***Titus***
Nothing quite explained how I felt. The trip to the citadel was a week away. It would decide everything, our future, our status, and our rank.
"Titus, since you seem so keen on looking out the window, perhaps you could explain the fundamental law of summoning pages."
Mrs. Brunswick was my teacher. She considered fundamentals as the most important thing, so we rarely did outside practice. "Summoning is not an agreement, it is trickery."
"At least you know that much"
She went on to say this would be our last day in the classroom. After our quiz, we were allowed to go to Mr. Chalice's class. His class was Explanation of Demon Powers. He was tall, with brown hair, and most importantly, he summoned a Great Iron-Tiger.
"Today is the final review. When you contract a Demon you gain access to their skills and abilities as well as their energy. However, the energy used to perform these actions must come from you." He activated his iron claws. "Once you complete your summoning next Monday. When contracting with a demon your own energy is stimulated and you gain the ability to use and train it. The last thing is the most important. You must always be cautious about using demon energy. If you use more demon energy than your own then you go mad. Alright, time for the final test."
***After class***
"Titus, come over here."
Jol was one of my friends, he came from a pretty well-off family. His family had paid for a test to see how many pages his first grimoire would have and it turned out to be 12. Most people get 5-7 so he instantly became a school favorite. And our friend Wels. He wasn't as rich as Jol but still had it pretty good. He was identified as a magician at ten so he was hailed as the school's greatest product.
"Want to come over today, were going to the arena"
"I can't the guards want me back by five all week."
"Fine, talk to you tomorrow"
I walked down 23rd street and took a right onto Memorial lane. After walking all the way across I got onto Widow's street and went halfway before turning into the War Orphanage of Damascus. Both my parents died in the war so I was put in a war orphanage with all the other kids without parents. The reason this was even a thing was that no one else would take the kids of nameless soldiers. The army is our only way to leave this place. We don't have families or work skills. All we have is fighting.
When we get back from school all boys must take part in the pre-military children's exercises. 100 pushups, 50 weighted squats, a one-mile run, sparring, and finally, we have to complete an obstacle course before we are allowed to eat supper. After eating we go to hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting practice. Then it's straight to bed.
This has been my routine since I was five. It is all about to end when I complete the summoning. The next few days flew by. We played games all day, and then went home. Before I knew it the weekend came, and then it was gone.