Summoning

“Blech!!”

Grandpa’s foot digs into my stomach. My body flies into a nearby mountain. *Cough*, *cough*, *cough*—I cough blood into the dust filled air.

“Get up,” says Grandpa, standing next to me.

I jump up, but he kicks my legs, and before I hit the ground, he kicks me in the same spot, sending me flying through the forest. “Grandpa!!” I scream. Before his kick landed, I focussed my mana around my stomach. *Cough*,*cough*—my coughs persist. I wipe the blood teeming from the side of my mouth. “I thought I blocked that kick perfectly.”

“You still have quite a long way to go before you can defend yourself from one of my kicks, Haruki.”

“Grandpa!! How could you kick me down after telling me to get up!!” This hulk of a man in front of me is my Grandfather, Emygdius. He is one of the oldest dragons in Ragnarök – his exact age is unknown to me, but from what I’ve heard, he has existed for aeons. He looks down at me with his signature stern expression—one he’s worn since he received the scar running down from his neck, hidden behind the shirt that covers the outer parts of his chest and his abdomen, leaving the centre of his chest bare. When he moves his arms, the muscles seem to grow larger. Geez!! Just how long did he train to look like a kaiju? But his muscular stature is not just

“I told you, today is the day you show me the fruits of your training. You should always expect the unexpected.” He gives me a hand. As I reach for it, I hesitate for a second.

His muscular stature is not just for show, though. Grandpa always has an intimidating aura surrounding his body. “You should never use cheap tricks on your only grandson, Grandpa.” I take his hand.

“My only grandson should learn that there are many different ways to fight against someone. Come on, let’s go.”

 Today is my fifteenth birthday. In Ragnarök, when you turn fifteen, you must receive your oracle from the only church in this realm – The Grand Cathedral. What is this oracle, you ask? It is your life’s purpose. Your reason for being born into the proud dragon race.

After walking for an hour, we finally arrived at the Grand Cathedral. Because Grandpa and I live at the edge of this city, it takes us longer to reach the centre. If we had flown, though, we could have arrived earlier. But Grandpa said he wanted to walk – he also said it was part of my training. I mean, when would I ever need to walk long distances? Grandpa is just a worrywart.

There are four pillars of opposing colours

There are four pillars of opposing colours at each vertex of the cathedral. Blue, Brown, Yellow and Purple. These pillars are the main support of the cathedral, and each one represents an elder dragon. Blue is the sea dragon elder, Cordelia; Yellow, the sun dragon elder, Ember; Purple, is the love dragon elder, Freyja; and finally, Brown, is the earth dragon elder and my grandpa, Emygdius. Together they protect and oversee Ragnarök, the realm of dragons.

We enter through the twenty-metre-tall entrance. The interior looks wonderful. The many platinum-gold chandeliers hanging freely from the ceiling, the lavish velvet curtains, and the luscious golden statues of the four elder dragons all act as decorations for the cathedral. But beyond the decorations, it looks like any other church, with seats lined adjacent behind each other. We walk along the red carpet, leading us towards the podium. Standing behind the podium is an old man. His long grey beard tells many tales. He has a cane in his right hand, which he leans on. He looks up and fixes his glasses. Upon fixing his glasses, he stares at me, and smiles with a pink smile, “Welcome to the Grand Cathedral, young ones.”

“Who’s the old guy?” I ask Grandpa.

Grandpa’s expression after hearing my question is frightening beyond description. He hits me over the head and says, “This man is the esteemed Alvis Ragnarök – the first dragon to ever exist. He is highly respected by every dragon who came after him, so calling him an ‘old guy’ is disrespectful. Apologise.”

I bow my head, with tears in my eyes, “Sorry, Mr Alvis.”

The old man just smiles and says, “You need not concern yourself over the tiny matters. I have been called much worse than ‘old guy’, right, Emygdius?”

Grandpa looks away. Hey!! Don’t look away in shame!!

Alvis chuckles, “He is right, Emygdius. You should not turn away in shame.”

“Wait? Did you just…?” No way. Did he read my mind?

“Reading your mind is only one of my abilities, Young Haruki. I must say, you do take after your Grandfather. You have his… err… passionate side inside of you.” He turns his head and mutters, “It is a bit worrisome, though.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” he says. He walks from the podium, towards Grandpa and me, and pats my head, “Do grow up to be a fine dragon like your grandfather, Young Haruki.”

He has a calming presence – it’s like watching the ocean on a starry night. I slowly nod my head, and say, “Yes sir.”

