A Treatise on the Practical Applications of Summoned Creatures

Summoning creatures from elsewhere has become so commonplace that there are several classes, and even specific evolutions, devoted to becoming a Summoner. And yet, there are a myriad of questions that have plagued scholars throughout the ages. Are summoned creatures from this universe? Can such exotic life live and thrive under the constraints of our universe? These give rise to further questions, such as if all worlds in one universe will have the same magical density. Alas, the Gods have been notoriously silent in answering this question, and there is no practical way to test it. Even if we overcame the incredibly large odds of finding a fragment of a planet outside of our own system, odds so incredibly large they might as well be zero, saturating it in our own magical field likely warped it enough that it no longer resonates with its planet of origin. With no way of finding an acceptable answer, these types of questions are best left to the theorists to argue to their heart’s content. Here, we shall focus on the practical aspects of summoning, and how it differs from the ancient, and far more dangerous, form.

One of the most asked questions about summonings is what happens when they are killed on this plane. This is a difficult question to answer, and in all honesty it likely has true roots in all possibilities. Take a simple wisp summon for example. It’s defining characteristics are a gentle glow and a slight elemental affinity. Due to the lack of distinguishing characteristics between members of the species, it is quite impossible to tell what happens. Was it immediately sent back to its plane of existence, awaiting its next summons? Does the contract transfer to another, nearly identical wisp? Even if we could compare the intensity of the glow of the newly resummoned wisp with the old one, we couldn’t eliminate the difference being caused by a loss of power due to the death. The only certain thing is that the contract still gives us access to a wisp. And in truth, that is all that should matter with such a simple summon. They are usually only useful as a dim light source in a dungeon, or for possibly distracting creatures that are fascinated by lights. Just be careful that you aren’t constantly sending summons to their doom, as that will invite consequences described later in more detail.

So we have discussed indistinguishable summons, what happens when our summons are more, unique? For that, we don’t have any definitive answers. What is far more likely to impact is not intelligence, but the plane that the summons is from. Barring specific forms of attacks, most spiritual entities that are summoned are simply returned to their plane for a certain amount of time. They also tend to have a decrease in their own power, and possibly harbor a bit of resentment toward their summoner, depending on the circumstances of their death. Physical beings are far more likely to be lost, and summoners who call forth the physical being are often cautioned on summoning them.

Warnings about taking care of your summons aside for now, let us delve into the ancient form of summoning. While far more likely to succeed, it was also far more dangerous. Instead of the current method, which simply requires one to astral project with the proper offerings, the ancients would actually open portals and call forth a physical manifestation of their intended summoned. Not only is this method subject to interference, but without proper wards and a way to placate angry creatures, well. One has only to look to the fallen Celestial Empire to see the folly. Believing himself to be part divine, their final emperor decided that all Celestial beings would obey his orders without question. Wanting to stem a drought, he called forth a Grand Seraphim with no wards. Insulted by the lack of deference to its power, compounded by the lack of gifts for answering the summons, and finally enraged by the trivial (to it) nature of the summoning, the creature unleashed a spell of such devastation that even now the capital that was the epicenter is a wasteland.

There is one final method of summoning that hasn’t been discussed yet, and that is one that comes at the most cost. If one knows the True Name of a creature, they may use this to force a summoning. Not only that, but if the summmoner’s willpower exceeds that of the summoned by a large margin, they may force the summon into obedience. Be warned! To any who would walk this path: You must either completely dominate your summon, or be forever on your guard! The slightest opening in their orders that will allow for a bit of vengeance will be taken.

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Sean’s POV

I silently closed the book of summoning, unimpressed so far. The writing was dry and lacking specifics, and it was honestly just boring. I understood that summoning another creature was going to have issues, but the author felt the need to harp on the most obvious of dangers. Keep it contained, try and win it over to your cause with kindness, and don’t throw its life away needlessly.

“Mmmm, done with your book?” Elendria asked as she stretched beside me. It had been a week since our excursion to hunt pandacorns, and our entire crew had been busy. We had gone deeper into the monster territories, all to push Elendria to her max level so that everyone could evolve. I even held myself back, letting the others gain the experience.

