Timber Oakenheart II was, despite his name, a rather ordinary human. Average in both height and weight, with brown eyes and a mop of tawny hair. He even went by Tim.
Timber Oakenheart II
Level 1 Human
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Health: 100/100
Mana: 0/0
Stamina: 50/50
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Spells: None
Abilities: None
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Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 4
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 5
But that was all about to change. Tim had always dreamed of being a summoner and today was the day. After many a month of saving coppers as a bar hand, he could finally afford the necessary scroll and mana potion to summon his first eidolon. Sure, most humans went with easier classes like rangers and rogues and knights due to their inherent magical nullity, but not Tim! Tim wanted to be a summoner and a summoner he shall be!
Tim fantasized about what form his very own very first eidolon might take. A dragon? A demon? A bear? Oh my! His head spun with the possibilities. He had his fingers crossed it’d be an angel, or anything that could speak for that matter. An eidolon that can’t speak seems like a lot of work, at least he imagined. Tim didn’t actually know a single other summoner personally, this is, in no small part, what made this venture so ill-advised.
Tim’s father, Timber Oakenheart I, was a humble lumberjack. He was perfectly content to spend his days in the forests chopping away at the trees. He was skilled with an axe and would have vastly preferred Tim become something nature-related, be it a druid or ranger, or at least a warrior. But the heart wants what the heart wants. And Tim’s heart longed for the assumed thrills of being a summoner.
So off Tim went to the market, pouch heaving with the thousands of copper he had accumulated over the years. Living with his dad and working long hours had culminated in this very moment!
Inventory
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12063 copper
A silver locket
A needle
12 inches of darning thread
Tim quickly spotted what he was looking for, a scribes booth. While Tim may not have any spells at his disposal, others did. Most others, in fact.
He sheepishly approached the apprentice behind the stand. She stood several inches taller than Tim, with long and straight platinum blonde hair and pointed ears. She looked not a day over 120. Elves, of course, have a natural aptitude for all things arcane.
“Er, yes hello. I was hoping to buy a scroll of Summon Eidolon I,” Tim stumbled out.
“Certainly, that’d be 75 gold,” she replied without missing a beat.
Tim proceeded to dump precisely seven and a half thousand copper pieces (as having a view of one's inventory makes it significantly easier to do) onto the poor lady’s counter and offered a sheepish smile. The elf simply sighed and handed over a rolled piece of parchment approximately a foot in length, before slowly shoveling the copper into her own inventory.
One down, one to go! Tim meandered around somewhat aimlessly before stumbling upon his remaining destination, an alchemist. This interaction went much the same, although this time it involved transacting three thousand copper for a Lesser Mana Potion. Once again, the employee was not thrilled at Tim’s method of payment but accepted it nonetheless.
Inventory
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1563 copper
A silver locket
A needle
12 inches of darning thread
Scroll of Summon Eidolon I
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Lesser Mana Potion
At long last, Tim was ready to summon his very first eidolon. He scurried home, eager to begin his magical business. Upon latching the door to his room, Tim eagerly withdrew the scroll and potion both and set them atop his bed. It was at this very moment that Tim came to a rather shocking realization. He had no idea, whatsoever, what he was doing. Rather than ponder this too long, Tim pulled the stopper from the Lesser Mana Potion and chugged the entire flask.
Warning
Mana: 25/0
You will now begin to burn.
Tim found himself reminded by the system that this was a bad idea and promptly began to do what he did whenever he found himself in a stressful situation: he panicked!
Health: 95/100
Mana 24/0
“OH NO,” Tim thought. He had heard of mana burn but never thought it to be so literal.
Health: 90/100
Mana: 23/0
“I’m going to die.”
He was.
Health: 85/100
Mana: 22/0
“I’m such an idiot.”
Correct again.
Health: 80/100
Mana: 21/0
“The scroll!”
Health: 75/100
Mana: 20/0
Tim unceremoniously unfurled the scroll and frantically began incanting the spell written upon it.
Health: 70/100
Mana: 19/0
His very soul felt like it was ablaze, primarily because it was.
Health: 65/100
Mana: 18/0
Finding impending doom to be a motivator like no other, Tim recited the scroll quickly and upon completing the spell found his mana entirely drained.
Health: 65/100
Mana: 0/0
“Phew!”
Tim was so relieved that he took a moment to realize his eidolon was nowhere to be seen.
“Surely there’s been some kind of mistake.”
There wasn’t.
Tim then proceeded to look down. He spotted the eidolon and was immediately overcome with a mixture of relief and disappointment. Before him stood an eight-inch tall humanoid of a sooty coal-like black color. It was featureless aside from two glowing white circles that appeared to be approximately where its eyes should be.
“What is this thing?”
Ash-Kin
Level 1 Eidolon
Well, Tim supposed that was to be expected. But what does it do?
Spells: None
Abilities: Ember
Tim focused on the ability Ember and found himself staring at the following description.
Ember
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Create a small mote of flaming ash able to inflict very minor damage or light small fires on extremely flammable objects.
“Well that seems nearly useless,” Tim thought. “Does it at least have good stats?”
Health: 250/250
Mana: 50/50
Stamina: 0/0
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Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Charisma: 2
Despite being remarkably tenacious, it did not.
The tiny construct waved to Tim, and Tim held his head in his hands.
Timber Oakenheart II
Level 1 Human Summoner
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Health: 100/100
Mana: 25/25
Stamina: 50/50
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Spells: Summon Eidolon I
Abilities: None
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Strength: 5
Dexterity: 4
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 3
Charisma: 5