Oerba Dia Vanille Oerba Dia Vanille [ vʌ ' niːɫ ] is a playable character , the narrator and the deuteragonist in " Final Fantasy XIII " . Her full name stands for " Vanille of the Dia clan , from the village of Oerba . " In " Final Fantasy XIII " , Vanille is separated from her childhood friend and appears alongside Hope Estheim and his mother Nora as a victim of the Purge . She is drawn into a conflict that will force her to confront the demons of her past and decide the fate of Cocoon . In " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , she makes a cameo appearance alongside Fang when they meet Serah Farron in a dream world . In " " , Vanille has been gifted with a special power and lives under the care of a religious cult called the Order of Salvation . Profile . Appearance . In " Final Fantasy XIII " and " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , Vanille has bright red hair tied in curled pigtails , green eyes , and pierced ears with silver hoop earrings . She has the physical appearance of a nineteen year - old . Her outfit is inspired by the traditional clothes of the Namibian women . She wears a pink halter top , an ombré orange and yellow skirt , beige boots , and a fur pelt around her waist , which she uses to carry her weapon . According to " Dengeki PS3 " magazine , it is made from a bear she defeated herself . She wears numerous bracelets , three beaded necklaces , and an assortment of beads attached to various parts of her clothing . Vanille ' s l ' Cie brand is located on her upper left thigh , concealed by her skirt . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , Vanille wears a headdress resembling a traditional Indian . The headdress is comprised of a semi - transparent red and gold veil that covers her hair and shoulders , gold ornaments that cover her forehead , and two long silver horn - like ornaments that resemble Bhunivelze ' s crest , which serves as the Order of Salvation ' s symbol , attached to the back and curving around the sides of her head . Personality . In " Final Fantasy XIII " , Vanille has a childlike innocence . She is considerate , understanding , and at times , headstrong and stubborn . Vanille is empathetic , easily driven to tears , and cares deeply for others , Fang in particular . Despite facing many hardships , Vanille remains a caring and upbeat person as she tries to remain positive in situations others deem hopeless . She tries to cheer up her friends when they ' re down and see the bright side of things , but her happy - go - lucky persona is really a facade to hide her fear and guilt . Throughout her journey Vanille learns to face her past mistakes , stop running from her problems , and fight for her friends and what she believes in . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , due to living under the Order ' s protection and being subject to its teachings , Vanille has become a follower of Bhunivelze and seeks to help the group carry out his will . She is close friends with Lumina , who describes them as being " thick as thieves . " Vanille has become solemn and rarely shows a trace of her upbeat personality , as she continues to feel guilty for the suffering her past actions had caused and hopes to use her new power to atone for it . In " " , it ' s said Vanille takes everything seriously and tends to be a pushover . Story . " Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero - Promise - " . Vanille and Fang were residents of Gran Pulse in the village of Oerba . During the War of Transgression the two lost their families at the hands of Cocoon ' s l ' Cie and fal ' Cie , and befriended at Oerba ' s orphanage . Fang begrudged Oerba ' s patron fal ' Cie , Anima , for failing to protect the people of Gran Pulse , and agreed to become a l ' Cie as a way to get close enough to confront the fal ' Cie . Fang had an outburst in Anima ' s chamber and was going to be put to death for blasphemy by the Oerba priests . Vanille , who was next in line to be branded a l ' Cie , shielded Fang and begged for her life to be spared , offering her own to complete their Focus together so that they would never be apart . Vanille and Fang were granted the power of Ragnarok and given the Focus to destroy Cocoon . Vanille feared the power bestowed upon them , so Fang became Ragnarok alone and scarred Cocoon ' s shell . Taking pity on the people of Cocoon , the goddess Etro intervened and crystallized Fang and Vanille before they could finish the job . The crystals were placed within the Pulse Vestige , which was taken into Cocoon in the war ' s aftermath . Centuries later , Vanille and Fang awaken from crystal stasis . Fang has lost the memory of their previous Focus and Ragnarok , and not wanting more people to get hurt Vanille