Zero Redemption
And so, it begins…
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear! Summon forth my familiar!"
What came next was to be expected from a spell incantation cast by Louise the Zero, a deafening explosion and a large cloud of dust, just as normal. The students who were watching and waiting to see just what, if anything, Louise would summon found themselves being blown off their feet and sent flying backwards by the sheer force of the blast. Even by Louise's standards, this explosion was far more powerful than normal. Louise herself was forced off her feet, and was sent flying backwards into the arms of Professor Colbert, the middle aged, balding fire mage who had been overseeing the Summoning Ceremony of his students. He had somehow managed to remain standing.
"Are you alright?" he asked Louise, staring at the dust cloud. It appeared that, once again, Louise had failed to summon a familiar. This would make it the fourth time in a row. To fail once in this particular ritual was unheard off, but then Louise did have a habit of not being able to pull off even the most basic of spells.
Louise nodded. "I think so…" she replied nervously, wiping the dust of her cloak as she recovered her balance. "I think I got something this time" she added, though wasn't entirely sure what she'd felt in the mere seconds before the explosion. She felt something come through the portal, but as to what it was, she had no idea
"You got us Zero!" came a shout from one of the students, who had been sent flying back into a nettle bush near the castle walls. He was going to have a bad case of nettle rash for a few hours after he got himself out, not that Louise cared too much
Professor Colbert and Louise both turned and saw the state of the students. Most were struggling to get back onto their feet, apart from Tabitha. The silent blue haired mage, who was rarely seen without a book, had somehow managed to stay standing, though her glasses and face were plastered in dust. She had her staff pointed at the direction of the blast, and the professor assumed she'd probably used some sort of wind spell to deflect a large part of the blasts power away from her. Tabitha was a very gifted student after all, so it didn't come as a surprise to him.
"So, it seems Louise the Zero has failed. Honestly Louise, why don't you just give up on magic?" a blonde haired student said, while waving his rose shaped wand around, before he helped another student to her feet.
Louise fumed, and was about to reply to Guiche's jab, but was interrupted by another student. "Look!" he called out, pointing at the dust cloud, which was now settling again.
Louise turned her attention back to the dust cloud, getting herself free of the Professor's grasp, and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. There stood a young man, who looked like he was in his early twenties. His hair was short, and coloured a deep black. He wore a black cloak, which was covering a black shirt and trousers. But the thing that most struck Louise was this man's eyes, which although were a soft hazel brown that appeared very gentle, were sending off a huge feeling of hatred and disgust towards Louise and her fellow students. Louise had felt terror whenever she'd done something against her mother's wishes, but the feeling of dread she got from this man's gaze was in a whole different level.
She was snapped out of her trance by the laughing of her classmates. "Wow, so Louise summoned a Commoner… Even I didn't think she'd fail this badly!" roared one of the students.
"Hey Louise, get rid of the commoner and show us what you really summoned, no point in hiding it." Added the busty red-head Kirche, who appeared to be on the verge of tears from how hard she was laughing. In fact, minus Tabitha, who was wiping the dust off her glasses so she could see better, every student was practically doubled over with laughter.
Louise lowered her head, and tried not to cry. She wanted the ground to open up under her, and swallow her whole, she'd prayed that even she'd been able to summon something that would impress her classmates, not make her into a bigger laughing stock than she already was to them.
"Who are you?" Louise raised her head, and saw Professor Colbert standing in front of her, his staff aimed at the man who had appeared from the explosion. Everything about his usual calm and friendly demeanour had changed, he was now focused, and watching the man in front of him like a hawk would focus on a rabbit. He'd also sensed the hostility from this man, and was clearly not taking any chances.
Louise heard the figure sigh, and mutter something to himself as he shook his head. She couldn't understand what he had said under his breath. She'd never heard a language like it. The figure raised a hand, and began speaking. Again, Louise had no clue what he was saying. Just great… she'd summoned a familiar who was a human, and couldn't even speak the same language, could this get any worse for her?
The figures hand glowed red for a few seconds, then returned to normal. Louise arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Did he just perform Magic?" she thought to herself. "And without the aid of a wand at that?" She couldn't understand it. Human's couldn't cast spells without wands or staves, no matter how talented the mage. The wand served as the catalyst, the focus, for their magical energies and made it far easier to control and cast spells.
