Path of a Summoner

Tana led the three of them through the woods.

Wren wasted no time in getting her camera out as they crossed the bridge from one end of the woods to somewhere near the other. The ground beneath their feet was nearly invisible, but glittered with a strange sheen that made it just barely less than alarming to cross. But only barely, as their footsteps didn’t make a single sound, even when Merris’ heavy boots thumped against it. The only sound was the shuffling of feet against each other.

There was something strange about the way you walked on it, too. Wren could feel how easy it was to find her footing. Surely one could slip and fall, but she had no trouble at all finding where it was safe to step, as if her feet were being guided. It was very obviously created through magical means, but if it wasn’t already, she could definitely feel it through that alone.

She still loved these moments, where she could just act like a regular girl on a tour across Spira, as intended. Even if the footage didn’t make the final cut, she would treasure memories like these forever. She just wished they were being made under better circumstances. At least the former summoners of Spira could afford to meander. Sin was going nowhere. In fact, it was important to make memories, and savor what time was left, if the summoner even made it to Zanarkand, and then back to the Calm Lands.

Things would be a lot easier if she could just. Wish Mobius away, or something.

The trees in the forest were very strange, crystalline figures with glowing lights, as if they had been decorated, but every piece of it was entirely natural. Almost everything was covered with either moss or vines, or both. Most of the trees were at least a thousand years old, preserved by slowly dying magic over time, but there were many younger trees beneath their feet as they trekked. Wren was careful to give a shot of the treetops that they crossed over.

They came to the end of the bridge before long, and somehow it felt even stranger to be walking on solid ground again.

Before the end of the woods, which was nearly hidden from sight for the thickness of the trees, the path split again.

Wren peered down the path, where the ground seemed to be soft and damp, and only becoming more so the farther in one went. The ground was more akin to tightly woven netting, made of various vines, than real ground, as that was the only thing preventing one from soaking their feet. It seemed to be some kind of spring, nestled under a gnarled tree, where all the water in the woods was trickling down from. The tree emanated a strange kind of light that reflected across the surface of every puddle and every stream it touched, creating interesting patterns across the trees and crystals that surrounded the clearing, in various golds, pinks, and blues.

It was such an ethereally beautiful place that Wren was very sad they couldn’t stay any longer. She would have to make a note to visit again one day.

Twill hadn’t been kidding when they had said the Travel Agency wasn’t far from the edge of the forest. It was practically next door, but Wren doubted many people came this way due to the empty surrounding area. The brush cleared, and there it was, nestled in the snow. The air chilled very suddenly, as well. Within the forest, it had been a marshy, but comfortable heat. As soon as one stepped out of it, however, the temperature plummeted. None of them were really dressed for the weather at all, so they all three hurried into the shop, to get out of the cold.

It was only a little warmer inside the shop. There was a fire going, which provided a soft glow to the room, and definitely brought the temperature up, but they were going to need something a little heavier than that to keep warm.

There was a man standing off to the side, adjusting something on the shelves, then moving back and forth between the other side of the room, clearly unsatisfied with his own work no matter what he did. Another, younger-looking man stood meekly behind the counter, fidgeting with something on the countertop. Both of them seemed surprised to see the three of them standing in their door.

The older man dropped what he was doing, the object he was holding clattering to the ground as he rushed over to greet them, hands clasped together in what was meant to be a pleasant gesture. “Welcome to O’aka’s!”

The greeting seemed well-rehearsed, but too enthusiastic.

Wren took a step back, towards the door, then forward when she felt the icy air that was wafting in between the cracks of the door. “We, uh... It’s cold out.”

“Oh! Yes!” said the man, who seemed to be O’aka. “We carry a limited supply of cold weather wear just for the occasion! Coats, hats, gloves, boots--we’ve got it all!”

“I think we’re going to have to make do with coats,” said Tana, though she stared down at her bare legs. “We picked up a decent amount of gil at Guadosalam, but…”

“Took care of a few fiends in the Thunder Plains too,” said Merris, nodding.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if we have enough,” said Wren, frowning. “Merris is the only one wearing pants that are really acceptable to wear, and even then…”

“Besides that, would we even have enough money for the tour afterwards?” asked Tana, thinking.

“Tour?” asked O’aka, his eyes brightening for just a moment. “What’s this about?”

