Hi. Thanks for checking in, I know it's been a while. =)
Spoilers. FFX is not mine. Rated T. AU. Is that all of them? I feel like I always forget one.
Let me know what you think. =)
"Hello, Yuna."
I rise as the fayth appears, a young boy with a gentle voice, his face hidden in hoods.
"Hello, what is your name?" This is a typical exchange when I meet new fayths. Some summoners give them their own nicknames, based on a meaningful conversation or beloved one. I like to know their true names; for me that gives a stronger connection, and that is what is most important.
"My name is Bahamut. You can call me whatever you like, though."
"I like Bahamut just fine. Thank you for appearing to me."
"Likewise, thank-you for calling us, and journeying to end our sorrow." Our?
"Your sorrow? You are suffering?" I suppose, watching this for all these years would be hard, but I don't think that's what he means.
"We are. We have been working so hard, for so many years, to defeat sorrow, and have found much sorrow doing so. It seems to never end."
I furrowed my eyebrows, unconsciously. I look at my knees for a moment. Sin keeps coming back. Our temple, here in the heart of Spira, uses machina; our priests lie and murder. Is it any wonder that Sin is coming back? What does one little island following the teachings matter compared to the sins of the largest city in the world?
Mika said, that defeating Sin wouldn't defeat sorrow, that people would abuse self righteousness and guilt and shame even after, and that is why a Summoner must be a perfect example. It isn't enough to defeat Sin, we must show the world how to live without Sin.
It is such a huge amount of responsibility… I wonder if that's partially why Sin comes back? I wonder if past Summoners have faced this responsibility and felt it too much? It was easier to defeat Sin, give Spira peace for a few years, and let the next one deal with the sins of the people…
But if we shirk that responsibility, what happens?
Can I do it all?
"I want to defeat the sorrow, not just defeat Sin. I want it to stop coming back."
"There is much you must do, much to sacrifice…"
"I know. I have one life, one life to do as much for Spira as I can… and I can do it." One life… one chance… to make a difference…
Bahamut flew through me then, imparting his aeon to me.
Somehow I felt… like I was still missing a piece of the puzzle…
Maybe it's exhaustion talking? I am feeling so tired… vision starting to get hazy… I can't do this again, why do I do this?!
I snap my head up and shake it vigorously for a moment. The air feels brisk. I'll nap later.
I walk slowly, steadily, out of the chamber. I see my guardians faces flick towards me with veiled excitement, like always. There are more faces now. It feels like every Cloister I go to, another face is added. It's wonderful, wonderful to be loved and have so many I can trust. I smile warmly at them.
"Let's go rest." I say, and we proceed.
I know… I've made a decision. I know I will tell them. I just don't want to yet.
What will I do? How will I schedule everything?
We walk through the completed Cloister, on imaginary blue panels, already completed to form a walkway.
I can't wait to tell them.
We get to the entryway, in the dark hall, is when I stop walking with them.
"Wait." They turn to me. "I have something to say." They turn just a little more, interest piquing. I see Auron, second closest to me, his expression indeterminable.
"I've made a decision… I'm going to become ordained to be a Priestess."
Rikku is excited, her gasp the prevailing sound in the otherwise deafeningly quiet hall.
Auron is almost completely stoic. Perhaps he let out a "hm," perhaps not.
The others, they don't respond at first, but slowly they start to smile. They try to hide it.
But they're happy, happy for anything that postpones my death march.
"As you wish." Auron says flatly, and turns, and walks to the front, and goes. We all follow, eventually.
Well Tidus, he doesn't follow. He goes to, but then he stops, and faces me again. He's still smiling, but something has darkened his face.
"So, you'll be spending a lot of time in the Church… with the Maesters…" A silent second follows, and then he sort of scratches his head.
"Yes… I'll be studying, mostly, and doing service." He looks at me.
"Well, we can help with that." He gestures with his arms a little. It makes me smile.
"I'd… love to involve you… whenever I can." I smile to my eyes. But his smile is still stale. Because, my husband is going to be helping me, teaching me, testing me, more than anyone else. I know he will, I know him.
We retire to the Inn, and we begin readying our rooms and ourselves to sleep. Then, a Guado comes looking for me. It isn't Jory. Is it any use remembering anyone? As… similar (for lack of a more sensitive term) as they all look, they seem to be different everyday.
"Lady Yuna, it is time you come to the manor."
"I must?"
"Maester Seymour feels much more comfortable that you are safe and well taken care of there."
"What makes you think she's not safe and cared for here, ya?" Wakka steps in between us, and throws his weight around a bit.
"Lady Yuna has access to all the information, guards, menus, and housekeeping she desires there, sir."
"And access to her husband, Seymour." Tidus chimes in. It makes me not want to comment, but, I don't feel like I really have the option… if I don't go peacefully… (there will be some reason invented that I must go.)
"I could really use the studying. After all, becoming a Priestess is going to be hard work, I should get started ASAP." I turned to go with the Guado then. "Thank you for reminding me."
