The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Ikken Isshu]

((Sure, but I hope Ed doesn't shank him for this. ninja

And yes, Aer brought a tea set. He also brought a manicure set, a deck of embossed gilded-edge playing cards, a miniature astrolabe, and a stationery set including seven different colors of ink, three quill pens, a pouch of sand, and a few sheaves of parchment.

I'm tempted to say that's all true, but the astrolabe might be a bit much. >_>

I did get and reply to your e-mail, but just this afternoon.))

All Aer saw when he emerged onto the deck was Rogan talking to Ed, and the rest was a blur. Jalisat was jolted from sleep by Aer shouting as he ran past, waving his arms like a kid trying to scare pigeons, as if he thought Rogan would be startled into flying away if he made a big enough spectacle of himself. The china cup in his left hand flipped up and out over the railing as he ran, vanishing beneath the waves.

"Hey!" he shouted. "She's not in her right mind! Her decision-making skills are impaired! Don't you try to take advantage of her, you old lech!"

 

[Griselda Banks]

(( rofl Oh boy. I think Aer is a major reason this roleplay's so fun xd ))

Eddora jumped and nearly fell over when Aer came racing toward her, shouting bloody murder.

Rogan, on the other hand, rested his chin in his hand and smiled pleasantly up at the outraged mage. "Relax, kid. I'm not the one who stares at her when he thinks she's not looking." He decided not to add that he was old enough to be her father - and then some. Aer would surely take it the wrong way, someone would ask how old he really was, and...well, he had to keep at least a little dignity.

Pushing himself calmly to his feet as if Aer wasn't yelling at the top of his lungs, Rogan said with a chuckle, "If you were hoping for a romantic chat, you might want to lower your voice." He pointed at Ed, then left to consult his sea charts.

Ed, oblivious to anything but the pounding pain, cradled her head in her hands and moaned, "Oh, just shut up already...." She hadn't caught a word either of the men had said, and frankly she couldn't care less. Didn't they know she had a hangover from hell?  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer scowled after Rogan, then seemed to remember the cup he'd tossed overboard. Grumbling, he got up and walked to the edge, closing his eyes. The water churned itself up a bit as Aer probed around with wind magic, but other than that, nothing happened for a few moments. Then a series of bubbles broke the surface, as if a great beast had belched underwater, and then a particularly large bubble burst, giving rise to a violent gust of upward wind that carried the little cup up and into Aer's waiting hand.

Aer examined the cup briefly, and sighed. A scrawny little geyser of water spouted out of the sea, guided neatly into the cup, which Aer then turned over. In a slightly mind-bending trick, the water stayed solidly in the cup, while a sprinkling of salt dropped onto the deck, skittering quietly across the wooden planks. He then knelt by Ed and held out the clean water.

"Here," he said. "If you can sleep, it'd be the easiest way to wait out the hangover. Otherwise, water and rest." He neglected to add, Or you can do what my father always made my boozer brothers do when they were hungover - go and do some manual labor for a while.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Well, I'm back, and really busy to boot. So, you're going to be leaving soon, and then you won't be back till December? THAT'S A REALLY LONG TIME!!!!!! crying What's going to happen with the Splinter rp? I mean, you're the most important person in each of the storylines - including the Seannans and Kylissi, because you're the one with the idea of who the attackers are. How will we ever survive without you? cry ))

Ed groaned and miserably slurped the water. She grimaced, then put a hand on his hip and pushed him a foot or two to the side, where he blocked off a very annoying glare on the water. Letting out a sigh of relief, she finished off the water and stared into the bottom of the cup, as if it had held sake rather than plain old water. "You probably think I'm an idiot, don't you?" she mumbled almost incoherently. "A summoner shouldn't go off and get drunk...."  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer made a face. "I don't have a habit of thinking of summoners as idiots," he said flatly. "That seems a little arrogant, and maybe more than a little sacrilegious. But maybe you could keep today in mind the next time you're inclined to... indulge. In any case, we need as many of our little party in fighting shape as we can get, what with..." He trailed off and made another face. Now was not the time to bring up Cal's disappearance.

The frustrating lack of clues was part of what bothered Aer. Calaman had been abducted, apparently by the Fayth... and that had been the end of it.

Suddenly he found himself with an urge to pray. He was not really the praying type, but... somehow, it seemed appropriate.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((I guess this is as good a place to stop as any. I hope you'll still want to continue this when you come back! sweatdrop ))

Ed squinted up at him for a while, letting his words sink into her foggy brain. "I give you permission to call me an idiot when I need it," she finally said with a little smile. "It's your duty as my guardian to stop me from doing something stupid. From now on...well, I need to keep my focus, and we'll leave it at that."

She grabbed his arm and used it to haul herself to her feet. "I think I'm gonna take your other advice and try to sleep this off. See you later." And with a brief wave over her shoulder, she disappeared into the cabin again.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Like, omigawsh. I totally just remembered this RP even though I've been online for a month and a half. gonk Let me get my wits together and we can start this up again, if you're still interested.))

 

[Ikken Isshu]

((And as soon as I actually MAKE a post they send me a PM telling me I need to be more active in the Guild. Go figure. Bumping for post count. >_> ))

 

[Ikken Isshu]

((First, a pre-typed post that's been sitting on my hard drive for ages. razz ))

Archa pulled her hands out of Pheos' and shook her head.

"Ark," Pheos said. "Ark, please. A week. A day. I can find - something. Anything to stop this, to make it all unnecessary. I can save you, Ark. Please, let me... Let me fix this broken world." He watched her carefully. The remnants of the Final Aeon's place drifted about them, reminding them of the horrible sacrifice still to come.

"Pheos... I'm sorry. I can't wait any longer. We can't go back anymore."

He reached for her hands again, but she lifted them away, and he reeled as if struck.

"Ark. Archa. Ark, please... Ark, I..."

"Pheos, Spira can't wait for us to formulate theories, conduct experiments... That's not a Guardian's work."

