The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Ikken Isshu]

She reminded him of Feng, he realized. Her strong-willed nature. Her (occasional) obnoxiousness. Not that he was completely innocent of being pigheaded, but maybe that was why he'd been so set on following her all the way to Zanarkand.

His throat didn't seem willing to loosen, but he hadn't broken down yet, so he decided he had reached some kind of tenuous emotional stability.

"He was researching the Fayth," he said as he walked, without looking at her or directly responding to what she had said. Lightning struck a rod that he hadn't noticed in the darkness, quite close. He resisted the urge to jerk away from it. "He had a theory that more Fayth, new Fayth, could be created somehow. I think he got the idea out of some old archive somewhere, but I never saw anything but his notes. Then he died. We followed his trail, me and her - I was mostly tagging along; it was her quest, really. We followed him for a few years, gathering bits and pieces of his notes, like a trail of bread crumbs, and raising our own little family as we went. We'd only just figured out the point of his research when Sin returned." He stopped talking for a moment, but there was nothing. He felt cold, and wet, but the crippling grief was gone. He didn't know exactly what had overshadowed it, but it was gone. "And our ship was destroyed. I just tried to forget, you know. All of it, even from before I knew her. My real name isn't even - but never mind, that doesn't matter anymore. I answer better to Aer now anyway."

He stopped, and gently put out an arm to block Ed's path. He nodded down at the entrance to the cave; the muddy slope led downward into it.

"This thing here has made it all worse, to be honest. I'm no summoner, I can't tell if it's alive or not, but I think her father finished his work. I think he became a new Fayth. Whatever it is, it's in this cave... in this Cloister. It's drier once you get inside; must be some kind of drainage channel somewhere." Once again, he didn't wait, he just started the precarious walk down into the cave.  

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora was a little disappointed when he didn't even acknowledge her apology, but he certainly wasn't obligated to forgive her insult, so she said nothing. If only she could take back everything she'd said....

As Aer spoke of his father-in-law, Ed glanced up at him from time to time. She was starting to get really worried about him now; he seemed so...numb and lifeless. She had a nagging feeling that he was going to break down completely in the end, that the sudden stress of his memories and grief would break him. Or he would just withdraw into himself, and the Aer she had come to know would be gone forever. She wasn't sure which she thought was worse.

She said nothing in response, almost afraid to speak again, but she frowned at the thought of a human in recent history making themselves a fayth. That knowledge was supposed to have been lost long ago - something about a great library of Yevon being destroyed by Sin some eight hundred years ago. Even if someone did manage to discover how to do that...why would they ever want to? What would drive someone to encase their soul in a statue for all eternity?

Ed hesitated, then followed Aer into the dark depths of the cave, leaving the storm raging about the mouth.

((I totally made up the library thing on the spot, just so you know razz ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Whatever works. I was curious how Ed would react to hearing that, anyway. razz ))

He had to admit, he was curious as to what kind of test the Fayth would put them to this time. He wasn't sure how the Fayth made their decisions, but he expected it would be his trial, since he had more of a connection to this one. That was what he thought, anyway, until they reached the central chamber and nothing untoward seemed to happen. He kept an eye on Ed to make sure they didn't get separated, and for once, it seemed the Fayth would simply allow them to pass.

The cave led a fairly straight path down into the earth. As they left the ambient light of the sky and the lightning behind them, it was gradually replaced by some kind of fluorescent lichen on the walls of the cave. Before long, the cave opened into an approximately circular chamber. The entire thing was rough-hewn from stone, obviously not a full-fledged temple built by Yevonites. He was certain it couldn't be more than a few decades old, but even so, it held the same reverent aura as the ancient Cloisters they'd already been to. At the rear of the chamber, there was a roughshod stone staircase, about eight or nine steps leading to a dark recess in the wall. There didn't seem to be any kind of door, but the chamber beyond was so dark that it hardly mattered.

"I already went into the Chamber without knowing what it was," Aer said quietly, "but I'll stay back this time."

Then, after a moment of searching for the right words, he added, "I'm sorry I deceived you, and everyone. It wasn't the right way to go about it." He wasn't sure how to phrase the rest of it, so he fell silent and stared up at the entrance to the Chamber of the Fayth.  

