Celes Chere

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Celes Chere

Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Designed by	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Rune Knight
Special ability	Runic
Desperation Attack	Spinning Edge
Age	18

Celes Chere (セリス・シェール, Serisu Shēru^?) is a fictional character of the Square Co., Ltd.'s console 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.

The player first sees Celes during Terra's flashback alongside fellow Imperial generals Kefka and Leo. Later, Locke rescues her from a basement in South Figaro after witnessing her brutal interrogation at the hands of the Imperial military. She had been imprisoned and scheduled for execution for alleged treason against the Empire. (In the GBA remake of the game, the interrogation scene no longer shows her chained and beaten, and may reflect an edit of canon.)

In the Magitek Research Facility, when Kefka attacks the players, Celes rescues the party by magically warping Kefka, his soldiers, and herself to another location. However, Kefka's questioning of Celes's true loyalties generates suspicion among the other player characters. Celes next appears as an Imperial General in Albrook. When Locke attempts to question Celes's intentions, she avoids 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 initial character in the World of Ruin. She wakes up on an island with only Cid, who has been taking care of her for the past year. Depending on the player's actions, Celes may either succeed or fail at restoring Cid's health. If she succeeds, Cid shows her a raft and urges her to leave to find her friends. If she fails, Celes descends into despair at the prospect of being alone and attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff. When she regains consciousness, she sees a seagull with Locke's bandana, which inspires her to search for any surviving companions. 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.

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 uses one phoneme to represent the English "r" and "l" phonemes, Celes and Ceres are interchangeable in the original Japanese script for FFVI. Celes's name may also allude to the musical instrument the celesta, which is featured predominantly in her theme.

Her name is sometimes spelt "Celes Chère" to reflect its English pronunciation. Official Squaresoft romanizations lack the accent.

[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.

Interestingly, Runic reverses normal elemental attributes. If Celes absorbs a spell she would normally take only half damage for, she gains half the MP, while Immunity to an Element gives her no MP and normally absorbing an Element makes her actually lose the MP for the spell.

[edit] Music

Celes' theme music is not played on her introduction; 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.

Interestingly enough, the Opera theme is almost identical to Aerith Gainsborough's theme when it first begins.

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: