Author's Notes: FFX and its characters, the Al Bhed, Sin, and Spira, belong to Square Enix. Most of the characters in this fanfiction are my OC's that I created, and belong to me. This story is set shortly before Braska's time.
I – The Journey Begins
In Spira, there are people known as Summoners. Their purpose, their duty, is to defeat the Leviathan known as Sin and to bring the Calm, a time of peace without Sin, to Spira. They sacrifice their lives in the process, and in doing so they become High Summoners. But, not all Summoners defeat Sin. Not all of them make it that far, for one reason or another. If you're reading this, I thank you and I hope that you enjoy my tale. This is my story.
It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining down on the ship. I clung to the railing as the wind buffeted my face and whipped my hair about. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the sea. I had always loved the sea. It had been six long years since I had been on a ship, though, and now not only was I on a ship, but I was also returning to my birthplace, the Isle of Besaid. I could remember the last time I had seen Besaid, years ago when my mother and I had left on a ship much like this one, bound for Luca to go and watch the Blitzball Tournament. I had watched as the island had gotten smaller and smaller in the distance, until I could no longer see it. I had been so excited.
My mother had been a pretty woman with long and wavy, very dark brown hair. Her hair had been so dark, it had almost looked as black as coal, except when the sunlight had hit it. I remember how it shone black, brown, and gold in the sunlight that day. My own hair is much lighter than hers was, a strawberry blond color instead of dark brown. And my mother's eyes, they had been a bright blue. My own eyes are green. I had always fancied that I had gotten my eye and hair colors from my father. I remember talking to my mother and laughing as she told me stories and jokes. She had been a fun-loving person, and had always been nice to be around. Everyone had loved and admired her for as long as I could remember. I remember telling her that I had wanted to become a Blitzball Player someday, and I remember her encouraging me. If that was what I wanted to do, she would support me all the way.
On that day, on that ship bound for Luca, that was the last time I would ever see or talk to my mother again. For, on that day, Sin had attacked our ship. I remember the panic and the shouts of the ship's passengers and crew. I remember being terrified when, for the first time in my eight years of life, I had seen that horrid creature that had killed so many people in Spira. I had been one of the lucky few on board who had survived Sin's attack on the ship that day. I had found myself alone in Luca, an orphan and only eight years old, with no place to go and not knowing what to do without my mother. I had felt confused, sad, and terrified. Angry, too. I had been confused because, at first, I did not understand what had happened to my mother. I had been sad once the realization did sink in that my mother was gone. I had been terrified of the creature that had attacked the ship. And, more than anything else, I had been angry because that creature they called Sin had taken my mother away from me.
My mother had been the only family I had ever known. I had no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles, no grandparents. Not that I knew of, anyway. My mother's family had been small to begin with and, over time, the few that there were had been killed by Sin. I had never known my father while growing up, and no one else knew who he was either. My mother had kept his identity a secret to everyone, including myself. I had used to ask my mother about my father all the time when I was a little girl. But, she never would say anything about him, not even the tiniest bit. After a while, I had stopped asking her about my father. Instead, I created an image of him in my mind. I had always imagined my father to be a handsome and noble man, with hair the same color as mine and eyes as green as my own.
After Sin's attack on the ship, I had been taken in by an old woman called Nana who lived in Luca. She was very kind, and I enjoyed living in Luca with her and being able to watch the Blitzball Tournaments. But, every night I had the same nightmare. Again and again I would witness that day when Sin had attacked the ship and had taken my mother away from me. I would wake up crying and, sometimes, screaming for my mother. My mother had died that day yet I had lived on. Why, I had wondered, had I been spared the same fate as my mother? Sometimes, when I had walked along the docks and looked out at the sea, I would wish that Sin had taken me, too. Anything to be with my mother again.
After a while, though, I had stopped wishing that. I knew that my mother would scold me for thinking like that. She had loved me more than anything else in the world. She wouldn't have wanted me to die that day. After a while, I had stopped grieving over my mother's death. Instead, I had found a new resolve: I had decided that I would become a Summoner. I had vowed that one day I would defeat Sin. I was determined and showed great promise. I was a strong girl. I would defeat the monster that had killed my mother, and so many other people. And that is why, eight years after my mother's death, I was on a ship bound for Besaid. I had spent six years training and now it was time for me to become a full-fledged Summoner.
"You all right?" Asked a voice from behind me. I turned around and gave a small smile to the boy who walked up beside me.
