Vossler York Azelas

Vossler York Azelas is a guest character in Final Fantasy XII. A former captain of the Order of the Knights of Dalmasca, he now fights with the Resistance to restore the kingdom he once served loyally. The manga version expands on his story from what is seen in the game.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Vossler is a tall, muscled man with tanned skin typical of a Dalmascan, though he has dark hair when most Dalmascans are blond. He has stubble across his jawline, and wears a set of leather and metal plate armor with a wide collar that exposes his neck and the upper portion of his chest, revealing a leather choker round his neck and a green undershirt. Beneath his leg greaves, Vossler wears purple trousers. His sword is slung across his back when not in use.
===Personality===
Proud and patriotic, Vossler will defend Dalmasca no matter the cost. He can be harsh, telling Basch to leave the injured Reks behind as he would be a potential liability. Vossler stands for what he believes in and keeps a close ear to the ground, listening for anything that might be beneficial to the Resistance. Vossler's alliance rests with Dalmasca, which he seeks to have restored. The manga version elaborates on his paranoid side, showing Vossler struggling to trust his own men when faced with the possibility of a traitor among their ranks.
==Story==
As told in the manga, Vossler fought in the war against the Urutan-Yensa ten years ago alongside Basch. Three years ago when a 16-year-old Princess Ashe met Prince Rasler of Nabradia with whom Dalmasca wanted to ally, Vossler aided Basch in quelling a conspiracy on King Raminas's life aimed to force Dalmasca in allying with the Rozarrian Empire.
Vossler accompanied Basch during the Battle of Nalbina Fortress when the Archadian Empire invaded Nabradia. Following Archadia's occupation, they presented Dalmasca with the terms of surrender and implored King Raminas to sign it at Nalbina Fortress. Information reached the Order that the Empire aimed to kill Raminas afterward, and so Basch and Vossler set out with a small garrison of troops. They were separated with a young soldier Reks ending up witnessing "Basch" confess to assassinating the King himself. Like Reks, Vossler was tricked into believing Basch had murdered Raminas. After the battle, he fled underground and joined the Resistance alongside Princess Ashe who was declared dead by Marquis Halim Ondore IV of the supposedly neutral Skycity of Bhujerba. For the next two years, Vossler protected the Princess and gathered as many Dalmascan soldiers he could to start a Resistance to restore their kingdom.
Vayne Solidor is appointed as consul of Dalmasca and the Resistance plans to storm the palace on the night of his inauguration. The manga elaborates that Vossler and a band of Dalmascan insurgents sneaked weapons and troops into the Royal Palace of Rabanastre through the Garamsythe Waterway. Vossler realizes the insurgence was led into a trap and orders a retreat, but Ashe, accompanying him under the alias "Amalia", refuses to admit defeat. Vossler orders Ashe taken to safety through the Waterway, but the troops he sends with her are Imperial informants and aware of her identity. Ashe ends up joining the thief Vaan and sky pirate duo Balthier and Fran to escape. As told in the manga, Judge Ghis finds them and has his soldiers take Ashe captive. Vossler arrives and attacks Ghis when he realizes he is too late to save Ashe. Vossler awakens in a bed with bandaged wounds, wondering how he survived his fight with Ghis, when a shadowed figure approaches him. (In the game, Ashe and her new accomplices are found by Consul Vayne himself.)
After Basch escapes the Nalbina Dungeons after two years of imprisonment with Vaan and the sky pirates, he finds his way to the Resistance hideout in Lowtown where he reunites with Vossler. Skeptical of the disgraced captain, Vossler refuses to aid Basch to save Ashe from aboard Ghis's Dreadnought Leviathan. In the manga version, Vossler gives Basch Old Dalan's delivered sword and warns him the Resistance will be watching him, confiding in his aide that Ghis warned him of spies in the Resistance, and worries no one can be trusted. Vossler leaves the Resistance to rescue Ashe from the Dreadnought Leviathan himself, paranoid about spies and wondering if Basch or his lieutenants are secretly working for Vayne. In Bhujerba, Basch has sought Marquis Ondore's help, who arranges for Basch, Vaan, Balthier and Fran to be captured and sent to the Leviathan so they can rescue Ashe. In the manga, Vossler arrives to speak to Ondore, telling he does not trust him after his announcements that favored the Empire two years ago. Ondore explains he allowed Basch to be captured so he will be taken to the Leviathan and encourages Vossler to trust them both.
