Vearn is the main antagonist in Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. Having revived with his immense dark magic the previous Dark Lord, Hadlar, to serve as the Dark Commander of his new Dark Army, Vearn now seeks to conquer the world and wipe out humanity from the face of it.
Appearance[]
For a significant part of the story, Vearn's figure remains in secrecy with only his menacing silhouette visible from his veiled throne. Outside that veil, Vearn is present as a tall incredibly elderly man with long beard that reaches below his neck, and very long white hair with two strands reaching around his chest. He wears long whited robes which only display his black boots. He dons a black armored section covering his shoulders and chest with golden borders and decorations, from which a long blueish cape falls down, with two golden strands with a pattern are featured closest to his center. He dons a spiked crown which complements his two darkling horns from the sides of his head. Vearn's face is also partially obscured, particularly in his forehead where his third eye, the Sovereign Rock is.
His frail appearance is a stark contrask with the otherwise imposing figure behind the destruction unleashed in the world, to the point even Hadlar and Popp question whether he was indeed the terrifying Dark King, and believed him to be weak.
In his true form, Vearn is a muscular, fair skinned, much younger looking demon with long silver hair with noticeable spikes on the top of his head and two black horns to the sides with a lighter upper section, and is tall enough to easily tower over Leona being almost twice as tall as her. His third eye is still visible in this form. Vearn dons a set of black armor with golden borders across his shoulder protectors and his torso, with a golden plate on top across his chest. He wears a sleeveless white robe, much more modest in size and coverage than the one donned by his older form but with the same golden pattern as his older form's mantle. Vearn dons white pants and a pair of black boots with goldened sections, and a pair of gauntlets of similar design.
Furthermore, by releasing all the magic power stored into his third eye all at once, by gruesomely plucking it, Vearn can assume one final form, named Sovereign Rock King; this monstrous, giant body evelops his organic one, becoming like a suit of armour and making him much more physically powerful than before, but at the cost of being an irreversible transformation, although he can still make his actual shoulders and head pop out if he so chooses. Sovereign Rock Castle was modelled and named after this form, as Vearn assumed he would never bring himself to actually go through with this drastic change.
Personality[]
Befittingly of someone holding the rank of Dark King, Vearn is the ultimate evil in the manga and anime's universe, spreading genocidal destruction on humanity and without any shred of remorse and in fact shows sadistic glee on all the carnage he unleashes. Vearn's feels unparalleled scorn for humanity, due to having the upper world for themselves with the sun shinning on them, whereas Darklings are limited to their dark underground world, making Vearn crave for the sun and give its light and blessings to the underworld.
Despite his nigh unparalleled cruelty, Vearn's most defining trait is his patience. He schemed the destruction of the world for thousands of years, building not only resources and an army to do the deed, but also set in place an array of protective measures for himself, careful to an exceeding fault. Vearn was also shown to be tolerant to failure and made it a point to be fair in his judgement, following a three opportunity policy, giving ample room for his servants to redeem themselves, but would also scorn them harshly if they incurred on his displeasure. Nonetheless, he was flexible enough to overrule his previous threat against Hadlar who had at the same time severely exhausted his chances, as he had demonstrated notable change which Vearn believed useful to his cause.
Vearn was cautious to rather diabolical degrees, having placed a Black Core within Hadlar as insurance, which he could detonate at any time to eradicate any trace of life on a continental level should the need come to exterminate his enemies while he remained safe on his throne, showing that he ultimately did not care for his subordinates and was more than willing to employ methods so cowardly even Hadlar was disgusted to the extent he betrayed Vearn.
His preventative nature, was also displayed on his own views of humanity to contrarian degrees. While he viewed humans as little more than pests that were in the way of his goal, he was still wary of what they could accomplish as humanity being able to defeat Hadlar was a testament of their ability to grow stronger. He also justifiably, looked down on nearly any opponent that faced him, for he was vastly more powerful than fundamentally any entity that existed in the world.
Vearn was an avid lover of Chess, showing an open liking to the strategic nature of the board game. Interestingly, he disliked what he considered "cheating", despite the fact he was fairly underhanded himself.
Background[]
The source of Vearn's power is his third eye, the Sovereign Rock (鬼眼 (きがん) ) with which he could transform a monster of the Drum family into a strong creature or even change himself into the Sovereign Rock King (鬼眼王 (きがんおう), kigan ou). Presumably, it's with this power that he could resurrect Hadlar.
His Sovereign Rock King form was the basis of the Sovereign Rock Castle (鬼岩城 (きがんじょう) ).
During his youth, Vearn discovered a parasite monster, later called Myst. Upon meeting him, Vearn decided to make a clone of himself and conserve it with the time freezing spell. His clone body became similar to a doll, and with Myst's abillities to parasite and control a body, the clone merged with Myst and turned into Mystvearn. Myst's gas-like body would cover Vearn's clone body and only would be allowed to reveal it's form on rare occasions. Vearn's plan was to continue building his magical power and wisdom as he aged before eventually re-joining with his youthful form in order to create a perfect body for him to inhabit.
