Final Fantasy X prequel: 1,000 years ago: aliens

by Renmiri

This story describes the events surrounding Sin's appearance in Spira: How the Zanarkand Bevelle machina war started because of aliens, how the people from Zanarkand kept Tidus Zanarkand alive in spite of Sin, how the first Calm happened.UPDATED 1 21 06

2. Chapter 2 The First Calm w Spoilers!

FFX1.2

Summary: Summary: Sin appears, the Aeons Yojimbo and Bahamut are born, Yunalesca defeats Sin and the first calm starts

--- 1,000 years ago - A Dream or a Nightmare ?

Lady Yunalesca and her husband Lord Zaeon were one of the few from Zanarkand who did not join the massive fayth stone, as they had been aiding High Summoner Lenne at the front. Lenne had been very grateful for all the reinforcements, as the situation at the front was dire. Bevelle's troops were almost at the foot of Mount Gagazet, the last obstacle before Zanarkand itself. They just HAD to hold Bevelle's troops in Remien City for as long as they could, thinning their enemy's numbers as much as they could.

Yunalesca and Zaeon were fighting valiantly at the side of the prairie city defenders, when in the middle of the battle a very large machina appeared and looked posed to destroy them all. But instead of attacking the Zanarkand mages and their allies the huge machina destroyed the road that lead to Remien Temple, blocking Bevelle's path to Remien City and to Mt. Gagazet. After it got done with the road there was only space for people to cross it one at a time. Good, that will keep Bevelle unable to send reinforcements or more supplies to it's troops! thought Zaeon, ever the military strategist. After destroying the road and killing many from both sides of the conflict the huge machina disappeared, taking High Summoner Lenne with it, which left the Zanarkand troops in disarray. When Yunalesca and Zaeon finally got some semblance of order the Remien City blockade had fallen and the Bevelle troops were at the mountain pass, about to cross the Ronso gate at the Ronso side of Mt. Gagazet's base. Yunalesca and Zaeon decided to make their way to Zanarkand in all haste leaving the troops behind to tend the fires and the wounded at the still intact prairie city hospital.

--- Yunalesca meets Sin for the first time

Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaeon had to climb the snowy trails, as the Ronso had deactivated all magic transport gates to the mountain summit as part of their vigorous protection of Zanarkand's last line of defense. When they approach Gagazet's summit they hear Zanarkand's hymn of defiance being sung by the city's citizens at Mt Gagazet's base. They had made their way back to Zanarkand, battling Mt. Gagazet's monsters as fast as they could but they were not fast enough to meet Yunalesca's father before his accident: Upon arriving at the mountain summit Yunalesca and Zaeon see an appalling scene take place right in front of their eyes: A monstrous being, colossal in size and shaped like a sphere of pure sea water starts taking shape and proceeds to vaporize their beloved city with unbelievably powerful flare blasts right after it finishes forming. The sphere then floats up the mountain killing everything in it's path. Now that the thing is coming closer Yunalesca and Zaeon can see something huge and dark moving inside it. They also see several monstrous fiends, never before seen in Spira jump from the floating spherical being. A desperate Yunalesca battles her way against those unknown fiends down the mountain, eager to see what has happened to her father and her friends. Her husband Zaeon follows her closely.

--- The Eternal Dream Of The Fayth

Yunalesca finds a giant column of water congealed into a fayth stone, all her friends embedded inside of it. Her father stands right in front of it unharmed but he seems unconscious. He is cold to the touch and in spite of his wide open eyes he is barely breathing.

- Father, what is going on ? Who did this to our people ? asked Yunalesca in panic

- What happened here my love ? Can you mind-talk to your father ?" asks Zaeon stunned at the sight of his beloved adopted city utterly destroyed and all his friends congealed inside of a fayth stone.

- "My father is in no condition to tell me anything. His mind seems very far away" answered Yunalesca a bit dazed with worry

- "Well, can you at least contact one of those people in this huge frozen water column ?" asks Zaeon.

Zaeon's suggestion brings Yunalesca's thoughts back to Spira. She proceeded to contact the closest fayth.

- "What has happened here Lady Rahla ? Why are you guys all in a fayth stone ? Who did this to you ?" asks Yunalesca

- "Mmmph ? Who disturbs our dreaming ?" says a frumpy female apparition behind them

- "Lady Rahla ? Are you a fayth ? How, why !" asks Yunalesca confused

- "Yunalesca ? Welcome child! Come see the glorious work of your father! Zanarkand will live forever thanks to him" says Rahla's fayth

- "Fayth ? But to what end ? What is being summoned ? What is this about Zanarkand living forever ?" asks a puzzled Yunalesca.

- "Why, the summons of Zanarkand city! A city that is now eternally invulnerable and peaceful thanks to your father's brilliancy at the Summoner Arts. And our willingness to join his dreaming as fayth" answers Lord Yokum materializing in front of them, also in the form of a fayth.

Lord Yokum proceeded to explain to Yunalesca how all of Zanarkand's surviving residents had opted to be turned into fayth instead of waiting for Bevelle's cruel troops to kill them.

- "A multiple fayth summoning ! Was father insane ? There is a reason it is forbidden: this summons will kill him and may kill all of us!" said Yunalesca aghast

- "Oh ye of little faith child! Your father thought of that already. He wove an invincible armor to protect him and the summoning from any harm. And he used Bevelle's stolen pyrefly energy to do it. Serves them right!" said Lord Oakka's fayth smugly

-"Where's Lord Kyouyu ? What did he have to say about all of this" asks Zaeon alarmed. Something just didn't seem right in this grandiose plan, Zaeon thought to himself

- "He refused to join us. Said he feared Yu Yevon was being over confident and tempting fate. You know he has always resisted your wife's and her father's ideas" " answers Lord Yokum

- "It figures." Said Yunalesca

- "Come now children. Let us rest! Let us dream the glory of Zanarkand! Why don't you join us, leave this Zanarkand of pain and sorrow behind and join our dream?" said Lady Rahla

- "I may yet join you but for now I just want some time to see what has become of the war and the people in Spira" answered Yunalesca

- "Then by all means child, go see what pains await you in this cruel Spira we just left. We will be waiting here, dreaming our perfect dream." Said Lady Rahla's fayth impatiently and disappeared

--- Yunalesca sees more Sin's carnage firsthand

There wasn't anything that she and Zaeon could do for Zanarkand now, thought Yunalesca. She decided to go back to Remien to help healing the many wounded. She and Zaeon hurried through a fiend infested Mt. Gagazet, but at Remien City, there was no one left. Corpses were strewn everywhere, showing evidence of a very powerful killer on the loose. Bodies were torn in half, buildings were razed to the ground, and fiends sniffed around disappointed.

- "Judging by the number of fiends and their bad mood there was no one left alive after whatever monster who did this was done" said Zaeon to Yunalesca

- "It must have been that giant water sphere we saw while climbing up the mountain" said Yunalesca remembering the huge dark form moving inside it and the many new monsters that jumped out from it

- "Yes, what was that thing anyway ? " said Zaeon

- "Your father called it Sin. It is the invincible armor he was so proud of. I knew he wouldn't be able to control it Alas, the council's zeal to hold on to their memories of Zanarkand overrode their caution…" said Lord Kyouyu appearing behind them

- "Please tell us what happened" asked Yunalesca.

