Faris Scherwiz

Faris Scherwiz, real name Sarisa Scherwil Tycoon, is a player character in Final Fantasy V. Faris is a pirate captain who travels with a pirate ship and its crew, accompanied by a sea-dragon named Syldra. The party first encounters Faris when they try to steal the pirate ship, which leads to their adventures as the Warriors of Light.

Appearance and Personality
Faris has two distinct appearances: her in-game sprite and her artwork design. In the in-game sprite she has long, loose purple hair with a green headband and green eyes. She wears a dark blue sleeveless jacket with gold piping and a paler blue tunic. Over her shoulders she wears a baggy green shawl hiked up on her shoulders and secured with a red stone brooch. She has brown leather bracers on her forearms.

Her artwork appearance (which is used for her FMV model and in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy) has her hair as a blonde ponytail with numerous wisps around her face. She wears a long, sleeveless black coat and a striped purple scarf over a red shirt with a kilt and/or white trousers. Her arms have several pieces of spiked bronze armor and she has tall, black armored boots with dragon wings at the ankles. Overall her appearance is more ornate with jewels in her armor and belt and gold embroidery on the coat.

Faris is courageous, sometimes reckless, and determined - she charts her own course and does not care what anyone else thinks of it. At the start of the journey she is selfish (in contrast to Lenna's altruism) and only joins the other Light Warriors for personal reasons rather than to save the world. She is brash, rude, and rough-spoken and, being a pirate captain, she is a strong leader and refuses to be left out of things. She has no problem with leaping into dangerous situations. As a Warrior of Light, she represents Fire, the element of courage.

Being raised as male by pirates, Faris is defensive about her gender and even slips up in referring to herself as male or female. She can be defensive about her emotions and has a hard time expressing how she feels. She does have a caring side that comes out when she realizes she and Lenna might be connected, and she becomes protective of her. Though she never becomes sweet-spoken and polite, it is clear she is fond of her fellow Light Warriors and begins feeling a responsibility towards the world as they do.

Story
Born Sarisa Scherwil Tycoon, the daughter of King Alexander Highwind Tycoon, Sarisa was lost at sea as a small child and was found by pirates. As she was unable to pronounce her name correctly (calling herself "Farifa"), they dubbed her "Faris".

Due to the generally misogynistic attitude of pirates, Faris was raised as a boy, dressing and acting accordingly. When she was fifteen years old the ship encountered a mysterious whirlpool. The crew was unable to escape it, but Faris dove into the water and came out with Syldra, a sea dragon with whom she formed a sisterly bond. With Syldra as a companion, the pirate ship can sail whether there is wind or not. Impressed by this feat, the pirates made her their captain, supposedly the youngest captain in pirate history.

At the age of twenty, Faris is secure in her position as a well-respected captain, though some of the crew suspect she is a woman. Three adventurers traveling for the Wind Shrine attempt to steal her ship after they see it moving without wind. They can't work the ship and are caught by Faris and her crew. The adventurers, Bartz Klauser, Galuf Halm Baldesion, and Lenna Tycoon, plead for a ride, and Lenna reveals her identity as Princess of Tycoon. Faris's initial thought is to hold Lenna for ransom, but when Lenna showcases a pendant identical to the one Faris herself possesses, she changes her mind. She decides to help the adventurers get to the Wind Shrine to discover why she and Lenna have the same pendant, but conceals her true motives.

At the Wind Shrine Faris is startled by the King of Tycoon's disappearance and volunteers to join the quest to find him. She is branded a Warrior of Light by the shattered Wind Crystal along with the other adventurers, giving her the task of protecting the Crystals of the world. The party's next destination is Walse, and they sail through the Torna Canal. In the canal they encounter a crustacean monster called Karlabos and fend it off, but Syldra is injured. As she is sucked into the whirlpool left by Karlabos, Galuf and Bartz hold Faris back from leaping in after her.

Without the sea-dragon, the pirate ship drifts into the Ship Graveyard. After crossing a flooded room, Bartz and Galuf tussle with Faris to get "him" dry his clothes by the fire and discover "he" is, in fact, a "she". When the party encounters the Siren, it hypnotizes them with images of their loved ones. Lenna is entranced by the sight of King Tycoon, and Faris falls victim likewise before being saved by Galuf.