pretends she has as well , later taking on the burden of Ragnarok to spare Fang the guilt . Although Fang ' s l ' Cie brand is scorched and unchanging , Vanille ' s brand is still active , and Fang vows to complete their Focus . After two days of fruitlessly looking for answers , they return to the Vestige in Bodhum and discover a local girl , Serah Farron , has wandered into the Vestige and been branded a Pulse l ' Cie . Vanille blames herself for Serah ' s misfortune , assuming Anima transformed Serah to complete their Focus . After stealing a pair of ID cards two days later , Fang and Vanille travel to Euride Gorge to find the fal ' Cie Kujata , which Fang plans to destroy to restore their memories . Dajh Katzroy wanders into the room and the fal ' Cie brands him a Sanctum l ' Cie in response to Fang and Vanille ' s threat . The two are pursued by PSICOM troops and separated when Fang forces Vanille to escape without her . Vanille returns to the Vestige where she leaves her weapon and then roams around Bodhum , beginning to see Cocoon as a peaceful paradise . Four days later , Vanille meets Serah after scraping her leg on the beach . When Vanille tells Serah about her dilemma , Serah advises her to find a way to overcome it . She tells Vanille about her nightmare of destroying the world and how she tried to run from it , but now knows she will get through with her friends ' help . Vanille apologizes for her role in Serah becoming a l ' Cie , but Serah is oblivious to Vanille ' s involvement and does not understand . Two days later , Vanille attends Bodhum ' s fireworks festival . Inspired by her meeting with Serah , she wishes for Cocoon ' s safety . The next morning , the Sanctum announces its discovery of Anima within the Vestige and quarantines Bodhum in preparation for the Purge . Unable to return to the Vestige , Vanille goes to the station hoping to return to Euride and look for Fang , but finds the walkway blocked off . Evading soldiers , she returns to the shopping mall before making her way back to a field by the beach to spend the night . The following day , Vanille returns to the station and queues for the Purge train , noticing Lightning and Sazh Katzroy line up as well . She bumps into Hope and Nora and decides to board the train with them in the hopes of returning home and escaping her Focus . " Final Fantasy XIII " . When entering the Hanging Edge , the Purge train is derailed by Lightning and Sazh . Along with the rest of the Purgees , Vanille , Nora , and Hope are found by Snow Villiers and his resistance group , NORA . Nora joins their effort to fight PSICOM but is killed in battle , and Vanille has Nora ' s son Hope stick with her . Since Hope blames Snow for his mother ' s death , Vanille encourages him to approach Snow , but he leaves before Hope has the chance . Vanille and Hope steal Gadot ' s airbike and follow Snow to the Vestige . They crash - land inside and Vanille recovers her weapon . They are saved from a Cie ' th ambush by Snow and accompany him . They meet with Lightning and Sazh and find Serah outside Anima ' s Throne . Serah asks Lightning to save Cocoon and transforms into a crystal , meaning she had fulfilled her Focus , mystifying Vanille . Lightning , Snow , and Sazh attack Anima , and Vanille ' s new acquaintances are branded l ' Cie . PSICOM destroys the Vestige and they fall to Lake Bresha with Anima ' s power crystallizing it on impact . Vanille pretends that she , too , had just been branded by Anima . The group interprets their Focus having something to do with Ragnarok and destroying Cocoon , although Snow remains positive their Focus is to follow Serah ' s wish to save it . Soon after leaving Snow behind with Serah ' s crystal , the party happens upon a Sanctum airship , which Sazh pilots out to the skies of Cocoon . The airship comes under fire from a wave of enemy ships and crash - lands in the Vile Peaks . Lightning announces she is heading for Eden to destroy its patron fal ' Cie and take down the Sanctum , Cocoon ' s government . Lightning leaves with Hope chasing after her , and Sazh and Vanille choose to run from their fate in the opposite direction . On their way to Nautilus , the two arrive in the Sunleth Waterscape and Vanille asks Sazh about his family . He reveals he is Dajh ' s father and was branded in his attempt to complete the boy ' s Focus . Overcome with guilt , Vanille cannot bring herself to tell Sazh about her involvement . In Nautilus , news footage of the chaos in Palumpolum is broadcast throughout the park . Sazh notes the appearances of Lightning , Hope , and Snow in the footage , but Vanille is shocked to see another familiar face : Fang . They attend the Pompa Sancta parade and visit the Chocobo Corral , where Sazh reveals he