The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Griselda Banks]

((Amassing quite the entourage, aren't we? xd Should we move it ahead to the next morning, when the boat lands in Kilika, or were you planning on Sin attacking?))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Oh, no Sin plans from me, not yet anyway. He/she/it is heading for Luca, but what happens when it gets there is anyone's guess. razz I'm currently racking my brain for a good, believable way to get Jalisat into the party... And we really need another adult or two, or else Aer and Eddora are going to end up running a babysitting service...))

The sun was still kissing the ocean when Kilika appeared to its left, on the northeastern horizon. The ship put into port before the sun was a hand-span above the sea, and Eddora and her summoners were disembarking before most of the nonworking population of the village was even awake. Luseik and the young Gun Mage, Keskes, were nowhere to be found, but Satiyen was standing at the prow, stoically watching the island. Neither Aer nor Calaman wanted to interrupt his thoughts.

"To the temple?" Aer asked as they walked down the gangplank, with more than a little trepidation in his voice. Calaman unconsciously loosened his sword in its sheath.

Before Eddora could answer, though, an all-too-familiar figure came striding along the docks, flanked by two silver-haired teenagers.

"My dear friends," Oebr intoned. Calaman found himself suddenly glad he had loosened the sword in its sheath. His hand itched to take hold of it, but he held himself still. "You've made good time with that rickety old boat. I daresay I'm quite surprised it arrived so soon. But I encourage you, Lady, to find other methods of travel, else you may find it difficult to complete your pilgrimage and save the world whiles there is still a world left to save..." As his words trailed off into the silence of the morning, that selfsame silence was broken by the telltale distant shriek of Valefor. The aeon circled out of the sky, landed gracefully beside the summoner, and promptly kneeled. Oebr swung up onto Valefor's back as if it were a chocobo, and the twins mounted the aeon behind him.

"Do try to keep up, dear girl," Oebr called just before Valefor leapt into the air and receded into the northern sky.

((I rather like that post. Oebr is so delightfully scummy. biggrin He's that famous character who you 'love to hate'.))

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Okay. Say, do you have an idea of who the last High Summoner's guardian (i.e. Sin) was? I have an idea for it to be someone in connection to one of my characters. Yes, it does pose a problem for how Jalisat's going to get into the party. Hmm, maybe I could bring in another adult? And I agree about Oebr being 'delightfully scummy.' Reminiscent of Seymour, hey?))

To Eddora's great relief, the night passed in quiet, dark stillness with no sign whatsoever of Sin. Still, she slept little and fitfully, and was more relieved than she liked to admit to step off the boat and onto the planks that made up Kilika Village. So my brash actions aren't going to endanger us after all, she said smugly to herself.

Ed's insides immediately twisted with distaste when she spotted Oebr walking casually towards her. So he had come here ahead of them, had he? She opened her mouth, intending to retort hotly at his words, but then she froze when Valefor swooped down out of the sky. She stared, mouth open, as Oebr and his guardians leapt onto Valefor's back and flew off. Her face seemed to turn every color of the rainbow, finally settling on an ugly shade of puce. A string of curses escaped her lips, and she gripped her hair with both hands. "Did he just...?" She rounded on Aer, her eyes wild. "Tell me I'm crazy! Please tell me I imagined that...that...." How could anyone call themselves a summoner and treat an aeon like a chocobo?!  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer was too busy staring at the shrinking aeon to respond, but Calaman was livid. His hand was white knuckled on his sword hilt.

"I think," he said quietly, tersely, "I may just kill that man the next time I see him."

Aer shook himself and winced. "He's right, though. However disgusting it is, he's making good time, and we'll never keep up at this rate... I not suggesting we use the aeons," he said quickly, as Calaman started to turn, expression dark, "but we should pick up the pace. If we can," he added.

Calaman sighed and shrugged. "What will happen will happen," he said. "If there is any justice in the world, Oebr will never reach Zanarkand. It is for a summoner to decide what he or she will do, and in this especially, we should let Eddora decide what we will do next. Don't forget, Lord Aer, we haven't even entered the Kilika Cloister of Trials yet."

