Fan Fiction ❯ The More Things Change... (An Endless Story) ❯ "It's a Tin Can!" "No it isn't!" ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Here our intrepid (wazzat mean, anyway?) hero (errr... maybe not) meets a certain suit of armor. Madness probably ensues...

Disclaimer: As previous chapters.

I say Ershin ALONE is pretty nutty, but what do you think would happen if someone started encouraging it...? I say something along the lines of "Let's find out!"

I hope you've memorized the pairings by now, but in case you haven't... here.
Ryu-Ursula (coming to expect that one, aren't you?)
Nina-OC (no, I probably won't change my mind about this!)
Any others I think of that I think I can pull off.

Here are the character locations, for NPR:

Ryu, Ursula, and Kaerlos: Off to find the others, starting with...
Ershin and Deis: In the hexed forest near Chedo still.
Cray: STILL at Worent.
Nina: Checking on the dismantling of the Carronade on her way south. She's starting to suspect she's being followed...
Scias: Still following Nina. Long's the money's coming in, he'll guard her.
Yuna: Unknown. (OMITTED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)

Let's see how I do with first impressions when the character's this nutty! (Least it doesn't really babble... not that I've seen, anyway...) Anyway, the key follows...

*--------*: POV switch
[___]: Writing
*___*: Thoughts
"___": Speech (of course)
(___): Author's notes andor explanations
Italics : Dragon's Eye visions (detailed)
//////: Time warp

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Chapter 5
"It's a Tin Can!" "No it isn't!"

Kaerlos, Ryu, and Ursula were walking down a path, arguing about the relative merits of swords versus guns in combat, when a voice surprised them. "Excuse me, sirs, ma'am, but this forest is hexed. Please go around."

Ryu jumped, but recovered quickly. "Sorry. We weren't paying attention." He looked at the man who had stopped him and asked, "You're the foreman for the purifier group that was working on Chamba, aren't you?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, that's me... Now I recognize you- you're one of those two maniacs who wanted to pass through the hex."

"Excuse me," Kaerlos interrupted. "My brother's not a maniac. The worst he'd be would probably be... eccentric."

"That reminds me..." Ryu started.

"Go on..." the foreman said.

"Have you seen Ershin lately?"

The foreman nodded. "Yeah, she's working with us right now. Want to talk to her?"

"Yeah," Ryu said. When the foreman was gone, he turned to Kaerlos. "Fair warning. Ershin's a bit... odd."

"Okay, thanks. So what's this... Ershin look like?" Kaerlos asked.

Ryu looked around to see if anyone was listening, then whispered, "Ershin's basically an animated suit of armor. It's got the spirit of a former Endless inside it, so don't be surprised if it refers to someone called 'Deis.'"

Kaerlos nodded. "Okay." He looked up and saw a small, round, metallic humanoid approaching them. "Hey! It's a tin can!"

Ryu looked at the "tin can" before saying, "That's not a tin can. That's Ershin."

"Whatever. I say it's a tin can."

"I am not a tin can!" Ershin complained. Kaerlos walked over to it and started knocking on its domed head. "Stop that!"

"Just checking something," Kaerlos said.

"Hey Ershin, you busy?" Ryu asked.

"A little. Who is this?" Ershin replied.

"He's Kaerlos. He's a bit new around here."

"How so?" Ershin asked.

"One might say that I'm the new Endless in town," Kaerlos interjected.

"I wasn't about to tell it that!" Ryu complained.

"Oh, and you didn't expect it to find out on its own?" Kaerlos countered.

After a bit of open-mouthed consideration, Ryu said, "Good point."

"'Who summoned you?' asks Deis," Ershin announced.

Kaerlos blinked a bit before saying, "I'm thinking leftover Imperials, since they said something about forging a new empire."

"'Imperials? To create an empire? Why haven't you started?'" Ershin asked. "Says Deis," it added as an afterthought.

"Two reasons," Kaerlos stated. "First, I'm not powerful enough. Second, I think they messed up a bit, even beyond any norms they may have."

"Messed up?" Ursula repeated.

"They have no control over me," Kaerlos stated. "To my understanding, if a summoning is performed properly, the summoner has partial control over the summoned being." He thought a bit, then said, "If not total." He smirked. "And I happen to be in a position to know about how much control a summoner can exert."

Ershin nodded... or seemed to, anyway. "'You may be right... I was never given any direct orders so I'm not sure about myself.'" It paused, then continued, "'The Imperial ceremony is already imperfect, as my condition shows- any further flaws may cause the summoner to lose control,' says Deis." It paused again. "Now why do you say you are 'in a position to know?'"

Kaerlos continued smirking as he answered, "I'm a general-purpose summoner." His smirk faded as he continued, "Summoning's a bit screwy right now, though."

"What do you mean?" Ershin asked.

"I can only get something good when I'm desperate. The rest of the time I get lousy stuff," Kaerlos answered.

Ershin paused a bit, as if listening, then said, "Deis wants an example."

Kaerlos sighed. "The first time I summoned something in this world I got a Kolpum since I was desperate, but not panicked," he stated. "When I tried summoning another while I was calm, I ended up getting an Eye Goo."

"Pretty wide variation, right?" Ursula asked.

"What were you trying to summon the first time, anyway?" Ryu asked.

Kaerlos thought for a second before saying, "I have no idea. I didn't even know I was summoning until it stopped that shadow from killing me." He glanced at Ryu, then Ershin, before announcing, "I kinda sense something about you two... something kinda like me, only... also like her." He pointed at Ursula.

