| “ | My world. My future. My heart. | „ |
| ~ The Virage Embryo murmuring in its sleep |
The Virage Embryo is a major villain and mythological figure in the 1999 video game The Legend Of Dragoon. A god formed over eleven millennia prior to the start of the game, its true purpose is shrouded in mystery and kept secret for much of the game. Though not formally introduced until the climax of the third disc, it appears throughout the preceding discs under a variety of aliases, even joining the main characters for a time as an integral member of the party. Perfectly disguised, it remains hidden in a human body, its true malevolence unknown to both the party and the players - and sometimes even itself.
Prior to the events of Disc 3, the Virage Embryo's most popularly recognized form is that of the Moon Child, a human infant born with the soul of the ancient deity once every 108 years; worshiped as a messiah throughout Endiness, the Moon Child is prophesied to one day purify the world with its divine powers. However, an entity known as the Black Monster has been killing the Moon Child on every occasion it has been reincarnated, supposedly delaying the holy purification. As the game eventually makes clear, however, the Moon Child's true mission is to reunite with the body of the Virage Embryo - currently trapped in orbit around the planet as The Moon That Never Sets - and "purify" Endiness by destroying it entirely.
The final species given life by the creator Soa, the Virage Embryo was created solely to destroy the planet and create a new world in its stead. Unknown to all but a select few, the current Moon Child is none other than Shana, Dragoon and love interest to Dart, the hero of the game; even Shana has no idea of her true nature. However, her powers and potential make her immensely desirable to those who wish to complete Soa's divine plan - hence the events that begin the game.
History[]
The 108th Fruit[]
The Divine Tree and all its 108 fruits
Thousands of years prior to the events of the game, the god known as Soa created the world that would become Endiness, forging a new planet from what had once been empty void. However, the world was little more than a barren husk and unable to generate life of its own accord; so the creator sowed a magical seed in the earth of the new planet, and in time, the seed grew into a colossal plant that eventually became known as the Divine Tree. Under Soa's guidance, the tree's many branches bore 108 fruits, and from each of those fruits, a new form of life emerged.
Most of the species given life by the tree are unknown or simply too mundane to mention. However, the last few fruits of the Divine Tree gradually emerged as the pinnacle of life on Endiness: the 97th fruit became the Gigantos, renowned for their towering physiques and incredible strength; the 105th fruit gave birth to the Dragons, known for their great power and ferocity; humanity emerged from the 106th fruit, making up for their lack of strength with intelligence and guile; finally, from the 107th fruit emerged the Winglies, born with the power of flight and an innate gift for magic. However, unknown to the newly-populated world, Soa had realized that his creation would one day stop developing and succumb to stagnation; unable to bear the thought of his masterpiece ruined through simple entropy, he empowered the 108th fruit of the Divine Tree to counteract the decay.
Named the Virage Embryo, the 108th fruit was ordained as the God of Destruction, designed specifically to annihilate Endiness and build a new world to replace it. However, according to Soa's divine plan, the Virage Embryo did not set out to destroy everything from the moment of its creation; instead, it remained on its branch of the Divine Tree, waiting for the corruption of the world to reach intolerable proportions. On that day, it would finally be born and emerge from the 108th fruit to cleanse the world of all imperfection.
However, perhaps eleven thousand years prior to the events of the game, Soa's plan went awry: by this time, the Winglies had parlayed their magical gifts into an empire that dominated much of Endiness, forcing the other species of the world into slavery. Under the rule of Emperor Melbu Frahma, the empire sought to control everything in the world, from what children they would permit the privilege of birth to the destination of the soul after death; it was this all-encompassing desire for domination that led Wingly researchers to delve deep into new sources of magical power - where they eventually discovered the Virage Embryo.