"Don't call me Lord," Aer snapped. "We both know full well you don't really believe it's a proper title for me, and besides, I'm a Black Mage on this journey, not some puffed up noble." Calaman snorted, but Aer ignored it. "If you're going to give me an epithet, let it be 'Mage', not 'Lord'."

Calaman didn't want to prolong the discussion, so he just shrugged and looked to Eddora. "Your command, Lady?"

((The kids are up at the temple; we'll run into them there. I'm still not sure how we'll get any of them into our party... Assistance in brainstorming would be appreciated, if you've any ideas. sweatdrop

Oh, and I've no ideas about the previous High Summoner or his/her guardian. I suppose we could do anything we want with that, couldn't we? I confess that I'm pretty ignorant here as well as with the rest; I can practically quote the script of FFX-2's final scenes, but I don't remember much of the end of FFX, since I only played it through once, and that a while ago. (I played FFX-2 around, oh, 3-4 times. Gotta max out all the dressphere abilities. razz ) But if I remember correctly, you had to fight Jecht in his uber-aeon-thing form, and he was Braska's (sp?) guardian, yes? So we're wondering who we'll have to fight in his place? (For my reference, the 'High Summoner' is just a term for whichever summoner completes the pilgrimage, right?)))

 

[Griselda Banks]

With an immense effort, Eddora managed to control herself. She drew a deep breath, then huffed it out. "Cal's right," she said. "We've gotta pick up the pace. C'mon, guys!" With that, she marched straight ahead at a fast pace. "And I agree with Cal," she added as she walked. "I am so going to kill that man." She flexed her hands at her sides. She could just feel his jaw splintering beneath them....

((Lovely, mild-tempered woman, isn't she? Anyway, I don't know if this would work, but my idea was that maybe there could be an adult who is somehow caught up with Jalisat or somebody, and somehow they get into Ed's party, but they insist on bringing Jalisat with them. Kinda like what Auron did with Tidus.
Yeah, the High Summoner is the summoner who defeats Sin. What happens is they choose a guardian to become a fayth - the fayth for the Final Summoning. So then the guardian turns into a really powerful aeon, which destroys Sin. But inside Sin is Yu Yevon, which then possesses the aeon and turns it into the next Sin. The summoner dies somewhere along the way, too. Normally, summoners don't fight the aeon inside Sin, I think; that was just what Yuna and Co. were doing to get rid of Sin once and for all. I was just wondering who the last High Summoner would have been, because that would probably make for some interesting, tangled-up emotions xd *is a sucker for emotional torment*))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Well, Luseik is pretty emo, so maybe it was his mommy/daddy. Unless you had any ideas for that. And your idea with Jalisat certainly kills two birds with one stone, eh? Gets Jalisat into the party while also keeping some semblance of balance with the ages of the characters in the party. I like it... o'course, now I have to make yet another character. razz

Oh, and, er, does Eddora's first comment there make sense? I mean, it was Aer who was saying they need to pick up the pace, not Cal... x.x Or did I miss something?

Ee-hee-hee, I've got some ideas for the final aeon, regardless of who the High Summoner was... twisted ))

The guardian's summoners followed her through the village to the woods. The village was quiet, but in somewhat better spirits than the sailors aboard the S.S. Liki. The few men they did see working about Kilika were as engaged in their work as ever, though they periodically cast hooded, wary glances out to the sea. They were friendly enough, however, and many gave their happy regards to the summoner's party.

"Sin," Calaman grumbled, apparently as a part of some deeper thought that he didn't voice. But the message was clear.

Many things can leave fear in their wake, he thought ominously. Only Sin can send fear on ahead of itself.

Disturbed by the macabre nature of his thoughts, he tightened a hand on his sword hilt and stared around the village enough to cause a few eyes to drop from his face. Aer gave him a kick in the shin, and he stopped glaring at the villagers. They drew near the gates out of the village.

"The woods," both guardians muttered at the same time, and then glanced at each other.

"I don't look forward to going through there," Aer said.

