Ch. 1 Summoners Calling

I wonder how many people out there on this site have weird creative bursts and ideas that won't leave their heads until they make something of it….oh well.

I hope you enjoy this, I enjoy Final Fantasy a lot, my favorites being 4 and 13(please don't kill me) and I think that Grimoire of Zero is a cool light novel/anime, while not being amazing. It does has some cool aspects about it and I thought it would be cool to see what happens when the witch Zero meets a world filled with magic that doesn't come from demons but rather crystals (I still don't know how that works.)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this weird combination of similar worlds.

Morning

The soft glow of the morning is met with the usual sound of talking and the faint scent of alcohol of a simple tavern. With the usual gathering of people ranging from adventurers to simple townsfolk. The only thing that seems to be standing out in the tower, sitting at a bar seat at one of the corners is a large anthropomorphic white tiger wearing a worn brown cloak over his clothes and body. The person sitting opposite of him is a petite, teenage girl with white hair wearing a open black coat with purple accents and big, white cuffs with a white shirt that shows her midsection, black shorts with a small, white belt, pink stockings that go up to the middle of her thighs, and thick, knee-high brown boots.

The girl asks the tiger "Hey, Mercenary, do you remember that weird rumor yesterday?"

The white tiger named Mercenary, which he uses to keep his true name safe from witches, answers "The one about the nearby temple? Sure, the strange noises seem to be bothering people for some time. What do you think it is Zero?"

The girl named Zero takes a minute to think and replies "I do have a few guesses, but the only way to know for sure is to take a look. How about later today?"

Mercenary replies "Sure, although I got this feeling that something bad is goin' to happen."

Zero replies while taking a bite of her food "Didn't you feel that way when we first met?"

Mercenary replies in a whisper with a slightly annoyed expression "What did you expect, I'm a beastfallen, your a witch, it was like having a cleaver ready for my neck."

Zero smiles and says "At least you now know that I have no need for your head, I want all of you for myself."

Mercenary replies with a tired expression "Your never going to stop that, are you?"

Zero giggles joyfully and declares with confidence "Never."

Daytime

After breakfast and restocking supplies for the road, they go through the gates on the south side of the town they were in. Walking down the road for about half an hour, they find a second road that leads to a temple in the forest. The temple appears like a manner like structure with a tower in the center made entirely out of stone. The entrance is two large stone doors that seem to haven't move in a long time because of the plants covering the walls and the doors.

Mercenary uses his strength, due to being a beastfallen, to open the two doors with slight difficulty.

When the two enter, the first thing that caught their attention is the strangely lighten torches and the interior looking like a large mansion, with multiple rooms, made from stone.

Zero comments "The main temple must be the tower in the center, let's find the entrance as we look around." Mercenary nods and the two travelers walk around the building looking at each individual rooms including an old style stone kitchen, a lounge area with a slightly recently used fireplace, and a series of bedrooms throughout the first and second floor.

The apparent entrance to the tower is in a room under the staircase at the main hall past a door on the right side when you enter the temple. Although the door is locked, so their next decided step is to find the key. Since they didn't find anything in the rooms they already looked in, they decided to check any rooms they haven't searched through yet.

Before they left the locked tower entrance, Zero asks "Hey Mercenary, does this help with our search?"

Zero hands out an old folded paper to Mercenary who unfolds it, looks at it for a few seconds and asks "Where did ya find this?"

Zero points to the large, open, and empty chest and says "In there."

Mercenary asks with a bored expression and tone "You found a map to the entire building, including the tower in a large chest?"

Zero nods and adds while taking out a bottle with a light blue like fluid "And this, whatever it is."

Mercenary asks "What do you think it is?"

Zero answers after a minute "I'm not sure at the moment, and I don't think it's a good idea to check now. We can figure it out later when we're done here." Mercenary nods and they use the map to check the rooms they haven't searched before including a storage area for random items from random weapons to various herbs. Other rooms look unused due to the dust and cobwebs on large parts of the areas.

Eventually, they find themselves in a two floor library filled with various books with tables at the center of the first floor. On the table is various papers and books scattered about, some are reports of various and random subjects and the books are scattered about with a couple of them being opened to a specific page.

The two look through the various books and under the papers to find the key to the tower. Zero eventually finds the key under a pile of papers, a basic metal key with a slight rust on it. Zero looks at the papers and books again and finds an interesting book with a strange title.

