There are certain things that everyone knows about Seymour Guado. That he was evil. That he was obsessive. That he killed his father. But the question that few asked: why? Why did Seymour kill his own father? What could have possibly driven him to commit such an act? Was Jyscal all he was cut out to be? This story has never been told. The truth about Seymour's childhood, and his progression towards evil. It began when he was young...very young. It was his twelfth birthday. Everyone was watching to see what kind of person he would become.
"Open mine first, Seymour!" said Mother. She was pushing a large wrapped package towards me, smiling and laughing like everyone else.
"No, Sey, open mine!" all the other children were nagging at me. But I loved my mother. More than anyone else. So of course I would open hers first.
There were probably several hundred guados in the living room of the Guadosalam palace, all celebrating the day of my birth. And every pair of their eyes was focused on me. I loved it. I have been the center of attention almost all of my life, since I was born. I was unique, after all. Half and half. Guado and human. The only one of my kind.
And it was great. I had so much power! Seymour, son of the Maester! I was the connection between Guado and Yevonites.
"Out of my way, guys!" I said. Almost immediately, the guado children anxious to give me their presents cleared away, making a clear path from me to my mother. I ran to her, ready to open my present. But then I remembered something. Where was Father?
"Mom, when is Father going to be here? I want him to see me," I said to Mother. She smiled at me, but there was sadness in her eyes.
"He isn't coming, dear," she said, "He had to go to Bevelle to discuss some business. Just open your present. He already knows what it is, so it wouldn't have been much as a surprise for him anyway."
I looked at my feet, disappointed.
"He loves you, son. Don't forget that." Mother put her hand under my chin. The softness of her skin was comforting. I loved my mother.
"Okay," I said, "hand it over."
She smiled that ever-perfect smile. "Here you go, sweetie! I hope you like it! We had it specially made for you."
The present was in a long box, gold-plated and decorated with serpents. But I tore open the lid to see what was inside.
It was a summoner's staff. It was about six feet long, and blue-colored. On one end of the staff, there was an intricate red design, resembling a dragon of some sort.
I tried to lift it up, but it was too heavy. I lost my balance and nearly toppled over. But Mother, as always, was there to help me to my feet.
"Careful!" she said, lifting the staff out of my hands so I could properly stand.
"B-but Mother," I said, "If I can't lift it, how can I ever hope to use it?"
She smiled, and patted my head. "You'll grow into it. Trust me.
I smiled up at her. I loved my Mother.
The guado children started to crowd around me again. But there was something else I noticed. The adults were all in the back of the room, whispering and glancing at me. And that's when I heard shouting in the hallway.
"That's him! The abomination! Kill the child!"
I froze. There was more shouting in the hallway, and then I heard the sound of metal on metal. Then there was a scream.
My eyes went wide, and the other children went crazy. And then my mother was beside me, with her hand on my arm.
"Seymour, come! We need to hide!"
I followed her to the back of the room. Amid all the children's terror, we were unnoticed. Wordlessly, Mother began to feel along the wall. I just watched, too scared and confused to really understand what was going on. Before long, she found what she was looking for. One of the bricks on the wall was loose. She pressed it.
There was a horrid grating noise, and some of the bricks on the wall started to give way. We were standing before a doorway. Mother hurried me through, before following after me. She felt for another button, and the door began to close behind us.
But not before I saw the scene in the living room.
The door burst open, and a group of guado in masks ran through. Of them pointed toward us, and he then raised a gun.
Guards were running through the door, engaging all of the rebels they could. But no one came close to the one with the gun.
He pulled the trigger.
And missed.
The door closed, and we were safe.
We stood there for a moment. Mother's arms were around me, and her tears were landing on my head.
"Oh, Seymour..." she said, hugging me close.
She pulled apart, holding me at arm's length. "Are you okay?" she asked.
I nodded.
She cupped her hand around my face, looking into my eyes. "You're safe now."
I nodded.
Then she put her arm around my shoulders, and began to lead me down the hallway.
The hallway was long and dark. We must have walked for an hour, and neither of us said anything.
It gave me some time to think.
Why?
Why would anyone want to kill me? What did I do?
