000 {application}
CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: Edgar Roni Figaro
SERIES: Final Fantasy VI
RESERVED: Yes
WISHLIST: No
PERSONALITY:
Edgar is a character whom, I feel, is not quite given his due in the fandom. Despite his many facets, the fandom tends to focus on one trait and one alone, and blow it entirely out of proportion, ignoring his character depth. This trait so treated is Edgar's propensity to flirt. In truth, he makes less than a dozen flirtatious remarks in a fifty-hour game, but these seem to be the only things people remember about him--and they interpret them as shallow attempts to get a date when it seems to me that there is greater depth behind them. First of all, the come-ons come most often at his first meeting with a woman--during normal interactions with women he knows, more often than not he treats them as he would anyone. Combine this with his general friendliness and cheer, and I get the impression that the primary purpose of the flirting is not to score but rather to break the ice, to establish he's friendly. For example, when he is first introduced to Terra, a young woman who just recently escaped enslavement by the empire for use of her magical powers, she asks if he is being kind to her in order to get access to her powers. His response is as follows: "I'll give you three reasons. First of all, your beauty has captivated me! Second...I'm dying to know if I'm your type!" He then walks away before adding on: "I guess your... abilities...would rank a distant third." I've always interpreted that not as Edgar mindlessly trying to score, but more like him trying to make Terra feel better by paying her a compliment and at the same time assuring her that he's not going to use her like the empire. If she laughs, fine, if she's actually interested, bonus! the important thing is letting her know she has a friend and an ally in him. Just in Edgar-ese. He makes similar remarks too to other male characters (jokes about alleged prowess) in ways that seem to indicate him deliberately changing the tone--when Kefka demands for Terra to be brought to him, Edgar blows him off with a joke about women within these castle walls numbering more than grains of sand in the desert, therefore he couldn't possibly find just one even if she was here. Thus, Edgar insults Kefka by treating him so disrespectfully, more than bragging seriously. This is not to deny that he is a flirt--he is!--only that there is more nuance to his behavior than simple attempts at scoring.
I mentioned that when not flirting (that is, most of the time) he treats women normally, I should elaborate on what I mean by that. Edgar is usually responsible, serious when he needs to be, often optimistic, and as a whole devoted and loyal. He is a leader, as he was a king even if against his will, and very much a smart man, mechanically as well as politically and strategically-minded; often, though the story of the game revolves more around Terra and Celes, when the party has to decide what to do next, they turn to him or accept what he offers as a solution. He is loyal, devoted, and self-sacrificing when it comes to people he cares deeply about--namely, his people, the citizens of Figaro, and his twin brother Sabin. For Sabin, when their father died and left the kingdom to them, neither of them wanting to rule but preferring their freedom, Edgar rigged a coin toss, winner gets their choice of kingdom or freedom, so that his brother would win it, knowing that Sabin would choose freedom and that he would be left ruling Figaro though he didn't want it, though he could just as easily have rigged it so that he won the coin toss. For his people, when a mishap with monsters left their tunneling castle stuck and the people trapped, Edgar went undercover with escaped felons he himself had put in jail, at great risk to himself, to find a way back into the castle to get it back to the surface, bribing the felons with stories of Figaro's royal treasures. He's very much a big-picture thinker--ignoring the thieves after that whole ordeal because Kefka and the state of the world is infinitely more important.
Despite being a king, Edgar is, unlike my other characters, very informal--he's close friends, it seems, with Locke, who is while an agent of the Returners also a common thief, and when circumstances force him to pass as a normal citizen--such as when Figaro was trapped underground and he had to go undercover with thieves--he does so without flaw and without changing his personality/diction at all. He's not rude or vulgar, indeed, he's quite pleasant to talk to, he simply doesn't adopt the sort of formality one would expect a man raised heir presumptive and now king to use.
In addition to being mechanically minded, Edgar is also, like most scientifically-inclined, intellectually curious--he investigates things, and when confronted with magic for the first time, peppers the user (Terra) with questions--so much so that he forgets her own shyness and uncertainty and has to be told, basically, to stuff it by Locke. He wants to know things--how they work, how they can work for him. Experimentation is what he does for fun--devising new gadgets and tools is what he does in his spare time (along with redecorating, according to the manual, at least).
Edgar's a decent guy, and it sometimes causes problems for him--generally in the form of conflict between that and his responsibility to Figaro as king and to the world as an important member of the Returners. For example: He's hesitant about using Terra's magical powers due to her fragility and having spent her entire life as a weapon of war, due to being a decent person, but recognizes that given the state of the world it might be necessary. Though this is a source of conflict for him at certain points in the game, he, however, never winds up making a choice that would lead him down either the Lawful Stupid or Stupid Good path--he can balance his personal human kindness and goodness with the demands and responsibilities of position well.
