Dragon Quest Emblem of Erdrick Level 1

LEVEL 1: PRINCE ARUS IS BORN

The Archfiend Baramos and Greater Archfiend Zoma were slain by the hero Erdrick, thus restoring peace to the world. Guided by the goddess Rubiss, two sons of Erdrick named Loran and Khamen ventured back to the overworld above Alefgard. They split their inheritance, the Mark of Erdrick, between them and each set out to establish their own kingdoms: The Kingdom of Loran to the north, and the Kingdom of Khamen to the south. The kingdoms prospered peacefully, bringing hope and joy to the land.

The story begins 100 years later.

In the Kingdom of Khamen, the current King Khamen is riding a Beakon into battle with his top general Bolgoy and the general's adopted daughter Lunafrea. It's Lunafrea's first real battle, but she already bested 10 men in the knighthood's knockout competition. The king is seen off by his pregnant wife, Queen Rosa, as they set out for the forests of the Necrogond. Should the king be going out into battle with a baby due any day now? The king insists that it's the duty of the royal family and descendants of the Hero Erdrick.

As Queen Rosa sees the army off, the priest Tarkin comes running up to deliver some news: He's received a divine missive in the form of a holy name that appeared in his divining pool. The baby's Goddess-given name will be Arus, a sacred name that will protect him from evil.

In the forests, the royal army is met with army of Heedoo Voodoos. General Bolgoy receives a report that they've built some kind of temple further within the woods. They rush in and charge through the minions inside. Deep within, they find an altar with some kind of creepy-looking reptilian idol on it. The general suggests they burn the whole place down with the idol in it, but the king insists on destroying the idol first. When the king lunges to attack, though, something flashes past the idol to break the chain of the emblem worn around the king's neck, leaving him unprotected from dark influences. There's a flash, and the king is left jolted.

The king abruptly stops, lowers his sword, and decides to take the idol back with him instead, much to the general's consternation. When they march back to the castle, Rosa and Tarkin try to deliver the good news about the name, but he makes a scene, shatters the divining pool, and insists he'll come up with a better name for this prince before storming off in a fury. The general decides to give the king some time to rest. They can sort this out later.

The king then slips into a storeroom and places the idol in it to commune with. Turns out a monster named Dersu has replaced the king, and now he's reporting through the idol to his leader, the Dragonlord. When the switcheroo happened, Dersu transferred the real King Khamen to an extradimensional prison, where the Dragonlord can dispose of him as he sees fit.

But the Dragonlord's primary interest lies in the prince. The plan is to give the prince a cursed name and raise him to be a Fiendlord—a conqueror with Erdrick's might and a heart of darkness. Using this Fiendlord, they can turn the land into a kingdom of monsters. That's what their master, the Dark Emperor Imajin, is after.

So what will the prince's new name be? Jagan, a name infused with Imajin's power which will corrupt the prince's heart and enslave him to Imajin.

The king tells Rosa that the baby's name will be Jagan, and to stop thinking about it and focus on birthing a healthy boy instead. Later, Bolgoy reports to Rosa that both he and High Priest Tarkin have been relieved of duty and officially banished from the castle. He suspects something going on with that idol, but he can't do much now but lie low in town. Luckily the king overlooked his daughter, so he's keeping Lunafrea posted in the castle to look out for Rosa.

10 days later, on the night of a new moon, the baby is born, and the idol commands Dersu to name that baby and fast.

Lunafrea, listening in outside the storehouse, confirms to her dad that she heard voices in there. Bolgoy gives her a magic ring given to him by Tarkin, who is waiting outside town with a chariot to spirit the prince and queen to safety. Lunafrea's job is to get them out of the castle.

In the queen's chambers, soldiers storm into the room and snatch the swaddled baby out of Rosa's arms, bringing him straight to the king. The king's ready to perform the naming ceremony on the spot, but the queen comes rushing in, supported by her handmaidens, begging him to stop. The king openly gloats that he'll give the boy a cursed name and raise him into a Fiendlord. Rosa starts calling out and begs Bolgoy and Luna to save her Arus. As she calls out Arus's name, the baby starts to glow. The king dispenses with the charade altogether and sends Queen Rosa to join the real King Khamen with a Bazoom spell.

When Bolgoy realizes it's not the king at all, he rushes Dersu and attacks. Dersu drops his disguise, and the royal soldiers rip off their face masks, revealing a handful of Armfuls.

Lunafrea uses the holy ring she got to call forth a sacred light that somehow resonates with Baby Arus to give off a light so powerful it shatters the idol and stuns the monsters. Lunafrea strikes Dersu down, grabs the baby off the altar, spots the emblem pendant lying on the floor, and snatches it up. She flees through town while her father falls in battle fending off the Armfuls, finally reaching Tarkin who's been waiting with his Beakon chariot to carry them out.

They flee out into the desert surrounding Khamen, the so-called Isis Sandsea. Finally, just when Lunafrea can't take another step, a sandship approaches her to offer help. The ship has two crewmembers: Giran the Sandsailor and his young son Kira. Together, the party sets out for a hidden hermitage near Baharata, where they spend the next ten years.

With that, the stage is set for a new legend to unfold.