Zero picks up the book as Mercenary asks behind her "What seems to have caught your attention?"

Zero replies as she hands the key to Mercenary "This book has a strange title, and as i wish to read through this entire library, I'm going to have to be quick about this."

Mercenary then asks as he pockets the key "Why are you reading a random book when the answers are in that tower?"

Zero silently chuckles and answers "Mercenary, think about this. Whatever is in that tower is enough to have rumors spreading through that town and could possibly spread far and wide fast. It is still unclear whether this involves the grimoire of zero or not, but right now we need information about this temple and what might have inhabit it and what occurs here. Especially if whatever used to be here is still here."

Mercenary thinks about her explanation for a minute, nods and replies "I guess you make a good point, we know nothing about this place and what it's about." Zero then begins to read the book called "Eidolon" at a casual pace while trying to not take too much time. Meanwhile, Mercenary uses up most of his time to look around the area and see what makes up the library.

After about a half hour of looking and reading, Zero closes the book and walks to Mercenary.

Zero states "I think I got a good comprehension of what this temple is about."

Mercenary replies "Okay, so now we are prepared for whatever might be in the tower, right?" Zero nods with the smile on her face and the two travel to the tower entrance. Mercenary uses the key, which works, and they begin to walk up the tower which takes a bit of time to climb as the tower is so tall you can see the top from outside in the forest.

Before they reach the door to the top of the tower, a sudden shaking has made them hold on to the walls along with Mercenary holding onto Zero in case. Once the shaking settled, they slowly approach the door and push the door open slowly.

The first thing they see is a circular chamber with a strange circular with writing surrounding it. Something else that stands out is who looks like a 30 year old man wearing a silver robe with gold lining, he turns to the two new visitors who entered the room to which they can see the large tome in his right arm. The two can now see the face that seems to go with the silver hair that is fashioned to keep it out of the eyes. Behind his basic square black glasses are focused, calculating green eyes that stand out from his simple and clean face.

The man walks up to the two and asks with a curious tone "Who are you and what is it that you come here for?"

Zero replies before Mercenary could try to diffuse the situation "I am the witch Zero, we heard some strange rumors from a nearby town about the strange things occurring in this temple."

Mercenary tells off Zero "Zero, why did you just state something like that? Isn't that dangerous to just say out loud?"

Zero replies quietly "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

The man states to himself "I guess I should've put in more precautions. It seems like we're gathering to much attention." He then turns to the two and says calmly "I am sorry for the inconvenience, I will do my best to answer any questions you have."

Mercenary then asks after a few seconds "Okay, umm...?"

The man quickly replies "Alexander, my name is Alexander."

Mercenary continues "Okay, Alexander. There have been some people recalling what seems to be a large animal growling and roaring. Could you explain?

Alexander puts his hand to his chin and thinks for almost a minute and then answers "To first explain that, I need to ask you something. Do you know what a summoner is?"

Zero asks "Summoner? Do you mean a Witch?"

Alexander shakes his head and replies "No, a summoner. A witch summons demons to do certain tasks. A summoner summons creatures called Eidolons in order to defeat certain enemies."

Zero comments "It doesn't seem that different on the surface."

Alexander replies "That is slightly true. Anyway, the reason for the noises is because I'm helping train this young summoner to summon simple Eidolons." As he mentions the summoner, he moves to the left and the two see a 7 year old girl with dark green cloths with a yellow skirt and white cloak. She is in a sleeping position, looking exhausted and tired.

Alexander continues "She tried to summon a fire Eidolon, and it worked for a short amount of time, until she passed out from using a lot of her magic energy to summon him."

Zero surmises to herself "So it was summoning training that was creating those noises."

Alexander then contemplate out loud to himself "I should probably send her home before people start getting curious and confusing this for witchcraft."

Zero then asks "By the way, do you know anything about a certain book called the grimoire of zero?"

Alexander looks to Zero for a second and looks away to think for a second until he finally answers "While I don't know anything about the book I heard of a strange rumor of people wielding a strange power somewhere."

Mercenary is slightly surprises as Zero asks with a bit more joy in her voice "That's good, where is it that these people are currently located?"

Alexander has a small bead of sweat when he replies "Well, there is a slight problem with that."

