Rydia

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Rydia, Lydia
Official artwork of Rydia
Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy IV
Character designer(s)	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Summoner (Caller)
Special ability	Summon White Magic (Child) Black Magic
Home	Mist
Age	7
Laterality	Right-Handed

Rydia (リディア, Ridia^?, sometimes referred to as Rydia of Mist or Rydia Drake) is a fictional, playable character from the Square Co., Ltd. RPG Final Fantasy IV. She is often called the most influential summoner in the Final Fantasy series, paving the way for Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, Eiko Carol, and Yuna. She is also the only character in the series who noticeably ages over the course of the game. Rydia is one of the few summoners born of pure blood in Mist Village. Not only that, but she is one of the most powerful summoners in the entire village. Part of this is attributed to her ripe age of seven; creatures in the Land of Summons tend to trust young girls more than any adult, as they are pure of heart. The innocence Rydia alone possesses allows her to become a vital asset to the team.

Rydia's importance in the story of Final Fantasy IV occurs much earlier than almost all of the other playable characters. The Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Baron, along with his Dragoon friend Kain Highwind, is sent by the king to deliver a package to the village of Mist. To reach the village, they must first venture through Mist Cave. At the end of the cave, they encounter the Mist Dragon and kill it. When they then enter Mist Village, their package - the Bomb Ring - sets the entire village ablaze. This surprises Cecil and Kain, who had already been questioning the king's rule when he demanded that Cecil steal the Water Crystal from the innocent mages of Mysidia. They soon meet Rydia, who is weeping over the loss of her mother. Rydia then explains that her mother summoned a dragon to protect the village, and when it died, so did her mother. Cecil then admits that it was Kain and himself that killed the Mist Dragon. Rydia is less than happy and summons a Titan which causes a massive earthquake. Cecil awakes in Kaipo Desert with Rydia, unconscious, but no sight of Kain. He soon takes Rydia to Kaipo so she can rest. Rydia recovers, only to be rudely awakened by soldiers from Baron who have been ordered to kill all summoners of Mist. Cecil then annihilates the soldiers, protecting Rydia. The young summoner decides that Cecil isn't such a bad guy after all.

The next morning, Cecil and Rydia discover that Cecil's beloved Rosa Farrell has come down with the desert fever in her search for Cecil. The only way they can cure her is by finding the Sand Ruby in the Antlion Cave, near Damcyan castle, where the Fire Crystal lies. Rydia decides that she will join Cecil on his journey. On the way to Damcyan, the two encounter the sage Tellah, who is going to Damcyan to find his daughter, Anna, who eloped with the "spoony bard" Edward Chris von Muir - the prince of Damcyan. The three temporarily join forces to make it through the Water Cavern. When they reach Damcyan, they discover that the castle was almost completely destroyed by Golbez, the new commander of the Baron's airship military force - the Red Wings. Along with Edward's parents, Anna was killed. Tellah then promises to kill Golbez and leaves the party in a rage. Edward, understanding Cecil's feelings for Rosa, joins the party to help them find the Sand Ruby. Once they obtain it in Antlion Cave, they return to Kaipo and heal Rosa, who also joins the party.

The team of four then speculates that Golbez's next target is Fabul, where the Wind Crystal lies. To reach Fabul, they must climb Mt. Hobbs, but its trail is blocked by thick ice. Rosa insists that Rydia use a fire spell to melt it, but Rydia states that she hates fire, as it destroyed her village. After much urging by Rosa, Rydia finally casts Fire allowing them to venture over Mt. Hobbs, where they meet Yang Fang Leiden, the high monk of Fabul. Soon, Baron's army comes to seize the Crystal. Cecil, Edward, Yang, Rosa, and Rydia succeed in protecting the castle until they fight Kain, who has sided with Golbez and the king. In truth, he is really being controlled by Golbez, who is in fact being controlled by the evil Zemus. Kain knocks out the party and then kidnaps Rosa. Cecil and the rest think that Kain might have taken Rosa to Baron. The next day, Cecil, Rydia, Edward, and Yang set sail for Baron. On their voyage, they are attacked by the sea monster Leviathan, who wrecks the ship. The entire party is split up: Cecil lands outside Mysidia, Yang near Baron, Edward near Troia, and Rydia taken by Leviathan to the Land of Summons.

Though Yang and Edward are rediscovered not too long after Cecil becomes a Paladin, Rydia does not make her triumphant return until much later in the game. Due to this, she is thought to be dead for much of the game. After Yang, Rosa, and Kain rejoin the party, they go with Cecil and his engineer friend Cid Pollendina to the Underworld to gather the Dark Crystals. While Cid tends to the ship, the other four encounter Golbez, who is also after the Dark Crystals. Golbez summons his Shadow Dragon which knocks out all but Cecil. When all seems lost, Rydia returns as a young woman to save the day. She explains that time flows faster in the Land of Summons; therefore, she has grown older and wiser in her magic. She informs the party that Leviathan was actually trying to bring her to the land of summons instead of just randomly attacking the ship. When the characters return to the Land of Summons she can speak to the King and Queen of that world, Leviathan and Asura respectively. After defeating them in battle she can gain the ability to summon them.

Together, Rydia and Cecil defeat Golbez and his dragon. Rydia (along with Rosa) remains with Cecil through the rest of the journey. Deeply committed to their cause, she becomes completely devastated by the "sacrifices" made by Yang and Cid later in the journey (later, though, the team discovers that they lived). Sparks fly between Rydia and the ninja prince of Eblan Edward "Edge" Geraldine, who joins the team to find his kidnapped parents. In the end, Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge defeat Zemus, saving the world. Rydia returns to the Land of Summons after the battle, then pays a visit to Baron Castle for Cecil and Rosa's wedding.

1 Skills

[edit] Skills

[edit] Summon

As a summoner of Mist, Rydia possesses summon magic. Using the Summon ability, she can bring forth such monsters as Shiva, Ifrit,Chocobo, and the great dragon Bahamut - all of which are very famous in the Final Fantasy series. In the GBA version of the game, her trial produces the Mist Ring, which powers up the Mist Dragon summon and casts image on the party when it is used.

[edit] White Magic

As a child, Rydia is able to use her White ability white (curative) magic and can gain more White Magic as she progresses in level. However, upon her return from the Land of Summons, she loses the ability to cast White Magic while gaining the ability to summon more powerful beasts. She had to sacrifice the ability to cast White Magic to gain access to these summons.

[edit] Black Magic

Though Rydia isn't classified as a Black Mage, she is the only character able to use Black (offensive) magic at the end of the game except in the latest Game Boy Advance Version which allows the player to take Palom the Black Mage to the final level. Black Magic, such as Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells, provide quite an advantage against the Four Fiends of the Elements, and other enemies with elemental weaknesses. It is interesting to note Rydia uses Black Magic as her secondary skill, whereas the more modern Final Fantasy summoners, such as Garnet Til Alexandros XVII and Eiko Carol from Final Fantasy IX and Yuna from Final Fantasy X, all use White Magic as their secondary skill.