Donate Familiars for poor Mages (ZnT discussion part 5)

linkhyrule5 · Oct 11, 2011

I wonder if they could they flicker their levitation. Fly upward, turn it off, cast a spell while they slow, turn it on.

Flere821 · Oct 11, 2011

linkhyrule5 said: ↑

I wonder if they could they flicker their levitation. Fly upward, turn it off, cast a spell while they slow, turn it on.

It haven't been done in canon with levitate... but I'd still say it's possible. If you're crazy enough to cast spells when freefalling.

Louise did this once using Teleport, hopping across the strait between a island she's on and the mainland. Teleport in mid air, and as she falls she chants a bit more of the incantation and continue moving (Void's Teleport only works if you can see where you're going to pop up - ref Vol17 Ch8).

soulful100 · Oct 11, 2011

minuseven said: ↑

this is... I don't know. But i have more than a few ideas should i feel the urge to continue this. In the meanwhile, i'd like your opinion on whether or not it could be done, how and my writing itself.

*snip of awesome*

take all my money! Take it and give us moar!!!!

thesevenwielder · Oct 11, 2011

MinuSeven said: ↑

This is... I don't know. But I have more than a few ideas should I feel the urge to continue this. In the meanwhile, I'd like your opinion on whether or not it could be done, how and my writing itself.

*Awesome snip*

[spoiler]Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion[/spoiler]

TheNewGuy · Oct 11, 2011

Flere821 said: ↑

It's how many elements a mage can use at a time. All mages in theory can use any of the four elements, just their disposition make them better at certain elements that others.

For example, Colbert's a Fire mage yet he can combine Earth into his Fire spells to form a alchemy effect that transmutate the air around a opponent into flammable gas. And any mage can cast levitate even if they're not a Wind mage (though no other spells can be cast if Levitate is active; even Karin can't cast other spells while levitating. Not that she needs to cast spells when flying anyway, the speedboost from flying and her swordskill with her wand let her held off 20 other Knights once)

@MinuSeven: Interesting snippet there

Huh, I always just assumed that there was a "base" spell set that was common among all mages. Could you direct me to where Colbert did that Fire+Earth thing? Does it ever explicitly have Colbert doing a pure-Fire square spell and then swapping out different elements?

Cody Fett · Oct 11, 2011

MinuSeven said: ↑

This is... I don't know. But I have more than a few ideas should I feel the urge to continue this. In the meanwhile, I'd like your opinion on whether or not it could be done, how and my writing itself.

*snip*

[spoiler]Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion[/spoiler]

I have to ask, I really do, why do some EvaFic writers feel compelled to write melodrama like this? I've seen Bluepencil write almost exactly the same way, and I know I've seen a few others do it even if I can't remember their names.

undead frog · Oct 11, 2011

Louise summons a barbarion, but not just any barbarion she summon Dave the barbarion.
Cue theamsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-plZEiDC984

dan-heron · Oct 11, 2011

because only real authors write dwama, you silly Cody. All the rest are pure trash trying to pass their silly attempts at writing.

Forgetful · Oct 11, 2011

Don't forget about my story Dan-heron. Top of page fourteen.

dan-heron · Oct 11, 2011

Already updated. What do you mean by page fourteen?

Flere821 · Oct 11, 2011

TheNewGuy said: ↑

Huh, I always just assumed that there was a "base" spell set that was common among all mages. Could you direct me to where Colbert did that Fire+Earth thing? Does it ever explicitly have Colbert doing a pure-Fire square spell and then swapping out different elements?

Volume 6 Chapter 8 for the area effect alchemy. Fire+Fire+Earth.

Colbert doesn't use a pure Fire square spell often, though to me the most memorable one was him stopping a entire team of Romalian Church Knights' combination attack using his fire snake. He burned out his willpower reserve afterwards though.

Arjac · Oct 11, 2011

Ninjafish said: ↑

I mean come on! I posted what was a logical argument for Deadpool (I applied logic to DEADPOOL For fucks Sake!) to be crossed over into Familiar of Zero and the story not be a (admittedly hilarious) one shot...

wait... when was this?!?
I require links
also if this hasn't been started yet, do so

dan-heron · Oct 11, 2011

there's been plenty dead pool attempts, but none has managed to capture people's attention for more than a few paragraphs before being dumped

Arjac · Oct 11, 2011

'Ere's one
A mk 33 Bolo, now Fun Sized! (a tad smaller than a large dog)
Massive intellect with the personality of a knight
Just small enough to minimize lolwin
Conflict regarding programming to protect humanity in Albion

Cpl_Facehugger · Oct 11, 2011

Arjac said: ↑

'Ere's one
A mk 33 Bolo, now Fun Sized! (a tad smaller than a large dog)
Massive intellect with the personality of a knight
Just small enough to minimize lolwin
Conflict regarding programming to protect humanity in Albion

Bolos have been used against other humans in the past with no real issue.

Frankly though, I think the Bolo story would be more interesting if it was full size. Sorta like my "Louise summons an Adaptive Cruiser" idea. That way you can use environmental storytelling, and explore Louise's thoughts as she explores her new familiar's massive form.

Mashadarof402 · Oct 11, 2011

You'll have to show me that story tribble of yours one day Facehugger. Really.

NemiTheNen · Oct 11, 2011

Stavaros_Arcane said: ↑

OOOOOH that'll be fun. And there's a number of different routes he could take: Conquest, looking for a way home, some sort of challenge to make his eternity interesting.

I can see all kinds of fun with Macbeth. What would the gandalfr runes do for him I wonder? I mean he's already skilled in everything from medieval arms to high tech plasma weapons.

Improve his technique. Also he doesn't know every weapon known to man, he can find or remake other ones and know how to use them perfectly.

As to what's there's for him? A girl he is rapidly viewing as his own daughter, and no goddamn Demona.

Cpl_Facehugger said: ↑

Bolos have been used against other humans in the past with no real issue.

Frankly though, I think the Bolo story would be more interesting if it was full size. Sorta like my "Louise summons an Adaptive Cruiser" idea. That way you can use environmental storytelling, and explore Louise's thoughts as she explores her new familiar's massive form.

The area for human occupancy in a Bolo is rather small.

Ninjafish · Oct 11, 2011

dan-heron said: ↑

there's been plenty dead pool attempts, but none has managed to capture people's attention for more than a few paragraphs before being dumped

Deadpool makes everything awesome... if these attempts sucked that badly then the blame lies solely on the author...

And arjac i have started on it... it will take a while...

Winged Knight · Oct 11, 2011

dan-heron said: ↑

Already updated. What do you mean by page fourteen?

Did you see my short Sherlock Holmes snippet? It's back in thread two. I posted a link to it on page eight of this thread.

dan-heron · Oct 11, 2011

... not really ninjafish. Relying only on a character mere presence to somehow "Make things awesome" is all kinds of stupid.

Knight, I'm not looking through the threads myself, I'm just indexing stuff. If you remember where the snip is, pass the link

Winged Knight · Oct 11, 2011

dan-heron said: ↑

... not really ninjafish. Relying only on a character mere presence to somehow "Make things awesome" is all kinds of stupid.

Knight, I'm not looking through the threads myself, I'm just indexing stuff. If you remember where the snip is, pass the link

Sorry about that. Here's the link to the Holmes snippet on thread two.

Cpl_Facehugger · Oct 11, 2011

Mashadarof402 said: ↑

You'll have to show me that story tribble of yours one day Facehugger. Really.

The premise is like so:

One of the main personal themes of that story is asking what it means to be a human being. So you've got soulcatcher chips with the whole "you feel a crackle, take a deep breath, then hell itself sucks you in" aspect turned up to eleven.

Basically, the human mind doesn't take dying too well, so you get people like Patton, who thinks he's actually General Patton, or Ransom, who's suicidal. Or Borden, who's pryomania is not in any way healthy. Or Kroker, who despite looking like Gordon Freeman really enjoys being a soulless machine of fire and sarcasm.

