Gala

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Gala
(ガーラ, Gāra?) Alternate names: Masked Man, the Rursan Arbiter
Enemy appearances	Boss (final)
Biographical information
Home	Pandæmonium
Affiliation	Lindzei
Occupation	Judge
Physical description
Race	Deity
Gender	Male
Height	200cm
Gameplay details
Type	Non-player character

Gala, also known as the Masked Man, the Rursan Judge, and the Rursan Arbiter, is a character who appears briefly in Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito. Although he is a key figure in Orience's backstory and could be considered a major antagonist, he remains unnamed in-game, only being named in the game's Ultimania guide.

Profile

Appearance

All that is known about this man is that he was the one responsible for appointing Cid Aulstyne as the Rursan Arbiter.

Rubicus

Gala.

Gala dresses in the style of the Militesi army. He wears a red suit of armor trimmed with azure that covers his bulky body. His helmet is ornate and similar in shape to Qun'mi Tru'e's: it features wing-shaped crests and insectoid eyes. Gala stands 200cm (6 feet 6.7 inches) tall.

Personality

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Gala never speaks in his true form, acting in accordance with the task given to him. When he possesses Cid Aulstyne, he speaks in an arrogant and condescending way, treating humans, especially Class Zero, as beneath him. His general demeanor and purpose exhibits a cold and ruthless attitude and a willingness to judge people based on their performances.

Story

Origins

Gala is a servant of the deity Lindzei. Alongside Arecia Al-Rashia, Gala oversees the experiment to find Etro's gate in which the land of Orience plays a vital part. Etro's gate is the gateway between the mortal world and the unseen realm of the dead through which human souls pass as part of the cycle of reincarnation.

Gala's role is to arrive when Orience has become imbalanced as the result of one nation dominating the other three. If Arecia's method fails, and her chosen servants fall to him, Gala sets his Rursan Reavers to slaughter the populace to send a flood of souls to try and force Etro's gate to open. Gala chooses a host and instigates Tempus Finis, the time when either experiment will come to fruition. If the experiment fails the world is reset in wait for another Tempus Finis, and thus Orience remains stuck in a spiral.

In each cycle, a group of students from Akademeia, Arecia's chosen instruments for opening Etro's gate, died fighting the Rursus, the spiral of history being repeated 600,104,971 times.

Final Fantasy Agito

During the first cycle of Orience's history, Gala appears as the Rursan Arbiter when the Dominion of Rubrum triumphs over the other three nations. When Finis arrives, Gala takes Marshal Cid Aulstyne of the Militesi Empire as his host and sends his servant, Judge Myuria, to test the people of Rubrum and find if any are worthy of becoming the Agito, the "savior of Orience" who can open Etro's gate. The ones she chooses to test are Class Zero. Although Myuria is defeated, Gala defeats Class Zero and the world resets.

In the second cycle, Gala appears once more with Myuria as his aide, but this time chooses Ace to be his Judge. "Judge Ace" similarly tests Class Zero and fails them, causing the spiral to reset again.

Final Fantasy Type-0

Gala in Pandæmonium.

During the 600,104,972nd repeat of the cycle, Gala returns with his Rursan warriors when Rubrum dominates Orience. He is convinced into calling off his army by Arecia after the cadets of Class Zero, her chosen instruments, choose not to become l'Cie.

Cid arrives in Pandæmonium intending to become Agito, Gala's domain that rises from the ocean as Tempus Finis starts. Gala tells Cid his fate to become the Arbiter, but Cid kills himself in a vain attempt to prevent being used, his body being possessed by Gala. Gala guides Class Zero through the temple, setting them tasks to test their mettle, although they are seriously weakened in the final test. As the cadets approach the depiction of Etro's gate at the fiery center atop the temple, they end up in an otherworldly domain seemingly existing in a void, where they come face-to-face with the Rursan Arbiter.

The Rursan Arbiter destroys Shinryu Celestia.

As the Rursan Arbiter, Gala absorbs phantoma, the life energy of living beings into himself, the phantoma of Shinryu Celestia among them. The Arbiter is destroyed in the final battle with Class Zero when the twelve members absorb his phantoma at the cost of their own lives and save Orience. The Arbiter's body disperses into phantoma that vanishes into the void before Gala descends into slumber. Instead of restarting the cycle, Arecia abandons the experiment to find Etro's gate with the Agito, and disappears from Orience alongside the Crystals. What comes of Gala is unknown.

Spoilers end here.

Behind the scenes

Gala was created early in the development of Final Fantasy Type-0. He was originally to have been a main antagonist from the same continent as Cid, so he was given a name and weapon designs for a boss fight. As the project grew and some story elements needed to be cut, Gala was virtually removed from the main story, with him simply becoming a "mysterious person". His role in the world of Final Fantasy Type-0 is equivalent to that of a fal'Cie in the universe of Final Fantasy XIII.

Gallery

Concept art.

Weapon concept art from Final Fantasy Type-0 Kōshiki Settei Shiryōshū Aku no Hishi.

As the Rursan Arbiter.