Fayth



The Fayth (祈り子, inorigo lit. "Child of Prayer") are humans who willingly had their souls sealed in statues in a state of dreaming. Their power allow a Summoner to coalesce the power of pyreflies to create either physical forms called Aeons or other magical phenomena. In the world of Final Fantasy X, the Fayth are the souls of the people who willingly underwent a ritual that removed their souls from their still-living bodies and sealed into stone tablets. This technique of creating Fayth is known only by those from Zanarkand.

History
After Zanarkand's crushing defeat at the hands of Bevelle, Yu Yevon, the ruler of Zanarkand, was at a loss. His summoners defeated, the army of Bevelle was now marching up the slopes of Mount Gagazet, towards the city of Zanarkand itself. In an act of desperation, he created Sin from the wandering souls slain in the war as one final attack on Bevelle and its forces. However, prior to it, Yevon converted those of his people still alive into Fayth and placed them on a wall on Mt. Gagazet. Here, he used these new Fayth to summon a dream world modeled after Zanarkand. With the power of the Fayths' dream, he summoned all of the buildings and all of the people who had lived there. This dream Zanarkand was meant to "preserve" Zanarkand for all time.

Yevon's daughter, Lady Yunalesca, and her husband, Lord Zaon, went to Bevelle with a means to stop Sin, but agreed to reveal it only if their demands were met. Once the deal was made, Yunalesca, through means which are never explained, made Zaon into a powerful Aeon, known as the "Final Aeon", for the first Final Summoning. Although she and Zaon defeated Sin, Yunalesca died, while the entity Yevon possessed Zaon's Aeon body, turning it into a new Sin.

Also, the Fayth's Aeon forms are the physical embodiment of the Fayth itself. For example, Anima's Fayth is Seymour Guado's mother. She felt immense pain during her life, and thus, Anima was created. Aeons usually embody the Fayth's strongest emotion. In Anima's case, pain, and sorrow.

Despite her death, Yunalesca remained in the world of the living at the ruins of Zanarkand. From there, she awaits the summoner who makes it to her abode to create an Aeon from the Summoner's Guardian, which will destroy Sin. This allows the Fayth within to finally rest as Yevon then jumps to the body of the Final Aeon, creating a new Sin, and goes into a recuperative state for ten years; this time during which Sin is absent is called "the Calm." To ensure the readiness of the Summoner, Yunalesca created ten Aeons for the seven Yevon Temples made in honor of her father. The last known Aeon she created (other than the Final Aeon that was Jecht) was formerly Seymour's mother, who was placed in the Temple at Baaj.

However, the Fayth grew tired of their dreaming and requested Tidus, a product of their dream, to destroy Yu Yevon so they can rest at last. It succeeded, and the Fayth were freed to enter the Farplane. But as a result, Tidus and his world disappeared as there were no longer anyone to summon them.

In Final Fantasy X-2 it is revealed that the Fayth, who had sacrificed themselves to help Yuna defeat Yu Yevon, had become enslaved by the darkness of Shuyin. Yuna and her friends managed to free the Fayth from his influence by defeating him.