Dying drove everyone on Antaeus mad to a greater or lesser extent. The worst cases are all those crew the ship surely would've had but who never appeared in game - for purposes of story this is because their mindstates are too fragmented and damaged to actually use. What should've been a ship filled with hundreds of souls has maybe a dozen crewmen, simply because they're the only ones who are a functional sort of crazy, instead of stark raving mad.

This also applies to the nameless Captain. He (actually She) degraded so much that erasing her mindstate would be a mercy. So for the reactivation, Antaeus had to search her soulcatcher repository for the least crazy crewman to take command.

Enter Lieutenant Commander Saito Hiraga, a thoroughly average crewman (graduate of Annapolis and inductee to the Antaeus program as part of a JSDF officer exchange initiative) thrust into the role of captain by sheer virtue of the fact that everyone else is totally bonkers.

And he's not much better, but at least his craziness is confined to relatively normal human doubts and foibles instead of "I want to be called Trogdor the Burninator today," or "Did you guys see my sandwich? I just ate it but now I can't find it."

Fast forward through the Hostile Waters storyline and you've got a guy almost eager to sacrifice himself, since he's so out of touch with the world he's fighting for and wondering if he's even really a person any more, as opposed to some kind of perverse echo wearing a meatsuit. But even so, he's also scared too. Even if soulcatcher just makes a copy instead of preserving a person's actual self, he doesn't want to die for good. Oblivion scares him.

Then you have the final battle. Dial up the desperation there, have species units actually board Antaeus and try and wreck stuff, but everything else goes as normal until the ending cutscene, where the battered hull of the ship is sucked into an ominous portal instead of collapsing to the sea-floor.

Theeeeeeen the real story begins, exploring the massive social upheaval that'll come from introducing an adaptive cruiser, even one that's pretty much busted and never going to float again, into Halkeginia. Then toss in some cabal conspiracy flavor lurking in the background, throw in Sheffield getting her hands on a culture stone, and we're talking major external conflict, to go with the personal conflict as Louise and Saito try to come to terms with everything.

So far, I'm calling it Double Zero. Which is one of those overused "zero" titles, but the triple entendre is just so delicious as to override that. And at least it's relevant, what with the ship being Antaeus hull-00. Been working on it off and on for some time now, whenever I hit a roadblock with Unfamiliar or one of the other various stories I work on.

Here's what I've got so far. Pretty experimental since I've never done a first person story of any length. Saito is kinda SINO, but I figure it's okay since I've so drastically changed his circumstances. He's still a pervert with a heart of gold, so that's the core of his personality intact.

Double Zero said:

"Miss Vallière? It's your turn," Professor Colbert's voice was hopeful. I always liked Colbert, he never made fun of my unending stream of failed magic. Most of the other professors always gave me a look, as if to say “Why are you even bothering me? We all know you're unable to cast the simplest of spells.”

But Colbert was different. He always treated me with respect and care. Maybe he was just a naturally nice person, or maybe he realized how I felt, living in a land where my social status was dependent on the magic that I couldn't cast.

The other students called me “Zero”, after my success rate. I hated the name, and I hated the ones who coined it. But deep down, I knew they were right. I was a failure. I didn't deserve to belong to a prestigious family like the Vallières. My sisters were both some of the most powerful noble-mages in the land, though my second eldest sister, Cattleya, was too sick from her illness to exert herself these days. And the less said about my parents and their power, the better.

I was an embarrassment to the family. A magical weakling in a family renowned for producing some of the land's most powerful, outside the royal family itself. I knew this, and I hated myself for my own weakness. They were all too polite and too steeped in noble etiquette to say it outright, but I could tell they were all thinking that I shouldn't have even been born.

Though I didn't know them as well, I was even more sure my classmates were thinking the same thing. They relentlessly teased me about my lack of success, and I'd oft overheard conversations about me. About how I was wasting everyone's time, and how I should just leave Tristain Academy, since I was little better than any commoner when it came to that all-important magic power. I even heard some of my teachers say such things.

But I had one chance to prove them wrong. The springtime summoning ritual; the ritual handed down from the Prophet Brimir himself, designed to call forth a mage's lifelong companion and servant. The ritual was one of my culture's most sacred rites. The summoned familiar was vital to the advancement of a mage in their natural element. If I could just succeed here, if I could just call forth a powerful, impressive familiar, everyone would have to acknowledge me.

I nodded and stepped forward. I found myself letting out a deep breath I didn't even know I'd been holding. This was it, this was my big moment. If I succeeded here, if I could just do this one magic ritual right, I'd prove once and for all that I belonged at the academy. Mommy... Mother would have to smile and say I was a good girl and she'd have to admit that I wasn't just a piece of trash playing at being her daughter. Kirche, my rival, would have to stop teasing me so relentlessly. The teachers would stop muttering under their breath whenever I asked them a question.

For months, I'd studied for this. I'd dogged all my professors with questions. What was their summoning like? What's the best arrangement for the runes? How do you hold your wand when casting the spell? Was there anything I should know? If there was a question I had, any at all, I asked. I made sure to read every book I could find on the matter, too. I learned the historical context in which Brimir created it. I learned about some of the familiars notable personages had summoned in the past. I learned everything there was to know about the ritual, inside and out.

I also learned that the ritual summoned a familiar that fit the mage.

Kirche got a flame salamander, a sort of magical lizard that was perpetually on fire. It fit my rival's personality very well. It was also, unfortunately, incredibly rare and powerful. It did a good job of making me feel even more inadequate; there were very few familiars out there that could top that.

Of those, I had my heart set on a manticore. A manticore was a powerful, impressive familiar. It was also the same kind of familiar that my mother had, and though it's childish of me, I wanted that connection. I wanted to be able to point to it and say “see? I'm your daughter, through and through.”

Of course, the mage didn't get to choose their familiar. The magic chose for them, searching all of the world for the perfect fit. This too I learned from my studies. But that knowledge didn't stop me from hoping.

With a piece of chalk, I etched the runes into the well-worn summoning circle. I made sure each was perfect; I'd practiced this. I knew in my heart that I couldn't deal with the consequences of failure. If I botched this, I'd surely be disowned from my family and expelled from the academy. If that happened, I wouldn't have very much to live for.

That thought provided one hell of an impetus to get it right.

I raised my wand. I pronounced the ritual chant with perfect tones. I'd practiced this too. I forced, willed, needed something to happen.

I heard an explosion.

My heart welled up in my throat; when I tried to cast a spell, it invariably came out as an explosion. It never did what it was supposed to.

I just stood there, willing, praying, wishing against all hope that something would come, that there would be a huge and powerful manticore just waiting for me to make it my familiar when the smoke cleared.

There wasn't.

I turned to Colbert, about to beg and plead to try it again... But then I heard something. I heard the rush of water. That confused me, since there'd never been a water mage in my family as far as I knew.

When I turned to look at the summoning circle, my head struggled to make sense of what my eyes were telling me.

I'm not sure how to describe it. I guess the closest analogy is a broken mirror, seeing yourself in a thousand different, distorted reflections. But even that wasn't accurate, since a mirror could only reflect. This showed me, but something was off. I saw myself laughing with my mother and a strange man I'd never met. But I'd never once seen Mother laugh. I saw myself standing before an army, only for the whole scene to be consumed in fire. Most unlikely of all, I saw myself giving Kirche a hug.

Something about the whole situation made my skin crawl. Normal familiar summoning portals were a sort of subdued green. Not... Whatever this was. That wasn't helping matters.

Normal familiar summoning portals also didn't leak red-stained water in great torrents that looked disturbingly like blood either.

“Stay back,” Colbert warned, pulling me back by the arm. The otherworldly portal was expanding, and expanding fast. The rush of red water was increasing; already, it was up to my toes, and it showed no sign of stopping.

