L'Cie



The l'Cie (ルシ Rushi) [ləsiː] (pronounced "luh-see") are people branded by the god-like fal'Cie to do their bidding in the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII titles Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Pulse l'Cie
''The beings known as fal'Cie possess the power to enthrall unwilling human instruments, compelling the victims to serve their will. These individuals, known as l'Cie, are marked with indelible brands. They gain the gift of magic, but also bear the burden of completing a task known as a Focus for their fal'Cie master.''

''Pulse l'Cie -- tools of fal'Cie from the world below -- are considered dangerous enemies of Cocoon's society. As there exists no means of removing the l'Cie brand and the curse thereby imposed, Pulse l'Cie are hunted relentlessly.''

Sanctum l'Cie
''During the War of Transgression, a number of warriors were made into l'Cie to engage the forces of Pulse alongside the Sanctum fal'Cie. Since that time, there is no record of a Cocoon fal'Cie taking a human as a l'Cie.

''It is possible that there have been unrecorded cases, but even if that is so, any and all accurate information about the nature of Sanctum l'Cie has been lost in the intervening years. Even Sanctum researches have been able to achieve no more than speculation.''

Brands
''The brands that mark a l'Cie as one of the fal'Cie's chosen change gradually, passing through several different stages. When the "eye" at the center opens -- the brand’s final stage -- the l'Cie becomes a Cie'th.''

''A brand's rate of progression depends partly on the difficulty of the l'Cie's Focus. It is also linked closely to the individual's mental state, with severe psychological trauma sometimes spurring rapid advancement. In the most extreme cases, severe fear and shock at being made a l'Cie has turned newly made l'Cie to Cie'th at the instant of their branding.''

Final Fantasy XIII
Upon becoming a l'Cie, the person is given a mission to complete by the fal'Cie, called a Focus. However, the fal'Cie will not explicitly tell the l'Cie what their Focus is. Instead, they must figure it out for themselves with the aid of various ambiguous visions. If a l'Cie fails to complete his or her Focus, they will be transformed into a monstrous crystallized creature known as a Cie'th. However, the "reward" for completing a Focus is not much better, for the l'Cie will be granted "eternal life" and turned into a crystal, to sleep forever. It is for this reason that many think the fate of a l'Cie is worse than death itself.

However, a l'Cie is granted more than just a Focus. Upon transformation, they will gain access to powerful magical and physical capabilities, far beyond those of a normal human being. They can grow even further in strength through development of their personal crystal using the Crystarium. In addition to this, l'Cie can perform Paradigm Shifts to instantaneously alter their capabilities during battle. In this way, the l'Cie gains the power needed to complete their Focus, which often involves slaying a large beast or other creature that no unaugmented human would normally stand a chance against.

There are two types of l'Cie - those of Cocoon and those of Gran Pulse. The type of l'Cie one becomes is determined by the origin of the fal'Cie who transformed them, not the place where the transformation took place. This is why Lightning and her companions become Pulse l'Cie, even though they were transformed on Cocoon. In Cocoon society, the public fears l'Cie of Pulse immensely and they are relentlessly hunted and killed by PSICOM soldiers. The l'Cie of Cocoon, however, are hailed as heroes and may simply fall under the PSICOM custody.

The "brand" of the l'Cie is visible somewhere on the person's body. The appearance of the brand is dependent on the the Pulse or Cocoon fal'Cie that chose the l'Cie, and both types of fal'Cie have a different brand they use. The brand of the Pulse fal'Cie is an overlapping sequence of black arrows. Over time, the arrows multiply and a closed eye is revealed. When the eye opens fully, the l'Cie's time has run out, and they will turn into a Cie'th. The brand can also be "burned out" under certain circumstances, turning white and ceasing to grow. In such cases, the l'Cie keeps their power, and can even gain an Eidolon if they did not already possess one, but no longer needs to complete a Focus. Barthandelus suggests this is because the true power of l'Cie comes from humans, merely roused and harnessed by the fal'Cie rather than granted. Also, under certain circumstances, the l'Cie brand can vanish altogether, turning the l'Cie back into a regular human being.

Though it is thought by the people of Cocoon that completing a Focus and becoming a crystal is an eternal imprisonment, the state is only temporary. At the behest of the fal'Cie, the l'Cie can be awakened with a new Focus to complete. So long as the l'Cie continues to complete each new Focus, they are returned to crystal sleep between each task. While most see this as enslavement, some l'Cie revel in this as a form of immortality - at least, until they fail a Focus. Furthermore, during crystal stasis, l'Cie do not age, which also gives them a form of "eternal youth;" this is why Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille appear to be only 21 and 19 years of age, respectively, when they are actually over 500 years old.

The Eidolons are said to be their salvation, for they are created from the crystal that sprouts from the brand of the l'Cie. The shape of these crystals and Eidolons varies for each person according to "what is in their hearts." L'Cie do not have the ability to summon their Eidolons right away, however; a personal "evolution" must occur first, where the l'Cie must fight off their emotional uncertainties and win the Eidolon's allegiance, or face death. The game's datalog implies that the Eidolons are, in fact, sent by the Goddess Etro.

Nine of the characters in Final Fantasy XIII are l'Cie (or become l'Cie during the progress of the game):

Pulse l'Cie

 * Serah Farron, whose crystal is in the shape of a tear and her brand is located on her upper left arm.
 * Lightning, whose brand is located on her upper chest. Her crystal is the shape of a rose because of her high class, and it transforms into the Eidolon Odin.
 * Snow Villiers, whose brand is on his left forearm. His crystal has taken the shape of a heart because of his life energy, and the Eidolon it contains is Shiva.
 * Sazh Katzroy, who also has the brand on his chest, half-visible under his shirt. His feather-shaped crystal holds his Eidolon, Brynhildr.
 * Hope Estheim, whose brand is on his left wrist. His star-shaped crystal transforms into the Eidolon Alexander.
 * Oerba Dia Vanille who has the brand on her left arse cheek. Her crystal is in the form of an apple, and inside is her Eidolon Hecatoncheir.
 * Oerba Yun Fang, who has a brand on her right shoulder. Her fang-shaped crystal holds the Eidolon Bahamut.

Sanctum l'Cie

 * Dajh Katzroy, who was chosen a l'Cie by Kujata. His brand is on the back of his right hand.
 * Cid Raines, whose brand is on his right hand, became a Cocoon l'Cie but renounced his Focus.

White Brand
A White Brand indicates that the l'Cie's brand has stopped advancing and he/she is no longer in danger of becoming a Cie'th, but why a l'Cie stops advancing is not explained. Fang's brand is white since the beginning of the game, symbolizing her Focus - for her and Vanille to become Ragnarok - has stalled, though Fang has no memory of the events. During the game's climax Fang's brand momentarily turns black again, and later the brands of all six party members have turned white when they defy their Focus and engage Orphan.

Further, the game implies, although does not state out-right, that a l'Cie would be able to overcome their fal'Cie-given Focus. On Sulyya Springs Vanille reveals to Snow Serah's Focus was likely the same as the rest of the party's because she had the same vision, which would mean Dysley had lied to the group. Vanille says, "I think she beat it. She handed Cocoon over to us, and that's why she turned to crystal." Although Serah wasn't shown with a white brand, the party's brands turning white at the game's end might have similar roots, as the party have just declared they have seen a new vision of something that Sazh says looked like a new Focus, and after completely rejecting their previous Focus in saying they will save Cocoon, the camera shows their brands turning white one by one while Vanille's narrator voice says, "The Brand of a l'Cie. The symbol of the Focus we all faced. The mark of the fate we all shared. Proof of the promise we all made." When Orphan's final form emerges, Lightning says, "Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible. That is our Focus." Both Vanille and Lightning's lines suggest the party has indeed changed their Focus.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII
In Final Fantasy Agito XIII, the army of Cid's country is composed of l'Cie. It is also possible that the playable character whose preferred weapon is cards is a l'Cie also, as it is possible he summoned Odin in-game.

Trivia

 * Although several l'Cie, upon completion of their Focus, are shown to have their entire body turn to crystal, Dajh is shown to only be encased in a crystal block, his body clearly visible. This could be due to different fal'Cie having different ways of crystallizing their l'Cie.

l'Cie