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora found herself glaring around into the shadows of the cloister as they walked through it, even though this wasn't an ordinary cloister, there were no obstacles, and there was not even a hint of one of the fayth's 'tests' about to spring out on them. The last time they'd set foot in a cloister, Calaman had disappeared and thrown everything into disarray. She didn't know what she'd do if Aer did the same. Ed realized her hand was twitching as if in readiness to grab him if something happened, and she was walking so close to his side their shoulders brushed against each other.

But they made it all the way to the end without incident, and Ed finally forced herself to relax as she faced the stairs leading up the final chamber. She glanced sidelong at Aer. Did he really want her to obtain this aeon - if this man truly had succeeded - when it was his own father-in-law? To say it was awkward would be putting it mildly. But then, she needed every bit of help she could get to fight Sin, even if in the end.... Don't think about it, she advised herself.

So, after briefly laying a comforting hand on Aer's shoulder, Ed walked resolutely forward, climbed the steps, and entered the Chamber of the Fayth.

((Aaaaand cutting it off there because you know this fayth dude better than I do. Y'know, this reminds me of the Yojimbo sidequest....))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((It's been too long for me to say I even remember the Yojimbo sidequest. crying I do, however, remember Yojimbo being my second favorite Aeon. Anima being the first, of course. I love me some overpowered Aeons. I seem to remember liking the Magus Sisters an awful lot, too.))

Aer watched the dark passage for a brief time, then turned away and sat on the floor. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what the man's Aeon would be. He had a hunch, but he hoped he would be wrong. He didn't know if he particularly wanted Ed to have this Aeon if he was right, but who was he to deny his Summoner an additional chance of success?

Within, Ed found what looked like a makeshift Chamber of the Fayth; it was constructed roughly correctly, except that the runes decorating the floor were roughly carved or painted with what looked just a little too much like blood, and the overall structure of the room must have been done manually, and without much planning. It was, as with the rest of the Cloister, mostly correct.

What lay in the center of the Chamber, though, was anything but flawed; like a mural covering the majority of the floor, edged in dull gold engraved all around with hand-carved runes, was unmistakably a Fayth. It was difficult to make out, but the Fayth's statue looked like some kind of aquatic beast, a dragon or leviathan curled up in tenuous repose, ready to awaken at a moment's notice.

Then, perhaps a trick of the light, there was a man.

He sat in the center of the Fayth's statue, watching Eddora with his arms around his knees. He was dressed like a sailor - like a pirate, more like - with an open-chested, short-sleeved shirt, short pants, no shoes, and a bandana tied around his head. Appropriately, he was missing an eye, having covered it with a classic black eyepatch.

He watched Ed, quietly. His face was hard to see in the dim lighting, but he might have been smiling.

((Not entirely sure that I like this post, but I'm committed to it now, I guess. <_< ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((I had to laugh when I decided on his name, and the humor of it made me decide that it had to be his name, now. A man with a Japanese name has a daughter with a Chinese name, who hooks up with a man with a Latin name, who then starts following around a woman with a man's - er, that one might be going a little too... >_> xd ))

"You're a good one," the man said mildly, his voice reverberating off of something other than the chamber walls. He stood up, leisurely, taking his time. Once he moved, Ed could see that he was transparent, which wiped away any potential lingering doubt about what he was.

"I like you." He smiled. "It's been a while since I've seen somebody who wasn't trying to murder me or sell me something. I can see why he likes you, though. You're strong. I can guess who you are, though I don't actually know your name... Well, I suppose I'll know it soon enough. My name is Kaizoku. That's not particularly important now, but I give it to you as a token of respect. Now, if you don't object, I have something else to give you." He stepped forward, off of the statue, and slightly to the side. "Her name is Feng. Take care of her. You might be the only Summoner ever to see her."

Then he was gone, and the Fayth's statue - the Aeon, the massive sea-beast, now appearing more as some kind of unearthly shark or dolphin - was unfurling, rising up out of the ground. It quickly took the posture of a fish leaping out of the water, and when it came back down, it swam through the air, making a brief loop around the exterior of the chamber as if stretching after a long captivity. Then it descended, appeared to stare at Ed for a few seconds - and burst into light. A swarm of Pyreflies, of possibly even greater brilliance than the ones that had come from the first three Aeons, swept toward Ed in a furious torrent, engulfing her -

She was Feng. She cut through the water with grace and determination, swiftness and power, the entirety of Spira's vast seas and waterways her stomping ground. Her hot temper was matched only by her cool exterior, and the flow of water over her razor-sharp fins was like the air over Valefor's wings, swirling behind her as she moved. Memories - hers? Her father's? Both? - came back to her, chief among them the sound of the Sinspawn shrieking as it carried her over the edge. Mirroring it, the sound of Aer screaming as he watched her go. The sight of the sky receding, and the broken edges of a doomed ship rising above. The jarring impact of the water. The burning taste of salt. The darkness. There was no fear; there was only anger. Her fury poured out into the ocean, endlessly moving the currents until she was the storm, she was the whirlpool, she was the tidal wave, she was the beast. Sin was no horror to her; Sin was only a target. She was Feng.