“What's going on?” I asked.

Why all the water? I'd never heard of someone summoning a fish before. The magic wouldn't choose something that would die as soon as it was summoned, after all.

Unless the rules had been rewritten and no one told me.

The portal was still expanding. It grew huge, bigger than a house, and it was still growing. I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of misplaced pride. I didn't know what my familiar was, but the portal to summon it was already bigger than anyone else's. Even Tabitha, the girl who'd gotten a wind dragon, hadn't had this big a portal. Kirche certainly hadn't.

The portal expanded even more. The water was up to my shins. Okay, now it was starting to get a little excessive. Just what in God's name was I even summoning?

I had to strain my neck upwards to see the top... And the portal was still growing.

“Everyone! Back to the academy!” Colbert's voice sounded far harsher and more in control than I've ever heard him. Usually, he's a bumbling professor, in a charming kind of way. He always made requests, he never ordered. Now though, he was giving an order, the kind a person obeys without even thinking about it.

The rest of the class retreated to what was hopefully a safe distance, but something kept pulling at me to stay. Maybe it was curiosity, but it felt deeper than that.

Something was coming through.

“Louise, are you insane?!” Colbert roared, trying to pull me back. I only half heard him.

My familiar was coming through.

It was massive, bigger by far than the galleons that plyed the world's waterways, and bigger by far than even the mighty ships of the wall that flew in the skies with the aid of magic wind stones.

Its height reached up, above even the academy's tallest spire. Its length extended into the forest, for it had already taken up the field and was still coming through.

Its metal form was too angular to be natural. Metal? Did that mean I'd summoned some kind of golem? Was I an earth mage then? But golems were artificial. Familiars weren't artificial. You couldn't just make life like that.

Wait. Water. Ship. I summoned a ship?

The very notion was silly. No ship this large could possibly float, and certainly not if it was made of metal!

Unless... Perhaps it was enchanted with water magic? I'd never heard of such a thing, but I supposed it could've been possible.

One thing I noticed was that my familiar, ship, whatever, looked like it'd been through hell. Parts of it were melted, or crumpled as if hit by the fist of an angry deity. There were scorch marks, as if from high level fire magic, all across its surface. Indeed, its very form seemed bent, like a branch that was almost but not quite broken in two

I wondered if it had been in some kind of battle. Perhaps against the elves?

I paled at that. Perhaps for the elves? Their magic was said to be powerful, and who knew what those monsters could do? Surely they could've made a warship like this. Did that mean they were invading, come to enslave humanity like they had in the days of legend?

“Louise!” Colbert roared again, this time startling me from my thoughts. He said something else, but I couldn't catch it.

I was too busy noticing the teetering of metal above us. Part of the thing's superstructure was collapsing over our heads.

There was no time to get away. I reacted on instinct, pushing professor Colbert out of the way, and falling to the ground in hopes that I wouldn't be squashed like a bug.

I wasn't. I could see Colbert through the lattice of twisted metal, but I was lucky, the falling debris fell in just the right way to keep from hitting me directly.

With a mighty crash and the twisting of tortured metal, the vessel came to rest on the grounds of Tristain Academy. My ears rang and I could feel the aftershocks even in my bones.

“Louise, are you alright?” Colbert asked. I could barely hear him through the ringing.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied. “I think. I'm trapped here though. Do you know what happened?”

“No idea. Should've known that Karin's daughter would get into trouble like this though.”

He knew mother?

I was about to reply when I noticed something strange. Near me, there was a hole in the thing's hull that I was sure hadn't been there when I fell.

It was probably really stupid of me, but I felt drawn to it. I found that I could move just enough to crawl through that hole, if I wiggled a bit.

I'd summoned this ship, so that made it my familiar, right?

Over Colbert's protests and accusations that I was certifiably insane, I entered the metal leviathan. It wasn't like there was any other obvious way to escape, and I wasn't about to wait hours for someone to come and rescue me. Vallières, Mother said, never had to be rescued.

There were tiny red magelights that winked on and blinked as I approached. I got the distinct impression that they were leading me somewhere. Since I didn't have much else to go on, and since it was very dark inside my familiar, I followed those lights. It was hard to find my bearings, but I thought I was being led deeper towards the ship's center.

It was irrational of me, but I wasn't nervous, despite the fact that it was pitch black except for those little red lights. Instead, I felt a sense of anticipation. Something about this familiar sang to me, it felt like my whole body was shaking in resonance with it.

I stepped into a huge room, lit by a slowly swirling pulse of red light. All around me, there were strange devices who's use I couldn't even guess at. But in the center of the room lay the source of the light – a huge hollow metal sphere, easily as big as a house, with some kind of strange and glowing red liquid churning about inside it.

The air here stank of something burnt and tasted of copper, just like blood. Tiny sparks and jets of lightning arced between clearly-damaged devices and wires of metal. My familiar had clearly seen better days.

And yet, there was something deeper here. My mind reeled at the implications. Lightning magic was powerful stuff. It took a powerful wind mage to enchant objects with it. Mother could do it, I'm sure. Viscount Wardes, my fiance by arranged marriage, could do it. But beyond those two people, I knew of no one who could actually perform such a feat. And enchanting such a ship as this? More than two square-level mages would be needed. Lots more. There weren't enough square mages in the world to enchant such a ship as this.

I hoped again that I hadn't summoned some elvish battleship, even though it seemed increasingly likely. If the elves got it in their mind to come looking for it, I doubted there was any nation in Halkeginia that could resist them.

But if this was an elvish battleship... What, exactly had put it in such a state? What sort of magic was responsible? What sort of power could destroy such a steel leviathan?

Something struck me then. I must have been pretty close to the ship's heart.

“Welcome,” A voice seemed to come from all around me. It sounded female, but it was flat and devoid of emotion. Like it was meant to put someone at ease, but was designed by a person with no sense of how damn creepy it sounded.

I instantly looked all around the cavernous room for the voice's source, praying that I wouldn't find some evil-looking elf staring at me like a bug under a magnifying lens.

Instead, I found nothing at all.

I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more terrified.

“Who are you?” I asked to the air.

“This is the operating mind of the carrier. For reference, you are currently within “me”” the toneless voice replied.

I blinked at that. “Wait, you're the ship? How is that even possible?”

“Affirmative,” the ship replied. I noticed how odd its reply was. Affirmative? Not a simple yes?

“But how are you talking to me? Are you alive?” I asked.

I'd heard of some enchanted weapons being used for so long that they started to pick up personalities of their own, the souls of their owners rubbing off onto their steel. But I'd never heard of a whole living ship before, even amongst the elves.

“Negative,” The vessel replied. “I am equipped with internal speakers for communication with my crew.”

I had to blink at that. It wasn't alive, yet it was talking to me and answering my questions? Golems couldn't do that. Not even their more independent cousins, alviss, could.

“What are you?” I asked. “Do you have a name?”

“I am Antaeus adaptive cruiser prototype double zero. My crew calls me Antaeus.”

“Double zero?” I asked, wondering if it was having a joke at my expense or whether some cosmic coincidence had me summon something that bore a variation on that damn nickname.

“Affirmative,” It replied.

“I know that,” I replied. “You said as much. But what does that mean? Double zero? Adaptive cruiser? Is that some kind of warship? Like a man-o'-war?”

“Affirmative,” The cold voice replied. I realized then that getting more info out of it would be like pulling dragon teeth.

“Why did you bring me here?” So I tried a different track. “I assume the glowing lights were your doing?”

The ship seemed to pause for a moment, as though in thought.

“Replaying last entry.”

I found myself looking at a strange scene. My vision was distorted ever so slightly, and all around me, the walls seemed to melt and change, as if struck by a powerful magical illusion.

