Changes: Gallopolis

Revision as of 10:06, 26 May 2020

The Sultanate of Gallopolis is a kingdom and city in Dragon Quest XI. Located on the sands of southeastern Erdrea, Gallopolis is known for its horse races and fearless desert knights.^[1] By evening, the city hosts a circus. It is modelled after the ancient Arabian Peninsula and draws upon that region's culture.

Story

World of Light

Pursuing a lead from Noah the information monger at Hotto, the search for a mysterious branch of Yggdrasil begins here in earnest.

Crown Prince Faris, the Sultan's sole son and heir, is slated to compete in the annual Sand National race as his rite of passage. He meets with the Luminary's party, hatching a plot to replace himself with a doppelgänger who can ride a horse as Sylvando performs his act; Faris is extremely cowardly and hippophobic. Members of the party have their suspicions, but the Luminary gives in to Faris's request.

The next day, the Luminary meets with Faris once more, and performs the switch. Donning the Prince's equestrian garb, the Luminary takes his place in the race and competes. When he finishes, Faris switches places again. This time, he goes out on his horse, much to his fear and loathing, and basks in the celebration from the crowd. Soon after, Faris agrees to meet with the Sultan for the Rainbough, as was promised the day before.

Before the prince can make his request, the kingdom is suddenly attacked by a beast known as the Slayer of the Sands. Thus does the Sultan send his son on an expedition to slay it.

Having watched the saga from afar, Sylvando has observed Faris's cowardice. As the prince sends our heroes on his mission, Sylvando offers to tag along. The party, now five strong, passes two checkpoints on the way to the beast‘s haunt on the north side of the desert. Faris is already there, but once again, his nerves get the better of him. Camping the night, they begin their search.

The Slayer of the Sands catches everyone by surprise. The Luminary’s party must confront the crustacean to subdue it and save Faris. They succeed, and Sylvando binds it with a chain. Faris carts the beast back to Gallopolis, believing it dead.

As the prince celebrates his apparent victory, the sand crab suddenly awakens from its slumber. Faris, scared out of his mind, tries to fight it, and fails miserably. Just then, Sylvando returns and finishes it off. Faris is left to confront the ignoble truth of his failure. The Sultan, meanwhile, has already sold the branch kept in his possession to a travelling merchant In order to pay for the race and its gala.

World of Darkness

As the party tracks down the elements of the Sword of Light to be forged based on their visions at Havens Above, they learn that Gallopolis was one of the three locales visited by Erdwin and his party when they fought the Dark One. The line of Sultans possessed a massive Forging Hammer, with which they moulded the sword.

In the present day, after the Fall of Yggdrasil, the Luminary and his party arrive at the moment a star dubbed Erdwin's Lantern is descending toward the desert. Fearing the worst, Prince Faris and several scholars argue on how best to observe the phenomenon. There are runes on it, but none can read them. Rab speaks with the Sultan to volunteer the party's aid. The Sultan agrees to allow it after a bit of back-and-forth with his fellow king; and together the party and Faris head for the Celestial Sands. While this is happening, a dark spirit body walks among them. When they reach the central ruins, the spirit reacts to the Luminary and performs a summoning rite. With this, the dark spirit beckons the star to descend faster; but a knight of shadow appears and shatters the star with a single slice of his blade as Rab continues to read it. He can only make out the word "Calasmos” from the text. As it is unknown who or what Calasmos is, the party tables discussion for now. But Faris, having not learnt his lesson from earlier, seeks to soak up every accolade. Rab and Sylv each deliver a rebuke to Faris. Faris, meanwhile, continues swooning over Hendrik, his idol appearing in the flesh.

As they return to the Sultan to report what has happened, the Sultan is taken aback by Rab’s return after so many years. Even he is stumped by the Calasmos mystery, and therefore cannot render aid. However, Rab remembers the Forging Hammer from the visions and asks about it. Faris agrees to retrieve the Hammer, but confesses that he was going to sell it as was done with the Rainbough. The Sultan is quick to rebuke his son, and hands over the Hammer having learnt of its importance. With this, the Luminary and his party depart for the next leg of their quest.

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