When the dark chamber returned and Ed remembered who she really was, her first reaction was to cough violently - the memory of drowning was still too vivid. But it faded soon enough, and then Feng was just another Aeon, another ghostly dream of unimaginable power waiting in the back of Ed's mind until it - until she - was needed.

The statue in the center of the room was lifeless, and even the fungus on the walls seemed to have dimmed.

((I think I might have made up for that last mediocre post. xd ))  

[Griselda Banks]

((*Eddora punches you to Kingdom Come* rofl

Oh, and I was going to say that OMG I hated Yojimbo! scream Well, maybe not quite that strong. I just found it really annoying that you had to pay him a heap of money any time you wanted him to actually do anything. The only times I ever used him, really, were against Sin and Yu Yevon. The Magus Sisters were really powerful, but a bit too quonky for my tastes. Anima was pretty sweet, but my favorite aeon has always been Bahamut 3nodding His name, his appearance, the irony of him being a kid and probably one of the oldest aeons at the same time.... Awesome.))

As usual, Eddora staggered in the wake of the aeon becoming one with her. But this time, she staggered from more than the residue of magic. Even as she coughed and gagged on nothing, she looked at her hands and saw that they were trembling. Maybe it was simply from the strength of Feng, but Ed felt strangely unsettled by this new aeon. She stood, trying to come to grips with the realization that inside her, in that part of her mind or soul or whatever it was where the other beings lay dormant, now lay at least something of the woman who had been married to Aer.

Sudden heat rose in her cheeks, and she hastily turned aside from the fayth statue. Why Feng? Why not Kaizoku, if that was the fayth-man's name? Were the two somehow both fayth? She didn't know much about the process of becoming fayth - no one did - but she supposed she shouldn't put it past someone like this to figure out how to...do whatever it was that he'd done.

Feeling utterly confused, Ed managed to stop her trembling hands and stepped out of the Chamber of the Fayth. Aer was still there, of course, waiting quietly for her. I can see why he likes you. She wondered if it was Feng that made something clench inside her as she looked up at him. Oh, Yevon, how was she going to say this...?

Unable to come up with a tactful way to put it, she said bluntly after a momentary pause, "I got it - her. Feng. She's my aeon now." She watched cautiously for Aer's reaction, not sure how much he'd known or suspected beforehand.

((And yes, I think it did, lol xd Oh, and by the way, kudos for the "She was Feng" paragraph - I liked reading that ^_^))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((I cheated and checked without being asked. ;D

Sadly, a short post, but I had little else to do here. ほんとにごめんなさい。))

Something like a sob shook Aer in the instant after Ed told him, but it came alone. He looked up, smiling.

"I thought it might be her," he said. "You'll make a good team. I mean, if that is how it works, I'm not sure. I should tell you... Obviously I have a lot of ghosts, and this is definitely putting ripples in the water, but - that might be a good thing. For what it's worth, Ed, I'm committed to the pilgrimage."

His smile widened in silent laughter. "I'm being melodramatic. We should go; they're waiting for us, probably panicking by now."  

[Griselda Banks]

(( sweatdrop Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this! I was out of town for a week, then had to catch up on things again, and then various websites wouldn't work.... mad Anywayz, I'm back now.))

Eddora watched him carefully to see if he was just hiding some other emotion behind his smile, but as far as she could tell, he looked sincere. Returning his smile with relief and sympathy, she nodded and said, "Yeah, let's get out of here."

As they made their way back through the underground passage to the mouth of the cave, silence fell over them again - after all, what was there to say? Ed mentally steadied herself, trying not to think too hard about just who Feng was. She was...well, she was gone now, and Aer seemed to be fine about the whole situation, but Ed decided to be careful about when she summoned her newest aeon.

