Sequestered within a cave located north of the river city of Moonflow was the city of Guadosalam, home to the hubristic and solitary Guados. In this city, there was no separation of day and night; exquisite structures and walkways were built and reinforced by the winding roots of Moonflow's oldest giant tall trees; at the heart was the Palace, a residential building for existing Guado leaders; inhabited houses were marked with green stained glasses made from crystallized moss on their entrance doors; a sophisticated system exploited the coiling shape of the tree roots and enabled small fountains formed on cave walls outside homes to supply the Guados with water; drifting in the air was the smell of aged wood and peppery smoke from flaming standing torches.
Yevon, Zaon and Sonam had arrived after a two-day journey from Zanarkand under the pretence of a regular diplomatic visit and were met with the slamming of doors, the clearing of thoroughfares and chilling gazes from Guado loiterers who were agitated by their presence. The inhospitality never seemed more apparent than the delayed reception of their arrival by the Guado leadership. They stood awkwardly outside the Palace, expecting to be greeted, only to be approached an hour later by two female figures that they understood to be Guados of the highest authority.
"You must be… Lord Yevon of Zanarkand?" asked the one who seemed to be the leader out of the two. Her knotted long grey hair stood up from her head like the branches of a tree; a pair of purple crystal earrings were dangling from her sharp pointed ears; her eyes curved like the outlines of a wing; blue veins protruded and balled into a dot at the centre of her forehead.
"Yes, I am," Yevon nodded. "And you must be… the Guado leader, Lady Rubathar." He could not help but admire the strangeness of her beauty.
"Indeed I am," the woman named Rubathar admitted. "I apologize for making you wait. You came during our daily visit to the Farplane," she said, though barely with remorse. She turned to look at her companion, a woman who was a few inches taller than her, with a darker complexion and shorter brown hair that was tangling on her head like the thorny stalks of roses. "This is my advisor, Kula."
Kula's eyes met Yevon's briefly without any exchange of words, before she went ahead to push open the double entrance doors of the Palace. Rubathar gestured, revealing her sizable hands and splintered nails, urging Yevon and his group to make their way into the building with the Guado leader and her advisor tailing behind.
"Please follow me to the dining hall," Kula finally spoke as they all stood in the foyer. Her voice sounded gruff as if she was having a scratchy throat. She led the way to the only chamber there was on the ground floor.
The dining hall appeared less like a place to dine and more like a garden. Tree roots clung onto the ceilings and columns like they did on other solid surfaces found within the city but the walls were decorated with dangling vines of various flowers specially grown by Guado botanists. Streams of water collected from outside the Palace pooled into fountains attached to end tables that were assembled against the walls; butterflies with rainbow wings fluttered across the room as freely as they would outdoors; green mosses were left to grow wildly along the wooden floors, and the hall's only source of light – enormous pupae-like lamps were suspending from the midsection of the ceiling.
"Our food might appear a little stranger than the palate you're used to but… I hope you'll still find delight in them," Rubathar remarked while Yevon and his companions were curiously browsing through the trays of food prepared on the tables. "Also… I apologize for the absence of chairs. We'll need to remain standing as we dine."
Yevon reached a fork out into a dish of small fried land worms and brought one into his mouth. The softness of the worm slithered on his tongue before he could taste its sweetness. "Thank you for answering my request for this meeting. I trust that we'll have a productive discussion about the relations between our cities," he said, eyeing Rubathar closely.
"Lord Yevon… I think it's best for us to end all pretences here. You're not here to foster relations between our people," Rubathar asserted, lips raised into a flat smile. She had not touched any food laid before them. "Speak of your true intention."
Yevon placed his fork onto a table, the expression on his face unchanging. "Lady Rubathar, I believe that Guadosalam is aware of Bevelle's plans to wage wars against the rest of Spira not long from now," he started, never pausing in between his words. "We're here to request for your word that the Guados would be on our side."
"And why should we agree?"
"If Bevelle dominates us all… they wouldn't let us live as we do now. There'll be nothing left of what makes us who we are."
Rubathar lifted her head and gazed at the lights that hung far above them. Her eyes took on a glassy look as she said, "To protect things that make us who we are… is precisely why I see no reason to side with anyone but Bevelle." She returned her glance to him and added unwaveringly, "We have ourselves… and the Farplane to protect, Lord Yevon."
"They'll spare your people… but they'll take away the way you live."
"I'm willing to take the chances," Rubathar countered unmoved. "Besides, the foul stench that's pouring out of you is telling me that you've been near the dead for far too many times than you should. It gives no reassurances that Zanarkand wouldn't devastate the Farplane," she said, raising a sleeve to her wrinkling nose.
"We have no intention of jeopardizing it," Yevon countered, maintaining his composure despite the rising feeling of uneasiness in him.
"Lord Yevon… Guadosalam knows what Zanarkand has been up to for all these years," Rubathar informed, her mouth tilting into a smirk. "You lack respect for the dead. You extract them… and use them to fight for your battles," she spat, her words were directed to him like the blade of a knife slashing against skin.
When a look of incredulity descended on Yevon's face, she prodded him almost accusingly, "How are you different from them?"
The hostile undercurrents swirling between them brought Yevon's attention to the stifling heat in the hall; he was sweating around his forehead, his neck and his armpits. A sudden craving for a glass of cold beverage to wash down the thirst in his throat arose in him. Fortunately for him, Kula who had disappeared from the hall earlier on without a sound, returned with three other Guado attendants, bringing and distributing trays of tall glasses that were filled to the brim.
Rubathar wrapped hers tightly under her fingers as she told them, "The Farplane was gifted to us by Qissu and we Guados retain the role to guard it until the end of our lives. Without the Farplane, there'll be no resting place for the people of Spira. There'll be no place for Spirans to mourn or see the dead once again. Regardless of how different beliefs about life after physical death are all over Spira, the dead will all, in the end, gather in the Farplane."
As she stopped talking, Yevon tried recalling a list of books that he used to read in the Dome library which presented illustrations of Qissu, the celestial being worshipped by the Guados. Qissu was neither man nor woman and had a form that was more of a tree than a humanoid. In Zanarkand sagas about those Worshipped, Qissu appeared to be the celestial being – named only as 'Worshipped from the trees' – who received the spirit of the celestial man with Juggernaut horns after his mortal death and initiated the celestial man's ascension to immortality. Qissu and all it stood for was as important to those in Zanarkand as it was in Guadosalam.
Rubathar had just finished gulping down her drink when she resumed speaking, "To tell you the truth… we Guados would rather not be involved in any of your humanly politics." Then the features on her face darkened with displeasure. She was muttering under her breath, "It is detestable for us to even interact with you lowly creatures."
Kula came to refill her glass and she downed it again. "But we'll do anything to preserve the Farplane… even if it means giving up a part of ourselves," she finally said with eyes fixed onto Yevon and his group.