《Child of Bone and Darkness》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°Get your of your cells, the master demands your presence! You there move already! It is time to fulfil your purpose.¡±


    In the dark, stinking cellblock, the captured people stirred. Many covered in grime, dried blood and their own shit. We had been waiting here for a few days, waiting for our kidnapper to finish their preparations so that they could do what they needed us for. Roughly 20 people, that¡¯s how many were still alive. Reluctantly the others in the cells got up. But they only took a few hesitant steps towards the doors, no one wanted to be first.


    ¡°Will you move already!? Or should I drag you out myself? The master wants most of you without injuries but I¡¯m sure he will accept it if a few of you have a few bruises or broken bones.¡±


    Resigning myself, I calmly walked forward, exited the cell and stopped next to the creature. It was an ugly thing. Its skin looked dead, it had way too many scares and stitches and its skull had a very noticeable dent on its left side. The eyes were small, beady things with no light and no colour in them. Also, it stunk form half a mile away.


    ¡°Ah, a compliant one. Good, the master likes it when there is no trouble. As for the rest of you¡­¡±


    Its words trailed off and it took a step forward to get its message across. Finally, the first people started to move. It was like an invisible wall had been torn down, those who refused until now followed right after.


    Despite the fact that there were so many people gathered together, not a single soul uttered even a single word. No one felt like talking, everyone was too caught up in their misery.


    As for me, I never took the initiative when talking to others. Besides, we were all about to die and the creature that served the master wasn¡¯t really someone who I would tell my last words or what I regretted or anything like that.


    Once all people were out of their cells and gathered in the big hallway, the creature grunted once and then turned around, walking down the hallway with large and heavy steps. We followed. No one even thought of trying to attack it from behind. We all knew it would only result in an even more painful death. Also, we didn¡¯t have any weapons and we were just normal people from earth, most of us haven¡¯t had any real exercise in years. Meanwhile, this creature stood at 2.30m, was packed with muscles and had impressive claws on its deformed hands. From experience, we knew that it could rip normal people apart with nearly no effort.


    So we followed in complete silence. For several minutes our steps, our breathing and our own heartbeat were the only things that were we could hear. The corridors were bare stone, cold and hard. At least they were flat, the few torches on the sides were not enough to illuminate the floor properly and if the ground were uneven we would be constantly stumbling. A small comfort.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Finally, we arrived. The corridor ended in a big hall. A few chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling. To our left was another hallway, which probably led to areas that only the master had access to. At the back of the hall was a grand altar. Several old and thick books were lying on top of it.


    However, most of us were concentrated on what was in the middle of the room. There, drawn with what seemed to be blood, was a giant pentagram. Various substances were placed at each point of the pentagram. One was a bowl filled with blood. I don¡¯t know what animal it is from. Maybe it''s human blood. The next one was a bunch of bones, also in a small bowl. Among these bones was a human skull, so those were probably human bones. The third one was a bowl of some black¡­ liquid? I don¡¯t know if that can be described as a liquid. It seems somewhat like water but at the same time not¡­ Though I did feel slightly drawn to that bowl...


    Anyways, its a bowl full of pitch black something. The last two were things that I could only describe by their appearance. One was a pile of some black powder and the other one a small pile of crystals. There also seemed to be some sort of light swirling around in these crystals.


    After assessing the room the rest seemed to happen in a single blur. The master walked in, a spindly man with too big, grey eyes, no hair and overly long nails clad in a rob that was primarily red but had some white and black accents here and there.


    He talked to the creature in some language that I didn¡¯t understand. Then the creature herded us into the giant pentagram. Now some were starting to panic and tried to resist vocally or physically. None had any success. A broken arm or leg was all they got for their troubles.


    I complied without any resistance. It seemed like I was running on autopilot, simply doing what I was told to. Like a good lamb ready for slaughter. The others were weeping to themselves while the master started chanting something in yet another language.


    The pentagram lit up, people cried out and I stood there like frozen, unable to move.


    Then even more panic broke out. I don¡¯t even know from where, but suddenly several new people entered the room. They shouted at the master, something about them being here to stop him, eliminate his abominations and stop his plans. The creature that had been keeping watch on us engaged these people. They primarily carried sword and spears. More abominations entered from the hallway to my left and joined the fray.


