Adelbert Steiner Captain Adelbert Steiner is a playable character in " Final Fantasy IX . " He is the leader of the Knights of Pluto and is assigned to protect Princess Garnet . He is unique in the way that the player has the option to change his surname instead of his first name , which is the case with all the other characters . Steiner acts as the game ' s comic relief character , especially in the beginning where he is the target of numerous jokes . Profile . Appearance . Steiner is of tall and stocky build . He wears a traditional silver - colored knight ' s armor , a pair of shorts and a helmet with a white feather . Even his shoes and gloves are armored . Steiner carries a broadsword on his back , fastened in place by a leather strap . Steiner ' s field movements are accompanied by a clanking noise due to his armor , but this is not present during battle . The armor earns him the nickname " Rusty " from Zidane , and a red mage in Lindblum advices him to " scrape off that rust " . When in Trance , Steiner ' s armor is replaced by paladin armor complete with a faceplate . It has runes on the torso and gold highlights on his gauntlets , chestplate , and the spiky decorative metal jutting out of the front at his ankles . His lower mail is replaced by black pants and silver shin armor . The feather in his hat turns black and jagged . Personality . Steiner speaks in archaic Japanese in the original version . Steiner is a retainer of and personal guardian to Garnet , and places her safety above all else . At first this brings him to odds with the others , including Garnet . His world - view is starkly black - and - white , which makes him quick to judge people and situations without a second thought . His narrow - mindedness makes him emotional , as Steiner immediately blames himself for what he sees as failing to perform his duty , and falls into desperation . Initially , he tends to lose his composure when things do not go his way . During his quest Steiner grows and learns to think for himself instead of blindly following duty . Steiner realizes that Garnet can take care of herself , seeing her mission as too important for him to stand in her way . Initially Steiner is antagonistic towards Zidane , whom he considers a lowly peasant and a criminal . Once his world - view broadens Steiner learns to trust that Zidane will do what is right and becomes loyal to Zidane as much as Garnet , regarding him as a fine man and a personal friend . Steiner respects Vivi , whom he calls Master Vivi . The two work well together and Steiner admires his power . Beatrix and Steiner do not initially get along as she disregards him and he envies her position . As the two are forced to work together to protect Garnet and Alexandria , they put aside these feelings and their respect for each other ' s skills turns into love . Story . When Steiner was a child he was caught in a war and was saved by Alexandrian knights , inspiring him to become one . He joined the Alexandrian army at age 16 . When he was 23 , he dueled with Alexandria ' s best swordsman , Beatrix , and won due to sheer luck . As a reward , his request to become a Knight of Pluto was granted , and he goes on to become their captain . Steiner and his Knights of Pluto feud with General Beatrix and her female soldiers , and seeing her group being promoted over his own frustrates Steiner . He guards the royal family of Alexandria with his life and when Tantalus Theater Troupe kidnaps Princess Garnet , he pursues the group onto the " Prima Vista " , and is still on board when it crashes into Evil Forest . Stuck , he agrees to accompany Zidane to rescue Garnet from the forest ' s monsters . Vivi is unsure of himself and his magic , but Steiner convinces him to come along . Steiner doesn ' t accept that Queen Brahne has turned to evil , and initially doesn ' t trust Zidane ; as far as Steiner is concerned he is a thief and a kidnapper . After they recover her from the forest , Garnet plans to head for Lindblum to speak with Regent Cid , but Steiner plots to return her to Alexandria Castle . When the party gains control of the cargo ship at Dali , Steiner insists the party set course for Alexandria to reconcile with Queen Brahne , but Garnet pilots the ship to Lindblum . When they receive no substantial help from Regent Cid , Garnet absconds with Steiner to return to Alexandria , much to his delight . The two pass through the Aerbs Mountains where Steiner hides Garnet in a burlack sack to avoid her being detected . They meet up with Tantalus member Marcus who is on a quest to save his petrified friend Blank from the Evil Forest , and their ride is derailed by Black Waltz 3 , whom they defeat . Garnet feels indebted to Blank who helped her back in the Evil Forest and thus wishes to aid Marcus in his quest . Steiner opposes this , but goes along with the princess ' s orders as she is still on course with