Summoning Magic

Before the Gates

Few discussions can be had on Summoning Magic without discussing the Hysilens, who were believed to have potentially created Summoning Magic - referring to it as Memoria Magic - or at least spearheaded its development. It's generally accepted that the entire race possessed a bloodline for the magic, and that their innovations in the art of summoning was truly extraordinary, wholly departed from elemental conjuration magic.   The most famous and... complicated contribution made by the Hysilens to the magic at large was without a doubt Memoria Creation, detailed further below. Through this magic, the Hysilens' were able to attain true spaceflight capabilities while possessing little in the way of industrial capacity - if the ruins are to be believed.   The biggest travesty for much of the sector is that the Hysilens don't remain to inquire about their grand magic's limitations - among other things, no doubt - as it even possesses its own Crysium Shards, which would potentially imply - if they made it wholly themselves - that the Hysilens understood the process of creating their own shards, on a scale truly beyond anything the cluster understands today.  

Early History

Summoning Magic rarely had a bloodline in the mortal races prior to the Shard Ritual, which made it slow to pick up knowledge, but discovery of the Hysilens' ancient ruins and their exploits with the magic spurred many on to investigate its capabilities anyway. The discovery of the ritual and its spread across the cluster led to a great deal of interest in summoning magic as a general force multiplier - as the Memoria Beings were potent combat additions.  

Modern History

Nowadays, most of the cluster understands their own limitations of the craft - Dominant Conception and Memoria Shifting - but attention has shifted mostly to the dizzying heights the Hysilens reached with the magic, it - very reasonably - being viewed as the pinnacle of spellcraft that is still misunderstood.  

Aldrin History

There is little different about the magic on Aldrin, in this case; the magic was studied at nearly the same rate as the cluster itself, and on Aldrin Memoria Creation is just as revered and combed over, albeit to no avail, much like the cluster.

 

Planar Conjuration

While not immediately coming to mind when summoning is mentioned, in reality one of its most powerful aspects is the ability to conjure equipment and items from planar energy, effectively forging a spectral weapon or item that - for all intents and purposes - functions as its original version, and can be used by the caster.   As per the nature of magic, these weapons and items are more brittle and very obviously magical, but they are an excellent combat tool all the same, allowing a Summoner to bring any weapon they desire to battle with just a thought.  

Memoria Conception

The actual practice of summoning is a long and storied one, often colloquially known as Memoria Conception in reference to the Hysilens' term for the practice, it generally revolves around the use of spirits, siphoning parts of their energy into a Concept, so-called because it effectively represented the being. These Concepts could then be used in the summoning process to create a simulacrum, generally known as a Memoria Being. These beings are effectively perfect copies of the original Concept, albeit weaker but fully loyal to the caster.   Over time, a Summoner can perfect this technique to bolster the base Concept, making stronger copies of the being during the actual summoning process, and a particularly famous power at the highest bar of skill is the ability to manipulate and customize a Concept, allowing for the summoning of completely bespoke and unique beings, independent of any other Concept. These beings can be immensely disparate, and often have a much more vibrant personality, but are still unwaveringly loyal.

Dominant Conception

The pinnacle of the branch of Summoning Magic concerned with actual summoning of creatures, Dominants are known to be the aforementioned personalized Concepts, except these Concepts are created through a willing partnership with another being, typically of extraplanar relation. A Dominant and its summoner have vastly varying relationships, but share their power together, the Dominant being reshaped as per the Concept - though not entirely, for the being itself has a lot of say - while lending the summoner its power and vice versa.   Generally, the distinction between the two doctrines is that a Dominant Being is far stronger than a Memoria Being, but the relationship is just that, a relationship involving both give and take, and not one of the summon mindlessly obeying its master or mistress with no discussion. Some Dominant relationships can be like that if that's the preference of all parties, but that's far from a given.  

Memoria Shifting

Memoria Shifting is the doctrine of summoning concerned with changing the self instead of another being. It functions very similarly to Memoria Conception except for the fact that upon the refinement of a Concept, the terms of that concept are blended with the form of the caster to change it in a way that somewhat resembles the Concept.   Initially, these changes would be minor - clawed hands or feet, a set of vestigial wings, and so on - but as a Summoner's mastery of both Memoria Conception and Shifting increases, the specificity of the shift can vary greatly, from precise shapeshifting of certain, controlled body parts, to a full shapeshift into the Concept.   Indeed, these techniques even function for the customized, personal Concepts, making Memoria Shifting a very potent combination for a Memoria Conceptionist, indeed.