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Zenithia (Tenku-jou) is the name of a fictional sky castle from the Dragon Quest series. The first appearance is in Dragon Quest IV, and the castle is one of several elements from IVV, and VI which connects the three games as a distant trilogy.

Description[]

Zenithia is home to a powerful dragon, lord of the skies, and the winged, angel-like Zenithian people, as well as some Elfs and peaceful monsters. Zenithians are an insular culture who avoid contact with those on the ground, if at all possible, but there have been instances where they have fallen off the clouds by accident or descended to earth of their own volition. Doing so without consent of the Zenith Dragon is however considered a major offense, for which the culprit would receive harsh punishment.

Zenithia is one of the few locations in Square Enix's DS remake Dragon Quest IV to keep the name used in the original localization.

The counterpart to Zenithia is Nadiria, the underworld.

Appearances[]

Games[]

Dragon Quest III[]

It is mentioned by a talking horse that livese in the Castle of the Dragon Queen, that the castle itself its the closest point to the heavens (天界, Tenkai).

In the remakes, Cloudsgate Citadel is a sky castle located in a Heaven island and a bonus dungeon at the end of the Dragon Quest III remakes. It is unclear whether this castle and Zenithia are actually one in the same, or if they merely share a common name, in reference to later titles in the series.

The resident monarch refers to himself as King Zenith. More importantly, the castle is home to Xenlon--the wish-granting guardian dragon of the heavens.

The citadel is reached by stepping into the light of the stained glass windows at the Castle of the Dragon Queen in the "Overworld", although this can only occur if the Hero has already defeated Zoma and seen the ending, earning the "Erdrick" title on their save file on the loading screen.

The heroes will find themselves on a floating island surrounded by thick clouds. On this island is a deep cave, containing many rooms resembling those seen previously. The floors include:

Many fierce monsters populate this dungeon, including an alternate form of Baramos known as Baramonster. The final room of the dungeon is a monster arena, where the heroes fight inside the ring, after which they finally reach the royal court.

Riddles: A minstrel in the throne room will ask 3 riddles, each one with a powerful item as a reward for solving it:

Dragon Quest IV[]

In Dragon Quest IV, Zenithia makes its proper first appearance located directly above the entrance to the land of Nadiria.

The castle can be accessed by climbing the Stairway to Zenithia near the Azimuth, a tower which goes as far up to the sky as possible before a magical cloud could be taken to finally reach destination. The access for mortals to the Stairway and castle Zenithia itself is strictly limited, allowing only those who posses the full set of Zenithian Equipment left behind on the land below by Zenithians over the course of history.

While at Zenithia, the hero is given additional experience points by the Zenith Dragon, enough to raise them one level. The Dragon also unlocks the Zenithian Sword's true powers, as it will be needed for the final confrontation. In the wake of Psaro the Manslayer's transformation in Nadiria, an energy beam is emitted and reaches the skies, burning a hole in the clouds. This hole gives the Chosen access to the Doorway to Nadiria, where the beam came from.

In one of the castle chambers, a Zenithian woman can be interacted with. Her dialogue seems to imply that she knowns of the Hero's long-lost mother; however according to a missable party chat with Ragnar during the visit of Zenithia after defeating the final boss, the Zenithian woman has a physical resemblace to the youth, subtly implying alongside her demeanor that she herself is in fact the hero's mother and she is just keeping the fact a secret. In addition, a diary can be found in the library. Its contents reveal more information about the Hero's mother.

In one of the adjacent rooms, full of Yggdrasil saplings, the Hero can obtain a Yggdrasil dew if they do not have any at the moment.

If the group interacts with Orifiela, the Zenithian that they have accompanied back home, she will allow her pet dragon, Sparkie, to accompany the Chosen as a temporary party member.

Dragon Quest V[]

In Dragon Quest V, Zenithia has fallen into a lake south of Lofty Peak. This happened when the Gold Orb, half of a set of magical orbs constructed by Faerie artisans that supported the castle in the sky, fell from its place in the foundation of the castle to the land below. Once recovered and returned to the Zenith Dragon by the party, it will make Zenithia rise again, but not to it's full height. With this partially restored power, the castle can move freely around the lower sky and is one of the methods of travel used by the Hero and his group to fly around the world map, essentially replacing the Flying carpet. it's the only means of reaching the secluded Talon Tower.

Aside from the hidden passageway leading to the two orb pedestals, Zenithia's physical layout is largely unchanged from its previous appearance in Dragon Quest IV. The hole in the clouds is still present as well, although it no longer serves any purpose. In addition, the diary containing information about the previous Legendary Hero's mother is still present in the library, although its pages have aged to the point where only a small portion of the original passage can be read.

Dragon Quest VI[]

A former location in the Upper World, Cloudsgate Citadel is sealed away by Demon Lord Dhuran in Dragon Quest VI, and a giant hole is left behind in its place. Initially, the castle is corrupted by darkness and becomes a sentient being known as Stormsgate Citadel. The Hero and his party will need to defeat "Stormsgate Citadel" in battle in order to explore it.

