Archadia The Archadian Empire is one of the main political powers in " Final Fantasy XII " . A vast empire to the northeast of Ivalice , it is the largest empire on the continent and can be considered the primary antagonist . Story . A small kingdom before the Galtean Alliance , Archadia prospered during peacetime and grew to be Ivalice ' s mightiest republic state . Ruled by a cadre of senators , the might of its military turned Archadia into an empire subjugating its neighboring lands . Emperors were chosen from those most active in the military , but when the House Solidor took over 200 years ago things began to change . To ensure their rule was absolute , they created a law system that benefited them , introducing the Judge system in Archadia . Archadia expanded into smaller nations , taking their lands , and ruling over them with the same level of law as in their capital . The Rozarrian Empire did not agree with Archadia ' s imperialistic advances , and so hostilities developed between the Empires . Cidolfus Demen Bunansa , the Empire ' s leading magicite researcher , treveled to Jagd Difohr and happened upon the ancient city of Giruvegan and the Occuria Venat . The Occuria are the most powerful beings in the world of Ivalice , referred to as " The Undying , " though their existence is unknown to Ivalice at large . Occuria are concerned with controlling the course of Ivalice ' s history , and offer nethicite to a man who would subjugate other nations as they directed . Seven hundred years ago the Occuria chose King Raithwall as their Dynast King , and had him unite Ivalice in the Galtean Alliance wielding three pieces of deifacted nethicite gifted to him by the Occuria . Venat disagrees with the Occurian philosophy and wants to instate its own " Dynast King " to undermine their influence in Ivalice . When Cid traveled to Giruvegan Venat teamed up with him , and came to Archades with him , teaching him how to manufacture manmade nethicite . The manufacted nethicite bolstered the Empire greatly , and the Venat - Cid duo gained the aid of the emperor ' s son , Vayne Carudas Solidor , who set up the Empire ' s war against Rozarria . As the Empire moves to steal the shards cut by Raithwall from the locations they conquer , the rest of the Occuria are enraged at Venat ' s heresy . The other Occuria decide to bring forth a new Dynast King to destroy Archadia and restore the status quo they had created . Archadia invaded Nabradia to claim its Midlight Shard , a piece of deifacted nethicite and an heirloom of the Dynast King . Judge Magister Zecht was ordered to test the shard ' s power , and in doing so he unwittingly destroyed the capital of Nabradia . The spent remains of the Midlight Shard ended up in Cid ' s possession , but Judge Zecht went missing , plagued by guilt of what he had unknowingly done . With Nabradia fallen Archadia turned its gaze toward the kingdom of Dalmasca and its Dusk Shard . The invasion succeeded as the Nalbina Fortress fell , and Vayne orchestrated the Dalmascan King Raminas assassinated to strip the kingdom of sovereignty . With the Dalmascan princess announced to have committed suicide the kingdom was left without an heir and becomes governed by the Empire . As Vayne is sent to the Dalmascan capital of Rabanastre to rule the kingdom as its consul , he searches the royal palace for the Dusk Shard but comes up empty - handed . Unknown to Vayne , the Dusk Shard was stolen by a common street thief Vaan who is ignorant of its significance . Vaan ' s excursion to the palace is enabled by the diversion when the Resistance attacks the palace to remove the consul . The Resistance is led by Princess Ashe under an alias , but the attack is repelled and she is captured and imprisoned aboard Judge Ghis ' s Dreadnought " Leviathan " . Vaan ends up teaming up with a band of friends , among them Basch fon Ronsenburg of the former Order of the Knights of Dalmasca , who seeks Marquis Ondore ' s aid of the supposedly neutral skycity of Bhujerba to save Ashe . Vaan , Basch and their friends are brought before Ashe and Ghis and while Basch attempts to negotiate for their freedom by promising to reveal the location of the Dusk Shard , the shard begins to glow in Vaan ' s pocket to the presence of Ashe pointing her out as Raithwall ' s kin and the rightful heir to Dalmasca ' s throne . Ghis seizes the nethicite and sends it out to Cid in Draklor Laboratory , while Vaan ' s party breaks Ashe free from Ghis ' s " Dreadnought " . Ashe leads her new companions to the Tomb of Raithwall to claim the Dawn Shard , the last of Raithwall ' s heirlooms , to prove her royal lineage to ascend the throne of Dalmasca , but her fellow Resistance leader Vossler York Azelas is a turncoat and hands her and the Dawn Shard over to Ghis . Instead of sending the shard to Cid , however , Ghis falls to delusions of grandeur and while attempting to evaluate the stone ' s power ends up releasing the Mist it inhabits and destroying the Archadian Eight Fleet and the " Dreadnought " with it , while Ashe and her friends flee . The incident discredits Vayne who is recalled to Archades . He begins to believe the senate will bypass him for emperor , instead giving the throne to his younger brother Larsa Ferrinas Solidor instead , whom the senate deem easy to manipulate due to his youth . The emperor Gramis Gana Solidor is of ailing health and the question of his succession is to come up soon . Unsure who should inherit the throne , he tasks Judge Magister Gabranth , Basch ' s twin brother , with keeping an eye on Vayne and reporting back to him to discern his true intentions , as the emperor is aware he is scheming for something behind his back . In truth , Vayne is in league with Cid and Venat , planning on becoming Ivalice ' s new Dynast King and ruler . Meanwhile , Judge Magister Drace worries what is to become of Larsa should he inherit the throne , for when the senate realizes he is not one to be manipulated , he could be in danger of being assassinated . The Occuria choose Ashe as their new Dynast King to overthrow Venat and Vayne and manipulate her by creating an image of her dead husband Lord Rasler , which she mistakes for his spirit come to deliver her guidance from the beyond . Larsa wants to avert the looming war as Marquis Ondore of Bhujerba steps down and covertly begins to assemble a Resistance against Archadia . Larsa attempts to have both Rozarria and the Gran Kiltias Anastasis of the Light of Kiltia faith recognize Ashe as the queen of Dalmasca giving her legitimacy as a sovereign , and then have her propose peace to the Empire . The plan falls apart when it is learned Vayne has murdered his father , disbanded the senate and taken the throne . Out of the Judge Magisters only Drace opposes Vayne ' s ruthlessness , and when she tries to arrest him for high treason the other Judges turn against her , and Vayne orders Gabranth to execute her as a test of loyalty , knowing Gabranth had been spying on him on Gramis ' s behalf . Gabranth reluctantly executes Drace , silently vowing to protect Larsa in her stead . Judges Gabranth and Zargabaath pick Larsa up from Mt Bur - Omisace where the Light of Kiltia ' s temple is located while Ashe and her friends are away in the Stilshrine of Miriam to claim the Sword of Kings , a legendary sword said to be able to cut through nethicite . The sword had been given to the Gran Kiltias by Raithwall himself to look over it as a neutral party , and the current Gran Kiltias , seeing Ashe as Raithwall ' s heir , lent her the knowledge of its existence and whereabouts . When they return they find the Gran Kiltias slain by Judge Magister Bergan who has been augmented by manufacted nethicite in his bid to support Vayne and driven mad as a result . He declares Vayne the new Dynast King and to wash Raithwall ' s blood clean from Ivalice , but Ashe and her friends kill him . Bent on going to war against the Empire , Ashe heads to the Draklor Laboratories with the Sword of Kings to destroy the nethicite in Doctor Cid ' s possession . They infiltrate the lab and run into the mysterious sky pirate Reddas who had been tasked by Marquis Ondore to steal the Empire ' s nethicite . Reddas , however , believes all nethicite in Ivalice should be destroyed . They confront Cid who flees with the Dusk Shard in hand , informing them he is heading for Giruvegan . Ashe pursues Cid there and meets the Occuria who reveal their intent of controlling Ivalice ' s history as Man ' s path is too volatile and bent on war and violence . The Occuria give Ashe the Treaty - Blade to cut new shards of nethicite from the Sun - Cryst , tempting her to use its power to take revenge on Archadia and restore Dalmasca . When she reaches it , however , she realizes Rasler would not want her taking revenge and realizes what she thought was his spirit was just an illusion created by the Occuria . As she decides to destroy the Cryst instead , Dr Cid reintegrates the Dawn , Dusk and Midlight Shards to the Sun - Cryst that begins to spill Mist over Ivalice rousing Archadia ' s largest battleship , the Sky Fortress " Bahamut " . Despite Venat ' s protection Cid perishes , and the Sun - Cryst is destroyed by Reddas with the Sword of Kings revealing his true identity as that of the missing Judge Zecht . Marquis Ondore ' s Resistance forces meet the Archadian airfleet in the battle above Rabanastre . Vayne oversees the war from the Bahamut ' s flightdeck alongside Larsa , who opposes the war . Ashe ' s party infiltrates the " Bahamut " and Larsa and Gabranth joins them in the struggle against Vayne . Vayne strikes Gabranth down , and Venat fuses its powers with him , transforming Vayne into The Undying , but Ashe and her friends defeat Vayne even with his enhanced powers . Vayne apologizes to Venat for not being a true Dynast King , but Venat tells Vayne that with the destruction of the Sun - Cryst the age of stones is over and their goals have been fulfilled and that they will walk the path of death together . As the malfunctioning " Bahamut " begins to fall from the sky , Larsa accompanies Ashe to her party ' s airship and announces over the radio his brother fallen in battle and himself the new emperor of Archadia , calling a ceasefire . Ashe becomes the queen of Dalmasca and maintains peaceful relations with Archadia , the war averted . Basch takes up his brother ' s identity and becomes a Judge Magister and stays on Larsa ' s side as his bodyguard as per Gabranth ' s deathbed wish . Geography . Phon Coast . A large coastline that expands far over Archadia . Anyone traveling by foot will arrive here first . There is a Hunter ' s Camp located somewhere along the beach . Tchita Uplands . Grasslands that connect Archades to the lower parts of Archadia . The area is overrun by monsters , making prolonged travel