Then does that mean that Clef's spell to drag Umi, Ascot, Ascot's friend, Ferio, Fuu, and The Bird Ferio Pursuaded To Go On A Rescue Mission (did he borrow a summoned creature? My mind is failing) back to the castle was, in fact, summoning them??
BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE HILARIOUS (if his summoning cancelled out the other summoned creatures having been summoned then that would explain their vanishing, because I refuse to believe he abandoned them out there - mind you, they probably wouldn't fit in the hall - not through the doors to get out at least - so he'd have to dump them somewhere else anyway)
Just watched that scene again. Ascot's creature had disappeared after blocking the blast headed for Umi, so that was one less creature to worry about. It looks like they were recalled and didn't die from it, thankfully. Ascot's lost enough of his friends as is.
As the diehard Ascot/Umi shipper that I am, I must confess to being irrationally annoyed with Clef over that scene. It's like, "Hey, Ascot saved her first! Don't steal the spotlight! Rude! They would've been fine without your help if Debonair hadn't showed up and DEBONAIR DOESN'T EXIST IN MY CANON!" *pouts and grumbles childishly*
No idea where Ferio got the bird or where it went. Rent-A-Summon? Maybe trying to teleport with it violates the contract and in such cases it's magically returned to the center. Probably have to fill out a lot of paperwork and pay a fee when he gets back. Thanks again, Clef. *braces for if Down or Milieva feel like retaliating*
I know, I got issues and I take them out on fictional characters. Totally healthy. Anyway-
My default Summoning explanation is more like Pokemon than anything else, really. The creatures exist in the wild, Summoners go out and 'catch' them. Only the catching is more of a befriending process, and even if one convinces a creature to join the party, they still have will of their own and can refuse to follow their Summoner's orders if they're so inclined. For instance, when Vigor hesitated to attack Hikaru and when Capella had to be cajoled into agreeing to fight then went ballistic against Ascot's orders later.
Speaking of Capella, I have headcanons there. My impression is they were a fairly new summon. An extremely powerful summon, but one that Ascot hadn't quite developed a great rapport with yet. But, after losing four friends, he wasn't taking chances with anything less than practically unstoppable, so Capella it was. Only, since he knew the creature couldn't be trusted to follow orders, he decided to take direct control.
Yeah, didn't quite think that one through far enough, lil brother. I mean, sure, if your only goal is to destroy the Magic Knights at any cost, it was a great plan, and would've worked if it weren't for that meddling Selece. You just forgot to consider that a summon who only barely agreed to fight for you in the first place wouldn't take too kindly to mind control. Actually, most creatures wouldn't. It's just a shit move, especially against someone you call your friend. Seriously, I adore you to pieces, but you are so many shades of WTF in the first season. You're also short-sighted. Bless your heart.
a) summon a spirit from another (non-physical) dimension and form it a body with your own power - which (this is the half and the bit I tend not to go into) could extend to 'summon a spirit which was once a creature, and has passed on, returning to Cephiro - but which still exists as a conciousness within the heart of Cephiro - forming it a body from your magic and it's idea of its identity. Er. So, basically giving ghosts a form to interact with the physical world, and as you control their access to the physical world you have control over them and BASICALLY THIS SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY BAD IDEA WHEN I WRITE IT OUT IN FULL BUT part of me believes Fyula existed as a flesh-and-blood creature once who Clef was friends with and now is a summonable spirit um SORRY FYULA???)
Ooh, ghosts as summons! That could be a fun theory to play with. *gets crazed look in eyes* SO MUCH ANGST POTENTIAL. Like, would you have to be friends with the creature before they died to get them as a summon? Meaning Ascot saw a bunch of his friends die twice? Or would you have to kill them yourself? What if summons were formed from the ghosts of people that died in Cephiro? And Summoners were meant to soothe the troubled spirits that haunt the world? What if Ascot SEES DEAD PEOPLE?!
Okay, two other things I think should be pondered: What happens to the summons if the Summoner leaves Cephiro, and what happens to them if the Summoner dies?
I personally think a Summoner wouldn't be able to actually summon anything outside the bounds of Cephiro, but the summons would remain physically unharmed in their little pocket dimension. However, since I also believe that some regular interaction with the creatures is necessary, going a long time without summoning would just ruin that. It may also be possible for summons to fade from existence entirely in said pocket dimension if left long enough. Like, there could be stories of Summoners who neglected to bring out a creature for decades and when they try to summon them again, they can't.
As for if the Summoner dies? It depends. I think the ones in the pocket dimension would die with them, as the dimension only exists for the Summoner. Any that are out, on the other hand, I think they'd survive. But, as sickness and dying of old age don't seem to be much of a thing in Cephiro, that means most Summoners who die would do so too suddenly to make any final summons. So, yeah, most die with their Summoner.