Oerba Dia Vanille

Oerba Dia Vanille [væniːl] is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII. She is a mysterious young girl with red hair tied into pigtails. Despite facing many hardships, she remains an upbeat and caring person; though her cheerfulness is mainly a facade she uses to hide the inner guilt she has felt for over five hundred years.

Vanille serves as the game's narrator, and in the English dub, she has an Australian accent. Her full name stands for "Vanille of the Dia clan, from the village of Oerba".

Appearance and Personality
Despite her chronological age, Vanille has the physical appearance of a nineteen year-old. She wears her bright red hair tied back in curled pigtails. She has striking green eyes, and both of her ears are pierced, adorned with small silver hoop earrings. She wears a light pink halter top, a short orange and yellow skirt, along with yellow boots. She also wears a fur pelt around her waist, which she uses to attach her weapon when not using it; according to Dengeki PS3 magazine, it is made from a bear she defeated herself. Her wrists are adorned with numerous bracelets, and she wears three beaded necklaces, along with an assortment of beads attached to various parts of her clothing. Her outfit is apparently inspired by the traditional clothes of the Namibian Himba women. Vanille's l'Cie brand is located on her upper left thigh, and remains hidden beneath her skirt most of the time.

Vanille seems to have a child-like innocence, akin to that of a younger child. Vanille also cares deeply for Fang, constantly worries for her, and does not like being away from her. Vanille also seems tougher than she appears to be since she was able to kill a bear alone. Throughout the game, Vanille is shown to be caring, considerate, and at times somewhat stubborn. She mostly appears to be happy and cheerful when, truthfully, she is afraid. She usually tries to cope with her fears by closing her eyes and "losing herself in happier days." In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise, Fang describes Vanille to be careless at times, naive, a crybaby, a scaredy-cat but also curious about everything. Her curiosity is evident by how she wants to explore her surroundings no matter what others might think. Fang also says that she laughs a lot and is kind to everyone. Vanille also tends to remain positive in situations that others would deem hopeless, and tries to see the brighter side of things. Over the course of the game, Vanille learns to stop running away from her fate as a l'Cie, and come to terms with it.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise
Vanille was a resident of Gran Pulse, and came from the village of Oerba. During the War of Transgression, five centuries before the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Vanille and Fang both lost their families at the hands of Cocoon's l'Cie and fal'Cie. After meeting at Oerba's orphanage, they quickly became close friends. Not long after, Fang decided to become a l'Cie so that she could protect her and Gran Pulse. Vanille, worried about Fang's safety, tagged along with her and decided to become a l'Cie as well. By the powers of the Pulse fal'Cie Anima, Vanille and Fang were granted the destructive power of Ragnarok and given the Focus to destroy Cocoon. In the war's climax, Vanille was too scared to use the power of Ragnarok, so Fang was forced to transform into the beast on her own. Fang's incomplete form of Ragnarok managed to leave a huge scar in Cocoon's shell, but she was unable to destroy it. Taking pity on the people of Cocoon, the Goddess decided to intervene in the war and crystallized both Vanille and Fang before they were able to complete their Focus.

Five-hundred years later, Vanille and Fang awaken on Cocoon, inside of the Pulse Vestige, which was taken to Cocoon in secret by Barthandelus in the aftermath of the war. Vanille discovers that Fang has lost her memories of the their previous Focus and Ragnarok. Not wanting to hurt more innocent people, Vanille decides to lie and pretends that she, too, has forgotten her Focus. Although Fang's l'Cie brand is scarred, scorched and unchanging, Vanille's brand appears to still be active and is progressing at a steady rate. Fang is unwilling to simply stand by and watch Vanille become a Cie'th, and she vows to remember and complete their Focus, whatever it may be. After a few days of looking for answers with no luck, they return to the Vestige. Upon arrival Fang suspects an intruder, and they quickly rush to the center where the fal'Cie Anima dwells. They discover Serah Farron lying there unconscious, and Vanille notices a Pulse l'Cie brand on her arm. Vanille immediately blames herself for Serah's misfortune. She assumes that the fal'Cie Anima has seen through her lies and transformed Serah into a l'Cie to complete the Focus that she herself does not want to.