Wren paused her internal monologue while she thought to turn and look at him. “Oh, uh, we need to go to the temple. Or, to the lake, I guess. But my friend said that you offered tours? The only way to get on the water is by boat, right? But obviously, we don’t have one, and we’re kind of in a hurry…”

The man’s expression looked a little puzzled, like he wasn’t quite following her line of thought, but he seemed to understand three things. They were interested in buying clothing to stay warm, they were interested in a tour, and they were strapped for cash.

“Well, well, since ye’ve been referred to our place of business, maybe we can cut a deal. I’ll offer ye a discount,” he said firmly, folding his arms and nodding.

Tana sucked in air through her teeth and sighed, but nodded. “Let’s see what it comes out to, alright?”

They actually managed to work something out, all three of them soon outfitted snugly for the cold weather. To Wren’s absolute relief.

“What about the tour?” asked Wren, tilting her head.

“Wantz here will take ye,” said O’aka, jerking his thumb in the direction of the younger man, still fidgeting away with something. “Free of charge, if ye’ll tell your friends.”

Wantz looked up, eyes going wide for a moment. “F-for free? Do you know how cold it is out there?”

“Course I do,” scoffed O’aka. “I’ve been stuck out here in this cold, same as you, haven’t I? But I’m the oldest. O’aka XXIII; is that me name or isn’t it?”

“It is…” said Wantz.

“And what did dear mum and dad call ye?”

“...O’aka XXIV.”

“So it’s decided! You, outside, free of charge.”

Wantz seemed to have conceded, but Wren felt rather like she’d stepped into the middle of something she didn’t understand, having no siblings of her own.

He stepped out from behind the counter, then started to put on layers of outerwear to bundle up. “Alright. Let’s head out, then, while the sun’s still out.”

He seemed unenthusiastic, but polite enough to try to keep a chipper edge to his words on their behalf. Which was far more than Wren expected of him.

“You don’t really have to do the whole tour thing,” said Wren, after they stepped outside. “We just need to go to the lake.”

“Yeah?” he asked, leading them to the side of the building, where he uncovered three machina. Snowmobiles that would serve as transportation to and from the lake. “Well, if you have any questions, just ask!”

Wantz took the seat of one of the snowmobiles, Merris took one, and Tana and Wren took the last one together. Wren wondered what the seating arrangement would look like if Twill had been able to come with them.

The trail leading down to the lake looked well-worn, which was unsurprising. If they were about to go out on the lake, they must have checked the state of the ice on the lake regularly. No wonder neither brother wanted to take them out on the lake, they must make the trip at least once a day. That said, the trip was easier for the tracks already made by the treads of the machina before, even with the light snowfall between then and the previous trip.

There were posts at the end of the trail, marking something. Wantz started to brake before the group reached them, so she guessed they either were marking the edge of the lake, or possibly the depth of the snow or ice.

Wantz hopped off his machine, then waved them over to a small docking area where a couple of boats were tied up. They looked able to hold a few people each. He reached for one of the long, metal-tipped oars leaned against the dock nearby, then extended the other towards the group.

“Any of you know anything about navigating icy water?” he asked.

Merris tilted his head to the side. “I have a little experience with boating, but… Never on ice before, no.”

Tana and Wren both shook their heads.

Wantz passed the oar to Merris. “Just follow my lead.”

He helped Wren, clutching her camera, into one of the boats, while Tana and Merris climbed into the other. The boats were untied, and after testing the water with the oars, they pushed off.

Wren peered with her camera into the water, which was eerily clear where one could see between the ice, to the very bottom. There was a mist rolling off of the lake, making it difficult to see ahead of oneself, but they maneuvered through the water with ease, if cautiously. Below her, she could see some pieces of the sunken temple, broken apart either when it fell or with time, worn down by water.

The mist became thicker, and she could see pyreflies floating on the fog as well. The pulling feeling certainly was coming from the temple, and they were heading right towards it. She could feel somewhere in her chest that this is where she needed to be.

“In just a few moments we’ll be able to see the top of the temple, where it remains half sunk into the lake,” said Wantz, pointing. “The fog isn’t usually this thick, but I can take us up real close, so don’t worry about getting that perfect shot.”

Wren pointed her camera in the direction of Wantz’s finger, trying to see through the mist.

In its midst, she could make out a shape. There was a large structure, tilted on its side so it was leaning heavily into the water. It lined up with the structure below, as well. It seemed that it had not yet slipped all the way into the water, but the lake was quite deep, and that was only what she could measure by the size of the temple. She was sure it would slip all the way to the bottom one day.

A strange gurgling sound came from the shape, prompting her to tilt her head slightly to listen for it if it happened again.

