Dream Zanarkand



Dream Zanarkand is a location in Final Fantasy X that exists far out on the sea of Spira and is known as a city of light that never sleeps. In the English localization, Zanarkand is.

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Dream Zanarkand is a reproduction of the metropolis of Zanarkand before its destruction, created directly from the memories of its former inhabitants; its buildings, citizens and lifestyle are replicated from the fayth's memories to exist eternally as an image to its former glory. It is located somewhere near Baaj Temple but cannot be easily accessed by anyone living in Spira and its whereabouts are only known by Sin.

A thousand years ago the cities Zanarkand and Bevelle were at war, which came to be known as the Machina War. Unable to stop Bevelle's armies, the leader of Zanarkand, Yu Yevon, sacrificed his people by turning them into fayth to preserve the metropolis in a dream state at the height of its power, and to summon a creature of unspeakable power to defend it: Sin. Yu Yevon only gave the creature two objectives: to defend Dream Zanarkand's summoning and destroy large cities or cities that rely heavily on machina to prevent mankind of ever attaining the means to discovering the city of dreams.

In Spira life essence or energy is represented by pyreflies and the act of summoning allows the summoner to manifest pyreflies that naturally exist in all planes of life into forms "dreamed" by the fayth. This is how Dream Zanarkand and all its inhabitants are born. The fayth summoning Dream Zanarkand reside on Mt. Gagazet, the Ronso's holy mountain, and only summoners on pilgrimage ever cross its peak and witness the sight of hundreds of fayth summoning at once.

Despite being a replica of the Zanarkand of ancient times, there are some differences. As Dream Zanarkand is located far out on the ocean, it is surrounded by water on all sides and its inhabitants believe it to be the entirety of the world, having no knowledge on the lands beyond. Thus Dream Zanarkand, unlike the original Zanarkand, is a peaceful place that knows no war. The world of Spira is infested with fiends, but in Dream Zanarkand encountering fiends is rare, with Tidus saying it was a big deal if one showed up.

Despite having been prevalent practices in the original Zanarkand, the rites of sending the dead, summoning aeons and the making of people into fayth, do not exist in Dream Zanarkand. If aeons ever existed in Dream Zanarkand, the summoning rituals have long since been forgotten by its inhabitants during the millennium it has existed. Dream Zanarkand retains the original Zanarkand's love of the sport blitzball. "Hymn of the Fayth", which in the original Zanarkand was a song sung in defiance of Bevelle in the Machina War, is still known in Dream Zanarkand, although its original meaning has been lost.

Although not stated outright, it is possible that the citizens of Dream Zanarkand are made in the image of the people who used to live in the original Zanarkand; as the cityscape is born of the fayth's collective memories, it may mean the citizens are as well. Dream Zanarkand appears stagnated in its ways with no notable technological advancement having taken place during the entirety of its existence. Even if the inhabitants are mere dreams of the fayth, it is shown that once the fayth have given them form they develop a mind of their own and their souls can ascend to the Farplane upon death.

Story
Tidus is a citizen of Dream Zanarkand. His father, Jecht, was a famous blitzball player who went missing ten years ago while out on the sea. Tidus's mother was devastated and some time after she passed away, leaving Tidus orphaned. Tidus followed his father's footsteps and went on to play for the Zanarkand Abes. He is mentored by Auron, a man with a mysterious past who one day showed up in Dream Zanarkand and has been looking out for Tidus ever since.

Tidus lives in a boat-house and has become famous as the star player of his team. One day, he makes his way to the stadium where the Jecht Memorial Cup is to be played but during the game a gigantic wave emerges over the city and destroys the blitzball stadium. Tidus experiences the slowing of time and meets a child who appears to know him. Auron picks Tidus up from the stadium's main gate and takes him to confront the giant wave that scatters creatures known as Sinspawn throughout the city. Tidus and Auron fight their way through the hordes of Sinspawn to the seaborne monster, which sucks Tidus up into a core of light. Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania explains that Sin's destructive instincts activated when brought near Dream Zanarkand, and it began destroying the city, but Yu Yevon later repaired the damage once Sin had left.

After Tidus is taken from Dream Zanarkand by Sin and is left floating ashore in Baaj, Dream Zanarkand is not visited again although Tidus speaks of it frequently, hoping to find his way back home. Tidus finds that in the world he ends up in no one has recollection of his Zanarkand, and everyone talks of it as a holy place that was destroyed a thousand years ago, and gradually Tidus gives up hope of ever going back.

Tidus joins summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage and as they cross Mt. Gagazet to reach the ruins of the original Zanarkand, they come across Fayth Scar. Tidus falls unconscious and finds himself back home in Dream Zanarkand. The child he met during the time Sin attacked Dream Zanarkand is revealed to be Bahamut's fayth, who tells Tidus the story behind Dream Zanarkand.

Bahamut works as the spokesperson for all the fayth in asking for Tidus to defeat Yu Yevon whose spirit resides within Sin, as over the course of the millennium the fayth have grown tired of summoning Dream Zanarkand and simply want to rest. Tidus promises to try, even with the knowledge that if the fayth stop dreaming he will disappear.

Tidus, along with Yuna and rest of her guardians, defeat Yu Yevon inside Sin's core. As Yu Yevon's spirit is put to rest, it stops summoning Dream Zanarkand and the fayth are set free; their souls depart to the Farplane, the pyreflies used to manifest Dream Zanarkand scatter, and the city of light and Tidus fade from existence.

Treasures

 * Potion x2 (talk to girl in pink farthest three times and say "Sure thing" when asking about tickets)

Enemy Formations

 * Sinscale x3 (Boss)
 * Sinscale x5-? (Boss)
 * Sinspawn Ammes, Sinscale x5 (Boss)
 * Tanker, Sinscale x7-? (Boss)

Musical Themes
"Prelude" plays when Tidus meets his fans outside his home. "Tidus's Theme" plays on the Overpass while Tidus heads for the stadium. The heavy-metal track, "Otherworld" plays during the FMV of the blitzball match, while "Run!!" plays during Sin's attack. "This Is Your Story" plays when Tidus is thrown into Spira.

Trivia

 * The concept of Dream Zanarkand has been carried over to create the Imperial City of Archades in Final Fantasy XII.