Remora was near the agency after a long stroll through the icy fields.
"Well...maybe I can ask for directions here." Remora guessed. She walked up to the door and was about to push through it until she heard someone yell out to her from far off.
"Hey, wait!" a man had shouted from the forest. He was running towards her as if he had an urgent message. As soon as he reached Remora, he was panting heavily. When he regained his breath, he looked up with her with curiosity.
"You...you look like a summoner. But I've never seen you before!"
"Um...yes, I am a summoner-" Remora stated
"Well, what are you doing walking around all by yourself!? A summoner can't be by him or herself without a guardian or two; that's dangerous!"
"Dangerous?"
"Hmm, you're not even acting like you're from here either."
Remora chuckled a bit. "That's because I'm not from Spira."
"Not from Spira, eh? Well, lemme tell ya something, missy. In Spira, there are humans, Ronso, Guado, and Al Bhed. And then there are fiends."
"Fiends? Here!?"
"Why, of course, there everywhere in Spira. Even past that forest. They're not in cities or towns though. You're lucky I ran here just in time to warn you."
Remora examined him for a moment. His shirt was a little short yet he wore a blue coat over it, and he had some puffy brown sweat pants on as though he were traveling, and he had a brown bag behind his back. Remora then knew another reason why he came to talk to her.
"You're a merchant, aren't you?"
"Well, we got ourselves a smart girl here! Oaka XXIII's the name. I be traveling all over Spira selling my goods. Also, I saw you were about to walk in the agency, and they sell stuff as well, but I'd figure you might wanna see my stuff first, hmm? It's cheap, too!"
"Well...the real reason I wanted to check out the agency was for some directions."
"Oh! Almost forgot. You're a newcomer. Well, I got a couple of ways I can tell you to leave Macalania."
"Ah, thank you."
"I saw you just walked here from the temple, so you won't be needing me to tell you about that. Although, through that forest, there are 3 ways you can go. Going straight all the way through will take you to the Thunder Plains. I advice you though, they don't call it Thunder Plains for nothing, and there are plenty of fiends there wanting to fry you. Now, the other way you can go is keep going straight, but turn left at Macalania's entrance and keep on heading that way to reach the Calm Lands. That place is ENORMOUS, but there are people that visit there too, and there's a travel agency at the middle incase you get lost or tired. Or you can go the same way I mention before only you turn another left by the time there aren't any more places left to turn, and that'll lead you to Yevon's quarters, Bevelle. I recon, if you'd want to learn more about Spira, I suggest you go there. They have a temple, and a city on top of that. One of the top 3 biggest places in Spira to go."
"I think I can remember all of that...but I think I want to rest at the agency first. I've been through a lot today at the temple, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, I know what you mean. Spira shall be most honored to have another summoner be willing to save or souls."
"Well, it's been nice meeting you, Oaka."
"Hey, hold on! Take this with you."
Oaka handed Remora a little bag that held glass bottles filled with cerulean liquid. Remora took one out of the bag and examined it.
"What are these?"
"Potions, dear. If you're ever injured or in need when encountering a fiend, and there's no source of aid or rest for you, those will be your healers. They come in great handy during travel."
"Oh, thank you." Remora grinned. She gave one last wave to Oaka before stepping into the agency. As she stepped in, she saw there were a few people inside also, a few little kids and a woman who was watching them. As soon as she walked to the counter, the woman looked at her for a long while.
"Can I rest here?" Remora asked the woman behind the counter.
"Of course. Let me sign you in." The lady smiled. Remora turned around to find the woman still staring at her.
"You're a summoner, aren't you?" The other woman asked.
"The people here catch on fast." Remora said, surprised. "But yes, I am a summoner."
"Well. We're grateful you're here. Don't work too much." The lady sounded as though she was a word short in her sentences. "Ah. Excuse me if my English bad. I'm Al Bhed. I just started leaning..."
"Oh, it's okay. I'm sure you'll learn some more at ease. I will try my best too."
The lady smiled as the lady at the counter took out some kind of key card and reached out to hand it to Remora.
"Here you are, dear. Your room is the last door to the right in this hall."
"Thank you." Remora replied as she took the card. Passing through the hall heading for the last door she could see, she thought to herself. Do summoners really get this much respect? If so, this feels like a little much. She stuck the card through a rectangular hole and the door unlocked. The room looked a lot like the room in the temple, only a bit bigger, and the wall was white instead of blue. Remora immediately sat herself on the bed, and begun to take off her clothes until she saw something sitting on the shelf next to her. It wasn't one of her own, but it was another book; a rather small one as well. She picked it up, blowing off a little dust, and read the title.
"Al Bhed Primer I?" Remora read. She flipped to the first page.
