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Chapter 1

I opened my eyes, and I saw chaos. People were frantic, running across ample tunnels lit by torchlight. I stood in front of an underground settlement, charmingly lit with multitude of candle lights. The amber earthly tones of the carved walls danced against the flickering lights as the shadows danced on the walls.

"Thank goodness! You're finally here, summoner!" said a grave voice in front of me.

I turned my attention and saw this large woman in a sumptuous red dress making her way towards me with determined concern. This town's head, I presumed, based on the golden adornments. My mind felt foggy, as if I was waking from a dream. I tried to shake it off as I walked towards her, and nodded courteously.

"Most everyone has retreated to the grand hall, but the walls will not hold against a siege from the beast! Two sorcerers and a handful of fighters are already at the site, but I fear they won't be enough" she gasped as she tried catching her breath.

"I will head there immediately, then. Might you direct me to the fastest route?"

"Certainly! I will take you there myself" she nodded and clutched my arm.

We hastened somberly into the city. I was surprised by the expert stonemasonry, I had expected to feel inside an anthill but instead I felt like I was visiting a magnificent library. For a moment I hesitated if I had been in one before, as the darkness in my memory came to focus. Yes, of course I have, I told myself. I think I remember it. No time for those thoughts, anyway, people need my help.

We hustled through the corridors for a short time and came to a large cavern that had been carved into a theatre, which was currently full of frightened folks. The noise from their murmurs echoed around us, the tension palpable. As we cut through, some people stopped their conversations and looked at us, a few even pointing at us. At me, I corrected myself. And these are the people that are depending on me.

A lady in leather uniform approached us. "Lady Atoska, most people have been assembled."

"Thank you. Will everyone be ready to mobilize if we need to evacuate?" replied my companion

"Yes." The officer paused. "Shouldn't we being a preventive evacuation?"

She replied slowly, weighting her response. "Panicked people lead to accidents. For now, this will do. We will mobilize once we can make sure everyone can be led safely out."

"Will we have enough time?"

The mayor looked at me and sighed "I hope so."

We redoubled our haste as the officer followed us. As we took another turn into a brightly-lit hallway, she turned to me and said "Hi, I'm Tharla."

I nodded at her, unable to shake her hand as I was still under the firm grip of the mayor guiding me. "Pleased to meet you. I'm... uhm..." Tharla raised an eyebrow at me. "I seem to have forgotten" I said, bashfully. It seemed my mind was still muddled. She smirked, possibly mistaking my confusion as shyness.

"Well, mister summoner, I hope you know what you're doing."

We reached the other end of the wall. Leaving the illuminated halls was like taking a plunge into the abyss, as the dark cavern stretched before us. Stone steps led down into a sandy edge, and stretched further down into a vast lake. Below, at the water's edge, I saw the soldiers and two young men, barely out of childhood. I turned to Lady Atoska.

"Your casters?"

"They are the best we've got. Please help them" she urged. Her large eyes shimmered against the shadows.

I nodded, and started to make my way down the stairs. I unconsciously clutched the leather-bound tome that hung on a chain next to my hips, no doubt a reflex action I had done many times before. My soft soles fell silently on the sandy steps as I reached the edge of the water. I could feel the soldier's gaze on my back, although none would step closer than twenty paces from the water.

The young casters turned at me. The taller stood straight in his simple robes and shot me a look with a furrowed brow. He wore a small cap between his pointy ears, and had a pierced eyebrow -likely the older of the two. The younger one looked at me with curious beady eyes, in his comfortable clothes, not even formal attire. I figured he was a gifted kid, barely out of basic school, and felt sorry for him.

"Well?" the older one said

"Well... what?" I replied

"Go on, do your thing!" he said, exasperated. This task was obviously way beyond his abilities, and his glacial stare betrayed fear underneath.

The young one said nothing, but waved at me. I gave him a brief smile, and turned to the water. "Well, let's see then."

I gasped for air as I stepped into the water. It was gelid, and would have chilled me to the bone if I wasn't already shaking. The surface of the water was still, but as soon as I had submerged beyond my waist I felt a terrible pull towards the center of the lake.

I regretted being so deep in the water. This was not how it was supposed to be! I swam against the current towards the edge, trying not to panic.

The older sorcerer looked at me and groaned. "Useless! Is this really the only thing they could manage?"

He trudged in and reached his hand. I took it and was helped out of the water, panting exhausted. "I'm sorry" I muttered.

"Of course you are" he sneered. "We all are."