She'd somehow forgotten about the rain. Scowling in disgust, she shielded her face from the downpour with an arm as they emerged from the cave at last. As she turned to head back to the inn, however, she came face-to-face with Rogan. The sailor stood with his arms crossed over his chest, gazing at the cave with an odd expression on his face. Almost as though...he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

Abruptly, Rogan seemed to realize he wasn't alone anymore, and the strange expression fell from his face, quickly replaced with a knowing smirk. "So that's where you two were. Could have picked a more romantic spot, don't you think?"

Ed's jaw dropped before she could catch herself. "It wasn't...we're not...." she spluttered, then gritted her teeth and kicked Rogan mercilessly in the shins. "Okay, you can quit making wisecracks and hit the road. We're going."

"Yes, My Lady," Rogan groaned, rubbing his leg and hobbling after her as she marched back to the inn to gather up her guardians.

"Knew I should've just stuck with one..." she grumbled to herself.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Back. 3nodding

I have decided, at least, on Calaman's fate. It is quite delicious, if a little sad. I imagine everybody else will be quite unhappy with it, but don't worry, I'll drag it out. twisted ))

When Ed kicked Rogan, Aer resisted the urge to laugh, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. The friendly - well, relatively friendly - tomfoolery seemed to be an indicator that, whatever had happened, it wasn't unforgivable. Maybe. Or maybe he was just thinking too much.

I'm a different person now - ignorant, arrogant, foolish. That's the way I want it. Calaman has a monopoly on brooding, and he can have it.

Even so, he couldn't think of any clever remarks to add as he followed the other two.

~

Calaman sat in front of the fire, watching it, his mind not so much racing as it was plodding along steadily; he'd tried several times to stop it, to relax and let his mind go blank, but it wouldn't obey him.

Physiologically, he thought, grimacing at his casual use of a word he'd only heard once or twice in his life, nothing's changed about me since Djose. If he intended to keep me captive, Pheos could've taken me back any number of times by now. He must know where I am. That must mean he's already accomplished whatever he intended to do. No, not necessarily. Physiologically I'm unchanged, but I've learned about my new power... maybe he won't bother taking me again, because I could escape at my leisure. He must not know how unlikely it is that I'll try that foolishness again without being damn sure I know what I'm doing. Or maybe it's not me that's changed - maybe it's him. It's obvious he's mad. Maybe his intentions, his abilities, or something else change depending on his fluctuating mental state. Maybe he only had one chance to take me, and he can't do it again, at least, not easily.

He realized he was unraveling the seam of the chair, twining the thread around his right pointer finger. Frowning, he snapped it off, balled it up and flicked it into the fire. In the midst of the flames, a little ball flared up, blindingly bright, and vanished.

Or maybe I'm just not equipped to decipher such an impossible situation. I should be worrying about what is going to happen now, not trying to decipher the meaning behind a madman's actions.

His sword sat propped up against the side of the chair in its scabbard, untouched. The flames reflected in the inch or so of polished blade exposed above the scabbard were warped and distorted by the shape of the metal, the colors dulled. The white cloth around the hilt was stained dark with dirt and sweat and maybe blood. The leather stretched over the pommel was dry and cracking.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Yay!!!! Welcome back!

You know, I've been meaning to ask you: Do you know Monty Oum's "Dead Fantasy" movies? I just saw Dead Fantasy IV, and...woah eek Somebody really needs to get this dude on their payroll so he can choreograph movie fight scenes.

...And you just had to tell me that Cal doesn't get a happy ending, didn't you? gonk Well, so long as he doesn't end pathetically, I guess.... If he dies, he better get a cool death scene blaugh Of course, we don't even know how the pilgrimage is going to end, so Ed might end up pretty sadly herself.))

Venez looked grumpy, and Calaman distracted, when Eddora poked her head into the inn, dripping all over the doormat. She didn't pay attention to the kid. "C'mon, guys," she said impatiently, pushing her drenched hair out of her face. "It's not getting any drier out there. Let's get a move on."

Venez pushed herself to her feet, grumbling something under her breath that sounded like "never asked to go on a pilgrimage anyway". Frowning, Ed returned to the deluge outside. She would be glad to get out of this gloomy place, that was for sure. It was no wonder no one ever tried to live here other than that poor innkeeper.

Ed set the pace, stomping up the path as fast as she could reasonably go, disregarding the puddles she splashed through or the lightning strikes that hit the ground nearby. She just wanted to get out of here. The only good thing about this place was that Calaman had shown up while they were there.