Calaman answered, "Bad visibility. Treacherous footing. If we should be attacked in the woods, the only blessing is that we can use the trees for cover. But so can our enemy." He reached up and kneaded his temple briefly. "No point in worrying about it," he sighed. He was getting rather sick of that philosophy.

((I'll get to work on throwing together a character/storyline to get Jalisat into the party. Did you ever find the meanings of the kids' names? I found them in a book, but I discovered from experience they're actually rather difficult to find online. Jalisat means "he who takes less/gives more", and I believe it's African, though I'm not positive. Marceil is a feminine form of Marshall, which comes from Mars, the God of War, and means 'martial or warlike', and I think the name is French. And Mulogo, I'm pretty sure, is African, and it means 'Wizard', appropriately enough.))

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Luseik's parent could be it. Or maybe even both his parents! Like, his mother was the summoner and his father was her guardian and now Sin! Just an idea; you don't have to do that. Just...well, I was planning on Kenan having been a guardian of the High Summoner, but not the one who turned into Sin. Does that work?

Well...I could make the adult character, if you like. 'Course, I have no idea WHATSOEVER for another character gonk I've been known to make good characters when I'm panicking, though.... *tries to panic*

Oh xd Whoops. I get confused sometimes. She was talking to Aer, then.

No, I never did manage to find the meanings of their names (granted, I never actually looked that hard, but shh! xd ). Cool! I always like it when names actually have meaning, rather than just sounding cool.

Oh, and I keep on meaning to tell you, but I keep on forgetting: I just finished reading Macbeth! I smiled at the "milk of human kindness" part ^_^ Wow, is Lady Macbeth depraved or what eek ))

Eddora brooded silently all the way through the village. What was Oebr playing at, disrespecting the aeons like that? They were the only hope Spira had! And the fayth were already upset as it was; he didn't need to go riling them even further. And then she remembered what had happened inside Besaid Temple. Would the same happen this time as well? She shivered despite herself. Would she hear that same voice again? And how had they known exactly what voice to use?

Her musings were cut short as they came to the edge of the forest. (More of a jungle, really, she thought.) The three of them paused, then Ed calmly pulled on her protective gloves. "Be prepared," she said. "We're going to have to be careful if we don't want the fiends to get the better of us." Glancing at both of them to see that they were ready, she nodded curtly and led the way under the shadowy boughs of the trees.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Kenan who? *blank stare* And that's a really good idea with Luseik's parents. That could make for some pretty epic drama. razz

Yesh, Macbeth is pretty good, but my favorite Shakespeare play is Hamlet. Excessively quotable. Even though Hamlet is totally emo. razz Time for the children! Even though I'm not sure how to introduce one into the actual party. Ah, well. I'm sure I'll come up with something. sweatdrop ))

Calaman managed to keep his eyes on their usual swivel, true to his well-trained nature; Aer, on the other hand, jumped every time one of them snapped a twig, and more than once, his companions would see halos of blue-green light shimmer about his hands, but then fade when he realized there was nothing to attack.

The frightening thing about it was that the power he had shown during the battle with the pirates had been centered around water magic, and that wasn't even his specialty - no, his specialty was, as his name suggested, that of wind magic. Of course, during the pirate battle, they had also seen how good he was at overextending himself... So maybe it would be best if he didn't have a reason to nearly kill himself with effort.

Calaman wondered about that as they walked. He'd known mages before, albeit of lesser skill, and he'd seen mages exhaust their power before. In his experience, it usually didn't render them unconscious or worse. But when Aer had spent his power aboard the ship, it had left him in a state little better than Calaman's own attempt at magic. Why should that happen?

Perhaps it was simply that Aer was a very powerful mage, and because of that, his magic had more effect on his physical health than other mages' magic had on theirs. But that seemed too obvious to Calaman, who, if he knew little else about magic, knew that its metaphysics were rarely so simple.

It was around the fourteenth time Aer had nearly unleashed his power that Calaman turned to say over his shoulder, "Aer, calm yourself. At this rate, you'll be so startled at seeing the temple that you'll attack it."

