Rydia

Rydia, sometimes referred to as Rydia of Mist or Rydia Drake, is a Summoner from the village of Mist. She is one of the main characters in Final Fantasy IV and its two sequels, Final Fantasy IV -Interlude- and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. Rydia has green hair.

In Final Fantasy IV, Rydia is among the most powerful summoners from Mist. This is partially attributed to her being 7 years old, as creatures in Feymarch trust young girls more than adults.

Final Fantasy IV
Rydia's importance in the story of Final Fantasy IV occurs much earlier than almost all of the other playable characters. Cecil and Kain, is sent by the king to deliver a package to the village of Mist. To reach the village, they must first venture through Mist Cave. At the end of the cave, they encounter the Mist Dragon and kill it. When they then enter Mist Village, their package, the Carnelian Signet, sets the entire village ablaze. This surprises Cecil and Kain, who had already been questioning the king's rule when he demanded that Cecil steal the Water Crystal from the innocent mages of Mysidia. They soon meet Rydia, who is weeping over the loss of her mother. Rydia then explains that her mother summoned a dragon to protect the village, and when it died, so did her mother. Cecil then admits that it was Kain and himself that killed the Mist Dragon. Rydia is less than happy and summons a Titan which causes a massive earthquake. Cecil awakes in Kaipo Desert with Rydia, unconscious, but no sight of Kain. He soon takes Rydia to Kaipo so she can rest. Rydia is initially unwilling to speak to Cecil, but when he protects her from Baron soldiers who demand that she be handed over to be killed, she agrees to accompany him.

The next morning, Cecil and Rydia discover that Cecil's beloved Rosa Farrell has come down with the desert fever in her search for Cecil. The only way they can cure her is by finding the Sand Ruby in the Antlion Cave, near Damcyan castle, where the Fire Crystal lies. Rydia decides that she will join Cecil on his journey. On the way to Damcyan, the two encounter the sage Tellah, who is going to Damcyan to find his daughter, Anna, who eloped with the "spoony bard" Edward Chris von Muir - the prince of Damcyan. The three temporarily join forces to make it through the Water Cavern. When they reach Damcyan, they discover that the castle was almost completely destroyed by Golbez, the new commander of the Baron's airship military force - the Red Wings. Along with Edward's parents, Anna was killed. Tellah then promises to kill Golbez and leaves the party in a rage. Edward, understanding Cecil's feelings for Rosa and realizing that Rydia also lost her parents but is able to bear the loss and continue, joins the party to help them find the Sand Ruby. Once they obtain it in Antlion Cave, they return to Kaipo and heal Rosa, who also joins the party.

The team of four then speculates that Golbez's next target is Fabul, where the Wind Crystal lies. To reach Fabul, they must climb Mt. Hobbs, but its trail is blocked by thick ice. Rosa insists that Rydia use a fire spell to melt it, but Rydia states that she hates fire, as it destroyed her village. Rosa soon convinces Rydia that she must cast the spell to save many people, and Rydia finally casts Fire, learning it for the first time. Her doing so allowing them to venture over Mt. Hobbs, where they meet Yang Fang Leiden, the high monk of Fabul. Soon, Baron's army comes to seize the Crystal. Cecil, Edward, Yang, Rosa, and Rydia succeed in protecting the castle until they fight Kain, who has sided with Golbez and the king. In truth, he is really being controlled by Golbez, who is in fact being controlled by Zemus. Kain knocks out the party and then kidnaps Rosa. Cecil and the rest think that Kain might have taken Rosa to Baron. The next day, Cecil, Rydia, Edward, and Yang set sail for Baron. On their voyage, they are attacked by the sea monster Leviathan, who wrecks the ship. The entire party is split up: Cecil washes ashore outside Mysidia, Yang near Baron, Edward near Troia, and Rydia taken by Leviathan to the Land of Summons.

