Cid nan Garlond



Cid nan Garlond is a non-playable character from Final Fantasy XIV. He is the leader of the Garlond Ironworks, a group of Garlean and Eorzean engineers working together to arm Eorzea's city-states with Garlemald's powerful technology: Magitek.

Appearance
Cid is a tall and muscular Garlean with center parted white hair and beard. Cid's attire consists of a white vest worn over a black sleeveless top and matching work trousers adorned with black pouches over his knees and toolbelt to carry his engineering equipment and a padded black gauntlet on his left arm, a pair of armor plated black shoes and an ornate pair of goggles with teal lenses that hides his third eye that marks him as a pure blooded Garlean.

Personality
Cid is known to be intelligent, good-natured and dutiful. He lives to see his magitek creations used to help improve the lives of people and and loathes to see the destruction that technology has caused under the banner of the Garlean Empire.

Early Life
Cid was born to Grand Minister of Industry Midas "Mid" nan Garlond, Cid was regarded a prodigy in magitek engineering much like his father and was quickly catapulted into fame and popularity for his advancements in the field. However when Mid became enthralled with Project Meteor, Cid began to grow distant from his father and was taken in by his father's friend Gaius van Baelsar who raised him to adulthood as if Cid was his own son. It is under Gaius's guardianship that Cid earned the ire and jealousy of Nero Tol Scaeva after himself being appointed a Minister of Industry.

After the incident that destroyed Bozja Citadel, Cid learned about the empire's plans and abandoned his homeland blaming himself for failing to stop his father and the devastation of Project Meteor. Cid defected from Garlemald with his shop-hands Biggs and Wedge, it is then he is given a pair of goggles by the the Adventurer who had brought them to him with the Echo. Arriving in Eorzea, he founded the ironworks of his namesake and began to share his knowledge with the people of his adoptive homeland, that they might defy the imperial menace he once served.

Final Fantasy XIV
Cid is an important character on the Seventh Umbral Era storyline, working closely with the Grand Companies of Eorzea to investigate the recent Garlean activity and its relationship with Meteor, as he was directly responsible for the recent development of Garlean magitek technology.

Hoping to investigate Allagan ruins in La Noscea Cid is stranded when his airship is damaged flying low to avoid Imperial detection. In a chance of fate, Cid crossed paths again with his surrogate father Gaius. Offering the Allagan Tomestone he found for parley, Cid denounces Baelsar for supporting an attempt to destroy Eorzea—accusing him of losing his sense of honor and self-worth because the Emperor no longer favored him over the White Raven. Hurt by Cid's words, Gaius counters that if he had not abandoned him that together they could have conquered Eorzea before Nael had a chance to convince the Emperor the validity of Meteor and in his anger injures Cid with a blast from his arm cannon and the two split from the argument embittered by each others words.

He is met again when the adventurer's Grand Company begins to investigate the Fortress of Castrum Novum. Its there Cid informs them of the Lunar Transmitter being built inside inside that is being used to call Dalamud down to Eorzea, after the Adventurer returns from recon he deduces that it is only by the grace of his former caretaker Gaius that they where able to successfully bring him the the information he needed. While wary of the Black Wolf's plans he nonetheless accepts the plans for the Lunar Transmitter and begins creating countermeasures to stop meteorfall and storm the fortress.

Cid returns when Nael raises the Rivenroad into the sky to finally cast Meteor and bring Dalamud down to annihilate Eorzea, outraged by the events Cid answers that he himself will be the one to ferry the Adventurer in his personal airship, the Enterprise. After the battle Cid is elated at Nael's defeat and congratulates the adventurer praising them as the Eorzea's hero.

When Dalamud continued to fall Cid bore witness to the Battle of Carteneau and Bahamut's awakening ushering the end of the Sixth Astral Era suffering grave injuries in the process.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
An amnesiac Cid is first encountered by the Adventurer in a Thanalan at the Church of Saint Adama Landama cloaked in priestly robes being cared for by the priest Father Iliud under the name Marques, the adventurer assists him with his duties at the temple although neither party thinks anything of it at the time.

Some time later the adventurer returns to the church after the Garlean's attack on the Waking Sands seeking Father Iliud's aid in tending to the deceased from the attack, its then that Alphinaud comes to seek the aid of Cid and his airship the Enterprise to use to confront Garuda. Reminding Cid of memories buried deep inside him, Cid agrees to accompany the pair to Coerthas to help find his missing airship and uncover the missing pieces of his memories and bids farewell with his caretaker Father Iliud for caring for him as if he was his own son and saving his life after he was injured in the calamity.

Following the adventurer and Alphinaud to Ishgard, Cid remains frustrated with his lack of memories as he aids the people there with his mechanical expertise despite not knowing why he has these skills. Eventually tracking down the airship to the Stone Vigil Cid is forced to do emergency maintenance on his airship when Lahabrea awakens the dragon Isgebind and nearly destroys it.