Aboard the Leviathan, Vossler saves Basch's group who have freed Ashe, disguised as an Archadian soldier, and he and Basch agree to combine their strength to protect the Princess. The group flees to the airship deck and in the manga, Basch, Vossler and Vaan fight the Archadians to buy time while Balthier seizes an airship. Ghis arrives, and Vossler takes Larsa Ferrinas Solidor, Vayne's younger brother, hostage, to stay the Judge's hand. Ghis attacks with a spell declaring Larsa is prepared to die as an Imperial, but the spell is absorbed by a piece of manufacted nethicite Larsa had given Vaan's friend Penelo, who is also with them. Basch wounds Ghis and Balthier starts the airship. The group escapes and Vossler tells Basch he understands the need for friendship and trust.
Ashe prepares to meet with Ondore, and Vossler departs trusting Ashe's protection to Basch. In the manga, Vossler meets with the Resistance leaders but his failed attack on the palace and growing paranoia about who he can and cannot trust causes them to doubt his leadership. A Resistance leader, Amadeo, has been imprisoned for suspicion of treason, but Vossler has faith in him, telling him that in the Urutan-Yensa war, Amadeo's father served Dalmasca and tutored him and Basch. Vossler releases Amadeo, and the other leaders confess they wish to surrender to Vayne, deeming him a politically competent leader who will listen to their desire for peace. Refusing to yield, Vossler is stabbed by one of the leaders, but he defeats them using the Time Magick Balance to return his wounds on his enemies. Amadeo reveals he is a spy for Ghis and flees the room to the rest of the Resistance. He declares Vossler has gone mad and is betraying them, and Vossler is held at swordpoint by his own men.
Vossler tends to his wounds as he flees his pursuers. Ghis traps Vossler with Archadian soldiers and offers him a deal: deliver the Dawn Shard and he will aid Vossler in restoring Dalmasca's monarchy. As the Resistance soldiers seek Vossler, they overhear Amadeo discussing what to do about Vossler and Ghis. The Resistance turns on him, a bangaa officer finding Vossler as he leaves Ghis. Vossler has accepted Ghis's proposal and strikes down the bangaa to depart alone.
In the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea, Vossler meets up with Ashe and Basch's party, offering his aid in retrieving the Dawn Shard from the Tomb of Raithwall and telling them the Resistance will aid them once they have the shard, though he disdains the company of sky pirates. In the manga, Ashe is attacked by a Garuda, and is saved by Basch and Vossler while Vaan, Balthier and Fran kill the monster. The group enters the tomb and finds their way to Belias's chamber. Basch, Vossler, Fran and Balthier battle Belias while Ashe, Vaan and Penelo get the Dawn Shard. Vaan wishes to assist in fighting Belias when the four do poorly, but Ashe exclaims their mission to retrieve the Dawn Shard takes priority, and Basch and Vossler would die to see Dalmasca restored. Vaan leaves her to retrieve the shard herself and Ashe returns to protect Vaan before Belias can strike him down, and the group defeats it.
Once the party gets the Dawn Shard, they are ambushed by the Imperials and taken aboard the Leviathan. Vossler reveals he has teamed up with the Archadian Empire to help restore Dalmasca. Vossler is defeated soon after on the Shiva, where he and his men are attacked by Fran in a Mist rage. He apologizes and tells Basch it is up to him to protect the Princess now. Basch forgives his old friend, but the ensuing nethicite overload from the drive of the Leviathan all but annihilates the eighth fleet, heavily damaging the Shiva, and that is the last that is seen of him.
