Year xx11

A jumble of rhythms made from Machina-powered instruments was producing ear-splitting music at an amphitheatre, adding onto the din of noises within Zanarkand's entertainment quarters. Garish laser lights generated by more Machinas vitalized the venue as streams of visitors arrived, filling empty seats to the brim. Conversations were held in a manner of excitement among the visitors as they awaited the start of the evening event. At the twentieth hour of the day, a spotlight was powered up to reveal and tail a fashionably dressed figure as she strutted towards the stage; the audiences were hysterically screaming her name: Lenne.

On stage, Lenne ran her eyes through the crowd with a beam that never left her face. "How are you doing tonight, Zanarkand?" she cried, turning her audiences even more frenzied in their attempts to answer her. Their sheer energy converged with her own, rousing a need for some kind of release from her body. She jiggled her legs, answering to this need, "I guess all of us can't wait to start the show tonight!"

At the flick of her fingers, her musicians strummed their instruments, blasting an upbeat melody through flying speakers circling the amphitheatre. After the fourth beat, Lenne began her singing; her voice sonorous as it merged with the tune like flames steadily swallowing a firewood and the lyrics so whimsical that her audiences were dancing in their seats as they crooned along. The venue continued to rock as Lenne, together with her dancers, maintained its vigour with four more songs. It was only before the fifth and final song did she decide to calm her audiences.

"This last song is newly composed, so the digital version hasn't been released yet," she told them and smiled at their broadened eyes and eager buzzes. "It might be a little different than what you would usually expect from me but… I hope you'll all enjoy it as much as I do."

A darker combination of lights were used on stage as a maudlin ballad started to play. Lenne sang in much gentler notes, bringing a soothing ambience to the previously charged air. Her lyrics spoke of an old flame, words formed from years of suppressed emotions that dampened her eyes on hearing them verbalized. The audiences were quiet, choosing to swing the colourful neon glow sticks in their hands instead to show their love for the song.

When the song ended, the audiences were overflowing with liveliness once again. Lenne laughed, relieved that her new song was received well. With the twenty-second hour nearing, she went on to state her closing remarks, "Thank you Zanarkand for your love and support tonight. I hope to see you again soon!"

As she climbed down the stage, a huge crowd was already waiting for her along the carpeted pathway towards the exit. Many had asked to shake her hands or take memorable photographs with her, others offered words of compliment or simply swooned from being at a close proximity to her.

Among them, a blonde man managed to squeeze through, before stammering as he handed her a small poster of her in a pose, "I would… appreciate it if you could sign this for me."

She was etching her signature on the paper when he was speaking again, "You… probably don't know this but I… always see you during our training sessions at the Base."

Lenne snapped her head up, "You do?"

The man nodded, his crystal blue eyes quivered as he nervously retook the poster from her. "I'm one of the vanguard Warriors… also a Blitzball player," he said, introducing himself. "Uhh… my name's Shuyin by the way!" he abruptly added as if determined to let her know.

Lenne watched him pursed his lips together, trying in vain to dispel the shame that had coloured his cheeks rosy, and held back her laugh. "Well… I guess we'll meet again soon, Mr. Shuyin," she replied, moving away to attend to others who were calling for her attention.

"Just Shuyin, please!" she heard him exclaim.

She gave him one last look and saw that he had a playful grin on his lips.

The sun was rising above the horizons, causing stars to fade away as the sky turned into a lighter blue colour. On a hill between two other hills shoring up the Dome and a healthcare centre, a monk stood at a huge backyard overlooking the city, joggling a staff with his hand and praying to those Worshipped from the sky and sea for protection. Humming along with concentration and humility were ten others clad in ensembles worn only by the city's non-commissioned armed forces. At the end of the ritual, the Zanarkand flag – a centred emblem of intersecting black pulses of light on a white field – was strung up at the top of a pole. Behind them, a megastructure known as the Base was already bursting with the sound of human activities.

Lenne was striding the cobbled front court of the Base that was occupied by a group engaged in early morning exercises. Almost instinctively, she gave them a glance and recognized from their uniforms that they were all vanguard Warriors. Among the sea of different outlines, Shuyin's striking blonde hair made it easy for her to spot him; he saw her too and waved his greeting.

In the split second before Lenne could even offer her response, the captain caught sight of his abnormal movements and roared, "Stop getting distracted, Shuyin! Stay focused!"

Lenne watched, smiling as the flustered Shuyin returned to his early morning exercises, then hurried to catch her own early morning commitments. Inside the Base, her limbs moved out of habit, beginning from walking through a row of infrared light walls operated by Machinas. Only by meeting the requirements of this security measure was she granted a special pass for personnel from the guards stationed inside a heavily fortified kiosk at the centre of the grand foyer. She crossed the foyer to walk down the hallway on the left, saluting those she bumped into amiably, until she reached a far end elevator leading to the basement temple.

