L'Cie



The l'Cie (ルシ Rushi) [ɫə'siː] (pronounced "luh-see") are chosen humans that are given a Focus to fulfil, in the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy titles Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0.

Final Fantasy XIII
In Final Fantasy XIII, l'Cie are humans chosen by the fal'Cie in order to fulfil an attributed Focus by the Crystal-based deities. 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 and later reawakened in order to complete another Focus at the will of the fal'Cie. It is for this reason that many think the fate of a l'Cie is worse than death itself.

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, 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 may involve 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 fal'Cie's alignment that chose the l'Cie, and both Cocoon and Pulse 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."

The Eidolons are said to be the l'Cie's salvation, for they are created from the crystal that sprouts from the l'Cie's brand. 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.

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

Pulse l'Cie

 * Serah Farron, whose brand is located on her upper left arm. Her crystal is in the shape of a tear.
 * Lightning, whose brand is located on her left breast. Her crystal is shaped like a rose bloom, and contains her Eidolon, Odin.
 * Snow Villiers, whose brand is on his left forearm. His crystal has taken the shape of a heart, and contains his Eidolon, the Shiva sisters.
 * Sazh Katzroy, whose brand is in the middle of his upper chest. His crystal is shaped like a chocobo feather, and contains his Eidolon, Brynhildr.
 * Hope Estheim, whose brand is on the back of his left wrist. His crystal is star-shaped, and contains his Eidolon, Alexander.
 * Oerba Dia Vanille, whose brand on her upper left thigh. Her crystal is in the form of an apple, and contains her Eidolon, Hecatoncheir.
 * Oerba Yun Fang, whose brand is on her right shoulder. Her fang-shaped crystal contains her Eidolon, Bahamut.
 * The PSICOM troops that entered the Pulse Vestige before the beginning of the game were branded l'Cie by Anima, but by the game's start all have turned into Cie'th.

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.
 * The entire Cavalry is branded as l'Cie as they enter Edenhall, but are attributed no Focus and instantly transform into Cie'th.

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.''

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 that 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 that 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's and Lightning's lines suggest the party has indeed changed their Focus.

Final Fantasy Type-0
In Final Fantasy Type-0, the Milites Army is composed of l'Cie. Though l'Cie were being considered to be instated into the Rubrum military, Class Zero is suggested instead due to being more controllable. Gilgamesh also appears in the game as a l'Cie from Lorica who has long forgot his Focus. Zhuyu, a former student of the Peristylium Suzaku, is an old Suzaku l'Cie who is slowly losing his feelings due to the time past since being marked, and wears the Peristylium's uniform in order to remember his identity. Qun'mi is a recent Byakko l'Cie who wears full armor and a helmet. She will face off against Class Zero.

Etymology
l'Cie appears as an anagram of [Ciel], which is a French word for "heaven". It's root is the Latin "[caelum]", of which Noctis Lucis Caelum is named after.

Visually, this is taken as a pun: the "White Brand" is a symbolic meaning of a l'Cie "heaven" or "redemption", in which the l'Cie try to find happiness despite the trials before them.

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.
 * The game's Ultimania Omega reveals the Cocoon l'Cie's brand is the symbol of the god Lindzei.
 * Whenever they use magic, l'Cie always seem to draw the spell's form from their brand and proceed to fling it at their opponent, much in the same way that they summon their Eidolon crystal. This can not only be seen in cut scenes, but in battles as well; such as Hope using his hand with his brand to use magic and Vanille always stemming her attacks from her thigh.