How did Auron join Braska ? No spoilers

by Renmiri

Sergeant Beclem tells a friend about Yuna's father Braska and how he met Sir Auron, the best Warrior Monk in Spira. He learned the little known details of the meeting during his childhood spent at the Bevelle. No spoilers for FFX. Minor updates 123005

How did Auron join Braska ?

Author's Notes:

No Spoilers - The short story here was extracted from one of my FFX 2 novels: Wedding Bells at Besaid Temple, chapter 5. The short story here has been carefully rewritten to have no spoilers for FFX players , even though it takes place in FFX2 timeline.
12/23/05 - Another version of this tale (the one at chapter 5 of my "Wedding bells" novel, with spoilers for FFX) won first place for short stories at the FFX2 user forum writing contest for December 2005. Added this note, a bit more to "background" and some thanks and credits at the end. Minor spelling fixes on 12/30/05

--- Background

This story takes place in the game FFX 2 (sequel to FFX). The game timeline is Chapter 5, at Youth League Headquarters at Mushroom Rock Road. The Youth League is a new team of warriors formed by ex-Crusader Nooj "the undying" after the events that happened on FFX. Youth League Tournament Finals are about to start and Yuna's team will fight the 5 finalists at the request of her old friend Captain Lucille (of the Mounted Chocobos Squad on FFX), now Commander Lucille of the Youth League. Lucille is temporarily in charge of the entire Youth League while their leader Nooj is away. Lucille has organized a battle tournament to keep her troops in shape.

Youth League Sergeant Beclem joins his friend Sergeant Yaibal at the foot of Mushroom Rock and they go up the trail to the summit chatting about the tournament. Yaibal and Beclem have very different opinions in regards to Yuna. During Beclem's childhood at a large Yevon's church's orphanage he suffered at the hands of some very bad priests and that had soured him to anything related to Yevon's church, including most summoners. When Beclem finds out that the much vaunted "Elite Fighting Team" that will fight the tournament finalists and teach them how to fight is none other than High Summoner Yuna and her friends he tells Yaibal his feelings about the summoner and gets his friend Yaibal, who idolizes Yuna, very mad at him.

To appease a furious Yaibal, Beclem tells his friend the true story about how Yuna's father Braska got his first Aeon and how he met Sir Auron, the best Warrior Monk in Spira. Beclem learned the little known details of the meeting during his childhood spent at the orphanage. Bevelle was the place where Braska and Auron met so the priests at the Bevelle's church's orphanage where Beclem grew up knew all the details and the gossip of that famous episode. Beclem's best childhood memories came from his favorite priest telling him the tales about Auron, Jecht and Braska's adventures.

---- Youth League Tournament

"Elite fighting team!", Beclem snorted when they arrived at the trail's last turn scowling, and told Yaibal that he could bet Rikku and Paine did the fighting and useless Lady Yuna did the posing for the video spheres!

- "Lady Yuna a poser ? After what she did 2 years ago ?" gasped a shocked Yaibal

- "Certainly Sir Auron, did most of the work!" answered Beclem . After all the legendary Yevon Warrior Monk / Guardian , was the former Commander of Yevon's Warrior Priests and the Crusaders and was truly a legend among legends

- "The guy was good, I grant you that, but no warrior in Spira could do what she did without a Summoner! Don't you remember Mi'hem ?" asked Yaibal angrily

- "Well, yeah, Lord Braska was certainly a big part of Sir Auron's team. But Summoner Yuna ? She was useless at Mi'hem!" Beclem sniffed in contempt.

- "Take those words back immediately or I'll feed you to the resident Tomberries" said Yaibal hotly already looking at the cave mouth where the green fiends used to show up to attack the League people passing by

- "All I'm saying is that any team that had Sir Auron had a huge advantage! After all, the man once led both the Warrior Priests and the Crusaders on the battle for Bevelle making Sin retreat, and then proceeded to defeat Sin with Braska!" said Beclem

- "Humph! You got a point there, but don't you ever call Lady Yuna names in my face again!" said Yaibal hotly, jumping into the machina lift

As they went up the lift Beclem was fuming angrily. He wondered for the 1,000th time why the Spira people couldn't let go of their superstitious reverence to those Summoner leeches.

