Cidolfus Telamon

Cidolfus "Cid" Telamon is a major character in Final Fantasy XVI. He is the Dominant of Ramuh who leads a movement that seeks to liberate Bearers and Dominants from servitude.
== History ==
Cid was born in the lands beyond the southern seas of Valisthea, before crossing over at some point. He came to settle in the Kingdom of Waloed and once saved a 15-year-old Benedikta Harman, an escaped slave who recently awoke as the Dominant of Garuda, from bandits.Final Fantasy XVI Ultimania Thirteen years prior to saving Benedikta, he came to work for King Barnabas after awakening as a Dominant. Eventually earning his trust, he became his Lord Commander. Once Benedikta was recruited a decade later, she eventually rose to the position of head of covert operations. Cid gifted Benedikta the wing pendant she always holds on her person.
Cid eventually fled Ash after having a falling out with Barnabas and became estranged from Benedikta. When Cid's friend Otto's son was found to be a Bearer (magic-users who are systematically enslaved on Valisthea), without missing a beat Cid decided to start a movement to save people from this fate.
== Characteristics ==
=== Appearance ===
Cid is a middle aged man who appears to maintain his appearance: he has a well-built body, short light brown swept back hair, a stubble beard, and green eyes. He wears a carefree attire consisting of a long-sleeved hard leather dark purple vest with unkempt collar over a deep blue open shirt, leather gloves, and two belts over his waist, one black one cyan. He has two swords attached to his belts. He wears purple pants and a pair of long brown leather boots.
=== Personality ===
A rogue with a sarcastic sense of humor and a heart of gold, Cid dreams of a world where Dominants and Bearers are no longer used or feared. Even though Cid himself is the Dominant of Ramuh, he does not take much pride or importance with his powers, even stating that Ramuh "haunts" him. Further, Cid states that though Dominants are exalted or used as weapons, they are not treated as people but as outcasts. Cid is pragmatic enough to know the benefits (and costs) of his Dominant powers, such as giving him and his allies an edge in battle. When the situation demands it, Cid calls upon Ramuh. He feels that the Bearers are no different from non-magic users and same goes with Dominants. He is disgusted with the system of slavery the Bearers are forced to endure which led him to begin his underground mission to save as many Bearers from abuse and persecution as he could.
Cid has aptitude for leadership and organization, having once been Lord Commander of Waloed's armies, built his hideaway in secret, and saved a great many Bearers. He is an excellent judge of character, having built a network of trusted contacts across Valisthea to help him. He noticed the dark nature that both Barnabas Tharmr and Benedikta Harman began to show, which likely contributed to his decision to desert Waloed. Though a part of him hoped he could convince Benedikta to join him, her desire for power and crippling insecurities made it impossible for him to save her. Cid seems to hold a low opinion of Barnabas, stating the king is a man who makes "empty promises". Cid believed that Clive Rosfield had potential to help him in not only ending the Bearer system of slavery, but also destroy the Mothercrystals that were, as he believed, siphoning aether from the land and spreading the Blight. He instantly recognized Ultima and his evil intentions with Clive during the first encounter at Drake's Head, due to making the connection that Ultima is what corrupted and changed Barnabas. Not wanting to lose Clive to Ultima as well, he attacked Ultima to protect Clive, despite his wounds. After being mortally wounded, he left the leadership of the hideaway and his very name to Clive, confident that he will accomplish his goal of creating a world where people can live and die by their own terms. Cid's suspicions about Barnabas' change and his faith in Clive would be vindicated after the discovery of Barnabas's connection to Ultima and Clive succeeding in destroying the Mothercrystals and defeating Ultima, ending the presence of magic in Valisthea. Even after his death, he gave encouragement to Clive, telling him to "go on" as the latter overpowered Ultima's version of Ramuh's lightning rods.
Cid is a loving and attentive father to his adopted daughter Mid, ensuring she had a good education and life, despite his own standing as an outlaw, believing his daughter and their inventions could make the world a better place. His decision would not only lead Mid to be a relative mechanical genius but her prized project, the Enterprise, would play an invaluable role in the group's mission.
===Abilities===
As the Warden of Thunder, Cid can use lightning magicks and prime to become the Eikon Ramuh. Despite being a Dominant and able to channel aether, he also uses crystal shards for some tasks, such as lighting his cigarette.
Beyond his aether-channeling powers, Cid is also an adept engineer, and has drawn up various blue prints for inventions. He and Mid designed a ship together, naming it Enterprise. He is also an adept swordsman.
Cid uses lightning magicks from FFXVI.png|Cid uses lightning magicks.
Cid primes from FFXVI.png|Cid primes to become Ramuh.
FF16 Cid SemiPrime.jpg|Cid semi-primes
Cid lights his cigarette with a shard from FFXVI.png|Cid uses a crystal shard to light up his cigarette.
==Gameplay==
Cid fights as a non-controllable ally in Clive's party in certain parts of the game.
==Musical themes==
Cid's leitmotif is "Hide, Hideaway", composed and arranged by Takafumi Imamura. It serves as the background theme in Cid's Hideaway. Its motif is included in many tracks in the soundtrack, mainly used in scenes focused on Cid.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
==Behind the scenes==
At Drake's Head, Cid is shown to recognize Ultima and react hostilely before interfering with the god's attempt at possessing Clive. The reason he recognized him was not directly revealed in-game, though the game's Ultimania guide revealed that he knew of Ultima due to realizing the god was responsible for Barnabas Tharmr's corruption.
===Voice===
Cidolfus is voiced by Ralph Ineson in the English version.
He is voiced by Hiroshi Shirokuma in the Japanese version. He shares his Japanese voice actor with Caius Ballad from Final Fantasy XIII series, Enkidu from Final Fantasy Type-0, and Ilberd Feare from Final Fantasy XIV.
===Allusions===
Cidolfus carries several allusions to previous incarnations of Cid in the Final Fantasy series. His first name, "Cidolfus", was previously used by Cidolfus Orlandeau from Final Fantasy Tactics and Cidolfus Demen Bunansa from Final Fantasy XII (making him the first Cidolfus who does not hail from Ivalice). His role as the Dominant of the lightning Eikon Ramuh is likely a reference to Orlandeau's title of "Thunder God" within the narrative of Final Fantasy Tactics. Additionally, Cidolfus smoking cigarettes was previously a habit of Cid Highwind from Final Fantasy VII.
He is one of several Cids to have a relative named Mid, in this case his daughter Midadol Telamon. He is one of the few Cids to serve as a party member.
Cid being 44 years old may allude to 4 being considered an unlucky number in Japanese superstition.
==Etymology==
Cid is a recurring name in the Final Fantasy series, appearing in almost every game, typically but not always belonging to an inventor-minded archetype character or one related to airships in some manner. 
As he's not part of a Western-inspired setting but he's an outsider, his name might be Japanese in inspiration: Teramon (寺門) means "temple gate" and Shido (指導) means "leader". His name Cid Telamon is likely meant to be the Japanese name 寺門 指導 (Teramon Shido). No Kanji, however, are given in-game, possibly because Kanji don't exist in Valisthea, and possibly because it's series tradition to write the name "Cid" in katakana. 
==Citations==
de:Cidolfus Telamon
es:Cidolfus Telamon
ru:Сидольфус Теламон
Telamon
Telamon, Cidolfus
Telamon