One moment Aidoneus had been resting peacefully in the shade of a palm tree, and in the next he found himself lying on his back in the middle of a grassland. There was a moment of disorientation and panic as he felt a strange pulling sensation on his body right before he had blinked, and now he realized it had happened once again. As a being from the outer reaches of this world, the eidolon unfortunately registered as a summoned entity when other races performed certain actions and rites. What these rituals and words were, he did not know. All he knew was that he had no way of resisting when he was 'called'. And so he had been summoned to a strange land, in the heat of midday. Around him were a strange congregation bearing the forms of animals and man clad in bones and patterned robes. The pungent stench of burning resin and ash filled the air while utterances in a foreign tongue wailed around him. Standing to his feet, the dark haired man saw he had arrived within the center of a ritual circle. And not too far away was the gutted corpse of some poor creature, whose blood had served as the medium for the circle's 'paint'. 

This was a terrifying and alien situation which he knew he immediately had to escape from. The eidolon was not well-versed in many things, however he had enough sense to know that the ominous and unnerving state of his surroundings were a clear sign of danger. A quick glance at the cultist-like beings who he assumed to be behind his sudden displacement showed they were currently under some kind of trance, and he took advantage of the smoke from the charred braziers as cover for his hasty departure. Cautiously he made his way to the edge of the encampment only to be spotted by a guard hound. A piercing howl alerted the armed warriors that something was amiss, and the hooting cries of the bone-clad robed tribesmen were not too far behind. Aidoneus had always been a diplomat at heart, so instead of confronting the incoming attackers–he ran. 

Baying beasts were after him and the whistling of darts and arrows were narrowly missing him. When a projectile came close to hitting him, his fluid form would shift itself out of the way as to not slow his sprint. But he couldn't run forever, and while he had been staying clear from the hunting dogs' fangs, it was a thrown spear that caught him instead. An eight-foot spear bearing an obsidian tip burst through his lower abdomen, the area where a human's intestines should be. The sudden shock to his body staggered him, but instead of trying to pull it out he kept going. The wielder must have been strong, for the weight of the embedded weapon was taking its toll on Aidoneus' speed. There was another reason he chose to run instead of removing it as soon as possible–the resulting wound would run the risk of an outpouring of his ichor, and exposing anything to it was the last thing he wished. He needed help, any form he could receive at this moment. To anyone he simply appeared as a mortally injured man in long dark robes, but in truth he was possibly the most dangerous out of them all.

Overlooking the summoning ritual were three hidden figured watching for the right moment to strike. One held a large two-handed bastard sword in his hands, along with a few smaller bladed weapons at his hip, including a dagger and a hand axe. The second was holding a broadsword in one hand in her right hand was a kite shield and she was wearing light armour as well. The third was wearing full robes and had a very strong magical essence around him, clearly a strong mage of some kind.

After the being had been summoned by the cultists the knight went to move in, but the mage placed a hand on her shoulder. ”Wait, watch, whatever it is they summoned, it looks like it’s trying to escape.” He explained, and indeed he was correct as the summoned figured turned and fled, only to be followed by the guard dogs and cultists a few moments later. ”Go, now, keep in mind she wants the summoned being alive to see where it’s from and what it’s intentions in this world are.” All three took off at a run down the bank on an intercept course to get between Aidoneus and the cultists.

As the hounds closed in on the now wounded Aidoneus a fire ball crashed in front of them, making the beasts come to skidding stops. That was their only chance to turn tail however as more fire balls and even some lightning orbs were thrown their way, catching some of the hounds and setting them on fire. A burst of sunlight caused the cultists to shield their eyes and come to a stop as well, as the knight and fighter got into position in front of them. ”Check on the summoned being, make sure it survives.” The knight said to the mage who nodded and headed to find Aidoneus.

The cultists stared for a moment at the two warriors before them before charging them, but the fighter and knight were ready.

He had to remove this spear from his body. It's weight was dragging him down but the shaft end was too far for him to grab without overexerting his form. It was still too dangerous to pull the spearhead out so his only other option was to break the shaft as close as he could. As blasts of magic stalled the hounds, Aidoneus grasped the pole as he twisted his upper body and forced it to snap. Leaving only less than half embedded in himself, he resumed his efforts to escape. Someone had started attacking the cultists but he feared this was no time for an attempt at negotiation. He needed some place to hide, then he needed to figure out where in the world he was. Antheia must have noticed his absence by now. The two wolves who had become his 'children' likely sensed his distress before he had been forcibly dragged across the realm. Throwing a glance over his shoulder he was alarmed to see there was still someone after him in hot pursuit, though not a cultist judging by the garments. However Aidoneus still kept running.

His flight came to a sudden halt when he saw the edge of the riverbank. Though he had no reason to fear drowning, rather it was the creatures lining the river's banks basking in the sun that made him stop. Crocodiles…their fearsome, snapping maws bearing rows of sharp teeth would do more damage than any sword would. He dared not disturb them and tried to find another way around when he was cornered. Dull red eyes looked at the mage in terror as he held up his hands. The wounded area surrounding the puncture was starting to seal up and the cyan ichor that had stained it had already evaporated. Soon he would be able to remove the rest of the spear cleanly. But there was one question that was at the forefront of Aidoneus' mind–would he be captured again? "Sir, please spare me. I-I do not know where I am. I had no part in the atrocities those masked ones committed." He wasn't even sure if this man understood Adelunian Common. 

As Aidoneus came to a stop near the crocodiles the mage came to a stop as well a few yards away to keep some distance between them. The mage had his own hands up, palms out as he spoke. ”Easy, I’m not going to hurt or kill you. My name is Mathew. I know you weren’t part of what those cultists did, my friends and I saw you being summoned.” He explained. ”We were hoping to speak with you and see what if anything you might know about their activities and perhaps other places you may have been summoned? We want to remove their Sin from world, but we’re having a hard time tracking down where their main lair is.” Mathew explained as he waited to see what Aidoneus’ answer would be.

Meanwhile, back at the fight, the fighter and knight we’re taking it to the cultists proving they were far better experienced in combat. The knight batted away a dagger with her shield before running the cultist through her sword, and pushing him back and away into the path of another incoming knife wielder. ”Drop your weapons and submit and we will spare your lives as long as you repent and give up your Sinful ways.” She called out in a moment that she had, but the cultists kept attacking despite their numbers quickly falling.

”They are beyond redemption, Luka.” He called after cleaving two cultists in half in one swing of his bastardsword.

”I know, Mark, I am merely offering them a chance to come into the Light.” Luka replied as she slapped away a dagger with the tip of her sword and shoved the edge of her kite shield into the neck of the cultist that had gotten close. As he reeled back gasping for air Luka ran him through.

”I know, it is what Lady Glory would want.” Mark replied as he dodged a swing of a small axe before shoulder rushing the cultist. The charge knocked the smaller man down before Mark plunged his sword into the man’s chest killing him instantly. ”I hope Mathew is ok.” There were only a few enemies left now and they were between both Mark and Luka as the two warriors stalked in closer a few steps at a time.

A great weight was lifted off his shoulders when the man facing him not only understood what language he was speaking, but the meaning behind his words as well. Lowering his hands, a sigh escaped Aidoneus as if this wasn't the first time he had to run for his safety. While the spear still remained lodged in his person, he answered Matthew's questions. "I fear I know little about who those people were or what intentions they had. And yes, this hasn't been the first time I have been called away to places unknown to me. I am regrettably unfamiliar with locations outside of the Bohar Plains and Arri, however I will tell you what I had seen in the past few attempts." Doing so would be easier said than done as what the eidolon said was indeed the truth. Contemplating, he began saying: "Now according to my memory, I have been summoned at least three times–including today. I've also been banished twice–on accident, though that merely sends me to a random location within the world…" Matthew was in for an hour-long ramble as this ancient being with no sense of time started explaining in painstaking detail. 

"The first time I was summoned, I had no idea what was happening. I was walking about on the twelfth night of Calor in the Yellow District of Sularia, as I wanted to see the night gardens everyone had been speaking of. The sky was clear and the stars were fully visible as I crossed the bridge when I felt as if the very essence of my being was pulled away through the material plane. It was quite an unusual sensation, to where I still find myself at a loss for words to fully describe what it was like at that very moment. Imagine your body were suddenly sucked from the outside in through an invisible, intangible hole. But when you try to struggle, the more you find yourself pulled in. Everything went black as my senses were momentarily disrupted and I was dropped inside a spacious dark room. The air was stale, and somewhat humid. There was the distinct scent of clove, anise, and eucalyptus burning from the tall black candles in the room. The flames from those candles were a vivid viridian, and they must have been burning for some time from the residue that had congealed at the base of the…" 

Yes, painstaking detail. Eventually Matthew learned that the first summoning had been done by individuals in theater-styled masks and robes of white in some underground chamber of some sort. There was expensive hardwood furniture dressed in colorful silk cushions around the altar Aidoneus was standing on, and when the mysterious people saw him they began prostrating themselves at his feet. They spoke in a language he did not understand, and thus any attempts at communication was rendered futile. Sign language had little effect as that only made the strangers shout and start kowtowing. They led him to an ornate chair plated in gold and had him hold a carved wooden sphere. They then gave him a crude staff to hold in his other hand, then they left him alone. What Aidoneus noticed was that they were all wearing sandals and most of the individuals had an olive skin tone. After sitting with the strange objects for a while, he snuck out and ran away. 

The second summoning was a far less pleasant experience. He had been preparing to take his midday nap when he felt that same pull. It took a few seconds for him to recall what was happening but he was unable to call out to the others for help before his words were cut short. Hati and Sköll had been very confused as to where he had went, as he had blinked out of existence. The location he was taken to was a filthy cave filled with the bones of more than twenty people arranged into a grisly skeletal pyre. Torches lit up the darkness and the horrid stench of rank water hung in the air. Terrified, he ran when he heard footsteps and hid behind a pile of stalagmites. Gangly humanoid shapes cast frightening shadows on the wall as they chattered in some foreign tongue. Their clothes were tattered, bodies covered in grime, with short swords at their sides. There wasn't much else that he could tell from that encounter, as Aidoneus had fumbled about in the dark until he found the exit.

There was a deciduous forest outside, a welcome relief to the nightmarish scene he had been in. The leaves were still green. While this didn't say much about the location, the eidolon distinctly remembered hearing a bird call, which he imitated uncannily. This was all the information the mage could gather from him. 

When Aidoneus began to go into greater detail than Mathew had assumed he would, the mage quickly removed a journal and a quill with ink from his robes and started to scribble down what was being said. He had hoped that Aidoneus could tell him the names of the locations, but alas he didn’t know them, but his memory on the details were, well, detailed, and Mathew took note of them. It was a good thing the journal that Mathew was writing in hadn’t been overly full or he might have run out of pages before Aidoneus was finished.

In the time that Mathew and Aidoneus were speaking, Luka and Mark had finished off the last of the cultists. Mark placed his boot on the chest of the last one and kicked the corpse off of his sword. ”Looks like that was the last of them.” He stated leaning over to use the cultist’s robes to wipe his blade clean.

”Indeed, but I am concerned for Mathew, he has taken a long time.” Luka replied sheathing her blade, having already cleaned it, and hooking her shield on her back. Together they took off in the direction Mathew and Aidoneus had last been seen going in. Luka made a whooping call a few times.

Meanwhile back with Aidoneus, Mathew contemplated what he had written down once Aidoneus was finished speaking. ”I am sorry for what has happened to you, it sounds terrible. To be suddenly and forcibly drawn to another location without your consent… Have you thought of trying to find a way to break this cycle?” Mathew asked as he heard the whooping call from Luka, which Mathew answered in kind and a few moments later both warriors arrived.

”There you are, Mathew!”

”Are you two alright?”

”Indeed, the Light protected us.” Luka replied and looked to Aidoneus curiously. ”Have you learned what he wanted to know?” She asked.

”Yes, he didn’t know exact location names, but he did have great details of the areas. I’m sure from them we can find the rest of these cultists and others like them.” He looked to Aidoneus. ”This is Luka and Mark, and, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

While Matthew committed every word he had spoken into his journal, Aidoneus remembered it was time to remove the remains of the spear from himself. Gently pulling the spearhead and broken shaft, the eidolon was pleased to see the wound was fully sealed. The hole created by the spear's puncture closed itself up leaving no scar or trace of injury. Matthew's companions soon arrived,  discerning by the sudden whooping call and his reply in turn. The man then asked if he had attempted to put these sudden summonings to an end. Aidoneus contemplated for a good while before explaining.

"My name is Aidoneus. Indeed, I would be more than happy to make this cycle of confusion and displacement cease. However I lack the knowledge and means to do so. As you may or may not be aware–normally there are specific rites and procedures which must be conducted in order to successfully summon an entity. These requirements vary widely and typically are determined by the entity in question. Should an individual attempt to call upon them any other way, the entity can exercise their right to disregard the summons entirely or retaliate to emphasize their intent. But not all entities can refuse outright–the power of the summoned and the summoner must be taken into account. One should not forget that two individuals cannot summon the same entity simultaneously…"

Realizing he was rambling again, the eidolon summarized this into more manageable terms. "Unless I know how those people were able to summon me, I am afraid there is little I can do to prevent another attempt. Upon entering this world, it appears the laws that govern this sphere have categorized me as a summoned entity. But due to the Void being my place of origin, that further complicates the particulars of 'calling' and 'banishment'. If there was a way to somehow make it so I register as being summoned indefinitely or if I was bound to someone, perhaps that would remove all future possibilities of unexpected forced summons." He gave a courteous bow to the two warriors whom Matthew introduced as Mark and Luka. "Pardon my lengthy discourse. I often forget that time moves more quickly for most than it does for me."

Matthew continued to listen to Aidoneus as he spoke of what he knew of the rituals that were used to summon him, which was limited. Matthew didn’t interrupt, just allowed Aidoneus to continue speaking like before. After Aidoneus was finished speaking and Mark and Luka joined them from their fight, Matthew seemed in thought for a few moments. ”What are you thinking, Matthew? Did he give us what we needed?” Luka asked as she kept an eye on Aidoneus.

Matthew blinked and looked to her for a moment before looking off into the middle distance. ”He can’t name the places he was summoned to, but he could give detailed descriptions of the locations, we can figure out the exact places later. What I am thinking about now is how to help Aidoneus break this cycle of being summoned over and over again.”

”Why?” Mark asked bluntly, setting the top of his bastard sword into the ground and leaning on it.

”Because he’s not evil as we assumed whatever they would have summoned would be. A pour soul trapped in this cycle, never knowing what will happen to him.” Matthew looked with pity in his eyes towards Aidoneus. ”Is that something you would be willing to let us help you with, Aidoneus? We have a Patron that would be able to help you, I think. If it’s a matter of someone powerful summoning you and that anchors you to this plain, you won’t get much more powerful than her. Then again, she might also be willing to use her power to break your connection with the Void and permanently keep you within this world instead.” Matthew explained.

”You assume Lady Glory will do such things for him?”

”No, but she might. Aidoneus isn’t evil, Luka, I know you can sense that as much as I can, why else would he have fun away from the cult? I think he needs help and that is something we can offer.” He looked back to Aidoneus again. ”What do you say, Aidoneus?”

He would be more than happy to have it so he could no longer be bound by the call of a summons, but when Matthew spoke of severing his connection to the Void, an expression of terror came over Aidoneus. The very thought of being forever separated from the Void, unable to return to the Origin, caused the eidolon to experience a panic and deep-seated fear like never before. Finality, a complete termination of one's being was still a foreign concept to him–but with time he had begun to grasp what it meant. And it was frightening. "If my bond with the Void were to be broken, should I be injured beyond recovery I would truly die." His essence would not return to the Origin. He would not be reborn into a new cycle and never again could he hope to be reunited with his family or his people. True death–complete and utter permanence. After a long pause, the within him subsided enough for him to speak. "I thank you for your kind offer, Matthew. But I…cannot accept."  With a pained smile, Aidoneus said to the three: "My people and I relinquished much when we chose to bind ourselves to the laws of this world. If I were to abandon my ties to the Origin, then I can never hope to see them again. From the Origin we were formed, and to the Origin we shall return. To deny this truth would be foolishness on my part. I am grateful to be granted permission to reside within this world despite not being born from it."

"Death…is a terrifying thing." No truer words had been spoken from the eidolon as he continuously faced what younger beings saw as a natural law of this world. And although Aidoneus wished to be freed from the compelling power of summons and rites, he could not bear the thought of entering oblivion for eternity. If they thought him absurd, he would understand. After all, he was an outsider–a being who by all intents and purposes, should not exist within this world. "If there is more that you wish to inquire of me, I am willing to comply. But I wish to find my own way to end the summoning cycle while still retaining my bond with the Void. Like many lesser creatures, in the end–we all desire to return to our place of creation. I hope my analogy has been presented in comprehensible terms." Even shifting, fantastical beings such as eidolons possessed an innate desire, a longing to return to a familiar place called 'home'. Though Parnassia had fallen and the Void was no longer close, for the first time in an age Aidoneus knew someone was waiting for him. "If I may be excused, I must return to Arri. I fear my brief and sudden absence may have caused my close companion and children great concern."