"Let Sin take Spira!" Pheos blurted out. "I just want to save you, Ark!" As soon as he'd said them, he wished he could take the words back. The pain on her face was too much to bear. He clenched his fists. "I should have told you sooner, but I... I could never find the words." A long silence. She wasn't looking at him. "Ark, I love you."

With a strangled sound, Archa turned away from him and ran before he could stop her. A staircase loomed out of the darkness. She took the first step, then the second, then the third...

A deafening shriek cut through the air, and Pheos instinctively moved to cover his ears before he realized it was Archa's voice. Her white-robed form tumbled down the stairs, rolled, came to a halt at Pheos' feet. He fell to his knees and his hands hovered over her. Slowly, red stains were appearing and spreading all over the white robe. He opened his mouth but no sound emerged. Magical power flowed through his hands, and he could feel her flesh knitting itself together beneath his power, but it wasn't enough. The blood kept flowing. Flowing out of her body, over his hands, into his mind...

"Come to me," came a sibilant female voice from the direction of the staircase. "Come to me and save Spira, Pheos. There's only one thing left to do."

He looked up to see the wavering outline of a woman, nude and wreathed by raven hair. She appeared, to Pheos, completely obscene - but somehow, it had nothing to do with her lack of clothing. She looked like some kind of devil. She looked like the worst kind of fiend - the kind that would seduce you and then kill you.

"Stay away from her," Pheos snarled, and gathered Archa up into his arms, trying not to feel the warm stickiness of her blood seeping through the cloth. He turned, unsure of where to go. They'd fought so hard to get here, and now he had no idea how to get out. What he did afterward was not important. He had to escape this devil woman. He took a few steps toward where he thought they had entered this bizarre place.

He hadn't gotten three paces before a cold numbness spread through his legs and he toppled, but he twisted to keep Archa from hitting the stone underfoot. He screamed when her weight cracked a couple of his ribs, driving them deep into his innards. Peripherally, he saw what had made him fall: His legs lay on the stone, quite unattached to his body, a good two yards away from him. The evil woman loomed over him, grinning with devilish glee.

"It's time to save the world," she hissed.

~

The Final Aeon awoke with a deep and rasping intake of breath that shook his surroundings, and then he cursed himself for dreaming that dream again. After a few moments of careful introspection, he stopped breathing - it really wasn't necessary, just a paltry waste of concentration - and stared about himself at his ambiently wavering surroundings. Such an eerie city, Zanarkand. Too bad he'd never seen it before it had become a dead memory.

He wondered if maybe he should have been a poet or a dramatist; even in his sleep, it seemed, he spun convenient falsehoods for himself to try to believe. Wouldn't it be so lovely if Archa were merely dead? Wouldn't it be good to believe that she had been eviscerated by Yevon's hellish avatar, instead of...

"Ark," he whispered, and then shook his monstrous head. "It's time to pay my guest another visit."

~

Calaman spent several days - at least, they seemed like days, in terms of how long he slept or remained awake - ruminating on that last conversation with the Witness. It wasn't long before he began to lose his certainty that the voices from the piano had been contrived. Calaman certainly didn't know the extent of Pheos' powers. Calaman had already seen evidence that the man could read his mind, and from a distance at that. Who was to say that he wasn't simply letting Calaman hear those thoughts as well? What if everyone really was glad that he'd disappeared?

What if Eddora really had regretted her decision to accept him as a Guardian? To be fair, she had conscripted him... But she had also seemed to be in a rush, retrospectively. Maybe she'd simply taken what she could find in a pinch. It wasn't that far-fetched, now that he really considered it.

By the third time Calaman awoke after the conversation, he was almost convinced that Pheos was telling the truth, and that he was not missed in the least. This was a troubling conclusion, but when he stopped dwelling on it so much, he was free to consider other subjects - such as the fact that he hadn't eaten since waking up in this place, and, oddly enough, felt no need to do so now. There was the minibar, of course, but it contained no food, and Calaman disdained alcohol.

After just a few minutes of pondering that, he gave up and moved on to the concept of time - how long had he been here? How much longer must he remain? How might he tell the time? There was no sun, and he had no candles with which to mark the time. Besides, by now, he could have burned up a whole bushel of candles just to mark the time. Not efficient in the least.

Eventually, he gave up on that futile pursuit of thought as well. Not being a particularly scholarly individual, Calaman soon gave up entirely on the possibility of passing the slow hours with mere thought, and instead drew his sword. If there was one thing he knew would pass the time productively, it was exercise.

He had barely worked through two simple sword forms when he became aware of Pheos' presence by the fire, watching him. He consciously ignored the Witness, finished the third sword form, and sheathed the unblooded weapon. He didn't bother wiping sweat from his face, for the simple enough reason that there wasn't any.

"You're back," he remarked, moving to sit in front of the fire.

"I am. Because you have at last begun to accept that your true calling has nothing to do with pilgrimages and Summoners."

"I haven't accepted anything," Calaman retorted.

"No, you haven't - you have only begun to accept." Pheos came around the chair by which he stood, and lowered himself into it. It was the same dark grey chair he'd sat in before. "And now that you have begun, I have things to tell you."

"About what?" Calaman said as he reached and eased into his jade chair.

"About the world. About Summoners. Guardians. Aeons." The last word came out with a deep bitterness that made Calaman blink. "You must understand that this is knowledge normally reserved only for a very, very few. If it ever came to light, it would shake the world. I don't intend to let it be revealed unless I am able to attain my ultimate goal... The abolition of the pilgrimages. The ultimate eradication of Sin."

"The Eternal Calm," Calaman breathed despite himself.

"...Yes," Pheos said with an undertone of distaste. "To be honest, I don't even like the term 'Calm'. It has gained a sense of impermanence over the ages. But, yes, the concept of the Eternal Calm is what I am referring to. I want to make it a reality."

"Do you know how?"

"Of course not. If I did, do you think the pilgrimages would still be necessary? No. But I have made many advances in trying to learn the foundations of... Ah, but this is not the place to start. Please, let me begin my story in the only appropriate place: the beginning. You see, Calaman, I was once Guardian to a Summoner named Archa."

Calaman raised a single eyebrow but remained silent. The significance of the Summoner's name was not lost on him; how could it be? High Summoner Archa's name was revered far and wide. Soon, of course, her name would fade into history as a new High Summoner was elevated to that status, and then only the people who bothered to study such things would remember Archa's name. But for now, her name was as recognizable as that of Yevon.

One other thing about the admission caught Calaman's attention. This enigmatic and powerful figure had once been a Guardian - an integral part of Yevon's dogma? Before, he had claimed that he was holier than any Guardian - did that mean he had become something else, or had he simply been showing more of the vanity Calaman was coming to perceive as a garment around the man's shoulders?

"I fell in love with Archa - Ark, as I called her - very early into the pilgrimage. I had only met her as she set out from Bevelle, you see, but in the course of the pilgrimage, I became completely smitten with her, and I like to think that she felt similarly about me as well." He paused there, appeared to struggle halfheartedly with some old emotion. Then his expression smoothed and he continued. "I don't suppose the whole of my story is relevant," he admitted, "so I won't bore you with unnecessary details. But did you know that our old teacher, Althemen, was also a Guardian - and that his Summoner, too, became the High Summoner? It's true, though you won't find the name 'Althemen' in any holy texts or records. He changed his name after his pilgrimage, in order to more easily blend back into society. His birth name was - "

Calaman straightened suddenly as a connection flared in his mind. "Kennesval?"

Pheos smiled. "Yes. I see you know your history, at least as pertains to the last few High Summoners."

"But Kennesval..." No, that was a stupid thing to say. Of course history would maintain that Kennesval d'Ichvelda had died along the course of the pilgrimage, since he'd made such an attempt to erase his past. But what did this have to do with Pheos? More importantly, what did it have to do with Calaman?

"You don't yet know," Pheos said tonelessly, "what happens to a High Summoner at the end of the pilgrimage. Nor what happens to his or her closest Guardian."

Calaman watched Pheos as he spoke. "The High Summoner and Guardians ascend directly to the Farplane, bypassing death, to live forever in peace," he said, speaking almost from scripted memory. Almost without thinking, he added in a softer tone, "Death is the only Eternal Calm." After he said them, the words sounded like morbid superstition. Of course, any contrary suggestion would sound like heresy. Rock and a hard place, he supposed.

"Indeed," Pheos said, but from his tone it was obvious that he disagreed with the traditional teaching. "Does this seem to you like the Farplane? Do you think the Farplane is this isolated, this devoid of souls, even dead ones? And if that is true, then why was our teacher still around long after his pilgrimage had been successfully completed?" He snorted softly to himself. "No, Yevon is something far more sinister than a deity. The first time I saw Yevon, the first word that went through my mind was 'obscene'. I don't pretend to know its motives, or the extent of its powers. I don't think its influence extends very reliably to this place, or it probably would have silenced me long ago, but I can never know for certain. But I do know that Yevon took Ark from me, and for that, I will have my revenge."

That word, 'revenge', sounded to Calaman as if it had nothing to do with any sort of Calm, much less an Eternal one. "What do you intend to do to Yevon? What can you do?"

"By myself? Very little. That's how things were designed. I'm here for one purpose, and one alone - to pose a final challenge to the High Summoner before Yevon takes him or her."

Calaman swallowed, unsure whether he believed any of this but deeply disturbed by it. "'Takes'?"

"As I said, I don't know the extent of Yevon's powers. I also don't know what Yevon does with the High Summoner... Perhaps it simply destroys them. Perhaps it... assimilates them, somehow, making itself stronger. I don't know." Something about those words rang false, but Calaman couldn't pinpoint it. He could see, too, in Pheos' expression, that the man knew Calaman had heard something that didn't fit. Be he didn't know how to address the issue directly, so instead he asked the question that gnawed at the back of his mind.

"What is Yevon?"

Pheos was silent for a long time. "I'm sorry, Calaman - I haven't thought this out very thoroughly, and as a result I'm telling you things in a very disjointed order. I don't rightly know what Yevon is, but I can say with some certainty that it is extremely old - obviously its origins reach back to the first pilgrimages, and probably even some time before that. To guess at its raison d'être, I can only surmise that it is some sort of horrendous parasite, but feeding off of what, I do not know. The Summoners, most probably, though I think there must be much more efficient methods for it to reach greater numbers of humans than just one Summoner every twenty or thirty years. In any case, I know that Yevon's primary goal, at least, is to maintain the status quo - that is to say, to keep the pilgrimages going, and to keep Sin returning after each one. I want to stop that pattern." His eyes left the fire, finally, and met Calaman's. "I hope that by doing so I can save Ark from whatever torment in which she may be suspended. If I cannot save her, if she is already gone... I shall have to console myself with the knowledge that I have saved generations of future Summoners from her fate. But whether or not I can reclaim Archa, I will end Yevon's vile reign over Spira. That I will do no matter the cost, Calaman."

Calaman felt hairs rising up and down his arms, despite the proximity of the fire. "And what..." He paused. "What does all of this have to do with me?"

"It has a great deal to do with you, Calaman. Remember your teacher, Althemen. Our teacher. Did he ever tell you the name of his teacher?"

Calaman shook his head mutely. Pheos filled the silence with one heavy word: "Setras."

Calaman stiffened just as he had done when he'd remembered Kennesval's name. "Setras Devarr? Guardian to High Summoner Teslena?"

"The same. Do you start to see the connection between us all?"

Calaman opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. "Setras taught Althemen, who taught you," he began haltingly.

"And now I am teaching you," Pheos said with a humorless smile. "I find it rather amusing that not only were Althemen, Setras and I all Guardian to a High Summoner, but that we were also all in love with our Summoners."

Calaman scowled, the obvious implication reddening his face immediately. Pheos saved him from having to say anything on the subject by embarrassing him further: "Oh, fear not, Calaman. I know you're a hair too young to be having such thoughts, with any seriousness, anyway, and that you're too obsessed with your duty besides. And forgive me for surmising that Eddora has the same feelings for you - or rather, the same lack thereof. It was only an amusing observation, after all. But just as Setras protected High Summoner Teslena; and just as his student Kennesval protected High Summoner Isolina; and just as I protected High Summoner Archa; so, too, have you protected High Summoner Eddora."

