The infamous band of sky pirates; from left: Balthier, Penelo, Vaan, and Fran, from Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.
Hadn't you best be off? That's what a sky pirate does. You fly, don't you?
Fran
Sky Pirates are people who devote their lives to traveling the world on airships in the world of Ivalice, during the time of Final Fantasy XII. Though some are adventurous bandits, others are simply working-class airship crew members. Some people dream of and aspire toward becoming sky pirates in order to escape the trapped existence led by most citizens of Ivalice, battered constantly with territorial wars. The life of a sky pirate may not remedy the issues that have trapped them, but they will, at least, no longer be trapped themselves. Sky pirating is also a way to amass money, thus escaping poverty or making up for material possessions lost in the wars that have swept all Ivalice.
Most sky pirates, and pirates in general, gather at the port of Balfonheim. The most famous sky pirates are Balthier, and his partner Fran, and the lord of Balfonheim, the pirate Reddas.
Around 600 Old Valendian, the number of sky pirates began to dwindle due to the constant harassing by the Archadian Empire's growing military strength, particularly in its air force. Many of the sky pirates then turned to the life of robbery, partly due to their dissatisfaction with the Empire. The Empire struggled to control the sky pirate and their activities, and some are known to ally with the Empire for reasons unknown, though this allegiance is in itself questionable. After the war involving the Sky Fortress Bahamut, Archadia reviewed its air force, and the number of sky pirates increased due to their connections with the Empire.
In Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, many sky pirates are manipulated into stealing auracite by the Judge of Wings. Eventually, many of them lose their anima to Feolthanos. Some of them would even ally themselves with aegyl insurgents to get auracite, effectively turning them into Yarhi.
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