Welcome to Jae's one-page fansite to Cyrus Albright from Octopath Traveler. Naturally, there will be unmarked spoilers for the game and supplementary materials (including the mobile game and light novel) below, sections of which can be jumped via the links at the left for ease of access. Enjoy your stay, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
- Opened on May 30, 2022
- Part of Fayth and Amassment (One-Pager Event)
Octopath Traveler is the property of Square Enix and Acquire and has no official affiliation with this fanmade website. No infringement intended.
About the scholar
Cyrus Albright, referred throughout the story as Cyrus or Professor, is a scholar and teacher at the Royal Academy of Atlasdam, a city-state lauded as the continent's seat of learning, where the brightest minds congregate to spread the light of knowledge to the realm over. Regarded as a genius among even them, Cyrus is calm and mild-mannered with an ageless appreciation for learning insofar that he receives books like a little boy does toys. His pellucid lectures and good looks contribute to his popularity among students, and nothing makes him happier than a young soul with the drive to learn. On the flip side, his penchant for doing whatever he pleases often gets him into trouble with others, including the travelers and especially H'aanit.
"I try to keep myself presentable, this is true. But is my face truly so easy on the eyes? O, woe is me, doomed to never realize the full depth of my good looks and charisma!"
At 30 years old, Cyrus is the second oldest member of the party. Despite this, his youthful appearance is said to belie his age, and Primrose states that he has a face "girls are like to fancy" with the eloquence to lead them on unintentionally. Odette claims he's more handsome than he gives himself credit for, while Dorrie relays that Cyrus' popularity with the ladies is known beyond the borders of Atlasdam. The only one who fails to realize this is Cyrus himself, who hasn't a single romantic nor horny bone in his body and misinterprets the signals he's given as completely platonic, much to the chagrin of many a woman. Ironically, he's no slouch at reading the romantic intentions of others when he isn't in the picture.
In spite of his obliviousness, Cyrus cares quite a bit about propriety and takes care to be presentable and courteous. However, he has a bad habit of prying into others' affairs. His path action, scrutinize, which gleans information from non-playable characters, reflects this by being classified as a rogue action with a chance of failure that damages the party's reputation. Its noble counterpart, Alfyn's inquire, is believed to be the more friendly and organic version of Cyrus' nosy questioning, and the latter takes a page out of the former's book toward the end of their journey.
"H'aanit, you seem to think that the job of a scholar is to pore over tomes in a laboratory. Of course, while that's important, I'm not the type of person who neglects fieldwork. The body is the capital. It may not be training, but I am accustomed to walking."
In the light novel, The Four Paths of Eight Travelers, Cyrus is noted to fall in the middle in terms of the travelers' stamina. Olberic, H'aanit, Primrose, and Therion lead the party while Alfyn, Ophilia, and Tressa bring up the rear with Cyrus between the divide. Though he's regarded as a novice in adventuring, he states that he's used to walking for all the fieldwork he's done during his tenure as a scholar, even forgoing sleep in order to go on solo excursions at night.
Moving to the beat of his own drum thus, Cyrus' habits spill into drinking as he bows out of the men's drinking contest early on in order to savor his glass at his preferred pace. He ends up being the only sober traveler left when the tavern closes for the night, and suggests finding another to continue imbibing spirits. Therion concedes that Cyrus, who isn't inebriated in the slightest, actually holds his liquor the best out of everyone.
"Well, whenever I give voice to a song, people look at me with the queerest expressions . . . Also, they say things like, 'Good thing you're a scholar, sir, and not a bard.'"
Unfortunately, no amount of sobriety can make up for his lack of talent in the performing arts despite how much he enjoys them. (Various official and promotional art suggest, though, that he's proficient in the piano.) Cyrus informs Olberic that he's better suited to simply stating the truth as opposed to acting, and his singing is bad enough to silence the vivacious Tressa. He doesn't seem to realize how tone deaf he is, nor does he shy away from delivering a ballad when prompted. However, he's deeply aware and self-conscious of the fact that he's a terrible dancer, skipping faculty balls for fear of humiliating his lady partner by tripping over her . . . which makes it all the funnier that his leitmotif is a waltz intended to emphasize his cool and handsome character.
Finally, Cyrus is something of a meme among fans for his quotable lines and behavior, perhaps most known for his exclamation of "My focus is unparalleled!" before dishing out extreme damage. His focus is truly special as he tells Tressa that he becomes so engrossed in reading, he once failed to notice his neighbor's house was on fire. Another line of note includes quoting Sherlock Holmes before setting out on an investigation. If nothing else, Cyrus is a very entertaining character, and more so in the western fandom due to the hammy localization and direction of his English voice. (In contrast, his Japanese voice is nothing short of ASMR.)