intends to turn himself in to the Sanctum to see Dajh one last time , even if it means his execution . Vanille tries to dissuade him by telling him who was responsible for the Euride Gorge incident , but before she has a chance to admit her involvement they are attacked by the Sanctum . The two flee to the Clock Tower where Dajh appears and crystallizes in Sazh ' s arms . Jihl Nabaat , a PSICOM officer , arrives with her troops and the boy ' s Focus is revealed : to capture servants of the lowerworld fal ' Cie . Nabaat reveals it was Vanille and Fang ' s threat that made Kujata brand Dajh . Vanille flees the scene crying and Nabaat lets the enraged Sazh pursue her , curious as to how much data they could collect by watching the two l ' Cie duel . Within the courtyard of the Fiendlord ' s Keep , Vanille imagines Sazh calling her a coward and cold - blooded killer , telling her to die if she can no longer live with her guilt . When Sazh arrives and aims his gun at her , Vanille reveals she is a l ' Cie from Gran Pulse and demands he shoot her . He is unable to do so and his Eidolon Brynhildr manifests . The two defeat it together , but afterward Sazh again points his gun at Vanille . Vanille accepts her punishment but Sazh is too heartbroken to kill her . They are captured by Nabaat ' s regiment and imprisoned on the " Palamecia " to be brought to Eden for a public execution . During their captivity Sazh realizes that since Vanille awoke from crystal stasis , Dajh will awaken too , and he forgives Vanille when he realizes what happened to his son was an accident . With help from the Cavalry , Lightning , Snow , Hope , and Fang infiltrate the airship to rescue Vanille and Sazh . the pair escapes their cell , retrieves their weapons , and meets the others and Vanille is reunited with Fang . The party reaches the bridge and confronts the Primarch , Galenth Dysley , who reveals his true identity as the fal ' Cie Barthandelus . Dysley claims the party ' s Focus is to destroy Orphan , the fal ' Cie who sustains Cocoon , and that Serah ' s Focus was to gather them together to be made l ' Cie and accomplish that goal . The party escapes the descending " Palamecia " with Barthandelus ' s familiar Menrva in its airship form , and is taken to the Fifth Ark beneath Eden . In the Fifth Ark , the group ' s l ' Cie powers are fully awakened and they run into the Cavalry leader Cid Raines , who reveals himself as a Sanctum l ' Cie whose Focus is to help them destroy Cocoon and summon the Maker . Cid defies his Focus and attempts to kill them , but is defeated and to everyone ' s surprise he turns to crystal . The party decides to also defy their Focus and after Vanille and Lightning help Fang tame her Eidolon , Bahamut , a new path to the Ark ' s lowest level is revealed . Vanille finds a Pulsian airship and everyone agrees to travel to Gran Pulse to find a way to change their fate . After days of searching they find Gran Pulse void of human life and decide to journey to Oerba . When the party finds the ruins of Paddra in the Yaschas Massif , Vanille says she became Ragnarok and scarred Cocoon ' s shell centuries before . Fang is puzzled as to why she turned into crystal despite doing nothing in the war , but Vanille continues to lie . The party crosses the Archylte Steppe into the Mah ' habara Subterra and in the Flower - filled Fissure Fang says she was the one who became Ragnarok and scarred Cocoon , not Vanille . The shock of having her deepest lie exposed causes Vanille ' s Eidolon Hecatoncheir to manifest , and she learns Fang bluffed about regaining her memories to coax a confession from her . Once they tame Hecatoncheir , Fang reassures Vanille she is no longer alone , since their friends from Cocoon are their new family . In the Sulyya Springs , Vanille tells Snow she had met Serah in Bodhum and how she was made a l ' Cie because of her . She tells him Serah had the vision of Ragnarok like the rest of them and theorizes Serah beat her Focus by passing Cocoon ' s fate over to them , and that was the act that made her turn to crystal . The party ascends Taejin ' s Tower and at the top Vanille and Fang reminisce about their hometown , describing it as a village filled with flowers , but are shocked to see their home devoid of life and color . The party rides a capsule down to the outskirts of Oerba and traverses the dilapidated village , encountering Barthandelus at the end of a broken railway bridge . Knowing Barthandelus has resurrected Raines and caused more chaos in Cocoon , the party heads to Eden with the airship Barthandelus left them to stop the fal ' Cie ' s plan . They make their way through the chaos in Eden to Orphan ' s Cradle and as Fang falls under pressure , Vanille proposes they promise to protect