The other students had also stopped laughing, and were whispering amongst themselves. "Did that guy really just cast a spell?" One whispered. "No way, it was probably a trick of the light or something." Another replied, not wanting to believe that a commoner could ever use something as refined as Magic. That was something only a noble could use, and he refused to believe that Louise the Zero could've summoned a noble as her familiar, especially considering he didn't use a wand to cast his spell.
Professor Colbert himself was surprised, but kept up his stance. "I'll ask you again. Who are you?" He called out to the figure, as he tightened his grip on his staff. The spell that the man had cast bore no signs of being aggressive in nature, and it was too short an incantation, if that's what it was anyway, to be a delayed reaction spell. The professor's mind fumbled around with various ideas and possibilities, but he never once let his focus on the figure or his surroundings drop for even a moment. He could tell this man was extremely dangerous.
The figure grinned, and slowly walked towards the Professor and Louise. Louise felt her blood run colder and colder with every step this man took towards her. "My, my…" the figure began to speak as he carried on walking towards Louise and the Professor. "You humans really are arrogant aren't you? But then again, that does not surprise me… you're kind always are quick to judge are you not?" he stopped and folded his arms, finally averting his gaze from Louise and starred at the Professor. Louise sighed with relief as she felt the fear lift from her shoulders. Just what kind of man had she summoned?
Professor Colbert did not move an inch. "What do you mean "You humans". You appear very human like to me, are you saying you're not?" he asked, tightening his grip on his staff further still. The man chuckled. "Those details do not concern you. My name is Caleb Redspell, and that is all you need know." Caleb answered. "What I want to know, is who summoned me, and more importantly, why?"
The professor kept up his guard. "You have been summoned as the familiar of a student here at Tristan Academy." Caleb roared with laughter. His laugh was dark and full of malice. "Oh… and just who is this student who would summon one such as I to be their familiar?" he asked as he carried on laughing.
Louise rose to her feet, and nervously stepped forward. "I…I'm the one who summoned you." Caleb stopped laughing and stared at the girl. Louise once again felt cold as Caleb's gaze studied her. Caleb shook his head. "This is some sort of joke, right?" he asked the Professor. Professor Colbert kept a straight face. "No – You are to be the familiar of this girl. She summoned you, and that is how this sacred ritual has always been done." Caleb shrugged his shoulders. "And what if I refuse? Your traditions mean little to me" he asked, while studying the dirt under his finger nails, which he found to be more interesting than the people in front of him right now at least. A gasp erupted from the students who were watching on. They had never heard of a familiar disobeying an order, much less questioning one. Even Professor Colbert was a little taken aback. "Well… that's…" he began, but couldn't find the words. Louise lowered her head, and fought back the tears that she could feel appearing in her eyes.
Caleb glanced down at her and sighed. "What's your name kid?" he asked, no sense of caring in his voice at all. To Louise, it sounded more like an order that she'd get from her mother and her "Rule of Steel" policy. Louise was trembling. "I'm Louise Françoise L…Le Blanc de L…La Vallière" she replied, her nervousness clear to see.
Caleb stared at her for a few moments. Something about this girl interested him. He'd never heard of a mage summoning another humanoid being during a ceremony. Most were animals or mythical beings, in very rare circumstances. Added to that the strange feeling of power he could feel from her, that appeared to dwarf that of the man beside her, and every other student around, and she was more than interesting enough to warrant looking into further, if only for his own amusement.
