Chapter Two: A New Kind of School



And so I began my life in the Land of the Summon Monsters. I was given a small room in Andirion Castle, where Asura and Leviathan lived. I was free to roam wherever I wished and explore whatever I wanted. The wonders of the town momentarily drowned my grief. It was the most wonderful thing that had happened to me in weeks. Even traveling with Cecil hadn't been this much fun. Singing with Edward paled in comparison to the thrilling, foreign words of these monsters.

After a month or two of such relaxing activity, I was summoned again to the throne room. Leviathan officially asked me to become a student of the Land; I, thrilled that lessons would begin so soon, accepted.

So I began my studies. I had nothing else to do with my life; besides, these monsters were my family, the only thing I had left; I would have died before I would have disappointed them. The urge, the drive to prove myself, to do something with what I had left, overtook me, even though I didn't realize it when I was young. I threw myself into my lessons with all the energy I had.

My first set of lessons were with Lady Asura herself. We spent hours poring over her infinite supply of old, ancient books. Here I learned the history of the lands I knew and the magics I used. I began, slowly, to learn the alphabet that formed the words of my spells, struggling with the new tongue. Eventually I learned it, whereas Asura promptly assigned me a new language to learn. Her studies were deep in wisdom and history, fantastic epic tales and cold hard facts. She taught me of the different kinds of beasts - those of the mountains, the lakes and rivers, the fields and forests, and the caves underground. I slowly learned words in their tongues, their strengths and weaknesses, their methods of living.

"Asura," I asked one day, pensive over an illustrated text titled Malboro and Beasts of the Depths: In Living Color. "Why are there some monsters that attack people? When I traveled with Cecil, we had to fight monsters. But none of the monsters in this Land have tried to hurt me. Once I know how to talk to them, will I not have to fight them anymore?"

Asura looked at me with a slight smile. "Rydia, has no one told you of this yet?" I shook my head. "Very well, then," she said, gesturing.

I sat down beside her on the long velvety cushion. She put her arm around me and explained. "The monsters you see wandering about the wilderness, those who would attack a lonely predator - these monsters have been afflicted with a disease we simply call the Madness. There was a name for it, long ago, but we have lost it. See, the monsters out there are those that have lost or given up their intelligence to live free in the wild. Monsters living in the Land of the Summoned have a certain cognitive sense - that's a kind of mental ability, I'm sorry - allowing them to communicate with humans - especially summoners. Monsters succumbing to Madness lose this ability, along with some of their more inherent powers. This is why the beasts living in the Land of the Summoned are intelligent, kind, and far more powerful than those who roam the lands. The price for this is that we must stay civilized as we are."

"So." I thought about this for a while. "If you guys live together in a city, in peace, you'll stay okay. If you go off on your own, eventually you'll catch the Madness and go nuts?"

Asura laughed, hugging me. "Very true, darling."

"Well ..." I was still lost in thought. "What about the monsters who guard us? I've seen them wandering at the edges of the Land, you know. Are they Mad or not? Do they live with us? What happens when one dies?"

"Oh, Rydia." Asura was laughing. "You're so observant. Those monsters are our guardians, and they allow themselves to be taken sometimes by the madness in order to protect our city. They try to be very secretive - so I'm surprised you noticed them at all."

I basked in Asura's praise, grinning. Lessons like this were always the most fun.

My second set of lessons tied in very well with the first; after a year or two of studying languages, Asura would send me out for weekends to stay with a family of monsters - a different one each time. She called this "cultural experience" - she must not have realized that most of my time was spent "experiencing" how much fun and trouble I could have or get into with the children of the designated family. I didn't realize until much later how much this taught me about the non-verbal communication of the monsters and their customs. I also obtained valuable insight of their individual strengths and weaknesses - like the time I thought it would be funny to douse the Palybahn with a barrel of water from the stream and ended up harming the poor fiery creature so much I chanted Cure spells for two hours straight and went home crying. The Palybahn - a small snake with gilded wings - was alright, but I had to be careful with my pranks from then on.

At the age of nine, my lessons with Asura were cut in half to make room for a new set of studies - magic. My teacher here was an old floating Red Eye I cunningly called Old Red. He was grizzled to white and gray and at first glance looked like a good strong wind would crumble him to ash. But the first time I saw him manifest the magical powers he knew so much about, I began eagerly to watch his every move and learn from every word he had to say.

He spoke to me in the language of magic, making me memorize the runes that, put together on my tongue or even in my mind, could summon fire or liquify air. He then trained me in the workings of the basic spells, perfecting my use of the Fire, Ice, and Lit magics my mother had so carefully taught me. He explained in great detail that each spell drew on strength from my core, making me continuously drain myself of magic, testing my depths. He then began to teach me the painful process of studying the magical spells, which led to increasing what he called my "magical repertoire."

There was one day that I came to him, furious beyond belief; I had been practicing my Fire spell in secret, as many times a day as I could, and yet my fire was no bigger or stronger than before. I proceeded to sulk and throw a fit simultaneously, until I heard old Red begin to chuckle.

"Rydia," he said, "get up off the ground, m'girl. There ain't nothin' wrong with your magic! It's quite strong!"

"Then why can't I make a bigger fire?" I whined.

