"Power is the purest and most beautiful law of the natural world. Survival of the fittest is how all creatures live—from Darklings to dragons. Only humans use your so-called reason to deny the truth. But power is the only thing that matters in the end."

Vearn
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai
Dai2020 Vearn.png
Japanese name バーン
Romaji Bān
Title Dark King (English)
Great Demon Lord (Japanese)
God of the Underworld
Race Darkling
Voice actor Kenji Utsumi (Japanese, 1991 series)
Takaya Hashi (Japanese, 2020 series)
Warning: Spoilers!
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Takehito Koyasu (Japanese, 2020 series, young body)

Paul Dobson (English, 2020 series)

Vearn, known as the Dark King, is the main antagonist of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. He is known by many as the God of the Underworld. Vearn is the supreme leader of the Dark Army and is responsible for the revival of the Dark Lord Hadlar after his defeat at the hands of Avan. For thousands of years, Vearn has plotted against humanity and the surface world.

Appearance

In his wizened form, Vearn has the appearance of an old human man with tanned skin with long white hair and a long beard. Unusually amongst the denizens of the underworld, his skin tone is similar in appearance to that of a human. He has sharp claws on his fingers, pointed ears, and a pair of tall demonic horns growing from both sides of his head. In the middle of his forehead, he has a third eye, known as the Sovereign Eye, which is actually the source of his immense magic power. He wears a long white robe covered by a cloak with a gold border that covers most of his body (originally coloured white, but teal in the 2020 anime series and most appearances), a purple chestplate, large black shoulder pads, and black slippers, all with gold detailing. On his head, Vearn wears a purple and gold crown.

Abilities

As a Mage with millennia of experience, Vearn can cast spells at many times their normal power, defying the conventional wisdom (and game mechanics of the time) that spells function at more-or-less the same effect regardless of the strength of the caster. In particular, he is unrivalled when it comes to Frizz spells, such as the infamous scene where he shows that even his basic Frizz spell has more firepower than Popp's ultimate Kafrizz. Vearn is also able to cast Boom a seemingly endless amount of times from both of his hands, each of them being as destructive as Kaboom, and possesses a refined Bounce which can reflect enemy spells back at the attacker with 0% loss in power. Unlike other mages Vearn can cast spells instantly without pausing for rest, allowing him to rain attacks of incredible destructive power in quick succession or even raise defences while simultaneously attacking - a skill compared to the ability of some bosses in the Dragon Quest series to act twice in a single turn.

Despite having the appearance of an elderly man, Vearn is strong and skilled enough to go toe-to-toe in melee combat with some of the greatest warriors of the surface world. Vearn bolsters his prowess in close combat with his Staff of Edacity, a weapon which converts mana into physical power, making him strong enough to shatter weapons made of Orichalcum and block attacks as powerful as Doruora. However, it has a major drawback as it consumes a large amount of his magic power over time the longer he wields it.

Like all Darklings, Vearn possesses two hearts and will not die until both are destroyed. In addition he possesses regenerative abilities far beyond the norm for his kind, capable of regrowing a destroyed heart in mere moments (or any part of his body, if both hearts are intact) even while his wounds are contaminated by Draconic Aura. In his first battle with Dai he also triggers a Fullheal on himself seemingly automatically after his entire body has been singed, functioning similar to the Prezing spell of later games.

Some of Vearn's other signature techniques include:

  • Aura Shot: With little more than a gesture, Vearn can release a burst of Dark Aura capable of shattering the walls of Vearn Palace and defeating Dai in a single blow.
  • Kaiser Phoenix: Vearn's own version of the Kafrizz spell. Due to his immense magic power, it takes on the form of a majestic fiery bird that utterly incinerates its target with hellfire. This spell's extreme power has been shown to overload and destroy artefacts designed to block magic.
  • Calamitous Wall: Performed with the Staff of Edacity, Vearn sweeps the ground in front of him in a semi-circular arc, sending forth a shockwave of energy erupting from the ground with properties similar to Aura.
  • Monster Evolution: Vearn's Sovereign Eye contains an energy which induces evolution in monsters when unleashed; he uses this power to transform a humble Drumbler into the reactor guardian Goroa, a monster with gravity magic strong enough to crush even Dai to near-death.
  • Body Division: Vearn possesses an unnamed spell which allows him to split into two bodies - one containing his mind and magical abilities, and the other his youth and physical abilities. As long as his youthful body is kept under the Secret Spell of Frozen Time, Vearn does not age and can continue to cultivate his strength indefinitely.