“Good,” he says, retiring to chambers in the back. After staying there for a few minutes, he returns. In his left hand, a crystal ball glints from the light seeping through the stained glass. “Do you know what this is, Haruki?”

“Is that a magic device? It’s my first time seeing one.”

“Yes, this is a magic device used to reveal mana affinity. As you know, the options for magic are endless. You get attributes such as Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, etc. Everyone is born with a specific magical attribute, which most decide to master, while others strive for more. Magic inherited from your family is called Inherited Magic. There are other forms of magic, such as Acquired Magic, but you already know all this, right?”

“Yes. Grandpa taught me everything I needed to know about magic.”

“Good. Then, let us see what magic you were born with, shall we?” The orb floats from his hand and glows a lime-blue colour. The glow is entrancing, like a hypnotic spell. The light dims starts to dim and the orb falls into Alvis’ hand again.

“Was that it?” I ask, disappointed.

Alvis laughs, “What? Were you expecting something spectacular?” He examines the orb, but for a quick fraction of a second, his expression is filled with horror.

“Is something wrong?”

He looks up at me, his expression fixed into a smile, “No, it is nothing. Your magic attribute is Healing. You are a Healer Dragon.”

“Healing Magic? I don’t think I ever heard of it before.”

“Just as the name suggests, it is magic that focusses on support by healing yourself and those around you,” says Grandpa. “It is rare magic for a member of the dragon race. That is why you don’t know about it.”

“Rare, you say?”

“Your grandfather is right, Haruki. There has not been a Healer Dragon in our ranks for millennia. The last one we had was a few thousand years ago.” Alvis goes back to his chambers once again and returns with a book. He hands me the book and the title read, ‘Tales of Heroes’.

“What is this?”

“That is a grimoire. It is a book that, once read will impart a skill onto the reader. The magic skill inside this book is called, ‘Sanctuary’ – the highest-grade healing spell ever created.”

“You are giving me something so valuable?”

“Valuable? I have thousands of grimoires. Giving one away will not bother me one bit.”

He sends us off before another dragon shows up – a girl by the name of Reena. Grandpa and I walk off toward our house at the edge of the realm. “…She was the most outstanding female paladin to grace the Seven Realms – Holy, the Goddess of Health and Fertility. Her name spread fear throughout the battlefield. During the Ancient Magic War, she single-handedly conquered enemy armies. Her ability to instantly recover from any wound she received made her an unstoppable enemy and an irreplaceable ally.”

“She sounds amazing,” I say smiling. I look at Grandpa. Who would win if Grandpa fought against Holy? His face is much more relaxed than usual as he listens to the story. "After the Ancient Realm War, she suddenly disappeared. Legend states that she was unhappy with her current strength and went inside the Netherworld to train eternally." I take that back, she sounds crazy. But if anyone was crazy enough to do that…? I look at Grandpa as I murmur to myself and sigh, "Unfortunately I know someone who would willingly do something that crazy."

The words in the book peel from the page and disappear into thin air. After all the words disappear, the book catches alight, and the ashes fall through the cracks in my fingers. So, this is how a grimoire works. "How do you feel?" asks Grandpa.

I feel my body. "Nothing different."

He hits me on my head with his fist and says, "Of course, you won't change physically, you idiot. When the time is right you will notice the change." He stops walking and looks down at me. "But before that, you still need to train yourself. You might be considered a genius here in Ragnarök but if you let all that praise get to your head, you will suffer greatly."

That's right. I shouldn't get cocky, if I do, I could die on the battlefield. Not that there are any wars here in Ragnarök though. As soon as that thought appears, a large yellow-gold magical circle appears below my feet. Grandpa is suddenly pushed out of the circle. My body starts to grow hotter. I look at my hands—They start disappearing. "Haruki!!" I hear Grandpa shout from outside the circle. Every time he enters the circle he gets forced back out. He creates a magical circle of his own, but it cracks and shatters, almost as if it were nullified. Grandpa gets pushed deep into the forest by a mysterious force. I look behind me as a hooded figure with a wooden staff floats in the air. Was he the one to send Grandpa flying? The scenic forest disappears and is replaced with darkness.

As my eyes adjust to this sudden darkness, I look around confused. My ears are ringing, and I can't hear anything. There are stone pillars all around me and I am grounded by bright red chains. I look up and a young golden-haired boy my age places his hand on my forehead. He does not smell like a dragon. In fact, everyone in this place smells the same. He says something but is suddenly distracted. He looks angry at someone. Again, he says something to me. His yellow-hued eyes look at me with concern and determination. I don't know what he is saying but he reminds me of old man Alvis, I can trust him. After calming down, the buzzing in my ears disappears and my mind goes blank.