Story of a truth seeker
Cyrus' story is peculiar in that it delves into many a dark subject matter that contrast against his unflappable love of mysteries and scholarship. A tale that would otherwise be macabre and grim carries a lighter tone than expected as a result. Cyrus' character is never quite challenged to defend his values or grow over the course of his journey, serving instead as an example and a medium for the lore so that the audience may acquire knowledge to match his passion for sharing it.
Chapter one begins with a lecture on the histories of Atlasdam and the kingdom of Hornburg, which fell some eight years ago. Cyrus' class consists of two students, whose performances contrast one another like night and day. Striving to treat his students equally, he emphasizes that there's no shame in not knowing an answer and waits patiently for his struggling pupil to find it in her textbook. His cool understanding of his students is soon juxtaposed to his childish excitement after class, when he reports to the Royal Academy's adjunct library in order to glimpse the first edition of a rare, religious tome—only to learn that it has gone missing, sparking a chain of events that kickstarts his journey.
"Cyrus gladly dons his teacher's mantle. He has discovered a new resolve: to make his knowledge and experience the foundations of a better future."
Throughout the story, Cyrus' passion for scholarship lights into a quiet fury when confronted by those who would misuse or squirrel away knowledge for themselves. He shames such erudite individuals for sneering in the face of mediocrity and selfishly hoarding what they know, and expresses no desire to linger in an institution, no matter how prestigious, that bars him from sharing his knowledge freely after he's reprimanded for doing so. His journey takes him through a series of mysteries that culminate in an expansion of Orsterra's lore and an unapologetic declaration of who he is: a "proud fool" who believes that the future of mankind is bright.
Led by his bright disposition, he asserts himself as a broad-minded thinker in search of enlightenment . . . who just happens to be a little pedantic and clueless insofar that he's referred to as batty or a nutjob on two separate occasions.
Shooting stars go brrr
In the light novel, Cyrus elucidates to Tressa that all scholars grow the basic skill of avoiding monsters when attending to their fieldwork. This translates to the evasive maneuver skill available to the job in the game, which reduces the rate of random encounters. Furthermore, the reason scholars unanimously use magic is because their spells are the product of reinventing the old system that was said to have been utilized by the sorcerers of eld. The scholars' studies of ancient literature have directly given rise to the new system and thereby a face to the wisdom of Atlasdam. Last but not least, Cyrus' unique skill, study foe, which gleans a random weakness of each target on the field at the beginning of an encounter, manifests in the novel by way of his enlightening the travelers on the nature and ecology of monsters based on his extensive readings.
"Can't we settle this like gentlemen?"
Cyrus, who dislikes violence, uses a staff as his default weapon of choice in the game. However, the mobile game, Champions of the Continent, introduces tomes for scholars instead. This actually reflects the lore more accurately, as Cyrus is seen opening a book every time he casts a spell in the original game.
In terms of meta, Cyrus begins the game as a veritable powerhouse with the capacity to shred enemy shields with his multihit spells. His greatest downfalls are his expensive SP consumption and fragility, both of which can be circumvented by assigning him the secondary job of merchant. The merchant's rest ability allows the user to recover HP and SP, enabling Cyrus to become self-sufficient while saving BP to maximize his damage on the turns he flings magic. Lastly, study foes reduces the amount of turns wasted on pinpointing enemy weaknesses early on.
"It is most vexing to have one's allies running willy-nilly into the path of one's spells."
Unfortunately, Cyrus' utility is said to fall off by endgame, as the secret job of sorcerer renders the primary job of scholar obsolete. Whereas scholars strike twice with one of three elements, a sorcerer has access to every single element and strikes thrice. (This is a relative nonissue in Champions of the Continent, where his upgraded skills can reach the same number of consecutive hits. In fact, he's coveted as a top-tier unit there.) For parties that only require one damage dealer, it makes more sense to bench Cyrus and slide in Primrose or Therion as a sorcerer. Assigning sorcerer to Cyrus is redundant and ill-advised by most. As for me, I'm the dumbest strategist and tactician around, so I'd say to do whatever makes you happy.
More possibilities open up for those willing to branch out of Cyrus' natural inclination toward doom and destruction. Cyrus boasts the highest offensive magic stat of all the travelers, meaning any job that utilizes magic is a sound fit for him. Cleric unlocks light and healing magic in addition to the scholar's aptitude for fire, ice, and lightning. In a similar vein, dancer opens up the world of dark magic.