But the words were scarcely out of his mouth when a small rock whizzed past his head, just nicking his left ear. He whirled, sword already held out in front of him, but he saw nothing. Aer raised his own hands and stepped up beside Eddora, his hands glowing brightly within their blue-green halos. In the next instant, the air in front of them rippled like water as Aer threw up a Protect barrier.

"Jalisat, no! They're not fiends!" came a shout, in the voice of a young girl. There was a young boy's voice in reply, low and sharp, but it couldn't be deciphered between the trees. Aer gave Calaman an odd look, but Calaman remained focused on the trees whence the voices had come. Before long, they heard the second voice shout, "Marceil, what are you doing!" And in the next moment, a young girl emerged from the woods, moving as if she had lived in the woods all her life. Except, of course, that she was dressed like a Bevelle soldier (even if the armor was a tad big for her lean frame), with a dagger placed visibly at her waist.

"Come no closer," Calaman called, raising his sword. "What's your business - and why are you attacking a summoner?"

The girl snorted, but stopped her advance. "My name's Marceil. No business, sir - just a mistake, by my stupid friend, Jalisat. Jalisat, Mulogo, come out here! It was your stupid mistake, Jalisat, so own up to it."

The loud rustling of someone tramping through the woods was followed by two boys, one older and dressed almost like Calaman, the other rather young and dressed rather plainly.

"The little one is Mulogo. The doltish one is Jalisat," the girl said smugly. "He's the one that mistook you for fiends. Honestly, Jalisat..."

"I still don't trust them," Jalisat said stubbornly, hefting his sling, but the summoner's party could see the weapon was empty. Before he could say anything else, the smaller boy stepped forward.

"Have you see my brother?" Mulogo asked nervously, in a small voice.

"They don't know who your brother is," Marceil said with a sigh.

Aer blinked, and the Protect barrier fizzed out. "He kind of looks like that Luseik fellow's Gun Mage guardian. What was his name?"

"Keskes," Calaman said. "It was Keskes."

The boy's face brightened. "Was he okay? Was he safe?"

Calaman and Aer exchanged glances, and Calaman sighed, rolling his eyes. "You will probably be seeing them very soon," he said, "but he's fine. Summoner Luseik is a fine man, and he'll take good care of your brother."

"And if he can't," Aer said with a grin, "that beast of a Ronso ought to be able to protect the both of them."

Jalisat stepped forward and put an arm across Mulogo's chest, forcing the boy to take a step back. "You're summoners, right?"

"Just one," Aer corrected.

"And you're here on your pilgrimage?"

"Why does this concern you?" Calaman asked with a faint growl in his voice.

Jalisat stared at them for a long time with wariness in his eyes. "I still don't trust you," he declared, to which Marceil responded by leaping onto him from behind and deftly wrestling him to the ground. Holding his face in the dirt, she maneuvered his hands behind his back and sat on them.

"Girl's got some skill," Aer remarked appreciatively. "Does this mean we can pass, then?"

"No!" Jalisat shouted, but Marceil smacked him on the back of the head.

"Yes," she said flatly. "I can keep him here all day."

"You're going to hurt him, Marceil," Mulogo murmured.

"Don't worry about this idiot," Marceil said reassuringly. "He could fall off a cliff, and it wouldn't have any effect on his hard head."

"Girl's got a quick tongue, too," Aer laughed. "Well, Lady?"

((There's a good entrance. razz Maybe you could create a relative of Jalisat's who is, like, totally, Eddora's biggest fan. Or maybe Jalisat's single mother/older sister/other legal guardian could become enamored of Aer. That could be interesting. xd ))

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Oh! Um, Kenan. The guardian of Yalan? The summoner-guardian duo where the summoner is a gullible sort of young man, and the guardian is a hardened warrior? So, I was planning for Kenan to have been the guardian of the last High Summoner, but not the guardian that turned into Sin.

Okay, the reason for my delay in replying was because I was trying to work out an answer to our newest dilemma. I did some brainstorming with my brother (a dangerous and exciting thing to do), and ended up coming up with two characters. I realized that it'd be kind of hard for me to play one of Jalisat's relatives, as I know next to nothing about him. But I think the character I created will work without being related to Jalisat. I think I can introduce my two new characters and have them and Jalisat join the party (as true guardians or just tagalongs), provided that a) Sin attacks Kilika while Ed and the others are still here, and b) Jalisat becomes seriously injured in the attack. Is that okay?

Some questions for further reference and better understanding on my part: I know you mentioned something one time about a romance between Aer and Ed. I know that Ed doesn't love him (yet), but what about Aer? Does he love her right now, or will he farther down the road? Also, were you planning on Marceil and Mulogo coming along too? And were you hoping for there to be a romance between Aer and Jalisat's "single mother/older sister/other legal guardian"?))

As soon as Calaman's sword whipped out of its sheath, Eddora slid into a defensive stance, swiftly scanning the surrounding trees for the fiend she was sure was about to appear. When children's voices rang out through the trees, however, she slowly straightened up in confusion. She watched, nonplussed, as the three children burst out of the trees and seemed to all start talking at once. Ed had to force her lip not to curl; children were annoying, and these three seemed to be particularly nosy and disrespectful on top of that.

Ed crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her guardians to return their attentions to her. When they had, however, she addressed herself to the boy lying face-first on the ground. "Boy - Jalisat, was it? You ought to watch yourself. Attacking a summoner...that's tantamount to treason, you know. And what on earth don't you trust us for? That we're not going to defeat Sin?" With an irritated huff, Ed bent down and picked up a pebble. Flicking it at the back of his head, she added, "And that's for hitting my guardian. Aer, Calaman! Let's go!"

Ed turned and marched smartly away, crunching through the fallen leaves and underbrush. She had hardly gone two paces, however, when she came to an abrupt halt. With a crash louder than any human would be able to make, an enormous fiend broke through the tangle of trees and vines, charging right towards her. It looked like an enormous, bulbous plant with vines snaking out in all directions, wrapping around tree trunks to pull itself along. Even as she crouched swiftly into her defensive stance again, a trickle of fear found its way down Ed's spine. This was an ochu, one of the deadlier of the fiends known to inhabit Kilika's forest.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Whoo... This is getting complicated. razz

I remember Kenan now. So, a younger version of him? Sounds like Calaman. razz Mmk, that'll work.

I have no problems with Sin attacking, so we can go ahead with that whenever; and Aer originally joined the party because he was obsessed with Eddora. Methinks their as-of-yet limited trials and tribulations have already served to mature him a bit, but he's still interested. And Jalisat can take a few injuries; after all, I don't have any significant drama from his quarter until Guadosalam. I don't much care whether Marceil or Mulogo comes along, and I had no plans with the "single mother/older sister/other legal guardian". razz ))

Calaman stiffened a bit when he realized that Eddora was displeased with how they had conducted the exchange without her, and resolved to do his job more professionally. When the Ochu came crashing through the woods, he saw that Eddora was directly in its path, and he couldn't possibly reach her in time to interpose himself between the fiend and her.

Aer's hands erupted into flame, and he ran at the beast with a shout. A thin stream of fire rocketed out of his right palm directly at the fiend's main body. His mouth was set in a grim, determined line.

Calaman prayed that the fire would at least distract the Ochu, if not ignite it, and came around the left side with his sword ready.

Jalisat stared, wide-eyed, at the Ochu until he realized that Marceil had climbed off of him and was running behind Calaman, her dagger out and her eyes trained on the fiend.

Mulogo summoned up a few fireballs roughly the size of fists, and after juggling them for a few seconds, threw them at the Ochu.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((*cheerful cackle* twisted I finally feel as though I might be starting to hold up my end of the rp with these new characters. 'Course, they won't be introduced for a while....

Lol, he does! I don't know if him knowing the High Summoner (and Sin) will really pertain to much, but it's cool backstory at least xd

Okay...do you want a romance between Aer and Ed? I don't really care either way.))

The Ochu drew back as the multiple fire attacks hit it. Aer's attack left a small scorch mark, but beyond that the attacks seemed to have little damage. A tough one, Ed thought briefly as she took a step backwards, out of immediate danger of the Ochu's many tentacle-like vines. As she did, the solution to this problem seared through her mind.

