The readers have voted, and Uncle Iroh has won the poll! Thanks to everyone who voted!

If I owned Avatar: the Last Airbender, I'd pay money to make that disgraceful movie disappear from existence.

If I owned Familiar of Zero, I'd put more consistency in the magic system, among other changes.

This story is a part of my Louise Summons series. The goal of the series is to show what would happen if Louise (from Familiar of Zero) summoned a familiar from another franchise. Differences exist between the Anime, Manga, and LN versions, and those difference are dealt with differently. Timelines are flexible to what serves the story. Character traits are squished together as cleanly as possible. I do a minimal amount of planning for these stories. There is no end goal I want to force the story into. Instead, I want the story to develop as naturally as possible based on character interaction. Familiar of Zero had some potential, but it was wasted on a generic harem story. Let's change that, shall we?

Iroh let out a content sigh as he savored the flavor of his freshly brewed tea. "This is perfect weather for enjoying a cup of jasmine tea," he said with a pleasant smile on his face.

The aquamarine sky was dotted with the occasional passing cloud. Various spirits jumped, crawled, or flew around freely on the ground and through the sky. Some of them greeted Iroh with a wave or a nod, but most passed him by without acknowledgement. Spirit he may now be, but Iroh was not a native to this world. Most spirits were content with his presence, but only a few went out of their way to strike up conversation with him.

Being left in peace did not disturb Iroh. After all, he was enjoying his extended retirement. Time had less meaning in the Spirit World than it did in the Physical World. There was no true day or night. The passing of time was marked by the strength of certain aspects of the Sprit World. Or rather, the effects of the solar bodies on the physical world causing a ripple effect on the Spirit World.

While Iroh had time to spare in learning the secrets of the Spirit World, that was not his purpose for existing there. Iroh entered the Spirit World before his natural death so he could spend the rest of existence guiding anyone in need of direction. With only three portals open, there wasn't a lot of traffic to look out for. The portals in Republic City was largely unused, and few would pilgrim to the north or south poles for spiritual enlightenment. The only other way to visit the spirit world was intense meditation, which very few people could achieve. His most frequent visitors were Korra, the current Avatar, and Jinora, the granddaughter of the previous Avatar. But even with their visits, Iroh usually found himself by his lonesome for weeks if not months on end.

The old man sighed and took another sip of his nice warm tea. While he was used to spending long periods of time without human company, he did miss regular interaction with others. "Maybe it's time I seek out new promising youths instead of waiting for them to come," he said to himself. "In the decades I've been here, very few people have come in search of guidance."

"Want some company?" a chipper, high-pitched voice offered.

A fuzzy spirit creature hopped on one of the empty seats around the table. His face—resembling that of a racoon—popped up over the edge of the table. Peach white fur covered most of his body, with brown fur around his perpetually squinting eyes and a red ruffle around his neck. He greeted Iroh with a friendly smile. His small, brown, triangular nose twitched pleasantly as he caught the scent of Iroh's famous jasmine tea.

"Ah, Teemo, how are you doing this fine day?" Iroh asked. He rose to pour the mammalian spirit a cup of tea.

Teemo accepted the cup in his fuzzy paws. He took a sip and sighed contently as the soothing flavor flowed over his tongue and down his throat. "Pretty good," came the chipper reply. "There were a few rowdy spirits who wanted to cause trouble in the human world, but once I took care of their leader, they slunk away to their homes."

"Took care of?" Iroh asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Put him to sleep," the furry spirit clarified. "He'll be out of it for a while. He wasn't dangerous, just hot-headed. Still, if he doesn't learn his lesson, I won't be so lenient next time."

Iroh nodded. "Rogue spirits are a threat to the peace of both worlds," he said. "Hopefully, the other spirits learn from this example and stay content in the spirit world instead of causing a ruckus in the physical world. And I am pleased that you have made strides in handing out mercy to those who deserve it."

Iroh's mentorship wasn't strictly restricted to humans. Even spirits who wished for personal growth—few as they were—came to Iroh for advice. Teemo was one such spirit. While the spirit was normally a kind soul, he wasn't perfect.

"If they stopped causing trouble, I'd get bored," Teemo squeaked. "Tracking down rowdy spirits is my job, after all."

"Are you saying you'd prefer spirits running amuck in the physical world if it meant you having more excitement?" Iroh asked with a raised eyebrow.

Teemo's pointed ears drooped against the sides of his head. "No…" he said bashfully.

Iroh rubbed the top of Teemo's head affectionately. "There is nothing wrong with taking pleasure in your duties," he assured the spirit. "However, it should not come at the pain for others."

