The funny thing about life is that even under the most controlled situation, anything can, and usually will go wrong. Or something unexpected will happen. The irony of that of course it that we already know that something will happen which we are not expecting, which is silly because now we are expecting it. Confused? So was I, believe me.

The golden sun shone brightly on the sandy coloured houses of Eri, the capital city of Reim. It was the third day of the harvest season, and everyone was scurrying about, collecting the fruits from the trees and the crops from the fields. They had done well this year, with twice as many crops as last year.

I had been helping out collecting fruit, nothing out of the ordinary. Well, not for the first few hours anyway. Just after midday I found a small, what appeared to be glass, pendant on a silver chain, hanging from a small branch. Figuring someone had lost it, I took it home and cleaned it, ready to be handed in to the lost and found.

That's when it happened. Just to see what it would look like, I tried it on. The second it was secured around my neck it made a bright flash. Everything then went black, and I felt the world melt away, as if I were falling asleep. You'll never guess where I landed. That's right, smack in the middle of a war-torn world I had never heard of before, away from anyone I ever knew, with little or no hope of getting back. Great situation. I picked myself up, and as I was dusting myself down, some dude tackled me to the ground and pulled me behind what was left of the nearest building.

"What faction?"

"What the hell are you on about?"

"Just tell me, which faction?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Where the hell am I?"

"Rhyosé"

"Rio… where?"

"Where you from?"

"Eri, Reim"

"There's no such place"

"Yes there is, it's just by Arom." The dude just looked at me as if I were stir-fried crazy. I shook my head in despair. I knew there were three continents, Reim, Arom and Sek'had. All three were separated by the sea, but were equal in size. There was no war. Hell, there weren't even armies. But right then, I was sitting in a huge battlefield, being told they simply didn't exist.

"Listen buddy, I'm not crazy"
"Yeah. I believe you."

"Whatever. Where'd you say we were again? Rhyosé?"

"Yes, on the nation of T'Had"

"Ok. oh boy."

"You must have.. hit your head or something?"

"No, no, I. don't belong here, this isn't my world."

"What?" So I explained my story to him. Luckily, we weren't shot at or bombed during the conversation. He accepted the story, though I could still see the doubt in his eyes. Not that I cared much mind. I just wanted to get out of there before I got shot.

"Can we go now? Only I really don't want to die."

"You need to follow me. I'll take you to the leader of the Re'hu. He can deal with you."

"If you say so. Lead the way." So I followed this guy, across the battlefield, ducking behind various rocks, buildings or the odd person. We managed to clear it very quickly, and made out way into what looked like a small bamboo hut. This is where it becomes fun. On the inside, it was like a mansion, it was huge. Lots of expensive decorations etc.

"I request an audience with our mighty leader"

"For what purpose?"

"This woman has something that may be of interest to him"

"You may pass." The tall and heavily built bodyguard the dude had been talking too stepped to the side and flicked a switch behind his back. The solid oak doors opened slowly and the dude led me into. wait for it. a small room, with a grand chair facing backwards.

"Merin of the Order of Seagulls present sir!" A hand, like a half rotten corpse, extended and waved the dude (Merin) away. The chair moved round, revealing a cat with a hand on a stick. I had to bite my tongue so hard it began to bleed. In the end the urge to laugh overwhelmed me, and a giggle crept out.

"How dare you laugh at me? I am the great Imnan of the, leader of the Re'hu."
"I'm sorry, your. whateverness. I just thought I would be meeting some almighty being or something. not a cat"

"Well you thought wrong, didn't you?"

"I g-guess so." I stuttered, trying desperately not to laugh any more than I already was. It wasn't working.

"Show me that necklace. And stop laughing!" the cat half shouted. So I walked forward and removed the necklace, placing it on the desk which had materialised in front of him. He stared at it, and looked up at me.

"You have found the pendant of Lunaris, the great Summoner Mage. She left it to her descendant, only you could have found it."

"Oh great. So now I have to master summoning and magic and save the world, right?"
"That's more or less it, yeah. You must practice your magic when you can, and learn the art of summoning."