I was looking at a room. No, a ship's bridge. I'm not good with nautical trivia, but even I knew that much. But it was like no bridge I'd ever seen. All around me, magelights blinked, and there was a soft hum quite at odds with anything I've ever heard.

“Captain on deck,” I heard the voice say. But this time, I got the feeling it wasn't talking to me.

A man stepped forward, onto the “bridge” and into my view. He didn't even look at me, and I felt a pang of anger at the casual dismissal. Nobody ignored Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière!

I moved forward to slap him, only for my hand to pass through him.

Of course. He, like the room I was in, was an illusion. I felt very foolish for not realizing it beforehand.

So I simply stepped back and observed.

He was fairly tall, as far as things went. And young; he didn't look much older than I did, for Brimir's sake. And this kid was supposed to be the captain of a ship? He wore a strange white uniform that I didn't recognize, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

I had to admit that his features were handsome, in an exotic sort of way. Vaguely familiar too, though I was sure I'd never met him. But there was something in his bearing. Something that made me doubt my initial conclusions about his age. When he walked, it was strange. It wasn't like how my mother walked, it wasn't with supreme confidence. But there was definitely confidence there. A sort of cold confidence. More than that, though, he left me with the impression of a man who was so very tired. Like someone carrying a great burden. People my age don't move like that. Not at all.

“So this is it, isn't it?” His voice wasn't low nor high. It was simply distant, engrossed in his own thoughts. “We defeat them here and we've won.”

I looked over, towards where this illusionary man was looking. In the distance, I could see an ominous red haze surrounding an island that by all rights appeared barren and dead. Something about that vista struck me as terribly, terribly wrong. I'd always associated islands with oasis of life; seeing one utterly barren like that set my hair on end.

Something else that struck me as terribly wrong was the huge fleshy protrusion that seemed grafted to the ship's forward hull. It didn't look like it belonged there, and it made my skin crawl just to look at it. Had I somehow missed it when this ship came through the portal? Or had it somehow lost it between now and whenever this recording, illusion, whatever, was made?

The man sighed, distracting me from my thoughts. “It's a one way trip. You know that, don't you?”

“Affirmative,” The cold voice replied.

“But you don't care. You're just a machine,” He said. “You don't feel fear like I do. ”

My throat hitched for a moment. How often had I feared? Not for my life, of course, but I'd feared failure, I feared the idea of going back home, familiarless and disgraced. I felt a connection with him then, the kind of connection that only comes from people who experience the same emotions at the same time.

“Fear is an inhibiting response. I was not programmed for it,” The cold voice replied.

“Not all of us are so blessed,” The man sighed again. I could tell he was scared. I could see it in how he shifted from foot to foot. “Time to target?”

“Four hours,” The woman's cold voice replied. “I am detecting large numbers of hostile units surrounding the island.”

“As expected,” The man replied. “They won't let us stop their escape without a fight.”

“Genocide is necessary when the enemy is biologically programmed to kill,” The vessel replied. “Their preferred habitat is inhospitable to human life. If we do not stop them here...”

I metaphorically blinked at that. To talk so casually about wiping out an entire race made me feel nauseous.

“Don't worry about me,” The man sighed. “I know the stakes. I'll do my job. My crew will do their jobs. This has to be done. This war ends today, tell Walker and Church they don't have to worry about that.”

“Affirmative.”

The man shook his head. “You know, Antaeus - When we were sleeping, I think I dreamed.”

“That is not possible, Captain,” The cold voice replied. “You and the rest of the crew were in storage. I detected no neural activity in the interface.”

I puzzled at that. “In storage” didn't sound like something you'd do to people. You don't store people. You store tools. Or weapons.

“Maybe. They call it soulcatcher. This campaign makes me wonder just how accurate the name is. Do I have a soul?” He looked at his hand, turning it over. “Is there a soul in this body?”

I shivered; the idea that you could catch souls disturbed me more than I cared to admit. Surely it was just a name. Necromancy like that was something only the elves could do well, with their ancient and powerful magics. And even they were loath to do it, for such creatures always came back wrong, maddened and crazed. I'd heard many stories of mages who sought to raise loved ones from the grave. Every one went poorly.

“There is no empirical data to confirm or deny that hypothesis,” Antaeus replied.

“Oh, don't mind me. I'm just getting a little fatalistic now that I know we're coming up on our journey's end,” He replied. “I wonder, will they remember us when we're gone? Will they read their history books and wonder who we were? Will the real Captain Hiraga, the junior officer made captain only because he was least broken one left grace the history books? Or will they paint me as some kind of hero, larger-than-life and without flaw? Will they gloss over Ransom's deathwish? What about Patton's madness? Borden's pyromania? Will history remember us as people or as caricatures? And what about you, Antaeus? Will they remember you for what you are? Do you even care if they do?”

“The Antaeus program is a matter of historical record,” The ship replied. “My specifications are also a matter of historical record.”

“Always the facts with you, eh?” He laughed and shook his head ruefully. “I suppose you're right. It's enough that they remember we existed, even if they might get the details wrong. Makes this sacrifice a bit easier.”

“Query: Do you regret anything, Captain?”

“Huh, now that's a loaded question,” He replied. “Yeah. I regret that I was the one you brought back. I wasn't ready for this responsibility. I sure as hell wasn't trained for it.”

“You were the most viable choice. Reactivation protocols were clear,” The vessel replied. “The least fragmented-”

“-Yeah,” He waved his hand. “But I have to wonder. If the Captain were here, the real Captain I mean... Would she have done better? Saved more people, stopped the enemy faster? Found some other way to defeat them, some plan that isn't a last desperate gasp that'll see us all to the void even if we win?”

“Insufficient data,” The ship paused for a moment. “Do you have any final requests?”

“I just wish...” The man trailed off. I was left with the distinct impression he was searching for words. “I just wish that I didn't have to die alone. It's childish of me, but I'd like someone to hold my hand as it all ends for real. Obviously there's no way to make that happen. Even if there was, I'd refuse, simply because it means someone else would have to die here with us.”

My heart went out to him then. He looked so sad and disconnected and alone. I felt the urge to give him a hug, just like big sis Cattleya often did for me. Of course, being an illusion, that obviously wouldn't work.

But I could still understand where he was coming from. I could still empathize. How often had I cried myself to sleep in my oversized academy room, wishing there was someone there I could empty my heart to? Someone who could hold my hand? I wouldn't want to die alone either.

“That is not a childish desire. It is a human one,” With those words, spoken by the ship, the entire illusion faded, and I once more found myself in the huge room with the glowing red swirl.

“That's it. Your captain. You brought me here because that was his last request,” I said. My mind raced to piece everything together. “You were in that battle, the one you were heading to. He must have been hurt. He didn't want to die alone. That's why you brought me here. I was the closest. So he's still alive?”

“Affirmative,” The vessel replied. “He does not have much time left. He sustained many wounds. With the soulcatcher interface damaged, his death will be final.”

“Soulcatcher?” There was that word again, and from the context, it certainly didn't sound like just a name.

But it sounded like either way, he was almost out of time, and the ship wasn't forthcoming with more information.

“Take me to him,” I said. “He's right. Nobody should die alone.”

“Affirmative,” The voice replied. Instantly, more of the pulsing red lights appeared, though this time, they seemed to hover in the air. Were these more illusions? Come to think of it, were the last ones illusions too?

Regardless, I followed them deeper into the ship.

As I made my way, however, I noticed something had changed. I started to see more direct signs of a battle. Scorch marks on the walls and floor, and hideous fleshy creatures laying about, clearly riddled with holes from a volley of muskets or similar weapons.

I also saw other creatures. At least, I think they were creatures, though on further thought, they were probably some kind of golem. Small, blocky metal golems on wheels, each marked with two zeroes. These golems were clearly broken, probably from the fight with the other creatures.

