Paddra Nsu-Yeul



Paddra Nsu-Yeul (パドラ＝ヌス・ユール) [] is a major supporting character from Final Fantasy XIII-2. She is Caius Ballad's traveling companion and a seeress hailing from the city-state of Paddra in the Yaschas Massif on Gran Pulse during the War of Transgression. Surrounded by mystery, Yeul has important connections to Caius, Noel, Serah, and the numerous paradoxes occurring in the world.

Her full name stands for "Yeul of the Nsu clan, from the city of Paddra".

In the Japanese version, she is voiced by and by  in the English version. Yeul was designed by Hideo Minaba.

Datalog
''Yeul bears the same name as the ancient seeress, Paddra Nsu-Yeul. Appearing alongside Caius in Oerba in the year 200 AF, she leaves Serah with the enigmatic words, 'If you change the future, you change the past.'''

Upon seeing Yeul's face, Noel is unable to hide his shock and confusion.

''Yeul is a seeress, burdened with the power of prophecy—her life span grows shorter with every vision of the future. She dies at a young age, only to be born once more among the Farseer people. Each reincarnation has the same appearance and ability, and is given the name 'Yeul'.''

''The Yeul who Noel befriends is the last seeress. She promises the young hunter that they will meet again, before breathing her last. The last vision she sees is not one of despair, but of hope.''

''At the height of Paddra civilization, the seeress Paddra Nsu-Yeul of the Farseers prophesized its destruction. In one of history's great ironies, the prophecy itself ignited the civil war that destroyed the nation.''
 * Message of the Orbs

The seeress realized that her very words had the power to change history and the future, and so, with her Guardian Caius and a few select escorts, she left the city for the wilderness.

''She covered her face with a veil, cast off the crown that made her ruler of Paddra, and became simply Yeul the Seeress. Soon after that, she and her small band of followers disappeared from the pages of history.''


 * Tablet of Memory

''The seeress of the Farseers knows the exact moment she will die. However, she is forbidden to change the timeline in order to save herself.''

''The seeress has no choice but to accept her preordained end. This is the law of the Farseers. Each change of the timeline creates new victims, spawns new tragedies, and not even the seeress can tell how great those losses shall be.''

Appearance and Personality


Yeul has an oval face with green eyes and long, coral dark blue hair that is sometimes kept up, except for two long strands that frame her face. She has a lean, petite frame and at times is seen wearing a unique headdress with a semi-transparent veil that partially hides her face, though she can modify the headdress to remove the veil and let the rest of her hair down. She wears a white halter-like top with an opening in the center and a small crystal above her chest. She wears a short wrap-around pleated white and pastel purple skirt with a fur pelt in the back, along with bright yellow boots similar to s. Her wrists are adorned with numerous bracelets, and she wears armbands on her biceps and beaded necklaces.

Yeul is a reserved person, mostly keeping to herself. She speaks in a soft mysterious tone making her clairvoyant nature all the more present. In 700 AF, A Dying World, she seems more cheerful when conversing with Noel, but the events are from Noel's point of view when he is lost in his dream world, which might affect the way Yeul is represented in that world.

Even though she is only a teenager, Yeul acts in a mature manner. Although she is always reincarnated as the same person, the various Yeuls have unique quirks, interests, and hobbies that set each apart, such as singing and flower collecting.

Story
As a seer priestess from the city of Paddra in the Yaschas Massif region, Yeul is a member of the Farseer tribe who received the Eyes of Etro to lead her people with visions of the future. The gift doubles as a curse and the visions shorten Yeul's lifespan and eventually kill her, but she is to be endlessly reborn across different time periods. Major changes to the timeline, such as when Etro saves Lightning and her friends at the end of Final Fantasy XIII, or when Serah and Noel prevent the creation of the Proto fal'Cie in Academia, also trigger these visions, causing Yeul to see the new future.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega it is revealed that Yeul's life span shortens the more the number of possible futures grow and that's why Caius will eventually try to reduce the number of possible futures to the point where there is only the one inevitable future left: world destruction. Though she originally transferred her visions into the Oracle Drive, the Guardians assigned to protect her would receive her visions of the future. While the warrior who became Gorgyra was among her previous Guardians, Yeul's current protector is Caius.

Before the War of Transgression, Yeul had predicted the destruction of the Paddra nation. Her prophecy caused disorder among the Farseers, as some wanted to flee the city and escape their fate, while others did not, and the civil war that broke out caused the city to fall just as Yeul saw it. As the survivors fled into the wilderness and became nomads, Yeul left with her remaining Guardians. She covered her face with a veil, cast off her crown and title, and became simply known as "Yeul the Seeress".

Final Fantasy XIII
Paddra Nsu-Yeul is mentioned as the author of the fourth and ninth Analects, which are related to Etro's mythos, Ragnarok's attack on Cocoon, and the origins of Eidolons.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
In the near future of 10 AF, Hope Estheim's expedition in Yaschas Massif uncovers the Oracle Drive, revealing that Yeul foresaw the crystallization of Cocoon by Fang and Vanille 500 years before it happened. Because of the lack of data on her at the time, the Academy believed Yeul to have been a title rather than an omnipresent person.

Yeul of 200 AF
In Oerba, Yeul appears behind Noel and Serah, warning the latter not to touch the Oracle Drive they have found. When Caius appears in front of Serah and Noel, explaining to the latter that she is not the girl he knows in his time, Yeul cryptically tells them that she has been watching over them. As Caius is about to kill Noel, Yeul intervenes saying the future has just been changed and comforts Caius as he kneels before her.

Yeul tells Serah and Noel that changing the future also changes the past, and they could shape the timeline however they please. Caius suggests they leave in order to not see the future any further. He opens a portal, taking Yeul to Augusta Tower to spend her final moments.

When Serah and Noel arrive in Augusta Tower, Yeul gives them an artefact while imploring them to protect the timeline. Yeul continues by revealing that Lightning's disappearance from Gran Pulse was caused by the future being changed, and if Serah and Noel continue to solve the paradoxes, the past will return to the way Serah remembers it.

Yeul also reveals that Caius uses her visions to remember the entire timeline, and that he is immortal. She says that a sentient machine within the tower had conjured the enemies that threaten them, including the fake Caius from Academia. Telling Noel and Serah to show her a new future, Yeul dies after seeing a vision of a future with everyone smiling, before Caius appears and carries away her body.

Yeul of 400 AF


On the streets of Academia, Yeul walks up to a pack of Cie'th before Noel and Serah come to her aid. Noel helps her up but she is grabbed and thrown by Zenobia. After Serah and Noel destroy it, Noel holds Yeul in his arms as she tells him about her vision of death.

She says that she is a contradiction to the timeline as long as she is alive. At the same time, Serah despairs over her and Noel causing a paradox to occur, therefore sealing Yeul's fate. Yeul says that Caius isn't in the city and tells Noel that she is not the Yeul he knows, but thanks him and dies, leaving an artefact for them. Her death is negated in the alternate timeline set by the defeat of the Proto fal'Cie Adam.

Yeul of 700 AF
The final reincarnation of Yeul lived in the Dying World until the events of her fifteenth birthday. Along with Caius, Noel also cared for and protected Yeul, but was unaware that she would die soon. Wanting to make her happy, Noel wanted to take Yeul along with him on a journey to find other people out in the world.

Caius reprimands Noel for considering such folly while revealing a way to save Yeul by killing Etro and let the chaos of Valhalla consume the Mortal Realm and transform it into a world like Valhalla itself, a place without a future or past. After Caius leaves to carry out the deed, Yeul dies in Noel's arms soon after, telling him they would meet again before she fades away. Later, while in a dream world back in his time, Noel learns that Yeul had seen the events of his adventure with Serah through time. This gives him the strength to finally move on while believing that he and the Yeul he knew will meet again.

Other Yeuls
Prior to fighting Lightning in Valhalla, Caius lays a Yeul's lifeless body to rest in the nearby sea. Another Yeul appears alongside Caius in New Bodhum in 3 AF, watching the members of NORA bid farewell to Serah, Mog, and Noel as they leave through the Time Gate.

In Yaschas Massif in 10 AF, with the two returning from Oerba at 200 AF, Yeul appears before Noel and Serah while explaining that the Yeul they saw before was from the distant future. She tells them that she traces the timeline and leads people along the right path. Yeul says that she came in order to confirm something, then has a vision. She points at Serah, cryptically revealing her to possess the Eyes of Etro like herself before leaving. She reappears after Noel and Serah leave through a Time Gate, but promptly dies in Caius's arms.

In the years 100 and 110 AF in Yaschas Massif, it is revealed that long ago, the monster Ugallu, a monster who devoured time, came to Paddra and threatened to destroy the nation. Many l'Cie tried to stop it, but all of them failed. Wishing to protect her nation from Ugallu, Yeul resorted to using her powers to seal away the monster, but by doing so inadvertently created a paradox makes people vanish and in their place leaves "Rubies of Grief" - remnants of their memories. Yeul is plagued by guilt over her actions and in the year 110 AF, Serah and Noel encounter a Ruby of Grief that contains within it the living conscience of the ancient Yeul, who implores the two to destroy Ugallu. By doing so, Yeul's memory finally finds peace and vanishes, ending the paradox.

In the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF, the Yeul of that time arrives with Caius to a Time Gate after Serah and Noel leave. Caius asks her if she will allow this, and she says, "It is not for me to decide", and they leave the area.

When Serah gets separated from Noel in the Historia Crux and arrives in a shadow of Valhalla in the Void Beyond, several Yeuls from different time periods appear to give her cryptic advice.The first one being from New Bodhum in 3AF. The last one, revealed to be an illusion created by Caius, asks her why she seeks to change time. "Yeul" reveals to Serah the death that awaits her if she changes the timeline any further, before the illusion scatters and Caius appears.

When Serah and Noel navigate the floating blocks in Academia 500 AF, Yeul's voice can be heard, telling them not to kill Etro and that only a doomed future awaits them if they face Caius, hinting at Caius's scheme to have Noel kill him to ensure Etro's death.

In the Paradox Ending, "Beneath a Timeless Sky", Yeul is trapped at the end of the world in New Bodhum with Serah, Noel, and Mog. Yeul reveals that she cannot have visions any more due to time having ended when Serah defeated Caius in the Void Beyond. As the four wander around, a meteorite lands far away and they rush off to investigate.

After Noel and Serah defeat Valfodr in the Coliseum and Snow reveals that he is unable to leave, Serah catches a glimpse of an illusion of Yeul surrounded by chaos.

When Lightning sees a vision of Serah's death during her fight with a past incarnation of Caius in Valhalla in the downloadable episode, "Requiem of the Goddess", Caius strikes her down and she comes to within the remains of Etro's temple. The spirits of several Yeuls surround Serah's spirit with chaos before the goddess's throne.

They taunt Lightning by telling her that when the end of time comes, Serah will fade into darkness with them due to their shared trait as seeresses, and remain with them forever. Lightning demands Yeul to release Serah but she summons Caius to continue his battle with Lightning. When she emerges victorious against him and Chaos Bahamut, Yeul's spirit appears to Lightning on the beach. Lightning still demands her to let Serah go, but is swallowed by chaos along with Odin. Yeul tells Lightning that Serah's death is her fault, since she was the one who asked her to embark on a journey through time that would ultimately claim her life.

In the secret ending, "The Goddess is Dead", Caius's plan to kill the goddess has succeeded as he announces to Yeul that they are now free from their curses, and can start over in a new world without Etro.