What he had told Yaibal was true, Sir Auron had been an amazing warrior, he was one of the very few who had managed to stop Sin from destroying a city. Unfortunately, not before the beast killed many Bevellians on the outskirts of town, including Beclem's entire family. Sir Auron had then left the Yevon order to guard an underdog Summoner who had only one Aeon. It was a stunning move at the time, but nowadays the conventional wisdom was that Sir Auron may have had a good motive to leave the order to take part on a pilgrimage. Bevelle of 15 years ago was a viper's nest and Sir Auron's impressive skills and honorable ways would have surely attracted attention and stiff competition from ambitious monks on their way to the top of Yevon's church ruling council.

As an orphaned child in Bevelle's care, Beclem had been privy to the details of the story, so he started to tell it to Yaibal as they walked up Mushroom Rock, to appease the angry Sargent:

- "Peace Yaibal! Growing up in Bevelle I bet I know a thing or two about Auron and Braska that you don't" said Beclem

- "Yeah ? Like what ?" said a mollified Yaibal turning around and waiting for Beclem

Beclem proceeded to tell Yaibal how as a grieving young boy he had been fascinated by his attendant priests tales of bravery and valor. He had wanted to learn everything he could about being a warrior, to avenge his family. From the priests Beclem learned that Braska was anything BUT an underdog. . People seemed to forget that Lord Braska's first Aeon was Bahamut the towering behemoth not that wimpy Valefor dragon from Besaid, Beclem said.

Very few Summoners STARTED their pilgrimage at Bevelle. Bahamut with his 20,000+ points overdrive attacks and powerful 3-4,000 strength punches was not something to underestimate.

Beclem explained to Yaibal that most Summoners started off with a weaker Aeon, and then brought that Aeon - or several Aeons - to battle and tame Bahamut, the mighty Aeon at Bevelle's temple. Braska's years of training with the Al Bhed and his countless battles with the desert fiends must have forged him into a formidable battle mage, or he would not have attempted it, Beclem said

- "Lord Braska was trained by the Al Bhed ?" asked a surprised Yaibal

- "Why yes, he even married an Al Bhed! Your precious Lady Yuna is part Al Bhed!" said Beclem and then it hit him: Rikku and Brother were Al Bhed! Could Yuna and the siblings be related ?

- "Hey wake up! How does the story go ?" said Yaibal interrupting Beclem's daydreaming

Apparently, continued Beclem, the Yevon priests were about to deny Lord Braska's request to battle and tame Bahamut, despite Bevelle's tradition of leaving those kinds of decisions to the Summoners. Having Bahamut kill an overconfident apprentice wouldn't look good, particularly in the service sheet of the priests and Maesters who authorized the trial. That is when Commander Auron got wind that a certain Summoner apprentice had requested to battle and tame Bahamut without possessing any other Aeon. Legend says Auron burst into the meeting, immediately volunteering to be present at the trial, admired at Braska's courage.

There had been 5 years of incessant Sin attacks, and no other Summoner looked promising enough to be a sure bet at getting Sin this year, said Beclem, telling the story just as the old priest had told him long ago. Yevon priests were getting anxious. Commander Auron's assurance that he would contain the Aeon if things got out of hand appeased them and they allowed the trial to proceed. To everyone's surprise, including Commander Auron's, Braska defeated Bahamut, winning the Aeon's undying loyalty. ..

- "They say Lord Braska was amazing at that battle, and that he could heal himself very quickly. Rumor says that he got that skill in his desert exploits, that Braska had faced and survived an encounter with an Angra Mainyu ghost" Beclem said

- "A what ?" asked Yaibal

- "It is a Sin sized desert fiend that existed a very long time ago. Al Bhed legend says his ghost still hounds the desert, killing the ones it encounters with ease" said Beclem

- "Very few people survive an encounter with that enormous ghost of a desert fiend, but Al Bhed legend says that if you are able to hold out long enough and prove your valor in battle, the beast will not kill you. It will vanish and award you a prize - a very powerful magical treasure: a bottle of all healing MegaElixir potion - for having the skills to endure his attack during 20 turns" explained Beclem to Yaibal