I wasn't an earth mage, so I wasn't too up on the finer points of golem construction, but the design was certainly odd. As far as I knew, all golems were humanoid in some fashion. The golem, being formed from the caster's will, tended to reflect the caster's personality. Guiche de Gramont, one of my classmates, had golems tastelessly styled after female warriors. That wasn't a sin in of itself, but when the golems' “clothing” was instead chainmail undergarments meant to exaggerate the assets of my sex, I tend to get a little offended.

And not just because my own assets are on the small side, either. I'd never admit it anywhere but my own head, but that was the truth.

However, these golems weren't remotely humanoid. They reminded me more of carts or tiny carriages than golems, come to think of it, but they had to be magic, since they had no place for a person.

One thing puzzled me about this whole scene, though. I could buy some kind of foreign ship – I'd ruled out elves since the captain didn't have pointed ears – And I could even buy strangely shaped golems. But what I didn't understand was what those fleshy things were. Their blood was a sort of black ichor, their skin a disgusting, mottled brown. Their heads were just slightly too large, their eyes too wide. Like people, or perhaps huge infants, but just subtly wrong. I almost supposed they were made to scare me, to evoke some primal fear or some uncanny valley, but that was just silly. Nobody could make new life. Nobody but God. And God wouldn't make monsters like that. Surely.

Obviously, I've never even heard of anything like these things. Of course, I've never heard of summoning an entire ship as a familiar, nor taking its dying captain along for the ride either. So I supposed this whole situation was new.

I moved past the grisly battle scenes, my wand out. I'm a zero, but if there's one thing I can do, it's explosions. If one of those nightmare monsters decided to jump me, it'd soon find itself on the wrong end of a miscast fireball!

I continued down the hallways. Magelights flickered all around me, as though the flow of magic that powered them was inconsistent.

“You have reached the c-i-c,” The ship's voice said, once more coming from all around me. “Captain Hiraga is inside. He refused to redeploy to the infirmary, even after species boarding units were able to reach him. Time is of the essence.”

I stepped into the room. One thing that interested me was how those thick metal bulkheads opened up without my even having to touch them. I wondered at what kind of magic went into their construction.

I also wondered at the captain's name. Hiraga didn't sound like any name common in Halkeginia. It didn't sound like a noble's name, either, but obviously only a noble would be given command of a warship this size. I wondered again where this strange foreign craft had come from.

The room I stepped into was full of odd illusionary displays and even odder machines, things with functions I couldn't even begin to guess at.

And then I saw him. I didn't even think when I did, I simply rushed over to his side. Even inexperienced as I was, I could tell how close he was to passing. His face was pale, more like a satin sheet than any sort of healthy color. He trembled, ever so slightly, and his eyes were wide and unfocused. I could see several large red stains in his uniform, and the scent of blood was thick in the air here.

He lay on the ground, surrounded by dead creatures like the ones I'd seen in the halls. Some kind of strange musket was lying off to the side. Probably what he'd used to kill them.

I wasn't sure he was still conscious, but when I leaned closer to look at his face, he laughed, though it was barely above a whisper.

“An angel?” His voice was low and raspy. “I must be delirious.”

I blinked. Then I blushed. He was comparing me to an angel? Me? He must have been delirious, like he said. But still... It felt nice to receive such praise, especially from a man.

That thought reminded me of why I was here. I grabbed his hand, placing my other hand on his forehead. He was cold and clammy, halfway to a corpse already. “Don't worry about that. Rest now, I'm here.”

I'm terrible at consoling people. Not like Big Sis Cattleya. So rather than rely on my own terrible imagination, I simply thought of something that sounded like something she'd say. It seemed to work, since he gifted me with a weak smile in response.

“Did we stop them?” His eyes were pained and unfocused.

That was trickier. Lying to a dying man felt horrible. But I had no clue whether he'd stopped them. Or even who “they” are, really, though I suspected those nightmare creatures were “them.”

My stomach sank then. What if I'd summoned this ship at just the wrong moment? What if whatever it was he'd fought and died for wasn't done? That illusion the ship showed me implied that it'd be pretty bad if he didn't stop “them.” After all, being “biologically programmed to kill” sounded all shades of ominous.

“Affirmative, Captain. All launch vehicles were destroyed,” I breathed a sigh of relief when the ship's voice said that.

“Good,” He sighed. His eyes shut, and his head sank back to the cold metal floor. His hand squeezed mine once, then let go. I was sure he was dead.

I don't know what possessed me then, but I leaned forward and brushed my lips across his. I could only hope my first real kiss was with someone I felt as connected to as this. Which is silly, I know, since I hadn't even met this man, knew little of his personality or where he came from... Yet I could still tell just how lonely he was. I don't empathize with people easily, but I could understand his fears and his sadness so well because it mirrored my own in so many ways.

“Sleep well,” I said, backing away.

And then he started screaming.

His eyes shot open, and the smell of burnt human skin filled the room. My mind raced to figure out what was happening. Why would simply kissing him on the-

Ah. Of course. Stupid stupid stupid Louise! Stupid Zero! The familiar contract is sealed with a kiss! That smell was the familiar runes burning their way into his flesh! Why in the Founder's name didn't I think of that before I kissed him? Oh, of course. I thought he was dead. But that wasn't any excuse. Stupid Louise.

I sank to my knees, a few tears starting to stain my cheeks. Even my attempts to be nice failed. Even something as selfless a gesture of respect at someone's passing blew up in my face. I'd made his last moments excruciating instead of peaceful. He didn't deserve that. Nobody deserved that.

Stupid Zero. Stupid worthless worm.

I felt something grab my shoulder, startling me. When I looked up, I saw that he'd rolled over to face me. And though he looked to be in a lot of pain, he was still lucid. More lucid, in fact, than he was before.

“Hey. Imaginary angels shouldn't cry,” His voice sounded scratchy. He was probably dying for a glass of water.

I mentally groaned at my own tasteless metaphor, even as I tried to dry my tears.

“Y-you're awake? H-how do you feel?” I stammered.

“Like death after being stuck in a microwave,” He tried to shrug, groaned, then tried again before giving up. I had no idea what he meant. How could being stuck in a tiny wave of water make him feel anything? “Whatever you did helped a lot though. Or maybe this is all some sort of weird pre-death experience, and I only think I'm feeling better. Maybe you're not really here, maybe I'm sitting in Antaeus' sick bay waiting for my body to give out. I certainly feel lighter, and the pain isn't nearly as excruciating as it was.”

“No, I'm real,” I replied, noticing that the runes from my spell, the ones that inscribed themselves on his hand, were glowing faintly even though he was simply lying there. I'd never heard of that sort of thing in all my research. The runes only glowed when they were inscribing themselves, never on their own. I wondered if that was responsible for his sudden change.

“You sure?” He asked. “Because if my mind was trying to come up with some kind of fantasy to ease my passing, a nice cute blonde like you is exactly the sort of thing I'd imagine. Particularly since I know for a fact that I'm the only living human being for five hundred nautical miles.”

I blushed. “I'm sure.”

“That's exactly what a figment of my imagination would say!” He coughed up a bit of blood before giving me a look. “Right down to the cute blush! Though I like to think my imagination would send a woman with bigger hooters for my final moments. Don't get me wrong, you're definitely worth a fantasy or two as you are, but hooters would complete the package.”

“You're awfully chatty for someone who seconds ago was about to die,” I shot back, eyes narrowed. I could feel the blush creeping further across my cheeks. I didn't know what a “hooter was”, but from where he was looking, it was pretty obvious he was insulting my chest!

“I guess that's your doing,” He laughed, though it sounded pained. “If I'm talking to you, I'm not noticing my body shut down. So who are you? I'm curious as to how creative my subconscious is. Actually, on second thought, take off your clothes.”

What? I glared up at him. How could this jerk ask me something like that, after we just met! I wasn't some kind of – of scarlet woman! I didn't just do that for anyone!