Recognizing the threat that the God of Destruction represented, Melbu Frahma had the Virage Embryo's soul separated from its body in the hope that it would be enough to prevent the apocalypse. For good measure, he even had the now-vacant body plucked from the Divine Tree and transported into space, where its lack of movement eventually inspired later astronomers to call it "The Moon That Never Sets." However, Melbu Frahma's lust for power soon drew him to the wellspring of infinite magical energy that the Virage Embryo's soul offered, eventually leading him to imprison the disembodied spirit within a crystal sphere. Through the use of this powerful talisman, the Wingly Emperor was able to draw on almost godlike powers.
Fortunately, Melbu Frahma's sister Charle was more cautious in her approach; already disenchanted with the ruthless exploitation of other races and not interesting in seeing such power abused, she created five magical signet spheres, hiding them deep within the greatest cities of the empire. These powerful magical constructs were specifically designed to limit the amount of energy that could be drawn from the crystal sphere, but they were also able to keep the Virage Embryo's body permanently sealed off, ensuring that the world was kept safe from both the Emperor and the God. Unfortunately, Melbu realized the truth and commissioned a number of magical talismans that would allow him to disable the signets; known as the Divine Moon Objects, he only managed to acquire the Moon Gem, the Moon Dagger and the Moon Mirror - and even then, he never had a chance to use them.
Birth of the Moon Child[]
Eventually, the Winglies' rule grew too oppressive for the enslaved species to tolerate. Following a devastating magical bombardment that left the land of Gloriano a barren desert, resentments that had been simmering just below the boiling point for years overflowed, resulting in great uprisings and rebellious that eventually united under the banner of the human leader known only as Emperor Diaz. Styling himself as the ruler of Imperial Gloriano, Diaz organized the enslaved peoples of Endiness into a dedicated army of followers, eventually drawing upon the power of the Dragons to gain a major advantage over the Wingly empire: through the use of Dragon spirits preserved at the moment of death as magical pendants, seven compatible warriors were able to become the first of the Dragoons - legendary knights armed with the strength and magic of Dragons.
With their ability to command Dragons, these seven Dragoons formed humanity's trump card over the course of the what was to be known as the Dragon Campaign; though Melbu Frahma attempted to create a trump card of his own in form of the tamed Virages - a race of living weapons cultivated from seeds of the 108th fruit - the power of the Dragoons was too much even for them. With the help of Charle Frahma and a small cabal of other defecting Winglies, they were able to outmaneuver the imperial counterattacks and eventually launch an all-out assault on the capital city of Kadessa. There, while the other Dragoons dismantled the city's defenses (unwittingly destroying one of the signets in the process), the Dragoon leader Zieg did battle with Melbu Frahma himself and slew him in single combat. Unfortunately, the crystal sphere was shattered over the course of the battle, freeing the Virage Embryo's soul from captivity.
Unable to simply travel directly to the moon from Endiness, the God of Destruction's spirit instead allowed itself to be reincarnated as a human infant: at the very moment of the child's birth, the Moon That Never Sets turned a blood-red hue in the sky, drawing a great deal of attention to the newborn and eventually resulting one of the Virage Embryo's most enduring names - the Moon Child. From a very early age, the Moon Child possessed the power to psychically subvert the minds of those around it, encouraging them to perceive it as a messiah; though other powers would manifest as the child matured, its ability to influence sentient minds proved the most valuable, for through this method, it gained a sizable cult of followers. Eventually, the Moon Child began to preach of its destiny, claiming that it would one day purify Endiness and renew the stagnant world to its former glory; it's still not known if it was lying or simply parroting what garbled memories remained from its time as the God of Destruction, but one way or the other, the Virage Embryo's followers never waved in their belief in their savior's benevolence.
Worse still, the Divine Moon Objects were now in the hands of the new human royal families springing up around the world; if the Moon Child ever became prominent enough to enter the realm of politics, its mental powers would allow it to easily subvert the minds of Endiness' royalty - guaranteeing it access to the talismans that could destroy the signets and pave its way back to the Moon That Never Sets.
