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| “ | Enough. Pathetic creatures. That you should imagine yourselves worthy of salvation... | „ |
| ~ Barnabas upon murdering the politicians of Kanver. |
| “ | Don't tell me you are tired, Mythos! Your stubborn defiance has stirred my long-becalmed heart. Filling it with a...joy I have not known for generations. I had thought the tantalizing kiss of self-indulgence a dream forever out of reach. And now that its sweet ruin courses through my veins I shall not be quick to relinquish it. Show me your worth, Mythos...that I might revel in it! | „ |
| ~ Barnabas expressing his delight in facing against Clive. |
Barnabas Thramr, also known as the Last King and the Warden of Ash, is the secondary antagonist in the 2023 action role-playing high fantasy video game Final Fantasy XVI. He is the king of Waloed and the Dominant of the Eikon of Darkness, Odin.
Unknown to many, he is a secret follower of the religious cult known as the Circle of Malius, acting as a loyal servant to his "god", Ultima. In exchange for immortality, he has casted away his humanity by becoming an Akashic, being the only known Dominant capable of such an accomplishment. Barnabas serves as Clive's third archenemy after Hugo Kupka and Ultima.
He is voiced by Gotaro Tsunashima and David Menkin in the Japanese and English versions of the game. The latter voiced Malos from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Personality[]
Barnabas presented himself as a composed and silent individual that appears to be relatively confident in winning the various conflicts between the warring nations. While he mostly does it unseen, he has proven to be a master strategist and a cunning manipulator, as most of the conflicts are indirectly his doing. Most notably, he is the one that manipulated Benedikta Harman to his side and turning her against her former lover, Cidolfus Telamon. He is also the one responsible for creating the intense rivalry between Clive Rosfield and Hugo Kupka, as it was he who delivered her decapitated head to his henchman, pinning the crime on Cid.
However, beneath his stoic behavior is a depraved, troubled man, obsessed with power and a devoted fanatic to Ultima, believing him to be God himself. Being a loyal follower to Ultima and his will, Barnabas is more than willing to carry out any task given by him. Barnabas lives under the belief that humanity is better off of casting away their free will and submit themselves to Ultima, under the impression that Ultima intends to lead them to a better future, unaware of his true intentions.
It is also heavily implied through his interactions with Ultima that he harbors a strong obsession for his mother, who he had lost when he was at a young age. His motives for wanting to turn everyone into Akashic doesn't just stem from his dream of seeing humanity be improved but also for a chance for him to be reunited with his mother.
When he faces Clive for the final time, he sheds off the composed behavior and expresses his true self, laughing ecstatically and unhinged in delight, having found a worthy opponent that is strong enough to stand against him.
History[]
Background[]
Barnabas Tharmr was born in the year 808 AC on a continent to the south of the continent of Valisthea. He was descended from the Children of Dzemekys, otherwise known as the Motes of Darkness, a tribe of humans who had originally lived on Valisthea a millennia ago. The Children revered Ultimalius, the creator of humanity, and founded a religion called the Circle of Malius dedicated to his worship. For many years they lived in perpetuate harmony, but it was not long before tragedy soon fell upon them: The Fallen, the colloquial term for an unnamed technologically advanced civilization who were armed with powerful magical technology such as Airships, declared war against the Children of Dzemekys, wanting to attain the Dzemekys Mothercrystal for themselves. During the war, the Motes of Darkness fought against the Fallen, due to being tasked to protect the Dzemekys Mothercrystal, but it's likely they were soon overwhelmed by the Fallen's advanced Magitek arsenal which consisted of many mechanical sentries like Iron Giants. At this point, it is unknown whether the Motes of Darkness contacted Ultimalius through the "Jade," a portal located at the foot of the Dzemekys Mothercrystal that connects to Origin, or the Ultima inside the Dzemekys Mothercrystal did. Regardless of either option, it appeared that Ultimalius became aware of the Fallen's actions. Enraged by the Fallen's avarice attempts of attaining the Dzemekys Mothercrystal, the creator of humanity swiftly wiped out the Fallen - including their airship armada - which led to the Fallen's collapse and presumed extinction. Whether intentionally or not, Ultimalius also destroyed the Dzemekys's Mothercrystal along with their homeland, leaving a large crater of a never-ending waterfall of what will become the Sins of Dzemkeys. Due to the loss of their home, the surviving members of the Motes of Darkness soon fled Valisthea afterwards.
Barnabas' past remains relatively unknown prior to the events of Final Fantasy XVI, but he was raised solely by his mother, who was a follower of the Circle of Malius. His mother, along with many others, had been murdered, due to their religious practices and beliefs being considered heresy by a rival religion, traumatizing the young eighteen-year-old Barnabas and causing him to develop feelings of hatred towards humanity. He escapes to Valisthea to avoid similar persecution. Being a descendant of the Motes of Darkness, he eventually awakened the Eikon Odin within him upon arriving at his people's original homeland, becoming his Dominant.
Upon arriving, he soon sought out to establish his own conquest within Valisthea itself, leading him to establishing his own nation, the Kingdom of Waloed, and becoming its king. During his rule, he managed to claim all of Ash as his territory. Sometime afterwards, he came across Cidolfus Telamon and Benedikta Harman, the Dominants of Ramuh and Garuda, and took them under his command, making Cidolfus his lord commander, while Benedikta served as the head of the Waloeder Intelligence division. However, Cid abandoned the nation after witnessing the tyrannical ways of its ruler, leading Barnabas to have Sleipnir Harbard as his new lord commander.
In the year 850, Barnabas would be confronted by Ultima, the very being whom his people worshipped. Aligning himself with his god's belief that all of humanity's evils stem from free will, Barnabas devoted himself to Ultima and in return was made Akashic whilst being allowed to maintain sanity and human appearance, allowing him to retain his youth and continue ruling his nation even forty years after his conquest of Ash.
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