At such a pace, it only took a couple more hours before the broken stone petered away beneath their feet and became greyish soil, and the sky lightened overhead, though the clouds didn't completely go away. The rain mercifully ceased, and no more thunder rumbled overhead. The dark smear that had been on the horizon for a while now came closer and closer, until they could make out individual trees of the great forest of Macalania. Ed stepped underneath their boughs with a sigh of relief and slowed her pace somewhat. She remembered this forest from when she'd traveled to Bevelle the first time, years ago. The trunks were silvery and smooth as though made of silk, so unlike the rough plants she'd been used to around Djose. The crystal-clear sap that oozed out of the bark had crystallized in many places, forming hard lumps of what looked like diamonds. The dim light filtering through the silver-green leaves of the trees danced on these crystals, sending miniature rainbows skittering across the forest floor.

Even Ed had to admit this place was pretty.

((Thought we should get the action moving again, now that Ed's got Feng and that's all squared away. But dude...it's been too long. I wrote 'Vesper' instead of 'Venez' at first up there, and almost didn't realize it! Vesper is a character of one of my original stories, and rather a different person from Venez altogether sweatdrop ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Whoa. I was reviewing old posts, and I realized something.

In about three months, we will have been doing this RP for three years.

I've never seen Dead Fantasy (until now - just watched the first, and will probably watch the rest sometime today or tomorrow), but I have seen Haloid, another project of his, and I love Haloid.))

"I see that gleam in your eye," Aer said slyly from behind Ed. "Best be on your guard around all this sparkly stuff, lest we see your feminine side."

"Careful," Calaman warned. "I'd say her feminine side's a touch more frightening than your masculine side, wizard."

Aer scowled and shut his mouth.

"This place reminds me of Guadosalam," Jalisat said into the eldritch silence.

Calaman glanced back, and tried not to look uncomfortable when he said, "Guadosalam?"

"It's... kind of creepy," the boy said. "Guadosalam was creepy too."

"That man in Guadosalam was pretty creepy," Aer muttered. Jalisat remained silent on that point.

"I suppose you'd know creepy," Calaman put in without missing a beat, but then his grin faded. He frowned and stopped walking, his eyes fixed on a point up ahead -

There, far enough away that his long, deep blue coat blended in with the forest, a dark-haired man stood in the middle of the path, watching them. When Calaman stopped walking, the man started to move toward them. He was too far away for his face to be seen clearly, but he was pale - or perhaps it was just the ambient, sterile lighting of the woods. When he was close enough to be heard without shouting - though he did have to raise his voice - he told them, "I was beginning to wonder when the first Summoner would reach this place."

"You mean we're ahead of the rest?" Aer blurted incredulously.

"I'm something of a caretaker," the man told them. "Call me Kasetsu." He stopped a handful of paces away, and stepped aside to let the group pass. "These woods can be dangerous. Oftentimes the forest's magic will guide travelers through safely, but sometimes it leads them astray. It would be best if you allow me to guide you to the temple."

"Oebr left the temple at Kilika before we went in," Calaman interrupted, apparently out of his own thoughts. "And he uses his Aeons like his own personal flying shoopufs. I know I was gone for a while, so I may have missed something, but how could we have beaten him here?"

"I don't know," Aer said with a shrug, "but obviously we did. You heard the man. We're the first party here."

"Not necessarily," Calaman said. "A group could have come and gone while he slept, and he would never have known."

"Or perhaps I am not the only caretaker of Macalania Temple," Kasetsu interrupted with a patient smile.

"I've heard your voice before," Calaman said flatly.

"Surely you are mistaken, sir. I've never left this region."

Calaman watched the man tensely for a few seconds, then shook his head. "I apologize. I have no reason to doubt your intentions. Forgive me."

Kasetsu bowed his head, then lowered himself to a knee and performed an impeccable prayer gesture. At the bottom of the gesture, he paused and said, "There is nothing to forgive, sir. The beautiful Lady must be proud to have such an astute Guardian." He rose, still smiling pleasantly.

Calaman frowned, but didn't respond. He just took a small step back, as if to hand the situation over to Ed. Aer shot Cal an odd look, and Jalisat just watched everybody, eyes wide.  

[Griselda Banks]

(( eek Dude, are you serious? Wow. We're more hardcore than I thought!