Yunalesca had butted heads many times with Lord Kyouyu, her old teacher but she knew that he wasn't a liar and had been a very skilled and knowledgeable Summoner. She also knew that somehow her father was involved in this mayhem. She couldn't deny it any longer Yunalesca had felt Yu Yevon's presence inside that sphere.. Lord Kyouyu proceeded to tell a stunned Zaeon and Yunalesca all that he had heard at the council meetings they missed. He also added his expert opinion on the spell cast and summons her father had tried.

- "I don't really know for sure because your stubborn father wouldn't tell me anything after I refused to help him. All I know is that he was using teachings from the Forbidden Tomes and from Dark Magician Sin's Black Magic book" said Lord Kyouyu

- "The Forbidden Teachings ? Was he insane ?" asked Zaeon aghast

- "You will have to be the judge of that… What is undeniable is that he is not insane now, nor anything else for that matter. He isn't even conscious, as you may have noticed Milady" said Lord Kyouyu looking at Yunalesca

- "Yes. I could not make contact with him or his conscious mind, not even while touching him. He remains a frozen shell, his body barely breathing amid the ruins of Zanarkand" said Yunalesca pained.

- "I tried to contact him from here too, to no avail. Did you not feel faint echoes from his mind coming from inside Sin's water sphere ?" asked Lord Kyouyu keenly

- "Yes, I did. That is why I couldn't deny the truth of your accusations. Besides, you never were a liar. I knew you wouldn't accuse my father of being responsible for that murderous beast if you didn't believe it" said Yunalesca conceding his point

- "I thank you for your trust Milady. You, your father and I had some disagreements in the past over the prudence of trying some advanced spells but I take no joy in being correct this time. This awful state your father has been trapped… I wouldn't wish on my deadliest enemy" said Lord Kyouyu gravely

- "Is there.. Is it possible to release my father from it ?" asked Yunalesca with infinite pain in her eyes

- "I don't really know for sure but I believe there is reason to be hopeful Milady." Said Lord Kyouyu

Yunalesca just wept softly, apparently oblivious to Lord Kyouyu's words or his hope that her father could be saved. A worried Zaeon started massaging his wife tense shoulders

- "Please explain.." said Zaeon

- "It seems Yu Yevon somehow mixed up a shield spell with an Aeon spell. That thing kills and moves like an Aeon but functions like an impenetrable shield to protect Yu Yevon while he Summons the Dream Zanarkand." the old teacher answered

- "Interesting, but how does that give you hope?" asked Zaeon, his wife still too disturbed to follow Lord Kyouyu's explanation

- "Well, at my Summoner's class, when an over confident apprentice gets overwhelmed by his Aeon all I have to do is defeat the Aeon in battle to release the hapless Summoner apprentice from his trance." said Lord Kyouyu

- "Sin is not an Aeon but the same principle may apply: Defeat it and you may restore Yu Yevon to his old boastful, arrogant self" said Lord Kyouyu trying to goad Yunalesca into reacting from her desolation

- "You are enjoying this, aren't you " she said angrily, finally showing some signs of the hot tempered Yunalesca Lord Kyouyu had known

- "Not at all Milady but it seemed an insult was a good way to get you back. I feared you would drown in your sorrow" said Lord Kyouyu softly

- "I thank you Lord Kyouyu. My wife was needing this injection of hope, even if delivered by a sharp poke on her pride. It seems you know her almost as well as I do." said Zaeon

- "Aye, and I have had many singed shield spells that prove it !" said Lord Kyouyu smiling

Both men started laughing softly, remembering the fierce Summoner's penchant for lobbing Flare spells at those who angered her. They kept on smiling at a furious Yunalesca, until she relented.

- "Oh all right.. But how are we going to win against that thing ? We can't just throw ourselves at the foot of the Sin Beast like a berserk fiend. We need a plan to defeat it. Any suggestions Lord Kyouyu ?" asked Yunalesca

- "You got me there Milady. The only thing I can think that has a remote chance of piercing that powerful armor is the Final Aeon, but you know as well as I do the implications of it. It could result on your own death, on your father's death or both your deaths. Your father spells were already virtually unbreakable, now augmented by millions of pyreflies… " said Lord Kyouyu sighing unhappily

- "Hmm.. I see. We need an alternate plan" said Yunalesca thoughtfully

- "What if we ask Bevelle to provide us with millions of pyreflies too ? Couldn't you weave a powerful armor to protect you from the final Aeon just like your father did ?" asked Zaeon

- "No Milady, I beg you! Please refrain from attempting to thread on the same dangerous paths that have enslaved your father in this trance! " cried Lord Kyouyu hastily

- "I'm sorry old friend, but I need to keep all my options open. It's not like I have many to choose from. Besides, one more murderous beast and another comatose Summoner would hardly add much to Spira's current mayhem and sorrow, would it ?" said Yunalesca sadly.

After her refusal to listen to his misgivings Lord Kyouyu was left feeling sick, tired and old. He felt his heart heavy at seeing his old student lost in a trance, and another student of his, the fierce indomitable Yunalesca, first paralyzed with grief and now ready to face a fate worse than death. The fate that had fallen on her father, the best Summoner he had the honor to teach. He feared he would eventually be proved correct, just as he was with her father. There is no joy in forecasting disaster and being proved right 100 times over said the traditional folk wisdom in Spira. And indeed it was so. What little petty pleasure he could extract from being vindicated would pale in front of the real sorrow and mayhem the tragedy had brought to all in Spira.

Seeing Yu Yevon lost in that trance was not satisfying, it was devastating! And that was nothing compared to the pain of contemplating the very possible future of seeing his entire planet devoid of intelligent life. Spira's humanity extinct, killed by a shield spell gone bad… A spell from one of his own students!

--- The Aeon Yojimbo is born

He did not want to see Spira die but he saw little he could do to stop it. He was old and feeble, incapable of helping Spirans battle the beast. Still, Lord Kyouyu did not regret his decision to not join his Zanarkand friends in a fayth stone. When the council decided to turn themselves into fayth to avoid the pain at seeing Zanarkand fall, he had almost joined them but decided not to. He decided to live with that pain, if that meant he could help the survivors in any way. But now his beloved city of mages, his Zanarkand was destroyed and it was just the beginning of the many tragedies Sin, the beast Yu Yevon created, would cause. And all he could do was teach…

Teach ? Teach who ? All the Zanarkand mages were gone. On Spira, the only people who could possibly follow his teachings besides the Zanarkand mages would be the Guado. But would it be good to teach the Guado the Summoning arts ? For that matter, what good did all his teachings do ? Just the opposite, his teachings helped Yu Yevon move along faster into the path of disaster… A disaster so big that could kill their entire race! For the first time in his life Lord Kyouyu regretted his lifelong commitment to teaching. If he could have started over he would exchange a lifetime of dedication teaching the famous Zanarkand mages for a life spent as a body guard. His wits and knowledge would be for rent but, unlike mercenaries, body guards got to protect people instead of killing people… Lord Kyouyu sighed deeply. At his age he couldn't even do that!

