Cloud Strife

'''This is not FF7 canon. Well, some of it is. Most of it is not. This is mostly me trying to keep my notes straight. Spoilers abound.'''

Born August 11, 1976 Cloud Strife is a new recruit who dreams of becoming a SOLDIER officer like the great General Sephiroth. In order to enlist, he lied about his age, saying that he was 15 when he was in fact 13. SOLDIER rarely accepts anyone under 18, primarily because the necessary physical strength is not yet fully developed. Unsurprisingly, he did not make the cut the first time he tried to pass the test for SOLDIER 3rd Class.

An unlikely twist of fate sent Cloud back to his home town of Nibelheim with Sephiroth and another officer named Zack. The three of them uncovered a mystery in the Nibel mountains, a mystery that has yet to be solved.

At present Cloud is one of many infantrymen under Colonel Fair's command. At Sephiroth's suggestion, he's begun training under the tutelage of his commanding officer in order to better his chances in the next SOLDIER exam.