Professor Aarav

“Welcome, mister Newman. We were just beginning a discussion on the summoning of creatures from the Abyss. Please, take a seat.”

Aarav was the first to speak. John nodded his thanks as the students made a space for him to sit. There were three girls and one guy. The guy looked annoyed at the interruption, and two of the three girls looked at him with slight interest. The forth beamed at him and gesture for him to sit next to her. He did.

“Now, there are many ways to summon creatures from the Abyss. The most common is to memorize a runic circle that calls out to a specific creature or group of creatures and to replicate it with your Spirit. These circles take on the color of your Aura, and can only keep the creature in our world for as long as your Spirit can hold the circle together. More advanced summoners can summon more than one creature at once.”

Aarav’s speaking voice was calm and steady, slowly articulating every syllable and making sure that there was no ambiguity in what he was saying.

“The second most common way to summon creatures from the Abyss is to learn their runic circle and to replicate it on a surface. This is usually done with chalk and on a floor, but summoners have been known to get… creative. After calling the creature, you make a contract with it, and a link is created between your Spirit and theirs. Through this method, even novices have gathered several summons.

“What may be the rarest form of summoning, though, is the act of attracting Abyssal creatures to you by channeling your Spirit into the Abyss and using it like bait on a fishing line. It is unpredictable and dangerous, but the summons gained through this method are noticeably stronger and more sophisticated.

“Now, what you may be wondering is why I even told you of such a method of summoning if it is unpredictable and dangerous. The answer is that we have a student who uses this method with us right now.”

John felt the gazes of his classmates land on him. He wasn’t sure if they expected him to say something, but he wasn’t going to.

“Mister Newman, as you have figured out, is quite the exceptional summoner. Not only that, but his general Conjuration skills are admirable as well. He is well suited to learn alongside you all, and I expect nothing short of respect for him from you, as well as respect for you from him.”

Aarav’s gaze rested on John as he said those last few words.

“Now, onto the practical section of today’s class.”

The students stood, and John followed suit. Aarav walked over to a chalkboard on the opposite side of the wall and grabbed six pieces of chalk, handing them out to all the students.

“I will demonstrate.”

He held his chalk against the blackboard and started drawing, first a series of perfect circles and then intricate runes inside the circles. His hand was fast and sure as he drew. The completed circle was only about three feet in diameter. When he completed the circle, he held his hand over it and there was a slight shimmer of magical energy. A flock of tiny birds exploded from the blackboard, flying outwards and upwards towards the high ceiling of the auditorium-sized room. They chirped and sang among the sound of flapping wings as they circled the chamber.

“Now, replicate. If you have a runic circle memorized, you may draw that. If not, draw my circle for Stymphalian birds.”

The students spread out with their chalk in hand, and began drawing. John stood where he was and looked at the chalk.

I don’t need this, do I?

He knelt and placed his right palm against the floor. He took a deep breath and pictured Ignis in his head. Her flaming fur, her fiery eyes, her warmth, her playfulness. His aura manifested and he felt his mana pour out of him and into the floor. Runes in glowing orange ink spread out from where his hand touched the ground. They kept spreading and eventually his circle was easily seven feet in diameter. Then, with the sound of a thousand howling foxes, flames erupted from his circle and burned Aarav’s birds out of the air. Ignis stood over John, growling and letting loose stray sparks. One of the girls screamed and the guy yelped in surprise.

“Most interesting,” was Aarav’s response.

Ignis soon realized that John wasn’t in any immediate danger and nuzzled him contentedly.

“Good girl,” John cooed at her.

“Whoa! Is that a Firefox? It’s huge! And her flames are so intense!”

One of the girls had recovered from shock and was fawning over Ignis. It was the same one that had offered for him to sit next to her. John smiled at her.

“Would you look at that Ignis, you made a friend already.”

The girl smiled sweetly. She had long brown hair and blue eyes. She was kind of short, and thin, and had what were probably only C’s but on her small frame looked like D’s. John caught himself before staring at them.

“My name is Karen.”

“Nice to meet you Karen, I’m John.”

The other girls were hugging each other in the corner, soft sobbing and attempted reassurances could be heard. The guy was just sitting on his ruined rune circle with an impressed look on his face.

“Mister Newman, although that was yet another impressive show of your conjuration aptitude, you did not use the chalk as I asked you to. Do it again. Please use the chalk this time.”

Aarav’s voice was soft but authoritative, leaving no room for protests.

John nodded and walked with Ignis to a different part of the room, the corner opposite of where the girl was crying. He took a deep breath and looked at the junction of walls in front of him.

I’m not going to copy his circle. I’m going to make one myself. Just need to concentrate.

He looked from the chalk in his hand to the corner, back and forth. Ignis laid down behind him, effectively blocking him from view of the other students.

I can do this.

He started to draw a perfect circle, centered on where the walls met.

She had walked to school dejectedly, sure that her one chance at true love had escaped her. She stood off to the side of the courtyard, waiting for the bell to ring. But then, she felt him. His power had grown exponentially, and was drawing nearer. She looked around frantically, making the ocean of auras blur together. She saw him. His aura was huge. It stood out at least half a foot from his body, whereas most students had maybe three inches. It wasn’t as impressive as a teacher, whose auras were an average of a foot and a half, but for a student it was startlingly powerful and indicative of how powerful he would one day become. She started to desperately push through the crowd, trying to get close enough to call out. She was almost close enough when she saw… Her.

They were holding hands. He was smiling. She was smiling. They looked into each other’s eyes repeatedly. She was beautiful, and her aura was almost as big as his. It was a deep blue. They shouldn’t be compatible. But they were happy. He was happy.

Without me.

The bell rang. She was teleported to right outside her first class of the day, Evocation. She was on the verge of tears when her friend called out to her.

“Layla, hey! C’mon, let’s get a good seat.”

Layla put on the most genuine smile she could muster as her heart shattered inside of her. Then she followed her friend to a seat near the front of the class