He is not fantastically stoic under pressure (albeit the medium makes it hard to be very certain), but is not given either to panicking or cracking easily--even when Celes begins almost calling him the king of Figaro while he's trying to stay undercover (and when being outed could end extremely poorly for him and a whole host of people) he mostly maintains composure and the disguise. In adversity he is not irrational, and generally maintains a level head even in stressful times--and the times of FFVI are very, very stressful, as the history elaborates on. Not perfectly, but then, who does?
Last but not least, I mentioned he was intelligent and mechanically minded, but I think I should elaborate more on that--when I say "mechanically minded," I don't mean "can do some repairs on his own car or home" but something more like "Using only 19th-century tech and no magic whatsoever, built a submersible tunneling castle." Edgar is probably some kind of engineering genius, and as his exclusive battle command indicates, he isn't just adept at planning and theory but also at the physical execution and use of his creations (will be elaborated on in the abilities section); evidenced by that and the above undercover incident, one can see that he's quite hands-on--not afraid of getting his hands dirty--and other manual metaphors. In summation, despite the flirtatiousness, Edgar is friendly, responsible, caring and self-sacrificing, an intelligent leader and clever machinist.
TIMELINE: Immediately after getting the Falcon in the World of Ruin.
BACKGROUND:
Edgar was born one of the twin princes of Figaro (it is never mentioned in the game--at least the english translation--which twin is older by however many seconds, I couldn't find the Japanese script, and sources are disagreeing, but so far the general trend indicates that Edgar is in fact the older twin, so I'm going with that) along with Sabin twenty-seven years before the events of the game. Their mother died in childbirth, and, while they were still teens and before the thorny issue of succession had been decided, their father died, officially recorded as death caused by illness but very strongly hinted at being the end result of a slow-acting poison administered by the Gestahlian Empire. The issue of succession now being a pressing and immediate need, it fell to the two youths to decide this for themselves. Unlike most succession crises, the issue was that neither of them wanted the throne--but someone had to take it. Edgar talked Sabin into a coin toss, winner gets the right to choose. Sabin won the coin toss, and chose to leave the castle and Figaro, Edgar lost and "won" a kingdom that needed to choose its political course very carefully if it was not going to be crushed by the Gestahlian Empire. Unbeknownst to Sabin, Edgar used a double-headed coin for that toss, and by his own declaration--"If it's heads, you win. Tails, I win."--he guaranteed that Sabin would win. Sabin didn't find out about this for ten years.
What we are given of Edgar's reign between then and the time of the game start isn't much--he establishes a formal alliance with the Gestahlian Empire, and he sees to it that his people prosper and have some manner of peace and security. He's much beloved by his people, champions the technological revolution...and has his world changed when his friend Locke arrives at the castle carrying with him a girl at once godly and helpless, setting in motion the rest of the game.
The girl in question is named Terra--and she is a former Magitek Soldier of the Gestahlian Empire. Emperor Gestahl, in his ambition to take over the world, has been looking into the prospect of magic--as a power source, and as a weapon--despite magic having been apparently erased from the world for a thousand years. He's managed, for all the world can tell, to find it, or something like it--no one knows quite how, but his army's power seems to be almost magical. The girl was, until just now, one of their elites, kept to her task by means of a slave crown--a mind control device she had worn for so long she forgot how to make decisions for herself. She had a run-in with the frozen remains of an Esper in Narshe, and wound up being rescued and brought to Figaro, an Imperial ally, as otherwise the Narsheians would have likely killed her. Plus, there's something about her, something kept from us as an audience, that cannot be allowed to die or go back to the empire...
Edgar, after the requisite flirtatious remarks, tells Terra she will be safe and in good hands here in Figaro--and the chance to make good on his words doesn't come a moment too late. The Empire has sent an emissary to Figaro, and it just so happens to be Kefka, monster clown extraordinaire the court mage and general of the Emperor himself. Kefka is after a "girl of no importance who stole something of minor value." Edgar doesn't believe him for a moment and makes the aforementioned remark about girls and grains of sand. Kefka's response is essentially "You'll regret this! Uweeheeheehee!" before leaving. Edgar, being a smart lad, knows that something is up, and orders Locke and Terra to lay low while he confers offscreen with chancellors and advisors.
Scene change. That night. Kefka has set the castle on fire. (Get used to it, he only becomes more reprehensible from here on out). Edgar demands to know what Kefka thinks he's doing, and once again gets the deliver-the-girl ultimatum. It looks like Edgar has no choice but to give in--but he's gotten chocobos ready for himself, Locke, and Terra, and does the fancy cowboy-movie jump from building onto the mount. Kefka, despite the lack of results, is crowing with laughter at what he perceives as Edgar abandoning castle and people--but he's wrong once more. Edgar gives the order, and Figaro Castle engages dive mode--that is, he reveals that he engineered it to in fact be a submersible tunneling castle. Because he's a badass like that. The sand puts out the fire, and Kefka and his soldiers are unable to follow the castle--infuriated, Kefka orders soldiers to follow the chocobos.
They catch up, and there is a confrontation--during the fight, though, Terra exhibits a startling show of power, something Edgar immediately recognizes as being magic. He is, well, shocked and awed. He wants to ask Terra about it--what it is, where she learned it, how it works--but Locke, likely conscious of Terra's own feelings on the matter, tells Edgar to cram it, at least for the time being. So, Edgar leaves off, and they make their escape.
Free of Kefka's forces, now, Edgar, Terra, and Locke make their plans. Edgar wants to get Terra to see the Returners' leader, a man named Banon. The Returners are an underground organization of anti-Imperial forces, with whom Edgar and Figaro have been colluding in secret--well, with the assault on Figaro, there's no point in being covert about it anymore. Edgar says that if she and Espers--phantom, apparently-magical creatures long believed extinct--react to each other in such a way, they need to find out all that that entails, and that her powers might help overthrow the Empire... Terra is still trying to decide what precisely to do--but they can't stay in the desert, and so make the long trek to the Returners' HQ--through the South Figaro Cave, into and past the South Figaro area, over Mt. Kolts, into the Sabre Mountains.
While in the village in South Figaro, they hear stories about a martial arts master--teaching two apprentices, one his own son--who has been murdered, and his son vanished. Edgar is somewhat agitated by this, and even moreso when they find the old master's home--he investigates it, muttering to himself about how a mysterious "he" always liked these flowers, these teas. He doesn't explain the cause of this, though, and the party carries on to their next stop, over Mt. Kolts. Although, a shadowy figure has been trailing them for the length of the trip...
At the summit of the mountain, the shadow reveals himself to be Vargas, son of the recently deceased master--cause of his decease, in fact. He was insanely jealous of his fellow apprentice, a man named Sabin. Edgar reacts to that name, demands to know if Sabin is there--and receives only Vargas' jealous ravings. Vargas is about to slaughter the party when yet another man appears--this one quite clearly a martial artist as well, and the other apprentice of the deceased master. He says his name is Sabin, and when it becomes clear that words will not reach Vargas, Sabin takes it upon himself to stop him.
Afterwards, Edgar is utterly fixated on Sabin--for it turns out that it is indeed his estranged brother. Edgar fills him in on what's happened, and Sabin reveals that he's always been watching Figaro, waiting for the time to be right--and now, here it is. He'll join the party, because, as he puts it, "I think Master Duncan would rest easier knowing his training helped bring peace to the world."
Next stop, Returner HQ. Banon meets with them, and reveals that he is in fact serious damn business. He knew that they were coming, and wastes no time in obliquely calling Terra a mass murderer by remarking that she was known to incinerate training squads of fifty men in a matter of minutes. Though Edgar and Locke vigorously object to laying that on the amnesiac girl, Banon defends his choice and tells a parable to Terra, essentially calling her the last bit of hope in this world (again, over Edgar's objections) before retiring for a while.
Terra, in her confusion, goes to talk to everyone before deciding what to do about Banon, and Edgar is one of the ones she talks to. He reveals why he objected so much to Banon's actions--it isn't right to place that kind of pressure on her, both because she is currently amnesiac and vulnerable, and because forcing their ideas on her would make them no better than the Empire. Regardless, though, in the end, Terra opts to help the Returners, and what comes next is a meeting to confer on what to do next.
Banon fears another War of the Magi, if the empire continues on this route, and for the sake of the audience explains what the War of the Magi was. In antiquity, the three gods of magic grew jealous and fearful of each others' powers and started to war with each other. To fight each other, they infused human beings with their own magical powers to form armies, calling them Espers. Humans became caught up in this conflict as well, having to fight if they were to survive, and so that they could compete, they captured Espers to drain their own magical powers to create magical weapons and to reinfuse in other humans, creating magical beings visually identical to humans, weaker than Espers, called the Magi. Eventually, though, the gods saw what their constant warring had done to the world and repented, sealing their magical power in three statues, to be guarded by the Espers, the sealing resulting in the ways and power of magic being lost to the human world. Until recently, even Espers were thought to be gone as well, and the three statues almost mythical.