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I say before we exit the Inn, wishfulness in my tone. I do wish I was staying with them.
We walk the orange and blue bridges under the nightsky, full of stars and city light. Well, not quite so full of stars as it is on the islands, but it gives it its own unique sight, its own feel, and it's nice. The air is cool, and the buildings and bridges are slightly illuminated by the stars and the city lights, and it is a beautiful sight, and I wish… I wish that if anyone was showing me this city, that it was him. I wish that Seymour was with me.
It has been almost a day since we've seen each other.
Is that weird? That's not a long time. I just, I expect to see him a lot, after everything he pulled to see me more before Zanarkand, and being in this city at all… so… it's not that I want to see him all day, everyday, I just expect to see him a lot.
So when I see him, at the manor, blue spikes and thick robes filling a large space, I feel… refreshed… like I've gotten the thing I've been waiting for…
He walks to me, and takes my hand, and kisses it lightly. His lips are cool, pleasant on my warm skin.
"A pleasure to see you again, my wife." I suppose 'my wife' replaces 'mlady,' pretty evenly. I feel myself blush a little. "It is getting late, too late to really do anything. Perhaps you could tell me about your day before we head to bed?" Separately, of course. It's a figure of speech.
He hasn't let go of my hand.
"I do want to study, at least a little." I told them I was going to study, that that was the reason I should come here… hey, how did he know about my decision anyway?
"I don't want you to hurt your eyes looking at those old books," he puts an arm around my shoulders and faces us toward the study, "let me give you a crash course. And oh!" He turns to face me again, hands on my shoulders, and squeezes slightly, "have you eaten? You were in the temple for hours, did you get dinner? Let's talk over dinner. What would you like?"
So we sit in the study, eating Wolf chops (they stay fresh because everything in Macalania's frozen!), and talking about everything from our day to the history of Spira.
"Auron's quite the stonewall, you know. You'd think I said I wanted a bologna sandwich, the way he said, 'As you wish!'" I giggled in spite of my guardian.
"He'd probably react the same way if you told him you were pregnant!" A dark joke, but funny nonetheless. Smiles looked truly foreign on Seymour's face, but nonetheless fascinating.
We laughed, and talked, and he listened intently when we got serious again and I told him how I felt and what I thought about becoming a Priestess.
And he delivered the crash course as promised.
"Do you know why, of all the land in Spira, most towns are situated on coasts and islands?" I thought about towns and where everything was, and realized he was right.
"The water? Trade?"
"Yes, that's part of it. But every single town is on the coast."
"I don't know, Why?"
"Bevelle and Zanarkand were the only cities that existed before Sin. You know this, you know of the war. Bevelle survived the war, Zanarkand did not, except for Yunalesca and her dome." Her dome? "These two cities were already on the water because, as you said, it was good for trade and commerce and overall tourism. You know, Zanarkand was an entire city atop the water, just because they could. Or at least, they thought they could. And Sin was born, you know that story. It's been a thousand years now.
"At first, towns and cities were situated where they normally would be, some near water for aforementioned reasons, some on land for farming and travel. Well, with the emergence of Sin was also a large growth in fiends. With Sin as a new threat, the fiend population grew, to the point where they were a real threat. You see, before Sin, fiends were rare and quickly dealt with. Sin brought much more death, many more spirits to become fiends, and many less warriors to defeat them. Towns were ran out.
"Spira faced mass depopulation, and was only saved by the first Summoners to defeat Sin. Of course, this was mostly damage control, as the Calm was a time to decimate the fiend population." I'm surely glad I ate, because this is making me sick, imagining the death toll.
"Well, around four hundred years after Sin's appearance, Spirans discovered a crucial tactic. As they ran toward the sea, the fiends became timid. The closer they got, the better it got. You see, land fiends are weak when in the water. It's not their element, obviously. Lure them into the water, attack them, they drown. They know this, of all the humanity they've lost, simple fear of drowning and instinct that it's not their element is not lost to them.
"Of course, there are water fiends. But they are escaped from by simply exiting the water. This creates a safe zone in the shores. As you may have noticed, the farther inland you get, the stronger the fiends. The fiends on Besaid and Kilika are rather weak because they are islands. Luca and Mi'ihen are protected by the Crusaders, the Djose road follows right along with the sea. The fiends in the Thunder plains are stronger, but also affected by the storm. And in Macalania and the Calm Lands, the fiends are even stronger. I will warn you, the fiends in Zanarkand are very strong, despite being basically on top of the water. This is because Yunalesca wishes to test those who enter."
"Anyway, around four to five hundred years after Sin was born, towns began to form on the coasts. Good thing, too; we almost faced extinction. Could you imagine that? A world run by fiends?" He laughed a throaty laugh, but I didn't truly laugh.
That's a terrifying image.
We went to bed (separate beds) soon after that. I certainly did learn a lot, it was very interesting and informative. How much does he know? How much is there to learn?
There's never a dull day in Bevelle.