Locations in Spira

Spira (スピラ) is the world in which the role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 take place. It is composed of one continent and several islands. Spira consists of many diverse climates: from the tropical seaside villages of Besaid and Kilika, to the temperate locales in the Mi'ihen region, to the polar extremes of northern Macalania and Mt Gagazet. Its initial design is credited to Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura.

As befitting its name, Spira is characterized by cycles and repetition, such as the spiral of death that the world endures, the many spheres found in Spira, the blitzball sphere pools, the prayer to Yevon, the Sphere Grid, and Spira's cycle of life energy emerging from within the planet's core, granting life to all its living inhabitants, and then returning to the core when a life form dies.

Locations
The following are the various locales of Spira in the rough order of which Yuna visited them during her pilgrimage, as seen in Final Fantasy X:



Besaid Island
A small tropical island on the southernmost end of Spira, Besaid Island (ビサイド島) is famous for its fabrics and the clothes it produces. It was originally a city which relied heavily on machina until it was completely destroyed by Sin. Its ruins now remain as a monument to Sin's power, and still has remains of machina which house ancient weapons. It is home to the blitzball team Besaid Aurochs, who have never won a game in the ten years that Wakka was playing for them.

Yuna was brought here by Kimahri Ronso at the request of one of her father's guardians, Sir Auron. Initially it was to be Auron who would bring her, but he was mortally wounded by Lady Yunalesca, and just before he died, he relegated the task to Kimahri. Yuna grew up here with Wakka and Lulu. The temple in Besaid was home to the fayth for the aeon Valefor. The island also featured Yadonaki Tower, the setting for an extra adventure exclusive to the Japanese-only Final Fantasy X-2: International+Last Mission.



Kilika Island
A medium-sized island north of Besaid and just south of Luca, Kilika Island (キーリカ島) is home to the blitzball team Kilika Beasts, and a fiery temple of Yevon which houses the fayth of Ifrit.

During Yuna's pilgrimage, its village was decimated by Sin and many people were killed. It was here that Yuna performed her first sending of the dead. Two years later, the village was rebuilt, but again became a setting for violence when tensions between the Youth League and New Yevon were at their worst. The temple in the forests of Kilika was home to the fayth for the aeon Ifrit.



Luca
Luca (ルカ) is the second largest city in Spira, home of the blitzball team Luca Goers. It also houses the only blitzball stadium in Spira. Because of this, the Crusaders, a group organized to protect the people of Spira from Sin, fought to the death in order to protect it. Blitzball was the only form of entertainment for the people of Spira during the time of Sin, and losing the stadium would have been a serious blow to their morale. Also of interest is the theater, where the player can listen to the music and view the full motion video sequences of the game, apart from the ending one.

After Sin's defeat, Luca began to host more entertainment. In Final Fantasy X-2, an Al Bhed entrepreneur named "Rin" starts up a game called "Sphere Break" here.



Mi'ihen Highroad
The Mi'ihen Highroad (ミヘン街道) links the city of Luca to Mushroom Rock Road. It is also the road that Lord Mi'ihen, creator of the Crusaders (initially known as "the Crimson Blades"), walked on to face a trial of Yevon. The clergy thought that his organization was dangerous to the temples; however, he convinced them that he was no threat, and they made his group an arm of Yevon. Beyond the travel agency, the road separates into two different paths. The lower path is called the "Old Road" and may have been the path that Lord Mi'ihen traveled. It is a narrow path that is now used mostly when someone falls off the main highroad.

Before the defeat of Sin, the Mi'ihen Highroad was populated by Chocobos, which could be hired from the travel agency by travellers in order to traverse the Highroad more quickly. Their presence attracted a particular type of fiend called "the Chocobo Eater", who would prey on them at any opportunity. After Sin was vanquished at the end of Final Fantasy X, machina hovers were used instead and chocobos became a rare sight on the Highroad. However, the player can bring the chocobos back if they make either Rin, Rikku, or the Chocobo Eater as the culprit in an optional mini game.

Mushroom Rock Road
Mushroom Rock Road (キノコ岩街道) is notable chiefly for its mushroom-shaped rock formations and as the site of the ill-fated Operation Mi'ihen, where the Crusaders and the Al Bhed tried — and failed — to defeat Sin by using ancient machina, as seen in Final Fantasy X. It later became the base of operations and training ground for the Youth League in Final Fantasy X-2, as well as the Crimson Squad, as documented in the many Crimson Reports. The Den of Woe is located in a ravine here. The road is also the link between the Mi'ihen and Djose highroads.