"'If you are reading this, you are obviously either a small local from Spira, or not from here at all! Then most likely you have been encountering some people who spoke a certain language you never understood. That language is called Al Bhed. If you're still reading this, then if you are willing too, you have the capability to learn the awesome language that many people speak today. In each Primer (26 total), you will learn a letter from the alphabet and see how it is said in Al Bhed, with no hassle, and in no time, you'll be able to understand anyone who crosses your path! Flip the page to see the first letter.'"
Remora then turned the page to see nothing but two letters and an arrow between them. " A -- E " She flipped more pages, but they were all blank.
"This seems more like an written letter than a primer." Remora laughed. "So AE, huh? I'll try and remember that." She set the book down back on the shelf, and continued to strip off her garments. Then she got in her bed and turned her light out, but as soon as she did, another light appeared. A giant symbol of Yevon on her door was glowing a faintly green, and nearly started Remora when she saw it. It looked as though a floating eyeball popped up out of nowhere. Remora then sighed, relieved it wasn't anything bad. She was about to tuck herself in until another unusual sight occurred. Her Yevon charm hanging from her neck was glowing as well.
"I wasn't expecting this..." Remora beamed. "I wonder what this means..." Remora wasn't awake enough to find out. She tucked herself in finally, a green dot shining through her covers, and attempted to sleep, but something else happened, that frightened her.
Remora...
A voice in her head, the same one that convinced her to step through the portal above the sea, echoed through her mind. Remora groaned, seeing and hearing enough for one night, and sat up from her bed already looking dreadful in the eyes.
"What is happening?"
They're after you. They're all after you.
"Who? Who's after me!?"
...
Bevelle, Remora. Go to Bevelle.
"What? Right now? Can I get some rest first?"
Now. Go to Bevelle. Now.
Remora rested her face on her hands for a moment before throwing her covers off. She put her garments back on, sluggishly, and walked up to the door. The light from the symbol on the door luminated more and then transferred itself from the door to into Remora's charm. Her own charm then luminated and then everything went dark. If I wasn't so tired, I'd probably think that was sweet. Stepping out, the woman and the children weren't in the other room, and the other lady wasn't in either. Be back, whenever. Remora wanted to say, and she quietly opened the door to step outside.
It was much colder in the forest than it was around the agency and the temple, especially at night. Luckily, there wasn't any wind to blow Remora off course. She just walked left from the forest entrance while looking to find a path to the other left of her. Oaka was right a while back, she did notice some fiends and creatures around the forest, but luckily she didn't attract or give off any attention to them; she'd be too exhausted to fight anyway. She paced on forward until she finally found another path to her left, and she was suddenly nervous. But...it's just Yevon's headquarters. It can't be that bad, right? Remora told herself. She then turned to walk on the path to Bevelle, unaware that someone or something was following her. She walked for a few minutes until her feet met dry grass and her skin felt some lukewarm atmosphere. Looking more in front of her, she noticed there was a bridge leading to a huge temple the size of a juggernaut. This must be it. She thought to herself.
Go on. They await you.
It was extra quiet in the evening, and as Remora continued her cautious pace she could see the temple more clearly and possibly more. There were lights shining out from different corners of the area that touched the cloudy sky, and everything was mostly maroon yet had a few other colors to it. She finally reached the end of the bridge and stood to see another small door to the entrance.
Go.
Remora walked on, a little more swiftly, and noticed that her charm had flashed once when she reached towards the door. This is Yevon, so anything could happen. She then stepped forward to push the door open with all of the strength she had.
"You requested me Maester Kinoc, Mika?"
"Yes, Seymour. We've heard the news about the arrival of the new summoner, Remora."
Seymour nodded slyly. "She will be of great use to us. A girl from Earth. That planet holds some sources we aren't even aware of."
"And to the fact that she is now here, it doubles her output of knowledge."
Mika ran his fingers along her shabby white beard. "But...what we don't know is how she got here. People from Macalania are saying she popped up out of nowhere yet was found unconscious on Mt. Gagazet."
Seymour smirked a little. "She would know. We'd just have to ask her nicely." He teased.
"However, she'd get suspicious if we ask her too much. If she were to ask of our concern, what do you suppose we'd say?"
"It's quite simple actually. We'd tell her we're as interested in 'Earth' as she is to Spira. She'd probably reveal something worth hearing to us." Seymour explained, smirking with simplicity.
"You could be right." Kinoc slightly agreed.
The discussion would have went on, but they were suddenly cut off with the noise of the door opening behind them. Inside came Remora, and she gasped, not realizing there would be people in front of her. She saw Seymour, but the other two men she didn't know. Remora blinked after letting her heart rate go back to normal.
