Cait Sith is one of the main characters in Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess. She is a mysterious avatar created by Altana to carry out the task of negating the future where the Crystal War continues, setting up the events of the story. Little is known about Cait Sith, but she is initially referred to as the "Regal Feline" and she sees her mission more important than her lives.
There are initially 10 black Cait Siths and 10 white Cait Siths from a different dimension associated with Voidwatch. At one point, the black Cait Siths combine to form a single entity. This entity is a summonable avatar available to players who complete the Wings of the Goddess expansion as well as the quest "Champion of the Dawn" or "The Dawn Also Rises".
History[]
In the original timeline, the Crystal War waged with no end in sight. Altana shed ten tears of sorrow as she watched the destruction Vana'diel and the enlightened races. These tears became the Cait Siths, whose purpose was to change the timeline and save Vana'diel from the perpetual Crystal War. Because she did not predate the Great Meltdown, nor was she a mortal before becoming an avatar, she was neither a terrestrial nor celestial avatar. While she was not the only avatar like this, she was the first of her kind to be introduced in the story.
Cait Sith and the adventurer.
When the Harbinger cometh, The Champions of the Dawn will descend. With wings divine in radiance blessed, the eternal night is end. Weeping for those whose lives were lost, she wished thus. What if the pain of the Great War could be lessened? What if the Champoints of the Dawn, they who wield the light, had come to guide the course of this age of strife… That no suffering need be endured, and peace would reign across the land?
Cait Sith, explaining Altana's plan to end the Crystal War
As told in Wings of the Goddess, the Cait Siths found that people had traveled back in time from two different timelines, the saved timeline and the Shadowreign timeline. The group from the Shadowreign timeline was working against them to ensure that the Crystal War never ends. There was only one person who traveled back from the saved timeline, Lilisette. Because Lilisette was from the future that the Cait Siths were working towards, they began to observe her. Lilisette became aware of them, and assumed them to be antagonizing her. One of the Cait Siths transported herself to the Walk of Echoes and heard strange noises upon her arrival. After examining the area, she did not see anything. She did not realize that she accidentally knocked the adventurer out of the Walk of Echoes into the Shadowreign timeline. Upon the adventurer's return to the Walk of Echoes, one of the Cait Siths gave a proper introduction. Cait Sith realized that because the adventurer and Lilisette had the unique capability of moving through the cavernous maws, they must be the Wings of the Goddess, the two people capable of bringing Altana's desired future into being.
Lilisette antagonizes Cait Sith.
Upon one of the Cait Sith's return to watch over Lilisette, who at this point had become a renowned dancer in the Troupe Mayakov dance group, she was spotted by the adventurer who had made their way to watch the group's performance. Without knowing, this Cait Sith walked into a trap set for her by Lilisette and her dance partners. Lilisette tried to interrogate her, but she scratched at her kidnappers and got free. Lilisette was persistent and set another, more sophisticated trap with the help of the adventurer. Cait Sith, again, fell into this trap, and Lilisette handled her more forcefully, shaking this Cait Sith while interrogating her. The other Cait Siths intervened and set the captured Cait Sith free. Rather than running, however, they discussed how they might bring the adventurer and Lilisette in on their plan to end the Crystal War and save the enlightened races. While the Cait Siths worked out a plan, they were attacked by the Spite Warden, Aquila, who killed Cait Sith Dha and Cait Sith Ochd while Cait Sith Naoi saved one of her siblings from the Spite Warden's attack.
Cait Siths make a plan.
While the adventurer and Lilisette went on to help Jeuno in their historical battle with the Beastmen, Cait Sith Naoi fleshed out a plan to get the adventurer and Lilisette to aid in their cause. After the meeting, they all left, except for Cait Sith Sia, who stayed behind to think. Aquila snuck in and killed this remaining Cait Sith as well. Due to how many Cait Siths had fallen, Atomos began to devour the seeds of the saved timeline, which caused many of the people in around Lilisette to lose all their memories of her. Cait Sith Naoi was certain there was a traitor in among the Cait Siths. Cait Sith Naoi finally got through to the adventurer and Lilisette, convincing them to help her track and find which one of the Cait Siths was the traitor. They tracked down all of the Cait Siths across Beaucedine Glacier and secretly put shadow bugs, surveillance devices, on each of them. Cait Sith Naoi explained the truth of her mission to the adventurer and Lilisette while they waited. She explained how the Cait Siths were created to end the Crystal War and save the enlightened races from perpetual war. Cait Sith Naoi saw through the shadow bugs that Cait Sith Ceithir was working with the Spite Wardens. They confronted the traitor and the wardens, but they called demons to attack them. Lilisette and Portia were captured by the Spite Wardens and taken to their leader, Lady Lilith, while Cait Sith and the adventurer planned their next move.