In the manga adaptation, in the aftermath of Belias's defeat and the retrieval of the Dawn Shard, the party is captured by Ghis's airship fleet. Vossler hands the Dawn Shard to Ghis, revealing Vayne has agreed to Dalmasca's restoration with Ashe as ruler in exchange for the shard. Ghis orders the shard tested to verify its authenticity, while Vossler takes the captured party to their quarters. He tries to explain himself to Ashe, but she refuses to listen. Fran goes berserk from the Mist spewed by the Dawn Shard during testing, and the group incapacitates their guards. Basch and Vossler duel as the party flees to the airship bay.
Vossler gains the upper hand using Balance magick and shatters Basch's sword. Through willpower and the Mist around them, Basch creates a blade of Mist from the hilt of his sword and continues to fight. Basch impales Vossler, Balance not activating since Vossler did not make physical contact with Basch's incorporeal weapon. Vossler entrusts Ashe's protection to Basch, telling him she's currently too weak to hold the throne, and Basch must aid her in her mission. The Dawn Shard's reaction causes a chain of system failures and explosions through the airship. A wounded Ghis tries to deactivate the Dawn Shard's reactor, but Vossler stabs his sword into Ghis' hand to stop him, telling him they will die together. The airship explodes and obliterates the rest of the fleet as Ashe and her friends flee in an airship back to Dalmasca. An ending narration says that Dalmasca has taken the first step on its road to revival. Because the manga was cancelled, Chapter 19 serves as the ending to the adaptation.
==Gameplay==
Vossler joins the party as a guest twice: aboard Dreadnought Leviathan, and for the sandseas and the Tomb of Raithwall. He is also fought as a boss. Vossler's greatsword is called Nightmare, and it has slightly different stats between the two times is in the party. In the Zodiac versions, he knows the useful stat-lowering Technicks that are not available in shops.
Learning every Technick in the game adds Vossler's sprite to the Sky Pirate's Den and awards the player with the title "Jack-of-All-Trades".
==Other appearances==
===Pictlogica Final Fantasy===
PFF Vossler Illust.png|Portrait.
PFF Vossler.png|Sprite.
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
Vossler appears as a boss in the Final Fantasy XII Realm on multiple occasions where Light Cruiser Shiva is playable.
;Strategy
Although Vossler is primarily a physical attacker, he is flanked by two Imperial soldiers. They are a bigger threat than Vossler himself, given their speed and their Waterspout ability, so take them out as quickly as possible with strong attacks and non-elemental spells. Protectga will help buffer the damage from all enemy units. Once they have been downed, the player should attack Vossler head-on, keeping in mind that he may use Reflect when targeted with a spell. If this should happen, keep Dispel at the ready to remove Reflect and other buffs, or just continue to hack away at him.
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Vossler appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as Fire- and Water-elemental Forward cards.
Vossler_TCG.png|Vossler [7-005C] Chapter series card.
Vossler 5-122R from FFTCG Opus.jpg|Vossler [5-122R] Opus series card.
==Voice==
Vossler is voiced by Masaki Terasoma in the Japanese version. He shares his Japanese voice actor with Erutus Profiteur from Bravely Default.
He is voiced by Nolan North in the English version.
==Gallery==
VosslerUO.jpg|Concept art.
FF12 Char Model - Vossler (Judge).png|Vossler's disguise in-game model.
FF12 Char Model - Vossler (Full Judge).png|Vossler's fully armored disguise in-game model.
FF12 Vossler Judge Helmet.png|Vossler's helmet in his Judge disguise.
Nightmare-ffxii-weapon.png|Vossler's sword, Nightmare.
Vossler Sprite.png|Vossler icon.
Vossler2 Sprite.png|Vossler (2).
Vossler-Guest-FFXII-TZA.png|Vossler as a guest in the menu.
Vossler-in-Garamsythe-Waterway-FFXII-TZA.png
Vossler.png
Onboard shiva.png|Vossler with the party on the Dreadnought Leviathan.
Vossler-Defeated-FFXII-TZA.png
==Citations==
de:Vossler Azelas
it:Vossler York Azelas
ru:Восслер Йорк Азелас
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XII
Category:Guest characters
Category:Hume in Ivalice