    The master continued with his chant, the people inside the pentagram panicked even more and tried to leave, impeding each other whilst doing so, only to be blocked by an invisible wall at the edges of it. And still, I stood there, dazed, unmoving. Something told me not to move. Something stopped me from moving.


    But also, to some extent, my instincts told that if I were to move, I would regret it.


    The creature fell, decapitated. The people outside the pentagram reduced by two. Then the master seemed to finish his chant.


    Then, a flash of red, weird static noise and then¡­ nothing. I was no more, yet I knew that I still existed. I knew that I wasn¡¯t moving yet it felt like I was. I knew¡­ what did I know? Nothing made sense anymore. My existence, that of the world, the concept of life. Nothing.


    And then I saw it. No, her, staring into my eyes though it felt like she was looking into my soul.


    Then, she smiled. And my world was burning, biting agony.

 Chapter 2

    It was strange. After the pain subsided, I slowly felt normal again. Well, as normal as can be expected after what just happened. I no longer had this weird feeling that made me question everything I knew until my head hurt and nothing made any sense. The world was normal again yet somehow changed.


    Slowly, I regained some feeling in my body, though I was still unable to move at all. I knew I was lying on something soft, maybe a bed? I could also hear some muffled voices, from time to time, yet I was unable to understand what they were saying. Not because they spoke in a language that I didn¡¯t understand, but the words simply slipped through my mind before I could understand what they meant.


    This weird state of being awake but somehow also not continued for what felt like days. Whether or not I was actually in this state for so long¡­ I don¡¯t know.


    At some point that I couldn¡¯t quite point out, I also started to feel something that was somehow outside of my body. There was a part of me that was not connected to me, physically, but still me. It was like¡­ there was something around me, everywhere, that I always knew that it was there yet¡­ I was unable to understand it so I simply tuned its existence out. At least, until now. And I felt euphoric.


    Now, now I was able to feel it. And looking back, every moment that I spent without being able to feel it just seemed hollow. Every memory that I once enjoyed reminiscing simply lost all their appeal, all their colour. The veil that had been cast over me from the moment I was born until now had been lifted and now I no longer saw any value in anything that has happened while it was still over me.


    This euphoria slowly subsided after I git used to the new feeling, but my memories still seemed a bit more grey. After that, I started to notice the slightly smaller differences in this... energy. The varying concentrations of it or the way it felt. From burning hot fire to a calm and gentle breeze in the morning. From the cold hard stone to the relaxing flow of water. Everything felt different. And the one feeling that I enjoyed the most was the feeling of the harsh and cold yet welcoming darkness. It felt like a strict mother yet so, so gentle.


    Most of the time that I spent in this semi-conscious state, I spent on exploring my new ability to sense the world around me. I had this slight feeling that I could somehow control or manipulate this energy so I tried moving it around. However after many tries to get even a slight response, I noticed that the only energy that listened to me was the energy that felt like darkness. I was able to move it about, but from what I could tell that was it. I played around with it since there was nothing else that I could do to stave off my boredom.


    And then finally, my body actually started to feel like it was my own again. I was able to move again! After spending so much time in total darkness, I desperately wanted to see something again. Opening my eyes was slightly difficult, however. Not only was my body still sluggish but it also seemed that something had dried in my eyes and had glued them shut. After some more tries, that problem was solved, however.


    The first images that I saw after so long were quite blurry. I had to wait for a moment and blink several times before my eyes could properly focus on the bare stone ceiling. The stone was slightly rough, not perfectly even and the shadows that this unevenness threw, aided by the torches, danced around in a weird yet mesmerizing dance.


    Then I tried to move my body and immediately I noticed something weird. My body was light. Very light. Too light. There was literally no strain at all when moving. I didn¡¯t feel the usual pull of gravity that made you require an ever so small amount of effort when moving.


    However, I tried to remain calm. After everything that has happened, this wasn¡¯t all that strange or unusual. At least not strange enough to flip out over.


    I tried to sit up, however, my first attempt failed after I felt something that was keeping my hands restrained.


