Summoner 4

by Eric Vall

  “Varle is different,” I insisted, and Cyra’s lips twisted at that. I could tell that words alone weren’t going to be enough to convince her of anything.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” she replied staunchly, and I noticed that her eyes had stopped on Nia.

  “I don’t think we’ve formally met.” Cyra held out her hand. “Call me Cyra.”

  Nia smiled and took Cyra’s hand. “Nia Kenefick.”

  “That’s quite a name to live up to.” Cyra laughed as their hands fell away from one another.

  “Tell me about it.” Nia’s smile faltered a little, but she covered it up with a sheepish laugh.

  It was easy for me to forget that Nia’s name was widely renowned now that I spent as much time with her as I did, but it was something that she had to live with every day. Now, with her father here to breathe down her neck, she would be even more on edge with her reputation.

  Pleasantries exchanged, our group continued to march to the entrance of the arena. Off to the side of the main gate, I caught a glimpse of Orenn. He stood with two other students that I didn’t know, but as he turned and caught sight of me, he waved us over.

  “Hey, hey!” he greeted and held out his hand.

  “Hey, yourself!” I laughed and shook his offered hand with a firm, friendly grasp. We were friends, but I didn’t think we were at the level of hugging. Maybe a fist bump could have been another alternative, but the handshake worked well enough.

  The others he was with turned their attention to us as well. One of them, a boy about my height with long black hair and thick-rimmed glasses, wore a red cloak like Nia’s with an elementalist pin to clasp it shut. The other, a stocky girl with thick auburn curls and freckles, wore a black cloak similar to Varleth’s.

  “This is Gryff of Njordenfalls,” Orenn introduced. “He’s a summoner on the squad with me.”

  They nodded and waved politely, so I waved back.

  “This is Micha Tripshaw, fourth-year light elementalist,” Orenn continued as he nodded to the boy.

  My jaw dropped. I looked at Nia, who seemed equally impressed.

  “Light elementists are rare,” my slender blonde lover gasped. “I didn’t know we had one at the Academy.”

  Micha laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked nervous but also like this was something he was used to. He didn’t say anything, though.

  “What’s a light elementalist?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I didn’t care if I sounded uneducated. I couldn’t get educated about what I didn’t know if I didn’t ask questions, right?

  He responded to that with a tiny but enthused smile. “Basically, we’re able to manipulate light and the energy around it. So I can make light bright enough to burn your retinas, or I can reflect it and use it as a weapon.”

  “Wow,” I said after I whispered. “That sounds great. I am eager to see you in action.”

  “Thanks.” He chuckled, and I got the impression that he thought it was pretty cool, too. He just didn’t want to admit it.

  “And this here is Petra Potts, third year,” Orenn continued and gestured to the girl next to Micha. “She’s a banisher, like Varleth.”

  Ah, that explained the cloak.

  “Pleasure,” she greeted shortly, but that was that. She didn’t seem much like she wanted to hold any conversation. That was fine. I didn’t want to bother her if she would have rather be left alone. Maybe it was a banisher thing. Having had to absorb essence myself as they did in every rift, I could almost understand why they could be a bit stand-offish.

  “We’re waiting for our other teammate,” Orenn told us.

  “As it so happens, he’s right here.” I grinned and pointed to Braden, who stepped up and extended his hand to Orenn.

  “Braden Flint,” he introduced, and Orenn took his hand firmly.

  “A summoner, huh?” Petra eyed Braden’s cloak up and down with a bit of skepticism.

  Braden flinched and shied back a bit. His nerves were still bothering him, and it showed.

  “Any friend of Gryff’s is a friend of mine,” Orenn interjected and clapped a hand on Braden’s shoulder. “Orenn Vascarti.”

  I watched Braden visibly relax. Orenn really was an upstanding guy to stick up for someone he didn’t know.

  “Is this where squad members are supposed to be before their exam?” I asked in hopes of changing the subject.

