The Summoner- Prologue

The Summoner1

Prologue2

War trumpets sounded. Swords glinted in the sunlight as they were raised. Archers readied their bows. The kingdom of Locarina prepared them for the oncoming onslaught amongst the rival kingdom, Elonia. Battles had been fought among the two for years, however the reason became lost in the pages of history. 3

The Locarians knew that this battle would finally be the Elonians’ last…4

A loud trumpet, sounding uncannily like an elephant, echoed throughout Locarina.5

Elonia’s war trumpet.6

With a loud, bellowing cry, the Locarina army thundered out into the Alorono Plains, with similar cries coming from the opposite side of the plains. Within seconds, the shining white armour of the Locarians and the light silver-grey armour of the Elonians’ clashed with each other, swords hacking their way through, axes cleaving any soldier in sight, arrows piercing the supposedly impenetrable metal of the soldiers.7

Blood stained the ground as soldiers were severed from the cords of life. Screams of agony and pain echoed throughout the plains, soldiers chilled to the bone as it rolled down their backs, momentarily stopping them as they thought about their impending deaths, then suddenly becoming hacked or arrowed to death, the life wiped from their very eyes. 8

The fighting continued with neither side gaining any advantage of sorts, only bodies of their dead soldiers as they dropped like flies before the opposing army. 9

Locarina knew that neither side would win; however, with their secret weapon, they would. Another war trumpet sounded, this time it sounded a lot more graceful and harmonic, as if a beautiful maiden was singing her lungs out to the vast plains. On cue, around 100 men and women, and 20 odd teenagers and children stepped out from the Locarian kingdom gates, standing perfectly in four lines, side by side. 10

The Summoners and Callers.11

One would think that a Summoner and Caller would only be ‘reserved’ to the rich and powerful. In this case that was not the truth, but instead the reverse. Not only were the rich Summoners and Callers, but the middle class and even poor people could tap into this marvellous power. The ability to call forth the Summoned Ones, or Summons, the very essence of the Earth itself, was considered great power and was thought to have been granted by the Gods themselves.12

The 120 men, women, teenagers and children side by side, until finally the war trumpet came to a high, shrill note, yet still with the same harmonic grace it was before. Suddenly on that final cue, all of the Summoners and Callers raised their hands and flourished them about. One Summoner raised his hands in an arch over his head, another did sharp, precise movements, while a young girl, no older than 13, gracefully and slowly waved her hands through the air as if she was running them through water. 13

As the soldiers watched in awe as this rare occurrence happened, a black mist, as dark as a moonless sky, appeared in front of the soldiers. Startled, they ran backwards, some drawing their swords as they did so. However, it did not attack, nor did it show any signs of hostility. Only large, bright yellow eyes appeared in the dark mist, soon followed by many others.14

The soldiers soon lowered their defences and crept forward, only to be pushed back as a large explosion occurred, and a large figure burst from the mist, drawing the darkness into its form.15

Ultimately, the large figure split off into 20 other shapes, all slightly smaller than the original one they had come from. As the last bit of mist was sucked into the figures, a large dog, twice the size of a normal dog finally took shape. Soon, it was joined by twenty others, all prowling around in its group, sniffing the ground and growling at any soldier who came near, showing their teeth, which were almost as long as fangs. 16

A loud explosion occurred overhead, and a downpour of rain soon followed, showering the soldiers. As it rained, a figure, made completely out of water, slowly descended from the clouds.17

Going down, it began to slowly take shape, growing arms, head, and what seemed to be a fish’s tail. Eventually, the figure of a beautiful mermaid appeared before everyone’s eyes. The same height as any normal woman, her long, smooth, dark blue hair flowed out behind her as she raised her hand. A thin strip of water ran through her hands, slowly taking shape as a sceptre with a trident at the top of it. Swishing her blue tail around, she swam through the air, holding her sceptre out in front of her.18

Other Summons continued to pour out from the land, into reality, as the Summoners and Callers called them from the depths of the essences below. A line of 120 Summons stood in front of the Summoners and Callers, some holding weapons, others just standing there looking just as determined. 19

“Call in the reserve guard!” the Captain of the soldiers ordered.20

Shouts were heard, and seconds later, an army of 250 men formed a defence line around the Summoners, separating them from their Summons, while the other 250 joined the remaining soldiers. When the last of the guard was in place, the Captain called out, 21

“CHARGE!” and the remaining soldiers and guard ran out onto the plains, their confidence and morale boosted with the help of the Summons as they followed in after them. 22

Running at full speed, the soldiers eventually spotted a cloud of dust in the horizon, running straight for them. Believing that they were the Elonians’, they ran with new vigour, eager to show off their secret ‘weapon’. As they closed in on the distance, they eventually saw their opponents… and they were not people. They looked like dogs, and as the soldiers lowered their swords for a fraction of a second, they jumped them.23

