#sf2 randolf dongo

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 3-10 & 3-11

[Warning for a lot of sexism and male friends deceiving women for condescending reasons. Yeah. Sorry we come back off hiatus for this. It's part of the reason there was an hiatus to begin with.]

Three days later, the ship prepared by Arthur awaited patiently for Bleu's group to board it.

"It looks really small, for a ship meant to cross between continents," Karin mumbled as she looked at the vessel in front of her.

"It's the one Arthur's team picked. There's nothing wrong about it." Bleu paused before continuing. "Well then, I'm going to give the governor my farewells, so you and Karna go ahead and board. Tyrin and the others should be coming soon. After all, if you're early you get to pick the best rooms."

Bleu pushed them inside, and then hurried off. His behavior wasn't convincing. But, Karin couldn't realize right away what was off.

"Let's go, Karna."

Calling out to the girl, she headed to the ship she was pointed to.

"Alright," Karna answered happily, and boarded after Karin. In the end, she had hardened her resolve to cross to Parmecia with the group. Her feelings against leaving them were stronger right now than her wish to seek out Gong and become his disciple.

And thus, the ship departed with the two onboard.

Only once the sun had gone down did Camallia managed to yell at Bleu for it.

She had been told that they would only depart the next day, and had realized that the two girls were missing.

Bleu was in the same room as Tyrin.

"Was it you who planned to deceive them like this? Or did Tyrin put it in your head?"

Her breathing was ragged with fury.

"I had no choice. I knew that there was no way they'd stay quietly in Rune. Even so, I don't want to bring them to Parmecia."

Camallia could understand the reason, but couldn't stand the method.

"You look down on them. Besides, would those two even give up just from something like this?"

"It's fine. Even if they turn around after reaching Waral, we'll have already departed to Parmecia by then," Tyrin answered, putting on the airs of a strategist.

Camallia glared at him, telling him that such assessment also underestimated them.

"Then, why are you taking Tyrin and Randolf along?" She asked Bleu. Since he struggled to answer, Tyrin opened his mouth in his place.

"I am still under orders from Master Otrant. Randolf has his own ambitions. Men look for adventure, after all. It's a burning fire only we understand. And keeping delicate ladies away from danger is a men's duty as well."

"Self serving excuses. Such an egotistical way of protecting does not really protect people."

Having said that, she gave up and left her seat.

Bleu knew very well that it hadn't been a respectable way of dealing with things. He had prepared himself for the scolding when he went with Tyrin's idea. How much did his honor even matter compared to Karin's safety?

As he swallowed down the bitter taste of the confrontation, Camallia wandered aimlessly through the harbor. Perhaps that was her way to keep her own negative feelings at bay too. Or, perhaps her flushed cheeks yearned for some fresh air…

Were those the reasons? In reality, she was carrying out a happy secret reunion in that harbor.

***11***

The following day, Bleu took the ship and departed from Uranbatol.

Besides the ship crew chosen by Earnest and Arthur, there were only Tyrin, Randolf, and Camallia with him. It was too late to let go of the two men. Both of them and the ship would be sticking around until the end, it seemed.

While the crew was full of vigor and hard at work, the absence of those bright and boisterous girls cast of a shadow over the voyage. Bleu didn't know if he could call that lonely or what.

"If you miss them, there is still time to go meet them," Camallia suggested, seeing through him.

"No, this was my decision."

"Indeed, your decision, not their decision, nor something they have agreed with."

Bleu asked what did she mean, but she promptly ignored him and moved away.

He would only learn what she meant once quite some time had already passed since their departure.

As Karin and Karna appeared in front of him, he doubted his own eyes. Tyrin and Randolf had their mouths agape in the same way. Only Camallia had a knowing smile on her face.

"Stowaways, sir," the ship captain told Bleu. They had been hiding in the boats at the deck.

"You… If you came then…" Bleu's shoulders trembled. "Camallia, you're an accomplice, aren't you?"

He turned to shout at her, while she kept a cool face.

"They braved danger by their own choice to escape their ship in the middle of sea and come back, what reason did I have to deny a request from them? I did what I had to, and guided them in secret."

Bleu stared at her with hate on his eyes as she boldly declared that. But Camallia wasn't one to be shaken by something like that.

"Do we have to go back now…?"

He whispered, and everyone rejected the idea.

"Even you two," he looked at Tyrin and Randolf, who had not reacted as he expected. Tyrin explained that if they came back, the same thing would just happen again.

"I surrender completely. Shouldn't you, sir, know better than anyone else that the result will always be this?"

Bleu couldn't answer that. If he did he'd have to agree.

"Then, at least Karna…"

"Why are you singling me out?" She was unusually stern as she stared him down. "How many times do I have to say it, it is a priest's duty to help those in need and be good. I won't be as virtuous if I abandon Sir Bleu here."

"Then, what about your goal of finding Gong?"

"Once this adventure is over, rumors should spread about a priest that traveled with a Sacred Dragon, and that will be me, of course. I'm sure they'll reach Master's ears. When that happens, maybe he'll come see me. At the very least, he should realize that I've been training seriously."

Karna stubbornly believed that.

"What should we do, do we turn back?" The captain asked with a troubled face.

Bleu had to give an answer.

"Continue on like this. To the north. Our destination is Parmecia."

Bleu told the captain like he was choking at the words.

The girls cheered. Someone's stomach suddenly growled over their voices. Karna's face became bright red. Thinking now, the reason the two had been found in the boats was because of that noise.

"Well, well, if hardtack is fine by you, shall we eat?"

Karna agreed immediately and went after him. The others followed suit.

Only Bleu and Karin remained in the room.

"I'm sorry."

She apologized earnestly without delay. With his plan beaten, Bleu mellowed out.

"Good grief, you're impossible. Always causing me trouble. I told you that you couldn't come along," he tried to explain gently.

"…Are you angry?"

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not."

At that blunt answer, Karin lowered her head.

"Why can't I come? Am I that much of a burden to you?"

"That's not it. I never said that. I'm just, worried. I don't want you to face danger, or sadness."

"Why do you think that I won't be sad if you leave me? Why do you think you won't be able of doing a single thing against the dangers that might come?"

"I don't trust myself to protect you."

Without thinking, Bleu let out his true feelings.

"So I really am a burden."

"I told you it's not like that."

"Then, try and protect me. Not your pride, but actually me. You are capable. If not, you'll stay forever the baby dragon who cried in our arms. Say, don't you need my help?"

Bleu struggled to answer for a moment.

"You're not a burden to me. But, I don't think I'll ever rely on you like that again. Children get to be just children, no matter their race, but now I'm Bleu, the Sacred Dragon." He paused. "Now, let's go join the others. For now, I won't try to drive you away anymore. I'm lucky you're being as nonchalant as Karna about this."

He took Karin's hand, and they left the room together.

Translation notes:

If the content warning didn't make it clear already I kinda hate these parts. Part of why I took an hiatus from this translation was because I wanted to write a sort of rant/midpoint review of the novel to discuss this, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I need a couple more parts first before I can fully make my point on why this one is bad. So if you disliked it too, just wait and soon we'll all get to be mad about it together.

[starswordartblog]

“We came down here to escape this warped room, but there’s devils in the tunnel. They’re too ferocious. I wish I hadn’t left Desktop Kingdom...”

Shininginktober late Day 6: Tyrin + Randolf + the one who stayed behind. I didn’t have many ideas for this one but you can’t go wrong with the “ice mage conjure a ramp/stairway“ classic.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 3-4 & 3-5

The weather didn't look good.

The sky was full of heavy clouds, ready to rain down at any moment.

Having arrived at the east edge of the plains, the people of Pao began setting up their bazaar. They put up frames, and wrapped them up in thick cloth to make walls. Then more fabric was used to cover them and the job was done. In less than an hour, the Pao Train was surrounded by colorful tents that had blossomed like flowers.

For better or for worse, the rain began once the tents were already up.

To the plains, the rain was a blessing.

But to Bleu's group, it was only something to delay their departure.

To confirm that the rain wouldn't let up any time soon, they went to see Queen Koron.

As if she had predicted the time of their visit, she had all her main aides reunited there for an audience.

"Sir Bleu, hurry to Uranbatol as fast as possible. This rain brings misfortune."

Coming from a prophet, those words sounded terribly ominous. That worry wasn't lessened by the panicked soldier running up to them.

"I've came to report. A squad of devils is invading the bazaar right now. There's dozens of them. One is a giant squid monster."

"A kraken. Seems that Ziduur hasn't given up on the Manual yet," Camallia whispered as she heard the report.

"Are these the devils that crossed the ocean to steal the Manual? In that case, we have to make them regret challenging us."

Queen Koron turned to her aides, her right arm pointing energetically to each of them. The bright blue shawl covering up to her fingers flapped, exposing her sleeveless emerald dress with golden embroidery.

"Take out our soldiers and wipe the enemies out. We'll gather all civilians in the Pao Train and then station it away from the battlefield."

The people hurried away to fulfill Koron's orders.

"Is it possible to see the enemies from the head car?"

"Yes," a soldier from Koron's personal guard answered firmly.

"Then, please follow me. Sir Bleu, you and your group shouldn't leave this train."

"No, we will fight too," Bleu said to the queen.

"That won't do. Leave this matter to us."

"No, those who can fight shouldn't be wasting time here. I'm leaving the Manual to Karin. Tyrin, Randolf, Guntz, Camallia, let's go."

Calling his companions, Bleu made his way to leave the room.

"Wait, I'll go too," Karin stopped him.

'Why can't I go but Camallia can?', she accused in her mind.

"You protect the Manual," he told her, and took the others outside. Koron only called for Guntz to stop.

"I have a request for Sir Guntz. Please come with me."

Taking him with her, the queen went to the head car. Karin, Krin and Karna, having been left behind, followed them without being told no.

***5***

Swinging its ten legs full of suction cups, the kraken pounded the tents repeatedly as it advanced.

It was a monster from the ocean, the depths of it no less, and would never come to the surface by itself. The land wasn't its territory. As proof of it, it couldn't support its huge body, dragging itself through the ground slowly.

This was all in vain, thought Ziduur as he stared at the summoning circle he had inscribed in the ground with his own blood.

He certainly would have the upper hand if attacking them at sea. But, he was afraid of losing the Manual in the waters. Finding the semi-transparent object there would be near impossible.

If he didn't come back with the Manual, his master would destroy him. For sure.

Anxious, Ziduur decided to rush things.

At least the rain, that he had brought down using more of the Devil Jewel's power, was washing away the magic circle he used to summon the kraken and the other monsters.

"Go, steal the Manual, and kill the Sacred Dragon and all his followers."

Ziduur ordered the devils shaking his left arm, the only one he had left. The monsters advanced towards the Pao Train. They were half men half-fish known as soulsowers, and purple worms and gargoyles, with the kraken as their main force.

The soldiers of Pao were well ready to welcome them.

They dodged the anemone-like feelers of the purple worms and stabbed them with their lances, and cut down the hard scales of the soulsowers with their Battle Axes.

The problem were the gargoyles. Bleu was good against flying enemies like them, but they were too many. The ones he failed to finish off began chasing the retreating train. Bleu went after them, and the kraken after him, knocking down the soldiers in its way.

Its many legs, ondulating heavily like waves of a storm, stretched towards Bleu. If caught by one of those suction cups, he would be slammed down to the ground with no escape. Bleu made the best of his flying skills to fly around the kraken. Its huge body also proved itself terribly resistant to Bleu's lightning breath.

"Let's hit it while it's chasing Sir Bleu," Tyrin shouted. He was leading soldiers carrying Buster Shot cannons loaded with explosive bullets.

Estimating the timing of Bleu's and the soldiers' actions, he cast a Freeze spell. The cold storm assaulted the kraken while turning the falling rain into a hail. A soft part of the monster's body couldn't stand the attack and froze, white. The soldiers concentrated their shots there. The power of their weapons, built in Prompt thanks to the legacies of the Ancients, smashed the kraken's frozen skin.

Leaking blue blood, the monster's anger changed its color to black, and released its poisonous ink, the Aqua Breath, in the direction of Tyrin and the soldiers.

A soldier failed to dodge and was completely covered in the ink, perishing.

"Are you okay, Tyrin?"

Randolf came by after cutting a purple worm into slices, grabbing Tyrin's arm and carrying him to a safe place.

"Couldn't you be a little more gentle?" Tyrin yelled, with water dripping down his beard like a waterfall, and covered in mud. If he had enough energy to complain then he was just fine, Randolf laughed.

"Are you two alright?" Bleu had come back, worried. "Where's Camallia?" He asked, not seeing the girl there.

"She went after the gargoyles, to protect the train. Leave that place to the girls," Randolf said, pointing to the Pao Train, and then the kraken with his thumb, "our priority is doing something about that monster."

Water came down with no mercy on his open mouth.

The train's large shape could be only be dimly seen in the pouring rain. Because of that, it looked farther away than it really was, and Bleu felt anxious. An indescribable fear ran through his veins at the realization that he had left Karin somewhere he couldn't reach.

"Don't worry, Queen Koron and Camallia will handle the girls and the Manual somehow. You heard the King of Bustoke, you don't fight by yourself. We gotta do what we can in our area. Right now, that's defeating that monster," Randolf shouted, sensing Bleu's fear. The rain was so strong that being that loud was the only way to talk.

"Alright, let's do it Tyrin's way one more time. Randolf, you lead the remaining knights and open further the wound they made before. I'll deal with its movements and poison somehow."

Giving these short orders, Bleu flew once again.

Translation notes:

Devil Jewel is written 悪魔のジュエル, with my translation being as literal as it can be (I guess Devil's Jewel could also work, but my translation feels better as a name). However, this is exactly what the Jewel of Evil is called in japanese SF2 as well. They're clearly not the same jewel, as that one is blue, but I figured I'd note that.

Soulsowers. If you don't remember, they are fish enemies from SF2, and I'm using the same name the localization gave them so people can recognize them right away. Their japanese name however is completely different, インスマンス (Insumansu). The term seems to come from the H. P. Lovecraft novel "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", which features fish-faced people. The term インスマス面 (Innsmouth-face, sometimes spelled as インスマウス面 instead) seems to have become a general term for describing characters with fish-faces, or just distorted faces with wide eyes spread too far from each other, or at least that's the gist i got browsing pixiv and nnd. So that mostly explains the name, but I couldn't figure out if the spelling used here is another known alternative spelling or something unique to Shining. Don't ask me where the localization got soulsower from, though. I tried looking the term up and, I just get actual SF2 results lol.

In SF2, the kraken has eight legs and ten arms, here no distinction was made between arms and legs.

Also, Aqua Breath is not poisonous there, but I totally understand the writer changing it to something more threatening and deadly than bubbles. Curiously, Final Conflict, which was released a year after this novel, did include a kraken enemy variant in a different color that had poison attacks. Coincidence? Most likely, but why would I pass an opportunity to mention Final Conflict.

I'm somehow not done talking about the kraken, did you know that it really is coded to be weak to ice magic in SF2? But you don't have access to ice magic in that part of the game so it goes wasted. This was pointed out in at least one strategy guide so the writer might be referencing it. On the other hand though, Freeze is just supposed to be Tyrin's specialty anyway.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 3-2

The following day, the tents set up around were all taken inside, and the Pao Train departed.

The soldiers from Bustoke parted ways with them there, and went back to their own country. Only Wendy wanted to come with Bleu and his team, but Zylo wouldn't accept that selfishness. Bitterly, she took the way back home.

For every departure, there are meetings as well.

Just as Lyle had said in Rindo, an old member of the Shining Force, Guntz, was on the Pao Train as well. It seemed he had been living there for quite a while already, to research the huge machine.

Bleu was overjoyed with the reunion, but couldn't follow much of Guntz's talk about machines. Instead, it was Krin who jumped at that topic. She spent almost all her free time on the cab and the power sources.

Tyrin said he had orders from Otrant to not let Bleu and the Manual out of his sight. Bleu doubted if he was competent enough to oversee this, but couldn't easily refuse Otrant's wishes. Randolf too, with their deal from before still in place, wouldn't leave his side until meeting the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia. Bleu regretted having taken that deal so hastily, but it was too little too late. And Karna as well seemed to have no intention of leaving until she found some clue of Gong's whereabouts. More than that, she seemed more passionate about the task of helping the Sacred Dragons than Gong right now.

Their views are all different, but an odd feeling of unity grew between them as they traveled together. Perhaps, while their goals were different, their reason for traveling was the same. The center of all that had always been Bleu.

For Karin in particular, her desire to stay beside him was very clear in her face.

With nothing obstructing its path, the Pao Train continued on without issue. Of course, there was nothing that could stop the advance of that huge machine. If any careless creature stood in its path, it would obviously be crushed underneath it.

However, pretty much no creatures were hit by the machine. It crossed the plains like wind. Such was the defining image of the Pao Train that Queen Koron rode on.

It continued to run even as night fell.

The typical sounds of the engine could be heard through the walls, along with the wind blowing by the windows. Not drowned by any of this, one more sound rang through a small but cozy lounge, the clear melody of a lyre.

Bleu and his friends were spending their hours peacefully after dinner.

Everyone had made a circle, and Karna was in the center, sat atop a small box. Carrying a lyre of 16 strings shaped like a swan atop the waters, she sang a song. Her voice, clear and high pitched due to her youth, would go from cheerful, to sweet, to frenetic, weaving together the threads of the song.

In her song there were people, and beasts, creatures playing in nature, wind for the birds, water for the fish, everything finding its place in a cycle, everything finding harmony, their daily work spinning on the threads of time, like a spinning wheel singing a song, weaving together a singing voice, people finding harmony, and harmony giving birth to more people…

"Is that a song from your homeland, Karna?" Tyrin asked her once she finished a section, and took a break to rest her throat.

"No. I actually grew up among wanderers. I don't have a particular homeland. If I had to answer, I'd say all of Rune is mine."

"You mean 'my home', not 'mine'."

She stuck her tongue at Tyrin's correction.

"So, without thinking, I had become a traveler. It was in the middle of my travels that I met Master Gong. The song I just sang is one Master taught me."

"That song is Gong's…!?"

Bleu and Guntz immediately looked at each other. Neither of them could imagine it at all, that quiet man singing anything. Eventually, the image of the monk singing a broken and out of tune song while red in the face came to their minds. But, looking as how Karna talked nostalgically about it, that was probably not how it was. Maybe he was unexpectedly good at singing, the two whispered.

"Master told me: 'If you think I've been kind to you, share that kindness with many others. If you are grateful to me, then you too work every day to receive that gratitude from people.' That's why I'm coming along until Sir Bleu feels grateful to have me. If I didn't do this, I wouldn't be able to look Master in the eyes. Besides, while I'm with Sir Bleu, maybe Master will show up to see his fellow Shining Force members."

Karna touched over and over the White Ring that Gong had given her in the past. The ring was made of platinum with an Aquamarine stone inlaid in it, and glowed warmly in her ring finger, hiding healing magic within.

"I don't think Gong is coming to visit me any time soon though. Besides, I'm already grateful enough for you. What he was trying to say is that if you were helped by a certain someone, you can pay it forward to anyone else. You're misunderstanding things."

"Aah, so is it a bother that I'm coming along?"

Her eyes started filing up with tears.

"It's not like that..."

By reflex, Bleu averted his eyes, staring at the ceiling instead.

"I think you need a healer around for traveling, for when you get injured and such. I'm sure of it. I'll train with Karin too and become stronger, so I won't be a burden to you."

"I've told you already, I don't look anything like Gong," Karin jumped in the conversation to stop her, "if you want to train with someone, do it with Camallia."

"Nooo, a gallant big sister is my ideal kind of woman!"

Karna made heart-eyes at her.

"Wait, Bleu, help me out here!"

Troubled, Karin turned to Bleu. He laughed with Camallia, who was sat at their side, their shoulders rubbing together. Their carefreeness got on her nerves.

She dragged him away from Camallia, trying to get him between her and Karna.

Having watched everything from the start, Randolf was roaring with laughter. Many of the others joined him as well.

Karna got a grip on herself, and set to play the lyre once again.

The song went on. The birds to the wind, the fish to the water, the plants to the light, the people to all living things… They all gave their thanks to that which sustained them. They all gave them gratitude and care. They all gave their thanks and prayers…

Karna's song told of all living things, and the earth and sky and sea around them, with benevolence.

"What a strange song."

Once the song was over, Camallia mumbled her thoughts on it.

"Why does such a song exists? All things are not equal, the weak feed the strong, and the strong feed the even stronger. These relationships between them are what the gods decided."

"And if that's how it is, then the strong must be grateful to the weak. Master Gong talked much about it. Everything in this world is kept alive by someone else. Those who rule can do so because those ruled over allow them to, and those who protect can do so because those they protect let them do so. We can't forget to pray in gratitude to even the smallest bugs and the blooming flowers."

"If I prayed for every single one of those, my neck would end up pretty stiff."

Randolf laughed off Karna's words as lectures from a cute child.

"That's not how she meant it."

Sat by Karna's side, Karin came in her defense as the younger girl sulked, petting her head lightly as she took the chance to snuggle closer and be spoiled. It seemed that had Krin been around instead of exploring the train, she'd have to fight to get her sister back.

"We hunt birds and beasts," Karin said, "but we shouldn't ever kill them for no reason."

"Well well, there's no need to quarrel about this. Instead, I would like to request one more song. Would that be okay, Karna?"

Tyrin entered the conversation as if trying to mediate. In a better mood, Karna accepted, and began playing the lyre again.

And her songs continued.

Bleu wanted to agree with what Randolf had said. If living things needed other things to live, then they were too unreliable and frail. That went for Sacred Dragons too, how much of a fleeting dream it was to expect them to be allowed to live all this time just for the sake of protecting the Manual?

Bleu didn't voice any of those feelings, and Karin and Karna did not find out how much he disagreed with them in that night.

>To next part

Translation notes:

I feel there's a relevant distinction made here about Karna coming from a group of wanderers (さすらいの民), evoking the idea of people who have no destination, and as she puts it, went through all of Rune, while the Pao people are described as nomads (遊牧民), who usually have some set pattern of moving according to the season or some other resource.

Karna is described here with a high-pitched voice, but curiously, she has a lower voice game than any girl in game, matching young boys like Peter and Rick. I doubt anyone paid attention to that detail though, but it does strengthen a feeling i have that Karna was intended as an adult in the game, and it was the writer's choice here to make her younger.

A hard one that I'm still struggling with a bit. Karna refers to Gong as 道士, a term that seems mostly associated with Taoism, but that some dictionaries claim also apply to Buddhist monks as well, or simply someone of great morals, which is likely how it is intended here. I'm not at all knowledgeable to discuss the religious implications here, and I also don't think they matter in a series that has basically no worldbuilding for their own religion. Since she uses the -sama honorific as well and clearly has some unofficial master/pupil relationship she has already talked about, I've been simply going with "master". I feel capitalizing it makes it feel a bit more like a title though, so I'll be changing a few instances of it in the previous chapter.

Did you know? "Ring finger" in japanese is written as 薬指, literally "medicine finger". Apparently it comes from it being used to mix up medicine and such in old times. Either way, it feels curious to see a healing ring placed there. And for those who forgot, the White Ring not only raises defense in-game, but also allows you to use the Aura spell for healing. Its appearance also matches the description here just fine:

I don't need to put that in a translation note though, I'm just here to gush. This is the part I looked forward to read the most in the novel and i love everything about Karna in it. And the ring is, very much what I actually expect from a spinoff novel of a game, you know? Some little mechanic or detail being given more meaning in its world and to the characters. I'm never gonna look at a White Ring the same way again. That's fun.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 2-8 & 2-9

A small twig cracked in the campfire.

The sun had already set, and the dark of the night spread around them.

"This is the Manual…"

Bleu had opened the ebony box, and stared at the Manual inside. It was a bunch of semi-transparent slabs, set atop the felt covering the box.

He furrowed his brows slightly at the dread he felt coming from the artifact. It seemed he was the only one feeling such pressure from those crystals, due to being a Sacred Dragon.

The moment he extended his fingers towards it, he felt a shock, as if his soul had been gripped tight, so he pulled away in panic. He shuddered, feeling like his soul could be crushed if he did touch it like that.

He felt that it was not meant to be held. But it felt different from something sacred.

"What's wrong," Karin asked, getting the wrong idea from how he acted, "if you can't take it out, I'll do it."

"Right, thanks," he gave the box to her.

As their hands touched, Karin instinctively noticed his fear. She gave a suspicious glance to the Manual. Its crystal sheets shined beautifully, and she couldn't see anything else to it. She took it out of the box with ease, and held it against the light of the fire.

"How is this called a book?" Zylo asked, tilting his head at the object.

It was more comparable to stone slates than a book. The three rectangular crystal slabs shone in all the colors of the rainbow as they reflected the light in a diffuse way. Maybe that was due to an irregular composition, or due to some unseen pattern carved in them. No one could figure out the exact reason. The only thing clear to all of them was that it was in no way a regular book.

"It looks like my crystals, but the shape and size aren't the same," Randolf said, taking a crystal piece from his pocket for comparison. The Manual was larger than a person's two hands placed together, while his piece was slightly bigger than a nail. It was absurd trying to compare them at all.

"Maybe the crystals and the Manual are pieces of the same material. Even if not, I think they were both created by the ancient gods in similar ways."

Krin had her face almost glued to the Manual, inspecting its surface, clear of any writings, as if about to lick the thing.

"If that's the case, then the Manual might be a key to activate something. Yes. That's likely. Very likely."

Pushing against Krin, Tyrin glued his nose on the Manual.

"Wait, don't put your face all over it. Krin, you too, stop that already."

Looking at how they were troubling Karin, Randolf took the two shameless researchers by the collar and dragged them away from her.

"It is a key, of course. The Manual was one of the keys used to wake Dark Dragon. That said, I wonder if the three sheets are all the same. Or if they're meant for different things," Diane mumbled, as she recalled the times where she fought alongside Bleu and Zylo. Her younger sister, the mage Wendy, was sat by her side.

"They might be different. In Parmecia, there's nothing like Dark Dragon. The Sacred Dragons only need the Manual to stabilize the Power of the Earth going out of control," Camallia answered the elf girl after a while.

"As a key, any door it can close, it can also open. Isn't that true, Krin of Rudo Village?"

"Yes, it's as you say, king of Bustoke. As I've told you in the past, the Manual is a double edged sword with the magical power to both seal and release," she gave everyone the same description she had once found within old records.

"A thing this dangerous must be resealed by us, mages of Manarina, as fast as possible, in the temple of Dragonia."

Camallia turned with a harsh glare to Tyrin at his words.

"Then, what about the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia? What about me and the mission I've come to the land for?"

"No matter the case, you don't have the right to take something of Rune to another land."

"…How close-minded. As a mage seeking the golden rule of this world, is this how you deal with such matters?"

"I like to believe we act with wisdom," Tyrin frowned, offended.

"Being wise by yourself in your own little world, is there any meaning to that?" Camallia retorted, not taking a single step back.

Sitting next to Karin, Randolf made a face as if saying "what a big mess this is".

"I'm in agreement with Camallia on this matter. We shouldn't abandon people in need."

Karna joined the conversation with an unusually serious face. No matter what anyone said, she was an exemplary priest.

"In the end, priests are too focused on their doctrine. They should look upon matters objectively like us, mages."

Tyrin gave a look to Krin and Wendy, seeking agreement from them.

"That's right. So speaking objectively, we should let Bleu decide what to do next with this Manual."

Krin's suggestion was not at all what Tyrin expected.

Everyone stared at Bleu, who had been quiet with a troubled face, and at the Manual in Karin's hands.

"You're unlucky, huh, Bleu? To get this troublesome thing pushed on you," Diane said without any sympathy or attempt to comfort him.

"That's not it, Diane," Zylo corrected her. "It is not being pushed on him. He's being trusted to deal with it. As a Sacred Dragon, the Manual is his heritage."

Bleu raised his head to look at Zylo.

'What should I do?' This plea for help was on the tip of his tongue.

Zylo saw through him, and stopped him before the words could come out.

"You have to decide it by yourself. It is your responsibility. No one can push their will onto you."

Bleu was troubled. But, no matter how much he fretted about it, he couldn't find an answer, a light on the end of that deep tunnel.

As a Sacred Dragon, should he seal to Manual to protect it, as per their ancient duty? Or should he risk it in the journey to Parmecia to save his kind? Or maybe destroying it right there was the correct choice.