"Very well, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. I will agree to be your familiar, if you agree to a few conditions." Caleb said. If she refused, then he'd be on his way. If she accepted them, then he'd follow her for a while, until either she died, or he killed her himself, whichever came first. "I want you to treat me with the same amount of respect that you yourself would want from people. I'd also like you to teach me about this world, and help me with any issues I don't understand whenever they arise. In return, I'll be both your sword and shield when you require it. All my power will be at your disposal and command. Agree to those terms, and we have a deal. If not, I'll simply be on my way"
Louise dusted herself off, and approached Caleb slowly. "Very well Caleb. I accept your terms. However, answer me one question before we continue. Did you use magic, and if so, what type of spell was it you just cast?" She asked. Caleb grinned. "Yes, translation magic" he said simply, and refused to expand on that particular subject any further. At least while this man was around anyway. Whoever this balding man was, Caleb could sense the man had combat experience. "Now can we please get on with it?" he asked as he rolled his eyes. Professor Colbert lowered his staff. The killing intent seemed to have disappeared, but he didn't trust this man. Still, it was not his place to say who or what was acceptable as a familiar for someone. He would have to speak to the headmaster about this turn of events when he got his paperwork finished later. Colbert just hoped he could provide some sort of insight about this man, or lay his fears to rest.
Louise walked right up to Caleb. He was a lot taller than she had expected, he had to be almost two feet taller than her, in fact. "Can you bend down please?" Louise asked, inside she was mentally cursing about how he was treating her, but she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that glare again. Not yet anyway, not until she knew more about him. "This familiar is going to be trouble… I just know it" she thought to herself.
Caleb went down on one knee. "You know, this could be seen as a marriage proposal by some" he quipped, making Louise blush tomato red at the idea. "S…Shut up. It's not my fault you're so tall. Now be quiet and let me focus." Louise took a deep breath to calm herself down, before she began the spell.
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." She then held Caleb's head and kissed his lips. Caleb's eyes widened a little in surprise. He had expected a kiss on the cheek at most. "Are all familiar contracts signed with a kiss on the lips?" he wondered. Again, something he'd need to look into. Afterwards, Louise pulled her head back and let go of Caleb's head. "Done" she said simply, though she was still blushing madly. "You should be honoured; a noble would never normally even think about kissing a commoner". Caleb was about to speak when he felt his left hand begin to sting in pain. Looking down, he could see that some runes were slowly being engraved into his skin.
After a few moments, the pain ended, though Caleb couldn't make out what the runes said. Sadly, his translation spell only covered what he heard and spoke, not what he'd read. He'd need to learn the language of this world sooner or later, something he'd get Louise to help him with, if only so he could "fulfil his duties" as her familiar. He hated the idea of being a servant to this girl, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to picking up a few new tricks here, especially if he found no way to return to his home… not that he had anything or anyone to return to anymore.. not since that night, ten years ago.
Professor Colbert approached slowly. "May I see your runes please? I need to document them for the records. Caleb shrugged as he got back to his feet. Holding his hand out, he noticed the professor seemed a little surprised when he looked at the runes. The professor noted the runes down on a sheet of paper. "Any idea what the runes mean?" Caleb asked. "My translation spell only covers what I say and hear, not what I read." He wanted to make sure the runes wouldn't hold any consequences for him, especially if they prevented him from killing his master if and when the time came for him to go his own way once again.
The Professor hesitated a little. "I've not seen anything like these runes before… I'll have to check the academy records to work out what they mean, and their power. There should be something there to help." He replied. "Liar" Caleb thought to himself. He'd been around long enough to work out when someone was keeping information from him. He decided he'd pay this man a little visit later in order to get the information out of him.
The professor turned to the rest of the students "Anyway, that's enough for today. All students are dismissed. Spend time and bond with your familiars today, and don't forget there are no classes tomorrow." He said with a smile on his face. He turned back to Caleb and Louise. "That goes for you both as well. I imagine you both have a lot of questions for one another. Maybe I'll see you around the academy grounds Mr Redspell." To Louise, the Professor seemed to have changed his tune, and suddenly accepted her familiar. Caleb, however, saw through his feint. In short, the Professor was going to be watching him closely. "Maybe you will… and just call me Caleb." He added plainly. As the Professor and other students walked away, Louise glanced up at Caleb, who in turn glanced down at her.
"Well, my dear. Where would you like to go?" he asked, with a little bit of sarcasm in his voice. Louise clenched her fist, but let it go. She didn't know what this man was capable off, and it seemed wise not to get on his bad side if she could help it. For now at least . "We'll go to my room. I have questions for you, and I suspect you have some for me. Let's go." Caleb nodded. "Lead on… Master" he said, with a grin.