Ed had never performed a summoning before, but instinct and years of training told her what to do. Sliding one sandaled foot backwards, scattering dead leaves in its wake, she spread her arms wide and threw her head back, closing her eyes to concentrate. She cried out with all her mind and soul: Valefor!

A keening shriek caused Eddora to open her eyes again. A blurred shape broke through the canopy of tree branches and landed gracefully with a thump Ed could feel through the ground. Valefor straightened up again, spreading her wings wide to shield her summoner from the Ochu. Ed didn't even have to say anything; she was one with Valefor, and at a thought the great aeon surged towards the Ochu, tearing at it with her claws.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((I'm lmao right now, because I know what Valefor looks like, but for some reason, the entire time I was reading that last scene, I was picturing Ho-oh, the Pokemon... xd

It doesn't matter to me whether Aer and Eddora have a romance, but I personally can't see Ed falling in love with Aer. That's just me, though, and she's obviously not my character. Either way, Aer's going to be trailing after her unless she kicks him in the 'nads, and even then he'll probably keep trying to woo her.))

Marceil narrowly avoided the aeon's path as it streaked toward the Ochu, and she wisely decided to back away instead of continuing her assault. As soon as Valefor struck, though, the Ochu's vine-tentacles began to flail wildly, and one of them scraped the air just above Marceil's head as she threw herself to the ground. She scrambled back away from the beast, to let Valefor fight its own fight, since she couldn't offer much by way of assistance. Jalisat climbed to his feet and ran to Marceil, intending to protect her now that he'd gathered his wits. But both of them froze when another scream split the air.

Mulogo, the fledgling black mage, wavered in the air, suspended by two of the Ochu's vine-tentacles around his midsection.

Calaman cursed under his breath and corrected his path as another vine-tentacle lashed out viciously at him. Valefor could handle the Ochu without much difficulty, but unless that bird had some hidden talent, it could do little for the boy in time to stop the fiend from crushing him. So Calaman approximated the distance and angle as best he could, produced a dagger from its sheath, and flung it at the vine, praying that it would find its mark.

It didn't. It did, however, find a net of air conjured by the buy in question, and Calaman watched, stunned, as the boy maneuvered the knife around - a little shakily, but surprisingly adroit nonetheless - to the vine, which it swept through easily. The boy fell, and caught himself in another net of air. Pale-faced but grinning, the boy sent the knife back to Calaman, who caught it, wiped the plant residue off of it quickly, and sheathed it.

"Thanks, mister!" the boy shouted, and turned back to face the beast again. Seeing Valefor's scuffle, however, he followed Marceil's example and backed off. Calaman now cast his eyes about to see if anyone else was in immediate danger. Jalisat and Marceil were together near the edge of the forest path, staring wide-eyed at the fray; Eddora was deep in the summoning-trance, far enough away to be all but invulnerable to the fight - except through her involvement with Valefor, of course - and Aer stood in the same spot, still channeling a thin stream of fire. He didn't look to be very drained, but then, the fire wasn't very powerful, either. Calaman had seen manmade weapons that spewed fire, and they were more threatening than Aer's thumb-thick rope of flame.

"Aer," he called, running toward the mage. "Aer, stop. If that fire touches Valefor, the aeon's feathers will go up like paper. Isn't wind your specialty anyway?"

Aer gave Calaman a wry frown, but cut off the fire and turned to face him. "There's not much good in wind magic except for protection," he said.

"What about those nets of air, for catching and holding things?" Calaman said. "How does that work?"

Aer sighed impatiently, and looked to the fight. Valefor was holding its own, and the Ochu was oozing dark green slime from gashes in the bulk of its body. "It solidifies the air, in a way. Compresses it until it has enough mass to act like a solid object, and then the same power is used to move it around, if needed."

"Well," Calamen said, irked that Aer hadn't seen his point yet, "can't you make something other than nets or shields? Like a blade?"