Charle Frahma was one of the few inhabitants of Endiness to discover the truth: however, with the Winglies still recovering from the casualties they'd sustained during the Dragon Campaign, she couldn't act against the threat directly. So, while she and her fellow defectors went about securing the remaining Signets, she alerted the last surviving Dragoon, Rose, to the danger that the Moon Child posed. Unfortunately, though Rose was able to kill the Moon Child, the Virage Embryo's soul could not be harmed; after 108 years, it would eventually be reincarnated in a new body once again - allowing it to begin its crusade anew. So, Charle provided Rose with a magical choker that prevented her from aging, allowing the lone Dragoon to eliminate the Moon Child whenever it reappeared.
For the next eleven thousand years, Rose went on hunting down the Virage Embryo's mortal vessels; as time went on, however, necessity forced her to take drastic measures to ensure that the assassination went as smoothly as possible: in order to stop the Moon Child's influence from spreading further, she had to eliminate anyone in the surrounding area who might have been subjected to its mental powers; and to ensure that the Moon Child never had an opportunity to manifest its greater powers, she had to take action while the target was still an infant. The severity of her methods eventually earned Rose the title of "The Black Monster"; with religions throughout history demonizing her as an avatar of chaos and destruction, and with the truth of the Virage Embryo having long since been lost in the intervening millennia, the Moon Child's reputation as a savior remained seemingly unshakable.
The Princesses of Mille Seseau[]
Eighteen years prior to the events of the game, the Moon Child was born to the Queen of Mille Seseau, already declared a princess long before her messianic nature was discovered. However, for the first time in almost 100 incarnations, the Moon Child had been reborn as one of a duo: the Queen had given birth to twins, and in order to avoid a messy succession crisis, the royal family kept the second child a secret from the rest of the country.
As such, when the Moon That Never Sets glowed red in the night and the first portents of the Virage Embryo's magic began to appear, most of the citizenry assumed that the Moon Child was the newborn heir to the throne, Princess Louvia. In reality, it was actually Louvia's twin sister. Unfortunately, the Black Monster was also fooled, and began planning the assassination based on incorrect information.
When Rose finally tracked down the Moon Child, the royal family was touring the outlying villages of the kingdom and had stopped for a time in the small town of Neet. Attacking the village in the guise of the Black Monster, she put all of Neet to the torch, killing the citizenry en mass and eliminating anyone attempting to resist; even the knights of Mille Seseau could not stop her. Still under the impression that the Moon Child was Princess Louvia, she followed the fleeing royal entourage to a nearby harbor, where the royal galleon Saint Louvia was already departing. Overtaking the ship, she killed everyone on board from the captain down, finally eliminating Princess Louvia; her mission seemingly complete, she left the ship believing that the Moon Child had been eliminated once again.
In reality, the real Moon Child was still alive and had never even boarded the ship. In the chaos of the Black Monster's attack, Princess Louvia's twin had been separated from the rest of the royal entourage and lost somewhere in the forests outside Neet. Because of the secrecy surrounding her birth, when the child was finally rescued, nobody knew anything of her true lineage or her nature as the Moon Child. As such, she remained in obscurity, eventually being adopted by a couple from the Southern Kingdom of Serdio and resettled in the Serdian town of Seles. Named Shana, the child quickly became universally adored among her fellow townsfolk.
One of Shana's most fervent admirers was Dart, a fellow survivor of Neet who eventually came to regard the unrecognized Moon Child as something of a baby sister. However, though they spent most of their childhood together, the two of them were eventually forced to part: Dart was determined to hunt down the Black Monster and avenge the destruction of Neet, and at the age of eighteen, he finally decided to begin his quest. Having studied at length under the local master swordsman, he bid farewell to Shana and set out across Endiness on a journey that was to consume at least five long years of Dart's life and end with him returning home empty-handed.
