ridiculous. It’s probably because most of us don’t like to travel. I do, but my siblings are perfectly happy to grow food and stay in our hometown. It’s so boring it makes me want to cry. Not that I don’t like to grow food. I love it. But I’ll definitely be exploring all of the different dimensions.”
The crowd had finally reached the bridge and the moat that led into the town. The streets had plenty of shops and stores for anyone who lived there, and it reminded me of the few college towns that I’d visited when I was exploring my options. The smell of food wafted over me as we passed a tavern. My head was on a swivel, and I had to ignore the grumble in my stomach.
“How do you go from one dimension to another?” I asked and gripped the amulet in my hand.
“You don’t know?” the lavender-haired woman asked with wide eyes. “That’s like… the most basic knowledge that you should have. I guess you humans really don’t know much about magic. How did you even get here?”
“An amulet,” I said and pulled the moonstone out. “It was my grandmother’s. Do you know how to--”
My question was interrupted by an older guy with short lavender hair and the same heart-shaped face as Atlesia. He had to be her older brother because the family resemblance was strong. His smile was the exact same, and they even had the same bouncy walk.
“Sister,” the man said. “How’d your affinity go? You got plants, right? Obviously. You’ve been growing them since before you could walk.”
“Indar,” Atlesia said and threw her arms around his neck. “It’s so good to see you! I feel like it’s been years. Are you volunteering with the freshman sign ups? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” Indar said. “Did you make a new friend already?”
Indar was taller than his sister, but a little shorter than me. His smile was a little more wooden as he sized me up, but I just smiled and waved. Atlesia rolled her eyes and looped her arm through his.
“Of course,” the lavender-haired girl said. “I don’t know his name, yet.”
“Andrew,” I said.
“Mr. Hall,” the ebony-haired teacher interrupted. “I believe that you should let Ms. Atlesia sign up for her classes. You are required at the summoners’ table.”
“Professor Lovelace,” Indar said with a respectful nod. “I apologize for taking up your student’s time. My sister and I will be on our way. Andrew, I’m sure that I’ll see you again soon. Once Atlesia has decided that you’re her friend, then that’s it. You don’t have a choice after that.”
“You make me sound so controlling,” Atlesia whined as she and her brother walked away.
“Mr. Hall,” Professor Lovelace said and brought my attention back to her. “This way, please. I’m sure that you have quite a few questions, but those can be answered later. First, I need to gauge you and the other summoners.”
“Right,” I said and followed the sexy woman toward a table.
She was almost as tall as the redheaded elf but had more curves. Her pale ivory skin looked like moonlight against the black robes and the dress that peeked out from beneath hugged her body like a second skin. I watched every step and tried not to think of what it would be like to be invited into her office for a little extra credit.
I shook my head and forced myself to focus. Atlesia hadn’t been able to tell me how to use the amulet to go home, but Ira would know. I just needed to take whatever tests that she needed and then maybe she’d be able to help me.
“And here I thought that you’d come to your senses and gone home,” the elf summoner sneered as I walked up.
“You’re not that lucky,” I said and squared my shoulders.
“I expect you all to act with some decorum,” Professor Lovelace.
She took her spot behind the table under the summoners’ banner and glowered at all three of us. The minotaur rolled his molten-brown eyes and then looked between both of us like we were the problem. I shrugged and studied the elf to see if he would push the subject, but the dark-haired man huffed and looked away.
“So, what’s going on here?” I asked and motioned to the table.
There were a few pages with what looked like puzzles on them, and two leather-bound books that were closer to Professor Lovelace. The purple-eyed woman had one hand on her hip and the other on the table. Her petal-pink lips were pressed into a thin line, and it took a lot of effort not to wonder what she’d taste like.
“A test,” Ira said when all three of us looked at her. “As I said, I need to gauge your current abilities. Not an official one, so I don’t need to have individual evaluations. Let us just casually discuss these. It will help me to understand what my curriculum should be. You’ll all be in the freshman course of summoning, but unlike those around you, your work will be specialized. Some mages are better than others with small animals, and I need to know what your baseline is.”
