Ragnarok (Server)

This is one of the many worlds of FFXI. It was one of 20 servers activated upon the original release of FFXI in Japan.

ID Number: 19

Activation Date: May 16, 2002

History in the FF Series

Final Fantasy VI
Ragnarok's only summon appearance is in FFVI, where it is an Esper that appears as a giant sword. It has a burgundy gem in its narrow golden hilt and a silver and dark red striped handle. The blade is silver. It bathes the battlefield in red light and radiates blue light, transforming the enemy into an item if successful. Players have the choice of keeping it as Magicite (the remains of an Esper) or forging it into a powerful sword. The weapon is powerful and randomly casts Flare in battle, but it does not teach Ultima, the most powerful magic spell, as the Esper does. Choosing Ragnarok as a sword would force players who want Ultima to break the curse on the Cursed Shield, which has to be equipped in 255 battles before it transforms into the Paladin Shield, an item which can teach Ultima. The Ragnarok Magicite is found in a house in Narshe in the World of Ruins.

Final Fantasy XIII
Ragnarok's second appearance as an entity is in FFXIII. The datalog describes Ragnarok as such: Lightning, Snow, and the others saw a phantom vision of this beast upon their branding as l'Cie. In the dream, they witnessed the creature besieging Cocoon's capital of Eden, but whether this was a glimpse of past events or a vision of things yet to come was unclear. What is clear is that Ragnarok is inextricably linked to their Focus. The nature of that Focus, and what must be done to fulfill, it remains to be seen. Ragnarok appears at the end of the game, in both an incomplete and a complete form.

Moves:

"Metamorphose" (GBA), "Metamorph" (SNES, PS1)- transforms one enemy into an item (FFVI)

Attributes:

Final Fantasy VI

Offers no Level Up Bonus

Teaches Ultima

Ragnarok, the Weapon
Ragnarok is the name of a powerful Sword or Great Sword in nearly every game in the Final Fantasy series. In FFI: Soul of Chaos, it is obtained in the Lifespring Grotto after defeating Shinryu. In the PSP version of FFII, Ragnarok, Firion's ultimate weapon, may be found in the Arcane Sanctuary. In FFIII, it is the most powerful dark sword, protected by Guardian in Forbidden Land Eureka, one of the ancient, powerful weapons deemed too powerful for humans to wield. In FFIV, it was the most powerful sword (named Crystal Sword in the original English translation), protected by Dark Bahamut in the Lunar Subterrane, one of the powerful weapons sealed beneath the Lunar surface. In The After Years, Ragnarok is in a chest guarded by Shinryu (Lord Dragon in the English version). In FFV, it is a sword found in a treasure chest in the Rift, guared by a Monster-in-a-Box, Shinryu, an extremely powerful crystalline dragon. In FFVII, it drops from Proudclad (Proud Clod in English versions) during the invasion of Midgar. In FFIX, it is a knightsword wielded by Steiner which teaches the Sword Skills "Shock" and "Thunder Slash". It is found in the "Outer Island" Chocograph treasure. In FFX, it is a sword wielded by Tidus with the Triple Overdrive, Overdrive -> AP, and Triple AP abilities, made by customizing those three abilities onto a sword. In FFXI, Ragnarok is the relic great sword available in Dynamis. In FFXII, it is obtained after beating Ixion. Ragnarok is obtained after defeating Hashmal in FF Tactics. Ragnarok is a run-of-the-mill great sword in FF Tactics Advance and FF Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, available at shops. In Crystal Chronicles, Ragnarok is the Clavat-exclusive Dark Weapon, with the exclusive Shadow Blade (Souleater) Focus Attack. Ragnarok can be forged in both FFCC: Ring of Fates and FFCC: Echoes of Time. Finally, True Ragnarok is the reward for defeating Wyrm in the optional DLC dungeon Infinity Spire in FFCC: My Life as a King. Ragnarok is also the name of the spaceship used as an airship in Final Fantasy VIII.

Historical Background

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok (properly spelled Ragnarök, Ragnarøkkr, Ragnarøk) was the end of the world, doomsday. It would involve a final battle between the Æsir (Norse gods) and the Einherjar (mortals who died gloriously during battle) and a coalition of villains (the Fire Giants, the Jotuns, Loki, and miscellaneous monsters). This conflict would kill virtually all of the gods, the giants, and the monsters, not to mention tearing apart the whole universe (Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and all Nine Worlds). The matchups of this battle have been extensively detailed in several epics. All of the gods know this event will occur and whom will be killed by whom, but they know there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop it. It is a bleak fate, but all the gods have reconciled with that gloomy fact. Ragnarok differs from the End Times in Christianity in that both sides are slaughtered almost entirely (Christianity has God's forces triumph victorious over Satan's forces). The factions, the Æsir and the coalition of giants, monsters, and dead, represent Order and Chaos, not Good and Evil).

Ragnarok is preceeded by several events. Long before Ragnarok is slated to arrive, powerful, malevolent creatures will be born: Jormungand, Fenrir, and Hel (a giantess goddess who is queen of the underworld whose face is half-flesh-colored and half-bluish-black, bearing a fierce, depressive expression on it). The Æsir will respond by imprisoning them or banishing them to remote places (the ocean encircling Midgard, Lyngvi Island in Lake Ámsvartnir, and Helheim respectively). Interestingly, though, Hel was given some authority, being responsible for those who die unglorious deaths (sickness, old age, etc). Another event which preceeds Ragnarok, but one which is much closer to the fated event, is the death of Baldr, the god of light, peace, joy and the imprisoning of Loki (shape-shifting trickster god who is affiliated with the Æsir despite being a Jotun and is Odin's blood brother [forged via a blood pact they made]) on three rocks, with serpents dripping venom on him. Then, immediately preceeding Ragnarok is Fimbulwinter (Fimbulvintr), the winter of winters; 3 winter seasons back to back, with no spring, summer, or autumn (Fimbulvintr is Norse for "great/big winter"). This unceasing cold spell will cause all mortals to fight with one another and civilization to fracture into total anarchy as resources become scarce. After Fimbulwinter lasts for about 3 years, Ragnarok begins.

