Rydia Rydia , sometimes referred to as Rydia of Mist , is a playable character in " Final Fantasy IV " and its sequel , " " . She is a Summoner from the village of Mist , and is one of the most prominent characters in the game . Profile . Appearance . Rydia is introduced as a seven - year old girl wearing a yellow skirt and a white cloak . In her sprites her clothes are blue , while they are black in Yoshitaka Amano ' s artwork of her , and dark green in her 3D remake model . Following her return as a young woman , Rydia wears a green outfit with knee - high golden heeled boots and draperies adorned in stars . During " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " , Rydia ' s attire is a single - piece green outfit that rises from her thighs to her collar , baring her hips and upper torso . The overseas releases of " The After Years " censored her artwork , which included a green skirt , and covered the exposed areas of her body , as was done with Porom and Ursula , but Rydia ' s artwork received the most censorship . The opening movie for " " uses this design . Rydia ' s hair is green , shoulder - length in " Final Fantasy IV " and extending past her waist in " The After Years " . It is often complemented by a hair ornament which has varied in design . Personality . At first , Rydia is devastated by her mother ' s death and unleashes her rage on Cecil Harvey and Kain Highwind , despite their attempts to help her , but after Cecil comes to her defense later Rydia bonds with him . Traveling with Cecil , Rydia sees the world and matures , telling Edward to stop crying as she has chosen not to cry . Rydia overcomes her fear of fire after melting a blockade of ice at Mt . Hobs with the Fire spell . Rydia puts her past behind her in favor of stopping Golbez . Rydia comes to consider the Eidolons Asura and Leviathan her family , and even introduces them as her parents to Cuore . Rydia feels rejected and saddened when the two refuse to let her live in the Feymarch with them . Story . " Final Fantasy IV " . Rydia was born to one of the few remaining pure - blood Summoner families in Mist . Her mother protected the village with the Eidolon Mist Dragon , but one day , the Dark Knight Cecil and his friend , Kain , are ordered to deliver a ring to the Mist Village and slay the Mist Dragon barring their way . Whenever an Eidolon dies , its Summoner dies as well and thus , Rydia ' s mother is killed . The Carnelian Signet Cecil and Kain delivered releases Bombs at the village , setting it on fire . Cecil and Kain discover what happened to Rydia ' s mother and offer to take her to safety , but Rydia learns Cecil and Kain killed the Mist Dragon , and would not accept help . She summons Titan to cause an earthquake which starts a landslide in the eastern mountains , separating herself and Cecil from Kain . Rydia is wounded and Cecil takes her to the desert oasis of Kaipo to let her rest , but Rydia refuses to speak to him . Soldiers from Baron search Kaipo for Cecil , and Cecil learns the King of Baron wants all Summoners eliminated , saying they are too dangerous to be left alive . Cecil fights off the soldiers and earns Rydia ' s trust , and she introduces herself to him . The two discover Cecil ' s childhood friend , Rosa , rests in Kaipo with Desert Fever , which can only be cured with a Sand Pearl . Along the way , Cecil and Rydia meet the Sage Tellah , who leads them to Damcyan . The Red Wings attack Castle Damcyan and steal their Fire Crystal , the only survivor of the attack being Prince Edward . After Tellah departs , Rydia and Cecil convince Edward to help find a Sand Pearl , for only members of Damcyan ' s royalty can enter the Antlion ' s Cave . Rydia orders the cowardly prince to stop crying , for she has done the same . After Rosa recovers , she joins the party for their next destination , Fabul . The party climbs Mt . Hobs , which is guarded by a wall of ice . Only Rydia can melt it with Fire , but due to the trauma of witnessing fire burn down Mist , she refuses . With Rosa and Edward ' s encouragement , and the realization that more lives would be lost if they do not act fast , Rydia overcomes her fear . At the summit , they help Yang , a monk from Fabul , fight off incoming monsters , and the party reaches Fabul Castle to warn the King that Golbez and the Red Wings will come for the Wind Crystal . Rydia and Rosa assist the healers during the Battle of Fabul , but rush to the crystal room when Cecil , Edward , and Yang are cornered by Kain . Golbez arrives and incapacitates the party , abducting Rosa and ordering Kain to take the Wind Crystal in the process . Rydia comes out of hiding to heal her allies , and the party plans their next course of action . The party boards a ship provided by the King of Fabul and set sail towards Baron . En route , the ship is attacked by Leviathan , and Rydia falls into the ocean . Cecil is separated from his allies until he finds Yang in Baron . Yang says Rydia was swallowed by Leviathan , and the group assumes she perished . Leviathan took Rydia to the Feymarch , the home of all Eidolons , where the flow of time moves faster . While Cecil and his allies are separated from Rydia for only a short period of time , years go past in the Feymarch , and , under Leviathan ' s watchful eye , Rydia grows into a young woman . She hones her skills as a Summoner and develops her powers with Black Magic , although at the cost of no longer casting White Magic . The Queen of the Eidolons , Asura , tells Rydia about the danger Golbez is placing the world in , and Rydia leaves the Feymarch and returns to Cecil to help him . Cecil ' s party has traveled down to the Underworld in search of the Dark Crystals . One is kept in the Dwarven Castle , and Golbez summons a Shadow Dragon to defeat Cecil and his friends to capture it . Rydia summons the Mist Dragon to defeat the Shadow Dragon and heals Cecil and rejoins the party in battle . After Golbez is seemingly defeated , Rydia explains what happened to her , much to the relief of her friends . When Cecil questions why Rydia would still want to help him after his actions at Mist , she is quick not to dwell on the past , for as Asura told her , the danger put on the world is rising , and everyone must stand against it together . Golbez had feigned his defeat and steals the dwarves ' Dark Crystal . The party sets to infiltrate the Tower of Babil and reclaim the seven Crystals in Golbez ' s possession , but the plan is interrupted by constant enemy attacks , and Cecil , Kain , Rosa , and Rydia escape the Underworld through the sacrifices of Yang and Cid . Back on the Overworld , the party ' s airship , the " Enterprise " , is upgraded by Cid ' s assistants , which allows the party to explore Cave of Eblan , where the refugees of the land currently remain . The party encounters Edge , Eblan ' s prince , battling Rubicante . Edge fails and after the Archfiend departs , meets with the party . Cecil asks Edge to fight alongside them , but he refuses , insisting he can work alone . Rydia cries , frustrated that Tellah , Yang , and Cid have all fallen , and does not want to lose another ally . Due to not wanting to see such a pretty girl cry , and after Rosa heals him , Edge declares they are all fast friends and joins the party . They find their way back into the Tower of Babil beyond the Cave of Eblan but though they reach the chamber holding the seven Crystals , they fall through a trapdoor and escape when a second airship , the " Falcon " , is discovered . Arriving back in the Underworld , the party reports to King Giott of the dwarves , who allows them to secure the last Dark Crystal in the Sealed Cave before Golbez can have a chance . While in the Underworld the party can choose to visit the Feymarch and challenge Asura and Leviathan to gain their help as Eidolons for Rydia . The eighth Crystal is obtained , but Kain slips back under Golbez ' s mind control and steals the Crystal and runs off . After an upgrade to the " Falcon " , the party returns to the Overworld and to Mysidia , where the Elder prays for something to help the party . Help comes in the form of the " Lunar Whale " , a magical ship providing transport between Earth and the Red Moon . Cecil , Rosa , Rydia , and Edge travel to the Moon and obtain the assistance of Fusoya , a Lunarian , when it is realized the eight Crystals have summoned the Giant of Babil back on Earth . The Lair of the Father is also on the Moon , where the party may challenge Bahamut , the Hallowed Father of the Eidolons , and gain his power . Following the attack and destruction of the Giant of Babil , Fusoya reveals Cecil and Golbez ' s history , and that the true mastermind of this conflict is Zemus , a wicked Lunarian desiring Earth ' s destruction . Fusoya and Golbez depart to the Moon , and Kain returns to the party . Regrouped onboard the " Lunar Whale " , Cecil , Kain , and Edge resolve to defeat Zemus , but Cecil orders Rosa and Rydia to stay behind for their own safety . Edge tells Rydia , " This is work for grown - ups " , which offends her . When the " Lunar Whale " arrives at the Moon , the women reveal they stayed onboard , stating they are just as important in battle . Rydia believes they are all fighting for a common cause . The party travels through the Lunar Subterrane and defeat of Zeromus , the embodiment of Zemus ' s hatred . After peace is brought to the world , Rydia returns to the Feymarch , and attends Cecil and Rosa ' s wedding and coronation . When an Eidolon asks her why they differ in appearance from humans , she states what she had learned from Cecil , that it is one ' s inner character that matters the most . After roughly a year since Zeromus ' s defeat , Cecil has a dream foreshadowing the future , where Rydia is bathed in the Crystal ' s light at the Sealed Cave before falling unconscious . An unknown voice calls out , " Finally , it has a new form " . Cecil awakens and leaves for the celebration of Damcyan Castle ' s reconstruction , while Rydia is granted Asura ' s permission at the Feymarch to visit the event , which she is not seen attending . After visiting Damcyan and taking a detour at Fabul , Cecil ' s party is sent to the Sealed Cave to inspect a swarm of monsters , where they find Rydia lying at the crystal altar . Rydia comes around and says she cannot remember where she was , and speaks cryptically , telling Cecil ' s party " they " were calling her . The party wonders whom she refers to , and investigate the Tower of Babil where Rydia gradually recovers her Eidolons . She begins to act more strangely and enters the Cannon Control Room , where the Deus Ex Machina emerges to stop Cecil from reaching Rydia . After defeating it , Rydia is nowhere to be found leaving the party to climb the tower further in hopes of finding her . They find Rydia at the top floor and learn she is an impostor as she attacks them with her Eidolons . When Bahamut is summoned , the real Rydia arrives and talks sense into him before helping the party defeat the impostor . The impostor disappears without her true identity revealed . Feeling that Rydia should be with her kind , Asura bars Rydia from returning to Feymarch so she would remain with her human friends . Seventeen years later , Rydia is busy helping rebuild the village of Mist , having been assisted by Cecil , Edward , Yang , and Edge on behalf of their kingdoms . A gravestone has been placed for her mother , which reads " Here lies the motherly summoner who protected our village . " Rydia pays a visit to the Feymarch only to find that the Eidolons have been petrified . Upon returning , she finds one of the Dark Crystals have been stolen during the Second Battle of the Underworld and sets out with Luca into a cave to protect the remaining Crystal from the Mysterious Girl , who defeats them using Titan . The Mysterious Girl is later defeated by a man cloaked in black who rescues Rydia and Luca , taking them to the Tower of Babil and telling them the events are being repeated . On board the " Falcon " , Edge and the Eblan Four land on the ship and tell Rydia of recent events and Edge recognizes the Man in Black as Golbez . Rydia and the party decide to reclaim her Eidolons to the break the seal surrounding Baron Castle . After rescuing the other party members and freeing the Eidolons from their mind control , Rydia visits Mist where she discovers her mother ' s Mist Dragon never succumbed to the Mysterious Girl because the townspeople and children have a fraction of Rydia ' s power , and pooled it to protect the Mist Dragon from mind control . This relationship between her and the villagers reunites her with her mother ' s dragon , who says she will never abandon them . It is later revealed there are more than one Mysterious Girl and that they are collectively known as the Maenad s , who were mass produced by the Creator in the image of Rydia . While traveling through the True Moon , the party encounters a young , harmless Maenad who responds to Rydia , waiting for her command . After the Creator is defeated , the party escapes the True Moon with the Creator in pursuit , but the Maenads sacrifice themselves to destroy the Creator . Back on Earth , Rydia cares for the young Maenad , naming her Cuore , and training her as a Summoner . Gameplay . " Final Fantasy IV " . Rydia is playable in two forms , firstly as a child and later on as a summoner . In both forms , Rydia can learn every Black Magic spell , both have high magical stats with low physical stats , and both can equip whips , rods , daggers , clothes , robes , hats and armlets ( with the ability to equip bows in the 2D releases ) . As a child , Rydia is also capable of casting a few White Magic spells depending on her level and equipping staves . As a summoner , she is capable of summoning many Eidolon s making her magic more geared towards offense . Rydia also appears as a boss briefly in a scripted encounter with Cecil and Kain at Mist . " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . Rydia is briefly playable for the final battle against Rydia ? . She knows all her Black Magic up to Blizzaga , has all her summons except for Goblin , Bomb , Cockatrice and Mindflayer , and is equipped with a Stardust Rod . She joins with 1100 HP and 330 MP . Rydia retains her ability to cast Black Magic and Summon Eidolons , and has high magical stats ( though her HP is one of the lowest in the game ) . She has access to many Band s with other characters . She has access to the same types of equipment as her Summoner form in the 2D release of the original game . Rydia has powerful abilities in the form of her summons , is a decent physical attack power and is a strong Black Mage , but her stats make her Black Magic less powerful than Palom , she lacks the White Magic of Leonora and the physical strength of Golbez . Musical themes . " Rydia " is the eponymous theme of Rydia in " Final Fantasy IV " and " The After Years " . When unlocked in the fat chocobo ' s Music Box , Edward comments it captures " her kind and gentle nature " . Other appearances . Rydia has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Rydia has had key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Other media . Games . Users in Square Enix Members Virtual World community can make their character appear as Rydia . Rydia ' s " Final Fantasy IV " clothes and hair costs 580 crystals combined , her " The After Years " hair costs 100 crystals and her " The After Years " clothes cost 480 crystals . Etymology . " Rydia " may be a mistransliteration of Lydia , a more common western name . Lydia refers to a region in western Anatolia , from which the common name is derived . In the English localization of the DS version , Rydia is [ ˈɹɪ . di . ə . ] .