Serah Farron



Serah Farron (セラ・ファロン Sera Faron) [sɛrə] is a supporting character in Final Fantasy XIII. Serah is the younger sister of Lightning by three years, and is also the fiancée of Snow Villiers. Lightning accuses Snow of failing to protect Serah and does not approve of their relationship. Serah's destiny is one of the central plot points in the game. She is voiced by in the Japanese version, and by  in the English version.

Appearance and Personality
Serah is an eighteen year old girl with the same pink tint of hair Lightning has, which she ties into a ponytail on the side. She wears a red pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent sweeper in the same style of the shirt, thigh-highs, ankle boots, and a bandage on her left arm which she uses to cover her l'Cie brand. Serah is described as "the cutest girl" in the game by Yoshinori Kitase.

Story


In the web novelization Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise, it is mentioned that before the events of the game, Serah was about to attend Eden's university, but during her summer vacation she fell in love with Snow, much to her sister's dismay. However, Serah had gone into the Pulse Vestige ruins which the traitor fal'Cie Orphan took from Pulse, and she was marked on her upper left arm as a l'Cie by the fal'Cie Anima entombed in the ruins, her Focus being to lure more people to the ruins to be made into l'Cie. Though she drove Snow away out of fear, he refused to abandon her and offered to aid her in any way he can. Four days before the game, Serah met Vanille and told her that she'll get through the mission with her friends' help. Vanille apologizes to Serah, since it was her fault Serah was made a l'Cie. Two days later, Serah attends the fireworks festival with Snow who soon proposes to her, which she accepts. The next day, she and Snow tell Lightning about her becoming a l'Cie, and their engagement. This infuriates Lightning, believing Serah's lying to her as an excuse to marry Snow and drives her off. Next they try to evade PSICOM forces wishing to Purge them. They escape on an air vehicle to the Pulse fal'Cie. Serah jumps onto a ledge as Snow tries to steer the vehicle, but she becomes trapped by a silver liquid substance that pulls her into the fal'Cie.

When Serah is found unconscious within the Pulse Vestige by Lightning, Sazh attempts to kill her after learning she was a Pulse l'Cie. When Snow arrives with Vanille and Hope, Lightning scolds him for not protecting Serah. Then Serah tells Lightning that she can save Cocoon and since everyone was around, her Focus was completed and she was crystallized, leaving behind a tear-shaped crystal for Snow. After the party are turned into l'Cie and wake up in Lake Bresha, they eventually find Serah, who has become part of the crystallized lake. Soon after Lightning, Vanille, Hope and Sazh abandon Snow, who stayed behind to try and free Serah, she is brought aboard the Lindblum along with Snow when he is captured by Fang and Cid's troops. After this, Serah mainly appears in flashbacks and continues to be mentioned by the other characters. At the end of the game, Galenth destroyed an illusion of the crystallized Serah to unnerve Snow. After Orphan is destroyed and Vanille and Fang sacrifice themselves to keep Cocoon from crashing into Pulse, Serah is restored, and she reunites with Lightning and Snow. There, Lightning finally accepts Serah and Snow's relationship with each other.

Musical Themes
Serah's Theme (English Version) oDfqCNgeHTU Despite not being a playable character, Serah's leitmotif appears in lot of pieces of the Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack. "Serah's Theme" often plays when Serah is featured or mentioned in the story, mainly during cutscenes that show flashbacks of Serah's life before the Purge. The leitmotif shares a melody with that of "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise", "In the Sky That Night", "Forever Fugitives", "Sunleth Waterscape", "The Archylte Steppe", "Fabula Nova Crystallis", "FINAL FANTASY XIII - Miracles", "Determination", and "Ending Credits". Lyric-wise, "Sunleth Waterscape" is notably more brief and reflective than "Serah's Theme".

In the English version of the game, "Serah's Theme" is played during the scene of the fireworks festival, in place of "Eternal Love" in the Japanese version.

Lyrics
Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure Battles we can win, if we believe our souls Hang in for the light, till dawn Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere

English Version
Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over Battles we can win, our struggle lies within Will we live to greet the dawn? Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you Promise me one day that peace shall reign

Trivia

 * Serah is 18 years old and 164 cm (5'5") tall according to the Ultimania guide.
 * Serah's engagement pendant resembles Final Fantasy XIII's [[Media:Final Fantasy XIII Logo.jpg|logo]]. A matching pendant is also worn by Snow Villiers.
 * The bracelet that Serah wears is also worn by her sister Lightning. Both wear it on their right arm.
 * Serah's earrings feature the cat logo of NORA. Snow's pendant also shares this motif.
 * Though her name is spelled differently and she is not royalty, Serah continues the Final Fantasy tradition of supporting female characters named Sarah.
 * According to the web novellas, Serah is a straight-A student and one of her favorite subjects is history.
 * Her crystal is in the shape of a tear drop that Snow holds onto for most of the story.