Edgar asks if Banon wanted to make magitek weaponry of his own--Banon is aghast at the notion, but thinks that the Esper itself in Narshe could be useful to them, and that, since it reacted to Terra's presence, probably she would be key in getting it to communicate with humans. We have a course of action, and it looks like a simple, straightforward backtracking...which means something has to immediately go wrong. Cue a frantic and wounded messenger rushing in the door, announcing that the settlements in South Figaro have fallen and that the Empire's army is advancing on the Sabre mountains. Edgar orders Locke to go undercover in South Figaro and to sabotage any imperial endeavors he can, and Banon orders Edgar, Sabin, and Terra to flee with him down the Lethe River, a waterway that should lead them away from the empire and closer to Narshe. So they split up.
Banon, Edgar, Sabin and Terra are traveling down the river, but soon enough are waylaid--not by any imperial forces, mind you, but rather, a large purple tentacle monster octopus named Ultros with a fixation on Terra. The party kicks his cephalopod ass, buuut Sabin, apparently quite irate at the monster, dives into the river after it to finish it off--and Edgar, who really has little choice in the matter, remarks that he's always been rash and that they'll meet up with him later.
FFVI, more than any of the other games, has an ensemble cast, with few characters so important they could be considered the main protagonist, and a host of characters vital to the plot. Here is where this starts to become really obvious, as now are playable Sabin and Locke's adventures before the meetup in Narshe. However, since this is an application for Edgar and not Sabin or Locke, they will be given only as much detail as is necessary to carry the thread of the plot. Moving on!
Banon, Edgar and Terra continue down the river, and unlike Locke and Sabin have very little in the way of adventures, eventually trekking overland until they reach Narshe. There, they must sneak through the mines and around security--remember, Terra is wanted dead in Narshe--until they make it to the house of the Returner agent Arvis, who helped Terra when she was first here. Banon and Arvis converse about the town of Narshe--which is doggedly neutral--and about the Esper. Arvis thinks, given the way the wind is blowing, they just might be able to convince the town elder to allow them to see the Esper without having to resort to more extra-legal activities. So meeting-ho.
It doesn't go well. Though Banon, Arvis and Edgar are using their greatest rhetorical skills, the town elder remains steadfast--he refuses to spill his people's blood, and Banon cannot deny that in these warring times, that is precisely what he is asking of them. When Banon mentions the possibility of a second War of the Magi, though, the elder begins to be swayed--but Sabin chooses that moment to arrive and explain where he's been. The river carried him to the kingdom of Doma, under siege by the Empire--until just now. Sabin witnessed Kefka breaking the siege on Doma via poison, killing every man, woman and child, including his own soldiers taken prisoner and attacking the castle. There was one survivor--the samurai retainer Cyan--whom Sabin has brought with him to corroborate his story. They explain all of this to the elder (and let Banon and Edgar and Terra in on it at the same time)...but, as the Narshe elder knows that Doma was open about resisting the Empire, his resolve to stay neutral is only increased.
Cue Locke. He bursts in with a former Imperial General, Celes Chere, who was sentenced to be executed after condemning Kefka's tactics at Doma. Locke rescued her in South Figaro, and after they got the hell out of there they made for Narshe with word from Celes of an Imperial task force headed by Kefka right on their heels. Though Cyan and Celes do not get along, they have no choice but to tolerate each other for the time being, as they must work together to save their own lives, the lives of the people of Narshe, and that frozen Esper. Edgar takes this opportunity to caution Celes about Locke, only to be brushed off and disregarded. Ouch.
After a series of grueling battles, the troops Kefka brought with him are at last defeated and Kefka himself sent packing with his tail between his legs. Metaphorically speaking, of course. With that taken care of, it's time for Terra and the Esper to have a heart-to-heart. Up at a cliff, above the mines, the frozen Esper has been moved, and so that is where the party goes, Terra at its head.
There begins, as Terra approaches the Esper, unnerving sounds and light effects, then a one-sided conversation ("What...? What is this I'm feeling!? Hmm? Wh-what's going on...? Please...tell me!") right before mysterious forces knock everyone off their feet. Edgar figures out that this was a really, really bad idea ("Terra... Get away from that thing!") right before things really go to hell: Terra lets out the most horrifying scream 16-bit sound channels can produce and transforms into a hairy pink thing, soaring out into the sky. The party is left scattered all over the clifftop.
Once more, it is time for the party to regroup and figure out what to do next--this is where Edgar steps in as a leader, once again. They need to both find Terra and help her because like hell they can just abandon her, and to maintain a presence in Narshe, ready to move if the Empire attacks again. They'll form two parties, one to hold the city, one to follow Terra's westward trail. Edgar is going after Terra, as Banon is staying in Narshe.
As Terra headed westward, the first stop is the town of Kohlingen, asking around for signs of either a young girl with green hair or a....pink-furred monster. No sign of a girl, but the locals had a run-in with just such a monster, which headed south. South is Jidoor. In Jidoor, they mention a creature that matches Terra's current description heading for Zozo. And, as it turns out, third town's the charm. Although Zozo, being a wretched hive of scum and villainy, is hard to get through, in the highest room of the tallest tower, there is Terra. Lying in a bed, unconscious, still a naked monster. Oh dear.
There is an old man in the room with her--or at least, so he seems to be. In fact, he is an Esper named Ramuh. The party expresses shock at this, and Ramuh explains how he came to be an elderly Esper living in Mos Eisley Zozo.
Although Espers and humans once lived in peace, the War of the Magi and its aftermath meant that their two societies could no longer coexist. So, the Espers fashioned for themselves their own land, where they lived in seclusion for centuries. Then, one day, humans who remembered the stories of Esper powers from the War of the Magi found the entrance to this land--humans led by Emperor Gestahl. They began kidnapping Espers and taking them into the human world--once the Espers realized what was happening, they sealed the way to their land for good. Ramuh was among those taken by the Empire, but he escaped and lives now in Zozo. When he heard Terra's snapping, he called out to her, and now cares for her--she is an esper, he says and yet she is not, unable to control herself and suffering. ("She is afraid of what she is, and that is a painful thing.")
Naturally, the party seeks to help Terra, and Ramuh has a suggestion: The other Espers, trapped in the Empire's Magitek Research Facility, might be able to help Terra come to terms with what she is--it falls to the party to get to the Imperial capital of Vector and infiltrate the facility. While at it, Ramuh explains that the Empire's methods are wrong--true magical power doesn't come from Esper blood, sweat, and tears but rather Esper corpses, which crystallize into magicite. This is all a prelude to Ramuh's next act--giving the crackling-with-magic-power corpses of those espers that fell when escaping the facility to the party and expiring himself, bidding them use this power to stop the Empire and avert a second War of the Magi.
That morbid scene over with, the party once more confers on what to do. They need to get to Vector. Vector is on the southern continent, though, and they are on the northern one. What's more, all ports on the southern continent are closed. Quite a predicament--Locke, however suggests going back to Jidoor and asking around. Jidoor is full of rich people, and "where there's a gil, there's a way."
As it turns out, he's right, although not in the way you might expect. The opera house is having troubles--you see, a man calling himself The Wandering Gambler--in fact, Setzer--has announced that he intends to abduct Maria, the prima-donna-est prima donna who ever prima'd or donna'd, in the climax of her next performance.
As it happens, Setzer owns the only free airship in the world.
As it happens, Celes looks exactly like Maria.
As it happens, Celes can sing.
You can see where this is heading.
Celes performs in Maria's place in an alarmingly-well-done opera scene--but, well, Setzer isn't the only one with designs on crashing the show. Remember Ultros? Big purple octopus? He's back, and out for revenge by dropping weights on the actors. Once more, the party defeats him, but all it ends up accomplishing is making the show even more chaotic--just in time for Setzer to swoop in from the wings and nab Celes, with the party hot on their heels.
Back on the ship, Celes takes Setzer's distraction in the getaway to let Edgar, Sabin, and Locke into the room and out of the engine-rooms and also to get out of that pimped-out costumery. Needless to say, when Setzer goes back to see Celes and a bunch of thuggish guys, he is astonishingly put out. They try to talk to him, and it goes rather like "You're not Maria." "But the Empire is--" "Still not Maria."
Eventually, though, by resorting to flattery ("Wait! We heard that your ship is the finest vessel in the world!" "And that you were the world's greatest gambler...") and bribery, thank you Edgar, ("I'm the king of Figaro. If you help us, you'll be well rewarded..."), they convince Setzer to at least listen to their problems--and eventually, to make a wager: If Celes wins, Setzer has to help them. If Setzer wins, Celes is his woman. The "game" is a coinflip, and the coin is provided by Edgar. Sound familiar?
Yep, it's the double-headed coin. Celes wins, though Setzer sees through the ruse. Instead of being angry, though, he loves it. ("Ha! How low can you stoop? ...I love it! All right, I'll help you. Gambling against the Empire, with nothing to lose but my life... I haven't felt so excited in years!") And with that, they're ready to make for the Magitek Research Facility--Setzer waiting outside the city; his airship, the Blackjack, is large and conspicuous--where a Returner plant sneaks them in to where the good stuff is.
After a long sneak through an extremely unnerving mire of Industry, the party comes across no less than Kefka himself. He is personally sucking power from a pair of Espers, muttering something about achieving godhood and reviving the Warring Triad. When he's finished with them, he kicks the husks of the dying Espers down a trash chute of sorts--and, once he's gone, the party follows. There, they can do nothing to save the Esper pair, but before they die they willingly implore the party to take their magicite and use it to stop the empire and save the other Espers trapped in the facility.