“Yeah. For now. It’s one of those ones that you just can’t read all at once, ya know?” I asked, getting a chuckle from her.

“I know. I had to read it too. Bastard made me summarize it too, just to make sure I was internalizing the knowledge.” She growled out the last part, causing me to gently rub on her shoulders.

Once I felt her relax a bit, I asked, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you seem to have a rather eclectic set of skills. How did you manage to become so powerful with ice, and still get such strong summons?”

She tensed for a second, then sighed, “I suppose you would want to hear the story eventually. I warn you, it isn’t pretty.”

“That’s fine. Sometimes life isn’t pretty,” I reassured her.

She continued, “Yeah, well. It started out with my asshole brothers. I don’t know what kind of paranoia they are living under, but they always assumed that I would escape from my slavery despite the collar they put on me. Unluckily for them, you can’t forbid someone from evolving, even with a slave collar. What they can do, is prevent you from learning skills that would allow your expansion into your best evolution option. I was forbidden from learning soul skills. Once they sold me, my first owner wanted me to have an enhanced lifespan. So he made me learn ice skills, and eventually take that evolution.”

“After he lost me gambling, my new owner decided I was to be his beautiful last line of defense. But he also needed some deniability, and it was obvious I was a frost elf. So I was forced to learn the summonings. If ever I was alone with certain targets, I was to use a summon to slay them. As the wounds were obviously caused by fangs and claws, I was never suspected. Especially since the only ones to know I could even summon creatures was my master and slaves bound into silence.”

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“Of course, being on the wrong side of the law can shorten one’s life expectancy. A general got sick of him, and had him arrested on trumped up charges. All his belongings were confiscated, and I ended up property of the general. He was at least a decent sort, and allowed me the most freedom. He let me train with his mage corps, and that’s where I perfected the Frozen Hellscape. Without my summoned wolf, I need at least two mages backing me up.”

We sat there in silence afterward, and I wondered what was going through her head. That was a tough life, to be passed around and ordered to grow in areas that you weren’t interested in. Not only that, but her bastard brothers had stolen her future. “I know we have done this before, but the path we chose has no way to go back. Are you sure when we get there that you are fine with killing your brothers?”

“Yes.” She answered immediately. “They aren’t themselves anymore. The best we can do is to free them.”

I knew she was right, but by god I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that she didn’t have to deliver the final blow. That would destroy her, I think. “So, do you and the others know what the evolution order is going to be?”

“D’Vorak, D’Vaen, then myself.” She replied. “My evolution shouldn’t affect my body nearly as much as theirs will.”

“They know their evolutions?”

“Yeah. Both are strong evolutions. D’Vorak is going to be a Hunterspawn. Supposedly descended from the creature that inspired the constellation, their ability to track is unmatched. Woods, open field, rocky terrain, it doesn’t matter to them. They can hunt and hide in any terrain with ease. As a sacrifice to increase their skills, ranged weapons are forbidden to them though. Instead, he will have to sneak close enough to strike and possibly use a variety of snares. By preparing their kills carefully, they can learn vital strikes based on the type of creature. While those cause massive damage, they also get boosts to bleed attacks.”

“D’Vaen is going to be a bit more noticeable, though every bit as deadly. Ever heard of a Quicksilver Demon?”

“Nope.”

“Well, their skin and blood is infused with metal, allowing them to shapeshift it at will. Any weapon he has used, he can remake, though the enchantments won’t be there. Weapons skills get boosted, and since the weapon is a part of him, he can tell exactly where he is doing the most damage. He will gain a good bit of physical protection, but extreme temperatures and lightning are vulnerabilities that he will have to negate with gear.”

I nodded, thinking the same thing. “He’s going to be limited in gear though. Something on his head, neck, and pants area are about it. Maybe upper arms, depending on how much he shapeshifts.”

“I’m sure he’s thought that through. He did seem to focus on knives and swords, so it isn’t like he is going to be remaking polearms for battle. Plus, he has the berserker brothers you know training him. They’ll be more than happy to push his limits, especially since he’ll be a good bit tougher than most.”