  “Nah. We just happened to run into one another here.” Micha pointed to the other side of the entrance where we saw Sleet having a conversation with a tall, handsome man with a buzzed haircut and a decorated military uniform. Above them was a marquee that scrolled ‘exam check-in.’

  “I see. Good to know.” I turned back just in time to see the color drain from Nia’s face before she turned her back to the area entirely. I leaned close in an attempt to be discreet.

  “You okay?” I asked, and she folded her arms as she briefly regarded me.

  “Of course,” she replied, but I had a distinct feeling that it was a lie. I’d let it go for now, but I made a note to check back with her about it later.

  “The first event of the Magicae Nito is about to begin!” a male voice announced, and it echoed across what seemed to be the entire arena and beyond. “Students participating in the first exam are to report to the check-in area immediately. Everyone else, please enter the arena and find a seat in the audience.”

  “You heard the man,” Orenn heaved a short sigh and gathered himself. “Shall we?”

  Micha and Petra nodded and bid us a short farewell. Braden faced us and took a deep breath.

  “You can do this,” Nia reassured him.

  His brows were knitted as he tried to pep himself up and he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do this!”

  “You’ve got this, Braden!” Layla lightly punched his arm.

  “Thanks, Layla.” He patted her head, and Layla knocked his hand away affectionately.

  “Don’t look so down, son.” Maelor’s voice cut through ours, and he stepped up. He placed a hand on Braden’s shoulder and squeezed. “We summoners are capable of great things. You’ve all shown me that. Now, it’s time to show the world.”

  Braden blinked, clearly taken aback by Maelor’s sudden proclamation. I was, too. Maelor had never been one to give pep talks for as long as I’d known him. To hear it now was odd, but it was also endearing.

  “Thank you, sir.” Braden puffed out his chest and bowed his head before he turned to me.

  “If Maelor has faith in you, you can do anything.” I grinned and gave him a high five before pulling him into a one-armed hug. “Knock ‘em dead, dude.”

  “Enjoy the show.” Braden teased, and I laughed as he clapped my back. Then he followed behind Orenn and the others as they made their way to the check-in.

  “Good luck!” I called after them, but I didn’t know if they heard me over all the people that had started to file into the entrance of the arena.

  “Let’s go get seats!” Layla leapt in front of the group and led the way, and I chuckled at her exuberance as she wove through the crowd. We trailed behind her and fell in line with everyone else.

  Once we were inside, the single line split into two, one to the left, the other to the right, but both lead to different sides of the stands. Layla veered to the right, so we did as well, and the group of us trucked up several flights of stairs. It wasn’t nearly as bad as having to climb the never-ending spiral staircase that led up to Sleet’s office, but it was still pretty taxing.

  I heard Maelor huff and puff behind me. I felt bad for making the old man climb so much, so I called out to Layla.

  “Hey, let’s keep it pretty low to the ground,” I said, and she stopped.

  “Are you sure?” She pouted. “The best seats are always at the top. You can see everything!”

  She had a point, but I really didn’t want to subject Maelor to more stairs than he could handle, and I didn’t want to say that out loud because the old man would probably just wack me on
the back of the head for thinking he was weak.

  “Yeah, it’s cool. Just for this one, okay?” I bargained, and after a moment’s consideration, Layla nodded.

  We ended up about halfway up the first set of stone benches, about ten rows from the front, but we did manage to end up toward the center, so that was pretty nice. We wouldn’t have to crane our necks one direction or the other to get the full scope of things inside the mock rift.

  We took our seats, and for the first time, I was able to get a solid idea of how big the arena really was. It occurred to me that I had never sat in the stands before, I had only ever fought down on the ground level. I thought that was large enough, but seeing how high up the rows behind me went and how far down made me feel small.

  After we’d been sitting for a time, I saw Sleet and the man with the buzzed cut walk through the dome where the exam would take place. They were almost to the other side of the dome when I noticed an older woman awaited them at the foot of the teacher’s tower. She was tall, thin, and looked as though she had spent the latter half of her years making fish faces from how hollowed out her cheeks were. She was garbed in a blue dress, and an elegant cape flowed out from the shoulders. Around her waist was a large satchel that clashed with her overall aesthetic. I knew I was no fashion guru myself, but I could at least tell when things clashed, and this look was most certainly that.

  They stopped and greeted her as though she were an old friend, and her pursed lips broke into a thin, warm smile as the buzzed cut man kissed her hand. She seemed to blush, as though he had swept her off of her feet, and I heard Nia gag beside me.

  “Who is she?” I asked and lightly nudged her with my shoulder.

  “Councilwoman Miriam Sharpay,” she sneered, but then she shook her head as though she hadn’t meant to. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of her.” When I didn’t reply, she turned to look at me.

  “Why would I know her?” I asked genuinely.

  Maelor sniffed on my other side as he replied for Nia. “She oversees all things that pertain to summoners.”

  “What do you mean?” This was the first I had heard of a magic council. I mean, sure, I had assumed there was someone above Sleet. After all, he might have been the most powerful mage, but there were still laws and the like to uphold that he didn’t tend to.

  “There are twelve members of the Mage’s Council,” Nia explained. “One for each of the main magic abilities, like the school. Then there is one for each Enclave, and then finally the head of all magic.”

  “So she’s, like, the end all and be all of summoners?” I asked, and Maelor and Nia nodded.

  “She’s supposed to be in charge of them,” my lover replied. “Though as I understand it, she isn’t a summoner herself.”

  I grimaced. “How can someone who knows nothing about summoning monsters be in charge of all things about summoners?”

  “Politics,” Maelor grumbled, and Nia nodded.

  “And you don’t like her because…?” I trailed off as I tried to fish more information out of her.

  “Oh, she isn’t a bad woman.” Nia smiled a little. “On the contrary, she is incredibly smart from what I know of her, but I’ve only met her a handful of times when I was much younger.”

  I quirked an eyebrow in question. “Then why the sneer?”

  “The sneer wasn’t for her.” Nia sighed and looked downcast. “That man is my father.”

  I looked back to the military man with Sleet, then back to Nia, and then frowned.

  “You definitely don’t get your looks from him,” I stated.

  On the other side of Nia, I heard Layla snort, and then she leaned her head on Nia’s shoulder. It was rather adorable. I wished I could frame them at that moment.

  “He’s right,” Layla agreed, and it got Nia to giggle.

  “I know he’s done a lot for mages and the magic community, and it’s amazing to be his daughter in that respect, but as a father…” She trailed off and clenched her fists in her lap.

  “Hey, don’t think about it right now,” I told her softly and put my hand over hers. I had to change the subject. “So what is Miriam Sharpay’s role? Why is she here?”

  Nia relaxed and looked thankful for something else to talk about that wasn’t her father. “She’s here to watch the Magicae Nito, of course. I assume she’s heard a lot about a certain first-year summoner with a hero complex who is the talk of the event.”

  I gaped. “Who, me?”

  “Who else?” A giggle bubbled from Layla’s full lips, and I had just enough decency to blush at the high compliment.

  When I looked back at where Sleet, Mr. Kenefick, and Miriam Sharpay had stood, they were gone, so I assumed they went up to the top of the central tower.

  I didn’t have long to think about it, as within a few seconds, the male announcer’s voice rang out over the crowd again.

  “May I have everyone’s attention?” he asked, and the arena gradually fell silent. “The first event of the Magicae Nito is about to begin! Please welcome our first exam takers! Micah Tripshaw, fourth year, elementalist, Braden Flint, first year, summoner, Orenn Vascarti, third year, metallouge, and Petra Potts, third year, banisher!”

  Fireworks went off as the four of them lined the entrance to the mock rift one by one, and the crowd cheered vivaciously. We were no exception. The lot of us were on our feet as we rooted on our friend. Nia and I also had the added bonus of Orenn being on the same team as Braden so we could pull for them both.