But wait a minute… He could! There was still a way for him to use his immense knowledge of the Summoner Arts to help the people in Spira AND to be effective at doing so. The price for him to release all this power to others was indeed steep: Lord Kyouyu would have to give up his life, allowing himself to be turned into a fayth by another Master Summoner. But by doing that, by turning into a fayth, a fayth imbued with all the skills he possessed Lord Kyouyu could give a Summoner a very powerful Aeon, the strongest Aeon of all, short of the Final Aeon. Well perhaps not as strong as Remien Temple's Aeon, the 3 Magus Sisters but he did have his Zanmato spell which could kill anything in one hit, including someone mounted on a dragon or fire drake…

- "I understand Milady… If you would grant me a last favor ?" said Lord Kyouyu to Yunalesca after what seemed to her like a very long pause that left him looking a lot older

- "Yes Master, what is it ?" asked Yunalesca curious, calling him Master as she had done while being taught by him, to make him a bit less sad

- "I can not bear to see this violence ridden, war torn Spira any longer. I feel that my skills would better serve Spira being applied to fight the many monsters Sin brought upon us, if Spira survives this ordeal.." he started

- "Fight ?" said Yunalesca worried. Her old teacher was very skilled but he was definitely NOT in fighting shape

- "Yes fight. But not in this tired old body. I am requesting that you transform me and my faithful companion Daigoro into fayth for a summoning" Lord Kyouyu said

- "A fayth ? And a fayth using a fayth stone composed of more than one living being, one of the forbidden spells you ranted so much against ? You must be deadly serious then" said Yunalesca

- "Yes Milady, I am deadly serious" answered Lord Kyouyu

- "Very well then… Where is Daigoro ? I have not seen him yet." said Yunalesca and Lord Kyouyu left to get his dog, his best friend that had always stood by his side in all those years, even during his classes..

Yunalesca looked at her old teacher walking away and sighed heavily. Yet another casualty to Bevelle's treachery! The poor man had just lost his will to live and yielded to despair she told Zaeon

- "It hurts me so much to see even Lord Kyouyu is drowning in deep despair" she said

- "Is he love ? It seems to me he has chosen to stay conscious instead of resting in the final slumber of the dead. Sounds very brave to me. The old master has a warrior's soul " said Zaeon

- "I guess… I felt that kind of despair myself a short while ago. The thought that I couldn't go on living and I just couldn't handle watching the terrible events that are unfolding right in front of my eyes" she answered

- "It was your strength and Lord Kyouyu's insult to my father's name that brought me back from the brink… and now we loose him" continued Yunalesca sighing deeply yet again

At this moment Lord Kyouyu returned followed by his beloved Akita dog dressed up as an ancient imperial lion

- "Milady, please don't see this as a goodbye but as just a temporary farewell. Even if not alive, I will be here, at least in spirit, protecting our planet and its people for as long as there are Summoners in Spira." said Lord Kyouyu

- "Here ? You want your faith stone to be left in the middle of the ruins of Remien City ?" asked Yunalesca baffled

- "No Milady, I meant I will be here in Spira not here in the Remien plains. I want to be hidden for now, for I will not work for this Bevelle traitors if I can help it. If you could… Would you please take my fayth stone to Zanarkand's School of Summoner Arts ? The Baaj Temple there has no Aeons after we closed the school due to the war." he said

- "But that is too close to Zanarkand! Sin will destroy it if it hasn't already" said Zaeon

- "Oh no, not Baaj! Like all our temples it is protected by hundreds of layers of shield spells, with new ones woven every year by our top teachers. I'm convinced even Sin will have trouble destroying it.

- "But there are no Summoners left except me and you! Who will cast the protection spells if things go badly for me ?" asked Yunalesca

- "The shield spells have been piled on top of each other for generations by top notch summoners. I believe that even without anyone casting new spells to protect the Temple, the current protection spells should be strong enough to keep people and Sin away for 50- 100 years at least! If Spira makes it that far, someone is bound to find me sooner or later" said Lord Kyouyu

- "All right, we will do so my old friend. Are you and Daigoro ready to be cast into eternity ?" asked Yunalesca, wanting this to be over quickly before she started crying again

- "Yes we are" he answered and saw a tear in her eyes

- "Milady, please don't abandon hope on my account ! I'm just a foolish scared old man. I am positive you can survive your attempts to free your father! And after you survive, you may yet summon me to be at your service. But I have to warn you that it will cost you. I am through working my spells for free!" said Lord Kyouyu smiling

- "Huh ?" said Yunalesca puzzled

- "Renting your services just like a common mercenary ?" asked Zaeon surprised

- "More like Yojimbo, the famous body guard! It is a little novelty I thought about: I will only serve Summoners who have a just cause, and I will make them pay a lot of gil for the privilege of having me at their services. This way I won't get the klutzy and befuddled first year apprentices that I had to endure for so long at my school" said Lord Kyouyu with a twinkle in his eye

- "I see my father's thirst for change and novelty has infected you too Master. Farewell, I will miss you dearly" said Yunalesca

- "Farewell Milady, Lord Zaeon. Take care of Spira, will you ?" said the old Summoner and waved at them

Zaeon and Yunalesca bid him goodbye and Yunalesca started encasing Lord Kyouyu and his beloved Akita dog Daigoro in a fayth stone. Yunalesca and Zaeon trekked back to Zanarkand to deposit Lord Kyouyu fayth stone at the Baaj Temple, which was located in an island near Zanarkand. Sure enough, the Temple and the school's quarters attached to it were still standing, the only building intact in miles. Well, Lord Kyouyu was right, that was good. With Sin prowling around Zanarkand's seashore the Bevelle traitors would not dare to come near it and his fayth stone would be safe inside!

--- Bahamut

After dropping Lord Kyouyu's and Daigoro's fayth stone Yunalesca and Zaeon proceeded to Bevelle in a hurry. The city's walls were broken in several sections, Bevelle's high bridge had been separated from Bevelle's dome by a powerful blast from Sin. The monster was gone for now but could be coming back for another attack at any minute, judging by the amount of monsters that littered the area. The Sin Spawn monsters were viciously attacking the hapless Bevelle citizens and troops. Where could the beast be ? Wherever it was it was surely creating havoc and killing more people Yunalesca thought worried. She searched for a commanding officer or battle mage to talk to unsuccessfully. Bevelle was in complete disarray.

- "Where's your Maester" Zaeon asked the first uniformed guard he could get a hold of

- "Via Infinito, bottom floor, the coward " said the guard angrily as Zaeon released him to run to the aid of a mother and child besieged by a large Wraith fiend.

