"I hate her with a passion," Faustin Ruehling said casually. "I hate her more than I hated that heathen bitch Yuna. At least Yuna had a sense of decency and modesty. She wasn't a backstabbing harlot."

Linnea, his mistress, stood nearby, listening to Faustin's griping. She had originally chosen him for both his personality and his attractiveness, but it seemed as though all he did was complain since he had left Bevelle and, though stunning, his looks were not enough to keep her around all by themselves. "She's the reason you're as powerful as you are. Without her, Yuna would still be in power and probably would have cracked down on everything illegal you did."

"No, she wouldn't have. As long as Tayja was telling her what to do, I was fine. I may have disliked her, but Tayja was good to my business. Money can get her to do anything."

Faustin stood up and walked to the edge of the roof veranda. He looked over Zanarkand, taking note of the impressive pace at which his workers attempted to rebuild the city. With his limited number of followers, it was hard to clean up and repair the ancient ruins, but he—and many of his people—found something spiritual about restoring the city. It was, after all, the birthplace of their religion.

"Linnea, you know the history of this city, right?"

Linnea came to his side and leaned against the railing, the calm wind blowing her hair back slightly. "It was destroyed by Sin a thousand years ago, I know. Lady Yunalesca resided here before she was murdered by the Heathens."

Below the tower, men were working on tearing down the remnants of a building that was not restorable. Faustin hated when things had to be torn down; it was destroying that sacred city, not rebuilding. Sometimes destruction had to come before creation, though, and he knew that. Still, there was something unsettling about it. He had a fear of unearthing some kind of divine punishment.

"There is so much more to it than that, Linnea. A thousand years ago, Bevelle and Zanarkand were at war and Bevelle's machina decimated the Zanarkand army and then invaded. That was when Yu Yevon created Sin to punish the Bevellians and he destroyed Zanarkand to keep it from their hands," Faustin said. He was a very knowledgeable man, having studied history with several learned scholars. "If I rebuild Zanarkand and Leblanc decides I am a threat, she'll try to take the city from me. If she does, it won't end that way again. I won't let it end that way."

"Bevelle is far too strong. It always has been and it will continue to be. No time in history has it not been the power of Spira. I don't see why you would even think about becoming independent. We're all on the same side. Yevon wills us to be united."

"He also wills us to follow his teachings but that didn't work out so well the last time, did it? What makes you think she cares about unity, anyway?" He thought back to some of the things Leblanc had changed, "She enjoys deception and having people wrapped around her finger. Why do you think she abdicated and installed a ruling council? What did she call it…a democracy?"

"Maybe she wanted power in the hands of the people after the Maesters of Yevon corrupted the teachings."

Faustin laughed out loud, "She doesn't give a fuck about Yevon, scripture, or the people. The Praetor of the council is just her puppet."

"I think it's disturbing that you have so little faith in her," Linnea said, growling.

Faustin snarled back at her, "I think it's disturbing that you'd argue against me on her behalf."

Appearing indignant, Linnea pushed off the railing and ran to the door to go back inside. Faustin did not turn to watch her leave; she had gone too far in defending Leblanc. Perhaps it was finally time to get rid of her, just as he had with his previous relations.

Besaid was always no larger than a hamlet. Being a small island on the outskirts of Spira, it never had the chance to grow very large; there was not much incentive to visit Besaid except in the days of Summoners and their Pilgrimage. The town had always been a group of circular tents of skins stretched over pole frames. The only permanent building was the temple at the back of the village.

Now, Besaid was a refuge and its population had doubled at the very least. It may have been a small island, but it was far away from the New Yevonite mainland as the refugees could get, as far as they knew. Many of those who had fled New Yevon had brought with them no supplies and a few even lacked skills necessary to keep the village from overcrowding and starving. The task to delegate responsibilities was passed to Lulu, who had become the leader of the town in Wakka's absence. Though quiet and mostly unassuming, her manner of speech and stance made her almost impossible to refuse. When she gave someone an order, it was carried out as quickly as it could be.

