Spira

Spira is the world in which the games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are set. It is a world characterized by death and destruction, wrought by the terrible beast, Sin.

The beginning

The story of Spira begins one thousand years before the events of Final Fantasy X. In this period, Spira was a prosperous land, with many large and technologically advanced cities, filled with machina. The foremost of these cities were Zanarkand and Bevelle. During this time, Zanarkand and Bevelle were at war with each other. Zanarkand was the largest and most advanced city in all of Spira, and Bevelle wanted control of their advanced machina. Zanarkand, while highly advanced, relied on summoners instead of machina to protect themselves from aggressors. Bevelle, on the other hand, had put all of its resources into building highly advanced millitary machina, and hence, Zanarkand stood no chance. They met for battle on what is now called the Calm Lands, and Zanarkand's army was decimated.

Spurred on by their effortless victory, Bevelle prepared to attack Zanarkand directly. Yevon, the ruler of Zanarkand, could not bear to lose his city, and in an act of desperation, took the souls from those still in the city and those that had escaped death at the hands of Bevelle and turned them into fayth for the summoning. Using the power of the fayth, he created an invincible armor around himself, becoming Yu Yevon. This armor was Sin. Because Sin itself was violence incarnate, Zanarkand was destroyed in the process. Later, the fayth were gathered on the summit of Mount Gagazet. Because his city was destroyed, Yu Yevon ordered the fayth to summon into existence a dream reality of Zanarkand; a Zanarkand that never sleeps.

The army of Bevelle, unaware of what had transpired at Zanarkand, began their march up the slopes of Mount Gagazet. Near the summit, they began to hear a song resounding across the mountain, the Hymn of the Fayth. "It is a song from an otherworld!", they exclaimed, and fled in terror. Sin rose up over the mountain in pursuit, and assaulted Bevelle's army, leaving no survivors. Some time later, a scouting party from Bevelle braved the mountain and ascended to the summit. From there, they could see the ruins of Zanarkand and also the fayth that had been gathered there. This information was relayed back to Bevelle, and immediately rumors arose about what had happened. It was thought that Yevon himself was the cause of Zanarkand's destruction. It was also surmised that he was also responsible for transforming the people into fayth, and using them to call the monster Sin.

Lady Yunalesca, the daughter of Yevon, had escaped from Zanarkand on the eve of its destruction. In order to further punish Bevelle, she created the technique known as the Final Summoning, in which a person with a very close bond to a summoner gives up his or her soul to become a fayth for the summoning. In the case of Lady Yunalesca, it was her husband, Lord Zaon, who became the fayth. Using the Final Summoning, Yu Yevon's armor, Sin, can be destroyed. However Yu Yevon, who resides within Sin, lives on, and merges with the new aeon, and Sin will be born anew after a period of ten years. Because of this, Sin never truly dies, and the people of Spira, and Bevelle specifically, will be punished for all time. Using this technique, Lady Yunalesca was able to destroy Sin, but because of the great power used to do this, she was killed as well. However, she chose to remain in the world of the living as an unsent in order to help perpetuate the cycle of the Final Summoning.

With the knowledge of the existence of Sin, Bevelle began to fear Yu Yevon's wrath. Lady Yunalesca brought them the teachings of Yevon, and in order to appease him, they began to spread his teachings all throughout Spira. Foremost among these teachings is the almost complete ban on machina, imposed in order to avoid another terrible war, such as the one between Bevelle and Zanarkand.

Yuna's pilgrimage and the Eternal Calm

In the one thousand years since the creation of Sin and the destruction of Zanarkand, Spira had became a rustic land, almost completely devoid of large cities and higher civilization. Due to the actions of Sin, and the Yevon ban on machina, few territories reach larger than hamlet size, as they are destroyed by Sin and their populations decimated, before they can develop. The only cities left larger than village-size are Luca, which houses the Blitzball stadium, and Bevelle, center of the religion of Yevon. The people of Spira live in constant fear of Sin, and yearn for the Calm, the short period after destruction of Sin in which Yu Yevon creates a new Sin from the aeon of the Final Summoning. Every time a new Sin emerges, summoners make a pilgrimage to all of the temples of Yevon, praying to the fayth at each temple and gaining a new aeon. Eventually, they reach the ruins of Zanarkand, where Lady Yunalesca resides. If they have trained their summoning abilities to a high enough degree, she will bestow upon them the Final Summoning, which they then use to defeat Sin. Unfortunately, the Final Summoning kills them as well, and the spiral of death continues.

But the pilgrimage of Summoner Yuna has brought this cycle to an end. She and her guardians managed to enter Sin's body and defeat Yu Yevon directly. As a result, the start of the Eternal Calm occurred. During the Eternal Calm, many groups began to appear: The Youth League, the New Yevon Party, and the Machine Faction. The coming of the Eternal Calm also brought the discovery of ancient ruins on top of Mt. Gagazet, as well as a civilzation of cactuar called the Cactuar Nation.

Locations

Spira is made of many diverse and fascinating locations, from tropical seaside villages, to sparkling crystal forests. It is also home to many just-as-diverse communites and cultures.

• Besaid Island: A small tropical island on the southernmost end of Spira. It was fairly recently attacked by Sin. Yuna was brought here by Kimahri Ronso at the request of her father, High Summoner Braska. Initially it was to be Auron who would bring her, but he was mortally wounded by Lady Yunalesca, and just before he died, he relegated the task to Kimahri. Yuna grew up here with Wakka and Lulu. The temple in Besaid was home to the fayth for the aeon Valefor.

• Kilika Island: A medium-sized island north of Besaid and just south of Luca. During's Yuna's pilgrimage, its village was decimated by Sin and several people were killed. It was here that Yuna performed her first sending of the dead. Two years later, the village was rebuilt, but it was where tensions between the Youth League and New Yevon were at their worst. The temple in Kilika was home to the fayth for the aeon Ifrit.

• Luca: Luca is the second largest city in Spira, and the home of the only Blitzball stadium. Because of this, the Crusaders, a group organized to protect the people of Spira from Sin, fight to the death in order to protect it. Blitzball was the only form of entertainment for the people of Spira during Yevon's reign, and losing the stadium would be a serious blow to their morale. After Sin's defeat, Luca began to host more entertainment. Also of interest is the theater, where one can listen to the game's music and view the full motion video sequences.

• Mi'ihen Highroad: This road links the city of Luca and Mushroom Rock Road. It is also the road that Lord Mi'ihen, creator of the Crusaders (initially known as the Crimson Blades) walked on to face a trial of Yevon. The clergy thought that his organization was dangerous to the church; however, he convinced them that he was no threat, and they made his group an arm of the Yevon clergy. Beyond the travel agency, the road separates into two different paths. The lower path is called the "Old Road" and may have been the path Lord Mi'ihen traveled. It is a narrow path that is now used mostly when someone falls off the highroad.

• Mushroom Rock Road: Notable chiefly for its mushroom-shaped rock formations and as the site of the ill-fated Operation Mi'ihen, where the Crusaders and the Al Bhed tried, and failed, to defeat Sin by using ancient machina. It later became the Base of Operations for the Youth League.

• Djose: There is not much of interest in Djose, except its temple, which housed the fayth for the aeon, Ixion. Once the Eternal Calm came along, the temple was abandoned, so the Machine Faction set up their headquarters there. Of note, when Sin was running wild over Spira, the rocks normally covering the temple would separate and hover in mid-air when a summoner prayed to the fayth. Now the rocks hover whenever anybody approaches the temple.

• Moonflow: The Moonflow is a large river running through the heart of Spira. It is notable for shoopuf rides and for the pyreflies which gather on the surface of the water at night, as well as the semi-entertaining productions by Chief Tobi and his troupe of Hypello performers. An ancient machina city lies at the bottom of the Moonflow. The people of Spira viewed this city as proof of the rightness of Yevon's teachings; even with its plethora of advanced technology, the city still sank into the river.

• Guadosalam: Home of the Guado and the location of the entrance to the Farplane. Most summoners only make a short stop here on their way to the Zanarkand Ruins to pay respects to their fallen. After Sin was destroyed, the Guado left their home in fear of the Ronso. Shortly thereafter, Guadosalam became a favorite locale for sphere hunters, and the LeBlanc Syndicate took up residence in Lord Seymour's old manor.

• Thunder Plains: The Thunder Plains is the site of a vast, never ending thunder storm. Many a traveller met their end here, until an Al Bhed by the name of Bilghen set up lightning rod towers to draw the lightning away from the main path. He died after being hit by a stray bolt. Once Sin was defeated, the Al Bhed fortified the towers so the lightning wouldn't harm travelers.

• Macalania: Perhaps the most striking location in all of Spira, Macalania was a large sparkling blue forest, full of glowing crystal formations and shining skyways. Eventually, the forest led out into an icy lake, which was the location of Macalania temple, home of the fayth for the aeon Shiva (the reason for Malacania's frozen environment). But after the Fayth faded away, the Forest began to die, and the temple sank into the unfrozen lake. Some of Spira's greatest musicians also lived there.

• Bikanel Island: A large desert island far to the west of Spira's mainland. It was the location of the Al Bhed's home, until it was attacked by the Guado. Rikku's father, Cid, was forced to use the Airship's missiles to destroy it. The Machine Faction later return to excavate the sands for machine parts, only to learn of another race,the cactuars of the Cactuar Nation.

• Bevelle: The largest city in Spira and center of the church of Yevon. It is also the birthplace of Yuna. Interestingly, Bevelle makes liberal use of machina, even though they are forbidden by the scriptures. Even the Grand Maester of Yevon, Lord Mika, is unsent. People who question the church's policies are thrown into the Via Purifico, a large underground sewer full of fiends. After Sin was defeated, the Yevon order was banned, but a new group based on Yevon (the New Yevon Party) took up residence. The areas under Bevelle include the resting place for Vegnagun, and the 'Via Infinto'. The temple in Bevelle was home to the fayth of the aeon Bahamut.

• Calm Lands: The Calm Lands are the location where Bevelle and Zanarkand first waged war with each other. The war left the land practically dead and barren. Eventually, summoners took note of this uninhabited land; it was an ideal place to use the Final Summoning. Eventually, it became known as the Calm Lands, because it is where summoners defeat Sin and bring the Calm. After Sin's defeat, it became an amusement park, where two promotion companies; Open Air and Argent compete for customers to play their betting games. The Calm Lands also featured a battle arena, where the unsuspecting visitor gets to battle Spira's toughest fiends.

• Mount Gagazet: Mount Gagazet is the highest point in Spira and home to the Ronso tribe, as well as the fayth of Zanarkand. Before the Eternal Calm, summoners had to pass over this treacherous mountain in order to reach the Zanarkand ruins. It is littered with the graves of summoners who died trying to pass. After the defeat of Sin, the fayth which resided there disappeared. The place where they used to reside is now called Fayth's Scar. The dissapearance of the fayth has also revealed ancient ruins on the peak of Gagazet.

• Zanarkand Ruins: The desiccated ruins of the once great machina city, Zanarkand. Once active and full of life is now dark and home to only dust and fiends. Yunalesca awaited the arrival of the strongest of the summoners, so that she may give them the Final Summoning to defeat Sin. But during the Eternal Calm, Zanarkand became a tourist attraction and a popular meeting place for monkeys.

See also

• List of Final Fantasy locations
• Final Fantasy X
• Final Fantasy X-2