He had added the bit of that legendary desert fiend to the story, just as the Yevon priest had done. No one knew if Braska had met it. No one but the Al Bhed even knew if the Angra Mainyu legend had any basis or how many turns it took to get the prize! But it was his favorite part of the story. He almost could see himself and the attendant priest putting him to bed on those first painful nights. The old priest pushing away the little orphan's enormous grief with his tales, the amazing stories of the heroes at the mighty Bevelle temple, telling to a mesmerized Beclem the stories of valor and battle and legendary magical prizes that awaited those who decided to take their destiny on their hands. It was like a healing salve to a confused boy who had just lost everyone he knew.

- "Wow! Really ? A bottle of MegaElixir ? I could certainly use THAT today !" said Yaibal interrupting Beclem's memories

- "If I had something that healed my entire party fully both in energy and in magic points, I'd have a shot at defeating Lady Yuna's team" said Yaibal wistfully

- "So what else ?" asked Yaibal

- "Braska's courage, determination and skill also won Auron's respect and loyal friendship. Both left the temple soon after, joined in their pilgrimage by a crazy drunkard that had been found on the Bevelle's shore and arrested for his sacrilegious boastings that he was from Zanarkand. And the rest is history: Lord Braska, Sir Auron and Sir Jecht, the former drunkard defeated Sin nine months after, and brought 10 years of Calm to Spira... telegraphed Beclem, quickly wrapping up the story now that they were entering the Youth League headquarters

- "Cool! So Sir Jecht really was a crazy drunkard when he started the pilgrimage ? I had heard rumors.. You have to tell me this story, Beclem! I may even forgive you for offending Lady Yuna if you do a good job of it" whispered Yaibal in his ear, while the fort's attendant directed them to meet Commander Lucille at the Observation Deck at once

His telegraphed delivery of the last part of the story didn't do the old priest's justice thought Beclem as he and Yaibal rushed up the stairs of the deck. The old man had literally saved his life finding him alone at the burned up bakery and protecting him from the Sin spawn until the Bevelle's soldiers arrived. He never even managed to learn the old man's name, Beclem lamented. After Sin died, a recently promoted Maester, the so called genius who had seen Braska's potential, proceeded to expunge the temple of all the people who liked Sir Auron or had fought with Sir Auron, as soon as he could. The greedy Maester quickly got a hold of the old priest and transferred him away from the city, despite the old priest's advanced age. Of Sir Jecht and Sir Auron's whereabouts no one knew. They had completely vanished, leaving another guardian , a Ronso, to escort Lord Braska's only child to Besaid.

At Youth League Headquarters

Arriving at the Observation Deck, Beclem crisply saluted his Commander and Captain Elma.

- "At ease !" said the Commander to Beclem and Yaibal and immediately dismissed Elma and the younger Sargent

- "Go prepare yourselves for the match with Lady Yuna's team this afternoon. I want a good show from my teams" Lucille said

- "Commander, if I may ?" said Beclem

- "Yes Sargent ?" she answered

- "Why wasn't I allowed to participate, Ma'am ?" asked an edgy Beclem

"I told you I need a trained observer to grade our teams, didn't I ? The finalists are battling a group of Spira's best warriors. Lady Yuna's team is fantastic. The information we can gather on how to improve our own teams will be priceless" answered the Commander calmly

THE END

-- Footnotes

--- Many thanks to the reviewers at Fan Fiction net and to the FFX fans at Square Enix and Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums !

Reviewers and others here at Fan Fiction gave me many good suggestions and helped me remember certain aspects of the game story. Thanks to all readers and reviewers!

The same happened at the FFX and FFX2 Square Enix Forums and the Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums where lots of posters gave me many good suggestions, great feedback and helped me understand better the FFX and FFX2 universe. The threads are too numerous to list all but most of the ones relevant to this story are

- Square Forums – FFX - 10 questions on the FFX2 story - Renmiri

- Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums - 10 questions on the FFX2 story – Renmiri

- Square Forums - General Discussion - Creation - Creative Arena - Writing Competition #1

Many thanks to GAMEFAQ for invaluable tips and transcripts of game dialog and cut scenes.