Soulburned: The School of Souls

Chapter 23: The Dragon

Entity practically bounced into Summoning class. Lyra had decided to let Entity take the summoning exam for her, and Entity fully intended to make the most of it.

She'd begged Lyra to let her steer from the moment the girl woke up, and... maybe even a little before she'd woken.

Entity didn't sleep, so by the time they finally began to approach Lyra's usual morning routine, Entity's impatience got the better of her. She had immediately begun needling the girl's mind to speed along her waking. Entity wasn't going to tell Lyra that though.

I can hear your thoughts too, you know. Lyra said.

Only the ones I let you. Entity said.

Well, that's not really fair... You can read all of my thoughts.

I mean...only because you let me? Entity shot back.

What?! How would I stop you!?

Ehh...you'll figure it out.

As a result of Enitiy's insistent pestering, Lyra had let the spirit take over early, and as a result, they were now late.

Why didn't you tell me that your morning routine was so...difficult!

I did. Several times. Lyra chided, And I even offered to take back control to speed us up! Several times!

That, Entity said, was never an option.

Entity was one of the last students to arrive and found that almost everyone was sitting cross-legged on the ground, encircling the three summoning circles. Thankfully, Greystole wasn't there yet.

The Summoner's classroom had been rearranged. The large recent desk had been removed or, more likely, dispelled. Entity suspected that it had been a conjuration, due to the size of the thing, she doubted that anyone had been willing to squeeze it up through the Spiral, let alone maneuver it through the close corridors.

In the center of the room, where there had once been a large summoning circle, there were now three smaller circles. It was worth noting that these three circles were not tangent in any way, but entirely separate from one another.

Entity pointedly didn't sit next to Kreg, instead opting to sit next to Veron. Kreg, to his credit, did his best not to stare at her wide-eyed. Two 'nobles' sitting next to each other was certainly enough to blow his pedestrian mind.

Kreg is nice. Lyra thought at Entity. Behave, or I will take control back. I can't believe I'm actually letting you do this...

Kreg is boring. Entity thought back, And you're letting me do this because you want to pass this class. You want to take that extra credit Trial at the end of the term right? To do that, we need better scores.

Lyra had to admit, the extra boost in Logos from an additional Trial was quite motivating, and while she was doing well enough in most of her classes to be contributing to Vocation scores, she was lagging behind in Summoning. Today was the first real exam.

"Uh...hi?" Veron said.

"Hi!" Entity said. "I'm not sure that we've been properly introduced! I'm E-... Lyra."

"Uh...huh." Veron said, "I know who you are. We have four classes together."

"Yes," Entity agreed, "But we haven't had the chance to actually speak."

"Uh. Okay? You know that seat is taken right?"

"Yes. I'm sitting here." Entity said.

"...Right. Whatever."

"You're father's Lord Gimbel, right?"

Veron arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, obviously, and yours is Arthr Mornstag. We're learning so much today!" Veron said with mock excitement.

"...Yes." Entity said.

"Good talk."

The noble girl turned away from Entity dismissively.

"You're not miffed about being disinherited?"

Veron stiffened.

"Excuse me?"

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"Well, you're a Wizard now, so you can't inherit his title, doesn't that sting?"

Veron stared at Entity as if she had sprouted a second nose.

"My family is famous for their Summoners, and even If I won't be able to sit on the Council, I will still be a hugely respected member of my house. And as if you have any place to comment! You're in the same situation as me, but at least my father's not a-"

Professor Greystole entered the room.

"Good, you're all here!" he said. "I hope you're all rested and have continued to practice your summoning Glyphs."

The portly man waddled over and stood in the center of the three circles, careful not to touch the chalked outlines.

"You'll be performing the exam in groups of three." Greystole said, "Each of you will be summoning my dear friend, Jingles the Gnome. Extra score will go to those who perform the summoning the fastest."

The class murmured. Some students were excited by the added competitive nature of the exam, while others were anxious.

"Say hello, Jingles," Greystole said after the class had a moment to digest his words.

A puff of pink smoke burst from one of the circles.

The sound of tiny bells and chimes assaulted the students as a gnome, a small pixie-like creature, wearing a tight patchwork jumpsuit of mottled green, catapulted into the air. The creature spun and somersaulted in the air a few times before landing in a wide stance, its arms outstreched in a comic flourish.

