Ghosts
Late the next day, we found ourselves assembled in Maester Seymour Guado's chambers, awaiting his grace's pleasure. He had requested Yuna's presence; no reason had been given. This invitation troubled me. I had not known Maester Jyscal particularly well. His son I knew not at all, but his involvement in Operation Mi'ihen was suspicious, his fixation on Yuna even more so. Whatever he wanted from her was unlikely to be good.
It didn't help matters that I had been ill at ease from the moment we'd walked into Guadosalam. I could feel the presence of the Farplane, niggling at my subconscious, calling to me, and it was taking some concentration to hold myself together. The sooner I got out of this place, the better.
To distract myself, I took in the room as I leaned against the wall by the door, propping myself against its solidity. Yuna stood to my right, Kimahri by her side as always, betraying nothing of his thoughts. She looked nervous, probably worried over Seymour's true purpose. Wakka sat on a couch on the other side of the room, an expression of concern on his face as well. The newest member of our party, Rikku, the Al Bhed, took a place at the table, munching from the spread of fruits and sweets in front of us. She was the only one in the room eating. That girl was a puzzle. Though she had said nothing about it, I had immediately recognized her as Tessa's kin -- the resemblance was unmistakable. A niece, perhaps? One of Cid's children, the family Tess had been going to visit when she was killed? That would make her Yuna's cousin, which might explain her eagerness to be a guardian and Yuna's willingness to bring her along. But why would an Al Bhed join a pilgrimage? Tess had made her people's distaste for the tradition quite clear to me. Coming across Rikku so immediately after the kidnapping attempt on Yuna was suspicious. Perhaps she had some ulterior motive for coming along. Well, perhaps it was a motive I could use.
Tidus and Lulu were also at the table, talking. Lulu had seemed mistrustful of the youth at first, but they seemed to be developing more of a rapport now, and I was glad to see it. The more cohesive our group, the better. When their discussion ended, Tidus drifted over to me.
"Be on your guard," I said under my breath.
"Why?" he asked, also sotto voce. "This guy's just a priest, right?"
"Those who have power use that power," I responded. "Maesters have power."
He looked askance at me. "Huh. You sure you don't have something against Yevon?"
I chuckled, startled by his perceptiveness. I hadn't expected him to pick up on my distaste for my former faith so easily; I would need to take more care with my tone. "I lived a long time in Zanarkand," I said.
He accepted the comment as an explanation and walked away, heading for the food table and a chat with Rikku. I glanced around the room one more time, then grumbled softly to myself. "What is taking them so long?"
As if in answer, a door at the back of the room opened, and Seymour's attache, Trommell, joined us. "Truly," he said as he walked toward us, "it is good to have guests again." He launched into a speech lauding the greatness of Jyscal and Seymour, which I promptly tuned out. This Trommell seemed ultimately useless, capable only of spouting puffery. At this point, I cared only about what Seymour himself might have to say.
It was a few minutes before Seymour came in through another door. "That is enough, Trommell," he said as he entered. "Much I always endure such praise?" His voice was slippery, his tone ingratiating, and the combination grated. Turning to Yuna, he bowed deeply in prayer. "Welcome!"
Yuna bowed in return. "You... wanted to see me?"
He nodded. "Yes, but please. Make yourselves at home. There's no rush."
"Please keep this short," I said, my irritation getting the better of me. "Yuna must rush. She is a summoner on pilgrimage; surely you understand."
"Ah, pardon me," said Seymour, bowing again, this time in my direction. "It has been a long time since I had guests. Very well. Lady Yuna, this way, if you please." He held out a hand to her, and she took a few steps forward.
With a gesture, he activated a huge sphere lodged in the ceiling, and soon it was projecting to the whole room. The sofas, wall hangings, and lush food spread all disappeared, replaced by a night sky swirling with stars and pyreflies. Soon the scene shifted to a skyline that I recognized immediately. We were looking at Zanarkand.
"This sphere is a reconstruction from the thoughts of the dead that wander the Farplane," Seymour explained as the others looked around, oohing and ahhing. All except for Tidus, who seemed confused, and possibly a little homesick. Soon the scene altered to one of the main shopping concourses, filled with people and shops and intercom announcements.
"Zanarkand!" Tidus finally blurted out as one of the spectral figures passed through him.
"Correct." Seymour nodded to him. "Zanarkand, as it looked one thousand years ago."
I thought on that for a moment as the other native Spirans marveled at the sight. Had Sin somehow transported Jecht, Tidus, and me through time? Were Jecht and his son visitors from the past? I had considered this possibility before and never found it quite satisfying. It would explain some things, but not all. Bevelle had existed a thousand years ago as well, and no one in their Zanarkand had ever heard of the place. Still, this sphere did display the city that had been my home for ten years. I recognized the buildings, the walkways, the entire cityscape.
"The great and wondrous machina city, Zanarkand," Seymour continued as we saw other views of the city. "She once lived in this metropolis."
I grunted. Was that what this was about?
"She?" Yuna looked up at Seymour. "She, who?"
The scene changed yet again, to a richly appointed bedchamber. And there she sat, lost in thought at the end of the bed, unmistakable in her glowing beauty. Spira's savior and its captor, the woman who had killed me. I knew the urge to attack was irrational, but my fingers still twitched reflexively, preparing to reach for my sword.
"Lady Yunalesca!" Yuna said.
"She was the first person to defeat Sin and save the world from its ravages," said Seymour. "And you have inherited her name."
Yuna bowed her head slightly. "It was my father who named me."
"Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task," he responded. "He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Yunalesca did." He looked down at Yuna with a smile. "However, Lady Yunalesca did not defeat Sin alone. To defeat the undefeatable Sin, it took an unbreakable bond of love -- the kind that binds two hearts for eternity." He bowed, then stepped away from Yuna as another ghostly figure entered the room. It was Lord Zaon, Yunalesca's husband and guardian -- and the fayth of her Final Summoning. I was growing more uncomfortable with this display by the minute. I had always assumed that the truth about the Final Aeon was Spira's best-kept secret, known only to those who reached Yunalesca's chambers in Zanarkand. All this talk of bonds of love and defeating Sin... how much did Seymour know? What was he playing at?
Zaon walked up to his wife and embraced her. Then they, and their room, disappeared, replaced by the halls of Lord Seymour's mansion. The leader of the Guado leaned down and whispered something in Yuna's ear. Her eyes went wide, her hands covered her mouth, and she bolted away, grabbing a glass of water and gulping it down. With a sigh, she lurched over to her guardians.
"What's wrong?" Tidus asked.
"Your face is beet red!" said Rikku.
"Um... ah... well..." Yuna looked around, then leaned forward. "He... he asked me to marry him!"
The rest of the party recoiled in shock. I turned toward Seymour and fixed him with a glare over my glasses. "You know what Yuna must do."
"Of course," said Seymour with another bow. "Lady Yuna -- no, all summoners are charged with bringing peace to Spira. But this means more than just defeating Sin, no? Easing the suffering of the people, being a leader and a beacon of hope... I proposed to Yuna as a Maester of Yevon."
I grunted again. Whatever his real reasons for this proposal, it was a distraction that we did not need. "Spira is no playhouse," I replied. "A moments diversion may amuse the audience, but it changes nothing."
"Still," Seymour said, "the actors must play their parts." Silence fell for a few moments, and then Seymour walked over to Yuna again. "There's no need to answer right away. Please, take some time to think it over." She nodded to him, then looked at me.
"We will do so, then," I said. "For now, we leave." I looked over the group and saw that they had taken my words as a command. We gathered together and all turned to go.
"Lady Yuna, I await your favorable reply." I had taken a few steps away from the Maester when he stopped me with a word. "Why are you still here, sir?"
I stopped dead. Did he know? How? I had been so careful not to betray my true nature, but perhaps...
"I beg your pardon," he said from behind me. "We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane."
Tidus walked up to me and sniffed at my shoulder. I swatted him away as I would have a disobedient puppy and resumed walking. My facade remained cool, but inwardly my heart was racing. Had the others understood the implications of this exchange? I could only hope not. I wasn't ready for them to learn the truth about me. Not now, and maybe not ever.
"This place is so pretty," Liss commented as she and Paine walked along the Moonflow's south bank. The two of them had been at Mushroom Rock Headquarters for a week, along with all the cadets in training. Today, they were taking a short furlough to visit the ruins of Tzeki Village.
Paine looked out over the waters without stopping. "It is," she agreed. "Although I've lived in Luca for so long now, I can't imagine coming back to small-town life."
Liss considered this. "I could," she said after some thought. "Luca is exciting and all, but I think I prefer the quiet of the country."
"Wait until you're stationed at Mushroom Rock for a couple of years," said Paine, smiling. "You'll be clamoring for the city soon enough."
"Maybe." The two women rounded a bend in the road and came upon the shoopuf station. It was bustling with merchants and travelers, a handful of Hypello tending the giant beast and the machina used to board it. "With Tzeki Village gone, where do the merchants live?" Liss asked.
"Andal Village, across the river," Paine said. "There were too few survivors to rebuild Tzeki. The few merchants and fisher folk who were away at the time of the attack either moved to Andal or left entirely."
They walked in silence for the ten minutes it took to get from the station to the place where Tzeki had once stood. A collection of ramshackle huts in various levels of disrepair were gathered around an old town square. Some of the buildings remained half-standing; others were little more than piles of rubble. The grounds were covered over with weeds -- cattails, wildflowers, reeds where the outskirts of the town blended into the riverbank. A small rotting pier jutted out into the Moonflow. It had clearly been years since anyone had lived in this place.
Liss followed Paine as she picked her way through the overgrown pathways, pushing the tall grasses aside. Soon they stood in front of one of the more devastated cottages, scattered stones and splintered wood all that remained. "This is it," said Paine softly. "What's left of my childhood home. Mom and Uncle Auron grew up here, too." She glanced to her left and gestured at another ruin. "That was Arelle's cottage."
Standing in place and slowly turning around, Liss tried to imagine this place bustling with people. Failing at that, she then pictured her mother as a young woman standing in this very spot and talking with her Auntie Kera, who appeared in her mind's eye as a shorter, slighter version of herself. That image came more easily. She walked up to the one bit of wall that still stood and rested her hand on it. The stone was cool, and slippery with the moss that had overgrown it.
Then she looked to Paine, and noticed that her cousin had bowed her head, her lips moving silently. She stepped forward and gently touched the remains of the building. Suddenly Liss remembered that Paine's father had died here, perhaps at this very spot. Liss was checking out a bit of her family history, mostly a curiosity; to Paine, this trip was more like visiting a grave.
Liss reached out and laid a hand on Paine's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Paine looked up and into Liss's eyes, her expression sad but calm. "Yeah. I just haven't been here in awhile. It's harder than I thought it would be."
"Do you want to be alone for a moment?"
After looking back over the ruin, Paine shook her head. "I've seen enough." She put her hand over Liss's and squeezed lightly. "Thanks." She turned away from the buildings and walked over to the old pier, Liss a step behind her. They stood on the riverbank and stared out over its rushing waters, where the pyreflies rose from the moonlilies and danced their way into the sky.
"You know, Guadosalam's not far," Paine said, "and we're not due back until tomorrow. If you want--"
"No." Liss's response was immediate and firm.
Paine glanced at her cousin with a raised eyebrow, but Liss did not return the look. Silence reigned for a very long moment. Finally Liss let out a shuddering breath. "Maybe another time," she told Paine. "But not today. " She ought to have wanted to see him, she knew, and there was a part of her that did. Most people were surprised to learn that she had never visited. But the idea scared her, though she could not put into words exactly why. Someday she would face him. Not yet.
"I understand," said Paine. The cousins sat on the ground together by unspoken agreement, each lost in thoughts of their respective fathers, quietly watching until dusk fell.
The Farplane.
Every step I took toward it was a struggle. The wall between worlds was so thin here; it would be trivial to break through. The pull was nearly irresistible. "Come home," a voice seemed to whisper in my ear. "Come take your rest." Sometimes the voice was Kera's, sometimes Braska's, sometimes the gentle, barely remembered tones of my mother. On the final landing before the barrier, I stopped. This was as far as I could go. As the others passed me by, I took a seat on a step and gazed into the depths below.
"Aren't you coming?" Footsteps clattered down the steps behind me, and Tidus stood by my side. He seemed almost as nervous about this visit as I was.
"I do not belong there," I lied. Belonging there was the problem. If I passed through that barrier, there would be no coming back.
"Uh-huh," said Tidus skeptically. He was far too able to read me today; my struggle against the Farplane must have lowered my other defenses. "You're scared."
I did not look up. "Searching the past to find the future... this is all that is there," I murmured. "I need it not." This, at least, was true. No one I might call upon could tell me anything I needed to know, not to complete this quest anyway. Once my mission was done, I would have eternity to search for the answers I truly craved. "You'd better be going." I waved him up the stairs.
Rikku, who had also hung back, joined us on the landing. "You're not really going to see the dead, more like your memories of them. People think of their relatives, and the pyreflies react to them. They take on the form of the dead person -- an illusion, nothing else."
Tidus made a thoughtful noise as I remained silent. I was aware of the Al Bhed conception of the Farplane, of course. But I knew better now. The dead were there all right, all the people I had loved and lost, calling my name. I chose not to alter her world view, however. Instead, I pulled within, ignoring their continuing conversation, taking slow deep breaths to put myself into a state of meditation. My monk's training served me well, and as I slipped deeper into the trance, the lure of the Farplane lessened. The pressure relieved, I settled in to wait.
Eventually, the sound of feet on the stairs roused me, and I stood to greet Yuna and the others as they exited the Farplane. "Thanks for waiting!" she said. "I'll go give--"
"Lord Jyscal?" came a cry from behind us. We all turned to a shocking and horrifying sight: the former leader of the Guado, now become a wraith-like figure, moaning and trying to break free of the Farplane as several observers cried his name.
Yuna took a step toward the apparition. "Why?" she asked.
"Yuna!" I took a harsh tone to hide my fear. "Send him!"
She nodded as she ran up the stairs and began the motions that would banish this ghost. Her energies were directed toward Jyscal, but I could feel them combining with his efforts to force himself into the world and creating currents of power that eddied through me. I sank to my knees, gasping with the strength of the sensation -- it was not exactly pain, but it pulled at the core of my being and threatened to rip me apart. I closed my eye and concentrated on what remained of my soul, of my humanity. Finding the essence of myself, I gripped it tight and tethered it to earth.
After what seemed like forever, the forces that threatened me eased, and I was able to stand, to breathe again. Opening my eye, I saw that Jyscal was gone, and that the others of my party were all staring at Yuna as she gazed into the Farplane. I hoped that they had not seem my moment of weakness. The group looked inclined to discuss what had just happened, but I could not permit that; I didn't dare spend another minute here. "Talk later," I commanded. "We leave now!"
Thankfully, they obeyed, and I was finally able to make my escape.