Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy X - This is Our Story ❯ Calling of an Aeon ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Throb. Throb. Throb. Throb.

The constant pounding in his head was killing him. Behind his eyelids, flashes of light were going off all over his line of vision, and the vessels in his head were throbbing and pulsing. Never in his life had he had such a migraine.

‘Grah...I think I’ve been hit by a Shoopuff. Wait...worse...’

Slowly, Bilus Dracon became aware of his surroundings, as well as the previous day’s events. While he took in the view of the roomy Crusader’s lodge, and its mass supply of beds, his memory slowly, painfully, came back.





“How much longer until we reach Besaid, captain?” a wavy haired man asked, peering into the captain’s cabin. His handsome face was accented perfectly by his dark chocolate curls, drawing out the dusky brown in his eyes, and his chin was decorated with stubble and whiskers. Sticking his hands into his faded and torn jeans’ pockets, he leaned against the railing of the doorway.

“Not too much longer, boy. Ya best go down below and get some rest. You’re going there as a hired guardian, no? Gonna be a hard trip... Might as well rest up while you can, Bilus boy,” the captain said over his shoulder, turning his bearded face toward the youth. The dark haired man nodded to the captain, before leaving the doorway and going out onto the deck.

“Guardian...” Bilus mumbled. He looked around his surroundings, taking in the night sky. Above, the heavens were lit up with thousands of stars, while the moon hung perfectly at the center of it all, and below, the ocean’s crystalline waters mirrored the image perfectly. With the world around seeming so vast, he felt like a speck of dust in the cosmos.

‘I wonder if I’m really cut out to be a guardian,’ he wondered to himself. Ever since he left from the Luca Crusader HQ,, he had been plagued with doubts about his abilities as a Crusader and would-be guardian. He ran a hand through his wavy hair, kicking at the wooden flooring beneath him as he continued to analyze the thoughts in his head once more. He kept wondering how he measured up to legendary guardians like Sir Jet, who protected the last High Summoner and was only 14 at the time, and Lady Brandi, who died protecting High Summoner Lady Miranda. But besides those uncertainties, he also wondered about the summoner he was being hired to protect. Rumor said that the summoner was a relation to another one of the last High Summoner’s guardians, but he didn’t know if that was true. Sighing heavily, he decided to ponder his doubts later.

He walked over to the railing of the ship, his boots thumping loudly against the deck, and gazed at the endless ocean before him. “I’m not afraid of anything...” He said quietly to himself, attempting to calm whatever worries he had in his mind as he closed his eyes serenely. The pale light of the moon above made his tanned face look almost angelic as his hair blew in the wind.

And then, his moment of reprieve was ruined. He lost his footing as the vessel shook violently, threatening to toss him over the railing and into the endless sea he had been staring at only moments ago. As he slipped and hit the deck and railing roughly, he realized what was happening. It was Sin. It was attacking.

He was doomed.

–I’m not afraid of anything–

Farther up the ship, someone was screaming ‘Sin’, but slowly their cries were becoming more distant as Bilus became aware that he was slipping from the deck. As the ship began to become more vertical than he would have liked, he could vaguely hear the sound of water splashing somewhere. He then realized that sound was him hitting the water.

While the toxic aura of Sin began to take affect on him, he fought to keep above water. He could see the enormous, revolting fin of Sin as the waters around him continued to surge and churn with the monster’s presence.

Slowly, the world around began to become darker and darker, fading out until he slipped into unconscious. His last coherent thought before his mind shut down slipped past his fingers before he could grasp it.

–I’m not afraid of anything–



“Man... I guess I’m alive; either that or the afterlife is a beach resort,” Bilus quipped, struggling to get out of the bed he was residing in. Shrugging the festively colored and decorated blankets off of him, he stretched out his toned and suntanned limbs while yawning.

A curious noise came from the front of the hostel, letting Bilus know he was not alone. A woman from the front desk, wearing a blue Crusader uniform and metallic mask over the top half of her head, walked toward the back area of the lodge where the young Crusader was. She covered her mouth in awe, looking Bilus over through the eye holes in her mask. “You seemed to have recovered quickly! Wait right here, I need to go get someone,” the desk clerk said, stumbling over her words. Bilus suspected he saw the signs of a blush painting the uncovered portion of her face. She quickly retreated to the front of the lodge and out the beaded curtain serving as a door.

Bilus walked to the front desk of the inn, waiting around for the blue-clad woman to return. He looked around the room, familiarizing himself with it when he noticed a chunky man wearing red shirts and a white shirt hammering on the ceiling. “Excuse me, but...what are you doing?”

“I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in!” the stocky man piped cheerfully before returning to his hammering.

“Oh,” Bilus said in reply, before the desk clerk returned, with a dark skinned man with a black dew-rag around his head in tow. He had a very calm aura about him, from his faded yellow jacket and white t-shirt down to his sagging jeans and green sandals. The only thing threatening about him were his guns and their holsters, but even that was no match for the mellowness of his seashell adorned bracelet.

“Hey, yer from the Crusaders, right?” he asked, holding his hand out toward Bilus. The young Crusader nodded and extended his hand in kind, shaking the dew-ragged man’s hand in greeting. “My name’s Aaroka. Aaroka Ridgedell. And this,” he said, pointing to the blushing girl in blue scurrying for the front desk, “is Ashley. So, what’s yer name?” Aaroka asked, pushing the beaded curtain out of his way as he left the inn.

“Bilus Dracon,” he answered, following Aaroka out of the lodge. His way was hindered momentarily as the beads came back with a vengeance, ensnaring him with their vividly colored tentacles of doom. He pushed his way past, only getting caught for a second as the beaded strands got caught on the scabbard hanging from his belt.

“Well,” Aaroka began, stretching his arms out, “welcome to Besaid Village!” he shouted, whirling around once to draw attention to all of the village. “It’s my job to show ya around the village, man, so let’s get going,” he said, walking off across the dusty street.

‘Besaid? That means...I washed up right where I was supposed to?’ Bilus laughed out loud as he realized where he was. ‘Talk about luck!’



“So you’re one of the summoner’s guardians?”

“Apprentice summoner, and yeah, man. There’s a couple more, to be exact, but they’re already in the temple,” Aaroka said, pointing toward the stony looking building at the back of the village. It had a few palm trees growing around it, as well as some stone columns indicated that this place was a far grand area once upon a time. Bilus could just picture how this place looked before Sin appeared: tall buildings, beautiful architecture, and smiling, happy people everywhere.

Aaroka and Bilus had been walking around the village for a short time now, and Bilus had surveyed it closely as they did. Small residential huts were scattered all amongst the village, with almost all of them having the same design on their walls as the other ones. Closer toward the temple was the spot you could probably call the ‘market place’, with two slightly larger hovels with blue walls and roofs serving as shops. Across from the market was the Crusader’s lodge, which was undoubtedly the most colorfully decorated of all the huts in the village. Not too far from the Crusader’s lodge was a small area surrounded with stones, filled with tombstones; obviously it was the village graveyard.

Bilus had been greeted kindly enough by the locals. Most of them had smiled and said ‘hi’ to him as they passed, while a few elderly folks eyed him wearily after spotting the sword and sheath hanging from his hip. Some of the village children had asked him what it felt like to be attacked by Sin, and all he could say was he couldn’t remember. It was true. Sin’s poison robbed some of your memory if you got too close, and practically caused permanent brain damage if left untreated by medicine or white magic. He had even been hit on by a few women in the village, one of which would have been locked up if she wore her outfit in Luca.

“Okay, I think that’s it,” Aaroka said, scratching his head through the rag. “Oh! I guess I should introduce you to our own Crusaders. C’mon.”

Aaroka and Bilus walked toward the Crusader’s lodge, but went behind it instead, heading to the graveyard. In front of the tombstones were several bouquets and other memorials and offerings to the deceased, such as portraits, beads, and jewelry, and even toys for what must’ve been those who had died before their time.