    I flexed my arms, trying to free them but had no luck. I gave a tired sigh, I am trapped yet again. Then I heard a door being opened. I turned my head. I didn¡¯t notice until now but I was at the end of a room that was, for the most part, empty. There was the bed that I was lying on, a small table with 2 chairs, 2 torches near the door and that was it. Said door was now wide open and 2 people entered. One was a woman, she looked to be in her mid-20s, had blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail behind her head and reached her shoulders. She had blue-green eyes and a slightly stern face. I wasn¡¯t really good with guessing distances or heights but I¡¯d say that she was somewhere between 1.60m and 1.70m. She wore a mostly white uniform that reminded me of a secretary. The other was a man who I recognised from somewhere. He had short black hair, black eyes and a gentle yet hard look. He wore a formal piece of light armour that reminded me of some medieval movies. It was a dull silver with black clothes beneath it. He seemed to be nearly 1.90m tall.


    Both of them gave me a look that seemed to contain pity, curiosity and some wariness. My gaze only held curiosity.


    We looked at each other for a while before the woman decided to speak up.


    ¡°It seems that you are finally awake. It is understandable that after what happened you would sleep for some time but you sleeping for nearly 5 days had us quite worried. How do you feel, does anything hurt or feel strange?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I shook my head as best as I could, given my current position and then answered. ¡°I don¡¯t hurt anywhere, but I feel strange everywhere.¡± It took a moment before I noticed what it was that rang so many alarms in my head. My voice, it¡­ it was strange. Extremely so.


    It sounded weirdly layered like there were at least 2 voices speaking at once and there was a strange echo accompanying it. Also, it sounded quite feminine. While I was still trying to piece together what just came out of my mouth, they just looked at each other with a knowing gaze. Then she spoke up again.


    ¡°We understand what you mean. We will explain what we can shortly but first, is there anything that you want? Maybe water or some food?¡±


    I answered, trying to keep the anxiety that I had after hearing my voice out of my voice. ¡°Just, can you untie me?"


    While I tried to remain calm on the outside, on the inside I was slowly starting to panic. Whatever is going on with my voice is probably only one part of what has happened to me. The way they look at me and the way my body feels like tells me at least that much.


    The woman contemplated for a moment and then nodded to the man, who just snapped with his fingers. Immediately, whatever was restraining me vanished and I was free to move.


    Slowly, I sat up, trying to piece together all the strange signals that my body was sending me now that it was moving. There was the already known lack of any weight on my part. Then it felt like I was slightly shorter then I used to be. And something seemed to be tickling my back.


    The moment I sat properly I already saw several things that were extremely wrong with myself. The skin that was exposed was black. Not the ¡®black¡¯ that people from Africa have, that dark brown, but an actual black. Black like the night sky without stars. When I slightly shook my head, I felt how something touched my face. It was a strand of what seemed to be black hair. Just as black as my skin and just slightly transparent. It reminded me of a veil, a thick veil where you can barely see through but still just. Probing around with my hands, I noticed that this weird veil-like hair extended at least to my butt. The bangs were cut perfectly even, just a bit above my eyes. I could also feel an object on top of my head. I couldn¡¯t see or remove it but its shape reminded me of a small crown or a diadem. Having finished that part, I removed my hands and inspected them. The only remarkable things about them, aside from the black skin, were the identical white marks on their back. These marks looked like a pentagram inside of 2 crescent moons touching each other with their tips. My nails were somehow even blacker than my skin and they were longer than I¡¯ve ever had them.


    At this point my hands, no my whole body was trembling like a leaf in the wind and I was breathing in rapid, shallow breaths. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths trying to calm myself.


    Before I could do much else I heard a polite cough from the woman. ¡°I understand that the situation that you are currently in must be quite¡­ perplexing and I will do my best to answer all your questions but we don¡¯t have an unlimited amount of time. You can inspect yourself later properly but I think it would be better for you to get some answers first, no?¡±


    Somewhat hesitantly I nodded. She was right I could inspect myself later.


