"Right then." Louise muttered as she bent over the spell book intently. She would not accept failure, not this time. She would study the spell down to its basic framework and in all its forms. Each of the four countries of Halkaginia had their own variant of the summoning spell, but the change in wording was mostly superficial and didn't affect the basic spell structure to any serious degree.
Instead, the variant seemed to act like a signal, designed to draw the being that was being summoned to the country of the spell's origin. Louise would have to use the Tristain standard version, but she reasoned that there was no harm in comparing all four versions.
Just in case.
The young Mage focused on the book intently as the candles burned cheerily, in contrast with the sole occupant's mood of grim determination.
SLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSL
Cloister of Rituals, Academy of Onmyōdō, Kyoto, Japan
Saito stood in the centre of the Cloister of Rituals gazing around avidly at the intricately carved woodwork that most of the Cloister was covered by. It wasn't for mere decoration however. Each carving was the anchor for spells of various kinds.
Charms to draw good luck, barrier spells and charms against evil were the ones Saito could recognise. Some were so elaborate and powerful he couldn't begin to guess their nature. The sheer number of carvings staggered him.
'There must be thousands of carvings here!' Saito thought in awe, "And each one anchors a spell, charm or ward! And the entire damn room is covered in carvings, even the floor and ceiling!"
Saito took a moment to once again view the carvings before he strode to the centre of the room, where the carvings formed an elaborate Yin and Yang. Saito assumed the seiza position and smoothed down his new robes.
His new, Junior Adept,robes.
A Junior Adept was the lowest rank in the Ministry's hierarchy. They were generally assistants, clerks and general workhorses for the more senior ranks. All ranks in the Ministry were shown by an enchanted pendant that had the Seiman (Seal of Abe no Seimei) carved into it.
The pendant changed colour depending on the rank of the one who owned it. A Junior Adept was signified by a pale jade, which would shift to a deep jade upon promotion to a Senior Adept. At that point, the wearer would have to consider in which direction their career (and magical studies) would go.
Saito hadn't though of which direction his career would take yet, but he knew that it would not have anything to do with divination or fortune-telling. He had always been somewhat suspicious of such woolly arts and had never had any degree of success in them.
Saito was drawn from his musings by the scent of sandalwood as it tickled his nose. Tsubaki-sensei had lit the braziers in the four cardinal directions and thrown some of the scented wood in, knowing it was a favourite of Saito's when he was meditating.
"Hiiraga-kun, you have up to twelve hours to complete the ceremony. You may only leave before that time if the Cloister's wards detect that you have completed the task set." Tsubaki-sensei told him, his face blank and emotionless as his position required.
With a sharp nod and a hand gesture Saito recognised as 'good luck', Tsubaki-sensei strode out of the Cloister, the doors sliding shut with a hiss behind him. A sudden 'hum' let Saito know that the Wardsmen had activated the Sealing Kekkai, which prevented anyone and anything from entering or leaving the Cloister until a set of prerequisites had been fulfilled.
Saito took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it.
It was time.
He got up, reached into his sleeve and withdrew eight talismans, each one with a different symbol on the centre. He selected the uppermost talisman that was marked with the symbol '氷' and closed his eyes. Reaching within himself, he grasped a slender tendril of mana and carefully imbued the talisman he held in his hand with it.
The new Adept threw the talisman into the air before him and ran through a swift and precise series of one handed hand signs before he spoke.
"Hyō (Ice)"
Immediately, the talisman glowed a pale blue and began to hover in mid air in front of him. Saito repeated the process for each talisman, speaking a different element each time as well as a different series of handsigns. The talismans then glowed an individual colour for their element.
"Moku (Wood)" A light brown glow.
"Tsuchi (Earth)" A dark brown glow.
"Kaze (Wind)" A pale cream glow.
"Kin (Metal)" A light grey glow.
"Ikazuchi (Lightning)" A bright yellow glow.
"Hi (Fire)" A pale red glow.
As Saito added more talismans, they formed into a circle before him. Once he had added the final talisman, Saito ran through a series of double handed handsigns.
"Hachi Yōso no Kagami! (Mirror of the Eight Elements!)" Saito commanded as he completed the last handsign.
The glow around each talisman changed to green and the circle of talismans began to rotate clockwise, slowly at first, then it gathered speed.
Saito sighed with relief as he saw this happen. He had set the stage for the Rite of Summoning.
Every Onmyōji had a pair of Familiars, commonly referred to as 'Demons', although the types of beings summoned by the Rite were actually many and varied.
Each Familiar had a specific role. The 'Superior Demon' was usually an attack-oriented being, being physically imposing or magically powerful, whereas a 'Protective Demon' rarely left the side of its master and was defensive in nature.
The Cloister of Rituals was where these beings had been contracted by every graduate of the Academy since its founding in the Heian Era over a thousand years ago.
The Rite of Summoning searches the world for beings suited for the roles, then it chooses a being for each that is possibly compatible with the Adept performing the Rite and creates an image of the being in the Cloister.
One the images are summoned, the Adept negotiates and bargains with the beings, to from a working relationship. If one or both beings are disagreeable to working with either the Adept or the other being, the Rite automatically searches for a new candidate. This process continues until the adept has a team that can work with him, as well as each other.