Throughout this time, Shana was happy to spend her days in relative obscurity: seemingly powerless save for her uncanny ability to inspire adoration in those around her, she learned archery and survival skills to protect herself from the beasts of the nearby forest. Though she missed Dart, she wasn't troubled by any instinct to preach of holy destiny, nor was she stirred by any great ambition to claim a place in the spotlight.
However, Shana's life of unassuming contentment was not to last: by the time she turned eighteen, a succession crisis and civil war had split Serdio into the warring nations of Basil and Sandora, ruled respectively by King Albert and his estranged uncle Emperor Doel. Though a truce had been declared, Imperial Sandora was still anxious for any form of power available to it, and the unknowing Moon Child soon became the target of a major conspiracy arranged by officials within the empire - thus prompting the events of the game.
Serdian War, Platinum Shadow[]
Shana being positively identified as the Moon Child by Sandoran troops
The game itself begins with Seles being raided by Sandoran troops accompanied by the dragon Feyrbrand, the attack ultimately ended with the village being burned to the ground and Shana - the real target of the mission - being captured alive. Under the edict of Emperor Doel and his mercenary adviser Lloyd, Shana is incarcerated at Helena Prison until such time as the conspiracy is ready to deal with her. However, shortly after the attack, Dart finally arrives in the ruins of Seles, and upon realizing what has become of his childhood sweetheart, immediately sets off for Helena; with the aid of Sir Lavitz Slambert of Basil, he is able to arrange a breakout and rescue Shana from the prison. However, the mystery of why Sandora wanted her in the first place remains, ultimately forming a major part of Dart's involvement in the civil war from then on.
Unable to return to Seles for the time being, the three warriors head northwards to Bale, the capital of Basil. Along the way, however, they are forced to take a detour through a deep cave tunneling into the mountains, eventually resulting in them being attacked by a monster known as the Urobolus. However, Shana is able to destroy the monster by unconsciously manifesting her true power as the Moon Child for the first time, disintegrating the Urobolus with an aura of holy magic - the player's first hint as to Shana's true nature.
After being entrusted with the defense of the fortified town of Hoax by King Albert, the three warriors are unexpectedly joined by none other than Rose. Though she is careful to avoid mentioning her secret identity and remains completely ignorant of Shana's true nature, Rose identifies Dart as a potential Dragoon, and is able to awaken his power for the first time. However, Shana's own powers continue to manifest throughout the time, and though they remain too subtle for anyone to realize the truth, they do manage to awaken a Virage lying dormant in a volcanic crater, forcing the party into an unexpected boss battle.
After escaping from the volcano, the power of the two Dragoons eventually allows the party to kill both Feyrbrand and the Sandoran Dragoon commanding him. Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to Feyrbrand's toxins result in Shana lapsing into a coma; in an unexpected stroke of luck, however, while attempting to find medicinal plants at a nearby shrine they are able to acquire the White Silver Dragoon spirit - not only healing Shana's wounds but also revealing her as the latest of the party's Dragoons.
However, Shana's true nature remains a mystery for the remainder of the first disc: even following the death of Emperor Doel, the group are no closer to unraveling the conspiracy. However, they are now aware that the kidnapping of Shana and the empire's acquisition of Dragoon spirits was orchestrated entirely by Lloyd, supposedly as part of his mission to obtain Serdio's Divine Moon Object, the Moon Gem. Though they are unable to stop Lloyd from escaping Serdio with the Gem, Doel's final words indicate that he is pursuing his next objectives in the neighboring country of Tiberoa, encouraging the party westwards in their hunt for the thief.
Throughout the second disc, the party (and by extension Shana) learn more about the Moon Child, but the true identity of both her and the Black Monster remains unknown. However, while embroiled in an attempt to end the Gehrich Gang's stranglehold over the country, the party ventures into the Valley of Corrupted Gravity - where Shana's powers unexpectedly awaken another dormant Virage. This time however, the battle concludes with the monster making a grab for Shana herself, possibly sensing the connection it shares with the original Virage Embryo; however, Shana manifests another halo of energy and sends her attacker plummeting into the abyss. Having never seen Moon Children old enough to use such powers, Rose is suspicious but unable to recognize Shana for what she truly is.