    ¡°Judging by your reaction it is likely that you are in shock and I don¡¯t blame you, anyone would be in your situation, so I will try to keep this as short as possible. From what we could find in the hideout of the necromancer Usteir Norgwan, we suspect that you have been summoned from another world for his experiments. Is that correct?¡± I nodded. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s one thing. You¡¯d probably like to know what has happened to you, so I¡¯ll be blunt. Judging by the offerings and the other preparations, we think that he tried to summon a high-rank dark elemental. However, and we can only speculate here, the summoning failed and instead you were transformed. Transformed into what, we don¡¯t exactly know. We think you have been turned into some kind of pseudo elemental or into something entirely new.¡±


    I tried-I tried to wrap my head around that, around this whole thing and I failed miserably. It was just so much. So much that should have been impossible and so much bullshit packed together and thrown at me that I just gave up trying to comprehend it. It simply wasn¡¯t something that I could comprehend at the moment. So I just nodded. ¡°What will happen now, to me I mean.¡± My voice was weak, barely more than a whisper but the weird properties of it still mad it easily understandable.


    This time the man decided to speak. ¡°That¡¯s what I am here for. Thanks to what you currently are your options are quite limited. Whether or not you are some kind of pseudo elemental or something else doesn¡¯t matter to our king and his ministers. Beings like you are usually put into 3 categories and you¡¯ll have to choose which one of the 3 you want to be. Please understand that there aren¡¯t any alternatives. All nations and kingdoms have signed a treaty that regulates how elementals are to be handled. And since by some classifications you currently are one you also fall under this treaty. Category 1 would be to stay away from any town, village or city. Elementals that don¡¯t want to to make a contract with anyone are, with just their presence, a threat to normal people and as such have to stay away from them. If they don¡¯t do that they fall under category 2. Category 2 are elementals who have to either be removed by sealing them away or forcibly establishing a contract with them. This is because elemental who draw on mana from their surroundings, an not from their contracted partner, slowly change the mana to their attribute. Once the concentration of one attribute gets too high it will have harmful effects on people in the vicinity. I don¡¯t think that you will choose the 2nd option but I still have to inform you. Category 3 would be to willingly enter a contract with a suitable individual. This way an elemental can stay in towns and not harm anyone. Of course, as the contracted partner of a mage, it is expected of you to help that mage. Which one you choose is up to you and you do have some time to do so, but don''t take too long.¡± With that, he turned around and left the room. The woman glared at him, obviously discontent with the way he spoke with me. She threw me an apologetic look and then left as well.


    Meanwhile, my head was in total chaos. The situation that I was in, the options given to me, everything just made no sense. My whole life, from the moment that this Usteir Norgwan summoned me, made no sense.


    That night I cried myself to sleep.

 Chapter 3

    The next day?, I actually can¡¯t tell since there is no window in this room, started quite calm. When I woke up and I was greeted with all the new and unfamiliar signal that my new body was sending me. After that little talk yesterday I was too occupied with my thoughts to do anything else. So I still hadn''t gotten a look at the rest of my body, though I could already tell that I wasn¡¯t going to like what I would find.


    I braced myself and got up. I did so with closed eyes, didn¡¯t want to get a glimpse of my body before I was prepared. Once standing, I opened my eyes and looked down. Since I kinda already knew what I was going to find I wasn¡¯t as surprised as I would¡¯ve been otherwise.


    A resigned sigh was the only sound that I made before sitting back down onto the bed. My body was that of a woman or rather a teenage girl. I had moderately sized breasts, which strangely didn¡¯t have any nipples and a slim waist. My Hips weren¡¯t all that wide, but combined with my waist still resulted in a mild curve. I couldn¡¯t see my butt so I have no idea what that looks like, but, judging by the rest of my body, it probably also looked rather nice.


    Now, I still had completely black skin, black nails and black hair, black seems to be my new primary colour theme, but I didn¡¯t look all that ugly? I guess. If someone were to tell me about a person with completely black skin and nails and everything, I wouldn¡¯t have expected that person to look all that good. But I do, or at least I think that I do.


    Oh, I am not only lacking nipples but also my butthole and vagina are lacking. If this entire situation weren¡¯t so weird already I¡¯d probably have a panic attack right now.


    My feet aren¡¯t small (in fact, they were just right), given that the rest of my body is also so small and slim and everything, but compared to what I¡¯m used to, they are. While I am quite bad with guessing heights and distances, I¡¯d say that I am about 1.50m tall.


