I am Cyan, retainer to the king of Doma. Ready thy axe! Cyan, to the Captain

During the Third Gestahlian Campaign, the Gestahlian Empire lay siege to Doma Castle. The soldiers of Doma were prepared to surrender, but Cyan convinced them not to give up and suggested the strategy of slaying the Imperial commander to make the rank-and-file soldiers flee. Cyan entered the battlefield and defeated the Imperial Captain overseeing the attack. The other Imperial troopers panicked and retreated, and Cyan ordered the Doma defenders to withdraw and they would outlast the Imperials.

At the Imperial Camp, General Leo, the Imperial overseeing the siege, was recalled by Emperor Gestahl. In his absence, Kefka took command of the camp and poisoned Doma's water supply. As Cyan and a Doma sentry noticed the flurry of activity in the camp, the sentries around the castle dropped dead on the spot, and Cyan realized what had happened. He ran to the throne room just as the King of Doma was gasping his final breaths, and then went to check on his family and found them already dead. Speechless with horror and grief, Cyan grew enraged and stormed the Imperial camp.

As Cyan engaged the Imperials, Sabin and Shadow saw him and rushed to his defense. Though Cyan did not know them, he welcomed the aid. Sabin formally introduced himself during a break in the fighting and convinced Cyan to flee the camp. With the Imperial regrouping, the three hijacked suits of Magitek armor and fought their way out. Sabin told Cyan they were heading to Narshe and Cyan advised the only way there was through the woods to the south—the Phantom Forest.

In the woods the group found a train platform with a train waiting, confusing Cyan as he thought the Empire had destroyed Doma's rail systems. Sabin suggested checking the cars for survivors, but Cyan suspected what the train was and tried to stop him to no avail. As the group entered the train, the door locked and the engine sounded its whistle and departed. Cyan explained that this was the Phantom Train, a supernatural locomotive that ferries the souls of the recently dead to the afterlife. While Cyan was resigned to his fate, Sabin was less accepting and the group agreed to make for the engine and shut the train down.

After defeating the sapient engine, it agreed to let them go at its next stop. As it pulled up to the platform, Cyan, Sabin and Shadow jumped off, eager to escape. The train took on new passengers: the victims of the poisoning of Doma. Cyan spotted his wife and son among them, and called to them, but the train was already departing. As Cyan ran along the platform, Elayne and Owain came to say their goodbyes. The train pulled away into the woods, leaving Cyan on the platform watching his family leave.

When the group reached Baren Falls Cyan suggested leaping off the falls to escape the Empire so they could cross the Veldt and find aid in Mobliz. Shadow left the two and they leapt together, washing up on a river that ran along the Veldt. A wild child named Gau found them, but ran off when they woke up. At Mobliz the two learned of an Imperial deserter that was badly wounded and recovering in the village. The soldier received letters from his girlfriend Lola in Maranda, but was too weak to read them or write her back. Cyan and Sabin read him some of her letters and sent replies on his behalf.

The two learned in Mobliz that Gau had a taste for dried meat and purchased some, then tossed it to Gau when they found him on the plains. The treat earned Gau's trust and as they made introductions, he became obsessed with Cyan's accent and gave Sabin the nickname "Mr. Thou". Gau offered to give the two a "shiny treasure" in thanks for the food, and led them to the Crescent Mountain Cave. Gau's treasure turned out to be a diving helmet, and the three used it to swim through the Serpent Trench to reach Nikeah.

In Nikeah Cyan caught the eye of a dancer at the pub who made salacious comments at him. Cyan was flustered and enraged by her attentions and lectured her on how a "proper" woman should act, and the rant convinced her to leave him alone. The group boarded a ferry to South Figaro and snuck through town to reach Narshe.

At Narshe Sabin introduced his allies to his brother, Edgar, and the leader of the Returners, Banon. Cyan told them about the fate of Doma and Banon used this as evidence to try and convince the Elder of Narshe to ally with the Returners for protection. Another of Sabin's friends, Locke, arrived at the meeting with warning that the Empire was going to invade Narshe. He had learned this from his companion, a traitor Imperial general named Celes. At her name Cyan grew enraged and prepared to attack her, knowing her by reputation as the general who was responsible for the decimation of Maranda. Locke defended her, and another member of the group, Terra, admitted she was also a former Imperial, surprising Cyan; Edgar reminded him that while the Empire was evil, not all of its soldiers were.