- "Let's go there Zaeon. We need to ask them for more pyreflies for me to cast the armor incantation" said Yunalesca worriedly

- "I'm not so sure about that one. Lord Kyouyu's uneasiness wasn't that far fetched.." sighed Zaeon

- "What other alternatives we have, though ?" said Yunalesca

- "Not one, unless you include both me and you joining in the casting of a Final Aeon" said Zaeon slowly, with a calm that chilled Yunalesca to the bone

- "Are you actually considering such a deadly course of action ?" asked Yunalesca

- "Why should you have all the fun ? If you are willing to risk a fate worse than death to save your father and stop the Sin beast you should understand my resolve to risk just as much to help you. We are a team love!" said Zaeon firmly

- "You always were the valiant hero type" she said tenderly

Yunalesca reminded Zaeon about the time he had risked being the target of Zanarkand's most powerful Summoner mage's fierce wrath just to be with her

- "I couldn't help it After seeing you in Zanarkand's dome watching the sunset I was hooked… Not even your father's famous spells would keep me away from you" said Zaeon caressing her face

- "Well let's move then " said Yunalesca

- "Sin is not here anymore love. Can't we help all those people ? Look at how many young children and families are being cornered by this Sin spawn monsters! " pleaded Zaeon

- "Oh all right valiant hero, lead the way and I'll follow" said Yunalesca resigned.

Zaeon was right, they could and did save many lives by battling fiends side by side with the Bevelle guards. There were a lot of fiends drawn to the city after Bevelle's outer wall crumbled. Fiends get attracted to large groups of people and Bevelle was a large city. Yunalesca, Zaeon and the guards who were left guarding the city battled fiends non-stop but were not able to save all. There were just too many fiends, hundreds of them the new, Sin Spawn fiends that were deadlier and harder to fight. Active for just 2 days, Sin had already brought much hurt, destruction and death to Spira…

Yunalesca could not forget a 8 year old boy who lay unconscious in the little "safe zone" they had set up for the people being rescued. The boy had been out of danger, saved by Zaeon from a flying fiend, but instead of staying put in the "safe zone" he had jumped into a battle apparently in an attempt to save a young man being attacked by a large lizard. The young man died before the couple could get to them but they managed to save the boy yet again. As soon as he saw them boy had said:

- "Aren't you the evil Zanarkand Mages who hate our city ? What are you doing here in Bevelle?" asked the boy looking at them without any hostility

- "Why, saving your sorry Bevelle hides from the fiends, or didn't you notice I saved you just moments before you decided to play the hero against that giant lizard ?" answered Zaeon annoyed. He had heard that question at least a hundred times this morning.

"Someone from Bevelle was being attacked by it. I had to do something! Big help I was…" said the boy sadly pointing at the body of the young man he tried to save.

- "You did your best kid, I'm sure your brother appreciated that" said Zaeon softly

- "That young man was not my brother. My brother died earlier, during the main attack when that large water ball came from the sea" said the boy

- "Huh ? Why did you risk your neck then ? Why didn't you leave it to us grown ups ?" asked Zaeon surprised

- "I wasn't sure why you saved me, maybe you did it because I'm just a kid. Maybe you would not do the same for that young man who was old enough to be part of this stupid war… And everyone else was pretty busy" said the boy calmly

- "Kid you got it all wrong. We at Zanarkand never wanted a war and we sure as hell would not be cowardly enough to be waging war after you guys suffered such a devastating attack!" said Zaeon, surprised at the boy's questions.

The kid lost consciousness right after that so they dropped him back on the safe zone to the care of an elder lady who offered to help heal the survivors. The couple was finally able to take a break from battling fiends when reinforcements came from Guadosalam. Yunalesca rushed to check on the boy who by now was awake, being attended by two Guado healers.

- "So what are you Zanarkand mages doing here" asked the two Guado healers all at once

- "We came here to talk to Bevelle's council but when we arrived we saw that like Zanarkand and Remien, Bevelle had also been attacked by the gigantic sphere monster

- "What was that gigantic sphere ? It attacked you too ? Wasn't that monster sent by you guys to attack Bevelle ?" asked one of the Guado healers

- "Didn't you hear what I just said ? That thing has just turned the entire city of Zanarkand and the city of Remien into rubble, there is no one left to heal or save there!" said Zaeon angrily

An awkward pause greeted Zaeon's revelations… Everyone in there had lost someone close in the past two days but hearing about entire cities destroyed was still a big shock. Zaeon regretted telling the Guado about Zanarkand's fate in front of the boy. He had done that without thinking, just to avoid any more questioning. Zaeon did not want to get into the subject of how Sin came about. In a way Zanarkand had been the city who set Sin loose on Spira but not on purpose. Nonetheless the appearance of Sin was indeed due to one of their own. If anyone in Spira learned the truth, Zanarkand and it's people would be hated for centuries! He and Yunalesca just had to stop Sin before that happened!

- "The two mages you see here have been helping us battle the fiends all morning. They saved my life twice" said the boy to the Guado

- "Why help your enemies when you are at war ?" asked one of the Guado puzzled

- "The war is over. We never wanted war in the first place, and now there are no troops left to fight it. That beast you saw has decimated the warring troops from both sides on it's way here!" said Yunalesca coldly

- "Still, why help people who had just waged war against you ?" asked the Guado, still puzzled

- "Unlike the Bevelle troops we don't attack people when they are not attacking us. We arrived here, we saw hundreds of fiends attacking civilians, we knew that there was no one left to help the common folk in Bevelle, so we helped." said Zaeon shrugging

At this point Yunalesca pulled the Guado healers aside to talk about the boy's case while the boy and Zaeon talked about the machina war. The boy told Zaeon how one day the Bevelle Maester and his people had started saying bad things about Zanarkand all of a sudden, completely out of the blue. Since he had a young brother to care for his older brother was allowed to stay in Bevelle instead of joining the war. He told Zaeon:

- "My brother heard and saw enough at his job as a lift pilot at the Bevelle Highbridge to be suspicious of the whole thing. He told me something was definitely wrong with a war where the enemy sent countless unarmed envoys to meet with Bevelle and Bevelle never mentioned anything about it" said the boy

- "My brother also told me that having met some of the Zanarkand envoys he was convinced that the Zanarkand people wanted peace. Our Maesters were not telling the truth." said the boy

- "Why yes, we sent many peace envoys to meet your Council! But only one of them managed to get to talk to your Maester and even then, you Maester flatly refused to end the war" said Zaeon

Zaeon was astounded. Who was this boy ? He sounded more like a 15 year old than an 8 year old! How could the boy be so well informed ? And how was he so calm after starting the day with the loss of his brother, his only family ?

