Week 13 story: The Summoning of Alice

Alice attending the tea party.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

As soon as I stumble into the summoning room, my instructor addressed me and says, “What happened to you? You look dead on your feet.”

I reply to his very astute assessment with, “Beowulf thinks I need more muscle mass. So, I’ve been stuck training with him after classes …… I’m never going to complain about going to the gym again.” I finish with a sigh.

My instructor replies with, “I see. Well, shall we get started?”

I respond with, “Yeah, let’s get this over with so I can go take a nap.” I stand in front of the summoning circle and perform the summoning ritual. What appears this time is-

“Teehee”

-A little girl with long blond hair and wearing a blue dress. That’s an unusual look for a Heroic Spirit? Regardless, I smile and say, “Hello there. May I know your name?”

The little girl twirls and responds with, “I’m Alice. I wonder were the white rabbit got off too? I hope he’s not lost again?” Alice then starts skipping around the room.

Alice? That’s not enough information to figure out which Heroic Spirit she is. I speak my thoughts out loud, “Alice, is it? Instructor, do you know any Heroic Spirits named Alice?”

My instructor replies with, “I can’t be certain. I don’t think she represents a person who was once living. Perhaps she is the manifestation of a fictional hero or maybe a fairy tale?”

I respond with, “Huh, is that so? Alice, could you tell me mo-“ As I turn to face Alice, the room shifts before my eyes. What I see before me is a lush forest with giant fungus and random doors all over the place. I exclaim my confusion, “What’s going on!? What happened to the summoning room and where is this?”

At my panic voice my instructor responds with, “What are you talking about? The room is the same as it always is. Are you not feeling well?”

What? My instructor can’t see this? Am I just tired and hallucinating or is this some kind of power of Alice? I look at Alice and ask her, “Alice, do you know what’s going on?”

She continues to skip around and seems to ignore my question. Eventual she starts talking to herself, “Wonderland is so much fun! I wonder if the tea party is still going on? Maybe the Queen has decided who to behead next? There is so much to do!”

Wonderland? Wait, does that mean she’s the Alice from Alice in Wonderland? That’s a famous storybook about how a little girl explores a mystical land full of all kinds of strange things. Why can she be summoned as a Heroic Spirit?

My instructor comes to the same conclusion and says, “So that’s it. The popularity of Alice in Wonderland has created a fictional Heroic Spirit in the Throne of Heroes. You said the room appeared different to you, right? I’m guessing Alice has the ability to cause others to hallucinate and show them Wonderland. That would also mean she is of the Caster class.”

So that’s what’s going on. Now it makes sense. As I come to an understanding about what’s going on, the room shifts back to its normal look and I see Alice skip towards the door, exclaiming “This isn’t good. I need to find the white rabbit or he’ll be late.”

As she leaves the room, I quickly start after her and say, “Not good. If I don’t get her under control soon the entire campus could end up in an uproar.”

As I leave the room, I hear my instructor say, ”Good grief. That boy has the worst luck.”

Author’s Notes:

With this story, I wanted to make someone you wouldn’t really consider a hero into a Heroic Spirit. After reading Alice in Wonderland, I thought she would be a perfect fit. I again didn’t change anything about the original story because I wanted to focus on Alice as a character. I thought it would be interesting to show how she is somewhat arrogant and haughty in the way she acts by having her ignore her master. I also thought it would be fun to show that she has started to go mad by having her talk to herself and think she is in wonderland. Finally, I made her a Caster because she fits the class and it allows the use of Wonderland in amusing ways.

Bibliography. "Alice in Wonderland" from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Web Source.