Louise trembled as she slowly walked to the head of the class. She hated it, she really did. No matter how much she studied, focused, worked, no matter what she did, things always screwed up. She couldn’t help it, it just was. In a land where being noble and having magic were pretty much one in the same, being unable to use it was like being a cripple. Like being a commoner, nothing more than a faceless servant or a filthy peasant.
She steeled herself and took a deep breath. This was it. This was her chance to prove herself. Today was her day. All she had to do was get this one spell right, to summon her familiar and she’d prove it. She’d prove it to classmates, to her family, and more importantly, to herself that she just wasn’t some zero. That she was a real mage. Today was the day she’d worked so hard for.
She’d spent months studying for this, learning about every version of the ritual, asking questions, looking into the theory, doing everything she could to ensure her success at this one pivotal moment in her life. Why she’d even turned in early and had a extra hearty breakfast to make sure nothing would ruin her chance.
Regardless she was still terrified.
“Miss Vallière, it’s your turn,” Professor Colbert said.
Colbert. She liked him. He was kind to her, supportive and helpful, not judgmental nor dismissive. He never gave her those painful looks that questioned her right to even be here. The ones that made her feel weak, and useless, like the big Zero everyone said she was.
Looking at the other students she saw that the room had been split between those who’d summoned their familiars and those who had yet to try. That redheaded bitch, Kirche, had somehow managed to summon a flame salamander, the kind of familiar that only the most powerful mages could bind to their will. It made her teeth grind. How come that slut got something so powerful. Maybe she’d get something cool too. Maybe a griffin or a dragon! Maybe a manticore like her mother had. The very idea made her sigh in contentment. Maybe then her mother would smile at her, say how proud she was, and tell her she just wasn’t some worthless failure.
Taking a deep breath she shook her head. Better to be realistic. At this point, she’d settle for anything at all. Anything to prove that she really was a mage and not some piece of trash pretending to be something she wasn’t.
“Please approach the summoning circle, Miss Vallière”
Nodding to her teacher, Louise reluctantly stepped forward. Slowly, flawlessly she began to sketch the runes into the dirt, forming the pentagram the ritual required. Slowly, she rose and extended her want with a flourish. Taking a deep breath she began the ritual chant. Her enunciation was flawless, he wand motions were practices. This was it. She’d worked so hard for this, it was like her entire existence had been leading up to this one moment in time.
As she spell was cast, she knew that this would probably be simply the latest failure in the long string of disappointments that was her life, but deep down, she prayed with every fiber of her being that she’d be a success, if only this once.
In a flash of smoke and noise, the circle exploded.
She wanted to scream, to rage, at the world. Such explosions were always the symbol of her failure as a mage. Still though, against all odds, she prayed that there would be something, some creature within, to prove her worth by its very presence.
As the smoke started to clear she saw a form inside and her heart leaped. Whatever it was, it seemed humanoid. A magical humanoid familiar? So cool!
Too excited to think she rushed into the cloud and completed the ritual, tapping the figure on the head with her wand. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being, and make her my familiar!" Then she kissed her familiar on the lips to finalize the magic.
She felt the magic rush through her, completing the spell. It was done. She had a familiar! She was a real mage!
Her moment of glee was then interrupted by a cry of pain and her familiar fell to its knees, holding its hand and crying out in pain.
Confused and surprised, she backed away, and as the smoke cleared it slowly began to reveal the form of…
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(Posted Tue, 11 Jan 2011 05:15)
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