by Aleron Kong
The second item he had retrieved from a thief. To be more specific, he had stolen it from a den of thieves right before burning their house down. Richter wasn’t one to dwell on details, though. He held the book out and Futen pulsed again. The light in the remnant built for several seconds before subsiding this time. That’s strange, Richter thought, it had never taken more than a split second for the remnant to identify an object before.
“You have found an item of exceptional power, my Lord.”
You have found: Tome of Soul’s Familiar. Durability 500/500. Item Class: Epic. Quality: Masterwork. Weight 0.5 kg. Let’s you cast: Summon Soul Familiar. Tome destroyed upon casting. Requirements: Master of a school of magic. Intelligence 20. Cost: 1200 mana. Do you wish to use the Tome? Yes or No?
Twelve hundred mana?! That was more expensive than any other spell Richter had even seen! The most costly spell he had cast was Confusing Mist, and that was an enchantment that protected the entire village! It had only cost eight hundred! Why was this spell so expensive? Despite the prohibitive cost, that was probably the reason that he was holding the Tome at all, he realized. The thieves probably didn’t know what to do with it. Also, Masters of magic didn’t exactly grow on trees. The book was almost priceless, so finding a buyer would have been difficult, but for the same reason they certainly couldn’t just give it away. So it had sat collecting dust until Richter had come along and ‘freed’ it. None of that mattered, though because Richter came to a profound realization. He wanted a familiar!
In games and old stories, familiars always lent their masters awesome powers! He could get a mouse that gave a bonus to lock picking checks or a falcon that would let him see through its eyes. Maybe a cat that he could have pithy banter with. No matter what, it would be awesome. Most gamers would sell a kidney to get an item like what he had here!
There were, he realized practical things to consider, though. The village generated a thousand mana per day. That clearly wasn’t enough.
“Futen, can I combine my mana with the village mana to cast this spell?”
“Yes, my Lord. At the time of casting, simply focus upon how you wish to allocate the mana expenditure. The spell will use it accordingly.”
Okay, one problem solved. So if he combined the village and his personal capacity, it would give him the grand total of thirteen hundred to use. That didn’t take into account the mana upkeep for Confusing Mist, though. The spell required a hefty four hundred mana smackeroos each day or the mists would fade away.
“Futen, what time is the upkeep for Confusing Mist paid?”
“At midnight, my Lord.”
“What happens if the village doesn’t have enough mana to pay the upkeep,” Richter asked.
“The spell would dissipate at midnight, my Lord. It would have to be cast again at the full cost of 800 mana.”
Hmmm, Richter thought. He needed 1200 mana to cast the spell. The village reserves were full now so he had access to the 1000 maximum. If he used his personal mana and took the rest from reserves, it would leave 100. The village recharge rate was determined by the total mana the village could have divided by hours in the day. Put another way 1000/24 gave 41.67 mana regen per hour. So he just needed to know…
“Futen, how many hours until the upkeep is due?”
“Four hours and thirty-seven minutes, my Lord.”
Richter stared at the remnant in surprise for a moment, not having expected such a specific answer. It was useful information, though. It meant that if he cast the spell now, the village would only regenerate 192 mana by the time the upkeep was due. It would leave him more than a hundred mana short of the upkeep!
He stood in silence for a while. He understood the importance of the defenses around the village. The Confusing Mist enchantment was definitely important. On the other hand, the hunters had not seen anything dangerous coming too near the village. They also had the trench and the sprite warriors if something randomly made its way close. He did a few more quick calculations.
The cost to recast the enchantment was 800 mana. His own mana would refill at about 12 points a minute so his 300 would be full well before the village’s had replenished. Counting his own 300, only 500 more mana would be needed. That would take… just 12 hours. He made his decision, the risk was negligible. It was time to get a familiar! He chose ‘Yes’ on the prompt hovering in his vision.
Suddenly, there was a complete absence of sound. Richter blinked, then snapped his fingers, but still heard nothing. The Great Seal changed. The spiral of black became a hole devoid of all light. The edges of the hole distorted space, causing the floor to ripple and bend. The spiral of gold tile was replaced by an arched doorway standing ten feet tall. A gentle radiance spilled into the room and a shining gold tree could be seen through the portal, waving in an otherworldly wind. The blue spiral was replaced by a swirling pool of water. The spiral of Air became an actual ten foot tall swirling maelstrom, lightning crackling across it. Each transformation was independent and silent. In the center of it all stood Richter. He was amazed at the power around him. He could not have left the Great Seal if he wanted to. The boundary of each transformation touched the next, leaving free only the grey diamond in the center of Great Seal.
The silence was sundered by a horrific tearing sound. A small black rent appeared in the space above Richter’s head. It started small, no larger than his forearm, but quickly widened to the height of a man. The sound intensified proportionally to the size of the tear. It kept growing until it reached all the way to the top of the vaulted chamber and stretched from one wall to the other, bisecting the room. On one side was Richter and the transformed Great Seal. On the other side was a white sky. Black clouds were lit with orange bolts of lightning. Beneath that alien sky, was canyon formed of midnight blue rock. The surface of the rocks was multifaceted like the inside of a geode, and each streak of lightning lit the canyon with reflection. At the end of the crevasse were massive trees festooned with thick vines. As Richter watched, a monstrous reptilian head poked through a break in the grove. It looked about with copper colored eyes, scanning for the source of the noise that had drawn its attention. Two large slits were at the end of the snout and as Richter watched, a forked tongue sampled the air.
