The Prince of Mavolia, referred to as his Dark Majesty (the Young Nobleman/Prince of Darkness in Japanese), is a major villain and one of the three possible final bosses in the RPG video game Trials of Mana. He seeks to open his realm, the Demon World of Mavolia on the world of Fa'Diel, in order to rule both as a god.
He is the counterpart to Stroud, whose role is somehow similar to his backstory.
History[]
His Dark Majesty was first the human heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Light, but was locked in a dungeon at birth, feared and hated by everyone due to a prophecy foretelling that he would doom the realm.
Medusa, the Archdemon of Mavolia granted him dark powers and would name him her prince if he could open the Door to Mavolia. He then became a ruthless tyrant, destroying the country as foretold. He later killed Medusa and stole her throne, not knowing that she will always returns and will always be more powerful and dangerous that he could ever hope to become.
Forsaking forever his human name for the moniker of his Dark Majesty, he took over Mavolia and became the new Archdemon, though his rule is openly contested by the Masked Mage and the Dragon Lord, the other two Great Evils who share his goal to release the Benevodons. As for the Kingdom of Light, it became a dark wasteland enshrouded in an everlasting stormy night, where monsters dwell freely.
At one point he trapped Shade, the Mana Spirit of Shadow, in a ghost ship guarded by a demonic phantom and took control of the Mana Stone of Shadow after Zable Fahr, the Benevodon of Darkness and the mightiest of the eight, was released during gruelling wars to control it and led monsters into untold devastation. Fortunately, the Mana Goddess sealed both his Dark Majesty and the stone in Mavolia.
Nineteen years before the events of Trials of Mana, the Ancient Kingdom of Pedda started invading the world of Fa'Diel, and planting Dark Mirrors in the countries they conquered, corrupting all their surroundings. Heroes from Pedda led by a young knight named Roget formed a coalition against their own country, hoping to restore peace.
It appears that the Dark Mirrors used by Pedda as a power source were created by Medusa, now only known as Anise, who corrupted the Boy King Inath and the Mirage Bishop of Pedda, in order to resurrect and return to power, before destroying Fa'Diel.
Anise's dark energy eventually ran wild and killed Inath and the Bishop, and she possessed the Peddan General Cecilia Baxilios, turning her into the gigantic Goddess of Doom. Anise was destroyed, unfortunately taking Pedda down with her, leaving his Dark Majesty the sole Monarch of Mavolia.
Personality[]
What kind of man his Dark Majesty was before the demons' bargain is not known. His right-hand Belladonna states that he was corrupted and had his heart had been "shuttered close". Growing up an outcast prisoner before having done anything surely made him bitter, resentful, and angry, worsened by Mavolia's influence. Though it is not explained whether he was corrupted by his imprisonment, the demons or both.
In game, his Dark Majesty displays huge amounts of arrogance, self-centeredness, greed and hunger for power. He is collected, sarcastic, and manipulative, using the heroes for his own gain without them knowing, but cruel, hateful, violent, sadistic, boastful, and taunting. He stops at nothing to gain power no matter how many lives he tramples, and displaying no gratitude whatsoever towards his faithful servants or his benefactor, backstabbing the latter and throwing the former under the bus as soon as it gets convenient.
Trials of Mana[]
“ | You should gracefully give up this fight. The world as you know will be consumed by Mavolia. The new evil order will be ruled by me. There is no place for you here! | „ |
~ The Dark Majesty |
At some point, the Demon Lady Belladonna and the Vampire Lord Malocchio took control of the Dark Castle and took care of the Dark Majesty's remains, planning to bring him back. Whether they did it on their own volition or were in contact with his Dark Majesty is not known, but the latter seems more likely as they come from Mavolia and that Belladonna does adore her liege in more ways than one.
Belladonna posed as a human witch and brainwashed Flamekhan, lord of the Ninja Thieves of Nevarl. She used the ninjas to invade the Wind Kingdom of Laurent, planning to make the child prince Elliot into his Dark Majesty's new vessel. Their goal is to lift the seal of the Mana Stones and release the eight Benevodons, in open war against the other two Great Evils. All Mana Stones being eventually unsealed.
Later, his Dark Majesty uses the last of his essence to return the Mana Stone of Shadow to the Earthly Planes, hiding it in the ruins of Pedda. The heroes eventually enter the Mana Sanctuary, location of the Mana Tree (the Mana Goddess' earthly avatar). But because the Great Evils have drained most of the Mana Power sustaining the world, the Goddess can do nothing except giving the heroes the fabled Sword of Mana.
If his Dark Majesty is not the final boss, the primary villain will destroy his remains to prevent all possibilities of a resurrection, sealing his servants' doom in the process. If he is the final boss however, he assists his agents from the depths of Mavolia to destroy his rivals and all their forces. His Dark Majesty sends his followers to the Sanctuary, where they abduct the heroes' Faerie guide and use her as a hostage to get the Sword. They then bend it to their will and release the Benevodons.
