Maeda is an original character created for Legendary Guardian and has no basis in cannon from Square Soft in Final Fantasy X. He is only briefly mentioned in LG.

In the context of LG, I created a church hierarchy, a military hierarchy, a judicial hierarchy, and a method of training all of these branches for their duties. Maeda is part of the religious hierarchy the temple of St. Bevelle. As High Priest of the temple during Auron’s youth, Maeda is one of the most powerful men in the city – as well as within the Church of Yevon.

LG’s religious structure is based loosely on a combination of the Roman Catholic Church and the US Government. While Grand Maester Mika is the highest of all authorities, as he leads the Council of Maesters and directs the overarching goals and direction of the Church of Yevon, Maeda is the true “spiritual” leader of the Church. Each temple has its own high priest, yet all temples defer to the direction of St. Bevelle – and therefore to Maeda.

While Maeda is but one voice that attends Council - and must abide by the majority decisions within those meetings – he still has great latitude and the ability to act independently with regards to the nuns and priests in service of his temple. He also controls the training of acolytes and dedicated. In other words, the High Priest may say who, and who may not, train at his temple and therefore can effectively block someone from becoming a member of the Church hierarchy or military.

When Auron is born, Maeda is fifty-seven and has been in power for some time. By the time our hero becomes a “dedicated” at the temple, Maeda is sixty-nine and in decline. He dies at the age of seventy-three and the post is filled by Wen Inek, father of Wen Kinoc – Auron’s childhood companion.