Inside the Zanarkand Dome, golden rays of sunlight filtered into an indoor courtyard, turning it into a light and airy place ideal for early morning breakfast. Enclosing the courtyard were two thermopolia serving hot and cold food and drinks from clay jars built into long stone counters. Streams of people carrying trays of empty plates and glasses left with a typical meal set of bread, cheese, boiled eggs and vegetable soup. Watching them from one of the round dining tables at the courtyard was Uma and a female companion. They sipped their tea quietly out of china cups and amiably returned greetings murmured by passers-by.
Uma's companion was Pema, the forty-five year old widow of Yaj Yeshe. Not much of her face had changed since her younger days. Her eyebrows still arched neatly above her slanted eyes; her thick eyelashes fluttered gracefully at every flick; and there never seemed to be a day when she would miss moistening her broad lips with a soothing balm that she concocted out of various herbs. Lines of old age only served to accentuate her elegant beauty.
Before residing in Zanarkand, Pema was a young priestess serving a temple devoted to those Worshipped from the darkness on an island at the eastern part of Spira. Many suitors had asked for her hand in marriage but all were turned down as she was more interested in offering herself completely to those she was praying to. Yet, even the heavens wanted differently for her. It was during her pilgrimage stop at the temple of Djose when she first met Yeshe. The man was deeply enchanted by her that he was willing to make long trips from Zanarkand to the island numerous times by sea just to see her. His persistence won her over and the temple was more than glad to give her away in exchange for additional finances.
Their marriage started favourably – they were immensely in love and found it easy to agree with one another on anything. The first sign of trouble only became apparent when they were struggling to conceive. They blamed each other for the failure, souring their relationship for many years to come until they were no longer on speaking terms. Even so, their hearts still yearned for one another, making it hard for either one to leave the other… until another younger woman walked into Yeshe's life and changed it all without Pema knowing.
"This tea… it has an exquisite taste," Pema remarked, placing her cup onto a saucer. "What is it made of?"
Uma was pouring another round of the tea into her cup, taking reprieve from deeply inhaling its warm odourless steam. "Pennyworts, ones collected from the Highroad."
"The Highroad…." The features on Pema's face darkened; the kindliness from her smile was gone, leaving only something sinister behind. "I wonder what became of her… I hope she's dead," she spat her words like she was throwing daggers at the person she was speaking ill of.
"Pema… don't say that," Uma reproached, noticing with unease that several eyes were already fixed onto them. She knew that if Pema spoke further, her words would travel to every corner of the Dome as prattles that served only to ridicule the jilted woman.
"What's wrong with wishing the worst for the harlot who stole my husband?" Pema lashed out, eyes watering and hands balling into fists. "If it weren't for her, Yeshe would have not neglected me!"
Uma said nothing in return. She had no right to bar Pema from venting out about the misery that knowledge of Yeshe's infidelity had been causing her. Uma was one of those who knew about it long before his death but never told Pema. It was considered as a private matter that no one else outside their marriage should be involved with… and she was afraid that the knowledge of it would destroy her friend. It was a foolishness that still remained as one of Uma's uttermost regrets, and she often wished that she had been a better friend.
"I truly want her dead. Only then can I find my peace again. Banishing her out of the Dome and from all the temples weren't enough," Pema said, harshly wiping tears that had rolled onto her cheeks. "The Highroad must have welcomed her, and it agonizes me to think that she must be living happier there than how I wanted it to be for her. Or worse… she must have found her way back here and none of us are aware."
"Pema… stop torturing yourself with all this catastrophizing," Uma begged, reaching out to hold her friend by the hand. "It's just not possible for her to return here. We did all we could to make sure of that."
"I know… but somehow, my hunch is telling me otherwise," Pema insisted, tears threatening to spill again out of her quivering eyes.
As much as Uma wanted to believe that Pema's claims were nothing but troubles of the mind, it too had planted a similar seed of apprehension in her. The endless predicaments that had befallen not just her husband and herself, but also their city as of late taught her to be more vigilant – to consider possibilities of harm in many different angles. She wanted to pursue the conversation but the sudden pealing of bell from the Base gripped her, Pema and all others in their surroundings. She could hear the heavy thuds of footsteps at a nearby corridor as someone was running to reach the courtyard and thermopolia.
A breathless Warrior stormed in, with two sickles readied in both of his hands. "Lady Uma! Is Lady Uma here? Are you here, my lady?" he yelled, desperately scanning through one of the thermopolia for any signs of Uma.
"I'm here!" Uma responded, sprinting towards him. By then, she had started hearing the dreadful sound of people grunting in combat and blades clashing from outside the Dome. "What's happening? Are we under attack?"
"Yes, my lady! An army of Machinas had crashed into the city gates and more are being dropped from the air as we speak. Lord Zaon and Lady Michewah are mobilizing the army to protect the city as best as we can!"
"This is madness!" Uma gritted her teeth. It felt pointless to ask because she knew the answer at the back of her head, but she asked anyhow, hoping that the Warrior would prove her wrong, "Do we know who's responsible for the attack?"
The Warrior shook his head. "We're uncertain, my lady. We didn't see any flags or emblems on the Machinas."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough…" All set to join in the effort of retaliating against the assault on the city, Uma pulled out her sceptre which had a rounded end that was alight, reminiscent of the full moon. "Where's Yunalesca?"
"Lady Yunalesca is warding off the Machinas from entering the Dome, and she awaits for your support, my lady."
Trusting the safety of all those left behind in the thermopolia and courtyard to the Warrior, Uma dashed towards the place where she needed to be: the front court. She moved past windows and spied that nowhere within the outdoor compound of the Dome was left untouched by ongoing combats. To her dismay, several Machinas managed to break through Yunalesca's defence, and were causing mayhem within the Dome – objects were thrown across rooms, glasses were broken and injured bodies strewn all over the floors. The smaller ones she knocked with her sceptre alone, but others she burned with potent Firaga spells.
"Mother!" Uma heard Yunalesca calling her as she arrived at the front court. "There's too many of them!"
"We'll need to take them down in large numbers at the same time," she said, calmly assuming a position right next to her daughter.
Setting her strategy into motion, Uma employed one of her combat specialties, which began with her hammering the unadorned tip of her sceptre onto the ground for ten regular times. A surge of blood flowed into her brain, heightening the focus she had on her subjects of interest – ten Machinas making a lunge at her. When she opened her arms and screeched the Firaga spell out of her mouth, large orange flames blazed all ten Machinas into useless metals.
The move pinched a nerve in one of her temples, making her winced out of pain. Yunalesca glanced at her with worry, "You're going to hurt yourself, mother…"
"A few headaches won't hurt!" she lied, feigning a smile. She was bound to suffer terrible throbbing in her head from the special move but it was a skill that they needed if they were going to survive the Machina onslaught.
They fought with all their might, throwing endless magic spells that burned, electrocuted or froze the Machinas, until they were rendered useless and steadily dwindling in number. Less and less were arriving from the residential areas, and no more of them were unloaded from the sky. Just when Uma thought that they were nearing the end of the assault, an airship was spotted flying overhead. Attached to its end was a large Machina, which it unhooked and intentionally allowed to fall onto the front court. The Machina's engines roared deafeningly, producing, gathering and morphing large waves of electromagnetic radiation into beams which it blasted indiscriminately. Uma, Yunalesca and their aides could barely dodge the beams.
"There's just no way for us to attack it like this!" barked the frustrated Yunalesca.
A method that could be their only salvation crossed Uma's mind… one that they were not supposed to use in front of the enemies, lest they were in an actual war.
She swiftly rose to her feet, rotating her sceptre at her front and chanting quiet prayers that only her ears could hear. Her actions caused the sky to waver in shape, like sand dunes blown by the wind, until an opening parted clouds away to reveal itself. Out from it came a rain of mammoth ice shards that fleeted straight into the ground, causing tremors that almost made some lose their footing.
As abruptly as it came, the icy rain stopped, bringing a figure to descend out of the same opening. At first, it appeared like a walking glass sculpture, and only when its feet were planted firmly onto the ground did it emerge as a mortal figure: a woman with skin as blue as the winter dawn, and hair bound like ropes with brown twines and silver metal rings. She shattered the shards of ice into nothingness with just a flip of her arm.