“Heh, ain’t that the truth? I’m sure they would love the challenge of an opponent who can switch weapons at will.” I said, smiling at the thought.

Elendria snorted, and I felt her shaking her head. “So what about you? What are you going to be doing while we all evolve?”

“Well I don’t want to get too far ahead of you guys, but I did want to help the craftsmen create the gear they owe me. So I was thinking that I could challenge a creature to a bit of aerial combat, see if I could learn a few skills and tricks.”

She immediately sat up and turned to look at me, “Hold on there. Before you go and do something like that, you will tell me what you plan on dueling and just how you intend to indicate to the creature that it is a duel and not a fight to the death.”

I chuckled, smiling at her, “Seriously? Do you not trust me?”

“Not one bit mister.”

“Fine. Robert and Lothian are convinced that they can make me at least a gold level chest guard that can help me with flying. They just need the tail feather of a certain monster.”

“Oh no, you aren’t getting off that easy. What monster are they sending you after?” Elendria glared at me, and I had no choice but to surrender. She was going to get upset either way, and at least this way she could cool down for a few days before she went in to evolve.

“Skymaster.” I said quietly, watching her for a reaction.

“Skymaster,” She repeated, stil staring at me. “You do realize that it is called the Skymaster for a reason? Not even dragons fight with them in the air.”

“Yeah, but what would an oversized lizard know about fighting in the air? Besides, I have a plan.”

“Oh, a plan? What is it?”

“See, there’s a Colossal Falcon nearby, and as you know they can fly incredibly high. My wings cast too big of a shadow, so I’ll use the falcon to get me above the Skymaster. I jump off, extending my wings straight behind me. Grab the feather on my way down, then use my wings to fly away.”

She shook her head and put her face into her palm. She was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time before finally speaking, “Let me get this straight. Your plan is to dive off of a falcon from incredibly high, grab the feather and use your speed to let you get away?”

“Well, yeah? I was going to try and make sure that I was between the Sun and the Skymaster, so that he couldn’t see me. Besides, you have to admit, this is a much better plan than winging it.”

She started playfully slapping me on the chest, punctuating each word with a blow, “You. Don’t. Get. To. Make. Puns. About. Deadly. Situations!” She growled out, and I chuckled as I pulled her in close.

“Shhh, shh, shhh, I know dear.” I whispered into her ear. “I have an outline of a plan, and several backups. I know the Skymaster is adept at lightning magic, and I have an idea for trying to neutralize that as much as I can. But I also need practice fighting in the air, so I will be doing my best to fight a defensive battle. Let him waste his strength on my magic barriers.”

“Promise you will take several mana potions, just in case.”

“I promise.” I immediately replied, pulling five major ones out of my inventory. “I have them already lined up and ready to go.”

She sighed, and finally laid back down. “I don’t like it, but we will need gear. Just promise that this is your only time going out without backup. I would feel a lot better if you had one of us beside you.”

“I would feel better with you guys there as well, but none of you can fly.” I said. “Just like there are going to be soul skills that you are going to have to figure out on your own, and I’m sure our demon brothers will be having their own issues cropping up. Oh, speaking of, I just had an idea for D’Vaen. Do you think the craftsmen could create a mana gem that when connected could absorb lightning magic? Then all he would have to do is connect it to his weapon and absorb the attack.”

Elendria shook her head at me, and I could feel her smile as she started to relax again, “Smooth. Don’t think for a moment that I don’t realize you are trying to subtly change the topic. And yes, I’m sure that they could craft such a bit of gear. Probably not for heat or cold though. Now, I’m going to try and get a bit more sleep before morning comes. Are you going to join me or are you going back to your book?”

“Sleep.” I agreed immediately. “Damn book is too boring. Besides, I don’t think I should enter into any summoning contracts without knowing how our team is going to come together, and what weaknesses we need to fill.” Elendria grunted in agreement, squirming just a bit to get more comfortable. Just as her breathing shifted into one indicating sleep, I realized my folly. Her head was leaning on my arm in such a way that she had cut off blood supply, and now my entire arm was numb, leaving me with the eternal question. Do I wake her up, or try and subtly shift and hope that I can get the blood flowing again?