Spell 17 : The Familiar

'You? You accepted the quest? On what grounds, m'Lady?' Asked the old High Elf accusingly.

'On the grounds that there is a war out there and if I do not stop it, this war will spread to our lands!' Aeryssya replied fiercely. She slammed the table indignantly and started pacing around the room. Her reaction gave quite a number of the members a fright.

'It is high time that we, as elected leaders of the Forest, start acting as we should! There is an imminent danger out there and you question my decision? In all fairness, I will not go as a representative of the Council. They shall know me as the Green Ranger, my original title, and not Lieutenant Ranger Aeryssya of the Council. Rest assured, win or lose, I shall not bring any bad influences to the reputation of the Forest. Anybody else has an objection?' Her face was marked by a fury and yet she could still remain so alluring in her own way. Nobody else could mix anger and perfection in a way that she could.

I looked around and realised that most of the members were looking quite uncomfortable, as though her words hit home pretty hard. That is, until one person stood up. The moment he got up, the Council quietened. He had, rather graciously, remained silent for the entire meeting.

'I think the Ranger has our best interests at heart. She is a proud warrior, and will definitely bring valor to her name after resolving this conflict. Since she has already promised to do her part, is it wise for us as a Council to veto her answer? Let the world know the Council does not honour its creed? She is, afterall, part of the Council despite whatever she may choose to represent.' Smiling in a charming way, he lowered his head towards Aeryssya. Oddly enough, she did not return the gesture and instead glared at him with glowering eyes.

'So, can it be concluded,' he continued, 'that this meeting is adjourned if nobody has any other issues? Magi Crow, what about you?' He looked at me with his emerald eyes. I could almost feel my very own soul being exposed by his piercing eyes. I shook my head, and after a few more closing words, the meeting pretty much came to an end.

The chairs scraped against the floor as the Council got to their feet. Most of them just vanished on the spot. Aeryssya was the last to leave, and I caught up to her just as she was about to walk through the door.

'Lady Ranger, a moment please.'

'Yes, Magi Crow? And please, just Aeryssya will do.'

'Likewise, do address me as just Crow. Well, listen. About that quest that you took up...' I looked around the room, and was about to continue speaking when she put a finger to my lips and beckoned me to follow her out of the room. I followed her as she led me up the wooden staircases made out of logs. After climbing a few metres, she brought me into a den that was heavily perfumed with the scent of jasmine.

It was a simple living quarter, with a poster bed and a dresser placed side by side in a corner of the room. Instead of tables and chairs, she had a rather elaborately designed bench placed near the window, where the moonlight came in full glow. A growl came from the darkest corner of the room and I looked to see two topaz eyes glowering at me in the shadows. Aeryssya went over and made some cooing sounds to it. The thing hooted and the two yellowish orbs disappeared.

'Sorry, that was just my owl companion. I rarely have visitors, you see. Anyway, this is my home. Come in and make yourself comfortable.' I followed her to the bench, where she started pouring us drinks. I sat down and took a cup with thanks. The drink tasted like hazelnut cream, not at all undelicious.

'I am aware that you wanted to say something important earlier, but I was afraid that you might say something to compromise yourself in a room where eavesdropping might be prevalent.'

'Isn't that room shielded against outsiders scrying on us? I could sense powerful wards set up in that room.' I asked, in between sips of the tasty drink.

'You are not wrong. But you forget also that the ones who set up that barrier might have also placed their own spying spells in the room to see who amongst us might compromise ourselves. It is a measure I am absolutely sure that they would take in order to protect their own secrets. I would not have wanted you to betray yourself on the first meet that you have attended. You impressed quite a number of them.' She took a sip out of her own cup and gave a small smile.

'Now, am I to discover also that I am about to have yet a secondary companion to go on this trip?' She asked. I almost gagged on hearing her words.

How the hell did she know?

'Judging by your reaction, I guessed as much. Though the quest itself is one of its kind, it is not uncommon for heralds of the quest to appear in droves, seeking out willing adventurers to take up the quest.'

'Am I ready for it?' I asked, feeling like a childish apprentice all over again. She chuckled and cocked her head to the side.

'Well... It will be a very dangerous quest. It would not do for me to be keeping an eye out for you all the time. You would do well to prepare yourself further.'

'Where is this... War anyway?'

'The question is not where, but when. It is a land lost in the sands of time, and because of an anomaly, it cannot restore itself. It is said that there were once 4 great Warlords who ruled and divided the lands in their names. They were Liu Bei of Shu, Cao Cao of Wei, Sun Jian of Wu and Dong Zhuo. One of them emerged victorious, but someone or something meddled with the timeline of that land. Now it is just a cycle of endless warfare where soldiers and generals who were supposed to stay dead are being revived to fight again.

'But it doesn't make sense! If there is no end to this war, then how does our appearance make a difference?'