Cocoon as their new home . Inside the Narthex the party defeats Barthandelus but Menrva flies into a pool of liquid and awakens Orphan . The fal ' Cie demands Fang to become Ragnarok and tortures Vanille to try and force her hand . Fangs submits to Orphan ' s demands and Vanille is released . Vanille and Fang see their friends transform into Cie ' th — who attack Fang — triggering her transformation into an incomplete version of Ragnarok . After Fang fails to destroy Orphan , she reverts . Orphan tries to force Fang to finish the job by subjecting her to a cycle of torture as Vanille helplessly watches . Vanille prepares to stand up to the fal ' Cie , but Orphan explodes and sinks into its pool , releasing Fang . With the help of the memories of everything they had gone through , the rest of the party had reverted from their Cie ' th forms , believing their transformation was another fal ' Cie trick , and that their new Focus is to save Cocoon . The party ' s brands turn white and as Orphan ' s true form rises from the pool the party sets out to destroy it . After Orphan is destroyed , Orphan ' s Cradle vanishes and the party is left floating above Eden as Cocoon begins to fall . As Lightning , Sazh , Hope and Snow float away , Vanille and Fang join hands and become Ragnarok to stop Cocoon from crashing into Pulse by surrounding the planetoid with lava , summoning the crystal dust from Oerba , and crystallizing it and themselves forming a crystal pillar to support Cocoon over Pulse . Lightning , Sazh , Hope , and Snow awaken from crystal stasis on the surface of Gran Pulse beneath the newly crystallized Cocoon with their brands gone . As Serah and Dajh appear over the horizon , they realize Vanille and Fang have fulfilled their Focus for all of them . Vanille and Fang remain within the core of Cocoon ' s pillar , holding hands , in crystal sleep . " Final Fantasy XIII - Episode i - " . Vanille feels at peace now that the harm she unintentionally caused has been undone . She says they will meet again someday , and tells everyone to live their lives as she and Fang will watch over them . Vanille knows that Serah will be strong enough to handle the realization of her and Fang ' s crimes and tells Snow to stand by Serah . After reassuring Fang that Serah will forgive her for getting her involved , they feel goddess Etro smiling at them . Hearing Fang telling Snow and Lightning not to try and rescue them , Vanille laughs and says , " What are you gonna do ? You know what they ' re like . . . " " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Dreaming within the pillar , Vanille reflects on how she and Fang felt Etro ' s presence the first time they turned to crystal , and again when they held up Cocoon as Ragnarok . Remembering how the priests of Oerba referred to Etro as a dark and scary goddess , Vanille wonders if they were wrong . She recalls Hope ' s visits to her and Fang , and urges Hope to save the future . She tries to call out to Serah to tell her she and Fang had a dream about being in a new place with a young man and woman they had never met before . Seeing how happy they were , Vanille tells Serah not to give up and make a future where everyone is happy again . Vanille and Fang appear to Serah in her dream in the Void Beyond , explaining they could connect since they are all dreaming . They had come to save Serah from being trapped in the endless dream Caius Ballad placed her in , and that Serah ' s friend Noel needs her help before he becomes trapped in a dream of his own . Needing to resume their role in maintaining the pillar , Vanille and Fang disappear , leaving a portal to lead Serah to Noel . By the year 500 AF , Hope and the Academy , along with Sazh , save the crystal holding Vanille and Fang before the crystallized Cocoon finally falls . Vanille appears in the paradox ending , " Vanille ' s Truth , " where Serah , Mog , and Noel find her in Oerba XXX AF , an alternate timeline where a crystallized Vanille remained in Oerba after the War of Transgression , continuing to lament about her inability to fight for the people she cared about , and how she wasn ' t there for Fang as she had promised . Serah hears Vanille ' s voice and promises to find Fang for her . " " . Four hundred and eighty - seven years later , Vanille and Fang awoke from crystal stasis in the city of Luxerion in Nova Chrysalia , the world that formed after Chaos entered the mortal realm . Vanille realized she could hear the voices of the dead . She and Fang were found by Lumina , a mysterious girl who resembles a young Serah , and taken in by the Order of Salvation to live in the Luxerion Cathedral . Once they learned about Vanille ' s new power , the Order dubbed her a " saint " and confined her to the cathedral