Ahhh, I know, isn't Monty Oum awesome? I've seen Haloid too, and it was pretty cool. I like Dead Fantasy better, I think because there's so many installments so you get that much more action-y goodness blaugh ))

At Aer's words, Rogan let out a laugh that echoed around the empty, glittering forest, and even Venez stopped being grumpy long enough to smile slightly.

Eddora scowled, though with little heat, and crossed her arms comfortably as they walked farther along the path. "Yeah, yeah, really funny, guys. The only thing I want to see sparkling is that temple at the other side. I've heard the walls are made from solid ice."

Even so, she found herself gazing up at the crystals glistening on the bluish-silver boughs as they walked, taking a more leisurely pace now that they weren't being constantly drenched. There was no place in Spira quite like Macalania Woods, and she caught herself wishing they could stay here longer than the hours it would take to find their way through to the other side.

Calaman's sudden halt brought her back to the present, and her eyes locked on this newcomer. He didn't look familiar to her - at least, she didn't think so - but she caught onto Calaman's suspicion and watched the man carefully all the same. She raised an eyebrow as she silently watched the interchange.

"Okay," she said slowly when all her guardians turned to her. "I don't see how we could have beaten everybody else, but I guess a guide wouldn't hurt. There's lots of paths running through this place." She thought a moment, trying to remember if she'd ever heard of temple caretakers before, then shrugged and nodded. "Lead on, then."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((I feel so awesome right now. I know all of the Hiragana; I am pretty confident with the Katakana, though I still get a handful of them mixed up; and I am beginning to learn American Sign Language, which is made more awesome by the fact that I am working on it with a few deaf relatives, so I can practice as I learn. Add that to my extensive (though not fluent) knowledge of Spanish, my limited study of German, Latin, and Japanese, and my very limited experience with Italian, and I feel like a walking Rosetta Stone. biggrin ))

They walked for some time through the glittering forest; Kasetsu occasionally turned back to ensure that his charges were still close, but for the most part he walked ahead of the party, without speaking.

It was because of that silence that Calaman immediately sensed a problem when Aer came up behind him and murmured, "Well, that was odd."

Calaman frowned but kept walking. "What?"

"Our guide, just now. He was asking me questions about you and Ed, questions there's no way I'd be able to answer. Sounded innocent enough, but - "

"He hasn't even come close enough to talk to any of us since we started walking," Calaman interrupted.

It was Aer's turn to frown. Then, as one, they both looked up ahead - Kasetsu was facing back, smiling at the two of them. As if on a cue, he stopped walking, lifted one hand in a friendly wave, and took off, away from the path, into the trees. Not a second later, something obscured the path ahead, its dark form large enough to cast a deep shadow as far as Calaman's feet. As it approached, slowly and without much grace, it could be made out, though 'clearly' wasn't exactly the word. It vaguely resembled an airborne Flan or a very watery Bomb without its psychotic face, but more than anything it just looked like a blob of water floating through the air.

"You've got to be kidding," Calaman grumbled as he drew his sword.

((Time for Calaman to show off his new powers... as well as get some character development. ;D

Hint: Kasetsu's name is important.))

 

[Griselda Banks]

(( eek Woah, that's...quite a feat. Now I feel jealous, lol. You'll have to help poor me who's only taken two years of Latin, almost two years of Spanish, and gleans random Japanese words from anime. What does Kasetsu mean? Or if it's a spoiler for now, please tell me when it's done! I'm curious now ^_^

In other news, I had just about the same reaction to Cal when I read your description of the fiend DX Hated that thing.))

Eddora leapt back in surprise; she'd been trying to keep alert, because this forest could be deceptively calm when fiends were lurking about, but she'd never seen this coming. So she hadn't been crazy to suspect Kasetsu.

Then she began to summon, and all coherent thoughts ceased. Ixion seemed to leap forth at the slightest touch of her mind, eager to rush into the battle. Stomping his feet, he charged up a ball of electricity that ran to the end of his cruelly curving horn, and lightning blasted towards the fiend.

The lightning crashed into the fiend with a clap of thunder...and did nothing. The fiend barely twitched. Rearing back in surprise on his hind feet, Ixion let out a shrill whinny and shot another blast of electricity at the fiend, to the same result. It made no sense. The fiend was obviously water-based, but Ixion's powerful attacks could not get through the magical hide...which seemed immune to electric magic.

((Checked a walkthrough to make sure I was thinking of the right boss, and yup, it's that annoying guy that the walkthroughs claim is really easy, but had me reloading tons of times.))