Rydia's body quivered with fear and shock, her clothes still soaked from the ferocious storm that had swallowed her. Sniffling, she looked up at the Queen of Monsters, her eyes filled with sadness. The motherly Asura leaned in towards the girl, her faces spinning around until it stopped on a warm, motherly visage.
"Please don't be afraid my child," said Asura, her voice as sweet as honey. Rydia felt oddly reassured, the fear and terror that gripped her slipping away silently into space. Standing up, Rydia took the hand of Asura and followed her through a set of large golden doors. Apparently the room she was in earlier had been the antechamber to the throne room. Rydia marveled at the sheer size of the throne room. The ceiling was stratospherically high; the support arches of gray stone shooting off into the great unknown. There were two thrones of pure silver on the far end of the room at the end of a rich red velvet carpet flowing like water across the center of the room. Strange runic sigils flashed into existence along the strangely colored stone walls, only to immediately fizzle into nothingness seconds later. Strange robed creatures stood at the entrance and next to the throne. Rydia clung to Asura, clutching her white flowing robes out of fear of the robed beings staring eerily down at the young girl. Asura laid a consoling hand on Rydia's shoulder, lessening the tension and fear in the young girl.
As Asura and Rydia were midway down the vast hall of the throne, Rydia could make out a very ancient looking man with a long white beard sitting on the throne. A strange aura of power, like the rise and fall of the ocean waves, seemed to emanate from his form. Rydia squinted her eyes, her body quivering in the presence of such strong power. Asura crouched down to Rydia's height, resting her creamy white hands on the small girl's shoulders.
"This must all be so confusing, young Rydia of Mist. I am the King of Monsters, Leviathan. We have brought you to the land of the summoned monsters," said the old man, his stately voice echoing throughout the hall.
The young girl's immature eyes grew wide. Rydia could not contain her astonishment. Her mother had always told her about the land of Summoned Monsters, but it was just a fairy tale to put children to bed. Rydia had no clue the fabled land where all monsters originated was a real place.
"Wow, so everyone here is a monster?" asked Rydia, her high voice quavering slightly.
"Yes Rydia, all who dwell here are of the monster race. The summoners and monsters share a special bond that has lasted for centuries, and that bond has brought you here to us," said Asura, her voice rippling as if the air was water.
"What about Cecil? Yang? Edward? Are they alright?!" pleaded Rydia, grabbing onto Asura's robes and flailing them about. Rydia felt as if her heart had just sunk into an endless void in her chest, never to be recovered. Tears of sorrow and pain welled up within the young girl's eyes. Unable to control herself, Rydia sobbed. Asura rubbed Rydia's back with her hand, trying to comfort her.
"They have come to no harm my sweet. Cecil and the others have their own personal trials they must conquer. The Queen and I have full confidence in their ability. What we need for you to do Rydia is to be strong," said Leviathan, sitting up from his throne. Rydia curiously watched him take a few steps forward, and with a grand wave of his hands, form a fairly large sphere of pure light. Rydia stared in wonderment at the sphere, drawn into the mysterious depths of its interior.
"I know you are still young Rydia. If circumstances were not binding, I would have liked to have let you live your youth. Far be it from me to steal the precious flower of innocence from any child. However, the times are becoming dire. Recently, the Queen and I have been disturbed by the appearance of this man..." said Leviathan in a low tone of voice. He waved his bony, ancient hand over the orb of light, causing it to ripple. Moments later, an image Rydia knew all too well had materialized. Her eyes grew wide, as she let out a cry of terror. The mastermind behind the destruction of Rydia's village and all of the misfortune that had plagued the young girl since appeared within the orb of light. Golbez, clad in a dark purple mantle and breastplate, with a sinister black cape flowing down to his feet, struck unbridled fear within Rydia. Covering her face away from the sight, Rydia hid herself within the folds of Asura's robe, sobbing to herself uncontrollably. Frightening images of her village being consumed by heartless flames flared up within Rydia's mind, torturing the young girl.
"That monster is to blame for everything..." exclaimed Rydia, her small body trembling.
Asura gave Rydia a look of pure empathy, as she tried to console her. Leviathan gazed into the orb with a look of wisdom etched into his ancient face.
"He has stolen the crystals of water, fire, and wind, and aims for the crystal of earth even as we speak. Before long he will spread his dark influence down into the underworld. His malevolent ambitions know no remorse or conscience. This is why the world needs you Rydia," said Leviathan, his voice rolling like the waves of the sea.
"The world needs me?" timidly asked Rydia. Asura wiped the tears from her eyes and held the young girl in her arms.
"Sadly there are no other humans with your talents, Rydia. It is a tragedy that the denizens of the village of Mist are no longer with us," remarked Asura, stroking her hand through Rydia's bright green hair.
"We have decided that you should finish your summoning training here within the land of monsters. This is a rare and special gift, Rydia of Mist. We have not had a human pupil study here in centuries, but we felt that it is only right for the last of the summoners to train here. You will receive the very best in instruction, and when we feel you are ready, you may rejoin your comrades in arms," said the stately Leviathan.
"How long will that take? I miss Cecil and the others already," said Rydia, gazing longingly into Asura's eyes.
