Elder of Narshe The Elder of Narshe is a non - player character in " Final Fantasy VI " . He is the advisor of the Narshe residents , and runs the Narshe guards . With a policy of caution and non - alignment , he safeguards Narshe ' s freedom through the Third Gestahlian Campaign . Profile . Appearance . The Elder of Narshe is an old man who dresses in green . He has white hair and a mustache . Personality . A pragmatic and wise leader , the Elder believes Narshe should stay out of external conflicts , as it is a coal - mining town , and providing either the Empire or the Returners would draw them into a war . This desire is threatened when the townspeople dig up a frozen esper in the mines , drawing attention from both groups . He cares deeply about his people , and is reluctant to let his Narshe guards spill their blood in a war against the Empire . However , he also understands and sympathize with the Returners and their cause , and cares more about practical outcomes than he does about ideology . The people of Narshe hold him to a high esteem , and trust his judgment . Story . When the esper Valigarmanda is discovered in the Narshe Mines , the Empire sends a force of three Magitek Armor fighters to seize it . Although the Narshe Guards fail to repel the Imperial soldiers in the ensuing raid , the esper kills two of the fighters and leaves one unconscious . Taking steps to prevent the esper from being reached so easily in any future attack , the Elder has it moved to the cliffs above the city . Although the raid demonstrated the Empire won ' t respect Narshe ' s neutrality , the Siege of Doma and its consequences strengthens the Elder ' s skepticism of standing up against the Empire . When Banon , the leader of the Returners , confronts him in person , the Elder turns down his request to participate in the war , although he recognizes the risk of a second War of the Magi should the Empire not be stopped . The discussion is interrupted by news of an incoming Imperial attack led by Kefka Palazzo to seize the esper and torch Narshe , and the Elder immediately has the Narshe Guard mobilized and accepts help from the Returners in defending the city . In the ensuing battle for the Frozen Esper , Narshe and the Returners together protect the esper and save the city from destruction at the hands of Kefka , inflicting the first decisive defeat on the Empire in the process . The attack makes the Elder doubt his policy of neutrality , and he spends an extended period in his home contemplating whether war has become inevitable . After the Returners raid the Magitek Research Facility at Vector , they return to Narshe to find the Elder and the town have agreed to support the Returners in a joint attack on Vector . A plan is made in which Terra would go to the Esper World and ask the espers for help , hoping that their combined forces could beat the Empire . The espers lose control of their powers as they enter the human world , and fly off and decimate Vector . The Imperial army retreats as Returners and Narshe guards occupy the city , and Emperor Gestahl surrenders to the allied forces hoping they can stop the espers from causing further destruction . The Elder is never seen again following these events . As Narshe is targeted by Kefka ' s Light of Judgment following the end of the world and subsequently overrun by monsters , it is unknown what became of the Elder in the World of Ruin .