“That’s just a bit of snow falling into the water. The lake’s still in the process of thawing out,” said Wantz. “Maybe in a few years, this place will turn into a balmy beach resort.”

“Not too soon, I hope,” Wren murmured.

The temple came into focus, no longer just a shadow, and now she could make out the details of intricately carved architecture that arched down into the lake, like a fallen stalactite. Up close, she was able to make out another shape. One that chilled her more than the icy wind ever could.

It looked like something sticking out of the water, a decoration from the temple, or perhaps a marker or buoy like what was stuck in the ground by the lake’s edge. As they got closer, however, Wren could see that it was a person, standing on top of the water’s surface. She turned her camera off.

“Mobius?” she breathed.

There he was, still wearing his strange garb, but with a bit more layering than normal. His cloak seemed like a strange scarf now, and there almost seemed to be a supernatural wind around him, causing his long braid to flow on the breeze that only he could feel.

Beneath him, Pyreflies flocked at his feet, apparently supporting his weight. She knew that Pyreflies could be manipulated by certain skilled people, and that Pyreflies were the very basis of sphere technology, able to store memories in a tangible form, but…

“Mobius!”

The call belonged to Tana, who leaned forward dangerously in the boat, over the side. Merris leaned to the other to keep her from rocking the boat, and seemed too stunned to do anything else.

He turned to face them, looking almost as surprised to see them.

Wren cursed herself for not noticing he was here. The sensation pulling her towards the temple must have drowned him out.

“Wren!” he called out to them, waving his arm. “What are you doing out here?”

“Don't you dare ignore me!” spat Tana. “How dare you?”

Merris had to hold her back to keep her from tipping the boat over as she leaned even further still over the edge. Wren couldn't blame her.

“What do you mean? What are you doing here? How are you doing that??”

Mobius was a little slow to respond, clearly concentrating very hard on what he was doing. “Oh, yes. You didn't know I was once an apprentice summoner before the start of the Eternal Calm, did you? My training was extremely rigorous, but some of the skills I learned proved to be useful even after my chance to leave for my pilgrimage passed. Even as we speak, I am channeling the Pyreflies from the temple to my location, using them to support me. It's no easy trick, but it comes a little more easily to me now than when I was younger.”

Wren didn't know what to say, and everyone else was stunned into silence at the sight of a man balancing on the frozen lake.

“I see you've found my mistake I neglected to clean up after,” he added, stepping closer. “I was wondering what had become of her. I expected you might find out what happened to her sooner or later, but I had hoped it wouldn't be so soon… Did you fall into the Farplane as well?”

Wren raised her hands together, then drew one hand back from the other, as if pulling the string of a bow. A spark grew at her fingertips, becoming a full flame as it hurtled past Mobius, missing by only a small margin. Wantz cried out in surprise, then squeaked a protest to her that she only half heard.

“If you want to fight me like this, you've put yourself into a pathetic situation,” he warned, a chill to his words. “If your boats were to topple over, all of you would freeze before you even reach the bottom of the lake.”

“How did you get here before us?” asked Wren, finally able to speak. Her hands were trembling with anger, and behind her she could still hear Tana struggling slightly against Merris. She should have known he wouldn't feel even a little remorse for what he had done to Tana, but he wouldn't even hear her anymore. Did he know about the Pyreflies? Basic human decency made that a moot point, but clearly he felt he was above that.

“I made the trek on foot myself. You must have noticed my footprints in the snow, right? I left some time after you, actually, I'm surprised you didn't get here sooner. But if you went after her, then you must have lost more time than you thought inside the Farplane.”

Wren fired another spell at him, this one evaporating in the water beneath his feet.

“I didn't stop to rest until I reached the Thunder Plains, either, so I'm not so surprised you didn't know I was following the same trail as you seem to be,” he said. “That must mean you understand the gift we've been given. The one you stole from me in Kilika.”

So that's why he had been so cold to her when she was ill afterwards.

“The power to revive Sin?” she asked, her shoulders tensing up as she stared past him.

Instead of saying anything, he took the trident from his side, and started to do something strange that she had seen him do once before.

“He's going to summon,” she shouted, turning back to Wantz, who looked more terrified than ever. “Get us out of here, now! Tana, don't leave the boat--we have to go!”

“He’s going to what?! ” Wantz looked like he was debating jumping ship instead, more out of surprise than anything. “Who are you people?”

