Shiva (Final Fantasy XV)

Shiva, also known as the Glacian, is an Astral in Final Fantasy XV. Out of the Six she is the most friendly and compassionate toward mankind and acts as a Messenger of the gods to mortals. Prince Noctis forges a pact with her in Chapter 12.
Shiva was not always fond of mankind; she used to dislike humans for the fleeting nature of their lives, and how they cling to hopes and dreams. Witnessing compassion and benevolence in others warmed her heart.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Shiva is based on a recurring summon in the Final Fantasy series. She is the smallest Astral, not much larger than a normal human, though she can manifest multiple "copies" of herself at once. She is a woman with pale blue skin, purple eyes with white eye shadow, pointed elvish ears and hornlike protrusions that resemble icicles. She wears her long silvery hair in elaborate braids, and her body is covered by lace-pattern frost that resembles lingerie. She has sheer white frost sleeves and a filigree choker made of ice. Shiva can appear as a flock of fairy-like ice goddesses, but has also appeared as a giantess.
In the Chinese version, Shiva's appearance is altered giving her a more human skin tone and her body is differently textured to give the impression of a bodysuit rather than naked skin.
Shiva lives in the world as Gentiana, the High Messenger who stays by the Oracle Lunafreya Nox Fleuret's side. Whereas the Oracle can commune with the gods to deliver mankind's message to them, Gentiana does the same for the gods. Shiva seems able to co-exist in multiple bodies, as when summoned by Noctis, she appears as numerous glacial pixies, and when her colossal ice goddess body was felled by the Niflheim Empire, Gentiana was already living at Fenestala Manor in Tenebrae. It has been implied that the reason Shiva now appears in a smaller form is because she was previously killed. Whether Gentiana is her own person whose body Shiva is "borrowing" after losing her corporeal body, or whether the two were always the same person, is unknown. Shiva's profile in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades describes her thusly: "She is the true form of the spirit incarnate in Gentiana, using both her celestial form and material body to cure Eos of the Starscourge."
Gentiana has black hair and olive green eyes. She wears a black gown with white wraps on her sleeves. She wears black thigh-high open-toed stiletto-heeled boots. Her nails are painted in a dark metallic hue.
===Personality===
Shiva was cold towards mankind, but when she saw the god of fire Ifrit's kindness in giving them fire, she became more compassionate and fell in love with him. However, after the War of the Astrals, Shiva lost her faith in humanity.
As Gentiana, she is calm and elegant. She often keeps her eyes closed, even when interacting with the people around her, belying her clairvoyant nature. She stays by Lunafreya's side, supporting her, but usually chooses to stand aside and observe rather than initiate action. After seeing Lunafreya dedicate her life to saving people, Gentiana regained her faith for humanity. She often refers to herself and others in the third person and does not use the pronouns "I" or "you."
When Lunafreya thanks Gentiana for delivering her unsaid feelings to Noctis, she feels undeserving of Gentiana's kindness even though she spent her life saving people. Gentiana sheds a single tear, deeply touched by Lunafreya's modesty and selflessness. Despite Ifrit's betrayal, Shiva still loves him and desires for him to find peace in death. In Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future-, she opposes Bahamut's plan to destroy Eos and wants to communicate to Lunafreya his true intentions.
===Abilities===
Shiva controls ice and can create copies of herself. She can freeze anything solid with the mere touch of her hand. If she does this to people, she can shatter her victim's frozen forms to instantly kill them. Shiva can transform into a human form, Gentiana, and when in this form does not exude chilly air. She can observe the party wherever they are without being seen, though at times appearing in photos taken by Prompto. She can speak both the human and the Hexatheon languages, and communicate with Prince Noctis telepathically in a voice only he can hear. In the Dawn of the Future, she tries to communicate with Lunafreya via dreams.
==Story==
During the Old Calendar Era the Astrals were active across Eos. Humans were created in the Astrals' image, and though Shiva was indifferent to man's fragile and ephemeral existence, even thinking them unnecessary to the planet, Ifrit admired their strength of will. Granting mankind his flame, a civilization flourished: Solheim. Ifrit's benevolence warmed Shiva's heart, who likewise came to love humans and fell in love with Ifrit.