The heroes destroy the Benevodons, but they unknowingly serve his Dark Majesty's interests, as he wants them slain to channel their power in the Sword of Mana and use it to resurrect without needing Prince Elliot. Later in the Night Cavern, the heroes slay Malocchio, and storm the Dark Castle where they slay Belladonna. They meet his Dark Majesty at last. The gloating villain dismisses Belladonna's loss without a care and offers to make the heroes his main enforcers, but they unsurprisingly refuse. He then absorbs the Sword of Mana and its power. Fortunately, the Mana Goddess is able to thwart him with her last strength.
Angered, his Dark Majesty teleports to the Sanctuary to finish off the exhausted deity, with the heroes on its tracks. But they are too late, the Mana Tree is destroyed. The villain kills the Faerie and assumes his Archdemon form, ready to possess Prince Elliot before merging Fa'Diel and Mavolia to rule both as a god. He blasts the heroes but the Faerie's spirit heals them, stating that the Power of Mana still exists through them, giving them a chance.
Although the Archdemon ridicules the Faerie's declaration of hope, the heroes prove her right by destroying him. With the destruction of his true form instead of an avatar, he is gone for good. The Faerie's spirit merges with the Mana Tree's remains and becomes the Mana Goddess reborn. But the Mana Tree will need a thousand years to grow again and restore the Mana power, marking the end of an era.
Boss Battle[]
“ | Ridiculous! You think your illusion of hope can stand up against a newly realised god? Think again! | „ |
~ The Archdemon |
Far and away the hardest of the three final bosses, the Archdemon is a considerably powerful and dangerous enemy, relentlessly using many dangerous moves. He is at level 50 and has 53499 life-points. The heroes must be over level 50 and have plenty of curing and resurrecting items. The element he uses depends on the colour he takes.
When black he uses Shadow magic, like the weakening Dark Curse, Annihilate (instant kill a lower-level target), and the crippling attack Southern Slice, attack with Light. When brown he uses Earth magic (cure when petrified) and the fearsome Hypercannon; attack with Wind. When dark-blue he uses Wind magic (cure when silenced) and the fearsome Air Rush; attack with Earth.
When red he uses Fire magic and the fearsome Gigantaburn; attack with Water. When dark blue he uses Water magic (cure when turned to snowmen) and Ice Cradle; attack with Fire. When green, he uses Moon including Moon Spiral, cure when shrunk; no weakness. He can also use Counter Spell to reflect back attack spells.
Weapons should be infused with the magic he is weak against and spells of his current element must be avoided for they heal him. He remains quite open to attacks so it is best to harass him without stop, weaken him and boost the heroes as much as possible. The heroes must not waste healing items and spells, because the worst is yet to come.
With only half his life-bar, the Archdemon transforms again and gets even harder. He now punches, conjures gigantic blades from the ground, uses the monster summon Great Demon, and the Fetid Breath and Demon Scream moves.
The Archdemon now hits harder and can tank more. He buffs himself with Strengthen and Protection and prefers striking all heroes with dangerous special attacks. Watch out for his deadliest attack, Catastrophe, which deals crippling non-elemental damage to every hero. The heroes must unleash their mightiest spells and special techniques and give everything they have. They must be careful to heal whenever their life-points drop under 200 and to attack him with the right element.
The remakes raises the Archdemon at level 65, still a highly dangerous foe. His attacks can now be dodged, and even telegraphed by red zones covering their area of effect, but the heroes must react fast.
His final form's life-bar is restored and his floating arms act as separate targets that must be knocked-out to attack him, and can shield him with Total Defense.
He can cast normally some of his best moves, but while his mightiest ones are impossible to dodge, they can be prevented by breaking all their source of power before he can unleash them. Attacking without end can cancel his deadliest attack Catastrophe and knock him out, making him vulnerable.
Circle of Mana[]
Like most characters of the series, his Dark Majesty is playable in the card-based role-playing game Circle of Mana. Each character is played as cards to save the Mana Tree, and can evolve to obtain power, equipment and Class Changes.
Trivia[]
- For many years, his Dark Majesty was only known in Occident as the Dark Prince, being named as such in the unofficial fan-translation. Translation that is truer to the original Japanese text than the official translation.
- Echoes of Mana shows Hawkeye appearing along the other wielders of the Sword of Mana, summoned to assist the party in their final Battle against Dema the False Goddess' ultimate form. This shows that his Dark Majesty destroyed his rivals in canon.
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Villains | ||
Final Fantasy Adventure / Sword of Mana Secret of Mana Trials of Mana Legend of Mana Dawn of Mana Heroes of Mana Echoes of Mana Visions of Mana |