I reflexively moved to slap him upside the head for being a pervert, lethal injuries or no, when he flinched away. “Okay. That proves that. If this was some strange subconscious fantasy of mine, you'd be naked right now and we'd be doing things. Say, can you do me a favor? There's a box over on the wall there with a red cross on it. You'll see a syringe inside. Bring that to me, would you?”

“Things?” My eyes narrowed at him before I looked away, seeking his box. I stood and went over to it, fumbling with the odd latching system it used. Still, it proved no match for the daughter of a duke, as I quickly removed the syringe and gave it to him.

He then proceeded to jab it into his neck. And it wasn't a particularly small needle either.

I had to suppress a shiver.

“Thanks.” He replied, letting out a sigh as he leaned up, propping himself up against one of the many strange metal objects in this room.

A grimace plastered itself across his face. “That'll help keep me from bleeding out. To answer your question... Chronologically, I haven't gotten laid in almost twenty years! Of course my mind will tend towards the gutter after a dry spell that long! And then you show up with your pretty little face and what the hell is a guy supposed to think about?!”

I unclenched my fist. I could understand his logic, even if he was still probably a pervert and probably deserved to be hit. He was just lucky he was injured. “What do you mean, chronologically? You certainly don't look... What, forty?”

“I...” He struggled for words. “I went to sleep for a long time. I am pretty old, but my body's young. Listen, it's a long story, one that's not especially relevant now. What I want to know is who the hell you are and what's going on. I don't think Central's so desperate for manpower as to send teenage girls in rescue parties.”

“I'm eighteen, actually,” I replied, dryly.

“Hence teenage,” He countered. “So, again, are you from Central? What's going on here?”

“Central?” I asked. “Is that the nation you serve?”

He blinked, then he looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Central is the government that runs the world. How is it that you don't know this? You know, the Central Earth Government?”

“Government that runs the world?” I shot back. “I think whatever battle you were in warped your memory. Nobody rules the world. Halkeginia is divided up between the five kingdoms!”

“Helke-what? And kingdoms? What are you talking about? There haven't been kingdoms since I was a child, and we tore all those down during the last war,” He shook his head. “You know what? Let's start with the basics. Who are you and how did you find me?”

My eyes widened at his casual proclamation. Tearing down kingdoms? I'd heard of no instability in any of the kingdoms, save Albion's trouble with those Reconquista terrorists. Certainly none of them had been torn down, much less all of them. It occurred to me, then, that he was either delusional, or from even further away than I suspected before.

But if my familiar made a habit of tearing down kingdoms, I'd have to put a stop to that. The royal house had a divine mandate to rule. It was in their very blood, and I'd be damned if I let anyone try to topple that.

“I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière, and you're here because I summoned you here,” I stood taller and straighter. Though I still must have looked quite the sight, with disheveled hair and puffy red-rimmed eyes.

“Summoned?” He looked at me oddly. “Huh. And how exactly did you do that?”

“With the summoning spell, of course,” I replied. I couldn't help preening a little bit. My first successful spell was worth a little preening.

“Spell?” He looked even more confused. “What, is that some code word for a teleporter someone cooked up? Some scientists having a bit of humor at my expense maybe?”

“No?” I frowned. “It's a commonly cast piece of magic, even though it's quite complicated. Every mage has to do it in their second year.”

“Now I know you're joking with me. Tell the rest of the rescue team that it's not fair to toy with injured patients,” He replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “And why do you think I'm joking?”

“Because magic doesn't exist,” He replied instantly. “Next you'll tell me you wave wands about and shoot off fireballs while chanting fake Latin. Well I'm not falling for it.”

My mouth fell open in shock. How could he have not heard of magic? That was impossible. Magic touched every corner of everyone's life. Earth mages used their powers to till the ground and erect cities and fortresses. Water mages healed the sick, even as fire and wind mages devoted themselves to more martial pursuits.

The idea that this man hadn't even heard of magic... No, worse, was actively denying its existence – I just couldn't believe it.

And certainly not when he commanded such a clearly magical vessel such as this.

I raised my wand and pointed it at him. “I'm not kidding. And yes, we really can shoot fireballs.”

He looked from it, to me, then back to it. “Nice prop. You guys have really gone all out on this prank. It's in very poor taste though.”

How dare he dismiss me like that!

“Antaeus, give me a sitrep,” He stood up, looking quite unsteady on his feet, but he was able to stand on his own. “It seems this Louise girl isn't going to be straight with me.”

“Hey!” I growled, “I'm being perfectly honest! You're the one not making any sense! You show up here in a clearly magical ship and expect me to believe you don't know about magic?”

“I am not magical,” The vessel's cold voice replied. “Magic is fictional. To answer your query, Captain: We have sustained critical damage to all systems. The creation engine is online, but is only operating at five percent efficiency. My own quantum computing matrix is damaged and operating at ten percent efficiency. External communications are online but not receiving any traffic. Internal wireless networks are offline. Our fusion reactor is offline; we are operating on emergency power. Estimated time remaining: Thirty hours. The soulcatcher interface is offline. The war room is offline. Weapons are offline. The hull is severely compromised; without significant external repairs, we will not be seaworthy again.”

I understood little of whatever statistics the ship was rattling off. Her captain, of course, knew it all.

“Lovely. Just lovely. So basically nothing works except you and the creation engine,” He growled, clearly ignoring me. “Can we fix the reactor?”

“Don't ignore me!” I said. I was the third daughter of Duke Vallière, not some chambermaid to be ignored at a whim. And I'm not going to lie, being told the one thing I dreamed about achieving above all else was mere “fiction” stung, even though this whole situation was proof that it was real.

“Affirmative. I reabsorbed the disassembler cannon, allowing me to commence emergency repairs. This also freed up the occupied buildpad. We will need access to a drydock in order to repair to full functionality.”

He continued to ignore me. “Assume worst case scenario. Can we make repairs ourselves?”

“Negative. We do not possess the capability to self-repair to full functionality at this time.”

“Damnit, stop ignoring me!” I yelled, moving to slap him before I remembered that, yes, he was still badly wounded, no matter that the familiar runes seemed to make him lively. My hand jerked, but I refused to slap him, though I really wanted to. It'd feel too close to hurting Cattleya for my liking. Though if he made another tasteless pervert comment, I might feel tempted.

I lowered my hand. You don't hurt people too weak to defend themselves. That's what Mother said.

He grimaced. “Will you please be quiet? I'll deal with you in just a moment. Right now, I need to find out what happened to my ship and my crew.”

“Now, Antaeus,” He said. “Didn't we already go through this bullshit the last time? I distinctly remember asking you to download the schematics for those automated nano-repair cranes they used at the wetdock specifically to avoid this sort of thing.”

“We will need to construct a supporting infrastructure around the carrier in order to carry out extensive repairs. At present we do not possess the energy and mass reserves necessary to do so,” Antaeus replied. “Securing a source of engineers to effect repairs would also be beneficial.”

“Well, that's our first goal,” The man replied. “Now when you say soulcatcher is offline... I need to know. Is the crew alive? Or at least as alive as we can get?”

I blinked, my anger vanishing to be replaced with a sort of horrified wonder. He'd said “we.” That meant he didn't consider himself alive. But how could you not be alive? Either you were alive or dead. There wasn't anything in between. Unless you were a ghost. Which drew my mind back to necromancy.

Wait. Did that mean my new familiar was the captain of a ghost ship? Did he have some sort of terrible curse placed on him, to wander the seas until he did some incredibly difficult quest? I'd read legends of such men, but I'd never expected to meet one.

“Are you a ghost?” I asked. “Is this a ghost ship?”

The man looked at me oddly for a moment, seeming to process what I asked. Then he barked, though his laughter was tinged with hysteria. “You know, that description fits. A ship full of ghosts. Dead men walking. Yeah, that fits way too well.”

