first ⚡ a topic on summoning

[ramuhs]

Type: Text
Sender ID: ramuhs
To: General public
Subject: Summoning other creatures and people
Warnings: None except maybe FFXVI spoilers in their respective threads?

[// PUBLIC PORTION //]
A curious question to my fellow riftfarers — to those who are capable of "summoning" or calling upon powerful beings or even people, how does it work in your world? Any particular requirements? Contracts?

And have you any luck doing so while here? Any changes you've discovered?

[This is a general broadcast type post, so anyone can threadhop if they'd like to swap stories or anything! Cid will be reading everything...with very keen interest.]

[// PRIVATE TO FFXVI CAST //]

In case you're wondering what this is about, while on that ghost ship a girl somehow managed to summon me from a rock she had—materia she called it. She also knew about Ramuh and some of the other Eikons from our world.

Given there was no warning and that she might not be the only one, thought I should give everyone a heads up. For now I'll be trying some tests with her to see how it works and will share the results.

Comments

text; id: summonbeasts

[summonbeasts]

I have had no luck summoning my own familiars thus far. Someone else told me they thought it was an issue of distance. Being so far away from our own worlds our familiars can't hear us or answer over the divide.

As for how it works for myself it was innate. Once I began using magic I simply knew how to summon them. I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone in my world however. Magic is something you're typically born with the capacity for.

[ramuhs]

[So her familiars as she calls them didn't come with her and can't cross over between worlds... That makes some sense, and he's jotting these notes down on some paper he has near him. Not to mention it's always interesting to hear how different magic works in other places.]

Does it require more magic to summon? And what exactly were your "familiars"?

voice

[afflatusexarch]

This ties into the question I posed regarding magic earlier.

[ This question seems rather pointed but! ]

To answer yours, summoning is an unfortunate common practice upon my star. With enough aether and prayer, one can almost create an entity. For some, it is a god or goddess of worship such as the Amalj'aa with Ifrit and the Sahagin with Leviathan.

However, these primals, as we call them, are not the entity in truth. They are merely whatever hopes and prayers are poured into the summoning. Primals are a drain upon the aether of the land and often enslave others through a process we call tempering.

[ramuhs]

[Oh hello someone actually using voice at him. And it's one that sounds familiar...

But hang on. Ifrit and Leviathan, too? Since this sounds a lot different from what he heard from Yuffie, this must be yet another world with similar entities. He'll get used to it, but—this is still weird.]

That's quite a lot. So these...primals, as you call them. You say they are created by hopes and prayers, and also drain aether. [That he can somewhat understand at least.] Do they continue to exist after their summon or are destroyed after they fulfill their purpose?

[summonbeasts]

What is so unfortunate about it, if I may ask.

text; id: materiahunting

[materiahunting]

So there are people here from my world too, old man. I don't know if they have summoning materia, though.

Did YOU feel any changes when I summoned you?

text; un: makoglow

[makoglow]

How do you summon a person with materia, kid?

[ private (or well THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT THANKS CLOUD) ]

[ramuhs]

I'd rather not talk about our little experience out in public if you don't mind.

[Staring at this other fellow. Thanks. WELL HE CAN MITIGATE SOME OF IT or try to, siiiiighhhh. If only he had known her ID from the start he could have prevented this but it is what it is.]

Who are the others?

Video | yuezun

[yuezun]

This person is your servant? How did you manage to summon them to this world?

text

[garudas]

oh so you are the one who accidentally summoned cidolfus the other night then

am i correct

text; un: paridisaea

[empyrean_mirror]

Summoning...? I don't know about powerful beings, but quite a lot of vision bearers can call up some kind of elemental construct. ...Some of the desert folk have command of primal constructs, too, I suppose that might work.

I don't know if I've seen anything but an Oceanid really summon a lot of things, though.

I guess all of us can also summon our weapons from leyline pockets, and I can call Mehrak from them too, but I don't know if that'd work here. I'm a little concerned about losing her...

[ramuhs]

Are these constructs living creatures or inanimate? And what's a Mehrak?

[Those are definitely a bunch of terms that are both familiar and not familiar, so might as well get it straight.]

PRIVATE???

[inventuring]

woah wait a minute.

Dad
Some1 summoned u?
Like, pulled u out of a hat like a rabbit?
???????

VERY PRIVATE

[ramuhs]

[Oh hello, daughter! He can't help but be amused at her message.]

More like I appeared in mid-air and crashed onto the deck with no warning.

text.

[starshower]

Haven't had a need to give it a go yet, but I've got an Ifrit materia on me, if that means anything to you.

[ > private ]

[ramuhs]

Quite a bit, really.

[RIP CLIVE.]

You know Yuffie?

txt, un: everblooms

[everblooms]

[ after surveying the damage yuffie caused up above... ]

This letter didn't exactly go as chartered, did it, now?

[ then, tifa's message encourages her, so following suit: ]

I was thinking about seeing Bahamut again some day, myself!

[ramuhs]

It's certainly gone places I did not expect.

[BUT HE'S ROLLING WITH IT...]

And you have Bahamut?

[These people—]

private;

[phoenixdominant]

That is ... concerning. I would not like to have my privacy and time violated merely because someone can... summon me.