And for the whole trip, I didn't think of any answers. Not a single one.
But eventually the hallway ended, and we emerged on the other side of the Moonflow. And there were guards waiting for us.
"Keena Guado, Seymour Guado," one of them said, "you both are summoned to Bevelle for a hearing. We are to escort you."
I felt Mother's arm tighten around my shoulders. "What do you mean, escort us? Are we under arrest?" she said, her voice rising.
"Yes, ma'am."
She stiffened. She obviously wasn't expecting that answer.
"Both of us?" she asked tonelessly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"What did we do?" she asked, her voice breaking.
"That, I am not at liberty to say, ma'am."
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anything more than that out of him.
"Alright," she said.
The guard gestured for us to go ahead, and Mother walked in front of him, whispered something in his ear, and kept walking.
"Come, Seymour," she said, "we're going to go see your father."
I followed, confused.
We crossed the Moonflow via Shoopuf, and briefly visited Guadosalam to pass through to the Thunder Plains. We traversed Macalania Woods, and crossed into Bevelle. On the whole, the trip was uneventful except for the occasional fiend attack. And time passed very quickly for me. I just walked in a stupor, lost in my own thoughts about what might be to come.
I paid little to no attention as we entered the city, and the temple.
I only came back to the real world when I saw my father, on the balcony to the right from the platform where I'm standing. He was staring straight at us, but not like he knew who we were. He was completely indifferent.
He started the hearing with the charges.
"Keena and Seymour Guado, "he began, "you are both charged with public endangerment. You have caused revolts among the guado, as well as the humans. Do you have any objections?"
There was no way I was going to say anything. I was far too confused. Mother didn't say anything, either. She just stared at Father, and when I looked at her face, I saw the endless hate that she was feeling.
"Well then, "he continued, "we have...almost unanimously decided on your fate."
At "almost," Maester Kelk Ronso emitted a loud snort and turned his back to the court. Father ignored him and continued.
"You are both exiled to the isle of Baaj. Tomorrow you will be loaded onto a boat and sailed to said destination. Court dismissed!"
At that, all the Maesters turned and left the balconies. Our pedestal was lowered. Father didn't even turn around.
The next day, Seymour and his mother left for Baaj as planned. They arrived at the dismal place, and were deserted. They have lived there for a few months now.
"Mother, I'm so hungry..." I said, touching my growling stomach.
"I know sweetie, me too, " Mother said.
We were sitting on a large rock, next to our makeshift camp. It provided a view of almost the whole island. Even though it was dismal, Mother seemed to love the view.
Suddenly she began to cough. She has been coughing a lot lately. And not little coughs either; they were violent. She kept coughing and coughing. I didn't think she would ever stop.
I snuggled up beside her and patted her back gently.
"Mom? Mom! Are you okay?"
She was coughing too badly to answer. After a few seconds, she coughed a red glob into her hand. As young as I am, I know how to recognize when something was seriously wrong.
Mother finally stopped. Tears were covering her face from the pain she was feeling. She looked at the blood on her hand, sniffed, and wiped it off on the rock.
"Thank you, Seymour," she said, looking at me a giving me a weak smile, "but it's getting late. It's bed time for you, sweetie."
I gave her what I hoped was a comforting look, and stood up. "Okay. Goodnight, Mommy."
"Goodnight, darling," she said.
I began to climb down the rock, trying not to think about what the blood meant. I reached our camp. It was really just a small shelter made out of driftwood and other things we found on the beach. They didn't give us anything when they dropped us off in this dark place.
I laid down in my spot, and tried to put my mother's suffering out of my mind and the sound of it out of my ears. It didn't work.
When I woke up, there was one thing that I noticed immediately. Mother was gone.
I never took very long to get up, and I was on my feet in a matter of seconds. Lucky for me, the ground was sandy, and I saw her footprints leading from her bed spot. They were leading towards the center of the island.
I ran, following her tracks. I crossed crumbling bridges and jumped over cracks in the ruins. I was very deep in the ruins. I began to wonder if I could make my way back.
And that's when I found her.
She was standing in a room, with her arms extended upward.
"Mother!"
I ran to her. What was she doing? Why did she leave me like that? There were so many questions that I needed to ask her, but all I wanted was to be in her arms.
"Mommy!" I cried. She turned around to face me, and I stopped dead in my tracks. She was paler than I had ever seen her before, and tears were streaming down her face.
"I'm very sick, sweetie," she said.
"I know, Mommy! But you'll get better! You will…" I was crying now. I kept attempting to wipe the tears away with my sleeve, but new ones were constantly replacing them.
"No, darling. It's time for me to leave for the Farplane."
"Mommy no! I need you! I don't want you to go!" I said, in between sobs.
"I'm not going to go to the Farplane, dear."
"But you said-"
"I know. It is time for me to leave, but I'm not going to."
"W-w-what do you mean?" I asked.
"I've decided to become a Fayth. For you, darling. That way I will always be with you. And you can use my power for your own purposes. For whatever you will ever need, I'll be there."
That's when I saw the Pyreflies. They were everywhere, tens upon hundreds of them. And they were all moving towards my mother.
"Mommy…" I said, barely able to form the words through my sobs.
"Don't worry, honey. It will all be okay." Then she turned back around. She lifted her arms to the sky. "Lady Yunalesca!" she said, "I offer myself to you! Make me a Fayth! Make me Anima! And let me watch over my son!"
"No! Mommy!" I said, falling down on my knees. Then I saw a woman appear from among the Pyreflies. I had seen her statues before. It was Yunalesca, the first High Summoner. She walked to my mother, who was looking at her. Yunalesca smiled, and then my mom disappeared.
I cried like I never had before, or I ever would. I sat there, crouched on the floor, sobbing. Then Yunalesca came to me. She put her hand on my back, trying to be as comforting as she could. Surprisingly, it worked. After a moment or two, I managed to stand back up.
"So, you are to become a Summoner," she said, as a statement, not a question. "It's what your mother wanted. She said so herself."
And then she began explaining about Yu Yevon, and Sin, and the pointlessness. She said he was special, that he had a right to know.
"No," I said. "No, no, NO!"
I put my hands over my ears, knowing she was going to try and convince me again. Before she could get the chance to speak, I ran. I ran towards our camp. I ran away from my fate. And I cried the entire time.
I loved my mother.
Seymour spent the next six years on the island, growing ever more solitary. After his mother became a Fayth, the only thing he thought about was death. Death and ways around it. Death and his mother. Death and himself. Every night, he would sit around the embers of a dying fire, running his hands through his hair and developing theory after theory about death, to the point where he nearly crossed the line of insanity. It was all he thought about, all he cared about. He wanted his mother back. But then a thought occurred to him. What if she's happier now? What if death isn't as bad as often depicted? What if death was better than life? What if the only way around death, was to face it in its fullest? So then he came to a decision. He was going to liberate Spira. Yunalesca had told him about the sacrifice to make the Final Summon, and the latter consequences. He would become Sin. He would kill—free—the people of Spira. And, on his eighteenth birthday, his exile was revoked. A ship landed on the shores of Baaj, bearing the news of his return. He happily boarded the ship, and headed for Guadosalam. Upon his return, he was ordained as a priest of Yevon, under the influence Macalania Temple. There, he was trained as a Summoner, and was reunited with his twelfth birthday present; his staff. Then he began the journey towards revenge. He felt hatred towards his father. He wouldn't give him the bliss that was death. He would give him worse.
"And so, my journey has begun," I said.
It wasn't too far from Macalania to Guadosalam, and I could most certainly take care of myself. I know more advanced Magics than most.
But surprisingly, I didn't encounter more than several fiends. Too bad. I was already on the way to create a fiend; why not kill a few to make up for it?
The forest was crisp and clear like it always was. The woods of Macalania were always one of my favorite places in all of Spira. Even as a child as young as five, I had often escaped to these woods. It was calm. It was beautiful. So unlike towns, and people. So much better.
It only took me about an hour and a half to make it through the woods and across the Thunder Plains. I was tempted to stop and take a moment to remember my youth, but I thought better of it. I continued on to Guadosalam. When I got there, I headed straight to my old home, where my father resides. I wasn't going to waste any time. I had a job to do.
There were two guards at the door. Hah! Why he even bothered was beyond me.
"Seymour! You have returned!" one of the guards said, bowing. The other followed suit. He was young; I could see that he didn't know who I was.
"Yes, indeed it seems I have," I said. Then, making sure no one was there to see, I braced myself, feeling the electricity build up inside me. Then, I released it. Both guards were dead before they could even scream.
Pity, I thought as I stepped over their bodies.
There was no one in the entrance hall. Father was so unprepared. Why did he trust his people this much? I knew the answer to that. He was a fool.
Up the small set of stairs, above which were the pictures of my ancestors. I didn't spare them a second glance. I proceeded to the entrance to my father's chambers, where he was sure to be, writing a speech or something. One, solitary guard was standing there. Pathetic.
"Excuse me…" he began. He was also very young. He also died before he realized what was happening.
I took my time heading into Father's quarters. I had been waiting my entire life for this. A few more seconds wouldn't hurt.
But I couldn't help the anticipation I felt. The seconds felt like minutes. Eventually I arrived at the door. I took a deep breath, and opened it without any hesitation. There would be no regrets.
It swung open effortlessly, not making the slightest sound.
I was absolutely correct about what he would be doing. He was sitting at his desk, facing the opposite direction, viewing a movie sphere. I began to advance, so excited that I struggled to keep my breath muffled. But then, I saw what was on the sphere.
It was my mother. She was smiling, laughing, and holding a little me in her arms.
The rage that I felt at that moment is indescribable. How dare he? How dare he look at my mother? He didn't deserve her! He abandoned her! He abandoned me! She was mine. She was mine…
I reached into my robes and pulled out a small dagger that I had brought along just for this purpose. I had considered using magic, but I decided against it. I wanted to see him bleed. He deserved to bleed.
Now I was less than two feet away from him. I felt my breath quickening against my will. He stopped the sphere. He heard me. It was time to strike; now or never. Now? Never seemed a possibility. Living in terror, knowing I could kill him at any time, could be worse than any death. But watching…that would be so much better. But would it be more rewarding? Yes. No. Yes.
I brought down my arm as hard as I could, smiling as the blade pierced his robes, and then his flesh, ripping, tearing…
He groaned, unable to form words. Gently, lovingly, I put my head over his shoulder.
"Hello, Father," I whispered menacingly into his ear. I could only imagine the expression of supreme horror on his face as he realized who I was.
"Have you missed me?" I laughed. "I most certainly have missed you."
I chuckled. "And now, I'm going to let you know how you have me feel for these last sixteen years. When you die, don't even think you are going to be sent. Don't even think it! And when you have turned into the most grotesque, evil fiend to match your soul, I will keep you. Caged, always hungry, always tortured. Every day I will visit. Just so I can taunt you with all the food that you would have been eating. Yes…revenge is sweet."
He groaned, unable to word the remorse – or maybe fear – that he felt. I felt his warm blood trickling down the blade of my dagger, and I delighted it.
"Goodbye, Father."
I tore the blade from his torso. He fell, limp, onto the floor at my feet. Thus died Lord Jyscal Guado, revered Maester of Spira.
I grabbed a handful of his robe, and nonchalantly began to clean his blood off of my dagger. After I was finished, I replaced it in the hidden sheath in my own robes.
I glanced on the sphere, now inactive, on his desk. I thought of my mother.
I looked up towards the ceiling. You may rest in peace now, Mother.
I grabbed the sphere off of his desk; he wouldn't need it anymore.
My father was dead. After all these years of dreaming, planning, wishing…it was finally over. I glanced at his corpse and smiled. I wondered if he bought the lies I told him about what I would do to him. Of course I couldn't do any of that! I had to have him sent, or suspicion would undoubtedly be roused. And that wouldn't do for Spira's new Maester, now would it?
Thinking about what was to come, I laughed in victory. I laughed a long, maniacal laugh that would have scared anyone in their right mind out of their wits. I would save Spira, whether it wanted me to or not.
…And so, Seymour's horrid youth ended and his violent adulthood began with the murder of his father. Two days later, Tidus, star of the Zanarkand Abes, was removed from the world he knew and arrived in Spira. And the rest…well, it's his story.