A city guard reported Kefka and his forces were approaching and the Returners and their allies mobilized to defend the town. Cyan was still distrustful of Celes, and she advised him to judge her with his own eyes in the coming battle. The Battle for the Frozen Esper ended with a Returner victory and Kefka retreated. In the aftermath, Terra approached a frozen esper that had been dug up in Narshe, and she reacted to the creature and transformed into an esper herself, flying away. In spite of her past as an Imperial, Cyan agreed with the others that they had to find her.

Cyan continued to aid the Returners as they battled the Empire. After a force of espers emerged from the gate to the esper world, they devastated the Imperial capital Vector. Emperor Gestahl called a truce and asked the group to aid him in finding the espers and getting them to agree to peace talks. Terra and Locke accompanied the Imperial expedition and the others remained behind, Cyan keeping a close eye on the prison cells where Kefka had been locked up for the poisoning of Doma. The truce turned out to be a ruse to lure the espers to Thamasa so Kefka could kill them and seize their magicite for Gestahl. The Returners escaped the Empire on their airship, the Blackjack, and met up with Terra and Locke in Thamasa, where Cyan was saddened to learn that Kefka had killed General Leo.

Kefka and Gestahl invaded the esper world and discovered the Warring Triad, the gods of magic, and used their power to raise the Floating Continent. When the Returners confronted them, Kefka killed Gestahl and seized the power of the Triad for himself. Kefka moved the Triad out of their careful alignment, causing a world-wide cataclysm as their powers were unleashed. In the chaos the Blackjack was destroyed and the party scattered across the world.

While traveling the remains of the world, Cyan remembered the wounded soldier in Mobliz and his girlfriend in Maranda, and wondered what had become of her. Cyan visited Maranda and learned that Lola had stopped receiving replies from her boyfriend and did not know his fate, but still sent a letter to him every day. Cyan was moved by her devotion and could not stand by and do nothing about it. He began to impersonate the soldier and wrote letters back to her, telling her that he was recovered and working to rebuild Mobliz. Cyan took up residence in Mt. Zozo and not only sent Lola letters, but also wove silk flowers that he enclosed with them.

When the Returners passed through Maranda, they learned of Lola's "boyfriend" and were confused, as they had been to Mobliz and knew it had been destroyed by Kefka. They read one of the letters Lola had received and recognized Cyan's handwriting. Lola asked them to attach her reply to the carrier pigeon, and the Returners did and followed the bird to Zozo. They made their way through Mt. Zozo and found Cyan living there in a cave full of silken flowers, and a final letter confessing his deception to Lola and encouraging her to not be trapped in the past and learn to love again.

Cyan was joyous to see his friends alive and well, but panicked when he realized how they must have found him. He hurried into his cave and began packing up his belongings, and when the group entered he tried to explain them as "a minor diversion". The group complimented his craftsmanship, flustering Cyan, but they laughed it off. Cyan explained how he had learned of Lola's state and through writing the letters, realized he was the same as her, refusing to let go of the past. Cyan rejoined the party and informed them he had also met Gau in Maranda and believed he had returned to the Veldt.

A time later, the party visited Doma Castle and rested in its barracks. While he slept, Cyan was attacked by the Dream Stooges, who sought to feed on his soul. The party entered a Dreamscape world within Cyan's soul and defeated the stooges, but the dream continued. After fighting their way through the varied landscapes of the dream, they found themselves back in Doma Castle, where the spirits of Elayne and Owain appeared to them. The two explained that a being called Wrexsoul, a congregate of souls dispatched in an ancient war, had latched onto Cyan due to his self-torment over Doma and was feeding on his pain. The party agreed to destroy Wrexsoul and free Cyan.

In the throne room the party confronted Wrexsoul and an imprisoned Cyan, and defeated the spirit. Cyan regained his senses and thanked them, and spoke of hearing his family's voices encouraging him to live. Elayne and Owain manifested and cheered for Cyan, but he rejected their praise, still guilty for Doma. The two reassured him he was still honorable and departed again, but left behind a sword for him, telling him they would always be by his side. Cyan took hold of the sword as the dream ended, and in the real world he committed himself to letting go of his pain and keeping the memory of his family in his heart. Cyan let go of his confusion and doubt, allowing his swordsmanship to reach its peak level.

After Kefka had been felled and his tower was collapsing, Cyan and Edgar were escaping when a stairwell collapsed, leaving Edgar hanging from a doorframe. Edgar called to Cyan to reactivate the stairs via a switch, which Cyan grumbled about as his distaste for machines welled up. After some posturing and hesitation, Cyan leapt on the switch with gusto and the stairs extended to save Edgar, and Cyan laughed at his own "skill" handling mechanical matters.