She did not answer immediately. Aeryssya stood up and walked over to the window, looking out to the full moon. At that moment, I was seized by a wild impulse to just hug her. She looked so forlorn that I just felt so sad for her. A tear rolled down her cheek as she answered.

'I don't know nor care what difference it makes. All I know is that my sister... Well, my sources informed me that she was sighted there.' She turned to look at me with a dismal expression and at that moment, I knew what she wanted to ask of me.

'Crow, I know this is a little much to ask from you, but can you help me find my sister?'

I drank the broth in silence as I brooded over the turn of events. All this was getting too much for me to handle. All I asked for when I signed up for this game was just a chance to talk to Vanessa. Now that chance is already meaningless, and I'm tied down with these commitments instead.

But still, I could probably get some reward out of this.

'Very well. I shall help you in your quest.'

Her face lit up like stars in the sky. 'Really? You will?' She asked, 'oh thank you so much!'

That was the end of that episode. I knew my abilities and levels were too low to even begin to attempt the quest so I had to improve my abilities.

For the next month within the game, I trained hard. I took part in hunting groups that frequented dungeons and killing bosses. And it was during one of those hunting trips that I obtained my first summon.

For most mages, it was common to have summons. Most mages preferred golems because golems serve as tanks that would draw enemies' attention while they dish out damage from behind. But.. I knew my very own summon had to be different. I wanted a creature that would have more of a mind of its own instead of some mindless golem.

And so it was, I was on a hunting group with Cluck and a few other players on a mission to clear out the Temple of Storms, a previously unexplored dungeon. Cluck had leveled himself up to the extent that his tanking abilities were too extreme; normal tanks would only pull 2-3 mobs at one go; Cluck pulled the entire room. He would ride his mighty horse into the fray and charge every single monster, using his lance to deflect almost every single projectile thrown at him. He was very much like a war machine in the battlefield.

Fortunately, we had two healers who spent most of their mana keeping him alive while the rest of us rain deaths upon the mobs. We descended down the temple floors and eventually engaged with the final boss, which was a saber-toothed mammoth. It was easily 15 foot tall, and breathed heavily. It eyed us menacingly, daring us to attack it. That never stopped Cluck though; he gave a war-cry and spurred his steed forwards.

The fight begun. With taunts and war-cries, Cluck kept the attention of the mammoth on him all the time. Swinging his trunk back and forth, with the strength and ferocity of a hundred men, the mammoth knocked Cluck back a couple of times. Meanwhile, I let loose streaks of offensive spells against the mammoth, causing it to scream and thrash about in agony. As a protective measure, I kept Barrier on as well. Boulder Smash worked perfectly against its legs, as the rocks I lifted smashed right into it, causing it to buckle and fall. After about 15 minutes, the beast gave its final groan before it stopped moving. Almost systematically, we proceeded forwards to divide the loot. During my travels, I had picked up the ability to conjure up portals. I created one that linked up to the Forest of No Return. I was the last to step through and just as I was about to step inside, my heightened magical senses detected a strong magical sigma in the room.

I looked around, my defences at the ready. I detected the sigma again, this time coming from the altar behind the boss. I stepped forwards slowly, a spell at my fingertips.

On the altar was a miniature statue of a cat. It had on a headguard that was studded with a single diamond. Curiously, it was the one emitting the magical sigma. Faint, yet it felt alive somehow. As though there was a living soul trapped within. I reached out, and grabbed it. I braced for an imminent attack, but nothing happened. I tried to take it but it would not budge. Yet, it was still calling out to me. It seemed as if using physical means would not get me the statue.

I decided to play on a hunch.

'Telekinesis!'

The statue still refused to move. I felt like a fool for even trying. This was probably an item for a quest that required special means. To liberate it would probably a great amount of power.

Power...

Of course!

'Mana Manifest!'

I willed the flow of mana into my palms and exerted the flow towards the statue. It began to vibrate! Excitedly, I pressed on the mana flow, increasing the rate.

After a few minutes, the stone began to peel off. The cat slowly moved its paws. The stone flakes fell off its head and it started to blink. Pretty soon, the cat regained movement for its entire body. It was looking at me hungrily. I fished about my bag, and found some meat, which I threw towards it. Almost immediately, it literally flared with flames!

*DING*

[p=center]

You have gained new Pet : Cinders!

Cinders is a feline Familiar that you can summon at your will. When in battle, it will morph into a saber that will tear apart your enemies. Otherwise, it will stay as a small tabby cat when not threathened.

Abilities : Roar, Slash, Elemental Morph.

Elemental Morph : Cinders has the ability to transform itself to react to the situation. When dealing with elemental foes, it will morph its base element to counter its foe.

Familiars : Familiars do not cost mana to exist. However, if they lose all their HP, they must be revived at a Spirit Healer in town. When not called upon, they will return to the Void.[/p]

So my first summon was... A cat. Not quite what I expected, but it sounded like a useful summon still.

So that was the story of how I met Cinders.

Oh by the way, did I mention that Dennis is gay? But that... Is a story for next time.