Many of the characters in the Final Fantasy Universe have unique names (such as Yazoo, Rude, and Cloud); I wanted to try to stick to that. Ā Her father gave her the name Eden, in hopes she would be as beautiful and bountiful in blessings, but he had no intentions in her falling into sin like those within the Garden. Eden is to represent the Garden of Eden in that sense. As the story progresses, Eden gradually becomes corrupted with the jealousy and the frustration in her struggle with her heritage and identity, she betrays the Planet and what she holds dear, thus resulting in her losing that spiritual light.
Not only she represents the fall of Eden, but her story is to illustrate Judas Iscariot, the disciple who committed betrayal out of greed. Ultimately, her story is to reveal that even the most faithful can fall. However, her story is to also show the radical power of forgiveness, how it can revive the dead spirit.
The last name, Inbar, means āAmberā in Hebrew. The amber eyes are a major characteristic of Eden. They are supposed to be inherited from her Cetran roots. From what I gathered, Ancients are known to have earthy traits; an example being Aerithās green eyes and brown hair. Eden is given amber eyes not only because it is an earthy color, but it also represents her darker motivations. Amber is the color of sap that bleeds from wounded trees; when Eden betrays the Planet, she hurts all that is connected with it such as the people, animals, plants, and trees. Their blood stains her conscience.
Race: Cetra/Cosmo Canyon Native
Appearance: Eden stands about 5ā 3āā, and has medium tan skin from her mother and father. She is also considered underweight due to her subpar hunting skills. She is not always successful in catching food; and with the gritty, bleak world Final Fantasy VII is set in, many of the population were poor and couldnāt always afford necessities. Eden is one of those who struggle greatly.
She also has various scars from her hunts and battles. Three claw marks are seen on her left collarbone; three huge, jagged scars rip over her left rib cage and reach down her side. She also has scars from a bite wound on her right arm.
I based her appearance loosely on the Egyptian and Middle Eastern backgrounds. She bears the tattoos around her eyes and on her cheeks that are iconic of Egyptian relics, and wears three piercings on both ears (a golden ring, silver stud, and silver ring), the ivory fang gauge is seen only on her left ear. Two thin, silver lip rings are on her bottom lip.
There is also a tattoo on her left wrist, hidden beneath her arm covering. It is a small sun symbol with two eagle feathers. Itās to honor her late mother.
Each of the eight thin braids, each braid held together by a gold band. Her bangs are long, angled, messy, and jagged.
The choker she wears around her neck is hemp braided with a gun-metal, swirled tribal pendant that loosely resembles a beastās paw. The dark satchel strapped to her hip often carries sleep materia and other small items she can manage to stuff in. She also has hazel eyes, to give an indication of her connection to the Planet. She also wears baggy, acid-stained jeans and furry boots.
From what I gathered from Cetra (Ancients) depicted from the Temple, they resonate with an appearance of those from Egypt and the surrounding area. I am aware that Aerith does not look as exotic (light skin tone, no eye markings) but I wanted to try to reflect what the Cetra ancestors may have looked, or intended to look.
Personality: Eden can be cunning, and she relies on this trait when facing a troubling situation; often choosing to stick to the shadows and tricks rather than facing someone head-on. Eden canāt stand the thought of losing control and is known to fight viciously and dirty when cornered. Preferring to be quiet and simply observe, she struggles with social interactions, especially first time meetings. She is paranoid towards others, thus she doesnāt trust easily. The woman is also victim to envy, as she can become very jealous towards those who are more skilled or more blessed than she is. She broods quietly instead of talking about her problems; and can seem dishonest, selfish, and stubborn.
However, towards those who grow close to her heart, she becomes protective and does her best to be dependable. The Ancient becomes more playful to those she loves and often becomes touchy-feely with them. She is rather insecure, due to her fear of the LifeStream and belief that she is cursed, and often looks towards intimacy as a means to help combat with her insecurities.
Her fatherās name is Cassiel, which is the name of the archangel of tears and solitude in the Kabbalah. He is an Ancient, and because of his heritage, he questions and fears of what the voices will do to him. Because of his fear, He tries not to get involved with the Planetās troubles, despite the Planetās urgings for him to act.
Her motherās name is Nizhoni, which I found means āBeautifulā in Navajo. She is a Cosmo Canyon native, and a passionate supporter of AVALANCHE and the Planet. She tries to give as much as she can to support their cause.
Crisis Core, Original FFVII game/ FFVII remake:
It has been two years since her fatherās death and Eden grows even more restless and unable to remain alone within the wilds. Upon her travels she heard some residents in Kalm speak of Midgar being āa place for heroesā. If a city could turn anyone into heroes, perhaps an easier way of life would be possible for her. While this was one of her reasons to come to Midgar, it wasnāt the only one. The very mention of the name āMidgarā stirred something deep within. It was like a prick of uncertainty, rousing an urgency to find something there. It made the feverish buzz of the spirits sharpen into mourning, which turned into outright screaming when āShinRaā was ever spoken. Eden didnāt want to admit the Planet was also an influence to her entering the city.
Eden quickly realizes there was no desire for a hunter within the urban chaos and finds herself beneath the Plate. She discovers a means to making essentials accessible, however, as she turns towards Wall Market. She spends the late nights lurking along the streets, seeking out and luring potential victims who already had quite a bit of liquor and were on their way to the Honey Bee Inn or to other bars. She gives them the promise of a passionate good time, only to bring them out of public sight to either use Sleep materia on them or simply knock them out. These victims are then left among rubble and shade with their gil and valuables stolen. The repeated kidnappings and theft lead to her receiving the alias āJackalā and though those of power have yet to pin down her identity, her luck is quickly running out with each risky attempt.
Through all this, the Planetās ghostly echoes continue to haunt her. They hiss and seize her mind, pushing her to look for something, or someone. They urge her to search for this soul within the Slums, as well as keep a watchful eye upon those who are loyal to ShinRa. The relentless battle against the whispers comes to a head when she stumbles upon those called AVALANCHE and she is swept into the conflict between the freedom fighters and ShinRa.
Midst the storm of violence and escape, Eden discovers the one the Planet pushed for her to find: Aerith. Immediately she is fascinated and fearful of the fellow Cetra, and struggles between looking to her for guidance or continuing her fierce resistance to it all. She finds that not only is Aerith able to find comfort in these voices, but has given her far greater power.
This fuels Edenās envy, she couldnāt understand why all she could hear are distorted, devilish whispers than supposedly familiar souls. Soon Eden comes to the idea that the Planet has truly condemned her to endure the curse of their bloodline, while Aerith receives the blessings of it. Ā Eden becomes enraptured by Sephirothās displays of control and words and in secret decides to side with him in hopes to gain some of that power. She sabotages AVALANCHEās efforts to capture Sephiroth whenever able.
Eventually, Aerith confides in her the plan of saving the Planet. Eden encourages Aerith to go to the Ancient City alone, knowing that a trap would be waiting for her there. Once she witnesses Aerithās death and her betrayal is revealed, however, Eden realizes her hands are stained not just of Cetran blood, but the blood of her allies and of all those who depend on the Planet. That was the only time the Planet fell truly silent for her.
