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The Light Cruiser Shiva is an airship that serves as an unrevisitable dungeon in the land of Ivalice in Final Fantasy XII. It is part of the 8th Imperial Fleet of the Archadian Empire, serving under Ghis commanding the Dreadnought Leviathan.

Story[]

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

Following the retrieval of the Dawn Shard from Tomb of Raithwall, the 8th Imperial Fleet and Ghis apprehend Princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca and bring her aboard the Leviathan. Vossler reveal his betrayal of Ashe, having struck a bargain with Ghis to hand over the Dawn Shard to allow Ashe to return to Dalmasca and rule it as a puppet queen to Archadia. Ghis orders Vossler to take Ashe and her companions to the Shiva to return to Rabanastre.

While the party is escorted aboard the Shiva, Ghis begins testing the Dawn Shard's power by putting it in the Leviathan's reactor. A powerful mist blankets the air, causing Fran to go berserk and attack their guards. The group makes to escape but Vossler refuses to let them pass. The group defeats Vossler and flees in a smaller craft. The Leviathan explodes in a cascade of mist, destroying much of the 8th Fleet with it; the Shiva is badly damaged but continues to fly. Its fate is unknown.

Spoilers end here.

Enemies[]

Musical themes[]

The only music used aboard the Shiva is the boss theme "Life and Death", used when facing Vossler.

Map[]

The map is automatically received.

Map 39 Shiva

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

The Shiva appears as a regular Record, located in the Realm of Final Fantasy XII.

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Etymology[]

The airships in Final Fantasy XII are allusions to previous Final Fantasy games, the Archadian Imperial Fleets being named after summons. Shiva is a recurring summoned monster.

Shiva (also spelled Śiva) is a Hindu god. The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati to become Ardhanari, an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). It is believed he periodically destroys the world, then recreates it.

Shiva has different human forms, males and females. When he was in his avatar form, he spent most of his times in the Himalayan snow mountain. Shiva in the Final Fantasy series is likely inspired by one of his female avatars.

The Japanese pronunciation "Shiba" could refer to the English word "shiver", which in Japanese would sound like "shi-ba" or "shi-va".

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