Djose
There is not much of interest in Djose (ジョゼ), with the notable exception of its temple, which housed the fayth for the aeon, Ixion, during Sin's millennium of terror. Once the Eternal Calm began, following the events of Final Fantasy X, the temple was abandoned, and the Machine Faction set up their headquarters there. Also of note is that when Sin was rampaging across Spira, the rocks normally covering the temple would separate and hover in mid-air when a summoner prayed to the fayth. Now the rocks hover whenever anybody approaches the temple.



Moonflow
The Moonflow (幻光河) is a large river running through the heart of Spira. It is notable for shoopuf rides and for the pyreflies that congregate around the surface of the water, as well as the semi-entertaining productions by Chief Tobli and his troupe of Hypello performers, which can be seen in Final Fantasy X-2. An ancient machina city lies at the bottom of the Moonflow. Long ago, in hubris, a city was built on top of the river. It is said, however, that nature prevailed, and the city sank into the waters. Before the Eternal Calm, the people of Spira viewed the fate of this city as proof of the veracity of Yevon's teachings; even with its plethora of advanced technology, the city still sank into the river.



Guadosalam
Guadosalam (グアドサラム) is home of the Guado and the location of a gateway to the Farplane. Prior to the Eternal Calm, most summoners only made a short stop here to pay respects to their fallen while on their pilgrimage to the Zanarkand Ruins. After Sin was destroyed, the Guado left their home in fear of the Ronso. Shortly thereafter, Guadosalam became a favorite locale for sphere hunters, and the LeBlanc Syndicate took up residence in the old manor where Guado leaders, such as Seymour, once lived.

Later on in Final Fantasy X-2 (if certain events with the Guado are triggered in Macalania Woods), the Guado return to their rightful home in Guadosalam with Seymour's butler Tromell Guado taking the position as their new leader.

Farplane
The Farplane (異界) is the final resting place for the people of Spira. Summoners send the souls of the dead to the Farplane using a ritual dance called the sending". A gateway to the Farplane, through which the living may travel back and forth, is located in Guadosalam, where the Guado look after the Farplane. Those who journey here can summon an image of a dead person by thinking about them. It is believed by the Al Bhed that this phenomenon is a result of pyreflies reacting to peoples' memories, but no image of a living nor unsent person has ever been seen on the Farplane. This lends to an alternate belief that while images form due to pyreflies reacting to the memories of the living, only the images of those whose pyreflies (spiritual energy) are actually present in the Farplane can be seen there. Indeed, in Final Fantasy X, neither the images of Lady Ginnem nor of Seymour Guado can be seen on the Farplane until after the two unsent individuals have made their way to the Farplane.

In Final Fantasy X-2, it is revealed that the Farplane is actually the heart of Spira, and that it contains a potentially limitless amount of spiritual energy. The unsent Shuyin used an enormous machina called "Vegnagun" to drill extra-planar tunnels from the Farplane to Spira. These tunnels ended at each of the Chambers of the Fayth, and out of the tunnels poured hundreds of fiends, influenced by the malice and despair of Shuyin. These fiends were put down with the help of the Gullwings, and Shuyin was later defeated.



Thunder Plains
The Thunder Plains (雷平原) are the site of a vast, never-ending thunderstorm. Many a traveler met their end here, until an Al Bhed by the name of "Bilghen" set up lightning rod towers to draw the lightning away from the main path. Ironically, he died after being hit by a stray bolt. With the arrival of the Eternal Calm and Sin's permanent defeat, the Al Bhed fortified the towers so the lightning would not harm travelers.

The only recorded time that the endless storm across the Thunder Plains ceased was momentarily as Lenne sang a song "1000 Words" on the deck of the Celsius airship during Final Fantasy X-2. Shortly after the song started, the rain stopped, and by the end, the clouds had parted and the sun shone down on the barren plains. By the time she awoke in the cabin of the Celsius airship, the storm had resumed again.



