The Sky Demons Part One: Journey

Chapter Eight- Famisia

Senka- Famisia

I set out the plates and utensils from our bags and made a cup of tea for myself while Serefk’na prepared the latest catch and Tigre petted the dogriff, which seemed to have taken a liking to her. Serefk’na seemed to be thinking something over carefully, I suspected we’d find out when she was ready to tell us so I stayed quiet and instead watched the sun rise through the leaves of the trees, turning the grey skies of early dawn into the deep blue colour of a cloudless day.

We ate quietly and after the plates had been washed and cleared away Serefk’na told us to come over for a lesson. We all have different knowledge about the world from the different lives we have led and now that we are a group who have each other’s trust, we take turns in teaching each other about the things we have come to know, either from other individuals, books or even self-teaching. I knew immediately that she had no particularly dangerous or potentially problematic spells in mind to teach us a she called us over to talk as opposed to giving us a written explanation to study and practice individually- Serefk’na had stopped giving any group lessons of that kind after Tigre had once accidentally said the wrong spell while practicing magic and swapped bodies with her; then refused to let her reverse the spell for about a week because she found it too amusing, Serefk’na spent the entire time in a state of exasperation and it confused the hell out of me, which is probably why Tigre found it so funny.

It turned out she wanted to talk about familiars, the fifth spell of the deishani and the only one which required magic words and could also be used by spectrumosi. Well, apart from the sixth spell, but its evil nature means no-one likes to acknowledge it.

Familiars are a common concept to most but in normal civilization people are only allowed to know the precise wording to carry out the spell getting a familiar requires when they reach eighteen, as that is the age when someone can be properly considered ‘mature’ enough to take on a familiar if they wish.

Serek’na asked how much we knew about them, and Tigre answered for both of us.

“Familiars are creatures that feel a close bond with a deishani or spectrumosa and choose to stay or travel with that person; whatever the deishani or spectrumosa does the animal will help them do it and vice versa- the pair live out their entire lives together and will forever be best friends. The familiar spell is an irreversible spell which strengthens the bond and makes it into a contract of sorts, which shows publicly to everyone that you are a pair in the way I just mentioned, this bond even allows the familiar and the deishani or spectrumosa to link minds, though only sentient animals will be able to converse in that way, if you make a bond with a non-sentient being you will only be able to feel it’s emotions.”

Serefk’na nodded, “Yeah, that’s basically it,” she said, “but the important part- which I imagine you’ve guessed by now- is that I already know the spell.”

She stopped and looked up at the creature that now stood serenely by Tigre’s side. Tigre reached up a hand to stroke the dogriff softly behind the ear- it was never far from her nowadays. After a short period of quiet, she looked back at us.

“Do you really think she wants to become my familiar?”

“Well- yes, that was the whole point of me saying all this” replied Serefk’na.

“How do I do it?” she asked standing up besides the dogriff, which rubbed its muzzle against her face affectionately.

“Ask it: ‘di sal wale tan beken samei famisia?’ If she answers yes then you can have to say: ‘sal teme fioka mi y bek mei siert al encompon jiak li diem y li teme diem ji samke poro sal.”

Tigre stroked the dogriff’s muzzle and then, standing on her tiptoes she whispered into the dogriff’s ear.

“Di sal wale tan beken samei famisia?”

The dogriff studied her carefully for a long time as if trying to decide, and then slowly she bowed her head. Tigre smiled and hugged her, hanging onto her neck and said the words.

“Sal teme fioka mi y bek mei siert al encompon jiak li diem y li teme diem ji samke poro sal.”

A wall of ketan so thick that I could no longer see them through it rose up and surrounded the pair. I looked back at Serefk’na, feeling somewhat startled, as I had never seen this spell in use before, but she seemed calm. The shield of magic slowly lowered until it became a shining circle on the ground and then dissipated. The dogriff now had a sun crowning her head, glowing a soft amber-yellow.

Tigre rubbed her mane happily, her eyes examining the shining symbol with an expression close to wonder, she paused unexpectedly and turned her head in our direction.

“Hey” called Tigre “Serefk’na, do you have a familiar?”

“Yes” she replied quietly and would say nothing more on the matter.

***

“So what’s her name?” asked Serefk’na. We had been walking for hours in silence when she broke the quiet.

Tigre stayed silent for a few minutes until saying “I really don’t know.”

“You haven’t even asked her?” I laughed. The dogriff barked as if to stress my point.

Serefk’na laughed too, she seemed in good spirits now “Come on, let’s stop for lunch” she smiled.

We all stopped and sat down to get the plates and leftovers from breakfast out of our bags, many animals on this world are sentient and the dogriff is one of them, realising it was lunchtime she disappeared into the forest to hunt and quickly returned carrying some sort of carrion between her jaws. We ate quietly but the atmosphere was calm, happy and bright with the joy of being home- even if everyone in our home wanted to kill us. Tigre was looking tentatively at the dogriff; the dogriff stared back as if waiting for something.

Serefk’na looked from one to the other and rolled her eyes, “Tigre, I forgot to mention that the last stage of the spell is learning each other’s names. The first telepathic message between you has to be your names, if she doesn’t have one you need to name her.”

We watched Tigre concentrate and then relax, “her name’s Nightshade” she said.

“Only you would find a familiar named after a poisonous plant,” I laughed.