The wait for Final Fantasy 16 information continues, but it will be over soon. First announced in late 2020, Final Fantasy 16’s development has supposedly been going smoothly aside from a delay caused by external factors. This title will be the next mainline Final Fantasy installment, and it's being worked on by a trusted team who has previously handled Final Fantasy 14. While it is using a traditional fantasy aesthetic, it is continuing the shift towards action gameplay that FF15 started. Final Fantasy 16 promises to be an interesting new experience, and a trailer for it should accompany the upcoming wave of summer game conferences.
That's not to say that fans have been left totally without information. The reveal trailer and official website have pulled back the curtain on Final Fantasy 16’s world of Valisthea. The story centers around Clive Rosfield, the oldest son born to the Archduke of Rosaria. He's in training to become his younger brother Joshua's right-hand man when he ascends to dukedom. Joshua is a Dominant, a person who is able to wield Final Fantasy's summoned beasts, here called Eikons. The two also have an adopted sister, Jill Warrick, who was taken from the fallen Northern Territories when she was young to secure peace between the nations. Ever since her reveal, fans have been wondering what Jill's role in the plot will be, and a potential concept art leak combined with a popular fan theory seem to suggest she'll be important.
What is Known and Assumed About Jill Warrick
At the beginning of Final Fantasy 16, Jill is a member of the Rosfield household. She serves as the middle sibling between FF16's Clive and Joshua, and the three of them are very close. She is described as the brothers’ confidant, and is said to be a very nice person in general. According to a tweet from the official Final Fantasy 16 Twitter account, Jill was born as a princess in her home country. The Northern Territories are described as having "fallen," but it is not clear what this means given the implications that there is still a nation to make peace with. The Northern Territories also do not appear on the website's list of locations, so this could be interpreted as the territories falling to the spreading blight without the protection of a Mothercrystal.
At any rate, Jill's description is one of a content member of the Rosfield family. Her goals and opinion of her home nations have not been disclosed. It's also not clear where she ends up after the tragedy involving Ifrit strikes the Grand Duchy. However, there is one more detail that may be relevant to Jill. On January 3, 2022, character design artist Kazuya Takahashi posted a drawing of a young woman on his Twitter account. She has dark-colored hair styled similarly to Jill’s that may be gray like Jill’s is, and she is wearing dark ornate clothes with white and blue highlights. She is also holding a disk with a complex blue crystal in the center. This design recalls both Jill's own concept art, being clad in a white dress with blue highlights, and the brief glimpse of Shiva in FF16's reveal trailer.
Jill Could Become Shiva's Dominant
While there is nothing concrete here, the Final Fantasy community has drawn a link between all three women, and a likely plot point has become clear. It seems that Jill Warrick awakens as the Dominant of Shiva at some point, and pledges her allegiance to one of the warring nations after the time skip. Which nation is unknown; it could be anything from her Northern Territories to the Holy Empire of Sanbreque. Either way, if this theory is true, then Jill's powers are being used or exploited to fuel the constant fighting going on in Valisthea. The primary thing linking all three characters together is that they all seem to share light blue clothing and some shade of gray hair, with Shiva having the lightest and the possible older Jill having the darkest.
This would make Jill a major player in Final Fantasy 16’s plot by default, given the kind of influence that Dominants have in most countries. Even if she is under mind control or has been swayed to align herself with a particular side, she is still a major public figure. Unfortunately, that would also make Jill a target, and the FF16 reveal trailer shows Clive and his mercenary group infiltrating a battle to kill, capture, or disable Shiva's Dominant. Their brief dialogue reveals that the Dominant is a girl, which would be apt to describe Jill's likely age after the time skip. The language of Shiva’s Dominant being the group's "only" target is interesting, and it's unclear if anyone present actually knows her identity.
There Might Be an Antagonistic Relationship Between Clive and Jill
If this is indeed the direction Final Fantasy 16 takes, then it appears that Clive and Jill will be forced to fight, at least via proxy. Clive seems to be gathering Eikon powers, so Shiva's unique ice specialty amongst Final Fantasy's pantheon will have to be obtained sooner or later. Clive may not realize that he's coming up against his younger sister, or, if FF16 wants to get particularly dark, he may not care. In the name of taking revenge on a certain someone, presumably the person who brought tragedy upon Rosaria, Clive has submitted himself to mercenary work. Judging by the tattoos on the group's faces, they may be either working for or sponsored by the extremist Iron Kingdom which believes all Dominants should be wiped out. Whether Clive’s ideals align with that or not, his goals just might.
Jill, meanwhile, may not be content to simply take her brother back with open arms. She has likely been busy serving her role as a Dominant, and might have a political stake in what's going on. Rosaria is implied to have collapsed, so Jill may have returned to rule the Northern Territories of her birth or allied herself with some other nation. Again, the lack of info regarding Jill's intentions and place in the story reduces speculation to idle theories, but she may be opposed to whatever cause Clive is fighting for. Whether Clive is after anyone other than the unknown Dominant of the dark Eikon Ifrit is up in the air, but Jill and Shiva would serve as a personal obstacle in Clive's journey to avenge his family. Hopefully the forthcoming Final Fantasy 16 trailer will put some of these speculations to rest.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.
