Chapter 6 - The Summoning Ritual

Time Unknown

I couldn’t help but feel that I had somehow betrayed Filomena, even though I was certain I had done nothing wrong. Some logical part of my mind knew that I hadn’t but the feeling remained. I had to reassure myself that everything would be fine, she would be back and our bond would be stronger than ever. Wouldn’t it?

Ms. Proctor gently placed a stack of thick books with yellowed pages and worn leather covers. The gilded letters on the sides were faded, and some were missing altogether. My eyes widened at the reality of the monumental task before me.

“Normally, this is not something you would do until your third year. As such, I will help you with the alterations to make the summoning ritual specific to your femtagh Filomena. I can provide guidance, and clarification as any of your teachers might, but I will do none of the actual work. Do you understand?”

I nodded, and grabbed the first book titled “A Rudimentary Guide to the Mechanics of Summoning” and blanched.

“If there is anything you should need please let me know.”

“Could I get a notebook and some sort of writing utensil?” I asked, “I’d like to take notes.”

“Of course,” she said kindly, “Would you like some more tea, or a snack? This may take you some time.”

I shook my head, “No, thank you. I’m fine for now. Although…”

“Yes?”

“Is there a time limit on this test?”

“Not at all. This is a special dimension where time- how do I put this? Time is only provisionally here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“To tell you the truth, I barely understand it myself. Time exists here only inasmuch as it is necessary for certain facets of your existence. Does that make sense?”

“Not really.”

“If time didn’t exist here, you would not be aware of your existence in this space. However, since there is no way for us to know how long each examination will take, and since it must be taken one to one, and there is only one of me, time here does not relate to certain biological functions you possess, nor does it relate to the way time works outside of this space.”

“So, I won’t age here, and no time will pass outside this space?”

“Yes.”

“But, because I need time to exist in order to take the test, it does exist.”

“Correct. So it exists but only to the minimal amount necessary to fulfill its function- you taking this exam.”

“So, I can take all the time I need, without worrying about taking up the time for someone else to take their exam, or feeling rushed into making a mistake.”

“Ah, I see you understand perfectly. Your parents were right about you being smart. Now, why don’t you focus on the task at hand, and save worrying about the nature of time and the universe another time.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And with that, I began trying to decipher the pile of books in front of me, and thought about how weird the space I was in was. I’ll admit, I had a hard time with that, but any time I had a question, and there were a lot of them, I decided to just write it down in the notebook and ask Ms. Proctor or one of the teacher’s when I got a chance later.

Reading through the first book, I quickly lost the plot. The technical jargon was a lot, and I found myself having to turn back to previous pages and re-read sections when I forgot what a term meant. I tried writing down vocabulary that seemed important, but there was a lot of it and my hand cramped up.

I found myself needing to take frequent breaks. Ms. Proctor didn’t comment on that whenever I said I needed a break, she simply offered me tea, snacks, and pleasant unrelated conversation. At one point, she did say that if I needed to take a nap in order to refresh my mind that I was welcome to do so. I didn’t take her up on that offer.

After hours (days?) of this, I managed to get through about half of the books. I began writing out a plan of attack. The basic ritual was simple enough, you drew a fancy geometric circle, each part having special meaning, and added some magical doodad as an offering. I say offering but the book made it feel more like bait. It had said that the better the offering the more powerful the hollow you would attract.

“Ms. Proctor,” I was finally determined to ask, “the book says that I will need an offering in order to do the basic summoning ritual, but the letter said that all materials were provided for the ritual. What’s to stop someone from requesting some obscenely rare object as an offering?”

She gave me a strange look.

“Not that I am planning to, it just sort of occurred to me that someone might try that to end up with a crazy strong familiar. Trying to show off or something.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Ah, I see,” she paused for a moment, “I happily provide most of the common summoning materials, but I usually draw the line at a certain price point. We are a school, not a charity. Students have been known to have their families provide some rarer materials for their students, and I do allow that since the academic quality of the ritual is not affected.”

With my curiosity satisfied, I continued going through the pile of textbooks, and taking a break when my thinking started to be affected.

When the time came for me to actually put down the magic circle, I asked Ms. Proctor where I should do so and with what. She brought me down a path made of irregular paving stones to a simple octagonal building with only one room.

The floor and walls were a dark green, some sort of hard stone made completely flat, and they were all covered in chalk dust. The ceiling was also the roof and made of glass that was framed at every corner with metal. It was lit by whatever source had lit the garden, but it was slightly dimmer than it had been outside.

Ms. Proctor handed me a box of sticks of white chalk, and explained that the walls could be used to take notes and practice should I need it. The floor was for the final magic circle, and I should leave enough room for us to walk around the final circle.

