Beatrix

General Beatrix is a temporary player character from Final Fantasy IX. She is the top general and most trusted warrior of the all-female army of Alexandria, and does not like to take a back seat to anyone, especially Kuja and his black mages. She at first is loyal to Queen Brahne, but is convinced her first priority is protecting the citizens of Alexandria. Beatrix is respected among warriors all around the world as the finest of them all.

Appearance and Personality
Beatrix's birthplace and family are not revealed in the game. Her past is mostly cloudy, except for the fact that Beatrix has been noted since her youth as a prodigy in swordsmanship, and has been serving the Alexandrian royal family as a knight.

Beatrix at first views Adelbert Steiner, the Captain of the Knights of Pluto and a warrior in her senior, as a rival. General Beatrix and Captain Steiner are still at odds in the beginning of the game, Beatrix bitter and Steiner infuriated over the superiority of Alexandrian Soldiers led by Beatrix over his Knights of Pluto.

Beatrix is noble, proud, and most of all, loyal to Alexandria and the Alexandrian royal family. She is confident in her ability as a soldier, and can be seen as being arrogant because of this. Beatrix has an outstanding ability as a leader, collecting loyalty and admiration from both the public and the soldiers under her. Beatrix is soft spoken and addresses people with perfect manners, be it to her soldiers or to an enemy, although this fact is not as obvious in the English translation, as it is in the original Japanese version.

Yet, Beatrix shows no mercy for one who poses a threat against Alexandria, or her allies. From her loyalty, Beatrix acts solely as a soldier, obeying orders without hesitation or showing emotion. Despite her infamously merciless behavior, she is revealed to have a kind heart and willingness to forgive, as seen when she apologizes to Freya, and forgives Baku and Tantalus Theater Troupe for kidnapping Princess Garnet. Baku also says that Beatrix has a big heart, unlike the 'knuckle-headed' Steiner.

Her legendary swordsmanship is known far and wide across the world, and Beatrix holds the title of the "best swordsman in the continent". Because of such fearsome power, she is often called "the cold-blooded woman who silences even the crying infant" or "Beatrix who felled 100 men".

Beatrix has a tall, slender, and curvy body type with chestnut brown hair. She wears a silver eye patch over her right eye, with the left being a purple/reddish color, however, in the original concept art, she has a bandana over her right eye, and the left eye is blue. She has the habit of frequently tossing back her hair with her hand. She wears less armor than the heavily clad Steiner, and as a result, is more agile. Beatrix wears a red and white sleeveless duster with a rose embroidered on the back, over a pair of reddish-brown leggings tucked within a pair of armored boots. She wears armored gloves and additional armor on her left arm. A large belt is secured around her waist at an angle, holding her sword, Save the Queen.

Story
Beatrix is first seen during the play, I Want to be Your Canary at the beginning of the game, where she responds to Zorn and Thorn when they tell her Princess Garnet is missing. Beatrix is much friendlier to them than Steiner is.

Beatrix is next seen in Burmecia, where she is leading an attack against the Burmecians along with Queen Brahne and Kuja. Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and (if he has been recruited by the player by this time) Quina discover her, and when a Burmecian soldier attacks her, they defend him. Beatrix defeats them easily and leaves. After Zidane and his friends recover, they travel to Cleyra, where the surviving Burmecians are taking refuge.

Beatrix prepares a diversion so Zidane and his friends can leave Cleyra so her army can attack it undefended. Zidane is able to round up most of the survivors and take them to the Cleyran cathedral, but Beatrix leaps into the cathedral and steals Cleyra's treasure, a jewel. Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and (again, if he has been recruited by this point) Quina fight her and are again defeated. Beatrix retreats to the Red Rose, which is Queen Brahne's private airship. Zidane, Vivi, and Freya follow, leaving Quina behind.

On the Red Rose, Beatrix wonders why Brahne insists on using black mages and eidolons in battle instead of her and her army. When she returns to Brahne with the jewel, she does not receive a single word of thanks and learns Brahne is considering executing Princess Garnet. At this point, Beatrix begins to doubt Brahne's intentions, although she still follows her orders.