“I don't understand,” I frowned. “Either this is a ghost ship or not. It's not something you'd have to guess at.”

“Of course you don't understand. What we actually are isn't exactly public knowledge,” He sighed. “I'll explain later. Now, Antaeus. Can you answer the question?”

I decided then to shelve all those distressing thoughts, all the implications of necromancy and elf magic and everything else. I couldn't deal with it now. I could deal with it later, once I'd had time to talk with my familiar and figure out how exactly I was going to come to terms with this whole situation.

Since he offered as much himself, I guess the feeling was mutual. Normal summonings weren't nearly as complicated. Normally you get an animal, bind it to your service, and get to know it.

“Unknown. Without main power restored, I cannot tell. I also cannot detect any of the satellites. However, there is enough data to establish that we are not where we should be.”

“Wait. Define “not where we should be?” He asked. “Are you saying we really were summoned by some magic spell?”

“Of course you were!” I interjected. Stupid dumb stubborn familiar.

“We are no longer on the island. We are no longer anywhere near the island. Radiation and meteorological readings are not consistent with the island. External sensors cannot detect any bodies of water within twenty miles, and based on atmospheric salt content, we are not near the ocean,” The ship's cold voice replied.

“So how in the hell did we end up here? Wherever here is? If you say magic, you're getting reformatted,” the man said.

“I did detect an anomalous energy burst not long after the initial blast...” Antaeus replied.

“Gah!” He threw up his hands.

I cleared my throat, irritation at being ignored again finally pushing through my sense of propriety. “As I said, I summoned you here. With magic. I called you here to be my familiar.”

“Familiar?” He glanced down at his hand.

“My lifelong servant and protector! Every mage summons a familiar in their second year,” I replied.

He narrowed his eyes. “Servant and protector? I've already sworn to serve and protect humanity. But somehow I think you mean something different. I'm not some Janissary to fight at your command. My men and I, any who're still around, will only fight for a cause we respect.”

I sighed. Clearly, he was going to be a difficult familiar. “See that mark on your hand? It's already done. You don't get a say in it. And I don't know anything about any men of yours. I certainly didn't see any as I went through this ship. You're the first living soul I've seen. You're the first human being I've seen here, for that matter.”

“Oh? And how exactly are you going to force me to do anything?” He asked. I noticed he didn't say anything about his crew or lack thereof.

I frowned. That was a good question. I hadn't actually considered how I'd do that. The whole point behind the summoning ritual was to summon a familiar who would obey you without question. The runes were supposed to be binding. I had a whip in my dresser in case I got a particularly unruly beast... But using it on a human being didn't feel right.

Though I'd make an exception if he told me to take off my clothes again.

“You're my familiar,” I tried. “Of course you'll obey me. That's what familiars do.”

“I'll protect you the same as I'd protect any other innocent person, but I won't obey you,” He shook his head firmly. “You're not a representative of my government. I've got no reason to be loyal to you, even though whatever you did is making me feel better.”

I could almost feel his refusal like a blow. I truly was a zero, wasn't I? Oh sure I summoned a huge and impressive warship, but it was broken. The man I accidentally bound to be my familiar was disobedient and refused to listen to me. And possibly dying.

I staggered like someone'd punched me in the gut. Even my first success was a failure.

He looked at me, biting his lip.

“Listen... I don't mean to sound callous here, but you have to understand that I'm a human being with my own loyalties,” He sighed, then he examined the runes on his hand again. “If we assume that just for now, I'm taking all this magical nonsense as truth, why exactly did you “summon” me of all people? And why the whole ship rather than just me?”

That was a good question. Stupid familiar, asking smart questions to keep me off balance. “Err... The ritual searches the world for the familiar best suited to the mage in question, then brings them to the mage and binds them to their master's service. Maybe the ritual was confused at how your ship certainly seems alive, even though it says it isn't. I'm not a teacher. I just know some of the theory behind it.”

Okay, a lot of the theory behind it. Big Sis Eleanor would never let me live it down when I got home, given how much I'd pestered her about magical theory. I could see it now.

“I'll buy that,” He replied. “So tell me what exactly you summoned me for? I'm not a mean spirited person. You did something really nice for me, and I'm not going to forget that. But I won't kill innocent people for you. I'm a soldier, not a murderer.”

“I don't want you to murder anyone,” My voice was low and quiet. I could feel my loneliness leaking into it despite myself. “I-I just want a familiar.”

“What exactly does a familiar do?” He asked.

“Normal familiars gather reagents and enhance their master's senses. But that doesn't seem to work. At least, I don't feel any more perceptive then I usually do,” I replied. “You could help me gather reagents though. At least, you could when you recover.”

“Reagents? I'm not up on my archaic terms,” He replied. “Give me an example.”

“Well, I'd have you gather moss or sulphur, or some other materials depending on what I need for my studies.”

“That's it?” He asked. “Do you need some magical kind of sulphur?”

“Erm... No?” I said. “Any old sulphur will do.”

“Hmm,” He smiled, though I had no idea why.

“There is one other duty that familiars perform. A familiar has to protect their mage,” I said.

“Against what?”

“Well, against any threats we encounter!” I replied. “But since you're just a human being and one without magic at that, I'm not sure what you can do against a powerful familiar like a manticore or gryphon.”

“Me personally? Not much. I'm decent with a gun, but I'm no marine or ranger. So I guess it's a good thing Antaeus and I are a package deal, huh? Particularly once she's back to how she should be.”

“I don't see how a beached sea ship is going to help protect me,” I replied.

He smiled. “Hopefully it won't come to that. But I'm willing to help you out here. Nothing you said sounds too bad.”

“So you will be my familiar?” Excitement burst into my voice. It was even enough to drown out the fact that he was so obstinate.

Then I felt rather foolish for having to bargain with my familiar at all. That wasn't how things should work. He should've obeyed me without question. I told myself that having him want to help me would be better then having him fight me every step of the way like some obstinate dog.

In better circumstances, I'd have found it funny. Normally you summon a familiar and bind them with the spell “contract servant.” And here I was bargaining with my familiar – contracting him, you might say.

He glanced at his hand and the faintly glowing runes for a third time. “It seems I don't have much of a choice. But remember, I'm a human being with my own morals and loyalties. I'm not just going to obey you like some kind of sycophant or lackey. If you want my loyalty, you're going to have to earn it.”

“Very well, Familiar,” I replied. How hard could it be to earn this man's loyalty? I was the daughter of a duke, after all. Leadership was in my blood!

At the time, it scarcely occurred to me that he was probably as good a leader as I styled myself as, what with actually having experience at the job.

“Saito. My name is Saito,” He growled. “None of this “familiar” stuff. If we're going to work together, you'll call me by my name or the deal's off. And you damn well better respect me, which means you better not ask me to do something morally bankrupt, nor ask me to turn against my government. If you try to force the issue, I'll just have the hand amputated. No more funny squiggles, no more binding magic, right? That's how it usually goes in these stories, isn't it?”

“You'd cut off your own hand just to escape me?” My mouth fell open in shock. Was I really such a terrible master, that even my familiar was contemplating lopping off his own hand just to get away from me?

I wasn't entirely sure if it would work or not – the physical runes were just a mark of ownership – but the very notion was horrifying. He shouldn't even have been thinking of that.

“If I have to,” He replied. “I don't think you understand how valuable my personal freedom is to me. Which sounds strange coming from a soldier, I know. But I volunteered to be a soldier. I didn't volunteer to be your slave.”

After a few moments of practically feeling his gaze sweep up and down my body, he added, “Though if you're interested in a sex slave, we might be able to work something out.”

“I am not looking for a s-sex slave, you stupid dog!” I yelled, even though privately I had to admit that it felt good to have someone looking at me like that. All the boys in school considered me a zero, and nobody wanted a zero. “I want a familiar. That's it. A nice, powerful, impressive, and above all obedient familiar that will show everyone that I'm not some stupid failure!”

