Maker

The Maker, also known as Hallowed Pulse (パルス), is the being that created the fal'Cie of Gran Pulse and is said to have created the world of Final Fantasy XIII. When the Maker was on Gran Pulse, it was said to be peaceful for both species, the fal'Cie and the humans.

Eventually the Maker departed the world, beginning the events leading up to the game. Hallowed Pulse is the name given to it in certain Analects discovered on Pulse, and the world of Gran Pulse is named after it.

It is possible "The Maker" is a term which does not refer to one god in particular. For Cocoon fal'Cie, their maker is Lindzei, while for Gran Pulse fal'Cie, their maker is Hallowed Pulse. It is implied both lots of fal'Cie wish to be reunited with their respective makers.

VII. Hallowed Pulse
It was the Great and Hallowed Pulse who, seeking to expand divine domain, parted the chaos and fashioned realm within; made fal'Cie, and charged them with this world's completion. ''The fal'Cie, anxious to please the hand that shaped them, labored devotedly at the task they had been given. They made l'Cie of men so that they, too, might be able to aid the greater cause. Men, in turn, offered praise and prayer to Hallowed Pulse, naming their great land in honor of its architect. Yet still the architect departed.''
 * —On the Nature of Fal'Cie

Story
According to the official mythology the god Bhunivelze created Pulse, Lindzei and Etro in order to reach the realm of the dead. Pulse was the first to be created, and the mythology calls Pulse a fal'Cie. The god Bhunivelze gave Pulse the task of creating the world seen in Final Fantasy XIII and to search for the door to the realm of the dead. Pulse thus created the world and created many fal'Cie of his own. Humans came to worship Pulse as their all-powerful ruler. However, at some point, the gods left the world.

The main scheme of the game's villain, Barthandelus, is to destroy Cocoon to call the Maker back into the world. The fal'Cie believe the Maker has gone past the Door of Souls, the gateway to afterlife. By killing millions of people at once, the fal'Cie believe the surge of souls flowing through the Door would "throw it wide open".

The main cast in the game do not know about the Maker until late in Chapter 10. When they encounter Cid Raines in the Fifth Ark, Raines explains how the fal'Cie want to use Cocoon as a sacrifice so that they can get the Maker to return. However, the fal'Cie cannot destroy Cocoon themselves for they are bound to its creation and maintenance, so instead they use l'Cie as tools and give them the Focus to destroy it in their place.

Later, Barthandelus presents them with a choice — they can either allow Cocoon to destroy itself from within through the conflicts between the Pulsian beasts, the Cavalry and PSICOM, or confront Orphan, the main fal'Cie that holds Cocoon in place above Gran Pulse, and allow the world to die painlessly. Upon return to Eden, they discover strange crystal dust in the air that Barthandelus claims signals the Maker is soon to return.

When the party destroys Barthandelus it awakens Orphan and the party finds out Orphan's goal is the same as Barthandelus's. After Orphan's destruction, Fang and Vanille save Cocoon by becoming Ragnarok and erecting a huge crystal structure to stop Cocoon crashing into Gran Pulse. Thus, Cocoon is not destroyed and the return of the Maker is prevented.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version, the characters talk about "God" rather than "the Maker".
 * Pulse is often confused with the goddess Etro, but they are different characters.
 * Before International release, Maker was incorrectly romanized as Moktar.
 * Pulse is also mentioned in Final Fantasy Type-0. The armistice in the era of the game was proclaimed by the three major nations of Oriense "in the name of the God Pulse," as noted by Celestia quoting from the Fabula Conventions.