Narrowly escaping, the party returns to Gridania where Cid informs the Adventurer that in its current condition not even the Enterprise could brave the winds of the Howling Eye and reach Garuda. Devising a plan, Cid sends the Adventurer on an errand to get him a corrupted crystal giving him a way to pierce the veil. Finishing the modifications to his airship, Cid takes the wheel and recalls his memories from before meteorfall and thanks the Adventurer for helping him recover the missing pieces of his past.

Sailing to the Howling Eye, he and Alphinaud are forced to come to the aid of the kobalds and amalj'aa kidnapped by the Ixal who had Garuda to prevent them from summoning their own Primal in desperation while the Adventurer are left to face Garuda themselves. Unable to free the creatures in time, Ifrit and Titan are summoned alongside Garuda and nearly begin a catastrophic battle only to be interrupted by Gaius and Ultima Weapon who then absorbs the primals and takes their power as its own.

Finding their courage, the party journeys back to Ishgard in hopes of locating and rescuing Cid's assistants Biggs and Wedge. Finding Biggs wounded in the snow, they locate and find Wedge and save him from his Imperial pursuers reuniting Garlond Ironworks once more. Regrouping with Yda and Y'shtola in the Waking Sands, the group begins to hatch a rescue for their captured allies being held in Castra Centri.

Setting up linkshell interference, the group manages to capture and secure a Magitek Armor as well as Imperial military uniforms to aid them in their infiltration of the Garlean stronghold only to learn that the power source of the machine had been damaged in the process. Not to be deterred, Cid sends the adventurer to find him a Marmet Heart which could be used to power the run down machina and upon installation the Magitek Armor unexpectedly takes a life of its own.

As the adventurer makes their escape from Castra Centri with prisoners in tow, Cid manages to save his allies with the Enterprise after they are cornered by Garlean troops allowing them to escape Ultima Weapon. Together with the Scions and the Leaders of the Grand Companies of Eorzea, they forge an ambitious plan to cut off Castrum Meridanum from its allies an infiltrate the Praetorium inside to eliminate the Ultima Weapon.

Aiding the Adventurer in their operation to destroy the defenses in the Castrum, Cid commandeers the Imperial Magitek Armor called The Black Eft and aids in the attack supplying the party with backup until the armor is overclocked using its main cannon to destroy a barrier. When he returns to find Livia's broken and defeated body, he cannot help but feel a kinship to the woman who only wanted the affection of their shared father.

Regrouping once the defenses where taken down, Cid personally ferries the Adventurer into the heart of the Castrum and into the Praetorium. It is there where Cid meets face to face with Gaius once more. Gaius still hoping to convince his young ward to rejoin his side, tells him of his fathers final words and offers him clemency along with a place at his side as his greatest lieutenant and chief engineer, not to be swayed the two part for the final time. Cid then takes control of the security center of the Praetorium, guiding the party through linkshell to the Ultima Weapon. Encountering Nero, Cid finally learns of the other engineer's hatred and deep seated jealousy of him.

As the linkpearls connection fades, he warns the party of Gaius and tells them not to die because they are "too bloody useful".

A Realm Awoken
Following the downfall of Gaius and the destruction of the Ultima Weapon, Cid later joined with Rammbroes and the Sons of Saint Coinach in their investigation of the Crystal Tower. As it was a relic of the Allagan civilization like the Ultima Weapon and Dalamud, he felt compelled to investigate it lest it be misused by the wrong people.

In order to break the first defenses leading to the tower, the "Eight Sentinels", Cid had to assemble makeshift "fangs" using flawless elemental crystals retrieved from Primal priests at beastmen strongholds. These fangs overloaded the barriers and shattered the statues, clearing the path to the Labyrinth of Ancients.

After the Adventurer cleared a path through the Labyrinth and defeated Phlegethon, Cid and the team rejoined to survey the labyrinth. With the path to the foot of the tower open, they returned to the camp to prepare for whatever may lie within the crystalline structure itself.

Defenders of Eorzea
After learning the history of the Crystal Tower from Doga and Unei, and reluctantly allowing his rival Nero, now exiled from the Garlean Empire, to join the group, Cid makes his way to the top of the tower alongside the Adventurer. Following the defeat of Xande at the tower's peak, a dark portal appears, and a mysterious entity captures Doga, Unei, and Nero. Cid again returns to the camp with the others, in order to plan a future strategy. If spoken to, Cid will emphasize the importance of rescuing Nero, if only to prevent him from accomplishing any future mischief.

Before the Fall
In order to rescue Doga, Unei, and Nero, Cid develops a way to open a portal to the World of Darkness to allow the Adventurer and G'raha Tia to venture within. After the defeat of the Cloud of Darkness, he personally saves Nero, much to the latter's chagrin. He witnesses the sealing of the Tower before departing, the group's goal now completed.

Gameplay
Cid functions as a Gladiator, using a unique gunblade as his weapon; he can heal the Adventurer with his unique Agua Vitae items. Cid is also a skilled Magitek Armor pilot, taking the helm of The Black Eft during the raid on Castrum Meridainum.

Voice
Cid is voiced by in the Japanese version and  in the English version. He shares his English voice actor with the Warrior of Light from Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Cid appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game with a Lightning-elemental card.

Etymology
Cid is a recurring name in the Final Fantasy series.