here undesirable . Sochen Cave Palace . A network of caves under old Archades and Archadia , it possesses intricate palace chambers built during the Galtean Alliance . Deep within its halls lies the fearsome Hell Wyrm . Old Archades . The lower sections of Archades . Once the main part of the city , it has now become a slum for lower class people . It is thought that once you come down here , you never leave . Imperial City of Archades . The heart of the Archadian Empire , and its capital . The Imperial Senate is located here in the Administrative District . The city is run by members of the aristocracy , who generally look down upon those who are at a lower social status . Archades is a very segregated city . A social sign in the city is the wooden chop . The more you have of these chops , the higher your social status , and the more parts of the city you can access . Archades is also home of the famous Draklor Laboratory . Draklor Laboratory . A giant laboratory run by Dr . Cid . It researches many things , from airships to weaponry . Recently however , all the lab ' s resources have been dedicated to developing nethicite . Entrance is impossible , unless you know the right people . Balfonheim Port . A port city , inhabited mainly by pirates , including the famous Reddas . While it is located in Archadia , the city tries to retain neutrality as best it can . This town is one of the few ports left , and one of the only ways a traveler can reach Mt Bur - Omisace from Archadia . Cerobi Steppe . Wilderlands north of Balfonheim . There are many windmills located here which the group of Craftsmoogles have been attempting to repair . Their true purpose has been long forgotten though . Demography . The composition of Archadia is 95 % hume , and 5 % other races , including bangaa , seeq , and moogles , and even one nu mou is seen as part of a sidequest . No viera are ever seen in the Imperial City of Archades . As seen in " Final Fantasy XII " , Archadians speak with distinct English accents , depending on their social status . The common people , most notably the rank - and - file soldiers , speak with a dialect resembling Cockney . The nobility , such as Vayne and Larsa , use a well - spoken " Queen ' s English " dialect . Military . Archadia is known for her fearsome military , the foundation of its power . Its military consists of troops , airships , and a navy . Troops . There are several ranks in the Archadian military . Imperial Soldier . Being the rank and file of the Archadian Imperial Army . The greater part of the Imperial army is comprised of swordsmen . In addition are hoplites in heavy armor for charging enemy fortifications , mages for ranged support , and others still for various more specialized roles . Mastiff . Dogs specially trained for battle . Their ability to follow commands and their unswerving loyalty make them a vital part of the Imperial war machine . Training takes place at the hands of skilled " beast tamers " , with a mastiff usually requiring two to three years before it is ready to see combat . Imperial Elites . Name given to a highly trained group of soldiers who have undergone the most rigorous selection procedures to become the pride of the Imperial army . Elites are separated into three divisions by role : gunners , being marksmen trained in the use of rifles ; pilots , being combat airship pilots ; and beastmasters , being those who train the mighty mastiff dogs that fight alongside Imperial soldiers . Those who make it past the selection process go to the Imperial military school known as the " Akademy " , there to learn the specialist skills of their allocated division . Rook . Dr . Cid has been working on developing thought - driven combat weapons , called " rooks " , for some time now . Test models saw their first combat use in a recent incident at the Draklor Laboratory . Three new models have been produced based on data collected during the Draklor Laboratory incident . The Judges . A special order of knights under the Imperial Archadian Ministry of Law . With the spread of Archadian influence came a rise in crime and regional conflicts . To reduce the amount of time required by the judicial process , a military court was established , this being the origin of the Order of Judges . Judge Magisters . One of the most prestigious ranks within the Archadian Empire . The Judge Magisters act as chief arbiters and enforcers of Archadian law . They are also the commanders of the Imperial Army . Air Fleets . Archadia has many airships . Out of these , only the 8th and 12th fleet are shown . These fleets consist of airships of all shapes and sizes , but they are usually lead by Dreadnought Class ships , like the " Leviathan " . Navy . Since the invention of the airship , Archadia ' s navy has decreased in size . However , it still vigilantly guards Archadia ' s coasts from anyone who would try to enter . Musical theme . The " Theme of the Empire " acts as the anthem of Archadia . Its leitmotif is used in several tracks involving Archadia , such as " Coexistence ( Imperial Version ) " , " Upheaval ( Imperial Version ) " and " Sorrow ( Imperial Version ) . " " Theme of the Empire " is composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto . In the , " Theme of the Empire " is the eleventh track in disc 2 . Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Some of the Archadian troops appear as enemies .