I flew home and prepared to go to sleep; my home was in a large complex made utilizing the areas natural trees and mountain sides. Many others lived there, some preferred higher levels, others opted for the ground. Homes were carved into the mountain or cultivated by using spells to weave the branches of the trees tight enough to stop rain from leaking through. Each home was decorated with vibrant colors or charms that some believed to ward off evil. My house was made from a preexisting cavern near the midpoint of the mountain. Using magic, I expanded the opening and flew inside, then turned on lights by flowing some of my magic into a system of luminous braids woven throughout its walls. They will stay on until they run out of magic, but that will be a few hours. I closed the entrance behind me and settled into my roost at the back of the cavern to go to sleep.
I do not know how long I slept, but I was awoken by the sounds of pecking at the entrance to my home. Stretching out my wings, I stood up and called out loudly that I was on my way. I opened the entrance and saw a Neame, a member of my race, but Jake often refers to us as Nymphs, standing tall. His feathers were decorated with gold lace and small, beautiful stones. Behind him stood a Zantorax Hound, a familiar typically used by lower ranked nobility. “How can I help you?” I asked puzzled.
“Are you Suma, the mage who presented herself to the Grand Duke earlier?” He asked.
“Yes, I am,” I said, “why?”
“I am Baronet Halyard Sopra, and I bring a message from Grand Duke Udoka Sopra; it regards your name, the Grand Duke has a few more questions and would like for you to come and answer them if you could. It should be noted that this is a personal request and will not affect the ruling that was decided yesterday. The Grand Duke is simply… curious.” He spoke with a sort of regality in his words, as if he had been trained his whole life to speak and act that way. And since he was a noble, that was probably exactly the case. I also could not help but wonder about his name, was he related to the Grand Duke in some way?
“Okay, when would he like me to see him?” I asked.
“If you are free, now would be best, but if not, we can simply figure out what works best.” He said. I thought for a moment about if I had anything to do that day; I did not.
“Yes, I am free to go now.” I told him.
“Excellent, please follow me and I will escort you.” He said and we began our flight. I had assumed we would be going back to the meeting hall where I had first met the Grand Duke, but we were flying the wrong direction for that. In fact, we flew to City Hall.
“Excuse me Sir Sopra, but why are we at City Hall, instead of the Royal Citadel?” I asked as we flew in and found a perch to rest on.
“The Grand Duke has several meetings today regarding city matters but has made time to ask you a few questions.” He explained. I shook my head that I understood. We made our way to a desk, and he spoke to a woman behind it, “Please tell the Grand Duke that I have arrived, and I brought Miss Suma.” The woman flew away and around a corner out of sight. The Baronet and I waited in silence until the woman flew back in and offered to show us the way, but he told her that would not be necessary as he knew the way. With magic, the Baronet parted a wall of dense vines, and we flew into a clearing in which the Grand Duke was waiting. He was dressed far more plainly than the Baronet was, only a few strands of gold and no jewels.
“Ah, Miss Suma, thank you for coming in to satiate this old man’s curiosity. Please, rest here.” He said and used magic to form perches out of vines that had been laying on the floor for the Baronet and I to rest on. I landed on the vines and noted how soft and easy to grip they were.
“You are welcome, sir; I was told you had questions for me.” I said as politely as I could.
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“Yes, I wanted to know more about this Jake… the familiar who gave you your name.” He said.
“If it helps, I could try to summon him, if you want.” I offered.
“That would be excellent.” He said.
“First I need to see if he is available, he told me that he works some kind of job when he is not with me, and it requires a good deal of energy and focus, so he might not be able to come.” I explained.
“A familiar that doesn’t always come when their master calls? How… abnormal.” He said sounding quite shocked.
“That is an apt description of our partnership.” I said and contacted Jake. “Jake, are you there?”
“Hey Suma, what’s up?” Jake answered.
“Are you free to be summoned? I need a bit of help.” I said.
“Um, not at the moment. If I leave now, I might be too tired to finish work when I get back. Can it wait another…” there was a slight pause, “two hours?”
“Yes, I think it can wait. Just call me when you are free, and I will explain.” I said feeling a bit disappointed.
“Okay, see you in a bit.” He said and I ended the connection.
“I apologize Grand Duke, he was not available to come yet, but if you would like, he said he would be free in approximately two hours.” I said. He seemed disappointed; his feathers fell down slightly closer to his body.
“I understand, perhaps I can meet him another time, but I would still be interested in hearing your thoughts on him for now.” The Grand Duke said.
“Of course.” I said.
“For starters, how did you meet him?” He asked.
“I accidentally summoned him many years ago in a training session gone wrong; this was when I was still in school and had not yet mastered many Rites or Rituals. We were preparing to all summon familiars for the first time, and he was the one that I summoned.” I told him.
“You said he was a being of great power, did you not? So, if you don’t mind my asking, how could you have accidentally summoned him? Why did he simply not use magic to stop you?” He asked.
“Jake explained, on his world magic does not exist. Instead, they use advanced sciences and technology to accomplish their goals. And besides that, he was only an adolescent when I first summoned him, according to him, he was not even of marrying age at that time.” I said.
“So, you dominated his mind and discovered these things in his memories, then he named you?” The Grand Duke asked.
“No sir, though he was young, he was far too strong for me to perform the Rite of Dominance on successfully. After I attempted to do so, he lashed out and destroyed one of the floors of the classroom by catching a seeking stone out of midair, then he threw it back completely destroying the floor.” I said.
“I thought you said that he had no magic?” He wondered.
“He did not, he did however possess immense speed and reflexes, as well as unfathomable physical strength.” I said. “After seeing the destruction, I reversed the summoning and sent him home. I did not see him again for several years, and by then we had both reached adulthood.”
“And how did you see him again?” Now the Grand Duke was leaning closer; interested in my story.
“On my final day at the mages academy that I was attending, a new student was practicing his summoning spell, and accidentally summoned a Borog. He attempted to dominate the creature, but apparently he performed the spell incorrectly and the beast went into a vicious rage. Many students fled; the teachers tried to fight it off but… well none of them were trained as attack mages. I am a mage of healing, that is what my focus was on at the academy, so I hid and tried to wait the beast out. Slowly, it encroached on my position, so I made a daring escape. I then used what little time I had to summon Jake, I knew he was strong, and I figured if he defeated the beast then all I would have to do would be to reverse the summoning and that would be that. If he failed, then he would at least buy me time to escape.” I said.
“A wise strategy for one so young. And I take it your plan was successful?” He asked.
“Yes, in a single attack, Jake killed the beast, and I immediately reversed the summoning to send him home.” I said. The Grand Duke went on and asked many more questions about Jake. He asked what he was like, what happened after I sent him away, and how he agreed to become my familiar.
He kept asking question after question until the Baronet, whom had been sitting so quietly that I had almost forgotten that he was listening, interrupted. “Grand Duke, it is almost time for your next meeting with Lord Deliquesce.”
“Ah yes, I guess you are right.” He turned to me, “Thank you Miss Suma, I hope we can set up an appointment for me to meet your familiar Jake at a later time.”
“I am sure he would be interested.” I assured him. With that, I was escorted out of the room while the Baronet and the Grand Duke left to go to their meeting. I passed the woman behind the desk and asked her how long I had been talking with the Grand Duke for.
“About an hour and a half,” she said. I thanked her and started to fly away, and just as I did, I noticed a small group of well decorated Neame watch me leave. Strangely, they seemed quite angry.