    Okay, so let¡¯s summarise my situation. I was summoned to another world but not as a hero or something like that, but as a sacrifice for some ritual/summoning by a necromancer. The ritual/summoning, is interrupted by a group of knights? I never asked what they were. Anyway, somehow the ritual/summoning doesn¡¯t have the effect that it should have and instead of using all the sacrifices that were given and then doing whatever it was supposed to do, it turned me into a pseudo elemental. I don¡¯t know why that includes turning me into a girl with black skin but no nipples, butthole or vagina but apparently it does. The knights that had previously interrupted the necromancer during his ritual/summoning have taken me to their base and given me 3 options, none of which are, in my opinion, good ones.


    The squeaking of the stopped me before I could start complaining about the whole unfairness of my situation. This time around, only the woman from yesterday entered my room. She wore the same clothes as yesterday. The fact that she, again, entered directly after I woke up means that I was probably being observed. Privacy doesn¡¯t seem to mean much to these guys.


    ¡°How are you today? Anything that you want, food, water?¡±


    I shook my head. I was feeling no thirst or hunger even though I had slept for several days and hadn¡¯t eaten anything even before that. It was weird but not as weird as the rest of this situation.


    ¡°I feel fine, physically speaking. Mentally is ¡­¡± I trailed off. I didn¡¯t know how to describe my feelings, so I said nothing. She just nodded as if she expected an answer like that.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°That¡¯s only to be expected. I don¡¯t think that yesterday was a real help and one night''s sleep is hardly enough to deal with such a major life-changing event.¡± Her tone was somewhat soothing. It sounded like she had some experience with people like me. Well, probably only with people having a hard time, but it still helped. ¡°Do you still have some questions? I don¡¯t think that yesterday was enough to answer all of your questions.¡±


    I thought for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s it like to live here, in this world I mean.¡± This was what had concerned me the most. I don''t have any real attachment to my home so I don¡¯t mind the fact that it¡¯s quite unlikely that I could ever return. However, with my future so uncertain and me not having any information, my imagination painted me quite a bleak view of my situation and future.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t that easy to answer, you know. It largely depends on where you live and what your job is. Here in Viridi Teram, our Kingdom, the common man can mostly live in peace. There is the occasional proditor who causes trouble or, as you experienced, a rogue mage who causes trouble with their thirst for knowledge and or power.¡± She looked at me with gentle eyes.


    ¡°So it¡¯s peaceful for the most part?¡±


    She tilted her head in thought and then shook her head. ¡°Sadly, not really. Here in the east, it is rather calm but in the inland, the kingdoms are in an everlasting power struggle. They haven¡¯t had a single year of peace in the last 200 years. Also, the proditors cause trouble wherever they appear so small villages are destroyed every once in a while. It is calm yes, but not peaceful.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned proditors, what are they?¡± The word was somehow familiar. I was pretty sure that I have never heard it before but I still knew it, somehow.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. I forgot. Proditors are¡­ no one is sure what they are. They come in many forms. From something akin to a human to wild beasts. They appear everywhere, on mountains, in the oceans and seas or forests and fields. The only common trait that they all share is the general wrongness that they have. Most of the time their bodies are twisted in one way or another, and just their presence causes the land around them to die and become twisted. They attack every non-proditor that they encounter, but luckily they don¡¯t appear in large numbers, though there have been some who are capable of reproducing.¡± She shook her head ruefully but recovered right afterwards.


    It seems like these proditors are like typical monsters in fantasy. So, calm but not peaceful¡­


    "And mages? If possible I¡¯d like to be able to stay in towns so¡­¡± I already had a rough idea of the possibilities. They either treat magic as a science or as a tool, possibly both. Which meant that either mages research magic or use it to as a practical tool in several fields. Her earlier comment about the ¡®their thirst for knowledge and or power¡¯ was an obvious hint.


