Ifrit (Final Fantasy XVI)

Ifrit, the Warden of the Inferno, is the Eikon of Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI. Ifrit is the counterpart to the Phoenix, the original Eikon of Fire. Clive Rosfield uses Ifrit to do battle with other Eikons in his quest to end the persecution of Bearers and save the realm from the Blight.
Ifrit is a recurring fire-elemental summon in the Final Fantasy series. He has appeared as a humanoid djinn in the earlier entries and Final Fantasy XV, and as a leonine beast in games following Final Fantasy VIII. In Final Fantasy XVI, he appears a more demonic version of the beast.
== Active Time Lore ==
== History ==
Ifrit was created by Ultima to serve as the Eikon of his chosen vessel, Mythos. Because of this singular purpose, Ifrit did not manifest until long after the other Eikons had appeared in modern-day Valisthea. The appearance of Ifrit took many by surprise, both because the dark Eikon had never been seen before, and because it was thought to be impossible for two Eikons of the same element to coexist.
During the Night of Flames, when Sanbrequois forces attacked Phoenix Gate, Archduke Elwin Rosfield was murdered right in front of his youngest son, Joshua, the Dominant of the Phoenix. A horrified Joshua primed into the Phoenix and went out of control. Joshua's elder brother, Clive, attempted to aid him, but was set upon by a splitting headache before a vision of a hooded figure, saying "We have found you"; Clive suddenly primed, transforming into Ifrit. Rodney Murdoch watched on in disbelief, stating that it should be impossible for two Eikons of Fire to coexist, before he was incinerated by the dark Eikon's flames.
Ifrit became hostile and attacked the Phoenix, who dive-bombed the opposing Eikon and caused them both to begin falling through the earth while continuing their clash, until they fell into the apodytery beneath Phoenix Gate. The two Eikons continued to battle deep underground, until Ifrit prepared to cast Hellfire. Realizing that this would destroy everything aboveground as well, Phoenix attempted to stop the attack, but was too late, as a destructive blast of fire engulfed the apodytery. Phoenix withstood Ifrit's Hellfire with his Flames of Rebirth spell, launching a counterattack on Ifrit and returning them both to the surface.
Phoenix and Ifrit briefly continued their battle aboveground until the latter was briefly incapacitated by a volley of fireballs. Ifrit recovered and pinned Phoenix to the ground, pummeling him with a flurry of blows. Clive regained consciousness and witnessed Ifrit attacking his brother, begging the dark Eikon to stop hurting the Phoenix while hearing Joshua call for his brother to help him. The Phoenix attempted to fight back, but Ifrit clamped its jaws around his beak and impaled the Phoenix through the chest with its claws, unleashing a devastating explosion. Horrified and enraged, Clive swore revenge against Ifrit before blacking out. He returned to human form and lost all memory of having been the one who primed Ifrit. The next morning, he was found and enslaved by Sanbreque as a fire-aspected Bearer. He remained under belief that an unknown Dominant of Fire had killed his brother, unaware that Joshua had survived and been rescued by the Undying.
Clive would not prime into Ifrit again until 13 years later, during his battle against Benedikta Harman's Eikon, Garuda, where he unexpectedly went out of control and had to be quelled by his friend, Cidolfus Telamon, the Dominant of Ramuh. Now believing he had killed Joshua, Clive and his ally, Jill Warrick, the Dominant of Shiva, made their way to the ruins of Phoenix Gate to ascertain what truly happened there on the Night of Flames. Clive learned that the hooded man he had witnessed on the day he first primed was indeed just an apparition, and accepted Ifrit as his Eikon. He decided to try and make amends with his newfound powers by joining Cid's Bearer-emancipation movement. Having accepted Ifrit as part of himself, Clive gained control of the Eikon and the use of new Eikonic abilities, but still struggled to prime at will, something that puzzled Cid, who deemed a Dominant's ability to prime a natural instinct.