In need of a new method of transportation, the party travels to North Mountain after hearing rumors in Carwen of a dragon flying in that direction and Lenna's conclusion that they referred to Hiryu, her wind drake. When a hunter named Magissa ambushes Lenna during the climb, Faris rushes to her rescue, jumping over a chasm to stop Magissa from kidnapping Lenna. Together, the party defeats her and Forza and reach the top. Faris is shocked when Lenna crosses a field of poison flowers to reach the dragon grass needed to heal Hiryu.

After finding Hiryu the party lands at the Castle of Walse, and head to the throne room where Lenna addresses the king, begging him to stop abusing the power of the Water Crystal. He refuses to listen due to the prosperity the Crystal's power has brought. When a meteor crashes nearby the party rushes to the tower where the Crystal is kept and fights off a monster to protect it. They are too late and the Crystal shatters causing the Tower of Walse sink into the sea. The party is rescued by Syldra, but the dragon's wounds are mortal and she drifts away into the current. Faris tries to follow, but is stopped by Lenna.

A short time later, the party spends the night in Castle Tycoon where Lenna confronts Faris by calling "sister." Although Faris suspects their relation she refuses to acknowledge it and tries to laugh off the notion. At another time, the party visits Lix, Bartz's hometown. During the night Faris finds Bartz at his mother's grave and he tells her of his parents, and Faris wonders what having a father is like.

Bartz, Galuf, Lenna and Faris travel to Karnak by a warp point in Karnak Meteor, meeting Cid Previa in the Karnak Castle jail after they are accused of being in league with a werewolf. With Cid's help, they are released and allowed to get back to work. They try to stop the Fire-Powered Ship before it breaks the Fire Crystal, but they are too late and watch a soldier under Exdeath's control shatter it, barely escaping with their lives. After talking to Cid and Mid at the Library of the Ancients, they head to the abandoned region of Gohn to protect the final crystal and investigate rumors that King Tycoon was seen traveling there. The reports prove true and they find him in the Ronka Ruins, behaving strangely. When Faris spots the king she calls him father, leading to an emotional, although brief, reunion between her and Lenna, as she admits they are sisters. The party locates the Earth Crystal in the flying ruins and visit Cid and Mid again, who discover the Catapult, an ancient airship, and fix it up for use by the party, allowing them to enter the flying city.

When the party reaches the top they encounter King Tycoon who does not recognize either of his daughters and attacks the party. Krile, Galuf's granddaughter, appears, and knocks him out with a spell. This brings the king to his senses and as he regains consciousness, he recognizes his daughters, calling them by name. The reunion is cut short when the last of the Crystals shatters, freeing the legendary sorcerer, Exdeath. The king tells his daughters to unite to fight Exdeath, and asks Bartz to protect them before sacrificing himself to save the party. Lenna and Faris are shocked by his untimely death, but there is little time to mourn.

Galuf separates from the party and heads back to his world with Krile to prepare for the upcoming battle against Exdeath. Before the party departs to the next world they can visit the chancellor at Tycoon Castle and stay the night. Faris will reminisce with Lenna of her time at the castle before she was lost at sea. Lenna tells Faris they should keep the secret from the chancellor, fearing he would not let Faris leave the castle again.

Utilizing the power of the meteors, Faris, Lenna and Bartz follow Galuf to his world. After reuniting with Galuf the party plans for the battle with Exdeath and track Exdeath down in the Great Forest of Moore where they battle him. Exdeath uses the power of the Crystals and Krile's attempt to rescue them fails, leading Galuf to fight off Exdeath alone. Galuf falls in combat and transfers his powers on to Krile before dying. The party continues onwards, infiltrating Castle Exdeath and apparently killing him.

After Exdeath shatters the remaining Crystals of the second world, the party blacks out and mysteriously finds themselves back at Tycoon Castle. Faris is welcomed back as "Princess Sarisa", and a grand celebration is held to celebrate the heiresses' return.

Faris despises her new title and appearance, and not long into the ceremonies she slips off to join Bartz and Krile as they continue to search for Exdeath. She finds them trapped in a deep pit and rescues them after making them promise never to leave her behind again. This leaves only Lenna behind when the castle is consumed by the return of the Void. Lenna was saved by her wind drake, and later rejoins the party after being freed from Melusine. During the party's quest to break the seals on the Twelve Legendary Weapons, they visit the Pirates' Hideout where Faris sees Syldra again. At first she believes the dragon had survived before realizing Krile is the only other person who can see her. Syldra's spirit grants her powers to Faris as a summon. When the legendary weapons are recovered, Faris and the other Warriors of Light fly into the Cleft of Dimension to defeat Exdeath for a final time. The strength of their spirits returns the shards they had been carrying to crystals, returning the world to peace.

Faris returns to Tycoon and shares the throne with her sister, but hates the life of a queen and worries about her pirate crew. She changes back into her pirate attire and returns to her ship to continue sailing the seas, reuniting with the other Light Warriors at the Guardian Tree a year later.

Battle
Faris has good Agility, and her attributes are average or balance compare to the other party members. Faris can be great at anything, and one way to take advantage of that is to have her fill whatever role Galuf isn't filling so that the party will always have two fighters and two spellcasters during battle.

In the Gameboy Advance version, Faris was given the innate element of Fire, and therefore the Gladiator's Finisher ability will take this element.

Stats
Each playable characters have slightly different base attributes and to make them slightly better suited for different tasks. Faris has average or balance overall stats, so she can be a decent warrior and decent spellcaster. Below is the list of Faris's base stats.

Creation and Development
According to the "Chocobo's FF Laboratory" feature published in V Jump in 1993, the character of Faris was originally a female gambler named Eva Scherwil. The developers encountered difficulties in making her fit in the game's world and atmosphere, and changed her into a pirate and Lenna's sister. In a later issue of V Jump the developers noted that Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI evolved from this early Eva concept.

Faris speaks with a pirate accent in the first official localization of Final Fantasy V for the Final Fantasy Anthology. Faris does not speak with an accent in the game's Japanese version. Later localizations are more faithful to the original Japanese version, with Faris's pirate accent toned down.

Musical Themes
Faris's theme is widely considered to be "Pirates Ahoy", played when the party first meets her, and can later be heard in the Pirates' Hideout.

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals
Faris, along with Lenna, Galuf, Krile, Bartz, Cid, and Mid, appears at the end of Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, when Mid can rest in peace. Legend of the Crystals is a four-episode anime OVA released in Japan from March to July in 1994, and the United States from 1997 to 1998. The series' setting takes place 200 years after the events of Final Fantasy V, and follows Linaly, Bartz's descendant, and her friend Prettz.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
One of the various garb available for Lightning is "Gorgeous Admiral", Faris's attire as envisioned by Yoshitaka Amano.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Faris appears as a playable sub-character obtained via collecting Crimson Crystal Shards from Dark Note bosses. To use Faris Scherwiz in the iOS port the player needs to buy her at the online store.

Her appearance is based on her original pirate captain design by Yoshitaka Amano. In the iOS port her appearance is altered to incorporate her SD appearance, giving her grey-purple hair, green eyes, and a different sword also shown in Amano's artworks.

Faris is incredibly versatile, having the largest list of Reactive abilities in the game. To contradict this, Faris only has one Proactive ability, though its for a stat that Faris already excels in. Because of this, the player must decide on how to use Faris effectively, either being a Support, Agility, or Magic type character.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Faris appears as a summonable Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. She uses Thunderstorm to assist the player.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Faris appears on several cards in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game depicting her in various jobs from Final Fantasy V, as well as her original artwork and her Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade artworks.

Etymology
Faris is an Arabic word meaning "horseman, rider" (i. e. "Knight"). It is debatable if this was intended to be a counterpart to some other element in the game or as a metaphor of its bearer. ' or ' was a 4 to 7 meter (13–21 feet) long spear used in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic warfare.

Trivia

 * Faris (along with Terra of Final Fantasy VI) is one of Yoshitaka Amano's favorite designs.
 * In the Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls and subsequent remakes of the original Final Fantasy, Sarisa is one of the automatic names the player can choose for the Thief Job.
 * In the manual for Final Fantasy V Advance, unlike the other three initial party members, Faris's profile is gender-neutral while speaking of her, helping preserve the secret of her true identity.
 * In the Anthology version, Faris's real name, Sarisa, is mistranslated as Salsa.
 * Bartz and Galuf receive small bonuses to Strength and Vitality, while Lenna and Krile receive similar boosts to MP and Agility; Faris has boosts to all four stats, reflecting her androgynous nature.

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