A STORY OF NEW ZANARKAND

Introduction:

The metropolis of New Zanarkand shone with the light of a thousand stars, a beacon of illumination, obscuring the real stars of Spira with its glow.
Being in a perpetual state of night, the rebuilt city glittered and bustled with life. All classes and races, be they Guado or Al Bhed were welcomed with open arms.
In the very center of the city, rising like a crystal spike, dwarfing all other structures with its beauty and magnitude-was the Temple of Yu Yuna. Thousands of her worshippers flocked to her shrine to ask for forgiveness, council and help. The structure was huge, the main room, lit by blue fire in golden urns, revealing the Shrine of the Lady. A statue, well, to be more specific several statues, adorned this room, showing the Lady in several guises: A mother, a teacher, a warrior, a saint. Depending on which version of the Lady you preferred, you would still be competing for optimal worship areas with a crowd. There were constantly people in the Shrine, yet it was always eerily silent, save for the singing of the priests and the whispered prayers of the devout.
Off the side of the temple proper were several ante-buildings, discernible by a statue or picture. The largest of which belonged to the Crimson Knights, the Great Mother's personal army, resurrected by the Great Warrior, Paine, complete with a ten-foot statue of her, in traditional Warrior Garb. They were the most feared, respected and at the same time, loved fighting force in all time, surpassing even the Crusaders of Old. They were split in half between the Warriors and the Gunners. These were then fractured into smaller special factions but all were equally talented and ruthless.
The rest of the City, having replaced Bevelle as the Capital of Spira, could easily be divided into five specific sections. Next to the Temple and Shrine, the Machine Faction was the largest organization and took up the most room. Not only did it encompass the machina factories that supplied the rest of the word with robots, but also most of the Al Bhed population. Significantly, right next to-in fact, almost blending with this area was the Thieves Guild, started by Lady Rikku, the most infamous of Thieves. Not as popular as the Crimson Knights, the Guild was certainly more open and far more glamorous. They were lovers of a good time and knew how to have one.
The third greatest area was the DownTown Meet. It housed the vendors and dealers as well as some of the more well-to-do citizens of New Zanarkand.
On the other side of the Temple Complexwas the Guado. Never officially sanctioned as its own section, this place was where the few remaining Guado huddled together and also concealed the last Followers of Yevon.
And finally, finally…there were the Beggars. The poor, the destitute, those who had failed to make their fortune in the sprawling metropolis-All came to live in the rundown, less attractive part of New Zanarkand.
The City was at once all these parts and yet none of them. It had a life of it's own, a heartbeat…and the Temple of Yuna was its heart AND soul.
A few miles south of this Star of Spira, nestled in all its crumbling glory, was the ancient city of Old Zanarkand ignored by most and only tended by the chosen few. It had been labeled a holy site and was off limits to everyone but the Priests and Priestess's of the Great Mother.
Forgotten.

So very, very much had changed since the Great Mother had walked the land of Spira. For the better of course, everyone agreed. There was no fighting since the Crimson Knights instantly crushed even a whisper of dissension. For the most part, the people were happy, especially the citizens of New Zanarkand. Almost all of them. Of course, there were problems, what great society didn't have them?
Whispers of corruption within the Temple (silenced by the Knights of course), and then there was always the distracting presence of the beggars AND some UNGRATEFUL people claimed that Yuna was not worthy of worship and that the Knights had no right to judge and punish those who refused to kneel at her shrine.
But these voices were few and they didn't live long. The people of New Zanarkand were very loyal and protective of their Great Mother.
Life functioned as it always had. But this was just the calm before the storm, and what better time to shake things up than the two hundredth anniversary of Sin's destruction at the hands of Yuna, Mother of Spira?

Chapter One:

It was the oldest story in the book. They wanted her to be a Priestess and she wanted to be a Crimson Knight.
The argument started simply but if Kisrel's parents had known where her tirade would lead they would have glued that sword to her hand and drop-kicked her into training. But they didn't.