“Are you a failure?” He asked.

Something about his question tore into me. Its simplicity infiltrated my head and made a nest there. Though I tried, I found I couldn't simply dismiss it out of hand, even though I wanted to so badly.

Yes, I'd technically summoned the largest familiar ever. Yes, my summoning was unique and different. Different didn't mean good. Both my familiar and his ship were broken. Worse, my familiar didn't tell me anything about my element. His ship was made of metal and floated on the seas. That corresponded to earth and water affinity, respectively, but it didn't help me. I'd tested spells of both those elements, yet I'd been totally unable to cast effectively.

So what exactly did a human being correspond to? Weakness? Worthlessness?

“I-I-,” I finally started to reply, my voice tiny and my lips quivering.

“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that,” He cut me off, reaching out and squeezing my shoulder. “It doesn't really matter. So listen... I need some help getting to the infirmary to get myself patched up. I'm sure Antaeus could send a drone to cart me off, but that won't be nearly as pleasant, and it'll give us a chance to chat. Will you help me out?”

I bit my lip, nodding. “A good mage takes care of her familiar.”

<***>

Professor Jean Colbert had one driving motivation. His students were his whole world. He cared for each and every one of them. But he couldn't help that he cared for Louise Vallière a bit more than others. She was Karin's daughter, and Karin was his old commanding officer back when they both did wetwork for the papacy. He owed it to Karin to keep an eye on her progeny. More, he felt sorry for Louise. Karin was the kind of woman who pushed everyone around her to excel. She didn't take “no” or “I can't do it” for an answer. Karin pushed hard, and she didn't exactly care if the student broke down. Louise's life must have been hell, given the girl's lack of magical talent.

Louise's school life probably wasn't much better. Children could be terribly vicious creatures.

Colbert knew the familiar summoning was her best chance to turn things around. He knew she knew that too. It's why he always made time for her when she came to ask questions about it, even when he was already knee-deep in grading assignments or composing exams. He wanted her to succeed. Not just in the sense that he wanted all his students to succeed, but this was deeper. He owed it to Karin to make sure her daughter didn't go home in disgrace.

But if he knew she'd do this, he might have been more hesitant with his advice. The hulking metal thing she'd summoned was still on the academy's grounds. At final tally, it was perhaps a hundred meters long, and it just edged out Tristain academy's central spire for height. While he obviously had no inkling of its internal structure, some quick calculations told him that were it hollow, it would have more volume within its cavernous interior than every building on the academy campus put together.

Worse, it resisted all attempts to break through. Colbert already tried a powerful square-class flame spell in hopes of opening a hole so he could look for his wayward student. He'd had the school's wind mages trying everything from vacuum blades on up. When he'd brought in Professor Chevreuse, the school's best Earth mage, to see what it was made of, she was stumped. It was metal, she said, but not like any metal she'd ever encountered. She lacked the raw power needed to manipulate it, even with her earth magic. And as she was a triangle earth mage, just a step below square herself, Colbert found himself getting more and more concerned for Louise. She'd been in there for a few hours at this point.

The familiar itself, whatever it actually was, didn't do much. It didn't shift when he struggled to burn his way through. It didn't swat him away as one might shoo a fly. It didn't even seem alive at all.

It was too artificial-looking to be alive anyway. All harsh, blunt angles. And the tubes on its middle looked disturbingly like enormous cannon barrels.

He almost thought it a ship, but it was far too large for that, no matter what the red-tinted water from its summoning suggested.

There was something else. He hesitated to even think about it, lest he convince himself that he was losing his mind, but he could swear the thing was slowly healing. Burns and melted hunks of metal seemed to fade away from one minute to the next. Never when he was watching, of course, but he oft went back to particular damaged segments he used as reference points only to find them gone, with nothing but smooth metal in their place.

“So Louise Vallière is still inside it?” The voice belonged to the school's headmaster. Colbert whirled, startled. Osmond always had a habit of sneaking up on people unawares.

“That's right, Headmaster,” Colbert replied.

“I'd hate to be the one who has to tell Karin the Heavy Wind that her daughter has disappeared into that child's own familiar.”

“Did you have to remind me?” Colbert sighed. “I sent her a message by courier. Knowing Karin, she'll be here soon to find out about this situation personally.”

“I'm a bitter old man. It's only natural that others should share in my misery,” Osmond replied cheerfully. “Best of luck, Jean!”

Old bastard.

“Look!” A student called out, distracting him from the headmaster. Colbert had done everything he could to keep them away from the thing, but they were all so very curious.

Something was atop the deck where there was nothing before. It was strange, a huge metal box, atop a pair of treads. He wondered how it even got up there. He was sure there was nothing up there but five minutes ago.

Its treads moved slightly, experimentally, like an animal testing its legs after a long bout of hibernation. Treads, where had he seen treads before? Colbert struggled to think.

The papacy. One of the arms caches, allegedly left over from the days of Brimir himself, held such a thing. A box on two treads. Unlike that box, this one lacked a long cannon barrel mounted in a turret. Lacked a turret at all, in fact.

But this box was moving. It rolled, the caterpillar treads carrying it ever closer to the edge of the superstructure. Colbert held his breath, wondering what it was trying to do. Was it trying to jump off the side of the hulk? But that was insane. It'd surely smash when it hit the ground.

It drove right over the side, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust underneath it.

The impact jarred his teeth.

But the metal box wasn't broken. It didn't even appear damaged. Instead, it turned in place and then moved off towards one of the trees that the leviathian felled in its arrival.

“Stay back, everyone!” He called.

Colbert watched a strange beam of light wash over the tree, coming from the box. A hum filled the air, and then he felt a tingling in his skin, as though shocked by static electricity.

Then the world flashed. Colbert had to squint his eyes, lest the glare blind him.

When his vision cleared, the tree was gone, just the indentation in the grass remained to mark the tree's passing.

The box then drove to another tree, repeating the process.

Colbert wondered what the hell it was doing, even as he prepared his most powerful flame spells, just in case it moved to... Do whatever the hell it was doing to one of his students as opposed to a copse of trees.

AngrySasquatch · Oct 11, 2011

Fuck, man, just...

Fuuuck.

Let me reiterate: Fuuuuck.

Dimensionist · Oct 11, 2011

*Corporal snippet*

A very interesting beginning, Corporal. While I don't want to take time away from you updating Unfamiliar, I would like to see more of this story.

EDIT: Though I would suggest you tone down Louise's tsundere tendencies a bit when she meets Saito - anime conventions of 'bashing perverts' really shouldn't apply when dealing with critically wounded people, and her flip-flop from greatly empathizing with him to being tempted to hit him over an off-the-cuff remark seems a bit ... well, weird.

linkhyrule5 · Oct 11, 2011

To be fair, she's a little high-strung. Just a little .

But yes, awesome fic. Would definitely like more.

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Cpl_Facehugger The Strongest in Gensokyo.

AngrySasquatch Brother Moon

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linkhyrule5 Hero of Time

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Donate Familiars for poor Mages (ZnT discussion part 5)

linkhyrule5 Hero of Time

Flere821 ZnT LN Expert

soulful100 Breaking Dimensions

thesevenwielder Pondering...

Cody Fett Transitional Phrase Nut

Forgetful Nuka Chemist

Flere821 ZnT LN Expert

Arjac Banned!

Arjac Banned!

Cpl_Facehugger The Strongest in Gensokyo.

NemiTheNen Suddenly Collecting Likes on an OLD Bolo/GG Post

Ninjafish Dancing Mad

Winged Knight Crazy man with a wolf on his head.

Winged Knight Crazy man with a wolf on his head.

Cpl_Facehugger The Strongest in Gensokyo.

AngrySasquatch Brother Moon

Dimensionist This Hand Of Mine Burns With An Awesome Power-!

linkhyrule5 Hero of Time

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