As Mythos, Clive's instinct is to absorb other Dominants' Eikons when granted the opportunity, but he can only prime Ifrit. Having gained the ability to semi-prime after his revelations in the ruins of Phoenix Gate, Clive used Ifrit's abilities to further Cid's cause and destroy the Mothercrystals of the realm in a bid to stop the spread of the Blight. When Typhon appeared from the Mothercrystal's heart at Drake's Head, Clive was pulled to another dimension to fight it as Ifrit. After Cid passed away, Clive took up his cause, but five years later, still had not primed Ifrit again, and when fighting the Mothercrystal's minions at Drake's Breath, failed to prime to aid Shiva.
After absorbing Titan Clive grew even stronger, and managed to prime when he made his way to Drake's Fang to put an end to Hugo Kupka. Ultima appeared in the distance, holding fire, right after Clive primed, but he did not see it. Kupka transformed into a gigantic version of Titan by absorbing aether from the Mothercrystal, and Clive copied this move to heal Ifrit's injuries. Ifrit triumphed over Titan, and the next time Clive primed was against Bahamut who had gone on a rampage over Twinside. Spotting Phoenix fighting Bahamut, Clive learned that Joshua was alive, and the two joined their Eikons to become Ifrit Risen to subdue Bahamut, whose aether Clive then absorbed. Ultima watched the showdown from above the spire at Twinside, and enacted Primogenesis, likely deeming the collective's Mythos was nearly complete. Later, Clive primed briefly during his third confrontation with King Barnabas Tharmr to battle Tharmr's Eikon, Odin. Ifrit defeated the Warden of Darkness by snapping his legendary sword, Zantetsuken, and using the severed half of the blade to strike Odin down. While doing so forced Tharmr back to his human form, Ifrit also reverted to Clive shortly after due to exhaustion, forcing them to continue the battle without their Eikons. After falling to Clive's sword, Barnabas forced Clive to absorb Odin's aether as he succumbed to his wounds.
When in the Interdimensional Rift, Clive glimpsed a discarded body for Ultima that resembled his and Joshua's Ifrit Risen. The Ultima who was the heart for Drake's Spine used the body to fight the brothers, but was defeated.
In the events of the "Rising Tide", when Clive went to Cape Nepto to get to Waljas, who had primed into the Eikon of Water, thought to be lost. Clive primed into Ifrit to duel with the serpent. They first battled within the waterspout that Leviathan summoned, then within a pocket dimension the serpent created. Clive's goal was not to defeat Leviathan, but to dwindle his energy so that he would turn back to Waljas. Even through the troubled waters and the angry seas that Leviathan lashed out, Ifrit pushed through, and when Leviathan unleashed the attack that could have washed away all of Mysidia, Ifrit countered with a new attack that rivaled Leviathan's Tsunami: Controlled Burn. Ifrit buffeted the serpent, allowing enough time to enact Hellfire. Leviathan blocked the attack, but could not protect himself from the second fireball that dispelled the barrier Leviathan had summoned. With Leviathan disappeared, Ifrit reverted to Clive after landing back in Cape Nepto, catching the now free Waljas.
After absorbing all other Eikons but Joshua's Phoenix and felling all Mothercrystals on the Twins, Clive made it to Origin and learned of Ultima's true plans. Bahamut, Phoenix, and Ifrit fought Ultima together when the latter assumed a dark version of Ifrit Risen, triumphing but losing Dion. Joshua and Clive made it to the nexus that Ultima introduced as the wellspring of magic in the world. They witnessed Ultima's kin's physical bodies kept in stasis there, all looking like dark versions of Clive and Joshua's Ifrit Risen; these bodies' souls had become the hearts of Mothercrystals on Valisthea but had been freed thanks to Cid and Clive's efforts. Joshua passed away while giving the power of the Phoenix to Clive, and Ultima joined with all of his various versions to become a single entity, Ultimalius, but fell before Clive utilizing all the powers he had gained from the Eikons he had collected.
After Clive destroyed the nexus, it was implied he lost the ability to prime Ifrit and any way to use magic, and that this would affect all Dominants and Bearers on Valisthea. Eikons became but a fable, their story passed on in the book Final Fantasy by Joshua Rosfield.
