Vaan

"One of these days I’ll fly an airship of my own. I’ll be a sky pirate, free to go where I will."

- Vaan

Vaan is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XII and its spin off sequel, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.

An orphan street thief hailing from Rabanastre in the Kingdom of Dalmasca, Vaan hates the Archadian Empire for the death of his brother, Reks, and the subjugation of his home, and dreams of one day owning an airship and being a sky pirate to be free to travel the world adventuring. However, when his attempt to steal from the Rabanastre palace goes awry, he becomes entangled in a world-scale conflict between the Archadian and Rozarrian Empires that could decide the fate of Dalmasca.

Vaan does not play a large role in the game's story, instead being a view-point and foil, observing and contrasting the actions of the other characters, playable and non, that influence the events unfolding around them more directly.

Appearance and Personality
Vaan is a young man of 17, standing at around 5'7". Like many other Dalmascans, he has tanned skin, blond hair (shown in-game as grayish-white), and gray eyes. Due to his homeland's hot climate, he wears a loose cropped open metal vest held together by a pendant over his chest. According to the manga, it once belonged to his brother. His dark pants are held up by a red ribboned sash belt, and are tucked into a pair of steel boots that come up to his knees. Vaan's style is in the fashion of other Dalmascans.

His appearance Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings remains identical, while his Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift appearance adds a large-collared white shirt beneath his cropped vest and several metal accessories on his side. The ornament on Vaan's waist at his Tactics A2 artwork resembles the Galbana airship. Vaan has been forced to adopt a leadership role, being the eldest of the city's orphans. He is seen as a brother figure to the younger children, particularly Kytes and Filo. He is protective of his childhood friend Penelo, and though he hails from the Lowtown slums, Vaan dreams of becoming a sky pirate to escape the Archadian Empire's hold and roam the skies freely.

Vaan trains in the Garamsythe Waterway slaying Dire Rats, gaining the nickname "Vaan Ratsbane" from Old Dalan. Despite having been forced to grow up early due to the loss of his family, Vaan is still naive; he holds an idealistic view of one day getting back at the Empire, owning an airship of his own, and his inexperience with the world comes across during his interactions with his more worldly companions, especially when he asks Fran's age in the Eruyt Village. Vaan admits to Ashe that his desire to be a sky pirate stems from wanting to flee the memory of his brother, who was killed during the war.