"Well, time passes faster within the land of the monsters than it does in your world. It may seem like several years to you, but to your friends the passage of time may only be a few weeks or a few months," said Asura.
"You must be strong Rydia of Mist. I understand you are only seven and that you have been through many hardships and ordeals. However you must seek courage, and use it to focus all of your energy into your studies. We monsters will teach you as much as we can to prepare you for the true trials that lay ahead," said Leviathan. The old man was rather hard to read, as his face was practically set in stone, but Rydia could somehow feel a sense of sympathy exuding from Leviathan.
"We have someone here who is very excited to see you Rydia," said Asura, slowly turning the young girl around to face the entryway into the throne room. Drying her eyes, Rydia saw none other than her chocobo, the first monster she learned to summon. The chocobo was a strange animal, resembling a creature as large as a pony but with the features and body of a chicken. The beast's feathers were large and bright canary yellow. The chocobo's eyes were orb like and black, revealing its intrinsic playful nature. Rydia excitedly ran towards her chocobo, extending out her arms. With a genuinely euphoric expression on her face, Rydia hugged her chocobo with all her might. The bird bent its head down, resting it's head on her shoulder. Rydia was overjoyed at having a friend within strange new lands.
"Jinn will show you to your quarters Rydia. You will be living in the palace with us for the time being. You are probably tired and will need your rest," said Asura, nodding towards a strange red robed creature standing near the entryway. Rydia looked up at the approaching robed figure, who pulled back his robe and revealed two large antennae-like protrusions from his head. Rydia gasped, taken aback by Jinn's strange appearance. Holding the reigns of her chocobo, she followed Jinn out of the throne room, only looking back once at the Queen and King of Monsters who had brought her here. The palace was rather quiet and dark, lit only by dark blue torchlight which shone eerily against the walls. The sound of her footsteps hitting the floor echoed throughout the unimaginable depths of the many hallways of the palace. Rydia walked alongside her chocobo, her eyes filled with trepidation. Her small body quivered uncontrollably, unable to hide the obvious anxiety Rydia had felt. Stopping at a wooden door in the middle of a long hallway, Jinn procured a key from his robe and unlocked the door for Rydia.
"You will most likely want to rest first, Rydia of Mist. We will summon you for dinner later," said Jinn, his face crackling like fire.
Rydia simply nodded politely, walking into the door and examining her quarters. Rydia's room was fairly large with an expansive bed situated within the center of the room. There was a medium sized circular wooden table next to the bed, and a dresser filled with various articles of clothing. Thankfully, the young girl had a large window overlooking the city of monsters. Rydia released the reigns of her chocobo, and walked around her room for a bit.
"I'll be back later Rydia, you try and get some rest," whispered a voice in the back of Rydia's mind. Startled, she turned around, unable to determine the source of the voice. Cocking its head to the side, the chocobo gave Rydia a strange, yet playful look.
"Did...you just say something?" asked Rydia, inching closer to the chocobo.
"I could always talk Rydia, I guess now you can finally hear me. Coming to the land of summoned monsters must have made you more attuned to your powers as a summoner," said the chocobo, its high pitched voice ringing through Rydia's mind.
Rydia stood speechless as the chocobo excused itself from the room, closing the door using its beak.
"I can't believe it could talk all this time. I felt as if some sleeping ability of mine awoken within me..." thought Rydia, resting a finger to her chin. The young child was exhausted and got into a sky blue nightgown set out for her. Rydia laid her damp clothes down in the corner of the room and sat at the edge of her bed, relaxing atop the silky blue sheets of her bed. Looking out of her window, she gazed out at the twinkling expanse of the city of monsters. Instead of a sky, there was a thick layer of rock, with veins of a strange luminescent green substance that pulsated every few seconds. The buildings were dark and made out of rock, lit by brilliant fires and torches. Strange, dark figures moved to and fro down the street.
Rydia felt homesick, missing the emerald green blades of grass of the hills surrounding her small village. Closing her eyes, comforting images of home crept into her mind's eye view. About this time of year the daisies and lilies would bloom in the garden in front of Rydia's home. Her mother would grow them in a flower bed in their front yard, and once the flowers were in full bloom, would place them in vases all around the house. Rydia was picking flowers by the pond near her home, planning to give them to her mother. When she returned home...
Mother I brought some lilac's from the pond, don't they look specta--
Silence.
Mother? Where are you?
A broken white vase, the shards scattered across the floor.
Mother did you drop a vase again? Look at this mess...
A pale hand. A lifeless stare upwards.
Mother...MOTHER!! What's happened?!!! Wake up!!!
A young girl shaking a shell. Innocence lost...
Rydia covered her eyes, her small body visibly shaking. Tears welled up in her eyes, streaking down her face and onto the floor. Rydia could not longer hold back her feelings; the intense well of sadness that had been rising since the day her village was destroyed. Edward's betrothed Anna being slain by enemy arrows, the kingdom of Fabul being attacked by monsters, Rosa being kidnapped; these tragedies were more than anyone could bear in an entire lifetime, let alone seven years. Rydia laid down in bed, allowing herself to finally cry, now that she was finally able to.