Book of Summons ~ by Lucia Whitefang

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Book of Summons ~ by Lucia Whitefang

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FOREWORD


__Summoning is the art of creating, binding or conjuring creatures to serve the will of a master for a wide variety of tasks. Traditionally and by far the most common way to achieve this effect is through the spell school of Conjuration, which relies on calling a creature from elsewhere in existence - often believed from the leftover energy that created the universe. However, Necromancy, whether it is used for creation or binding an undead by some less than savory individuals, Transmutation and its transformation and breathing artificial life into a golem or even masters of the Illusions and their shadowy servants are growing in popularity among those who utilize the Weave. Even the spell school of Evocation can be utilized for the purposes of summoning, as it is shown in practice, with the spell known as Shelgarn's Persistent Blade. In this treatise, I will attempt to systematically cover as many summons as possible, regardless of their respective school or origin, for a complete overview of the possibilities of the standard spellbook. Possibilities, are, naturally, virtually endless, as a spellcaster can choose and learn to summon an entirely different creature from what he/she was originally taught. Therefore, the term "summoning" in this tome will be used as an interchangeable word for calling creatures to aid, regardless of the school of origin or method of convoking, whether it is done through conjuration, necromancy, transmutation, evocation or some entirely other school of casting.

In the first chapter of this research, spells of nine different circles, known as Summon creature I - IX will be examined in their respective order, in an attempt to decipher each of the six summon varieties per spell circle - Animal, Elemental, Vermin, Fiendish, Celestial and Wild. Some of these will require assistance of a third party, as it is, to the best of my knowledge, virtually impossible for a single mage to conjure all six varieties. Depending on a personal preference of the assistant, his or her name might or might not be mentioned or an alias could be used for discretion purposes. As this chapter needs to cover a total of 54 different creatures, it will make the bulk of the research.

In the second chapter of this treatise, Conjurations that are dealing with creatures nonnative to the Prime plane of existence will be examined through the spells known as Lesser Planar Binding, Planar Binding, Greater Planar binding and Gate. As the nature of these outsiders is largely dependent on personal affinities and moral/philosophical standing of the caster in the axial order of the universe, five different types are known to be commonly drawn to the casters for Lesser Planar Binding, Planar Binding and Greater Planar binding, with exception of the spell known as Gate, that is also dependent on the spellcaster's personal power - therefore adding an extra variable to the conjured outsider, totaling with fifteen different creatures from the Outer Planes for Gate spell alone.

In the third chapter, spells connected to the spell school of Illusion and the shadow world will be examined, as well as those summons tied to the Shadowdancers (if a willing subject can be found for a research). Spells readily available to practitioners of the Art, such as Shadow Conjuration: Summon Shadow, Greater Shadow Conjuration: Summon Shadow and Shades: Summon Shadow will be covered as well. It is worth mentioning that shadow summons come in four standard shapes, depending on the individual power of the spellcaster.

Fourth chapter will be dedicated to spells and spell-like abilities that are deeply entrenched in the art of dark Necromancy. It is worth mentioning that, for the sake of keeping the things in check, these summons will be examined either in the field, where such can be found or in theory, from the books and tomes, as bringing undead into existence is largely frowned upon by the community. Consorting with undead is also an act of inherent evil, as deemed by the rules of the Universe itself. However, as dark Necromancy is not as uncommon as we hope it would be and covers a wide variety of different undead creatures, it is deemed that a deeper understanding of them as individuals, their powers and weaknesses, would have its perks both in theory and in practice.

Fifth chapter will examine the spells of those who consort with dark entities, whether they are gods, devils of the Nine Hells or demons of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss. Though servants of the dark powers, blackguards often have infernal or demonic servants of their own. It is also believed that the blackguards can call upon undead servants, but if it proves that these are akin to those of a common necromancer, then they will mentioned only as a reference to the previous chapter that focuses on the undead.

The sixth chapter will cover spells that go beyond the standard nine circles, known as Epic Spells. In this chapter, Epic Mummy Dust and Epic Dragon Knight, with the variety of all of its summons will be examined and discussed, as they are usually the most common choice among the summoners, once a caster reaches enough power or knowledge. These summons are extremely potent, rendering all the previous spells redundant, though further application of "lesser" forms of summoning can still be discovered as the research advances.

The seventh chapter and perhaps the hardest one to research, despite its commonness and widespread application will be dedicated to familiars and animal companions. A link between a spellcaster and its familiar or between a servant of the nature (rangers/druids) is a deeply personal thing and often made for life and not taken lightly. Finding students of the Art or those of the Power who are connected with different creatures, whether we are talking about an animal, an outsider, a fey, an aberration or even an undead might prove to be very challenging.

Lastly, the eight chapter, the one I am personally looking forward the most, will be dedicated to those who looked beyond the "standard" summons and consorted with unique, exotic or uncommon creatures. This chapter has a potential for unlimited expansion and therefore, this research will be held in continuity for the years to come.

Hammer, 1390 DR
Lucia Whitefang
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