Chapter 8: Sacrilege Against the Temple

Tidus began to explore the village which took no time at all since it was so small. The people were accommodating and genial. He even decided to stop into the Crusaders's lodge to chat with them for a bit.

Luzzu, the red-head, greeted him as he walked in. Tidus smiled. "How're you guys?"

"Very well," Luzzu said poilitely nodding his head. "Yourself?"

Tidus nodded in return. "Just fine. Hey, I was wondering, what're… Crusaders?"

Luzzu raised an eyebrow. Gatta came blowing out of the room in the back of the tent. "You don't know what the Crusaders are?"

Luzzu turned to him. "He needs our help. It's obvious the toxin has been terrible for him."

Gatta lowered his shoulders. "Sorry."

Luzzu turned back to Tidus. "The Crusaders are warriors against Sin. We've been battling him for over 800 years. Because of out unorthodox methods, we are also outcasts in the eyes of the Temple. Still, we can sometimes protect the shore from Sin, and it's better than nothing."

"Eight hundred years and you haven't beaten him?" Tidus crossed his arms, his interest piqued.

"Defeating Sin is not our job. We don't have the proper faith for it. Only someone who has learned all the teachings and makes a pilgrimage will be able to defeat Sin. That is the purpose of the Summoner."

Tidus shook his head while saying, "a Summoner?" He couldn't imagine how an old man in robes could defeat something as big as Sin.

Gatta smiled. "Maybe you should go to the Temple and ask the priest about it. I'm sure he can give you more information."

Tidus nodded. "Alright. I'll see you guys later." He pulled back the flap of the tent and walked out. The Temple loomed off to his left. Tidus couldn't see inside from where he was. The interior was too dark, especially compared to the bright sunshine.

Once inside, his eyes adjusted to the darkness lit only by torches and candles. All around the huge round room were statues of men and women. People all around the room were knelt in prayer or standing and going through the arm motions. Some spoke their hearts aloud, while others looked like they were in a state of meditation.

Tidus walked up to a statue that was unoccupied.

"Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became high summoner. And finally we received a statue for our temple." Behind Tidus was a bald man in dark maroon and navy blue robes.

"What's a high summoner?" Gasps erupted from the people around the room, even the ones who looked like they hadn't been paying attention to anything outside themselves. "I...I got too close to Sin's, uh, toxin." Everyone relaxed some, but only enough to go back to what they were doing with worried faces. Sin could be close and that was always a sign for worry.

"The summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few become summoners, who call forth entities of great power: the aeons. The aeons hear our prayers and come down to us. They are the blessing of Yevon."

Tidus looked over his shoulder to the statue if the man with the staff. Tidus knew he should have felt some kind of reverence for this figure of stone. It was difficult though. He still hardly knew what a summoner was and why they were the only ones with the power to defeat Sin. As soon as the priest walked away, Tidus slipped out of the Temple as quickly and quietly as he could. It didn't hold anything over him, he felt out of place among the worshippers.

Tidus jogged down the hill from the Temple to the tent Wakka had mentioned earlier for food. Pulling the flap aside, he stepped into the warm room that smelled of cooked fish and bread. Tidus was ready to dive on the food. He couldn't find any. He gave Wakka a pitiful look.

"Sorry, man. No time for lunch yet. Take a nap! You look bushed."

Tidus wanted to whine until food was brought to him, but knew that was no way to treat a man who was befriending him. Resignedly, Tidus laid down a nearby cot. It was warm and soft, like his bed at home. If was ever going home. Tidus put his hands behind his head and began to doze. He didn't realize how long it had been since he'd actually slept and not just been knocked out cold.

A little while later, Tidus half woke up. Wakka was standing in the hut with the bald priest. The priest said to Wakka, "You could at least go see how they are doing."

"We can't interfere. It's a rule," was the only reply.

"But, it's been nearly..."

Tidus wanted to hear more. He was curious and wondered if "they" were someone he should know about. His brain, however, relaxed and put him back into sleep.

"But, it's been nearly..." a voice said.

"It's been nearly a day already," finished another.

"Perhaps you could go look for us," said a female voice.

"People are searching for him now."

Tidus could see his mother standing on the edge of the dock outside of his house. Standing before her was one of the cities guards. He didn't look sympathetic. Instead, he looked very harassed. Finally, he walked away leaving Tidus's mother alone.

She lowered her head. "Thank you." As the man receded into the distance, she clasped her hands together. Tidus wondered if she was trying to pray, or maybe reach out for him with her mind. Tidus just didn't understand what she saw in him.

Young Tidus was standing beside her. "Who cares whether he comes back or not?"

"But he might die!"

"Fine, let him!"

"Do you... Do you hate him so?" she asked knowing the answer already. Tidus's father had never shown any love toward him that either of them could remember, but she didn't think anyone could hater her beloved husband. It just didn't seem possible in her eyes.

Tidus nodded. There were no tears on his cheek like there were on her's. She wondered if her son's hate was keeping him lost at sea. She wasn't normally superstitious, but there was always a chance that some greater power could grant wishes and that her child's was coming true. "If he dies, you'll never be able to tell him how much you hate him."

Tidus woke up feeling exhausted, despite having rested for so long. The sun was still high in the sky and it seemed everyone was feeling lazy today. Even the woman preparing food across the room was moving sluggishly. Tidus hoped it would cool off by nightfall. "Wakka?" He was no where in sight. Turning to the woman, he asked, "Do you know where Wakka went?" The short reply she gave was "The temple." Tidus rose and went back out into the hot tropic sun. It felt good on his skin after having been a night owl at home for so long. A few steps and he was inside the cool temple again. The priest was still talking to Wakka. Wakka looked concerned and kept glancing up the stairs at the back of the temple. "Is something wrong?"

Wakka looked over his shoulder. "The summoner hasn't returned from the trial." Wakka ignored Tidus's confusion. "Well, apprentice summoner, really..." Again Tidus opened his mouth and make another sound of bewilderment. "There's a room in there called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, remember?"

"So someone is in there somewhere and they haven't come back out. Right, I got it.

"A day's already gone by." Wakka looked up the stairs again.

"Is it particularly dangerous in there?"

"Sometimes, yes."

Tidus felt like hitting Wakka in the forehead, but instead formed his frustration into a question. "Why don't you go in and help?"

"There's already guardians in there. Besides, it's forbidden."

Tidus couldn't handle standing idly by waiting with Wakka for a summoner to be delivered through the doors, dead of alive. He ran halfway up the flight of stairs. "Hey, but what if somethin' happens? What if the summoner dies!?"

The priest interjected. "The precepts must be obeyed!"

Tidus ran up the rest of the stairs shouting, "Like I care!" He tuned out the gasps and whispers that erupted from the people inside the temple who watched from the ground floor. He burst through the doors of the temple into the cold, stone, greenish-blue room. Tidus began to speculate if he was out of his mind. It began to look like a bad idea.