Known Fayth
It should be noted that each Fayth has two physical forms (not counting the Aeon form): The spirit-like Fayth, and its soul form, sealed in a stone tablet.
 * Zaon: The Fayth of the first Final Aeon. Though he is only referenced in Final Fantasy X, he reappeared in the depths of Via Infinito in Final Fantasy X-2. Apparently, his Aeon form became a fiend called Paragon.
 * Fayth of Bahamut: A child-like Fayth who watched Tidus grow up in Zanarkand. Stationed at Bevelle Temple, he is the one who brought Tidus and Yuna together so the Fayth can end their dreaming. Two years later, when YRP defeats Anima, the last Aeon twisted by Shuyin to attack, Bahamut's Fayth appears to the girls to apologize on behalf of the other ten Aeons (The Magus Sisters are considered three separate Aeons) for attacking them and explaining why they did so. In both games, he acts as a representative for all Fayth; except for Seymour's Mother, Jecht and Zaon, Bahamut's Fayth is the only design that is original and not a reused model for NPCs. A notable aspect of the design is that the halo behind the Aeon's head is present on the hood of the Fayth's clothing.
 * Fayth of Valefor: A little girl who lived at Besaid.
 * Fayth of Ifrit: A Crusader male who looks to be in his prime. He was stationed at Kilika Temple. His character model is repeatedly used throughout the game, as well as for the X-2 NPC Yaibal.
 * Fayth of Ixion: A man who seems to be dressed in clothes from the seas. He was stationed at the Djose Temple.
 * Fayth of Shiva: She was apparently a Macalanian priestess prior to becoming the Fayth for her temple.
 * Fayth of Anima: Seymour's Mother, a tortured soul who suffers because her son, Seymour, only became more and more hungry for power after receiving the power of Anima from her Fayth. She was stationed at Baaj.
 * Fayth of Yojimbo: A bodyguard in life, he was stolen from a temple to hinder the summoners' path. He ended up in what came to be known as the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. His only companion is a dog named Daigoro. His is also a reused model for Crusaders, blitzball free agent player Kyou and the X-2 NPC Beclem.
 * Fayth of the Magus Sisters: The three sisters became the fayth of Remiem Temple, though it is rarely ever visited due to its out-of-the-way location.
 * Jecht: Tidus's father, the fayth of the last Final Aeon.

Several Aeonic forms have different names (for example Grothia, the name for Isaaru's summon that looks like Ifrit), implying that they are identical in appearance but separate in nature from the other Aeons of similar form. However, it is more likely Isaaru just renamed his summons.

Who created the Fayth?
Lady Yunalesca is the only one that is described by Final Fantasy X as having created the Fayth after her father converted all Zanarkand residents into Fayth 1,000 years ago. She created the Fayth of the Temples that every summoner party visit before reaching Zanarkand alive, to aid them in preparation for using the Final Aeon to defeat Sin. The Summoner's Guardian willingly becomes the Final Aeon's Fayth, who then becomes a vessel for Sin once Yu Yevon enters the Final Aeon, using its form to build a new Sin, which will be ready within a decade. After this new Sin is defeated, the Fayth is free to enter the Farplane. The only exception would be Zaon, the very first Final Aeon, who resides at the last floor of Via Infinito underneath Bevelle.

It is worth noting that the Fayth must predate the Zanarkand war, since Zanarkand was the long-time home of the summoners. Summoners summon Aeons, which are themselves associated with individual Fayth. The "Dream of the Fayth" are a different manifestation perform by the Fayth created from the surviving people of Zanarkand who allowed Yu Yevon to make them into Fayth. Therefore, since summoners existed long enough before the Bevelle-Zanarkand War to make Zanarkand their city, they possessed the knowledge to create Fayth.

Without any evidence to the contrary, it is to be assumed that the Fayth are at least as old as the existence of summoning itself, and probably older.

Another great unknown is what exactly it takes to become a Fayth.

Finally, the Fayth are essentially different from spirits as they are in a state of dreaming, tied to Spira because of Yu Yevon. But though they were allowed to finally depart for the Farplane, the Fayth didn't lose their elevated status as their Aeons could be used in Spira by those with power like Shuyin. Furthermore, Tidus was conscious enough on the Farplane to whistle at Yuna when she was there, so it is possible that Farplane dead merely have a different type of consciousness.

Fayth's Behavior
There seem to be different levels of Fayth. On one hand, there is Bahamut's Fayth, who acts as a sort of 'emissary of the Fayth' for Tidus in his dreams or in Dream Zanarkand, and on the other hand, there are the remaining 10 Fayths, only appearing in a temple's Fayth chamber. The hundreds of Fayths that are gathered in the Fayth spring near Zanarkand are never communicated with.

Etymology
"Fayth" is an obsolete spelling of the English word, "faith." It is strongly believed to be an intentional use, giving religious undertones to the Fayth, who were referred to as "children of prayer" in the Japanese version of the game.

Asthra