Oerba Dia Vanille

Oerba Dia Vanille [vʌ'niːɫ] is a playable character and the narrator in Final Fantasy XIII. She is a mysterious young girl who carries a dark past, along with a heavy burden that the others are initially unaware of.

Despite facing many hardships, she remains an upbeat and caring person; though her cheerfulness is mainly a façade she uses to hide the inner guilt she has felt for over five centuries.

Her full name stands for "Vanille of the Dia clan, from the village of Oerba." In the English dub, she and Fang share a similar Australian accent.

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, while her facial appearance resembles the stereotypical Irish Celtic people (red hair and green eyes). Vanille's l'Cie brand is located on her upper left thigh, and remains hidden beneath her skirt most of the time.

At a first glance, Vanille seems to have a child-like innocence, akin to that of a younger child. Vanille also cares deeply for Fang; she 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. Her caring side is first shown when she does not hesitate to comfort Hope Estheim after he loses his mother, while her stubbornness is evident when Hope questions her intelligence and whenever Sazh treats her like a little kid. 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. Behind her cheerfulness, Vanille hides a fair amount of maturity fitting someone her age.

Despite all of her positive qualities, she is a very emotional person, easily driven to tears whenever things become too much for her to handle. Even though she has good intentions for her actions and lies, she uses her bubbly personality to hide the overwhelming guilt she feels for affecting and ruining the lives of countless innocent people. Over the course of the game, Vanille learns to stop running away from her fate as a l'Cie, and fight for what she believes in.

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 Etro 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 in 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 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. Vanille and Fang carry Serah outside of the Vestige and watch over her until she comes to and leaves.

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 better off trying to escape back to Pulse and forgetting 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 spend 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. Then Serah tells Vanille about how her nightmare of destroying the world scared her, and how she tried to run away from it until her boyfriend made her realize that she will make it through with help from her friends and family. Touching the bandage covering Serah's l'Cie brand, 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 in Cocoon, she figures that if she can return home to Gran Pulse, she can prevent her Focus from causing more suffering. In line to board the train, Vanille sees Lightning, Sazh Katzroy (and his Chocobo Chick) on the platform. She bumps into Nora Estheim and her son, Hope, briefly befriending them and chooses to stay beside them because she thinks they are kind. Vanille is torn between her excitement of going back home and her regret of leaving Fang behind in 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 found 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 is forced to slap a shell-shocked Hope across the face to bring him back to his senses as she urges that they keep moving on to safety. Removing her Purge robe, Vanille smiles at Hope and hands him a gun. Then she pulls Hope into a hug to comfort him, says he should face the pain later and leaves with Hope in pursuit. 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 the chance to speak to him, Vanille suggests they steal Gadot's aero bike, and she and Hope follow Snow to the Pulse Vestige.

They crash land inside the Vestige. After recovering, Vanille suggests they look around, and she recovers the weapon she had left there earlier. When Hope accuses Vanille of not taking the situation seriously, she explains the Purge to show that she does understand. As Hope becomes frantic about possibly being Purged again, Vanille embraces him, telling him to calm down, but he pulls away from her. Later, the two hear Snow's voice in the distance, and realize 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.

Vanille encourages Hope to go with Snow in order to tell him what he needs to or regret it forever. They eventually find Serah laying unconscious outside Anima's Throne, and when Vanille sees the girl's face and recognizes her as her friend from Bodhum, she is shocked. She and the rest of the party witness Serah's transformation into a crystal. As the army attacks the Vestige, the door to Anima's Throne opens. Then Lightning, Snow, 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. Soon after leaving Snow behind with Serah's crystal, the party finds some abandoned ruins. Vanille chooses to explore, ignoring Lightning's warning to stay close and she is chased by a Garuda Interceptor.

Afterward, 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 crash-lands in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning's impatience to outrun pursuit by PSICOM separates herself from Vanille, Sazh, and Hope, who decides to follow her. 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 and Hope, the pair are forced to find another route. They eventually find Hope, who had 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 to reach Eden whilst Hope chases after her again, 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 companion's 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 fates, Vanille cannot bring herself to tell Sazh about her involvement. They eventually 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 sensing the Vestige in Bodhum, 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 façade any longer, as the guilt over her friend and his son's fates 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 recognizes: Fang. The duo proceed to the Pompa Sancta to watch the spectacle. Though as the audience cheers at the demise of Pulse, Vanille can only shed another tear, wondering if their deaths could truly bring back peace to Cocoon.

After the show, Sazh and Vanille go to the Chocobo Corral. 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 shock. 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 in tears. Nabaat prevents her soldiers from shooting Vanille, 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. He calls her a coward and cold-blooded killer pretending to be like the others, using them as shields, and asks how many people she has to drag down with her. Asking her why she should get the chance to live unlike the people she used, he shoots bullets through Vanille before telling her to die with her guilt if she can no longer live with it. When Sazh himself promptly arrives, Vanille is ready to face her fate.

Prepared for death, she reveals her true name and previous branding as a Pulse l'Cie. Still sobbing, she spreads her arms and demands Sazh to shoot her for all the unjust suffering she has caused him and the world. Sazh furiously yells at her for foolishly believing that all will be rectified in her death, but Vanille cannot see any other way to atone for what she has done. She asks Sazh, "What do you want from me? If I can't live or die, what do you want me to do?" Sazh tells Vanille to figure it out for herself, but she replies that she does not know what to do and cries.