Ironically, both Rose and Shana find themselves confronted by the past they unknowingly share when the party's pursuit of Lloyd's accomplice leads them into a collision course with the wreck of the Saint Louvia, now a ghost ship kept afloat by the ghosts of its murdered crew. While Rose's presence drives the ghosts of the Princess's defenders into a fury, Shana - immediately mistaken for the real Princess Louvia - is able to calm them, ending the boss battle on a surprisingly peaceful note.
Though they are unable to stop Lloyd from obtaining Tiberoa's Moon Dagger, the party nonetheless earns the Kingdom's gratitude for ending the threat of the ghost ship and the sea dragon, and a massive celebration follows: over the course of the evening, Dart and Shana's relationship escalates to new heights, and the disc concludes with Dart no longer regarding Shana as a baby sister, but as a lover.
Fate and Soul[]
The third disc begins with the party pursuing Lloyd northwards into Mille Seseau. However, while staying overnight at the coastal town of Furni, Shana unexpectedly suffers a fit and collapses. The following day, she seems to have recovered - enough to use her Dragoon powers to heal the wolf Kamuy of corruption, at any rate - so the party thinks nothing more of it, venturing northwards through the forest and into the capital city of Deningrad. After an uneventful day spent studying texts on the Dragon Campaign and the Black Monster at the national library, the party is startled by the unexpected appearance of the Divine Dragon over the city; suspecting Lloyd's involvement in the dragon's escape from captivity, Dart and the others decide to offer their aid to Queen Theresa.
However, it's soon revealed that Denigrad's Crystal Palace was once part of a Wingly city prior to the events of the Dragon Campaign, and currently houses once of the still-active signet spheres. While Dart explains the situation to Queen Theresa and her adopted daughter Miranda, Shana finds herself drawn away from the rest of the group and into the signet chamber: here, her Dragoon Spirit abruptly rejects her and passes to Miranda, whereupon Shana suffers another fit and collapses. With Shana now too weak to continue the journey, the group leave her in the care of the Queen and her entourage, with Miranda taking her place as archer and White-Silver Dragoon for the rest of the game.
While the rest of the party goes about obtaining the Dragon Block Staff from the ruins of Kadessa, the Divine Dragon once again attacks Deningrad, bombarding the city at length with magic before opening fire on Crystal Palace itself with its Divine Cannon. The assault obliterates the uppermost towers of the palace, reduces much of the keep to ruins and destroys the signet sphere for good measure; fortunately, Shana's innate abilities are now powerful enough to shield herself and the Queen from harm, though the current state of the palace force the party to relocate her to an inn for the time being.
In the aftermath of the Divine Dragon's death, Lloyd is able to charm his way into the good graces of the royal family and kidnap the Queen in his attempts to acquire the final Divine Moon Object. Doubly unfortunately, while the rest of the party pursues him to the ruined Tower of Flanvel - current resting place of the Moon Mirror - Lloyd's master takes the opportunity to make his move: soon after Lloyd is finally defeated, it's revealed that Shana has been kidnapped by a man calling himself Emperor Diaz, who now demands that Lloyd and all three Divine Moon Objects be brought to him in the city of Velweb, the capital of ancient Gloriano.
Reluctantly, Dart and the others allow Lloyd to lead them across the snow fields and into the ruins of Velweb, where "Emperor Diaz" finally reveals his true plans: claiming to be a proponent of Soa's divine plan for Endiness, he wishes to reunite the soul of the Virage Embryo with its body, allowing the God of Destruction to end the world. After apparently killing Lloyd, the "Emperor" unmasks himself, revealing himself to be Zieg - Rose's mentor and lover, and Dart's father. Having been petrified in the aftermath of the battle with Melbu Frahma, Zieg was presumed dead by all, but after eleven thousand years of intervening time, the spell of petrification finally wore off and allowed the ancient Dragoon to roam free - though he conspicuously avoids mentioning how he survived the events of Neet and how he learned of the Moon Child's true nature.
