shellphones | first ⚡ a topic on summoning

Entry tags:

first ⚡ a topic on summoning

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Let's just say we don't exactly take to having our free will taking from us.

That said, I understand this seems to have caught many off guard, summoner and my group alike, so I'm willing to work something out. And you seem to know more than you let on.

So, what can you really tell me?

[ The following text comes delayed. ]

I can help you with your summoning problem.

But I need help in return.

[Oh?]

I'll have to hear the details of this kind of "help" you're requesting first.

[And then he'll send another text locked to her.]

[> PRIVATE ]

If it's something sensitive, I suggest locking it so it's just between us.

[ It takes another few moments for her to figure out how to make this message private. ]

I need help finding something.

Something that was once magical, that held a lot of power, and I mean a lot, but is now inert, preferably made of potent conductor material. I don't care if it's a weapon or crystal. It has to be defunct, but it also can't be brittle.

[He wasn't sure what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. But at least seems doable...]

Two questions.

1) Is this a specific thing you're looking for or just anything that fits the requirements?

2) Why do you need such a thing?

1. Anything that fits the requirements.

2. It's important.

[ She stares at the texts sent, nervously tapping along the edge of the table where she sits. What did he write before...?

"--exactly take to having our free will taken from us."

After another moment, she sends a second message: ]

I'll ensure your freedom.

Edited 2023-11-11 07:20 (UTC)

[An arch of the brow.]

You realize you're only making yourself more suspicious, don't you?

I am not!

[Tapping his fingers.]

Would this be easier talking in person?

[It's clear he's dealing with someone inexperienced with negotiations. And really it would be better if he could put a face to all of this.]

[ Noooo but she’s braver onlineeee

But she’s also desperate. So. ] That depends. Where exactly would we be meeting?

Depends where you are, but Eltrut would be a neutral place to start. I know a few places near the pier that would serve as unassuming meeting points.

Okay but

No one else.

All right. How soon can you get there?

[ Insert some arbitrary time that suggests she’s not too far away here. ]

[SOMEHOW FITS IT IN HIS STRANGELY PACKED SCHEDULE??? WHATEVER RP TIME SHENANIGANS—]

Should be able to make it. I'll contact you once I'm there.

okay

[ --Is the last text he'll receive after he sends the location for the pier specific he suggests. Not having a busy schedule, she puts up her hood, making her way there early to survey the area.

The location is not secluded. Nor is it as busy as a main thoroughfare. Couriers, sailors, carpenters, and merchants walk to and from rows of warehouses, yet their number is far fewer than the industry found closer to the main hub of the port. In other words, there are only those going about their workday, which means it would be easy to identify someone loitering, or waiting for a meeting, as it is. For a few minutes, Rem watches them as they pass, and then she turns her focus towards the shore.

He'll find her standing near the pier that leads to the breakwater, looking out towards the sea. There, the call of the waves appears to hold her attention until his footsteps become audible then stop, a sure sign the stranger is not one of the busy laborers. She turns slowly-- first with a cautious glance, then her stance. A wary but sharp expression regards him with a slightly bowed head, the same kind found upon those who scrounge enough courage to withstand something out of their element. This is a meeting, but the tenseness in her posture suggests fleeing is staked beneath her boots.

No familiarity registers when she gives him a practiced, clinical, once-over, yet her gaze is quick to snap to the side of his hip, noting the swords sheathed there. A corner of her lips tugs downward at the sight of a weapon, and she lifts her chin, perhaps in order to appear more undaunted, and meets his eyes.

Today, she wears common, cheap garb-- a skirt, a blouse, a stay-- all disheveled in such a manner that suggests she's unused to the style. A worn, red half-cloak drapes over her shoulders, clasped together with the only bit of gold on her person.

Her hands lift, reaching to lower her hood, and she raises her voice to carry above the sea wind. ]

Are you Ramuh?

[Cid wasn't sure what or who to expect as he made this meeting and made his way to the meeting location. He was wary...but he got the impression from the texts that he was talking to someone inexperienced. Still, it never hurt to be cautious, especially when they seemed to know about summoning—and perhaps even could summon.

So as he approaches the pier, his left hand idly resting on his swords, he tilts his head slightly at the cloaked figure standing at the end. A figure that was...a bit smaller than expected. And when she finally turns and lowers her hood—

Wait, it's a young girl?

The surprise is clear in his eyes as they widen and he stares at her for a few seconds.

...

A small breath escapes him as his stance relaxes.]

In a sense, though I'd prefer if you called me Cid.

You?

[ Hers is not a face that's suitable for hard dealings or negotiations, and neither is her voice-- naturally softened, no doubt, by years of what could only be kindness. Yet she seems to be studying him keenly as he introduces himself, until at last her gaze breaks contact with a brief nod of her own. He may have relaxed his stance, but hers remains rigid. ]

I'm Rem. [ She introduces herself with a tone lighter than her previous question. Politeness seems to be ingrained in her mannerisms, even in a circumstance like this. She raises a hand to her chest. ]

So... Are you still interested in my help?

[...Ah. There's a light of recognition in his eyes, having heard of Jill's unexpected experience with her

Crossing his arms over his chest, he studies her.]

I admit, I'm still a little unclear as to what your help entails. Especially when you're not being upfront that you are capable of summoning.