    She smiled as if she wanted the conversation to go into this direction. ¡°That depends on what the mage wants to do. A mage can try and discover more about magic as a researcher. Or they use it to help others as a healer or service provider. It is also possible to use it for fighting, mages who choose this either enlist in the army, become guards for some rich people or become mercenaries. There are many options as magic has unlimited possibilities.¡±


    I nodded. So if I choose to enter a contract with a mage, I could end up doing almost anything, or rather help the mage do these things. ¡°Does that mean that I could choose a mage as a partner from any possible career?¡±


    This was the only choice that I had that didn''t sound like complete garbage. The only other choices would be to live far away from people or to be sealed away, neither of which are appealing to me in any way.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to say that you can but¡±, she sighed sadly, obviously not liking what she was about to say, ¡°as you are a dark elemental, there are very few options for you to choose from. Dark magic is a magic that, outside of combat, has next to no other uses. It specializes in destruction, stealth, crowd control and death. Which makes it great for combat but not for anything else. The only other choice would be to try to enter a contract with someone who wants to become a researcher but those usually don¡¯t contract elementals because they can¡¯t really assist in their research. Elementals cast magic in a completely different way, a way that humans and demihumans can¡¯t use. So having you as a partner would be of little use for them.¡±


    Shit!

 Chapter 4

    Damnit!


    I sat there thinking about what I had just heard. I had hoped that I would be able to do something¡­ I don¡¯t actually know what I would have wanted but combat wasn¡¯t really among my first choices. Not that I was a pacifist or something stupid like that, I firmly believe that you should hit back when someone hits you, but I also don¡¯t like to go out and seek conflict or trouble in general.


    With my choices as restricted as they are, it seems unlikely that I¡¯ll be able to to live a peaceful life. Actually, scratch that, she just said that things aren¡¯t peaceful. Still, a mostly conflict-free life would have been nice. What to do¡­?


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that my only real choice would be to contract a combat mage? I don¡¯t have any experience or knowledge with or about magic. Combat as well for that matter. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d make a good partner for a combat-oriented mage.¡± I finally said after having organised my thoughts.


    Having said that, the thought of having to contract someone and then spend either most of my time or nearly all of my time with that person is kinda¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say that I am inherently against it, it¡¯s just that back in my old world (it still feels weird to say that) I was pretty much a loner. Not because I didn¡¯t have friends. I had a few and most of them I could have hung out with in my free time, but I just don¡¯t like being around people all that much. I dislike it to the point that during family gatherings I start developing headaches from having to interact with other people so much. So being more or less forced to stay around someone is guaranteed to be a not quite so enjoyable experience for me.


    That reminds me ¡°Oh, by the way, what would this contract look like. Like what would I have to do, what would be my restrictions, stuff like that.¡±


    She tilted her head in thought. ¡°Since it¡¯s more important at the moment, let''s get the contract out of the way first. First of all, while it¡¯s called a contract it is more like a simple agreement between an elemental and a mage that manifests in the form of a bond. This bond is what allows elementals to stay somewhere without impacting the local mana-balance. Normally elementals naturally absorb mana to keep their physical bodies intact and then release a small amount of this mana. However, this mana has, by then, been changed to the element of the elemental. This results in a rising concentration of a single attribute and has many effects on their surroundings, most of them harmful to normal people. However, when this bond between a mage and an elemental has been established, all mana that the elemental would normally release into the air instead goes to the mage. You see, when a mage uses mana that is more aligned with the element of the spell that they are using then the amount of mana that is needed to cast said spell is less than what it normally is. The higher the rank of the elemental the purer the element of the converted mana and thus the lower the cost of spells of the same element. It¡¯s because of these benefits that many combat mages try to get as strong of an elemental as possible.¡±


    That, that actually makes sense. That would actually be a very good reason for mages to want elementals. It also explains why the amount of mana that feels like darkness, which I guess is mana that¡¯s aligned with darkness, is quite a bit higher than yesterday. But she didn¡¯t mean what this ¡®agreement¡¯ entails.


