Tellah
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| Tellah | |
| |
| Sprite(s) |            
|
| Japanese | Tella |
| Kana | テラ |
| Romaji | Tera |
| Voice actor (Japanese) | Gorou Naya |
| Voice actor (English) | Lee Everest |
| Job | Sage |
| Skill | White Magic Black Magic Recall |
| Birthplace | Kaipo |
| Age | 60 |
| Height | 5' 10" (1.77 m) |
| Weight | 105 lbs. (48 kg) |
| Laterality | Right-Handed |
| Final Fantasy IV Character | |
- "You Spoony Bard!"
- —Tellah
Tellah is a playable character in Final Fantasy IV. He is the Great Sage of Mysidia, and thus is a master of both White and Black Magic. However, due to his old age, he can only remember a few of his many spells. He has a short temper, and will not hesitate to get defensive when something happens to someone or something he is close to.
In the English localization of the DS version, Tellah is pronounced [ˈtɛ.lə].
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Appearance and Personality
Edit
Tellah is passionate but quick to anger. He loves his daughter Anna very much and only wishes to protect her from what he thinks will harm her. He is crass and sometimes downright rude, but determined, and can work alone as well as working alongside others.
Tellah's distinctive characteristic is his long white beard. His ingame sprite and SD artwork depict him wearing round glasses; a high collared, long purple coat and purple trousers. His Amano artwork expands on this a little, giving the inside lining of his coat a striped pattern; stars on his shirt; blue and red patterns on his trousers, and a fringe trimming on his coat.
StoryEdit
Final Fantasy IVEdit
Added by SsorceniviDTellah and his wife had a daughter, Anna. After the death of his wife, Tellah became overprotective of Anna. One day, Edward Chris von Muir, the prince of Damcyan, disguised as a Bard, eloped with Anna. Tellah was furious and pursued them. However, he had grown slow in his old age and lost track of them in the passages leading to the Underground Waterway. A weakened Tellah was unable to defeat the Octomammoth, a powerful monster guarding the exit from the Underground Waterway, and was effectively trapped deep underground. When Cecil Harvey and Rydia were traveling through the Underground Waterway searching for the Sand Pearl, they came across Tellah and offered their help. Tellah accepted, and the three were able to defeat Octomammoth and head to Damcyan.
When Tellah arrived in Damcyan, the Red Wings attacked the city and stole the Crystal of Fire. The Red Wings destroyed most of the city, killing or injuring most of the populace. Anna suffered grave injuries during the assault. When Tellah found his daughter near death, he turned on Edward in rage, cursing at him ("You spoony Bard!" being the most memorable curse). However, Anna stopped the fight, explaining to her father that she loved Edward and that a dark man named Golbez had led the attack on Damcyan. Anna died moments later.
Added by SsorceniviDMuch later, when Cecil, Palom, and Porom are climbing Mount Ordeals on Cecil's quest to become a Paladin, they encounter Tellah alone on the mountain, searching for Meteor, a spell of incredible power. Tellah agrees to help his old friend reach the summit. Along the way, they twice fight and defeat Scarmiglione of Earth, one of Golbez's Elemental Archfiends. At the summit of Mount Ordeals, they discover a room full of mirrors. When they enter, a mysterious light appears, refers to Cecil as "my son", and assists Cecil in his transformation into a Paladin. First, however, Cecil must overcome the darkness within him. Cecil succeeds and arises reborn as a Paladin. As the light departs, Tellah rediscovers all of his missing spells, including "Meteor".
Cecil, Tellah, Palom, and Porom returned to Mysidia, where the Elder of Mysidia congratulated them. He also spoke of the Mysidian Legend of the sword Cecil now wielded, and how only a Chosen One could wield it. Cecil then agreed to defeat Golbez. When the Elder noticed Tellah, Tellah told him of his plans to defeat Golbez using Meteor. However, the Elder reminded Tellah that he should never fight with a vengeance, and that Tellah would die if he were to ever cast Meteor, due to his old age, however, Tellah was not swayed, and the Elder admitted that he could not stop Tellah. Cecil then asked the Elder to open the Devil's Road that leads to Baron, and the Elder obliged.
