Tellah

Tellah is an old, wise sage with a short temper. He first appears in Final Fantasy IV in which he is a playable character.

At a younger age, he was a famous sage in the mage village of Mysidia, having learned nearly every Black Magic and White Magic spell by deciphering various ancient scrolls. However, one day Tellah lost control of his magic, injuring many mages. In penitence, he left Mysidia and retired to Kaipo, where he married and had a daughter named Anna. After losing his wife, Tellah became very over-protective of his daughter. Over the course of time, he forgot most of the spells he worked so hard to learn. Tellah is also one of the weakest playable characters in the game. When he goes up a level, his stats will decrease instead of increase (to indicate aging).

If Tellah is leveled to 99, his stats will plummet until they are all around 0.

Final Fantasy IV
Cecil Harvey and Rydia first encounter Tellah in the Water Cavern outside of Kaipo. Though Cecil and Rydia are searching for a cure for the desert fever, in hopes of healing Cecil's friend Rosa Farrell, and Tellah is trying to confront his daughter about her elopement with Edward Chris von Muir, they decide to join forces in hopes of defeating the monster blocking the way to Damcyan.

After making it through the cave, the three friends witness Damcyan Castle being attacked by Baron's fleet of airships, the Red Wings, led by Golbez. They rush into the castle, only to find Anna dying. She explains that she eloped because she knew she would never receive her father's consent. She also shares that Edward is the prince and future king of Damcyan. After she dies, Edward says that Anna shielded him from Baron's arrows. His parents were also killed in the siege, trying to protect their Crystal from Golbez. In Final Fantasy IV Advance and other remakes, it is indicated that they, like Anna, sacrificed themselves to protect Edward, who would be the successor to the throne. Outraged, Tellah leaves the party, vowing to kill Golbez.

Later, when Cecil, Rydia, and Edward are traveling to Baron, they are shipwrecked and separated. Cecil arrives in Tellah's hometown, Mysidia. The Elder of Mysidia tells Cecil that the only way to conquer Golbez is by becoming a Paladin. He sends the twins Palom and Porom with Cecil to Mt. Ordeals. There, they meet Tellah, who is searching for a way to learn the Meteor spell. When they reach the top of the mountain, a mysterious light allows Cecil to become a Paladin. The light also returns Tellah's memory of his spells, including Meteor. Later, after an injury-wracked, bed-ridden Edward left bed and played the Twin Harp despite his injuries to save the others as they fought the Dark Elf, Tellah begins to respect him, says he now sees what Anna saw in him, and says he will get revenge on Golbez for both of them.

Eventually, Cecil and Tellah encounter Golbez in the Tower of Zot. Tellah uses his life energy to cast Meteor. Golbez survives his attack, but his power over Cecil's friend Kain Highwind is weakened. Cecil attempts to finish him off, but is struck down, and Golbez retreats after receiving a surprising revelation (presumably that Cecil is his brother). The party finds the dying Tellah, who regrets losing himself to vengeance, and begs the party to defeat Golbez before passing on.

Before the final battle, Tellah's ghost appears before the party to revive their strength that was drained by Zemus.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Both Tellah and Anna briefly appear as spirits in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, in which they advise Edward to not let his heart be weighed down by their deaths and encourage him to assist Harley.

Skills

 * Recall (Remember): Tellah can relearn one of the spells he has forgotten, although the result is random. He can no longer use this skill after regaining all of his magic on Mt. Ordeals. This ability is not available in the first North American localization.
 * White: Tellah can use any white magic (spells designed to cure, protect or enhance the abilities of their target) spell he has learned.
 * Black: Tellah can use any black magic (spells designed to deal damage to or debilitate their targets) spell he has learned, except the Meteor spell, which he lacks MP to cast.