Former Comrades
“Everybody’s gone. It’s all in the past.”
Honestly, I was surprised myself, but now I know why. You guys look like my dear old friends. They lived in the middle of a turbulent generation, yet they were strong enough to grab their own fate. They knew the way to go, the things to do, the enemy to defeat and the people to protect.Rose, Disc 1: Hoax
Six Dragoons fought at Rose’s side at the time of the Dragon Campaign, each of them chosen by a Dragoon Spirit. Five of them perished in battle (presumably so, as two had passed away before the final battle), one was condemned to eternal petrification by a curse. So as to prevent the Death City Mayfil, “the gate of the inferno from which you can never return”
, from claiming their souls, the ghost of Shirley has anchored them to Capital Vellweb, where their trapped souls continue to wander the Tower of the Seven Dragoons.
At the end of Disc 3, Shirley appears before Rose for a second time, with the request that she revisit Vellweb at a later point in order to lead their souls to heaven. On Disc 4, the party can return to Vellweb for one of the game’s very few sidequests. Accompanied by Dart, Rose visits four chambers of the tower, each claimed by one of the previous Dragoons, to challenge her former comrades and grant them the peace they deserve.
The Dragoon Tower sidequest is one of the most memorable and moving parts of the game — as well as one of my favourite sidequests in all of gaming — due to the emotional depth conveyed in very few lines. It is also the only instance the player gets to see the previous Dragoons aside from the Dragon Campaign FMV. In the following, I have preserved their dialogues in full.
After a soul has moved on, the respective Dragoon’s chamber returns to its corroded state. The souls of Shirley, Dragoon of the White-Silver Dragon, and Zieg, Dragoon of the Red-Eye Dragon, are in many ways exceptions within the story and not part of this sidequest. Their chambers in the tower stand empty, and their stories are covered in different parts of this shrine. Naturally, Rose’s chamber is vacant as well, as she’s the only Dragoon of the past to still be active.
Syuveil, Dragoon of the Jade Dragon
“For me… Life is… Death is…”
Upon entering:
Rose: (Nothing has changed here. Not even a bit. Syuveil… It is such an irony that you who studied life and death cannot die completely.)
Syuveil: Is that you, Rose. Is anything wrong, you brought a lot of guests with you?
Rose: I was asked by Shirley, and came to see how you are doing. How are you? How are your studies?
Syuveil: Through the subjugation of Mayfil, I think I completely understand where life comes from and where it goes. Winglies have been manipulating souls, namely life, from Mayfil, the place known as the Death Capital, and the Crystal Palace, known as the Life Capital. We saw in Mayfil the destination of life. The darkness opened up into hell. The world of shadows, without light.
Rose: That is why you cannot die completely.
Syuveil: I don’t want to go to a world of nothing spread out on the tip of darkness. I don’t like nothingness. Where should I go!?
Rose: I’ll tell you now.
After the battle:
Rose: Somewhere in the east country, there is this legend. “Life does not come from anywhere or go anywhere. It just goes around with all other lives. It is part of a great wheel.”
Syuveil: I can come back… again. To the place with light… To the place with warm lives.
Rose: How… can I tell you? But maybe ahead in the "hell" you saw in Mayfil, there might be a place with light waiting for you… all is… up to you.
Syuveil: Yes. It is what I have to decide. Where I want to go now… I must think it through… Thank you, Rose.
Damia, Dragoon of the Blue-Sea Dragon
“I don’t like to be alone. Where is… everybody.”
Upon entering:
Rose: (Here too… the same as the past.)
Dart: (She is still a kid.)
Rose: (Yes. She was 15 years old back then. She was younger than Meru.)
Dart: (Such kids could manage the power of Dragoons?)
Rose: (Yes. She was born between a human and a mermaid. So that she had a special power.)
Damia: Rose, you were worried and came here to see me?
Rose: Yes.
Damia: Thank you as always. Rose, don’t go anywhere. Don’t leave me alone again.
Rose: …
Damia: Say something… Rose, you will make me feel lonely like everybody else!?
Rose: No, I won’t. There is nobody who bullies you like in the past anymore. We won’t let them.
Damia: Yes, Rose and the other Dragoons are all kind to me. But… Why make such a sad face?
Rose: Sorry, Damia. But, there is somewhere you have to go. Forgive me.
After the battle:
Rose: Damia, everything will be fine. You won’t become lonely anymore. When you go there, everybody will be waiting for you.
Damia: It’s true. I feel… I feel them. Are you coming, Rose?
Rose: Yes. When the time has come, everybody goes there.
Damia: Then, I’m relieved. See you.
Kanzas, Dragoon of the Violet Dragon
“Anybody… Just satisfy me.”
Upon entering:
Rose: (Here too… the same as the past.)
Kanzas: Who is it!? Oh, it’s you. You hate this place so much. What made you change your mind about coming here?
Rose: I didn’t change my mind. These dolls still make me feel nauseous.
Kanzas: Huh! Say what you want! These are mementos to remind me of the taste of blood dripping from my fist! There is no reason to be criticized by you!
Rose: The people killed by you won’t be saved if they find a memento in such poor taste as their tomb.
Kanzas: You… came here to become one of these dolls!?
Rose: I now understand the reason why you are clinging to this world. You haven’t killed enough.
Kanzas: Then let me be satisfied with you!!
After the battle:
Rose: I was surprised when you joined the Campaign by being persuaded by Shirley. But after all, it was to kill?
Kanzas: Yes, that’s right. But, it wasn’t the only reason. I thought the nobleness of Shirley, which I could never have, would take me somewhere I could otherwise never know. Some bright place I couldn’t know. So, even after death, I have been looking for that place.
Rose: The “bright place”… I hope you can reach there.
Belzac, Dragoon of the Golden Dragon
“Children… We will protect your future.”
Upon entering:
Rose: (Here too… the same as the past. He is…!)
Belzac: Children… I will realize the freedom you wished, and the future I promised to you. Children. Please watch us.
Dart: (Is that soul one of the Dragoons that is trapped in this world?)
Rose: (Yes. His name is Belzac. He is the Dragoon recognized by the Golden Dragoon Spirit. But, what is tying him to this world?)
Belzac: Is that you, Rose? And Zieg!! No, it seems not. Who are you?
Rose: It is a long story. We don’t have time to tell you about it now.
Belzac: Yes indeed. The subjugation of Kadessa will be soon. This last strategy has to be completed for the sake of the children who were killed by Winglies.
Rose: You haven’t realized it yet?
Belzac: Realized what?
Rose: You… are… No not only you, but everybody but me has died.
Belzac: Everybody… has died? And, that includes me? Shirley died too!? It… it cannot be!! I took the attack of Super Virage, with my own body… to be the shield for Shirley!!
Rose: You remember now…
Belzac: No way! I don’t believe Shirley died!! I don’t believe it!!
After the battle:
Belzac: Now I remember. All the truth… But, death is not as sad as I imagined. Thank you Rose.
Rose: “It’s not sad anymore”. Yes. The Shirley you loved is there too.