Macalania
Perhaps the most striking location in all of Spira, Macalania (マカラーニャ) was a large sparkling blue forest, full of glowing crystal formations and shining skyways. Eventually, the forest led out into an icy lake, which was the location of Macalania Temple, home of the fayth for the aeon Shiva, which was the reason for Macalania's frozen environment. But after the fayth faded away at the end of Final Fantasy X, the forest began to die, and the temple sank into the unfrozen lake. Some of Spira's greatest musicians also lived there. In Final Fantasy X, with the help of the Celestial mirror, and relevant crests and sigils, the party can activate their Ultimate weapons here.



Bikanel Island
A large desert island in remote western Spira from which the Al Bhed people hail. Yuna's entourage arrives on Bikanel Island by accident following an attack by Sin, and is led safely by Rikku to the Al Bhed's concealed city of Home, deep within the desert. As the only place in the world where the "heretical" Al Bhed gathered in large numbers, Home was vigorously protected, both by the arid environment and by roving machina drones salvaged by the Al Bhed. The location of Home was kept secret and its directional signposts written only in the Al Bhed's language, so that an outsider would have great difficulty finding the city. Nevertheless, Maester Seymour led the Guado people to successfully attack and destroy Home, slaughtering countless Al Bhed in the process and kidnapping Yuna back to Bevelle. Yuna's guardians escaped with Cid on an ancient machina airship, whose missile salvos Cid used to destroy the ruins of Home, taking all remaining Guado soldiers on the premises with it.

In FF X-2, Bikanel becomes a base of operations for the Machine Faction, a group of Al Bhed sympathizers who seek to mine machine parts buried in the sand as relics from an ancient machina war. A race of sentient Cactuars is also seen to live in the desert, and Yuna and the Gullwings have the option of aiding the Cactuars in various sidequests. Finally, an old and powerful fiend known as Angra Mainyu is said to live deep beneath the Bikanel desert.

Bevelle
The largest city in Spira and center of the order of Yevon prior to the coming of the Eternal Calm, Bevelle (ベベル) it is also the birthplace of Yuna. It was guarded by a giant wyvern named Evrae, who Tidus and co. killed on the Fahrenheit (Cid's airship) when going to save Yuna from Seymour. Interestingly, Bevelle made liberal use of machina even before the Eternal Calm, though they were forbidden by the scriptures. Even the grand maester of Yevon, Grandmaster Yo Mika, was unsent, despite the temples' edicts holding that it was the duty of summoners to send the souls of the dead. People who questioned Yevon's policies were thrown into the Via Purifico (Latin for "the Way of Purification", or "the Road of Purification"), a large underground sewer full of fiends. After Sin was defeated, the Yevon order was disbanded, but a new group based on Yevon—the New Yevon Party founded by Trema—took up residence. Aside from the Via Purifico, the areas under Bevelle include the resting place for Vegnagun, and the Via Infinito ("the Infinite Road") where the unsent spirit of Trema still lives. The temple in Bevelle was home to the fayth of the aeon Bahamut.



Calm Lands
The Calm Lands (ナギ平原) are the location where Bevelle and Zanarkand fought their most brutal and destructive battle, some 1,000 years before the events of Final Fantasy X. The war left the land practically dead and barren. Eventually, summoners took note of this uninhabited land; it was an ideal place to perform the Final Summoning. It became known as "the Calm Lands", as it is where summoners defeat Sin and bring the Calm. The Calm Lands also house the hidden Remiem Temple&mdash;which was lost as Sin tore the earth asunder with the last of its strength combatting High Summoner Gandof &mdash;the location where the forgotten fayth of the three Magus Sisters (Sandy Magus, Cindy Magus, Mindy Magus)aeons rests. This is also where the unsent summoner Belgemine resided prior to the Eternal Calm. After Sin's defeat, the Calm Lands became an amusement park where two promotion companies, Open Air and Argent, compete for customers to play their betting games. The Calm Lands also featured a battle arena known as The Monster Arena, where the unsuspecting visitor would get to battle Spira's toughest fiends. The Monster Arena is also the place where the players fight Nemesis Weapon, the most powerful enemy in Final Fantasy X. In Final Fantasy X-2, however, the owner of the arena is gone and with the help of The Gullwings, Clasko turned the place into the Chocobo Ranch.