After all, what did it mean to be a Sacred Dragon? Bleu couldn't even figure that out. Should a Sacred Dragon be someone capable of making these heavy choices? Of standing above the people and deciding everything?

The determination he had found before to cross to Parmecia had crumbled once he got here.

He felt that deciding things by himself was very risky.

If the Manual was stolen by monsters, destruction would befall the world. The only way to perfectly avoid that was to abandon his kind.

The truth is, it was possible to save the Sacred Dragons and then seal the Manual after that. However, that would require something from him. He would have to protect the Manual from all the devils…

Bleu had not found enough confidence in himself to do so.

Without help from the others, he hadn't even been able to protect Karin.

"Bleu…"

Karin understood his pain so much it hurt.

"Don't decide this as what a Sacred Dragon should do, but as yourself. Because before being a dragon, you are Bleu. I believe in you."

Zylo nodded deeply at Karin's words.

"I also trust you, that's why I'm leaving it all in your hands. You should trust your allies more as well. The reason one hero was able to seal Dark Dragon in the past is because he had many people by his side. By himself, he wouldn't have been able to do anything. When many people join forces, their power shine brighter. That is why we became known as the Shining Force."

Diane agreed with him.

Bleu looked back fondly at the times he fought alongside those two. Besides them there was Gort, and Alef, and so many other companions. And now too, he found himself surrounded by many allies. Finally, he thought back on the Silver Dragon's deep blue eyes. More people had been waiting for him far too long, beyond the ocean.

"That's right, if you put your faith in people, you can also ask them for help. You should rely on others, us, more often."

Krin's words hit the mark. Yes, to not rely on others was the same as not trusting them.

"Let's go to Uranbatol…" he declared, "we'll defeat the beasts in the coast, and cross the ocean to Parmecia."

Some breathed in relief, some nodded in silence, some made troubled faces, there were all kinds of conflicted reactions. But no one objected. The way ahead had been decided.

Tyrin still raised another small issue, but was reassured once Zylo told him he'd send a messenger to Otrant to communicate the situation.

"We'll return to Bustoke tomorrow. We came here pursuing the devils that had suddenly invaded, and ended up too far from our country. We cannot leave it empty like in the past. We also have to escort back the injured party from Manarina that we rescued."

Hearing that from Zylo, Krin knocked her hands together in realization.

"Being pursued by the forces of Bustoke, the devils hastened their pace. That's why we encountered them sooner than we expected."

"In the end, it turned out well for us. But, we can't let our guard down yet. We will search the region for monsters before heading back, but it might be difficult to get them out of hiding. Until you reach the Pao Plains, take Wendy with you for more protection."

The lively elf girl introduced herself to the group.

"Let's place a simple seal on the Manual to protect it along the way."

By her suggestion, the three mages prepared to seal the ebony box with the Manual.

The seal of Coeurl van Coeur.

It was classified as a simple seal. However, its strength could be increased depending on the materials used. The greatest one was dragon blood. In that case, it could also be called the Dragon Blood Crystal seal.

With Camallia and everyone else watching, the sealing ritual began.

Wendy took several drops of blood from Bleu, and inscribed the seal on the ebony box. She, Krin and Tyrin created enchanted chains with the Sacred Dragon blood, wrapping them around the box.

"With this, this box cannot be opened until it receives your blood again. Someone could still get to the Manual by destroying the box, but they'd be risking destroying the Manual itself with an attack like that."

Three blood stains marked the box, shining like small garnets. Wendy picked the box up and gave it to Bleu.

Feeding more twigs to the bonfire, the group heading to Pao Plains went to sleep.

"Will it be okay, letting just them go ahead?" Diane asked Zylo when switch night-watch turns with him. "I'm wondering about that devil, the one the priest called Ziduur."

"He was wounded, so he shouldn't strike again too soon. In the off chance he does, Wendy will be with them so there isn't much need to worry. Or, maybe you're itching to go with them too?" Zylo laughed knowingly.

"Oh, who knows?" She played dumb.

"We left Stetra and old Kokichi taking care of Bustoke, but we can't leave the country for any longer than this. Besides, if they didn't ask for our help, we shouldn't interfere. They have made their own decisions and will see them through by themselves. This is Bleu's journey, not ours. It's frustrating, but we don't have a reason to be in this new Shining Force this time. Besides, you still have a lot of things to do back in Bustoke."

"Please go a little easy on me, Lord Zylo."

Excusing herself gently, she left back to her own spot.

***9***

Bleu woke up in the middle of the night, and looked over all his companions sleeping around him.

They all had very different views, yet had placed their trust in him. He had to protect them.

Camallia had said it once. Sacred Dragons are the ultimate guardians.

In that case, what should he protect? It shouldn't be just the Manual, like his race had done so far.

But the Manual was back now.

Bleu took a look at Karin's face, sound asleep under his wing.

It should be his responsibility to protect her. But, if one day he had to choose between the two…

As a Sacred Dragon, and as Bleu, which one would he pick?

The black of the box in Karin's hands was as frightening to him as the darkness of the night.

>To Chapter 3

Translation notes:

As far as I can tell, "Golden Rule" as it's written in Camallia's line refers to the ethical principle of treating others as one wishes to be treated. But the way she says mages seek this rule of the world makes it feel more like some natural principle. I feel like I might be missing something in that conversation, but after days mulling it over I couldn't figure anything out, so i stuck as close as possible to the literal wording.

Karna uses the very formal pronoun "watakushi" when supporting Camallia, something she didn't even in the last time she got serious and formal about her convictions (before entering the dwarves' passage). She's really putting as much weight as she can on her decision here.

Again, the novel avoids using Max's name. I felt it didn't flow too bad here though since he's used as kind of an example only, so i kept the wording this time.

Would a japanese translation truly be complete without discussing the word 仲間 (nakama)? Of course not. If you have never read a shonen manga before, first of all good for you, and second, nakama is a very loose word that can refer to people in the same group, activity, or even just some category, like family or such. This means Bleu uses the same word to refer to his old allies, his current ones, and the dragons of Parmecia, since they are fellows of the same race. I could not find a way to keep the same wording so that paragraph is not as fun, but hopefully the meaning still came across.

I don't know why the author highlights Alef and Gort of all people. Alef and Torasu are some of the first members to join the force after Bleu, so that might be it, but I see no connection between him and Gort. I legit wonder if the author meant Torasu instead. But that's just speculation on a very short line.

The seal name. Boy was this a headache. "Couer" is "heart" in french, which makes sense for a blood based seal. Meanwhile, Couerl is... the name of a cat-like SF species, also used in Final Fantasy and the inspiration for D&D's Displacer Beasts. That, doesn't sound like it should be here, but I could not find another reading for that katakana, and maybe it's just meant to be similar words?? god knows what the "van" is doing here too, i'm been wrestling this name for two days, i'm just tired at this point, it's phoneme soup.

Stetra is the medicine expert that makes Lunar Dew for Zylo in the game. I think the english version doesn't name him, so now you know.

Kokichi being mentioned here contradicts the guide book epilogue where he went to live in Rindo instead. Between this and Earnest it's clear the novel did not consider that guide book for anything.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 2-7

[warning for violence and dismemberment on this one. yes you read that right. as opposed to me who did not pay attention to this on my first read. lol.]

The group emerged back into the fields, after safely crossing the mountains. They hurried on their journey, heading towards the Pao Plains.

By Krin and Tyrin's calculations, they should be a day ahead of the monsters. If they could get the mercenaries at Pao and come back, they would be able to ambush the enemies at the mountain path that led to the plains. The devils wouldn't be able to escape a trap in such a narrow pathway.

In the forest, Karin replaced Randolf as the lead. Tyrin gave the general directions by her side, and she decided the exact path to traverse according to the condition of the plants and other forest signs. Bleu was speechless on how observant she was, not letting the slightest detail pass unnoticed.

Bleu struggled the most with the thick cluster of trees. Unlike Camallia and Karna, he didn't have the power to heal everyone's exhaustion either. He grew frustrated with himself. Once they got to a wider place or a road he'd be able to stretch out his wings. He did his best to put up with it.

Once the sun had gone down, the group had finally come out the end of the forest, reaching the road between Bustoke and the Pao Plains.

And there, their calculations failed them.

They ran right into the monster squad that had stolen the Manual. A sudden encounter, one could say.

"They shouldn't be here by our calculations, so why…" Krin complained about the unexpected turn of events, as she stared at the twenty or so monsters that had appeared in front of them.

The devils were just as shocked as them.

"Impossible! Why is there a Sacred Dragon here?"

One of the monsters, accompanying the squad of harpies and armed lizardmen, stared wide-eyed at Bleu, with empty eyes devoid of light. Those eyes caught sight of Camallia by his side. The devil then understood everything.

"So you survived. And you guided them here. It's always you, always… Fine, if you'll be this much of a hindrance, then I, Ziduur, will end you just like those pursuing mages."

The monster's fangs showed over the corner of his lips, and his two horns, atop his head like a moth's antennas, swung backwards in a menacing stance. Deep crimson hair ran from the nape of his neck to his back like a mane, bristling. As if answering to that, the lizardmen raised their slimy triangular heads, their bifurcated tongues flickering through their lips. The harpies let out ear-piercing shrieks.

"If you want this, come and take it."

Ziduur held a box made of ebony. It was full of intricate inlay decorations with a foreign feel.

"Sir Bleu, there's no doubt, the Manual is in there!"

With Tyrin's shout, the battle began.

"Randolf, Tyrin, take care of the girls!"

While shouting, Bleu bolted towards Ziduur, as if drawn to the Manual in his hands. Cerberus followed behind him.