  “Allow me to explain the rules,” the mystery announcer man said. “Each of the students, hereby known as the Takers, treat this exam as though they were entering a real-life rift. The vanguard will enter first and take care of any monsters that might be waiting for them inside of the Shadowscape. Once they ensure that the banisher will have safe passage through the gate, they will signal for their other teammates to come through. The banisher and their shield will look for the catalyst stone and destroy it, while the vanguard will remain at the gate to ensure no monsters are able to get through to the other side. Once the catalyst is destroyed, the mock rift will transport the Takers outside of the gate, and the exam will end.”

  He let that sink in for a moment before continuing. “Once the Takers have entered the mock rift, they will no longer be able to hear or see anyone or anything outside of the projection and fabrication magicks. This is a completely immersive experience, and it is imperative that each of the Takers have their full concentration on the exam.”

  The less magically knowledgeable among the crowd oohed and awed at that, and even I still found it to be amazingly cool.

  “Takers will be graded on how they handle themselves in intense and overwhelming situations,” the announcer recounted as he neared the end of his speech, “both in battle and in working with their teammates, as well as their battle tactics and resourcefulness. Unlike a real rift, however, time will flow the same inside of the mock rift as it does outside. Results of the exams will be made available to the Takers the following morning. Good luck to you all!”

  I took a deep breath as I digested all of what the announcer had said. The exam seemed pretty easy, but then again, I had been in a rift or two and knew I could hold my own against anything they could put me up against.

  “Takers, on your marks!” The announcer man bellowed again. Braden’s team put on their masks, which must have been given to them at check-in, along with the comms on their wrists and the flare gun I spotted on Braden’s hip.

  Braden adjusted his straps to securely hold his mask in place, and I wondered if they would really need it inside the mock rift. Did they go all out and even make it smell like the real one? The announcer said that it was a completely immersive experience after all.

  “Vanguard, ready?” the announcer asked, and Micha raised his hand. He looked to Braden and nudged him with his elbow until Braden put his hand up, too.

  “Go!” the announcer yelled, and then more fireworks went off above the arena as they entered the
rift.

  The inside of the dome shifted to mimic the vast expanse that was what I knew to be the Shadowscape, barren and in ruins, and those weren’t ruins I recognized. I thought that maybe the layout would be randomized for each of the different squads that would enter.

  What really shook me was how small they were within the Shadowscape. It was as though they had been miniaturized so that we could see the full expanse of what was happening to everyone all at once. It was a weird sensation to feel so large, like a God that watched over them from afar but without the power of one.

  It was quiet inside while Braden and Micha scouted the area. There were no monsters that were apparent to either us or them, so Micha motioned for Orenn and Petra to follow.

  Orenn entered, followed by Petra. She stepped past him and stood beside Braden as she looked around the Shadowscape. After a moment, she lifted her arm and pointed to the northeast in the direction of what appeared to be several collapsed establishments on the outskirts of a dilapidated city.

  As Petra and Orenn left in search of the catalyst, the Shadowscape rumbled, and the ground shook. Then a horde of lesser monsters burst out of a pile of ruins to the left and made a beeline for Orenn and Petra. Goblins, imps, and trolls stampeded toward them, and Orenn threw himself in front of Petra as he literally steeled his body.

  Before the first of the monsters could reach them, though, the Shadowscape dimmed, and it took me a moment to realize that Micha had collected what light the rift had to offer and used it in an energy beam that shot from his palms. It wiped out the front few lines like a laser, but the rest kept coming.

  I didn’t know how long he would be able to collect light from the Shadowscape, though. It wasn’t known for its brightness after all, but he still waved Orenn and Petra on. Whatever he had planned, he thought he and Braden had it under control.

  Braden, on the other hand, rummaged in his bag of crystals, and my stomach sank. He didn’t have that many, to begin with, and I prayed he wasn’t beginning to overthink the test.

  “Come on, Braden.” I urged him on quietly since I knew he wouldn’t be able to hear me. My own anxiousness started to rise, but he finally pulled out a crystal that I recognized.