Celes Chere

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Celes Chere

Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Character designer(s)	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Rune Knight
Special ability	Runic
Desperation Attack	Spin Edge
Age	18

Celes Chere (セリス・シェール, Serisu Shēru^?) is a fictional character of the Square Co., Ltd.'s computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VI. Before she joins the party, she is General Celes of the Empire. She was genetically enhanced and artificially infused with magic, making her the second Magitek Knight.

1 Biography
2 Name origin
3 Runic
4 Music
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Biography

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Celes is first seen in Terra's flashback along with her partners Kefka and Leo, but the player doesn't yet learn who she is. That happens when Locke rescues her from a basement under the rich man's house in South Figaro. She has been imprisoned there for alleged treason against the Empire.

In the Magitek Research Facility, when Kefka attacks the players, Celes rescues them by warping Kefka, his soldiers, and herself to another location. However, this makes the other player characters suspicious of her, even Locke. The next time she is seen is in Albrook, where she is again an Imperial General. When Locke attempts to question Celes on this, she runs away and refuses to speak with him.

However, in Thamasa, Celes rejoins the party. She proves her loyalty on the Floating Continent when Kefka gives her a sword with which to attack the player characters and she instead attacks Kefka. She flees with the others when Kefka moves the Statues, bringing destruction to the world.

Celes is the starting character in the World of Ruin. She wakes up on an island with only Cid, who has been taking care of her for the last year. Depending on the player's actions, she can either succeed by feeding him the fast fish, or fail by feeding him the slower fish, in keeping him alive while he is ill.

If she succeeds, Cid shows her a raft and urges her to leave to find her friends. If she fails, Celes descends into depair at the prospect of being all alone and attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff, only for the waves to wash her limp body back to shore. When she regain consciousness, she sees a seagull with Locke's bandana, igniting her hope that out there, there are more survivors. She finds Cid's will, uncovers the raft he made for her, and sails away.

If the player finds Locke, he and Celes share an ending in the credits, during which Locke saves her from falling off a ledge. Otherwise, Setzer takes Locke's place. Furthermore, the player learns exactly what it was that Celes was reaching for (causing her to nearly fall to her death) and why it was so important to her.

Celes's birthday is March 10, making her a Pisces.

[edit] Name origin

The name Celes possibly comes from Ceres ("Demeter" in Greek mythology), the Roman goddess of grain and harvests.¹ Because Japanese tends to confuse the sound of "r" with the sound of "l" and vice-versa, Celes and Ceres would be interchageable with each other in the original Japanese script for FFVI, but not in the English translation, which has an L/R distinction. Also, Celes' name could possibly come from an instrument called the celesta, which is featured predominantly in her theme song. Another possibility is that her name, which carries the connotation of sky, is used in juxtaposition with that of Terra, whose name means "earth" in Latin. Both are proficient magic users, with one on the side of the Returners and one on the side of the Empire.

Many fans spell her name "Celes Chère", as the accented name is closer to conventions. All official Squaresoft romanizations of the name have no accents, however.

[edit] Runic

Celes's Runic command allows her to absorb the next spell cast, turning it into MP for her to use. This ability works on the next spell that is cast, so it could absorb a friend or foe's spell. Furthermore, Celes must have a Runic capable sword equipped for this to work; the menu item for Runic is grayed out if anything else is equipped.

[edit] Music

Celes is the only character in the game who is introduced without her theme music; instead, the song "Under Martial Law" sample (help·info) is playing. It's not until after her performance in the Opera that Celes's theme makes an appearance.

In Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version, Celes' theme is called "Celes" -- disc 1, track 22 sample (help·info). It is a leitmotif of the track: