Cecil Harvey - FF4

"I'm a coward. A coward who cannot even defy orders he knows he ought not follow."—Cecil

Lord Captain Cecil Harvey is the protagonist of Final Fantasy IV. He is one of the few characters in the series that changes his job during the course of the game. He starts out as a Dark Knight, but at a certain point in the game, he transforms into a Paladin.

Story
Cecil was born to a Lunarian named Kluya and Cecilia from Earth. Cecil's father was killed before he was born, and his mother died in labor. His brother Theodor then ran away with him, but abandoned him outside Baron. The King eventually found him and named him Cecil, since he resembled his late mother.

Cecil was raised by the king, which initially caused some friction between him and the young Dragoon called Kain Highwind. Kain thought that Cecil got too much special treatment from the king, and wanted to fight him. However, a young girl called Rosa broke the two of them up. The three of them eventually grew up and became friends.

The story opens with Cecil commanding a raid on the city of Mysidia in order to steal the Crystal of Water for the king. He succeeds, but he and his crew become suspicious of the king. They wonder whether or not robbing national treasures from innocent people is right. However, Cecil reminds his crew that they are the Red Wings, and must represent Baron at all times. When Cecil returns to the castle, Baigan, the captain of the guards of Baron, notices something strange about Cecil, and takes Cecil to meet the king. Cecil hands over the crystal, and is appalled when the king does not even thank him. As a result, Cecil complains to the king that he and his crew do not understand the reasons for robbing crystals from innocent people. As a result, the king discharges him from the captainship of the Red Wings, and orders him to hunt Summoned Monsters in the Misty Valley, and to deliver a ring known as the Carnelian Signet to the village of Mist. Kain comes to Cecil's defense, but to no avail, as the king simply orders him to accompany Cecil. That night, Rosa comes to Cecil's room to show him her sympathy. However, Cecil is upset because he is torn between doing what he believes in and doing what the king orders. He swears that he will never perform another act of evil on behalf of Baron. He also states that despite the fact that he loves Rosa, he knows that they can ever be together because of his profession as a Dark Knight.

Equipment and Stats
As a Dark Knight, Cecil's stats are heavily weighted physically, and he has barely any Magic Defense. He can only equip special swords, shields, and armor designed specifically for Dark Knights. His weapons are ineffective against Zombies, Ghouls, Revenants, and Skullnants. His most powerful Dark Sword, the Deathbringer, inflicts instant death on his opponents.

Once Cecil becomes a Paladin, his stats increase, especially in Magic Defense. It should be noted that a level 1 Paladin Cecil has 600 HP, which is a lot more than a level 20 Dark Knight Cecil. He can now equip most any weapon that isn't a class-specific weapon, including swords, knives and axes. Cecil can also equip most shields, hats, helmets, armor, tunics, rings, and gloves, not to mention, if he proves himself worthy in his Lunar Trial, he can obtain the almighty Lightbringer.

Abilities
As a Dark Knight, Cecil uses the Darkness ability, which damages all opponents. Cecil takes a small amount of damage whenever he uses this attack. In the DS version, the "Darkness" ability is a positive status effect that increases the amount of damage caused by a regular attack.

Once Cecil becomes a Paladin, he can use the Cover ability, which allows him to take physical damage in the place of an ally. Cecil automatically uses this ability to protect any ally whose HP is low. He can also use some basic White Magic. The spells he can use are as follows.

• Cure
• Sight
• Libra
• Cura
• Teleport
• Esuna

In the DS version, Cecil learns the three following spells as well as those above.

• Raise
• Protect
• Shell

In either class Cecil's focus is dealing out physical damage. However, he becomes far more powerful when he becomes a paladin.