Irrational Summoning

I strolled down the street with my hands in my pocket, humming along the way. As I sauntered along, I looked from side to side at the houses and buildings in the town. A public bathhouse, a beautiful, luxurious mansion, a homey-looking inn, and other such buildings lined the street as I returned to my small, little shack.

I closed my eyes and felt the refreshing night air hit my face enjoying this nice walk. Despite it being so relaxing everywhere I stepped my foot landed in a puddle. The cobblestone street was thoroughly soaked. I disliked the feeling of wet shoes and feet, but I wouldn't let that bring down my current mood.

Because my eyes were closed, and I was not paying attention I bumped directly into someone else. 

"Sorry about that," I said in a little bit of panic not knowing who I bumped into.

"No worries," the guy said as we looked back at each other. 

The man was Aaron. He was an apprentice blacksmith looking to become a master.

"Oh, it's you," Aaron said breaking into a smile, "what is your name again?"

"It's Ken," I responded. It was nice that the person I bumped into was an acquaintance and not a stranger. Depending on the stranger's personality, they might have asked for my head for not paying attention.

"Well, hello again Ken," Aaron said extending his hand to shake mine. 

I shook his hand while matching his pleasant greetings, "Likewise," I responded as charismatically as possible. His grip was unsurprisingly firm because of his hard work as a blacksmith. Gazing down at his forearms they were very vascular and wide.

"You know, I've wanted to speak to you again ever since last night in the tavern," he said happily.

"Really," I said a little taken aback. Why would he want to speak to me again? I thought to myself.

"Yes," he replied, " I wanted to hear what you have to say about a couple of things as a foreigner from an entirely different place. Your opinion would be greatly valued by me."

Very curious as to what he wanted my opinion on I said, "I would be happy to hear what is troubling you." 

"Great, can I ask you to meet me at the tavern tomorrow evening at 7:00? Of course, I'll treat you," he pleaded.

"I don't see why not," I replied shrugging my shoulders. I couldn't recall having anything scheduled for such a time. Looking up after answering I saw a blazing light fly overhead at an incredible speed.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he asked me while seeing my surprise at the sudden light flying over our heads.

"What is it?" I questioned never seeing anything like that happen before in this world.

"That is an overcasting protection spell for the barrier on the west side of Melalova," he answered.

"Protection spell?" I repeated confused as to what it was and why it was needed. In the magic books I had read just an hour or so ago, I had not found anything on these protection spells.

"The protection spell is an advanced spell that casts a barrier covering most of the western border of the kingdom."

Hearing his answer, I suppose it makes sense why I had never heard of it. It was an advanced spell that probably wouldn't be taught in a lower-level book such as the one I had picked up. In fact, I doubted if you could even find it in a library in a commoner's village like this.

"Where is the spell cast from?" I asked. Seeing the way it zipped and zig-zagged through the sky like a shooting star, it clearly wasn't cast from this village. 

"The spell is cast from the capital of Melalova. There, a squadron of some of the most elite magic casters in the kingdom write out a very complex magic circle for the barrier and then write out a magic circle for a spell that helps it travel at incredible speeds to the border," he explained to me.

"They need a whole squadron of magicians to cast these two spells every night?"

"Yes, that's right," he said with a hint of wonder creeping into his voice, " I think 100 magicians exist in a squadron. That is just how complex and hard it is to cast such a spell."

Man, I thought to myself. I wondered how many calculations went into such an insane spell being cast. Another thing I couldn't help but contemplate was how strong a barrier was made from this spell and what would be necessary to take it down if that was even possible.

Considering all of the crazy stuff being loaded onto me I had to know, "What is the purpose of the barrier being put up on the west border of the kingdom?"

"Ah, that's right, you are not from here. The barrier is placed right on the edge of the Warrel Sea to keep out the Gorgs."

The Gorgs. I had read of them in the history book on Melalova. The merpeople that exist in the underwater kingdom are the Gorg's more civilized descendants. The Gorgs were giant fish that had bodies that were not too far off from humans. They were vile, dangerous, and liked to eat any living thing they could get their webbed hands on.

I could guess the reason the barrier was needed to defend against them. They had an innate ability that was not magic but was similar to it. Their ability was something humans and other civilized species labeled space constructionism. This ability is the ability that allows the Gorgs to change the environment around them as long as enough of their species is available in one place. So, for example, if more than 500 Gorgs decided to crawl out of the Warrel Sea and into Melalova they could change the surrounding land around them into an aquatic biome and dwell there.

I was a little envious that I could never do the same no matter how much magic I learned. However, space constructionism did have many rules and factors to its use. If the number of Gorgs dipped below 500 in a said area the power needed to uphold the environment manipulation would not be strong enough and the land would revert to its original state. Also, the area of land that could be changed depended on how many Gorgs there were. So, hypothetically taking 500 Gorgs, they could only change land in a 3-mile radius, but with every increase of 150 Gorgs, the amount of land they could change goes up by a 1-mile radius.

"I do know of the Gorgs. Nasty bunch of sea creatures who would swallow this kingdom whole in an invasion," I spoke in response to Aaron's explanation of the barrier. 

Aaron sighed very heavily at my comments before responding, "Isn't that the truth. I couldn't imagine how horrid a death that would be and the crisis this kingdom would face. Aren't we lucky they are smart enough not to invade in the day. That would cause a full-blown war."

After he said this, we were left in complete silence for a few seconds. Realizing the conversation was effectively wrapped up and that the evening was not getting any younger. I decided it was time to depart.

"Well, since it is getting late, I'm going to head out. See you tomorrow night at the tavern," I said slowly walking further down the street and giving a little wave goodbye.

"Alright, I will see you then," he replied before turning around and doing a slow jog down the street.

I watched him go and get further and further away. I watched him motionless, as he slowly became a tiny blip off in the far distance. You know I kind of feel like a little blip in this dimension. In a small mostly irrelevant farming town in a vast new world full of all types of powerful beings, I couldn't help but feel meaningless in this moment in time. Dwelling on such things is enough to make most men depressed, but not me. I was not the kind of person to stay down but would rather rise to every challenge no matter how big. A change in the world around me was no different but a new challenge to overcome. 

After having such an internal monologue to hype myself up for the future; I continued my journey back to my shack and decided on the advice I would give Aaron tomorrow. 

Reaching the front gate of the cozy farm property, I saw Georgis out in front of his house. He was sitting in a chair smoking a pipe. To me, it was a classic look I had seen time and time again in fiction.

"Hello there, I haven't seen you for most of the afternoon," he spoke while blowing a large puff on his pipe. 

Based on his expression I could tell that he wondered what I was up to.

"Hello," I greeted back," I've been studying in the library for most of the afternoon about this area and kingdom. I also ended up bumping into one of your friends, Aaron."

"You ran into Aaron. He is such a good young lad with big dreams; I know one day he will do more than just be a local blacksmith for this village."

"I couldn't agree with you more. Anyway, tomorrow night I will meet him at the tavern just as a friendly get-together," I said casually. As I spoke on the matter, I took an open seat on the porch right next to Georgis.

Georgis simply smiled at the news blowing a few more puffs on his pipe. Although we sat there for a little while in silence, it wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Moments like this were priceless to live through, no matter what planet you are on or the dimension you are in. 

After just digesting the night air and being at total peace for a few minutes, Georgis seemed satisfied with his smoke. When he was done smoking, we both got up and headed inside the house. 

I was ready to have a simple dinner and hit the hay. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day, and I wanted to feel well-rested before taking it on. I learned a lot on my first full day here and was ready to put that knowledge to use.