Wren made some wild gestures with her hands to indicate to him that they needed to move more than she had time to give him answers.

They wasted no time in turning the boats, a tedious process as Tana clutched the side of the boat even after Merris released her, and Wren held both sides to calm her nerves in case the boat started to rock.

Something was forming out of the mist, and now it was moving below the surface of the water. Something far larger than any boat Wren had ever seen.

Unfortunately, rowing was a slow process through the ice. Wren started doing what she could to melt the ice ahead of them with her magic, but it seemed to have little effect.

Whatever was under the water was rising up now, causing bigger waves across the lake. The boats started to rock from the ripples created by the creature’s massive head, which broke the surface of the icy water with a fierce, roaring cry.

Wren turned to look, just in time to see a giant, serpentine head come crashing towards them, only to disappear just before it could get near them. It seemed Mobius was more interested in frightening them than killing them. The result, however, was that a huge wave of ice and water was rushing towards them. It sent them flying from their boats, washing against the shore.

They were half soaked in freezing water, and lucky not to have hurt themselves in the crash, either on the ground or on the boats themselves. The boats themselves had become beached not far from where they had all landed in the dirt and snow.

“Everyone alive?” asked Merris.

They all groaned in response.

“We should get out of here,” said Wantz, standing up despite the fact that he was obviously in pain. He was shaking, though Wren couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from fear. “If that thing doesn’t come after us first, we’ll freeze to death.”

Wren picked up her head just in time to see soft, wisplike lights over the lake disappearing, and the pull of the Pyreflies along with it. She clenched her fist, beat it on the ground once in frustration, then pulled herself up off the ground.

Her back hurt, mostly in her shoulders. She’d been slammed against the ground pretty hard and the others were shaking out various aches. It was a wonder no one had been injured.

More importantly, the water seeping into half of her new clothes felt disgusting and would probably kill her if she didn’t get moving.

They loaded back onto the snowmobiles, and took off. The cold air as they moved through the wind chilled her straight to the bone, and she buried her face against Tana’s back, squeezing her eyes shut. The cold didn’t help her feel any better about what had just happened.

"I can't believe him," growled Tana, barely audible over the running motor.

"Me either." Wren suspected she wasn't really looking for conversation, but she certainly shared that sentiment. 

"I almost died because of him. I was this close," she said. "He won't even address me like a living being. He's completely ignoring me."

"I think he talks to everyone like that," said Wren, lifting her head a little. "Everyone... except me. I don't want him to treat me the way he treats me either, I'm sorry. I don't think he sees me as a person either, though."

Tana shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He sees you as a tool. That's how he used to see me, but I was so busy with everything going on in town while we were building that I barely had any time to interact with him, or notice. He must know about what happened to my Pyreflies."

"I think so too. I don't know," she said, quietly. "Sorry."

"He's the only one who should be sorry. I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll make sure of that," she muttered.

Wren nodded her head, putting it down once again. She'd never blame Tana for feeling the way she did, no matter what anyone said about revenge or holding a grudge. Tana had every reason to be furious. Her revenge would be for no one but herself. Maybe then Tana could get some peace of mind.

The old Travel Agency was coming up over the top of the hill.

No time was wasted at the shop. They left their winter clothes behind after changing, since they were too wet and heavy to do anything with. The two brothers were left with many questions, and received very few answers in return, partially out of safety and partially because they were in a hurry to return to Twill. All they were left with was a warning to keep themselves safe, and not to worry about anything they saw. Wantz had more to worry about than his brother, in that respect, but the guideline applied all the same.

The three of them ran most of the way back to the fork in the road, and to Bevelle. Naturally, they were getting tired by the time they reached the fork, and there was no time at all to enjoy the scenery. Wren had begun to doubt that Mobius had any interest at all in pursuing them, even if he had been right on their heels the whole time (and he wasn’t.) Really, it had been foolish to be so worried, but the sooner they reached Bevelle, the better.

She was only really starting to regret it now that her legs were starting to feel like jelly. Her chest hurt, and her throat felt ragged. She could tell the other two were tired, but she was the only one in such awful shape. She hoped this journey would toughen her up, but she hadn’t exactly planned on literally running for her life during her filming. Her pace slowed to a trudge as they walked.

Bevelle wasn’t far now--they could see the long bridge that led to the city’s entrance, and the canals that ran from one end to the other. Wren could see them, but she was feeling lightheaded, and far too warm.

Her ankle gave way under her, and she hit the ground before reaching the bridge, unconscious.