I thanked her and began working through my notes, and practicing drawing with the chalk. I broke more than a few sticks trying to figure out how much pressure to apply. It took longer than I care to admit before I felt confident enough to try drawing on the floor.

I ultimately had to draw my summoning circle at least a half a dozen times before Ms. Proctor would provide me with the offerings. I placed six lumps of eternal ice in their designated places, and then I had to try and balance four candles around the circle in just the right position.

With a final nod of approval from Ms. Proctor, I lit the candles and did as the book instructed. I knelt down, with my notes laying on the ground next to me, and placed my hands against the thick chalk outline of the final magic circle. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and imagined an invisible organ by my heart. From what I had read, this was something that really did exist, just not in a way that could easily be quantified. My notes said it was called a core. The better you were able to visualize the reality of your own core and the motion of the energies, the better you were at magic.

With what I felt had to be a close enough approximation, I visualized the energy stored in my core flowing towards my hands and filling the chalk circle. A strange warmth filled my hands, and I could almost feel a draining coming from my chest.

Am I just imagining things? Am I actually doing magic?

I felt something snap into place, and I opened my eyes. I very quickly wished I hadn’t.

Not three inches from my nose, was the hollow who had killed my parents. His sharp teeth stained red. I knew what those stains were. I knew what was about to happen. I stumbled back, scrambling backwards as best I could. The self-satisfaction of the man was evident as he simply straightened himself to his full height and took a step.

At least, he would have taken a step, but instead his foot hit an invisible force, and he frowned.

“So, you’ve learned how to do it properly? Pity. I was looking forward to tasting the flesh of the child who had my brother killed.”

Ms. Proctor stepped forward, “Enough of your nonsense, murothoid. You are not a fit familiar for anyone let alone one of our students. Begone.”

Oh, no. Did I fail? Does this mean that they won’t let me in? Not only does this mean I have nowhere to go, but I don’t even have Filomena by my side anymore.

“Oh, is this the entrance exam for that stupid little human school? How fun. That must mean you are that uppity servitor spirit the humans have kept around for too long. Aren’t you supposed to bind any summoned hollow to your students? Isn’t that the rule?”

“Even if it were, you would not be able to harm the one you’re contracted to.”

“Oh? Maybe, not physically. But it might be fun to torment the little snot, and make sure she fails at anything she tries to do. What do you say, little snot? Do you have a name for me?”

Ms. Proctor turned her head and looked at me, “Maxine, do not name this thing, even in your head. Be very careful.”

“Oh, shut it, granny,” the murothoid spat, making a shooing gesture that caught Ms. Proctor off guard and knocked her down, “Uh oh, human, it seems your barrier isn’t properly holding. Better name me before I break through, and kill you both.”

The murothoid pressed both hands to the invisible barrier like a kid at the aquarium, his large black eyes full of glee, and pushed. I could see him straining, while Ms. Proctor was trying to recover. I could see the distortion of the barrier like warping glass, as he pushed against it. I could feel a deep stabbing pain in my temple as the barrier flexed, and warped.

“I’m coming,” the murothoid sang in a voice that froze my blood, “Coming to get you! Give me a name, little snot. Name me, and the pain will end for now.”

Just as I was about to give in and name him, a large spear of ice came out of the ground and impaled the murothoid. He was only there for a split second before he simply disappeared, and as the spear descended back into the ground, there was Filomena.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her, but quickly remembered Ms. Proctor, “Are you okay, Ms. Proctor?”

I ran to her side, and helped her slowly to her feet.

“Well, Maxine, I must say that was the most eventful entrance exam I think I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Proctor, I don’t know what happened.”

“I can tell you that,” Filomena interrupted. I suppose she wasn’t technically Filomena anymore since part of banishing her meant unnaming her, but regardless she explained, “I answered the summons but along the way it was interrupted by that murothoid. They rather enjoy interrupting summoning rituals, and some can even work around the normal summoning barriers.”

“Really? That is quite disturbing,” Ms. Proctor said, “I will have to bring this up with the Dean of Curriculum so that we may research a way to rectify this issue. Thank you for your insight.”

“Filomena, thank you for saving me again,” I said, and all at once, I felt something that I hadn’t realized I had been missing become complete again.

“I’m afraid that I can’t say with certainty that you have passed,” Ms. Proctor admitted with a frown.

What? Didn’t I summon a hollow? Wasn’t that the test?

“I will need to consult with the school board about the circumstances of your exam in order to maintain my impartiality. I am sorry, Maxine.”

And with that revelation, I passed out. Something I really wish would stop happening to me.