Cyan Garamonde

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Cyan Garamonde

Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Character designer(s)	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Samurai
Special ability	Sword Tech
Desperation Attack	Black Blade
Race	Human
Age	50

Cyan Garamonde (カイエン・ガラモンド, Kaien Garamondo^?, Cayenne Garamonde in Japanese) is a fictional character of the Square Co., Ltd.'s computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VI. Cyan hails from Doma, a country at war with Gestahl's Empire.

1 Biography
2 SwordTech
3 Quotes
4 Music
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Cyan is retainer to the king of Doma, and the player first encounters him when Kefka secretly poisons the castle's water supply, killing almost everyone, including the king and Cyan's wife and child, Elayne and Owain. Cyan is the only survivor, along with a Doma soldier standing next to him in that scene. The event is swift and brutal; the sheer suddenness of everyone Cyan holds dear all dying at once is a rare early instance of a shocking tragedy depicted in a video game.

Immediately following the poisoning and subsequent imperial invasion, Cyan seems to go mad with anger and challenges the entire army by himself. Seeing this, Sabin joins in to help him ward back the enemy troops. With nowhere else to go, Cyan joins the Returners to seek vengeance against the Empire. However, it becomes evident later (especially in the World of Ruin) that Cyan cannot forgive himself for failing to save his family and his king. In a cruel twist, he encounters the ghosts of his wife and son while on the Ghost Train; he chases helplessly after the train as he watches them they ride out of reach toward the afterlife. Cyan's frozen memories of the Doma attack (in the World of Ruin) suggest a sort of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cyan will rejoin the party in the World of Ruin at the top of Mount Zozo. He had been writing love letters to a young woman in Maranda named Lola, whose boyfriend had joined the military at least one year prior and had since stopped writing back to her. It becomes clear that her true boyfriend has most likely died. Cyan had apparently heard Lola's story while in Maranda and began writing to her as her boyfriend out of sympathy. Eventually, the two may meet, and they agree to accept the past and move on in their lives.

Despite all that has happened, Cyan is still haunted by the horrific event at Doma. He can opt to overcome his guilt and sorrow during the World of Ruin by revisting the Doma ruins, where he is plagued by a demon named Wrexsoul who feeds on tortured souls. By navigating through the dreamscape of Cyan's mind, the player can defeat Wrexsoul, in effect confronting Cyan's demons and conquering them.

Cyan was born on January 3rd, making him a Capricorn.

The names of Cyan's wife and child, Elayne and Owain, are taken from characters of the tales of Arthurian legend. Elaine was the name of Lancelot's mother, and (perhaps more well-known) the name of a lover of his who bore his son, Galahad. Owain was the nephew of King Arthur.

[edit] SwordTech

Cyan's special command is Swordtech (abbreviated to Swdtech on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System due to technical limitations), a set of generally powerful skills that uses a time gauge to charge from level 1 to level 8. Although they can be learned by leveling up over time, Cyan will automatically learn all eight after visiting and completing the Doma side-quest in the World of Ruin.This is the only way that he can learn the level 8 Swordtech. His skills are:

Dispatch: A powerful sword strike
Retort: Cyan launches a counterattack if attacked by an enemy
Slash: An attack that halves the enemy's HP and inflicts Seizure status.
Quadra Slam: Attacks with 4 powered-down strokes that can target a single or multiple enemies
Empowerer: Absorb some of an enemy's HP/MP
Stunner: Attack targeting multiple enemies; may inflict "Stop" upon enemy
QuadraSlice: A more powerful 4-stroke attack
Cleave: Cyan's ultimate attack, can instantly defeat multiple enemies

[edit] Quotes

"Look, we can't have ye two prancing 'round all day!"
When approached by a dancer in Nikeah: "H...how dare you... you licentious howler!"
"We humans tend to allow the past to destroy our lives. I implore you not to let this happen. It is time to look forward, to rediscover love, and embrace the beauty of life."
On Gau: "Ye are so odd..."
"I heard my wife and child calling to me from beyond. Their voices gave me the strength to let go of my suffering."

[edit] Music

In Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version, Cyan's theme is called "Cayenne" ("Cyan" in the U.S.) -- disc 1, track 13 sample (help·info). (It is also the background music of Doma Castle.) His leitmotif is also found in the track: