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Final Fantasy 10 uses the typical JRPG formula where a band of heroes undertakes a quest to save the world from an insurmountable threat. Over twenty years on, it stands out as a high point in the series' storytelling, character development, and gameplay. Of course, it's still a Final Fantasy title, which means the plot can get complicated at times.
Ultimately, Yuna and her companions' goal is to bring about the Eternal Calm, a period of peace and safety that the people of Spira haven't known for centuries. Read on to learn all there is to know about the quest and the reasons for it.
This article contains major spoilers for Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy X-2.
What Are Aeons?
Spira is a world of both high magic and advanced technology. There is only a thin barrier between the physical realm and that of the spirit, known as the Farplane, where the souls of living things go after death. Trained magic-users can easily draw on the power of the Farplane, essentially using spiritual essence to affect the material world.
The most powerful magic-users are Summoners, who use the energy of the Farplane to call forth beings called Aeons. Once living people, Aeons underwent a ritual to bind their souls to statues called Fayth. By visiting a Fayth and passing its trials, a Summoner forms a bond with the Aeon contained within. By drawing on the Farplane, they can then cause the Aeon to manifest in the physical world for a brief period.
Yu Yevon And Sin
Roughly a thousand years before the events of Final Fantasy 10, Spira's population was concentrated in two major city-states; Zanarkand and Bevelle. Both possessed magic and technology which surpassed the level of modern Spira, and their rivalry escalated into the Machina War. The length of the conflict is unknown, but ultimately Bevelle gained the upper hand, with its armies poised to destroy Zanarkand.
The leader of Zanarkand at this time was Yu Yevon, believed to be the most skilled Summoner who ever lived. Upon realizing the war was lost, Yu Yevon used his extraordinary power to conjure an identical copy of Zanarkand in the world of dreams. The survivors could leave their physical forms behind, living in a dream-city, while those who had perished would live on as distinct, sentient copies indistinguishable from the originals; indeed, the copies would never even know they existed only as a dream.
Yu Yevon himself would need to remain in the real world, eternally channeling magical energy to maintain the dream-city's existence. To protect himself from Bevelle and any other threats that might arise, he shed his physical body and summoned a titanic Aeon called Sin. The location and identity of Sin's Fayth is unknown, though given Yu Yevon's mastery of summoning it is possible that the monster is an amalgamation of several souls, or a new entity created directly from Farplane energy.
Yu Yevon placed himself within Sin's nearly-indestructible body, and used the creature's power to eradicate Bevelle's army. The original city of Zanarkand was mostly destroyed in the process, leaving only ruins. For the next thousand years, Sin would wander the world, mercilessly destroying anything it considered a threat to Yu Yevon and the dream-city.
The Summoners' Pilgrimage
Yu Yevon left instructions with his daughter, Yunalesca, for a ritual that would temporarily disable Sin, preventing it from destroying the world entirely. Through this ritual, a sufficiently-powerful Summoner could conjure the Final Aeon, a being capable of defeating Sin in combat. Yu Yevon would then inhabit the Final Aeon, and over several years transform it into a new Sin. This period of regeneration, when Sin was not ravaging the landscape, became known across Spira as the Calm.
Yunalesca was the first to perform the Final Summoning, and roughly once in a generation a new Summoner would undertake a Pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand. Along the way they would visit key Fayth, learning to summon more Aeons to help in their journey. Protected by one or more Guardians - a title given to companions personally chosen for the Pilgrimage - the Summoner would perform the Final Summoning at Sin's birthplace and neutralize the monster, bringing about a Calm.
The Final Summoning requires a great sacrifice. The ritual requires the death of the Summoner, and they must choose one of their Guardians to become a Fayth to be used for the Final Aeon. The chosen Guardian must be the person most dear to the Summoner - in Yunalesca's case, it was her husband Zaon. Since the Guardian becomes the Final Aeon, this means they are condemned to become the next Sin, visiting destruction on the world they undertook a quest to protect.
The Order Of Yevon And The Al Behd
By the beginning of Final Fantasy 10, the people of Spira had suffered at the hands of Sin for centuries, with only infrequent Calms whenever a Summoner completed their Pilgrimage. The most recent Calm was achieved roughly ten years prior by the Summoner Braska, a descendant of Yunalesca, but as always Sin returned
Spira, in the game's timeline, was theocratically ruled by the Order Of Yevon, a church which oversaw Summoners and strictly controlled what information reached the common people. Only the highest priests of the Order, the Maesters, knew the connection between Yu Yevon and Sin. With the return of Sin, the Order proclaimed a new Pilgrimage, and several Summoners gathered their chosen Guardians for the dangerous journey.
Yuna's Journey (Final Fantasy 10)
While all Summoners were considered heroes by the people of Spira, the most popular of the aspirants during the game's timeline was Braska's daughter, Yuna. Surrounded by skilled and loyal Guardians, Yuna was believed to have a strong chance of completing her Pilgrimage despite her relative youth and inexperience.
An unexpected addition to Yuna's retinue was Tidus. This strange traveler seemed to know nothing about Spira, Sin, or the Pilgrimage when he appeared in Yuna's hometown of Besaid. Unknown to everyone, including himself, Tidus had been one of the illusory people of the Zanarkand Dream, crafted in the image of a man named Shuyin who was gunned down by Bevelle soldiers at the height of the war. Auron, one of Braska's surviving Guardians, had devised a means to bring Tidus into Spira, hoping an outsider could find a new way to break Sin's cycle of death and rebirth.
Tidus was horrified to learn of the sacrifice required of the Summoners - no doubt in part because he was entirely smitten with Yuna - and conspired with Yuna's cousin Rikku to prevent her death. WIth the help of the Al Behd, a culture that rejected the Order of Yevon, they were able to convince Yuna and the other Guardians to defy their fate.
Using Al Behd technology considered heretical by the Order, Yuna and her companions breached Sin's armor and entered the beast's interior. There, they found and defeated Yu Yevon. During the battle, Yuna summoned every known Aeon, each of which was possessed by Yu Yevon in turn, forcing the party to destroy them forever.
With Yu Yevon's demise, the dream-city of Zanarkand faded from existence, along with all its inhabitants - including Tidus. Sin also vanished for good, bringing about the Eternal Calm. Yuna was hailed as the savior of Spira, but privately mourned the loss of her beloved.
The Eternal Calm (Final Fantasy X-2)
The destruction of Sin, along with Yuna's exposition of corruption among the Maesters, led to the collapse of the Order of Yevon within the first few years of the Eternal Calm. Splinter factions like New Yevon and the Youth League sought to carry on the Order's legacy in their own way, but their disagreements might have led to war if not for Yuna's intervention.
Over the course of Final Fantasy X-2, Yuna settled into a new life free of her duties as a Summoner while using her fame and influence to maintain peace in Spira. Along with Rikku and a new companion called Paine, Yuna defeated the Farplane ghost of Shuyin, the man whom Tidus had been modelled after in the dream-city. Unlike kind-hearted Tidus, Shuyin's rage and resentment had festered over the last thousand years, and he sought a way to destroy Bevelle from beyond the grave.
During his final battle with Yuna, Shuyin summoned Bahamut, one of the Aeons that had been killed in the confrontation with Yu Yevon. This resurrected the Aeon, and after Shuyin's spirit was laid to rest the fading Bahamut offered to use the last of his power to summon Tidus once more, effectively restoring him to life in Spira. Thus, Yuna and Tidus were reunited once the peace of the Eternal Calm was ensured.
![[Panel 1] Lisa Lisa manipulates her Hamon infused scarf. [Panel 2] Jotaro Kujo and his Stand, Star Platinum, stare down an opponent. Both images are from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ASBR.](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/What-Is-The-Connection-Between-Hamon-And-Stands--JoJos-Bizarre-Adventure-ASBR.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=320&h=160&dpr=1.5)