Pheos' last three words rocked Calaman so that for a few seconds he couldn't straighten his thoughts into any sort of order. His first word was "What?"

"Have you not been listening, Calaman? I want to bring about the Eternal Calm. Even if I could do it on my own - and I can't - the people of Spira would need an icon to attribute it to. Who better than a Summoner?"

Calaman furrowed his brow. "You mean you know how to bring about the Eternal Calm? I thought you said - "

"Oh, no, of course not. Not yet. But when we do - yes, we, Calaman, don't look so surprised - we cannot simply announce that a supposedly dead - or ascended, whichever you prefer - man and a living Guardian did it with no help from Summoners, much less from that fiend Yevon. No, we need a religious icon to ensure that it goes smoothly. I certainly don't need the glory, in any case. Eddora will be our High Summoner."

"Ed would never agree to something like that," Calaman said, and realized as he did so that he was beginning to believe this madman. But, for now, it couldn't hurt. "Even if it was for the greater good - and I must tell you that I don't really see eye to eye with you on that point - it would still be a massive deception. I can't see Ed playing along with something like that."

"I don't need Ed to play along with anything," Pheos said with a shrug. "If you're right, and she would really turn her nose up at such a prospect, then the solution is simple: I covertly provide her with a scary monster to kill, she kills it, and I can simply convince her that killing it is what brings about the Eternal Calm."

Calaman frowned. That sounded asinine in the extreme, but he had a feeling he didn't need to say so. Pheos confirmed that feeling when he added, "Calaman, I hardly think that is the biggest problem at the moment. I'll give it some thought when I need to do so. Until then, I - we - have bigger fish to fry."

"Yevon?" Calaman ventured. To his surprise, Pheos merely shrugged.

"Perhaps. I doubt that actually destroying Yevon is necessary - or, to be blunt, even possible. But I know that the pilgrimages are somehow vitally important to Yevon, so perhaps I can start there. Something to stop them, or to stop Yevon from benefitting from them. I don't have any specific plans, and I was hoping I could begin with you."

Calaman drew back a little. After all the remarks that seemed to have nothing to do with him, he hadn't expected the conversation to take such a sudden turn in his direction. "Me?"

"You remember the odd little flash of memory you had before, while speaking with - I believe you started calling it Temporary?"

Calaman suddenly remembered that he had wanted to ask what, exactly, Temporary actually was, but this didn't seem like the time. "Yes - I assumed the memory was yours, though I didn't know why I would have had it if it was." His expression soured. "And when I brought it up, you stabbed me in the neck."

Pheos smiled as if Calaman had just brought up an old, fond joke. "I did, didn't I? Chalk it up to poor control of my impulses. As to why you had a memory of mine, I can only assume that what you did to yourself in Besaid made you more susceptible to influences of... well, my type."

Calaman shook his head. "I don't understand. Your type?"

"Ah, that's right. I haven't explained, have I? I told you that I was Guardian to Archa, but not what happened to me at the end of the pilgrimage. Well, to be frank, I'm not entirely positive that I know what happened myself, but I have made some educated guesses. What is certain, at least, is that I am... That is to say, I have become... Well, there's no easy way to tell this to a rationalist like yourself, Calaman. I'm an Aeon."

For the second time in that conversation, Calaman found himself reeling in a mixture of awe and disbelief. Pheos waited patiently until Calaman regained control of his facial features, and then continued.

"To the best of my knowledge, this happens to one Guardian of each High Summoner. I was Archa's only Guardian, so of course it fell to me. Althemen - Kennesval - you will of course remember that he was not alone in his Guardianship of Isolina. His sister, too, was a Guardian. It was she who became the Final Aeon. You can imagine his feeling of loss after the pilgrimage. Yevon tried to kill him, but he escaped - he never told me how, but I think I know. I'm sure that he often wished he had stayed behind and let Yevon kill him." Calaman's face must have registered some confusion, because Pheos added, "Think, please, Calaman. I told you that he was in love with Isolina, didn't I? Not one, but two beloved women were stolen from him by Yevon - Isolina, and his twin sister, Kennesra."

Calaman's mouth formed a silent 'O' as Pheos continued as if they had never gotten onto the tangent. "But you see, I hope, that being an Aeon, I am not at all a merely physical entity. I am largely a magical force, and I have other attributes, too, neither physical nor magical. It is those attributes, I think, that influenced you before I realized what had happened. Rest assured that it will not happen again without my knowledge."

His wording caught Calaman's attention - Will it happen again with his knowledge? - but Pheos didn't address the thought, even if he had read it, as Calaman was sure he could.

"But did Aer not explain to you the nature of what you did to yourself in Besaid?"

Calaman shook his head.

"Strange. I know he explained it to Eddora. Perhaps he did not understand it as completely as I'd thought. But, Calaman, you know of the physical and magical nature of humans, do you not?"

Calaman nodded, and recited haltingly: "Humans are made up of both physical and magical forces. Both occur in varying levels from person to person. Some people have more magical power inherent in them, and they tend to follow magical callings, namely black and white mages. Others have less magic or none at all, and follow other paths."

Pheos rolled his eyes a little, but nodded. "Yes, that's the gist of it, I suppose. Did Althemen teach you that? Nevermind. You know those physical and magical 'forces' can be perceived rather clearly by those with magical abilities, yes? They look like threads. Magical and physical threads are distinguishable from each other, but not by any traditional sense. You could say they appear to be different colors, but that's not entirely accurate. In any case, it's deceptively simple. People are made up primarily of physical threads. Everybody has a number of them, but adults, especially people who are used to hard work or combat, tend to have more than children or people who are used to less strenuous lifestyles. Magic, though, is much more variable. People like me - I was a white mage back then - have a great deal of magical power, while people like you have virtually none at all. It seems, from what little research has been conducted on the matter, that physical power and magical power are inextricably intertwined, and yet fundamentally juxtaposed."

Calaman nodded despite himself. "Because while physical power seems necessary for life itself, magical power can be completely absent with no ill effects."

Pheos smiled approvingly. "Yes. But you, Calaman, have made yourself into quite an anomaly, and even I can't say as I know exactly how you did it."

"What do you mean?"

"A demonstration would preface this nicely," Pheos announced, and rose. He produced a thin knife - really more a razor than a knife - and gestured with it invitingly. Calaman stayed firmly where he was.

"No thank you," he said dryly. "I don't relish the idea of repeating that experience."

Pheos rolled his eyes and came forward so fast that Calaman started up, lost his balance, and fell back into the chair. Before he got his bearings, Pheos seized his wrist and made a small, stinging incision on the side of his forearm. A few droplets of blood fell to stain the green chair, but Pheos appeared to ignore them. Calaman stared, momentarily dumbfounded, at his arm.

"I'm going to cast a basic healing spell on you," Pheos said matter-of-factly. "First-level, in fact: Cure." A dim light grew in Pheos's fingertips, and he traced a small circle around the tiny wound. Calaman raised an eyebrow when nothing happened; he didn't even feel the usual tingling sensation that accompanied such a spell, and the wound itself certainly didn't heal. Another droplet of blood squeezed itself out and ran a tiny rivulet down the side of his arm, but didn't fall.

"As you see, it had no effect. In fact, just to make my point crystal clear, I will cast another spell, a rather more impressive one, by ordinary standards: Curaga." This time his entire form exploded with light, making him into a blinding avatar that Calaman had to look away from. The light faded quickly, leaving Pheos with a soft glow that nevertheless made him appear like some sort of divine figure. He laid his palm over the tiny wound, but Calaman felt nothing except warm flesh against his arm. When Pheos drew back his arm - and ceased to glow - the wound remained, the blood slightly smeared. Pheos nonchalantly wiped the tiny streak of blood from his palm on the back of the chair, and with his other hand, reached into the folds of his robes, and removed a small glass jar that appeared to be empty, but when Calaman looked closer, seemed to hold a small quantity of water. Pheos removed the cap of the tiny jar and extended the jar to Calaman.

"Inhale the fumes, please. Just one breath."

Suspiciously, Calaman leaned forward and sniffed experimentally - ether. He relaxed and inhaled deeply, then sat back, watching Pheos. "Well?"

"Your arm."

Calaman looked down and frowned. The blood remained on his arm, but when Pheos reached down and casually used the sleeve of his robe to wipe the blood away, it revealed no wound. Calaman saw nothing but his own smooth skin, interrupted only by a sparse scattering of dark hairs.

"You see?" Pheos said.

"No, I don't see. Why did the ether heal me?"

Pheos sighed and returned to his chair. "You never attempted any magic after that disaster in Besaid, did you? A shame. You would have had much more luck. Well, no, your lack of experience probably would have led to further issues, but at least you would find that you have a great deal more magical power than you did before. Indeed, you have nothing but magical power."

Calaman furrowed his brow, but Pheos saved him from having to ask.

"I don't profess to know how you did it, Calaman, but your attempt to use the Spellsword technique somehow converted all of your physical power to magic."

"That's impossible," Calaman said with automatic flatness. "I would be dead."

"Obviously not," Pheos retorted in an echo of what he'd said after he'd stabbed Calaman. "You saw for yourself that a single whiff of ether healed that tiny wound, when Curaga, one of the most powerful healing spells known to man, didn't even give you the slightest of unusual sensations. That, Calaman, has only a few explanations, and only one moderately plausible one. I told you earlier that you have somehow turned yourself into an anomaly. Calaman, you have become a completely magical being."

~

How droll.

I approach the island slowly, slowly, slowly. They can see me coming on the horizon - I AM the horizon. It's more fun this way. The fear builds, and I imagine I can taste it on the air. I hear the frantic shouts of the Al Bhed - strange that I remember that name - and through the filter of their alien tongue, I discern desperate orders.

"Fire! Fire! We must protect our Home! Fire on the beast! Send the noncombatants back! Place priority on machina maintenance - we have to keep our rate of fire up or we haven't got a chance!"

I smile, though I doubt they can recognize the expression. My face has long since receded behind the mask of scar tissue and cancerous outer flesh. All they can see are the seaweed-like growths, the parasites that are even now dropping off of my body and beginning their swim toward this nest of edible humans. All they can see is the monster. All they can see is Sin.

I look at their little sanctuary and I don't know what I see.

But I know I smell fear, and that is what calls to me.

((I want so badly to continue this conversation, but that particular line just seemed so powerful when I wrote it that I had to break it off there. Besides, this post is already unconscionably long, so I suppose you'll be glad for the break. xd In any case, I don't think I actually have much more to add to the conversation, and everything after that would be somewhat anticlimactic, so I'll save subsequent stuffz for a later post. I believe that I can now begin to wind things down for Calaman's triumphal return to the main storyline, but first I have to work out the specifics of that return. Rest assured, I have epicness planned. 8D Not to mention, Eddora is going to be pissed.

Oh, and just for posterity, I felt I had better get the order of the last three High Summoners down in a clear manner: The last one was Archa, guarded by Pheos, who became the Final Aeon. She was preceded by Isolina, guarded by Kennesra, who became the Final Aeon, and Kennesval, who escaped death and changed his identity to Althemen. She was preceded by Teslena, guarded by Setras. Setras and Teslena aren't important at this point except as names, and I'm not yet sure if I want Althemen to be important beyond his history with Pheos and Calaman.

And now for a real post. >_> ))

Jalisat was disappointed; he'd been hoping to catch sight of a shoopuf, but gave up on that prospect when Guadosalam loomed overhead. They got a few odd looks from the Guado dockmasters as they entered the little port, but the ship wasn't quite out of acceptable size limitations, so they weren't refused entry. Jalisat leapt over the railing onto the high docks - for once, a place where they wouldn't need to climb anything to get back onto the boat - and disappeared into the city.