"Got it!"

Iroh nodded with a proud smile. Spirits were vastly different from humans; this was something he knew even before he became a resident of the Spirit World. They were unaging and largely unchanging. Those who had lived for centuries or even millennia often thought themselves to the superior to the humans who had only a fraction of their lifespan. It was hard to find a spirit who were willing to accept anything new, much less one that was willing to change themselves based on newfound knowledge. It made him proud to see the development of one such spirit.

Teemo spent some time enjoying Iroh's company (and several cups worth of tea), but eventually he went on his way. The old man was alone once more, left to wait patiently until someone else came to visit him. Or until he felt like exploring another corner of the spirit world. The world was stagnant, but it was also large. Iroh couldn't claim to have seen even half of the sights and creatures the world had to offer.

Like the glowing green ring at the end of the table.

Iroh blinked as he stared at luminescent outline of a circle that floated at the opposite end of his table. "What is this?" he wondered. He slowly set his cup to rest on the table as he stood from his seat.

A line, appearing as if being drawn from an invisible pen, stemmed from the circle's outline. With a geometric precision that a cartographer or engineer would take pride in, the line bounced of the interior of the circle to form a perfectly equilateral pentagon. But it didn't stop there. The line continued to bounce around inside the pentagon. When it finally came to a stop, there was a five-pointed star inside a pentagon inside a circle. It was fascinating. And confusing, because Iroh still didn't know what was going on.

The faint glow on the lines of the interlocked shapes suddenly intensified, causing Iroh to shield his eyes. When he opened them again, there was a solid green circle hovering at the end of his table. Had it been resting on the ground, it would have been taller than him by about a foot. While the circle emitted a soft glow, its surface was devoid of ripples, warping, or texture in its lighting.

"What a curiosity," Iroh said as he slowly approached it. He waved a hand at it, but it provoked no reaction. The firebender stepped towards it further, now close enough to reach out and touch it with his finger. He debated doing so.

"Curiosity killed the cat," he murmured thoughtfully. "But it has never killed a spirit. At least, not directly."

He toyed with the idea back and forth, weighing the pros and cons. Pros, new experience. Cons, potentially bad new experience.

In the end, it was a simple choice.

Iroh reached out his arm and poked the circle with one finger.

As if gravity had made a ninety-degree turn, Iroh fell into the glowing circle. He didn't even have time to give a surprised yell as he found himself falling in darkness.

(line break)

Over at the Tristan Academy of Magic, a very important event was taking place. It was the time of the Springtime Familiar Spirit Summoning Exam, often shortened to the Familiar Summoning Exam. Mage students, all sons and daughters of various ranks of nobility, stepped forward one by one to summon the creature who would serve as their familiar.

While it was called an exam, the Familiar Summoning was more importantly a ceremony. Created by Brimir the Founder six thousand years ago, the summoning utilized magic that no modern mage could even comprehend. It allowed even a fledgling mage with an ounce of magical ability to call forth the creature best suited to serve as their lifelong companion and guardian. Also known as, their familiar. It was a necessity to take the exam during a student's second year before they could continue their education. This was normally not a problem, as the ceremony allowed even the weakest mage to call a familiar. However, there was no prior cases of someone who could not cast a proper spell taking the exam.

Louise de la Valliere subtly shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she watched each of her classmates summon their familiars. Her father was the daughter of Duke Sandorlion de la Valliere, a bastard son of the deceased King Henri of Tristan. Her mother was Duchess Karin of the Heavy Wind, one of the strongest mages in the country and a retired commander of the Manticore Knights. With so much magical power in Louise's bloodline, she should have been one of, if not the, most powerful student in the academy.

Unfortunately, such was not the case. Louise was extremely knowledgeable in magic theory and history. However, when it came to practical application, she fell far short. In all of her years of home learning, private magic tutors, and academy instruction, the girl had failed to cast a single spell properly. Without fail, every single attempt to use magic resulted in an explosion. Not a fumbled use of fire magic, as everyone had first assumed, but an elementless explosion that caused noise, destruction, and little else. These explosive failures were what gave Louise her nickname: Louise the Zero, for her zero success in proper spellcasting.

With such a record behind her, it was no wonder the girl was nervously awaiting her turn for the exam. If she succeeded here, then she would finally have completed a spell, and she would finally no longer be a Zero. But if she failed, then she would probably be kicked out of the academy for not being a true mage. That would make her an embarrassment to her family.

If it came to that point, it would be better if she wasn't even born.

