The Royal Academy of Magic was established in 1339, in Byrehill.
The student body numbered in the 200s, and it was a coed institution specializing in the education of the members of the nobility gifted in the summoning arts. As the sole child of the Earl Aurelian, I was entitled to a spot provided I could pass the entrance exam.
So it was that I now found myself in the hallowed halls of the Academy that had seen the rise and fall of multitudes of talented individuals. The marble floors echoed the clack clack clack of the students’ and staff’s shoes as dozens of people made their way to the Test Center, a giant glass cube that glowed with a warm golden light from the electric panels on the sides.
The world of Chaos Blood Summoner wasn’t medieval, like most other fantasy series. It was set in a world with a technology level similar to that of the Victorian era on Earth. Here, they had steam powered boats and trains as well as bicycles, cars, radios, telephones, and light bulbs, though these were all new inventions that were only seen in the wealthier parts of the country. For example, horses had been used in the last war, but they were rapidly being phased out by primitive tanks and military vehicles. With this level of technology, one couldn’t expect airplanes, helicopters, televisions, air conditioning, or computers to be available yet. Personally, the invention that I was most grateful for was indoor plumbing and the flush toilet.
The Test Center was a melding of new technology, as exemplified by the electric light, and old magic, in the form of the Elphyne Artifact, the one thing that would decide whether or not I would be admitted into the Academy.
As I made my way to the front of the crowd, half a dozen people approached me and murmured their condolences for the death of Lynette’s father. No one mentioned his wife, Countess Aurelian, probably because it was a touchy subject given that people already knew how desperate Lynette was to save her. I thank them for their courtesy in a hushed voice. The solemn atmosphere surrounding the artifact made people speak in whispers.
I was surprised to see that only a third of the people around me had markings on their foreheads, the sign of a spirit summoner. Most of the marks were silver or gold, with a few jade ones here and there. The darker the mark, the stronger the summoner. Lynette had no mark, but I planned to fix that soon.
When I finally reached the front of the crowd, I walked up the steps to the high platform where the other applicants were gathered. I was just in time because the Dean started his speech as I exchanged greetings with a few people that Lynette knew.
… I mean, the people that I knew.
Perhaps it was because I was in her body, but I had found out that I knew pretty much everything about Lynette. I was still having difficulty thinking about “her” as “me,” and I should really get used to that as soon as I could. I couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Dean Phineas was a short, portly old man with gray hair wearing a morning suit with a cutaway coat, striped trousers, and a rather lovely pale green waistcoat. He ascended the dais where the Artifact, a dark blue-gray crystal three feet high and five feet long at its base, was placed and started a long rambling speech about the history and importance of the Academy.
“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! When your name is called, climb the dais and put your hand on the Elphyne Artifact,” said the Dean.
Our names were called alphabetically, and since mine started with the letter “A,” I was the first.
The Dean nodded encouragingly at me as I nervously approached the crystal. “Place your hand on it.”
I did as I was told, and the moment I touched it, a glowing rectangle of light appeared in front of me. This was the Elphyne Door. There was a smattering of applause from the watching applicants and Academy staff as I walked closer to it and peered into its depths. All I could see was darkness.
“Here goes nothing,” I whispered to myself as I stepped into the Door.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
There was a long moment of vertigo as my inner ear spun sickeningly before adjusting to my current location. The sky was a bright buttercup yellow, and there was no sun that I could see, just a diffuse lighting that seemed to come from above. I was in the grove of tall elm trees.
Three hundred years ago, the fabled Merlin had somehow broken through the barrier between worlds and found himself in the spiritual plane where he had encountered a Spirit King. Merlin was the first summoner. He had returned to Prythian with the Elphyne Artifact to provide a way for his descendants to make their own contracts.
Now it was my turn. I took a deep breath, relishing the sharp, cold scent of grass and pollen.
