Ovelia Atkascha

Princess Ovelia Atkascha is a major character in Final Fantasy Tactics. She is a princess of Ivalice who was the adopted daughter of the late King Ondoria III after he lost his second son. Ovelia was entrusted to Duke Larg. Due to her royal status, she becomes involved in various schemes of the nobility, who wish to gain the throne of Ivalice. Protected by Agrias Oaks and the Lionsguard, Ovelia is kidnapped by Delita Heiral in the events that lead up to the War of the Lions. Ovelia was born the daughter of late King Denamda IV and is the half-sister of King Ondoria III by different mothers. Following the death of Ondoria's second son, she was adopted by the king as his daughter.[1][note 1] Ovelia was set as the rightful heir as King Ondoria III's first two sons had died.[2]

Princess Ovelia spent most of her life in a monastery and the only sky that she knew was hemmed in by slate and stone. After the first monastery, she moved to Orbonne Monastery, where she studied under Elder Simon and met Alma Beoulve, a girl from a noble family and her only true friend.[4] Elder Simon taught Ovelia the story of the Zodiac Braves and she was an apt pupil, learning it well.[5] Ovelia was also taught by a friend how to make a whistle from a blade of grass.[4][6][note 2]

The birth of Prince Orinus, Ondoria III's unexpected third son, put the royal succession in dispute.[2] Ovelia was left in Duke Larg's care,[1] but remained at the monastery, where she was protected by Agrias Oaks of the Lionsguard. Ovelia has long, braided, wheatstraw blonde hair with two long fringes and brown eyes. She wears a long-sleeved high-neck white dress with brown spear linings at the edges of her skirt and a long red cape embroidered in gold. Ovelia's dress and cape are reminiscent of the recurring White Mage job. Ovelia is gentle, soft-spoken, and dutiful, yet weighed down by doubt and uncertainty. She yearns for kindness and stability and is wary of the political forces around her.[25] Ovelia feels greatly burdened by her role as a princess,[4] but more so by an assertion that she was not truly born of royal blood, leaving her with fear and doubt.[3] Ovelia often turns to prayer and faith in dark times.[21] Her mixture of humility, vulnerability, and quiet strength give her a tragic dignity.

Ovelia becomes troubled and wary of the political forces around her that have treated her more as a pawn than a person, fostering immense mistrust in her. She values her few sincere friendships in Alma and Agrias.[4] Though she developed love and trust in Delita, this relationship too became strained as she, on many occasions, doubted the sincerity of his care for her and questioned if she was another tool to him as well.[3][25][26][note 4]

Ovelia's story reflects the human cost of Ivalice's political struggles: while nobles and knights wage war for power, Ovelia embodies the sorrow of those caught in the middle, her kindness and innocence slowly hardening into mistrust and despair.