Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy X - This is Our Story ❯ The Sending ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Koujis Wolf 
How often do you meet a perverted fire demon, anyway?
. . . Yevon hates me. He really does . . .
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.21.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 10.3K | Visits: 371 | Status: Completed
How often do you meet a perverted fire demon, anyway?
. . . Yevon hates me. He really does . . .
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.21.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 10.3K | Visits: 371 | Status: Completed
‘When Sin attacked Kilika that day, and the Sinscale knocked me off of the ship, I think . . . That was the first time I actually realized how afraid I was of death. What if I had died that day? What if . . . What if Bilus had died when he jumped overboard to rescue me?’
The barely damaged S.S. Liki had just arrived at the remains of Kilika Harbor. Though the ship had come into direct contact with Sin, it had sustained very little harm. Its worse scar was probably the missing harpoon cannon on its deck, which was more than likely sinking to the ocean floor somewhere out on the open sea.
Its passengers and crew, however, had probably all seen better days. Several of the sailors onboard had family and friends in the island village, and there was no telling who was spared in Sin’s attack. Many passengers were probably traveling back to Kilika from Besaid, and could easily have lost family in the attack as well.
Then, there was Shana and his group. As a summoner, it was his duty to protect the world of Spira from Sin, even if he had just begun his pilgrimage. And his guardian, Bilus, was a Crusader, a person sworn to safeguard the innocent lives of Spira. While his other guardians were meant to protect Shana, and only Shana, they felt a sense of failure as well. They were guardians, not robots.
Once the other passengers had all hurried from the ship and onto the remnants of the harbor, Shana wearily followed. One small, timid step at a time, he walked down the gangplank, still shaken and wet from his trip into the ocean. Before he could turn to see if his guardians were behind him, he was met with the weeping and worried faces of an elderly man wearing a leather vest and middle-aged woman adorning her head with a green headband. “Uhm, uhm, g-greetings. I am the s-summoner Shana, from the temple of Besaid,” he stuttered, trying to calm his nerves.
“M’lord summoner!” the elderly man cried, “please, you must . . . You must . . . ” He could not get the words out. His wrinkled, prune-like face was twisting in sorrow over what he needed to ask, and his eyes were beginning to shimmer in the afternoon sun because of the tears demanding to fall. Finally, his aged, pale blue eyes squinted shut, and he began to weep uncontrollably.
Shana eyed the man with pity, holding his shaky hands to his parted lips as the hunched over elder turned away from the cleric, hiding his moment of weakness. His leather-hide-covered back rose and fell with each sob. Finally, Shana gathered the courage to speak the question himself. “If there is no other summoner here, I would be honored to perform the Sending,” he said, his voice steady once more. His nerves were calm once again, but inside he was still in shock. Even when the forty-something woman with the green headband led him away from the harbor ruins, he followed like he was in a trance.
“O-our loved ones . . . We feared they would become fiends,” the woman said, her shaky hand never leaving Shana’s.
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Unbeknownst to the summoner, his guardians had watched the entire exchange. They hadn’t wished to interrupt the villagers as they requested Shana to do what most summoners dread doing. But even if it was one of the more saddening tasks of a summoner, it was their duty. If they did not do it, who would?
“I’m going to go watch,” Briruru said dryly. She was carrying Juliette like a child in one arm, while the other was resting at her side. She had watched the exchange emotionlessly, not showing any signs of sympathy for the village. “Bilus, you should come too.”
Bilus looked over at the black mage, surprised. “Me? Why?” She didn’t reply; instead, she walked quickly after the summoner, her stilettos causing a rhythmic clicking along the broken and damaged planks of the harbor. Bilus wondered how the woman could shift through so many personalities at once. When she wasn’t guiding Shana like a teacher, she was being a cold, emotionless sorceress. And if she was doing neither of those, she was as bad as a child on a sugar rush. The gothic girl confused him, but he would have to think about it later. Right now, he had to run to catch up with her; the clicking of her heels was around becoming faint.
Aaroka, who had kept quiet for once, looked over to the taller warrior beside him. “You’re gonna go watch, too, right?” he asked, having to look up at the woman to see her face. Kimari said nothing, only grunted in reply. “Well, I’ve seen enough Sendings. I’ma go see if I can help around in the village.” Aaroka slowly walked along the destroyed harbor, heading in the opposite direction of Briruru and Bilus once he reached the fork in the road.
The tall, silent Ebon warrior shook her head, sadly. Her long, knee-length braids moved about like living vines as she did so, and one had to wonder how they stayed in place at the top of her head with only four feathers keeping them in place. The stoic guardian moved quickly to catch up with the gunner, paying no attention to the sharp, jagged points of broken wood that could easily slice her naked feet open.
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‘I remember . . . Back when Mama died, and the temple had to perform the Sending, I did not know what it was. “What’s a Sending? Are we going somewhere?” I had asked Father Leon. And, as usual, he all but launched into a sermon to explain it to me. “The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own demise, they refuse to accept their fate. They ache to live on, and begin to resent those who live. They are jealous, of the living, you see. Soon, that jealousy becomes rage. That rage blinds them, and soon, it turns into hatred. For everyone.” If these souls stay in Spira, their hatred turns them into what they truly are - monsters. Fiends. The Sending takes them to the Farplane, where they can rest in peace . . . And who does the Sending? Well . . .’
Shana had been introduced to the village’s high priest, Father Powell. The balding, dark-skinned man had thanked him for taking it upon himself to perform the Sending, and even promised him a gift. Sure, Shana would have done the task for free, but who was he to turn down a reward?
“Thank you, again,” the priest said, shaking the summoner’s hand. Shana forced a smile, and nodded. The town’s survivors had all gathered at what was left of another boardwalk, standing wherever there was room. Sadly, from the amount of people that had turned out for the Sending, it seemed Sin had slain most of Kilika’s population. Sure, there was several people at Kilika temple, but . . .
Floating in the water were several body-shaped formations. Shana narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the formations were. Finally, it dawned on him. They were the corpses of the dead, wrapped tightly in ceremonial cloths and ornamented with scrolls of Yevon Script and calla lilies. It was Spiran tradition to wrap the bodies of the dead in blessed cloth, and to place characters of Yevon or calla lilies somewhere on the body. The Yevon Script signified the blessing of Yevon, that the person is to be protected by Yevon; the calla lilies symbolize death and grief.
Removing his boots and socks, and placing them neatly to the side of the dock, he began to walk slowly toward the water’s edge. His staff held firmly in his grasp, he cautiously placed one foot on the water.
‘My goodness . . .’
He placed his other foot on the water. Sure enough, he was right. He was unable to place his body into the water. He wasn’t walking on the water, technically. He was hovering a few inches above it. He didn’t quite understand how he was doing this, but he placed the reason in the magic of the Sending.
Twirling his staff between his slender fingers, he began to move about as if he were possessed by some other unearthly presence. He floated out over the center of the mass of embalmed bodies, moving in a full circle with his staff outstretched to make sure it pointed at every deceased body as he continued his dance macabre.
On the boardwalk, the survivors were handling the sight before them all differently. The shirtless, tattooed man, who had fired the harpoon at Sin only hours before, was unmoving, stoic in every sense of the word save for the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks. In his hand he clutched a water-stained portrait of himself and a shorter man, both smiling. Was that the lover he had mentioned? He made no sound, no sobbing, no murmurs. The only sign that he was crying was the tears falling from his chin and into the shallow water below.
A young woman with her black hair in a ponytail was a wreck now. She was shaking with emotion, her sobs causing her to fall to her knees with a loud scream of anguish. Shana heard her cry, but he could not break his concentration, or else he would ruin the Sending. The woman was clinging to a baby’s rattle in one hand, and a ball in the other. The summoner felt so sorry for her, having to live on after her children’s deaths.
Beneath the water, a small light flickered. Out of one of the mummified bodies came a spectral strand of light, better known as a pyrefly. Pyreflies were the souls of people, the light inside of all the persons of Spira. As the pyreflies continued to emerge from the corpses, the water beneath Shana suddenly rose up, forming a cascading column of water for him to continue his dance of death upon. He held his staff out, twirling around on his toes as each pyrefly followed the staff like an obedient dog following his master’s hand.
As the sun continued to stain the sky pink and orang as it sank into the horizon, Shana’s dance came to an end. Holding his rod in front of him, grasping it at the middle, he began to spin it around, closing his eyes as the countless number of pyreflies followed it, become a rainbow-colored whirlwind before him. Finally, he pointed the golden end of the object downward, and breathed heavily as the sighing pyreflies floated upward, fading into the sunset. His platform of water slowly descended back into the ocean, and a few tears fell from his closed eyes.
Meanwhile, on the boardwalk, Bilus wiped his eyes and looked over to Briruru. “It, it must be tough . . . Being a summoner, that is,” he said, watching as Shana hurriedly ran back to the boardwalk before the magic wore off and he fell into the water. Despite the setting, it was a comical sight to the guardian, seeing the summoner running through the air.
Briruru nodded her head in reply, readjusting the puppet in her arms. “Shana chose his own path. He knew from the beginning what it meant,” she said, looking over to the taller man. She looked back to the cleric in question, watching as he bowed to the high priest. “All we can do is protect him along the way . . . Until the end.”
Bilus glanced over to the black mage, surprised. “The end? What’s the end?” he asked loudly, before noticing out of the corner of his eye that the crowd of Kilikans were all staring at him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, hanging his head.
The black mage was shocked, or seemed like it. She, too, was staring at the Crusader, her mouth hanging open. Finally, she regained her composure, and sighed, visibly frustrated. “Until he defeats Sin,” she said, walking toward the summoner.
Shana ran toward his guardian, about to cling to her when he saw the doll in her arms. He came to a halt seconds before latching onto her, noticing the wicked little marionette’s sinister smile and black nailed fingers. He was going to tell Briruru just how scary her doll was again, but he resisted the urge. “I hope that I did okay . . .” he said, looking down at the wooden planks beneath him.
“You did very well,” the shorter girl assured, patting the boy on the shoulder. “But . . . No tears next time, hm?” Shana giggled lightly, wiping his eyes at his guardian’s suggestion. “I have to tell you something, tonight, when we get to the inn. Okay?”
The summoner nodded, not really paying attention to what she was saying. He looked up to see his Crusader guardian, waving at him from the boardwalk and smiling. He waved back as he bent over to retrieve his socks and shoes.
‘I wish there would never be a ‘next time’. No more people being killed by Sin. No more Sendings. Everyone stood there, watching. It was strange, and somehow . . . Horrifying. I never wanted to do it again. What if one of my guardians had been in that mass of corpses? What if I had to Send Bri, or Kim, or Aar . . . Or Bilus? That thought frightened me, beyond belief. I could not go on if something happened to them. I couldn’t fight Sin, knowing they had died to get me there. I cannot. I will not.’
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By the grace of Yevon, the inn had survived the attack. It was in the innermost docks and boardwalks of the waterfront village, and, despite the fact that a large number of the villagers had been slaughtered, a miraculous portion of the town had been spared. More likely than not, most of the townsfolk had probably been out in the market or coming home from working in their shops, since it was nearing the afternoon.
Shana thought back to when they arrived at the inn, and the events that had followed . . .
“I’m terribly sorry, milord summoner, but we only have two rooms with single beds available,” the clerk had said. The sandy-haired clerk had bowed, causing her long braid to flow over her shoulder like a waterfall. Shana bowed in return, giving the girl an awkward smile.
“What are we gonna do?” Briruru asked, standing up from the green, oriental sofa she had been on until a few moments ago. She laid Juliette down on the sofa while she walked over to the group consisting of Shana, Bilus and Kimari. “Hmm,” she began, folding her arms thoughtfully. “I suppose me and Shana could have one bed, and then you,” she said, motioning to Bilus with one of her black fingernails, “and Kim can have the other.”
Bilus’s face showed that he was completely against the idea. He opened his mouth to say something, shaking the sheer thought of sharing a bed with the tall, horned woman. Before he could say anything, Kimari interrupted, pushing the shorter man aside.
“Kimari will not sleep with Crusader,” she said bluntly, glaring down at the black mage and then over to the other guardian. Briruru sighed, holding her forehead in her hand to drown out the frustration.
Shana had found a solution to the conundrum. “I’ll sleep with Kim, and you and Bilus can share a bed. There, it’s settled,” Shana said, nodding his head sagely. Kimari said nothing, simply folding her arms stoically and turning to face the window, possibly admiring the sun barely visible over the horizon.
The summoner was about to walk toward the desk and reserve some rooms when the gears in Briruru’s mind began to turn. Gasping, she ran to catch up with the cleric as quickly as possible, clinging to his robes before he could get the desk clerk’s attention. “Wait! I . . . Uhm . . . Don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with Bilus! You bunk with him, while I stay with Kim!” Briruru said, looking over to the taller woman, who met her amused eyes with a disapproving glare.
“Uhm . . . Well . . . I suppose so . . .” Shana mumbled, freeing himself from the mage’s clutches. He looked over the girl’s shaggy dark mane to Bilus, who was staring at the ground, and shuffling his feet. “Is this okay with you?”
Bilus nodded, and . . . Was he blushing?
Shana felt bad for Aaroka. The gunner had no place to sleep, but, apparently, that was alright with him. He had said he would be working on the village’s repairs all night, so he wanted neither sleep nor room.
In the boys’ room, Bilus was sitting on the festively colored bed with his boots off. He was polishing his sword, Fraternity, with a greenish rag he had gotten from the inn’s washroom. While he was cleaning his weapon, Shana was sitting in the floor, reading from a book. The Crusader decided to inquire as to what he was reading about. “Hey, Shana,” he said, stopping his burnishing for now, “what are you reading?”
The white mage looked up, glancing over to his guardian over his shoulder. “It’s a book Father Leon packed in that bag he gave us. It’s about white magic,” the brunette said. Once they had arrived in their room, the first thing Shana did was remove his long, burdensome robes. He had been embarrassed for a moment that he was wearing so little in front of the other man, but the guardian had said nothing.
“Learn anything interesting?” Bilus asked, setting the water-like blade aside. He scooted toward the bed’s edge, placing his naked feet on the wooden floor and leaning forward.
Shana nodded, standing up. “Watch,” he whispered, closing his eyes as if he were meditating. He held his hands before him, moving them around mystically while he mouthed incantations. Finally, he brought his hands together, clasping them to each other in prayer. Magic filled the room, circulating like air throughout the confined space. A red light engulfed Bilus, bathing him in its crimson glow as a small, candle-like flame flickered in and out of existence in front of him.
Once the magic faded, and he regained his composure, Bilus looked up at the taller boy. “What was that?” he asked, incredulously. Shana smiled, picking the book up and marking his place in the tome with a red ribbon. He sat the book aside, and returned to facing the guardian.
“That spell’s called Ba-Fire,” Shana said proudly, elated over his successful casting of the spell. “It keeps heat, and fire, and fire magic and all that junk from hurting you. There are other Ba spells, like, Ba-Frost, but I don’t think I’ll learn those right now. Got a headache, hehe,” the summoner giggled dorkishly.
Bilus laughed quietly, before scooting over. “Maybe you should lay down,” the guardian said, patting the flamboyant bed. Shana took a few steps forward, hesitantly.
“Bilus, are you sure? I mean . . . I can sleep on the floor, if you want . . .” Shana said bashfully, not meeting the older boy’s eyes. Bilus shook his head, before grasping Fraternity and placing it on the cedar night-stand beside the bed. Shana smiled at his guardian, just about to sit down on the bed beside the boy when a certain black mage crashed through the door.
“Briruru?” Bilus gasped, which was followed by Shana’s surprised shout of ‘Bri’.
The sorceress looked up to the pair, smiling sheepishly. “You should really lock your door . . . It keeps nosy people from getting hurt,” the girl giggled. It was then that both boys realized she was in one of the inn’s tribally painted towels, or two of them actually; there was a big one around her body, and a smaller one around her head. They assumed she had just came from the shower.
“What are you doing?” Shana demanded, taking a step back from girl, still in shock. He felt even more embarrassed to be seen in his cotton shirt and black briefs in front of the younger black mage, so he self-consciously folded his hands together in front of his groin while he waited for her answer. The mage stood up, securing her towel to keep it from falling off and revealing her magical gems.
“I have to talk to you about something, remember?” the shorter girl chided, tugging on the summoner’s unclothed arm until he followed her out of the room. The two magic users left poor Bilus alone in the room, very much confused.
Briruru made sure to shut the door, not turning to face her charge until after she heard the reassuring click of the knob. When she did look up into the summoner’s face, her stare was scarily serious. Her mouth was tugged downward in a stony frown, making it quite apparent that what she had to say was important.
“What’s wrong?” Shana asked, worried about the mage.
Briruru placed a pale hand on the taller boy’s shoulder, breathing in shakily before she shared her news. “Shana . . . ”
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A few minutes later, the summoner reentered his and Bilus’s room. His face was the same pale, distant mask it was after the Sending, causing his usual shy or perky expressions to disappear and be replaced by the face of a stranger Bilus didn’t know.
It wasn’t until the boy had come a few feet from their shared bed that he noticed his guardian had stripped down. Shana’s mask broke, cracking as his face began to color with the hues of a blush. Bilus was now wearing an orange and black shirt, and striped blue and white boxers. “Something wrong?” the Crusader inquired, sitting up. He had been laying down, relaxing lazily on the bed while Briruru and Shana talked privately.
Shana’s eyes lingered on the tanned limbs of his guardian, attempting to subtly admire the man. That was when he realized he had been asked a question, and wishing not to seem even more peculiar than he already, he stumbled to find an answer. “Oh, Bri was just telling me our plans for tomorrow,” Shana said quickly, hoping the guardian was fooled by the lie. “We’re to go to Kilika Temple and then to Luca,” he added.
Bilus looked as if he didn’t quite believe the story, eying the summoner appraisingly. But, the guardian didn’t pry any further, because he knew when to quit pressing an issue. Shana looked as if he wanted to say something, but, he couldn’t quite voice the words. “What?” Bilus asked, confused once more over the cleric’s actions.
The summoner starred hard at the floor, hoping his bangs covered his face enough to keep his blush from showing. “I-I’d like to lie down now . . . If you don’t mind . . .” the boy stuttered, shuffling his feet nervously. His guardian laughed, repositioning himself so that the summoner could get under the covers. Shana hesitantly got into the bed, feeling incredibly awkward about the arrangement at first, but, as the soft, inviting caress of the down-filled mattress embraced him, his worries faded away.
Bilus, too, joined him under the covers, trying to give the summoner enough room to not feel crowded. “Goodnight,” he said, turning so that his toned back was to the younger boy. Shana blushed, feeling a bit happier than when he had reentered.
“Goodnight, Bilus.”
Not too long after they had laid down, once the summoner was sure his guardian had drifted peacefully into the depths of slumber, he made a daring move. Edging closer to his sleeping guardian, he slowly, and carefully, placed one arm around the Crusader’s waist.
‘Sigh . . . Goodnight. Hehe.’
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“Time to get up!”
Shana’s eyes snapped open. His vision slowly adjusted to the morning’s light, going from blurry to clear. He yawned tiredly, blinking out a few tears in the process. He hated when that happened, especially when people saw how watery his eyes looked, and assumed he had been crying. Finally finding his voice, he vocalized the only rational thought in his mind at this hour in the morning: “Food?”
Whoever else was in the room laughed. Shana noticed there was more than one laugh, however. He recognized the soprano-ish giggle, but, that deep laugh didn’t seem to fit in . . . The cleric finally realized just who these people were - Briruru, the only person who woke the summoner up this early, and Bilus, whom he had slept with. Shana could’ve died right then, he was so embarrassed. Maybe death was a good possibility, considering how red his face was. Perhaps his head would pop, leaving a little bit of Shana everywhere.
He didn’t get to muse on this image further, because something much more important was fixing to happen. Briruru had her hand on the blankets, prepared to rip them from the bed to get the sleepyheads up, which was usually her last resort. However, Shana wasn’t worried about losing the warmth of his blankie. He was worried about how he had one arm wrapped snugly around Bilus’s midriff. If the black mage’s teasing wasn’t going to be enough reason to dread the unveiling, Bilus’s reaction was.
“AWE!”
‘Kill me now . . .’
Shana was scared to open his eyes, and find a very outraged face looking back at him. But, finally, he gathered enough courage to do so. Instead of an indignant glare, he was met with a scarlet blush. Bewildered, he looked down to his arm, finding that a muscular, darker colored arm was on top of it. More importantly, at the end of both arms, there just so happened to be fingers laced together, clinging tightly to the other’s hand.
“Where’s Kim? I gotta go tell Kim!” Briruru screamed excitedly, bolting from the room. Shana quickly sat up, covering his mouth with his free hand. He was in shock, and now, he was worried. For Bilus’s safety, that is. Bilus freed Shana’s hand, slowly sitting up as well.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, awkwardly. He leaned over to look at Shana’s face, hoping the summoner wasn’t angry with him. Immediately, the white mage jumped out of the bed, standing in front of it, his arms outstretched.
“No!” Shana commanded sharpy, his voice taking on a tone of authority Bilus had never heard before. The Crusader peaked around the side of the boy, finding a very angry looking Ebon glaring at him, her spear ready to impale the guardian, and her growl just as frightening. That was when Briruru appeared, jumping on the hulking huntress’s back to hinder her murder.
“Don’t kill the lovebirds!” she wailed, fighting to hang onto Kimari as she flailed to get the mage off of her.
Bilus got out of the bed, standing beside Shana hesitantly. “Lovebirds?” he said, confused. He looked over to Shana, perplexedly. The taller summoner’s face was red, but not with embarrassment alone anymore. It was burning crimson with fury, now, which was something the Crusader had yet to see.
“Nothing happened,” Shana said, his voice angry, and something else the guardian couldn’t quite pick out. Kimari lowered her weapon, bowing her head in penance as she stepped out of the room. Briruru did nothing to imply she was sorry for the outrageous event, besides cross her arms to examine the two boys.
“I’m gonna go find Aaroka, okay?” Briruru asked, looking from guardian to charge. “You can meet up with me and Kimari at the entrance to Kilika Woods,” she said, waving halfheartedly as she left the room. Shana sighed heavily, sitting back on the bed with a groan. Bilus patted the summoner’s back reassuringly, before moving to find his clothes.
Bilus was in the middle of putting his jeans on when the cleric spoke. “I’m sorry . . .” Shana mumbled, getting off of the bed. Bilus looked up to find the long-haired summoner gathering his robes and hurriedly pulling them on. Once he was completely dressed, he ran out of the room, leaving a very confused Bilus behind in the process.
Shana was waiting outside of the inn, leaning against one of the damaged, wooden posts. He surveyed the ocean for Sin, feeling as if the demon was still out there, lurking. Thankfully, the ocean looked clear, and it was gentle, as if sorry for aiding in the destruction of the little seaside town. If the morning sun was any indication of the day’s weather, Shana was going to be a sweaty wreck. His robes weren’t the best for traveling in warm temperatures, after all.
He was fiddling with the material of his sleeve when Bilus came out. Shana could tell he was confused, and that he wanted to know why Shana was acting this way, but the summoner didn’t feel like dealing with any of this right now. “Okay, guardian. Let’s go find our friends!” Shana said, making sure to sound more excited than usual. Bilus’s eyes told him ‘I don’t believe you for a second’, but, his mouth said ‘okay’.
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Shana and Bilus found the black mage, gunner, and Ebon woman just outside Kilika Woods. Briruru was resting on a tree stump, while the other two guardians stood, soaking in the sun. Once Aaroka caught sight of the approaching pair, he motioned to Briruru, who took her time to get off of the mossy tree stump.
“Hey!” Aaroka shouted, waving to the two men. Shana and Bilus reached the two not too long afterwards. Aaroka was telling the other male guardian something, but Shana wasn’t paying attention, taking this moment to admire the ruins of Kilika. From the actual island, you could only see about one third of the town now. Shana felt a tug on his heartstrings for the village.
Briruru tugged on the boy’s sleeves, shaking him out of his daze. “C’mon, the temple’s just beyond this jungle. Let’s go,” Briruru stated, walking toward the woods’ entrance. Aaroka followed suit, running to catch up to the black mage. How did she move so fast in heels, anyway?
Shana was the next to move, with Kimari right behind him. Bilus tried to stay as close as possible, but Kimari kept eying him like prey, so he decided to bring up the rear. Once the party entered the woods, they were met with a heavy fog of pollen. Aaroka was the first to sneeze, obviously allergic to the flowers of the forest. Aside from the dusty atmosphere, vines draped from the towering trees like a ceiling, forming a perfect canopy to block out most of the sunlight.
“You know, this is the perfect place for fiends,” Aaroka said matter-of-factly, trying to scare the group. As if by clockwork, he was hit in the back by something, knocking him to the ground. The offending projectile rolled toward Shana, stopping at his boots. The summoner kicked the large, round thing cautiously.
“A seed?” Bilus asked, eying the fleshy looking object. Briruru nodded, pointing to a seemingly harmless looking flower blooming beside the road. That was when Shana and Bilus noticed its red leaves were moving, and it let out a shrill cry.
“A Ragora,” Briruru said, before looking over to Kimari. “Kim, don’t you think you can learn something?” the black mage said, preparing Juliette just incase.
Kimari nodded, readying her spear. Running up to the demonic flora, she held a hand out in front of it. Her hand sparked with blue magic, getting brighter in intensity until finally, none of the other guardians could see the dark-skinned woman. When the blue nova faded, Kimari was running back to the party, triumphant.
“Seed Cannon!” the Ebon shouted, moving her spear oddly. Twirling it around in her nimble fingers, she brought it down to point it at the monster she had just learned the skill from. Again, the blue magic gathered, forming a swirling aura of mana in front of the warrior, before something shot out of it at high speeds, hitting the Ragora directly. The seed bounced off of the monster, fading into nothingness after the attack.
The Ragora was obviously not pleased. It was preparing to use its own ‘Seed Cannon’. Aaroka got up, ready to get revenge for his embarrassment. Pointing his guns at the Ragora, he steadied his breathing. He pulled on the trigger, bracing his feet on the ground for the recoil. A crackling stream of electricity erupted from the barrel of the gun, hitting the plant. The Ragora screamed in pain, crackling with electricity as it wilted, dying from the attack. With another shrill shriek, it dissolved into pyreflies, becoming nothing but a fading image of its former self.
“Gotta love that Elementillery,” Aaroka declared, sticking out his chest proudly. Kimari, Briruru and Bilus walked past him, not paying him any attention. “Stupid tricks!” Aaroka shouted at the group, kicking at the dirt. Shana was the next to walk past, but, unlike the other party members, he turned to look at the gunner.
Shana smacked the guardian’s arm, smiling. “Good job, Aar,” Shana said, happily. He broke off into a run, chasing after the other guardians with Aaroka close behind.
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The summoner and his guardians were almost at the heart of the jungle when the bumped into some very familiar faces. Shana couldn’t believe it. It was a pleasant surprise, but, he was still shocked. Briruru was the first to say anything, breaking from the center of the group and running toward the surprise in question.
“It’s Alex!” she squealed, alerting the spiky haired Crusader of her approach with the steady clicking of her stilettos on the brick-like path of the jungle. Alex turned just in time to catch the black mage, who had tackle-hugged the boy. The slightly taller boy placed her back onto the ground after her jumping embrace.
Shana ran up to the pair of Crusaders next, jumping onto Alex as well. He giggled as the spiky haired brunette let him back down onto the ground. “I never get a hug . . .” Zane said, feigning offense. Briruru giggled, pulling the tall, shaggy haired Crusader into a quick halfhearted hug, too.
“What in Yevon’s name are you two doing here?” Shana asked, still surprised. He performed the Prayer of Yevon, before continuing his game of twenty questions. “How did you get here?” he asked, before giving the two men the chance to answer his first question. Bilus, Kimari, and Aaroka soon joined the two mages, but decided not to speak up, yet.
“We’re here on top-secret Crusader business,” Zane said, letting the shorter summoner know that it was something he couldn’t tell him, yet. Shana looked from Zane to Bilus, and his Crusader guardian shook his head. “We arrived here by the same boat you did,” the shaggy-haired man stated.
“No way! I didn’t see you on the Liki!” Shana declared. His enthusiasm over the secrecy was causing Bilus to grin, and his amusement was growing from a grin to a low chuckle.
Zane blushed, turning bright pink at Shana’s outburst. He turned away, letting his jacket-covered back face the group instead of his face. Alex was the one to answer, which was the protocol when things like this came up. “We never really left our room, dawg,” Alex said proudly, grinning cheesily as Zane got visibly uncomfortable.
‘They’ve always been like this . . . Everyone in Besaid knows about them being together. It’s just common knowledge, I suppose. They’re really quite cute together, and they make the funniest couple. Alex is so . . . cocky about it, I suppose. Proud to discuss his bedroom life, that’s a better way to put it. And Zane gets embarrassed easily. They actually asked me to join in on their ‘fun’ one time. Bri laughed, and laughed, and . . .’
“Anyway,” Zane said loudly, changing the subject. Shana and Briruru giggled, while Alex just rolled his eyes. “The fiend in front of us is really strong. I don’t think you should take him on. Just fair warning,” the Crusader said, pointing behind him. Sure enough, there was a large, red tentacle monster not too far down the brick path.
Briruru’s eyes lit up, sparkling with a mischievous glint they gained time from time. “I can take it! C’mon! Let me at it!” the girl shouted, readjusting Juliette in her arms as she started to run past Zane and Alex. Shana shook his head, looking worriedly at Bilus. The shaggy haired Crusader nodded, and grabbed hold of the black mage.
“We’ll fight it after I pray at the temple,” Shana said, leaving no room in his voice for discussion. Briruru sighed, folding her arms and pouting like a little girl that was just told not to have any cookies until after dinner.
“Whatever.”
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Bilus had found a way to the temple without following the main, brick path. It must’ve come from his training as a Crusader. Shana had complained, once or twice, of course, about getting his robes dirty. That led to the usual teasing by Aaroka and Briruru about ‘living a sheltered life’. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t an outdoorsy person.
They finally arrived at the stone steps of Kilika temple, which would take them above the jungle. “You know, these stone steps have a history,” Bilus declared, looking back at Shana, who was standing a few feet behind him. “High Summoner Lord Rowel trained here, when he was younger,” Bilus stated, as if he was reading from a textbook.
Shana giggled, and nodded. “Thank you, Mr. History Book,” the summoner teased, beginning his ascent up the steps. Briruru shook her head, sighing, as she, too, began to climb the seemingly endless stone steps.
Bilus ran to catch up to the cleric, finally reaching him, and staying no further than two steps behind him. “And! Kilika temple is built into the side of an extinct volcano. People say it gets active when you pray to the Fayth, though,” Bilus continued, going on with his history lesson despite Shana’s endless giggles. Not even Shana knew why he found Bilus’s explanations and lessons amusing.
“Oh, and – ”
Before Bilus could finish his lesson, however, there was a loud rumbling above them. Amongst the thunderous noise were the frightened screams of people, and the party knew something ill was afoot. Shana looked to his guardians, Briruru and Bilus beside him, Aaroka behind him, and Kimari in front of him. They all nodded, and they broke off into a run up the steps.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, at a large, circular overlook, they saw the source of the disturbance. It was a Sinspawn, a fiend created from the flesh of Sin. It looked harmless enough, as far as beings made from the hide of a giant demon go. The fiend looked like a large flower-bud before it blooms, and there was a constant green gas pouring from the cracks in its shell-like armor.
Bilus and Kimari were the first to get close to the monster, followed shortly thereafter by the other three. Once they got close enough, the ground rumbled again. Six vine-like tentacles erupted from the ground, seeming to be separate entities. Upon closer examination, it became clear that they were the monster’s long, whip-like ‘claws’.
“This should be fun,” Briruru said, dropping Juliette. Doll and mage took two steps forward, holding their hands up to their mouths as the flow of mana became visible, appearing as a swirling torrent of magic around the two. “Blizzard!” the mage shouted, as she and her doll held their hands toward the sky, disappearing behind the whirlwind of magic. Clouds of frost gathered dozens of times around one tentacle-arm, incasing it in a few layers of ice before the magic faded. The appendage shattered, and its remains faded with the sighs of pyreflies.
Bilus held his sword aloft, concentrating. Turning to face the surviving claw, he ran toward it at full speed. Half way there, he did a forwards-flip, landing sword first, impaling Fraternity into the vine-like arm, slicing it in two. The shell screamed in pain, shaking violently as its remaining arm became a ghostly image, losing its form as pyreflies emerge from its corpse. “Two down . . .” Bilus said, looking over to the shell. “One to go.”
The shell of the Sinspawn continued shaking, until, finally, it opened, revealing the monster in all its hideous glory. It looked like an overgrown fly, with its large, buggy eyes, and the repulsive hairs growing from its hide. It made a strange noise, pointing its now armless body toward Kimari and Shana. The dark-skinned spear-user saw this, and pushed the shorter boy out of the way. A puddle of water formed beneath her feet, rocketing upward and sending her into the air along with the column of water. She landed with a thud, and, for the moment, was unconscious.
“Kimari!” Shana shouted, getting up from where he had landed after the shove. He ran to his downed guardian, and began to move mystically, waving his staff around the same way he did whenever he was casting a spell. The restorative blue shine of Cure enveloped the Ebon, healing her wounds but not restoring her consciousness just yet. Shana was pleased with himself, but his pleasure was short-lived as droplets of water began to gather around him, incasing him in a sphere of water. He opened his mouth to scream, and nearly choked on the all the water that rushed into his lungs. Slowly, he and Kimari were drowning in the spell.
“Damn! That’s like . . . the worst kind of water spell. Sinspawn are tough!” Briruru pointed out, receiving an annoyed ‘dur’ from Aaroka. He pointed his guns at the fiend, and let loose a few magical bullets, which exploded in ice upon contact. The monster fell over, making a few strangled sounds of pain as it faded behind a column of light. Hundreds of pyreflies arose from the light, and, once it dissipated, the Sinspawn was gone. Not only was the fiend gone, but so was the spell killing Shana and his guardian.
The summoner and the Ebon were sitting on the ground, both soaked and looking like a couple of drowned rats. Shana was the first to cough up some water, beating on his chest as he fought to expel all of the water. “Damn,” the cleric cursed, “those things are tough.”
“That’s what I said,” Briruru said in a sing-song voice, helping the summoner up. Aaroka and Bilus steadied Kimari, who looked like she had seen better days.
“Let’s just get into the temple before a giant roach or something shows up,” Aaroka mused, looking at the mess the fiend at left behind. Luckily, no one died today, The group was fortunate.
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The party had finally, after their journey through the jungle and their fight with the Sinspawn, reached Kilika temple. It was obvious that this was home to the Fire Fayth. All around the large, orangish-colored temple, were giant burning pillars, and, in the center of the walkway leading into the temple’s inner-most rooms, a glass revealed the flames burning within the Cloister of Trials.
Shana groaned, rolling up his sleeves. “‘Oh, wear robes Shana. The priest’s will think you’re sooo traditional,’” Shana quoted in a mocking voice, rolling his eyes, as he rolled up the other sleeve. Briruru couldn’t contain her amusement, and began to laugh at the disgruntled summoner.
“Hey, I told you to wear something like . . . some short-shorts and a tank-top, but no, you had to listen to dad,” Briruru teased, receiving a death glare from the cleric in question. Bilus and Aaroka laughed, following the fuming white mage into the temple.
The summoner was muttering insults under his breath when he was greeted with a third sight he hadn’t expected to see today. Well, he had expected seeing something like this, but . . .
From the door leading into the Cloister of Trials, a woman wearing a bikini and hot-pink robe that she decided not to wear over her top was descending the steps, followed by a burly, tall man in what Shana could only describe as ‘bondage gear’. They were utter opposites, with the man being a giant, and the girly looking like something you could snap in two.
“Ooh, a summoner,” the girl in the pink robe remarked, her voice laced in venom. She approached Shana, standing with one hand on her hip, and the other hand resting on one of her large breasts. “Mah name’s Sadiea Highnoon.”
Shana bowed to the buxom summoner, ignoring the rising desire to laugh at her obviously unique accent. “My name is Shana Lunette,” the summoner said, smiling, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Sadiea smirked, raising her hand to push a tendril of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. “Tha pleasure’s all yers, I’m sure,” she said snootily, before recognizing the name. “You must be Sir Luther’s kin. Quiiite ah name to live up to,” the summoner said, aiming her words like daggers. “My, my, my . . . And all yawl are his guardians?” the girl laughed, folding her arms beneath her ample chest.
Shana’s fake smile was fading, but he was remaining quiet. Briruru and Bilus, however, seemed to have something to say. Aaroka grabbed both of them before they could share their thoughts with the snobby summoner. “As I recawl, Lord Way only had two guardians. Quality ovah quantity, mah dear,” Sadiea stopped to contain her amusement. “I’ve only got need fer one guardian. Right, Jeremellow?”
‘Jeremellow’, or the bondage-guy, grunted, flexing his muscles for the group. His ensemble was really quite ridiculous, and it looked kind of painful. Three belts crossed over his chest, two coming from his shoulder-pads, and the third one was coming from somewhere in his pants, which Shana didn’t want to think about. Bilus took a step forward, getting right in Jeremellow’s face, even if he was a foot shorter than the hulking piece of manmeat.
“Bilus, no,” Shana pleaded, looking from his guardian to the summoner clad in pink. “I only have as many guardians as I have people I can trust,” Shana said firmly, looking at Bilus, Briruru, Kimari, and then, finally, Aaroka. “I trust them all with my life. Keeping such company is a joy,” Shana said, copying the other summoner’s post, and resting one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. “So, I ask you, Lady Sadiea. Please, leave us alone.”
Sadiea made an uninterested grunting noise, rolling her eyes. “Do whatevah you like. Jeremellow, we’re leavin’,” the summoner said, waving her hand at Shana to dismiss him. As the oddly mismatched pair exited the temple, Sadiea shouted to the summoner, “Bye, yawl!”
Briruru copied her pose, as Shana did before she left, and mimicked her voice. “‘Bye, yawl!’” Aaroka laughed, while Kimari shook her head.
Shana approached Bilus, blushing. “Thank you . . . for standing up to that behemoth, I mean,” Shana said, stumbling over his words. Bilus grinned, waving his hand to brush the gratitude off.
“No problem.”
Shana hurriedly ran up the stairs before he embarrassed himself further. Briruru and Bilus followed closely behind, with Kimari and Aaroka bringing up the rear. “Okay, peoples. The Fayth is below.” The guardians all nodded, but before Shana pushed open the door, he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Aaroka asked, confused. Shana turned around, and waved his hands at his bodyguards, chanting incantations. Red light enveloped the group, blanketing them in the magic of Ba-Fire. The rest of the party was confused, while Shana and Bilus smiled, knowing very well what had happened.
“Do you want me to tell them, or shall you do it?” Shana giggled, opening the door. As the summoner and his entourage stepped into the labyrinth that was the Cloister of Trials, Bilus explained the spell to his fellow guardians.
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With the anti-fire spell in place, the trials of Kilika were a breeze. What Bilus said was true, the temple was built into an extinct volcano. The trials proved it. Molten rock and flames were as abundant in the maze as air, and Shana was sure he had lost a good two or three pounds from all the sweating he had done.
They were now in the Pilgrim’s Hollow, where Shana’s guardians would wait for him until he gained a new Aeon. “Good luck!” Bilus and Aaroka shouted, almost in unison, as they waved the boy off. Briruru waved as well, while Kimari said nothing, staying at her post beside the entrance into the Chamber of the Fayth. Shana watched as the door, which would soon cut him off from the rest of the world, lowered into place.
Just down the narrow hallway was the Fayth. He still remembered Briruru’s father explaining that to him, as well. Father Leon had given many explanations to the boy as he grew up. Shana doubted that, without the priest’s knowledge over all things Yevon, he would’ve wanted to be a summoner.
‘“The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly taken by their still-living bodies.”
That would’ve frightened most children, but not me. I was so intrigued, and awestruck by such a sacrifice. I begged Father Leon to tell me more.
“Now, they live forever, trapped in statues. When a summoner calls them, their souls emerge, taking on a form to match their inner-strength. That is what we call an Aeon.”
I had never seen a Fayth until that day, when I started my pilgrimage and met Bilus . . .’
Shana walked toward the glass-like dome in the center of the room. He was shocked to see what was inside. Within the clear prison was what looked to be a little girl, face-down on the stony surface beneath. Her curly blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, and her back was covered by large, metallic wings.
The summoner sat down, performing the prayer and bowing his head. It didn’t take long for magic to shimmer somewhere over the glass, glowing brighter, and brighter, until it turned into the symbol of Besaid Temple. The symbol radiated with lavender light, and Shana could even see it behind his closed eyes. Shana heard peaceful sighing, and felt that he was no longer alone, so he opened his eyes.
Pyreflies were emerging from the symbol, and they gathered to form the silhouette of a little girl. It was the same child in the glass, the Fayth of Besaid. “My name is Loren Valfare. I am the Avian Fayth, Valefor, beckoned from a spirit who longed for freedom. One cannot summon me unless they desire to spread their wings and be free. Do you wish to free the world from Sin’s suffering, summoner?”
Shana shook himself out of memory, and stepped into the chamber. The Hymn was the loudest here, being sung by someone with a clear baritone. He stepped forward, and looked into the statue. Again, the corpse was face-down. It had shaggy black hair, and scars all along its back, as well as a tattoo depicting dancing flames. On its left hand was a clawed gauntlet, fashioned in the style of a wolf, as well as a long, golden chain with a red scarf. Shana gulped, trying to swallow as he noticed a good portion of the man’s backside was exposed as well. He entertained the thought that Yevon might be a voyeur, but he liked living, so he pushed it aside.
Sitting down to pray, he closed his eyes and hoped the Fayth could hear him. Sure enough, he eventually heard the cooing of pyreflies, and looked up to find a very handsome man. He had the corpse’s shaggy black hair, and tanned skin, as well as a goatee. The Fayth wore no shirt, but had a baggy pair of ripped jeans on. Shana gulped once again. No way was he getting the Aeon with the thoughts he was having.
“Howdy, summoner,” the Fayth drawled, resting his ghostly hands on his hips. “Mah name’s Matt. Er . . . Matthew Ifrite Gavfire,” the handsome spirit said, grinning down at the staring summoner.
Shana mentally smacked himself, shaking his head subtly to wake himself up. “I-I am Shana Lunette. I’m a summoner from Besaid Island,” he said, bowing his head to the Fayth. ‘Matt’ lowered himself to the ground in front of the summoner, sitting down on the glass covering the statue.
“Well, I’m tha Fire Fayth, Ifrit, called frum a spirit that liked to work hard, and play hard. You gotta be strong to summon me. Think ya can handle it, babe?” the Fayth teased, crossing his arms as the summoner nodded. ‘Matt’ leaned forward, pressing his ghostly lips to the summoner’s, as everything went white, and the Fayth found a cozy place inside the boy’s soul to reside in . . .
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Just as the summoner had said, they would take on the fiend after he got his Aeon. Shana’s fainting spell in the chamber didn’t last longer than half an hour, so the party quickly made their way back into the jungle. Night was falling, and, if they wanted to board the ship to Luca, they’d have to hurry. The quickest way was straight through the heart of the woods, which was right where the fiend Zane had warned them of was.
“Okay. It’ll be easier to kill if you surprise it,” Briruru whispered, motioning to the sleeping tentacle beast in front of them. The monster was obviously not nocturnal, so it was best to blast it into oblivion while it was slumbering. Shana nodded, walking toward the large, plant-like beast. He couldn’t really tell if the monster was asleep, but, now was as good a time as any to test out his new Aeon.
Holding his hands out, with his head held high, he began the summoning. “Come! I summon you . . . Ifrit!” He twirled his staff around, smiling as the magic of the summoning filled his veins, his lungs, his very being. Flames lit up on his weapon, forming a circle of fire in front of him. Placing his staff back into his backpack, he performed the prayer gesture, watching in delight as the ring of flame collected into his hand. He stepped back, dropping the fire onto the ground in surprise. The fire spread out, burning the land it touched into a charred, dried out brown.
The burnt ground beneath Shana began to rumble and shake, causing him to lose his balance. The summoner shrieked as the ground burst upward, erupting to reveal a flaming cage of earth and fire. At the center of the hellish prison was the Aeon, Ifrit. The party couldn’t see it very well behind the rock and hellfire, but it was there. It howled like a wolf of some kind, and broke its cage apart. The flames and rocks seemed to fade into nothingness afterwards, but Shana was still very real. He was falling, and the landing was going to hurt.
He was saved by a large pair of muscular arms covered in red and orange fur. Ifrit caught the cleric, crushing him to his own body as Aeon and summoner landed safely on the now-unburned earth. Ifrit was very awe-inspiring. He was very much a demon, with horns black as night, and eyes the same yellow as a cat’s. He had fur that mimicked the flames he embodied, and he seemed to be lupine. He was wolflike in face, tail, and ears alone, though. He stood upright like a human, Shana still cradled against him like a child. The Aeon dwarfed the summoner, having a good foot or two on the boy. The demon was also very accesorized, with a piercing in both wolfish ears, a golden chain around its neck, and a piercing on its . . . Was Shana looking at the Aeon correctly? Yes, he was. The demon had a piercing in its sheath, as well.
The Fire Aeon let the boy go, patting his rump lecherously with one giant, clawed hand. Shana turned to face the Aeon, his face a mixture of embarrassment and shock. The demon snickered at the summoner, before jumping at the fiend. By the grace of Yevon, it was still asleep. Ifrit jumped upward, holding its claws out to the side as it gathered fiery energy. Spheres of flame appeared in its hands, crackling with fire magic as he held them. He tossed them both down into the forest, hitting the oversized fiend dead-on. The plant-like monster was lost inside a swirling inferno, shrieking in pain as its body was burned. Ifrit landed back on the ground fist first, causing an eruption of fire to explode beneath the burning fiend, roasting it into nothingness. Once the monster was nothing more than a cloud of moaning pyreflies, Ifrit looked back to Shana, grinning widely and baring his fangs.
Shana rubbed his head, while his guardians clapped, despite the demon’s behavior. Ifrit walked loudly over to the summoner, speaking to him through a mental connection they now shared. ‘Ya won’t meet many Aeons like me, summoner. Not many keep it real like I do. Shiva . . . Now she’s someone ta party with, lemme tell ya,’ the Aeon said, folding its giant arms. ‘We’re gunna have some fun. Ain’t met a summoner as cute as you in a while . . .’
Ifrit picked the boy up, squeezing him into a bear-hug while he ‘playfully’ licked his face, like a pet dog would. Shana made a loud ‘yuck’ as he was given the tongue bath. All his guardians did was laugh, and laugh, and laugh . . .
