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 . Profile . 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 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 they are 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 . The " Final Fantasy X - 2 : International + Last Mission Ultimania " posits that Dream Zanarkand was created as the ideal representation of Zanarkand , a wish given form . Since the original Zanarkand was the model for everything in Dream Zanarkand , this extends to its inhabitants who would marry one another and have children , continuing the cycle of life . Thus the genes of the dream ' s inhabitants blended to form a unique populace . 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 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 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 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 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 . 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 . Etymology and symbolism . The name Zanarkand comes from Samarkand , In the original plot draft for " Final Fantasy X " , Zanarkand was called , but the name was changed because an actual place of the same name exists . It was Kazushige Nojima ' s idea to use a name ending in either " - stan " or " - kand " . " Final Fantasy X " draws a lot of influence from eastern religious practices , especially Buddhism . In Jodo Buddhism , a branch of Buddhism centered on the doctrines and practice of Amitābha Buddha , its founding story describes the monk Dharmākara ascending to Buddhahood and discovering the power to establish a " buddhakṣetra " , a realm beyond reality founded by a Buddha ' s own merits . Naming his world the Pure Land and becoming Amitābha Buddha , he vowed to make his world a paradise to which all peoples of his faith can enter and transcend into Buddhahood with ease to help the rest of the world . This is somewhat similar to Yevon creating Dream Zanarkand .