- "What is your name kid ? What did you do in Bevelle before today ?" Zaeon asked

- "My name is Yumeko. I worked fixing Bevelle's machina" the boy answered

- "Well Yumeko, why did you leave the safe zone today? Surely you knew you could not win against such an agile fiend.." said Zaeon

- "Maybe it was impossible to win. But I could not let that young man face that lizard all by himself. He was all alone!" answered the boy bravely

- "You should stop jumping into fights you can't win in the future, you could have died! Save the big fiends for us professional warriors" said Zaeon

- "Yeah, right.. Like you would have allowed me, "just a boy" to help !" said the kid bitterly

- "Probably not." answered Zaeon

- "I knew it! My brother was this way also. He never allowed me do anything dangerous! Yet if I had acted this morning he might still be alive or at least we would be together in the Farplane" said the boy, his eyes full of regret

- "Hey… Listen, there is no reason to be thinking this way. What you are going through, blaming yourself for what you did or didn't do won't bring your brother back. It will just make you feel even more miserable. A monster killed him, not you. Let it go, water under a bridge." said Zaeon softly

So the boy wasn't taking his loss well after all, Zaeon thought. Who could blame him ? Not Zaeon who had lost his family when he was about the boy's age! At this moment Yunalesca came back with a pained face. The Guado healers had given her very bad news about the boy's state. She whispered the news to Zaeon and both tried to look cheery, trying to fool the boy into thinking he would get better. They failed.

- "Please don't lie to me. I am dying, right ?" the boy asked calmly

- "Yes. There is nothing I or the Guado can do to heal you, unfortunately. Those fiends are pretty new to us and we don't know how to nullify the poison that fiend injected into you" Yunalesca answered deciding to tell him the whole truth

- "How come you two are still standing ? I saw you guys get bitten all morning!" asked the boy

- "We have magic weapons that makes us immune to poison. But it only works before you get bitten, not after.. " Yunalesca said sadly

Yunalesca looked at the boy's face which was not wet with tears, but eerily calm. Such a puzzling young boy! He had not cried when faced with his own death or the death of his brother although he was obviously very sad at both news. The boy must be in shock, Yunalesca thought to herself. To her surprise tears started running down the boy's face when he said his next sentence

- "All my life I have been too little or too weak to do the things I wanted. And now I will never get to be strong ever! I will never get to be a warrior, the protector of Spira I wanted to be…" said the boy crying

- "That is not necessarily true. Lesca, can't you make him a fayth like you did with Lord Kyouyu ?" asked Zaeon feeling the boy's pain. He too had been weak once, a kid full of dreams about protecting his friends and family. But he had the chance to realize his dreams while Yumeko would not..

- "Huh ? We don't usually accept children as fayth but under the circumstances… I guess so... Do you want to do it ?" she asked the boy

- "Whatever you are talking about, will it make me strong and let me protect Spira ?" asked the boy who had stopped crying already.

- "Yes. I will make you able to create your own magical creature, a creature we call Aeon. With a brave heart like that you have the potential to create and control a big Aeon. And I will also do my best to make your creature a very strong, powerful Aeon" answered Yunalesca

Right at this moment there was a gigantic Sin Spawn fiend approaching the safe area so Zaeon left in a hurry to help the Guado take care of it before it hurt the rescued Bevellians. Yunalesca stayed behind to tell the boy about fayths and Aeons. Turn an eight year old boy who knew nothing about magic into a fayth ? What would Zaeon come up with next ? But she herself wanted to try, if the boy was willing. That boy was indeed very special. Being a mere boy and jumping into battle with a large fiend just to aid someone took a lot of guts. It was an amazingly brave act for someone who knew the risks involved and the boy seemed to have been fully aware that he might not survive the battle, yet he jumped into it anyway. It was such a shame to let a brave kid like that die without even tasting life!

- "How does this Aeon thing work ?" asked the boy, apparently interested on becoming a fayth

- "Not only your Aeon will be big as a shoopuf and much stronger than 10 Bevelle warriors, but you will also be able to choose who do you give it to, among the mages who seek your help." said Yunalesca

- "So I will be able to talk to people ?" asked the boy

- "Yes you will be able to talk and walk around Spira, even through walls. You will be kind of a ghost." she answered

- "Would I only talk to mages ?" the boy asked

- "You will not be limited to talk only to mages, but I have to tell you that talking to non magic people would be very hard for you, since you have had no magical training yourself. You will have to learn it from the other fayth if you want to do it." said Yunalesca

- "There are others ? Are there other kids too ?" the boy asked, now definitely showing interest

- "Why yes, as a matter of fact, just recently Zanarkand has created thousands of fayth: adults, kids, old geezers, boys, girls.. There is even a dog!" said Zaeon returning and telling him about Daigoro and Zanarkand's massive fayth stone

- "Let's do it!" said the boy

For the second time in just two days Yunalesca started crafting a fayth stone, this time for a brave boy she barely knew. She could tell in her heart that the boy was worthy of the honor of becoming fayth. Besides, with her father unconscious and all the remaining Zanarkand people already converted into fayth who would criticize her ? Not Zaeon, he was the one who came up with the idea! She used all her skill to give the boy a strong Aeon: Her favorite Summons at Baaj Temple had been a large, powerful Aeon named Bahamut. It took a lot of skill to build an Aeon as powerful as Bahamut but she was Yunalesca, the daughter of Zanarkand's best Summoner and a formidable Summoner herself. Sitting quietly in a corner she collected some of the many stray pyreflies that were swirling around, and added them to the fayth stone, to increase the Aeon's power. Pyreflies that had been unleashed by the Guado and the Bevelle soldiers, still battling fiends in the outskirts of town. She gave the fayth stone to the Guado healers, with instructions for them to keep it safe until a new temple could be built for it.

--- Meeting the Bevelle Council

After she finished building the Fayth Stone Yunalesca was exhausted. Alas, there was no time to rest. Before getting to the Bevelle Maester, Yunalesca and Zaeon had to cross Via Infinito. The couple went through the maze's 100 floors of in a daze, mechanically hacking away at fiends, to exhausted both spiritually and physically to put much thought or finesse in their battles. Her arms hurt, thought Yunalesca. She usually didn't use a sword, let alone use it for hours on end like today but she wanted to save her magic for the last floors. The monsters above the 80th floor were just impossible to kill using only physical attacks so she needed to save some magic points and potions for those battles. Hence the sword and this numbing ache on her arms which felt heavy as lead. Zaeon noticed her sword arm dragging and stayed as her Sentinel magic shield to allow her to rest.

Zaeon was always there for her, Yunalesca thought. His love and dedication for her managed to impress even her father, who had been furious at their secret wedding. She had feared her father's reaction to her marrying a poor commoner, a mere captain of Zanarkand's guard so she and Zaeon had eloped. To her surprise her father was furious but did not harm Zaeon. "It's all your fault, why would I harm the lad ?" Yu Yevon had said and had taken away her key to his prized library. And stopped consulting her on his magical research. That had hurt more then the physical spanking she had endured occasionally as a child. A lot more. So Zaeon set about to persuade Yu Yevon to accept their marriage and forgive his daughter. And didn't quit until her father finally relented. "OK! I forgive you Yunalesca! I can see now why you couldn't say no to this pest! He is just like you and me, when Zaeon puts his mind to something he just won't stop until he makes it happen! How can I fault such a trait in others, when it is what makes me the Master Summoner I am today ? Here, have the blasted key back and come tomorrow to my study!" Yu Yevon had said..