“I’ve seen something like this before,” the minotaur said and pulled one of the pages up. “This is for a fish. All you have to do is connect this here, add a circle here, and then add a fish scale. It’s really helpful for bait.”
“Very good,” the ebony-haired woman said with a hint of a smile. “Can you recognize any of the others?”
“Uh,” the bull-man said with a furrowed brow.
“These look familiar,” I said and picked up a couple of the pages.
They looked like the puzzles that my grandmother had given to me when I was still in elementary school. I’d had trouble when I first saw them, but now they were the easiest patterns, and only needed a few adjustments to be complete. There was a pencil on the table that I used to write out the circles and swirls, but Ira stopped me before I was done.
“That’s enough, Mr. Hall,” she said with a strange look.
It was the same one that she’d given me when Zelnar had first announced that I was a summoner. It was hard to read her purple eyes with the slitted pupils, especially when they expanded, but my grandma’s cat always did that when she was about to attack.
I held my breath for a few seconds, but Ira didn’t say anything, and the elf next to me drew her attention.
I looked back down at the other sheets of paper and set the pencil down. Grandma had a lot to explain when I made it back to Cozy Acres. If she’d groomed me to come to Magia Schola, then she should’ve told me a long time ago that this place existed, or that she was a mage.
“These aren’t that bad,” the dark-haired elf said. “Is this the best that you have? Or do those books have something a little more difficult?”
“Please explain how to finish them, Mr. Serin,” Ira said with an arched eyebrow.
“Well,” the elf floundered. “I’d love to tell you, but these two have already shown you most of them. That would be just a little redundant. I’m surprised that the human could solve even one spell, much less--”
“Of course,” the professor interrupted, and her gaze swept over me and the minotaur. “Well, I think that I have a fairly good idea about where to start. Your schedules can be picked up at that table right over there. The packs will include your dorm room assignments. You may go back to your home dimensions whenever you want, but know that your classes start tomorrow. I do not tolerate tardiness.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a smile. “I look forward to your first lessons.”
A faint grin tugged on the corners of her mouth, but then it was gone, and she pointed to the registration table again. I hesitated for a few seconds longer than my new classmates, but Ms. Lovelace was done with us, and she walked off to talk to another professor. She glanced back at me, and the other teacher studied me like a specimen in a lab.
I really needed to figure out how to use the amulet before someone opened me up like an alien in Roswell. The headmaster may’ve expected my arrival, but there weren’t a lot of full-blooded humans around, and I was the only one that had been named a summoner. I felt like there was a target on my back, but someone had to be able to help me, and until then I’d just gather more information about the strange school.
“The human summoner!” a dwarf shouted from the registration table.
He had a blue beard and stood on top of a stool so that he could see over the table. There was a folder in his hand with my name scrawled on it with perfect cursive. It wasn’t the same handwriting that had been on my grandmother’s letter, but it was close, and I made a mental note to find out who had written it.
“Hello,” I said. “I was told that I can get my information here?”
“Yep,” the man said. “My name’s Rulnac. You can just call me Rule, because I rule.”
“Naturally,” I laughed and took the envelope. “What’s your affinity? Is that rude to ask?”
“Nah, my man,” Rule said with a toothy grin. “It’s totally fine. There’s a bit of a hierarchy here. Summoners are pretty close to the top since you’re so rare. You’ve got big shoes to fill, my dude. Of course, if you ask me, it’s us gem workers that are the supers. You other mages wouldn’t be able to do any of those fancy spells of yours without us.”
“Then I appreciate you,” I said like I knew what the guy was talking about. “Thanks for the marching orders. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“For sure, my man,” the dwarf said and then turned to the next student.
I walked away before I tore into the envelope to look for my dorm assignment and classes. My first class wasn’t until midmorning, so there was plenty of time to find out how to use the amulet and go home before it started. I might even have time to come back if grandma could explain what the hell was going on.
