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Soulbound
2. First Impressions

2. First Impressions

Feel free to point out any mistakes. I hope it's easier to read with more paragraphs.

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“The theory is simple, but Summoning Magic is hard to learn and even harder to master. If done wrong, failures can be fatal. I recommend to stop right here if you are untalented, have no patience, a small mana-pool or no control. Otherwise, welcome to the crowning discipline of magic!

To summon something specific, you need a connection to the subject you want to summon. It's easiest with a part of their soul, but getting a part of a soul through normal means is impossible. You have to at least sacrifice your life, getting married. And no, you cannot just hijack a maiden and force her. It has to be mutual love, you need to be compatible with each other and it has to be a wedding ceremony of ancient custom. Totally not worth it!

Summoning a person with hairs or nails is possible, too, if they aren't too old. But your summoning spell has to overpower their life-force multiplied with a bad connection-penalty. Therefore the amount of mana your spell costs exceeds their life-force several times. And if the person tries to resist the summoning, you are fuc***. Hence trying to summon a weaker, simple-minded monster-pet is the way to go!

The best thing to summon, though, far cooler than your pathetic spouse, is an Elemental Spirit! For a connection, convert a bit of your mana into its element and place it onto a suitable summoning circle. The purer the element, the easier it is to summon. Now let your mana flow through the pattern of the circle and welcome your new element spitting servant! Be sure to use enough mana, otherwise it won't survive very long. That's the only downside of an Elemental Spirit. And perhaps their lack of brain.”

-Who Needs a Girlfriend if He Can Summon Elemental Spirits? Author unknown.

***Aeron***

I'm lying in a puddle of water, and in the middle of a complicated looking magic circle. Getting an elusive glance at my surroundings, I recognize the huge bedroom I'm in and the 11 year old girl right in front of me. She has an athletic, but still slender build and is almost as tall as I. She wears a charming, white dress and despite her age you can sense the beginning of generous proportions. Her long hair is slightly ruffled and she smiles tenderly at me. Her name is Mia Kingsley. Our eyes are fixed on each other.

*cough* *cough*

Time seems to catch up again and our gazes wander to the third person currently present. Clad in a proper maid uniform is Lily. She has slightly curled, auburn hair which waves down to the level of her armpits. I don't know her age, but she should be a little older than Mia and I. If it wasn't for her mischievous, manipulative smile, which gives me a chill, I would see her as a lovely girl.

As I'm getting up, she does a graceful curtsy and introduces herself:

“Nice to meet you finally Aeron, my name is Liliana Ravenstein, please call me Lily.”

It's a foreign language, but I grew up with it. Before I get the chance to reply she winks at me and sallies out of the room.

When I was about to send an inquiring look to Mia, the door opens again and Lily pokes her head into the room:

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Don't do anything I wouldn't do. So Behave? I need to call Lord Kingsley. It shouldn't take very long.”

One last wink and she's gone.

“Wait!! What do you mea-n...Why do you have to call D-dad?? Lily!”

Mia looks worriedly at the door, but it's already too late. After a short, embarrassing silence she looks at me and smiles weakly.

Just now do I realise the blank space in my memory. I can't recall the recent days and even though I'm not sure why, I know today is my 11th birthday. Through the window I can see a silvery moon glowing high in the sky. It should be around midnight. Hold on, there's a second, flimsy red glowing moon?

I never noticed a second moon through our bond. Then again, Mia never had much leisure time watching the night sky. Since the incident with her brother she always trains seriously; emulating her older brother. He was a real genius in combat with a strong aura and was the pride and hope of her family. Always training to get stronger, but still saving time to care for his little sister.

My sight wanders to the magic circle and I ask her, knowing the absurdity: “Was I summoned?”

“Looks like, but I can't remember anything. My last memory is celebrating my birthday. I don't even know how something like this could be possible.”

She glances at a table. I follow her line of sight and get to see unpacked presents and remains of a cake.

While giving my best smile: “Happy Birthday Mia.”

“Thanks Aeron, Happy Birthday to you, too.”

Her delicate smile enchants me again and saves me from my confusion. It still feels surreal being in the same world as her. Without noticing, we came closer and are standing just a few inches away from each other. Slowly she raises her left hand. My right hand intercepts hers. A dazzling light blinds me the moment our hands touch. Followed by a sharp pain deep in my mind. Everything fades before I even get a chance to yell.

“...he's...eal!.. Mia can't...”

Lily's voice wakes me up. It's the second time today. I'm not a morning person. I'm almost suffocating and can feel something soft on top of me. Mia awakes slowly with a soft moan on top of me.

“Please knock, Lord Kingsley. I left them alone a short while ago an...”

At the same time as the door busts with a loud bang, Mia frantically jumps up. A six foot tall, grim looking, middle-aged man bursts in. Behind him, Lily pokes her head into the room with an impish smile. Despite the grim look, Lord Kingsley incarnates an exemplary noble. Fine clothes, refined traits and a precious rapier attached to his left side. He glares at me , while I'm lying almost beneath Mia. I'm praying frantically that he didn't see our awkward state.

“Dad!” Blushing bright red she stands protectively right before me while I struggle to get up as fast as possible.

Lord Kingsley eases slightly when he changes his gaze to his daughter.

“Who.” Just one word, that's all he says. Still looking at Mia he points at me.

“That's Aeron! I told you about him!... I'm not whimsical...”

Taking all of my courage, I bow stiffly with my right fist over my heart. It's the etiquette of this world.

“It's nice to meet you. My name is Aeron Evans.”

My name startles him, but he still glares at me and frowns when he sees the magic circle. He responds after taking a few deep breaths:

“Both of you, follow me. Lily, call Leonard. Tell him to bring the shard to my work-room.”

His commanding tone wouldn't accept any protest.