I have come across some instances where people have versions of eikons in their own world. A friend went as far as to tell me that his comrade goes about killing "primals" like Ifrit and Shiva in his home world. As alarming as it is to know that it appears their versions of eikons and primals are different from our own. The ones he mentioned were considered beasts that used mind control on others and were entirely dangerous. Killing others and living on only delusional faith... So quite different from us.

Yet, the same names and functions, it seems.

[ramuhs]

Agreed, which is why I'm looking into who we may need to be concerned about. So far I've learned of others who can summon Ifrit and Bahamut, but there are more for certain.

But that is concerning to hear about. I'm going to assume your friend is less inclined to go after us...though that begs the question if someone else wouldn't think so differently.

Private;

[gruffier]

Summon you? How the hell is that even possible?

Our abilities lack a fraction of what they were in our own world. How is a rock to know the Eikons we possess?

[ramuhs]

That's what we're trying to figure out, but it might have something to do with the similarities between our Eikons and theirs.

She is capable of summoning a version of Ramuh of her world. And from the description, sounds eerily similar to the one from ours.

text.

[garudas]

all this boring drivel about summoning and you still have not found out how to get more of these little magic balls you say she called you with

how disappointing

[ramuhs]

[...Why is he not surprised—]

Would like a whole collection, would you?

Private

[dragoonoflight]

What do you mean, you were summoned without warning?

That should not be possible.

[ramuhs]

I thought the same, but that's what happened.

It seems this thing is called a "materia" and capable of summoning beings with an uncanny resemblance to our own Eikons.

» Private

[tilfrosset]

A little late to be bringing this up, Cid.

This information could have been useful earlier today.

[ramuhs]

[Oh hello—]

Were you just summoned?

text; id: historiology

[historiology]

wait is the summoning part like literal? someone literally called you to them like that?

[Look Sorey had gathered it sounded a little similar to the Eikon thing with his armatizing with the seraphim but that's. Different? Or maybe not. He is not usually all that far when he does it, in using them to aid him in battle with them generally being pretty much right next to him...]

[ramuhs]

They did indeed, and it was quite the experience. Certainly would have been better for my back if I had a warning.

Id: vermilloci

[vermilloci]

[ From what she’s gathered from some of the above threads she can see, it seems like someone accidentally summoned another. There’s a mention of Ifrit and Bahamut, as well. Something about materia?? ]

At this point, it might be a good idea to let others know who not to summon to avoid accidents.

Sorry I can’t be of more help.

[ramuhs]

That would be ideal, but it could also spur the opposite. Granted all the cats have run out the bag, anyway. Regardless we need to figure out who IS capable and have some firm discussions.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to learn more about this "summon" thing to see if we can't have something to protect ourselves. I don't mind if someone needs my help, but would be better to have a choice in the matter.

text; sender id: netherese

[netherese]

There are actually a number of different ways of doing so where I come from, depending on one's area of expertise. Pacts are generally reserved for warlocks and their patrons, but there's no saying that an elemental spirit or planar being of some sort wouldn't require an exchange of favors or vows. There are also lesser creatures that can be conjured, ones that are certainly quite clever, but not capable of making the sort of agreement an elemental or demon might be able to. The ability level of the caster must always be taken into account, as well.

I've not been able to summon elementals in this world, but my own familiar did happen to accompany me here. She's something of a special case, I suppose. She's never vanished once since I summoned her as a boy, and is rather more her own person than any other creature I've ever had the pleasure or displeasure to meet.

Sincerely,
Gale of Waterdeep

[He's still learning texting etiquette.]

[ramuhs]

[Well, this is actually rather interesting to read, even if it feels more like a letter (and now why does he feel inclined to reply in kind?). Pacts...exchange of favors... If they could establish something like that so they have more control if not cut this whole thing in the process, that would be ideal.

Hmmm.]

Thank you, Gale, this was quite insightful, really.

How do you make these pacts you mentioned? Does it involve magic or some kind of written contract? Exchange of blood?

Sincerely,
Cid

[Oh he really is replying in kind—have a text letter back! (what it's a kind of fun change of pace—)]

text, un: sylreha

[sylreha]

Hey again! Rikku here.

...I'm not the one who knew how to summon, but my cousin Yuna did. Where I'm from, the people were desperate to win a war a long time ago, and they could undergo some kind of spiritual ritual to become what we called fayth. Their spirits were trapped in living statues. People who were self-sacrificing and had the talent for it then trained to become summoners. Once a summoner had prayed to the fayth statue and made a pact, they could summon that aeon at any time. The people who'd become the fayth, though...they were kind of stuck in this dreaming state between life and death, most of them for a thousand years.

We had to...let the fayth die, I guess, to finally save the world. Because it turned out the big bad Sin who kept attacking us was powered by a corrupt summoner, and he'd keep coming back as long as an aeon's power was there for it to steal. So no one can summon anymore.

[ramuhs]

[Oh, it's Rikku. He hadn't expected this, so he reads with keen interest.

...Though of course there had to be some corrupted individual that messed with everything. Reminds him of a certain something.]

So were the fayth and the aeons the same? Or were the aeons a separate entity and their spirits create a connection between the aeons and summoners?

text;

[foolprove]

this is really a thing that's common in lots of worlds?

[ he says. not. answering the question, ]

[ramuhs]

[Wow way to not answer the question—]

Surprisingly so. Even in mine it was once a thing in the past, but that was distant past.