In Baron, Cecil and his friends learned that Cid had created a new airship, but was arrested when he refused to let the king see it. Cecil tried to enter the castle, however, the guards would not let him enter. He overheard that a Karate Man was invited to be an officer in Baron, and that he was hanging out at the inn. Cecil went there, and found out that it was, in fact, Yang Fang Leiden. Yang ordered the guards to attack Cecil, and then attacked him himself. However, Cecil was able to snap Yang back to reality, and Yang realized that he was under the control of the king of Baron the whole time. Yang then rejoined the party, and found the Key of Baron in his pocket, which the party then used to enter Baron Castle via the Ancient Waterway.
Cecil's party reached the castle, and met up with Baigan there. Baigan tells Cecil that he is not under Golbez's control, and that he is loyal only to the King of Baron. He offers to help Cecil, and Cecil accepts the help. However, Palom and Porom smell a monster in the area, and point Baigan out as the monster. Cecil's party then fights Baigan, and Palom and Porom warn Cecil to tread lightly around Baron. Cecil then proceeds to meet the king, who is upset that Cecil became a Paladin. However, when Cecil mentions the king of Baron's true name, the king lets out that he killed the real king, and Cecil then demands that the king reveal himself.
It turned out that the king was in fact Cagnazzo, the Archfiend of Water. Cecil's party then fought Cagnazzo and won. Cid escaped prison after this, and greeted Cecil enthusiastically. Cid then joined Cecil's party. However, Cagnazzo had one last trick up his sleeve. When Cecil tried to escape, the walls began to cave in. Palom and Porom had to save Cecil's party by petrifying themselves. Tellah tried to heal them, but to no avail. Cid then took them to his newest airship: the Enterprise.
Cecil could not escape on the Enterprise without an encounter with the Red Wings. Kain issued an ultimatum to Cecil. Cecil would either get Kain the Crystal of Earth in Troia or Rosa would die. Cecil had no choice but to go to Troia. There, he learned from the Epopts that the Dark Elf, a monster who lives in Lodestone Cavern to the north, had stolen the Crystal. He also found Edward who was recovering from the Leviathan attack. Edward gave Cecil a Whisperweed because he was too weak to help Cecil out.
Cecil's party then headed to Lodestone Cavern to meet with the Dark Elf. However, the cave was covered in a magnetic field, and Cecil and his friends could not equip metallic weapons or armor. The Dark Elf was thus able to defeat Cecil. Edward was able to sense this, and began to play a melody on his harp. The Whisperweed reacted to this, and the Dark Elf lost control of himself. As a result, he became weak, and Cecil could attack him with his sword. He was then able to reclaim the Crystal of Earth. He and his party then headed back to Troia, where Kain contacted him and made him get on the Enterprise. Before leaving, however, the party visited Edward one more time, and Tellah told Edward that Anna was happy to be loved by a man like Edward. Edward asked Tellah to avenge Anna for his sake too, and Tellah agreed to do so.
Added by SsorceniviDKain then guided Cecil's party to the Tower of Zot, where Golbez was holding Rosa prisoner. Golbez told Cecil's party that he wanted them to "receive" the reward, and made them come to him. Cecil's party then climbed the tower, and had to fight the Magus Sisters at the top. After the fight, they met Golbez, who took the Crystal and would not free Rosa. Tellah then attacked Golbez out of vengeance for Anna, and began casting spells on Golbez.
However, they had no effect. He then cast Meteor on Golbez, severely wounding him. Cecil then rushed forward to strike, but Golbez knocked him down. Golbez then told Cecil that it was not over, and escaped. However, his control of Kain was broken. Cecil's party surrounded Tellah, who was dying due to the effects of him casting Meteor. He asked Cecil, Yang, and Cid to avenge Anna for him, and then died.
In one last hurrah, during the fight with Zeromus, Tellah and his daughter Anna both grant the party their power to help overcome the evil before them. Though departed, they quite clearly demonstrate their strength of character alongside the living during that encounter.