for her safety . After a few years of living under the Order ' s care , Fang grew to distrust those in the upper ranks and learned of the Soulsong , a ritual to purify the dead at the cost of Vanille ' s life . Fang attempted to take Vanille away , but burdened by guilt , she refused and intended to carry out the Soulsong despite knowing it would kill her . As Fang left for the Dead Dunes to find the holy clavis , a divine relic the Order seeks for the ritual , Vanille remained in the cathedral under the Order ' s protection . For the next four or five years she worked with the Order to prepare for the Soulsong , spent her days listening to the dead , and giving hope to the populace . Becoming a curiosity to the public , the cathedral would be frequented by citizens hoping to meet Vanille . She was often visited by Lumina and the two became friends . Thirteen days before the end of the world Lightning awakens from her crystal sleep , becomes the savior and visits Luxerion . After hearing about Lightning ' s exploits Vanille requests to see her . After saving Noel ' s soul , Lightning heads for Cathedral Plaza where Vanille ' s servant , Aremiah , tells Lightning a precious crystal shard belonging to Vanille has been lost . When Vanille awoke from crystal stasis she found herself grasping a piece of crystal and it has been her precious possession ever since as it lets her glimpse the estranged Fang . Lightning finds the crystal with a delivery company employee who claims someone high up in the Order gave it to them with no receiver ' s address , and Lightning theorizes someone from the Order wanted to steal it from Vanille . Lightning returns the crystal to Aremiah and is granted passage into the cathedral at night time . She reunites with Vanille in the Hall of Devotion and finds her with Lumina . Vanille leads Lightning underground to God ' s Sanctum and shows her a concentration of Chaos around the altar , which Lumina refers to as the " wind of sorrow , " lost souls in suffering . Vanille explains the souls of those who died after Valhalla ' s Chaos burst through Etro ' s gate were drawn to the cathedral and that she can hear every cry of their pain . Lumina says the Order seeks the save the dead from their anguish by offering them oblivion and needs Vanille to call them to her . Lightning asks if Vanille will be able to handle millions of souls at once , but she answers she doesn ' t have a choice . Lumina says the souls have been building up for years , and if Vanille does not call them to her and they ever escaped , they would destroy the world and the future as well . As Lightning searches for the clavis with Fang in the Dead Dunes she learns Vanille continues to dwell on her past sins , believing her new power is God ' s way of punishing her , and intends to atone by performing the Soulsong . When they reach the Clavis Chamber and find the relic , Fang tries to destroy it , but the Order ' s Secutors appear and steal the clavis . Fang tells Lightning that the Order sought the clavis for its ability to summon souls and she left the Order to find the clavis and keep it away from Vanille . Lumina appears and reveals she led the Secutors to their location , and says the Secutors are taking the clavis to Luxerion where on the world ' s final day Vanille will perform the Soulsong and erase the dead , including Serah . When Lightning returns to Luxerion , Vanille tells her that even if the Soulsong will wipe out the dead , it is something she needs to do , otherwise the souls will suffer inside the Chaos forever . Vanille says that after the Soulsong kills her she will join the dead and be erased with them . At the end of the eleventh day , Lightning learns from the souls of the dead in the form of Cid Raines that , unknown to Vanille , she has the power to help them be reborn in the new world . On the eve of the Apocalypse , Lumina reveals to Lightning the Soulsong ' s true nature : The Order seeks to destroy the dead and erase their existence from the living ' s memories , " purifying " them of their burdened pasts so they can be reborn in the new world with a clean slate and live in bliss as per the god Bhunivelze ' s vision . The Order has kept the truth from Vanille and tricked her into believing the Soulsong will save the dead from their suffering . With help from Noel , Lightning enters the Temple of Light and finds Fang . In God ' s Sanctum , with several disciples , sentries , and the Order ' s high priestess present , Vanille faces the clavis and begins the Soulsong . Lightning and Fang interfere and divulge the Order ' s true motives , but Vanille can ' t ignore the cries of the dead and feels the need to pay for her sins . At Lightning ' s urging , Vanille listens to the dead . The high