"Shadow Yeul"
While generally every Yeul from every timeline appears to support Serah and Noel's quest, there is another Yeul in Chapter 5 in Void Beyond who appears hostile towards Serah trying to change the timeline. She is clouded in black mist, an indication of the power of chaos. This Yeul is shown transforming into Caius, indicating she was just a trick conjured by him, but the Yeul covered in black mist is seen in other places as well. During Lightning's monologue at the end of Chapter 5 a Yeul covered in black mist is seen sitting on a bench in Orphan's Cradle.

During the final chapter in Academia 500 AF, Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega "Unsolved Mysteries" section identifies the voice telling Noel and Serah to turn back as belonging to the "Black Mist Yeul". This is also the Yeul seen in Snow's and Lightning's DLC episodes. Lastly the Yeul covered in black mist can be found in some Live Trigger events after beating the game; for example in the Bresha Ruins 5 AF, after the player beats Atlas and they get the Live Trigger about the origin of the paradoxes, the player can select "listen to the voice from the heart".

The Yeul covered in black mist appears only in the Void Beyond, Coliseum and Valhalla, as well as briefly in Orphan's Cradle during Lightning's monologue scene; all of these locations are outside of the Mortal Realm. Thus it is possible she may not be able to manifest in the Mortal Realm, and that is why Noel and Serah only hear her voice in Academia 500 AF.

Musical Themes
Yeul's leitmotif is titled "Yeul's Theme", and is an acoustic guitar tune composed by Naoshi Mizuta, with lyrics performed by Joelle. Mizuta wanted to create a ballad that was pretty and poignant. The piano ad-lib during the interlude was performed by Mizuta's favorite pianist, Febian Reza Pane.

The two variants of her theme are "Song of the Farseers" and "Eyes of Etro". Her theme is subtly featured in "The Promised Future", while an orchestral version is featured in the "Ending Credits".

Lyrics

 * Sooner than memories begin to fray
 * Everything from the past just swept away
 * Remembering when all who have gone are now lost


 * Many paths, many seasons I have seen
 * Time has washed them away just like the sea
 * So many fates and dreams will become tragedies


 * To see you safe
 * To watch you grow
 * Visions of love, my only hope
 * Such loneliness is worth the price
 * I'll protect you with my life


 * Constantly guiding despite the cost
 * Hoping against fear when all is lost
 * Pity not my destiny, no
 * My sacrifice is worth this


 * To see you safe
 * To watch you grow
 * Visions of love, my only hope
 * This loneliness is worth the price
 * I'll protect you with my life


 * This burden I must bear alone
 * For many lives and more to come
 * My loneliness is worth the price
 * I'll protect you with my life


 * I'll protect you with my life

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Yeul appears in the Trading Card Game on one card depicting her in her official render. Her card is part of the ice set.

Etymology
"Yeul" is a Korean name. Additionally, Yeul may be derived from "Yule"—an alternate way of referring to Christmas—and may indicate a close connection to Noel, whose name is also an alternate way of referring to Christmas. The latter interpretation is also further enforced as Yeul's name is homophonic to the words jul or jol, which is the term for Christmas in scandinavian languages.

The name 'Yeul' or 'Uel' in Korean means 'Shining Bird' or what can be considered the phoenix.

Trivia

 * Yeul sitting in the Narthex resembles a piece of promotional art for Final Fantasy XIII that depicts Lightning in a similar position.
 * As stated by Caius, there are many Yeuls, each with different interests: the Yeul presented in the official render is possibly the one who liked to collect flowers from 200 AF.
 * The meaning of the daisy in the render is closely story-related as daisy symbolizes purity and innocence: Yeul was "pure and innocent" in her heart and all her actions were meant to keep the storyline "pure", even though she sometimes had to oppose the law of the Farseers. This makes her an opposition of her partner, Caius.
 * Yeul's age ranges from 14-17 years old, depending on which era she is met.
 * Yeul walks and runs with a slight limp.