Adventures in Summoning

Chapter 22

"Justin, when you were under the water, what were you trying to do?" Helen asked as we lounged around in the afternoon heat. I had debated going back into the water, but I felt too drowsy after eating my fill of the fish, and my body voted for more rest.

"I was trying to summon a water elemental," I said, not quite understanding the question.

"Right, but what were you asking it to do?" She continued.

I thought about it for a moment, and I wasn't sure. I replayed the scenarios from under the water in my mind for a few moments. "Well, just appear, I guess. I was just trying to see if I could summon an elemental and then I was going to see what it could do," I explained.

Helen smiled at me while Quin shook her head with a grin, Dee looked between the two of them, evidently as confused as I was.

"Do you know what a water elemental looks like?" Quin asked, amused.

"No, I would assume it looks like some sort of water creature," I admitted.

"Yes, but in a literal sense. It is a creature completely made of the element. So, an earth element could look like a pile of dirt, or a rock. A water elemental could look like a puddle, and a fire elemental could look like a torch flame. Air elementals tend to be invisible unless they're whirling around and picking things up, and lightning elementals usually look like sparks or heat lightning. Make sense?" Quin explained.

"So, when I was underwater, trying to summon water elementals...," I came to a sudden realization.

"You succeeded. But because you never told them to do anything, they just blended in with the sea, until you punched the water and then asked to catch fish. Then they followed what they thought you needed," Quin smiled.

"I really am an idiot," I hung my head groaning. All this time I thought I was failing, but I was doing fine, but not following through and seeing what I was doing.

"You're not an idiot," Helen interjected. "I had dozens and dozens of visions before I realized they were real and not just dreams. I could have done so much more for people if I had known. This is all new. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Want to try another way?" Quin asked lightly.

"No way, I'm not getting back into that water. I'm still a prune from before," I complained, holding up my wrinkled hands.

"No water, I promise. Try to visualize the smoke from the fire being trapped in a sphere, like the fish were earlier. We'll see how you do with an air elemental," Quin suggested.

I shrugged in response, it seemed easy enough and, most importantly, I didn't have to move. As tired as I was, that seemed like a bonus. I gazed over at the fire. None of us had added more wood to it since the fish was all cooked, so it was burning lower. I tried to study the light grey smoke that trailed gently up from it. There wasn't much smoke, but I imagined it in a little sphere, like a smoky bowling ball.

Seconds later, that is exactly what it was.

"Holy shit! That was all there was to it?" I exclaimed. The girls all just laughed at me, but I was truly upset at myself for messing up so much in the water. It should have been so much easier!

"Well done!" Dee exclaimed, clapping in excitement after she was done giggling. "Do more!"

"Do all of the elementals work the same way?" I asked, wanting to see how far I could take it.