Aeon (Final Fantasy X)



Aeons are the Summons in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 (however, they cannot be summoned by the player in Final Fantasy X-2). The Aeons are obtained by completing the Cloister of Trials at each of Spira's temples. They are different from most Summons in the Final Fantasy series as they can be controlled by the player once summoned, and they can only be summoned by Yuna.

Origins
Aeons are the physical realization of the Fayth's dreams. The Fayth are able to communicate with summoners who pray to them within the Chamber of the Fayth, and establish a mental link between the Fayth and the summoner. Using this link, the Fayth gives their dream a physical form - an Aeon. Aeons are powerful creatures only a summoner can use in battle. Most Aeons bear some similarities in appearance to their respective Fayth, so it can be assumed the Aeon may take on aspects of the person whose soul is sealed inside the Fayth statue.

List of Aeons
Only five of the game's Aeons are required as dictated by the game's plotline. The other three are optional, and must be searched for.

Valefor
The Aeon of Besaid temple. Valefor's Fayth is that of a small girl. She has high evasion and speed, but only mediocre attack power, though this changes later in the game. Valefor can deal non-elemental damage and cause a turn delay with her special attack Sonic Wings, and with her two Overdrives, the default Energy Ray and the much more powerful Energy Blast, both of which fire large amounts of energy at the foe. Valefor is the only Aeon to have two Overdrives.

Energy Blast must be obtained by speaking to a girl and her dog in Besaid Village. In order to break the damage limit, Yuna must have obtained her Nirvana, and powered it up with the Moon Crest. Later in the game Valefor is so fast that if Sonic Wings is used over and over again against a single opponent, that opponent will never have an opportunity to attack. Due to the fact that Valefor is a flying Aeon, some enemies cannot hit Valefor at all due to their attacks only hitting ground targets (an example being Omega Ruins' Demonolith), and therefore, their attacks are out of range.

Ifrit
Ifrit, the Fire Aeon, is located at the Kilika Temple, and is the second Aeon a summoner must obtain on their pilgrimage. His Fayth is a male Crusader. Ifrit specializes in the use of the Fire element. However, his special attack, Meteor Strike, is a non-elemental attack, which bypasses the Protect status. His Overdrive, Hellfire, is a powerful Fire assault in which Ifrit hurls intense fireballs at the enemy, and finishes by hurling a chunk of earth at them. Ifrit has high defense, rivaling Bahamut's; however, his attack and HP are lower. As with all the elemental Aeons, Ifrit can be healed by using spells of his own element on himself. Thus, Fire spells are an easy way to restore his HP. To break the damage limit, Wakka must upgrade his World Champion using the Jupiter Crest.

Ixion
Located at the Djose Temple, Ixion is the Lightning Aeon. Ixion manifests as a unicorn with a gargantuan horn. It possesses high Magic and Magic Defense and uses the attack Aerospark to deal damage and dispel beneficial status effects from the target, and the ultimate Thunder attack, Thor's Hammer, encases the enemy in a field of electricity and sends it crashing into every other enemy on the field. Ixion can heal by using Lightning-based elemental attacks on itself. Ixion's Fayth is a man in a sailor's outfit, and to break the damage limit, the Saturn Crest must be used on Kimahri's Spirit Lance.

Shiva
The Ice Queen, Shiva, returns in Final Fantasy X as the Aeon of the Macalania Temple. Her Fayth is a Macalanian priestess, and she possesses high Evasion and Speed. Using her power to manipulate Ice, Shiva utilizes her Heavenly Strike to deal out non-elemental damage and inflict delay, and her signature attack, Diamond Dust, to freeze over the battlefield, and all of Shiva's opposition. With a snap of her fingers, the ice shatters, and deals Ice damage to all enemies. Shiva rivals Bahamut in power due to her high speed and evasion; combined with Haste she becomes a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Bahamut, Shiva can heal herself with Ice-elemental attacks, furthering her use early on. Shiva can break the damage limit once Lulu's Onion Knight has been upgraded with the Venus Crest.

Bahamut
Another recurring summon, Bahamut, is the final summon required to complete the storyline. The Palace of St. Bevelle is where Bahamut's Fayth - a young boy, seemingly the same age as Valefor's Fayth - resides. In Final Fantasy X, Bahamut's Fayth acts as the collective representative of all Fayth, and communicates with Tidus and Yuna during the storyline. Bahamut is considered the strongest of all the storyline summons, albeit not very fast, and backs this claim up with his powerful Impulse attack and Mega Flare Overdrive, both dealing non-elemental damage. Bahamut can break the damage limit initially.

Optional Aeons
The optional Aeons must be sought out outside of the main story.

Yojimbo
Originally located at a Temple of Yevon, Yojimbo's Fayth - a Crusader and his dog - is now within the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. To obtain Yojimbo, the player must first defeat Lady Ginnem's Yojimbo, and then offer Yojimbo's Fayth a large sum of gil, usually in excess of 200,000. Lulu tells Tidus Yojimbo was stolen from a temple because people (possibly Al Bhed) did not want summoners to sacrifice themselves while calling the Final Aeon.

