Originally Posted by Y'mhitra
A summoner is a unique type of mage who harnesses the energy of the primals and reshapes it into a biddable avatar.
In the ancient Allagan tongue, these avatars are known as “egi.” Only those who are present at the defeat of a primal and have captured its savage essence are able to manifest such aetheric entities. Now, any explanation of the summoner is not complete without a brief history of its origin.
The Allagan Empire reached its peak during the Third Astral Era. Dissatisfied with dominion over Eorzea alone, this thriving civilization sought to expand its borders to ever more distant lands.
Eventually, the empire cast its avaricious gaze upon the southern continent of Meracydia. The peoples of these nations did not, however, take kindly to being invaded, and they summoned the primals to repel the Allagan forces.
Hard-pressed by these incarnations of elemental wrath, the leaders of the empire's military were forced to alter their tactics. They ordered the mages under their command to devise some manner of magic with which to counter the primals,
The magic invented by these arcane pioneers met with great success, and, within the Allagan Empire, the title of “summoner” earned the bearer an uncommon measure of awe and respect.