Aer frowned. "To make something as thin as a blade, and as sharp, would take a lot of precision work. Maintaining it would be easy enough, like keeping your finger on a loose knot, but tying the knot itself..."

Calaman put his hands on his hips. "Mage, I've seen you douse a ship's burning sails with a torrent of water, and you're telling me you can't make a pissing little sword out of wind?"

Aer drew himself up haughtily, and swept his arm through the air in front of him. A concentrated blast of wind knocked Calaman back a pace, feeling like a light shove.

"I said nothing of the sort," Aer snapped. "I'm just saying it won't be easy."

"As I said before," Calaman said, "isn't wind your specialty anyway? If anyone can do it, you should be able to."

Aer huffed irritably and turned back to the Ochu. A few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and in the next instant, a gash appeared in the Ochu's body, as if of its own accord. As they watched, another appeared, crossing the first.

"Good man," Calaman said, only slightly unsettled by the invisible blade that Aer was quite obviously wielding. He hastened to Eddora's side, but didn't say anything, for fear he would break her trance and banish the aeon. But he drew his sword and made certain that if any of those vine-tentacles came their way, he'd be ready to protect his summoner.

((That was kind of convoluted, so, long story short: Calaman is guarding Eddora just in case; Aer is swinging away with his invisible blade of wind; and the kids are pretty much just standing back and not getting in the way.))

 

[Griselda Banks]

((No, you're right; Eddora definitely isn't the kind of woman to fall in love very easily xd If she was ever to fall in love with Aer, it's not going to be for a very long time. You know, Eddora has always struck me as the sort of summoner who would attract male guardians, rather than those of her own sex (girls would just annoy her). Even so, she probably wouldn't have any kind of romantic entanglements to worry about.

Oh, and another thing I was wondering. You know, Ed hasn't officially accepted Aer as her guardian. But by now, she doesn't really complain about his presence anymore. She's sort of forgotten that he's not officially her guardian. Do you think she should realize this when they get to Kilika Temple? Or would it be funnier if she carried on without really thinking about Aer not being her guardian?))

Eddora was not aware of her body, standing apart from the battle with arms hanging limply by her sides and her eyes blank. She was Valefor, in the heat of battle. Every color seemed much more vibrant than usual, and she could almost see the currents of air whipping around the battle. She could tell, as she danced in and out among the Ochu's tentacles, that some of that wind was magical, and a faint tingling in the back of her mind told her she knew who was conjuring it. But that thought was instantly swept away as a sudden burst of poisonous gas issued forth from the center of the Ochu.

With a cry, she drew back - but not fast enough to prevent the poison from striking her chest. She could feel it seeping past her feathers and into her flesh, where it burned dully. Her cry of pain was choked in the heavy air. But after a moment of agony, she suddenly realized that the poisonous gas was spreading outward, towards the humans present - including the summoner, who stood blithely in the direct path of the gas. Gathering herself up, she spread her wings as wide as they could reach, then beat them with all her strength. A strong gust of wind swept the poisonous gas away from all the humans below her, drifting up through the trees harmlessly.

Pain shot through her body. The poison was spreading inside her. She had to finish this, and quickly. Darting in again, she tore at the Ochu's protective leaves with her talons, and when one pulled away, she struck with her beak. Multiple gashes opened on the Ochu's sides at the same time, and the fiend shook violently. Finally, with the groan of a felled tree, the vines fell limp and the Ochu toppled over, pyreflies wafting up lazily from its corpse.

Pain riddled her body. She was fading; she could feel it. She landed clumsily, and suddenly the force of gravity was overpowering, and she sank onto the ground. With one last croak, she watched her pyreflies rise up around her, before her body faded completely. The pyreflies rushed back into Eddora's chest, and she staggered a little, coming back to herself. She wasn't used to the abrupt change of awareness; she had to blink several times before she grew used to being in her own body again. Shaking her head a little, feeling almost as if she had water caught in her ears, she looked around at the others.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Actually, I think it'd be funnier if she did remember it, since that could result in a scene. Or Calaman and Aer could discuss it, but that would only involve my characters, so it wouldn't be much fun. Unless you're more interested in reading it than in writing it. razz And I must say I agree with you on the gender thing. Eddora has a rather singular personality, doesn't she? And, since I'm too eager to get to Jalisat's far-distant drama, I'm going to play with it a little bit here.

