Kiefer
| Kiefer | |
| Dragon Quest VII | |
| File:Dw7-kiefer.jpg | |
| Title | Prince |
| Class | None |
| Race | Human |
| Age | 18 |
| Family | Burns (father) Leesa (sister) Unnamed mother (deceased) Layla (wife) Aira (descendant) |
Kiefer is the prince of Estard and best friends with the Hero of Dragon Quest VII.
Appearance
Kiefer has fair skin and messy blond hair. He wears a prince's tunic, leather boots and gloves, and carries a sword on his back (which, strangely enough, cannot be equipped).
Personality
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 Rexwood, 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 Colorstone to heal Hank.
When the party meets the nomadic Dejans, Kiefer's attitude changes. He sees Layla and falls in love. He begins to see his destiny with the Dejans.
Synopsis
The game begins with the Hero and Kiefer exploring the underground cave in the Estard Ruins. 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 shards on the pedestals and reveal new lands.
As he and the heroes uncover new lands around the world until they eventually happen upon the nomadic Dejan tribe who are trying to resurrect God. Kiefer falls in love with the dancer of the tribe, Layla, a dancer infused with the Terra Spirit.
The Dejans celebrate their new dancer with singing, dancing, and wine. Layla, however, is distant. She hides in her tent. The Hero and Kiefer enter the tent with some Viva Grape, a powerful. Kiefer asks her why she isn't celebrating with the others. She tells them that she doesn't feel like it. Layla 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. Layla tells him that she can relate, to the surprise of Kiefer.
They are interrupted by Jann, the tribe's Tula Player. He immediately accuses Kiefer of trying to steal his fiance. But Layla tells him that they were just talking. Jann is not convinced but lets the issue drop.
When the tribe is asleep, monsters attack the tribe. The tribe's Gaurdian, Datz, is fending off monsters with Kiefer. Datz is poisoned by one of the monsters. Kiefer, who is protecting Layla, defeats a ManEater. When the Hero talks to Kiefer, he tells them that they could have used his swordsmanship. Datz is cured of poison. However, he is unable to go with the rest of the tribe to the Temple of God. Layla, 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. Jann refuses at first, saying that this is just a ploy by Kiefer to take him away from Layla. He then decides to stay with Layla as well. However, the tribal chief rebukes him, saying that they need Jann's tula playing to fend off the monsters. Jann relents to this request.
Layla appears later in the submerged Temple of God. On the journey, she sprained her ankle. Jann is mad at Kiefer for her injury but Layla rebukes him, saying that it wasn't his fault. Kiefer helps Layla out of the corridor.
Jann and Layla perform the Revival of God ceremony but is unsuccessful. Jann reveals that he had the mark of the Terra Spirit as well. He knows that he cannot marry Layla with the mark and so he has been trying to revive God so that he would be free from the constraints of the tribe and marry Layla. He exiles himself from the tribe as punishment.
The tribe's chief rebukes Layla 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 Layla.
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 Burns.
The next day, Kiefer fights Datz for the right to become a Dejan Guardian. He is successful and defeats Datz. The chief acknowledges his strength and makes him a member of the Dejan Tribe. With that, he is given a Deja Sword.
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.
Legacy
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 Layla and the rest of the Dejan tribe. I don't even know how long it has been since you and I went our separate ways. Jann has yet to return. As the Guardian of the tribe, the honor of marrying Layla 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 infers that his direct descendant is Aira
Abilities
Kiefer learns the following skills naturally.
| Level | Skill/Spell | MP Required | Target | Info | Twinhits |
| 5 | Fireslash | 0 | One enemy | Adds Fire damage to attack | Yes |
| 9 | ParryPass | 0 | Self | Reflects physical damage to another party member | No |
| 12 | Psycheup | 0 | Self | User's next attack does double damage | No |
| 15 | Zombiecut | 0 | One enemy | Deals 1.5 Damage to Undead enemies, regular damage to all other enemies | Yes |
| 20 | VacuSlash | 0 | One enemy | Adds Wind damage to attack | Yes |
Strategy
Kiefer can equip everything the Hero can equip. Plus he can equip hammers and axes. Because of this, he should be used as a tank. Once he learns Fireslash, the player should use it in lieu of his regular attack. The only exception should be the FireGiant in Engow. In boss battles, Kiefer should make liberal use of his Psycheup/Fireslash combo.
The player should note that because he leaves the party forever in Deja, they should not use any stat increasers on him.
Appearances in Other Games
Kiefer is also the hero in Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart.