Sazh says that he does not know what to do either, since killing Vanille will not change what has happened. He drops to his knees, clutching his heart, as his Eidolon, Brynhildr materializes from an orb of flame. As the fiery 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 once again points his gun at Vanille. She spreads her arms, ready to accept her punishment, but Sazh is still too heartbroken to take Vanille's life. As Vanille sinks to her knees sobbing, she looks on in horror as Sazh raises his gun to his own head, nearly killing himself. Vanille tries to comfort him but they are captured by PSICOM, with Vanille in Purge attire following Sazh's open-face casket as it is led into an airship by Jihl's regiment.

During their captivity aboard the Palamecia, Vanille calls herself pathetic for lying to everyone. Then Sazh tells her that since she awoke from crystal stasis, Dajh will eventually awaken too. Vanille tells Sazh about how she became a l'Cie to fight Cocoon centuries before, how she and Fang awoke in Cocoon with a new Focus, and how the latter had 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 a quick 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's suspicions about it looking like it is from Pulse are confirmed, as they realize 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 Pulsian airship and guesses it to be another one of the Ark's weapons. With seemingly no where left to run in Cocoon, everyone agrees to visit Gran Pulse in hopes of finding a way to change their fate as l'Cie.

Passing through the gate to Gran Pulse, their airship is attacked. Hope and Vanille are sucked out and they plummet to the world below, until they are rescued by the others flying Bahamut. 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 finds him unconscious and brings him back to camp, Vanille watches over him. 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. After Hope tames his Eidolon, Alexander, the party decides to journey to Oerba together.

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. After Hope tells Vanille that he likes her smile, 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 she 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 she who became Ragnarok, and not Vanille, despite Vanille's insistence. In her state of emotional distress as she realizes 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 her.

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 she had beaten her Focus by passing 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 rides 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 of 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 reaches 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.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
As she and Fang watch over their friends and the people evacuating Cocoon, Vanille feels at peace now that the harm she caused had been undone. Hearing Hope's voice, Vanille says they will somehow meet again someday, and tells everyone to live their lives as she and Fang watch over them. Seeing Serah look at Cocoon with pain in her eyes, Vanille recalls how she could not face the pain of her actions changing the fates of innocent people and ran away from it.

However, remembering Serah's words about getting through with help from her friends, Vanille knows that Serah will be strong enough to handle the realization of her and Fang's crimes. Then she tells Snow to always stand by Serah, and make her able to stand up to anything. After reassuring Fang that Serah will forgive her for getting her involved like Dajh, they feel someone smiling at them, and Vanille recognizes it as the smile of the Goddess Etro. Hearing Fang telling Snow and Lightning not to try and rescue them, Vanille softly laughs and says, "What are you gonna do? You know what they're like..."

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Vanille appears to Serah in the latter's dream in New Bodhum -003 AF-. Vanille says that they managed to connect since they are both dreaming. Serah asks her why she is here, and Fang appears saying they are here to save her from being trapped in an endless dream. She says that Serah refused to believe the illusion of Lightning out of her own will, enabling her and Vanille to appear. Then Fang tells Serah that Noel needs her help before he becomes trapped in an endless dream himself. Vanille and Fang disappear, leaving behind a portal to lead Serah to Noel.

Vanille also appears in the Paradox Ending, Dreaming of Atonement, where Serah, Mog, and Noel find her in Oerba, but in crystal stasis.

Abilities and Equipment


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. However, she concentrates on casting magic spells from a distance, as opposed to the close combat style of Lightning and Snow.

Vanille has the second highest Magic stat in the game, 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. Her Full ATB Skill, Death, deals non-elemental magic damage to an enemy and may inflict instant KO. Vanille's true strength however, lies in her Medic role, where she rivals Hope when it comes to effective healing and, due to her higher HP stat, is less likely to be knocked out by powerful attacks.


 * Base Statistics

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

Creation and 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 and inner guilt. 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. A short reprise of her theme is also heard at the beginning of "The Road Home". An orchestral motif of her theme is heard in the final battle theme when the party faces off against Orphan (Video of both Vanille's Theme and Nascent Requiem for comparison).

"Vanille's Theme" is part of the "Vanille's Theme ~ Memories of Happier Days ~ The Road Home" track on the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy XIII album.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
There are a few cards depicting Vanille in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. One of them is a close-up of Vanille's face, and the other displays her render.

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. Dia is Spanish and Portuguese for "day," which alludes to her "bright personality".

The Japanese pronunciation of Dia, with a long "I" sound, is also a common Japanese abbreviation for "diamond", possibly alluding to Hecatoncheir being an Earth-elemental summon.

Trivia

 * Vanille's Crystarium crystal takes the shape of an apple.
 * Vanille's crystal is used for the "Instrument of Faith" trophy/achievement.
 * 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, both physically and chronologically, 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. She's also the only one who's able to fight her Eidolon with five ATB slots as it's possible, but very hard, to acquire a third-tier weapon before that.
 * 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.
 * Vanille is the only character to wear Purge attire more than once. First at the beginning of the game, and again at the end of Chapter 8.
 * While all other l'Cie seen in the game are branded on the upper half of their bodies, Vanille's brand is located on her body's lower half.
 * Vanille is the only character to be shown in crystal stasis more than once.