Family arguments had been all but non-existent in Kisrel's house until her brother was drafted into the Knights.
While most of the Lady's Warriors were volunteers, some children-much to the elation of their parents-were chosen at birth by the 'Lady herself'.
Kisrel's brother Toka was one of these.
There was no one closer to Kisrel than her brother. Always something of a loner, Kisrel had had always been mature for her age and had trouble getting along with others. Her parents didn't care, they just assumed that since she would become a Priestess, what good would social skills be then?
But Kisrel decided she had other plans.
Her parents, Dega and Resa, were very devout about their faith. They prayed to the Lady several times a day and visited her Shrine at least twice a week. They were disappointed in the next generation's lack of zealousness but such was the case. They had done their best to instigate worship of the Lady within their own children's lives and had even been half-successful.
When Toka was taken, he went without a fight, in complete faith that he was doing right by the Lady. Kisrel was no so easily converted. Her parents tried everything, listing Yuna's astonishing accomplishments, the miracles performed in her name and in the end…how could the whole of New Zanarkand be wrong? But Kisrel was not interested in spending her life in a Temple, all of her being devoted to the sanctity of Yu Yuna's Shrine. Not when she could travel the world with Toka, sword in hand.
She was nearing the Year of Decision, by her birthday, she would have to either be sanctioned as a Priestess or enrolled as a Knight.
"Is it not enough that we may lose your brother to the Knights, but we have to lose you too?" they would ask, desperately trying to appeal to her loyalty to family.
"You didn't argue when HE left!" she would retort. They tried again.
"There is nothing demeaning about working in the Temple, many girls do, and seem to enjoy it," the appealed to her loyalty to Yuna. But she wouldn't budge. And then she made one, fatal error. The day had been long, Kisrel having been punished to read all the Works of Yuna (who she doubted actually wrote them) all day, while her mother cleaned up the small house that was their home and her father worked at the biggest vendor franchise in the world, O'aka's. Everyone knew that the O'aka's were a crime family, but no one was going to say anything about it because those who did ended up dead. Kisrel hated that her father worked for them, but it was just one grievance of many.
Her father was a handsome man, with short wavy hair and clear silver grey eyes. He was a strong man, which was why Kisrel was pretty sure she knew what he did, and it had nothing to do with selling potions.
Kisrel's mother was a beautiful woman, with a soft, heart-shaped face, and long midnight black hair that reached her knees when she chose to let it down. Her figure was slim, accented by a long green dress that went well with her emerald green eyes.
Kisrel in a way thought that Toka had gotten the better end of the bargain. Dega's, his father's, strength and smooth brown hair and Resa's bright green eyes. Kisrel had more of the slim figure, but she had her father's strong facial features and his clear grey eyes. She had black hair like her mother, but she wore it short, as a sort of defiance. She refused to wear the white dress her mother had gotten for her, and instead wore a black body suit that neither flattered nor tarnished her build.
Anyway, on the night that Kisrel's adventure began, the three of them had sat down to dinner, Toka being away on a mission. Kisrel was brooding and moody and made the mistake of letting her emotions get in the way of her judgment. Her father was exhausted and her mother just generally stressed. The conversation began very innocently.
"How was work?" Resa asked. Dega nodded, his mouth full. He swallowed, then answered:
"Fine. I don't think the O'akas will be having any trouble with that upstart businessman that was moving in."
Kisrel snorted. Her mother shot her a warning look, but her father just kept eating.
"Have we gotten any letters from Toka?" now it was Dega's turn to ask a question. Resa sadly shook her head. Kisrel muttered something, barely touching her food.
"Excuse me?" her father demanded.
"Nothing," Kisrel looked away. Something belatedly dawned on her mother.
"Did you pray before you ate?" she tried to inquire gently, but the meaning was clear. Kisrel gave her a look of pure venom. All the anger and resentment she had been feeling for the past few weeks welled up.
"Oh, no. I guess that means that I'll be struck down, doesn't it?" she snarled.
"Kisrel-"her mother started, but she wasn't listening anymore. Bumping the table as she rose, Kisrel shot up, like lightning.
"I just don't understand why in Spira I am required to pray to someone who is DEAD. She's DEAD okay? She can't hear me, she's turned to dust by now!"
Dega stood up, his body language and stance matching hers.
"We will not have that kind of talk in this house, is that understood?" he demanded, threateningly.
"Or what? What is SHE going to do about it? I don't think she was as great as you all seem to think she is, I'll be that she didn't even do all that stuff. It's just a way for the Priests and them to control us."
Her father was turning a queer shade of red and her mother was on the verge of tears. Taking a calming breath, her father said quietly:
"Yuna was a great woman. She saved Spira, everyone knows it." He looked at her, imploringly, but by now the damage was done. She knew they would never forgive her and that they would NEVER let her be anything but a Priestess for some girl she didn't even believe in. Kisrel raised her head, her eyes cold and hard.
"I don't think Yuna ever existed," she stated almost quietly, and the hammer fell. Her mother broke down in sobs and her father sat down. He was not a violent man, at least when it came to his family. He resumed eating, pretending that Kisrel wasn't there. With a sigh of exasperation, she ran out of the kitchen and into her bedroom.
She considered all of her options, and it seemed that only one was really feasible. If no one would believe her, she would just have to prove them all wrong. She would go out and PROVE that Yuna never existed, and even if she did, that she was not the goddess that everyone took her for. That she was just a power hungry do-gooder, and Kisrel would show them. She would show them all.
In truth, Kisrel had never been outside New Zanarkand, in fact, because the City was so big, she had only seen half of it, but she didn't doubt that she could find her way out. If only she knew where to begin. Well, even that seemed simple enough. The place where apparently Yuna was said to have started her beginnings…Ancient Zanarkand. It was common knowledge that she wasn't born there, but no one really knew why the place held such significance for her. It was said she revered it, and so, the people revered it as well. Kisrel didn't know how she would get inside, but that was a problem for when she got there. Packing a few supplies that she knew she would need, including: A different outfit, one that she had purchased without her parents knowledge (it resembled the uniform of a Knight), a book for writing in and a dagger that Toka had given her, right before he left. She placed these, and some other items she figured would come in handy, inside a pack and slung it over her shoulder. Then she waited for her parents to go to bed. When the house seemed quiet, she slipped down to the kitchen to get some food.
The coast seemed clear, but she moved with speed to pack non-perishables. A voice behind her startled her to such extent that she almost dropped her bag. Her mother, Resa, stood in the doorway. Kisrel hardened her face and narrowed her eyes.
"You can't stop me, Mother."
Her mother raised her hands.
"I'm not going to stop you."
Kisrel blinked. That was not the response she had been expecting. Her mother walked in fully, and stood before Kisrel, placing her hands on her daughters shoulders.
"You have to do this. You have to see for yourself. And when you realize that you've been wrong, then you can come back to us. But your father…well, he'll take a while to cool down. So go, Kisrel. Leave."
Kisrel didn't know whether to be relieved or offended. Resa pressed some gil into Kisrel's hand, not a lot but enough to get her out of New Zanarkand and into the rest of Spira. Kisrel stared at her mother, trying to make sense of it. Resa nodded.
"Go."
She went, disappearing like a ghost into the Zanarkand night.