Final Fantasy IV: The After YearsEdit
Tellah's spirit appears before Edward in The After Years, along with Anna's. He tells him that Anna wants him to find happiness. Throughout Palom's story, he seeks to become a great sage and follow in Tellah's footsteps. He shortly appears before Edward during the ending, alongside Anna.
Equipment and StatsEdit
Tellah has some of the worst stats in the game, both physically and magically. His MP does not increase above 90, to ensure that the player will never try to cast Meteor with him (Meteor costs 99 MP). Nonetheless, this can be circumvented by using a Soma Drop (giving Tellah 100 MP, one more than Meteor's 99 MP cost). His equipment consists of rods and staves, as well as mage equipment. Unlike other characters, Tellah's physical stats (except for his HP) actually decrease when he levels up, implying his age is catching up with him, thus preventing him from gaining strength.
AbilitiesEdit
Added by TenzaZangetsuTellah has the ability to cast both White and Black Magic spells. When he first joins, he only knows a handful of spells: the Black Magic spells Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Stop, and Osmose, and the White Magic spells Cura, Life, Blink, Esuna, Confuse, and Teleport. He also has access to the Recall ability, which allows him to cast a random Black Magic spell. This ability was removed in the North American SNES release. The spells Tellah can use with Recall are:
| Original | |
|---|---|
| Spell | Chance |
| Failure* | 20% |
| Fire | 15% |
| Blizzard | 15% |
| Thunder | 15% |
| Toad | 15% |
| Break | 5% |
| Bio | 5% |
| Tornado | 5% |
| Death | 5% |
| DS | |
|---|---|
| Spell | Chance |
| Toad | 31% |
| Fire | 10% |
| Blizzard | 10% |
| Thunder | 10% |
| Fira | 6% |
| Blizzara | 6% |
| Thundara | 6% |
| Firaga | 4% |
| Blizzaga | 4% |
| Thundaga | 4% |
| Bubble | 3% |
| Faith | 3% |
| Bravery | 3% |
Once Cecil becomes a Paladin, Tellah gains access to all spells except Holy, Quake, Death, and Flare. At this point he loses Recall, however.
In the Nintendo DS version, Tellah has two more spells initially, the spells Poison and Silence. Once he remembers all his spells he also learns Arise, he may use Meteor provided a Soma Drop is used on him, and he keeps the ability to use Recall, which may cast a spell he does not normally have access to.
Equipment ListEdit
| Rods | Staves |
|---|---|
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| Head | Body | Arms |
|---|---|---|
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Other AppearancesEdit
Final Fantasy Trading Card GameEdit
Tellah is depicted on two cards in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. He is depicted with his SD artwork and his Amano artwork. His Amano art card is able to use his Recall ability. As a reference to his sacrifice to cast Meteor to defeat Golbez, both his cards have the effect of being able to move themselves to the Break Zone to deal heavy damage to an opponent's Forward.
GalleryEdit
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Trading card displaying Tellah's SD artwork.
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Trading card displaying Tellah's Amano artwork.
GalleryEdit
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The original version of Tellah's SD art.
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Akira Oguro concept art of Tellah for the DS release.
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Nintendo Power artwork of Tellah by Katsuya Terada.
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Battle sprite (PSP).
EtymologyEdit
Tellah is probably an "Engrish" form of Terah (Hebrew תֶּרַח Téraḥ), the Biblical patriarch who was father of Abraham and grandfather of Lot. Tellah's Japanese name, テラ (Tera) is also the Japanese name for Terah. In Hebrew, the name is also slang for "old man", and Tellah is known for his old age and sagely position.
TriviaEdit
- In the Final Fantasy Chronicles port or the DS remake the player can use a Soma Drop on Tellah increasing his MP to 100, allowing him to use Meteor despite not being able to in the story without dying.
- The original Japanese Finest Fantasy for Advance remake and the North American GBA port have a bug where the battle between Tellah and Edward is much longer than intended, because Tellah keeps missing Edward, which stops the story from progressing. The bug was fixed in the second Japanese Advance release and the European port.
- Tellah is the first playable character in the series to wear glasses.
- Tellah and Fusoya are the only playable characters in Final Fantasy IV not to receive CG models or appear in FMVs in the DS remake.