"Yeah, yeah. So who's the big bad I gotta beat?"

"Shin Ra'hu Melagniseriamus. Neros for short, though no-one knows why."

"Sounds like fun. Don't tell me, he's damned near invincible? And he's trying to take over the world right?"

"That is correct. You seem to know quite a lot for someone who isn't from this planet."

"What can I say?" I shrugged this situation was predictable, and I was getting bred fast. I scooped up my necklace and put it back on. As it toughed my skin, it began to glow red and became very hot, though there was no sensation of burning. I walked outside and my vision altered. Everything appeared in shades of red and orange. In the distance I could see a large, winged animal making a beeline for me. Without realising I had done so, I opened my arms and kept watching the creature as it swooped down towards me and sped up, colliding with me as it came down. I felt a surge of heat go through me like a wave as the creature merged with me, became a part of my very soul. It happened very quickly, and afterwards my sight and senses returned to normal. I could sense the energy of the creature within me, like a warm blanket on my soul. Imnan came out to me, carried in the arms of what looked like a priest of some sort. He looked, as only cats can, concerned.

"Do you know what that was?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged my shoulders. Just how in the blue hell was I supposed to know what it was? I couldn't see it properly, and it had kamikazied into me before I could make judgement on details.

"That my dear was a Griffin, made of pure fire, and a big one to boot. You've already collected your first Summon, well done." He smiled. I still didn't know what he meant; I hadn't actually done anything (save of course acting as brakes for the Griffin).

"I don't understand, all I did was stand there and act like a wall for it, it slammed into me!" I said, confused. Imnan thought this was funny, and started cackling madly.

"Something about you called the Griffin to you, they are the Protectors of Men."

"So I called it? Without knowing I had called it?"

"Called to it rather, you cannot call it until you have earned the privilege of actually Summoning it. You'll have to work on that. He'll protect you when you need it the most, but you cannot control it for the moment. That will come in time. I've already sent for the General to escort you to Kimita, the priests there are already skilled in the art of Summoning and can teach you far better than I could. He'll be here soon, you might want to stay inside until then.

"Fine. Meanwhile you can tell me exactly what is going on ok?" I insisted, following him back into the bamboo hut/mansion. Inside, he sat me down in a room just off the side of the entrance and explained what was going on. Magic, Summoning and Technology had always been around here, and until about 900 years ago had worked together. There were three main factions, with other minor sects between them. They were known as the Re'hu, the Chak'inma and the Horanus factions, each with their own beliefs and sets of laws, which were universally respected. 900 years ago however, a priest by the name of Neros cast off the beliefs of the Chak'inma, the tribe of Summoner and Mages, defecting to the Horanus who believed solely in technology and it's advancement. In doing so he renounced his powers as a Summoner as evil and convinced the Horanus that the Chak'inma were evildoers plotting to take the world for their own. As he built up his army to invade the Chak'inma, they too built an army of Summoners and Mages to defend themselves. The Re'hu tried desperately to keep out of it, but their nation was directly in between the two, so they got caught in the crossfire.

The Re'hu were invaded and taken over by the Horanus, but rebelled against them, forming an alliance instead with the Chak'inma. This wasn't enough to prevent war however, and soon the combined armies of the Re'hu and the Chak'inma clashed with the army of the Horanus. Both were currently at a stalemate. The last person to go up against Neros himself was Lunaris, the first Summoner Mage: she was capable of both summoning animals and great beasts and using magic of all kinds. In the end, Neros overpowered her by sapping the energy from her, using her own magic against her to do it. She had never developed the mental barriers that were needed to withstand such a force as Neros exerted, though she was the first to take him on and weaken him badly before she died. As he drained the life from her, Neros took her pendant which held all her power, throwing it through a dimensional rift he had created. At this time, Lunaris prayed to the gods for a way to get rid of Neros and restore everyone to their former peaceful state. It was then that the prophecy of the Descendant of Lunaris came into being. My prophecy.