priestess attempts to force her to continue the ritual by claiming her pain stems from the dead ' s corruption by the Chaos . Vanille learns none of the dead wish to be destroyed and she kept hearing them because , despite their suffering , they wish to be reborn . At Lightning ' s suggestion and Fang ' s willingness to assist her , Vanille halts the Soulsong and decides to guide the souls to the Ark so they can be reborn in the new world . To complete the ritual , the high priestess strikes Vanille down for her defiance against God and has the holy clavis begin to drain her life , producing a light powerful enough to destroy the souls . With Snow ' s timely arrival , the clavis is destroyed and the high priestess is obliterated . After guiding the dead to the Ark with Fang ' s help , Vanille ' s soul is saved . After the final bell on the world tolls , Vanille ' s soul is taken by Bhunivelze along with Snow , Fang , and Noel , but she returns to Lightning ' s side during the final battle before witnessing Nova Chrysalia ' s destruction . Vanille accompanies her friends to the new world , no longer a tool of the gods . Fang and Vanille stay together in the new world and move to an arid region near a remote village in an area full of cattle ranches and rocky wilderness . The pair makes their abode amid abandoned ruins as they " remind them of home . " A reporter named Aoede interviews the pair on her quest to uncover the truth behind people ' s latent memories of another world . Fang and Vanille tell the story of how they saved Cocoon by turning into crystal and remained in crystal sleep for centuries , how Hope had their crystal salvaged from the crystal pillar before it shattered , and how the organization he had formed , the Conseil de Renaissance , safeguarded them . When they awoke Vanille had wanted to thank Hope , but he had already been kidnapped by Bhunivelze and thus the pair fell under the Order ' s watchful eye . As she saw the Order ' s teachings act as a lifeline for the suffering populace after Hope ' s disappearance , Vanille wanted to help the organization as their saint , unaware they were manipulating her and using her as a means to an end . The Order told her what she wanted to hear and made her believe that she could help everyone by doing whatever they wanted . Vanille took their lies at face value and before she knew it , she had bought into Bhunivelze ' s scheme . The pair doesn ' t know how or why they awoke from crystal stasis , but speculate it to be the work of either Bhunivelze or Lumina . Fang describes Lumina as a brat who was " Chaos personified " and says she was attached to Vanille for some reason . Vanille says Lumina might have been the one who woke them up so she would have someone to indulge her , because even though she came across as a spiteful prankster , in reality , Lumina was a lonely girl who wanted attention . Fang says that a number of the Order ' s followers were decent people who treated her and Vanille well , but those in the upper echelons were rotten garbage who exploited Vanille ' s desire to help the suffering populace and atone for the past to control her . Fang explains the Order would have erased everyone ' s memories of the past if Lightning hadn ' t saved everyone . When Aoede enthuses about learning more of Lightning and wants to thank her in person , Vanille and Fang assure her Lightning ' s wish for the world has come true if everyone is content with living in the new world . Gameplay . Vanille is playable in " Final Fantasy XIII " with main roles as Ravager , Saboteur and Medic , making her more support - oriented party member . She wields binding rods in battle and her Eidolon — whom she acquires last of all party members — is the Earth - elemental Hecatoncheir . Her Full ATB skill is Death . She has slow casting animations , but high Magic Power and more HP than the party ' s other dedicated mage character : Hope . Creation and development . According to the " Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega " , the development team at one point considered making Vanille the official main character , but dismissed the idea as they had already released a trailer and art featuring Lightning in that role . Of all the main characters introduced since " Final Fantasy XIII " , Vanille might be the one who had changed the least . In the original game , many lives were lost as the result of her lies . The torture she suffered from the resultant guilt led Vanille to believe that sacrificing herself to save the souls of the dead would rectify everything she had done , but her " purity " is why she could be easily misled about the true consequences of her well - intentioned sacrifice . Voice . Vanille and Fang speak with an accent different