Vayne Carudas Solidor Vayne Carudas Solidor is the main antagonist of " Final Fantasy XII " . At 27 years old , he is the third son of Archadia ' s Emperor , Lord Gramis , the elder brother of Larsa Ferrinas Solidor , and part of House Solidor . Profile . Appearance . Vayne has blue eyes and shoulder - length black hair . He wears a dark - green pullover and pants , white gloves , a sleeveless armor with white - and - gold armlets with wings on shoulders and gold knee - pads . Vayne wears a cloak covered in dark blue , crimson and white as well as a gold belt . As Vayne Novus , most of his clothing dissolves leaving his armored gauntlets , boots and belt behind , while his body becomes more muscular and his face distorted . As The Undying Vayne looks identical to Vayne Novus at the core but with metal grafted onto his legs and torso , primarily on the left side . His left arm is covered by a cannon , while his right arm is a sword . He bears an assembly of swings and a crest over his head in the shape of a dragon ' s head , alluding to the Undying as being formed from the metal of the Sky Fortress " Bahamut " named after Bahamut , a recurring dragon summon in the series . Personality . Driven by the desire to become a new Dynast King , Vayne is lauded by friend and foe alike as a devious politician , skillful leader and administrator , and a military genius . Vayne is ruthless , manipulative , and obsessed with power . He allows no distractions or obstacles to his goals , removing them by whatever means needed . Vayne is not a brute however , and is intelligent and pragmatic in his pursuits , recognizing the value of political pawns he can hold over others by keeping enemies alive or manipulating their actions . Vayne values the legacy and stability of Archadia and House Solidor and will use any means to safeguard them . Though he is stated to have executed two of his brothers for treason , Vayne holds a soft spot for his younger brother , Larsa . Story . Vayne had two older brothers whom were branded traitors and killed by Vayne at the request of his father , most likely because he believed they were planning an uprising . Vayne has sworn to protect his younger brother , the innocent Larsa . While it is unknown when Vayne first met Venat and Dr . Cid and began conspiring with them to " put the reins of history back in the hands of Man , " it is known that he masterminded the invasions of Nabradia and Dalmasca to gain the Dusk Shard and the Midlight Shard , two pieces of deifacted nethicite critical for Cid ' s research at Draklor Laboratory , using the uprising of the Neo - Rozarria Faction in Nabradia as a pretext for invasion with the excuse of restoring peace and order to the country . After the Dalmascan counterattack at Nalbina Fortress , Vayne concocted the plot to fool the people of Dalmasca into thinking that Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg was a traitor and responsible for killing their King , Raminas B ' nargin Dalmasca . Using Basch ' s twin brother , Gabranth , who works for Archadia , the two played out a scenario in front of a wounded Dalmascan soldier , Reks , who would serve as a witness . Two years later , Vayne is appointed Consul of Rabanastre , making him the " de facto " ruler of Dalmasca . He delivers a speech to a skeptical crowd gaining their reluctant acceptance , and organizes a fete at the former Royal Palace of Rabanastre . The fête is a trap set up for the Resistance that storms the palace only to find soldiers and an Imperial battleship " Ifrit " awaiting . As Princess Ashe , a member of the Resistance , and her allies of circumstance are cornered by Vayne , Ashe is taken away to Judge Ghis ' s care on Dreadnought " Leviathan " while the sky pirates and a street thief named Vaan are sent off to the Nalbina Dungeon s . In the manga version , Vaan runs into Vayne on the palace grounds overseeing the battle between Resistance and Imperial forces , and Vayne invites him to strike him when Vaan yells at him for the death of his brother , Reks . When Vaan lunges at Vayne his attack is blocked by Gabranth and Vayne orders Vaan executed for having attacked an Archadian official . He is saved by the sky pirates Balthier and Fran . Later on , Vayne and Gabranth loot the palace treasury looking for the Dusk Shard , unaware it had been stolen by Vaan . Later still , when Ashe has acquired the Dawn Shard but Vossler ' s betrayal has the group captured by Ghis , Gabranth notifies Vayne , who in turn tells the Occuria n Venat they now have all three shards . Despite much pomp and ceremony , Vayne ' s tenure as Consul is short - lived . The Imperial Senate , favoring Larsa as a puppet Emperor over his ambitious and ruthless older brother , recalls Vayne to Archades . When Vayne confronts Gramis on this decision , his father explains Archadia is moving in the wrong direction , and that only Larsa can put them on the right path . Vayne reminds the Emperor that Archadia ' s power was built on military might over peaceful negotiation , a fact Gramis acknowledges , but declines to comment on further . Vayne states that ruthlessness at this point would be necessary , both to ensure that House Solidor retains power and remains sovereign , and that his brother Larsa would be protected from the schemes of the Imperial Senate . Gramis appears to have little power over the Senate at