Though she had a remarkable ability to keep the newcomers in line and even terrify them if need be, she did not want to be the village's leader; it was not a job for her, it was a job for someone younger who had not experienced what she had.

The sphere recording of Yuna's execution had been copied and dispersed throughout New Yevon-controlled Spira. One of the refugees had brought a copy they had gotten their hands on and immediately handed it over to Lulu, not because she had any relation to Yuna, but because the man had wanted to spread the news. It was something that Lulu would have preferred to keep away from the natives of Besaid for as long as possible. Though Yuna had rarely visited Besaid once she took power away from the defunct religion, all of the people there still had their special connection to her. She was like a little sister to Lulu and many of the other, older men and women in the town. To the elders, she had been like a daughter; some of the little girls had thought of her like a big sister, as well had some of the youngest boys. The hamlet was tiny and everybody had had a close bond to everybody else. The news had been devastating to all of the people who had known Yuna personally, before she had defeated Sin and Yevon.

Though someone younger had not arrived to take the reins from Lulu, someone better skilled had; the red-clad, former Crusader known as Nooj. He had reached Besaid alone just a few weeks after the first anniversary of Yuna's death. Lulu was partially relieved that Sadye Vuillemot had not made it to Besaid with Nooj. She had never been fond of the girl Yuna had befriended and made her prime counsel after the woman had saved her life. The circumstances of their meeting had been suspicious, though Lulu never found out what exactly it was that bothered her.

Nooj was quick to assemble the people in Besaid, hoping to give a speech that would stir their passions. He was a very charismatic man and could no doubt make himself the head of the Besaid; Lulu had no problems with that. She would give him help doing so if it meant she no longer had to deal with such things.

The man limped out of the temple to the top of the small flight of steps. Gathered below him was the majority the population of the Besaid—only the refugees, however; the Besaidians did not care for unnecessary pomp. His one leg supported all of his weight as the metal one was not in good condition anymore. Leaning heavily on a cane held in his left hand, he gazed out across the faces of those gathered before him.

"New Yevon has sought to hide the truth, just as the temples did before them. Now, the hidden truths are not just of Yevon, but also of our High Summoner Yuna. They attacked Bevelle, murdered our comrades, and executed our Priestess." Nooj paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing, "Now they seek complete control over Spira just as the temples had. They will oppress us and force us to their beliefs. They will destroy all memory of our great Summoner and Priestess who brought us this Eternal Calm. We can't allow that to happen.

"I propose a united league of the youth of Spira to oppose New Yevon and their sad devotion to ancient tradition. Together, we can defend Besaid and then move to liberate the rest of Spira in the name of High Summoner Yuna."

The people in the crowd stirred and whispered back and forth. Nooj knew he had their attention and there seemed to be little disagreement. Perhaps if he linked it to Yuna herself, the idea would become firmly planted and his vision could begin to take shape.

He took deep breath before speaking again. "Yuna had wished that the children of Spira would take her Calm and use it to make Spira new and better. That means without Yevon corrupting it. She told me once that she wanted this to happen by any means necessary. Because of that, I will create this Youth League to oppose Yevon on all fronts: socially, spiritually and militarily. We are defended by Kilika and we have the means to create a force capable of striking back against New Yevon. All we need is a leader."

Nooj looked over to where Lulu was standing apart from the rest of the crowd. All eyes turned to her, waiting for her response.

"I will not," Lulu said firmly. She glanced at Nooj with her eyes narrowed. After a few moments of silence, she turned to the pavilion in which she resided and closed the cloth flap behind her.

"Though I hesitate to take on such a responsibility...if no one else will, then I will lead this new league against Yevon. My time as the prime advisor of the High Summoner has made me capable and I know her contacts within the Al Bhed. With their help, we can forge a strong economic and military union to rival New Yevon."

It did not take any more than that for the crowd to cheer for Nooj's grand decision in memory of their beloved High Summoner and Priestess. Nooj smiled and turned to hobble back inside the temple. As he walked, he thought, I can play these people's beliefs and turn Yuna into something far greater than she ever was. I can preserve her memory and use it to build a Spira without Yevon and their foolish scripture.


The Al Bhed had been split apart by the Council's decision to exile Rikku and the small group that had remained with her. Many of the Al Bhed had left their new home on the archipelago and returned to Bikanel Island, working to build another Home. The Machine Faction, as they called themselves, involved themselves in Spiran society, offering to teach more Spirans about the once-outlawed machina. They abandoned the word "machina," however, in favor of "machine," hoping that those who still clung to their Yevon anti-machina beliefs would accept them. Even after six years without the old Yevon, many were still wary of machines; New Yevon did not help matters much.

The Machine Faction Al Bhed were sure that they would soon flourish, now that Bikanel was open to travelers. Anyone could go to Bikanel and learn more about machines or even buy them. No one knew more about such devices than the Al Bhed, not even the most brilliant Spiran researchers. Their unnatural abilities with machines made them a unique asset to many.

It was because of their talents that Nooj was quick to enlist their aid. Though they refused to actively participate in whatever he had planned for Spira and New Yevon, his offer to buy both defensive and offensive machines was irresistible.

The leader of the new Machine Faction, Gippal, was a man who had loathed Rikku ever since she had taken command of the Al Bhed fleet from him. Once he had gained the support in the Council to exile her, he had also demanded that the Al Bhed return to their home and no longer abandon the ways of their ancestors. His group of followers had left the Islands, leaving behind just enough people to continue to spread his message and recruit more Al Bhed youth. Gippal was sure that Cid would try to get the rest of the Council to let Rikku rejoin the Al Bhed, but he did not care anymore. The Al Bhed rarely accepted a decision just to go back on it later, anyway; Cid may have had influence, but he knew how their politics worked. The entire Council would fight him because they could not afford to be proven to have made a bad decision.

Gippal smiled whenever he thought about that. Cid would lose power if he tried anything and Rikku had already been cast out from Al Bhed society; he had accomplished what he had wanted to. Now, the only thing to worry about was the Machine Faction and their business.

The Al Bhed administrators worked endlessly on schedules for training, making sure that no people of conflicting beliefs were in the same area at the same time. They arranged work details made up of Al Bhed and Spirans to excavate the desert in search of new machine parts, as well. The Machine Faction, though only half of a year old, was beginning to prosper. They had yet to create a permanent settlement, though.

Seeking to reap more profit from Nooj and the newly forming Youth League, Gippal convinced them to send twenty members for formal training with machines. It would cost them but he assured them that it would be well worth the asking price. As compelling as Nooj could be, he was not a business leader and accepted Gippal's offer with little hesitation; it was surprisingly out of character for him, but the Al Bhed did not look into it. Success was success, no matter how unexpected.

As a military force, the Machine Faction was strong enough to defend itself and conduct raids but there was no way, at its current strength, it could afford to defend more territory than Bikanel. According to their vast spy net, New Yevon had the same problem of manpower; they could barely afford to protect more than just their two key cities and Guadosalam. The Youth League had little in the way of military force, as well, but they were completely new and it was difficult to determine how long that would last.

Being neutral, Gippal hoped to maintain a good relationship with both the Youth League and New Yevon. He knew Nooj and the current Praetor of Yevon, Baralai, very well and had had a good relationship with Baralai since the days the Sin. Nooj was a new acquaintance, but they had gotten off on the right foot. The Machine Faction would prosper under the Gippal's abilities to make and maintain alliances.

If all went well, then Gippal would not only bring glory to the Al Bhed, but also gather enough gil and military force to get rid of Rikku. He did not want to stop at merely insulting the girl, he wanted her Gullwing; he had no qualms about killing her in order to get it.