In front of one of the graves, a man with spiky brown hair was kneeling and praying. “Yo, Alex,” Aaroka said, getting the young man’s attention. Alex looked up and to the dark skinned man. He stood up, dusting off his tattered and torn shorts, before tapping the man kneeling beside him.

“Zane, Aar’s here,” Alex said to the curlier haired man praying to the same monument as Alex was seconds ago. Zane, too, stood up, and knocked the dirt off of his blue pants with zippers along the seems.

“I thought’chu two would be here,” Aaroka said grimly, looking at some of the headstones.

Zane’s face darkened with sadness, as if a memory he was trying to keep suppressed came surfing to the surface of his mind. “You know that we pray for Blaine and Adam daily. I’d think...you’d pray daily, too, consider that Mel-” Zane began, but was cut short as Aaroka interrupted.

“I wanted you two to meet Bilus. He’s the Crusader we sent for,” he said quickly, giving both Zane and Alex a look that told them he did not want to talk about the past, whatsoever.

Alex, attempting to calm the situation, walked past Zane and up to Bilus, reaching for the slightly taller man’s hand. “‘Sup, dawg? Name’s Alex,” the spiky haired Crusader said, pumping Bilus’s fist when the other Crusader returned the handshake. “Heard you got in it with Sin.”

Bilus scratched the back of his head. “Yeah...something like that,” he mumbled, getting embarrassed that word had traveled so fast. Zane folded his arms, looking the youth over with a judging gaze.

“Be on guard,” he said, pointing at the village exit. “The fiends are always on the road, and soon you’ll have to leave with the summoner. It’d be a damn shame if something happened to you after surviving a Sin attack. Though...you must be pretty tough to fight your way to the village from the beach...” Zane said, still weighing his opinion on Bilus as he gave him another once over.

Bilus felt more than a little uncomfortable. He didn’t like this person rating him based on village gossip and his appearance. Moreover, he didn’t like the fact he couldn’t remember walking to the village. He must’ve fought blindly all the way, if the island fiends were as fierce as Zane said.

“Well, guess we gotta go back to the crib,” Alex said, smirking goofily over at Zane. Zane’s cheeks began to glow red, but he nodded in agreement and followed as the pointy haired Crusader walked away from the headstones reading ‘Adam Harbinger’ and ‘Blaine Stalwart’. The two Crusaders waved as they entered the lodge in front of the cemetery.

“Let’s go on over to the temple now. Sound cool with you?” Aaroka asked abruptly, walking out of the cemetery as quickly as possible without looking at the gravestones. Bilus followed suit, but he noticed something before leaving the small graveyard. One of the graves had many garlands of roses on it, and a pair of guns adorned with gold on top of it. The epitaph read: “Melody Hawking, Taken Too Soon”.



The dark skinned gunslinger and the young Crusader were just about to enter the temple, before Bilus stopped to look at the worn and weathered pillars scattered about the sacred grounds. Parts of the pillars were cracked and some parts of it were just gone entirely. He thought it was a miracle they stood standing, what with them being so battered and broken.

“Wass wrong?” Aaroka asked, leaning against a smaller, broken pillar that supported the large roof that covered the walkway into the temple.

“This place was probably a big city, once upon a time... With machina everywhere, and all that stuff. Besaid could still be a big prospering place if it weren’t for Sin,” Bilus said, looking at the remains of the old Besaid sadly.

“I guess. But Sin wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for the machina being used for war...” Aaroka replied halfheartedly. Tapping his foot, he waited for Bilus to enter the temple. “C’mon. We don’t got all day, ya know.” With that, Aaroka continued his way to the temple doors, entering before waiting on the youth.

“I’m coming,” Bilus called, following the man inside.

The moment he stepped into the large sanctuary, he could hear the ‘Hymn of the Fayth’. The Hymn was a song sung within the temple walls, an ode to Yevon, the Forgiver. Since he had never been big on falling over himself to be first in the temples, he had to look around the temple for the source of the song. It sounded like an entire choir was singing the Hymn. He decided he’d ask about the Hymn another time, and continued to wander around the temple. At the back of the temple, there was a candle-lit staircase leading upwards, surrounded by statues of very refined looking men and women.