Deeper still in the building, the party finds the rest of the Espers, floating in tubes of liquid. The espers sense the presence of Ramuh et al's corpses on them, and somehow discern that these are people to be trusted. These Espers too are dying, and as their final act will themselves to the party in defiance of the Empire. Well...shit.
And things go from bad to worse when Cid, an important technician at the Facility, finds them and the magicite and puts two and two together. They get worse still when he blithely assumes Celes is spying on the Returners and is still loyal to the empire, and yet worse when Kefka shows up. Having revealed the secret of magicite to the last person it should be revealed to and being seriously outclassed, there is nothing to do but try to get out of there. Celes decoys herself with a teleport spell, forcing Kefka and his soldiers along with her, and the remainder of the party--Edgar, Sabin, and Locke--flees. Fortunately for us, Cid has reconsidered his life choices and is going to try and become a good guy, so he helps the party out of the facility and into Vector proper.
Once there, they meet up with Setzer again and not a moment too late, as they have to flee the mechanical things Kefka's throwing at them but quick. Even though the last of them end up being fought on the deck of the Blackjack, they manage to escape Vector, and order Setzer to fly them to Zozo--in the meantime filling him in on what exactly he's landed himself in. Poor new guy.
Back in Zozo, even though they have no live Espers, Terra seems to react to the presence of the magicite and comes around, finally reverting back to her human state. She explains that while she was out, she learned many things from her "Esper half" as it were, including remembering how she was the child of a human woman and an Esper, which explains that problem. And, well, now that Terra is awake and aware, it's time to regroup at Narshe and see if Banon et al. have made any progress. Off we fly!
Good news! Banon and Arvis have convinced the Narsheians to openly resist the Empire! However, they've realized that mounting a frontal assault, even with Figaro's tech and Narshe's resources, is suicide. What they need more of is Espers. And so, Banon implores Terra to return to the land of the Espers and beg their aid. Somehow, no one realizes what an utterly, unspeakably bad and Empire-like idea this is (Banon even says "the Espers must be made to understand.") and off they go, making for the Sealed Gate.
There are no guards or anything at the Sealed Gate, which should have been their first clue, but they persist on anyhow. Once at the gate, Edgar encourages Terra on, but just behind them, they discover, is Kefka. The Emperor predicted they'd go after the Sealed Gate, it turns out, and the party's been playing into their hands! Curses! But what's been set in motion cannot be stopped, and the Sealed Gate bursts open, on the other side several angry, powerful Espers. They rush out, scattering the Imperial troops and the party--and they're headed towards Vector. The party finally begins to get an inkling of how horrible this idea was as they also follow the Espers in their airship. Then, of course, rubbing it in and foreshadowing what they're about to find, the Espers start attacking the airship itself. They survive...but in his shock and attempts to figure out what in the seven hells is happening, Setzer (poor, poor new guy) gives the wheel to Edgar. And Edgar may be a mechanic, but apparently he's no pilot: He loses control of the Blackjack and they make a very hasty, very rough landing somewhere on the Southern continent.
The Blackjack won't be flying for a long time, so they have no choice but to hoof it through various towns (they all tend to be occupied and to have the occupying forces behaving atrociously) until they make it to Vector, City of Industry. ...Or so it was. Right now, it's going up in smoke, all the inhabitants gone, and the streets being wandered by stunned Narsheians and Returners, who insist that Vector was like this when they got there. A man in a red cloak approaches the party and says that the Emperor is waiting for them. This will lead us nowhere good.
The Emperor and Cid are there in his iron palace, and explain what happened--the Espers came to rescue their friends, and when they saw that none of them yet lived...well, that's why Vector is currently barbecue capital of the world. The Emperor seems to be dejected, and has apparently halted all plans of world conquest--after what the Espers have done to his empire, he'd be lucky to sustain it, apparently. He wants to make peace. He wants even more to have a banquet with us tonight. While preparations are underway, he'd like it ever so much if the party could try and make the recalcitrant soldiers of his see that peace is the way--at the point of a sword, if necessary.
If you're feeling deep unease at all of this, you're not alone. The banquet--lush and expensive even as the city burns--is a careful dance of manners and words. By the end of it, the Emperor has agreed that Kefka should be imprisoned, that poisonings such as his should forever be eradicated, that Celes was never a spy, and that, regarding the Espers--what should happen is that Terra should go and attempt to make peace with them, off to Crescent Island where they fled after torching Vector. The party agrees to this with a smile on their face.
