Rinoa Heartilly is the lead heroine of SquareEnix'
RPG master-piece, Final Fantasy VIII. Rinoa, contrary to popular belief, is neither a princess, nor is she a brat; she is perhaps the most human/multi-dimensional character to date. She is caring,
beautiful, charming and courageous, whilst she is also bossy, frightened and demanding. Rinoa is the epitome of what it really means to be human, because no one is
perfect.
Rinoa, unbeknownst even to herself, is a descendant of the great
god Hyne, and therefore has the innate ability to be a sorceress. As the great epic that is FFVIII unravels, we find out that Rinoa is the sorceress Ultimecia from the future. Having lost her Knight, she became corrupted by her own power and more or less destroyed the
world. She becomes bitter and twisted and so tainted by her own magic that her physical self morphs into that of a hideous
beast.
Wanting to return to the time when she was young and
beautiful, and had her lover Squall Leonhart by her side, she creates Time Kompression; a state of
reality where all levels of time 'past, present & future' are combined. Destined to be slain by the
man she loves, Ultimecia is vanquished and Time Kompression is reversed, thus sparing her younger self, Rinoa Heartilly from ever enduring such a fate again.
As Time is once again righted, Rinoa Heartilly lives happily ever after with Squall Leonhart.