[Calling her out—]

[ Her brow lifts, then settles. If she knows she can summon, then he's spoken with the only other who knows she can. The incident had been troubling, and her fingers curl against the fabric of her cloak. Immediately, defensiveness hardens her tone-- ] That--... [ --but she stops herself. He's not here to listen to her excuses, regardless that she didn't mean it. That, and she'd rather not get on the topic again. ]

You want to make sure no one else can summon you. [ She draws in a quiet breath, tasting the humid, salty air upon her tongue, and steadies her tone. Capabilities are one thing, but sounding convincing is equally important. As he studies her, she refuses to shirk.

Rem steps forward once. A puddle beneath her heel breaks tension, rippling outward. ] I can do that.

[ And then she pauses here, waiting to see if he'll allow her to continue to explain. ]

[He watches her carefully. Understandably she moves on the defensive, but she doesn't try to convince him she was right to do it or defend herself in that way. It seems she holds some guilt, or at least recognizes the discomfort it brought Jill.

So he just slightly cants his head.]

How?

Some eidolons in my world are forbidden, and some are linked to one person. Sometimes the power itself is limiting, but... [ Her look becomes more pointed, indicating the next part is more pertinent to him and his kin: ] other times, there's a magical charter on the summon itself. An authorization.

[ The more she speaks, the more confidence weaves into her words. On the subject of magic, fragility frays from her cadence like threads from the edges of torn silk. Replacing it are the careful braids of a hauberk, fortifying her resolve. She continues: ] I've studied sorcery all my life. [ This is stated as if would lend herself more credit. Whether "all my life" holds any weight given her apparent youth is another matter entirely, but she certainly appears adamant. ] I'm capable.

You help me, and I'll make you [ Consideration causes her words to slow, reviewing what she knows, as well as what she does not. Cautiously, she names another. ] ...and Jill...

[ Her eyes search his face. To her, he appears weather-worn: tested by age, voice like sand, with creases lining his eyes, those not borne from joy, but strain. Free will, he wrote. How awful to think a struggle for it still remains, all because new summoners like her might recklessly trespass upon it, accident or otherwise. The tragic part of this is that, within her heart, she knows she would help anyway had they met under a different circumstance.

Her sympathy bleeds-- ] ...and anyone else...

[ --But.

She needs help, too. Briefly, Rem's hand squeezes at the clasp holding her cloak, then relaxes, lowering to her side. The next term leaves her lips like a title, finishing her explanation. ]

...Verboten. Verboten to all but yourselves.

[ Like needing a license to drive himself, but the only license available goes to him. ]

[He continues to watch her as he listens, noting her countenance...and make similar observations. He's seen plenty, knows the sign of those who have had to struggle and fight. To train. To stand stronger against something else and harden themselves despite their fears.

She's nervous, cautious, yet she stands before him with that resolve.

It makes him wonder what she has been through, her youth only making him more concerned. Not a hardened soldier, that was certain... But perhaps one that would one day be.

And what she speaks of does appeal to what he's searching for. A way to prevent others from taking advantage of them unawares. No slight or offense against those they've met under these circumstances, but their luck won't always hold, and there's always the risk of someone else taking those materia. Not to mention the numerous such summonings can occur, as Rem herself has proven.]

..."Verboten"? This...technique you speak of will prevent others from summoning us?

[Appealing—but it's clear he's not completely sold on it. Because he suspects that other than her request, there's another catch to this.]

Edited 2023-11-12 09:03 (UTC)

[ He seems more intrigued than before, but not entirely convinced. With the offer laid out, it’s up to her sound more convincing.

Rem nods, and she corrects her posture as she speaks. ] Like ensuring Ramuh can only be summoned by those authorized, but only you have that sole authorization. Others who attempt to summon you will be denied. It’s how we prevent just anyone from calling one that’s personal or… too dangerous. [ For a moment, her expression grows distant, but she’s quick to cover herself, tearing her gaze away from him to the…— sea.

The sea is not black. The sky is not red. This is not her world. ]

Or that’s how it’d work in Orience.

[ A soft cringe— she had been doing well until listing that small caveat. Sound convincing, sound confident. Even if it is true: given they are in a different world, there’s a chance things simply work differently in this realm and more adjustments will have to be made.

Yet so could any other method he’s exploring, and she’s certain someone as discerning as him is already aware. She knows what weighing information and options looks like upon a person’s brow, and that’s him as he regards her-- the level look, observant, keen, and… if she had to guess, patient like the earthen color to his eyes. Perhaps he can afford to weigh his choices. Perhaps he’s not as desperate as her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be standing in front of her, meeting her along the banks of the port, and hearing her out.

Stalling, Rem presses her lips together. At her side, her fingers curl into her palm. ]

No one should have to fear being called. The way I’ll make you forbidden… the keys will be entirely yours. I promise.

[And there it is.]

Assuming it works.

[The question of whether such a technique would even work in this world. Having spoken with others, it was clear that certain magic and techniques did not work the same if not at all here, which made some sense. After all, different world, different rules. Even he is beholden to the limitations as he first discovered upon arriving.

That said, it's the first real lead he's had so far, and while not desperate to jump at the first chance offered, there's no harm in learning more about it. Besides, if there are other options, it would allow everyone to choose which method they prefer rather than locking them into one.

He shifts his weight from one leg to the other.]

Let's just assume it's possible or that we decide to try it. What's the cost? I can only guess it's no simple procedure.

[He would be more surprised if it were.]

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