As for the secret jobs, starseer and runelord both work for Cyrus. Starseer's three-tiered spell, shooting stars, can nuke just about everything with astonishing damage if Cyrus utilizes the job's BP eater skill, whereas runelord thrives on his offensive prowess by supplementing every physical attack with an element of his choice. For example, a spell from Cyrus as a scholar may total 30,000 in damage when the strike of a rune as a runelord can scale as high as 80,000. Considering the highest HP boasted by a boss in the game is 500,000, the raw power of runelord becomes staggeringly apparent. The best part is that Cyrus benefits from runes even if he isn't a runelord in a party due to the job's ability to transfer them onto others.
Personally, I assigned starseer to Cyrus—also known as Pope Cyrus (pictured left)—because I am a staunch supporter of shooting stars go brrr for all the hours of grinding it saved me at endgame. Donating BP to the other travelers also padded turns that would have otherwise gone to waste. Prior to, I went for the tried and true secondary job of merchant, because he is oh-so-fragilé.
Cyrus and intelligent kindness
What I love most about Cyrus is his kindness. While the likes of Alfyn and Ophilia may be considered the paragons of compassion and warmth among the travelers, Cyrus, for all of his quirks, is arguably just as caring in a subtler fashion. For me, the greatest strength of his character lies in his capacity to see past himself at the world and the people around him with grace, favoring the good over the bad.
In contrast to many of his scholarly rivals, Cyrus is inviting of learners of all levels and disparages his colleagues who think only of their research. His values are most apparent in how he treats students of all ages (counting even himself and his fellow scholars among them), but apply to those outside of his purview as well. Remarked by his superior to be more emotional than expected, his unerring intellect coexists with a heart that strives to be lawful and equitable, giving rise to his high-minded disposition. Perceived injustices anger him, and his cool claim that his "sub-collar temperature remains tepid" or his excitement over a missing persons case shouldn't detract from the fact that he abhors villainy and doesn't think twice about throwing himself into danger for someone else's sake.
"As scholars, we learn from the past to better understand the present, and pass our knowledge on to the future. What do you mean to do with the knowledge you amass? The secrets you unravel? Carry them to your grave, content that they are inscrutable to all who do not possess your genius? You would call them simpletons . . . fools . . . feeble minds . . . I say it is you who lacks the ability to teach and inspire!"
Cyrus' character is unable to be challenged over the course of the story, because his values are so unwavering that none can oppose his unyielding generosity toward others. (This isn't to say that there's an absence of conflict. On the contrary, he berates his failings as a teacher when a student endangers herself for his sake, and is no stranger to temptation that he makes a concentrated effort to dismiss.) He would sooner lecture an accomplished scholar for writing someone off, arguing that a man can grow his mind, than scold anyone's ignorance. While assured in his knowledge, he remains humble in his studies with a desire to be taught by his students someday. His recognition of his mortality and membership in evolving society allows him to see people as the face of the future, instead of feeling hindered by their mediocrity next to his celebrated genius.
In fact, Cyrus is happiest when he can share the experience of discovery with a companion. This is most likely the reason why he and Odette were "joined at the hip" a decade ago, and why he's beyond overjoyed when Tressa tags along on an excursion he meant to undertake alone.
In any case, Cyrus understands the "darkness that exists in the heart of man." He's smart enough to know the consequences of sharing forbidden knowledge. At the same time, he chooses to believe in the light—the very best—of mankind as opposed to their worst. Although the localization does add a liberal amount of flavor text to his character, the truth that Cyrus is deeply passionate and reliable in a harmonization of intelligence and kindness without jeopardizing either holds no matter the delivery.
"I cannot tell if you're courageous . . . or ignorant of the danger." – Olberic
Delightfully, Cyrus is also a proponent of self-care! He doesn't think of himself as better by any means: He is who he is, just as the travelers are their own individuals. While he looks out for them by way of quiet worry for Primrose's mental health and a drink for Alfyn's mounting stress throughout the story, he attends to his own desires when opportunity strikes—sometimes to comedic effect, such as when he steals away at night without informing the travelers and returns from his private venture in the morning to everyone beside themselves with worry. Solo excursions notwithstanding, he's open with his thoughts and feelings where most would shy away, unfettered as he is in his honesty, and appears all the healthier in spirit for it. While Olberic questions his self-preservation instinct, Cyrus certainly knows how to have a good time.