Some Solheimians began to see themselves as superior to the gods and spurned their blessings. Due to the perceived betrayal of the Astrals by Solheim's people, Ifrit declared war on them. The Six are sworn to protect Eos, even from each other, and thus the other Astrals turned against Ifrit. Bahamut killed Ifrit, and Shiva lost her faith in humanity. The world was left in ruin the wake of the Astral War and Solheim collapsed. The Astrals—bar Bahamut—fell into slumber. According to the "alternative ending" chapters of Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future-, Bahamut had intended to destroy Eos with the "final summoning", Teraflare, but the other gods had defended Eos and thus been exhausted and fallen into millennia-long sleep to regenerate.
In M.E. 732 the High Messenger Gentiana moved in with House Fleuret in Tenebrae after the birth of Lunafreya. In M.E 735, after the birth of Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gentiana met with a young Lunafreya and told her that she must work with Noctis to bring back light to the world, as he will be the True King. Moved by Lunafreya's determination and her benevolence, Shiva's faith in humanity was restored.
When an eight-year-old Noctis visited Tenebrae in M.E. 744, he befriended the twelve-year-old Lunafreya. Gentiana met with Noctis and was glad that the Chosen King and the Oracle were becoming close.
In M.E. 745, the 13-year-old Lunafreya entered a covenant with Shiva. Shiva awoke in the form of an ice giantess in the desert plains surrounding Gralea, the capital of Niflheim, and sensed Ifrit was being "led him away from the Light" by a mortal. Ifrit had been turned into a daemon by someone with the imperial army, and thus Shiva led an assault on the empire. She was felled by its magitek infantry and experimental "specialized anti-deity daemonic weaponry" developed by Verstael Besithia at the behest of Ardyn Izunia. Shiva's death resulted in an environmental anomaly: the desert transformed into a vast tundra trapped in a perpetual snowstorm. Niflheim spun the event in their favor by claiming they had saved their land from an eternal winter by felling Shiva.
Having lost a lot of its army, Niflheim began developing magitek soldiers strong enough to fight the Astrals, and the empire's leading magitek researcher, Verstael Besithia, studied her remains to begin building a weapon he dubs "the Godslayer." The research documents within Zegnautus Keep, an imperial magitek laboratory, suggest that the imperial "Wallbreaker" technology was used against Shiva to enfeeble her powers. The corpse of Shiva's giantess incarnation remains outside Gralea, where it can be seen from aboard the trains heading into the imperial capital. According to the Final Fantasy XV Official Works, Shiva lost a part of her power, but retained her ability to move without regard to physical space and her all-freezing ice. What was left of her power she split into Gentiana so she could watch over the Oracle.
A few years later, after another Messenger, Pryna, returned to the 16-year-old Lunafreya with information about an Insomnian boy named Prompto Argentum, Gentiana asked Lunafreya if she should investigate further.
When the 24-year-old Lunafreya escapes Insomnia in the wake of the failed peace treaty signing between the empire and Lucis, she is met by Umbra, Pryna and Gentiana. Lunafreya holds the Ring of the Lucii with directions from the late King Regis to bring it to Noctis in the latter's quest to become the True King. Gentiana accompanies Lunafreya on her quest to awaken Titan and Ramuh so they can forge covenants with Noctis.
Gentiana appears to Noctis and his retinue to advise the prince in facing Ramuh's trial, and communicates with him telepathically. From then on Gentiana is implied to be keeping supernatural watch over them, as she sometimes appears in the background of photos the party takes. Lunafreya's brother, Ravus Nox Fleuret, sends an escort to pick up Lunafreya and Gentiana, and they return to Tenebrae.
Gentiana finds Lunafreya crying in a sylleblossom field. She affirms Lunafreya does not have to hide her grief, because she is no different from everyone else even with her position of Oracle. Gentiana promises to deliver Lunafreya's feelings to Noctis should she die before she can tell him in person, as communing with the Astrals is slowly killing her. Lunafreya is grateful, and Gentiana sheds a single tear. Lunafreya heads to Altissia to awaken Leviathan and is killed during the chaos that ensues, Gentiana's whereabouts being unknown at this time.
Noctis continues on his quest, grief-stricken at having lost Lunafreya. When he passes by Shiva's giantess corpse in Ghorovas Rift, Gentiana appears to him and reveals her true nature when she steps in to temporarily stop Ardyn Izunia, freezing and shattering his body with a touch of her hand. She grants Noctis her power, forging a pact with him while also bestowing him with the Trident of the Oracle, one of the royal arms and Lunafreya's weapon she had used when communing with the Astrals. From there on, Noctis can call upon Shiva when he's in danger. Shiva tells Noctis about Ifrit and the Great War of Old, asks him to save Eos as the Crystal's Chosen, and for him to release her love, Ifrit, still in the thrall of darkness and in the immortal Ardyn's control. As her final gift, Shiva lets Noctis know how much Lunafreya had loved him, steeling his will to continue on his quest.
After Noctis disappears inside the Crystal, the world is enveloped in the long night. Mankind comes together to defend the remains of civilization in wait for Noctis's return as the True King. As depicted in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, Gentiana meets with Cor Leonis, the marshal of the Crownsguard military unit, and confirms that Noctis will return. Cor calls off the search for him. The Astrals forgive the Kingsglaive for their betrayal of the crown after they prove they want to protect the world. Shiva, alongside the other Astrals, appears to the Glaives chosen to protect Angelgard, the island where the True King is to awaken. In her Gentiana form, she explains to a Glaive that to allow Noctis to awaken they must defend Angelgard from the darkness.
After Noctis returns after his ten-year slumber inside the Crystal, he meets Libertus Ostium and some other Glaives in Angelgard. Libertus almost collapses, but Gentiana helps him up, and explains to Noctis he must head to the ruins of Insomnia to fulfill the prophecy as the True King. She assures him their paths will cross again.
In Insomnia Noctis comes across Omega, an ancient magitek armor of Solheimian make. Gentiana appears to explain its nature to him. Ardyn places various obstacles upon Noctis's path, including cloaking the Citadel with a barrier, but Lunafreya's spirit sends the Astrals to pierce through it. A flock of Shivas appear and join their forces to freeze the barrier so it can be shattered. At the Citadel's gates Ardyn ushers a daemonic Ifrit upon Noctis, but Noctis and his friends fight him with the power of Astrals behind him. As a finishing blow, Noctis summons Shiva who surrounds the wounded Ifrit with her multiple bodies and traps him amid a blizzard dome, freezing him before slaying him with an icy kiss. Shiva wishes him to rest, calling him "[her] love".
As Noctis sits upon the throne and calls down the spirits of the past kings the Astrals show up and turn into energy, entering the Ring of the Lucii alongside Noctis and the kings. Shiva carries Ifrit's severed horn as they dissipate.
===Alternate ending===
Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of The Future- depicts an alternate path for the events to unfold where Ardyn accumulates power too great for the True King to purge with the Ring of the Lucii, and Bahamut decides to go forth with his original plan of destroying Eos. When Lunafreya died in Altissia, Gentiana lulled her into sleep like when she was a child, but ten years later Bahamut revives her with a new power—to absorb daemons—and sends her to destroy Ardyn and absorb his darkness. Lunafreya learns that Noctis will die if he follows his calling and wants to contact Gentiana and ask if she knew about this. Lunafreya communes with the gods in her dreams, but Bahamut prevents her from talking to Gentiana.
Eventually Gentiana manages to impart to Lunafreya the truth about Bahamut: he sees no value in individual lives, and has decided to wipe Eos clean of all life, including the Astrals. Gentiana is interrupted when Bahamut notices what she is doing. When the now-daemonic Lunafreya awakes, she heads for Insomnia to speak with Ardyn: not to fulfill her new "calling," but to defy the gods and save Noctis.
Shiva appears alongside Ifrit (now cured of the Starscourge), Titan, Ramuh and Leviathan to block Teraflare after Bahamut absorbs Lunafreya's darkness to energize it. Shiva joins Noctis and Ifrit in a direct attack on Bahamut. Her ice combines with Ifrit's flame to break his mask, allowing Noctis to deliver a fatal blow to the War God's physical form. At the same time, Ardyn destroys Bahamut's spiritual self in the heavenly dimension, ending Bahamut for good. Bahamut's death causes magic to vanish from Eos, including the Astrals. Before she fades away, Gentiana heals Lunafreya, weakened from her ordeal as a vessel for the darkness, wishing her a happy life with Noctis.
==Obtained==
Noctis obtains Shiva at the end of Chapter 12.
==Gameplay==
===Summon===
320px|left|Diamond Dust
The chance to summon will appear randomly while in battle. Each summon can be called around once per in-game day and the player can summon once per battle (as long as summoning is possible in that battle; summoning is unavailable in the locations for chapters 9–13, in training battles at camp, and in boss battles in Chapter 14 bar scripted sequences). Each Astral has its own requirements to be considered during the "summon roll," which happens every 10 seconds. While possible to summon during the first roll, it is rare. Shiva's summon chance increases for each party member in Down/Danger, and the time the player has spent in battle. Shiva can be summoned anywhere in the open world, but not in dungeons. She can be summoned in Insomnia in Chapter 14 in regular battles.
When summoned, Gentiana enters and freezes the surrounding landscape with her presence. She transforms into Shiva who appears alongside several copies of herself who surround a shivering Noctis. Shiva uses her signature attack, Diamond Dust, to envelop the foes in a constant vacuum of super-chilled air. Shiva is the most powerful summon, as her attacks hit foes the most amount of times.
Her summoning against the original penultimate boss has a unique animation.
===Photos===
Gentiana has a random chance to photobomb Prompto's photos from Chapter 5 onwards. Having this happen awards the Immortal Photobomb trophy/achievement. While reviewing photos at camp, Noctis and the others will take puzzled note of her presence. Sometimes she is not apparent in the photo even if the game considers it a photobomb, Gentiana being out of the frame or behind other objects.
===Recipe===
Gentiana randomly cooks for the player in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades. She presents a dish known as the Feast of the Divine, a wayo secchu nouvelle cuisine inspired recipe, which is Ignis's favorite. It makes the diners immune to status ailments and ice attacks, and boosts HP significantly. When Comrades was made a standalone game, the dish was added to Final Fantasy XV as a default recipe.
==Musical themes==
The character theme for Shiva/Gentiana is "Cosmogony". It is track 40 on the Final Fantasy XV: Original Soundtrack. It is also arranged into the final part of "Hellfire", the boss theme of Ifrit.
==Other appearances==
===Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia===
Shiva appears as Lunafreya's eidolon, figuring prominently in her S2 ability Frigid Fubuki as well as her EX ability Diamond Dust. Luna can also summon Shiva along with Rydia's Mist Dragon to create the FR ability Furious Spray.
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
FFBE 1607 Gentiana.png|5★.
FFBE 1608 Gentiana.png|6★.
FFBE 1609 Gentiana.png|7★.
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
Minecraft FFXV Gentiana.png|Minecraft skin as Gentiana.
Minecraft FFXV Shiva.png|Minecraft skin as Shiva.
==Behind the scenes==
===Design===
Gentiana was designed by Roberto Ferrari, a sub-character designer for Final Fantasy XV.https://www.facebook.com/944530178952674/photos/a.944772262261799.1073741828.944530178952674/960156294056729/?type=3 Compared to Ferrari's original concept, the developers changed Gentiana's clothes for script reasons, although the new dress kept much from the two versions Ferrari had drawn (a formal outfit and a party dress). The face remained unchanged. She originally had red-framed glasses and a white armor on the arm and a heavy sword at her side. Gentiana's original role for Final Fantasy Versus XIII was that of Stella's messenger, and a contact point between the countries of Tenebrae and Niflheim.
Gentiana's motion capture actress is Kaori Kawabuchi.
===Censorship and version differences===
Shiva has a different character model in the Chinese version, where she has more human skin color and her nakedness is obscured with a different body texture. The part of the summoning animation where Gentiana transforms still shows the original Shiva model, however. A nude character model for Gentiana exists,https://twitter.com/DickWhitehouse/status/833899306075582464 used for her transformation scene. She is viewed from the back so it's not explicit in-game. It is not possible to rotate or zoom in on Shiva in the bestiary.
If the player views the map when the train stops near the giantess Shiva's corpse, the outline of her body is visible. The player can't explore this area in the main game, but Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition has a dungeon at this part of the game.
Shiva's bestiary entry has differences between different translations. The Japanese version mentions her as the "foil to Ifrit", and simply states that she was defeated by Niflheim. The English version posits that her demise was only "corporeal". The German version says Shiva was Ifrit's lover before he went mad.
