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Final Fantasy XII

World

The world of Final Fantasy XII takes place in a land called Ivalice, where 'magick' and airships were commonplace. Those familiar to Final Fantasy Tactics would recognize that the two games share the same world. The design of Ivalice is richly inspired by a mix of medieval Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures.

Magick, contrary to most of the Final Fantasy series, is not an innate ability. Rather it comes from a stone called "magicite"; a magic-rich material that is used to power spells and the airships that control the skies. Magicite has a brother-stone in "nethicite", which acts opposite to magicite and is able to absorb magic and large amounts of energy. Adding to the magickal mix is "Mist", which is the ethereal manifestation of magicite and renders airships useless. Therefore, much of the world of Ivalice is off-limits to the convienence of air-travel, and is therefore ignored or avoided.

Ivalice is divided between three continents: Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon. Ordalia is located in the western part of Ivalice. The Rozzarian Empire makes its home in the vast inland plains on this continent, as the eastern portion of it is largely desert, or "jagd" -- lawless lands rich in Mist. Valendia is the home of Imperial Archadia, where vast and lush plains dot the landscape. Central to the story is Dalmasca, a small kingdom between the two continents and Empires. Located in the middle of the Galtean Peninsula of the Ordalian continent, Dalmasca is surrounded by an expanse of desert. The temperate climate of Dalmasca differs from the cold environs of Kerwon and the lush plains of Valendia and Ordalia. During this time, Ivalice is beset in pending war between the forces of Rozarria and Archadia. Caught between the two powerful Empires are Dalmasca and other small nations that were subjugated by Archadia two years before the game.

Culture

There are five main races that dot the land of Ivalice, as well as smaller and lesser-known races such as the shark-evolved Urutan-Yensa.

1. The Humes - Humans are referred to as Humes in the world of Ivalice. There are many different kinds of Humes in the world with varying levels of intelligence, body features and cultures. Social standards of Ivalice have other anthropoid races on equal terms with Humes, but there are other more intelligent races. These superior races prefer not to show themselves to Humes. There are also other less intelligent races that Humes utlize as slaves for manual labor. Humes make up around 40% of the population of Ivalice.

2. The Viera - Tall and thin, the Viera are people of the forest. Known for their long, slender bodies, tall rabbit-like ears and beautiful silver hair, the Viera can live up to three times as long as average humes. With two different varieties, Veena Viera have white skin and Rava Viera have brown skin. Had it not been for their height and long ears, this race would closely resemble the humes. Having a greater sense of sight, a viera can spot and catch her prey from 10 km in the distance. Viera's great sense of hearing allows them to make out even the different sounds of footsteps. Over 450 years ago, the ancient homeland of the Viera was destroyed in war. Having lost great portions of forest to conflicts, some Viera started to live amongst the Humes. Mixed Viera of Veena and Rava lineage easily integrate with Humes. Pure-blood Viera remained in the forests, keeping their ancient traditions.

3. The Bangaa - This race that evolved from reptiles have hard scales that cover their entire bodies. One of their distinguishing features is the long, low-hanging ears. There are four kinds of bangaas: Bangaa-Ruga have yellow-brown skin with short ears and are more gentle than the other bangaas, making them instructors or monks. Bangaa-Faas have bronze skin with great athletic abilities. Bangaa-Bista have copper skin; Bangaa-Sanga have ash grey skin. While there are four kinds of Bangaas, there are also mixed Bangaas of different decent. Other than differences in their physical appearence, the bangaa race have similar intelligence and lifestyles with humes that allow bangaas to fuse in with human society. Bangaas live 1.5x or 2x as long as average humes, but they have low reproductive cycles. The Bangaa are physically superior with great hearing and mobility. Due to their voice limits, they can only command low-level magic. Between the Bangaa-Ruga and Bangaa-Faas, they make the laws and keep the order. The Bangaa-Bista and Bangaa-Sanga lead more general lifestyles, which makes it easier for them to integrate with humes. There are rebels among the bangaas, as some Bangaa-Ruga become fighters.

