Family Tree

Ifalna was Aerith's biological mother, and the last remaining pure Ancient, or Cetra. She met Professor Gast Faramis during his travels around the world in order to study the Cetra, and agreed to aid him with his research. The two of them remained in Ifalna's hometown, the Icicle Inn on the Northern Continent, where the Professor began to record a series of interviews, in which she told of the tragic history of her ancestors and the horror of Jenova.

Over time the pair fell in love and eventually Ifalna gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Aerith. Ifalna was concerned for her daughter's future, and worried about the dangers she would inevitably face due to her unique abilities. When Aerith was just 21 days old Hojo, accompanied by Shinra soldiers, discovered the family's whereabouts and arrived unannounced to claim the newborn for his experiments.

Afraid for her daughter, Ifalna offered herself up in an attempt to pacify Hojo, but he was not satisfied. In the struggle that followed, Gast was killed by the Shinra soldiers and Ifalna and Aerith were taken prisoner.

Over the next 7 years they were the subject of Hojo's twisted experiments, until the day Ifalna was able to find a method of escape. The pair managed to reach sector 5 in Midgar before Ifalna collapsed on the steps of the train station, unable to recover from the wounds inflicted from their daring escape and years of torture at the hands of Hojo.

Before she died Ifalna entrusted Aerith to Elmyra Gainsborough, a kind woman who had attempted to help them. She also passed on a sphere of white materia to her daughter, who from then on always wore it in her hair ribbon.

From time to time Ifalna spoke to Aerith from the life stream, but over the years as her spirit became further integrated with the planet, Aerith found she could not hear her voice as clearly.

Professor Gast Faramis was Aerith's father, and the inadvertent founder of the 'Jenova Project', a Shinra funded experiment intended to give the powers of the Ancient to ordinary humans.

As a young scientist Gast discovered the body of what he believed to be an Ancient, which he named Jenova. Shortly after, he was employed by the Shinra Corporation and encouraged to investigate his discovery with a team of scientists, the investigation was dubbed the 'Jenova Project'. While working on the project Professor Gast became increasingly concerned with the activities of a scientist named Hojo, who had begun conducting experiments on human beings.

At around this time Gast discovered that Jenova was not actually an Ancient, as he had first believed, and ashamed of this mistake decided to resign from the project. He then devoted his life to travelling the world searching for information on the Ancients, or the Cetra. His journey took him through Cosmo Canyon and eventually to the Icicle Inn where he met Ifalna, the last living pure-blood Cetra. Gast managed to persuade her to help him with his research, and began to record a series of interviews in which Ifalna recalled the history and demise of her people.

Over time Professor Gast and Ifalna fell in love, and Ifalna gave birth to a baby girl. Gast became instantly infatuated with his daughter, who he named Aerith, and started to use his recording equipment to film their time together as a family.

Soon after the birth of Aerith, Hojo, accompanied by Shinra soldiers, arrived at the family home to take the newborn in the name of research. Gast attempted to defend Ifalna and Aerith, but was killed in his attempts to resist. Ifalna and the baby were then taken to Shinra headquarters where they suffered years of abuse and neglect as the subjects of Hojo's twisted experiments.

Elmyra Gainsborough was Aerith's foster mother, and cared for her like her own daughter for around 15 years.

During the war between the Shinra and Wutai, Elmyra's husband was sent to the front to join the battle. After some time Elmyra received a letter to say he was returning home on leave and went to wait for him at the sector 6 train station. When her husband did not arrive as planned, she began to visit the station every day hoping for some news. On one of these visits, Elmyra witnessed a tragic scene, which was not uncommon during wartime, a woman lay dying on the steps of the train station and her small daughter knelt beside her crying. Elmyra, being a kind-hearted woman, attempted to help the pair, but nothing could be done. With her last breath the dying woman begged Elmyra to take her daughter Aerith somewhere safe.

Elmyra, with no child of her own and with still no word from her husband, decided to take Aerith home with her and they quickly became close. Elmyra noticed Aerith's special abilities soon after her arrival, as the child told her many strange things regarding spirits and the planet, and on one occasion told Elmyra of her husbands death just before she was officially informed. The Shinra soon discovered Aerith's whereabouts and continually visited the house in the attempt to persuade the girl to return to headquarters with them, they were never violent in their pursuit of her, but Aerith continually refused. Elmyra knew how hard her daughter tried to hide her abilities from the Shinra, and so acted as though she had never noticed anything unusual about the child.

The years passed and Elmyra watched her daughter grow up and fall in love with a young member of Soldier named Zack, who broke her heart when he failed to return to her to keep a promise he made to her. She tried hard to prevent her daughter getting hurt again, when Cloud, another member of Soldier came into her life, but as Aerith was stubborn by nature there was nothing she could do.

Shortly after Aerith left with Cloud, she returned to Elmyra with a small girl named Marlene, and asked her mother to keep the girl safe. Due to the increasing danger of living in Midgar, Elmyra left the city with Marlene and settled in the nearby village of Kalm, where she had relatives. Here she awaited Aerith's return.

A long time later, Cloud, Tifa and Barrett, Marlene's father, came to Kalm town in search of Elmyra and the child. Upon reuniting, Cloud told Elmyra of her daughter's death at the hands of Sephiroth and the group apologised for not being able to save her. In the years after Aerith's death Cloud would deliver flowers to the Forgotten Capital, her final resting place, on Elmyra's behalf.