Inside the castle, the hero and his companions will need to engage Dread Fiend Dhuran in battle to lift the darkness and restore the castle to its proper place. At this time, the castle is inhabited by normal people and is ruled by a human, King Zenith, although the egg containing the unborn Zenith Dragon is present. After Mortamor is defeated, the upper world begins to fade away; Cloudsgate Citadel remains as the only part of it that can still be seen and, floating above the Real World, it becomes the Zenithia known in Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V.

It is implied that at some point between Dragon Quest VI and V, the castle's inherent ability to float will fade away as well, making the two orbs necessary for the castle to remain in the skies.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince[]

Zenithia

Anime[]

The Adventure of Dai[]

The spirit of regards

The Spirits of the Heavens, as they appeared in The Adventure of Dai.

Referred as the Heavens, it is the location of the world where the three Gods of Humans, Dragons and Darklings, as well as Spirits (精霊, Seirei), are said to live there; after the two immortal rulers of the Underworld --Velzar and Vearn-- were respectively defeated by the two Dragon Knights; Baran and Dai, the spirits descended from the Heavens, and sealed them into stone. While the dark dragon Velzar, still technically alive but virtually unable to do harm to the surface, remained as a statue in the Underworld, Vearn's petrified remains, due to having been defeated far into the atmosphere of the planet, were subsequently attracted and most likely incinerated by the sun.

After his presumed death due to Killvearn's Black Core, Dai, unable to be found on neither the surface nor the Underworld after many weeks of searches, apparently ended up in the Heavens but, since he was proven to be still alive and well thanks to his link with the Sword of Dai, it is believed that one day Dai will come back to the surface and reunite all of his friends again.

Zenithian Equipment[]

There exists a set of legendary weapons and armor hailing from Zenithia. Most commonly known as the Zenithian sword, armor, shield, and helmet; only a hero of Zenithian descent can properly wear them. The entire set is required to be allowed entry into the Stairway to Zenithia in Dragon Quest IV--if the hero is not present in the party, the gate will not open.

In Dragon Quest VI, the sword is called the Sword of Ramias, the armor is the Armour of Orgo, the shield is the Shield of Valora, and the helmet is the Helm of Sebath.

Square Enix has released the Zenithian Sword and Sword of Ramias as part of their Dragon Quest Legend Items series - miniature collectible toy replicas of artifacts from the Dragon Quest universe.

Inhabitants[]

An inhabitant of Zentihia is called a zenithian; notable zenithians appearing in Dragon Quest IVV, or VI are:

  • Zenith Dragon (formerly Master Dragon) - The ruler of Zenithia in Dragon Quest IV & Dragon Quest V. In IV, he asks the party to defeat Psaro the Manslayer. In V, he offers to carry the party on his back through the skies after the castle is restored.
  • Orifiela (formerly Lucia) - She appears in the game Dragon Quest IV, as a Zenithian who has fallen to the world below and was unable to return to Zenithia. The party meets her at the top of the Yggdrasil, and she participates in battle as an uncontrollable partner.
  • Dr. Agon (formerly Pusan) - An enigmatic person who comes from the Castle of Zenithia. He appears in Dragon Quest V, and he may be more than he seems at first, as he is in fact a humanoid form taken by the Zenith Dragon.
  • King Zenith. The ruler of Cloudsgate Citadel in Dragon Quest VI. He is humanoid, unlike the Zenith Dragon, and advises the party after the dreadfiend Durhan is removed from his home.
  • Sparkie (formerly Doran) - A young dragon who is sent by Zenith Dragon to help the party in their fight against Psaro the Manslayer. He appears in Dragon Quest IV as an uncontrollable party member.
  • Oopsy and Daisy - Both are elven girls who first appear in Birdsong Tower in Chapter 2 of DQIV. They leave upon AlenaKiryl and Borya reaching the top of the tower, and accidentally drop Birdsong nectar. They appear again in Chapter 5 and 6 in Zenithia voicing their distrust of human, but concede respect for The Hero and company upon their victory of Psaro (Aamon in Chapter 6).
  • According to the games, at least one woman from Zenithia became involved in a relationship with a human, leaving an offspring that is half-human and half-Zenithian. Her whereabouts are left a mystery, however according to a party chat with Ragnar during the visit of Zenithia after defeating either Psaro or Aamon, the Zenithian woman that mentioned the hero's mother has a physical resemblace to the youth, subtly implying that the woman is in fact their mother and she is just keeping the fact a secret.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • It is not confirmed if Zenithia (Tenku) and Dragon Quest III's Zenith (Tenkai) are actually related, being both in the sky and ruled by a powerful dragon. In fact, Zenithia's translation comes from from the word zenith, meaning highest point or state, aptly appropriate seeing as it is the highest point in the game.
    • Conversely, its counterpart translation --"Nadiria"-- is derived from the word nadir, meaning lowest point.
  • The Zenithians could be compared to Celestrians in IX, especially the Observatory (天使界, Tenshikai) which has a very close name to the III's Zenith (天界, Tenkai) location of the Cloudgsate Citadel.

Other languages[]

Other languages
French Zénithia
German Zenithia (Zenith)
Infernia (Dhuran)
Spanish Zenithia
Italian Unknown
Dutch Unknown
Norwegian Unknown
Greek Unknown
Portuguese Unknown
Russian Unknown
Chinese Unknown
Korean Unknown



See also[]

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