Kiefer

Kiefer
Dragon Quest VII

Sprite(s)
Japanese name	キーファ・グラン
Romaji	Kīfa Guran
Title	Prince
Class	None
Race	Human
Age	18
Family	King Donald (father) Lisette (sister) Unnamed mother (deceased) Lala (wife) Boldo (father-in-law) Aishe (descendant)

The heir to the throne of Estard. Caring little about his status as the next king, he's constantly talking about going on exciting adventures, much to the dismay of his caretakers. His adventuresome spirit makes him unable to resist sneaking out of the castle, often coming to your house to play. He thinks of you as a brother and the two of you have many a fond memory together.
--Description from the Dragon Quest VII instructional manual for the PS1.

Kiefer is the prince of Estard and is the Hero's best friend.

Appearance and personality

Kiefer has fair skin and messy blond hair. He wears a red prince's tunic, leather boots and gloves, and carries a sword on his back.

In the beginning of the game, Kiefer has been described with "having a taste for wine, women, and adventure". He hates being in the castle all the time so he and the hero like to go off and explore the forbidden ruins on the island. In contrast, he seems to resent his position as Prince, a feeling that puts him at odds with his father. He can come off as snobbish at times, like in Ballymolloy, he introduces his friends as lackeys. However, he does have a sense of duty when he tells the Hero that they should find the Green Gem to heal Hanlon.

When the party meets the nomadic Roamers, Kiefer's attitude changes. He sees Lala and falls in love. He begins to see his destiny with the vagabonds.

Appearances

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

The game begins with the Hero and Kiefer exploring the underground cave in the Shrine of Mysteries. He tells the Hero to call it a day. The next day, Kiefer steals the Sunstone, a ring that belonged to his mother, and a scroll from the royal library. It shows a picture of a man with a scepter. Kiefer interprets it to be the same as a statue in the Ruins. He tries putting the Sunstone on the statue but nothing happens. Frustrated, he leaves the scroll with the Hero who takes it to the Sage at the Cliff. The Sage interprets it and tells them that in order to open the ruins the Chosen One must pray before the statue.

The boys pray at the statue and the doors open. They solve the puzzles in the ruins and reveal the fane and pedestals with the sealed worlds. The boys, along with Maribel, put fragments on the pedestals and reveal new lands.

He and the heroes uncover new lands around the world until they eventually happen upon the nomadic Roamer tribe who are trying to resurrect The Almighty. Kiefer falls in love with the dancer of the tribe, Lala, a dancer infused with the Earth Spirit.

The Roamers celebrate their new dancer with singing, dancing, and wine. Lala, however, is distant. She hides in her tent. The Hero and Kiefer enter the tent with some Spirit of the Dance, a powerful wine. Kiefer asks her why she isn't celebrating with the others. She tells them that she doesn't feel like it. Lala asks her where they are from, to which he replies Estard. She asks where it is and he responds that it is out in the ocean. He tells her that there is a prince in that castle who loves to weasel out of his responsibilities. Lala tells him that she can relate, to the surprise of Kiefer.

They are interrupted by Florin, the tribe's Torban player. He immediately accuses Kiefer of trying to steal his fiancée. But Lala tells him that they were just talking. Florin is not convinced but lets the issue drop.

When the tribe is asleep, monsters attack the tribe. The tribe's Gaurdian, Boldo, is fending off monsters with Kiefer. Boldo is poisoned by one of the monsters. Kiefer, who is protecting Lala, defeats an Ulcer. When the Hero talks to Kiefer, he tells them that they could have used his swordsmanship. Boldo is cured of poison. However, he is unable to go with the rest of the tribe to the Altar of the Almighty. Lala, his daughter, refuses to go without her father so she decides to wait until her father gets better. Kiefer volunteers to protect both of them until they are ready to make the journey. Florin refuses at first, saying that this is just a ploy by Kiefer to take Lala away from him. He then decides to stay with Lala as well. However, Rom Baro, the tribal chief rebukes him, saying that they need Florin's torban playing to fend off the monsters. Florin relents to this request.

Lala appears later at the Altar of the Almighty after the heroes have drained the lake with the Chimes of the Chosen. On the journey, she sprained her ankle. Florin is mad at Kiefer for her injury but Lala rebukes him, saying that it wasn't his fault. Kiefer helps Lala out of the corridor.

Florin and Lala perform the Restoration ceremony but are unsuccessful. Florin reveals that he had the mark of the Earth Spirit as well. He knows that he cannot marry Lala with the mark and so he has been trying to revive the Almighty just so that he would be free from the constraints of the tribe and marry Lala. He exiles himself from the tribe as punishment.

Rom Baro rebukes Lala for dancing on a sprained ankle, saying that she could have hurt herself. Kiefer defends her by saying to let things go and what is done is done, to the relief of Lala.

During the night, Kiefer talks to the Hero. He talks about destiny and the mark on the Hero's arm. He muses how great it must be to have a destiny. He wonders if there is something that he alone can do as he is not cut out for succeeding his father, King Donald.

The next day, Kiefer duels Boldo for the right to become a Roamer Guardian. He is successful and defeats Boldo. The chief acknowledges his strength and makes him a member of the Roamers. With that, he is given a Sword of the Roamers.

He escorts the Hero and his party back to the portal and gives them all of his stuff plus a letter to give to his father. With a push, Kiefer sends the party back to the present, parting forever.

Farewell message

In a stone tablet found at the end of the game, Kiefer leaves these words for the Hero.

"Dear Hero,

I'm still traveling with Lala and the rest of the Roamers. I don't even know how long it has been since you and I went our separate ways. Florin has yet to return. As the Guardian of the tribe, the honor of marrying Lala fell to me. If you find this, I want you to let my father know that his son has finally found his way in this world.

And, Hero, I want you to know that we are friends no matter how far we are from each other.

Your friend, Kiefer"

The game also implies that Aishe is his direct descendant.

Abilities

Kiefer learns the following skills naturally. The player should note that because he leaves the party forever with the Roamers, they should not use any stat seeds on him.

Level	Skill/Spell	MP Required	Target	Info	Oomph
5	Flame Slash	0	One enemy	Adds Fire damage to attack	Yes
9	Cop Out	0	Self	Reflects physical damage to another party member	No
12	Focus Strength	0	Self	User's next attack does double damage	No
15	Undead Undoer	0	One enemy	Deals 1.5 Damage to Undead enemies, regular damage to all other enemies	Yes
20	Gust Slash	0	One enemy	Adds Wind damage to attack	Yes