‘I remember being there, wrapped in Ifrit’s great big arms, thinking, “Oh Yevon, he could rape me and they’d still laugh.” But, I know now that moments as fun as those don’t happen often. How often do you meet a perverted fire demon, anyway?
. . . Yevon hates me. He really, really does . . .’
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The barely damaged S.S. Liki had just arrived at the remains of Kilika Harbor. Though the ship had come into direct contact with Sin, it had sustained very little harm. Its worse scar was probably the missing harpoon cannon on its deck, which was more than likely sinking to the ocean floor somewhere out on the open sea.
Its passengers and crew, however, had probably all seen better days. Several of the sailors onboard had family and friends in the island village, and there was no telling who was spared in Sin’s attack. Many passengers were probably traveling back to Kilika from Besaid, and could easily have lost family in the attack as well.
Then, there was Shana and his group. As a summoner, it was his duty to protect the world of Spira from Sin, even if he had just begun his pilgrimage. And his guardian, Bilus, was a Crusader, a person sworn to safeguard the innocent lives of Spira. While his other guardians were meant to protect Shana, and only Shana, they felt a sense of failure as well. They were guardians, not robots.
Once the other passengers had all hurried from the ship and onto the remnants of the harbor, Shana wearily followed. One small, timid step at a time, he walked down the gangplank, still shaken and wet from his trip into the ocean. Before he could turn to see if his guardians were behind him, he was met with the weeping and worried faces of an elderly man wearing a leather vest and middle-aged woman adorning her head with a green headband. “Uhm, uhm, g-greetings. I am the s-summoner Shana, from the temple of Besaid,” he stuttered, trying to calm his nerves.
“M’lord summoner!” the elderly man cried, “please, you must . . . You must . . . ” He could not get the words out. His wrinkled, prune-like face was twisting in sorrow over what he needed to ask, and his eyes were beginning to shimmer in the afternoon sun because of the tears demanding to fall. Finally, his aged, pale blue eyes squinted shut, and he began to weep uncontrollably.
Shana eyed the man with pity, holding his shaky hands to his parted lips as the hunched over elder turned away from the cleric, hiding his moment of weakness. His leather-hide-covered back rose and fell with each sob. Finally, Shana gathered the courage to speak the question himself. “If there is no other summoner here, I would be honored to perform the Sending,” he said, his voice steady once more. His nerves were calm once again, but inside he was still in shock. Even when the forty-something woman with the green headband led him away from the harbor ruins, he followed like he was in a trance.
“O-our loved ones . . . We feared they would become fiends,” the woman said, her shaky hand never leaving Shana’s.
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Unbeknownst to the summoner, his guardians had watched the entire exchange. They hadn’t wished to interrupt the villagers as they requested Shana to do what most summoners dread doing. But even if it was one of the more saddening tasks of a summoner, it was their duty. If they did not do it, who would?
“I’m going to go watch,” Briruru said dryly. She was carrying Juliette like a child in one arm, while the other was resting at her side. She had watched the exchange emotionlessly, not showing any signs of sympathy for the village. “Bilus, you should come too.”
Bilus looked over at the black mage, surprised. “Me? Why?” She didn’t reply; instead, she walked quickly after the summoner, her stilettos causing a rhythmic clicking along the broken and damaged planks of the harbor. Bilus wondered how the woman could shift through so many personalities at once. When she wasn’t guiding Shana like a teacher, she was being a cold, emotionless sorceress. And if she was doing neither of those, she was as bad as a child on a sugar rush. The gothic girl confused him, but he would have to think about it later. Right now, he had to run to catch up with her; the clicking of her heels was around becoming faint.
Aaroka, who had kept quiet for once, looked over to the taller warrior beside him. “You’re gonna go watch, too, right?” he asked, having to look up at the woman to see her face. Kimari said nothing, only grunted in reply. “Well, I’ve seen enough Sendings. I’ma go see if I can help around in the village.” Aaroka slowly walked along the destroyed harbor, heading in the opposite direction of Briruru and Bilus once he reached the fork in the road.
The tall, silent Ebon warrior shook her head, sadly. Her long, knee-length braids moved about like living vines as she did so, and one had to wonder how they stayed in place at the top of her head with only four feathers keeping them in place. The stoic guardian moved quickly to catch up with the gunner, paying no attention to the sharp, jagged points of broken wood that could easily slice her naked feet open.
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‘I remember . . . Back when Mama died, and the temple had to perform the Sending, I did not know what it was. “What’s a Sending? Are we going somewhere?” I had asked Father Leon. And, as usual, he all but launched into a sermon to explain it to me. “The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own demise, they refuse to accept their fate. They ache to live on, and begin to resent those who live. They are jealous, of the living, you see. Soon, that jealousy becomes rage. That rage blinds them, and soon, it turns into hatred. For everyone.” If these souls stay in Spira, their hatred turns them into what they truly are - monsters. Fiends. The Sending takes them to the Farplane, where they can rest in peace . . . And who does the Sending? Well . . .’
Shana had been introduced to the village’s high priest, Father Powell. The balding, dark-skinned man had thanked him for taking it upon himself to perform the Sending, and even promised him a gift. Sure, Shana would have done the task for free, but who was he to turn down a reward?
“Thank you, again,” the priest said, shaking the summoner’s hand. Shana forced a smile, and nodded. The town’s survivors had all gathered at what was left of another boardwalk, standing wherever there was room. Sadly, from the amount of people that had turned out for the Sending, it seemed Sin had slain most of Kilika’s population. Sure, there was several people at Kilika temple, but . . .
Floating in the water were several body-shaped formations. Shana narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the formations were. Finally, it dawned on him. They were the corpses of the dead, wrapped tightly in ceremonial cloths and ornamented with scrolls of Yevon Script and calla lilies. It was Spiran tradition to wrap the bodies of the dead in blessed cloth, and to place characters of Yevon or calla lilies somewhere on the body. The Yevon Script signified the blessing of Yevon, that the person is to be protected by Yevon; the calla lilies symbolize death and grief.
Removing his boots and socks, and placing them neatly to the side of the dock, he began to walk slowly toward the water’s edge. His staff held firmly in his grasp, he cautiously placed one foot on the water.
‘My goodness . . .’
He placed his other foot on the water. Sure enough, he was right. He was unable to place his body into the water. He wasn’t walking on the water, technically. He was hovering a few inches above it. He didn’t quite understand how he was doing this, but he placed the reason in the magic of the Sending.
Twirling his staff between his slender fingers, he began to move about as if he were possessed by some other unearthly presence. He floated out over the center of the mass of embalmed bodies, moving in a full circle with his staff outstretched to make sure it pointed at every deceased body as he continued his dance macabre.
On the boardwalk, the survivors were handling the sight before them all differently. The shirtless, tattooed man, who had fired the harpoon at Sin only hours before, was unmoving, stoic in every sense of the word save for the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks. In his hand he clutched a water-stained portrait of himself and a shorter man, both smiling. Was that the lover he had mentioned? He made no sound, no sobbing, no murmurs. The only sign that he was crying was the tears falling from his chin and into the shallow water below.
A young woman with her black hair in a ponytail was a wreck now. She was shaking with emotion, her sobs causing her to fall to her knees with a loud scream of anguish. Shana heard her cry, but he could not break his concentration, or else he would ruin the Sending. The woman was clinging to a baby’s rattle in one hand, and a ball in the other. The summoner felt so sorry for her, having to live on after her children’s deaths.
Beneath the water, a small light flickered. Out of one of the mummified bodies came a spectral strand of light, better known as a pyrefly. Pyreflies were the souls of people, the light inside of all the persons of Spira. As the pyreflies continued to emerge from the corpses, the water beneath Shana suddenly rose up, forming a cascading column of water for him to continue his dance of death upon. He held his staff out, twirling around on his toes as each pyrefly followed the staff like an obedient dog following his master’s hand.
As the sun continued to stain the sky pink and orang as it sank into the horizon, Shana’s dance came to an end. Holding his rod in front of him, grasping it at the middle, he began to spin it around, closing his eyes as the countless number of pyreflies followed it, become a rainbow-colored whirlwind before him. Finally, he pointed the golden end of the object downward, and breathed heavily as the sighing pyreflies floated upward, fading into the sunset. His platform of water slowly descended back into the ocean, and a few tears fell from his closed eyes.
Meanwhile, on the boardwalk, Bilus wiped his eyes and looked over to Briruru. “It, it must be tough . . . Being a summoner, that is,” he said, watching as Shana hurriedly ran back to the boardwalk before the magic wore off and he fell into the water. Despite the setting, it was a comical sight to the guardian, seeing the summoner running through the air.
Briruru nodded her head in reply, readjusting the puppet in her arms. “Shana chose his own path. He knew from the beginning what it meant,” she said, looking over to the taller man. She looked back to the cleric in question, watching as he bowed to the high priest. “All we can do is protect him along the way . . . Until the end.”
Bilus glanced over to the black mage, surprised. “The end? What’s the end?” he asked loudly, before noticing out of the corner of his eye that the crowd of Kilikans were all staring at him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, hanging his head.
The black mage was shocked, or seemed like it. She, too, was staring at the Crusader, her mouth hanging open. Finally, she regained her composure, and sighed, visibly frustrated. “Until he defeats Sin,” she said, walking toward the summoner.
Shana ran toward his guardian, about to cling to her when he saw the doll in her arms. He came to a halt seconds before latching onto her, noticing the wicked little marionette’s sinister smile and black nailed fingers. He was going to tell Briruru just how scary her doll was again, but he resisted the urge. “I hope that I did okay . . .” he said, looking down at the wooden planks beneath him.
“You did very well,” the shorter girl assured, patting the boy on the shoulder. “But . . . No tears next time, hm?” Shana giggled lightly, wiping his eyes at his guardian’s suggestion. “I have to tell you something, tonight, when we get to the inn. Okay?”
The summoner nodded, not really paying attention to what she was saying. He looked up to see his Crusader guardian, waving at him from the boardwalk and smiling. He waved back as he bent over to retrieve his socks and shoes.
‘I wish there would never be a ‘next time’. No more people being killed by Sin. No more Sendings. Everyone stood there, watching. It was strange, and somehow . . . Horrifying. I never wanted to do it again. What if one of my guardians had been in that mass of corpses? What if I had to Send Bri, or Kim, or Aar . . . Or Bilus? That thought frightened me, beyond belief. I could not go on if something happened to them. I couldn’t fight Sin, knowing they had died to get me there. I cannot. I will not.’
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By the grace of Yevon, the inn had survived the attack. It was in the innermost docks and boardwalks of the waterfront village, and, despite the fact that a large number of the villagers had been slaughtered, a miraculous portion of the town had been spared. More likely than not, most of the townsfolk had probably been out in the market or coming home from working in their shops, since it was nearing the afternoon.
Shana thought back to when they arrived at the inn, and the events that had followed . . .
“I’m terribly sorry, milord summoner, but we only have two rooms with single beds available,” the clerk had said. The sandy-haired clerk had bowed, causing her long braid to flow over her shoulder like a waterfall. Shana bowed in return, giving the girl an awkward smile.
“What are we gonna do?” Briruru asked, standing up from the green, oriental sofa she had been on until a few moments ago. She laid Juliette down on the sofa while she walked over to the group consisting of Shana, Bilus and Kimari. “Hmm,” she began, folding her arms thoughtfully. “I suppose me and Shana could have one bed, and then you,” she said, motioning to Bilus with one of her black fingernails, “and Kim can have the other.”
Bilus’s face showed that he was completely against the idea. He opened his mouth to say something, shaking the sheer thought of sharing a bed with the tall, horned woman. Before he could say anything, Kimari interrupted, pushing the shorter man aside.
“Kimari will not sleep with Crusader,” she said bluntly, glaring down at the black mage and then over to the other guardian. Briruru sighed, holding her forehead in her hand to drown out the frustration.
