Believed to have been developed from teleportation magic, summoning magic is one of the newest and most well-recorded magics.
Mages of ages past had developed teleportation magic into a gateway between planes of existence in order to summon unknown creatures. Some believe that these mages were trying to summon the gods themselves, while others believe they were actually summoning devils. Regardless, the first attempt resulted in a nearby forest bear being brought into the mages’ research lab. The mages did not let this experience go to waste and soon learned how to communicate with animals in order to master the first summoning magic, summoning animals.
As magic grew stronger, portals to more distant lands were created and soon all sorts of creatures were being summoned. It is actually the polymorph major that helped summoning take its next big step into the future, however. When totem druids began taking on permanent animal features they began seeing spirit animals that they worshiped for their power. With the magic available to her, the famous wizard Jelna Yohani used the methods of the first summoning mages to translate an ethereal teleportation spell into a gateway. Thus the first spirit summoner was born, and soon enough other mages were replicating her experiment to summon creatures from other planes of existence.
Summoners are often viewed as intelligent experimenters who strive to innovate.
Minor: Soul Bond
The most powerful summoning minor in terms of raw power. Soul Bonds are unique summoners who have summoned a creature or object that has bonded with them, increasing in power as the summoner does.
Very similarly to totem druids, mages made bonds with spirits in order to gain powerful magic. While druids worshiped their spirits from afar, mages called these spirits to their side to do battle. Many mages began being known as shamans, and magic from both druids and mages began mixing. While shamans grew in popularity, Soul Bond magic eventually became specialized and created stronger spirits, and eventually creatures, that magic users channeled spells through.
Soul Bonds are known to have perfect unison with their summons and are able to accomplish more on their own than most other magic users. Soul Bonds are a favorite when it comes to missions that require a smaller group since they are two warriors in one.
Minor: Hive Mind
The first minor to be born in the summoning major, Hive Mind’s are considered a tiny army.
Hive Mind summoning magic dates back to the first summoning spell. Whether it was one creature or several at once, Hive Minds had the magic to keep them coming. While the creatures were and continue to be nothing extraordinary, the types of creatures being summoned became more unique. Eventually it became rare for Hive Minds to have similar summons and even their abilities ranged from supportive to offensive.
Hive Minds are the go-to for armies lacking numbers. While not considered very strong, there is strength in numbers.
Minor: Smith
A curious mix of Hive Mind and Soul Bond summoners, the smith is a summoner that exclusively summons objects and weapons.
This minor is rumored to have started by a summoner summoning a polymorph weapon. Even to this day some speculate that Soul Bonded weapons are actually dormant or cursed polymorphes. Regardless, Smiths took the world by storm. They are sometimes considered a sub-minor because they demonstrate similar abilities to the other summoner minors. Some smiths are capable of summoning a variety of weapons, whereas others summon a single weapon that is as powerful as its summoner.
Smiths have a varied reputation and among summoners are considered a sub-minor (but a powerful one). Some are called armories, while others are considered weapon masters. Regardless of how they’re classified one thing is constant, they are powerful warriors.