Every noble family had passed down a specific set of instructions to their scions that should, theoretically, enable them to successfully call upon the spirits that were friendly to their bloodline. The Aurelians were no different, but I intended to use the knowledge from the Chaos Blood Summoner books instead.
I turned around in a full circle, trying to see if any direction seemed more promising. The light was slightly more intense in one direction, hence I walked the opposite way, seeking a cooler, darker place in which to call upon the strongest spirit of healing that I knew.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
Mentally chanting the name of the spirit that I was invoking, I walked for about an hour. At first, there was no change, but the light gradually grew dimmer and dimmer until the world around me was enveloped in gloom.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
An icy wind blew into my ears, carrying the murmuring voices of unknown people. I tried my best to pay them no mind and continued to chant the name.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
Though I had heard about this effect from the books, experiencing it in person was much more scary. I felt every hair on the back of my neck standing up, and I had a difficult time stopping my teeth from chattering.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
Would this ordeal never end? I felt like I had been walking for hours, with no end in sight. My limbs were heavy, and I moved as slowly as though I was moving underwater.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
Should I give up? There were other spirits I could call, though they were weaker. I shivered when I remembered the tales of Academy applicants who had never returned from the Elphyne Door. No one knew what happened to them, but it couldn’t be anything good.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath.
I almost burst into tears when I finally saw a response to my invocation. In the distance, I saw a spot of blue.
Ashara Vinahta Vordath!
With one last burst of energy, I ran towards what turned out to be a small pool of water and jumped in.
I expected to find myself in a beautiful underwater kingdom, but my feet landed on solid ground with an electric jolt and I saw I was in the middle of a small clearing. All around me were various kinds of alien flora, ranging from cute little pastel-colored puffballs to large, menacing fanged flowers. Despite the strangeness of the place, what really caught my attention was the spirit floating in the middle of the glade.
“Ashara Vinahta Vordath, I greet you. I am Lynette Aurelian, a descendant of Merlin,” I said.
The spirit had taken the form of a tall human female with long blonde hair and golden eyes. She was half transparent, and her skin looked as though it was made of soft, golden light. Her features were perfectly proportioned, with high cheekbones, a slender nose, and full, sensual lips. She had a regal air about her as befitted a great spirit of healing.
[You are a strange human.]
The spirit’s words appeared in my mind without a voice speaking them out loud.
“Am I?”
[You are from another world.]
“Yes,” I said. The spirit would learn about it eventually if we formed a contract, so there was no point in trying to hide anything.
[What is your goal? Why have you come to this world?]
“I wish to heal the mother of this body.” I gestured down at myself. “The person who inhabited it died and granted me its use on the condition that I save her mother.”
[That is a noble goal. What will you do after healing her?]
“There is a war coming, and I want to prevent it.” I didn’t bother adding that the main reason I wanted to avert war was to ensure my survival. Of course, I did also want to save other people, but my chief priority was myself, since I was a stranger to this world with no ties to anyone.
Ashara’s expression became solemn. She was surprisingly human-like.
[If you promise to do everything you can to stop the war, I will form a contract with you. Spirits and summoners should not fight each other.]
“I promise,” I said.
The books had spent hundreds of words describing the sensation of a human forming a contract with a spirit, such as comparing it to a flower bud opening, rain falling in a desert, a candlewick catching fire, getting caught in quicksand, and so forth. I wasn’t expecting fireworks, which was a good thing because all Ashara did was to hand me a gold nugget.
[Swallow this.]
I did as I was told, and it wasn’t like the descriptions in Chaos Blood Summoner at all. Instead of a mystical sensation of my mind expanding, I only felt a heaviness in my stomach after I swallowed the nugget.
Then I heard a chime that sounded like a notification on a smartphone. A transparent blue box filled with text appeared in front of me.
[Lynette Aurelian: Level 1 Summoner]
[Int: 1/99]
[Str: 1/99]
[Dex: 1/99]
[Cha: 1/99]
[Con: 1/99]
[MP: 10/99]
[HP: 10/999]
I did it! I’m a summoner now!