Auron

Auron is a playable character in Final Fantasy X. He was a warrior monk of Yevon who became High Summoner Braska's Guardian, together with Jecht. After helping Braska defeat Sin, he promised Jecht to take care of Tidus, his son, and watch over him.

His sword, though called a katana, actually appears to more closely resemble a nodachi or even the fictional Zanbatou. On his right hip, he carries a jug with the word "Nog" written on it (in Spiran script), a term used to describe a number of beverages including rum. The drink is featured in two of his Overdrives: the contents being spat onto his sword prior to executing Banishing Blade, or used to ignite the Tornado attack. The former likely pays homage to Japanese samurai, who would occasionally spit sake on their blades in order to "feed the spirit of the blade."

Final Fantasy X


As a young man of twenty-five years, Auron was a devoted warrior monk of Bevelle, well-regarded by Yevon's upper echelons, and being groomed for a high-ranking position within the clergy. His personal convictions ultimately put a stop to any career ambitions he might have had when he refused to marry the daughter of a high priest. Auron fell quickly out of favor with the top brass, and the promotion instead went to his friend Wen Kinoc, who would eventually become a maester of Yevon.

Shortly afterward, Auron was enlisted by Braska to serve as a guardian on Braska's upcoming pilgrimage to fight Sin. It is likely the two men found common ground over being outcasts of Yevon, as Braska had already disgraced himself in the eyes of the church by marrying a "heathen" Al Bhed woman and having a half-Al Bhed child (Yuna). Auron further found himself drawn to Braska due to his noble character and honest intentions to vanquish Sin for the sake of Spira's people, developing a fierce devotion to Braska and his cause, consistently addressing him with honor, and defending him to any detractors.

Prior to departing for the pilgrimage, Auron and Braska paid a visit to a holding cell in Bevelle, where Jecht (Tidus' father) was being held, having heard that a man claiming to be from Zanarkand was interred within. The other monks appear to have dismissed Jecht's proclamations of hailing from Zanarkand as the ramblings of a drunkard, but Braska takes him seriously, telling Jecht that if he joins the pilgrimage, Braska should be able to find him a way home. Auron protests, declaring that a drunkard such as Jecht is unfit for guardianship, but Braska insists that the three of them defy the low expectations the Yevon church has of all of them (because Auron is a disgraced monk who refused to take the hand of the priest's daughter, Jecht is a drunk from Zanarkand, and Braska is married to a "heathen" with a "half-breed" daughter), saying that it would be "delightful irony" if they should be the ones to defeat Sin. Auron relents, and the three set out on their journey to save the world.



Auron's role throughout the pilgrimage is that of a straightforward man, contrasting sharply with the patient Braska and the laid-back Jecht. His mind is always on his duty, insisting that the trip "is no pleasure cruise" when Jecht attempts to record a travelogue to one day show to his family, and he constantly reprimands Jecht for his reckless behavior, which often follows as a result of him being drunk. Over the course of the pilgrimage, however, Auron grows to trust Jecht in spite of his perceived flaws.

After finally arriving at the ruins of Zanarkand, the three men are debriefed by Lady Yunalesca, the ancient unsent summoner from whom all summoners must obtain the Final Aeon to defeat Sin. For the first time, however, they learn of the "catch" involved: one of the guardians must be sacrificed to produce the Final Aeon. Jecht volunteers, saying that he has accepted that he will never be able to go home, but asks Auron to promise that he will find a way to his own Zanarkand so that he might look after Tidus in Jecht's stead. Auron agrees to this promise, and it becomes evident at this point that Auron now considers Jecht as much of a friend as Braska; Auron earlier made a similar promise to Braska: that he would take Yuna to Besaid once Sin had been banished.

Both Jecht and Braska are then sacrificed to defeat Sin, after which Auron learns the truth of Sin's nature: it is eternal, reborn from each Final Aeon, and no summoner can hope to banish it permanently. Thus, realizing Jecht and Braska to have died in vain, and that Jecht's soul has subsequently become trapped within Sin, Auron's youthful religious idealism — the very foundation upon which he has built his life — is shattered. Enraged, he takes up his blade against Yunalesca, who casually strikes him down, leaving him one-eyed and mortally wounded.