After recombining with his youthful body to become "The True Dark King", Vearn gains the following additional techniques:

  • Calamity End: The original form of Calamitous Wall, a simple hand chop delivered with monstrous strength surpassing that of the Staff of Edacity.
  • Phoenix Wing: A technique that combines offense and defence. Vearn is able to deflect and parry an opponent's attack at incredible speed, reflecting even spells as powerful as Medroa back at the attacker with nothing more than the palm of his hand. Its name is derived from the fact that the appearance is reminiscent of the flapping of a phoenix's wing.
  • Imprisonment: Vearn's third eye automatically charms any nearby opponent below a certain level of strength, imprisoning them in a small jewel.
  • Demonic Guard of Heaven and Earth: A stance which further improves Vearn's ability to "take double turns", allowing him to use all three of Calamity End, Phoenix Wing and Kaiser Phoenix at the same time. This technique's greatest weakness is that Vearn must stand perfectly still to hold the required energy, making it a purely defensive ability which leaves him briefly vulnerable after use.

After Vearn destroys his own Sovereign Eye to unleash its evolution power on himself, he permanently transforms into a titanic rocky form referred to as "Sovereign Supreme". In this form he loses most of his original abilities but gains vastly enhanced strength and durability, high-speed flight, and the ability to fire beams from his shoulders and chest.

Story


Other Appearances

Dragon Quest of the Stars

Vearn appears as a boss in both his aged form and his younger body in collaboration events in the Japanese version of the game. The player is also able to acquire pieces of equipment in order to dress like the wizened Dark King Vearn and wield the Staff of Edacity.

Dragon Quest Tact

Dark King Vearn appears as a S-rank member of the ??? family during the third part of the limited Second Adventure of Dai event on his own banner alongside Zaboera. He can participate in Mystvearn's Battle Road as a party member.

Dark King Vearn (大魔王バーン Daimaō Bān) 
Stats


 
Family Rank Role
 
???
   
Magic
Max Level HP MP Move
130 1,125 522 2
Attack Defense Agility Wisdom Weight
260 351 446 480 65
Basic Skills
First Second Third
Frizz
Oppressive Dark Aura
Calamitous Wall* Kaiser Phoenix*
Awakening Skills
First Second Third
Like a Phoenix / Stats Up Woosh Res +25 / Stats Up Spell Potency/Recovery +5% / Martial Potency/Recovery +5% / Stats Up
Dark King's Vehemence: Reduces damage by 20% if user's HP is 30% or over at battle start, action start, or when revived.
Fourth Fifth
Zap Res +25 / Stats Up Spell Potency/Recovery +5% / Martial Potency/Recovery +5% / Stats Up
Dark King's Bounce: Grants a barrier that reflects spells for 2 turns at battle start.
Leader Perks
First
Raises spell potency of ??? allies, including himself, by 25% in a 5x5 square around him.
Basic Perks
First Second Third
That was Frizz: Raises Frizz potency by 800%.
The God of the Underworld: Greatly raises damage dealt for 3 turns at action start until turn 10.
Max MP +15
WIS +15
Spell Potency/Recovery +2%
Martial Potency/Recovery +2%
Perk Details
First
Like a Phoenix: Enacts Auto Revive (100% of max HP) for 99 turns at battle start.
Frizz Resistance * Sizz Resistance * Crack Resistance * Woosh Resistance *
Normal Very Weak Very Weak Half Res
Bang Resistance * Zap Resistance * Zam Resistance * Snooze Resistance
Normal Half Res Normal Normal
Poison Resistance Physical Lock Resistance Spell Lock Resistance Martial Lock Resistance
Normal Normal Half Res Super Weak
Breath Lock Resistance Hobble Resistance * Stun Resistance * Dazzle Resistance
Normal Normal Immune Normal
Curse Resistance Paralysis Resistance Confusion Resistance Charm Resistance
Normal Half Res Super Weak Normal



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