Celes Chere

"Product of genetic engineering, a battle-hardened Magitek Knight, with a spirit as pure as snow..."

Celes Chere or Celes Chère is a character of Final Fantasy VI. Before she joins the party, she is General Celes of the Empire. She was genetically enhanced and artificially infused with magic, making her the second Magitek Knight.

Name origin
Celes's name is probably derived from the Roman goddess of grain and harvests, Ceres ("Demeter" in Greek mythology)." (alt.games.final-fantasy FAQ part 1/3). Also, Celes' name could possibly come from an instrument called the celesta, which is featured predominantly in her theme song.

As a point of interest, it is worth mentioning that the other heroine of Final Fantasy VI is a woman named Terra, whose original name in the Japanese version of the game was Tina. There is also an element of contrast, with Terra meaning earth, and Celes resembling the word celestial. This contrast is touched upon in the game with Terra having innate fire magic and Celes having innate ice magic.

Story
Celes was born and raised in Vector, the capital of the Empire. She was raised by Cid Del Norte Marquez as a Magitek knight, and was one of the first to undergo the refined infusion. Kefka Palazzo was the first one to undergo the infusion, but the elementry infusion he went through caused him to become twisted. Celes spent the rest of her childhood in the service of the Empire, and did some terrible things against her will, including the torching of the town of Maranda.

Celes is first seen in Terra's flashback along with her partners Kefka and Leo, but the player doesn't yet learn who she is. That happens when Locke rescues her from a basement under the rich man's house in South Figaro. She has been imprisoned there for alleged treason against the Empire. He did so because she reminded him of Rachel.

Celes and Locke headed to Narshe to warn the Elder. When they got there, Cyan Garamonde and she got into a small tussle, which Locke had to break up. Later, everyone gathered together to defend Narshe against Kefka and his troops, and they succeeded. However, after the battle, Terra reacted with the frozen Esper for the second time, and turned into an Esper and flew away. A search party had to be made for Terra's rescue. Terra was found in the city of Zozo, on top of the tallest tower. She was being cared for by Ramuh, who asked the party to go to Vector, the Imperial capital, and rescue the other imprisoned Espers, one of which, Maduin, was Terra's father. Celes agreed to lead the team, and Locke agreed to accompany her.

In order to get to Vector, the party needed an airship. In the town of Jidoor, Celes learned of a man named Setzer Gabbiani, who owned the only airship in the world: the Blackjack. She learned Setzer was in love with Maria, the star of the opera Aria di Mezzo Carattere, and that he would kidnap him. Locke had the idea of dressing up Celes as Maria in order to get Setzer's attention. As a result, Celes had to perform the part of Maria in the opera. The plan worked, despite Ultros's plans to ruin the opera. However, Setzer was upset when he found out that Celes was not Maria. He still found her attractive, though, which allowed Celes to make a deal. She would marry him if he won a coin toss, but if she won, Setzer would help her and her friends. She won the coin toss, with a little help from Edgar.

In the Magitek Research Facility, when Kefka attacks the players, Celes rescues them by warping Kefka, his soldiers, and herself to another location. However, this makes the other player characters suspicious of her. The next time she is seen is in Albrook, where she is again an Imperial General. However, she still thinks Locke doubts her loyalty, even though Locke tried to persuade her that he was still her friend.

However, in Thamasa, Celes makes up with Locke, and rejoins the party. She proves her loyalty on the Floating Continent when Kefka gives her a sword with which to attack the player characters and she instead attacks Kefka. She flees with the others when Kefka moves the Statues, bringing destruction to the world.

Celes is the starting character in the World of Ruin. She wakes up on an island with only Cid, who has been taking care of her for the last year. Depending on the player's actions, she can either succeed or fail in keeping him alive while he is ill. If she succeeds, Cid shows her a raft and urges her to leave to find her friends. If she fails, she attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff, then sees a seagull with Locke's bandanna, finds Cid's raft, and leaves.

Celes lands at Albrook, where she learns what happened to the world. She also learns that someone came by searching for his friends. She then headed to Tzen, where she found out that this person was in fact Sabin, who was holding up a house that was destroyed by Kefka's Light of Judgement so the child inside could be rescued. Celes rescued the child, and Sabin rejoined her.

Celes and Sabin made their way to Mobliz, which was found destroyed. Only the children survived, and they were being cared for by Terra, who was feeling things she never felt before, and as a result, could not fight. Celes and Sabin had to defend the town from a monster named Phunbaba. They made their way to Nikeah, where they found Edgar disguised as a Thief named Gerad who was a member of the Crimson Robbers. They did not know what Edgar was up to, so they followed him to South Figaro and through Figaro Cave with help from Ziegfried. They cornered Edgar in the engine room of Figaro Castle, where he revealed that he was using the thieves to get into the submerged castle so he could resurface it again. They helped Edgar fight off the tentacles that were jamming up the engine, and Edgar rejoined them. They headed to Kohlingen, where they met up with Setzer, who took them to Darryl's Tomb to find a new airship: the Falcon.

When the party finds Locke in the Phoenix Cave, Celes accompanies him to Kohlingen.

If the player finds Locke, he and Celes share an ending in the credits, during which Locke saves her from falling off a ledge. Otherwise, Setzer takes Locke's place.

Equipment and Stats
Celes' stats are very well rounded. She has both excellent physical and magic stats. Her equipment draw is very similar to Terra's. She uses swords, maces, and some daggers as her weapons, and can equip heavy armors, female specifics, some mage equipment, and all shields. The only piece of equipment Terra can use that she can't is the Cotton Robe.

Abilities
Celes's Runic command allows her to absorb the next casted spell, turning it into MP for her to use. However, if Celes would normally absorb the spell, she loses MP instead of gaining it. This ability works on the next spell that is cast, so it could absorb a friend or foe's spell. Furthermore, Celes must have a compatible sword equipped for this to work; the menu item for Runic is grayed out if a weapon that doesn't allow Runic is equipped.

Like Terra, Celes learns some magic naturally. Her spells include:
 * Ice (Level 1)
 * Cure (Level 4)
 * Antdot (Level 8)
 * Imp (Level 13)
 * Scan (Level 18)
 * Safe (Level 22)
 * Ice 2 (Level 26)
 * Haste (Level 32
 * Muddle (Level 32)
 * Berserk (Level 40)
 * Ice 3 (Level 42)
 * Vanish (Level 48)
 * Haste 2 (Level 52)
 * Pearl (Level 72)
 * Flare (Level 81)
 * Meteor (Level 98)

Music
Celes is the only character in the game who is introduced without her theme music; instead, the song "Under Martial Law" is playing. It's not until after her performance in the Opera that Celes' theme makes an appearance.

In Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version, Celes' theme is called "Celes" -- disc 1, track 22. It is a leitmotif of the track:
 * Aria di Mezzo Carattere -- 2, 8
 * Ending Theme [Character Medley] -- 3, 15
 * Aria di Mezzo Carattere is also featured in the Final Fantasy VI arranged album Final Fantasy VI Grand Finale in the track "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" performed with true vocals, as well as in the Orchestral Game Concert 4 album in the track "The Dream Oath, Maria And Draku" in its complete version for the first time.