I still don't own FFX, or any FF for that matter. Narf.
The Final Summoning,
Chapter 5: Meeting Ixion
"Oops."
Auron stood up and brushed the dust off his red jacket, glaring menacingly at Jecht. "That's all you have to say? 'Oops'?"
"Hey, what are ya yellin' at me for? I'm not the one who pushed us off that cliff!"
"If you'd been able to distinguish that chocobo eater from a common boulder, perhaps we wouldn't have been pushed off the cliff."
I couldn't restrain my laughter, even though the situation wasn't particularly humorous. We'd been battling a chocobo eater, a rocklike fiend with long, powerful arms. The fiend would frequently charge forward and use those arms to push us closer to the edge of the cliff, at which point we had to damage it severely enough to push it back toward the road. We had managed to knock the chocobo onto its back, and it was Jecht's turn to strike; all he had to do was land one solid blow, and the chocobo eater would have been destroyed. Unfortunately, Jecht was quite inebriated at the time; and instead of attacking the fiend, he struck a nearby boulder. This gave the fiend time to recover, charge forward…and knock us off the cliff.
I straightened my robes, still chuckling to myself. Auron and Jecht were both staring at me, nonplussed.
"What's so funny?" Jecht demanded.
"You." Unable to resist the opportunity for teasing, I added, "Jecht, from now on, we're going to exercise extreme caution any time you make statements such as, 'It's the right thing to do.'"
"Or any time he's intoxicated," Auron added in a dark tone.
"Hey-hey-hey!" Jecht jabbed his finger into Auron's chest, drawing a dangerous look from the warrior monk. "You got some nerve, boy, lecturin' me about my drinkin' habits when you got that big ol' jug of mystery fluid danglin' from your hip!"
"Gentlemen," I interjected quickly, hiding a smile, "pardon my interruption, but we do have a pilgrimage to continue."
The two guardians eyed each other warily for a moment longer. Jecht backed down first, muttering incoherently to himself as he walked a few yards ahead. Auron dropped back to walk beside me.
"Are you injured?"
"Minor bumps and bruises," I assured him.
"Good." He looked at Jecht, shaking his head slightly. "That fool will lead us all to a premature death."
"I'm not so certain about that. We seem to attract opportunities for premature death quite nicely on our own. Sin, that Sinspawn you and Jecht found near the temple in Kilika, more Sin…" I paused and cast a Cure spell, healing a large bump on Auron's forehead. "Tell me, Auron, how goes Jecht's training?"
"He is surprisingly talented. He has great speed and agility, and he learns quickly when he's sober." Auron sighed. "Unfortunately, he is rarely sober. He has no self-control, no discipline…it's harming him in many ways."
"Ah," I said, nodding. "I see."
"You see what, my lord?"
I see that you're concerned about him, I thought--not that he would admit it, of course. I took a different tack.
"When you were in training as a warrior monk, you developed many character traits--self-control, restraint, discipline, am I correct?" Auron inclined his head in agreement, and I continued. "Then you, I believe, are responsible for teaching those same lessons to your student."
"I will do my best," Auron responded, "but I cannot teach him everything. There simply isn't time."
"Oh, I'm not terribly concerned. I trust your judgment." I gave him my most charming smile and walked on ahead, leaving one slightly disgruntled guardian in my wake.
* * * *
We arrived at Djose Temple the next afternoon. After sending Auron to the inn for supplies, I turned to Jecht, who was suspiciously eyeing the huge boulders which circled the temple.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said quietly.
"It'd be more beautiful if you could tell me what's holdin' those boulders up."
"Quite frankly, the magic that must be involved in holding that temple together makes my head hurt," I admitted with a rueful smile. "All I know is that the boulders close around the temple when a summoner is inside the Cloister. They're open, so we can go inside whenever we're ready."
"Damn," Jecht said, clearly disappointed. "Well, I guess we better get on in there so you can get your aeon thing. Which one is it, anyway?"
"Ixion, the guardian of lightning."
"Lightning," Jecht mused, looking at the bolts of electricity flickering around the temple. Then he asked, smirking, "I guess you wouldn't wanna summon him during a thunderstorm, then, would ya?"
I blinked, surprised. "You know, Jecht, I really never thought about that."
Just then, Auron stepped out of the inn, carrying a shoulder bag full of potions and other useful items. He looked at me, his brow raised questioningly. I nodded once, and the three of us entered the temple.
Each temple of Yevon is different from the others; each has its own unique appearance and atmosphere. The temple in Besaid is built of smooth stone, cool and earthy inside, and it is known to contain one of the less strenuous Trials--part of the reason I chose to begin my pilgrimage there, rather than in Bevelle. Kilika's temple is hot and stuffy, horribly uncomfortable after an hour or so, yet completely appropriate for its tropical location and the fiery aeon it houses. Each temple is unique, perfectly suitable for its location and its resident aeon.
This temple, I quickly decided, was the most intriguing of the three. Its interior was dark and mysterious; the cool, dry air tingled with electricity. The inky darkness was penetrated only by glowing spheres and long, thin trails of bluish light. I inhaled deeply, my lungs taking in the scent of rain.
The Cloister's puzzle was quite a clever one; it involved restoring power to a large Yevon glyph in the center of the main chamber. While Auron and I worked on solving the puzzle, Jecht managed to jump across a lightning-filled pit, shock himself in a stream of lightning meant for charging spheres, and exercise unsafe use of a Destruction Sphere, resulting in much singed hair and several minor burns--highly amusing to Auron and me, though not so much for Jecht. Yet somehow, by some miracle of Yevon, we made it through the Trials in one piece.
With my guardians waiting outside, I entered the sacred chamber, knelt before the fayth statue, and began to pray. Minutes later, the ghostly form of a young, muscle-bound man appeared in front of me.
Summoner Braska, the fayth greeted me, his warm voice echoing richly inside my head. You seek the power of Ixion, the guardian of lightning.
"Yes."
You seek to destroy Sin, that your daughter may grow up in a peaceful world.
I inclined my head. "I fight for my daughter, yes, and for all of Spira as well."
Your motivations are truly noble; I sense that you are a man of honor…and yet, you keep a very important secret from one of your guardians.
I stared at the fayth, confused. "Secret?"
The one called Jecht does not know of the summoner's fate.
"He still has much to learn about Spira and her people. It's been a bit of a shock for him. I do not wish to add to his confusion."
Your reasoning is sound. I understand your desire to protect your friend; just be careful that you don't wait too long. The fayth smiled. I freely grant you the power of Ixion. May your sacrifice bring the Calm once again.
A surge of power rushed through my body, the sensation not unlike that of an enormous electrical shock. I couldn't help but think of Jecht's encounter with the lightning in the Cloister; now I know how that felt, my friend…
Finally, the power subsided, and I was able to stand. I had to smile at the expression on Jecht's face when I strolled out of the chamber; he'd probably been expecting me to faint again, as I had before. I already knew that my ability to remain conscious after receiving an aeon was a sign of increasing strength as a summoner; however, this new strength didn't make the experience any less tiring.
"We'll rest at the inn tonight," Auron decided, seeing my exhaustion. "We leave at daybreak."
"We'll be ready." I motioned to Jecht, and together, we left the Cloister. One step closer to Zanarkand… one step closer to the Final Aeon.
One step closer to my fate.
Oh, I so love writing these guys. Good thing, since they're always stuck in my head. It's 12:45 a.m., they don't care. Ah, well, gives me something to do when I have insomnia.
Next chapter: the shoopuf incident. Heh heh heh. That's gonna be fun!