Yojimbo is a unique Aeon, as his attacks are based on a complex calculation of loyalty, pay, his Overdrive bar, and random chance, and are executed by giving him gil. He must be paid at least 1 gil to act. The larger the sum, the better the attack, and frequent usage and paying large sums of money make his stronger attacks more probable. When given gil, Yojimbo will use one of four moves: Daigoro, Kozuka, Wakizashi, or Zanmato. Daigoro and Kozuka injure a single foe, Wakizashi one or many, and Zanmato instantly kills all opponents facing Yojimbo by slicing them with his sword, including bosses and superbosses. While Yojimbo has no Overdrive, the chance of executing Zanmato increases with a full Overdrive bar.

Yojimbo requires Auron's Masamune to be upgraded with the Mars Crest to break the damage limit.

Anima
Anima can be obtained after having obtained the Airship, having found the Baaj Temple, and after having collected the Destruction Treasures in all six Cloisters of Trials. Anima can be found waiting in Baaj Temple's Chamber of the Fayth and her Fayth is actually Seymour Guado's mother, who Yunalesca turned into a Fayth so Seymour could become a powerful summoner. This triggered a lust for power, and his eventual search for a way to control the ultimate power, Sin. Anima offers her powers to Yuna in the hopes that she can stop Seymour. The help bar when summoning her inside Sin says "Thus I atone." Similarly, if she is summoned during the battle against Seymour Omnis, he will remark on her opposing him, saying "So be it."

In battle, Anima is extremely strong. Her special attack, Pain, deals high damage, instantly defeating all foes not immune to instant death. Her Overdrive, Oblivion, also has an added chance of causing instant death, but deals colossal damage to all foes. In the PAL and International versions, Oblivion deals 16 hits of damage instead of just one, as it does in the NTSC and Japanese versions.

The Magus Sisters
The last Aeons obtained in the game, the Magus Sisters, can only be obtained once the player has received all other Aeons, the Blossom Crown and the Flower Scepter. The Magus Sisters' Fayth can then be approached in the Remiem Temple.

The Magus Sisters are so named because they consist of three sisters: Cindy the ladybug, Sandy the praying mantis, and Mindy the bee. Each has her own field of expertise, with Cindy excelling at White Magic, Mindy at Black Magic and defense, and Sandy at physical attacks and support White Magic. It is interesting to note, however, that Cindy is the one who knows Ultima, and Mindy has one of the most powerful attacks in the game, Passado, her special attack which deals 15 hits of physical damage. Cindy's special attack deals physical damage and is called Camisade, and Sandy's special attack is a powerful physical assault called Razzia.

Commanding the sisters is different from the other Aeons. The player can only "suggest" what they should do, which could result in them doing anything, including having a rest, or casting Cure on another sister in dire need of Curaga. The sisters are still very powerful, as they can deal high damage from the beginning.

To launch their Overdrive, each sister's bar must be full, and the command "Combine powers!" selected. Delta Attack deals high damage to all foes, either in one lump sum, as it does in the NTSC and Japanese versions, or six successive hits like it does in PAL and International versions.

The Magus Sisters are named after the bosses of the same names from Final Fantasy IV.

Final Aeon
Final Aeon is no specific Aeon, but rather, is unique to every summoner who completes his or her pilgrimage. At the end of their pilgrimage the summoner will meet Lady Yunalesca who will turn one of the summoner's guardians into an Aeon used for the Final Summoning.

Using an Aeon
Unlike in the past Final Fantasy games where a creature would be summoned, attack, and disappear, Final Fantasy X features the ability to have direct control over the summoned creatures, in the same way a player would control a character. Once Yuna summons the desired Aeon, all other characters vacate the battlefield, and offer control of the Aeon to the player (with the exceptions of Yojimbo and the Magus Sisters, respective articles for more details). They can also launch the Boost and Shield commands from the sub-commands menu. Boost increases the damage the Aeon receives, but greatly increases the rate at which the Overdrive gauge fills up. Shield does the opposite - both damage and Overdrive increases are reduced. It should be noted that when an Aeon is used against Seymour Flux, Seymour Natus or Seymour Omnis, they will only have one turn to attack before he uses a special attack called Banish to destroy the Aeon.

Overdrives
Aeons, like the player characters, have Overdrives (with the exception of Yojimbo). Their Overdrive meters can be charged by giving and taking damage in battle, or avoiding an attack. The Overdrive Gauge can also be filled when Yuna uses her Grand Summoning Overdrive. After the respective Aeons' Overdrive is launched, the Overdrive returns to the state it was in prior to the Grand Summoning, meaning if the gauge was full before the Aeon was Grand Summoned, the Aeon can launch two Overdrives in a row. When an Aeon is defeated the gauge is reset to zero.

While Yojimbo lacks an Overdrive, keeping the gauge filled will slightly increase the probability of him using his better attacks.

Increasing an Aeon's Stats
An Aeon's stats can be boosted by using spheres and the Aeon's Soul, obtained from Belgemine the third time she is fought. Aeons can learn most abilities available to the main party by using specific items in specific quantities. For example, Ixion can learn Full Break by giving up two Dark Matter. Only Yojimbo and the Magus Sisters cannot learn abilities this way - theirs are set.

Etymology
The word aeon means "age", "forever" or "for eternity". In Gnostic lore, it also denotes the immaterial emanations of God.

Trivia

 * The summoning system was revamped for Final Fantasy X, because the developers strived for a more seamless battle experience.
 * Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, and Bahamut made an appearance in the CG fanmade movies, Dead Fantasy. In the fourth episode, Yuna summons them to fight against the Kasumi X clones, but they are defeated.