Clinging to life by little other than devotion to his lost comrades, Auron literally drags himself down Mt. Gagazet to the Calm Lands, where he's discovered by Rin, who takes him to his travel agency for the evening. During the night, however, Auron leaves, despite his wounds, continuing his way to Bevelle. Just outside the capital city of the Church of Yevon, Auron's strength abandons him and he's discovered by a young Kimahri Ronso. Auron asks for Kimahri to fulfill his promise to Braska (that Yuna be taken to Besaid and have a peaceful childhood), and Kimahri honors his request and does so. He then dies, beginning a new sort of "life" as an unsent. Because he is no longer a living human, but composed of pyreflies, he is able to ride Sin and travel to Jecht's Zanarkand, determined to honor his promise to Jecht and watch over Tidus.

From this day forward, Auron is filled with enmity for the Church of Yevon, and for himself, loathing the title of "legendary guardian" that the people have bestowed upon him. He is consumed with self-reproach for his self-perceived failure of Jecht and Braska, as he didn't stop them from sacrificing themselves, despite being unaware at the time of how needless their noble actions would prove. Auron spends the next decade keeping an eye on Tidus in Dream Zanarkand, though he does not directly raise Tidus after the death of his mother, watching over him from afar instead, serving as a mentor of sorts.



Eventually, Jecht exerts some measure of control from within Sin and approaches Dream Zanarkand, communicating to Auron that he wants Tidus taken to the Spiran mainland, so that — in that harsher land of uneasy choices — he may have a shot at understanding what life's really all about, as well as stand a chance at defeating Sin for good. Thus, Auron and Tidus make a journey — with Sin as their transportation — to the Spiran mainland, where they will serve as guardians to Braska's daughter, Yuna, on yet another pilgrimage. During this journey, Auron is the seasoned veteran of the group, albeit the one who knows far more than he reveals. He refrains from telling the others the truth about Yevon, knowing they will have to discover it for themselves. No longer an uptight monk, he takes a deeply cynical stance toward the religion and its figureheads. Auron also plays the role of a storyteller, offering Tidus relevant bits of information about his father, Spira, and Yuna's father at key points throughout the game, and it is through Auron that Tidus is finally able to come to terms with his hatred of his father before their reunion.

His experience and expertise is also something that is remarked upon by many followers of Yevon, and old friends alike. He is addressed with deference by virtually everyone in Spira as "Sir Auron," due to his status as the surviving guardian of a high summoner; even Yuna and her guardians (sans Tidus) address him as such. Barthello, the guardian and lover of Yuna's rival, Dona, even tells Auron that he was his inspiration to become a guardian.

During Yuna's pilgrimage, Auron and Rikku are constantly at odds; for example, in the Thunder Plains, Auron acts cold towards her despite her escalating hysteria, agrees to rest at Rin's Travel Agency after Rikku's constant whining irritates him to the point where he states that she is "worse than the storm", and coldly tells her to stay at the hotel, which leads an irate Rikku to shout, "You could be more comforting, or something! You know, try to cheer me up?" Despite this, Auron was the one who allowed Rikku into the party, knowing she was Al Bhed.

At the game's finale, Yuna sends her aeons and Yu Yevon, but Auron, standing nearby, is inadvertently caught in the ritual. She hesitates to continue, but the guardian tells her it's alright, having previously told Tidus that he planned to leave when things were settled, that he had "played at life for too long." He is sent to the Farplane to rest at last, his mission to free Spira from its cycle of lies and death complete, and his promises to his departed friends fulfilled.

An interesting fact to note is that Auron was young and at a ripe age of 25 when Braska defeated Sin. Yet, even after his death by Yunalesca, he continued to age, all the way up to 35. He even has gray streaks now and appears to be much much older. How this happened is a mystery as it makes no logical sense for a man to age in undeath, unless if an unsent spirit can still age like everyone else. However it can be theorized that since he was an unsent and did travel to the 'Dream Zanarkand' that his body may have undergone a change that reverted him back to a sense of living, as Dream Zanarkand was a city dreamed up by the Fayth for the remaining souls of the real Zanarkand. As Tidus aged, so too did Auron.

Auron appears one last time post-mortem; when Tidus enters the Farplane, the spirits of Jecht, Braska, and Auron welcome him with open arms.

In the English localization of Final Fantasy X, Auron is  (or-run).

