Ragnarok (Final Fantasy XIII)

Ragnarok is a non-summonable Eidolon in Final Fantasy XIII. It is the legendary beast that a l'Cie must transform into in order to bring about the obliteration of Cocoon.

Fated Beast
The fal'Cie Orphan and Barthandelus, representing powers from Cocoon and the lowerworld of Pulse, respectively, both wish for l'Cie to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon in order to bring back a god referred to as the "Maker". Orphan was tasked with providing life to Cocoon, and thus prohibited from attempting to sabotage the very world the Maker ordered it to sustain. Barthandelus and other fal'Cie, too, could not take action against the floating city, as this would violate the Maker's doctrine.

In order to bring back the god they yearned for, the fal'Cie realized that Orphan itself must be killed by human hand. Remembering that humans were also given life by the Maker, the the fal'Cie began to brand humans with an insignia bestowing magical powers, labeling them as l'Cie. These servants would be bound to their fal'Cie's bidding, crystallizing if their Focus was met or decomposing into Cie'th if they failed.

While Orphan and the Cocoon fal'Cie were held powerless to ordain l'Cie with a mission against their homeland, Barthandelus searched amongst the humans on Pulse to find suitable candidates to attack the world above. Some fal'Cie on Cocoon, apparently unaware of Orphan and Barthandelus' scheme, created l'Cie of their own, and the two sides fought each other it what became known as the War of Transgressions. This battle ceased when the forces of Cocoon successfully pushed the Pulsian forces out, labeling everything Pulse with a stigma. Pulse felt equal animosity towards the Cocoonians.

Before the War ended, the l'Cie Oerba Dia Vanille and Fang were selected from the village ofOerba to become Ragnarok, the Eidolon whose destiny to annihilate Cocoon was unpreventable. Vanille, frightened at the task of killing those of both Pulse and Cocoon, refused to transform into the beast; Fang attempted to replace her, but the resulting transformation was incomplete and failed. For reasons unknown, Vanille and Fang both crystallized; apparently the Pulse fal'Cie were pleased with their efforts. They remained dormant in the Pulse Vestige until war stirred once more.

Born Anew


Five hundred years later, Barthandelus had taken peaceful political rule over Cocoon as its Primarch, overseeing all Cocoon military as the human specter Galenth Dysley. Some time before, the humans on Pulse had seemingly vanished; Barthandelus was forced to move the crystal Fang and Vanille to Cocoon, where they would reanimate to receive a new Focus. After they awaken, Vanille remembers their previous Focus, but hides her knowledge, as Fang cannot recall anything of Ragnarok. Bearing the guilt of Ragnarok within her, Vanille simply goes along with Fang's attempts to revive "their" memories, attacking the Cocoon fal'Cie Kujata. The incident only served to separate the two, Vanille bearing her guilt and looking for a way to escape to Pulse, while Fang joins the Calvary under Cid Raines.

During the Purge, Vanille boards a train headed for Pulse, meeting Lightning, Hope, Snow, and Sazh after the incident at Hanging Edge flies out of control. The five are branded by the Anima, a Pulse fal'Cie that Barthandelus had hidden along with Vanille and Fang in the piece of Pulse Vestige left on Cocoon. Though tasked with yet another mission to bring about the end of Cocoon, Vanille continues to hide her knowledge of the past from her friends, keeping silent or playing innocent during her journey with Sazh, who harbors anti-Pulse feelings.

Fang, meanwhile, learns of the other l'Cie after helping to apprehend Snow, and reunites with Vanille and the others upon the Palamecia. There, they also meet Dysley, who reveals himself as Barthandelus and taunts Fang's inability to remember her fate. On Pulse, Fang gradually begins to recall her mission of the past and confronts Vanille, who admits she was hiding the secret so hey would not have to transform into the beast again. Barthandelus appears to them once more as they scour the ruined city of Oerba, first taking the disguise of Serah Farron. Serah's shade chants to legend of Ragnarok, begging the party to open its eye to its inevitability, but they reject her, and Barthandelus reveals his true form in order to convince them by force. After his temporary defeat, Vanille, Fang, and the rest of the party resolve to save Cocoon rather than destroy it.

When the party passes through Edenhall and descends into Orphan's Cradle, Barthandelus orders them one last time to accept their destiny and kill Orphan and the whole of Cocoon. Vanille and Fang refuse, and Barthandelus decides to eliminate them and await new l'Cie. The protagonists prove stronger than he, and as the fal'Cie sinks into Orphan's pool, its last words are of glee, not misery.

Barthandelus' elimination awakens Orphan, who can now reveal its suicidal intentions. Orphan melds with Barthandelus and the owl-like Menvra, creating a sword-like entity and battling the party to force a conversion into Ragnarok. After a lengthy battle, Fang begins to waver and decides to begin the transformation; the other party members save Vanille are transformed into Ci'eth. Vanille pleads with Fang to reject the fate of Ragnarok, but her words are in vain. Fang is only able to morph into an inferior version of the beast, unable to kill Orphan, who resorts to torturing a restored Fang in order to force Vanille to take up the role of destroyer.

Just as Vanille seems ready to acquiesce, the other party members will themselves out of Ci'eth form and blast the Orphan/Barthandelus/Menvra husk with fire, causing it to crumble into its pool. As the being dissolves, only Orphan rises in its place, representing Cocoon in all its power. The party resolves to defeat Orphan without the aid of Ragnarok, killing it and causing it to explode, signaling the end of Cocoon.

Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope rise out of Orphan's Cradle, floating up with scattered light, but Vanille and Fang choose to remain at Eden's core. As the other four drift safely away, the Oerbans transform into Ragnarok together as the Cocoon descends like a Meteor towards the volcanic land of Pulse below. With the strength of Ragnarok, Vanille and Fang freeze the lava below and evoke a crystal pillar from it, swathing around and slowing Cocoon. Ragnarok supports the falling globe and emits a shower of crystal wind, causing the molten surface of Cocoon to freeze in a glass-like substance and balancing it securely upon the crystal pillar. Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope survive, their l'Cie marks vanished; Cocoon's days of plenty have ended. As evacuees from Cocoon spread out amongst the land of Pulse, Vanille and Fang, crystallized in Cocoon's center, encourage the party to greet a new dawn.