Ragnarok opens up with the wolves Skoll and Hati devouring the Sun and the Moon, plunging the world into darkness. The stars will also disappear from the sky for reasons unspecified. There will then be a terrible series of earthquakes that will topple mountains and uproot trees, not to mention snapping every chain and fetter, including those binding Loki and Fenrir. Three different roosters will then crow: Gullinkambi, the golden rooster, will crow to the Æsir and Einherjar, Fjalar, the red rooster, will crow to to all of the races of Giants, and an unnamed rooster, colored rust-red, will crow to the dead in Helheim. Jormungand will then slither out from the ocean bed onto land, causing the sea to splash all over. Each breath it draws spews venom, poisoning the land and the sky. At that point, an army of Jotuns (Frost Giants) led by Hrym will depart from Jotunheim in the East on the ship, Naglfar (Norse for "wraith's ferry"), which will be able to sail further inland due to the flooding caused by Jormungand. Another ship, piloted by Loki (and presumably with Hel aboard) will depart from Helheim in the North, loaded with all of the unglorious dead. The Flame Giants from the world of Muspellheim, led by Surtr (fierce Flame Giant wielding the blood red, flaming Sword of Revenge), will march up from the South, scorching everything along the way. Garm will also manage to get free and join the fray. All of these groups converge on the Plains of Vigrond (Norse for "battle shaker"), the final battlefield, a vast plain spanning 120 leagues in all directions (thus, a diameter of 720 miles or 1200km). It is then that the Æsir with the Einherjar will march forth led by Odin riding Sleipnir and wielding Gungnir after Heimdall blows Gjallarhorn to sound that the enemy armies are approaching, a warning that can be heard across all 9 Worlds. Around this time too, Nidhogg will finally gnaw through one of the 3 major roots of Yggdrasil, causing the tree to topple over. The matchups for this final battle (and the outcomes) are:

Odin vs. Fenrir- Odin uses Gungnir against Fenrir, but the wolf devours Odin after a long battle.

Vidar vs. Fenrir- Vidar, son of Odin (god of silence & revenge) will manage to cut Fenrir's throat, slaying the beast

Thor vs. Jormungand- Thor will manage to kill Jormungand with Mjollnir, but will only be able to take 9 steps after falling dead from Jormungand's potent venom.

Tyr vs. Garm- Tyr manages to slay Garm, but Tyr is mortally wounded and will survive until the firestorm

Freyr vs. Surtr- Surtr easily slays Freyr (fertility god)

Heimdall vs. Loki- both Æsir, evenly matched, will end up killing each other

Einherjar vs. Jotuns, Flame Giants, unglorious dead- no specific details provided

Left unopposed, Surtr will then set the world ablaze, creating a global firestorm that chars all the Nine Worlds to a cinder and causes Midgard to sink into the ocean, a burnt husk of what it once was and kills virtually everyone who survived the big matchups or who were still fighting at that point.

Once Ragnarok is over, a new Midgard will emerge from the sea, green and under mild weather. Crops will grow in fields that were never planted. In the whole universe, only 2 places survived: the Idavoll Meadow in Asgard (now completely destroyed) and Hodmimir's Forest/Woods in Midgard (both locations were immune to Surtr's flames). A new Sun, the daughter of Sol, the former Sun, will appear and shine over this new earth. The only Æsir to survive are Vidar (god of silence & revenge) & Vili (god born only to take revenge on Hod/Höðr), Odin's sons, Vili (the god who gave humans intelligence and emotions), Odin's brother, Modi & Magni, Thor's sons (Magni will inherit Mjollnir) and Hoenir (god of indecisiveness). Baldr, whose death was one of the factors starting Ragnarok and Hodr will emerge from what's left of Helheim and visit what's left of Valhalla in the ruins of Asgard. No mention is made of the Æsir goddesses (Frigg, Frejya, Idunn, Sif, Nanna) and whether they lived or perished. The surviving gods meet on Idavoll to discuss what transpired and Baldr will be the new leader of the Æsir. Meanwhile, from Hodmimir's Forest/Woods, located deep inside Yggdrasil (which is now fallen timber), the 2 surviving humans, Lif and Ligthrasir emerge, to be the progenitors of a new human race for the new Midgard (parallel to the progenitors of Midgard, Ask and Embla), one which will be free from evil, strife, and suffering. Oddly, hidden heavens which were protected from Surtr's firestorm, are first mentioned in this aftermath: Andlang, a heaven located south of what was Asgard and Vidblain (located south of Andlang, but above it). All of the souls of the good dead will go to Brimir, a hall on Okolnir (world unknown) and Sindri, a hall on Nidafjoll (world unknown). The hall Nastrond, in Helheim, will survive and receive the unvirtuous dead. There, Nidhogg, who also survive Ragnarok will tear their animated corpses limb from limb (as it no longer has Yggdrasil to chew on).

Ragnarök is Norse for "fate of the gods" (ragna- "gods/rulers" + rök "fate"). Ragnarok was translated into German as Götterdämmerung "twilight of the gods"), which was depicted most popularly in the 4th play of Richard Wagner's famous 19th century epic, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).