"Wait, don't just rush in, it won't go well if we fight separated," Randolf hastily stopped Camallia, who wanted to jump ahead as well.

"Bleu, come back right now! Bleu!"

Karin's voice did not reach Bleu, and he began to fight the harpies in midair.

All his pent up feelings were unleashed at once. And at the same time, he had confidence in being the one who always broke through the enemy lines. With that amount of enemies, he believed he could strike the commander at once and end the battle with that. There was no reason to eliminate them all. Once he retrieved the Manual, he could just disperse the rest of the enemies. The shorter the battle, the less likely it would be for Karin and the others to get hurt. And by defeating all the monsters himself, he could prove his power to them. Maybe then the girls would stay behind without a fuss, Bleu thought.

However, his reckless advance did not go as he expected.

Superior to him in speed and number, the harpies put up a tough fight against him. Wanting to rush to Ziduur straight away, he had become isolated from his allies.

Randolf and Camallia shielded the others, facing the incoming lizardmen head on.

"Bleu, I'll burn down these enemies, get out of the way!"

Krin began chanting a Blaze spell, but Karin stopped her. If she cast the flames in a wide area, Bleu would certainly get caught in them.

"Krin, give up and target a single enemy," Karin ordered, while shooting down an enemy away from Bleu with perfect accuracy. Their lack of coordination was apparent. Karin bit down her anger at Bleu's stupid actions.

"I won't show mercy to any who interfere. Join the hateful corpses that sleep under this earth."

Ziduur took out a piece of a crimson jewel, and held it tightly within his left hand, as if squeezing it. Beams of light came through between his fingers.

"That light!" Camallia shouted, alerting everyone.

Ziduur punched the ground. Thin sparks of crimson lightning ran at once over the surface.

"What did he do?"

Karna watched in awe as the ground in front of her began to stir, and something jumped out from within.

"Eep!" She let out a strangled scream as she came face to face with a skeleton.

"Get down!"

Hearing that shout from behind her, Karna got down while covering her head with both arms. The end of a flail flew past her, sending the skeleton's skull flying like a football. As she pulled the weapon back, Camallia smashed its upper body as well.

In the brief moment where Karna breathed a sigh of relief, more skeletons jumped from below, one after the other. Those skeletal warriors, carrying all kinds of different weapons, were the warped forms of monsters once defeated in that land, and the travelers they once killed.

"Are we surrounded?"

Watching the growing swarm of skeletons and lizardmen around them, Randolf swung his Battle Axe once again. If the monsters attacked all at once, they certainly wouldn't manage to defend against all of them.

Karna shouted for everyone to get closer together.

"O benevolent ones who watch upon all, please hear our prayers. Gather the righteous light within our hearts, and make it into a shield of holy brilliance!!"

By her incantation, the faint shine of the supporting spell Boost enveloped the whole group from within. The monsters with no flesh nor blood were driven away by that light.

Not wasting the opportunity, Randolf and Camallia attacked. The mages covered the openings between them, Tyrin freezing the enemies to stand as shields, and Krin erecting walls of fire with her Blaze spells. They were doing their best to defend themselves, but the situation still wasn't good as they were outnumbered.

On one swing, Camallia's flail became entangled in another flail wielded by a skeleton. The resulting forces made both of them lose their grips on their weapons. Without delay, the skeleton took a short sword from the back of its shield, and charged at the now empty-handed girl. Another short sword was thrown at the skeleton as it did that. By reflex, the skeleton knocked it down with its shield. Camallia jumped at the fallen sword, grabbing it and swinging it at the skeleton's leg to cut it down. The monster fell down as it lost its balance, and Camallia stepped on its bony body from over its shield, using all of her strength to crush it.

"Thank you, Sir Randolf."

Picking up her flail, she stood back to back with Randolf, who had moved backwards. She extended a hand in his direction, trying to return his short sword that had saved her from her predicament.

"I don't mind. Keep it. Without a spare weapon, something like this might happen to you again."

Answering that, he swung his blade at another monster.

At that time, Bleu was also surrounded by even more enemies than before.

Sacred Dragons had tough bodies and powerful attacks, but were in no way invincible. Their thick hide was hard to penetrate with a blade, yet at some point he had been wounded, and it bled. While he had finished off many of the harpies, he had also hurt his wings. The injury was not severe, but it made him unable to fight the remaining harpies in the air. Having fallen to the ground, Bleu faced a concentrated assault from the group of enemies.

Sustaining minor injuries all over his body, Bleu had made a pile of corpses out of his enemies. Yet he was clearly exhausted. Taking a fierce blow to his chest, he began to cough violently.

In this terrible moment, a lizardman brandished his Large Axe. In Bleu's current condition, he couldn't dodge or spew out his lightning breath.

The monsters became agitated.

Steeling himself for the fatal blow, Bleu saw a silver blur pass through the corner of his vision. Fresh blue blood spilled by. With a deep gash on his torso, the lizardman turned around only to be cut again like a paper doll by sharp claws, this time on the chest.

"Zylo!?" Bleu exclaimed in surprise, seeing the werewolf that had showed up behind the fallen lizardman.

"It's been a long time, Bleu."

Zylo's eyes had the glint of a wild beast hidden within, and he narrowed them in recognition for an instant.

Taking that as an opening, the harpies attacked from the sky.

"Watch out!"

Faster than Bleu's cry, Zylo jumped to the air. He spun next to harpy like a gear, hitting it with a somersault, and knocking it down hard to the ground. The blood from the harpy's torn neck ran in lines across her dead body.

"Before worrying for others, worry about yourself. Honestly, what a pathetic fight you put up. Have you forgotten your past experience? I'll show you how it is to fight as a group. Watch and learn."

Zylo howled.

The lizardmen and harpies flinched at the incoming chants of beast hunters. From its direction came the rushing sound of rain. A merciless rain of arrows…

Once the synchronized barrage of arrows ended, Zylo had also disappeared. Too fast for Bleu's eyes to keep up, he ran between the disoriented enemies, cutting them down as he passed them by. One by one they fell to the ground.

Having broken through the enemies surrounding them, Zylo reached Karin's group.

"It's Zylo, the king of Bustoke."

Krin calmed down the others, who were on guard, unsure if he was a new enemy.

"We'll regroup with Bleu. Follow me without delay," Zylo ordered, and turned away from them without waiting for an answer. He spoke as if certain that they'd obey. Not forceful. Just showing unwavering confidence.

"Diane!!" He shouted. In answer, a squad of archers appeared from the forest shadows, led by an elf girl. Their bowstrings rang as they once again released their arrows in unison.

Diane's archers concentrated their assault on the skeletons. The ropes tied in their arrows perfectly wrapped around their enemies. The skeletons hit by them fell down and tumbled through the ground. It seemed as if they knew what enemies they'd be facing, which made Krin impressed, but also a bit suspicious.

"Let's go!"

Zylo dashed away, heading towards Bleu, who had recovered some energy and continued to fight on his own. The others ran behind him as fast as they could.

"Karna, Camallia, heal Bleu, quickly!"

As Zylo and Randolf took the surrounding enemies down, Karin immediately asked the priests to tend to Bleu. While the archers of Bustoke kept lending them support, Camallia healed everyone who had been injured with Aura, the high level healing spell.

"Thank you, Camallia. You too, Karin…" Bleu thanked the girls.

"There's no time to waste," Zylo urged Bleu. "Let's retrieve the Manual at once with this."

Led by the wolf king, the group split apart the confused enemies. Separated from each other, they had no time to recover, and were shot down by Diane's squad.

"Now. Sir Bleu, the Manual!" Tyrin shouted.

Spreading his healed wings, Bleu flew over the skeletons. The monsters were knocked down by the wings and the gust of wind.

Ziduur held up the ruby in his hand. His body was enveloped in red light.

"Like I'll let you teleport!"

The monster had jumped away, but Bleu sliced him with his claws.

Ziduur's arm was torn and sent flying, tracing an arc in midair, weighted down by the ebony box it carried.

Bleu had his attention drawn to the Manual for a moment. Ziduur didn't miss that, casting a Blaze spell in that time. Bleu crossed his arms in front of him as the flames burst in front of him.

"Bleu!!"

Karin and Camallia left the few remaining monsters to Zylo, and ran to the dragon.

He looked down bitterly at the space Ziduur had teleported away from. It shimmered like hot air, proving that a devil stood there just a moment before.

He picked up the box with the Manual, and Camallia saw that both his arms were bleeding.

"Are you wounded?" she asked, walking to him.

"It's no big deal. Just scratches."

"Even a small injury cannot be left alone."

While he insisted that he was fine, Camallia softly kissed his wounds.

Bleu suddenly felt eyes on him, and tried to pull away from her.

"Please stay still."

Camallia's warm lips moved over his skin as she said the words. Her hot tongue traced over his wound, licking off the blood. Her throat made a glugging noise as she drank it. Her lips continued to move over it, trembling with her incomprehensible chants and sighs.

She let go after a while, and no trace of the wound was left.

"Bleu, the king of Bustoke is calling."

Karin only said that before turning her back and running away.

To next part>

Translation notes:

"Zidur" is apparently a word of a power to summon one of the creatures in the Necronomicon by Simon. I know nothing of that book other than a cursory look so I can't talk much about it, but do you know how hilarious it is to google a Shining Force thing and come up with a pdf full of demon rituals and absolutely no other results? Unparalled experience. Also, the character's name does have a longer "u" sound so I reflected that in my translation as well.

I don't recall Ziduur being explicitly referred to as a man, but his speech manners are pretty rough and he'll eventually be using the rough and masc "ore" pronoun, so unlike Otrant I just made the call to use he/him pronouns for him.