"Tada!" The tiny creature squeaked in a high-pitched falsetto. "Hello!"

"Say, 'hello', class." Greystole instructed, "Jingles is a creature of the Fae and as such prizes politeness over all else."

"Hello, Jingles." The class intoned in a disjointed

Entity giggled.

He's cute! Entity thought.

Lyra had to agree, the Gnome was a charming creature. She especially liked his shoes, which curved back onto themselves at the toe, and were adorned with small bells. He bobbed and jigged around the room, harassing the students for a moment, before disappearing in another puff of smoke. Obvoiusly, the contract the Gnome had with Greystole didn't confine him to the summoning circle.

"Okay, let's get down to it!" Greystole said.

The first group consisted of Kreg, Veron, and another girl, Heidi, whom neither Lyra nor Entity, had yet conversed.

Each sat down just outside their respective circles and began filling them with the required runes and glyphs. Kreg, much to his delight, finished first, and Jingles popped into existence with another flourish. This time, the little Fae brought handfuls of confetti with and sprinkled them into the air.

He was gone in another instant.

"Good, show Master Kreg! Next!"

Lyra was pleased that he did so well, he had helped her study for this, but also since he was in the same Vocation as her, the extra score would directly benefit her.

And so on.

The students cycled through, each summoning Jingles in quick succession. Each time the small creature appeared, he brought with him some different comedic device. Firecrackers, streamers, glitter and the like. By the time it was Entity's turn, the floor was littered with colorful detritus, and the class was roaring with laughter.

"Next!"

Entity entered one of the vacant circles.

"Begin!"

Entity scribbled fiercely, marking lines onto the circle in quick and erratic movements.

Entity, I'm not sure that that's-

Shh. I'm working.

The Target glyphs began to fill and become more and more complex. She filled the glyph to the brim with intricate runes before moving on to the Contract rune. This too she changed away from the prescribed glyphs.

This wasn't the standard contract.

Entity wasn't summoning the Gnome.

Entity, what are you doing?

Entity poured more and more Logos into the glyph.

"Lyra?" Greystole said, finally taking note of Entity's quick movements and irregular "What is this?"

Dragon.

A font of fire erupted from the Summoning circle. Entity laughed maniacly.

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"What were you thinking!" Greystole shouted. "Summoning a Drake in the Vocation Hall!"

"It was a mistake, Professor," Lyra said.

Greystole had pulled Lyra into his office in the aftermath, a small, lightly furnished room tacked onto the classroom.

It was not a drake! Entity said in Lyra's head. That was a dragon! An infant dragon, sure, but a dragon nonetheless! Tell him, Lyra.

I'm not talking to you right now. Lyra replied.

It really had been just a drake.

Entity boiled in Lyra's mind.

Lyra had re-seized control of her body the instant the serpent had appeared.

Thankfully, Entity's edited Contract rune still allowed Lyra to banish the beast against its will. It had only taken a moment to send the creature back to its home plane. The Plane of Fire.

Unfortunately, in the brief moments before it was banished, the creature had sent several blasts of fire around the room. The contract that Entity had scratched out in chalk may have prevented the drake from attacking anyone directly, but it certainly didn't prevent it from causing havoc. The smooth tile floor was scorched in several places, and the podium that adorned one end of the room, apparently not a conjuration, had burst into flames.

"A... mistake?" Greystole deadpanned.

"Er- Yes, professor. I must have confused some of the runes in the Target glyph."

Greystole chuckled.

"You'd have to have confused more than just a few runes to do that, Lyra. That was no mistake! The thing burned half the carpet to cinders! One of the students actually fainted! They thought you'd summoned one of the Accursed!"

The class, as a whole, had panicked dramatically. She was lucky only one of the students had fainted. She found herself slightly disappointed that the fainter hadn't been Veron.

"I'm sorry, professor," Lyra said placatingly.

"Sorry!? Why in the Void would you be sorry?! You summoned a drake! The only thing you should be sorry for is summoning it inside! That is outdoor soulmancy, Lyra! We only have one Vocation hall! "

"I-what, Professor?" Lyra said, dumbly, "You're not upset?"

"Upset!? Void no! You just summoned a drake during your first exam! Why haven't you approached me sooner!? You're skills are well beyond that of a First Tier! They're beyond that of most Seconds! We need to get you into a higher-tiered Summoning class immediately!"

Dragon. Entity said smugly.