15 years ago he resurrected the Dark Lord Hadlar after Avan defeated him which put him in a comatose state for 13 years.
He now has a Dark Army with Hadlar as its supreme commander and he personally chose Hyunckel, Myst-Vearn and Baran as three of its six generals.
Abilities[]
As his title of Dark King implies, Vearn is an unfathomably powerful being possessing literally godly might at his disposal and might easily be considered the single most powerful antagonist in the entire Dragon Quest franchise. His sole presence is capable of exerting great pressure around his vicinity, to the point Hadlar, Crocodine and Hyunckel were completely speechless upon seeing his decrepit shape, making for a terrifying contrast of visible frailty and unparalleled power. Even Hadlar himself who had become a Superior Being realized he was no match for Vearn. An absolute master of magic, Vearn possesses nigh unlimited amounts of magical power being capable of casting several powerful spells without so much as showing any sign of fatigue. He is in fact, able to cast multiple spells one after another without any trace of delay, allowing him to overwhelm his foes through brute power alone.
Matching with his incalculable magic reserves is his spellcasting skill. He is so adept at magic that he can cast Frizz in the form of a small, compressed fireball that can erupt in a vicious tornado of flames upon detonation. In fact, his Frizz spell is vastly more powerful than any human Kafrizz, completely eclipsing what very much any other mage is capable. His Kafrizz in turn also behaves differently and is the centerpiece of one of his signature techniques, Kaiser Phoenix, in which his spell takes the form of a large flaming bird which can be used to attack his enemies consecutively.
An even more terrifying demonstration of his monstrous power can be seen in his Vearn Palace, a giant structure that is kept afloat purely through reacting to his magic power. Even the entrance of his palace was sealed by a door fortified with his magic, that took the combined might of not one, but two Dragon Knights to overcome. He could also bestow privileges to his subordinates to be able to teleport regardless of this protection. Yet even then, Vearn is capable of weaponizing his magic power through other means. When pressed further he can make use of his signature weapon, the Staff of Edacity which is inspired by the Somatic Staff turning magic power into attack power. Unlike the latter, the Staff of Edacity has no fixed limit, which in the hands of Vearn's magic reserves make it the most powerful weapon in the world according to Lon Berk himself, its creator, who ended up loathing it. The weapon takes the form of a spiked staff with a tentacle like extension which attaches itself to Vearn's arm, suctioning his magic to create an energy blade sufficiently powerful to compete with Dai's own sword made of Orichalcum and even break it. This weapon is the key to one of Vearn's most deadly attacks, Calamity Wall, swinging his weapon to create a giant wall of pure magic power that slowly advances on his enemies and destroys anything in its path, this guaranteeing certain death. Abuse of this weapon, however, is dangerous to even Vearn himself, as the consumption rate is so unbelievably high that Vearn will weaken if used for too long, being a weapon only he himself is able of wielding properly.
Vearn is also capable of other spells, such as the forbidden spell capable of creating lifeforms, which he used on his Orichalcum chess pieces completing the rest of the set from which the Orichalcum Guards were birthed. Unlike Hadlar's guards, however, these pieces lacked any soul and were vastly inferior in strength. Even the sole unique piece of the set, King Maximum was extraordinarily weak and mocked by Mystvearn.
Vearn was also incredibly skilled in the use of Dark Aura, with his power being responsible for resurrecting Hadlar from death. He was also capable of modifying Hadlar's body so he could resurrect stronger each time he was felled, granting him what Vearn believed was the Ultimate Body, and even making him stronger than he was than when he faced Avan. He even surgically modified Hadlar's body to implant a Black Core without Hadlar ever realizing until much later and could even bestow upon him the Kasizz spell as a gift, which would become one of Hadlar's signature finisher moves.
In truth, Vearn is only half as strong, as the old man seen by many to be the Dark King is nothing more than a split body which holds Vearn's Magic Power and Wisdom, while his other half which holds his physical prowess is under Myst's safekeeping and possession. Said body has enough physical strength to crush Orichalcum through brute power and is able to defeat strong fighters such as Larhalt or Hym with relative ease. However, while under Myst's control the body is placed under The Secret Spell of Frozen Time which freezes its time, thereby putting it in stasis which makes it unable to age and also unable to suffer any damage, yet the body cannot move either, which is circumvented by Myst's parasitation.
When retaking control of his two halves, Vearn's true power is returned to him, and he can employ his physical and magical aptitudes to his fullest. The full extension of that power is demonstrated through Vearn's most powerful technique, the Demonic Guard of Heaven and Earth. It is a combat motionless stance in which he raises his left hand while keeping his right hand slightly raised close to his torso. It is a technique made to repel any attack and unleash a devastating counter in an instant. The principle behind this stance is a three-step procedure. First upon being attacked, Vearn blocks the attack with his right hand through his Phoenix Wing which can repel magic attacks, serving as the "Earth" or defense of the stance. Secondly, he unleashes Calamity End with his left hand, which is a hand chop attack infused with powerful aura and can cut through anything, being the "Heaven" or attack of the stance. Finally, he unleashes Kaiser Phoenix on the target or the "Demon" of the stance as it represents magic. The almost instantaneous nature of this counter coupled with its devastating power is almost guaranteed to defeat any assailant.
The technique is, however, not invincible as it cannot be used consecutively and leaves himself briefly exposed after using it. Furthermore, because it is a counterattack, it cannot be used unless Vearn himself is attacked. Due to the requirements and the three components of the stance, it cannot be used by neither half of Vearn's body. Only with Vearn's fully restored body can he use both his physical and magical power needed to execute it.
Other Appearances[]
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]
Vearn or True Dark King Vearn appears in the World of Visions: The Adventure of Dai second event.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional[]
Vearn appears in two different forms, each with their own requirement to obtain.
The first form of Vearn, his elderly one is available after winning the third battle of a post game Arena match.
When syntesized alongside Mystvearn, Killvearn, and the Ascended form of Madyuraja, the first form of Vearn will transform into the more powerful form of Sovereign Rock King Vearn.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light[]
Dragon Quest of the Stars[]
Dragon Quest Tact[]
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - A Hero's Bonds[]
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest - The Adventure of Dai[]
Dark King Vearn can appear rarely as a secret boss in the lower layers of the Temple of Recollection.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Dark King Vearn (Puzzle and Dragons).jpg (254 KB)")
.jpg "Vearn's Dark Phoenix (Dragon Quest Tact).jpg (482 KB)")
.jpg "Sovereign Supreme (A Hero's Bond).jpg (97 KB)")
Trivia[]
- His Sovereign Rock Castle is named after the original Japanese title translation of Arsène Lupin's Hollow Needle novel: 奇岩城 (きがんじょう).
- The Six Pointed symbol, representing his power changed over time. In the original series it was a "six point star of evil" (邪悪の六芒星) but in later reeditions its inner lines were removed leaving only the outer shape of the hexagram and renamed the "six stars of evil" (邪悪の六星). In the 2020 adaptation, it became a hexagon with a six point rosette, similar to the one sported by Hadlar on his belt after receiving his new body.
- The colour and position on Vearn's symbol of each Legion, is inconsistent between full colour page of chapter 15, the third film The Adventure of Dai - Six Great Generals or the 2020 series. The manga gives some position indications in chapters 73 and 138 which are coherent with a roundtable meeting of Commanders in chapters 33-34, although chapter 235 also revealed the soul colour of the Undead Legion Commander to be purple.
| manga | manga seating chart | film 3 | 2020 series | 2020 seating chart | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blizzblaze / Furfang / Undead (Pink) |
Dark Commander | Mystic General (Green) |
Blizzblaze Legion (Red) |
Dark Commander (Black) | |||||
| Mystic / Shadow (Orange) |
Mystic / Shadow (Purple) |
Mystic Legion | Furfang / Undead | Undead General (Yellow) |
Shadow General (Red) |
Dragon Legion (Green) |
Shadow Legion (Blue) |
Mystic (Yellow) |
Shadow (Blue) |
| Blizzblaze / Furfang / Undead (Yellow) |
Blizzblaze / Furfang / Undead (Blue) |
Furfang / Undead | Shadow Legion | Furfang General (Blue) |
Blizzblaze General (Purple) |
Furfang Legion (Orange) |
Undead Legion (Purple) |
Furfang / Undead (Orange) |
Blizzblaze (Red) |
| Dragon (colour unseen) |
Dragon Legion | Blizzblaze Legion | Dragon General (Pink) |
Mystic Legion (Yellow) |
Furfang / Undead (Purple) |
Dragon (Green) | |||
- Manga writer Riku Sanjo previously used the Japanese name of Vearn in his Jaseiken Necromancer Pc-Engine RPG.
- Vearn is the source of multiple memes.
- One line of Vearn was almost cut by the series' editor for being too meta when he references game encounter mechanics by stating that you can't flee in a battle against the Dark King.[1] Adding "did you not know?", which became a meme phrase in Japan to the point that it became the name of one of his attacks in Dragon Quest of the Stars and appears in Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light when attempting to flee against him.
- One of Vearn's most iconic phrases is "it was not a Kafrizz, just a Frizz" when Popp mistakes his Frizz spell for an extremely strong Kafrizz.
- His Tenchimatou Stance move also is a meme.
- His epithet as a God of Nadiria was reused for Nimzo.
Other languages[]
| Other languages | |
| French | Vearn |
| German | Vearn |
| Spanish | Unknown |
| Italian | Unknown |
| Dutch | Unknown |
| Norwegian | Unknown |
| Greek | Unknown |
| Portuguese | Unknown |
| Russian | Unknown |
| Chinese | Unknown |
| Korean | Unknown |
References[]
- ↑ Perfect Book, 1995-12-20 ISBN 978-4088588810