It was Uma's first Aeon, created from the spirit of an apprentice she loved, who willingly gave up her life to become a Fayth.
"Seba… lend me your strength," she told the Aeon, who looked at her with eyes that reflected the bravery of her deceased apprentice.
Following Uma's lead, the Aeon bombarded the Machina with endless shards of ice conjured out of thin air, barely allowing the Machina a chance to counterstrike. The attack crippled the Machina by one of its legs first, before chilling the main engine to malfunction. As though it knew that its end was nearing, the Machina made one last attempt to hit the Aeon: with precision, it shot a beam – larger than the ones it previously did, injuring the Aeon who failed to evade.
Angered by the damage inflicted onto her, the Aeon performed her greatest form of attack – a radiant white orb was created out of her palms, which she launched at the Machina as a powerful wind that materialized into rivers of ice. With a flick of her fingers, the frozen river shattered into ice fragments that pierced deeply into the Machina, bringing it to a standstill and turning it into beaten scraps releasing nothing but grey smoke.
The breakdown of the Machina seemingly spurred the airship to advance forward and make a stop above Uma, Yunalesca and their aides. When its doors were unbolted, a recognizable male figure leaped out, effortlessly landing in front of them on one of his knees. It was Zako, with his red full body armour and a Machina rifle attached to his hip. He approached them, smirking and clapping his hands vigorously.
"That was quite a show… that thing you call an Aeon Summoning," he lauded, in a voice grated with grudging admiration. "I ought to give all those claims about Zanarkand's divine powers more serious thought."
Uma held her sceptre high by her side and bawled, "You have no right to come here unannounced and assault us within our borders, Lord Zako." When it seemed like he was not going to stop walking anytime soon, she stepped forward to warn him that he had walked far enough. "What do you want?"
He halted a few paces away, with lips that were no longer smiling and menacing eyes that were locked against Uma's. "I'm here to demand that you discontinue whatever it is that you're planning to do and surrender to Bevelle – to me." With open arms, he gestured to the rest of the city that stretched beyond the hill shoring the Dome, "Look around you. It doesn't have to be arduous between us. Zanarkand is making use of Machinas… the city understands the worth of these objects of novelty, which I'll only continue to encourage as your leader. Zanarkand will not suffer… that I promise."
"Who said anything about wanting to be led by you?" Uma hissed, seething with anger. "You have no respect for our way of life."
Zako smiled again, but this time with scorn. "Ah yes. It's all about balance for you, isn't it?" In a flash, he pulled out his rifle and released multiple shots aimed at Uma.
The bullets were too fast; she had no time to react. All she could do was close her eyes and listen as Yunalesca and all others around her shrieked in shock. She waited for the bullets to penetrate her… but that did not transpire. Only when she opened her eyes did she realize that her Aeon was shielding her.
"SEBA!" When she cried the Aeon's name, it was already too late. It fell and gradually faded into Pyreflies.
"So they were right… these Aeons can die," Zako said, rather shamelessly as he reattached his rifle to his hip. "I hope you realize that Zanarkand is fighting a losing battle," he added, with a tenacity that made Uma shudder with blind rage that almost turned her visions white.
"I know about Lord Yevon's meeting with Besaid, Kilika and Moonflow," he divulged. He spoke as if he was telling them that secrets were useless against him. "For daring to conspire against me… I've sunken all their cities. Now they all submit to me."
He marched a few steps further, evidently challenging the tacit margin set by Uma. "Their cities being surrounded by water really worked wonders for me!" he said, letting out a bone-chilling laugh. "And I'll do the same to Zanarkand if you refuse to follow my command."
While Zako stood waiting for her to say something in return… Uma thought about Yevon. She thought about the dreams he shared with Yaj Yeshe for Zanarkand. She thought about that night when he was holding her hands firmly in his, declaring his love for her and promising to keep the city as her safe haven. She thought about him spending years discovering and perfecting one ritual after another because he foresaw Bevelle's plans before anyone else did. She thought about how the city was all the life that they had ever known and wanted. She thought about their people – the people of Zanarkand and what the fall of the city would mean for them.
And she knew she must never give Zako what he was craving for.
"No matter how long and hard it will take… we'll fight and protect Zanarkand against you," Uma declared, never once faltering.
For a second, Uma saw a glint of deference for her gallantry on Zako's face. Then he smiled, a little too calmly as if resigned to the course of events that will flow between their two cities from henceforth. "Very well, Lady Uma. We'll go to war. My city, Bevelle, against yours, Zanarkand… together with our factions. In a year's time, we'll see you at the Boundless Lands."
Yevon returned a day later, distraught and in great need to have Uma under his arms. He did not wait until they were snug inside their marital bed to fill her. They made frenzied love on the cold and hard tiles of their bedchamber, with knees scraping to redness. Their bodies twisted and turned in ways they previously thought were not possible.
With a fierceness bubbling inside him, Yevon held Uma as strongly as he possibly could, denting her skin with his fingerprints like his very existence depended on it. They cried each other's names over and over again; crushed their lips against one another with ravenous hunger and left more peck trails along their lust-soaked skins. He pushed in and out of her, seemingly pacing faster at every exquisite contort of rapture she made on her face. At every point where his length managed to hit deep inside her, she would whine and dug her nails into his back, opening bleeding scars. His hip hammered against hers mercilessly… until their bodies were left shivering at the pinnacle of their pleasure.
"I thought I'd lost you," he said, as they lay side-by-side in the darkness.
"And I thought I would never see you again."
He turned, and pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry that you lost Seba," he whispered.
"Don't be… we've honoured Seba's spirit until the end."
"Perhaps… this is divine punishment for me."
Uma raised her head and caught the guilt from his glassy eyes. "Why do you say that?"
"I knew they would have to deal with the ramifications for colluding with me… and I knew that even with Besaid, Moonflow and Kilika combined, their armies are no match for the retaliating forces," he said, resting his chin against her forehead. "Yet, I still went to meet them. I knew they would help me secure the support of the Guardians. The Guados were right. I'm no different than Zako."
Uma slid her palm onto one side of his face. "Don't ever compare yourself to him, my love. I beg you."
Yevon exhaled, his misery not quite dispelled. "Now we have a war to think about."
"Are you… displeased? Should I have relented to Zako's demands?"
Yevon smiled, taking one of her hands to kiss. "No, my pearl. I'm grateful that you've stood up for our city."
His words gave her reassurance that she made the right decision, but she was also fully aware of the consequential compromised position Zanarkand was in. "What will we do from now on? We've lost almost all our allies… except for the Baaj tribe, Ronsos and the Guardians of Macalania."
"We'll have to hone our forces as best as we can. I have great confidence in their skills," Yevon said, already concocting battle strategies in his head. "There's also another matter that we need to do…"
Uma understood what he was referring to. It was an alternative plan if all else fails. "The other Zanarkand?"
He nodded. "I think it's time for us to tell our people about it… I'll assign Lord Zopa to the task."
He held her firmly against him as they fell into a temporary silence, drifting their minds but not their hearts away from one another. No longer clouded by her urges, Uma was aware again of the nagging sense of misgiving that she was having since her conversation with Pema. "My love… something has been bothering me."
"What is?"
"I… don't think we can fully trust those around us."
"…I think so too."
Another wordless glance was exchanged between them but Uma only needed to see through his amber eyes to understand what was running in his mind. She could hear the splashing noises from waterfalls flowing out of nearby buildings, filling the stillness in their chamber. Yevon's arms around her bound them closer as if he was afraid of letting her go.
A/N: Pema is from a city at the island where Omega Ruins is located. I left it unnamed in the story because I couldn't be bothered to come up with one lol. I HC-ed that the stories about Ultima were all lies to lend more credibility to Yevon's teachings, and that Ultima was actually a weapon used to protect the city once governed by a person named 'Omega'.
I wanted to dedicate a chapter or a passage to talk about this but didn't because it lacks relevancy to the plot!