Rygdea Rygdea is a non - player character in " Final Fantasy XIII " , who works for the Sanctum , the governing body of Cocoon . Rygdea is a captain working under the command of Cid Raines as his right - hand man for the Cavalry . He later becomes one of the secret founders of the Academy . Datalog . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Rygdea is an officer in the Wide - area Response Brigade led by Cid Raines . Hidden behind his cowboy antics is a man of unwavering courage and integrity . " " Disgusted by the deception of the Sanctum , he once thought to retire from the military , but was instead convinced by Raines to join the Cavalry . Finding that the brigadier general shared his ideals , Rygdea now works as his right - hand man in various operations designed to undermine the government ' s power . " " Rygdea is an officer in the Wide - area Response Brigade formerly led by Cid Raines . " " Disgusted by the deception of the Sanctum , he thought to retire from the military , but instead joined Raines and the Cavalry in their efforts to bring down the government . Rygdea followed the general without question , unaware of his superior ' s status as a servant of the Sanctum fal ' Cie . " " Raines has now replaced Barthandelus in the position of Primarch , leaving Rygdea to lead the Cavalry in a charge to topple the Sanctum and destroy Orphan . " " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " Captain Rygdea is a former Cocoon soldier . Following the catastrophe , he played a central role in running the provisional government . " " Rygdea crushed the budding resurgence of the former administration by revealing the Sanctum ' s manipulation by the fal ' Cie , and their subsequent slaughter of innocent civilians during the Purge . " " He lent his support to the Academy scientists who sought to promote ' human independence , ' and encouraged the shift in authority from the government to this new institute . " Profile . Appearance . Rygdea has shoulder - length brown hair and blue eyes . His outfit is a variation on the standard male Guardian Corps uniform : blues and silvers dominate in his case , and as opposed to most division uniforms , he has a white shape similar to a Christian cross on his stomach . Story . " Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero - Promise - " . Rygdea and several Cavalry troops capture the fugitive Fang the day after she returns to Bodhum from Euride Gorge . He takes Fang aboard the " Lindblum " to meet with Raines , after which Raines tells Rygdea to bring Fang to her room in the residential area of the airship . Rygdea warns her not to try anything since PSICOM — Cocoon ' s anti - Pulse army — has set up barricades around Bodhum . He tells Fang the Cavalry helped her by overwriting PSICOM ' s surveillance system and sending them false info so the Cavalry could capture her quietly . When Fang asks why the Cavalry would help her if they are enemies , Rygdea answers that it ' s in their interest as they both have the same enemy . Fang is looking for her friend Vanille , and Rygdea suggests they make a deal : he searches for Vanille and in return she and Fang don ' t let themselves get captured by PSICOM . Fang agrees and Rygdea returns to Bodhum . As he walks for the station to the shopping mall , Rygdea hears Lightning call out his name , recognizing her from a few days ago . He asks if she knows where teenagers like to hang out and gives Lightning a vague description of Vanille as an outgoing runaway who likes caring for animals . Lightning tells him there are pet shops in Bodhum , and tells him of a café by the beach where many young people hang out . Taking Lightning ' s advice , Rygdea visits the café . Seeing how everyone around him is acting without a care in the world , Rygdea notes PSICOM has covered up news of the Euride incident , and how only perceptive people like Lightning know something big has happened if PSICOM is moving in . As Lebreau fixes Rygdea something to eat , he describes Vanille to her . Lebreau says she will let him know if a girl matching his description comes by . Rygdea takes one last look around the mall before returning to the " Lindblum " , where Fang is unsurprised to see him return empty - handed . She says Vanille might be near a forest or ocean for food . Rygdea is caught off guard when Fang asks why he is with Raines . Rygdea says Raines is an important Sanctum figure with many people ' s lives in his charge . Fang asks if Rygdea stays in the army because something about Raines appeals to him , but Rygdea doesn ' t answer at the risk of revealing too much . He calls himself a man who relies not on his feelings , but on whether or not something makes sense , and that he does not fight unless he is sure to win . He says Fang misread him , but Fang disagrees . Rygdea leaves Fang ' s room and hurries to the airship ' s bridge , as a moment ago PSICOM announced they are lifting the blockade around Euride . " Final Fantasy XIII " . Rygdea appears with Fang in Lake Bresha , where