Ruins of Past Glory
“[Dragoons are descending here in this place again.]”
After the end of the war, Humans split up the continent of Endiness into the nation of Serdio to the East, Tiberoa to the South and Mille Seseau to the North; to the west lies the uninhabitable Death Frontier.
Over 11,000 years may have passed, but proof of the Winglies’ former rule remains in the form of historic ruins. Furthermore, locations such as the Valley of Corrupted Gravity show traces of the Dragon Campaign; where the magic power of the Dragoons and Winglies once collided, nature has been distorted. And in some places, the husks of Virages still remain.
Rose used to live in a time where the Winglies dominated the world from the floating cities they had built, and the party revisits those cities as well as ancient battle sites throughout Disc 3 and 4, where they call upon Rose’s knowledge. In several cases, their visit prompts Rose to remember things from long ago, so it only seems appropriate to dedicate a page to the world as it existed back then.
Human Strongholds
Holy Imperial Gloriano
The Holy Imperial Gloriano was the land ruled by Emperor Diaz, the leader of the Humans during the Dragon Campaign. Melbu Frahma scorched its earth with the magic power obtained from the Crystal Sphere; the land was reduced to ashes, and the anger and sadness of the people fueled the Dragoons’ cause. Gloriano eventually went down with its emperor, and in present time, it is a land eternally covered in snow and ice where nothing thrives. Crossing the Snowfield allows one to reach Gloriano’s former capital Vellweb and Fort Magrad.
According to the text on the world map and the official Japanese guidebook, the Death Frontier that takes up almost a quarter of the continent used to be part of the Kingdom of Gloriano as well. As with the Snowfield, it is a desert harbouring many ruins and void of Human settlements, for the area is continuously exposed to the scorching sun, sandstorms and roaming monsters.
Fort Magrad
Fort Magrad is accessible through the Snowfield, its entrance still flanked by a decree monument of the Winglies (see image above) that once forbade anyone to touch the door. To the Winglies, it was the cursed land where the decline of their race began. To the Humans, it was the battle site where Emperor Diaz declared war against the winged rulers, tens of thousands of soldiers and seven Dragoons at his side.
Diaz: What we desire is freedom!! Or give us death!!
Liberation Army of Humans: God bless Diaz!! God bless Gloriano!!
Diaz: I am to bring light to the Humans’ future! I am to pass judgment on the past of the Winglies! I am Diaz!!
Liberation Army of Humans: God Bless Diaz!! God Bless Gloriano!! God Bless Diaz!! God Bless Gloriano!! God Bless Diaz!! God Bless Gloriano!!
Capital Vellweb
Vellweb was the capital of the Humans during the war, the place where their liberation began. It housed the Tower of the Seven Dragoons as well as the throne of the Holy Emperor. Just like the deserted Fort Magrad, Vellweb now is nothing more than a mere historic ruin past the Snowfield. And just like the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, it has been distorted by magic, sporting the characteristic magic mist and fragmented floating rocks.
Dart, look at that huge battery. Humans shot huge arrows from there. Aiming at the Tower of Flanvel. And back then, Humans thought this way. “That the arrow would not only shear the darkness that covers the earth. But also shear their corrupted hearts which were accustomed to being ruled.”Rose
Wingly Strongholds
During the Winglies’ reign, all their structures used to float in the sky so as to facilitate controlling the creatures below — until they were shot down by Humans and the Dragoons. Their cities are characterized by teleportation devices that allow them to move around easily; at the height of their power, even instant teleportation to other cities was possible.
Birth City Crystal Palace
Alhough it is a remains of the Winglies, the Crystal Palace in the capital Leningrad has become the residence of the royal family of Mille Seseau. In the past, it was called the Birth City due to its status as the city where Wingly babies were selected: Those with weak magic power weren’t allowed to be born. Its counterpart is the Death City Mayfil. The palace itself used to be a Wingly fort, and one of its chambers was used for a sealing ceremony.
Royal Capital Kadessa
Kadessa was the capital of Winglies in the old world, the center of politics and the military, and where eternal prosperity was promised. Later on, it became a shelter for Winglies during the war. A nameless ruin now, the remaining Winglies have sealed it away along with an ancient artifact, the Dragon Block Staff, and refer to it as the Forbidden Land, where their “hideous memory sleeps”
. The place still contains some magic power, which draws monsters towards it, and can’t quite shed its smell of blood: At the height of the Winglies’ rule, Kadessa’s coliseum entertained them with death matches between enslaved Humans, Dragons and Gigantos.
Kadessa was also the site of the final battle of the Dragon Campaign (as depicted in the FMV), destroyed along with Melbu Frahma and the Crystal Sphere. When the party visits the site, they encounter the Super Virage that Kanzas gave his life to vanquish (the game script refers to Belzac by mistake, who was killed by a regular Virage as he shielded Shirley). A presumably distorted version of the Winglies’ palace, which used to be part of Kadessa, is seen as an illusion in the last dungeon.
Meru: I am the offspring of that kind of Wingly.
Dart: The Ancestor told us that this is a mere ruin, didn’t he?
Meru: …
Dart: What happened here happened in the past. No matter what sorrow there was, it is no longer our sorrow. Isn’t that right?
Albert: There is nothing to worry about, Meru. The sins of the past are there just to tell us not to repeat them anymore.
Tower of Flanvel
Flanvel served as the Winglies’ floating fort during the Dragon Campaign until it was shot down by arrows fired from Vellweb’s ballista. In the past, the royal family of Mille Seseau placed the Moon Mirror in its ruins, and to this day, its magic teleportation devices are still working. Its entrance lies west of Kashua Glacier.
Magical City Aglis
Aglis used to hover over the sea as the city where magic was studied and most of the world’s magic was created. It was sunken during the war, and since less than twenty years ago, it has been protruding from the sea around the Outland Village Rouge, surrounded by a whirlpool. Yet, at the bottom of the sea, the structure is still supported by magic. Someone still seems to be keeping it alive, powered by technology that wasn’t available during the Dragon Campaign. However, the magic power contained within is deteriorating and cannot keep monsters from invading.
Law City Zenebatos
As one of their most prosperous cities, Zenebatos was the place of Wingly legislation and administration, and where trials and executions were carried out. In their arrogance, Winglies claimed justice as their intention, but the laws were really laws to judge other species, as the judgements were anything but fair. Laws created in Zenebatos include the repossession of Human land and the decree to worship Winglies; they were written in the ancient characters of the Winglies, the Humans and the Gigantos.
Though damaged in the war, the city is still functioning, but it has lost its reason. Guilde Laptos, magic constructs without hearts, roam its streets, producing laws like commodities as in the old days. Even Judge Nomos of the great court and the winged executioners Vector, Selebus and Kubila, all of which have lasted to the present day, seem to be mechanical tools rather than living creatures. In present day, the city can only be reached with the teleportation device in Aglis.
Death City Mayfil
The souls of the dead from all over the world used to be sucked into Mayfil’s tower to be sent to the infernal world, as Winglies in the past wanted to control the destination of the souls after death. During the war, the Dragoons destroyed the place completely so as to prevent more souls from being toyed with. And yet, as the gate of the inferno has been opened by the devils of the infernal world, the sky over Mayfil is still filled with souls — souls of those who could not die completely. The souls that linger are tormented by negative thoughts, which attract the devils from hell and allow them to rule Mayfil. Mayfil, too, can now only be reached with the teleportation device in Aglis.
Rose, there are many souls who know you. Yes, there are countless…Lavitz