The younger one approached me and patted me on the back. "Breathe" he chimed encouragingly.

I stood up, coughed, and wiped my face. "Thank you. I'll be alright."

Then I looked at the lake. "The spirit is at the bottom of this lake"

The older one groaned. "Of course it is, where else?"

"...and there's a second one, much larger and powerful up the stream" I stammered.

Both youths looked dread to the back of the cavern, where the lake broke into a river through a large tunnel, then back at each other. "This is bad. This is really bad" hissed the older one. "Hey, you!" he snapped at a solder. "Tell the lady that we've got worse news coming, and she should start evacuating, ready or not!"

I grabbed my tome and idled through the pages as I deliberated on what to do. If only we had more time...

A bellow echoed through the chamber as a fog horn from the back. The spirt was rushing close.

"We have to do something!" yelled the senior sorcerer as he moved into the water, and began chanting. "Right" nodded the younger, and followed behind him.

"No, wait!" I cried. But they were already fighting the current as they focused on a freezing spell. A futile attempt, I thought, not even the most powerful sorcerer could freeze over a lake with one spell, much less inexperienced casters.

And then a shudder crossed my spine. I felt the air being sucked in, and the water receding from the lake as it gathered down the back of the cave.

"A flood breach..." I mouthed in awe. The scream from the chanting sorcerers was deafened by the tremendous force of rushing water approaching. There was no time.

I stepped forward, stretched my arms, folded my hands into a seal, and chanted.

"Build a barrier of protection, may none get past these walls, [...] !"

I head myself shout the rest of the incantation, I mouthed those words, but I could not retain what I had just said, the words jumbled in my head.

Suddenly at the neck of the grotto, the rock walls trembled and crashed, and three massive stone slabs jutted out, extending to the other wall. "We did it!" I cheered. But my mirth was short-lived; the wave rammed against the first barrier and crushed it to dust without much effort, then it reached the second one and bore it down like a hungry beast, and finally reached the last wall and tore it down with a loud crack.

And yet the walls had managed to slow down the wave, and it did not reach the town wall with full force. It seized up at the shoreline and came crashing against the halls, but it did not break down the wall. Those of us who were at the beach got swept up across the water, but the town had survived this attack.

And then, there it was. The great spirit had reached the lake, and I was alone in the beach.

I stood up and spoke with a commanding voice "Spirit, I beseech audience with you! Show yourself to me!"

The bellow rang once more, clattering in my ears. I saw a massive body lift up from the depths of the water, and heard the spirt talk inside my mind.

"Who dares..."

"A summoner!" I cut the spirit off "On behalf of those who cannot protect themselves!"

"Pitiable lives" it derided

"Why do you attack these innocent?"

"Behold, my progeny" it said, and I saw their shapes. They raised up from the water, and I saw two whale-like spirits, one as large as a fishing boat, and the other five times as large. I was in awe.

"My young, trapped in this construction, turned blind by the unceasing lights, deaf by the endless noise, lost to all. I will make silence, I will bring darkness, and take it all back."

"Then let me be your conduit, bond a pact with me and cool your rage. Stay your hand and become my power, and I will be your servant. I will find you and your brood a suitable place where you shan't be disturbed!"

The spirit's rage subsided. It floated quietly on the surface of the water, unperturbed by the floating debris, weighting my words.

"...elaborate" it finally said.

I sighed in relief. "If bonded, I become your summoner, I will align my goals to yours and do your bidding. In return, I will channel your power, wield it, but not own it. I will be a conduit and do great deeds in your name" I paused. These words were so familiar.

"If you bond with me" I continued, "I will find you and your offspring a peaceful location, enshrine it to your name, and perform a ritual to relocate you safely."

The spirit went quiet for longer. I stood quietly in the cavern, hearing the dripping from the ceiling for what seemed like hours.

Sensing its hesitation, I added "My word is my bond."

The smaller spirit sank deep in the water as we waited. Bored, perhaps, like a child waiting for adults to talk things out.

Finally, it bellowed again.

"Very well."

I opened my eyes again, no memory of the bonding ritual. I saw the crushed stone beyond the lake, the water still as a mirror. And I saw two shapes at the shore- it was the young casters. I rushed to them and pulled them out to land, then hurriedly began chest compressions. I moved back and forth between them, focusing energy on my palms as a healing charm. I pressed, and breathed, and focused for hours until one of the surviving solders tore me away from them in tears.

I did not sleep that night.