The exact minute that the Emperor and attendants are out of earshot, the party starts planning for betrayal, because there's no way the Emperor was telling the truth, as Edgar believes. Good show, lad. Terra and Locke will head out to the Crescent Island to find the Espers. Edgar and the rest will stay in Vector and try to figure out what the Emperor's planning.
As it turns out, the Emperor IS planning something. Surprise surprise. Edgar is the one who discovers it as well--while flirting with a maid at the palace, she apparently spilled all: The Emperor has no intention of making peace with the Espers, but instead wants to lure them out and get their guard down--then slaughter them for more magicite. When they had all the magicite, opening the Sealed Gate for good would be a fait accompli, and then they could get at the statues of the Warring Triad. Oh, and the party members in Vector were going to be so much worm food. The remainder of the party got the hell out of Vector as soon as they could to try and warn Terra and Locke--but they're just too late. Not only are the Espers dead, but along with them the only decent people who served under the Emperor and would have tried to stop this madness. There's nothing left but to run for the Sealed Gate and pray they're not too late.
Which, of course, they are.
Well, okay, they're not too late yet. They just get there in time to see the Emperor and Kefka take the whole damn landmass up in the air, cuing the beginning of the aptly-named Floating Continent dungeon. The Floating Continent is CREEPY. It's...disturbingly organic, full of squishy bits, valves, suction-y passages and general organ-like masses. And what's more, the Ultima Weapon lives there, most badass dragon thing in the FF world. It only has one line. It only needs one line: "My name is Ultima. I am power both ancient and unrivaled. I do not bleed, for I am but strength given form. Feeble creatures of flesh...Your time is nigh."
The party kicks that dragon's ass and, feeling like real badasses, goes to find the Emperor and Kefka. And there, they get owned like lamers, paralyzed by the Emperor's magic. They are helpless to do anything other than watch as Kefka and Gestahl manipulate the warring triad...except. Except, Gestahl has somehow managed to MISS that Kefka is madder than a hatter and would rather destroy the world. And, unfortunately for the world, Kefka is both smarter and stronger than the soon-to-be ex-emperor. After a fight, he flings the Emperor--still living, mind you--off the continent, and proceeds to destabilize the warring triad, calling upon the powers of the gods, who appear to be listening. There is nothing--nothing--nothing--the party can do but try and run.
From their airship, though, they have an excellent view of what this magical imbalance is doing to the world--mountain ranges are collapsing, new ones are rising, continents are being torn in half--a bolt of this energy hits the Blackjack, and it is split into pieces, the party falling out of the sky. And then there is only silence.
The story picks up one year later. The second half of the story follows Celes, who has been in a coma for one year, and just recently woken out of it. Though she despaired at the state of the world, she found hope once more and is now trying to regather the party to stop Kefka. Kefka is basically the new god of this world, and has been smiting what remains of the world with the Light Of Judgment whenever he feels like it. Edgar, meanwhile, has been doing what he could to help his kingdom over this year, and is currently operating undercover with a band of Figaronian thieves. Castle Figaro ran into troubles during its tunneling while he was out, and is now trapped under the earth, its inhabitants essentially buried alive. Only these honorless thieves escaped, and so Edgar has wormed his way into their gang. However, Celes and Sabin (found helping the inhabitants of Tzen) find him and don't understand why "Gerad" doesn't acknowledge them anymore (he has to maintain his cover). However, they do sneak into the castle just behind him, and help him kill the monsters nesting in the castle's engines that caused the jam, saving the people of Figaro. There, Edgar explains the situation, and joins up with Celes and Sabin to try and find a way to stop Kefka.
First, though, they'll need wings once more. Fortunately for them, though, Setzer can be found in the nearby town of Kohlingen, apparently bent on suicide by liver failure. Celes, though, can talk him out of his ennui, and with a touch of hope in him, Setzer reveals to them that there is, in fact, one more airship left in the world--the Falcon, the bird of his nearest and departed dearest. With this, Edgar, Sabin, Setzer, and Celes can sail the world over once more, searching for their friends, determined to find them and bring an end to Kefka's reign of terror.
Or he could find himself spirited away to the Amnesiac Fishbowl. That works too.
ABILITIES:
Edgar, being a playable character in a video game, has a whole host of abilities! This section describes what he does and does not have access to for Edensphere.