Cavern of the Stolen Fayth
The Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (盗まれた祈り子の洞窟) is a large cave located between the Calm Lands and Mount Gagazet. It is on the other side of the scar, a large gorge made by Sin after Lord Gandof struck it down. The cave was home to the fayth of the aeon Yojimbo. Yuna's team believes that the fayth was stolen from its original temple and hidden in the cave to prevent summoners from completing their pilgrimage. Summoner Ginnem, who was guarded by Lulu, died in the cave while attempting to reach this fayth two years before the events of Final Fantasy X. When Yuna and her companions entered the cave during her pilgrimage, they encountered Ginnem's unsent spirit. After fighting her aeon, her spirit departed to the Farplane. In Final Fantasy X-2, the cave becomes a tourist atrraction. The cave was later closed because the dark aeon Yojimbo attacked all the visitors.



Mount Gagazet
The highest point in Spira, Mount Gagazet (ガガゼト山) is home to the Ronso tribe as well as the fayth of Dream Zanarkand. Before the Eternal Calm, summoners had to pass over this treacherous mountain in order to reach the Zanarkand ruins. It is littered with the graves of summoners who died trying to pass. After the defeat of Sin, the fayth which resided here disappeared. The place where they used to reside is now called "the Fayth Scar". The disappearance of the fayth revealed ancient ruins on the peak of Gagazet.



Gagazet Ruins
The Gagazet Ruins (ガガゼト遺跡) are a mysterious temple atop Mt. Gagazet that can not be seen in Final Fantasy X. After the fayth awoke at the coming of the Eternal Calm, the mists on top of the mountain dissipated enough to display a new set of ruins. During Final Fantasy X-2, Yuna, Rikku and Paine find a one thousand year old sphere from Zanarkand's time here.

Zanarkand Ruins
The Zanarkand Ruins (ザナルカンド遺跡) are the desiccated remains of the once great city, Zanarkand. A war between Bevelle and Zanarkand 1,000 years before Final Fantasy X contributed to the latter's downfall. Once active and full of life, it was left dark, home only to dust and fiends. It was here that the unsent summoner Yunalesca awaited the arrival of the strongest of the summoners, so that she might bestow upon them the Final Summoning to defeat Sin. During the Eternal Calm, Rikku's father (Yuna's uncle) Cid established Zanarkand as a tourist attraction, and people from all over Spira sought to visit it, despite its previous status as a holy place. The place was later closed when the Gullwings mated the local monkeys, causing an infestation of monkeys which drove tourists away. Derived from Samarkand.



Dream Zanarkand
A magical city summoned by Yu Yevon, the ruler of the original city of Zanarkand. He summoned it to keep the memory of his beloved city alive forever. The inhabitants of Dream Zanarkand (夢のザナルカンド) are also summons, though they use little to no magic. It is located on an island some distance away from the mainland as to prevent discovery by the Spiran people, who know Zanarkand only through its ruined real life counterpart, destroyed 1000 years prior to the events of Final Fantasy X. Blitzball is popular in the city, with both Tidus and Jecht being stars of the Zanarkand Abes blitzball team. At the end of Final Fantasy X, the pyreflies composing the city and its inhabitants — including Tidus — dissipate once Yu Yevon has been defeated.



Baaj Temple
Baaj Temple (バージ＝エボン寺院) is the location where Tidus first awakened after being displaced from Dream Zanarkand early in Final Fantasy X. Here, he nearly lost his life to the aquatic fiend Geosgaeno, and also met Rikku for the first time. Most of the temple lies in ruins and much of it is submerged underwater. It was here that Jyscal sent his wife and their son, Seymour Guado, to avoid persecution for taking a regular human as a wife, and for Seymour being the child of a regular human and a Guado. This was regarded as an abomination by regular humans and Guado alike at the time. Late in Final Fantasy X, it is where the party can receive the aeon Anima after defeating Yunalesca and journeying to Baaj in the airship.

Omega Ruins
Long ago, a Yevonite heretic named "Omega" was banished to these ruins by the maesters of Yevon and left to die. After his death, his hatred turned his unsent soul into a horrifying fiend of great strength — Omega Weapon (and, because the hatred was overflowing, another fiend called "Ultima Weapon" also manifested). Because of the terrible fiend, the site came to be known as the Omega Ruins (オメガ遺跡). Only the most courageous adventurers dared to set foot in the ruins, as they became home to some of the most dangerous fiends within Spira. During Final Fantasy X, Yuna and her guardians sought out Omega Weapon and vanquished the powerful fiend, sending Omega's soul to rest on the Farplane at last.