[Summoning Labs] The Fianza Method (Solo)

[Leigo]

Spring 52nd, 512th Leigo was late again. And today of all times… It would be truly dreadful for Anaya to rob from him the knowledge of other worlds. As he made his way to the summoning labs, his feet pounced off the steps, making his muscles ripple and ache. He wasn’t cut out for this, but just a little more and he’d reach the place. Summoning labs weren’t where he would usually meet her, but she insisted on such arrangements from his bonding with Onuo. You’re late again. No, I’m just really into running! The Irylid’s voice was harsh and to the point. That sarcasm of yours is a waste of thought. Wouldn’t you agree? You really are a piece of work. Leigo was getting angry. The familiar was forgetting his place, or was it? Funny, that’s what Fianza usually tells you. Just shut up already! Leigo stopped running for a bit. Perhaps he had been too harsh on the alien; one could never know with these sociopathic icicles. But then again, he wasn’t really a people person either. He would apologize. He needed to apologize. Onuo, I’m sorry, I just got worked up over nothing, and it’s not your fault. Grazing over the obvious isn’t much of an apology, but at least you bothered. In any case, don’t you think it would be wiser to apologize to Fianza instead? Even though Onuo seemed unimpressed by the boy’s attempt to mend what he had harmed, his voice took on a more neutral, calm note. No. Apologizing to Anaya would do us no good, hell she would probably think I’m trying to make fun of her. It was a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless. Most people who knew him from so long ago learned to cope with his sarcasm and bouts of arrogance, but they never really took his more civil behaviors seriously again. The feeling of being attached to someone again came as a surprise, but still, not enough for him to change his ways; people never changed. His musings got interrupted by Onuo. Move your feet already, we’re going to be as late as a Kirt! And there it was again; the harsh tone. It was easy to perceive the alien superficially. Just like he took everything in by the rules, he needed to act on anything within a similar format. There were no mistakes if not for the sake of higher learning, there were no ultimate losses and finally there was no being late unless such action was preplanned. In a way, the two were alike. Still, everything considered, they were still worlds apart. And he had just made fun of the Kirt, or made fun of them by calling them something with logically lesser value… the part with Onuo’s humor/remarks was always rather estranged. This time, he could time the familiar’s patience almost fully and just as the creature wanted to speak, Leigo spoke instead. Yes, we’re going… Are all humans like you? The voice was inquisitive, no longer caring for they could no longer get anywhere in time. Remember how you looked down on me when we first met? Well that is how I perceive most humans; too fixed in one place to even transcend their silly little husks, let alone someone else. The thought was valid in Leigo’s mind, but his companion seemed to have some other ideas. Arrogance… you will need to work on that so it doesn’t get us killed one day. I’m not encouraging you to act dumb, but practicing politeness has no downsides except… Except there’ll be a broom stuck in my back! The familiar let out a low humming sound, a laugh perhaps? What I wanted to say was that some people wouldn’t take you seriously… can’t blame them, honestly. Even though the bond was far too weak for Onuo to sense his emotions or play on them, the creature did so regardless. Was he really below an alien? No, that could never be. Stop! You just passed by the door to the summoning labs! And there you were talking about transcendence moments ago… Alright, he was making Leigo mad; there was no doubt about it anymore. We’ll see who transcends whom in the end. Probably a bad reply in another, more mundane conversation, but somehow he knew that was what the familiar needed to hear. I don’t mind you being wrong, as long as you do so in times of uncertainty… but to be sure and be wrong; such is the fool’s way. The boy sighed, sending his thoughts to the alien once more… hoping to end the argument while it was still on solid ground. Come now, let’s go see Anaya… and remember, take your own advice, be polite and socialize… Boy knocked against the hard wood once, twice, three times, but nothing happened. Was Anaya in trouble? Maybe she had just left because he was late? When he tried to open the door, it was all too quiet. So he pushed it aside, still standing in the pathway, not wanting to take another step further. “Will you get away from that damn door and come here already?! We’ve got work to do!” there was so much relief in that one angry sentiment, that Leigo actually smiled as he closed the door and sat down next to the woman.