===Curiosities===
A winged Gentiana and winged Umbra and Pryna appear on an illustration on a Cosmogony book the young Noctis had in Tenebrae.
Gentiana stood on a balcony during the Moogle Chocobo Carnival. If the player used the Armiger glitch to fly to her, and used a Mega Potion in her vicinity, she would be healed for 3992 HP.
In Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn – Prologue, a woman resembling Gentiana appears for a split second with Aera Mirus Fleuret before the camera pans up. Whether this is intended to be Gentiana is unknown.
When Gentiana reveals herself in the end of Chapter 12, Ardyn says, "Ahh, the face you wore the day you..." before being silenced via Gentiana freezing his body solid, implying that they have met in the past.
===Voice===
Shiva and Gentiana are voiced by Renee Faia in the English version.
Shiva and Gentiana are voiced by Sayaka Kinoshita in the Japanese versions of Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy XV.
The naming of Astrals and related terminology was a deliberate move away from the "esoteric" terminology of earlier Final Fantasy games. To balance the fairly conventional naming, the Astrals were made to talk in an unusual manner; e.g. Gentiana, does not use "I" or "you." This worked for monologues, but proved troublesome for normal dialogue.Game Developers Conference - Bringing Fantasy to Life in Final Fantasy XV
thumb|right|335 px|Shiva speaking the Hexatheon language.
In the 1.00 version, Bahamut spoke in the astral language, but this was changed into the human language in the day one patch. When Noctis originally met Shiva, she did not speak, but a scene was added in a patch that has Shiva tell Noctis the story of the Great War of Old, and she uses the human language. This makes Bahamut and Shiva the only Astrals heard speaking the human language. Shiva originally spoke in the astral language during the battle against the penultimate boss, and Noctis translated what she said to the others. As of patch 1.21, Shiva speaks the human language, and the message is also different: when she spoke in the Hexatheon language, she asked Noctis to bring the light. In human language, she asks her love to rest in peace.
==Gallery==
;Shiva
Shiva-Concept-Art-FFXV.png|Concept art.
Shiva-Concept-Artwork-FFXV.png|Concept art.
Shivas-Corpse-FFXV-Concept-Art.png|Concept art of Shiva's corpse.
Shivas-Corpse-FFXV.png|Shiva's corpse.
FINAL FANTASY XV Gentiana on train.jpg|Gentiana transforming into Shiva.
Noctis-and-Shiva-FFXV.png|Shiva bestows Noctis the Trident of the Oracle.
Noctis-with-Shiva-FFXV.png|Shiva summoned.
Shiva heading to Wall XV.png
Shiva1.png|Shiva summoned.
Ifrit-and-Shiva2-FFXV.png|Ifrit and Shiva.
Shiva-FFXV.png|Shiva in the Windows Edition benchmark.
Shiva-Illustration-FFXV.png|Illustration.
Great-War-of-Old-FFXV.png|Illustration.
Shiva back.png|Back of Shiva's Body
Shiva gif.gif|Close up of Shiva's Face
;Gentiana
FFXV Gentiana SS.png
Gentiana-FFXV-Character-Model-Close.png
Gentiana-FFXV-Face.png
Luna Gent LSG.jpg|Promotional image.
Gentiana and Umbra at Leville in Altissia from FFXV.png|Gentiana with Umbra.
Brotherhood FFXV - Gentiana.jpg|Gentiana in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV.
BH-LunaGentianacoaster.png|Gentiana with Young Luna.
Gentiana with Cactuar and Moogle countdown artwork by Kaoru Kawaguchi.jpeg|Countdown artwork for release day by Kaoru Kawaguchi.
Gentiana Icon FFXV.png|Gentiana icon.
==Etymology==
In Final Fantasy XV Shiva also assumes different forms, appearing as a giantess, a flock of taller-than-human pixies, and even as a human.
Sylleblossom is a blue flower native to the land of Tenebrae associated with Lunafreya in Final Fantasy XV.
==External links==
*Cosplay reference guide
==References==
pt-br:Shiva (Final Fantasy XV)
ru:Шива (Final Fantasy XV)
Category:Astrals in Final Fantasy XV
Category:Messengers