| “ | I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.
— Balthier
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” |
| “ | I won my freedom. Yet my past has been cut away forever.
— Fran
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” |
Fran was born in the Golmore Jungle, in the Viera enclave of Euryt Village alongside her sisters. She leaves the village to see Ivalice, concerned that the Viera remain too stagnant and ignorant of the world to last. Her time has cut her off from the voice of the jungle; whether this is in retaliation of her leaving or a natural consequence of spending over fifty years away is unclear.
Ffamran mied Bunansa was born to the genius inventor Cidolfus Demen Bunansa in the Archadian Empire. Ffamran had joined the military, and for his great talent was promoted to the rank of Judge, essentially a high-ranking elite officer. His formerly happy family life deteriorated shortly after, however, when his father returned from an expedition to Giruvegan; the man started ranting and rambling, speaking seemingly to the air. Unable to stand by and watch as his father descended into madness to fuel the Imperial war machine, Ffamran deserted the army, taking up the name Balthier and stealing a prototype airship to use as a Sky Pirate.
The two met at some point after Balthier's departure, and upgraded his airship until it was no longer recognizable. Balthier and Fran became fairly well-known outlaws, with sizable bounties. They caught wind of a treasure in the royal palace of Rabanastre, formerly the capital of the nation of Dalmasca, and aim to steal it during Vayne Solidor's inaugural fete. Said treasure was the Dusk Shard, and Balthier arrived to find a street urchin named Vaan holding it. They temporarily team up to escape the resistance attack on the fete, and while escaping meet a woman who introduces herself as Amalia.
They are ambushed as they leave, and Balthier, Fran, and Vaan are taken to Nalbina Fortress. After they escape alongside the imprisoned Basch fon Ronsenberg, who makes an uneasy alliance with them, they return to Rabanastre. They then head to the floating city of Bhujerba, where they track down Vaan's missing friend, Penelo. There, Amalia is revealed to be Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca, the presumed dead princess of Dalmasca. The group enters the Tomb of Raithwall, Balthier along to snag treasures that Ashe had promised. Finding the treasures useless, he then demands collateral before he assists her further. Ashe gives him her wedding ring, and he accompanies her on her journey.
While the group tries to makes its way through the Golmore Jungle, Fran is forced to confront her past. The forest bars the way for her and her companions, and she is forced to return to Euryt Village. Despite the frosty reception, the party manages to negotiate a trade. They rescue Fran's sister from the Henne Mines, where she was kidnapped and held by the Archadians. Fran discourages her sister from following her path away from the village, and the party receives safe passage from the jungle in turn. She and Balthier continue their journey alongside the rest of the party, fighting to free Dalmasca from the Archadian Empire.
Balthier reveals his past to the group as they head to infiltrate Archades, the capital of the aforementioned empire. He confronts his father, learning that the unseen entity he was speaking to not only actually existed but was a rogue god named Venat. The group follows his father's trail, eventually entering the city of Giruvegan and meeting the gods that Venat had splintered from, known as the Occuria. Realizing that both sides are probably bad for Ivalice as a whole, the group sets out to foil both plans. Both the source of Deifacted Nethicite that gave the Occuria their power as well as Venat's allies are destroyed. Balthier and Fran make it out alive, and return Ashe's ring to her as they fly off in search of more treasure.
Battle vs. Olivert Reise Arnor & Scherazard Harvey (by Leolab)[]
Balthier and Fran extricate themselves from the wreckage of their bike, careful to snatch the stolen briefcase as they did. A couple potions chugged later, and they turn as a blonde man in a red coat and a silver-haired woman with a whip run out the one door leading to the roof. The cause of their crash, from what they could tell.
“We’d like that back, if you’d please,” Olivier says, flourishing his pistol, other hand behind his back.
“Why, you’re welcome to take it. If you can,” Balthier says, flourishing his own gun with a smug grin.
“Bloody ‘dashing rogues’ always needing the last quip,” Schera grumbles as the orbment in Olivier’s left hand glows behind him.
“Indeed,” Fran mutters.
“Schera, dearest?”
“Fran?”
As the rogues look to their partners in concern, the magic gathering around Olivier’s orbment fades. Fran gasps as she feels the magic start to materialize, and kicks Balthier out of the way as a rift opens between her and the edge of the roof, forcibly dragging her towards it. The sky pirates rise to their feet, separated. Schera turns and runs at the Hume, whip lashing out as Olivier and the Viera prepare spells.
As the lash speeds towards the briefcase, a quick blast from Balthier sends it off course. He fires again, but a quick flick of the barbed tip sends the shot ricocheting elsewhere. Another strike zooms towards the former Judge as Olivier and Fran finish casting their spells. A shield of magic surrounds Fran, redirecting the outpouring of orbal energy from the prince. Olivier swerves, dodging a set of sharp lances that shoot up from the ground where he had been standing.
He traces a symbol on his partner’s shirt as the sky pirates start to ready abilities, a faint glow surrounding them. Another glow surrounds Schera as Olivier fires at Balthier, a graze forcing the other man to break off his charge. He flips his pistol up into the air, catching it with his other hand and firing at Fran, taking off part of her ear. The light around her fades as she hisses in pain, and she quickly knocks and fires an arrow as Schera finishes her spell.
A shard of earth materializes in front of the Bracer and the prince, blocking an arrow and a bullet as the latter readies another spell. Fran quickly casts another as Schera gives her boyfriend a nudge with the whip to speed up his casting. A reflective shell surrounds Olivier as space compresses near Balthier, throwing off the sky pirate’s aim. His shot clips Fran’s bow, and the Erebonian prince doesn’t miss his chance to fire, letting off a flurry of shots that rip through her face and throat.
Balthier barely has time to gasp in surprise before a lash of Schera’s whip tears his throat out, leaving the sky pirate pair dead.
Expert's Opinion[]
Both pairs of warriors were highly skilled, but Balthier and Fan's teamwork wasn't able to overpower the sheer breadth of options Olivier and Scherazard had at their disposal.