his troops apprehend Snow Villiers and take Serah Farron ' s crystallized form onto their airship . Snow meets Cid Raines and learns of his wish to overthrow the fal ' Cie . Later , Rygdea helps the l ' Cie escape from Yaag Rosch ' s forces in Palumpolum and helps Lightning , Snow , Fang and Hope get onboard the " Palamecia " to rescue Sazh Katzroy and Vanille . After Cid leaves the Cavalry and is appointed as the new Primarch , the Cavalry members see themselves as having been betrayed by their former leader . In reality , this has been orchestrated by Barthandelus to incite civil war within Cocoon . Rygdea takes Cavalry ' s leadership and leads them in rebellion against the Sanctum , ending up confronting the newly - made Primarch Raines . Raines , abandoning his dream as a " fal ' Cie fancy " , asks Rygdea to end his life . Reluctantly , Rygdea complies , then leads his forces against PSICOM in an all - out war on the Sanctum . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Fragments Before " . Rygdea survives the transformation of the Cavalry ' s majority into Cie ' th and Cocoon ' s fall . In the six months after the Day of Ragnarok , he helps the surviving populace in Cocoon and on Gran Pulse rebuild . He is stationed in Palumpolum , which has become Cocoon ' s new capital and its main military base of operations . Rygdea summons Hope ' s father , Bartholomew Estheim , to a secret meeting in the city concert hall . He shows him an ID card containing internal documents from the Sanctum made by the late Rosch , with his voice - over providing insight to what happened behind the scenes . The card shows the security footage from the day of the incident at Euride Gorge , depicting Fang and Vanille , the Pulse l ' Cie responsible for the accident . Rygdea goes through the rest of the card ' s footage , which documents , from Rosch ' s perspective , the events leading up to the Siege of Eden . Rygdea comments on many aspects , including Raines defying his Focus and entering crystal stasis through his own will , and the irony of the god - like fal ' Cie searching for a god themselves . After he finishes showing the footage , Rygdea tells Bartholomew of how people have forgotten PSICOM ' s last act of heroism because of their pitted reputation , and that former members of the Sanctum pushing the blame for the Siege of Eden on them for their own profit . Rygdea reveals his plan of making the ID card ' s footage public along with other acquired inside information to expose the truth behind the Purge and everything else that led to Cocoon ' s fall , so the former Sanctum members will be held responsible . Rygdea reveals he wishes to create a society free of the fal ' Cie , where the people think for themselves and live how they want . By releasing Rosch ' s documents , Rygdea hopes to clear the reputations of the former Pulse l ' Cie . He reveals he summoned Bartholomew to meet with him to ask him to join the new provisional government being formed . Bartholomew agrees , and wants to build a public research institute that will publicize its findings without interference from the government , and a higher education parallel to the institute . Rygdea publicizes the footage , flushing out the last of the Sanctum supporters . Some time later , Rygdea meets up with Snow , who is on a journey to find the missing Lightning . He asks Snow to do him the favor of locating the remnants of the disbanded PSICOM division on Pulse to see whether or not they are holding a grudge for being chased out of Cocoon and planning an armed reprisal . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Fragments After " . When Snow returns to Palumpolum , Rygdea meets up with him and receives his news . Snow departs on an airship , smuggling his fal ' Cie companion Cactuar on board . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Rygdea is mentioned , but is never met in person by either Serah , Mog , or Noel Kreiss . Creation and development . Rygdea ' s character model is a . His body model is that of a standard Sanctum soldier , and only his head has a unique model and texture . Nao Ikeda , who designed the " Final Fantasy XIII " support cast , thus only designed a face . The " Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega " reveals the development team wanted a character who wouldn ' t cost much as far as the polygon model or animation went , so Ikeda also drew a version with short hair . The person in charge of modeling chose the long - haired version out of enthusiasm for keeping with that design . Rygdea was designed with a sky theme in mind , with sky blue eyes and his hair color influenced by , a type of bird . Rygdea ' s profile described him as both lax and courageous , so to keep with that image , Ikeda tried showing his chest and gave him a stubble . Voice . His Japanese voice actor is and his English voice actor is Josh Robert Thompson . Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Rygdea appears in " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " .