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Template:Sideicon Template:Summon Shiva, also known as the Glacian, is an astral in Final Fantasy XV. She is one of the Six and is the astral that most resembles a human. She is the most friendly and compassionate of the Six, and is a Messenger of the gods to mortals. Prince Noctis forges a pact with Shiva in Chapter 12.

Profile

Shiva-FFXV-JPN-vs-China

Shiva in the Chinese version.

Like the other astrals, Shiva is based on a recurring summon in the Final Fantasy series. She is the smallest astral, not much larger than a normal human. She is a woman with pale blue skin, purple eyes with white eye shadow, pointed elvish ears and hornline 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 sleeves made of frost and a filigree choker made of ice. Shiva appears as a flock of fairy-like ice goddesses, but she has also appeared as a giantess.

In the Chinese version, Shiva's appearance is altered, giving her a more human skin tone and a more conservative cheongsam-style dress.

Shiva is the fondest of mortals out of all the astrals.

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Shiva is an astral who is fond of humanity and acts as a foil to Ifrit. In M.E. 745, she awoke in the form of an ice giantess in the desert plains surrounding Gralea, the capital of Niflheim. Shiva led an assault on the Empire, but she was felled by its magitek infantry resulting in an environmental anomaly: the desert transformed into a vast tundra trapped in a perpetual snowstorm.

Having lost most of its army, Niflheim began developing magitek soldiers strong enough to fight the astrals.[1] The research documents within Zegnautus Keep, the imperial magitek laboratory, suggest that the imperial "Wallbreaker" technology was used against Shiva during the battle, enfeebling her powers. The corpse of Shiva's giantess incarnation remains outside Gralea, where it can be seen from aboard the trains that pass the Imperial capital by.

FINAL FANTASY XV Gentiana on train

Gentiana's true form is Shiva.

Shiva is the true identity of Gentiana, the divine messenger who stays by the Oracles' 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 her ice goddess form was felled by the magitek soldiers, she was also living as Gentiana by Lunafreya Nox Fleuret's side.[1] After the Oracle, Lunafreya, begins rousing the astrals to help Noctis, Gentiana guides him telepathically. Her following of Noctis is made apparent when her image begins to appear on the background of photos taken by Prompto.

Gentiana reveals her true nature to Noctis when she steps in to temporarily stop Ardyn while aboard the train to Gralea, as they pass by Shiva's giantess corpse in Ghorovas Rift. 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. From there on, Noctis can call upon Shiva when he's in danger.

FFXV Shiva and Ifrit

Shiva defeats Ifrit.

After Noctis returns after his ten-year slumber inside the Crystal, he heads to the ruins of Insomnia to fulfill the prophecy as the True King. Ardyn ushers Ifrit upon him, and Noctis and his friends fight him with the power of astrals behind him. As a finishing blow, Noctis summons Shiva whose illusions torment the wounded Ifrit. Flying into the sky, she casts down Diamond Dust, freezing Ifrit, before slaying him with an icy kiss.

Spoilers end here.


Obtained

Noctis obtains Shiva at the end of Chapter 12.

Battle

Diamond Dust

The chance to summon will appear randomly while in battle, and the player can summon once per battle. 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 KO/Danger, and the time the player has spent in battle. Shiva needs some space to be summoned, but can be summoned nearly anywhere.

When summoned, Shiva enters the battle, with her presence freezing the surrounding landscape, and appears alongside several copies of herself who surround a shivering Noctis. She uses her signature attack, Diamond Dust, which envelops the party's 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 Ifrit has a unique animation.

Gallery

Etymology

Shiva (also spelled Śiva) is a Hindu god. The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati to become Ardhanari, an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). It is believed he periodically destroys the world, then recreates it.

Shiva has different human forms, males and females. When he was in his avatar form, he spent most of his times in the Himalayan snow mountain. Shiva in the Final Fantasy series is likely inspired by one of his female avatars.

The Japanese pronunciation "Shiba" could refer to the English word "shiver", which in Japanese would sound like "shi-ba" or "shi-va".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.

Trivia

Shivas-Corpse-On-The-Map-FFXV

Shiva on the map.

  • If the player views the map when the train stops near the giantess Shiva's corpse, the outline of her body is visible.


References

Template:FFXV

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