Games - Mythology of Final Fantasy X

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	Games - Mythology of Final Fantasy X

Like many of the preceding games in the Final Fantasy
series, the storylines of the computer role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 borrow a number of ideas and names from ancient mythology and past and present cultures such as India, Arabia, ancient Greece and Rome while still employing their own distinct invented world with mythic features. In the mythos of Final Fantasy X and its sequel, many supernatural elements influence events in the fictional world of Spira, defining the life of the planet's inhabitants. Magic, spiritual energy, and the power of memories are heavily intertwined, and their effects manifest in a number of situations, including sporting events, religious practices, technology, and even in some of the native wildlife of the planet.

Spira

The events of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 take place in a world called "Spira." As befitting its name, Spira is characterized by cycles and repetition, such as the spiral of death that the world endures, the many spheres found in Spira, the blitzball sphere pools, the prayer to Yevon, the Sphere Grid, and Spira's cycle of life energy emerging from within the planet's core, granting life to all its living inhabitants, and then returning to the core when a life form dies. For a list of locations within Spira, see Spira.

The history of Spira

One thousand years before the events of Final Fantasy X, there was a great war between the cities of Zanarkand and Bevelle. Yevon, Zanarkand's ruler, could see that his city's summoners were no match for Bevelle's machina, but he was unwilling to allow his city to be swallowed up into the pages of history. He devised a plan to preserve Zanarkand's memory for all eternity, even if he could not save the city itself.

At Yevon's order, most of the surviving common citizens and summoners of Zanarkand gave up their lives to become fayth, whom Yevon would then use to conjure a summoned form of Zanarkand, using their memories as the basis for this massive summon. This summoned replica of the city was to be an ideal paradise, removed from conflict and those who may infringe upon this city of memories. This summoned version of the real Zanarkand is sometimes called "Dream Zanarkand"' to differentiate it from the original Spiran city which has been lying abandoned in ruins for the last one thousand years.

In order to accomplish this, Yevon manifested the city out at sea in an undisclosed location, far removed from the Spiran mainland and the warmongering Bevelle. Further, to prevent technology from allowing Bevelle or anyone else to easily locate his summoned city, and to protect himself while he summoned it, he created a magic armor. Yevon used gravity magic to surround himself with pyreflies and used them to create an invincible armor that would terrorize Spira for one thousand years: The monster known as "Sin." This armor would not only protect Yevon while he summoned Dream Zanarkand, but he also "programmed" it to attack areas with high populations and advanced technology, thus, bringing technological progress to a halt and keeping the people of the mainland from giving much thought to what may lay far out at sea.

Unfortunately for Yevon (now to be known as "Ebon Ju," or "Yu Yevon" in English, meaning "the Curse of Yevon"), maintaining his summoned city and creating Sin was a greater strain on his human mind than even he – who was considered peerless amongst summoners – could handle. His humanity faded from him and all that was left was the instinct to maintain Dream Zanarkand's order, and to protect himself. Sin's first act as an instinctual beast, "programmed" to destroy advanced technology, was to decimate the original Zanarkand. Sin would terrorize Spira's citizens for a millennium.

The teachings of Yevon – said to have been left by Yevon to his daughter, Lady Yunalesca – were implemented by Bevelle to maintain order through giving the people hope that Spira may someday be free of Sin should they atone for their "sins." In actuality, Yunalesca and Yevon are believed to have planned it this way from the start. Bevelle believed Sin to be an aeon summoned by Yevon as revenge for conquering Zanarkand's defenders. In a deal with Yunalesca to appease Yevon's wrath, she offered to provide them with a means to maintain order and hope in the common people (the teachings) in exchange for them ensuring that Yevon be praised and glorified. They agreed, and the temples of Yevon were born, teaching that machina were forbidden (another means of preventing advanced technology from revealing Dream Zanarkand's location), that Sin was a result of humanity's pride and use of machina in the first place, and that Sin could only be vanquished when humanity had attained purity and been cleansed of its past sins. Until then, it was said that only the ritual known as "the Final Summoning" would provide brief reprieves from Sin's terror (called "Calms").

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