I crawled onto the summoner’s lap, sitting majestically with my tail neatly wrapped around my paws. She studied me, clearly marveling at my magnificent coat and frame. In the end, she smiled, reaching up to let me smell her hand.
“I was waiting for you, you know,” she began. Her words were soft so that the other patients wouldn’t wake. “When the ritual ended and you weren’t there, I thought I’d messed it up. Didn’t have the materials to try again, and then the dizzy spells came. I thought for certain I was going to die.”
“Of course not,” I answered, my thoughts instinctively flowing to her through the Soulbond. “I won’t allow it. If you die, then I’d die, too, and the world would be robbed of a perfect being.”
“You cheeky little thing, being so sweet.” She chuckled softly. “So, tell me, what’s your name?”
“You don’t know?”
She shook her head. “My spell was for the first lesser demon to receive my invitation. It wasn’t addressed to anyone in particular. I’m sorry.”
My ears drooped. She didn’t know me either. If she didn’t know me, then no one did. How sad is it to be forgotten by everyone…then to even lose those memories yourself?
“Do you have a name?” Raina asked.
I puffed out my chest. “Of course I have a name. It’s a majestic one fit for one of the greatest beings in the known universe!”
“So, what is it?”
If I could not remember my name, then I would make my own. What to pick, though? Suddenly, I couldn’t think of something that was both fearsome enough for the warrior that felled the great Dungeon Rattler, and yet mysterious enough to reflect my obvious cleverness and charming personality.
She was looking at me intently. Panic rose inside me. I had to make a good impression on the summoner! She may have been a lesser being like all the rest of the lesser beings that walked on two legs, but she was my lesser being. Her greatness was elevated by virtue of being attached to me! I had to press upon her the importance of her new-found status as my hench-human, and that couldn’t be done without making a stellar impression on her!
So, I said the first thing that came to mind. “I am the great and mighty Malzifrax, Lord of Eternal Darkness!” Imitation is the highest form of flattery, you know. Since the real Malzifrax wasn’t known to be on this world, if he even existed in the first place, I was certain he wouldn’t mind me borrowing his name and making it my own.
Raina stared at me, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “I am not calling you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not your real name!”
“How do you know?” I grumbled and flicked my tail in irritation.
“I know what I summoned,” Raina explained. “There is no way that my invitation could have reached any farther than regular lesser demons, let alone a legendary monster.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m only level 7!” Her words came out louder than she intended, and the green-haired man shifted in his chair. She lowered her voice. “I would need to be at least level 100, probably more, to summon the real Malzifrax, so it can’t be your name!”
“Too bad. It’s the name I’ve chosen.” Stubborn human…didn’t she know that I deserved nothing less than the perfect name? I’d made my decision.
“Look.” She looked me straight in the eye. “I don’t know how much you know of this town, but Aldar is not a friendly place for cats like you or people like me. The last thing I need is the fear I’d receive by invoking the name of the boogeyman when referring to my pet cat!”
“I am no one’s pet. I bit the green-haired man for presuming as much, and I’ll bite you, too if I have to!” I raised my spine and puffed out my fur in defiance.
She rubbed her temples. “Mother, why did I have to get stuck with a difficult familiar…”
A growl grew in the back of my throat, soft but threatening. She hadn’t even begun to see me be “difficult” yet. Eventually, though, she sighed and opened her eyes again.
“Listen. Why don’t we compromise,” she offered. “We are stuck with each other, now. The Soulbond is not easily broken. So, what if I call you Malzy? We’ll consider it short for Malzifrax.”
I considered this for a long moment, still flicking my tail. I could bite her until she complied, but that wouldn’t get us very far. One of us had to be the bigger cat. Besides, this way, she could keep my true name in reserve. Only the worthy would receive the honor of being struck by fear at the name of Malzifrax! Others would just have to settle for…Malzy…I guess.
“Fine. This is acceptable.”
“Well, then, Malzy, it’s nice to meet you.” She offered a hand to me once again. I sniffed it, breathing in the herb scent that wafted from her.
Suddenly, she was wracked with coughing. I tilted my head in confusion once the fit finally passed.
“I…I might have used a spell or two without you while trying to flee the snakes.” I blinked in continued confusion.
“I used a lot of magic without you. So what?”
Now it was her turn to blink in confusion. “When did you learn to use magic on this world?”
“Like it’s hard?” She just didn’t get it. I was a majestic cat. I was a king among cats. A few spells had hardly proved a challenge.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Not for me, no. But familiars don’t tend to get magic of their own.”
“Get back to the point. What’s wrong with using magic without me?”
Raina opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. She immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Unsure of what danger she expected from the door, but certain that I didn’t want to be caught unawares, I nestled myself down, tucking my paws beneath me.
The light of a lantern shone around the quiet hospital room. It was the Matron. She checked each of the beds to make sure everything was well before returning to her rest.
Raina’s voice would have been too quiet for a person to hear, but I heard her just fine. “I’ll tell you in the morning, once we get out of here.”
Then she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.
But…that wasn’t good enough. What did she mean the cough was caused by using magic without me?
System Activation of Welcome to Atria
Practitioners of Absorption Casting must draw mana into themselves from their surroundings. Absorbing mana in this way allows them to have a greater mana pool and more intuitive casting than Command Casting but opens the caster to the dangers of corruption. Corruption occurs when too much external mana is drawn into the caster too quickly for existing safeguards to purify. The excess impure mana warps the caster’s mana pool and typically begins twisting their body into another form. In minor cases, corruption-borne ailments can be cured, however extreme cases can lead to the caster being irrevocably transformed into a monstrous being. It is this twisting that earned the practice of Absorption the colloquial name: unholy casting.
