Chapter 1
It was a gorgeous day over the tropical island of Besaid. Over the southern beach, a flock of seagulls flew, flapping their silvery wings in the sun. The harmonic rhythm of the flock was suddenly distorted, however, by the sudden upward motion of a blue-and-white sphere. The sphere then began its fall towards the beach below, where it landed in the hands of a young athlete.
"Hey Lukas! Did you see that shot?" the young man asked as his crimson hair rustled in the sea breeze. He turned to his friend, who was sitting against the wall of the beach's cliffs, with a sketchbook in his lap.
"That was your Thunder Sphere, right?" the young artist replied. "Can I make a criticism?"
"Sure."
"Well, I know you've got the 'Sphere' part down. But you're lacking in the 'Thunder' department."
The athlete laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I've got the Water Sphere, Fire Sphere, and Blizzard Sphere down. But this one's giving me a lot of trouble." A worried look crossed his face. "Do you think I'll be able to learn it before the Luca championship this year?"
Lukas stood up, brushed the sand from his shorts, and walked over to his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Vidina, you're going to do fine. I'd try not to worry about it too much, but…" Suddenly, a bright look crossed his face. "Hey, did my dad ever tell you the time he learned his signature shot on the boat trip to Luca?"
Vidina shook his head. "No, I never asked him."
Lukas excitedly took Vidina's hand as he began to head toward the north exit of the beach. "Well, come on! You've got to hear this!"
"Dad!"
Tidus looked up as his son Lukas and his friend Vidina came running through the Besaid Village Gate. He smiled and waved to them as they ran up to him.
"Dad," Lukas began, "you've got to tell Vidina about that awesome shot you made on the way to Luca!"
"You mean the Jecht Shot? That was my father's shot."
"That was Grandpa's shot! You never told me that!"
Tidus smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about Grandpa, Lukas. Anyway, that was almost 20 years ago. I hope I can remember it. Anyway, come on into the tent and sit down. I'll tell you the story." He lifted the cloth flap and ushered the boys in. They sat and listened intently as Tidus began:
"About twenty years ago, a monstrous being called Sin roamed the land. Everywhere it would go it would cause destruction and chaos in its wake. The only way that Sin could be stopped would be for a summoner to come forth and call upon the Final Summoning. This required a long journey to the Holy Land, Zanarkand. Along the way, several temples were placed where the summoner would receive a blessing from beings called Aeons, who were to assist in battle against Sin.
"Anyway, we were on a trip to Luca, where we had to take a break from our journey for the blitzball tournament. In order to be recognized by anyone, I had to use my father's signature shot, the Jecht Shot. I had failed to use it properly so I had to practice, and there was no better time to do so. Back then, I hated my father for abandoning my family. He never spoke to me in a loving tone either, always calling me a crybaby. My anger roused easily from his taunts. I decided that I would channel my anger into making that shot. I launched the blitzball into the air, crouched down, leapt up into the air, and made the shot! It was such an awesome shot that I actually launched the ball from the boat!
"Finally, we got to Luca, and participated in the tournament. However, no one was able to recognize my shot, except Auron, my father's friend. At that point, he asked to join our party and Lady Yuna, your mother," he mentioned, nodding towards Lukas, "accepted his offer."
"Wow. I would like to learn that shot sometime," Vidina whispered, his eyes glowing with interest.
Tidus laughed. "Really? I'll show it to you sometime."
"Well, I think it's about time for you to go home, Vidina," Lukas said. "We can practice by the beach again tomorrow, if you want?"
"No problem," Vidina replied, and the two exchanged a quick handshake. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." And with that, he left.
"And you, young man, need to get some firewood for tonight," Tidus said. "I'd suggest you get to it, or your mother won't be happy."
"No problem, dad." Lukas replied as he left the tent.
That night, Lukas lay in his bed, thinking about his father. It's amazing how much fun he had on his journey. He's told me so many stories that I want to have an adventure of my own! He felt the familiar weight of sleep crawling over his eyes and closed them, looking forward to the events of tomorrow.
Suddenly, a loud rumble woke him from his sleep, and he rushed outside the tent to see what was going on. People in the other tents also emerged, wondering what was going on. Lukas' parents came up behind him and joined him as he made his way to the rear of the village temple. The entire village was there, looking out over the water. Suddenly, the waves broke in the distance, and a fin was sticking up out of the water that Lukas had never seen before. However, most of the villagers fell into an uproar which led to panic, and the clearing behind the temple cleaned out. Lukas looked over and saw Vidina and his parents, Wakka and Lulu, viewing the water in concern.
"Mom," Lukas said, turning to the meek woman standing behind him, her normally friendly and smiling face becoming twisted into a concerned frown, "what is that?"
"That is something that I thought you would never see, Lukas," Yuna replied, anger strewn across her face. "That… is the one they call Sin."