[Leigo]

* Leigo smirked patiently at the bunch of manuscripts at the foot of the table, but Anaya didn’t seem to be willing to move things along with any haste. It was probably her way of getting back at him for being late. Damn passive aggressive and childish, but almost effective. Nervousness got the best of him as he tapped left hand fingers across the table; rhythm absent, but the feeling was pleasant. Instead of reacting to his boredom, Anaya simply pretended to read something. He could tell she was making a fool out of him because she had been on one petchin’ page far too long. As his patience wrinkled and slowly died out, his behind started shifting around in the chair as if it was filled with fire ants. On the other side of the large room Onuo and Suiembro seemed to be suspiciously close to one another and he could make out whispers but not what they meant. Were they gossiping? Could aliens even do that? Was that thought back there racist? But then again, what would they gossip about if not their masters… and Leigo disliked people talking about him when he had no way of knowing what was being said. When it came to Anaya, she seemed to have given up on her game of hard to get and she just looked absently at the two familiars who were just as distracted with their own business. Leigo had enough, this needed to stop. He would apologize. But how would he do that actually? Would it even matter if he did? Would she prefer him not to? Perhaps she wouldn’t believe the apology? It was truly strange to care what someone else thinks for a change. “Anaya, I’m sorry. I guess I should have taken the ‘don’t be late’ part more seriously. It’s just that I haven’t really had to uphold any appointments for a long time. And those things get lost along the way; curtness and politeness and punctuality…” but he got interrupted amidst his own bullshit. “Do you really consider me as something you could shrug off simply by saying you’re sorry?! I thought you were taking this seriously! What a fool I must’ve been… it’s alright, you can laugh as long as you get lost after!” she was genuinely angry. That feeling bothered Leigo, why would people get so worked up over such little things? Maybe she was convinced that he still wasn’t taking her or anything she said seriously? After all he was known to be less than interested when people started spouting personal nonsense. But Anaya should’ve known that he would listen to her nonsense, maybe he could or would even relate to it. He wouldn’t just write it off, not with her, never with her. The long moment of silence pressed against both of them, but the familiars seemed unfazed by the change in conversation. “I am taking you seriously! We both know how it is to lose someone, but you can still get yours back! So bear with me and slap and scold me when I wrong you, but don’t give up on me. Don’t give up on me, because I won’t give up on you! Please…” laying his hand on hers, he was lost for words as to how to proceed, but when she simply got up Leigo assumed the worst. A slap came, and it was so fierce that the walls of his ears rang with it far longer than the pain could ever extend. Just as he was about to ask what had just happened, boy remembered his own words and remained sitting; waiting for the lesson. However when Anaya sat next to the bunch of manuscripts and slipped some writing supplies across the desk, Leigo smirked. “What’s the meaning of this…? I thought we were doing something more… well magical?” little did he know of the difference between world and personal magic, but this woman was about to teach him.

[Leigo]

* “You know, blowing things up isn’t all there is to magic. Destruction is but one side of the coin, creation which is often many times more valuable holds the other side. But that would be a lecture for another time. What you need to realize is the difference between your juvenile fantasies caused by leaning too much on personal magic and the world magic that actually requires thinking more than 5 chimes ahead of schedule. Now, if you’re still following me, you need to understand that summoning is neither destruction nor creation, but it helps encompass both through the aid of foreign entities… much like our own familiars. Do you think you’ve grasped at what I’m telling you?” Leigo wanted to comment sarcastically, but chose not to. Nodding was a good second choice. Seemingly reassured with the boy’s attention, Anaya kept going in a neutral, factual voice. “While it does look like you aren’t completely clueless, let’s start at the beginning. First and foremost, the worlds are accessed by… you’ll need to start writing things down right about now, boy!” she paused as Leigo tried to steady his hands on the slightly crooked desk. “As I was saying, the worlds are accessed by marking down coordinates inside the circle so that numbers orderly defy the flow of time. You’ll need that, write it!” the woman paused once more, annoyed by Leigo’s slow writing speed. On the other side of this, the boy was quite content with his distinguished handwriting stern and cursive, yet elegant and airy… just like any highborn man should. But then again, he wasn’t really highborn, just well situated for a while. It was all probably just about perspective, if you felt like a highborn, you were one. “Got it, please, do continue.” “You can see that you’ll need to write the coordinates counterclockwise, and that would be sixteen numbers. Here I have written down the coordinates. The only one you’ve seen is the world where the familiars come from; another world could be contacted from its surface, but more on that one later. For now all you need to know are the numbers. Here they are; Kseyden, Shoiden, Swalden, Zaiden and finally Fyrden. You’ll copy all of them to that sheet of paper and then I’ll show you how to set up a proper circle.” She then waited again, getting more patient as the ordeal unfolded. He took his time, not wanting to spoil anything, number at a time he immediately copied the numbers. However even long after he was done copying from the original sheet he was stuck trying to arrange the numbers in a circular structure that would defy clocks. Seeing his predicament, Anaya started speaking in hopes of getting something done that day. “Don’t get worked up over nothing now! Let’s see you draw a regular circle on the other side of the paper, make it a normal size and place it in one of the corners.” Leigo watched her confused for a while, but obeyed nonetheless. Much to his surprise, what he drew looked like a deformed version of the summoner’s tool. Anaya gestured him to give her the quill and once he did, she drew another circle, similar in size, right next to the deformed version. Unlike Leigo’s, her circle clearly had structure and the right kind of lines required to hold out a summoning. “Don’t worry about it; you’ll just have to pick up some basics of drawing. And it’s not all that bad, we all started somewhere, right?” she tried to be supportive, but it only made things worse for Leigo. How in Laviku’s name could he be incompetent? “Let’s try another method until you’re better suited to draw things yourself. It’s fairly similar to what I had used when I first started summoning.” She paused as she looked around the room, her gaze fixing on one of the corners. “Grab that wooden pillar like thing over there and that rope next to it too. Good, that’s it. Now bring them here.” While she was speaking, she pushed the furniture around to the best of her ability. Not wanting her to do it alone, Leigo laid down the things she asked in her hands and moved the tables and chairs around until the woman nodded the floor was clean enough. “I do know you’re trying to help, but why we can’t just use one of the already drawn circles here?” it seemed like an obvious question to the boy, but Fianza seemed to think otherwise. “Because you won’t always have access to this room and should that ever happen you’ll know how to make a circle yourself. Now, help me with this!” she stopped talking as they tied rope around that pillar like thing and then Anaya told Leigo he should do something apparently ludicrous. “Sit on that thing!” eyeing her suspiciously, the boy asked another obvious question. “Why?” the woman would probably get flustered if it was anyone else, but she had her fill of fighting with the boy today, so she just replied in calm voice. “Because you need to hold it steady while I draw the actual circle!” as she finished, she tied a piece of chalk to other end of the rope and started circling Leigo in crouch like position. In less than a chime, the basic structure of the circle had been completed. “Well… that was quick…” Leigo was about to leave his post. “Don’t move! I haven’t finished yet.” Then she untied the end that bound the chalk and cut about an inch of it. When she tied it back again, the boy got chatty. “So, these worlds, does everyone know about them or did you like discover any of them?” Anaya laughed shortly before replying. “No, they’re quite common among summoners.” But curiosity wouldn’t be stopped there. “And all those worlds, what are they used for? Like what do people summon from there?” the woman sighed, obviously not used to this many questions. “People reach out to Fyrden for familiars; Kseyden for exotic plants, Shoyden… well no one really summons things from there unless they have something destructive in mind. It is home to many foreign creatures, none really willing to do your bidding. Some actually dare to call upon the madmen of Zaiden, I believe they’re called the Diverse, but don’t hold me on my word for that one. And finally there’s Swalden which is notably the safest to summon from. Secretive types send out encrypted information there, but in my days I’ve managed to extract both really valuable information and stuff as mundane as old culinary recipes. Generally whatever people find too valuable to hold here, they get a memosite and send it flying to Swalden’s crystalline ring. And it’s done! Were you paying attention the entire time?” Leigo nodded curtly, but he hadn’t really gotten down the technique. No matter, he would just practice drawing on his own later. There was bound to be a book or two about summoning around the library somewhere too. He just needed the time to find it. Luckily it was much easier when you had some idea of what you’re looking for.