MAGIC/MAGICITE: In FFVIniverse, the only way for normal humans to use magic is for them to learn it from magicite, crystallized Esper corpses. Holding a piece of magicite also allows the holder to summon the spirit of the Esper to perform an exclusive attack. Because almost every character can equip every kind of magicite and thus learn every kind of spell, I'm not going to list them all here--in fact, when Edgar arrives in Edensphere, he's not going to have any magicite-spells at all, A) for balance and B) Because Edgar is such an incredibly physically-oriented character, in my playthroughs he basically only uses magic when he has to and is rarely as good as the casters. So. Yeah. I make mention of this so that if, by some incredibly slim chance, magicite appeared in the 'sphere, he could potentially learn magic from it even if he does suck at it. And also for the sake of being complete with what he can do in the app.
WEAPONRY/ARMOR: As he is from the same genetic stock as Sabin, he's a fairly big guy and his choice in armor and weaponry reflects that. He is capable of running around in full heavy armor and can use pretty much all helms and shields he runs across. Edgar is also a user of daggers and swords...but for the sake of ES, I'm going to stick with the weaponry that makes him fun and unique: He's the only human natural spear-user. Which, since this is Final Fantasy...dragoon time, baby. Dragoons can use the Jump attack, wherein they launch themselves high in the air one turn and then come down on the enemy pointy-end-first a turn or two later For Massive Damage. They can't be touched during the jump itself--either by attacks or by healing. So--fuck yeah, he will be making with the pointy blade-onna-stick action.
LIMIT/DESPERATION ATTACK: Almost all characters in FFVI have a desperation move, a very powerful attack that is only accessible under certain circumstances--the character must be critically wounded and the fight must have lasted a certain amount of time, then there is a 1/16 chance that when the fight command is selected, the desperation attack will be performed instead. It is unblockable and ignores defense which basically = really big ouchies. Edgar's desperation attack is Royal Shock--a flash of white light, series of white lines (clawmarks? possibly) slicing up the enemy, then 9999 damage reported, basically. Considering how ridiculously rare they are, it'll likely never be an issue in the game itself, just here for completeness' sake.
TOOLS: Hooah. Now we are cookin' with gas. A bit of background here--every character in FFVI has a unique "job class"--Monk, Samurai, Thief, etc.--and a special ability related to that job class. Edgar's job class is Machinist and his special ability is called "tools" and basically consists of him using a particular gadget to attack or weaken the enemy. Tools have no charge time, no limits on the number of times they can be used, cost neither MP nor gil, deal full damage from the back row, those of them that do not fall directly into your lap you get for low low prices, are unblockable, ignore split damage, and start out overpowered--basically, they're ridiculously broken. They do decline in usefulness, which means that by the end of the game they're fair. In Edensphere, Edgar will have no tools at first and will have to work on remembering and rebuilding them--basically, then, this is a list of Stuff He Knows How To Use.
Auto-Crossbow -- An automated repeating crossbow. Hits the entire enemy side at once. Is the weakest of Edgar's tools, which is kind of like being the smallest brachiosaurus: still damn big.
Noiseblaster -- An...audio device oooof some sort, about as big as he is. Emits a sound that confuses enemies. Fails on enemies immune to the status but otherwise a guarantee.
Bioblaster -- A tank and nozzle containing some kind of toxin, when sprayed over the field of battle it inflicts poison-elemental damage and poisons the entire enemy line. Not sure about its OSHA-compliance though.
Drill -- A fuckoff-huge power drill. Apply to singular enemy. Nice, reliable damage. No TTGL jokes, too.
Flash -- No, NOT what you're thinking. A device that makes a very very bright flash of light, bears some resemblance to a camera. Deals a considerable amount of damage (somehow...) and, much more sensibly, blinds the entire enemy line.
Chainsaw -- Awwwwwwww yeah. The chainsaw command is actually two weapons in one--most of the time, in FFVI, Edgar whips out a very large handheld circular saw and carnage ensues (for straight damage, this is the best tool). But roughly a quarter of the time, he puts on a hockey mask and a standard-issue chainsaw and goes Jason on the enemy. Instant kill.
Debilitator -- A ...thingy....that.....somehow....makes an enemy weak to a random elemental magic. Animation makes it look like he's "analyzing" the enemy or something. Current working theory is that the force of his Sheer Crazy-Awesome compels the enemy to submit. Will probably never be recreated in ES.
Air Anchor -- "Move and you're dead!" OHKOs the opponent on its next turn. Only fails on enemies immune to instant death. There is, surprisingly, no gigantic anchor involved. There should be, though.
That's all for tools.
GENERAL/NON-COMBAT SKILLS: He is a genius mechanic. Seriously. I mean, the gent built a motherfucking submersible tunneling castle using no magic at all. He's also fairly strategically-minded and practical, and all reports indicate that he led his people well. Also, on those not immune to his charms, he is apparently suave enough to get any information he needs. GENERAL SMART GUY SKILLS. Also he can ride a chocobo, kill antlions, disguise himself as a thief, and fail at piloting Setzer's airships :|b