Faris Scherwiz

Sarisa Scherwil Tycoon, also known as Faris Scherwiz, is a playable character in the video game Final Fantasy V. Faris is a pirate captain who sails across the seas with her crew while accompanied by a sea dragon named Syldra.
Faris is voiced by Rie Tanaka in the Japanese version, and by Emily O'Brien in the English version of World of Final Fantasy.
==Role==
Faris is first encountered by Bartz, Lenna, and Galuf, as the captain of a pirate ship. King Tycoon has vanished trying to protect the wind-crystal, which he senses is in danger (his daughter Lenna goes looking for him when the winds die down) implying he will be too late, a chance encounter with the amnesiac old-man Galuf results in the him only remembering he needs to go to the wind-shrine as well, Bartz joins to help after he happens upon and rescues both. With the wind died down, no ships can sail and three witness a pirate ship sailing effortlessly. Faris serves as the captain of the ship, run by a crew of pirates.
With no other way to cross the seas, Bartz, Lenna, and Galuf sneak onboard Faris's ship while the pirates are docked. The three are caught before they can pull out and Faris opts to capture them, until Faris spots Lenna's pendant. Faris seems to have a fascination with the pendant, after putting the three in the brig, the belligerent pirate captain compares the pendant to a personal memento (the two apparently forming a set). After a night of considering the matching pendants, and in light the wind-shrine being in danger is of concern to all. Faris releases Bartz, Lenna, and Galuf from their cell. Faris agrees to take them to their cell, on condition that Faris comes too, to find out the cause of the wind's disappearance (though in truth, Faris has alternative motives.) At this point Faris reveals the method by which the boat sails without wind; a sea serpent named Syldra, who was raised side by side with Faris and pull the ship for the crew.
At the wind-shrine, the four arrive just in time to see the wind crystal crack. King Tycoon speaks through the crystal and says he is off to try to save the other three, but as the four were there at the destruction of the first, they have been vested with the remnants of the crystal's power and are the new Light Guardians, that preserving the crystals will fall upon them now. Exposure to the crystals allows several life-time's worth of experiences and expertise all at once; instantly switching between being a Knight, a Thief, a Black Mage, a White Mage, Monk or Blue Mage.
Faris decides the journey onward will be too dangerous for the pirates and insists they stay on land at their old hide-out, before setting sail to follow their newly assigned roles as guardians of the crystals. The four warriors journey pass the Torna Canal to follow the King to the next crystal, but a monster in the canal attacks. Though the four defeat it, the boat is torn up by the creature. Syldra saves the four, but is too weak and drifts out to sea after getting them to shore. Syldra is injured from the attack and Faris fears Syldra may die, but Lenna takes to time point out Syldra is strong and may just need time to recover. As the four camp out the following night, while diving of rooms, along gender-lines, it is revealed as Bartz and Galuf try to help Faris get out of the wet clothes that Faris is in-fact a female. Faris is embarrassed to be revealed as woman. When asked why she put up the pretense, Faris just changes the subject. Though revealed as female, Faris prefers to be treated as a man, and Bartz and Galuf humor the notion, letting her share a bunk with them instead of Lenna.
A siren playing on lost love ones, reveals that Faris has an attachment to King Tycoon along with Lenna, but Galuf's amnesia sees the siren's trick fail to snare him and he frees the other three from the enchantment. Once out of the siren's clutches, the Light Gaurdians make their way to the water crystal in the island tower of Walse. The four try to fight off the monster attacking it, and succeeded, but not before it was able to do enough damage for it to shatter even after the beast is defeated. With the crystal destroyed, the four gain even more power, to try to preserve the remaining two, but the Walse Tower begins sinking into the ocean. Though they clear the tower, the four are not able to do it before the entire land-mass sinks. A barely recovered Syldra manages to save the four in her mouth, and the let them out on shore once more, but this time, the wounds are too severe for her to even make it back out to sea, and Syldra dies just off-shore. When consoling Faris over Syldra's death. Faris watches in tears as her friend dies saving their lives. Lenna notices the pendants and Faris's attachment to the illusion of her father and asks if her name is really "Sarisa". Faris tries to ignore the inquiry at first, but later reveals in fact "Sarisa" was her birth name, she is Sarisa Tycoon, Lenna's older-sister, who was lost at sea as a young-girl, when Lenna was just a baby. Faris had been tagging along at first not merely out of curiosity for the wind-shrine, but to find king Tycoon. But with the death of Syldra, whom she was raised side-by-side with after she was found by the pirates, Faris decides from that point on the crystals are no mere curiosity anymore, but must be saved so Syldra did not die in vain.
==Personality ==
Though they has a sense of personal responsibility to their former life as princess, they have no handle on royality and is noticeably uncomfortable having to indulge in traditionally feminine roles. Having to even temporarily take on the role as heiress of Castle Tycoon is excruciating for them. As Faris had been living a life of pirate, they are prone to immediate action and prone to acting with passion. Faris is fairly thick-skinned when it comes to personal disrespect, tragedy or potential danger, but extremely protective of others being put in such positions. King Tycoon and Reina is Faris's primary link to the quest. Once King Tycoon is gone, Faris sticks around mainly for Leina, and by then their friends Bartz and Galuf, Faris's sense of duty to the Crystals or the balance of nature is secondary to Faris's sense of comradery. Faris thought of Syldra less as a pet or gardian and more as a foster-sister. As shown with Syldra, once Faris once Faris become emotionally invested in someone they will fight tooth-and-nail to protect them.
===Gender===
It is unclear if Faris decided cross-dress to fit-in better with the pirates or if this is due to discomfort with being born female, and it is to fulfill and old-world outlet for a transgender male. As Faris slips into calling themself male, in their head before correcting themself, the transgender status is at-least partially implied. However as the game is taking place in a medieval-era and was conceived of in the early 90s, the role lacks proper context or definition to be ruled as the result of a cross-dressing, or aspiration of gender-conversion and all characters other than Faris refer to them with female-pronouns after it is revealed Faris was a born female. Regardless of Faris's internalized gender, they are neither bothered by being called female or male, and only bothered by having to act feminine. 
== Trivia ==
* Faris was created Hironobu Sakaguchi - one of the frequently directors and writers of the early Final Fantasy games, prior to retiring.
* Faris was inspired by the character Sapphire from the manga Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka. Sapphire is a crossdressing princess "born with the soul of a boy but accidently born into a female body" who dresses as a prince to inherit the throne, but soon finds being male to be much more comfortable than being female.
* Faris is officially female, but passively referrers to themself as male internally.
* Faris represents fire in the Warriors of Light elemental dynamic.
==Gallery==
Amano Faris III-0.jpg
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