Aer was more circumspect; he stood beside Ed as Rogan and the locals cooperated to get the ship affixed to the dock.

"What do you think we'll find here, Ed?" he said mildly.

His demeanor had changed somewhat recently; he appeared to have given up, or at least reined in, on his pursuit of Eddora's heart; but he was by no means distancing himself from her. He leaned against the rail and breathed in the unique spice that wafted out from the city. He'd never been to Guadosalam, in fact. This would be an interesting chapter in the pilgrimage.

 

[Griselda Banks]

(( eek As Rhino the hamster would say, "You are FULLY AWESOME!!!" Wow, what a post! What a way to jump right back into the story! Gah, what a doozy! @_@ You know, to be completely honest, when I read this the first time I was all, "Noes! You can't get rid of Yevon-" And then I realized...that's what they do in the game. Oh yeah ._. I guess Pheos is one of those good-guy-bad-guy peeps, huh?

Oh, and I'll have you know: YOU TOTALLY RUINED MY PLANS! AND IT'S AWESOME! 8D See, I couldn't remember whether we'd decided completely about who the High Summoner was going to be, so I'd worked out this plan for how one of my characters could have been a second guardian to the last High Summoner. Obviously, that's not going to work now. But I figured it out! Reading back through our old posts has reminded me of my summoner-guardian duo that I've kinda neglected (you remember that young, gullible summoner and his gruff, grizzled guardian?), and I've actually figured out a way to bring them back and get in character interaction amongst my characters that needs to happen when they leave Guadosalam! And it's actually cooler, I think, that you've taken up the High Summoner spot. Makes my characters' stories better. Thanks so much! *shakes your hand vigorously*

Also, I thought I should say some things about how the Final Summoning works in the game. You probably already know all this and have it all figured out and it all works with your plan, but I just want to make sure we're on the same page and you're not forgetting something.
Okay, so everybody knows that the summoner dies at the end of the pilgrimage, right? Well, it seems apparent from what they say in the game that it's the act of the Final Summoning that kills the summoner. And obviously, the summoner is summoning the Final Aeon, who is the guardian of their choice. Then, after the Final Aeon is summoned and the summoner is dead, the Final Aeon battles Sin and defeats it, thus bringing the Calm. But then Yu Yevon (yeah, the squishy guy) possesses the Final Aeon and, over the years that the Calm lasts, it builds up the armor that is Sin. Then Sin goes around terrorizing and all that. So Sin is always the latest Final Aeon. (Which, in this case, means that Pheos needs to be Sin.) Another minor thing is that High Summoners also make it to the Farplane. Remember in the game, when they visit the Farplane? Yuna sees both her parents there - and Braska was the previous High Summoner. But Tidus couldn't see Jecht, because Jecht was the Final Aeon/Sin, so technically he wasn't dead yet. Just thought I'd lay this all out. There's definitely ways to make the things in your post work (little finnicky details), but I just want to make sure you're aware of it all.

Now, without further ado, my actual post! My next post should be longish and more interesting, but I didn't want to put it in the same post as the one where they first arrive, so....))

The past couple of days had been the longest Eddora could remember. They made a good pace, but all there was to do all day long was sit around and watch the waves and brood. At first Ed was grateful for the chance to rest and attempt to replenish the stores of energy that seemed to have been completely exhausted by the harrowing events in Djose. But as the hours dragged on and she felt less and less sleepy, Ed's thoughts repeatedly returned to Calaman.

Ed felt distinctly faithless for leaving Djose without finding Calaman. What if he was stuck somewhere in that temple, trying to get out? What if he managed to get out, and found that they'd already gone? What if...she never saw him again? Whenever that thought occurred to her, Ed felt as though she couldn't stand another moment of just sitting around. At least if they'd taken the land route, she could feel like she was accomplishing something by walking.

Ed could never escape the feeling that there was a gaping hole in their party, without Calaman. Venez followed Aer around the boat, batting her eyelashes stupidly and admiring Aer's magical prowess. Jalisat got underfoot and acted like the kid he was. Rogan adjusted sails, whistled the Hymn of the Fayth in the middle of the night when he charted their position by the stars, and went around looking infernally cheerful.

But there was no one to swat Aer in the back of the head when he got annoying. There was no one to prostrate himself at the merest hint that he'd failed his duty. There was no one to speak as though he was so much wiser than his fourteen years. There was no one who would look her straight in the eye, say what he thought with a respectful tone, and remind her in so many ways of herself. Ed hadn't realized how much she'd grown to like him over the course of the few days they'd known each other. How could their acquaintance have been so short? It felt as though she'd known him all her life, and she would trust him with her life without a second thought. He was a true guardian.

And what are you, Ed, huh? she asked herself bitterly as they sailed up through the Moonflow, drawing strange looks from the people waiting on the shore for the next shoopuf ride. You just up and abandoned him, didn't you? You didn't even bother looking for him. You let him slip away from you. It's all your fault.

Ed slowly walked to the railing as they pulled into the Guadosalam harbor. She'd been subdued throughout the trip here, hardly speaking to the others, and they'd generally left her alone, sensing she needed time to process everything that had happened in Djose. But now she had to be strong again. She was a summoner. She was going to be the High Summoner. If for nothing else, she had to do it because of all the people she'd lost. They all would have wanted her to succeed. Her family...and Calaman, too. They were about halfway. They would make it to Zanarkand, or her name wasn't Eddora Khaul!

Ed looked over when Aer spoke to her, feeling ripples of gratitude that, at the very least, she still had him. He'd been around basically from the beginning too. As they stepped out onto the dock together, Ed replied in the same mild tone, "Well, the Farplane's here, of course. We might as well visit it."

Venez clambered out behind them and hovered at Aer's other side, as if hoping that he would gallantly extend his arm for her to clutch. Rogan finished tying the Fayth up, grabbed a small dirty sack that he slung over his shoulder, and leapt lithely onto the dock as well. "Where'd that kid go running off to...?" he muttered to himself, frowning in the direction of Guadosalam.

((Well, that turned out longer than planned. Anyway, I need to do a scene before they go to the Farplane, so don't make them go up there too fast, 'kay? biggrin ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((DETAILS, DETAILS...!

I'll tweak my plans to accommodate these things that, until the present, have been somewhat less than known to me. >_>

I'm not sure whether to feel guilty or proud of myself for ruining your plans.

I'll edit this post to let you know when I've finished editing the last one. I'll probably be adding a good deal of new material (and possibly deleting some) to make it work better, so I'll color-code it to avoid making you re-read the entire thing.

And thanks for the news flash. Shoddy memory combined with a poor interpretation of the game do not make for great storytelling. sweatdrop

EDIT: Oh, er, and I'll post once I'm done with that, of course. >_>

EDIT EDIT: That was easier than I was expecting. Added material is in red; nothing was really deleted, though I changed 'memory' to 'dream' in one instance, but I didn't bother coloring it since it's not that significant.

So a summary of practical changes: Pheos is aware that Archa died while performing the Final Aeon, but he is trying to believe that she may still exist somewhere he can reach her and possibly retrieve her; he does not, however, know that he is Sin, as his consciousness seems to be divided between himself and the actual Sin avatar. The 'flashback' at the beginning has been relegated from the status of 'memory' to 'dream' created as a defense mechanism against the traumatic and upsetting knowledge that she was not simply killed by Yevon, but by the act of summoning the Final Aeon, Pheos himself. He knows it's not true, but can't help wishing she had been killed by Yevon instead.

Added the unnecessary Sin scene for two reasons; one, to sort of illustrate that Pheos isn't consciously acting as Sin; and two, because I thought it was time to destroy something else. twisted ))

Aer looked distinctly uncomfortable at the prospect of visiting the Farplane - What if they saw Calaman? Wouldn't that prove something they really wouldn't want to know? Then he realized - Even if Calaman did die, he hadn't been Sent. That thought chilled him further. So whether or not they saw Calaman, dark thoughts would accompany the trip. The whole concept made him distinctly unhappy.

"I suppose," was all he said. About that time he noticed Venez' odd demeanor beside him, and for lack of a more eloquent response, gave her a small, contrived smile.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Well, then, I'm glad I mentioned it. I can never be sure with you, you know ninja

Oh, you should feel proud, because now I can do cool stuffs biggrin

*approves of changes* The canon Nazi is appeased!

Oh, but that reminds me: At some undisclosed point in the future, can I take control of Sin for a scene of random destruction (like Kilika and now Bikanel)? I felt I should ask, since now Sin is technically your character. It's for cool drama purposes, don't worry!

And since it was Seymour's father (I'm blanking on his name gonk ) who converted the Guado to follow Yevon, I'm saying in our times they don't.))

Venez fairly swooned at Aer's smile; Ed gave her a brief disgusted look, then returned her attention to the road. She had to admit that her thoughts were mostly preoccupied with Calaman. Would they see him in the Farplane? Her stomach squirmed at the thought, and she hastily banished the thought from her mind. Whatever they saw in the Farplane, they would see it soon enough.

They all wended their way along the road from the harbor to the underground town of Guadosalam, following the small crowd of people, mostly Guado, though there were a few human merchants or businessmen. This was the only town where they had not been overwhelmed by well-wishers bowing the prayer at them, for the Guado did not believe in Yevon. Eddora found it ironic that the Farplane was located in a town full of heathens. Still, the Guado seemed to have respect for the people who were trying to rid the world of Sin, and if she caught a Guado's eye, they would incline their head respectfully.

Ed had been to Guadosalam before, on her way to Bevelle for the very first time, and she saw as they entered the town that nothing much had changed. Many footsteps and voices bounced off the rock walls as the townsfolk went about their business. As before, she was surprised that it didn't feel claustrophobic somehow.

Ed was walking between Aer and Rogan when suddenly a voice broke free of the babble. "You!" it cried angrily. Ed turned in surprise to see a man standing there, staring at them with shock and horror. After a moment, she thought she remembered his grizzled face - Kenan, guardian to that weakling summoner Yalan.

At first Ed thought Kenan was looking at her, but then she realized that Rogan had stiffened at her side, watching Kenan warily.

Kenan stalked forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. "How dare you," he snarled, his dark eyes burning. Behind him, his summoner was attempting to hold him back, but Kenan didn't even seem aware of Yalan's hands on his arm. "How dare you show your face to me!" Kenan roared, and suddenly he charged forward, tearing Yalan's grip away. He whipped out his sword and slashed angrily at Rogan, his eyes wild and almost bestial.

Rogan moved faster than Ed could follow, whipping out two daggers that he used to catch Kenan's blade, holding them in front of his face in an X shape. He pushed Kenan's sword away, then danced to the side as the warrior continued his attack. Ed felt, as she quickly melted backwards with the rest of the crowd, that Rogan had dodged aside to bring the attack farther away from herself. She watched numbly as the two men darted around each other, trading blows so quickly their arms seemed to be blurred.

At first glance, the odds might have seemed tipped in Kenan's favor, but as the battle continued Ed realized that Rogan was easily holding his own, even though the only weapons he had were two measly daggers against a long sword in the hands of a deadly warrior. Yalan hovered around the edge of the circle of onlookers, wringing his hands and attempting to call his guardian back, but the clashing metal was too fast and ferocious for anyone to hear him very well.

Kenan's face was still twisted with rage as he fought, but as they circled around each other, Ed caught sight of Rogan's face and saw that it was focused, but utterly calm. As if he had every reason to believe that he would walk away from this unscathed. Then somehow Rogan slipped underneath Kenan's sword and came to a halt with one dagger pressing against Kenan's throat and the other pointing towards his temple.

They stood there, panting and staring into each other's face, for several moments before Yalan rushed heedlessly forward, crying, "C'mon guys, let's stop this, okay? Can't we discuss this like reasonable men?"

Ed took a step forward in alarm, ready to call out a warning to that idiot summoner, but both men blinked and backed away from each other. Kenan slowly sheathed his sword, and the daggers disappeared once more to wherever it was Rogan stored them.