By the way, I have no terribly creative ideas for the test in the Cloister, so if you've anything to do, feel free, or we might just end up with more sentimental trickery from the fayth.))

Calaman stared in wide-eyed silence at the spot from which Valefor had vanished, before finally turning tentatively to regard Eddora.

"...Lady?" he murmured. "Are you all right?" He knew little about the metaphysics of summoning, and for all he knew, Valefor's injuries could well have transferred to the summoner. Aer, on the other hand, strode over with a triumphant grin on his face. Calaman noted that, for all the supposed difficulty of creating a wind sword, the black mage didn't look at all put out by the effort.

"And that's that," he said proudly. "I must say, you and I make a stunning pair in battle, my Lady! Between my harrying wind and your powerful aeon, we showed that fiend what-for!"

Calaman just rolled his eyes at the mage's self-congratulatory blather and glanced around for the children. They were tentatively approaching, and Calaman noticed that the older boy, Jalisat, who had been shouting at the summoner's party earlier, now looked strangely pale, and kept his eyes to the ground. He looked deep in thought, but neither Mulogo nor Marceil seemed to take much notice of him.

The children stopped a respectful distance from the summoner and stood silently for a brief moment, before Marceil bowed deeply - in the mens' fashion, Calaman noted with mild amusement - and said loudly, "That was amazing, your Grace!"

"Thank you for helping me, sir," Mulogo said to Calaman, who reddened a little and nodded curtly.

Aer, on the other hand, wasn't particularly impressed. "And you, boy?" he said to Jalisat, who wasn't looking at anyone. "What have you to say for yourself?"

Jalisat didn't respond until Marceil elbowed him in the ribs. He looked up, wide-eyed, and mumbled, "Where is...?" He looked around, seeming disturbed by something, but shook his head. "It was just like those dreams," he murmured, and then Marceil stiffened a little.

Aer and Calaman exchanged startled glances, but before either could ask, the boy turned on his heels and fled into the woods. Alarmed, Marceil took off after him. Mulogo paused to perform a reverent prayer gesture, mumble, "Thank you so much, Lady!" and then he, too, followed his friends.

The two guardians both raised their left eyebrows in unison, and then turned to Eddora, wondering what to do next.

"Shall we press on toward the temple, Lady?" Calaman said with a small shrug.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Okay, then. I'll have her mention it when they get to the temple. And I might as well put in now that I'm quite pleased with the way Ed's turned out. I sort of made her up on the spot (something that happens far too often with rps, unfortunately), mingling some vague ideas I'd had for a while and my general mood at the time. But she's become very fun to write, very fun indeed twisted

As for the Cloister...I was wondering if it would make any sense for the fayth to do their "sentimental trickery" on one of the guardians? That would make it more interesting than just rehashing the same scene as in Besaid Temple, and it would also catch our characters off-guard. I mean, Eddora's probably half-expecting to be assaulted again, but I doubt Calaman (for example) would be expecting such a thing, especially since Ed never really told them what she heard. And that would also provide some variety for later temples, because...Eddora's entourage of guardians is going to increase considerably by the time they leave Kilika eek ))

Eddora blinked again and took a deep breath to steady herself, then gave Calaman a half-smile. "Fine," she said briefly, before Aer accosted her. She scowled, though she didn't look quite as put out as she might have. "Don't get any ideas, buster. And that was ninety percent Valefor anyway."

Crossing her arms comfortably, she turned away and frowned at the children. She nodded curtly to Marceil and Mulogo, then blinked in surprise when Jalisat abruptly raced off through the trees, closely followed by his two friends. "Er...Yevon go with you, I guess?" she said hesitantly. She turned to face her guardians, raising her eyebrow as well. "Whatever that was all about. Well, let's go. Can't stand around here and wait for another fiend to come." She set off up the path again, this time making sure to stay close to her guardians.