"Rydia, Rydia," he said, still chuckling. "Look at me, girl. Fix those green eyes right here on old Red Eye." I smiled a bit at his little joke. "Magic - your magic spells - comes in levels. Big people call them quanta. I call them levels, cause I'm not that bright." I giggled. "And getting to the next level requires practice, yes, but it requires much more than that. You have to study the fire - speak to it, and listen to what it says. You have to study the runes and understand just what words and ideas will summon out that bigger flame for you. But most importantly - you have to study yourself."

I looked up at him, confused. "Myself ...I have to study me?"

"Of course, m'girl. The magic won't come to you until you are strong enough to bear it. And this requires all three kinds of strength -"

"Physical, Mental, Spiritual," I chanted along with him. He blinked rapidly, which was his way of grinning.

"Yes, m'girl. It could be that, physically, you are still too young to cast the Fire spell you want. It would be that you're not mentally prepared well enough - you don't have the brainpower to focus on it. Or perhaps your magical reserves aren't large enough." He floated over and ruffled my hair with his wing. "Don't fret it. You will know when it's time; the spell will come to you. I can tell, Rydia - you've got it. Just be patient."

For a long time I studied with Old Red in the mornings and Asura in the evenings, both working together to help me grow. I considered myself inundated with lessons - a new word Asura taught me that I thought fit right in with my life. Little did I know how much more they had to teach me.

I studied this way until I was about thirteen - I had memorized much of the history, mastered many tongues of the Monsters. My magical powers had blossomed; I was easily reaching second-order spells, both Black and White, and had even obtained mastery over some of the more arcane spells like Bio. I was summoned again before the Court of Monsters in Andirion; I guessed they just wanted to check up on me. I came before them again, smiling at the faces I now knew. I stopped and curtseyed before Leviathan, no longer scared of the great sea-beast I still saw, deep in the depths of his eyes.

"Rydia." That deep, solemn voice made me smile. "You have been here for a long time; you've become like a daughter to many of us. There are many here who have helped you to learn and grow, and we take great pride in what you have become."

I flushed with the praise, but a small knot began to form inside my stomach. What were they asking? Do they want me to go away somewhere?

Leviathan glanced at Asura, then turned his face back to me. "Those who have watched you train, who have taught you the secrets of our land and our magic, have vouched for you. I have brought you here tonight to ask you if you will take the path of a Summoner."

My eyes widened. Here, in the Land, surrounded by all the friendly creatures, I had almost forgotten that in another world, there was need for the Summon Magic...

"We believe you will be strong, a powerful Summoner," he continued almost conversationally. "In your rage once as a child we felt you tear Titan away from his home to the surface of the earth. Imagine what you could do now."

Asura shifted in her chair. "Long, long ago we ran a college, the School of the Summoned, where we chose select students from the Surface to learn our secrets and powers. The waning of the Village Mist has rendered the school incomplete. But we will open it again for you , if you wish."

"You ...would teach me the summons?"

Leviathan laughed. "Rydia, you have no idea of your own powers, do you? There are many here who would pledge you their summon. We see in you a strong and powerful future, one that is ours as well as yours. Yes, we will re-found the college and train you, if you make this choice."

I blinked. "There is not much of a choice, is there?" I said softly. "Who would refuse this?"

"There is a choice," Asura said slowly. "You will not be able to continue training in all these magical fields. You will have to give up one: either your White magic or your Black."

I bowed my head. "Then I give up the White magic," I said confidently. Old Red in the back snickered.

"Such a quick choice?" Asura peered at me. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not a healer," I said with a smile. "I want to be a protector."

And thus began the most intricate of my studies. I worked with a small council of beasts, training my mind and body for the rigorous magical uses. For me, it was simply putting words to something I had always known, had always felt. Summoning was in my blood, and came easily. They trained me to throw myself into the mental mind-set that made the connection possible, and to force forth the soul-cry that would appeal to the monster in his home. The energy needed to connect with the Land of the Summoned on the plane that would allow me to force a monster's body across space and time to appear at my aid was astounding, but with practice I could reach it instantaneously.

At the same time, they began to train me with weapons. I had always been a tiny child, not much of a fighter; beneath the guidance of Leviathan's own medley of troops I felt my muscles learning (however slowly they learned) the best way to hold a bow, to grip a rod, to place a blow. I went on swift training runs, bare feet making no noise on the spongy soft ground of the Land's hills. They taught me attacking tricks, defensive stances. The day they placed a whip in my hand was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.

I soon discovered why they did all this work. In order to earn a monster's summon, the monster and I were forced to do battle until the monster himself deemed me worthy! Me, by myself, before a great thundering beast like the Djinn! It was here that all my studies culminated. I paired my physical training and magical expertise with my extensive knowledge of the beasts of the world and their weaknesses. One by one, I earned myself summons: Djinn, Shiva, Indra. Mist. Titan. Year after year I became stronger.

All the familiar memories came back to me: my mother, summoning upon herself the graceful dragon of mist, the heritage of our village. My grandfather becoming Ramuh, long ago. My own child-like form calling upon anything that could hear me in my rage and fury and sorrow, tearing the great Titan from deep in the Land, pouring its wrath upon Cecil and Kain. I wept at night, fiercely. I was more determined than ever to scrape every ounce of potential out of myself and to dedicate my life to defending everything I had left. No one would ever hurt the people I loved again!