Zylo's species in the original game is given as "wolfling". His base class however is "werewolf", so nothing wrong here.

Up to this point I had been calling the dog "Cerberos" because that's closer to the japanese reading and I didn't think to look it up, but I was recently reminded that the games use "Cerberus" instead. I'd rather stick close to the official translations when it doesn't matter so I've updated past posts and will be using the game romanization from here on.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 2-6

"Why are you still coming with me?"

"Leaving us behind is just selfish of you. You can't run off doing whatever you want."

"That's not it."

Tyrin had arranged desert vehicles, Sand Rovers, for the team, and Bleu and Karin bickered to no end in front of them. Krin and Karna were with Karin as well.

It was as if she had got a second little sister, and she was also more headstrong than ever.

Bleu absolutely wanted the two sisters and Karna to stay in Manarina. He had perhaps been too naive on that. Had he thought about it just a bit, he would have easily realized that those sisters would never accept being left behind like burdens.

Karna too wanted to come no matter what. She knew already that Gong was not in Manarina, so she had no reason to stay.

"First of all, why even Karna came…"

Bleu changed the focus of his arguments.

"Well, I have no clue where Master went. I can't go after him, so I have to wait. If I follow you, a fellow hero of the Shining Force, we might find him at some point."

"No way it would be that easy!" He shouted, fed up with that.

"Besides, while I can't meet my master, I thought I could get physical training with Karin. Get the basics down before I become a monk," she flexed her skinny arm as she spoke.

"Huh!? What do you mean, what do you see me as?"

"I don't think she meant anything bad…" Krin murmured at her sister's side, who got mad at being seen like a muscular monster.

"Aah, don't get me wrong. I just think Karin is stronger than Sir Bleu."

Karna rushed to correct herself, as she didn't intend to make Karin angry. But it still didn't fix things.

"In spirit, maybe," Bleu nodded with his arms crossed.

"And I'm telling you to take us with you, Bleu!" Karin got back on topic.

They kept getting more heated as time went by, wasted.

"So what now? I'm not waiting any more. I've got no interest at spending the whole night like this. Tyrin, can't we leave them here and go just the three of us?"

Randolf had already lost his patience. Annoyed, he went to talk to the four still quarreling.

"Hey, figure it out already. That's right, Tyrin. You were the one responsible for picking out the team. Do it now, c'mon!"

Tyrin was deeply troubled once Randolf named him all of a sudden. The pressure from everyone's eyes was heavy on him.

"That's… You want me to decide!?" He faltered, and Randolf pressed him on. "So, I think talking here is a waste of time… What if we finish packing up, and discuss things on the move?"

Bleu told him to stop joking around. But it was too late, the girls had already shrewdly loaded the back of the vehicle with their baggage and climbed on.

Bleu resented Tyrin from the bottom of his heart. Once they left Manarina, there would no point in telling the girls to go back.

"Alright, let's go."

By Randolf's order, the staff on the two vehicles began to work. Bleu bitterly got on one of the machines.

With the skilled driving of the Sand Rover's soldiers, the group headed to the northern mountain range under the moonlight.

"They really don't get tired, do they?"

Krin looked to Karna by her side, and she nodded.

Bleu and Karin had got on the second vehicle, and continued to argue since then. They were certainly a bother to Camallia and the soldiers driving there, while Tyrin and Randolf were on the same vehicle as Krin and Karna. Karna quietly prayed for them all to get some peace and rest.

While they worried, Camallia seemed to be enjoying the situation. Resting her arms on the edge of the trunk, she had watched their discussion the whole time.

In the end, those two were merely worried about each other. Thinking that staying together was dangerous, or that going alone was dangerous. That was the only difference between the two's points.

Thinking only of physical power in a battle, Bleu was right. But, would it really be all that was to it? Camallia was confident that, in a direct battle, there was no guarantee Bleu would win against her. Putting aside how much did that even matter… Camallia felt confused and surprised as she recognized the essential difference of the strengths Bleu and Karin stood for.

Her intention had been to keep an eye on Bleu only, but she had begun to see them all as a unit, and secretly berated herself for it. Bleu and Karin, and everyone else there. She felt something would change just from watching over them like this. That hadn't occurred to her from the start. She felt confused at her own change of view, feeling not out of place on a journey she began for very different reasons.

When Karin's voice started to get hoarse, Camallia intervened.

"Sir Bleu, you have lost this time. Lady Karin as well, how about taking some rest?"

As she spoke, she threw some fruit to the two. She had procured them in Manarina, a fruit typical of arid lands called Aquin, with juicy flesh within its hard shell.

Perhaps it could help refresh her throat. Karin accepted it without saying anything. But because the shell was hard, she couldn't break it open. Bleu couldn't stay just watching that, and cut it in half for her. However, his hands couldn't reach the pulp inside. She took the pulpy segments out the shell without issue, and gave one to Bleu.

To Bleu, the fruit was sweet and slightly bitter. He turned his face in Camallia's direction. Locking eyes with the meddling girl, he narrowed his at her.

His blue eyes, taking in the stillness of the night, had a deeper color.

"Geez, next time I wish you helped me out."

He jumped off the trunk. Without his weight, the trunk and the Sand Rover jumped up. Angry as he wanted to go to the driving soldiers in silence, he scowled again. The girls looked at his face, giggling.

"Lady Karin, has Sir Bleu always been like this?" Camallia whispered. Karin asked what she meant.

"I mean if he has always been that kind."

"I'm not too kind."

Bleu answered as he overheard their talk. Karin laughed at that.

"You are, though."

"No, I mean that the dragon races I know are far more ferocious. Since ancient times, they are the ultimate guardians. And yet Sir Bleu is, how do I say… He is, oddly human-like…"

"Yeah, I'm weird," Bleu sulked even more.

"Sure, you might be. Maybe it's because you were raised alongside us humans all this time. But, I don't know any Sacred Dragons except you. If you asked me about them, I can only think of you. So, I don't know."

Camallia didn't seem to agree, but she didn't push further on the subject.

The Sand Rovers continued to ran through the dark night.

Further on, the trees grew thicker, and they were no longer capable of advancing through that terrain.

"From here on, there's no going back."

Randolf got off the vehicle and announced that, while running his eyes through everyone. His face was especially scary when looking at Karna and Krin.

"He's right. From here on we might get into a battle. In particular, Karna would be better off leaving."

Karna was undaunted by Bleu's words.

"It seems everyone is mistaken about me. I'm not that weak. I've fought off thieves alongside my travel partners before. Priests are people who seek trials. Especially someone in training like me, we have to move onwards and face peril. Besides, running away alone while others rise up despite the danger would be unforgivable. Asking me to turn back here is asking me to throw away what makes me a priest. That's a great offense. I'm sure Camallia understands."

As she looked for her approval, Camallia nodded vaguely.

"Still, knowing your limits is another side to wisdom."

Karna's thick eyebrows frowned at Tyrin's words.

"As long as I have faith in people, I'll be fine no matter what happens. And should I die while acting with conviction, it will stand as a holy sacrfice."

"I don't care for doctrines or whatever, but to each their own waste of time. I know that when someone holds on to faith like that, nothing can change their mind. Now, we walk from here on."

Randolf sent off the vehicles back to Manarina, and walked off, leading the group.

He was well used to the path, while the others followed with great effort. With his large body, Bleu had to be careful to not hurt his wings on tree branches. Karin couldn't bear to watch that, and covered his wings with her cloak.

After a while, the forest began to vary in elevation. Randolf seemed to navigate through the ups and downs as he moved forward, and then he stopped.

In front of him, there were fine tree roots covering a spot of elevated ground.

"This is the entrance. Follow me."

He pushed the roots away like a curtain, and headed in. The inside was like a cave.

Krin carried a lantern. There was a stairway heading down further into the narrow path.

"Not fair, you told Tyrin about this but hid it from me all this time," she lamented, staring at the stairs that went too deep to be illuminated by the lantern's faint light. The frustration of not knowing something started bubbling into anger typical of a researcher.

"It's the first time I bring Tyrin here."

Tyrin nodded a couple times at Randolf's words. Randolf didn't even look at his reaction, quickly heading down the stairs instead.

After descending for quite a while, the path became level. While covered in soil and moss of many years, it was a bright artificial tunnel.

"It might be a shortcut, but going through a long and dark place like this isn't great."

Karin strained her eyes in the darkness, Karna clinging close to her back. She felt like she had got another little sister. That was some quick attachment.

"Don't worry, there's a ride for us."

Randolf pointed to a door that had suddenly appeared in the way, and pushed it open with both his arms. He went in, gesturing with his head for everyone to follow.

The group went inside after him and winced at how bright it was. They groaned as their eyes struggled to adjust to light again.

Once their vision returned, everyone but Randolf exclaimed in surprise.

The room was as wide as a palace hall. Many black lines spread out from the center, and disappeared into the depths of arched tunnels connected to the walls.

"What is all this?" Krin asked, wiping her fogged glasses.

"Stopping point for an ark, that's all we've learned," Randolf replied bluntly.

"So there are still things like this around, besides the Castle of the Ancients."

Bleu's face was a mix of shock and anxiety and nostalgia, as he walked along the walls of the hall.

There were frames of pitch black pictures decorating them here and there.

"Why is it decorated like this? Or, could it be that the pictures faded out?"

He blew off the dust over the pictures, and moved his face closer to the wall. Right then, what he thought was a dark picture started to shine with a bright light. Startled, Bleu backed away.

"Hey, what are you messing up with there?"

Randolf rushed over.

The brightly shining picture began to fill with mysterious patterns. At the same time, a high pitched and gentle female voice echoed through the hall. No one could make understand the words being said in a strange intonation.