During a battle between San d'Oria and the Beastmen armies, Cait Sith Naoi notified the adventurer of Lilisette and Portia's whereabouts. They were being held captive by the traitor and a Spite Warden. They left the conflict and went to save Lilisette and Portia. All of the remaining Cait Siths went with them and they confronted Cait Sith Ceithir, the traitor. This was all set up, and Cait Sith Ceithir summoned Atomos to devour the other Cait Siths. After being devoured, the remaining Cait Siths merged into a singular manifestation Cait Sith who was able to save herself from being devoured. Then beat Cait Sith Ceithir and the traitor escaped into the Walk of Echoes with the adventurer and crew not far behind. They met again with Lady Lilith, who rewarded Cait Sith Ceithir with a sentence of death. Lady Lilith took Portia and escaped, despite their best efforts. Atomos devoured even more of the seeds of the saved timeline.
Cait Sith explains Altana's plan.
Shadow Lord Takes the Field.
Cait Sith comforted Lilisette over their failure while laying out her plan to make things right. They decided to aid in the assault against Xarcabard in an attempt to win the Crystal War and allow the saved timeline to prevail. The battle commenced, and the allied forces launched their assault on Xarcabard with the aid of the adventurer and Lilisette. Lady Lilith used Portia to bait one of the leading commanders, Ragelise who was in love with Portia, away from his initial plan. This weakened the allied forces' position, and in this moment of vulnerability, Lilisette alerted the Shadow Lord of the allied forces' plan. The Shadow Lord took the field, resulting in catastrophic losses in the ranks of the allied forces.
Atomos began devouring all the seeds of the saved timeline, while Cait Sith tried to plead with the avatar to heed to the wishes of Altana. Atomos did not listen, as it must devour all worlds not fit for existence. Following their horrible defeat, Ragelise and Portia turned to Lady Lilith who promised them the power they needed to save the ones they loved. Being unable to sway Atomos's devouring and having failed her initial plan, Cait Sith, along with the adventurer and Lilisette, made a last ditch effort to convince Regalise and Portia not to side with Lady Lilith. They followed the two into the domain of Lady Lilith, who revealed to the adventurer that Portia was the mother of Lilisette. Now that her father (Ragelise) and her mother had turned to Lady Lilith, she revealed to Lilisette one last surprise. After Lilisette, the adventurer, and Cait Sith fought with the Spite Wardens, Lady Lilith revealed that, from her timeline, the adventurer also sided with her. Odin appeared before them to make Ragelise and Portia his servants, just like he has with Lady Lilith and the Spite Wardens. Having seen all her loved ones betray her and the dark divinity's involvement, she lost both her belief in Cait Sith's credibility and her own will to live. Atomos devoured her existence and one that was unfit to go on.
Because the adventurer and Lilisette were the Wings of the Goddess, they were both needed to bring about the saved timeline. Now that Lilisette was gone, all seemed lost. Cait Sith was devastated by her continuous failures, and after an episode of despondence, she decided to do the only thing she knew left to do; collect the fragments of Lilisette's existence and save her from Atomos. The adventurer and Cait Sith went on a long escapade to collect all of these fragments. After much laborious work, they unified Lilisette's fragments, forcing Atomos to reverse the devouring, and regurgitate an egg, which contained Lilisette's existence. This egg took time to manifest Lilisette, so in the meantime, the adventurer and Cait Sith launched an assault on the Spite Wardens. After defeating them all in a hard-fought battle, they returned to Lilisette and found that she had fully returned. In her time away, she was able to see Lady Lilith for who she truly was. This both reinstalled her resolve to save her timeline, and gave her a deep respect for Lady Lilith and all she was doing for her own timeline.
With both of the Wings of the Goddess together once again, Cait Sith launched another attack on Lady Lilith. While the attack began successfully, Lady Lilith took Lilisette and absorbed her essence to become Lilith Ascendant. Cait Sith and the adventurer won the battle and saved Lilisette from Lilith's clutches. Lilisette, having compassion on Lady Lilith, talked with her before she passed. Realizing that Lady Lilith was fighting for her world just as Lilisette was for hers, Lilisette promised Lady Lilith to assume her position as Lady Lilith in the Shadowreign timeline to save everyone from Lady Lilith's world. Cait Sith wished a heartfelt goodbye to the Wings of the Goddess, before closing the cavernous maws, making travel between timelines impossible and trapping Lilisette in the Shadowreign timeline forever.
In the epilogue to Wings of the Goddess, Cait Sith offered the adventurer the opportunity to fight her in exchange for a pact with the avatar, or a reward. After some time had passed, Cait Sith alerted the adventurer that Lilisette was in need of their help, as certain demons from the Shadowreign timeline had reopened the Cavernous Maws and traversed to the Walk of Echoes with the intention of getting to the saved timeline. Cait Sith brought the adventurer and Lilisette, the Wings of the Goddess, back together once more to defeat these powerful demons. Upon their defeat, they revealed a nascent Cavernous Maw. Cait Sith told them that they could form a pact to Atomos through the Cavernous Maw.
Cait Sith in Abyssea.
In Rhapsodies of Vana'diel, Cait Sith aided the adventurer's search for a way to stop the Cloud of Darkness. She took the adventurer to Abyssea to meet with Shinryu to determine how this could be done. Cait Sith took the adventurer to the Empyreal Paradox where they encountered Volto Oscuro, who was attempting to take the darkness from Shinryu. After aiding in the fight, Cait Sith told the adventurer of how they might employ Altana's help.
List of Cait Siths[]
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Aon | Enjoys floating upside-down. |
| Dha | Enjoys lying on her side. Victim of Spitewarden Aquila. |
| Tri | Enjoys lying prone. |
| Ceithir | Enjoys floating and rotating about. He is the only male Cait Sith. |
| Coig | Enjoys floating in a "sidestroke" swim. |
| Sia | Enjoys keeping her tail in front of her. Victim of the Spitewarden Aquila. |
| Seachd | Enjoys sitting splayed. |
| Ochd | Enjoys floating about while supine. Victim of Spitewarden Aquila. |
| Naoi | Enjoys sitting properly. Lilisette's ally, the last of her kind before she ceases to be upon fulfilling her mission. It is this consciousness that is retained in the combined Cait Sith. |
| Deich | Merged with Lehko Habhoka. |
Gameplay[]
Cait Sith also serves as both a boss and a summon. She appears as a boss multiple times, but cannot be unlocked through defeating her until the second encounter. There are several references to Cait Sith's history in the Final Fantasy series, such as her use of Dice when casting the spell Holy.
Notorious Monster[]
Cait Sith appears in three different encounters in three different battlefields.
| Name | Content | Requirements | Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distorter of Time | Mission Battlefield | Completed previous "Wings of the Goddess" Missions | Story Progression |
| Champion of the Dawn | High Tier Battlefield | Completed all "Wings of the Goddess" Missions | One of:
|
| Champion of the Dawn High Tier Battlefield | High Tier Battlefield | Clear Champion of the Dawn Battlefield |
|
Summon[]
Cait Sith can be obtained as a summon after clearing the quest "Champion of the Dawn". She resists all Light-based damage and enfeebling effects, such as "Repose or Lullaby" and "Requiem", but is weak against Dark-based damage and enfeebling effects. Cait Sith's melee attacks cause the "Blunt Damage" type and she affords the summoner the following set of Blood Pacts:
Blood Pact: Rage[]
| Name | Level | MP | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regal Scratch | 1 | 5 | Thee-hit attack that inflicts damage on opponent. Accuracy bonus varies with TP. |
| Holy | 75 | 235 | Rolls a die to determine damage dealt to nearby enemies. This blood pact does damage to enemies whose levels are divisible by the die roll Cait Sith throws, with damage proportional to the number rolled (eg: a 1 deals the least damage to all enemies in range, and a 6 deals the largest damage to enemies whose level is divisible by 6 and no damage to any other enemies). |
| Regal Gash | 99 | 118 | Thee-hit attack that inflicts damage on opponent. Accuracy bonus varies with TP. |
Blood Pact: Ward[]
| Name | Level | MP | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altana's Favor | 1 | All MP | Requires Astral Flow. Grants the effects of Arise (if dead) or Reraise III (if alive) to all targets within area of effect. |
| Raise II | 15 | 150 | Revives target from KO. Revived target will have have weakness status for five minutes following revival and will be revived with 25% of the reduced maximum HP. |
| Mewing Lullaby | 25 | 61 | Puts enemies in area of effect to sleep and lowers their TP. |
| Reraise II | 30 | 150 | Grants you the effect of Raise II when you are KO'd. |
| Eerie Eye | 55 | 134 | Inflicts silence and amnesia on the target. Amnesia lasts 12-15s and doesn't seem to be affected by resistances building so it is always 12-15s unless magic accuracy is too low for the mob you're using it on. |
Other appearances[]
Final Fantasy Trading Card Game[]
Cait Sith appears on a card.
Gallery[]
.png "Cait Sith (Voidwatch).png (137 KB)")
Etymology[]
The cat-sìth (plural cait-shìth), meaning "fairy cat" in Scottish Gaelic and pronounced "caught shee", is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The Irish word cat sí literally translates to "cat of the fairy mound", where "mound" refers the fairy forts commonly believed to be the homes of fairies of all kinds in local folklore. English speakers may be familiar with its usage in the term "banshee", from Irish bean sí, meaning "woman of the fairy mound".
The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish folklore, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the cat-sìth was not a fairy, but a witch who could transform into a cat and back up to nine times. After the ninth transformation, they would be unable to return to human form. This is speculated to be the origin of the proverb "a cat has nine lives", as opposed to some other number.
Initially, there are ten black Cait Siths, each with their own names: Aon, Dha, Tri Ceithir, Coig, Sia, Seachd, Ochd, Naoi, and Deich. These names are the Gaelic words for numbers one through ten.