For good measure, he also unmasks Rose as the Black Monster and reveals Shana to be the Moon Child. After easily stopping Rose's desperate attempt on Shana's life, Zieg departs with the Moon Child in tow.
Moon and Fate[]
For most of the fourth and final disc, Shana remains out of the spotlight, having been hidden well beyond the reach of the player characters and kept deliberately comatose to ensure her participation in Zieg's omnicidal designs. However, her fate remains a topic of considerable discussion among the party: though Dart eventually is able to forgive Rose for her past crimes after an extended swordfight in the deserts of the Death Frontier, he nonetheless refuses to kill Shana, insisting on finding some other way of stopping the Divine Plan.
After a visit to Charle Frahma in the oasis town of Ulara, the party is left with one such possibility: by reinforcing the three remaining signet spheres, they might be able to stop Zieg from completing the Moon Child's mission. However, despite a long and complicated journey through the greatest of the remaining Wingly cities, they quickly find themselves outpaced and outmatched by Zieg at every turn: the fallen Dragoon's inexplicable mastery of magic allows him to turn the signet's defenders against it in Aglis, and his newfound gift of flight gives him the speed to beat the party to the signet in Zenebatos.
Eventually, the third and final signet at Mayfil is destroyed, allowing the Moon That Never Sets to descend from space and land at the heart of the Divine Tree, where it quickly begins preparation for the birth of the Virage Embryo. Soon after, Zieg retrieves Shana from her hiding place and delivers her to the heart of the Moon, supposedly preparing to reunite her with her original body. Meanwhile, with no other way of stopping Zieg from completing his plan, Dart and the others also journey to the Moon: though their steed is shot down by the honor guard of Virages patrolling the skies, they are able to land in the Divine Tree and infiltrate the Virage Embryo via the roots that connect the two.
However, even while still in its centuries-long slumber, the God of Destruction possesses formidable defenses: upon sensing the intruders, it warps the Moon's interior into a vast array of environments and scenarios based on the memories of its attackers, complete with artificial people. As it eventually becomes apparent, these constructs have been built to disorient the party and torment them with their own deep-seated psychological issues: Miranda finds herself in the forest where her mother abandoned her as a child and is forced to do battle with the Death Rose, a monstrous reincarnation of her mother; Haschel follows a replica of his long-lost daughter into a dojo for an extended martial arts battle, during which he is forced to come to terms with his guilt over keeping Claire from leading a happy life; Albert is presented with a recreation of pre-civil war Serdio, where he must confront the ghost of Emperor Doel and finally discover why he murdered his father; Kongol returns to the ruins of the Giganto homeland and must overcome his self-doubt by besting his older brother in single combat; Rose must confront the last of her guilt by facing down her long-dead vassal dragon, Michael, and put him down before he can pose a threat to Dart; finally, Meru must denounce the sins of her ancestors by venturing into a Wingly city in the heyday of the empire and doing battle with the Archangel that her people once worshiped.
After leaving the Wingly metropolis behind, the recreation begins to dissolve into featureless blocks of matter trailing off into the heart of the Moon: there, while Shana waits to be reborn in the womb at the very center of the 108th fruit, Dart and the others battle Zieg to a standstill. Mortally wounded, Zieg collapses - revealing that he was merely being possessed by the ghost of Emperor Melbu Frahma all along. Having concealed himself in Zieg's Dragoon Spirit following the battle at Kadessa, the long-dead Wingly had been able to possess him when he tried to take Dragoon form in defense of Neet, and spent the next eighteen years arranging his scheme with Lloyd.
