AN: Author here. Making slight change. Sprites will be changed to spirit as this represents what they are fundamentally. Next week or so, updates will be made to previous posts changing their titles. As this is a minor change, it is not a true update and will not reflect so in the title.

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Paden awoke groggily as he sat up from the sofa. He could make out some faint shuffled movements around him as a servant left to retrieve his family and tell them he awoke. He sat in silence as he recalled his experience in the light spiritual plane and his contract with the pompous light spirit.

Paden turned to look as Weillin and Grandpa Selmitt walked into the sitting room with expectant looks. Paden had been under for three days straight which was the longest they had ever seen an initiate mage take. They were looking forward to learning the class of spirit he contracted with given his excellent affinity to Light.

“How was it?” Weillin asked expectantly, unable to contain himself.

Grandpa Selmitt looked at Weillin and signaled for him to follow in seating himself before questioning Paden. The two sat on the couch opposite of Paden as he recounted his adventure in the light plane. When they heard him speak of the light spirit referring to herself as ‘The Exalted Lady of White Light’ they groaned inwardly wondering how he could have such a mix of good and bad luck.

As light element mages of substantial standing, they possessed equally powerful spirits of their own. How could they not know of the infamous spirit? She was widely known amongst their peers as the most difficult spirit to contract with and more infamous for her domineering personality. The last mage to contract with her made the mistake of infuriating her during their time together that she suppressed his future offspring from being able to find spirits in the light plane for the last two hundred years.

The two looked at one another not knowing whether to laugh or cry at Paden’s mix of fortune and misfortune depending on how one looked at it. This was all missed by Paden who continued to retell his story making them gobsmacked. The boy had sealed a contract with a royal class spirit and it favored him to the point it was almost a slave contract. They wondered how the spirit would accept a contract of such since they should be able to judge a mage’s power versus their own and know the kind of contract they were getting into.

When Paden finished his recount he looked at Weillin and Grandpa Selmitt. “So when do we begin the dark contract ceremony?”

“Not right away. We will first have you familiarize yourself with your light spirit and prepare you for the dark contract ceremony. You still need to recover your spiritual strength as walking in other planes diminishes that power. You need to be at one hundred percent,” Grandpa Selmitt informed him as he stood up to go inform his wife and Marie.

Weillin watched his father step out and focused back on Paden. “So have you decided on a name?” questioned Weillin as

Paden looked at him in confusion. “You received your spirit’s name, correct?” Paden nodded. “Don’t use that. We give our spirits names so as to conceal their identity. It is a form of protection for not only us but them as well.” Paden had a shallow understanding of the reason as Weillin further elaborated on spirits.

Spirits are beings that grow beside their contractors as they grow. They do not start off with the strength they possess in their plane as the human realm functioned under different laws then the spiritual plane. To gain strength on this realm they need help from their human mage partner.

As they grow in strength they can hold a physical presence in the realm not only longer but eventually they can manifest perpetually. The powers they wield individually isn’t something to scoff at, especially one as powerful as Paden’s. However, the use of the contracts with spirits is not limited to simply having a second being for support. It lies in their ability to assist their mages in casting more powerful spells.

Weillin explained that each pair of mage and spirit has the ability to partner their understanding of their element into a single unique spell available to only them. Paden’s father, for example, was a specialist as a battle mage. He was able to conjure an incredibly powerful armor of bone and sword from the nether realm that enhanced his fighting prowess on the fields of battle. Weillin was likewise able to conjure a similar armor of light. Marie had her own specialty but he declined to speak of it and Paden didn’t ask.

Weillin also explained that shortly after the ceremony, his spirit will slumber within his body and slowly feed off his magical energy. Once enough time passed, she will awaken and they will be able to continue with lessons and prepare him for his contract ceremony. Until she woke up he should spend his time thinking of a good name for her to use in public.

Weillin also relayed some etiquette concerning spirits amongst mages. It is considered low brow for anyone to ask the level of a spirit of another mage or ask for its real name. Asking for their abilities is determined by context of situation as mages commonly form groups in the academy for hunting expeditions for training. However, if someone declines it is best not to press further and never share anything beyond what you feel comfortable.

Marie and Lilith had stepped in just as Weillin finished his explanation. “Is it true?” Lilith asked with excitement as she sat beside Paden. Weillin nodded as Lilith squealed in elation as she hugged Paden. Paden did not reject her hug and accepted it with feigned resistance as a voice resounded in his head.

“How is it you reject me and accept this ancient woman?” interrogated the familiar voice of his spirit in annoyance.

“Huh?” voiced Paden allowed as he wondered how she awoke so fast in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” asked Marie when she heard her nephew.

“She’s awake,” replied Paden as he looked at Weillin for an explanation. Weillin told him it usually took days for spirits to recover after securing the initial contract.

“Already?!” voiced Marie with shock as she likewise looked at Weillin. Weillin had more informational knowledge on magical matters as Marie liked to learn from experience and was more prone to action.

Weillin was outwardly calm. He had observed many surprising things about his nephew and had prepared himself. He thought about it logically. A night had barely passed since the completion of the ceremony. Normally a mage was exhausted after completion but Paden seemed oddly chipper. That kind of stamina was unreal in a mage barely practiced in any forms of magic. He couldn’t tell why he was like this so he would need to have Paden slowly understand his own body through his own experiences as he trained.

Weillin observed his wife looking for an answer but shrugged. “I do not know why you recovered quickly as well as why your spirit did. However, we will have you learn before you attempt the dark contract ceremony.”

“Dark contract ceremony? You, why would you need to…unless… Are you a dual element in light and dark?” questioned the spirit excitedly as she screamed into Paden’s head.

Paden nodded through his connection with her instinctually. He didn’t know why but he just understood how to make use of it and was able to hold a conversation with her in his head while speaking with his family. Paden thought nothing of it but if his family knew, they would surely drop their jaws upon learning of it.

Paden left for his bedroom as he conversed with the spirit in his head. She continued to question him and he answered her honestly. He explained about his affinities and how he had a seal which sent the girl in a furry. She started cursing out several gods and complaining of how incompetent whoever sealed him was and if she ever found them she would wring their necks out.

When he finally arrived to his room, the spirit finally spoke out remembering something.

“So what’s my name?” she asked Paden eagerly as he felt her look of anticipation through their shared connection.

“Luanne,” Paden told her solemnly through the connection as he decided just then. The spirit felt his sorrow and understood this name carried some significance.

“Who was she?” Luanne asked softly as she sent back some comforting feelings. She was selfish but knew when not to be arrogant.

“My mother,” Paden began as he explained about his life back in the village before Weillin came to get him.

Luanne calmly listened to Paden as he vented his feelings of loss to someone after years of bottling it up. She listened in silence to his painful tail, sensing his grief and loss through their connection. She calmly listened to the boy who had become her partner, gaining an understanding of his character. She was happy with him. He would not abuse her power or fall prey to degradation as so many other mages had, so she believed.