Oerba



Oerba [ɛɹbə] is a location on Gran Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. It is one of the few city-like areas visitable on Pulse, and is the hometown of Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang.

Villagers from several different clans had settled in Oerba and adopted the same surname. They had all lived together in communities, sharing their houses with each other. It is mentioned that the fal'Cie Anima used to be the protector of the village.

After the War of Transgression, Oerba is abandoned, devoid of any life other than Cie'th and other monsters. Daisuke Watanabe, the lead scenario writer for Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2, has explained in an interview that when the war ended the environment on Pulse was in ruins and all human survivors had no alternative but to leave and this is how Oerba became a ghost town. The village's outskirts are also covered in a layer of snow-like crystal dust. Although it is not specifically explained how the crystal dust came to be, it could possibly be a result of Oerba's close proximity to Cocoon.

Final Fantasy XIII
''Fang and Vanille's former home, the village of Oerba is located at the northernmost edge of the Gran Pulse mainland. Villagers from several clans shared a communal lifestyle here, honoring the fal'Cie Anima as their patron and protector.''

Today, what remains of the abandoned village is overrun by Cie'th and in the process of being swallowed by an encroaching sea of ashen crystal sand dunes.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Travel Guide: Oerba Area Information ''Oerba is an abandoned village located in the northern reaches of Pulse. The sand that covers the ground is powdered crystal that fell during the War of Transgression.''

''In recent times, large numbers of Cie'th have been seen in the area. Presumably, they were created from living humans to serve some mysterious fal'Cie purpose. Cie'th are former l'Cie who failed to complete their Focus.''

From the Editor's Desk: ''Oerba is a designated Special Protected Zone, so visitors are not allowed. However, you might get permission from the Academy for an airship flyover.''

Final Fantasy XIII
After completing the trials of Taejin's Tower, Oerba is only a short distance away. While Vanille and Fang recall beautiful memories of their hometown, they come to accept it is now a barren land devoid of color. The party is free to explore the village, which includes finding spare parts to repair Bhakti, but when they reach the end of the Rust-eaten Bridge they encounter Galenth Dysley in the form of Serah while reciting the hymn of "Ragnarok".

Once assuming his actual form, Dysley informs the l'Cie of his actions: having the resurrected Cid Raines succeed him as Primarch and engineer a back-up plan to destroy Cocoon if the l'Cie refuse to follow their Focus. Following a battle with Dysley transformed into Barthandelus, he invites the party to "release Cocoon from her suffering" and departs, leaving them an airship transformed from Menrva.

Before their departure Vanille activates a purple Cie'th Stone and reads the story of the War of Transgression, which reveals the events behind her and Fang's participation in the War, the goddess Etro's intervention, and how Barthandelus brought them and Anima within the Pulse Vestige into Cocoon to finish what they started. With their knowledge of Dysley's plan to make Cocoon tear itself apart, the l'Cie fly Menrva out of Oerba and through a gate into Eden.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In the aftermath of Final Fantasy XIII, the Academy made Oerba a protected area in memory of Vanille and Fang's sacrifice. Centuries later, Oerba is caught within a paradox due to its past and future overlapping causing Temporal Rifts to emerge.

After departing from the Yaschas Massif 10 AF, Noel Kreiss, Serah Farron, and Mog arrive at Oerba 200 AF to find the village is caught in a paradox and being sucked into a black hole. As they resolve anomalies, Oerba returns to its former state.

Caius and his companion, Yeul, surround Noel and Serah on the roof of the old schoolhouse saying they have been watching them. Caius tells Serah and Noel he knows of their travels through time because of Yeul's visions. He enters battle with them seeking to sanction them but before he can kill Noel, Yeul stops Caius because time has already been changed, and she and Caius leave the area.

As Serah, Mog, and Noel explore the Temporal Rifts throughout Oerba at 300 and 400 AF, Mog begins to remember things from his past before he met Lightning in Valhalla and remembers a place called the Ocean of Time. Serah and Noel believe that to be Mog's home and offer to help him get back. Completing the last Rift in 400 AF, the trio hears a bunch of moogles on the other side. Mog remembers everything about how he was sucked into a paradox and drifted through the Void Beyond to Valhalla, losing his memories along the way. In the end, Mog decides to stay with Serah.

Areas
Oerba represents a concept of the "present" world, contrasting Cocoon's futuristic look. There is evidence of living spaces, wind farms, oil rigs, billboards, and a railroad, possibly connecting Oerba to the outside world. A potential reason for the difference between Cocoon's futuristic look, and Oerba's present day look, is possibly due to Oerba being destroyed 500 years ago, and so technological advancements in the following years on Cocoon progressed their towns to the more futuristic style, whereas Oerba stayed in ruins and Cie'th and monsters slowly overtook it.

After the Day of Ragnarok when the timeline has been distorted, Oerba is caught in a paradox: the great tree that was in the west side of the village is gone allowing passage, but some doors are locked and can't be opened. Seemingly, most of the Ashensand that was leading to Taejin's Tower is gone, yet the area is extended by waters lowering near the Deserted Schoolhouse, as well as access to the Rust-eaten Bridge being cut off. A plaza behind Fang and Vanille's home is uncovered and free to travel.