Ryu, Ursula, and Ershin glanced at each other. "Residue?" Ursula asked.

"Unlikely, after the time that has passed," Ershin replied.

Ryu thought for a second, then said, "I wonder... Excuse me while I try something." Then he bent his elbows at his sides and gave a shout that sounded somewhere between rage and pain as a flaming pillar sprung to life around him. An undertone of Fou-lu's voice could be heard in the scream. When the pillar cleared (disintegrated might be more accurate, though) a humanoid with small dragon wings and clawed feet was floating in his place. "I... can still do this?" he muttered in shock.

"Heh. Just goes to show that you never lose abilities gained through training," Kaerlos commented.

Ursula turned and stared at him. "You mean Fou-lu could do that even before he was summoned?"

Kaerlos nodded. "Until he was summoned he could only manage about this far, but... yeah, he could do that."

"Okay," Ursula said with a hint of nervousness in her voice as Ryu reverted to human form.

"It's the most common training method back h... er... where we came from," Kaerlos commented, shrugging. "Me, I took one of the rarest classes."

"Summoning?" Ursula asked. "How is that rare?"

"Learning the rules of summoning is standard education back there, since it's basically a 'summoner's limbo,'" Kaerlos started.

"Huh?" Ursula asked, for once showing confusion.

"Anything that lives there can be summoned to any other world," Ryu translated.

"Right," Kaerlos confirmed. "Anyway, learning the rules of summoning is standard, but actually learning to summon is rarer, and has higher requirements than simple shapeshifting."

"What are the rules of summoning?" Ursula asked.

"First, the summoner cannot be harmed by the summoned. Second, the summoner has influence over the summoned dependent on his willpower," Kaerlos explained. "Third, the better the summoning, the more of the summoned being's traits get carried over accurately. Fourth, if the summoning is bad enough or the summoned being gains control, rules one and two are thrown out the window."

"Fifth, if the summoner dies or loses consciousness, if he consciously releases it, or if its willpower is significantly stronger than the summoner's, the summoned being gains total control of itself," Ryu added. "That's why there are usually multiple summoners, and why they usually sleep in shifts."

"Alright, I think I get the picture," Ursula said after waiting a few seconds to see if there were more rules. "But what are the requirements of a summoner?"

"They need to be strong, fast, and tough, in case one of the creatures they summon goes renegade," Kaerlos said. "They have to be smart, to know what they're summoning. But above all else, summoners need strong willpower, to control what they summon."

Ursula blinked. "Okay... Anything else I should know about summoners?"

Kaerlos nodded. "The really advanced ones can take control of other summoners' creatures without their permission, or even take over a being that's normally considered wild. Either way, the controlled being falls under the same rules as anything the controller summons."

Ursula tilted her head. "And what does 'wild' consist of?"

"Anything that no summoner controls... including humans, in some cases."

Ursula stepped back a bit. "Ummm... and how advanced are you?"

Kaerlos crossed his arms and cupped his chin in his hand as he thought. "Hmmmm... Well, I'd say that I could probably take something over even before being summoned, but I never tried it." He glanced at Ursula and hastily assured her, "Don't worry, I won't use you to test my abilities."

"Anyway, this discussion about the rules and abilities of summoners is pretty interesting, but we came to ask you a favor, Ershin," Ryu interrupted before they got any further off track.

"What is it?" Ershin asked.

"Could you come with us, and maybe teach Kaerlos a bit of magic so he'll have something more reliable than his summoning?" Ryu asked.

Ershin considered for several seconds, then said, "I will if it's okay with the Boss."

"Go ask, then," Kaerlos said, nodding.

Ershin left for a minute or so. When it came back it said, "Let's go. He will let me go with you."

Kaerlos nodded. "I'm just curious, what kind of magic can you use?"

"Ershin can use advanced magic of any element, plus a death spell and I forget what else," Ryu answered for it.

Kaerlos nodded. "If you don't mind, I prefer to start with the basics."

"Good idea," Ursula said. "It's harder to learn the more advanced spells if you don't learn the weaker versions first." She thought a second before saying, "It's kind of hard to tell if the intermediate or advanced fire spell is more powerful, though."

"I think we should get moving," Ryu stated as Kaerlos was opening his mouth to reply.

Kaerlos shut his mouth audibly. After a few seconds he said, "You're right. Can't learn from teachers if you never see or hear them."

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I know, I kinda dragged the "summoning and summoners" topic on a bit, but the basic rules for summoning just kinda popped into my head when I had Kaerlos mention the fact that he was a summoner to Ershin. I didn't want the idea to bug me, so I just had him state them now and be done with it. The "takeover" power just kinda popped into my head while I was typing the rules as a sort of scenario: Kaerlos meets A-tur while the latter is attacking people (by his own will this time, since Ryu dismissed him) and is forced to take over. I may or may not do that later, but for now I just wanted to let the readers know that Kaerlos taking something he meets over is a VERY DEFINITE possibility. Main excuse for not having him take a shadow over (besides I hadn't thought of that power at the time) is he isn't even sure he can do it! If I decide not to let him take things over, I'll just put in a scenario where he tries and fails to take something over. Let me know if you approve of that power!

Anyway, explanations aside, how do you think I did on the rules/powers? I think I might've gone a bit overboard with the "takeover" thing, but as I said, I can just say he's not advanced enough yet. Oh, and the requirements? Common sense. Physical capabilities: Gotta be able to fight off rogues, right? Intellect: Helps if you know what something is and is capable of before you summon it. Willpower: Duh. Control, of course.

Anyway, next chapter: "She's got wings!"