Medea

Princess Medea
Dragon Quest VIII

Japanese name	王女ミーティア
Romaji	Ōjo Mītia
Title	Princess
Race	Human (but cursed)
Age	18
Family	King Trode (father) Warning: Spoilers! Click expand to view content Hero (possible husband) Eltrio (possible father-in-law) † Xia (possible mother-in-law) † Chen Mui (possible grandfather-in-law) Clavius (possible uncle-in-law) Prince Charmles (possible cousin-in-law)
Voice actor	Risa Taneda (Japanese) Victoria Shalet (English)

"If it's a choice between marrying that twit and being a horse, you can make mine a grass sandwich!"

—Giving her opinion of prince Charmles.

Princess Medea is a main character in the Dragon Quest series that appears in Dragon Quest VIII.

Appearance and personality[edit]

Medea is first seen in her cursed form, which takes the appearance of a white horse with a blue overcoat and a stylized mane. Even in this unfortunate state, she is still regarded as beautiful by numerous characters. Her human form is first seen in a flashback that details the ruining of Trodain Castle. She wears a long white bodice with a bright red skirt. Around her waistline is a studded golden buckle, and above her chest area is a similar band from where a blue cape is attached. She has three armlets, two around her wrists and one around her left arm, a choker, a circlet, two ankle bands and brown slippers.

Medea is an optimistic young lady despite her harsh circumstances, and keeps an upbeat attitude whenever she can. Despite being a horse for most of the game, she is not a passive character and still participates in cutscenes when she is present. Medea is very loyal to her father, as shown by her first on-screen action where she stands between him and the aggressive people of Farebury who mistook him for a monster. This loyalty quickly extends to the rest of the party as the adventure goes on, seeing Yangus, Jessica, and Angelo as dear friends. Medea and the Hero were childhood friends, with the orphan being taken into the castle at her behest and their relationship developing as he became a castle guard. She tries to keep her growing crush on the Hero a secret, but Jessica sees through this almost immediately and brings it to the guardsman's attention to her embarrassment.

Appearances[edit]

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King[edit]

Warning: Spoilers!
Click expand to view content

Medea is the courageous daughter of King Trode and the princess of the Kingdom of Trodain. She was cursed by Dhoulmagus to have the form of a horse.

In the Nintendo 3DS version, a special scene elaborates upon her backstory. Several years before the events of the game, it is revealed that Medea's mother had died when she was ten years old. Shortly afterwards while wandering in a nearby forest, having run away to mourn the death of her mother, she notices a small mouse scuttling out of a shrub. She decides to follow the mouse and chances upon a feverish, unconscious boy who is revealed to be the Hero. She hurries back to the castle and informs her father, who swiftly follows her to the Hero's location and instructs two of the men who accompanied him to haul the Hero back to the castle. Once his fever subsides, Medea greets the Hero when he awakens and reassures him of his good condition. Sometime after, Medea asks her father if the Hero could be allowed to enlist as a castle guardsman so the two could spend more time together.

She is one of only three in the castle that were not petrified, the others being Trode and the Hero. While in Pickham, she is stolen, sold to Red, and later returned for the Venus' Tear.

It was thought that she and Trode would be returned to normal after Dhoulmagus was defeated, but as it turned out, he was not the problem. Later, she and her father were returned to normal when Rhapthorne was defeated. Unlike Jessica, she is the classical maiden. Medea was renowned throughout the land for her loveliness and, even as a horse, she enchanted people with her exceptional beauty. Only those with keen supernatural power were able to perceive her true nature.

Eventually, the journey led to a Mystical Spring, from which the waters were able to disrupt the curse. By drinking from them, she was able to return to human form temporarily. She also developed the ability to communicate telepathically with the Hero, but only when both of them were asleep.

Despite the engagement to Prince Charmles of Argonia, she harbored strong feelings for the Hero, who was also her childhood friend. She eventually married the Hero after he had been accused of kidnapping her. In the special ending sequence (obtained due to possessing the Argon ring) of the game as decreed by King Clavius, the Hero is the rightful groom.

Etymology[edit]

Medea is a female given name derived from Greek Μήδεια Mēdeia, which means either to ponder or cunning.

Trivia[edit]

Medea is shown to have musical aptitude in the piano during the epilogue, just before leaving to get married.
Medea gains the power to telepathically communicate with the Hero through dreams after drinking at the Mystical Spring, providing insight into her personality whenever the player rests at an inn and allowing them to avoid having to return to the spring for more of her dialogue.