4. The Moogles - Known for their small bat-like wings, soft hair covering their bodies and the red pom-pom on their heads, the moogles are around 80-120 cm tall. Their intelligence and lifestyles are similar to humes, which makes it easy for moogles to live amongst the humes. With their dexterous hands, they are knowledgable in the field of engineering. It is said that moogles built the first airship, a masterpiece of technological advancement. Most moogles contribute to society with their great engineering capablities. There are moogles that are so advanced that they are able to learn the ultimate technology called Etoria. While it looks like an ordinary city, there's a capital for moogles at the center of the city that's tailored for the small moogles. Humes and bangaas usually pass through the city. While mostly moogles inhabit the city, there is also unidentified technology that's installed in the city that even moogles do not understand. While not all moogles become engineers, there are a few moogles that become knights or mages. Throughout history, moogle-technology has been used in wars amongst the other races.

5. The Seeq - The race that evolved from pigs, Seeqs are about as tall as humes. They tend to grow fat and their intelligence is not often high. While they may look slow, Seeqs can be quite fast and make excellent fighters. With great offense and defense, their great balance allows for fast movements. The Seeq are a barbaric race with little to no morals. A lot of them become thieves, with jewelry and gold being their favorites with which they decorate their ugly bodies.

Through the course of the game, the beginning of a war erupts between the Rozzarian and Archadian Empires, the result of a mere Hume wanting to take control of his own destiny - taking that control from the Occuria.

The Occuria are a race of immortal beings, often called (by both themselves and others) "the Undying". Referred to by some as gods, but unknown to the major religions in Ivalice, the Occurian race played a vital role in the history of Ivalice such as the creation of the Espers and granting power to King Raithwall to conquer the countries of Ivalice, granting him the Dawn, Dusk, and Midlight shards. Due to this, they are directly responsible for the formation of the Galtean Alliance and the golden days of Ivalice that followed.

Another important part of the world of Ivalice is the position of Archadian Judges, a special order of knights under the Imperial Archadian Ministry of Law. With the spread of Archadian influence came a rise in crime and regional conflicts. To reduce the amount of time required by judicial process, a military court was established in Archadia, this being the origin of the Order of Judges. They are the supreme enforcers of Archadian law in the world of Ivalice. Each wields extraordinary legal power in his or her own right over lower-ranked Archadian officers. The higher ranked Judge Magisters, in addition to functioning as chief arbiters and enforcers of Archadian law, are also the elite guard of House Solidor which effectively makes them the commanders of the Imperial Army.

There are only five Judge Magisters in Archadia, those being Judge Gabranth, Judge Ghis, Judge Zargabaath, Judge Drace, and Judge Bergan.

Powers/Abilities

Mateus, an ice-based Esper in the form of a frozen Goddess-mermaid

The races of Ivalice have no innate magic abilities besides, perhaps, some of the none-Hume races' agility and fighting instinct. Many people, however, are able to use magick once they control a piece of magicite, and just as many are well-versed in swordsmanship, marksmanship, and the use of bombs and weight scales, among other weapons.

Select few, after besting them in battle, are granted the ability to summon "Espers" - servants of the gods that appear in the form of great beasts that are allowed a magick all of their own. Most are element-based, and some can be used to open certain doors.

In contrast, there are a trio of special pieces of magicite - known as the Dusk Shard, the Midlight Shard, and the Dawn Shard - that are infinitely more powerful than even the Espers. Originally given to the legendary King Raithwall by the Occurians as a means to conquer Ivalice, they grant the holder an unimaginable amount of power, one shard able to easily destroy an entire kingdom (as was the fate of one such kingdom called Nabudis).

Serph	Latest page update: made by Serph , Mar 24 2007, 1:46 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by Serph view changes - complete history)
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