Okay Amsiii. Thank you for the description, but what did that have to do with me? I also used this absorption method, or whatever it was called, right? So why was she experiencing problems?
Once again, Amsiii had the solution for me.
One of the most common safeguards against corruption is to summon a soulbonded familiar. The connection between caster and familiar allows mana to be filtered through the familiar. Should too much mana be channeled, the familiar will receive the majority of corruption rather than the caster.
So, if Raina used magic without me there, then her magic started to replenish itself with whatever magic was nearby, then she may not have filtered it properly. In the case of a dangerous fight, she likely used too much and was now suffering for it.
Well, I suppose not everyone could be perfect like me. Better than the average she may be, she was still human. I couldn’t fault her for that imperfection.
Instead, I pushed myself under her arm so I could be close to her chest. Perhaps that was the source of the corruption. I had to assume that the corruption she’d gained was what Amsiii had described as a “minor case,” since she still looked fairly normal. If that was true, then the solution was simple.
I curled myself into her arms and began to purr. After all, it wouldn’t do to have my hench-human turned into a monster.
* * *
Morning brought the warm sun filtering through the windows to warm my fur. Raina was idly scratching my ears, which I accepted this time. The massage was welcome, and I purred my pleasure. Blessed with my Feline Favor, she hadn’t coughed once all morning. With luck, we could be out of this hall of healing soon. I wasn’t sure what to do, now that I’d cleared the dungeon and found the summoner, but there would be time to find out. After all, as long as I was near to Raina, we wouldn’t be drained like before.
“I’m glad to see the little guy found you,” greeted the green-haired man as he brought a plate of food. He’d spent the night in a chair at Raina’s bedside, though I suspected that he was there more as my chaperone than as a show of any concern he might have for our well-being.
“Was Malzy causing you trouble?” Raina asked. “I apologize if he did.”
The man shook his head and offered his fingers for me to sniff. “Oh, is that his name? No, he’s been very sweet, actually. Only ever bit me when I tried to take him out of here, and I think I can forgive him for that. I’m just glad he’s looking better. He looked half dead when he found us on the road.”
“Oh, you brought him here?”
“It was no problem.” He shrugged. “I’m something of a wanderer. Didn’t have anything more important than escorting a wayward feline, and I consider it well worth the effort.”
“Thank you for your help. You have no idea how much it means to us both. I’m Raina, by the way.” She held out a hand to the green-haired man.
“Terrowin,” he introduced, taking her hand.
I stood and rubbed myself against both of their hands. Raina was my prime hench-human, but this Terrowin fellow had done me a great service in bringing me this far. I could afford to show him some of my favor.
“Raina Whitehex! You’re finally awake!” The Matron called angrily. I crawled into my hench-human’s lap and stared the old woman down as she approached.
“I should probably go,” Terrowin said, sensing the tension between the two women. “I’ll be in town for a bit longer. I’d love to get a local’s taste of it.” With a final stroke of my ears, the green-haired man fled, trying not to get caught in the Matron’s ire.
“Don’t think I don’t recognize what’s going on here, young lady,” she scolded. “You’ve been practicing magic again, haven’t you?”
“Of course not, Matron. You know I take your lessons well to heart,” Raina lied.
“Of course you do. And the cat that threw such a fuss to be near you is just a coincidence? Totally not a familiar that you summoned using unholy magic?” The Matron’s gaze was fearsome, and I almost found myself cowering before its intensity. But, I held my ground, puffing my fur outward and pinning the old woman with my best, angriest stare.
Raina didn’t have a lie prepared to explain my existence. “No, Matron…I did summon him.” She looked down at her hands. I was surprised by the amount of sorrow held in her eyes. They were filled with tears that threatened to fall at any second.
But…that didn’t make any sense. She should be proud of what she’d done. She’d summoned a great and powerful demon! She’d brought forth a perfect being! How could that be anything but admirable?
The Matron’s words softened as she sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring me entirely. “I just worry for you, dear. Your mother was like a daughter to me. I don’t want to lose you, too.”
“I know, Matron, but I can’t just stop using my spells because I’m afraid. She wouldn’t want that.” She wiped her eyes on her sleeves before continuing. “I just have to be careful. Mother taught me that much. Then, I’ll become a great witch, just like her.”
“Just don’t push yourself too hard. That cat of yours can only protect you from so much.” The Matron squeezed Raina’s hand. “And, as always, be careful who you entrust with-”
Raina interrupted her. “Yes, yes, be careful who I entrust with the knowledge of my casting because not everyone is as open-minded about unholy casters as you are. I know.”
I flipped my tail, unsure how to feel about that. Amsiii had mentioned Command casting, but it was obviously the lesser form of magic. I made a mental note to ask the mysterious being about that at some point, but now didn’t seem like the time.
“Good Girl,” the Matron praised. Then she turned to me, finally recognizing that I was there. “As for you. Your job is to protect her. If I find out that you didn’t do your job, I’ll string you up by your tail, understand?”
“Yes, he understands,” Raina said. “I already feel much better after yesterday. I think he did that.”
“I did a hell of a lot more than just make you feel better,” I muttered, but only Raina could hear my words. “Tell her to check on the rest of her patients. They received the privilege of basking in my presence all night.” Raina grimaced but did not pass on the message. Rude. I’d have to have a serious conversation with her about that. I was trying to be helpful.
“In that case, you are discharged. The rest of the soldiers fared much worse than you.”
“Yes, ma’am, thank you.”
“Now, be careful on your way home. Those snakes might still be about.” Raina nodded.
I purred my pride as Raina stood and left. “Don’t worry, dearest summoner, I happen to be an expert at killing snakes.”