A few more days pass, and Fang starts getting desperate. They use their stolen ID cards to board a train and travel to Euride Gorge and see the fal'Cie Kujata. In a reckless attempt to remember their Focus, Fang plans to attack Kujata, although Vanille is reluctant. However, things quickly spiral out of control as Dajh Katzroy enters the room and the fal'Cie brands him. The two are chased by PSICOM soldiers, where Vanille insists they would be best trying to escape back to Pulse and forget their Focus. Fang decides to face the soldiers alone in order to give Vanille a chance to escape. Vanille does not wish for her friend to stay behind, but Fang pushes her into an elevator, and the two are reluctantly separated.

Lost and alone, Vanille returns to the Vestige at Bodhum but is unable to spent her first night by herself. While standing nervously outside the shopping mall, Vanille sees the same strange white bird that she saw when she and Fang stole their ID cards. Vanille begins to see Cocoon as a peaceful paradise, but she can not forget the guilt for what happened to Serah and Dajh because of her.

After falling and scraping her leg on the beach, she is aided by Serah, and they quickly strike up a friendship. Vanille tells Serah that she was chasing after someone and wants to apologize for something she did, but is simply unable to find the words. Serah tells her to face it later if it was too much to deal with, as things can look more clear when looked at from a distance. Vanille gets on her knees and apologizes to Serah for her role in the Serah becoming a l'Cie, although Serah is completely oblivious to Vanille's involvement.

Two days later, Vanille attends Bodhum's annual fireworks festival. Inspired by her meeting with Serah, she decides to wish for the safety of Cocoon and all of its people. Even if it ultimately meant becoming a Cie'th, Vanille had made up her mind: she would not bring harm to Cocoon. The following day, the Sanctum announces their discovery of the fal'Cie Anima deep within the Vestige, the quarantine of Bodhum, and plans for the Purge. Unaware of the true nature of the Purge, believing it to be just a forced migration to Gran Pulse, Vanille decides to board the Purge train. Although she does not want to leave Fang behind on Cocoon, she figures that if she can return home to Gran Pulse she can prevent her Focus from causing more suffering.

Boarding the train, Vanille sees Lightning, Sazh Katzroy (and his Chocobo Chick) on the platform, and bumps into Nora Estheim and her son, Hope, whom she chooses to stay beside because she thinks they are kind. Vanille is torn between her excitement of going home and her regret of leaving Fang behind on Cocoon, though she is comforted slightly in the knowledge that because of Fang's brand being scorched, she cannot turn into a Cie'th.

Final Fantasy XIII
As the Purge train enters the Hanging Edge, it is derailed by Lightning and Sazh's escape. Along with the rest of the Purgees, Vanille is brought to safety by Snow Villiers and his resistance group, NORA. As they stop on the bridge, Snow proposes they aid the battle against the Sanctum. Vanille offers to take the last gun after Hope refuses it. The group of Purgees split up, with Vanille and Hope's group heading to a higher bridgeway. From there, they watch on helplessly as PSICOM destroy the lower bridgeway, and the other group - including Hope's mother, Nora - is plunged to their deaths. Vanille tells a shell-shocked Hope that he is going to have to face the pain later, as she urges they keep moving on to safety.

They reconvene with the surviving members of the other group, including Snow. Vanille encourages Hope to approach Snow, whom Hope blames for Nora's death. When Hope seems hesitant, Vanille offers to accompany him. When Snow leaves before Hope has spoken to him, Vanille manages to steal Gadot's air vehicle, and she and Hope follow Snow to the Pulse Vestige.

