Four Fiends
The Four Fiends are fictional villains in various Final Fantasy games. They are comprised of four demons representing the four elemental themes: earth, water, fire, and wind.
Story
The Four Fiends were originally brought together by Garland, who had apparently learned to time travel. The four vicious demons who had been sealed away, Lich of Earth, Marilith of Fire, Kraken of Water, and Tiamat of Wind, promptly accepted and immediately began to lay waste to the entire planet. The Heroes of Light had to seek out each of the Fiends in their dens and destroy them so that the world would be restored to its natural order. Lich had made a home in the Cavern of Earth, and was the first to be vanquished by the heroes. Marilith resided in Mount Gulg, an active volcano. She was the second to be destroyed. Kraken had kidnapped a group of mermaids and made his home in a Sunken Shrine. He was the third to be stopped by the heroes. Tiamat, the most powerful of the Fiends, had a Flying Fortress where he slumbered. He was the forth, and last, to be killed by the heroes. Garland, however, altered time and restored the Four Fiends, then merging with them to become the monstrous Chaos.
The Four Fiends later reappeared in Final Fantasy IX, this time calling themselves the Chaos Guardians. They were the protectors of the Four Shrines. When Zidane Tribal and his friends battled and defeated each of the protectors, the shrines opened the gate to Terra. They later reappeared seperately, fighting the protagonists one-by-one.
The group also made an appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, as members of the evil Falgabirds under the employment of Grissom.
Lich of Earth
Lich is the Fiend of Earth, a demonic skeleton creature. In the first Final Fantasy, his main mode of attack was using magic spells, which fits as a mythological lich is an undead sorcerer. However, in his subsequent appearance in Final Fantasy IX, he opted to become more of a warrior, using physical prowess and an array of weaponry. He was the only Fiend that the player fights twice in Final Fantasy IX, as the other Guardians were fought behind the scenes. In the Earth Shrine, he was defeated by Zidane Tribal and Quina Quen. As a Falgabird in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Lich was a zombie and had the name Lich de Mort. Lich also appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics as a summon monster, Final Fantasy XI as an enemy monster, and in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles as a boss monster.
It is interesting to note that while Lich was the first and weakest of the Fiends to be defeated in the original Final Fantasy, he was the last and strongest of the Chaos Guardians in Final Fantasy IX. He also seemed to be the wise leader of the group.
Marilith of Fire
Marilith is the Fiend of Fire, a blazing woman with six arms and the body of a snake. In the first Final Fantasy, she was the second to be defeated by the main heroes, and was powerful both physically and magically. In Final Fantasy IX, she was the Guardian of the Shrine of Fire, and fought Amarant Coral and Freya Crescent behind the scenes. As the heroes entered Memoria, Marilith was the first of the Chaos Guardians they encountered. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance had her as a lamia monster working as a Falgabird. However, unlike the other three Fiends, she has not been seen solo in any of the Final Fantasy games. Also, whereas the other three Fiends are named after popular demons, a marilith is a demon made up by fantasy literature.
In the original U.S. version of the game, Marilith's name was shortened to Kary, and in Final Fantasy IX, her name was mis-translated as Maliris. Her name has been corrected in the remake of Final Fantasy and she has never since been referred to by either name.
Kraken of Water
Kraken is the Fiend of Water, a gigantic octopus creature named after the mythological kraken monster. In the first Final Fantasy, he was the third to be vanquished by the Heroes of Light, and mainly focused on using physical attacks. He returned in Final Fantasy III, this time alone and working as an assassin for the evil Zande. He looked much different, this time appearing to have the upper body of a man and the lower body of an octopus. In Final Fantasy IX, he was the Guardian of the Shrine of Water, and battled Garnet Til Alexandros XVII and Eiko Carol, but was the only one of the Fiends to not appear onscreen during that point in the game. He, however, showed himself as the heroes made it to Memoria, and was the third again to attack. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance depicted him as an ice flan monster and member of the Falgabirds. Kraken also appeared in Final Fantasy XI as an enemy monster.
Kraken is also going to appear in the upcoming Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy III.
Tiamat of Wind
Tiamat is the Fiend of Wind, a multi-headed dragon demon that was named for the Babylonian goddess, Tiamat. Though the actual creature in mythology is female, the Tiamat from the Final Fantasy series appears to be male. In the first Final Fantasy, Tiamat was the oldest and most powerful of the Four Fiends. He also seemed to have a close relationship with Kraken. The last of the Four Fiends to be eliminated by the Four Heroes, Tiamat reappeared solo in Final Fantasy VIII as a minion of Ultimecia. He later appeared alongside the other Fiends in Final Fantasy IX, where he guarded the Shrine of Wind. There, he was put into conflict with Adelbert Steiner and Vivi Ornitier. As a guardian of the shrine, he was depicted as only having one head. However, when he appeared later in Memoria, his true form revealed he had three heads. He was the second to be defeated by the protagonists. In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, he was a thunderdrake monster and member of the Falgabirds. Tiamat has also appeared in Final Fantasy II as a boss monster, Final Fantasy XI as an enemy monster, and Final Fantasy Tactics as an enemy monster.
Other Fiends
Final Fantasy IV introduced a new set of Four Fiends, this time serving Golbez. They were Rubicante of Fire, Barbariccia of Wind, Cagnazzo of Water, and Scarmiglione of Earth. However, unlike the original Four Fiends, they were given more characterization and weren't depicted as demonic creatures craving for disaster. They were named after the demons in Dante's Inferno (along with another boss from the same game, Calcobrina).