- "That's what our world really looks like? It's a spaceship! But who built it?"
- — Nial upon seeing the true appearance of his "planet" aboard a shuttle to Dahlia.
Nial (Japanese: レイン・サ・リーク), known as Lane Sa Riec in the Japanese version, is one of the main protagonists of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom.
Nial is the son of King Rhys and Queen Lena, and as such is the pure-blooded Orakian prince of Landen and Satera. He goes on a mission to discover who is responsible for devastating his mother's homeland.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Prince Nial has short brown hair with large, spiked bangs. His armor is very similar to his father's, King Rhys, except that the underclothing is black instead of blue. He has a long, white cape and white armor. A red jeweled clip fastens his cape to his armor. He has matching red gauntlets protecting both arms. In most depictions, Nial usually has a semi-furrowed brow, although it is sometimes accompanied by a smile.
Nial changes very little in appearance in his middle-aged years. He has a few prominent wrinkles under his eyes and around his cheeks, and grows out a mustache.
Personality[]
Nial is a brave leader and very loyal to his homeland, his family, and his comrades. He is also unassumingly obedient to his parents when they issue him his first mission as prince to investigate the sudden attack on Satera.
Biography[]
Rhys marries Lena, uniting Landen and Satera
Soldiers inform the royal family of grim happenings.
After successfully reuniting with Maia and defeating her father in battle, Prince Rhys decided to honor his original royal engagement to Lena. The two wed, and in doing so, they united both of their homelands. In time, they had a child whom they named Nial. Landen and Satera had a peaceful respite from the fighting for many years, and Rhys soon became the king of Landen with Lena as his queen. The peace would not last long, however, as evil once again overcame the planet when Nial was 18 years of age. Soldiers arrive within the halls of Landen Castle with news that Lune, a Layan and former right-hand of the witch Laya, invaded and devastated Satera with his monster army, killing Lena's father in battle. King Rhys assures his son that he will defend Landen. Meanwhile, Prince Nial is tasked with investigating the invasion of his mother's homeland. Wren and Mieu accompany the young man on this adventure as the dutiful servants of the Landen royal family.
In their travels, the party visits neighboring Yaata and Ilan and question the residents about the incident. The people in each city are terrified of not only potentially being invaded but by being invaded by a man that by all rights should be well over 1,000 years old and is still somehow alive. The trio come upon certain passages on their journey that have been blocked off by Lune's guardsmen that forbid Orakian entry. Upon arriving in Northern Divisia, Nial learns that the city has successfully captured Alair, Lune's sister, and has held her captive within the dungeons of Divisia Castle. Nial confronts the king of Divisia, who admits that holding her hostage may not have been the best plan considering the circumstances. The heroes find Alair in the dungeon below and free her. She thanks Nial and tells him that she will attempt to convince her brother to stop his mindless war efforts. It is her belief that he may have gone crazy after 1,000 years of exile, and now he can only think of killing Orakians and destroying cyborgs.
As Alair sets out to confront her brother, the soldiers worry that Lune will seek them out in vengeance for kidnapping his sister. The king waves it away, saying that the Layan commander will accept his apology. Nial and his party travel to Southern Divisia where they learn from the townsfolk that a rebel army is training in a cave to the west in preparation to travel to Aridia through the cave southeast of Landen.
Upon entering the Rebel's Cave, Nial is greeted by soldiers that welcome all enemies of Lune. They reveal that Lune and Alair were banished by Orakio to the moon, Dahlia. The two siblings dreamed of the day that they could exact revenge for this injustice, and so were put to cryogenic slumber 1,000 years ago to preserve their bodies. In due time, someone returned Dahlia back to its original orbit, and it was then that the two Layan commanders woke up. The rebel soldiers believe that Lune and his army are seeking something in the desert land of Aridia, and they want to go there themselves to figure out what it is he wants. They inform Nial that the Twins' Ruby, an artifact said to be the key to another world, could grant them passage to Aridia. Further in the cave, Nial finds the rebel leader, Ryan. Ryan is aware that the hero was responsible for freeing Alair from her prison in Divisia Castle, and is skeptical of Nial's motives. He aggressively accuses the party of attempting to infiltrate the rebel cave on behalf of Lune's army. Just as the tensions began to get heated, Lune appears suddenly before everyone, amused that comrades are bickering among themselves. He warns the rebels that they must abandon their rebellion or they will all die. Lune then vanishes.
