Nora Estheim



Nora Estheim is a minor character and Hope's mother in Final Fantasy XIII. She is voiced by Komina Matsushita in the Japanese version, and in the English version.

Datalog
Nora is Hope's mother.

''Worried about the worsening relationship between her son and his father, Nora wonders how to break down the barriers Hope has created. Wanting to protect her boy from the horrors of the Purge, she volunteers to join the battle, but is killed during the chaotic conflict.''

Nora begs Snow to get Hope home, but the NORA leader never hears the boy's name before she slips from his grasp.

Appearance and Personality
Nora has green eyes and layered shoulder-length silvery-blonde hair similar to Hope's. She is 163 cm tall (5'3") according to the Ultimania guide. She wears a simple brown necklace under an ivory beige wrap around sweater with off-shoulder sleeves and a neck designed like a hood. Nora also wears cream-colored detailed mid-calf pants and brown wedge sandals.

Nora cares for both her son and husband, but shows concern towards their relationship growing ever more distant. She also has a subtle sense of humor, as shown in one of Hope's flashbacks. Nora is best defined by her protectiveness towards Hope, to the extent of engaging in conflict and risking her life to ensure his safety.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise
Nora and Hope take a vacation together in the seaside town of Bodhum to see the annual fireworks show; her husband Bartholomew, is due to join them, but calls at the last minute to cancel, due to being too busy with work from the Sanctum. Three days before the show, Nora and Hope visit Euride Gorge. With the large amount of security and circulating buzz about the incident at Euride three days prior, they return to Bodhum in slightly lesser spirits.

That night, Nora makes a wish on the fireworks, and asks Hope if he is also making a wish, though he laughs at her sentiment. When Hope asks Nora what she wished for, she tells him that she wished for his father to come with them next year. This angers Hope, causing him to pull away from Nora and say that they are better off without his father there. Unbeknownst to both of them, nearby in the town, PSICOM discover the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, within the Bodhum Vestige. The next day, both Hope and Nora are caught within the subsequent quarantine, and forced upon the Purge train, alongside a young woman they bumped into on the platform, Vanille.

Final Fantasy XIII
After entering the Hanging Edge, Lightning and Sazh Katzroy derail their train, and they are among the group found by Snow Villiers and NORA. Nora is among those volunteering to fight with Snow against PSICOM, telling Hope not to worry as he stays behind with Vanille. Before leaving with Snow and the other volunteers, Nora takes one last look at Hope and gives him a nod to reassure him.

During the battle, Nora saves Snow's life, but then a Sanctum warmech fires a missle behind Nora, causing an explosion that destroys the motorway, mortally wounding her in the process. She and Snow slide off the motorway but he catches her hand as well as the edge of the destroyed motorway, and attempts to lift them up to safety. In her last moments, she begs Snow to get Hope home but she is too weak to reveal his identity to him. Nora falls unconscious, loses her grip on Snow, who attempts to hold onto her as she dangles motionlessly. Then Snow loses his grip on Nora's hand and she plummets to her death, with Vanille and Hope watching from afar.