"Seymour?"
"Remora. A lovely surprise it is to have you here."
Remora nodded kind of shyly. She looked at the other two men. One looked in his middle ages and was a little chubby, but he looked as though he could give a mouthful to anyone. The other was rather aged, yet looked trusting enough to talk to.
"It is our honor to have you here. Pardon me, but I must digress. I'm Maester Mika."
Kinoc nodded with a small smile. "And I'm Maester Kinoc. We've heard a deal about you, Remora."
Remora did remember Seymour telling her there were three maesters of Yevon, and now she met them all at once.
"It's very nice to meet you all." She replied. She stepped forward to see that she was on an inside balcony. She didn't realize she was on the second floor. She turned to find Seymour walking till he was next to her.
"Tell us, why have you come here?"
"I'm not sure how to explain this or not, but a voice told me to come here when I was about to go to sleep."
Kinoc's eyebrows rose a bit. "A voice, you say? What kind?"
"It was in my head, so I knew no one was around when I heard it. It sounded like a man's voice though, and it was a little rough." Remora looked to see that Kinoc and Seymour nodded at each other.
"Remora, we may know who's been talking to you by thought. However, you must tell us something in return." Kinoc stated.
"Hmm, what?"
"As much as you're interested in our kind, we're interested in yours. Tell us, how did you get to Spira?" Seymour asked calmly.
Remora was silent for a moment, but then Mika nodded at her to make her feel confident.
"I read in this book that during perilous times, a vortex may open up somewhere, connecting to another place or dimension. A day ago, we had a very terrible storm, and...I don't know how my city is doing right now, but I'd suppose it did only a little damage to it. Well, I went to the beach during that time, and a vortex was there, and the same voice in my head I mentioned earlier convinced me to go on through. I wasn't exactly in my best condition though, when I went through. I found myself in Mt. Gagazet, aware that I was in Ronso territory and that I had to leave before I attracted any trouble...but then I passed out. And now, well, I'm here."
"Vortexes that lead to other places or dimensions?" Mika questioned.
"Well, that's all I know about how to get here."
"Ah, but what about your 'Earth'? What is it like there compared to here?" Seymour asked courteously.
All the questions about earth, it made her kind of feel like they were planning something.
"Say...are you planning something that has to do with all of this info?"
"Don't worry, Remora. This is all between us, so don't let it concern you if you think we're asking you anything personal." Mika explained.
Remora slowly nodded. As trusting as they sounded, she still thought something was up. She decided not to reveal too much about her home.
"Well, it is a beautiful place just like Spira. We only have one kind of people though, and that would be just humans. Our 'fiends' would just be considered animals of sorts, but depending on what they're like, people call them whatever describes them; whether it's 'fiend' or 'beast' or just their pet. There are millions of lifestyles there as there are only a little here though."
The three maesters nodded. Mika spoke up first. "You make it sound like a nice place to learn about as well, miss Remora."
"T-thank you."
"However, Seymour has told us that you seem to be something else than just a mere human from another world. He says your of a different blood too, a race no one has ever heard of; and from what you told him, not even you were aware of this." Kinoc stated.
"True. I thought I was just a regular girl...at first." Remora admitted.
"Now now. Don't feel completely different. There are advantages to such incomes in a person's life. You could do things you never imagined you could do on your own. You can speak more frankly of things that others would be afraid to discuss. As you come across such things, you may ignore the disadvantages. I know I did when I was about your age." Seymour discussed.
Remora had completely forgotten the fact that Seymour was a half-breed too, so she had a small idea on what his childhood was like.
"...it was hard, wasn't it."
Seymour's expression stayed blank. "Yes, but I can tell yours was too." He said that as though he knew they had a connection.
The four of them were interrupted by the door behind them opening again, and another man had stepped through, though he didn't look like anything special.
"Maester Mika, Seymour Guado, your ship to Luca will arrive first thing in the morning."
"Thank you for telling us, messenger." Mika replied. The messenger man then left the temple back through the think doors.
"Hmm…that reminds me…Remora, I invite you to come with me and Maester Mika to Luca tomorrow. There's supposed to be a Blitzball tournament there and we'll be celebrating Mika's 60th anniversary going there."
Remora blinked as she thought for a moment. "Sure. I plan to go to all of the places in Spira anyway." She chuckled.
The other three maesters smiled at her reply. "And…you have nothing to worry about. I have a few more questions for you…but for the future. I cannot ask them until I've seen your experience in Spira come up further. Will you be ready?" Seymour solemnly asked. Remora then knew that Seymour suspected her to be in Spira for a while. However, if she were to stay, she'd might as well make her moments the best of it.
"…Alright."