Al Bhed

The **Al Bhed** are a tribe of technologists. Making up ten percent of the population, they have a unique language and, unlike the other races in Spira, use machina.

## History

Around 1000 years ago, the Al Bhed society lived on Bikanel Island, whose most explored region is known as the Sanubia Desert. Their city was destroyed by Sin, and the citizens scattered around Spira, often being detested by the other races of the world. A millennium later, under Cid's leadership, the Al Bhed regrouped on Bikanel Island and built a new city called Home.

### Origins

There was once a mechanic called Alb who created a race called **Bedohls**, humans who could not use magic but excelled at wielding machina, and used them to combat a Zanarkandian mage. Their weapons were so powerful they were kept under surveillance at all times. It's speculated that their power might have been the catalyst for the Machina War. After the Yevon religion was established, the Bedohls were blamed for the emergence of Sin and executed in numbers, thereby casting them out of society. The surviving Bedohls were later renamed the Al Bhed, a corrupted mesh of their original name and their creator's name.

## Culture

Out of all the humanoid races, the Al Bhed are the most expressive in their emotions and body language; many of their more notable members also exhibit personalities that may classify as eccentric or juvenile. Al Bhed take an interest in the world's technological past, organizing salvage operations and excavations for ancient technology.

The Al Bhed are the only race to openly reject the teachings of Yevon especially in regard to the ban on machina. They are often ostracized by the rest of the population, labeled as heathens, and have been the victims of attacks by Yevonites in the past. Some Al Bhed are allowed to participate in the Yevon-sponsored blitzball tournaments, with the Al Bhed being represented in the league by the Al Bhed Psyches.

The Al Bhed are forbidden to enter the temples of Yevon. At Macalania Temple, Rikku and Gippal are refused entry until Yuna informs the guard that they are her guardians, and as such duty-bound to enter the temple with her.

Al Bhed children wear full body suits, and many Al Bhed wear glasses or goggles to hide their eyes.

### Biology

Al Bhed possess certain distinctive biological traits. Al Bhed have green eyes and their pupils are spiral-shaped. Al Bhed have a wide array of skin tones, but regardless of skin color, all Al Bhed have blond hair (assuming they have hair). They are adept at swimming and holding their breath underwater, which serves them well during underwater excavations.

### Language

The Al Bhed language is spoken by the Al Bhed people. Working like a substitution cipher (a language system replacing certain letters with others), it shares the same syntax and grammar of English. Converting Al Bhed to English is simple once a person knows which letter/sound stands for what.

While Al Bhed speak their own language by majority, some words have been adopted from the main Spiran language: words like fiend, magic, aeon and airship, as well as Sin, are used by the Al Bhed, but originate from other cultures. The name of the people and their language is Al Bhed, even when speaking said language.

## Etymology

The name Al Bhed might originate from the word "alphabet." Their creator's name "Alb" could be a play on "Alba", which means "dawn" in association with him creating the Al Bhed race.

## Trivia

* Mixed-ethnicity children are born with heterochromia, one green eye, albeit without the signature spiral.
* Ships, hovers, cranes, lifts, machina, and the walls and floors of Home and the *Fahrenheit* are emblazoned with a bilingual crest whose lettering says "Salvage Dream" in Al Bhed script and "Cid" in regular Spiran script.

## External links

* This online translator allows users to convert between English and Al Bhed and toggle the Al Bhed font.