    ¡°What about this ¡®agreement¡¯? I¡¯d like to know what I would have to do before I decide anything. Is there something like a ¡®standard¡¯ contract?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Not really, no. Many contracts have similarities, but nearly each is somewhat unique. Though there is the so-called ¡®Cooperation agreement¡¯ that nearly all equal contracts have. Essentially, what this ¡®Cooperation agreement says, is that an elemental will help the mage with their chosen profession, will not attack anyone who has given them no legitimate reason to do so or is not, thanks to the profession of the mage, an enemy and the elemental will stay close to the mage in case the mage ever needs something. In return the mage will treat the elemental like an equal, will honour their wishes, within reason of course, and, if the elemental has stated so in the contract, help accomplish the goal that the elemental may have. Everything else is usually decided between the two parties.¡°If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I nodded in understanding. Aside from the ¡®will stay close to the mage¡¯ I don¡¯t mind the rest. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to see if I can get the mage to loosen that a little. Though ¡®close¡¯ is a rather vague, maybe I¡¯ll simply be able to make it so that ¡®close¡¯ means within 20 metres or so. Then I could have a room for myself. Maybe.


    With that my decision was actually already made. Even though it would seem like I wouldn¡¯t be able to live a calm or peaceful life, or at least not a truly calm or peaceful life, it would at least be a proper life.


    ¡°What about the other thing. I have nothing to offer to a combat mage, nothing aside from the mana that I, apparently, naturally convert.¡± This was actually quite a big problem, at least in my opinion. Even if contracting me would lower the cost of all their spells, if I can do nothing else I don¡¯t think that many mages would be very interested in contracting me.


    She, however, didn¡¯t seem to share my worries. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. We already expected that you won¡¯t be an accomplished combat mage. We had planned on having you learn the basics of your magic while you''re here and then, if you want, to enter a contract with a mage, contract a mage in training. Most likely it would still be a mage from a military school or academy, but you would not have to enter any real combat situations any time soon and could learn your magic alongside you contracted partner.¡± She finished with a smile.


    I nodded to show her that I understood and then turned my attention to my thoughts. Thanks to what I had just heard, I had already decided that I would enter a contract with a mage. It is not only the only choice that would allow me to stay in human society and not force me to live like a hermit or essentially giving up my life, but it also came with the added bonus of allowing me to learn more about my magic. Mmh, it is decided.


    Deciding to tell her my decision (who else was I supposed to tell it after all) I tried to not look too sheepish. ¡°Then, then I guess- I guess that I¡¯ll enter a contract with a mage.¡± It didn¡¯t really work.


    In return, she gave me a sincere smile before standing up. ¡°If that is what you want then I¡¯m happy for you. I¡¯ll go now, I have to tell the commander. We¡¯ll see each other during your training.¡± She moved towards the door. Only when she was already halfway outside did I remember one important detail.


    ¡°Wait a moment! You never told me your name.¡± She turned around. ¡°Ah, I guess I forgot. My name is Erica, Erica Miles.¡± For a moment her eyes looked at me, filled with sorrow. ¡°And what about you? What is your name?¡±


    Ah right. with all that has been going on, I never got around to introduce myself, not that anyone has asked me so far.


    ¡°I forgot as well huh. Well, a lot has been going on since I arrived so it is somewhat to be expected, I guess. My name is¡­ erm, eh what was it. This is strange. Why can¡¯t I remember?¡± In my sudden onset of panic, I didn¡¯t notice that I was starting to raise my voice. ¡°Why can¡¯t I remember my name?! What is going on! Why can¡¯t I remember!¡±. In the end, I was practically screaming at her. I couldn¡¯t remember my name. My own name! I could remember all the times that people called me by it. I could remember the moments where people made fun of it. But instead of my name, there was only a void where it was supposed to be. I couldn¡¯t understand this. It made no sense. How could I forget my own name?


    I looked at Erica with desperate eyes. Did she know something? Did she have to do something with it?


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I remember my own name?!¡± While I was practically screaming my soul out, she only looked at me with eyes filled with sorrow but also in a way that I couldn¡¯t really describe, but it told me that she was expecting this.


    In the end, she only said one sentence. ¡°So it has come to this.¡±


    That sentence alone caused my thoughts to go haywire. I barely even registered her sudden look of alarm, I didn¡¯t notice that the room was suddenly a lot darker than before, that the shadows stretched further and that they were deeper than before. I didn¡¯t notice any of that as I screamed at her, demanding answers but not actually forming any words.


    I didn¡¯t notice how the shadows rose from the ground, how they lashed out. I only saw black, and then¡­


    something hit me and I blacked out.