A Familiar World Book 1 Chapter 2

FIRST PREVIOUS ARCHIVE

With a great SPLASH, James tumbles below the surface of the lake. But his dip into the murky waters was merely brief, as he continued to fall out of the lake and into something else entirely. Followed by sparks of a bizarre energy, James falls into a vast, empty space.

Deeper and deeper and deeper still James fell, into a seemingly never-ending void. He being the only source of life for whatever unit of distance can be perceived as miles in this aimless space. Only droplets of lake water and sparks of the mysterious energy from the pentagram followed James. And what awaited this young man was a warm yet foreboding light, comprising of a similar energy as the pentagram in the lake, sparking with its own streaks of energy.

James falls straight into the light, until it engulfs him completely. The rest of the void is lit up as bright as a star, the only spec of darkness being the silhouetted shape of James. The light and strange energy overwhelm the young man as he descends into god only knows where.

There's nothing but bright white to see in this expanse of energy. But it only lasts for a moment, as the white, almost as swiftly as James fell into this space, fades into grey and ultimately black. The now encompassing darkness punctuated by a hard THUMP.

James lay still with his eyes shut, passed out momentarily from the sudden rush. His consciousness begins to reboot as faint murmurings can be heard around him. As his brain starts to catch back up, the murmurings become clearer. Voices: Is that a human? How did she do that? That is not a familiar! Did anyone see how this happened? Diana Gilshire did that!?
Soon enough, James begins to awaken fully, the voices even clearer. Voices: Professor, what is going on!? There is no way this is possible! James: ... Oww... Voices: SHH SHH, he is waking up!

James slowly opens his eyes, his hand reflectively blocking the light shining down on his still waking vision. James: What the hell was... James eyes finally adjust to the light, as he can see his right hand clearly in front of his face. James: Huh? Isn't it, like, six now?

James turns down to his left hand pressed into a wet patch of grass. James: And where am I? Am I back on the quad, or- James turns to face in front of him, seeing the startled expressions of people in purple robes and pointed hats adorned with buckles depicting various pentagons. Next to them are various animals, including a red boar, a blue bat, and a polar bear. James: Wait... what in the hell...?

James finds himself forced to wake up completely as he tries to figure out what is going on around him. He sits there on the wet patch of grass with a befuddled look on his face, staring wide eyed towards the animals in front of him. Behind him, are even more people, including pink- and blue-haired girls with a seagull between them, a green haired girl with glasses and a brown spider at her feet, a middle-aged man staring and pointing at James with a dog standing behind him, and a young girl with purple hair pointing what appears to be a wand in James' direction. The buckle on her hat was quite different from the rest, bearing only a tiny black star. Some may say a faint light could be seen around it, but most were far too preoccupied with the bizarre event unfolding around them to notice.

The middle-aged man stood shaking as he tried to process what he had just borne witness to. Man: A... a... a human? How, how is that even possible!?! A silver haired boy holding what appeared to be a red newt was shaking and sweating even more profusely, clearly blown away by this event. Silver: Aba-aba-aba-aba-aba-ab-wha!?! But I thought, Professor Filmor said we couldn't summon a human. The murmurings and exclamations went unnoticed by James at this point, as did the approach of the purple-haired girl, as he found himself assessing the area around him. James: Wait, is this a cosplay thing, or a LARP thing? Why didn't anyone tell me there were LARP-ers at UNR, that sounds fun! James' musings were interrupted as the purple-haired girl reached him, putting her wand away. Purple: Um...

The purple-haired girl, with concern and confusion on her face, reached down with her hand out. Purple: Excuse me? Sir...? James: Huh? James' process of assessing his situation took a momentary pause as he hopped up, splashing lake water around him, and addressed the girl. James: Whoa, love the hair! Not used to seeing darker dye jobs like that, cool choice! Diana (taken aback): Dye job? I don't understand.

Meanwhile, the people around them continued to vocally ponder what had unfolded before their very eyes. A portly boy with red hair and a pale-blue cockatoo perched on his arm approached the middle-aged man. Red: Professor? I know William already asked, but... is it possible that this is a rare occurrence, for a human to be called during a familiar summoning ritual? Man (referred to as Professor, not taking his eyes off of James): No, not at all... A listless looking girl with sunset-orange hair holding a large axolotl approached on the other side of the professor. Orange: And is it normal for them to be soaking wet as well? Professor (turning his befuddled expression to the girl): ... No, not at all.

From the orange-haired girl's left, a stoic girl with green hair and glasses finally spoke up. Green: If they are a water elemental, then it is possible. Almost instantly, the silver-haired boy, apparently named William, could not hold back a cartoonishly exaggerated retort to blow at the green-haired girl, with his flaming tailed newt shocked in kind. William: BUT THAT IS NO WATER ELEMENTAL!!! William (in a less cartoonish way, pointing at James): THAT IS A HUMAN!!! DIANA SUMMONED A HUMAN!!! A WET HUMAN!!! In the distance, James stares back in William's direction, confused. James (pointing at himself): Wet human?

James (looking at the wet grass beneath his feet): Oh right, I did fall into the lake. James (a hand under his chin): So how did I resurface at... wait... James looks up at the building behind him. Against a pale, cloudless sky stood a dark grey monolith speckled with sickly green windows. This strange building consisted of a narrow tower stretching straight into the sky, with thicker towers curving outwards and up from the base, like curled claws. A wall in the style of a medieval castle surrounded the courtyard everyone here stood. James: This... this isn't the quad. Where is this?

