Aifread is a legendary pirate who appears, or is at least mentioned, in several games throughout the Tales series. Aifread represents one of several recurring staples of the series, and his role commonly involves major sidequests in which the party attempts to find his lost treasure.
Appearances
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Phantasia marks his first appearance, where a sidequest involves the party traveling all over Aselia in order to gather all the treasures that Aifread scattered across the land. The man who gives Cless' party the quest itself was interested in finding out what Aifread's greatest treasure was, and ultimately, it was revealed to be an old, worn dress that was almost hidden at the splat center of Iselia - it belonged to his wife, and that was his greatest treasure: Love.
Tales of Eternia
Aifread serves a much larger role in Tales of Eternia. He is known as the legendary King of Pirates in both worlds, though considering his lack of an Elara, he is probably originally from Inferia. Chat, a recruitable character, is his great-granddaughter, and she never lets the party forget it. Aifread also appears to have been extremely eccentric, having designed puzzles involving everything from a board game to a haunted house to wind-up duck toys. Keele particularly notes his bad sense of style. He scattered treasure around the world as well, and left cryptic clues as to their locations. The Legacy of Aifread is one of the Seven Treasures of Celestia. It is thanks to him that the party is able to travel across and between the worlds, having created the Van Eltia and, presumably, the Aifish, Aibirds, and Relay Point.
His theme song is simply known as "Aifread Theme," though the song "Comical Dungeon" is played in his dungeons.
Tales of Symphonia
In Tales of Symphonia, Aifread is a pirate from Luin who is in need of money to make up a new crew, and scams Lyla, a money-lender in Izoold, in order to get the cash. The party eventually gets tangled into a sidequest as well, and after sending Lloyd and his friends all over Sylvarant, not to mention scamming the party into paying his debt, he shows his true intentions by telling Colette that he simply wished for her to reflect on her journey, partially because he lost his entire crew when the Giant Kharlan Tree lost control and grew all over Sylvarant.
During this sidequest, Lloyd obtains the title, "Arrgh, Me Hearties!" which gives him a new costume. Upon completing the sidequest, the party receives the item Aifread's Hat, an equip that grants the highest int boost of all head armor in the game.
Tales of Legendia
Aifread is mentioned in Tales of Legendia by one of his shipmates, Kaz, whom the party can meet in Werites Beacon. He has written notes about rare monsters which give hints as to their locations. If every monster mentioned in the notes is defeated, Kaz will give the party Aifread's Hat. There is also an item known as Aifread's Flag in the game.
Tales of the Abyss
The only mention of Aifread in Tales of the Abyss is the armor known as Aifread's Hat, which can be bought at the casino in Keterburg. Its description is "A hat said to have been worn by a certain pirate."
Tales of Vesperia
In Capua Torim, the granddaughter living in the Lighthouse Keeper's House is in love with Aifread. Upon speaking to her when the party returns to Capua Torim, she mentions that Aifread has died heroically, and she now wishes to become a sailor to honor his bravery.