A tall, dark skinned man clad in green robes and a gold chain necklace approached Bilus, clearing his throat. The dark haired man turned to the robed man, yelping in surprise over the man’s sudden appearance. “Ten years’ve since High Summoner Lord Way defeated Sin, and finally, our temple receives a statue...” the man said, regarding the statue of a robed man with a staff to the right of the staircase. “My name is Father Leon. I am the High Priest of this temple. You are the guardian we wrote to the Crusader headquarters for, yes?”

Bilus nodded in reply, a bit intimidated by the strong looking man. “My daughter is inside the Trials. I’m sure she’d appreciate your’s and Aaroka’s aid right about now,” the man stated, hinting subtly that he wanted to see if the new guardian was up to snuff.

“Well, guess we better get are butts moving,” Aaroka declared, walking up the staircase. Bilus soon followed, looking around the temple interior once more before Aaroka opened the doors. He saw the statues of what must’ve been High Summoners of long past, and the large rug on the temple floor with several wings etched into the red and yellow fabric. Finally, looking up, he saw the largest formations in the sanctuary. Above him were two figures, a man and scantily clad woman, built part way into the wall, meeting just above the door at the top of the stairs. Pleased with his sight-seeing, he entered the ‘trials’.

The door shut quickly after he stepped through the doorway, banging loudly. The Hymn was even louder in here, and the air was damp and stuffy. The only light in the long, winding hallways were the many candles lit along the walls. He hoped the trial wasn’t a labyrinth.

“This is my first time in the Cloister of Trials,” Aaroka whispered, trying to break the tension in the air. Bilus forced a chuckle in reply, and the two began their journey through the cloisters. The hallway was a short trip, as they soon reached a dead end.

“What now?” Aaroka wondered aloud, kicking at the floor. Bilus, meanwhile, was examining the dusty wall hindering their path.

“Hey, I found something.”

On the wall were several runes. Bilus reached his hand out and touched them cautiously, and the moment he did, they began to glow. As the writing on the wall lit up, mirrored images of the runes appeared in the air, made out of magic and light. Bilus began reading the mysterious writing floating before him.

“After heeding this warning, pilgrim, thou shalt enter the true cloisters without any assistance. Do not forget that when all seems lost, the spheres of light shall open the path to the Praying Child of the Fayth.”

Once he was finished, the wall faded away, leaving sparkling shimmers of light in its wake. Aaroka’s face was stuck in a look of confusion and stupidity, while Bilus just continued making his way through the trials.



Soon, the guardians reached a pedestal with a glowing orb on it. A symbol was cut into the ball, similar in appearance to the one on the rug in the temple. “What the hell?” was Aaroka’s intelligent remark regarding the sphere.

Bilus’s mind began to work the words written on the magical disappearing wall over in his head, and decided this little orb might be the ‘sphere of light’ the runes were referring to. He picked it up, and walked quickly down the hall, Aaroka right behind him.

Sure enough, the two men reached another dead end. The only difference from the old one was the round groove in the center, which seemed just the right size for a certain sphere. No longer than two seconds of looking at the groove, Bilus placed the glowing ball into the recess, and stood back as the wall began to rumble and shake.

“Wow!” Aaroka gasped, as the wall began to rise into the ceiling, leaving a large cloud of dust behind and opening a path towards an elevated platform in front of a large piece of cloth with the Besaid symbol on it, as well.

“I guess the priest’s daughter had no choice but to go in here,” Bilus mumbled, walking slowly into the room. Aaroka followed, but, in a moment of sheer clumsiness, tripped over his baggy jeans and fell onto the platform. The gunner grunted, letting his fellow guardian know he was still breathing, but made a few surprised keens as the platform shook. He sat up, his eyes darting around the room as the floor began to glow.

