Ark (Final Fantasy XIII)

Arks are Gran Pulse armories in Final Fantasy XIII.

Datalog
X. The Menace Beyond

They say the fal'Cie made the Arks in preparation for battle against the menace that lurks beyond. Where is this "beyond" of which they speak? Do they mean Cocoon, and the demons that dwells within? If so, they are mistaken. The legends of the Arks date far before that sphere was even crafted; whispers even hint at Arks displaced around the time of Cocoon's creation, spirited away to be hidden in its shell. What, then, is the "menace"? What distant threat confronts us, and to what purpose? The gods vanished from this place. Are they now residents of the "beyond"?

-- On the Nature of Fal'Cie

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According to legend, Arks are Gran Pulse armories that hold living weapons in stasis in preparation for war with outside forces. Arks are hidden all around the world and most of their locations are unknown. One Ark is visited during the game, the Fifth Ark in Eden. Arks were built by the fal'Cie thousands of years ago, and even though their purpose is a mystery to humankind, they are used for training l'Cie to become strong enough to fulfill their Focus.

Even though the purpose of Arks is not revealed during Final Fantasy XIII, the official mythology on Fabula Nova Crystallis sheds some light to this issue: according to the mythology the god Buniberzei created the world of Final Fantasy XIII in preparation to fight the goddess Muin. After tasking the god Pulse to find a way to the dimension where Muin resided, Buniberzei turned himself into a crystal to sleep until time would be ripe. It can be thus gathered that the Arks were, in fact, intended to be used in Buniberzei's battle against Muin.