"Yes, that's it," Yalan said, relieved, as the two men continued to stare at each other. "Now, there's a nice bar just around the corner; let's just sit down and-"

"Yes," Kenan said, his lip curling. "We need to have a long talk."

Ed crossed over to them as the crowd slowly began to disperse. Rogan looked up at her, and for once there was no trace of levity in his sea-green eyes. "Catch ya later, Milady," he said heavily.

She didn't know why she said it, but Ed found herself blurting out, "We're headed up to the Farplane. Sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"Nah." Rogan shrugged with an attempt at his usual cheery smile. "I've seen the Farplane more times than I care to. There's nothing new for me there. I'll see you around." He nodded briefly to Aer and Venez, then turned and reluctantly followed Kenan and Yalan.

Ed raised her eyebrows and muttered to herself, "Now what was that all about?"

((I'm going to continue the stuff between Rogan and Kenan in installments in my posts, so we can just do whatever we want with the others in the meantime. Jalisat's drama, the Farplane, whatever.))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Oh, I wouldn't call Sin my character so much as an NPC, due to the necessary separation from Pheos' actual consciousness, and (apparently) any real intelligence. Feel free to use it as necessary.

Will post in a bit, need to read the IC material, wanted to make sure I remembered this part first.

EDIT: Damn, I got distracted for a good hour and a half reading the roleplay... I just reread pages 1-9, and now I have to go to Sunday recall formation. Ah, well. I'll be back in a little while, and I promise I'll actually post then. <_<

EDIT AGAIN: Back and ready to post. I must say, I was expecting something cool from Rogan, but I wasn't expecting him to be a ninja. xd ))

"Seems our friendly Captain knows more than he was telling," Aer remarked. "Think maybe he used to be a guardian?"

Before an answer could be forthcoming from anyone, though, a bizarre sight presented itself a little ways up the street. A man, a white mage judging by his clothing but a defunct one judging by their frumpy, uncared-for state, and Jalisat were standing to the side of the street, staring at each other in a manner that couldn't be easily described - both looked utterly confused. There was no recognition in either's face, but in Jalisat at least it looked like he was trying to recognize the man, try to remember where he might have seen him before.

"What the...?" Aer murmured.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Yeah, I suppose Sin's an NPC, but I don't want it to clash with Pheos...like if Pheos was talking to somebody or something, I'm not sure it would work if Sin is attacking somewhere....

YES! I managed to surprise you! ^_^ What were you expecting from him, then? Anything in particular?))

Eddora turned away from the three men trooping off to the bar, and she was about to say, "No, he was a summoner," when she also spotted Jalisat standing and staring up at a strange man.

Frowning, Ed started forward. "So that's where the kid got to," she muttered. "Hey kid!" she called to him, not caring what she was interrupting. "Don't just run off like that! You've still got an appointment with a ship back to Kilika!"

~

Rogan slouched after the warrior and his summoner, stuffing his fists into his pockets. Great. How did this happen? He should've been more alert, should've melted back into the crowd, made himself scarce for a bit.... This had never happened before, mostly because he'd usually been successful in his choice. The one time he had been confronted after the fact, it had been in the depths of the Macalania Woods, where there were no watchful eyes. This time, he'd even had to blow his cover in front of everybody.

He remembered the Elm Tree Tavern; he could remember back to when it had been called by another name, though he doubted many would remember that an Al Bhed had run it. Guadosalam was just about the only place in Spira where Al Bhed weren't shunned by the townspeople, since the Guado weren't Yevonites either.

At the door, the guardian put a hand on his summoner's shoulder and halted him in his tracks. "You stay out here," he ordered.

A certain summoner Rogan knew of would never have let her guardians tell her what to do, but this one frowned and parked himself on the ground right outside the door. "Okay," he pouted. "But I wanna hear everything later, Kenan! You can't keep secrets from me forever!"

"Kenan?" Rogan asked softly, quirking an eyebrow as he entered the bar. "What kind of a code name is that?"

'Kenan' gritted his teeth in irritation. "It happens to be my real name," he growled, then snapped their orders at the spindly Guado bartender.

Rogan followed Kenan to a somewhat secluded table in the corner and sat down. He noticed that they both sat with their chairs turned so they could see the whole of the room, and a faint smile returned to his face. It was just like old times. He remembered going out of his way to sit in the chair Kenan had been heading for, just to watch the man grit his teeth and bite his tongue and sit down in a quasi-dignified silence.

They remained silent until a Guado barmaid with stiff blue hair brought them their drinks - sake for Kenan and a nice tall glass of beer for Rogan. He sipped his drink appreciatively as he watched the barmaid walk out of earshot; he'd always liked Guado beer. It had an odd, spicy taste to it that he'd never been able to figure out.

"So, Morridan," Kenan said with forced calm, resting his elbows on either side of his untouched sake. "Care to tell me what the hell you're doing on a pilgrimage?"

((Dun dun DUUUUUN!!! twisted Now I get to do cliff-hanger side-story posts!))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Yay for interesting cliff-hanger side story posts. xd

I dunno, some kind of tsundere badass with a tormented past. Though that seems to be what he turned out to be anyway, but you get my point. Maybe. I don't even know what I'm saying. gonk

And I wouldn't worry too much about Sin, but like I said, you can use it as you need to. Other than naming the Final Aeon that dwells beneath all that hideous flesh, I make no claims to Sin itself. razz

YAY MORE PASSING OUT xd Though, this one is not for medical reasons, so I think I can get away with it. xd ))

Jalisat started to turn slowly at the sound of Eddora's voice. His expression had gone slack, his jaw slightly open, and his arms hung limply at his sides. As they drew closer, his eyes rolled up into his head and his legs gave way.

The white mage gave a shout of alarm and hastily moved forward to catch the boy, one arm going across Jalisat's chest and the other swiftly taking hold of his head to keep him from hurting his neck. He slowly lowered Jalisat to the ground, irritably waving at the passersby who stopped to look. Murmuring, they continued on their ways.

((Was going to continue it from there, but I couldn't find a good stopping point once Aer started talking (imagine that), so I'll give it a pause there.))