Bilus quickly ran for the platform, having a sinking feeling in his gut that when things begin to shine in this place, it can’t be too good. He hopped on it just in time, as the floor was engulfed in a white light before disappearing, much like the wall from earlier. Slowly, the platform descended, floating like a feather down to the level beneath them. Aaroka, obviously frightened of the trials now, made sure to cling to the disk all the way to the bottom.

They were obviously at the deepest reaches of the temple now. Bilus had to stop in wonder how so much could fit in such a small temple, but then he remembered that they made a lot of ascending and descending, so perhaps they were underground now. The platform had landed on a bridge structure over a miniature pond, which rippled in time with the Hymn of the Fayth. Bilus had to admit, it was a beautiful song, but it was getting very annoying.

He took a step forward, getting off of the platform and began crossing the bridge. All over the walls were larger paintings of the symbol found all throughout the temple. It was circular, with runes written all within it that Bilus didn’t understand. At the center were bird-wing like Glyphs, four of them to be precise, which formed a ring like formation at the heart of the large image. Bilus stopped admiring the large Glyph long enough to continue down the bridge, when he realized the Hymn had stopped. Was something wrong? Did he care? It did feel nice to not have the same bizarre-if-beautiful song playing over and over...

Aaroka stopped him before he could enter the door at the end of the bridge. “Wait!” he shouted, running after him to catch up. “Just thought I’d warn you...the guardians on the other side are...odd. One rarely talks, but when she does, it’s...dumb. And the other one is...well...you’ll see,” he said, catching his breath.

“Okay,” Bilus said, before pushing the door open. He entered the room beyond the large stone double doors, with Aaroka close behind. The moment he entered, he could hear the Hymn of the Fayth again, only now it was being sung by someone with a beautiful alto voice.

Bilus surveyed the room. It was still the same dusty stone color as the rest of the temple, but above them was a large fan made from what appeared to be giant bird feathers. At the back of the room was a staircase, with two candles burning brightly at the top, and a door leading into another room. Then he realized he was not alone.

Sitting on the stone floor was a woman dressed completely in black, with short hair and an even shorter dress. Beside her, standing at attention, was a tall, dark skinned woman with elfish ears, dressed in tribal garb with several tendrils of braids flowing from her black nest of hair. The girl in black stood up, folding her arms in front of her bosom with just the right touch of attitude.

“What’re you doing here?” she demanded, walking up to Aaroka. “Did you think we couldn’t handle it?” she asked, pushing him with each word to get her point across. Her silent companion said nothing, only glaring over at the gunner.

“Hey now, is this any way to treat your friend...” Aaroka asked pitifully, staring down at the floor. He nudged Bilus in the side with his elbow. “That’s Bri; she’s...emotional,” he whispered.

“Uhm, is the priest’s daughter alright?” Bilus asked quietly, trying to keep from having the woman turn on him as well.

Bri spun on her heel and looked at him, folding her arms once more. “What? Of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, confused.

Bilus, too, was confused. “Well, if you’re not the summoner, then-”

Suddenly, the door at the top of the worn staircase thundered. It opened loudly, while several translucent leaf-like objects behind it parted. Foot steps resounded through the area, and a figure appeared. It was the apprentice summoner, the boy who had helped Bilus. It was Shana Lunette, son of the great guardian Sir Luther, who protected High Summoner Lord Way alongside Sir Jet and Sir Drake.

The boy stumbled toward the stairs, taking his first step. He became a blur of red and white as he fell, plummeting toward the floor. Aaroka and Briruru moved forward, while the elfish woman remained perfectly still. Just as he was about to strike the floor, he stopped. The long haired brunette raised his head to find the handsome man he had healed earlier was holding him, keeping him from hitting the ground. His face grew hot as he realized how embarrassing this was, and muttered a thank you before he attempted to stand.

He stumbled, again. He gave up, and decided that leaning on this handsome rail was the best course of action. “Bri... Aar... Kim... I did it. I’m, I’m really a summoner now!” he cheered, his voice partially hoarse. Briruru and the elfish woman, who must have been the ‘Kim’ he referred to, moved toward him, taking his arms into their hands and removing his weight from Bilus as they helped him toward the exit of the room.

After they had left, Bilus looked at Aaroka. “The summoner’s a boy? Really?” he asked, incredulously. He had no complaints, the world of summoning wasn’t gender biased, but...

“Yeah, that’s Shaaana. You should talk to him later, ya know, being his guardian ‘n all,” Aaroka said, following after the group. Bilus held his hand to his lips in thought for a moment, before he, too, followed after. He’d think later; he wanted out of the temple and away from the Hymn.



‘Well, that was surprising! I assumed the summoner would the priest’s daughter, but...the priest’s daughter was very...dark. And the summoner was very male.’

“Heee-eeeey!” Aaroka called to Bilus as he exited the temple, walking out of the hallway leading into the temple. The dew-ragged man came running up to him excitedly, practically falling over himself in his exhilaration. “You gotta see it! Shana’s fixin’ to summon!”

Bilus nodded, and followed Aaroka down into the village square. He had never, in all of his 18 years of life on Spira, seen an Aeon, so now was as good as time as any.

The crowd of villagers was all hustle and bustle, chattering amongst themselves about the Aeon. “Wait till you see this!” one man in shorts and sandals said, “Don’t get me wrong, I just think I have better things to do...” the barely-clothed woman who hit on Bilus earlier said.

“Are you ready? You just got out of the trials, Shana. Don’t over estimate your strength,” the priest from earlier said. Father Leon and a shorter woman wearing white and purple robes both patted Shana on the shoulder as he walked away from the crowd, distancing himself. Just in case. Briruru and ‘Kim’ stood close to Father Leon and the woman, watching closely as Shana began the summoning.

Holding his staff aloft, and then waving it in front of him, he chanted prayers and mantras, before the name of his Aeon fell from his lips. “Valefor...please...” he whispered, clenching his eyes shut tightly as he held his staff in front of him. Suddenly, the symbol found so abundant within the temple glowed on the ground beneath him, taking up a good sized area around him. The runes moved around him quickly in a clockwise motion, while the winged circle in the center moved the opposite way. Columns of purple light shot out of the runes, while a cloud of green magic engulfed Shana. His robes fluttered and waved as the summon magic moved the air about.

Finally, somewhere up high, the columns of light converged at a central point, parting the clouds. Something big fell out of the sky, plummeting toward the village at high speeds with a cloud of purple mist behind it. It was falling upside down, its brilliantly colored wings folded around itself before it righted its position, unfurling its wings to reveal its red and orange glory. It landed a few feet beside Shana, kicking up dust and debris as it hit the ground.

Shana walked toward the Aeon, slowly and cautiously. This was a being of infinite power, after all. Fear and emotion swelled up in the summoner, causing him to think back to when Lord Way had showed him the Aeon long ago, just before he, a mysterious man, a boy not much older than himself, and his father left the village on their own pilgrimage. Finally, swallowing his doubt, he reached his hand out toward the beast and stroked its scaley red neck, smiling happily as it crooned cheerfully at the petting. ‘Hehe. I petted it when Lord Way showed me the Aeon then, too,’, he recounted. He bowed to the Aeon, willing it away with his mind as it flapped its powerful wings and took to the air again, soaring into the sky and out of sight.

The crowd cheered, overjoyed that Shana had achieved in becoming a full-fledged summoner. He didn’t really like the attention, though; he was shy. He blushed with self-consciousness, and ran toward Father Leon and his female guardians.

Bilus stood in awe.

‘I don’t think I’d ever seen something so amazingly beautiful in all my life. Sure, it was kind of frightening...but it had this gentleness about it, too. I knew that the moment the summoner ran his hands through its neck.’



Night had fallen on the village of Besaid, but not everyone was sleeping. In celebration of Shana’s depart, they were having a bonfire to send him off with a bang. The stars twinkled silently in the sky, while a smoke billowed into the clouds, filling the air with the bittersweet smell of burning wood and brush.

‘That night...he talked to me for the first time. I think it was hard for him; he struggled to find the right words. I didn’t know if it was because we had just met, or if it was something else...’