{| width="100%"
 * width="50%"|

Final Fantasy XIII

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Final Fantasy XIII-2

 * valign="top"|
 * The Ashensand
 * Village Proper
 * Desolate Mill
 * Dilapidated Dwelling
 * Derelict Depot
 * Deserted Schoolhouse
 * Rust-eaten Bridge
 * valign="top"|
 * The Ashensand
 * Village Proper
 * Deserted Schoolhouse
 * }
 * }

Final Fantasy XIII
Oerba contains a sole survivor: Bhakti, Vanille's pet robot. The player has the option to help fix him, by salvaging parts scattered throughout the village. In return, he will grant valuable items, such as Deceptisol, Platinum Ingots, and Gold Nuggets, as well as tips on where to find secret Cie'th Stone missions and new areas that the player may not be aware exist.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In Final Fantasy XIII-2 the area of Oerba has numerous Temporal Rift puzzles the player must solve.

Final Fantasy XIII

 * Vampire
 * Seeker
 * Varcolaci
 * Vetala
 * Taxim
 * Chonchon
 * Barthandelus (Boss)

200 AF

 * Ghast x2
 * Ghast, Seeker x3
 * Ghast, Zwerg Scandroid x3
 * Seeker x3, Chonchon x3
 * Zwerg Scandroid x3
 * Zwerg Scandroid, Frag Leech x3
 * Zwerg Scandroid x2, Frag Leech x2
 * Clione x4
 * Clione x5
 * Clione x3, Chelicerata x2
 * Frag Leech x2
 * Frag Leech x3
 * Lucidon
 * Caius Ballad

300 AF

 * Ghast x2
 * Seeker x2, Chonchon x4
 * Seeker x3, Chonchon x3
 * Breshan Bass, Bloodfang Bass x5
 * Bloodfang Bass x5
 * Bloodfang Bass x7
 * Pink Lily x2
 * White Chocobo

400 AF

 * Seeker x2, Chonchon x4
 * Seeker x3, Chonchon x3
 * Zaghnal
 * Zaghnal x2, Forked Cat
 * Grenade x2
 * Grenade x3
 * Raspatil

Final Fantasy XIII
"Dust to Dust" is the location theme that plays at the outskirts of Oerba and in the village itself. Like many other tracks in the game, it features female vocals, evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing for times past, and represents the reaction of Fang and Vanille upon returning to their hometown, now a ghost town village.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
"Ruined Hometown" and "Ruined Hometown - Aggressive Mix -" are two tracks associated with Oerba, serving as its background theme in 200 AF and 400 AF. Both tracks and were composed by Naoshi Mizuta, with vocals provided by Joelle.

Final Fantasy XIII's "Sulyya Springs" is the background theme for Oerba 300 AF.

"Ruined Hometown" Lyrics

 * Just as the light begins to fade to dark
 * The moaning wind sings songs to my forebodings
 * Am I alone with no one watching on
 * If I do fall will no one come to save me


 * Oh cursed fate eternally
 * Delivering our doom
 * But know true hope is born
 * My faith is stronger than your agonies
 * Hope survives your pain


 * Though Prophecies foretell us of the end
 * It doesn't mean that we have to believe them
 * Hope's burdens weigh me down oh this is true
 * But they bring life that truly does sustain me


 * I'll conquer time, defeat it
 * I'll change the past, my future
 * If any gods are listening
 * Answer my prayers

Creation and Development
Oerba stays abandoned in Final Fantasy XIII-2. The reason for this is that the game designers felt that Oerba holds a symbolic value in Final Fantasy XIII as it signifies the end of the main protagonists' journey. Therefore, the developers would have felt uncomfortable in repopulating Oerba or making it busy.

However, there were preliminary plans for an Oerba where Orphan's Cradle would have crashed after the events of Final Fantasy XIII. Concept art for this area is found in Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega.

Trivia

 * A photo of Fang and Vanille can be found on a table in the house with Bhakti.
 * Also, in the house with Bhakti, the player can find Vanille's and Fang's items, such as Vanille's bracelets and necklaces.
 * In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, there is a trade material called "Oerba Beads".
 * Among the many things to examine in Oerba is a model globe of Cocoon, which can be found inside the school. If examined, it tells that it has been defaced with "derogatory writing", implying the past inhabitants of Oerba and the people of Cocoon shared a mutual hatred of one another.
 * Only weapon models for Vanille and Fang can be found in Oerba, due to being their hometown in the past.
 * Since the two remaining survivors of Oerba, Fang and Vanille, speak with Australian accents (in the English version), it can be assumed that the other people who once inhabited the village also spoke with the same accent.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII-2, a reflection of an uncrystallized Cocoon can be seen in the waters near the Deserted Schoolhouse instead of the present state of Cocoon in Oerba -200 AF-, possibly a paradox.
 * Throughout the different time periods in Final Fantasy XIII-2 more and more robotic pets appear in the Village proper. Such as in 200 AF there are two robots while in 400 AF there are four. This is possibly a paradox due to the many temporal rifts in the village.