Shana had found a solution to the conundrum. “I’ll sleep with Kim, and you and Bilus can share a bed. There, it’s settled,” Shana said, nodding his head sagely. Kimari said nothing, simply folding her arms stoically and turning to face the window, possibly admiring the sun barely visible over the horizon.
The summoner was about to walk toward the desk and reserve some rooms when the gears in Briruru’s mind began to turn. Gasping, she ran to catch up with the cleric as quickly as possible, clinging to his robes before he could get the desk clerk’s attention. “Wait! I . . . Uhm . . . Don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with Bilus! You bunk with him, while I stay with Kim!” Briruru said, looking over to the taller woman, who met her amused eyes with a disapproving glare.
“Uhm . . . Well . . . I suppose so . . .” Shana mumbled, freeing himself from the mage’s clutches. He looked over the girl’s shaggy dark mane to Bilus, who was staring at the ground, and shuffling his feet. “Is this okay with you?”
Bilus nodded, and . . . Was he blushing?
Shana felt bad for Aaroka. The gunner had no place to sleep, but, apparently, that was alright with him. He had said he would be working on the village’s repairs all night, so he wanted neither sleep nor room.
In the boys’ room, Bilus was sitting on the festively colored bed with his boots off. He was polishing his sword, Fraternity, with a greenish rag he had gotten from the inn’s washroom. While he was cleaning his weapon, Shana was sitting in the floor, reading from a book. The Crusader decided to inquire as to what he was reading about. “Hey, Shana,” he said, stopping his burnishing for now, “what are you reading?”
The white mage looked up, glancing over to his guardian over his shoulder. “It’s a book Father Leon packed in that bag he gave us. It’s about white magic,” the brunette said. Once they had arrived in their room, the first thing Shana did was remove his long, burdensome robes. He had been embarrassed for a moment that he was wearing so little in front of the other man, but the guardian had said nothing.
“Learn anything interesting?” Bilus asked, setting the water-like blade aside. He scooted toward the bed’s edge, placing his naked feet on the wooden floor and leaning forward.
Shana nodded, standing up. “Watch,” he whispered, closing his eyes as if he were meditating. He held his hands before him, moving them around mystically while he mouthed incantations. Finally, he brought his hands together, clasping them to each other in prayer. Magic filled the room, circulating like air throughout the confined space. A red light engulfed Bilus, bathing him in its crimson glow as a small, candle-like flame flickered in and out of existence in front of him.
Once the magic faded, and he regained his composure, Bilus looked up at the taller boy. “What was that?” he asked, incredulously. Shana smiled, picking the book up and marking his place in the tome with a red ribbon. He sat the book aside, and returned to facing the guardian.
“That spell’s called Ba-Fire,” Shana said proudly, elated over his successful casting of the spell. “It keeps heat, and fire, and fire magic and all that junk from hurting you. There are other Ba spells, like, Ba-Frost, but I don’t think I’ll learn those right now. Got a headache, hehe,” the summoner giggled dorkishly.
Bilus laughed quietly, before scooting over. “Maybe you should lay down,” the guardian said, patting the flamboyant bed. Shana took a few steps forward, hesitantly.
“Bilus, are you sure? I mean . . . I can sleep on the floor, if you want . . .” Shana said bashfully, not meeting the older boy’s eyes. Bilus shook his head, before grasping Fraternity and placing it on the cedar night-stand beside the bed. Shana smiled at his guardian, just about to sit down on the bed beside the boy when a certain black mage crashed through the door.
“Briruru?” Bilus gasped, which was followed by Shana’s surprised shout of ‘Bri’.
The sorceress looked up to the pair, smiling sheepishly. “You should really lock your door . . . It keeps nosy people from getting hurt,” the girl giggled. It was then that both boys realized she was in one of the inn’s tribally painted towels, or two of them actually; there was a big one around her body, and a smaller one around her head. They assumed she had just came from the shower.
“What are you doing?” Shana demanded, taking a step back from girl, still in shock. He felt even more embarrassed to be seen in his cotton shirt and black briefs in front of the younger black mage, so he self-consciously folded his hands together in front of his groin while he waited for her answer. The mage stood up, securing her towel to keep it from falling off and revealing her magical gems.
“I have to talk to you about something, remember?” the shorter girl chided, tugging on the summoner’s unclothed arm until he followed her out of the room. The two magic users left poor Bilus alone in the room, very much confused.
Briruru made sure to shut the door, not turning to face her charge until after she heard the reassuring click of the knob. When she did look up into the summoner’s face, her stare was scarily serious. Her mouth was tugged downward in a stony frown, making it quite apparent that what she had to say was important.
“What’s wrong?” Shana asked, worried about the mage.
Briruru placed a pale hand on the taller boy’s shoulder, breathing in shakily before she shared her news. “Shana . . . ”
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A few minutes later, the summoner reentered his and Bilus’s room. His face was the same pale, distant mask it was after the Sending, causing his usual shy or perky expressions to disappear and be replaced by the face of a stranger Bilus didn’t know.
It wasn’t until the boy had come a few feet from their shared bed that he noticed his guardian had stripped down. Shana’s mask broke, cracking as his face began to color with the hues of a blush. Bilus was now wearing an orange and black shirt, and striped blue and white boxers. “Something wrong?” the Crusader inquired, sitting up. He had been laying down, relaxing lazily on the bed while Briruru and Shana talked privately.
Shana’s eyes lingered on the tanned limbs of his guardian, attempting to subtly admire the man. That was when he realized he had been asked a question, and wishing not to seem even more peculiar than he already, he stumbled to find an answer. “Oh, Bri was just telling me our plans for tomorrow,” Shana said quickly, hoping the guardian was fooled by the lie. “We’re to go to Kilika Temple and then to Luca,” he added.
Bilus looked as if he didn’t quite believe the story, eying the summoner appraisingly. But, the guardian didn’t pry any further, because he knew when to quit pressing an issue. Shana looked as if he wanted to say something, but, he couldn’t quite voice the words. “What?” Bilus asked, confused once more over the cleric’s actions.
The summoner starred hard at the floor, hoping his bangs covered his face enough to keep his blush from showing. “I-I’d like to lie down now . . . If you don’t mind . . .” the boy stuttered, shuffling his feet nervously. His guardian laughed, repositioning himself so that the summoner could get under the covers. Shana hesitantly got into the bed, feeling incredibly awkward about the arrangement at first, but, as the soft, inviting caress of the down-filled mattress embraced him, his worries faded away.
Bilus, too, joined him under the covers, trying to give the summoner enough room to not feel crowded. “Goodnight,” he said, turning so that his toned back was to the younger boy. Shana blushed, feeling a bit happier than when he had reentered.
“Goodnight, Bilus.”
Not too long after they had laid down, once the summoner was sure his guardian had drifted peacefully into the depths of slumber, he made a daring move. Edging closer to his sleeping guardian, he slowly, and carefully, placed one arm around the Crusader’s waist.
‘Sigh . . . Goodnight. Hehe.’
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“Time to get up!”
Shana’s eyes snapped open. His vision slowly adjusted to the morning’s light, going from blurry to clear. He yawned tiredly, blinking out a few tears in the process. He hated when that happened, especially when people saw how watery his eyes looked, and assumed he had been crying. Finally finding his voice, he vocalized the only rational thought in his mind at this hour in the morning: “Food?”
Whoever else was in the room laughed. Shana noticed there was more than one laugh, however. He recognized the soprano-ish giggle, but, that deep laugh didn’t seem to fit in . . . The cleric finally realized just who these people were - Briruru, the only person who woke the summoner up this early, and Bilus, whom he had slept with. Shana could’ve died right then, he was so embarrassed. Maybe death was a good possibility, considering how red his face was. Perhaps his head would pop, leaving a little bit of Shana everywhere.
He didn’t get to muse on this image further, because something much more important was fixing to happen. Briruru had her hand on the blankets, prepared to rip them from the bed to get the sleepyheads up, which was usually her last resort. However, Shana wasn’t worried about losing the warmth of his blankie. He was worried about how he had one arm wrapped snugly around Bilus’s midriff. If the black mage’s teasing wasn’t going to be enough reason to dread the unveiling, Bilus’s reaction was.
“AWE!”
‘Kill me now . . .’
Shana was scared to open his eyes, and find a very outraged face looking back at him. But, finally, he gathered enough courage to do so. Instead of an indignant glare, he was met with a scarlet blush. Bewildered, he looked down to his arm, finding that a muscular, darker colored arm was on top of it. More importantly, at the end of both arms, there just so happened to be fingers laced together, clinging tightly to the other’s hand.
“Where’s Kim? I gotta go tell Kim!” Briruru screamed excitedly, bolting from the room. Shana quickly sat up, covering his mouth with his free hand. He was in shock, and now, he was worried. For Bilus’s safety, that is. Bilus freed Shana’s hand, slowly sitting up as well.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, awkwardly. He leaned over to look at Shana’s face, hoping the summoner wasn’t angry with him. Immediately, the white mage jumped out of the bed, standing in front of it, his arms outstretched.
“No!” Shana commanded sharpy, his voice taking on a tone of authority Bilus had never heard before. The Crusader peaked around the side of the boy, finding a very angry looking Ebon glaring at him, her spear ready to impale the guardian, and her growl just as frightening. That was when Briruru appeared, jumping on the hulking huntress’s back to hinder her murder.
“Don’t kill the lovebirds!” she wailed, fighting to hang onto Kimari as she flailed to get the mage off of her.
Bilus got out of the bed, standing beside Shana hesitantly. “Lovebirds?” he said, confused. He looked over to Shana, perplexedly. The taller summoner’s face was red, but not with embarrassment alone anymore. It was burning crimson with fury, now, which was something the Crusader had yet to see.
“Nothing happened,” Shana said, his voice angry, and something else the guardian couldn’t quite pick out. Kimari lowered her weapon, bowing her head in penance as she stepped out of the room. Briruru did nothing to imply she was sorry for the outrageous event, besides cross her arms to examine the two boys.
“I’m gonna go find Aaroka, okay?” Briruru asked, looking from guardian to charge. “You can meet up with me and Kimari at the entrance to Kilika Woods,” she said, waving halfheartedly as she left the room. Shana sighed heavily, sitting back on the bed with a groan. Bilus patted the summoner’s back reassuringly, before moving to find his clothes.
Bilus was in the middle of putting his jeans on when the cleric spoke. “I’m sorry . . .” Shana mumbled, getting off of the bed. Bilus looked up to find the long-haired summoner gathering his robes and hurriedly pulling them on. Once he was completely dressed, he ran out of the room, leaving a very confused Bilus behind in the process.
Shana was waiting outside of the inn, leaning against one of the damaged, wooden posts. He surveyed the ocean for Sin, feeling as if the demon was still out there, lurking. Thankfully, the ocean looked clear, and it was gentle, as if sorry for aiding in the destruction of the little seaside town. If the morning sun was any indication of the day’s weather, Shana was going to be a sweaty wreck. His robes weren’t the best for traveling in warm temperatures, after all.
He was fiddling with the material of his sleeve when Bilus came out. Shana could tell he was confused, and that he wanted to know why Shana was acting this way, but the summoner didn’t feel like dealing with any of this right now. “Okay, guardian. Let’s go find our friends!” Shana said, making sure to sound more excited than usual. Bilus’s eyes told him ‘I don’t believe you for a second’, but, his mouth said ‘okay’.
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Shana and Bilus found the black mage, gunner, and Ebon woman just outside Kilika Woods. Briruru was resting on a tree stump, while the other two guardians stood, soaking in the sun. Once Aaroka caught sight of the approaching pair, he motioned to Briruru, who took her time to get off of the mossy tree stump.
“Hey!” Aaroka shouted, waving to the two men. Shana and Bilus reached the two not too long afterwards. Aaroka was telling the other male guardian something, but Shana wasn’t paying attention, taking this moment to admire the ruins of Kilika. From the actual island, you could only see about one third of the town now. Shana felt a tug on his heartstrings for the village.
Briruru tugged on the boy’s sleeves, shaking him out of his daze. “C’mon, the temple’s just beyond this jungle. Let’s go,” Briruru stated, walking toward the woods’ entrance. Aaroka followed suit, running to catch up to the black mage. How did she move so fast in heels, anyway?
Shana was the next to move, with Kimari right behind him. Bilus tried to stay as close as possible, but Kimari kept eying him like prey, so he decided to bring up the rear. Once the party entered the woods, they were met with a heavy fog of pollen. Aaroka was the first to sneeze, obviously allergic to the flowers of the forest. Aside from the dusty atmosphere, vines draped from the towering trees like a ceiling, forming a perfect canopy to block out most of the sunlight.
“You know, this is the perfect place for fiends,” Aaroka said matter-of-factly, trying to scare the group. As if by clockwork, he was hit in the back by something, knocking him to the ground. The offending projectile rolled toward Shana, stopping at his boots. The summoner kicked the large, round thing cautiously.
“A seed?” Bilus asked, eying the fleshy looking object. Briruru nodded, pointing to a seemingly harmless looking flower blooming beside the road. That was when Shana and Bilus noticed its red leaves were moving, and it let out a shrill cry.
“A Ragora,” Briruru said, before looking over to Kimari. “Kim, don’t you think you can learn something?” the black mage said, preparing Juliette just incase.
Kimari nodded, readying her spear. Running up to the demonic flora, she held a hand out in front of it. Her hand sparked with blue magic, getting brighter in intensity until finally, none of the other guardians could see the dark-skinned woman. When the blue nova faded, Kimari was running back to the party, triumphant.
“Seed Cannon!” the Ebon shouted, moving her spear oddly. Twirling it around in her nimble fingers, she brought it down to point it at the monster she had just learned the skill from. Again, the blue magic gathered, forming a swirling aura of mana in front of the warrior, before something shot out of it at high speeds, hitting the Ragora directly. The seed bounced off of the monster, fading into nothingness after the attack.
The Ragora was obviously not pleased. It was preparing to use its own ‘Seed Cannon’. Aaroka got up, ready to get revenge for his embarrassment. Pointing his guns at the Ragora, he steadied his breathing. He pulled on the trigger, bracing his feet on the ground for the recoil. A crackling stream of electricity erupted from the barrel of the gun, hitting the plant. The Ragora screamed in pain, crackling with electricity as it wilted, dying from the attack. With another shrill shriek, it dissolved into pyreflies, becoming nothing but a fading image of its former self.
“Gotta love that Elementillery,” Aaroka declared, sticking out his chest proudly. Kimari, Briruru and Bilus walked past him, not paying him any attention. “Stupid tricks!” Aaroka shouted at the group, kicking at the dirt. Shana was the next to walk past, but, unlike the other party members, he turned to look at the gunner.
Shana smacked the guardian’s arm, smiling. “Good job, Aar,” Shana said, happily. He broke off into a run, chasing after the other guardians with Aaroka close behind.
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The summoner and his guardians were almost at the heart of the jungle when the bumped into some very familiar faces. Shana couldn’t believe it. It was a pleasant surprise, but, he was still shocked. Briruru was the first to say anything, breaking from the center of the group and running toward the surprise in question.
“It’s Alex!” she squealed, alerting the spiky haired Crusader of her approach with the steady clicking of her stilettos on the brick-like path of the jungle. Alex turned just in time to catch the black mage, who had tackle-hugged the boy. The slightly taller boy placed her back onto the ground after her jumping embrace.
Shana ran up to the pair of Crusaders next, jumping onto Alex as well. He giggled as the spiky haired brunette let him back down onto the ground. “I never get a hug . . .” Zane said, feigning offense. Briruru giggled, pulling the tall, shaggy haired Crusader into a quick halfhearted hug, too.
“What in Yevon’s name are you two doing here?” Shana asked, still surprised. He performed the Prayer of Yevon, before continuing his game of twenty questions. “How did you get here?” he asked, before giving the two men the chance to answer his first question. Bilus, Kimari, and Aaroka soon joined the two mages, but decided not to speak up, yet.
“We’re here on top-secret Crusader business,” Zane said, letting the shorter summoner know that it was something he couldn’t tell him, yet. Shana looked from Zane to Bilus, and his Crusader guardian shook his head. “We arrived here by the same boat you did,” the shaggy-haired man stated.
“No way! I didn’t see you on the Liki!” Shana declared. His enthusiasm over the secrecy was causing Bilus to grin, and his amusement was growing from a grin to a low chuckle.
Zane blushed, turning bright pink at Shana’s outburst. He turned away, letting his jacket-covered back face the group instead of his face. Alex was the one to answer, which was the protocol when things like this came up. “We never really left our room, dawg,” Alex said proudly, grinning cheesily as Zane got visibly uncomfortable.
‘They’ve always been like this . . . Everyone in Besaid knows about them being together. It’s just common knowledge, I suppose. They’re really quite cute together, and they make the funniest couple. Alex is so . . . cocky about it, I suppose. Proud to discuss his bedroom life, that’s a better way to put it. And Zane gets embarrassed easily. They actually asked me to join in on their ‘fun’ one time. Bri laughed, and laughed, and . . .’
“Anyway,” Zane said loudly, changing the subject. Shana and Briruru giggled, while Alex just rolled his eyes. “The fiend in front of us is really strong. I don’t think you should take him on. Just fair warning,” the Crusader said, pointing behind him. Sure enough, there was a large, red tentacle monster not too far down the brick path.
Briruru’s eyes lit up, sparkling with a mischievous glint they gained time from time. “I can take it! C’mon! Let me at it!” the girl shouted, readjusting Juliette in her arms as she started to run past Zane and Alex. Shana shook his head, looking worriedly at Bilus. The shaggy haired Crusader nodded, and grabbed hold of the black mage.
“We’ll fight it after I pray at the temple,” Shana said, leaving no room in his voice for discussion. Briruru sighed, folding her arms and pouting like a little girl that was just told not to have any cookies until after dinner.
“Whatever.”
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Bilus had found a way to the temple without following the main, brick path. It must’ve come from his training as a Crusader. Shana had complained, once or twice, of course, about getting his robes dirty. That led to the usual teasing by Aaroka and Briruru about ‘living a sheltered life’. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t an outdoorsy person.
They finally arrived at the stone steps of Kilika temple, which would take them above the jungle. “You know, these stone steps have a history,” Bilus declared, looking back at Shana, who was standing a few feet behind him. “High Summoner Lord Rowel trained here, when he was younger,” Bilus stated, as if he was reading from a textbook.
Shana giggled, and nodded. “Thank you, Mr. History Book,” the summoner teased, beginning his ascent up the steps. Briruru shook her head, sighing, as she, too, began to climb the seemingly endless stone steps.
Bilus ran to catch up to the cleric, finally reaching him, and staying no further than two steps behind him. “And! Kilika temple is built into the side of an extinct volcano. People say it gets active when you pray to the Fayth, though,” Bilus continued, going on with his history lesson despite Shana’s endless giggles. Not even Shana knew why he found Bilus’s explanations and lessons amusing.
“Oh, and – ”
Before Bilus could finish his lesson, however, there was a loud rumbling above them. Amongst the thunderous noise were the frightened screams of people, and the party knew something ill was afoot. Shana looked to his guardians, Briruru and Bilus beside him, Aaroka behind him, and Kimari in front of him. They all nodded, and they broke off into a run up the steps.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, at a large, circular overlook, they saw the source of the disturbance. It was a Sinspawn, a fiend created from the flesh of Sin. It looked harmless enough, as far as beings made from the hide of a giant demon go. The fiend looked like a large flower-bud before it blooms, and there was a constant green gas pouring from the cracks in its shell-like armor.
Bilus and Kimari were the first to get close to the monster, followed shortly thereafter by the other three. Once they got close enough, the ground rumbled again. Six vine-like tentacles erupted from the ground, seeming to be separate entities. Upon closer examination, it became clear that they were the monster’s long, whip-like ‘claws’.
“This should be fun,” Briruru said, dropping Juliette. Doll and mage took two steps forward, holding their hands up to their mouths as the flow of mana became visible, appearing as a swirling torrent of magic around the two. “Blizzard!” the mage shouted, as she and her doll held their hands toward the sky, disappearing behind the whirlwind of magic. Clouds of frost gathered dozens of times around one tentacle-arm, incasing it in a few layers of ice before the magic faded. The appendage shattered, and its remains faded with the sighs of pyreflies.
Bilus held his sword aloft, concentrating. Turning to face the surviving claw, he ran toward it at full speed. Half way there, he did a forwards-flip, landing sword first, impaling Fraternity into the vine-like arm, slicing it in two. The shell screamed in pain, shaking violently as its remaining arm became a ghostly image, losing its form as pyreflies emerge from its corpse. “Two down . . .” Bilus said, looking over to the shell. “One to go.”
The shell of the Sinspawn continued shaking, until, finally, it opened, revealing the monster in all its hideous glory. It looked like an overgrown fly, with its large, buggy eyes, and the repulsive hairs growing from its hide. It made a strange noise, pointing its now armless body toward Kimari and Shana. The dark-skinned spear-user saw this, and pushed the shorter boy out of the way. A puddle of water formed beneath her feet, rocketing upward and sending her into the air along with the column of water. She landed with a thud, and, for the moment, was unconscious.
“Kimari!” Shana shouted, getting up from where he had landed after the shove. He ran to his downed guardian, and began to move mystically, waving his staff around the same way he did whenever he was casting a spell. The restorative blue shine of Cure enveloped the Ebon, healing her wounds but not restoring her consciousness just yet. Shana was pleased with himself, but his pleasure was short-lived as droplets of water began to gather around him, incasing him in a sphere of water. He opened his mouth to scream, and nearly choked on the all the water that rushed into his lungs. Slowly, he and Kimari were drowning in the spell.
“Damn! That’s like . . . the worst kind of water spell. Sinspawn are tough!” Briruru pointed out, receiving an annoyed ‘dur’ from Aaroka. He pointed his guns at the fiend, and let loose a few magical bullets, which exploded in ice upon contact. The monster fell over, making a few strangled sounds of pain as it faded behind a column of light. Hundreds of pyreflies arose from the light, and, once it dissipated, the Sinspawn was gone. Not only was the fiend gone, but so was the spell killing Shana and his guardian.
The summoner and the Ebon were sitting on the ground, both soaked and looking like a couple of drowned rats. Shana was the first to cough up some water, beating on his chest as he fought to expel all of the water. “Damn,” the cleric cursed, “those things are tough.”
“That’s what I said,” Briruru said in a sing-song voice, helping the summoner up. Aaroka and Bilus steadied Kimari, who looked like she had seen better days.
“Let’s just get into the temple before a giant roach or something shows up,” Aaroka mused, looking at the mess the fiend at left behind. Luckily, no one died today, The group was fortunate.
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The party had finally, after their journey through the jungle and their fight with the Sinspawn, reached Kilika temple. It was obvious that this was home to the Fire Fayth. All around the large, orangish-colored temple, were giant burning pillars, and, in the center of the walkway leading into the temple’s inner-most rooms, a glass revealed the flames burning within the Cloister of Trials.
Shana groaned, rolling up his sleeves. “‘Oh, wear robes Shana. The priest’s will think you’re sooo traditional,’” Shana quoted in a mocking voice, rolling his eyes, as he rolled up the other sleeve. Briruru couldn’t contain her amusement, and began to laugh at the disgruntled summoner.
“Hey, I told you to wear something like . . . some short-shorts and a tank-top, but no, you had to listen to dad,” Briruru teased, receiving a death glare from the cleric in question. Bilus and Aaroka laughed, following the fuming white mage into the temple.
The summoner was muttering insults under his breath when he was greeted with a third sight he hadn’t expected to see today. Well, he had expected seeing something like this, but . . .
From the door leading into the Cloister of Trials, a woman wearing a bikini and hot-pink robe that she decided not to wear over her top was descending the steps, followed by a burly, tall man in what Shana could only describe as ‘bondage gear’. They were utter opposites, with the man being a giant, and the girly looking like something you could snap in two.
“Ooh, a summoner,” the girl in the pink robe remarked, her voice laced in venom. She approached Shana, standing with one hand on her hip, and the other hand resting on one of her large breasts. “Mah name’s Sadiea Highnoon.”
Shana bowed to the buxom summoner, ignoring the rising desire to laugh at her obviously unique accent. “My name is Shana Lunette,” the summoner said, smiling, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Sadiea smirked, raising her hand to push a tendril of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. “Tha pleasure’s all yers, I’m sure,” she said snootily, before recognizing the name. “You must be Sir Luther’s kin. Quiiite ah name to live up to,” the summoner said, aiming her words like daggers. “My, my, my . . . And all yawl are his guardians?” the girl laughed, folding her arms beneath her ample chest.
Shana’s fake smile was fading, but he was remaining quiet. Briruru and Bilus, however, seemed to have something to say. Aaroka grabbed both of them before they could share their thoughts with the snobby summoner. “As I recawl, Lord Way only had two guardians. Quality ovah quantity, mah dear,” Sadiea stopped to contain her amusement. “I’ve only got need fer one guardian. Right, Jeremellow?”
‘Jeremellow’, or the bondage-guy, grunted, flexing his muscles for the group. His ensemble was really quite ridiculous, and it looked kind of painful. Three belts crossed over his chest, two coming from his shoulder-pads, and the third one was coming from somewhere in his pants, which Shana didn’t want to think about. Bilus took a step forward, getting right in Jeremellow’s face, even if he was a foot shorter than the hulking piece of manmeat.
“Bilus, no,” Shana pleaded, looking from his guardian to the summoner clad in pink. “I only have as many guardians as I have people I can trust,” Shana said firmly, looking at Bilus, Briruru, Kimari, and then, finally, Aaroka. “I trust them all with my life. Keeping such company is a joy,” Shana said, copying the other summoner’s post, and resting one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. “So, I ask you, Lady Sadiea. Please, leave us alone.”
Sadiea made an uninterested grunting noise, rolling her eyes. “Do whatevah you like. Jeremellow, we’re leavin’,” the summoner said, waving her hand at Shana to dismiss him. As the oddly mismatched pair exited the temple, Sadiea shouted to the summoner, “Bye, yawl!”
Briruru copied her pose, as Shana did before she left, and mimicked her voice. “‘Bye, yawl!’” Aaroka laughed, while Kimari shook her head.
Shana approached Bilus, blushing. “Thank you . . . for standing up to that behemoth, I mean,” Shana said, stumbling over his words. Bilus grinned, waving his hand to brush the gratitude off.
“No problem.”
Shana hurriedly ran up the stairs before he embarrassed himself further. Briruru and Bilus followed closely behind, with Kimari and Aaroka bringing up the rear. “Okay, peoples. The Fayth is below.” The guardians all nodded, but before Shana pushed open the door, he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Aaroka asked, confused. Shana turned around, and waved his hands at his bodyguards, chanting incantations. Red light enveloped the group, blanketing them in the magic of Ba-Fire. The rest of the party was confused, while Shana and Bilus smiled, knowing very well what had happened.
“Do you want me to tell them, or shall you do it?” Shana giggled, opening the door. As the summoner and his entourage stepped into the labyrinth that was the Cloister of Trials, Bilus explained the spell to his fellow guardians.
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With the anti-fire spell in place, the trials of Kilika were a breeze. What Bilus said was true, the temple was built into an extinct volcano. The trials proved it. Molten rock and flames were as abundant in the maze as air, and Shana was sure he had lost a good two or three pounds from all the sweating he had done.
They were now in the Pilgrim’s Hollow, where Shana’s guardians would wait for him until he gained a new Aeon. “Good luck!” Bilus and Aaroka shouted, almost in unison, as they waved the boy off. Briruru waved as well, while Kimari said nothing, staying at her post beside the entrance into the Chamber of the Fayth. Shana watched as the door, which would soon cut him off from the rest of the world, lowered into place.
Just down the narrow hallway was the Fayth. He still remembered Briruru’s father explaining that to him, as well. Father Leon had given many explanations to the boy as he grew up. Shana doubted that, without the priest’s knowledge over all things Yevon, he would’ve wanted to be a summoner.
‘“The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly taken by their still-living bodies.”
That would’ve frightened most children, but not me. I was so intrigued, and awestruck by such a sacrifice. I begged Father Leon to tell me more.
“Now, they live forever, trapped in statues. When a summoner calls them, their souls emerge, taking on a form to match their inner-strength. That is what we call an Aeon.”
I had never seen a Fayth until that day, when I started my pilgrimage and met Bilus . . .’
Shana walked toward the glass-like dome in the center of the room. He was shocked to see what was inside. Within the clear prison was what looked to be a little girl, face-down on the stony surface beneath. Her curly blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, and her back was covered by large, metallic wings.
The summoner sat down, performing the prayer and bowing his head. It didn’t take long for magic to shimmer somewhere over the glass, glowing brighter, and brighter, until it turned into the symbol of Besaid Temple. The symbol radiated with lavender light, and Shana could even see it behind his closed eyes. Shana heard peaceful sighing, and felt that he was no longer alone, so he opened his eyes.
Pyreflies were emerging from the symbol, and they gathered to form the silhouette of a little girl. It was the same child in the glass, the Fayth of Besaid. “My name is Loren Valfare. I am the Avian Fayth, Valefor, beckoned from a spirit who longed for freedom. One cannot summon me unless they desire to spread their wings and be free. Do you wish to free the world from Sin’s suffering, summoner?”
Shana shook himself out of memory, and stepped into the chamber. The Hymn was the loudest here, being sung by someone with a clear baritone. He stepped forward, and looked into the statue. Again, the corpse was face-down. It had shaggy black hair, and scars all along its back, as well as a tattoo depicting dancing flames. On its left hand was a clawed gauntlet, fashioned in the style of a wolf, as well as a long, golden chain with a red scarf. Shana gulped, trying to swallow as he noticed a good portion of the man’s backside was exposed as well. He entertained the thought that Yevon might be a voyeur, but he liked living, so he pushed it aside.
Sitting down to pray, he closed his eyes and hoped the Fayth could hear him. Sure enough, he eventually heard the cooing of pyreflies, and looked up to find a very handsome man. He had the corpse’s shaggy black hair, and tanned skin, as well as a goatee. The Fayth wore no shirt, but had a baggy pair of ripped jeans on. Shana gulped once again. No way was he getting the Aeon with the thoughts he was having.
“Howdy, summoner,” the Fayth drawled, resting his ghostly hands on his hips. “Mah name’s Matt. Er . . . Matthew Ifrite Gavfire,” the handsome spirit said, grinning down at the staring summoner.
Shana mentally smacked himself, shaking his head subtly to wake himself up. “I-I am Shana Lunette. I’m a summoner from Besaid Island,” he said, bowing his head to the Fayth. ‘Matt’ lowered himself to the ground in front of the summoner, sitting down on the glass covering the statue.
“Well, I’m tha Fire Fayth, Ifrit, called frum a spirit that liked to work hard, and play hard. You gotta be strong to summon me. Think ya can handle it, babe?” the Fayth teased, crossing his arms as the summoner nodded. ‘Matt’ leaned forward, pressing his ghostly lips to the summoner’s, as everything went white, and the Fayth found a cozy place inside the boy’s soul to reside in . . .
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Just as the summoner had said, they would take on the fiend after he got his Aeon. Shana’s fainting spell in the chamber didn’t last longer than half an hour, so the party quickly made their way back into the jungle. Night was falling, and, if they wanted to board the ship to Luca, they’d have to hurry. The quickest way was straight through the heart of the woods, which was right where the fiend Zane had warned them of was.
“Okay. It’ll be easier to kill if you surprise it,” Briruru whispered, motioning to the sleeping tentacle beast in front of them. The monster was obviously not nocturnal, so it was best to blast it into oblivion while it was slumbering. Shana nodded, walking toward the large, plant-like beast. He couldn’t really tell if the monster was asleep, but, now was as good a time as any to test out his new Aeon.
Holding his hands out, with his head held high, he began the summoning. “Come! I summon you . . . Ifrit!” He twirled his staff around, smiling as the magic of the summoning filled his veins, his lungs, his very being. Flames lit up on his weapon, forming a circle of fire in front of him. Placing his staff back into his backpack, he performed the prayer gesture, watching in delight as the ring of flame collected into his hand. He stepped back, dropping the fire onto the ground in surprise. The fire spread out, burning the land it touched into a charred, dried out brown.
The burnt ground beneath Shana began to rumble and shake, causing him to lose his balance. The summoner shrieked as the ground burst upward, erupting to reveal a flaming cage of earth and fire. At the center of the hellish prison was the Aeon, Ifrit. The party couldn’t see it very well behind the rock and hellfire, but it was there. It howled like a wolf of some kind, and broke its cage apart. The flames and rocks seemed to fade into nothingness afterwards, but Shana was still very real. He was falling, and the landing was going to hurt.
He was saved by a large pair of muscular arms covered in red and orange fur. Ifrit caught the cleric, crushing him to his own body as Aeon and summoner landed safely on the now-unburned earth. Ifrit was very awe-inspiring. He was very much a demon, with horns black as night, and eyes the same yellow as a cat’s. He had fur that mimicked the flames he embodied, and he seemed to be lupine. He was wolflike in face, tail, and ears alone, though. He stood upright like a human, Shana still cradled against him like a child. The Aeon dwarfed the summoner, having a good foot or two on the boy. The demon was also very accesorized, with a piercing in both wolfish ears, a golden chain around its neck, and a piercing on its . . . Was Shana looking at the Aeon correctly? Yes, he was. The demon had a piercing in its sheath, as well.
The Fire Aeon let the boy go, patting his rump lecherously with one giant, clawed hand. Shana turned to face the Aeon, his face a mixture of embarrassment and shock. The demon snickered at the summoner, before jumping at the fiend. By the grace of Yevon, it was still asleep. Ifrit jumped upward, holding its claws out to the side as it gathered fiery energy. Spheres of flame appeared in its hands, crackling with fire magic as he held them. He tossed them both down into the forest, hitting the oversized fiend dead-on. The plant-like monster was lost inside a swirling inferno, shrieking in pain as its body was burned. Ifrit landed back on the ground fist first, causing an eruption of fire to explode beneath the burning fiend, roasting it into nothingness. Once the monster was nothing more than a cloud of moaning pyreflies, Ifrit looked back to Shana, grinning widely and baring his fangs.
Shana rubbed his head, while his guardians clapped, despite the demon’s behavior. Ifrit walked loudly over to the summoner, speaking to him through a mental connection they now shared. ‘Ya won’t meet many Aeons like me, summoner. Not many keep it real like I do. Shiva . . . Now she’s someone ta party with, lemme tell ya,’ the Aeon said, folding its giant arms. ‘We’re gunna have some fun. Ain’t met a summoner as cute as you in a while . . .’
Ifrit picked the boy up, squeezing him into a bear-hug while he ‘playfully’ licked his face, like a pet dog would. Shana made a loud ‘yuck’ as he was given the tongue bath. All his guardians did was laugh, and laugh, and laugh . . .
‘I remember being there, wrapped in Ifrit’s great big arms, thinking, “Oh Yevon, he could rape me and they’d still laugh.” But, I know now that moments as fun as those don’t happen often. How often do you meet a perverted fire demon, anyway?
. . . Yevon hates me. He really, really does . . .’
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