== Characteristics ==
Ifrit appears as a demonic being, its body covered in flames and its skin appearing like lava rock. It has massive, backwards-facing horns. It possesses a wolf-like muzzle with sharp fangs, with a mane of white hair running down the back of its neck. Ifrit has sharp claws on its hands and feet, the latter of which are digitigrade. It possesses a long tail. The protrusions on its arms and legs appear on Clive Rosfield's body when he semi-primes.
When transformed into Ifrit Risen, Ifrit gains the Phoenix's wings but otherwise looks the same. Dark versions of Ifrit Risen are use by Ultima as corporeal bodies for the collective, who shine ethereal blue rather than fiery red.
Ifrit can make flames erupt at will, and eject a burst of fire to propel himself forward. Even though Ifrit lacks the Phoenix's ability to erect impenetrable magicked barriers, he can erupt a wall of flames to act as a barrier to intercept Bahamut's light beam. Ifrit can also generate a sword-like structure out of flame, which he used at the end of the fight with Titan to destroy Drake's Fang, as well as at the end of the Bahamut fight when he destroys the Mothercrystal Drake's Tail previously absorbed by Bahamut.
== Gameplay ==
===Boss===
Ifrit is fought as a cinematic encounter in the prologue. A shade of Ifrit, known as the "Infernal Shadow", is fought in a pocket dimension of Phoenix Gate. The Infernal Shadow is also fought in the crossover event between Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XIV.
===Clive's abilities===
Clive unlocks Ifrit's abilities as part of the story, in "The Meaning of Life", after the events in Phoenix's Gate's apodytery with Jill and Torgal. Ifrit's abilities are added to the center of the fire loadout, sharing the same pool with the Phoenix's Eikonic Abilities. Ifrit lacks an Eikonic Feat, and so the fire loadout ability remains as Phoenix Shift, but he gains a new special ability usable in any loadout: Limit Break.
Limit Break is able to be activated at any time by pressing down both joysticks on the controller (as long as at least one gauge has been filled), canceling any other action that was happening concurrently. Limit Break enhances Clive's battle prowess and makes his normal attacks stronger and much faster. It makes him unable to recoil from attacks or die during. Whenever Clive deals or receives damage (outside of using Odin's abilities), he will charge the Limit Break meter at the top of the screen.
The Eikonic Abilities learned from Ifrit are Will-o'-the-Wykes and Ignition. The former has Clive conjure expirable fireballs that circle around him, damaging nearby enemies while also absorbing damage directed at Clive, protecting the player from being interrupted when using other abilities, and adding passive damage and will damage to his other actions. Ignition has Clive launch into a forward charge, dealing continuous damage to enemies in front of him and pushing small enemies along, who get stunlocked.
Will O The Wykes Cast from FFXVI.jpg|Will-o'-the-Wykes.
Ignition from FFXVI.jpg|Ignition.
==Musical themes==
Ifrit's theme is "Find the Flame".
==Merchandise==
Ifrit's Bring Arts action figure has a jaw that can be opened and closed, and a tail with points of articulation for posing the figure. The figure includes a display stand.
== Gallery ==
CGClive&Ifrit.png|Key art.
FFXVI Teaser Art.png|Teaser art.
Ifrit versus Titan from FFXVI artwork.png|Ifrit vs. Titan.
Ifrit in Active Time Lore from FFXVI.png|Active Time Lore image.
== Etymology and origin==
 Ifrit is a malevolent spirit in Arabic folklore, with its name literally meaning "wicked", though they are not inherently evil.
In the scene where Clive accepts his role as Ifrit's Dominant, the Eikon is depicted as something of his "inner demon", or what could also be seen as his Jungian shadow, an unconscious aspect of personality that the ego resists and projects. By confronting and accepting one's shadow, a person can self-actualize. Clive's opponent in his vision is the "Infernal Shadow" and the outcome of his win is to accept the truth.
==Citations==
Category:Eikons in Final Fantasy XVI