"I'm fine, Hiko. I was just thinking." I replied softly. Hiko was a childhood friend of mine. We had met in Luca, at a Blitzball Tournament. He loved Blitzball and was a very cheerful kind of person and fun to be around. He was from Kilika, but he spent a lot of his time in Luca. When I had decided to become a Summoner, Hiko had became my Guardian immediately, with no complaints and without me having to ask him. I had always wondered why, because he had always talked of becoming a Blitzball Player and he was really quite talented when it came to Blitzball.
"Nira won't talk to me and I'm bored." Hiko said as he stared out at the sea, and I laughed. Nira was a female Ronso whose brother was a Blitzball Player. She had also became my Guardian and, like with Hiko, I had met her at a Blitzball game. Nira and I were fast friends after we first met. Nira was on the quiet side, but she had a kind heart and was devoted to protecting me. At first, Hiko and Nira had not gotten along very well at all. Nira was more the quiet and serious type while Hiko was loud and loved to joke and play around. They had both gotten on each others nerves for a while. However, after a while the two of them had grown on each other.
"Nira's not much of a conversationalist. Why don't you talk to me, instead?" I suggested, smiling. We spent the rest of the trip talking and watching the sea.
When I first set foot on the Isle of Besaid, after so many years away, my heart ached. The last time I had been here, my mother had been alive and I had called Besaid my home. But now, my mother was gone, and the island didn't feel quite like home anymore. Not with my mother gone. Now, Besaid was just a place where I had once lived, and now would be the place where I would begin my pilgrimage. I wondered, as we got off of the ship, what I would say to those people who had known my mother and I back then. Surely they had heard about Sin attacking our ship all those years ago? Maybe they thought us both dead, after neither of us had returned to Besaid? Just stay calm, I told myself silently. I wondered if anyone would even recognize me now? I had been just eight years old back then. Now, I was sixteen. I had grown a lot. I was a young woman now. I was no longer a child.
Nira, Hiko, and I made our way from the beach and followed a path that led us past beautiful cascading waterfalls that I remembered from my childhood. I remembered using this path when I was a child. I had liked to come here, alone, to admire the waterfalls, even though there had always been the danger of fiends attacking me. Somehow, I had always gotten off lucky and encountered no fiends. As we continued along the path, past structures from an age long since past, I brushed my hand across the words written on one pillar. My mother had taught me what was written there. but I had not been allowed to tell anyone that I knew what it said. The memory made my heart ache again and reminded me of how much I missed my mother. As we continued on, I again wondered what I would say to anyone who might recognize me. What could I say? I would have to tell them about my mother, I knew that much.
"Meka?" I heard a woman's voice say as my Guardians and I entered the village of Besaid. "Is that really little Meka? Rena's daughter?" The woman's voice sounded again and I turned around to see the speaker. She was a woman in her early fifties, and she had long black hair that was starting to gray here and there. Her dark blue eyes regarded me curiously as I stared back at her. It took me a moment, but I soon recognized her as my mother's old friend.
"Lara?" I asked the woman. Lara had been a good friend of my mother's. They had known each other since they had been children and had been best friends. I remembered my mother telling me lots of stories about how she and Lara had gone off 'adventuring', much to the dismay of their parents.
"Why, it is little Meka!" Lara exclaimed excitedly as she walked over and pulled me into a hug. "How you have grown, child!" She said, looking me up and down, examining me. "We all thought you and your mother had been killed when we heard that Sin had attacked your ship. Is Rena all right? Why didn't you two return home?" My heart ached as Lara spoke of my mother. I looked down, holding back my tears. How could I tell her what had happened to my mother, her best friend? I knew I had to, though, no matter how hard it was. Lara had to know the truth about what had happened. I looked up, meeting Lara's gaze.
"My mother.. She died during Sin's attack that day. She.. She's gone." I told Lara quietly. The woman stared at me a moment, absorbing this information.
"Oh, my dear.. I'm sorry.. So very sorry.. Poor, dear Rena..." Lara said, hugging me again as tears rolled from her eyes. I gave her a few moments to grieve before I spoke again.
"I have decided to become a Summoner." I told her once she had let go of me. "To defeat Sin." I added. My voice had adopted a slight edge with those words. I watched Lara take a step back and look me over before she nodded at me gravely. I noticed more tears fall from her eyes.
"I see.." She said quietly. "Your mother.. She would be proud of you, Meka." She told me. For some reason, I could not believe her words. Would my mother have really been proud of me for choosing to become a Summoner? For choosing to throw my life away? I know, I probably should not have thought of it like that. But, I could not help but think of it that way. Summoners sacrifice their own lives to bring the Calm to the people of Spira. Sin always comes back and the cycle starts all over again. If I could find some way to defeat Sin, truly defeat Sin, for good... If Sin never returned to Spira ever again, and the Calm could last forever... If I could do that, than it would not be so bad to sacrifice myself for that cause. I was about to speak to Lara again, when Nira's voice rang out like a bell.