A small crowd of men had gathered around the bonfire. Briruru Anne Darcly, daughter of the village High Priest and guardian of the now full-fledged Shana, was dancing around the flickering flames seductively. Besides being a black mage, dabbling in the dark arts, she was well versed in body language and exotic dance. Holding out her hand toward one of the men, a tanned man with a bit of hair under his lip and loose white pants, which he must’ve been thankful for at the moment, she signaled for him to come hither. He got up and walked toward her, his friends in the crowd hooping and hollering as did. She wrapped her arms around his neck sensuously, while running her leg up his suggestively. She then bit his ear, before tugging on the earring in it with her teeth.

On the other side of the bonfire, Aaroka was talking to some of the local girls, flirting with them and talking about how it was very possible he could die on his journey with Shana, and that he didn’t want to leave the village without continuing his bloodline... Needless to say, the village women weren’t stupid and just giggled or flat-out laughed.

Father Leon was watching the unspeakable dancing his daughter was doing with several of the village men. The woman garbed in purple and white robes from earlier came up behind him, and gripped his shoulder lovingly. “You hafta talk to her tonight, Leon,” she said quietly. He nodded, leaning his head down onto her hand.

Kim was no where to be found, but Shana was sitting close to the bonfire by himself, watching the flames scintillating and dancing. He was holding his chin in his hands, while his long, red tinted sleeves rolled back to his elbows, revealing his pale arms. He sighed, looking at his two guardians socializing, wishing that he could be so bold.

Just as he was about to get up and go into his hut, Bilus sat down beside him. The slightly shorter Crusader looked over at him, gazing at him momentarily before clearing his throat. “Ahem. My name’s Bilus. The temple hired me as a guardian, but I guess you know that already...” he said quietly.

Shana looked over at the man, leaning back and placing his hands in his lap. He smiled, his face growing hot once more. “I’m Shana,” he said meekly, “Thank you so much for catching me earlier! I doubt people would have much faith in me if I had walked out with a bloody nose.”

Bilus smiled, and...was his face turning red? Shana couldn’t tell.

They continued sitting there, staring into the fire silently, comfortable with the quietness. Finally, Bilus broke the silence. “I saw that Aeon... It was cool.”

Shana looked back over at him, his face lighting up. “Really? Hey, do you think I could become High Summoner? I think my title’d sound weird, though... ‘High Summoner Lord Shana’... Don’t you think?”

Bilus chuckled, and nodded. “Nah. And sure. You can do anything if you try hard enough,” he said. All of the sudden, he let out a great big yawn, stretching out and almost falling off of the log Shana and he were sitting on. “Man...guess I better go get some sleep,” he moaned, tiredly.

Shana hummed in agreement, nodding. “Me too. All that walking, and then praying, and the summoning! I’m beat!” he whined, lowering his head and hiding his face behind his bangs. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then, Bilus. We can...talk more.”

“Yeah,” the new guardian replied, standing. Shana stood as well, waving as he began walking toward his hut, Bilus going the opposite direction toward the lodge.



Everyone in the village was asleep now.

“You shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place!”

Well, almost everyone. Outside, around the slowly dying bonfire, a certain family was having a discussion.

“Look, Bri, you have to take this guardian thing more seriously. You’re representin’ not only Shana, but Besaid temple when you go out in other towns and cities. If you act like you’re still just a little girl, people will...well...they’ll think ill of us,” the woman in purple robes said, her hands on her hips.

Briruru growled, folding her arms as she glared at the woman.

“Listen to your mother, Briruru. Me and Rhonda only want you to be the best woman you can be, and you won’t do that if you act like a...like a...like a Lucan whore, flirting and dancing with every Tom, Dick, and Harry!” her father shouted, pointing his long finger at her with authority.

The mage glowering at both of her parents as she continued to fume. “So I’m a whore now, daddy?”

“That is not what I-”

“That’s it. No more... Enough!” Bri screamed. She turned angrily, and stomped off toward their family hovel, steam all but shooting out of her ears.
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