Instinct took over, and Richter froze in place hoping that the wormhole, or whatever he was standing in front of, acted like a one-way mirror. He did not want this THING to see him! That hoped faded as the bus-sized head oriented on him and the jaw dropped open. The monster stared at him with a sadistic leer. The steel colored fangs were each the size of short swords and it rolled its beet colored tongue around in its horrific mouth. With a graceful step that shouldn’t have been possible in such a monstrosity, it moved more of its large body into the rocky dell. A clawed hand attached to an arm the size of an ancient oak shook the ground with an impact tremor. It brought its other arm forward, and continued making its way towards him. The head moved closer and closer. Richter looked around, but there was no escape! The four Powers still hemmed him. He drew his high steel sword, but knew it would be like attacking a bull with a toothpick! Either way, he would go down fighting! He just REALLY did NOT want to be eaten again!
The monster’s mouth was only a dozen yards away from the tear in space now. Richter could see rotting flesh in between its fangs, and the nauseating smell of decomposing flesh washed over him with its exhale. Richter held his sword up, preparing for his pointless last stand, but all of a sudden there was a resounding boom! The portal slammed shut, and a wave of force emanated from the rapidly closed rift. It blew Richter down off of his feet. He struck his head on the ground and was momentarily dazed. When he picked his head up a few moments later, the Great Seal had returned to its previous appearance. Silence once again reigned in the chamber, but it was a natural silence, filled with tiny, almost imperceptible sounds.
Richter’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest. As the monster had approached the portal, he had been playing out various scenarios. In the
rosiest one, the dragon thing had swallowed him whole and killed him in the process. The next scenario was decided less pleasant, and it taking a big enough bite that arms or legs were left behind. He would still be alive when he was eaten, but blood loss should make his death relatively quick. The worst case is he was swallowed whole and screamed all the way down the beasts gullet just before he was digested for one thousand years in the equivalent of the pit of Sarlaac… None of those options were very attractive, but the last would most definitely not be on fleep, or whatever that stupid phrase the kids were saying these days!
His mood wasn’t great, to say the least. He had used a massive amount of mana and almost been eaten for his trouble. And there was still no familiar! His temper was not helped by the bachelor party sized headache that was triggered by the depletion of his mana. If he wasn’t already on the floor, he would have fallen. His head felt like it was full of cotton. This was probably a good thing since it also felt like someone was hammering on the outside of his skull!
“Futen!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“What the hell?”
“My Lord, are you all right,” a voice shouted. Randolphus was standing just inside of the doorway of the room he had been working in.
“I’m fine Randy. The danger has passed. I’m sorry, I should have warned you I was going to cast a spell. Please go back to work.” The man stared at Richter for a few seconds before turning around. He was shaking his head as he walked back to his desk.
Richter returned his attention to the source of his ire, “Well Futen? I’m waiting!”
“I do not believe that was a lower plane of existence.”
“What,” Richter asked exasperated and confused.
“You asked what type of hell that was. It was not a hell. It was simply an alternate dimension.”
Richter ground his teeth. The lack of idioms in this new world was going to kill him! This stupid conversation was not helping the headache that had barely started to subside. Through gritted teeth he said, “I wasn’t asking if that was a hell or an underworld. I was asking you why I was almost eaten by a dinosaur on steroids when I was trying to summon a familiar. Was that thing it?”
“Ah, thank you for clarifying, my Lord. As you know, my memory is still fragmented, but I have no recollection of a familiar trying to eat its master. Except for perhaps a demon familiar. As we have already established, however, that portal did not go to a netherworld.”
Futen’s inane babble was driving him crazy, “So what was that thing?!” Richter felt like he was shouting. Was he shouting? He couldn’t be sure. His ears were still ringing from clunking his noggin.
“I believe that ‘thing’ was a monster intent on eating you, my Lord.”
Richter just started his silent mantra, ‘Don’t kill him, Don’t shoot him, Don’t see if you can light him on fire. Don’t kill him, Don’t shoot him, Don’t see if you can light him on fire.” By his fifth iteration, he was calm again and opened his eyes. In a tranquil voice, he said, “Futen.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Then where is my familiar.”
“Behind you, my Lord.”
“What,” Richter asked as he twisted in the sitting position he still occupied. He turned almost all the way around and locked eyes with the small creature on the ground behind him. His world changed forever.
Know this! You have summoned your soul’s familiar. Every living being is born incomplete. Connecting with others is the only way to move beyond this limitation. You have cast the spell: Summon Soul Familiar. The spell has reached across all timelines, dimensions, realities and fractal causalities to find another piece of your fragmented soul. You and your familiar are bound until this Universe ends and all souls are once again returned to the True Essence.