They crash land inside the Vestige. After recovering, Vanille suggests they look around, where she recovers the weapon she had left there earlier. The two hear Snow's voice in the distance, and realise he is heading their way. Following Vanille's adopted philosophy of running away, they head further into the Vestige, where they are attacked by Cie'th. Snow quickly jumps in and joins the fray. He explains his search for Serah and allows them to tag along out of concern for their safety. They eventually find Serah laying unconcious in Anima's Throne, and when Vanille sees the girl's face and recognises her as her friend from Bodhum, she is shocked. She and the rest of the party witness Serah's transformation into a crystal. Lightning and Sazh furiously attack the fal'Cie Anima, who awakens and brands Vanille's new acquaintances as l'Cie. The Vestige breaks and they all fall down to Lake Bresha below.

When they all awaken, Sazh prompts them all to determine their shared Focus and remain positive. Instead of explaining her situation, Vanille decides to pretend she, too, had just been branded by Anima alongside the rest of the party. Everyone starts wondering how to understand and complete their Focus, Vanille tells Lightning that she saw it. They interpret their Focus having something to do with Ragnarok, and destroying Cocoon. Vanille remains silent about her past. After leaving Snow behind with Serah's crystal, Vanille stumbles upon a Sanctum ship, which Sazh pilots out of the ruins. After eluding the first wave of enemy ships, Vanille sees Primarch Galenth Dysley on a telecast, announcing the 'success' of the Purge. The airship comes under heavy fire from the second wave of enemy ships, and crashlands in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning's impatience to reach Eden separates herself and Hope from Vanille and Sazh. Despite Sazh's despair at their situation, he vows not to allow a "kid" like Vanille to run alone, and stays with her. With a piece of machinery blocking their path back to Lightning, the pair are forced to find another route out of the Peaks. They eventually find Hope, who has been abandoned by Lightning. Vanille manages to persuade Hope to keep going until they return him to his father in Palumpolum, whilst the three of them continue searching for a way out. They finally find Lightning again, before they are forced to fight a Dreadnought. After the battle, Lightning runs ahead whilst Hope chases after her, leaving Sazh and Vanille behind. The duo continue their passage through the Peaks, discussing their fates. When Sazh claims the world would be a better place without Pulse, Vanille is visibly upset, but manages to hide her feelings. When they stumble across an old power plant, they find a secluded area to rest. Though Vanille draws a line on the ground to separate them as they sleep, Sazh awakens during the night to find Vanille beside him, crying in her sleep.

Without any real destination in mind, Vanille and Sazh find themselves in the Sunleth Waterscape, where Vanille is enthralled by its similarities to her homeland. However, her bliss is short-lived as she notices her companions growing worry about Lightning and Hope as a fleet of Sanctum ships fly overhead. In a bid to ease his mind, Vanille insists they should keep running from the Sanctum in the opposite direction - to Nautilus, the City of Dreams. On their passage there, Vanille asks Sazh about his family. Sazh reveals himself to be the father of Dajh Katzroy - the boy branded a l'Cie by Vanille and Fang's interference - and Sazh himself has been branded a l'Cie in his desperate attempts to solve the boy's Focus. Overcome with guilt at having been responsible for two other innocent people's pending fate, Vanille cannot bring herself to tell Sazh about her involvement. They manage to find a hole in a fence leading to the Seabus Docks, where a boat to Nautilus is ready to set sail. When Sazh says he believes the whole Purge started because of Dajh, Vanille implores him to place the blame elsewhere; onto the Pulse l'Cie who attacked Kujata. As she still cannot admit to Sazh she was responsible for his son's branding, she runs out of shelter into the downpour, hoping to hide her falling tears.

In Nautilus, Vanille cannot hide behind her cheerful facade any longer, as the guilt over her friend and his son's fate overcomes her. Noticing a change in the young girl's usually perky demeanor, Sazh suggests they go watch the Pompa Sancta in hopes of cheering her up. On their way to the show, a breaking news footage of the chaos in Palumpolum is broadcast across the park. Sazh notes Lightning, Hope and Snow's appearance in the footage, but Vanille is shocked to see another face she recognises: Fang.

The duo proceed to the Pompa Sancta to watch the spectacle, though as the audience cheer at the demise of Pulse, Vanille can only shed another tear. After the show, Sazh reveals his new intention to give himself into the Sanctum in hopes of seeing Dajh one last time before the boy is crystallized or turned Cie'th, even if it means one last time before Sazh's execution. Vanille is distraught, and desperately tries to dissuade her friend, by claiming she can tell him who is responsible for the Euride incident if it means he will continue on his journey with her. Before she has a chance to finally admit her guilt, the Sanctum attack from overhead. Despite Sazh's wishes to be captured, he honors his previous vow to protect Vanille and allow her to escape to safety before turning himself in.

The two flee out to the Clock Tower, where they face the Midlight Reaper. After defeating the monster, Dajh appears from the tower, much to Sazh and Vanille's surprise. However, before father and son can truly reunite, Dajh crystallizes in Sazh's outstretched arms. Jihl Nabaat arrives with her troops, and the boy's Focus is revealed: to capture the servants of the lowerworld fal'Cie. As Sazh sinks further into despair, Nabaat shows him security footage of the fateful day in Euride, revealing it was Vanille - along with Fang - who had disturbed Kujata and forced the fal'Cie to brand his son. Unable to cope with the situation, Vanille flees to the Fiendlord's Keep. Nabaat prevents her soldiers from following, and instead allows Sazh to angrily pursue her, curious as to how much data they could collect watching two l'Cie fight each other.

Vanille stops within a courtyard, where she has a vision of Sazh calling her a cold-blooded killer pretending to be like the others and using them as shields. When Sazh eventually arrives, Vanille is ready to face her fate. Prepared for death, she finally reveals her true name and her previous branding as a l'Cie. She spreads her arms, still sobbing, and implores Sazh to shoot her for all the unjust suffering she has caused to him and the world. Sazh is furious at her for foolishly believing all would be rectified in her death, but Vanille cannot see any other way to atone for what she has done. Sazh drops to his knees, clutching his heart, as his Eidolon Brynhildr materializes from an orb of flame. As the firey beast approaches a fallen Sazh, Vanille desperately throws herself between them. Her determination to protect him prompts Sazh to rise and shoot at Brynhildr. The two manage to defeat the Eidolon, but Sazh is still broken. As Vanille sinks to her knees and sobs, she looks on in horror as Sazh raises his gun to his own head. Vanille is captured by PSICOM, following Sazh's open-face casket as it is led into an airship by Jihl's regiment.

During their captivity aboard the Palamecia, Vanille tells Sazh about how she became a l'Cie to fight Cocoon centuries before, how she and Fang awoke on Cocoon with a new Focus, and how Fang lost her memory. Vanille says that she was afraid of their new Focus hurting more innocent people, so she "played dumb" and pretended that she did not remember anything either in an attempt to run away from both her Focus and fate as a l'Cie. Sazh forgives Vanille when he realizes what happened to Dajh was an accident. Soon, two PSICOM soldiers enter their cell to move them. Sazh knocks out the soldiers and Vanille uses one of their guns to destroy the Watchdrone. After learning that Lightning and the others are there to rescue them, Sazh says that it is time to be rescued. Vanille disagrees and says that for the first time in her life, she is going to save Fang. They eventually meet up with the rest of the party, and Vanille is finally reunited with her Pulsian friend. After they hug, Fang abruptly examines Vanille's l'Cie brand to see how far along it is, and is relieved to discover that she has more time left than she initially thought. Vanille helps Fang take down a Garuda Interceptor by entangling it in the wires of her Binding Rod. The party then uses the monster to reach the bridge of the ship and confront Galenth Dysley, who reveals himself to be a fal'Cie named Barthandelus. After evading Yaag Rosch who was pursuing the group by entering Eden, Vanille warns Sazh to look out ahead and their airship crashes into a structure.

In the Fifth Ark, Vanille suspicions that it looks like it is from Pulse are confirmed, as they realise it is a piece of Pulse technology, somehow within Cocoon. Vanille remembers a legend from Gran Pulse about the Arks, that the fal'Cie created them out of fear of an invasion from the outside, built living weapons for a time of war and stored them within the Arks. After the party defeats Cid Raines, Vanille and Lightning help Fang tame her Eidolon, Bahamut. A new path is then suddenly revealed, and at the end Vanille finds a Pulse airship and guesses it to be another one of the Ark's weapons. With seemingly no where left to run on Cocoon, everyone agrees to visit Gran Pulse in hopes of finding a way to change their fate as l'Cie.

In their base camp in the Vallis Media, Vanille wakes up after having a strange dream. The chocobo chick returns to the camp, frantic, though only Vanille can understand it, understanding something had happened with Hope's brand. When the party went to look for him and brought him back having faced his Eidolon, Vanille watches over him at camp. The party believe they are at a dead end, and are no closer to solving their Focus. With the pending threat of turning Cie'th above their heads, Vanille suggests they go to Oerba, the place it all began.

In the Yaschas Massif, Vanille reminds Hope of their promise to see Pulse together. Hope admits he cannot remember making the promise, and Vanille laughingly admits it was probably another fabrication of hers. As Hope tricks Vanille into thinking he likes her, she gets flustered, before he reveals his joke and runs off, with her chasing after him. Later when the party find the ruins of Paddra, Fang says that is it strange that she and Vanille are going back home with the very people they were chosen to fight against. Vanille says that it was her who became Ragnarok and scarred Cocoon centuries before. As Fang talks about being turned into crystal despite not doing anything in the war, Vanille once again shows guilt due to knowing that what her friend believes is false. Soon, the party see the fal'Cie Dahaka fly by them. Knowing that it resides near Oerba, they decide to follow it.

It is in the Mah'habara Subterra, that Fang regains her memory and remembers it was her who become Ragnarok, not Vanille, despite Vanille's insistence. In her state of emotional distress as she realises her friend has finally discovered her deepest lie, her l'Cie brand begins to glow, initiating the start of her battle with her Eidolon Hecatoncheir. After the Eidolon appears, Vanille learns that Fang was simply bluffing about regaining her memories in hopes of coaxing a confession from Vanille. Once they manage to tame Hecatoncheir, Vanille says that it was not fair that Fang had to do the horrible things while she stood back and did nothing. Fang forgives her for her lies and reassures her that she is not alone anymore; she no longer just has Fang, she also has her new family. In the Sulyya Springs, Vanille admits to Snow that she had met Serah in Bodhum. Then she tells Snow that Serah probably also had a vision of Ragnarok, and that her Focus was to pass on that vision to them, along with Cocoon's fate.

Upon ascending Taejin's Tower, Vanille and Fang reminisce about their hometown, describing it as a small village filled with lots of nature and flowers. However, Sazh quickly warns them that the view from the top of the tower does not exactly fit their description. Concerned, Lightning asks Vanille if she wants to stay behind, but Vanille simply insists she needs to see it for herself. The party look out upon the remains of Oerba, and Vanille is shocked to find her home devoid of life and color. She is immediately filled with despair, and questions whether they really will be able to find a way to remove their l'Cie brands. However, despite the hopelessness of the situation, Vanille vows to continue, and the party ride a capsule down the other side of the tower towards the outskirts of Oerba.

In Oerba, Vanille takes a moment to take in the feeling of being back home after centuries. After defeating Barthandelus for a second time, Vanille activates a Cie'th Stone that is left behind. She reads the runes that it projects, documenting the events of the War of Transgression and those after she and Fang were placed into crystal stasis. Then she tells the party that she had wished on the fireworks at Bodhum, that she wished for nothing to happen to Cocoon this time. Vanille says that she shouldn't have wished for that since wishes and prayers are not enough, and that she now promises to keep Cocoon safe no matter what. Knowing Barthandelus has caused chaos in Cocoon, the party head to Eden in hopes of stopping the fal'Cie's plan on destruction.

Sazh pilots the ship straight into the Grand Prix Circuit, where the l'Cie are ambushed by soldiers and forced to retaliate in order to reach Orphan. Vanille attacks soldiers while being protected by Hecatoncheir. When she is blasted off a platform, Sazh saves her in Brynhildr's Gestalt Mode.