Far from being a proponent of the fate ordained by Soa, Melbu is simply out to steal the Virage Embryo's power and build a new empire from the ruins of the world; then, as the party looks on, the ghost successfully removes Shana from the heart of the Moon and takes her place, slowly metamorphosing into the God of Destruction. Fortunately, the newly-ascended emperor is not invincible, a fact proved when Lloyd appears on the scene and actually manages to wound Melbu in the ensuing battle, though his defiance costs him his life. Thus inspired and armed with Lloyd's final gifts, Dart and the others set off to defeat the Virage Embryo.
Over the course of a final boss battle with Melbu Frahma, the Dragoons are finally able to slay him once and for all, destroying the Virage Embryo's body and ending the God of Destruction for all time. While Rose chooses to remain behind to die with Zieg, Dart, Shana and the others escape the collapsing body just in time to watch the Moon That Never Sets and the Divine Tree vanish in a massive explosion.
Though the Moon Child is still alive and still possessed of some magical power by the end of the story, the destruction of the Virage Embryo's body ensures that its soul no longer has any means of ending the world; for good measure, Shana has no intention of doing such a thing, being more than happy spending the rest of her life with Dart.
Personality[]
The character of the Moon Child remains largely a mystery for much of the story, given that the only one the player encounters is Shana. However, it can be presumed from Shana's overall behavior that most of the Moon Children had no idea as to their true nature or mission, having likely only learned a garbled and immediately misinterpreted version of their divine purpose upon the awakening of their powers.
While comatose and connected to the body of the Virage Embryo, Shana appears to understand what is expected of her and even accept it, as she is heard muttering "My world," and "My future," the Moon resculpting itself into blazing ruins to fit her mindset. At all other times however, Shana remains her usual self: gentle, compassionate, merciful, and almost entirely oblivious to her true power.
Powers and Abilities[]
Along with Shana's own skills in archery and the power of the White-Silver Dragoon spirit (prior to Disc 3 at any rate), the Moon Child exhibits a number of subtle magical powers to help it in its quest to reach the Moon: the first and most prominent of these is the ability to seduce and bewitch the minds of others, subverting their loyalties and encouraging them to see her as a savior. However, as the Moon Child matures, it also begins to manifest auras of holy power; these fields of divine magic can be used to disintegrate enemies or create defensive shields powerful enough to withstand even a direct hit from the Divine Dragon's magic cannon.
The Virage Embryo's body possessed the overwhelming majority of the God's power: even while still technically dormant, it was able to warp the interior of the Moon That Never Sets into a twisted collage of scenarios based on the minds of its intruders, even conjuring up NPCs and opponents for the party to interact with. When Melbu Frahma took Shana's place and emerged as the soul animating the body of the Virage Embryo, he was capable of commanding Virages, directing the tentacles at the heart of the Moon and utilizing the God of Destruction's vast magical power in casting high-level spells.
However, Melbu was also capable of assuming new forms if he judged his current body insufficient, transforming into a wraithlike anthropomorphic black hole, an airborne technological nightmare, and a hovering monstrosity reminiscent of a seahorse. In a further demonstration of the Virage Embryo's divinity, he also transformed the core of the Moon That Never Sets into a moving replica of the creation of the world - beginning with its birth in deep space, its formation from molten rock to solid ground, the propagation of life across the planet, the rise and fall of sentient beings, and end of everything - the final battle taking place in an apocalyptic wasteland atop a field of corpses.
With the destruction of the Virage Embryo's body, much of these powers were lost; however, those intrinsic to the Virage Embryo's soul presumably live on in Shana.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ironically, Melbu Frahma may be the only reason why Dart and the other Dragoons ever had a chance against the Virage Embryo to begin with: had Shana been allowed to become the God of Destruction, Dart may have been unwilling to fight her or at the very least unable to land the killing blow, affording the Virage Embryo a significant advantage in battle. Furthermore, Melbu was more interested in proving his might as the God of Destruction rather than beginning the destruction of the world, and was likely still learning how to utilize his newfound powers - disadvantages that the Moon Child did not possess while connected.