The Rise and Fall of Spira

by baby bleach

This story takes place 35 years prior to the events of Final Fantasy X. Our narrator is a guardian for the noble and humble Shinji, protecting him on his journey. Their world is filled with needless death and the group discovers there is more corruption and evil than they imagined. The end of their story is known but it must be told through their eyes. (Original characters)

The Fall and Rise of Spira

Author note: This story takes place at least 30 years prior to the events of Final Fantasy X and features original characters for the most part. For clarity, Lord Braska would be a young child around this time frame and would have grown up with Sin.

In order to understand the trials and pain we went through as a group, you must first understand where we came from and what happened to form the people we were until that day. We grew up knowing nothing but pain, death, and needless destruction. Our society was hindered greatly by the beast who threatened us so, but we deemed it necessary to set out to bring at least some temporary peace to those around us. This is our story, our journey, and our own self-destruction.

I was born on Mt. Gagazet on a particularly cold day. My family at the time were members of a religious cult that grew to be more loyal to Sin and tradition that Yevon could ever be- they called themselves the Holy Saviors of Truth and Light, a name that proved to be longer than their stay. The group were on their way to the holy land of Zanarkand to use children as sacrifices to Sin, and being the good child that I was, I was born right on time- though not in the right location.

There are many who fear and even find the Ronso a repulsive race, but they are truly a united and caring people. It was they who saved me from the cult that slowly went madder as their journey progressed, offering me their cold land as home. I never met my parents nor knew if they truly wanted me for anything more than a sacrifice- they died before they could make it to Zanarkand, thus ending the cult.

Instead I grew up alongside the people I now call my own- I learned how to fight, to meditate, survive the cold harshness of life and the weather. When I was old enough, I made my way to the city of Bevelle with a friendly Ronso named Kuriko, the man who I consider my father.

At the tender age of thirteen, our purpose in Bevelle was to hear the news of the return of Sin and to see the new Summoners being sworn in. I was taught what this world was and what Sin was prior to this, but through the eyes of a Ronso, not a human like I. I found it ridiculous that these people were forced to throw themselves at this being year after year, in hopes of bringing some sort of calm. It was there though, in that holy city that I met him- Shinji, the man I would eventually come to guard and lose my soul and body to.

From that day on, Kuriko and I resided in Bevelle. We offered our services of protection to many in hopes of making something of ourselves and possibly just killing some time. When that didn't work, he put me to train in the temple. I learned about prayers, fighting, and more about the sacrifices of our ancestors and their sins. I spent my days growing up with Shinji, watching as he trained to become a Summoner some day. He was a very kind boy, and he made the whole thing seem easy. He was like light and the people around him were like moths- drawn to his beauty and humility. At the time I found the whole thing annoying, opting to simply be his friend and nothing more. All the girls around us would fawn over him as he grew older, requesting kisses and affection to eventually marriage. I remained by his side through this, and eventually I found myself becoming his first guardian.

I was the only there when he was sworn in at Bevelle, I was there when he remained in the cloister of trails for three days straight, and there when he died in my arms eventually. Though I am getting ahead of myself- the next thing that came after he was sworn in was to find more guardians.

I was confident in my abilities to protect Shinji, and I had proven it numerous times when I fended off fiends and bullies from him. The truth was I was all he ever needed- but not what he wanted. He said there was strength in numbers, and maybe he was right. At the time though, all I knew was that I was hurt by his comment and feeling angry at him.

Kuriko was quick to sign on, offering Shinji his soul and life and that he wouldn't let him down. I was okay with this, it meant my father could be with us. Next came finding the rest of the guardians who would join us, all who we found in Bevelle before we set off to Besaid.

He called himself 'Joho' the guardian of the sun, one set to help bring the world to order. He was shorter than me, standing at 5'11", muscular but with lean tendencies. He had short green hair, wore a matching green vest but no shirt, and white rounded trousers that ballooned at his ankles. His specialty was white magic, but he had also picked up the art of thievery, allowing him to steal from fiends. He came across as annoying to me, nearly forcing me to roll my eyes at his words.

"Listen dude, you won't find a better guardian than me! I protected numerous Summoners but they uh..decided to quit their journeys ya know?", he said, twirling his staff in his hands. He was nearly the same age as Shinji and I, so I highly doubted that he had protected as many Summoners as he had claimed to. At the time Joho and I would find ourselves fighting constantly, his eagerness and short temper getting us into trouble. If I could take back what I told him in those days I would.

Shinji was impressed by him, noting that it would be good to have another white mage on our team. I felt let down by myself in that moment- if I had focused more on white magic rather than physical combat there would be no need for this so called 'Joho'. At the time though, I suppressed my feelings- they were useless and not needed on this journey. Something I struggled to contain.

With the four of us now, Shinji was confident we had enough people in our group and that there was no need for more. That day forth, we set out on our journey to defeat Sin, visiting new lands we had never seen before and witnessing atrocities we had never witnessed. Kuriko had warned me that the trip would be hard, that we would want to give up by the time we reached Zanarkand. None of us could imagine how corrupt our world had been or become, nor could we fathom that this was more than just a journey to bring temporary peace. We were just pawns in a child's game after all.