Cid Del Norte Marquez



Cid del Norte Marquez (シド・デル・ノルテ・マルケズ Shido Deru Norute Marukezu) is a non-playable character from Final Fantasy VI. He is the chief genetic engineer of the Gestahlian Empire, and he invented the Magitek process. Born in the fifth year of the nation of Vector, Cid is a member of the Marquez bloodline of patriotic scientists of the northern state of which became Vector in the war of fifty years before the game's beginning.

Aside from working in the Magitek Research Facility, Cid also grew in a greenhouse a veritable collection of exotic flowers, his favorite of which, were roses. As Celes Chere grew, she would help him in the greenhouse, where Cid named his favorite flower after her and eventually gave it to her to adorn her quarters.

Story
Cid invented the process of Magitek, which involves the extraction of Magic from Espers and the infusion of the power into humans. He used this ability to create the army that the Empire has been known for. His first guinea pig, Kefka Palazzo, underwent the process as a young man, and the rudimentary experiment caused him to become twisted, and Kefka quickly became unpopular. Cid refined the process and used it on a two-year-old child named Celes. The experiment was a success, and Cid raised Celes as his own daughter. Cid had always been against the war and resented his discoveries and inventions being used in it. Unknown to Emperor Gestahl, Cid had delayed his findings by at least a decade.

However, Cid did not figure out that the true secret of extracting magic from Espers was to reduce them to Magicite, their remains after they die. It took Locke Cole and several of the Returners to show him (and Kefka) this secret. As a result, Cid decided to join the Returners and petition Gestahl to stop the war after helping Locke and his friends escape the Magitek Research Facility. He did so, and succeeded, or so he thought. He helped represent the Returners in a banquet with Gestahl. Afterward, he followed Setzer Gabbiani to try to rebuild the Blackjack. His suggestion was to remove the Blackjack's entire casino so as to increase the speed, but Setzer did not want his help and so Cid left in huff.

However, Gestahl only used the peace offering as a set up for him to obtain more Espers. He did not need Cid anymore, so Cid joined the Returners. Kefka used the powers he obtained to defeat Gestahl and destroy the world. One year afterward, Cid was alone on the Solitary Island with Celes. Cid spent the last year taking care of her, and he began to get sick himself. Celes fed him fish, and depending on the actions of the player, Cid either lives or dies. If he dies, Celes attempts suicide, and fails when Locke's bandana comes floating by. She then finds a note left by Cid showing her the location of a raft he made to use to go search for other people. If he lives, he shows Celes the raft personally.

Etymology

 * Del Norte Marquez may be a reference to "Del Norte Márquez", which is a composite Spanish surname. "Del Norte" means "from the North" and "Márquez" means "Son of a Marquis", a common Spanish last name.

Trivia

 * This is first game in which a character named Cid is not allied with the main party.

Cid Del Norte Marquez