Summons, Espers, Guardian Forces, Aeons.
Chapter 2.
By Sir Diddimus
(I do not own the rights to, nor did I create, the names, characters, or anything about Summoned Monsters, Espers, Guardian Forces, or Aeons. The makers of Final Fantasy and/or Squaresoft own them)
'Diablos.'
The devil opened his eyes.
'Yes, Bahamut?'
'I am gathering all Espers in the commons. Something has come up.'
Diablos unfurled his lanky form, which had been curled up into a kind of fetal position, floating in what he called his dwelling, but was nothing more than the outskirts of the Esper village.
'I shall be there in a moment.'
He did not like being disturbed. Much less did he enjoy the idea of congregating with his "fellow Espers". They did not much enjoy his presence, and he in turn shunned theirs, opting instead to hibernate quietly until another time of Calling.
It had always been like this for the devil. Long ago, when the goddesses had made the Espers, he had been something of an evil man. No tyrant, but a person who shunned the light and made quick work of those who would bother him. Diablos had used the then taboo Dark Magic in those days, and when he was transformed, the darkness reflected in his soul.
The Calling did not yearn for him much. It did not trust him, perhaps. He remembered only one or two occasions in his ancient existence when he had been Called. The Calling had named him "Lich" then, his other form that was the same, if not more shocking, than his normal body. This often angered Diablos. Bahamut could take human form. Shiva was humanoid enough, and Leviathan and Ashura often took on the shape.
But not Diablos. He would be forever shaped as a leathery-winged demon with every extremity coming to a sharp point. His form as Lich wasn't much better. Unshorn, tangled hair over a dark, almost featureless face, and wings of bone.
Not that looking good troubled him much. He had realized, soon after his first Calling, long following the destruction of the three goddesses, that all he could do was pay penance for his life of evil. Of course, his way wasn't always blunt. He didn't make extra steps to make the world shine brighter or for birds to sing, (If he could he would crush and eat the damned shrill things out of existence) but lent his hand in the battles his Summoner faced, and lent it well. His foes hardly ever expected him. The Demon Prince. The Dark Messenger.
With a start he kicked into the air as if through water, and shot himself high into the swift currents of the dimension's wind. The wind he liked. Pandemona was highly respected by the flying Espers, and provided currents to gain strength in, or to leisurely sail in with little or no purpose.
Pandemona served his purpose well. The dimension the Espers called home was one without anything. No gravity, ground, sky, wind, heat, cold, or water. Though the Espers needed none of those things, providing them was easy, and helped ease the strain of going from one place to the next.
The Espers who had the most natural relationship with the elementals carried out the task of providing these things. Titan, being the master of Earth, gave solid firmness to the ground, while Ramuh, lord of Thunder gave shape to the sky. Pandemona gave breath to the wind, while Ifrit generated the heat of Fire, countered by Shiva's will of Ice. Leviathan spawned water for them, and Diablos was the one to set gravity into the dimension, giving it some sense of normalcy.
The commons were slowly creeping into Diablos' sight, and he saw many Espers had already gathered there, standing silently as if awaiting a sentence of death. Diablos scoffed at them.
He set down near the edge of the large circle of Espers, nodding mutely to Phoenix, whose wings were hanging limply on her back. She was a dazzling creature, wings shimmering, emitting their own golden light, and red feathers glowing softly in the odd illumination of the dimension. From the look on her face, she knew what was going on. Diablos turned away and looked up at a shadow that had passed overhead.
Bahamut. His massive wings were spread far apart, and he was floating directly above the mass of Espers, silently turning to look down at them, one by one. Every now and again he would bring his gaze back up and close his eyes, as if he was a blind human listening to people whisper around him.
Diablos waited patiently, and spoke to Phoenix now and then.
"You see Shiva and Ifrit?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice low.
Phoenix cast her gaze down.
"Yes, I was the one to send for them."
Silence followed, neither Esper saying much, until she finally spoke,
"They came along swiftly. Yet silent… of course. This will never change for them. And they know it. I can never tell if they are ever fully going to understand."
Diablos didn't make any acknowledgement of the information, and looked back up at Bahamut. He had opened his eyes and was nodding, to whom the devil wasn't sure. He had seen the same thing happen countless times, the colossal dragon lord hovering above before….
"The Time of Calling is upon us; the Summoners… this age does not give them sole access to our powers. Now we must be cautious. We no longer have their protection. And…" Bahamut stopped to pause and gauge responses from the Espers below. Seeing Shiva broke his heart. Ifrit's countenance didn't help, either.
"And they have a new way of binding us."
There was a hushed roar from many Espers below. Being summoned from just anyone was one thing, but this was turning ugly fast…
"First, a good deal of us will be under the control of Monsters. They can not bring out our true form, but… they will use our magic."
A cry from an Esper who had survived the Gestahl Empire's Magitek Research Facility rang through the crowded commons. Another went to comfort him.
"We will only be under their spell a short while. The humans have devised a new means of attaining magic, and we can also be attained through the method. Remember, the Calling rarely pits us on the side of evil. Those who are meant to receive our powers… will be worthy."
Bahamut looked about the Espers. Not a one of them seemed to believe his lie. He didn't blame them, and they didn't say anything about it.
"What about the others?" Tritoch, the ostrich-like Esper spoke up, "the ones not… used by Monsters?"
"The others will be free to roam on the human world as they please, until challenged," Bahamut spoke in his direction. A large portion of anxiety was lifted off the amassed Espers, but they weren't about to relax yet.
"As I was saying before," Bahamut spoke, "they have a new method of summoning us. We are…" he struggled with the words, "we become… we are ingrained into the spirit of our possessor."
Confusion hung about the horde, but no one spoke. Bahamut's wings started to beat with impressive speed.
"We don't have much time. The Calling is upon us once again."
He flew around the circle, his speed increasing. His voice grew in pitch, and resounded, though there was nothing about the space around him that would create such an echo.
"You are the Summoned! You were made in the same vein as magic itself!"
The air grew thick and heavy. Bahamut's shouts were screams now.
"Ramuh!"
"Siren!"
"Titan!"
The three disappeared as he called them; changing form and shimmering into the whirlpool of air Bahamut was creating.
"Carbuncle!"
"Leviathan!"
"Pandemona!"
"Ashura!"
"Alexander!"
Just the same as before, the Espers vanished into the air.
"Doomtrain!!"
"Cactuar!!"
"Tonberry!!"
"Phoenix!!"
Diablos moved slightly out of the way as the giant bird shot away from him, and he stared into the circular gateway, until-
"DIABLOS!"
He was gone.
Bahamut kept the circle up for a moment, no longer being able to delay the next two names.
"Shiva…!"
"Ifrit…!"
They disappeared without anyone having a chance to look at their faces.
"Boko!"
The jittery little chocobo went along as well, chirping out something between surprise and anguish.
"Mog! And Odin!"
He made a few more passes before he finished the Calling.
"Ragnarok!"
He swooped to the middle and shimmered too brightly for most of the Espers to look at.
It was his last scream, and the last time he'd be in the Esper dimension for a long while.
"BAHAMUT!!!"
The circle imploded on him, and he was gone. The other Espers sighed in relief, and in worry. They never knew who would be coming back from the Calling alive. The Silf sisters crowded together and spoke in quick, hushed voices, while Maduin heaved a mighty breath, still staring at the now still sky. All the unchosen did now was wait.
More to follow…