The Ancients - Cetra

The Cetra, known as the Ancients, were a deeply spiritual people born of Gaia—humanoids unlike any other. They could “talk to the Planet,” communing with the Lifestream itself . Though they appeared human, their connection to Gaia made them caretakers of the world. The Cetra wandered Gaia in search of the Promised Land, following the whispers of the Planet to heal and nurture the land. Over time, those who settled and built cities lost their bond with the Planet, drifting away from Cetra ways. The Cetra had the ability to guide the flow of spiritual energy, opening veins of Lifestream to enrich the earth. The lush growth in Aerith’s home in Midgar is one rare testament to this power. Around two thousand years before the events of Final Fantasy VII, an alien entity struck Gaia in a meteor, a being later named Jenova. It deceived the Cetra by assuming the forms of their loved ones, then unleashed a mutagenic virus that drove many into madness and monstrous transformation. A small band of Cetra rallied and sealed the fallen celestial menace within its impact crater—later known as the North Crater. Despite their bravery, the Cetra were soon hunted nearly to extinction by resentful humans, their once-vast civilization dwindling into myth and ruin. The City of the Ancients—Gaia’s forgotten capital of the Cetra—stands as a silent testament to their lost glory. Ruined and overgrown, it marks the memory of a time when the Planet’s guardians walked the world. In later ages, Shinra scientists unearthed Jenova’s remains, mistaking the alien for a Cetra ancestor. Though her lineage faded, a handful of descendants remained—among them Ifalna and her daughter Aerith, the last of the Cetra. Their memories now stand as fragile threads tying Gaia to its ancient caretakers.