Tears started falling from her eyes at the memory of her father. Zaeon looked at her worried.

"We are almost there love. Hold on tight just a bit more and you will be able to drop this heavy sword and get back to your favorite staff" said Zaeon

"Oh my arms are better thank you. I was just thinking about what my father said when he handed me the key to his library again" she said, the tears still running down her face

"We will save him from Sin, one way or the other love. Don't worry. I won't stop until we do. I got your key back, didn't I ?" said Zaeon rubbing her tears with one hand while he used his other arm to parry another attack from a large fire drake.

Fortunately the fiends with brutal physical attacks were gone soon as they entered the lower floors and had to battle fiendishly clever and powerful magical creatures. Here Yunalesca was able to drop her sword and battle in the way she preferred, while Zaeon finally got some rest for his weary arms and chest who had been taking most of the blows to spare his wife. The last 20 floors went down fast for Zaeon but he could see his wife was shaking and almost out of magic points and potions when they reached the lowest floor where the Bevelle Maester was. The couple stopped a bit to catch their breath and were approached by a very fancily dressed Bevelle flunky who asked.

- "May I ask your reason to be here ? The Maesters orders are clear. He shall not be disturbed until he finishes his afternoon nap" said the attendant

- "Nap ? This imbecile is napping while Sin burns his city ? " bellowed Zaeon flush with anger

- "Now, now Mr. Zanarkand mage, there is no need to call our people names" said one of the Bevelle's praetors arriving at the scene

- "Take us to your Maester if you want to live until tomorrow" said Yunalesca icily

- "Yes, of course. May I inquire your names first ? We haven't been properly introduced " said the praetor calmly. After having been in the presence of the cold and evil Tar-Sec he was not bothered by mere Spirans threatening him, he thought

- "You may not! I will introduce myself to him personally" said Yunalesca angrily as she cast a Flare spell on the arrogant praetor who yelped in pain.

- "Next time I will not aim for the ceiling. Now where is this imbecile's bedchamber ?" growled Yunalesca

- "Ahhhgh.. follow me please" said the praetor whimpering in pain

The Bevelle praetor drunk a large vial of healing potion to stop the excruciating pain on the top of his head. Whatever in hell possessed him to make him be condescending to one of Zanarkand's top mages ? His long stay in the bottom of this sheltered dungeon was starting to make him too reckless he thought. He was losing his cautious touch…He guided the battle mages straight to the Maester's bedroom. Both mages looked slightly charred by a fiends fire breath and had many nicks and scratches, their clothes were wet with the shining magical liquid from watera attacks. They had obviously been fighting their way to the bottom of Via Infinito and didn't seem to be in the mood for any charades. Better do what the lady said. Shaking with fear, the praetor took them quickly to the Maester, who was already awake after all the noisy commotion outside his chambers

- "Lady Yunalesca I recognize your father's look on your beautiful face " said the Bevelle Maester cynically

- "Spare me the lies Bevelle maggot. I am here to demand that you supply me with pyreflies or I will burn Bevelle to cinders" said Yunalesca darkly

- "But Milady! As I have already told your father we need those pyreflies to give to the alien ship. He will incinerate both Bevelle and Zanarkand if he does not get them by the end of this year! Your father seemed to understand our lack of choice in this matter. " said the Bevelle Maester completely clueless to Yu Yevon's sad state.

- "My father no longer understands or talks to anyone in this world thanks to his attempt to defend Zanarkand from your treachery. Now give me the pyreflies. NOW!" bellowed Yunalesca

- "Milady ? What has happened to the esteemed Yu Yevon ?" said the Maester in a polite but blatantly false show of concern.

- "I take it you have not heard of the mass killings that both our cities, Remien City and the Guado have been targeted by" answered Zaeon coldly

- "The Guado too ? Such a shame I had hoped the beast had exhausted itself in the battle with our city's cannons" lamented the Maester

- "No it hasn't. Sin has made mincemeat of your precious machina and proceeded to kill your own population while you guys have been here napping" said an outraged Zaeon

- "What else could I do? Unlike the mages from Zanarkand our people have very little magic skills. When our machina and our walls fail we are helpless" said the Maester with a pained face

- "Well, it seems most of your soldiers didn't think that way. Many of them died by our side this morning protecting your citizens. And the Guado have just arrived with reinforcements to aid their quest. And none of them had machina or walls.." said Zaeon showing his contempt for the cowardly Bevelle Maester

At this moment one of the Maesters attendants arrived with a report confirming what Zaeon had just said, plus news that the large sphere monster seemed to be making his way back to Zanarkand's ruined shoreline.

- "Sin, is that what you called it ? It seems to be back to the Zanarkand shores. Many thanks for the help but perhaps you two should go rescue your own now ?" said the other praetor, still with his hair intact while the praetor who had just been flared by Yunalesca winced and cowered waiting for another flare blast

- "You know perfectly well that there is nothing left from Zanarkand on those shores" said Zaeon angry at the lying praetor

- "Why yes, we have heard rumors, but nothing confirmed…" said the singed praetor hastily

- "Riiight, And the thought that me and Zaeon didn't know about Zanarkand and would leave in a hurry never crossed your mind… " said Yunalesca scowling

- "Ha! You Bevelle maggots best stop your lying and cowering and give me the pyreflies. Now that my father is gone I am the only one that can stop Sin from killing all living beings in Spira and I need your pyreflies to do that " said Yunalesca angrily

The mages request baffled the Bevelle Maester. They were obviously very powerful and skilled mages, since they were able to cross Via Infinito. Why the heroics and the burning of one of his praetors?

- "Pardon my ignorance but as someone who defeated all the monsters in our maze, you two should have had no problem gathering the pyreflies from our subterranean water channels! " said the Maester baffled

- "Send one of your clowns to those waterways and you will see why. They are gone. Yu Yevon used them all to weave an invincible armor. The sphere you guys saw is that armor. Yu Yevon called it Sin." said Yunalesca

- "What ? NO! You idiots you have killed us all! Tar-Sec will vaporize Spira this next winter if he gets no pyrefly fluid!" said the Maester now pale as a ghost and shaking with fear.

- "We are doomed!" said both praetors terrified

- "Hold your chocobos, you Bevelle cowards! Didn't I just get done telling you that Sin will kill all in Spira a lot faster than that ? I think you have larger problems than just your precious Tar-Sec" bellowed Zaeon

Those people were beyond belief! Zaeon thought. Here was a mass murdering fiend eradicating large swaths of Spira's population, including their own kin and they were worried about a machina ship that was a gazillion miles away ?

- "Give me the pyreflies. Now! We have no time to loose. If Sin is in Zanarkand he will no doubt come back to finish Bevelle and Guadosalam. He didn't leave one single soul alive, one building standing in Zanarkand and Remien City. I'm sure the beast wants to finish what it started" said Yunalesca

- "But we have no pyreflies left! Aside from the ones in our waterways the only pyreflies left are in Guadosalam, and that only has the bare minimum to avoid the Farplane from collapsing. Those or the pyreflies naturally spread all around Spira" said the singed praetor in a dazed panic

- "Then we are all dead" said Yunalesca desolated. They had no time to gather all the pyreflies spread around Spira, and removing the last pyreflies from the Farplane could destroy Spira even faster than Sin with the explosion..