from the rest of the party . They speak in an Okinawan dialect of Japanese in the original version , and with an Australian accent in the English localization . The idea to cast two characters with Australian accents came from the localization team , who requested the voice directing team to look for either Australian - or New Zealand - sounding voices ; the rationale was that the team wanted Fang and Vanille to sound like they were from another world , but more in a sense of having a different melody to their voices , rather than a thick accent . Vanille ' s Japanese voice actress is Yukari Fukui . Vanille shares her Japanese voice actress with Terra Branford from " Dissidia Final Fantasy " and " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Her English voice actress is Georgia van Cuylenburg . Georgia van Cuylenburg spent six months recording Vanille ' s dialogue ; she had two recording sessions per week which lasted four hours . As with the rest of the English cast of " Final Fantasy XIII " , Georgia van Cuylenburg was able to listen to the original Japanese dialogue , which had been recorded first , for tone reference . While the other characters in " Final Fantasy XIII " were intended to be " Americanized " , Georgia van Cuylenburg was asked to adhere to the original Japanese performance and use a " high , squeaky , and upbeat " voice , as Vanille initially wants to misdirect others with her happiness . Georgia van Cuylenburg has stated that the most difficult aspect of voicing Vanille was making a type of high - pitched moan required for the character , which was not easy to make sound natural . During the February 2014 interview with " Final Fantasy Union " , Georgia van Cuylenburg commented how she and Vanille are alike with their past as Georgia also had several issues and hid it under a cover of a carefree girl , and compared Vanille ' s breakdown in the scene with Sazh to the similar situation from years before recording Vanille to when she lost her hair as a result of alopecia , which helped her in relating to her voiced character and enhance her performance . Musical themes . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Vanille ' s Theme " is composed of solo piano and represents her cheerful nature and inner guilt . " Prelude to Final Fantasy XIII " recurs as a motif within " Vanille ' s Theme , " which is intended to reflect her role as the game ' s narrator and originator of the story . Variants of her theme include three orchestral arrangements called " Lost Hope , " " Eidolons on Parade , " and " Memories of Happier Days . " The third variant " Memories of Happier Days , " begins with solo piano like her original theme but turns into a melancholy but uplifting orchestral piece . A short reprise of her theme is heard in " Face It Later , " " Sulyya Springs , " and at the beginning of " The Road Home . " An orchestral motif of her theme is heard in " Nascent Requiem , " the final battle theme , and " Determination . " " The Captive Saint " begins with a revised version of " Memories of Happier Days , " and transitions into a calm then eerie piece . It ' s heard when Lightning reunites with Vanille and they converse in God ' s Sanctum . " Memories of Happier Days " plays when Lightning reunites with Mog in the Wildlands , and when Lightning completes Bhakti ' s quest , " The Life of a Machine " in the Dead Dunes . It is mixed into the end credits theme , " . " Vanille ' s leitmotif is also reprised in " A New World , " which plays as Vanille and Fang guide the dead to the Ark . Arrangement album appearances . " Vanille ' s Theme " is part of the " Vanille ' s Theme ~ Memories of Happier Days ~ The Road Home " track on the album . It is the sixth track on the album . Other appearances . Vanille has appeared in the following media throughout the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Vanille has made key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " media : Merchandise . Action figures of Vanille have been released as part of the Play Arts series . Etymology and symbolism . This may allude 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 . Vanille shares her clan name with the spell Dia from " Final Fantasy " and " Final Fantasy XI " . However , the Japanese pronunciation of her clan name is different . The characters of Fang and Vanille are based on the Ragnarok myth of Líf ( " life " ) and Lífþrasir ( " eager for life " ) — the only humans who will survive Ragnarok . They sleep through earth ' s destruction and upon awakening will find the earth verdant again . will become the progenitors of a new race of humans , and their descendants will inhabit the world . This is congruent with the idea that Fang was originally envisioned as a male character .