The Different Prince

How to Summon Your Flagon, and not a Dragon by Mistake. Quite the oddly specific title for a book we apparently couldn't pick up at the bookstore. I was holding the shopping basket while Lyra gathered what I needed for this class. A lot of chalk, I must say.

"What else do we need? Crystals? Virgin blood? a shrunken head?" I teased.

"Not for the level of spell should be worrying about," she shook her head without turning to me. Wait? Those were actual ingredients. "Besides? Those aren't even necessary anymore. We've discovered substitutes."

"Substitutes?" I queried.

"Oh, yes. We use refractory and lenses nowadays, much more reliable than crystals, actually allows you to focus the spell. Some water, salt, and protein powder is a perfect substitute for virgin blood, or any blood in particular. Your summon tends to be more desirable too. As for shrunken heads, it's really just about the calcification of the flesh and bone."

"So, calcium powder?" I mused.

"Available at any chemist shop," she chirped. "But, no, you won't be needing those. Lenses, yes, but let's try to summon a kitten, and not a Twiggie the Devourer."

I wanted to ask if this Twiggie was real, but I also didn't want to sound stupid. Libraries would hold the answer.

Have I mentioned the guard situation? Well, mother decided, in light of recent events, that half the 6th battalion shall be standing watch over me for the rest of the day. Well, it was also good business for the local shops, soldiers had to eat too you know. They were also crowded inside the summoning store with us.

Such was my life. Sometimes, I wonder if it was better if I didn't talk, or if I was like a regular male. Then, I remembered what mares almost seemed to do on a whim to normal males, and that thought was shot without mercy. Nope, better to be a freak than that.

Lyra grabbed a crate of soap. An entire crate, and set it in the basket. Thankfully, I was strong enough to hold it.

"Trust me," she said with a smile, patting my head. "A lot of early summons require soap."

"Soap?" I asked, tilting my head in near disbelief.

"It's the fat inside them," she told me with a nod. "Fat is sweet and attracts certain otherworldly creatures."

"Attracts? So summoning is like trying to attract something?"

She nodded again. "What? Did you think summoning was just setting up a shrine and something appears? No-no-no, my dear prince. It's a carefully set up lure, almost like fishing. Sometimes their biting, sometimes their not. And sometimes you'll accidentally summon something else that decided it was attracted to the lure."

"Something else? Something dangerous?"

She snorted. "Not with the low-level summoning rituals you'll be doing. The worst you might get is a bite on the finger. Or, like in my first summoning class, a clawed hand appeared out of thin air and slapped me."

"Ah, I see." I shifted the crate a bit to balance it better. "Do you have to say words too? Or... I don't know, pound on a drum?"

She nodded. "Sometimes. Though, oddly, more summons seem to respond better with a tuba than a drum. It's sort of like bird calling."

"Or mating calls?" I chuckled.

"Again, higher level stuff, you're too young for that," she told me casually. Wow, I was just joking. "Though... don't be discouraged if an earlier summon keeps on appearing. They can sometimes grow fond of you, almost like pet... or a friend. One filly in my class summoned a being who started mothing her whenever it appeared. The bullies left her alone, snaggled teeth and seven eyes tend to do that."

Charming. "So, what can I expect to summon?"

She shook her head. "The first summon is always special. I'm not going to tell you anything that might spoil your expectations."

Fair enough. "Though... I've never seen anyone practicing summoning. It doesn't seem that popular."

"Like I said, it's like fishing," she explained as she grabbed some copper wire and handful of snail shells. "You either love it or you don't. Some mares spend hours just catching and releasing."

"You can keep a summon?" I was interested.

"Well, usually you keep it for harvesting purposes. Some summons don't fair well long periods in our world. And, there are some who do just fine. Though, please don't hide a summon you fall in love with and want to keep. It rarely ends well for the poor things."

I nodded. Alright made sense. They were wild animals in a sense. Put them back where they belong. "How big can early summons be?"

"Oh, usually the size of your palm I mean hoof. Though the can also be big enough to ride if your very lucky, or unlucky. Like I said, your first summons won't be dangerous, but you'd be surprised how much havoc that can cause."

I had the sudden image of a accidentally summoning a moose. Hey, it's from another world, so , why not? Any way, this moose had me clinging desperately to its back as it ran through the what I thought the walls of the school would look like.

"Now, I want you to promise me, Gold," she said, turning to look me in the eye, a serious tone in her voice. "Promise me, that you will take every precaution, and that you won't go attempting any advanced summons before your teachers think your ready. Promise me, young colt."

Wow, those eyes weren't convincing, they were demanding. They commanded my very soul to nod my head. "Yes ma'am, I promise ma'am. Please stop gazing into the very core of my being ma'am."

She laughed and hugged my neck. "You silly colt. Now, I trust you. The last thing I want to hear is some teacher saying that you summoned an elder one. I promise you, I will be very... very... disappointed."

Yikes. Why was it that disappointing motherly figures was more horrifying than making them angry? She was good. She was very good. Oh, and that concluded todays shopping. I need to get back to the palace for some measurements.