Know this! Unlike the paltry connection of most mages and familiars, the Soul Bond between you and your soul familiar has unlimited benefits. You will have to discover these over time, but the first is perhaps the most powerful. Abilities are bound to the soul. As such you will have access to some of your familiar’s abilities. Increasing your familiar’s strength and level will unlock further abilities for you to access.
Congratulations! You have been granted the Ability: Psi Bond. Thoughts can be shared with another being that has the ability Psi Bond. A connection can only be completed by both parties being willing to participate.
Congratulations! You have bonded your soul familiar. You’re familiar is a Psi Dragonling.
Know this! You have summoned your soul familiar at the center of your Place of Power. As you level your Place of Power, your familiar will evolve. As Master of a Place of Power, your familiar has the ability to cast spells in any Power you unlock, and the associated resistances. You’re familiar has access to: Air magic.
The psi dragonling was about a foot and a half long. Its tail was another foot long and was a deep black. The body was long and sleek. The diamond-shaped scales on its appendages and back were slate grey, like the color of a storm in late afternoon. No light reflected off of its hide. The lack of shine didn’t make it look boring or dingy, however. It looked beautiful. Two wings were folded against its sides. They were the same color as the body. It sat up with its two back haunches folded and its two front legs extended. The dragonling stared up into Richter’s eyes. He didn’t know what to do with this new creature which was bound to him, for eternity it sounded like. He was about to reach out to touch it when he heard a small voice.
*Hungry!*
Richter was confused for a moment. The voice was different than anything it had ever heard. It was slightly high pitched and definitely insistent. It didn’t seem to come from any direction, however. Had the familiar spoken?
“Say that again,” he said.
*Meat!*
Richter pulled his head back slightly. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head lightly. He focused on the small dragon and thought at it, *Did you just say you were hungry?*
*MEAT!*
The dragonling blew a small but strong burst of air into Richter’s face. It felt like being whacked in the forehead with a chicken leg. His head jolted back slightly, and he looked at his new life long companion with an amused grin. Well, Richter thought, I guess I don’t like stupid questions either.
“Come on little guy. Let’s get some food.”
Another gust of air struck Richter in the eye.
“Gah! What was that for?”
The dragonling just stared at him and extended its neck to full extension, head cocked slightly to the side.
“Girl,” Richter asked with a questioning note in his voice. The dragonling relaxed and purred slightly. “Okay girl, let’s go get some food.”
He stood up and then turned to face his familiar. He was about to reach down and pick her up when dragonling hunched her body and with a powerful jump, launched into the air. One flap of her wings allowed her to gain altitude. Soon the familiar was gliding lazily above Richter’s head. Fair enough, Richter thought.
He started walking to the exit. Before he got to the tunnel, a slight weight settled onto him. The dragonling had landed on his shoulders, draped across him like a mink stole. She wrapped her tail around his arm to secure her position. Her weight was in no way troublesome. He had expected a reptile to be cool or slimy, but she radiated a gentle heat. Shaking his head in disbelief of how his life had changed in the last few minutes, he continued into the tunnel.
Soooo, my soul familiar is a demanding female who rejects offered affection but later clings to me in a way that everyone can see… There is probably a lesson in all of this…, Richter thought. Then the dragonling jumped off of him and dug her claws into one of the wall draperies, and all he said, “Oh shit, my rug!”
CHAPTER 5
Richter walked outside and looked out over his village. His people moved about with purpose and with smiles on their faces. He was witnessing the beginning of something special, he realized. Building th
is village was a cause worth devoting his new life to.
Apparently none of the events in the chamber of the Great Seal had registered on the people outside. He looked farther out over the surrounding land to see the translucent mists. When they disappeared later, it might cause a bit of an uproar. He decided to make an announcement before people panicked. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he shouted.
“Everyone! Everyone! Please give me your attention.” His familiar shuffled a bit on his shoulders at his shout.
A few people heard him, who then nudged others to give their attention. After a minute, everyone within sight had stopped what they were doing and were looking up at him. “Again, I am so happy to see all of you again! We are already transforming this place. It is no longer the blank slate that we saw when we got off the ships! It has become fields for food, hearths for warmth, and roofs for shelter. It is becoming a home!” There were cheers from all around.
“I want to spend more time with each and every one of you, but first I wanted to tell you a few things. One, the mists ringing the town will dissipate through the night. They will be back tomorrow morning, but for now, no one should go out past the moat ringing the town. For that reason, we will be withdrawing the logs that serve as our bridge across the moat. We will also be shutting the gate until the protective enchantment is back in place.”
Richter made eye contact with one of the men who was serving as a guard in the village, “Gather all of the other guards, and make sure no one is beyond the walls. I see that everyone working the fields looks to have come back in for the night, but I want to know without a doubt. Please do that now. I want the gates closed in twenty minutes.” The man gave a salute and ran off.
Turning his head to address the crowd again Richter said, “The next announcement concerns what many of you seem to be pointing at. This is my new familiar. She is a psi dragonling. She won’t hurt anyone, but you will be seeing her around so please don’t be alarmed.”