User:Seancdaug/Mythology of Final Fantasy X

Fayth and aeons
The Fayth are humans who willingly gave up their lives to have their souls sealed in statues. Their existence as a Fayth allows them to bond themselves to Summoners they deem worthy of receiving their power. This union grants a Summoner access to a Fayth's dreams through which they can summon an Aeon, a powerful creature which a Summoner may then bring into Spira to aid them in battle or in their hour of need. Aeons bear some resemblances to their corresponding Fayth statues, suggesting that the appearances of the Fayth statues themselves may be "blueprints" for each Aeon. It is also interesting to note that the game seems to build on the ancient meanings for the Latin word "Aeon," such as the meaning used by Plato, who used the word "aeon" to denote the eternal world of ideas and the Gnostic who call aeons the various emanations of their Gods.

During the events of Final Fantasy X, the Fayth of the Aeon Bahamut (housed in Bevelle) serves as the chosen representative of the Fayth as a collective. The Fayth aid High Summoner Yuna and her Guardians in bringing the Spiral of Death to an end, which results in their own passing. In Final Fantasy X-2, the Fayth return in their Aeon forms, this time having been overcome by the despair and malice of Shuyin, rendering them his unwilling puppets of chaos. Yuna and her allies must unite to free both the Fayth and Shuyin from the darkness that has consumed them.

Summoners are able to manipulate pyreflies in the formation of Aeons—and in the Sending of the souls of the dead—due to an inherent affinity for harnessing and channeling spiritual energy. Only a few people on Spire have the gift of being able to manipulate spirit energy to form Aeons, although there are many people and fiends around Spira who can manipulate the magical energy and perform magic spells. But very few black mages and white mages are able to become Summoners and even fewer can withstand the hardships of a Summoner's pilgrimage and become High Summoners, the honorific title given to the Summoners who completed their pilgrimage and defeated Sin.

In Final Fantasy X only 8 Aeons are known : Valefort, Ifrit, Shiva, Ixion, Bahamut, Anima, Yojimbo and The Magus Sisters. Each one of these Aeons has a Fayth associated with it, but there are many more Fayth on Mt. Gagazet, being used by Yu Yevon to summon Dream Zanarkand. The game seems to build on ancient mythological figures through the inclusion of the Aeons, such as the Arab Jinn of Fire Ifrit, the Indian goddess Shiva and even the Jungian figure Anima