Ryan apologizes to Nial for the confusion and joins the party so that they can fight Lune together. To show his sincerity, he gifts the heroes robot parts compatible with Wren so that they can travel across the water, should the need arise. Their value becomes apparent when the heroes visit the cyborg city of Hazatak, wherein they learn of a suspicious whirlpool southeast of the town. With the Twins' Ruby in hand, Wren transforms into a sub and carries his team safely through the whirlpool. When they emerge, they find themselves in a whole new, mysterious world that was hidden within Aridia.
A few paces out, they come across Laya's Palace. The old men that watch over the palace tell the heroes that they have protected the legendary Laya's little sister here for about 1,000 years. The younger sister, also named Laya, was placed in cryogenic sleep to keep her alive since the Laya-Orakio war, as Laya faithfully entrusted the future to her. The old men tell Nial that they must return to the desert world of Aridia with Laya and travel southwest where they will come upon a portal. The portal will then transport them to the world of Frigidia, and they will need to seek out Mystoke, a city which holds the key to the truth. Laya speaks to Nial, telling him that she was very young during the war. One of her final memories of Laya was when she saw her sister leave with a knight that wielded a black sword. She beseeches Nial that she must know the truth and joins the party.
Upon arriving into the frigid city of Mystoke, the townspeople greet the adventurers by saying that their journey was foretold and that they are elated after centuries of waiting to see Laya's kin within the Castle of Silence. They stress that the team must enter Mystoke Castle, where much is said to be revealed about the Laya-Orakio war if the heroes can pass a test. They advise the team to use the Laya Pendant found within to hear the ancient Laya's final words and then they are to journey to Aerone, a town which is located south of Divisia.
After braving the dangers of the castle's halls, the party finds a pendant and opens it. A beautiful voice greets them from within the object; it is the voice of the deceased elder Laya. She speaks to the younger Laya directly, imparting her knowledge of what actually happened hundreds of years ago. She fought Orakio in the war, but they discovered that they were being manipulated by a demonic force that derived pleasure from pain and suffering. They decided that they were going to fight the ancient evil together. In case she did not return, Laya left this parting message for her sister to hear and the pendant, which her sister would discover when she is ready. She then bids her sister farewell and the message ends.
Heeding the words of the Mystoke residents, Nial and his party make their way to Aerone. In this town, they learn that there are man-made satellites that orbit around their planet, a home world that is not actually a planet but a spaceship made up of several domed worlds all collectively called the Alisa III. These satellites, or moons, are Azura and Dahlia which are named after their respective colors, blue and purple. The heroes board a rocket shuttle that takes them to the satellite Dahlia. Upon landing and traversing the dungeon that followed, they come upon Lune.
Lune, furious that Orakians have trespassed into his territory, tells Nial that Orakio banished him and his sister to the satellite almost 1,000 years ago. With the use of cryogenics, he has been kept alive all of these centuries to take revenge. With that said, he attacks the heroes with all of his might. After a climactic battle, the party emerges victorious. Despite all of the bloodshed and terror he inflicted upon Nial's family, the young prince decides against taking Lune's life. Lune questions why the young man would allow him to live, and then notices that the heroes have Laya's pendant with them. He then realizes that the blonde-haired heroine accompanying Nial must be Laya's little sister and thus proclaims the war over. He finally finds peace after hundreds of years of hatred and promises the heroes that he will recall his armies forthwith.
Lune thanks Nial for rescuing his sister from the Divisia dungeons and with good humor informs the prince that he has a tough choice ahead of him. Alair and Laya both expressed a desire to marry the brave Orakian...
If Nial marries Alair[]
Nial asks for Alair's hand in marriage. As a token of gratitude for allowing her brother to see the error of his ways, Lune proclaims Nial the new king of the satellite Dahlia. With the war between Layans and Orakians now at an end, Nial and Alair settle into their new life together. Lune marries, as well. Over time, Queen Alair and King Nial have a son whom they name Aron. Around the same time, Lune and his wife welcome a daughter to the world, Kara. Aron and Kara grow up together in peace and ignorant to the stresses of war. One day, as the children approached 18 years of age, something strange happens...
