Title: The Summoner's Mark
Chapter 1: The Burnt Circle (Part 1)
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It was not the fire that terrified Ren—but the thing that stepped out of it.
The summoning circle cracked beneath his feet, scalding red against the temple floor. His hands were still trembling, one clutching the silver chalk, the other blistered from the backlash. Smoke coiled from the ground, thick as wool, and from within it, a voice hissed—not loud, but deep, ancient, and aware.
"Who dares bind me?"
Ren staggered back. He was supposed to be alone. This was a test—a low-tier summoning ritual, one of the simplest in the Academy's Fourth Book of Binding. He'd practiced it fifty-seven times. It wasn't supposed to work.
And certainly not this well.
The entity took form in the smoke: a figure draped in something between shadow and silk, with eyes that glowed pale violet and moved like smoke in a jar. Not a beast, not a spirit—this was something older.
"Your blood called me, boy," the being said, tilting its head. "Your blood... and your fear."
---
One hour earlier...
Ren Halward was nobody special. His instructors at the Arcanum often reminded him of this—most notably Professor Garin, a thick-shouldered war mage who believed every word needed to be barked like a battlefield order.
"You're not talented, Halward. You're cautious. Caution is for librarians, not summoners."
Ren nodded every time. Not because he agreed, but because arguing made it worse. He had no noble bloodline, no family sigil blessed by a daemon or demigod. He had no rare affinity. His mark—a dull blue circle burned into his forearm at age ten—indicated basic summoning potential, and nothing more.
And yet, here he was. The Night of Solstice. Final year summoning exam. Ren had borrowed the Temple of Third Flame without permission, skipped dinner, and was attempting something just above his level. A personal summoning—small, safe. A wind sprite, perhaps.
He'd drawn the circle with care. He'd recited every line. But at the final syllable, his words changed.
Something—someone—had slipped into his mind mid-chant.
He didn't say the sprite's name.
He said another.
---
Now, as the smoke cleared, the thing in front of him—no, the being—smiled.
"You should not have called me," it said. "And yet you did. That is... interesting."
Ren opened his mouth, but all that came out was a wheeze.
The being stepped over the line of the summoning circle. That wasn't supposed to happen. Spirits bound to circles couldn't cross unless invited or unless the summoner—
"Lost control," whispered a voice from behind him.
Ren turned sharply. A girl in emerald robes stood at the arch of the temple, arms crossed, eyes alight with both wonder and warning. Her name was Maris Vale, second-ranked in the Arcanum, top of the class in elemental channeling. She was brilliant, sharp-tongued, and widely feared for once setting a professor's desk on fire mid-lecture.
"Ren," she said coolly, "what in the six shadowed hells did you just summon?"
"I—I don't know," Ren stammered. "It wasn't what I meant to do. The ritual changed."
"Oh, clearly." She strode forward, ignoring the burnt marks on the floor, and gave the being a once-over. "That's not a spirit. It's not even a classified familiar."
"It's unclassified," the being said, sounding pleased. "How rare to be seen."
Ren swallowed. "Do I need to banish it?"
The being tilted its head again. "You could try."
Maris frowned. "Don't. Not yet."
Ren blinked. "What?"
"Look at its aura. No distortion. No decay. It's stable." Maris took a slow step toward it. "Whatever this is, it's intelligent. Controlled."
"Bound," the being added. "To him."
Ren's heart skipped. "No—I didn't finish the ritual. I didn't offer a pact."
"And yet, here I am." The being raised its arm, and a mark flared on its wrist—an identical circle to Ren's, glowing blue. "A contract was made, Halward. It's not always words. Sometimes, it's will."
---
Outside the temple, hurried footsteps approached—loud, confident, and armored. Seconds later, a heavy door slammed open, and a tall figure strode in, blade drawn.
Kael Draven, the prodigy war summoner of their class, entered like a storm. Everything about him screamed discipline—ironclad boots, pristine crimson cloak, and a sword engraved with binding runes. He took one look at the scene and scowled.
"Ren. What. Did. You. Do."
Ren was getting tired of hearing that question.
Kael raised his blade toward the creature. "That's an unbound entity on sacred ground."
"It is bound," Maris said sharply. "To him. He summoned it."
"Impossible," Kael muttered. "Ren's never summoned above Tier Two."
"Guess what," said the being. "First time for everything."
Kael ignored it. "I should report this. Unauthorized summoning. Dangerous entity. Temple violation."
Ren flinched. "I didn't mean to—"
"Intent doesn't matter. Risk does."
Maris cut in, stepping between them. "He's scared. Not stupid. And this"—she gestured at the being—"is something new. If he's formed a true mark bond, we need to understand it."
"Understanding it comes after containment," Kael snapped.
The being grinned. "You may try."
Kael raised his sword.
But then—
The ground beneath them rippled.
Not shook—rippled—as if reality had become a pond and someone had dropped a stone into it. All four turned.
From the far end of the temple, the shadows moved. Something else was coming.
The being turned slowly, eyes narrowing.
"Oh," it murmured. "That shouldn't be here."
---
A scream echoed outside. A real one. Human.
Seconds later, a girl stumbled into the temple, robes torn, hands bleeding. She slammed the door shut behind her and collapsed to the floor.
It was Tess, the quiet assistant librarian who barely spoke above a whisper and was rumored to be clairvoyant. Her face was pale, eyes wide with a fear Ren had never seen on her before.
"They're coming," she gasped. "They followed me from the lower stacks."
Kael rushed forward. "Who?"
But the answer came in sound before words—skittering. Not footsteps. Something wrong.
Ren barely had time to register it before the temple doors buckled, and a mass of black, spidery limbs burst through the gap.
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To be continued in Part 2...