Freya Crescent

Freya Crescent is a playable character from Final Fantasy IX. She is Burmecian, a race of anthropomorphic rats who live in two cities, Burmecia and Cleyra. Though her face is often covered up by hair, Freya has green eyes. She hails from Burmecia, but left several years prior to the game in search of her lost love, Sir Fratley. Zidane Tribal meets her in Lindblum just before the Festival of the Hunt.

Festival of the Hunt
Freya is an old friend of Zidane whom she has met on several occasions on her quest to find her lost love. While in Lindblum, Zidane meets her in a pub, teasing her by pretending to not remember her name. They discuss the Festival of the Hunt, which Freya plans to partake in and invites Zidane to do so also. During the Festival, Freya is one of the top performers, and if she wins the hunt, a Coral Ring is given to the party as a reward. When Zidane encounters the Zaghnol during the Hunt, he persuades Freya to let him land the killing blow so that he may win the Hunt, and a date with Princess Garnet.

Defending Her Homeland
After the festivities, a Burmecian soldier enters the throne room, telling of a Black Mage attack on Burmecia. He asks Regent Cid for reinforcements before dying. Freya brings Zidane and Vivi along to Burmecia to help, parting ways with Garnet and Steiner, who depart for Alexandria. Along the way to Gizamaluke's Grotto, they have the opportunity of recruiting Quina Quen to their cause.

Arriving at the Grotto, the passageway between Lindblum and Burmecia, Freya finds several deceased Burmecian soldiers at the entrance. They enter and find Zorn and Thorn leading several Black Mages around the Grotto. The twins have also taken over Master Gizamaluke himself, which Freya and her comrades must defeat to leave the Grotto and reach Burmecia. The Realm of Eternal Rain is in ruins by the time the party gets there. Kneeling for a moment to honor the dead, Freya remarks how she has not visited her hometown for five years {although a moment later she implies it's been three}. They reach the Burmecian Palace and find several fleeing Burmecians, who plead with Freya to escape with them to Cleyra. She refuses, and scales a large statue with Zidane and Vivi to spy on Queen Brahne, Beatrix, and Kuja, who are standing in the middle of the coliseum-like apex of the city, discussing their next plans.

It is here that Freya has a brief flashback of Sir Fratley, her estranged love. She is rent from this reverie when a foolish Burmecian soldier attempts to challenge Beatrix, prompting Zidane's party to intervene. They are easily defeated by the Alexandrian general, who leaves with Brahne and Kuja. The party then decides to travel to Cleyra to meet with the King of Burmecia and other refugees.

When in Cleyra, Freya participates in a ritual dance intended to strengthen Cleyra's sandstorm. During the dance, the strings of the sacred harp used in the ritual shatter, a harbinger of doom for Cleyra. The sandstorm wanes, giving the Alexandrian forces the perfect opportunity to march up the giant tree's trunk. Freya and her group attempt to hold off the invaders, but are soon driven back to the cathedral. Another Dragon Knight then appears at the cathedral's spire, destroying a trio of Black Mages and allowing Freya and her friends to take refuge inside.

Failed Reunion
Within the church, Freya begins to converse with the mysterious Dragon Knight, whom she recognizes as Sir Fratley. She pours out her emotions to him, reminiscing about her quest to find him and the rumors of his death that she endured. After Freya's impassioned speech, Fratley utterly devastates her by not being able to remember who she is. It transpires that Fratley has amnesia, and he does not have any memory of his own identity, nor recognition of his former friends. This is heart-breaking to Freya and the reason for her trademark phrase being "To be forgotten is worse than death."

Fratley vacates Cleyra soon after, just before Beatrix reveals herself in the same room, holding the High Priest at her sword's end. She takes the jewel atop the harp and flees the area, Freya and her allies hot on the General's heels. Another battle ensues with Beatrix, ending once more in failure. Beatrix escapes through the telepods of the Black Mages, and the party (with the exception of Quina) follows suit, appearing on the Red Rose. From this vantage point high in the clouds, they witness the summoning of Odin by Queen Brahne and the subsequent obliteration of the entire city of Cleyra.

Return to Alexandria
A devastated Freya declares revenge on Brahne and Beatrix while on board the Red Rose, with Vivi and Zidane attempting to console her. During this moment, they witness Beatrix arriving at the same place where they are. Here, much to the surprise of the party, she questions the queen's motives, considering the whole affair with the Eidolons to be strange. When Beatrix has a change of heart and sees the cruelty behind Brahne's military crusade, Freya joins her in resisting the pack of monsters summoned by Zorn and Thorn. Steiner soon comes to their aid, and the three stand strong as Zidane, Vivi, and Garnet flee to Gargan Roo.

Freya is met again in Alexandria when Zidane returns from the Outer Continent. She and Amarant immediately begin to quarrel and initiate a duel, and develop a sort of respect for each other. It is Freya who coaxes Amarant out of his silence and gets him to tell of his history with Zidane in Treno. They soon board the Regent Cid's Hilda Garde 2 in a rescue mission at Alexandria Castle.

Freya plays a supporting role throughout the rest of the story, traveling with Zidane to Terra, where she helps him defeat Amdusias alongside Amarant and then to Memoria for the final battle. At the end of the game, she is seen helping to rebuild Burmecia with Sir Fratley, who despite his amnesia has grown closer to Freya. The two attempt to rekindle their romance from years past, and Freya appears at the encore performance of Tantalus in time to applaud Zidane's return to Alexandria.

Equipment and Stats
Freya's job class is a Dragon Knight, and as a result, she can equip spears as well as heavy armor. She has high physical stats and low magic stats.

Abilities
As a Dragoon, Freya has the ability "Jump," which enables her to leap high into the air, therefore leaving battle for a short amount of time, and finally deliver a damaging blow on enemies after descending to the ground. Unlike the Dragoons of other Final Fantasy games, or equivalents to Dragoons (such as Cid Highwind, possibly Kimahri Ronso), Freya possesses a set of special skills in addition to her job's traditional ability — a common theme in Final Fantasy IX. These skills are known as Dragon skills, and offer a range of attack, healing, and status-changing effects, making Freya a versatile character. However, her low MP pool limits the use of these skills.

Freya's Trance causes her to remain in the air when she Jumps, and her attack rains spears upon all enemies for high damage. She stays in the air until her Trance gauge is completely depleted. At this time, she delivers one final Jump attack and lands, returning to normal.

Musical Themes
"Freya's Theme" is named for herself, and it is used as the background music for Gizamaluke's Grotto, and integrated into the themes for "Kingdom of Burmecia" and "Unforgettable Silhouette", played during scenes involving Sir Fratley and Burmecia. It has a fast beat and a slow, somber melody.

Etymology
Freya was named after a Goddess from Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism, Freyja. Freya comes from Germanic words meaning "lord" and/or "lady".

Trivia

 * Not counting characters who can change Job Classes, Freya is the first playable female Dragoon in the series, and the second overall with Oerba Yun Fang.
 * Freya only appears in two FMVs - at the end of Disk 1 when defeated by Beatrix, and at the end of the game.