"We should go to the Temple now." The female Ronso said. She was standing at my side, looking around with an unreadable expression on her face. Hiko stood behind us, unusually quiet all of a sudden. I looked at them for a moment before I looked back towards Lara and gave a nod.
"Yes, we should head to the Temple now." I said. "It was nice to see you again, Lara." I added to the older woman, who hugged me once more. With that, my Guardians and I left Lara and headed for the Temple.
When we arrived at the Temple, Hiko and I stood before the statues of the High Summoners and prayed while Nira waited for us to finish. As I had always done during my training, I prayed for a way to defeat Sin once and for all. Once Hiko and I were done, the three of us entered the Cloister of Trials, which is like a maze with all sorts of puzzles to figure out. Those who are worthy will be able to get to the Chamber of the Fayth after solving these puzzles. I would go into more detail, but there is too much to be said about the Cloisters for me to tell you now. When we reached the Chamber of the Fayth, after completing all of the puzzles, Hiko and Nira waited outside while I entered the Chamber and prayed to the Fayth.
Praying to the Fayth at a Temple of Yevon is how a Summoner obtains Aeons. It is a strange and magical thing, in my opinion, to pray to the Fayth. I cannot explain it in words, what it is like when the Fayth join with the Summoner in order to grant them an Aeon. It was a draining task, however, and my whole body seemed to ache after I was done praying to the Fayth. But, I had done it! I had obtained my first Aeon, and had proved myself worthy of becoming a fully fledged Summoner. I exited the Chamber of the Fayth, much to the pleasure of Hiko, who had grown bored from waiting for me for so long. He had been dozing in a corner until I had finally come out, waking him.
"How'd it go, Meka?" He asked me as he stood up. "You were in there for a long time!" He added.
"I.. have become.. a Summoner." I told him weakly, with a faint smile. I stumbled away from the Chamber, my legs weak. I felt so exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to sleep at that moment. My legs gave out on me, but Hiko caught me before I could fall and he held me up as we left the Temple. Nira followed behind us, silently, as we headed out of the Temple. As I had found out from Hiko, I had been in the Chamber of the Fayth for well into the next day after our arrival in Besaid. Lara invited us to rest at her home, and I was glad when we finally arrived there and I got to lay down on a bed. I was so tired, too tired even to get something to eat, although I was also hungry after the long trial. Nira stood against a wall, keeping watch, while Hiko sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Hiko, if you're bored you can go outside and find something to do, you know. You do not have to stay here with me. Nira can keep an eye on me by herself." I told him, but Hiko just shook his head.
"No way, Meka." He said, looking me in the eyes. "I'm going to stay right here, with you. I am your Guardian, after all." He said, with a goofy grin appearing on his face as he beamed at me. I smiled and let out a sigh before I closed my eyes. Hiko was proving to be a dedicated Guardian. I realized then that he would probably protect me with his life, just as the Code of the Guardian stated. But, I could not help but wonder if perhaps it was not so simple a thing as that? Hiko and I were good friends and had known each other for a long time. We knew each other better than anyone else could. But, I had only ever thought of Hiko as my best friend. He was like a brother to me. That was how I felt about him.
But, how did he feel about me? I had never really thought about it, nor had I ever asked him about it. Hiko had become my Guardian willingly, without a second thought and without any regrets. He had pushed aside his own dream of becoming a Blitzball Player for the Kilika Beasts, just so that he could become my Guardian. I had told Hiko that he did not have to become my Guardian if he wanted to do something else. I had told him that Nira could protect me well enough on her own. But, Hiko had insisted on becoming my Guardian. He had said that it didn't matter if he became a Blitzball Player or not. He would rather protect me. I had never really understood why he would do that, just for me.
Since I had first met him, Hiko had always wanted to become a Blitzball Player. It was all he had ever talked about. It was his dream. I used to watch him practice all the time. But, he had given all that up. For me. Is it because I am like a sister to him, so he feels that he needs to protect me, to keep me safe? Or, is it something else entirely? Could Hiko really have deeper feelings for me? I told myself that all that was silly and impossible. I was just a good friend to Hiko, and that was all. I kept telling myself that all the time. I knew I didn't feel that way about him, and I had hoped that he did not feel that way about me. We were best friends, like brother and sister. Right?