As the party finally reach Orphan's Cradle, Vanille notices that the room is also filled with crystal fragments like those seen in Oerba. The fal'Cie, Orphan, demands her and Fang to become Ragnarok to complete their intended purpose. Orphan tortures Vanille into becoming Ragnarok until Fang volunteers once again. Vanille is released and she tries to stop Fang to no avail. After Fang becomes Ragnarok and fails to destroy Orphan, she is subject to an agonizing cycle of torture as Vanille watches. She almost accepts the fal'Cie's demand as she promised not to run away from her fate anymore, until the rest of the party revert back to normal from their Cie'th forms and save Fang.

After Orphan's destruction, the party float helplessly above Eden and begin to crystallize except Vanille and Fang, who stay behind. Together, they become Ragnarok to stop Cocoon from crashing into Gran Pulse by crystallizing it. Lightning, Sazh, Hope and Snow all awaken from their crystal stasis beneath the newly crystallized Cocoon, in complete awe of the scene before them. As Serah and Dajh return over the horizon, they realize that Vanille and Fang have made the ultimate sacrifice and crystallized themselves to save Cocoon, fulfilling their Focus for all of them.

In Battle
In battle, Vanille's weapon is a unique type of rod called the Binding Rod. The Binding Rod's head piece looks like a pair of antlers and the body consists of four long wires with hooks that deal damage to enemies by latching on and pulling, similar to a fishing rod. She concentrates on casting magic spells from a distance, as opposed to the close combat style of Lightning and Snow.

Vanille is ranked second for highest Magic Attack making her a good Ravager, with the ability to learn all elemental spells up to the -"ra" rank with Fire and Ice being her -"ga" specialty. She also makes a very effective Saboteur, possessing abilities the majority of enemies are weak to. There is even her Full ATB Skill, Death, that deals non-elemental magic damage to an enemy and may inflict instant KO. Vanille also truly shines in the Medic role, where she rivals Hope when it comes to effective healing and is less likely to be KO'd by powerful attacks.

Eidolon
As a l'Cie, Vanille has the ability to summon Hecatoncheir, a many-armed, Earth-elemental Eidolon that transforms into a bipedal mech with four machine gun turrets. Vanille calls her Eidolon by the pet name "Hecaton."

Weapons
See Vanille's Rods

Development
According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, the development team at one point considered making Vanille the official main character of the game, but dismissed the idea as they had already released a trailer and art featuring Lightning in that role.

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Vanille's Theme" is composed of solo piano, and represents her unrelenting cheerful nature. It plays during various moments in the game like she and Sazh arriving at the Sunleth Waterscape and when Lightning and Hope promise to look after each other in Palumpolum. There is a variant of her theme called "Memories of Happier Days," which also contains solo piano but slowly turns into a melancholy but uplifting orchestral piece. It plays when Sazh tells Vanille about Dajh in the Chocobo Corral in Nautilus, and during the moment between her and Serah. An orchestral motif of her theme is heard in the final battle theme when the party faces off against Orphan.

Kingdom Hearts Mobile
Vanille appears as a selectable avatar in Kingdom Hearts Mobile. She and Sazh are currently the only two characters from Final Fantasy XIII to appear in the game.

Etymology
Vanille is French for "vanilla," a type of spice used as a flavoring for various sweet foods.

Trivia

 * Vanille's Crystarium crystal takes the shape of an apple.
 * Vanille shares her clan name with the spell Dia from Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy XI.
 * Vanille is the oldest of the series' "perky young girl" archetype of characters, with Krile, Relm, Yuffie, Selphie, Eiko, Rikku, and Penelo also included.
 * When the player first acquires Vanille in the Pulse Vestige, she already has three ATB slots due to the fact she is already a l'Cie.
 * Vanille's ultimate weapon, Nirvana, shares its name with Yuna's celestial weapon from Final Fantasy X and Summoner's mythic weapon in Final Fantasy XI.
 * A photo of Vanille and Fang can be found in Oerba, which is proof of their past existence on Gran Pulse.