The royal family is enjoying the company of Lune and his family when a soldier enters the throne room. He commands everyone to look outside immediately. To everyone's surprise, a spaceship resembling the Alisa III is exchanging laser fire with the vessel. The Alisa III secures the upper hand and destroys the other ship, however, the resulting explosion throws the spacecraft out of its orbit. Sensing something malevolent, Nial issues his son his first mission as the prince of Dahlia, Landen, and Satera. He tells the young prince that he must take Mieu and Wren with him as he investigates the reason for the ships attacking one another. Lune asks Aron to bring Kara with him on this journey, and wishes for them all to be careful.
As the new generation of heroes sets off, Nial remains on Dahlia to oversee operations over his kingdom. After Dark Force is defeated by Aron's party and Lashute is destroyed, the Alisa III approaches and is subsequently consumed by a black hole. Upon safely arriving on the other side, Wren observes the stars and notices that they are not in their usual alignments. He informs his party that they were transported across space and time when they went through the black hole. Mieu interjects with a surprising development; a nearby planet is attempting to communicate with their ship. When they open communication, the broadcast is as follows,
- "Greetings, alien craft! Identify yourselves. This is the London Communications Center on Earth of the Sol system. Over and out."
If Nial marries Laya[]
Nial finds that he loves Laya and proposes to her in the name of symbolically uniting Layans and Orakians with their marriage. She accepts, and so the two return to Landen to start their new life together following the conclusion of the war between the former opposing factions. With time, the royal family welcomes two children, Adan and Gwyn, both of which appear to be the spitting image of their mother Laya. Their progeny grow up peacefully for the next 15 prosperous years. Unfortunately, their happiness would not last. Gwyn begins to suffer from terrible nightmares in which she dreams that she is falling into a dark void of which there is no escape...
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an earthquake strikes the kingdom of Landen. King Nial, sensing something amiss, issues his son's first orders as prince of Landen, Satera, and Mystoke. He commands his son to investigate the source of the earthquake and to take Mieu and Wren along for the journey. Gwyn, not wanting to miss out on the action, demands her brother to take her with them. With the team assembled, Nial instructs them to first visit their family friend Lune on the satellite Dahlia in the hopes that he may have an idea of what happened. Laya bids her children farewell and reminds them to mind their manners on their journey.
As the new generation of heroes sets off, Nial remains in Landen to oversee operations over his kingdom. After Dark Force is defeated by Adan's party and Lashute is destroyed, Adan's team realizes that the threat of being consumed by a nearby black hole vanishes as pilots on Aerone redirect the ship safely back to its original course. A message patches through, informing the group that they are approaching the third planet near the brightest star ahead that is perfect for them to settle on. At long last, the descendants of the fallen planet Palma are nearing the end of their long journey through space.
Trivia[]
- According to the official Japanese guidebook, Nial is 185cm tall, or about 6′-1″.[1]
Gallery[]
- The Phantasy Star wiki has an extensive image gallery for this character.
External Sources[]
- Capowski's RPG-Related Translation Junk Drawer
- A Gazeta de Algol
- Hugues Johnson Complete Guide to Phantasy Star III
- Phantasy Star Cave
References & Notes[]
[]
| Playable Characters | First Generation Rhys Mieu - Wren - Lyle - Lena |
Second Generation Ayn - Nial Mieu - Wren - Thea - Sari - Ryan - Laya |
Third Generation Sean - Crys - Adan - Aron Mieu - Wren - Laya - Kara - Gwyn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | First Generation King of Cille |
Second Generation Siren - Lune |
Third Generation Dark Force |
| Worlds | Landen - Aquatica - Aridia - Draconia - Elysium - Frigidia - Terminus - Dahlia - Azura | ||
| Locations | Landen - Yaata - Ilan - Satera - Rysel - Agoe - Shusoran - Cille - Hazatak Lensol - Endora - Techna - Divisia - Aerone - Mystoke - Skyhaven - New Mota | ||
| Dungeons | Landen Dungeon - Island Cave - Sunken Palace - Shusoran Dungeon - Cille Dungeon Sage Isle - Western Cave - Weather Control Tower - Lensol Dungeon - Techna Dungeon - Divisia Dungeon Rebel Cave - Aerone Dungeon - Mystoke Dungeon - Skyhaven Dungeon - Lashute - Dahlia Dungeon - Azura Dungeon Landen-Aquatica Passage - Aquatica-Aridia Passage - Aridia-Draconia Passage - Aridia-Landen Passage - Landen-Elysium Passage - Aridia-Frigidia Passage | ||