The purple-haired girl named Diana struggles to find the words to help the young man. Diana: Oh dear, um, I am not sure how to explain this... James (walking past her, pondering): This isn't UNR, it looks like... a castle? I fell into the lake, I'm in a castle, it's daylight now, y'all are dressed in LARP-ing costumes- James stops as he finds something blue blocking his path. He looks up, and is startled by the imposing frame of a blue dragon, with piercing eyes, horns, fins, a long neck, and mighty wings. James (freaking out): IS THAT A FUCKING DRAGON!?! Diana is startled, realizing how scary this must look.

Diana (rushing to James' side): Oh no it is alright, this is a familiar! One of the other students summoned him, he will not hurt you! James (still freaking out): Okay, cool it with the 'summoning' and 'familiar' thing, I'm not part of this LARP thing you have going on here! James (approaching the dragon): So if y'all can take a 'long rest' or whatever the LARP equivalent is and tell me where the hell I am! James (pointing and smiling at the dragon): Though I gotta say, this is a super cool sculpture! In response, the dragon puffs at James, blasting him a blast of hot, blue air to mess up his hair and dry him off. James (turning with a frightened look holding a thumbs up): ... Lot of attention to detail on that sculpture. The dragon, visibly irritated, growls at the young fool.

Diana: Um, sir, that is very clearly not a sculp- Unknown: Give it a rest, Gilshire! Diana turns to see a pale blond girl holding a frog and the pink-haired girl chiding her. Blond: You are just wasting everyones' time! Pink: Yes, it is obvious you just hired a commoner from the village to act as a familiar you summoned just to prove you are not a complete failure. Diana (flabbergasted): I did no such thing! I cast the spell just like everyone else! Pink: Right, the witch who cannot even cast a simple spell properly managed to do all of that? Unknown: Well, she definitely did cast some sort of spell.

All attention, from students and even the dragon, is swiftly shifted to the blue-haired girl, standing with her arms crossed and a look of icy calm on her face. Blue: That much is plain to see. The two other girls (and a startled seagull) are caught off-guard by her demeanor in the present circumstances. One background student can be heard saying: Wow, Lady Penelope, so aloof even about this! Blond (shakily): I-well-yeah-but, but you are not supposed to summon a human! Blond (with more composure, pointing at Diana): Finally casted a spell and you cannot even get that right? William (off in the background, catching up to the conversation): Huh?

William: Oh uh yeas, rather extraordinary, is it not? A smaller boy with bronze hair and a smug air about him takes the reins of the conversation. Bronze: Indeed, a failure of such radical proportions, through still a failure in the end. William (in a smaller voice): Well, sure, but that is not quite what I- A larger, navy-haired boy interjects, cutting William off. Navy: And why is he wet? She pull him out of a gutter somewhere? William (in a defeated whisper): Oh, alright, maybe next time. Bronze (in an intentionally audible whisper): No, see, she should be able to use water magic, but she cannot. So she douses the commoner in water to pass him off as a water familiar. Navy (with a boisterous laugh): Ha! Wish I thought of that- The bronze-haired boy smacks his larger counterpart in the gut. Navy (nervously recovering): I MEAN, how stupid can you be!

Diana: I did not hire a commoner, and I did not mess up the spell! (In a quieter voice) ... I'm sure of it anyway... Blue (apparently named Penelope, pinching the bridge of her nose): At least try to sound more sure of yourself. This chide would go unnoticed, however, as the entire courtyard bursted with mocking laughter. Those of the bronze-, navy-, blond-, and pink-haired students somehow being the most pronounced. Diana could not parse such a detail, as the embarrassment of her situation overwhelmed her. All she could do was hide her progressively blushing face with the brim of her hat, all her remaining strength stopping the oncoming tears. James (waving a hand out in front of Diana) Hey!

James (to Diana's surprise): How about instead of pointing and laughing at her like a bunch of brats, one of you tell me what's going on!? Cuz I am losing my mind right now! William and his newt are taken aback at such an outburst from a so-called commoner. Bronze (indignant): And an insolent commoner at that! The blue-haired girl looks on in interest as the others push the matter further. Pink: Gilshire, control your mutt! Professor: ENOUGH!!! The sudden cry of the older adult forces the rest of the herd into stunned silence, though James is still more confused than anything.

Professor (as the dog near him shuffles forward): I will not have such intolerance in my class, from any of you! I expect more from the next generation of magicians! Professor (calmer): Now, there is still a half hour until the end of class. Use that time to become acquainted with your familiars. Professor (to Diana and James, the later of which is scritching the dog): Young man, Ms. Gilshire, please come with me to the headmasters' office. We have much to sort out. Diana (hurrying forward) Yes sir! James: At least I can get some answers.

James follows Diana and the dog as they approach the doors to the building. James continues to look over his surroundings, trying to parse what it is he sees, who it is he sees, and what any of it means. He continues to look on even as he and the others enter the building, and even as the doors shut behind them.

The remaining students, with the red- and orange-haired ones closest to the doors, look back at the doors in silence. As with James, they too are taking their time to parse what happened with this class. William (in the background, finally finding something to say): Ooh, I got it! William (calling out in the distance): If you do not already have one, Diana, I could loan you a whip- (in softer tones) Oh, you left already, never mind then. The red-haired boy simply glances back in the student's direction, pitying the poor lout.

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