A sharp nudged into her back brought Louise out of her morbid thoughts. She turned her head angrily to see who had touched her, only to find a pair of ballooning mounds dangling in front of her face. She turned her gaze upward and glared at the only person who could have such a reprehensible body. "What do you want, Zerbst?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Just wanted to wish you good luck on the exam," came the falsely sweet reply. "After all, you need all the help you can get."

Kirche von Zerbst was Louise's rival and opposite in more ways than one. Kirche hailed from the northern empire of Germania. Louise was a native of Tristan. Kirche was a very open person in both her strengths and failings. Louise kept a calm façade to cover her nasty temper and insecurities. Kirche excelled in magic, already a triangle class mage despite most people graduating the academy at line class at best. Lousie, as mentioned before, was a Zero when it came to casting ability. Kirche was tall, tanned, and had a body that women would kill for. Louise was short, fair skinned, and… petite. Kirche could easily pass for a fully grown woman, but Louise still looked the part of a child.

But their rivalry did not stem from their differences. While their difference accentuated their conflict, the Valliere and Zerbst households were neighbors across kingdom borders, and had developed an ongoing rivalry because of it. Hearing each other's family names had set the two girls off to a rocky start when they had first met in their first year of the academy, and their conflict had only grown over time.

"Leave me alone," Louise snapped at the Germanian girl. "I'm trying to prepare for the exam."

"To need to study for such a simple exercise, how cute," Kirche said with a teasing smile. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I'd hate for you to blame me for your inevitable failure."

"I won't fail," Louise vowed. "I'm going to summon the best familiar anyone's ever seen. Just you wait."

"Oh, really?" Kirche asked. She titled her heads towards the center of the crowd, where a dragon had just appeared in front of a petite, blue haired student. "Tabitha just summoned a pretty fine Wind Dragon, and I haven't gone yet. Are you still that confident in your ability?"

"I am."

Kirche gave Louise a predatory smile. "I'll leave you to your 'preparations' then," she tittered. She flicked her voluminous red hair over her shoulder as she moved to take her place next.

Louise watched as Kirche went through the ritual words to summon a familiar. "My name is Kirche von Zerbst!" the noble declared. "Pentagon of the four elements, hear my call! Bring forth, my familiar!

The buxom readhead managed to summon a salamander of all things. While it was fitting for her fire element and high magical ability, it didn't compare to a dragon. Still, even a salamander was a high bar to beat when it came to familiars. Louise quietly sulked as she watched Kirche saunter back into the crowd with her familiar in tow, the redhead shaking her hips in a scandalous way that only a barbarian harlot would dare try in public.

Louise gritted her teeth and sought something to take her mind away from her frustration. On a whim, she decided to mentally review the history behind the exam.

The Founder was the one who established four major countries in Halkegenia: Tristan, Albion, Gallia, and Romalia. He gifted nobility the ability to use magic, and with it, the authority to rule the masses who lacked his blessing. To better help mages in their lives, he crafted a ritual that would enable a mage to summon the perfect familiar based on the mage's elemental affinity and personality. The system was so flawless that there had been no issues of incompatible familiars in the six thousand years since Brimir had created it.

The original name, Springtime Familiar Spirit Summoning, had lost the words "Springtime" and Spirit" when the ceremony was casually referred to. "Springtime" was a tribute to spring being the season of new beginnings, and thus when a mage would summon their familiar to symbolically begin the next stage of their development. The "Spirit" part of the title signified compatibility between the spirit of the master and familiar, and the unbreakable soul bond that came with their connection.

New beginnings and an unbreakable bond. Two neglected elements of the spell that Louise most desperately needed. The young mage took a deep breath and meditated on the meanings of those words.

"Miss Valliere?"

Louise perked up her head, noticing that every other student was looking at her. She turned to the speaker, a balding middle-aged man who was proctoring the exam. "Yes, Professor Colbert?" Louise enquired.

"It is your turn," the man replied, blue eyes looking at her from behind a pair of spectacles. "Everyone else has summoned their familiars already."

"Thank you," said Louise with a polite nod of gratitude. She drew her wand slowly as she took several steps into the center of the crowd of students. Readying her nerves, she took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere," she began.

While the words of the summoning were flexible, it was customary to being with an introduction. The ceremony involved the mage invoking the powers of all five elements, including the Void, which was exclusive to the Founder. In the process of such a sacred act, it would be rude to not give a formal introduction. Naturally, the next step would be to call on rather the power of the elements. However, Louise felt that she had to do something a little different.

"My familiar spirit that exists somewhere in the vast universe!"

"What is she saying?" one student asked.

"Sounds like she's too desperate to use a normal incantation," another snickered.

Louise pushed the distractions of her classmates aside as she continued to speak from her heart, every word laced with her true desires.

"May our bond be created in this season of new beginnings."

The students were growing more confused as Louise further deviated from the traditional summoning format. Professor Colbert looked hesitant. While breaking tradition on the chant to summon a familiar wasn't sacrilegious, it was a questionable decision. He could only pray that Louise knew what she was doing.

"My divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful servant, by the power of the five elements, heed my summon and appear before me!"

To absolutely no one's surprise, the completion of Louise's chant heralded the thunderous boom of an explosion.

"Wow, Little Louise," said Kirche as she fanned smoke haze away from her face. "That was the largest explosion I've ever seen. Too bad a bigger explosion still makes a failed spell."

"I can try again!" Louise shouted.

"Actually, you cannot," Colbert interjected. "The ritual is sacred. I'm afraid that if you failed to summon your familiar, I have no choice but to—"

Whatever the professor was saying as cut off as a hacking cough broke through the courtyard. From the fading wisps of the explosion, a hunched over figure stepped forward, his body racking with coughs. It was a man, mostly bald like Professor Colbert, though his lack of hair looked attributed to old age rather than unfortunate genes. Additionally, where he did have hair, it grew long. On both the back of his head and from his chin flowed a wispy white mane stained with a few dark flecks from the result of Louise's explosion.

The elderly man's clothes were unusual. Underneath his other clothes he wore a long white garment that fell to his ankles and had sleeves that covered most of his arms, ending in yellow cuffs. His shirt was designed like a bathrobe and was bound around his waist by a brown belt with a metal yellow buckle. On top of his outfit he wore an open dark green robe, its edges colored with yellow. The ensemble was clearly too ornate to belong to an ordinary commoner, but it was hard to place where the outfit came from. Some of the clergy from Romalia wore similar clothing, but the old man's clothes were the wrong colors and looked stylistically different.

"Louise actually summoned a familiar?"

"That man looks at least eighty."

"What a joke."

Iroh gave final cough, finally spewing the remains of the heat-less explosion from his newly formed lungs. "What a trip," he wheezed. He looked around, seeing himself surrounded by youths in black robes. Next to each child was a creature. Some were small and ordinary, like cats and birds. Others resembled spirits and… Iroh had to rub his eyes at the large, blue, scaled creature seated next to the smallest girl in the group. The proportions and physique were strange, but he was pretty sure he was looking at a dragon. And given the curious look in its eye as it stared at him, it had probably noticed him as well.

"Professor Colbert, can I try the summoning spell again?"

The words caused Iroh's attention to divert from the dragon to the speaker. It was a girl with long pink hair, looking no more than thirteen or so years old. The question, or plea, based on her desperate tone—was addressed to a partially bald man with short brown hair.

The man—Colbert—shook his head. "The ritual is sacred, to attempt it a second time would be sacrilegious, Miss Valliere," he said sternly.

"But this old man can't be my familiar!" Louise protested.

"I have never heard of a human familiar," said Colbert. "But the summoning did call him, so I believe he counts."

"Pardon me," Iroh interrupted, raising a hand to politely catch the two's attention. "But could someone kindly give this poor old man an explanation of what is going on?" Last thing he remembered was falling darkness, and now he was somewhere he had never seen before. Needless to say, Iroh was lost in all meanings of the word.

The girl and professor exchanged a glance before the girl stepped towards Iroh. "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere," she introduced herself formally.

Looking at her closely, Iroh took notice that Louise's hair was bright pink all the way to the roots. While he had seen dyed hair before, it appeared that her unusual hair color was natural. It flowed to the girl's waist in a waterfall of curly locks. Her face was round and her body was slender, making her appear to be hardly more than a child, but Iroh took note of the situation. With all of these youths around, it was likely that they were all the same age. That would put her at about sixteen or seventeen years of age, rather than barely in her teens.

"I am Professor Jean Colbert, her teacher," the bespectacled man introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Iroh," Iroh replied, putting his arms together so the sleeves touched and giving a brief, polite bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you on such a nice day, but I'm afraid I'm not quite sure where I am right now."

"We're at the Tristan Magic Academy," Colbert replied. He gave Iroh's clothing a curious second glance. "Pardon my asking, but your attire is reminiscent of the clergy. Are you perhaps from Romalia?"

"Romalia?" Iroh echoed. He shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Colbert—and the surrounding youths—looked surprised by Iroh's statement. "Romalia is the home of the church, where the pope lives," Colbert clarified.

This only made Iroh more confused. "What is a pope?" he asked.

Colbert couldn't believe what he was hearing. To have someone not know such a basic information of Halkegenia should be impossible. He shook his head. Perhaps the old man's mind was addled from age and the suddenness of his appearance. "Are you from a noble house?" he asked Iroh. "I noticed you didn't have a family name."

An unbidden sigh escaped Iroh's lips. "I am simply a retired old man at the moment," he said with a hint of reminiscence in his voice.

"I see." This didn't explain the man's lack of knowledge or strange attire, but Colbert could read between the lines. This Iroh was clearly a former noble. While Colbert couldn't guess where the old man came from, it was unlikely that he strong ties to his former family. His clothes were well kept, which implied he had some finances, but a lack of political influence meant there would be no issues with Louise taking him as a familiar. Granted, a human familiar who was likely to die within a decade or so wasn't ideal, but as he had told Mrs. Valliere, the ceremony was absolute.

"Miss Valliere, you may proceed with the ceremony," Colbert declared.

"Ceremony?" Iroh echoed. "You need to give an old man some warning; I haven't even finished my tea." That poor cup was still sitting on his table in the spirit world… abandoned and alone.

Louise stepped forward towards Iroh. "Pentagon of the five elements," she said solemnly. The words were slow and reluctant. "Grant your blessings on this creature and bind it as my familiar." She reached up on her tips of her toes and kissed Iroh on his wrinkled forehead.

Iroh did not understand the significance of the words or gesture, but he took it in stride. He had seen the wide variety of traditions different cultures could have, so he said nothing as he waited for some signal that indicated it was polite to move or speak.

Or at least, he would have, if his left hand hadn't suddenly been consumed by the feeling of being stuck in an untamed flame. He instantly tried to disperse whatever set his hand on fire by shaking it around, but to no effect. Staring at his hand, Iroh found that strange marks were being literally burned into his skin. He could feel something in his soul reach out to the strange marks and form some sort of spiritual tether to the pink haired girl. Within seconds, the process was complete.

Iroh paused and examined the marks on his hand. "What are these, child?" he asked.

"Familiar runes," she replied. She had also read into the subtext Colbert had caught. While Iroh was now a commoner and her familiar, he was still an old man and a mage, which warranted him some level of respect. "They signify the bond between a master and their familiar, and sometime provide the familiar with abilities."

"Very intriguing," said Iroh, poking at the marks curiously. "I have never seen anything like this."

Colbert also took an interest the Iroh's runes. "Those look like—" he stopped himself with a shake of his head. He would have to verify his suspicions in the library and confirm them with the Headmaster before he said anything else. "Everyone," the professor addressed the entire student body. "You have completed the Familiar Summoning Exam. You may spend the rest of today and tomorrow bonding with your familiars. You are dismissed."

I was going to put another scene in here, but the deadline was coming up and the chapter was already past 4k, a good number for a first chapter in this series. Plus, I had rewritten the first scene alone 4 times already. I think I'm a good writer, but I have my limits.

Normally I take 2-3 months between having an idea and finishing a first chapter for it. I started brainstorming and planning this series as a whole in September 2019, but only started publishing in the beginning of 2020. Going from that to creating Iroh's chapter in a little over a month is scary progress. Especially since I already have some important future scenes planned out. I know some authors on this site can make my 20k published words a month seem like child's play, but I'll take what I can do.

For those curious about the poll result, here are the results across all platforms:

Iroh (Avatar: the Last Airbender) - 47 Votes

Ben Tennyson (Ben 10) - 29 Votes

Toph (Avatar: the Last Airbender) - 17 Votes

Jake Long (Jake Long: American Dragon) - 8 Votes

Finally votes coincidentally totaled 101, which means the votes are pretty much percentages. A:tLA dominated as expected. Everyone on the poll will be written eventually. But I doubt everyone will be written to the end of the series. I am writing way too many people for that.

Take Note of my Upload Schedule: Because I don't want to give the Avatar world too much focus in my writing, this story will share the same slot as Louise Summons the Last Airbender. Which means every third Sunday of the month, one of the stories will be guaranteed an upload. As to which one... my Font of Inspiration shall determine that. I can still publish other chapters throughout the month, but those will be extras, not guarantees.

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Comment on literally anything, I appreciate it. I try to reply to questions as often as I can (sometimes FFN is buggy). As always, remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!