Bodhum Bodhum , known as Bowdam in Japan , is a location in " Final Fantasy XIII " . It is the hometown of Lightning , her sister Serah , Serah ' s fiancé Snow Villiers , and the resistance group NORA . Bodhum is a seaside town that , prior to the Purge , contained the Pulse Vestige . Bodhum is famous for its long white beaches and the annual fireworks display , and has is a popular tourist destination , seeing that the Euride Gorge power plant , another tourist attraction , is located nearby . The town is guarded by the local unit of the Guardian Corps where Lightning works as a soldier . According to from " Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania " , Bodhum is located on an island . Bodhum is briefly playable during a flashback when playing as Snow , but otherwise is an unvisitable location . Datalog . " The modest city by the sea is the hometown of Lightning and Serah , as well as that of Snow and the members of NORA . Known for its relaxing , resort - like atmosphere , the location is a popular destination for vacationers . " " Bodhum ' s largest tourist draw is its annual beachfront fireworks display , but this year ' s event was ruined by the discovery of the Pulse fal ' Cie within the nearby Vestige . The Sanctum quarantined the city on the day after the discovery , announcing its plan to Purge Bodhum ' s entire population , along with the hapless tourists , to Pulse . " Story . Vanille and Fang awake from their 500 year - long crystal stasis within the Bodhum Vestige . The next day , Lightning is rescued by Snow and NORA from monsters . She attempts to persuade Snow to stop being involved with Serah , but he rubs off her demands . The day after , Serah notices the door to the Vestige has opened while on a walk nearby , and goes inside to explore . She is branded a Pulse l ' Cie by Anima , a Pulse fal ' Cie residing in the Vestige . After exploring the town over the last two days , Fang and Vanille return to the Vestige to find the newly - branded Serah unconscious . They carry her outside and watch her come to and leave . Two days later , Vanille gets separated from Fang following the events at Euride Gorge , and returns to the Bodhum Vestige . Another two days later , Serah reveals her l ' Cie status to Snow , who offers to help her figure out her Focus . Nine days after waking from crystal stasis , Vanille scrapes her leg on the beach and is aided by Serah . The two become friends , and Vanille tries to apologize for her part in Serah ' s branding , but she does not understand . The next day , Serah and Snow shop for a birthday present for Lightning . Unknown to Serah , Snow slips away and buys them engagement necklace s while she gets Lightning a survival knife . The annual fireworks festival is attended by a crowd that includes Nora Estheim and her son , Hope ; Sazh and Dajh Katzroy accompanied by PSICOM officer Jihl Nabaat ; and Fang and Vanille , although still separated — Fang stays at Lebreau ' s cafe while Vanille watches the fireworks on the beach . Tradition dictates attendees get one wish , and during the night Serah accepts Snow ' s marriage proposal , Vanille wishes for Cocoon ' s safety , Nora wishes Hope ' s father , Bartholomew , could join them next time , and Dajh hopes to see his father happy again . Lightning , who is there to oversee the event , learns about the Euride incident from her superior , Amodar , who warns her not to get involved . Unknown to everyone , PSICOM discovers the Pulse fal ' Cie in the Vestige . The next day , Serah reveals to Lightning she is a l ' Cie and is engaged to Snow , but Lightning doesn ' t believe her and drives her away . Snow proposes that he and Serah return to the Vestige to discover Serah ' s Focus , but the town is under lock - down and the Vestige is off - limits . Snow and Serah are pursued by soldiers , and Serah is taken captive by the Pulse fal ' Cie . Lightning learns about the fal ' Cie ' s discovery and realizes Serah was telling the truth . Snow finds Lightning and tells her about Serah ' s capture . The next day , the Sanctum begins the Purge , forcing all the residents and tourists to board trains headed for Gran Pulse . To save Serah , Lightning resigns from the Guardian Corps , lines up on the train platform , and is joined by Sazh . As Vanille lines up , she bumps into Hope and Nora , and chooses to go with them . Once the deportees have been loaded , the Purge train leaves Bodhum for the Hanging Edge . In " " , an aspiring journalist named Aoede is skeptical about the Purge and believes that no one is actually getting exiled . After gathering information , her doubt is reinforced and she theorizes the Purge to be ruse set up by the Sanctum to bolster the public ' s fear of Pulse and maintain control over Cocoon . She fits herself with hidden cameras , infiltrates Bodhum , and boards a Purge train determined to make a documentary that will advance her career . In " Final Fantasy XIII - Episode i - , " it is revealed that Bodhum is one of the places to sustain heavy damage from the fall of Cocoon , but as its population was taken by the Purge , there were almost no casualties . The novel " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Fragments After " also reveals that Bodhum was the crash site for the floating city of Eden after Orphan ' s defeat . Over the next three years , by the events of " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , the former denizens of Bodhum have built a town alongside the NORA members named after their hometown on the shores of Gran Pulse called New Bodhum . Creation and development . Bodhum was likely at some point planned to be a playable location beyond being the setting for a short flashback sequence ; the game contains save game icons for Bodhum and the player cannot save their game during the playable flashback , and it has been revealed in the accompanying Japanese " Ultimania " guide books that Lightning ' s house was planned as a visitable location for the game , but in the final game it is only seen in flashback cut scenes . Concept art from " Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega " shows Lightning lives in a peanut - shaped house standing over water with a portion of the roof opening up . Bodhum ' s annual fireworks festival is based on a Japanese cultural tradition . Originally used to ward off evil spirits , fireworks have a long history in Japan and hundreds of firework shows are held every year across the country , mainly during the summer holidays . The Bodhum fireworks festival ' s wish - making tradition may have derived influence from the real world festival , said to occur on the day the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi meet , making wishes come true for only this single day a year . The most famous of Tanabata festivals , the Sendai Tanabata Festival , includes firework shows to its festivities . Musical themes . As Bodhum only appears in flashbacks , it doesn ' t have a proper location theme . " Fabula Nova Crystallis " plays during Snow ' s flashback of the 7th day when he makes his promise to help Serah . " In the Sky That Night " plays during flashbacks of the 11th day ( with the exception of Hope ' s flashback , that is accompanied by " Hope ' s Theme " instead ) , and is an arrangement of the game ' s main theme , " FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise " . " Promised Eternity " plays during the cutscene where Snow proposes to Serah . " Eternal Love " plays during the scene Snow and Serah fly and aerobike into the fireworks display in the Japanese version . In the localized versions , " Serah ' s Theme " plays instead . " Serah ' s Theme " also plays during Snow ' s flashback of the 7th day when Serah reveals her branding as a Pulse l ' Cie to him . " Forever Fugitives " plays during the FMV cutscene of Snow ' s flashback of Serah ' s capture by Anima on the 12th day .