Though Yang and Edward are rediscovered not too long after Cecil becomes a Paladin, Rydia does not make her return until much later in the game. Due to this and her being reported as having been swallowed by Leviathan, she is thought to be dead for much of the game. After Yang, Rosa, and Kain rejoin the party, they go with Cecil and his engineer friend Cid Pollendina to the Underworld to gather the Dark Crystals. While Cid tends to the ship, the other four encounter Golbez, who is also after the Dark Crystals. Golbez summons his Shadow Dragon which knocks out all but Cecil. When all seems lost, Rydia returns as a young woman to save the day, summoning the Mist Dragon that her mother had used before to defeat the Shadow Dragon. She explains that time flows faster in the Land of Summons; therefore, she has grown older and wiser in her magic, and is now able to use a greater variety of summons. She informs the party that Leviathan was actually trying to bring her to the land of summons instead of just randomly attacking the ship. When the characters return to the Land of Summons she can speak to the King and Queen of that world, Leviathan and Asura respectively. After defeating them in battle she can gain the ability to summon them.

Together, Rydia and Cecil defeat Golbez and his dragon. Rydia (along with Rosa) remains with Cecil through the rest of the journey. Deeply committed to their cause, she becomes completely devastated by the "sacrifices" made by Yang and Cid later in the journey (later, though, the team discovers that they lived), especially when she sees that Edge's relentless pursuit of Rubicant, despite his recently losing to him, may cost him his life. Sparks fly between Rydia and the ninja prince of Eblan Edge, who joins the team to find his kidnapped parents. In the end, Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge defeat Zemus, saving the world. Rydia returns to the Land of Summons after the battle, then pays a visit to Baron Castle for Cecil and Rosa's wedding.

In remakes starting with Final Fantasy IV Advance, child Rydia returns in her section of the Lunar Ruins, in a test in which she is forced to survive without the use of her summoned beasts. She must defeat Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh and Titan, and finally the main boss Lunar Dragon (all of whom are the summons she receives by default as a summoner) before she can leave.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
During Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-, Rydia is impersonated by a mysterious summoner that attacks Cecil and his friends. The real Rydia appears near the end of the game, saving their lives.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
At the beginning of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Ashura teleports Rydia to the real world moments before the Maenad appears and turns Ashura and Leviathan into stone. After helping her old friends save the planet, Rydia decides to rebuild Mist with the cooperation of Cecil and others and also becomes the adoptive mother of the child Maenad Cuore.

In international releases of the game, Rydia's outfit was made less revealing than in the original Japanese version.

Summon
As a summoner of Mist, Rydia possesses summon magic. Using the Summon ability, she can bring forth such monsters as Shiva, Ifrit, Chocobo, and Bahamut. In Final Fantasy IV Advance and later remakes, her trial produces the Mist Ring, which powers up the Mist Dragon summon and casts image on the party when it is used.

White Magic
As a child, Rydia is able to use her White ability White Magic and can gain more White Magic as she progresses in level, although it is very limited. However, upon her return from the Land of Summons, she loses the ability to cast White Magic while gaining the ability to summon more powerful beasts. She had to sacrifice the ability to cast White Magic to gain access to these summons. During her trial, Rydia, in the guise of her younger self, temporarily regains the use of White Magic.

Black Magic
Though Rydia is not classified as a Black Mage, she is the only character able to use Black Magic at the end of the game, although Final Fantasy IV Advance and later remakes allows the player to take Palom to the final level. Black Magic, such as Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells, provide quite an advantage against the Four Fiends of the Elements, and other enemies with elemental weaknesses. It is interesting to note Rydia uses Black Magic as her secondary skill, whereas the more modern Final Fantasy summoners, such as Garnet Til Alexandros XVII and Eiko Carol from Final Fantasy IX and Yuna from Final Fantasy X, all use White Magic as their secondary skill; this decision may have been made to balance Rydia's character as a specialist in offensive magic.