Summoning

Basically magical contract law and every bit as annoying.

Law disciplines act on one of the three parts of being: mind, body, and soul. Summoning affects the soul in two distinct ways. First, summoning forces the target to the location of the 'warlock.' Second, spells can be modified to place limitations the target's soul and even bond them to the warlock. Uniquely, the mana rings may be imbued into physical objects and arranged in a ring to enhance the spell or dictate the terms of such a link (referred to as a 'contract'). For unknown reasons, summoning does not function on humanoids, though demonkind is susceptible.

Summoning Mana Structure

Summoning by SK Kage (via Firefly)

When explained to a commoner, summoning sounds as though it exclusively summons fauna. However, some objects and flora develop enough of a 'soul' to be summoned. For example, a weathered ship manned by close compatriots 'grows' a soul through the shared experience of the crew and vessel. This 'soul' can be used by a warlock for summoning. Similarly, plants greatly affecting humanoids may adopt a similar soul. The mechanism is not understood and is a topic of debate among theorists.
Like other law disciplines, summoning's mana structure is a ring, but usually more than just one. The rings typically surround a proxy substance representing the summonee. For basic spells, including recalling a contracted demon, simple clay is employed, but more complex variations require materials such as metals, precious gems, or alchemical concoctions. The target's species, disposition towards the caster, relative magical strength, and physical size all alter the requirements. Fortunately for warlocks, they may exceed the minimum conditions rather than meet them exactly. The cost of the proxy is significant for demonic summoning due to the high mana potential of demonkind.
Frequently, the mana rings are laid upon written runes mirroring the spell's verbal component for enhanced effect and duration. If the subject is already present, the rings surround the 'seat of the soul,' which is the heart in fauna. In flora, the 'seat' varies, but is the boundary between 'two halves,' such as between the trunk and roots. Summoning is rarely performed on plants because of the difficulty of ascertaining the location of the soul, but can be done with practice. Famously, to surprise his beloved, the warlock Olmaloth summoned a cherry blossom tree into a cathedral during his wedding (and it was later planted on their land and lives to this day).
Once summoned, a mana connection is formed between the warlock and the summonee, which exists in perpetuity as long as the warlock supplies it with mana. Distance, mana exhaustion, and (of course) death drain the strength of the coupling. Once fully depleted, or when the warlock is dead, the bond is severed. Critically, severance does not undo the summoning, meaning that a demon will have free reign (and will often cause a massacre).
The reverse is not true in the case of demons, who are banished back to the Realms when killed. Given summoned subjects are generally unwilling participants, limits must be placed during the summoning, which may be part of the spell itself, such as a barrier, or cast separately after the summoning.

Summoning Rings and Contracts

Summoning mana rings can be created in semi-permanent form by imbuing mana into runes, laid in circles around a central point. When arranged, the warlock modifies the spell to limit the behavior of the subject. This is especially useful when summoning demonkind, who are hostile (without exception). Common implementations are barriers and limits on the use of magic.
The contract formed between warlock and summonee must be mutual, but is otherwise a set of rules governing the relationship between the two entities. In the case of non-sentient targets, the warlock imposes whatever directives they wish and is open to only the caster's interpretation. However, with demons, the rules are interpreted from either perspective. For instance, a warlock may prescribe the rule 'do not harm your bonded warlock,' but a demon might not interpret some actions as 'harm.' Sentient minds are remarkably flexible in tricking themselves into true belief of an atypical perspective, which is a source of a considerable number of warlock deaths.
If the warlock and demon cannot come to a understanding, then the demon returns to the Realms, free of any limitations. An agreement establishes a link between them whereby the demon exists in Turan by drawing upon the warlock's mana. The demon retains their own mana reserves, which may be used as normal.
It is not known why demons accept contracts. Early scholars recorded instances where demons, after being summoned repeatedly, sustained physical and mental trauma. In a related phenomenon, warlocks who sustain the negotiation phase of a summoning find themselves drained of mana (one of the few circumstances where a wizard can die from mana deprivation). Modern scholars suspect the summoning process depletes not only the wizard's mana, but the demon's too, fostering time-sensitive decision-making.

Summoning Verbal Component

Law magic relies extensively on the verbal component, particularly the consequence and limitation portions. Proper elocution in law magic is mandatory as any mistake in the chant severely deteriorates the spell. Summoning, in particular, consists of lengthy, sometimes epic, limitation components to properly restrain a demon from a wide variety of actions. There exist a minuscule number of summoning spells that can be cast with haste, with the singularly important cantrip summoning a contracted subject among them.

Duration

Summoning contracts are effectively permanent for as long as the warlock imparts mana into the link. While technically possible to completely exhaust the mana of a warlock, the only reliable way to forcibly break the spell is to end the warlock's life. Even so, the bond can exacerbate any exhaustion the warlock feels from other spellcasting, diminishing their overall mana pool and stamina. A warlock has the option to dissolve a contract at any time, but is advised to banish the summonee first. Banishment sends the target to their original position, for a Turan-based entity, or to the Realms if a demon. Without banishment, the subject is released from its limitations, which may result in the death of the wizard.

Consequence

The consequence component of a summoning chant results in the inability to take actions that strictly break the contract. (There are numerous examples terms being subverted or avoided.) Unlike binding and hex magic, summoning prevents behavior instead of inhibiting it or causing difficulty. Theorists believe that because the soul is responsible for thought and bodily action, controlling it fundamentally alters the ability to act.

Limitation

Summoning primarily applies constraints and, due to the time available to prepare, is most similar to reciting a legal document. Thus, the limitation options are infinite. In summoning demonkind, the creation of a contract relies upon mutual agreement between the warlock and a demon. Beyond this, the terms can be almost anything, even ones that would normally be the purview of other magic disciplines.
For example, the revered warlock Olmaloth, when experimenting with the boundaries of the limitation component, altered the perception of a demon by incorporating hex magic. Further, Olmaloth experimented with transformation magic to force the demon to appear as a human servant rather than as its natural form. These additions considerably increased the strain of the contract and sapped his mana quickly (and therefore have not been adopted by the magical community). Contracts without integrated spells drain mana far slower but become more strenuous when a large number of stipulations are included.

Law's Law School

Specializing in contract law for budding warlocks, Law's Law School provides ironclad contract terms for any demonic summoning!
Stay away from this one. They make out like bandits while warlocks get themselves killed.

Law Disciplines

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