this point . Shortly afterwards Gramis is found dead in the throne room , supposedly poisoned by Chairman Gregoroth who has committed suicide . Vayne has the senators arrested for supposed regicide , and " temporarily " dissolves the Imperial Senate . Knowing that Judge Bergan would support him out of loyalty and Judge Zargabaath out of a wish to avoid internal strife , Vayne begins acting as the new Emperor of Archadia . Judge Drace sees through the façade and attempts to place Vayne under arrest . Despite pleas of mercy from Zargabaath , Vayne tries Drace for high treason , and Bergan , happy to serve his ruthless new Emperor , strikes her down . Knowing that Judge Gabranth personally reported to Gramis on Vayne ' s schemes , the latter decides to test the " hound ' s " loyalty and orders Gabranth , a dear friend of Drace , to administer the killing blow , which he delivers reluctantly . Vayne proceeds with his plan of becoming Ivalice ' s new Dynast King and putting history ' s reins back into the hands of man and out of the Occuria ' s , mysterious otherworldly beings that deem themselves the Gods of Ivalice . He sends Dr . Cid to the Pharos where he uses the Sun - Cryst , the motherlode of nethicite in Ivalice , to spill forth Mist over the world . The unleashed Mist is absorbed by and powering up Vayne ' s new Sky Fortress " Bahamut " , the largest aerial battleship ever built . The Sky Fortress plays a central role in the Battle above Rabanastre , during which Vayne plans to obliterate the Resistance forces led by Marquis Ondore and have the city of Rabanastre follow on the battle . Princess Ashe ' s party infiltrates the fortress and confronts Vayne with Larsa ' s aid . He is defeated , but by using the power of manufacted nethicite that had knocked Larsa out , Vayne transforms into Vayne Novus . Judge Gabranth turns on his former master upon witnessing him harming Larsa , and when Vayne is weakened , Gabranth plunges his sword into Vayne ' s chest . Vayne retaliates but is stopped by Larsa . While Vayne is still shocked by Larsa ' s actions , Vaan wounds Vayne . Escaping to the deck Vayne can ' t help but laugh at his current state . The rogue Occurian Venat offers comfort , saying they had succeeded in releasing the control of history from the hands of the Occuria as the Sun - Cryst was destroyed , giving Vayne its power as a way of thanks . Vayne uses his newly - gained power to fuse parts of " Bahamut " unto his body to become a mechanical dragon , but he is still defeated and explodes into a cloud of Mist taking Venat to the grave with him . Gameplay . The party fights Vayne onboard the Sky Fortress " Bahamut " . Larsa assists the player ' s party during the first battle . Vayne bears no weapon in this first battle , instead opting to use his fists in the same style as a Monk would . In the second battle , Gabranth will assist the party . Creation and development . Voice . Vayne is voiced by in the Japanese version . He is voiced by Elijah Alexander in the English release . " Final Fantasy XII " was Alexander ' s first experience with a video game . He has described the experience of seeing the animated action and lending his voice to enhancing the life of the character as fun . His preparation for the role was similar to playing a role on TV , film or theater . He was instructed to speak with , a dialect he was familiar with at the time . Vayne , as a ruling class aristocrat , had to have his , arrogance , sense of invincibility , cruelty and nonchalance pronounced with an effortless quality that expressed a sense of confidence and pride . Alexander was brought in to audition by his voiceover agency . The audition took about 45 minutes as he auditioned for about nine different characters in a variety of voices . He was cast as Vayne based on his audition , and Alexander was thrilled to be " the guy to beat " in such a popular game . He did around four recording sessions for the part . Musical themes . Vayne ' s first battle is fought to " The Theme of the Empire , " which can also be considered his personal character theme . The song " Upheaval " plays when fighting his Vayne Novus form , and as The Undying , he is accompanied by " The Battle for Freedom . " Other appearances . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . Vayne appears in his Undying form as an enemy . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Vayne is a playable character who could be initially recruited during the Challenge Event Blood Reign as a First Time Reward for completing the event ' s Pharos at Ridorana stage on Classic difficulty . Vayne is a Consul of Rabanastre , whose combat role is Physical / Magic Hybrid . Vayne can use Black Magic abilities up to rarity rank 5 , Combat abilities up to rarity rank 5 , Monk abilities up to rarity rank 5 , and Darkness abilities up to rarity rank 5 . His default Soul Break is Pummel , which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment deals three ranged physical attacks to one target . Vayne can equip the following weapon types : daggers , swords , fists , rods , and staffs . He can equip the following armor types : hats , light armor , heavy armor , robes , and bracers . He can equip accessories . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Vayne appears in the Japan - exclusive " Final Fantasy " trading card game published by Square Enix .