Back in Alexandria, Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, and Freya rescue Garnet, being held by Zorn and Thorn, under Kuja's sleep spell. Beatrix fights them and wins, but Zidane shows her Garnet's condition. At this point, Beatrix decides she can no longer follow Brahne's orders, and heals Garnet and tells Brahne she can no longer trust her. Beatrix joins Freya and Steiner in an underground resistance movement to get Garnet, Zidane, and Vivi out of Alexandria, and Marcus and Blank join in as well.

When Kuja defeats Queen Brahne, Beatrix helps Garnet prepare to become queen. She also finds a love letter written by Doctor Tot for Eiko to give to Zidane, and thinks it is a love letter from Steiner for her. That night, the two fall in love on the docks, as Marcus, Blank, and Eiko watch. Some time later, Kuja attacks Alexandria by summoning Bahamut. He also summons Mistodons, which Beatrix and Steiner must fight in order to protect Alexandria, but the city is destroyed.

Beatrix shows up during Zidane's search for Garnet after Cid Fabool IX has been turned back into a human. Zidane and Baku spot her, and Baku realizes she has a much bigger heart than Steiner. Beatrix tells Zidane about Garnet's secret spot, and gives him the jewel Garnet. Beatrix appears on the Red Rose during the battle to enter Memoria, where it is revealed she showed up to protect Steiner.

During the ending Beatrix makes up her mind to leave Alexandria. While leaving Alexandria Castle she is stopped by Steiner who confesses that he does not wish to lose her again, and says they should both protect the queen together, convincing her to stay. After Zidane reveals himself in a performance of I Want to be Your Canary, Steiner and Beatrix open the doors to allow Garnet to rush to him. When Zidane and Garnet embrace, Steiner and Beatrix raise the Save the Queen together.

Battle
Beatrix is fought as a boss three times during the course of Final Fantasy IX, but it is not possible to defeat her because the fights end automatically when she uses an attack that reduces the party's HP to 1. If lucky, the player may manage to steal some good items and equipment from her.

Equipment and Stats
Beatrix has both high physical and magical stats, and knows many devastating attacks as well as healing magic, making her somewhat akin to a Paladin. Her equipment draw consists mostly of heavy armor and female specifics, but she can only equip one weapon: Save the Queen. She does not have enough MP to consistently use her expensive skillset.

Abilities
Beatrix can use White Magic, and can use a mix of Garnet and Eiko's spells. She also uses a special command called Seiken, which consists of four of Steiner's Sword Arts: Thunder Slash, Stock Break, Climhazzard, and Shock. She has no support abilities. Beatrix, unlike Steiner, can successfully employ the Thunder Slash technique; when Steiner uses it he is crippled by the Thunder Slash Glitch.

Musical Themes
Beatrix's theme is called "Rose of May", playing when the party is on the Red Rose, after the battle against her in Alexandria, and when Zidane is looking for her after Garnet goes missing on Disc 3. "The Wavering Blade" is the theme played when Zidane and his party do battle with her in Burmecia and Cleyra. Her battle theme song is titled "Something to Protect", which is an orchestral, upbeat version of "Rose of May", and is played when she and Steiner are trying to protect Alexandria.

Etymology
"Beatrix" is a name associated with, though not originated from, the Latin word "beatus", which originally meant "made happy, blessed". A is a person who is likely to become a saint.

Also in Latin, "Beatrix" means "female soldier", so her name directly reflects her role on the game.

Additionally, the name "Beatrice" is a form of "Beatrix" which means, "she who makes others happy" or"bringer of joy".

Trivia

 * Beatrix's weapon, Save the Queen, can be obtained by synthesizing through Hades in Memoria. Although no one can equip it, it can still be thrown by Amarant.
 * In her Victory Pose, Beatrix sheaths her weapon and flips her hair back as she does in most of the game's cutscenes.
 * Before the battle in Cleyra, Beatrix is holding her sword in her right hand, however, at the same time it is still in its holder on the back of her jacket.
 * Beatrix shares several similarities with Leo Cristophe from Final Fantasy VI. Both work for an enemy empire before defecting to the party's side, both are temporary playable characters with much higher stats than regular party members, and both have access to the Shock ability, and begs forgiveness to the character whose brethren had been slaughtered mercilessly by their nations (Cyan Garamonde in Leo's case, Freya Crescent in Beatrix's case).

Beatrix