Cyella Valthane

Cyella Valthane, known also by her former name Cylva and the Shadowkeeper, is a character in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. Though she has no immediate role in the Main Scenario Quest, she is inexorably tied to the Warriors of Light of the First and their world as a whole.
==History==
===Early life===
Cylva is a memoriate that hailed from the Thirteenth, one of reflections of the Source that came into existence as the result of Hydaelyn defeating her counterpart, Zodiark. Cylva lost her home when the Thirteenth was consumed in darkness and became the void due to Igeyorhm's machinations. She was saved at the last second by the Ascians Loghrif and Mitron, with her and Unukalhai as their world's only known survivors, though she lost her memoriate powers in the process. Loghrif and Mitron convinced Cylva to help them save the remaining worlds through causing Rejoinings, but she was not told the full process. Brought to the First, Cylva established herself as a villainous mastermind known as the Shadowkeeper with the task to secretly groom the world's young adventurers into Warriors of Light.
Cylva created the cover of an unassuming yet mysterious mercenary when she threw her lot with Ardbert and his friends as their numbers grew while gaining their Crystals of Light. She eventually revealed herself as the cause of all the troubles they had dealt with and bared steel against them. Though Ardbert defeated her, he spared her due to their past camaraderie as he and his companions turned their weapons on Loghrif and Mitron. The battle ended with the Ascians' apparent demise and the unintentional triggering of a Flood of Light, with Ardbert and his companions ending up being recruited by Elidibus, another Ascian.
Cylva remained on the First out of guilt of her actions and allowing herself to be manipulated by the Ascians. Rendered immortal due the nature of her coming of the First, she spent a century witnessing her friends and their heroic efforts being warped into deeds of villainy in the wake of the Flood. Sometime after the Crystal Tower appeared and the Crystarium was established, Cylva hung up her sword and suit of armor, taking on the on a new identity as a barwench named Cyella Valthane. After learning that Eulmore's new ruler, Vauthry, had reanimated Ardbert's companions as powerful sin eaters called Cardinal Virtues, Cyella set up a new hunt board to entice strong adventurers to defeat the zombified warriors.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers===
Several years later, a particularly powerful warrior hailing from the Source began slaying the Cardinal Virtues alongside other sinners. This new "Warrior of Darkness" sparked hope in Cyella, sensing that they possessed Hydaelyn's gift like her friends had. As the Cardinal Virtues were destroyed and the night sky returned, Cyella approached the Warrior and invited them to take a trip across Norvrandt.
Across their travels, she detailed how Ardbert's group formed and grew and how each of them gained a Crystal of Light. She hinted at the presence of another smiling companion, the untold tale of the sixth warrior. She concluded the journey at Lakeland, revealing herself as the sixth warrior, along with her true name and her role as the Shadowkeeper. She begged the Warrior of Darkness to kill her, the final, unpunished villain responsible for the Flood and the tarnishing of her friends' memory. The Warrior refused as Ardbert's group had all been comrades in arms and Cyella's guilt was genuine. They suggested she continue to live on to tell the true tale of the Warriors of Light. Relieved and grateful, she once more returned to the Crystarium as Cyella, later admitting that even if they were to fight, she had grown too weak, only just having enough strength to wear her old suit of armor and brandish her sword.
Cyella felt a burden lift when the Warrior of Darkness gathered the Crystarium to tell the true story of the Warriors of Light in the First. Her friends could again be celebrated as the heroes they were. When she saw Ardbert mysteriously arrive, her happiness was replaced with wary confusion. He later returned with a starshower raining over the Crystarium, 'Ardbert' declaring everyone bearing witness as Warriors of Light. Cyella learned from the Warrior of Darkness that the Ascian Elidibus had taken Ardbert's corpse and was using it for nefarious ends. She asked the Warrior to again save the world and restore Ardbert's good name.
Due to Cyella's weakened state, she could not participate in the final battle of Norvrandt. When Elidibus was defeated and peace returned to the land, Cyella was content to continue serving as a wench of the Crystarium. Cyella asked the Warrior to give her the crystals once belonging to Lamitt, Nyelbert, Branden, and Renda-Rae, as she felt they should stay on the First. After discussing the matter with Giott, Taynor, Cerigg, Granson, and Lue-Reeq, revealing Cyella's identity and history to them in the process, the Warrior of Darkness entrusted the crystals to her care.
Cyella reunited with Unukalhai, who had journeyed to the First to see her. They discussed the possibility of restoring their world from the void with Beq Lugg. With Taynor's help, they gained the information needed to begin working on a solution, though Beq Lugg warned them it could take years.
=== Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker ===
The Warrior tells Cyella how they had journeyed to the Thirteenth and met Zero. Cyella is surprised and happy to learn that a fellow memoriate had survived the Flood.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
Cyella is physically identical to the CG female Wildwood Elezen that appeared in promotional artwork for Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 as well as a brief appearance in the opening. As the Shadowkeeper, she wore the Deepshadow Fending armor set with a Deepshadow Blade as her main arm. When she battled Ardbert and his companions, she transformed into a shaggy, gray-furred canine-like beast with three mouths and a multitude of eyes. When using certain attacks, a shadowy outline of her elven form pokes out.
===Personality===
Cyella is a secretive woman. Initially, she is driven by the desire to save the world, even after being saved by the Ascians. She appeared as a caring and loyal individual to the First's Warriors of Light, and even though she manipulated them, she genuinely came to see them as friends. She was heartbroken when forced to reveal herself as Shadowkeeper. Following the Flood of Light, she became determined to clear the names of her friends and desired to die due to her actions. After being convinced by the Warrior of Darkness to live and honor her friends memories, Cyella found hope again.
==Gameplay==
Cylva is an NPC party members in each of the instanced Role Quests save Branden's. She is a Gladiator, serving as the group's main tank.
The extra quest, , unlocks when all Role Quests have been completed and the Shadowbringers 5.0 MSQ is cleared. Clearing this quest also unlocks the option to talk to Cyella during the cutscenes in Echoes of a Fallen Star.
A primal incarnation of her monstrous form as the Shadowkeeper is fought in .
==Gallery==
FFXIV Cylva in battle.png|Cylva as an ally in battle.
FFXIV Shadowkeeper render.png|The Shadowkeeper in Eden's Promise: Litany.
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Elezen
Category:Paladins