Final Fantasy X-2
Auron makes a minor appearance in the final part of Final Fantasy X-2, together with Braska and Jecht, as voices giving Yuna encouraging words of advice in the final battle against Shuyin and Vegnagun. The only visual appearances that Auron makes are during a brief flashback in Chapter 5 when Maechen's memories flare outside Zanarkand, and a short scene with Gippal in the key item "Gippal's Sphere", which is set during the events of Final Fantasy X when the party is separated in the Bikanel desert. Auron is also viewable in Shinra's Dossiers.

Final Fantasy X-2: International + Last Mission
Along with all of Yuna's former guardians, an illusion of Auron appears in international version of Final Fantasy X-2 as a boss battle in the Yadonoki Tower.

Auron in Battle
As a quintessential Samurai, Auron wields heavy Katanas during battle and defends with a bracer on his arm. Most of his weapons have the Piercing ability by default, allowing him to easily cut down armored fiends. His early stat growth is based around high Strength, Defense and HP, and abilities to lower enemy stats, making him ideal for defeating high HP enemies. However, Auron has low Speed and Accuracy at first, leaving him weaker against swift and flying foes until he can move into another section of the Sphere Grid. His overdrive is Bushido.

Auron's Sphere Grid
Auron's Sphere Grid area runs near Wakka's and Tidus's, and his Sphere Grid color is red. The unique abilities that are in Auron's default position on the sphere grid include the following:

Auron's Katanas
See: Auron's Katanas

Auron's Bracers
See: Auron's Bracers

Musical Themes
Auron's theme is simply called Auron's Theme, a song featured on the original soundtrack. It plays at four (possible five) different times during the events of the game. The first is when Tidus catches up with him in Luca and demands to know just who he is. The second is when he offers to be Yuna's guardian in Luca. The third is when he passes his memories to Tidus, showing him making the promise to Jecht to look after his son. The fourth is when he finally reveals that he is an unsent to the rest of the party, says his (silent) goodbyes to them, and gives Yuna permission to send him. A fifth time can be heard when you view Auron's Sphere, one of the ten Spheres needed to learn his Overdrives.

You can also buy a "Sphere" of his song, which is playable only in Luca.

Kingdom Hearts II
A younger Auron appears in Kingdom Hearts II. When Pete jokingly suggests Hades save Hercules the trouble of beating his next opponent and "send someone already dead", Hades agrees and revives Auron; the "mother of all bad guys", offering him freedom from the Underworld if he kills Hercules. He refuses to help Hades and eventually joins Sora as a party member. Later, Hades steals Auron's willpower using a statue of his likeness, and forces him to fight Hercules. Sora enters the Underworld to reclaim and destroy the statue, allowing Auron to regain his free will. He then joins Sora and Hercules in a fight against Hades. After defeating Hades, Auron decides to go out and shape his own story and gives Sora the Guardian Soul keychain, which resembles his iconic Katana. Auron is later seen departing back to the afterlife during the ending credits, dissolving into pyreflies.

Auron is voiced by in the English release and by  in the Japanese release, both reprising their roles from Final Fantasy X.

Dragon Quest &amp; Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special
A chibified version of Auron appears in this game, alongside chibi Tidus, and Yuna in their Final Fantasy X attire.

Trivia

 * Auron's battle stance is similar to that of Blank from Final Fantasy IX
 * In the Japanese dubs of the games, Auron shares the same voice actor as Cait Sith and Squall Leonhart, Hideo Ishikawa.
 * Kazushige Nojima has compared Auron to Vincent Valentine of Final Fantasy VII, noting that the two of them are intended to be silent characters, but still end up speaking a lot and often have much to say.


 * Despite him being an undead, Phoenix Down and healing items and spells "Cure" Auron instead of harming him. This may be due to the particular nature of the unsent in general, who as a kind of living memory, are unlike all other undead present in other Final Fantasy games.
 * An early hint of his unsent status is when the party first arrives at the Farplane when encountering Jyscal Guado at the gate. He tells Yuna to send him, but as she starts he is seen to seize up and fall to his knees.

Etymology
Auron's name could have derived from the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora. According to Roman mythology, the goddess Aurora would soar across the sky, announcing the arrival of the sun. As Tidus's name derives from the Okinawan word for "Sun", Auron's name could symbolize his bringing of Tidus from Dream Zanarkand to the world of Spira.

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