Soldiers were torn to shreds by the dogs as they pulled out their entrails, ripping them apart with their teeth that looked strangely like fangs…24

The Captain widened his eyes in horror. The Elonians’… they too had Summoners!25

As if this thought had floated out of his head and onto the plains, a horde of soldiers, flanked by their own Summons rushed towards them. For a second, the soldiers stood there frozen, shocked by what was coming towards them. Suddenly, the Captain yelled out,26

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! ATTACK!”27

With a bellowing cry, the soldiers headed out towards the Elonians’, followed shortly by the Locarians Summons. 28

A flash of silver and blood spurted out of a Locarian, his chest having been severed by one of the Elonians’, but soon followed his demise when a bolt sizzling with electricity tore straight through him, his charred corpse hitting the ground moments after. As soldiers continued to fight, they eventually ended up having to fight some of the Summons as well, some of which were twice the size of a normal man. 29

A large bird, bearing some resemblance to the ancient pterodactyl, soared through the air, then dived down and started to claw at the numerous Elonians’ with its extra sharp claws, making the blood pour out like a fountain from the large gashes on their bodies. Other Summons started to fight each other, some in the air, clawing at the other’s wings and bodies, while others fought on the ground, either shooting magic or brawling with each other.30

Hell, a place of fire, brimstone… and death. The battle on Alorono Plains bore so many resemblances to it, any soldier still alive would tell you that it was hell. Blood everywhere, staining the once usual green grass into the unnatural colour of red, swords flying everywhere as they hacked every bit of flesh they could reach, jets of fire, water and electricity soaring through the air and catching unsuspecting soldiers off guard as the intense magic shredded through them… this would not end nicely, and both sides knew it.31

As the soldiers continued to fall, the Summons did not. The Summoners and Callers continued to call on them, as their own Summons fell. Eventually, the battlefield only housed Summons and a stray soldier here or there. But no matter what they did, the Summons continued to be replaced as they fell, creating what was going to be another stalemate. 32

However, after a solid hour of fighting, the amount of Summons decreased. The fallen Summons eventually crashed to the ground, the mist surrounding them fading away into nothingness, only to leave behind a stone white corpse that glinted in the sunlight. Both sides thought that the other was weakening… until they saw that even their own Summons was disappearing. Both sides frantic, they turned upon their Summoners and Callers, wondering why in the Lord’s name they were retreating. 33

But they weren’t.34

Summoner after Summoner tried soundlessly to beckon their Summons back to their aid, but to no avail. There was a lull in the battle as the soldiers retreated back to their kingdoms and urge their Summoners and Callers to get their Summons out there, but nothing would work.35

Suddenly, as each Summoner and Caller tried to call forth their aid, a pool of black liquid appeared around each of the Summoner’s and Caller’s feet. None of them realised this, and before they did, it was too late. The black liquid slowly went up the Summoner’s and Caller’s feet, hardening as it fully consumed the feet in black stone and lined with what appeared to be light grey veins, throbbing as the black liquid consumed their prey. 36

They eventually realised, but it was too late. The liquid had already turned hard, rendering them immobile. Fortunately, the children were a bit luckier, as the liquid seemed to consume them slower than it did the teenagers and adults, however they were all too scared to move; they just stood there watching in horror as their fellow Summoners and Callers were consumed by the liquid. One boy, a child no less than eight, realised the stupidity of just standing there, and ran off, but not before his small toe was torn off by the black liquid that had now started to take its toll on the other children.37

Soldiers eventually succumbed to the black liquid, as they too stood there, too shocked for words as they helplessly watched the Summoners and Callers struggle against the black liquid that had now consumed half of their bodies in black stone. 38

Both Locarina and Elonia were at the mercy of this unidentifiable liquid; none seemed to know where it was coming from or how to get rid of it. It eventually began to spread to the kingdoms, and all across the plains at rapid speed. The Summoners, Callers, soldiers, as well as the populations of both Locarina and Elonia were turned to black stone, the veins throbbing as if the stone was alive. 39

However, a strange occurrence happened. Even though the black liquid had managed to consume two entire kingdoms, as well as the vast plains of Alorono, it had not been able to consume the remains of the Summons, now hard as rock, and pure as white… with a touch of faint, black lines running across them…40

The Battle of the Summons. Everyone had thought that the age of the Summoners and Callers had passed, that no one would ever again see the magical might of a Summoner… or would they? 41

According to an ancient prophecy, a new age of Summoning and Calling would come… when the first ended. But with it would be the greatest battle ever to be seen in Summoning history, even larger than the Battle of the Summons. Only two would face off… aided by friends, family and allies….42

No one knew when this would happen. People waited for years, centuries, decades even, for this rare prophecy to happen, but unfortunately the prophecy did not come true… until now.43

Little did anyone know that the fate of the world would rest with a fourteen year old girl. 44