On her entry into the temple, Lenne made her way to the shrine built for those Worshipped from the sea and sky in the main hall and spent a moment offering her prayers. Flames were burning bright from the torches, filling the air with the sweet smell of smoke. Nothing but the whispers of invocations were echoing in the almost barren space. Feeling herself elevated in spirit, Lenne finished her prayers and began traversing through the maze of cloisters until she arrived at the study.

"Welcome Lenne," greeted Esmana, her forty-five year old instructor who had resigned from the role of a priestess to teach the art of the singing Summoners. "Please assume your position."

Lenne went behind a stand next to a male tutee with a bowl haircut and received a vocal sheet from Esmana that she read almost immediately. Staring back at her were lyrical words most familiar to her since the start of her career as a Summoner at the age of ten but something about them felt amiss.

"These are lyrics for the Sending and Aeon summoning but… the tune is different."

All eyes were now on Esmana who had taken a deep breath, "Good observation, Lenne. Unfortunately, I have no way to tell you exactly what this song is for. I only know that Lord Yevon has commanded for us, the vanguard Summoners, to learn it."

Glances were exchanged between the tutees at the mention of Yu Yevon's name. Lenne wondered, like her peers: what could the leader of their city possibly want from introducing a new tune for a centuries old song, that he also made improvements on for new rituals he founded some ten years ago? Enthusiasm over the possible discovery of another new ritual pounded her heart, though slightly tampered by anxiety over the huge responsibility that they all must carry.

Esmana put on the glasses that she had around her neck and said further, "You will have a month to master it. Not much has been said about what will happen afterwards but… I would advise that you ready yourself for whatever it is to come." Esmana's words put none of them at ease but she was not one to dawdle. With a clap of her hands, she ushered them all to begin singing.

Lenne, together with her peers sang but were quickly taken aback by the incredible foreignness of the melody in their ears; it sounded almost blasphemous. As if swayed by an urge to correct the sound, they reverted to singing the old tune, bringing harsh lines to Esmana's face as she frowned. Expelling a gust of her irritation, she reminded them, "This is no longer the same song. It has to be sung in a deeper voice – the voice from deep within your belly."

They tried once again and reached a point where Esmana stopped and corrected them, "There must be a two second pause here and be careful of the pronunciation for Hasa, it must sound like a hum."

The lesson went on for hours, stretching their voices like never before. As Esmana's patience was wearing thin, those who made too many mistakes were whacked with papers in her hand and harshly chastised until their ears would throb. Lenne and several others of her peers had taken additional breaks to rest their strained throats. Time awareness was the last thing in their minds as they wrestled with grasping the basics of the new tune.

Pteryx birds could be seen perched on walkway fences, croaking to the slowly disappearing sun and the yellowing sky. At the Base, the Zanarkand flag had been pulled down from the flagpole to be properly stored for another day. Hallways pealed with the sound of footsteps and doors being locked as people were leaving in droves. Lenne had just stepped onto the front court again, drawing out her arms high in the air and breathing in the cool breeze. It was the eighteenth hour of the day, two hours later than the usual end time for routine singing lessons with Esmana.

Exhaustion was setting in for her but she knew she could not afford to dally. "It's not the time to grumble…" she said to herself as she began to stride ahead.

"Hey, Lenne! Wait up!" someone had called, bringing her to a stop.

She turned to find Shuyin dashing towards her, his soft hair flying in the wind and forehead gleaming with sweat. By the time he reached her, he was breathless.

"You're out quite late today," he said, glancing at her while trying to catch his breath.

She did not ask him how he knew about her usual working hours as a Summoner; she figured that he had been watching her for a while. "We had to do… something different today," she explained.

Shuyin bobbed his head. "Right. So… you have something else to do now?"

"Well… I need to go to my studio… to sing again."

"I see…" he muttered. Lenne thought she saw disappointment shadow his face. "I was… thinking of asking you out today but I have two more hours of training left to do and I doubt that… you'll be up for it," he went on to say.

When she remained quiet, he raised an eyebrow pryingly as if unsure what to make out of her non-reaction. "Some other time… then?" he suggested, eyes never peeling away from her.

Lenne cracked a smile, "You're bold, aren't you?"

"Many have said so about me," he entertained, bringing a hearty laughter out of her that made him smile.

"Some other time it is," she said, her eyes bright with sincerity.

The sun was no longer at sight; the Pteryx birds had flown back to their nests and an eclipsed moon had begun to show, making stars barely twinkling on yet another night. Lenne and Shuyin said their goodbyes and departed to where they needed to be.