"These patterns repeat through the picture. They are characters."

Krin brought her face closer to the wall, inspecting it with eyes wide open.

"It's painful that we cannot read them."

Krin nodded at Tyrin's words.

Eventually, the characters faded out, and a map was displayed.

"It's a map of this place. Perhaps this is an information board."

"You seem to be familiar with this," Randolf looked suspicious at Camallia.

"It's because there is something similar to this in the land of the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia."

"What? You mean there's a place like this in your homeland? But, our ancestors didn't see anything like what we just saw, no matter how much they searched."

"That is because, perhaps, it recognized Sir Bleu as an authority. This too, might be a place once oversaw by the Sacred Dragons. If that's true, it must obey a Sacred Dragon's orders without question."

"So, with this Sacred Dragon, we might be able to use anything in this place. He could open all the locked tunnels."

Randolf pressed her on. His eyes shined with the light of curiosity and ambition.

"I didn't order it to do anything. It just started working on its own when I touched it."

Confused, Bleu tried to stop the expectations piling up on him all of a sudden.

"You could make it work, so why don't you know how to use it?"

"Bleu's parents didn't have time to teach him. I'm sure that was it." Karin jumped in Bleu's defense.

"So, the Sacred Dragons of this Parmecia land, they should know how to use this, right?"

"Yes, that's likely," Camallia nodded.

"Then, I'm going there. I want to find out all the secrets of this place. With that, I'll be able to use all the sealed tunnels. Maybe I'll even find new mines. I might strike it rich here. Come, let's hurry and board the ark. I expect we'll be able to sleep in the time that thing will take to get to the other side of the mountains."

Randolf hurried them, pointing to a vessel over the lines. This vessel he called an ark looked like a huge upside-down boat. It had no wheels. Karin secretly questioned if it would really move.

The group got inside the ark through a door in the back. The empty insides looked like a cargo hold of sorts.

Randolf used the control panel in the front, and the ark began to gently float, with them inside. And then it sped forward, as if gliding through the black lines.

"Waaaah, awesome, my eyes are spiiining! This was built by your ancestors!?" Karna asked as she watched the flickering lights of the tunnel fly by.

"They didn't built it, I said that they found it. This is a legacy of the gods. I also didn't explore everything inside here. All I did was find mines of precious metals and crystals in the depths of the cavern and the exits on the other side."

"Crystals?"

At Karin's question, Randolf showed a thin crystal shining like the rainbow.

"These are the key to making the old lady's machine work," Krin explained to her sister. "There are many kinds of them, and each affect the machine in a different way. But, only a few are in perfect shape, most have some cracks on them and end up being just pretty rocks."

"All fine by me, I get to sell these rocks to the old lady for a good penny. It's more profit than selling crafts."

He roared with laughter, putting the crystal away.

"The point is, if I find jewels or gold or silver mines, I can live without digging this strange stuff anymore. And if I hit the jackpot with the greatest ore of all, I'll be rich in an instant. I could call back my family who got tired of protecting a bunch of ruins they didn't understand. It'd be a dream to build a dwarf town in this underground too. I'm excited to cross the ocean now!"

Bleu and Karin exchanged looks at that.

"Hey, hey, you just chase wherever the money go, don't you?" Bleu said

"Besides," Tyrin added with a reprimanding tone, "the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia are warring with devils right now."

Bleu wanted to make Randolf give up. They already had to take care of Karna, why did he want to come along too.

"Interesting. That much won't stop me. I don't think getting my hands on these secrets will be easy, I'm no idiot. Dwarves are top-notch warriors. How about that, Sacred Dragon, why not employ me as your protection?"

Everyone blinked when he said that. Offering protection to a Sacred Dragon, the audacity.

"I don't believe Sir Bleu has the need. It's plain to see who's the strongest one," Tyrin chided Randolf.

"No, I'm counting on you."

Everyone but Randolf turned in surprise as Bleu said that. He had changed his mind all of a sudden.

He wouldn't be able to always be at Karin's side. He had to intention of taking her to Parmecia, but he wasn't sure even the journey to Pao would be safe. Should anything happen, he needed someone besides Tyrin to protect the girls.

"Glad to be on board."

Randolf slapped Tyrin on the back with all his strength. The mage coughed helplessly.

"Now, this ark will go on just fine without us doing anything, so you should all go to sleep. Like that girl over there."

Randolf pointed with his chin at Karna, wrapped up like a ball in her cloak. Seems she hadn't got used to the ride and felt sick. Quietly laughing at what a relief that was, Randolf laid down as well.

With no wheels to jostle it, the ark ran silently at high speed through the stripes of light. Except for the queasy Karna, everyone killed time as they pleased until they reached their destination.

Moving away from Tyrin and Krin, who inspected the control panel without rest, Karin sat down with Bleu and Camallia.

"Do the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia live in a place like this?" Bleu asked the foreign girl.

"Are you curious?" Camallia asked back to gauge his reaction.

"I would be lying if I said no. Isn't it strange? The gods could build things like this. Why did the Sacred Dragons, who should be their chosen ones, end up down a road of destruction? Be it in Rune, or in Parmecia…"

"But, aren't you still here?" Karin said, "And the dragons of Parmecia aren't gone yet. The gods were the one who disappeared first."

"Yeah, even the gods were destroyed, so it's not that weird if the Sacred Dragons are too."

Karin had tried to cheer Bleu up, but realized she had done the opposite.

"My problem is, why did it happen," Bleu continued.

"That was because they were cut from the Manual. The Sacred Dragons's lives and the Manual are tied together by an inescapable fate."

"I don't think it's their fate."

Karin objected to Camallia's choice of words.

"It is, the Sacred Dragons of Parmecia receive their Flame of Life through the Power of the Earth."

"Flame of Life?" Bleu echoed a term he was unfamiliar with.

Camallia nodded. "With the secret arts of the Manual, they receive their life force. That was set up by the gods in distant times. Thanks to the gods, as long as they can take the Power of the Earth into their bodies, they are immortal. Because of that, they, no, you became known as the dragons of the gods. Did you not know that?"

Camallia asked, turning to face Bleu.

What was he if he didn't know even that, Bleu asked himself. What was he, after all? And what kind of creature were the Sacred Dragons? He didn't have a clear answer for these questions. Finding the answers was the big challenge in his life.

But, the more he mulled over it, the more differences he realized between Sacred Dragons and humans, between him and Karin. In particular, the more they learned of the physical differences, the harder it was to get past them.

Karin wanted to say something to him. But even someone from Rudo Village like her, so deeply connected with the Sacred Dragons, didn't know any more than him. But unlike Bleu, she was not facing their differences, but focusing on their similarities, with a feeling other than sadness.

"After we retrieve the Manual from the devils, and meet the Sacred Dragons in Parmecia, all might be explained. The knowledge you missed on learning should be there. In the mountain of the Sacred Dragons." She paused. "What I really wish to know is, why are you the only Sacred Dragon left in Rune, you and no one else…"

Bleu found himself captive of Camallia's eyes.

Breathing became slightly harder. He felt as if his soul was melting inside his body.

"Let's go to sleep."

Karin broke the spell. She got in the middle of the two, and tried to push Bleu to lie down.

"You're right, Lady Karin. We should rest as well."

Laughing softly, she undid her sash and started to take off her surcoat. She then took off her long gloves and boots, exposing as much skin as she could. She was glad she was in a safe place where she could relax and sleep like that. Stretching her long legs as she laid down, she turned over her wide cloak and covered herself.

"From tomorrow on we can't waste any time. Let's rest well."

Bleu sprawled himself on the floor.

Karin laid down happily by his side. Bleu curved his long tail, supporting her head like a pillow. And then covered her with his wings like a blanket. Like it was the usual for them.

Camallia rested her head on her hands, and looked on as they slept happily. She continued to stare at them with deep interest until falling asleep.

To next part>

Translation notes:

Karna uses the "-sama" honorific for Bleu, as most people do at this point, honestly. For Karin however, she uses "onee-sama", which is a respectful way to say "sister". Since this is hard to translate, and the narration already points multiple times that the two act like sisters and that Karna is coming off as overly attached, I decided to not translate it as anything and hope the over familiarity of it comes off this way.

As far as I could tell, the "Aquin" fruit is a made up name.

Randolf actually talks about finding "the greatest silver of all" when talking of his ambitions. Since Mithril in-game is specifically called Mithril silver (ミスリル銀), that's likely the ore he's looking for. I wasn't sure if Mithril is commonly called a silver though (I never watched a lord of rings), so I decided to go with ore to be safe.

In fact, let's talk a little about Randolf. In game, he says in HQ that "drinking and fighting is all that is to his life", making him kind of a simple warrior archetype. The novel took some good liberties here making him more work oriented, though it makes sense given how little it had to work with. It's still acknowledging him as a warrior so it's not a big deal.

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 2-5

[warning for needles and coerced blood tests. Yes, in Shining Force. this one is a ride]

"No."

The old lady flatly refused.

"Please, master. Don't be selfish. We just need Randolf's help for a little while," Krin begged the old lady with her hands clasped together.

This lady, known as Granny of the Experiments to the mages of Manarina, was Krin's teacher, Tyrin's friend, and Randolf's employer. She was an exceptional weirdo among the already weird mages.

As his boss, the old lady refused to grant Randolf permission to leave. No matter how one looked at it, she seemed to just be having fun causing problems for Tyrin and the rest.

He and Krin were at a loss on how to deal with her tantrum.

The other four, standing outside her laboratory, gathered near the half opened door without thinking, listening in to the discussion.

"If I said no that's a no. If I let Randolf go, I won't be able to continue my sublime research, will I?"

"Ma'am, this is an order from Master Otrant," Tyrin told her gravely. At least he hoped to impart the gravity of the situation. But it didn't work with her in the slightest.

"Otrant was once just a naughty brat I gave plenty of beatings and scoldings to. That one's a hundred years too young to order me around!"

She laughed, and Tyrin began sweating as he tried to persuade her.

"So this is the kind of place my sister's been studying at?" Karin whispered.

"I guess." Bleu scratched his nose at her words.

"Who was that? Is there someone outside?"

The old lady had heard Karin speak, and went to look outside her room. Her ears were apparently in pretty good shape for her age. With a bit of regret for having talked so carelessly, Bleu and the others entered the room.

"Ooh, if it isn't a Sacred Dragon. Good. Excellent. Alright, if you all help with my experiment, I'll let you have the dwarf."

The old lady's eyes shined as she saw Bleu, and Randolf angrily raised an eyebrow at what she had said.

"Hey hey hey, I'm not a thing. Don't go handing me over as you want. First of all, to let him help on the experiments, what do you want to turn him into? Or, are you gonna turn someone into a dragon…?"

Randolf looked at the machine in the corner of the room. It was bigger than Bleu. The imposing contraption, covered by a transparent dome, was a shapeshifting machine.

The reason the old lady was known as Granny of the Experiments was due to turning people into a bunch of different animals with that machine. That's why even the bulletin boards in Manarina had posters warning to beware of her.

"Even I can't turn people into Sacred Dragons. That's why I'm still researching. I hardly get the chance to pick up such a rare material to experiment with. Hohoho!"

"Bleu isn't any sort of lab animal!" Karin shouted.

"To me, all creatures are lab material, me included. You, and you, and you, and you…"

She spun around pointing each one of them.

"This machine, it looks a lot like the one in the Ancient Tower at Prompt… So you want me to get inside?" Bleu asked. Camallia wanted to say something, but the old lady was faster.

"The machine in the Ancient Tower was only for breathing lifeforce into an artificial creature, like Dark Dragon. It sucked out the life of living beings that entered it and transferred it to something else. This machine here is very different. It was dug out from the Bustoke Quarry a long time ago. Good ol' me here restored it, and it became usable again."

The old lady scolded Krin for not being awed and clapping like a pupil should. The poor girl praised her after way too long. A bit angry, she continued to explain the machine.

"This machine can transform a creature into another kind of creature. For example, it can turn giant worms and such into cute chickens and cows. Oh, it's such a groundbreaking invention."

She made a dreamy face, enchanted by her own words.

"But, I don't think anyone would want milk or stew from a cow that used to be a worm…" Karin mumbled, disgusted. Karna nodded, her lips tightened together.

"You don't understand the greatness of this research. Foolish little girls."

Karna got terribly angry at the old lady's insult, puffing her cheeks. But, suddenly remembering her reason for being there, she quickly calmed down.

"Old lady, have you seen a man called Gong, maybe?"

"Gong? Let's see…" She inclined her head, trying to gather her memories. "Ah, do you mean that huge monk? He helped me here a couple of days ago."

Karna beamed.

"It could be him. So, could you tell me where he is now?"

"He left."

"Ehh?"

She froze instantly, after having jumped in joy at first.

"He just suddenly walked out. I have no clue where he went."

He ran away, whispered Tyrin in Karna's ear. Probably, thought everyone who heard him.

Bleu too started wishing to ran away like Gong. He didn't have time to waste with this stuff.

"We can't spend too much time here. I enter that, then you give us him, right?"

"Don't give in, Bleu. This is a waste of time too," Karin rushed to stop him as he touched the machine.

"Whoa, whoa, who told you to enter? What I want is your cells. Turning a Sacred Dragon into a frog or a snake wouldn't be much fun now, would it?"

Rummaging through a box, the old lady chided the hasty dragon. Right after, she exclaimed "here, found it," and took out an odd tool with a needle.

"What, I'm just gonna take some blood from you all."

Her face contorted with glee as she carried the giant injection needle.

"Hey, hey, you don't mean even from me, do you?"

Randolf took a step away from her.

"I don't see why not. I still don't have many dwarf cells, after all."

Hurried by Bleu and Tyrin, who were fed up with all that, everyone agreed to her procedure against their will. Even Randolf and Cerberus fell in her clutches. The one who resisted the most was Camallia, who tried to plead religious reasons, and that she was a foreigner, but the old lady didn't care at all for that. In the end, she went after half of the group had already done it.

"One Sacred Dragon, one dwarf, one elf, one half-elf, three humans, and one cerberus… Hohoho. Now, what crystals should I use…"

This time, she began rummaging through another box, full of crystal slabs shining in every color of rainbow. It was as if she had immediately forgotten about everyone else in the room.

"Hey, you're a bother to my work. Out."

She ushered them out of the lab. Camallia wished from the bottom of her heart that this old mage's research with their cells never got completed.

"Well then," Tyrin relaxed his shoulders, then asked his old friend, "guide us."

"Hang on, why do I have to do this?"

Randolf grabbed Tyrin's orange-brown robe, stopping him from running ahead.

"What do you mean 'why', I explained everything before. And the old lady has allowed you to."

"The old lady is the old lady, I'm talking about me. I'm no kid to be sent out by my guardian. I do what I want to."

"Then, can't you consider it?" Tyrin requested once more.

Randolf stubbornly rejected it. "I refuse. I shouldn't take anyone who isn't a dwarf through the secret path. Besides, I have nothing to do with this Manual and what it will be used for. I'm not sticking my nose in that kind of trouble when it's not worth a cent."

"Cheapskate."

Someone murmured.

"What did you say?"

Randolf turned around, and saw Karna with her puffed cheeks.

"I said you're a stingy miser, that's what you are. Lending a hand to people in trouble is the right thing to do."

She began preaching to the stubborn dwarf as a priest was bound to do.

"That's my decision to make."

"Cheapskate," she made the same face again. Of course, it was useless to preach to a man several times her age. Besides, Karna wasn't one to keep a dignified front for long.

"C'mon now, a young girl shouldn't talk like that. Not to mention, you seem to be a priest too."

"Oh, I can speak however I want to a dwarf like you. I don't think the gods will forgive your actions."

"My, what a difficult kid."

"You're the difficult one!"

Karna had got angry to the point of tears, and Karin hurried to calm her down. She hugged Karin, burying her face in the older girl's chest.

Randolf felt a bit troubled, as he did not intend to make her cry.

His gaze fell downwards, and when he raised his head again, the white dragon was right in front of him.

"Randolf the dwarf, I beg you once more. We need your help."

Bleu's long neck was bowed down all the way to the dwarf's face.

"Bleu, you shouldn't ever have to go this far."

Karin tried to push his head up. A proud and noble Sacred Dragon, hero of times past, shouldn't lower himself to a mere dwarf. But, Bleu's head stayed firmly where it was.

"If you want us to beg, then, please."

Joining the plea for help, Karin also bowed down towards Randolf, by Bleu's side and as deeply as him. Not leaving her sister alone in that, Krin also bowed by her side.

"I ask of you as well, dwarf, sir."

A bit late, Camallia joined them. Hers was a more elegant gesture, bending her upper body without lowering her head as much.

"Now, what will you do, dear friend. I will ask of you once more as well. To retrieve the stolen Manual, we require a dwarf's assistance..."

Tyrin bowed.

Karna quickly lowered her head as well by Karin's side, her face stained with tears.

"Fine, I get it, stop pestering me, you all. I'll guide you, now get these heads back up already."

Randolf had at last joined the group.

To next part>

Translation notes:

With thanks to Spriters Resource, here's a refresher on what the shapeshifting machine looks like:

And the machine in the Tower of the Ancients that gives power to Dark Dragon (we only see it after it's destroyed by Cain):

The similarities between them kinda start and end with having a glass dome. I don't see any entrances in the last one and Darksol does not put anyone inside it to supply Dark Dragon with energy, so yeah, the writer took some liberties here. Of course, there's no original explanation for it so it's not a big deal.

Karna is confirmed here as a half-elf. According to the afterword at the end of the book (which I'll be translating eventually), the writer did contact someone (he doesn't clarify who exactly) to ask on the issue of her looking like an elf while listed as a human in the manual. The way he talks about, it was very likely a mistake, and deciding to make her a half-elf was just a hasty fix. They decided the same should go for Taya even though she's not even in this book.

Rolling my eyes at the dwarf racism that seems to be going on here. I don't recall dwarves being established as a lesser race anywhere in the first game and its extra content, with Gort even being a legendary hero in Guardiana (despite centaurs dominating the army there in general, but that's mentioned more as centaurs being the prejudiced ones, as opposed to everyone else being on it). The SF2 encyclopedia has a note on Randolf being from a "rougher" subrace of dwarves, so he seems to attract this kinda comment, but in the same sentence that book establishes regular dwarves as respected, so the portrayal here still sticks out as the writer doing his own thing. Which feels pretty bad, especially when Randolf is so far the only character defined just as a worker as opposed to having some special heritage, religious or academic connection.

[starswordartblog]

The very obvious edit of not letting these dwarf dudes be recolors of a human guy anymore. Since I don't know how to edit weapon animations and am just swapping slots around I had to make these match the male sorcerers, which are already kind of jank, but alas, still better than Blue Lemon. Warrior and Gladiator sprites on the other hand are already epic so i just edited palettes, only included them here for completeness and to show the overworld edits. Speaking of overworld, if anyone knows what is the sprite of Gyan sitting let me know, I don't recall seeing it in game but it is in the ROM, and TCRF doesn't list it as unused graphics, though it might be missing the info idk.