Final Fantasy IV Characters

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Rydia

Vital Statistics

Age	6; later, ??
Height	4'1"; later, ??
Occupation	Summoner (Caller)
Equipment	Staves (child only), Rods, Robes, Caps, Bracelets, Whips (adult only)
Abilities	White (child only), Black, Summon

Biography

Rydia is a precocious child of the village Mist, whose citizens are trained in the rare art of summoning magic. She is young and innocent, but her personality has spunk, and she possesses a child's willingness to point out the obvious flaws in adults when others may defer to politeness.

Additional Information

Rydia is a mere child when she watches her mother die before her eyes as a result of Kain and Cecil having killed her mother's summon, who was blocking their way into Mist. To the two warriors, she represents a conflict between following orders and doing what is right, but she is oblivious to their conversation about sparing the life of a child, and attacks them in revenge. Unfortunately, her summon is too powerful for her to control, and a huge earthquake levels a portion of the mountain range surrounding the body, separating Kain and Cecil and leaving Rydia herself critically injured.

Unwilling to abandon the small girl, Cecil carries her the oasis town of Kaipo, where a kind innkeeper provides them with lodging. In the night, soldiers from Baron arrive and invite Cecil to rejoin their ranks, as well as hand Rydia over for destruction. As she cowers in her bed, Cecil fights off the guards, spurning his loyalty to his liege and kingdom on her behalf. The importance of this decision is not lost on Rydia; from this time on, she accepts Cecil as a protector and friend, and forgives him for killing her mother.

Rydia's potential as a mage is such that Tellah recognizes it upon meeting her on the way to Damcyan, and her aid is valuable to the party. However, when the party later encounters a wall of ice blocking their progress through Mt. Hobs, Rydia claims ignorance of the fire magic that would save them. When Rosa presses her on the matter, she dissolves into tears and reveals that she's been terrified of fire ever since she watched her village burn. With Rosa's encouragement, Rydia finally overcomes her fear in order to help her friends.

During the battle for Fabul, Rydia joins Rosa in the back ranks, supporting the fighters with her magic. She watches Golbez kidnap Rosa, petrified and powerless to help, but uses cure magic to revive Cecil from his faint. When the party continues on their quest by ship, disaster strikes, and Rydia is the first to fall overboard into the whirlpool caused by Leviathan. Cecil fears the worst, and his fears seem to be confirmed when he later finds both Yang and Edward alive, but no sign of Rydia. She seems to have become another casualty in the war against Golbez.

Unbeknownst to Cecil and the others, however, Rydia was rescued by Leviathan and taken to the Land of Summoned Monsters, where time passes at a much faster rate. She completed her training as a summoner just in time to save her friends from Golbez in the dwarven castle. Though she lost her ability to work white magic over the years, her black magic and summoning power had become much stronger. Cecil and the others are shocked that the young woman standing before them was the same child that had been lost only shortly before, but they gladly accepted her renewed offer of aid.

Rydia has lost none of her tart personality over the years. She still has little patience for stupidity or self-indulgence...or for rakish, arrogant, ladykillers, as Edge soon discovers. Rydia tolerates his flirtations with scorn, which Edge interprets as merely a game of hard-to-get. The harder he tries, the less Rydia seems to be interested in romance in general and Edge in particular.

After the final battle against Zeromus, Rydia returns to the Land of Summoned Monsters to continue her studies, where she continues to assert that she does not need a man.

More About Rydia

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Weapons Armor Helmets Gauntlets/Rings