- "No Lesca, don't succumb to sorrow again! We can still try the Final Summoning gambit" said Zaeon caressing her shoulders

- "But that won't kill Sin love, it will only buy us time" said Yunalesca sadly

- "And isn't time a worthy thing to buy ?" asked the Bevelle Maester, grabbing at the little glimmer of hope the mages just gave him

- "How so ?" asked Yunalesca

- "Well, all this you call treachery have been our desperate attempts to buy some time for Bevelle and Spira. If Bevelle had not yielded 10 years ago we may all be dead now, vaporized by Tar-Sec's ship"

- "We know you had little choice 10 years ago and that is why Zanarkand looked the other way. But this time you went too far with "harvesting" pyreflies from our own city! That is what we call treason!" answered Yunalesca hotly

- "We were just attempting to buy some time, yet again. Zanarkand was dead already. Tar-Sec said it himself that our choices were between destroying Zanarkand and having his ship destroy both Zanarkand and Bevelle" said the Maester.

- "Fat chance! He needed you Bevellians, his obedient serfs" said Zaeon

- "Tar –Sec also mentioned that after destroying us both he would have all the pyreflies he needed and that he could then offer his murderous deal to another clan in Spira." said the Maester

- "You guys could have joined us in the battle to rid our world of the cursed Alien" said Zaeon unconvinced

- "Sir, please we were not trying to rekindle old discussions, we were just trying to tell the Lady Summoner that by buying time she can keep our planet's hope to survive alive. We have no time for this bickering" said the praetor trying to calm them down

- "You got a point there" said Zaeon tiredly

Exhausted and drained of all their emotional energy after many battles and two long days full of bad news Yunalesca and Zaeon sat down at the Maester's chairs to ponder on their next course of action. Zaeon was scolding Yunalesca for telling the Maester the truth about Yu Yevon's role in creating Sin when one of the praetors interrupted them

- "Milady, if I may" said the unharmed praetor, still not weary of the fierce High Summoner, unlike his singed colleague

- "Yes ?" said Yunalesca

- "You say Sin has decimated Remien city, the Bevelle army on Gagazet and many in Guadosalam and here, correct ?" he said

- "That is what we know of it's carnage so far" answered Yunalesca shuddering at the thought of Sin attacking any other city or village

- "Well Milady this tragedy may prove useful in buying us more time with Tar-Sec. All those deaths would fill his quota and no one else needs to die for the next year, if Sin is stopped" said the praetor

- "What are you saying ? Do you mean if me and Lesca stop Sin now with the Final Summoning you can buy some more time with your murdering alien come wintertime ?" said Zaeon

- "Even longer than that Sir, surely the alien realizes that killing all in Spira will be the end of his business. We may be able to convince him to leave Spira alone for quite some time, to allow our people to heal from the recent carnage" said the praetor

- "The old saying is true: Never do business with a Bevellian, you just can't outsmart them" said Zaeon impressed at the cold logic the praetor from Bevelle was able to muster in a moment like this.

Those people must have ice in their veins and an ice gem for a heart Zaeon thought disgusted. But the cold analysis was correct. If he and Lesca stopped Sin and if the Bevellians were able to keep Tar-Sec away for another long stretch – a decade or more- then Spira had some hope of survival. He pulled Yunalesca close to him and told her of his musings.

- "So you are saying that Bevelle can guarantee a decade or more for Spira if I can defeat Sin ?" asked Yunalesca

- "Well it depends on the alien's greed and common sense but if I was in his place analyzing the situation coldly I would be inclined to grant a request like that" said the praetor

- "Yes and one thing that alien is NOT is stupid or emotional. He is ruthless but seems to know when to back off to increase his profits. Otherwise he would have not given us a year to gather more pyreflies" said the singed praetor

- "I see you guys can think just as ruthlessly and coldly as a murderous alien" said Zaeon making both praetors blush. God, those snakes took his insult as a compliment ! Zaeon was even more disgusted at the Bevellians.

- "Well, tears and heated words seldom resolve anything. Besides, we had a plan for getting rid of Tar-Sec this year end. But we were forced to discard it" said the Bevelle Maester

- "What kind of plan ? What happened" asked Zaeon interested

The Bevelle Maester told Zaeon and Yunalesca about how Bevelle had attempted to build the largest weapon in Spira's history, a colossus called Vegnagun. Their intent was to use Vegnagun to destroy the alien ship but their further analysis showed that this would not stop the aliens. There must have been other aliens waiting for the ship, aliens who had known about the ship and it's cargo. Someone would come back to look for the ship if it failed to return. The Bevelle council had then thought of using Vegnagun to quickly win the war but the machine had proved too difficult to control.

- "Being the cold blooded cowards that we are we refrained ourselves from releasing such an uncontrollable, murderous monster in Spira. It seems that the brave Zanarkand mages and their leader Yu Yevon had no such constraint" said the Maester icily. Those people from Zanarkand had some nerve to call them traitors to Spira after irresponsibly unleashing that plague called Sin into their world!

- "You will take those insulting words back or I shall call Sin to Bevelle myself!" said Yunalesca furiously

Those Bevelle maggots had some nerve to lecture her and her father in ethics, after spending more than a decade selling their own kin to aliens! Her father had unleashed Sin by accident, in a desperate attempt to keep their city alive. He was driven into this desperate act by Bevelle's treachery! Now she started regretting that she told the Bevelle Maester the truth about how Sin was created. She had to agree with Zaeon, those people were too treacherous to tell them something so damaging for the reputation of Zanarkand and of her family, even if it was true! Shaking with anger she started to summon an Aeon to teach those maggots some respect, but Zaeon stopped her, holding her staff firmly and shaking his head.

The 3 Bevelle leaders did not miss the mute exchange and the fact that they had almost goaded the fierce mage into casting an Aeon on them. Pale and trembling with fear for their lives they whispered among themselves:

- "Shh.. Maester! Are you insane ! Those mages may be weaker than Tar-Sec but their spells still burn one's hair to cinders" said the singed Praetor unhappily. He would have to spend a large amount of gil to bring his beautiful hair back. Or not. Considering the company he was being forced to enjoy lately he may as well go bald for good as surely the fierce Summoner or her partner would singe him again.

- "Yes Maester, besides she is our only hope of defeating the beast sin" said the other praetor always keeping his eye "on the prize". If the fierce mage was still of use to them it wouldn't do to antagonize her.

- "What are you snakes whispering ?" asked Yunalesca angrily

- "High Summoner please forgive us. It has been a very eventful day for us too and our Maester is still shaken with the carnage at our beloved city. In times like this even the mightiest cry and even the meekest show anger" said the praetor pointing at Yunalesca's tear stained face.

- "Point taken. Besides there is no time to waste in mutual insults. Sin awaits for no one" she said fiercely

- "Precisely Milady. What can we do to aid your quest ?" asked the unharmed praetor solicit

- "We need some moments alone to discuss matters and perhaps a place to rest and tend to our many scratches" said Zaeon looking at his filthy uniform and the cuts in his sword hand.

- "You may use this chamber and shower then. We will leave you two to your deliberations and await for you at the main dining hall. Ask any attendant to guide you there when you are ready" said the Maester and left with the 2 praetors in tow

As soon as the Councilmen left another solicitous Bevelle flunky appeared garbed in gold and silver embroidering

- "Will you be requiring any healing potions and clean clothes ?" asked the attendant

- "Just the potions if you have them, and bring us some food while you are at it" said Zaeon

- "Very well Sir. Any preferences ? We have roasted chocobo au gratin and some wild Kilika boar today" said the attendant

- "You guys EAT chocobos ? That's revolting!" said Yunalesca disgusted. How could anyone eat a cute and loyal bird like the chocobo ?

- "Oh no ma'am! We just eat their tongues caramelized in Macalania gel syrup . But I see you two have your heart set on the boar. I'll be back soon with it, then" said the attendant and left

- "No wonder the leaders of Bevelle turn into such sissies!" said Zaeon looking at the plush surroundings

Zaeon was disgusted at the opulent luxury around him. All this for one man, while the regular citizens of Bevelle were being left homeless, cold and hungry after Sin's attack by their caramelized chocobo tongue eating leaders. Ugh! He shuddered. He was glad he had been born and raised in Bikanel were everyone had the same lot in life. A hard and harsh desert environment but mitigated by their constant sharing of the burdens of desert life, with everyone pitching in and no leaders living isolated in an ivory palace… The Bevelle leaders gave him the creeps!

--- The First Calm

After a hot shower, healing potions and some food Yunalesca and Zaeon felt a lot better. They started weighing their options.

- "Zaeon I don't want to loose you ! Are you sure we should do this ? Perhaps we can just join the others at the Dream Zanarkand summoning" said Yunalesca unhappily. She hated the idea of leaving her father trapped in the summoning / armor cycle he was but the thought of loosing Zaeon was just so painful!

- "I know you very well my love. Why do you think I pestered your father until he gave you back the key to his library and his trust ? I knew that you were very hurt with the distance he put between you two. I know you can barely stand the distance we all are from him now" said Zaeon

- "Yes but.. I may die too. And even if I don't, you will be an aeon and will be unable to touch me, kiss me.. Seeing you without being able to be with you will be so painful!" said Yunalesca amid tears.

- "Shh love, don't talk nonsense! Of course you will survive, you are Yu Yevon's daughter! If anyone can weave an armor to resist a Final Aeon's wrath it is you. And we will be able to see each other and talk. Won't that be better than seeing our whole planet massacred right in front of our eyes ?" asked Zaeon

- "I'm not so sure.. I do care about all Spira but the people who keep me awake at night with worry are you, my father, my friends, my fellow kin from Zanarkand… I've lost so many of those already…" said Yunalesca sighing deeply

- "Precisely love. And you know how bad it feels. You have felt yourself drowning in sorrow, unable to move on with life, haven't you ?" asked Zaeon

- "Yes.." she answered meekly

- "Then you know the relief it is to find some hope! Hope keeps you alive just as much as food and water!" said Zaeon

- "Yes but…" she protested

- "I have also felt like this once, when my home city of Bikanel and my entire family were destroyed in that accident with the Summoner. And then you Zanarkand mages came and healed our wounded, rebuilt our houses, patched our wounded spirit… " Zaeon continued

- "I will never forget those days of despair followed by the new hope you guys filled us with. I enlisted in Zanarkand's guard the day after I left the healing center. I wanted to do the same for Zanarkand one day. I promised myself that" he continued in a passionate voice

- "Zaeon.. " she started

- "Please love, let me finish… If you don't let me be your helper in this I will have to break my promise!" he said with a pained expression

- " There is no one left from Zanarkand to bring hope to, except you. I can't let you die trying to save your father all by yourself, when we both know you have a much better chance with me being your Final Aeon. And I can't let you live your whole life regretting what you didn't do just to spare me. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did…" he said

- "But Releasing Sin in the world was my father's fault. As his only daughter I can't sit still while my father's errors kill so many. I just have to do something. You don't have to!" said Yunalesca

- "I am part of your family to, am I not ? I also have to do something!" said Zaeon

- "But it wasn't your fault!" interrupted Yunalesca

- "Nor it was yours! Please listen Lesca ? I have thought about this during the whole 100 floors of Via Infinito. I want to do this. I want to give my life to save you, to save Spira and to save your father from the trap he got himself into. Just promise me you will keep hope alive: Your hope, your father's hope and Spira's hope. Don't let our word drown in sorrow!"

- "Zaeon…" she said

- "Just promise me you will try, ok ?" he said and started kissing her tenderly.

And this is how Lady Yunalesca went to battle with Sin in the outskirts of Bevelle, armed only with her spells and the love of her life – Lord Zaeon - made into a Final Aeon. During the battle she did manage to pierce Sin's armor but instead of releasing her father she lost Zaeon. Unfortunately Yu Yevon's unconscious self, locked into the Summoning and casting action just jumped from his body to Zaeon's and proceeded killing both his daughter and her husband, utterly incapable of noticing the horrors he was committing.

But their loss was not in vain, Yunalesca's attack had destroyed Sin's armor so whatever was left of Yu Yevon's spirit, the "thing" he had become could not rebuild Sin, at least not immediately. It had to wait until he gathered all the millions of pyreflies needed to weave the invincible armor. Which took almost 10 years, providing Spira with it's first calm period after Sin's mayhem. The 10 years of respite from Sin that Lady Yunalesca and her husband gave to Sin were later referred to as the first "Calm".

Even after death Yunalesca's just could not rest on the Farplane. She had made a promise to Zaeon. Yunalesca stayed on Spira as an "unsent", a ghost shadow of her former self, guarding the Zanarkand dome and the fayth at Zanarkand's spring. In there she has spent the past 1,000 years trying to keep her promise to Zaeon: Keep Spira's hope alive. She was the first of the High Summoners to give 10 years of calm to Spira but every decade she guides another High Summoner through the process, to keep Spira alive for just another turn of Spira's never ending Spiral of Death. And a religion created by the 3 Bevelle leaders to better control their people makes sure that there are always eager candidates for Yunalesca to train...

--- Footnote

(1) The details of how / why I chose this particular plot line – aliens - to justify Spira's war and Sin's Spiral of Death are in the first chapter of my fan fiction piece titled "FFX3 – A Possible Sequel for FFX and FFX2" The short version of it is that it allowed me to write a better sequel. Read it and see if you agree that I managed to make it fit well with the both FFX and FFX2 story lines!

(2) For some great tales about how the Fayth in Spira came about check out "A Fayths Choice" from this author in Fan Fiction Net: Aurons Ghost