The Archylte Steppe

❝ These great plains cover a vast expanse of Gran Pulse.

''With an unobstructed view clear to the horizon, creatures can easily spot intruders into their territory. Perhaps this explains why so many beasts of the steppe are merciless predators—victors of the unending struggle for survival''. ❞ — Datalog/Locales

Physical Description
Gran Pulse is wild, untouched by human hands for many years, and the Archylte Steppe is no exception. Largely, the Steppe consists of plains and lakes, as well as natural formations of land that provide protection and shelter and reward, if you can reach them. The rolling plains of the central expanse, northern highplain, western benchlands and eastern tors are home to many types of monster from flans to adamantoise; the Steppe is as dangerous as it is grand and beautiful. Due caution should be taken here, as the weakest monsters may live alongside those that are much stronger than they seem. Whilst the adamantoise may be the undisputed king of the Steppe, in truth, you should be looking to the east, where the fal'Cie Titan can often be seen between the mists. Marks of his will lie across the landscape, as he pits monster populations against each other through a process of forced natural selection.

He also has a habit of turning humans into l'Cie. Remnants of these l'Cie remain, and after many years of torment, what is left of them are Cie'th Stones, lost souls calling out for those to complete missions that they themselves could not.

Once a great city far north of the plains, the Haerii Archaeopolis is now the living quarters of goblins and other monsters of their ilk. A chocobo's aid is perhaps the easiest way to reach the passage to this secluded city, though those good at climbing will be able to do that just as well. Those interested in archaeology and previous civilisations may find this location to be of interest, if they don't mind having to counter the local monster population to compete with it. Some way past Haerii are the Faultwarrens, but these trials are not present in the Havens, even if Titan himself is.

Similar to Haerii, the Font of Namva is reached through a passage through the rocks to the south leads to a secluded wetland spring, which is home to the Pulse chocobos as well as their chicks. Though they are wild, they have no quarrel with humans and will be happy to assist you in your travels for some greens... as long as you don't mind riding bareback, of course, and if they sense danger, they will run and leave you behind.

History
Gran Pulse was once home to human life, but it has not been this way for several hundred years. This is, in part, thanks to fal'Cie interference, and also the War of Transgression. This war began roughly seven hundred years ago and ended five hundred years past after Cocoon's shell cracked (Vanille and Fang's failure to use Ragnarok), which can be seen if you look up the sky, where Cocoon sits.

Pulsian fal'Cie are largely indifferent to human presence but they will brand them if the need arises. As the war continued, more humans were branded and their Foci became increasingly vague and indecipherable, mostly present to combat Cocoon forces with the magic it gave them (it's possible that the consequent death of the l'Cie upon becoming a Cie'th was their intent, an attempt to call upon Etro or other deities that made them in turn). Many Cie'th Stones that litter the Steppe are echoes of those with such laments. Due to the losses of the war and many of its population becoming Cie'th - and likely for several more (un)known factors, including competition between survivors - human life died out on Pulse.


 * ❝ The fal'Cie of Hallowed Pulse offer us no salvation. Populations dwindle, and still they but make more of us l'Cie, dealing out one incomprehensible Focus after the next as they drive us toward our end.


 * Men take up arms against their brothers now. We, who should be joining hands to survive in the face of nature's trials, turn on one another to secure what few of her blessings remain. ❞

''— VI. The Age of Ruin, Dialog/Analects''

Five hundred years on and the Steppe is a metropolis to monsters, and watched over by the fal'Cie Titan.

Fal'Cie
Titan: The fal'Cie that rules over the Steppe. Whilst he doesn't enter the Steppe itself, you can usually see him to the east. By the way, this guy is huge, and that's not an understatement.

For its long gone humans, Pulse fal'Cie were worshipped as deities. Currently, they somewhat still act as such. Titan watches over the plains and is clearly the winner in terms of power (not to mention size), and much of the Steppe caters to his whims. Though not present in the Havens, the Faultwarrens are effectively his playground, to produce more powerful species on Pulse. The strong survive, and the weak die.

The fal'Cie are also capable of branding individuals with a Pulsian l'Cie brand, which gradually advances as time passes, and in turn, giving them a Focus. Being branded as a l'Cie comes with perhaps one positive aspect - you attain magic, though your skill and ability varies and it is something that needs to be nurtured to be made full use of. However, the negatives largely outweigh the positives. The Focus given to an individual is likely to be vague, and a vague Focus equals stress and a loss of hope which is a sure fire way for the brand to advance quicker and for the person to fail. Perhaps this is the intent of the fal'Cie, in order to summon Etro... perhaps not. If a Focus is not completed before the brand advances to its final stage, l'Cie will become Cie'th, with little to no recollections of their humans lives and imbued with anger and rage. Eventually, perhaps after several hundred years, Cie'th begin to regret and remember their incomplete Focus, becoming Cie'th Stones and asking travellers or passersby to fulfil it for them so they can rest.

If a Focus is indeed completed in the given time, l'Cie turn to crystal for an eternity of sleep. This crystal sleep will only be interrupted when the fal'Cie deigns to awaken you and grant you a new Focus. Or in the case of the XIII cast, is interrupted by an outside force, but that's a whole other story for another time.

Risks
As discussed, the monster population is vast and ranges greatly in level, so be sure what you're heading into before taking on any of them. Here is a monster list for convenience.

Weather can also be rather turbulent and unpredictable in this area, and it's not unusual for it to suddenly change minute by minute. This is also within the realm of Titan's powers, if he so chooses to envelop the area in fog.

The adamantoise family goes somewhat without saying as a potential risk. In battle, one stomp of the ground is enough to kill your party outright for a good portion of the game, and even later, you will require a sentinel and Quake is likely to take you down if you're not prepared for a long session against it. Their size is their greatest advantage, and you'd be wise to give them a large berth. Here is a size comparison. Snow is 6'7", by the way. Yeah.

Further, the adamantoise has nothing on the size of Titan. As mentioned before, he is absolutely colossal. Remember the size of the adamantoise compared to Snow? Here is an adamantoise in comparison to Titan. Do note they're not even stood next to each other. Maker help us.

Titan's size would be a non-issue, if for the fact he is largely uninterested in human needs... except he is likely to brand individuals if they are on the Steppe for any extended period of time. If a character is branded this way, this focus will be trivial or vague and is designed to cause failure, simply put. The brand won't progress outside the area of the Steppe, and also as much won't exist - near the edges of this Haven the brand will start to freeze over (turning white, as Fang's is for most of XIII), and a few minutes after departing the Steppe it will disappear entirely as if it were never there. All magical powers you gain due to being branded this way will only work on the Steppe.

Despite the likelihood of doing it, if for some reason you do complete the Focus given to you, you will go into stasis. But luckily for you guys if you're carried out by friends/a moogle/a dragon, you'll wake up. If you ever go back to the Steppe, however, Titan will just assume you've woken up via his decision and give you another Focus to complete.