Mercenary comments "I had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy."

Zero asks "And what kind of problem is it."

Alexander looks at them for a few seconds until he finally answers "It's…..in another world."

Zero and Mercenary stare at slightly nervous Alexander with a blank expression until Mercenary asks "You're kidding, right?"

Alexander answers "I wish I was, I really do. But apparently someone with a copy of this book was taken to another world."

Mercenary then asks with a doubtful look on his face "Okay, if this is true, how would you know that is what happened?"

Before Alexander could explain, Zero says "Because he is the Eidolon Alexander, since Eidolons aren't tied to one world, he would know when something strange has occurred."

Alexander then says "I take it you went through the library." Zero nods as Alexander explains "She was studying the various Eidolons before we continued her training. A summoner must have plenty of knowledge on the subject."

Zero nods and Mercenary asks with slight confusion "Okay, could somebody please help me, you look human, how can you be an Eidolon?"

Alexander explains "That is very easy to explain, I used to be human, while I am an Eidolon, while I am not needed as a summon, I can walk around as human, like other Eidolons I know."

Mercenary then says with a slightly confused expression "I guess that makes sense."

Alexander then says with a small smile "Do not worry about it, though I guess you are now quite curious about what I look like as an Eidolon."

Mercenary then says "A little bit."

Alexander replies "try not to feel overwhelmed, okay?" Mercenary nods as Alexander continues "I am this entire building, you are inside the dormant state of my other form."

Mercenary replies with shock "R-Really?!"

Alexander then says with a calm tone "Take a moment to breath, okay?" Mercenary then calmly breaths in and out to calm his initial shock.

Mercenary then asks with a bead of sweat on his brow "So…we're inside you right now?"

Alexander chuckles to himself and answers "Yes and no, currently I'm in this form. While you are inside my other form, it's in a dormant state right now. You don't need to be scared." He then picks up the child and places her on his shoulder. He then asks "Now, do you wish to obtain the book you mention earlier?"

Zero replies "Yes, I imagine that we have to go to this other world to obtain it."

Alexander nods with a small smile to his face and replies "You are correct, although there are a few things I must say before I open the gate."

Zero and Mercenary nod to them as Alexander explains "Okay for one, there are no witches in the world you will visit. While there is magic, it isn't witchcraft." Zero and Mercenary are slightly shocked by this as Alexander continues "Magic, in their world come from these special relic called crystals, they provide knowledge and can allow some people to wield magic. So it is provident that if you have the aptitude for magic, try to learn any of the spells from their world. In fact, I can provide you with a spare book that can help you." Zero nods as he looks towards Mercenary and continues "As such, since there isn't any witchcraft, there are no beastfallen in their world, so as best as possible try to not draw any attention to yourselves if you can help it." Mercenary nods with a slightly worried expression. Alexander also stated with a small smile to his face "Although, there are some strange people, so you can have a little liberty to show yourself if you are comfortable enough." Mercenary seems to have relaxed even for a moment as a small glimmer of hope is shown to him. Alexander then states "One more warning, the world is overaught with monsters if you're not in a town or a safe area, as such, if you are trying to go from one town or kingdom to another, be prepared to fight constantly." They both nod as he finishes "That is about all the warning I can give you right now, let me get a few things and then we can be on our way."

After Alexander obtains a couple of items such as a magic guide for zero and some supplies such as what he calls potions which he explains are healing items to heal small wounds, ethers which can restore magical energy if needed, and tents. He also gives Mercenary a bag filled with the world's currency called Gil which seems to be bronze coins, which is counted up to 3,000.

Alexander then makes a blue portal appear which will lead them to a new world. The two travelers are filled with a mix of nervousness and excitement at what they are going to see.

With the girl in tow Alexander guides them through the portal, Alexander then crosses through the portal.

Zero asks Mercenary "Are you excited Mercenary? This is exciting for me."

Mercenary replies "I am, but I am nervous for obvious reasons."

Zero giggles to herself and replies "No worries Mercenary, we'll take this one step at a time, okay?" Mercenary nods as Zero walk through the portal and waves Mercenary to follow.

Mercenary says to himself as he begins to follow Zero through the portal "I hope I don't regret this." Mercenary then walks through the portal which feels weird, definitely not uncomfortable, just weird.