returning to Alexandria . Steiner is appalled to find Garnet taking part in a plot to steal a special medicine from a scholar ' s house in Treno , but the scholar turns out to be Doctor Tot , Garnet ' s old tutor , who willingly lends his help . They take a Gargant to Alexandria where they are apprehended by the jesters Zorn and Thorn . Garnet is taken to see the queen while Steiner and Marcus are imprisoned , much to Steiner ' s shock . After freeing themselves , Marcus heads to the Evil Forest to cure Blank , while Steiner meets up with Zidane , Vivi and Zidane ' s friend Freya , who have witnessed Brahne annihilate Burmecia and Cleyra with eidolons and black mages . As Brahne plans to have the princess executed , Steiner ' s loyalties to her finally falter , and he lets go of his hatred of Zidane and joins his party to rescue Garnet from the palace catacombs . They bring her to General Beatrix who heals her from her magically - induced slumber . Zorn and Thorn unleash a pack of Bandersnatches to deter the party , and Freya , Beatrix and Steiner stay to fight the beasts allowing Zidane , Garnet and Vivi flee to Gargan Roo . When Zidane ' s party later returns to Alexandria from the Outer Continent Steiner has assumed a soldier ' s post . Kuja , Brahne ' s manipulator who incited her will to conquer the Mist Continent , has killed the queen and Garnet is to become the successor . Eiko , a young summoner girl the others befriended on the Outer Continent , writes a love letter to Zidane with Doctor Tot ' s help . She gives it to Baku to deliver , but he loses it on the riverfront of Alexandria Castle where Beatrix finds it , thinking it is from Steiner . That night , Steiner locates the same letter , and he in turn mistakes it being from Beatrix addressed to him . Neither quite knows what to do with the revelation of the other ' s " affection " . Kuja returns to Alexandria and summons Bahamut and a horde of Mistodon s to decimate the city . Steiner and Beatrix band to stave off the Mist monsters , and during their battles Steiner acts protective of Beatrix . Garnet and Eiko summon Alexander to defend the castle , and although Alexander kills Kuja ' s Bahamut , it is in turn destroyed by the airship " Invincible " , commandeered by Kuja ' s master , Garland , who has become aware of his subject ' s rebellion . After Alexandria is badly damaged in the attack from the " Invincible " , Steiner rethinks his servitude to the kingdom and begins to see his obligations in a new light . After coming to grips with his life , he is able to see Zidane ' s heroism and gains respect for him . When the party sets out to hunt Kuja down Steiner accompanies them , leaving Alexandria ' s reconstruction in Beatrix ' s hands . They discover Kuja hails from the mysterious planet of Terra , and after obtaining the elemental mirrors from Ipsen ' s Castle , set out to place them in their respective shrines to open the portal to the other world . Steiner and Vivi venture into the Wind Shrine where Steiner shields Vivi from the blustery winds with his body , and the two defeat the shrine guardian Tiamat . With the road to Terra open the party descends to the other world where they find Garland and learn of his true plans . Kuja arrives boasting his newfound power of Trance and kills Garland and destroys Terra , but the party flees the destruction with Garland ' s airship , the " Invincible " , where Steiner admits he is in love with Beatrix after Zidane teases him about it . The party pursues Kuja to the depths of Memoria , but their entry is barred by a horde of silver dragons . Beatrix commandeers the Alexandrian forces aboard the Alexandrian flagship , the " Red Rose " , and with aid from Regent Cid ' s fleet they fight the dragons to let the " Invincible " through . They travel through Memoria to the beginning of all time in Crystal World and defeat Trance Kuja and Necron before returning . While Zidane stays behind to look for Kuja , the others return to Alexandria where Steiner and Beatrix continue to serve as Queen Garnet ' s guardians . Some time later Tantalus returns to Alexandria to perform " I Want To Be Your Canary " for Queen Garnet . Beatrix plans to leave the castle , but Steiner confesses his feelings to her , saying he wishes for the two of them to protect the queen together . During the play the actor who was supposed to be Marcus casts aside his cloak to reveal himself to be the missing Zidane , and Garnet rushes down the castle stairs to reunite with him while Steiner and Beatrix hold up the sword Save the Queen . Gameplay . Steiner wields swords and knight swords in battle , and can wear heavy armor . He has access to the Swd Art skillset which has various effects including the ability to weaken enemies with attacks , and Swd Mag which can combine his attack with a Blk Mag spell if Vivi is in the party , granting him the ability to exploit elemental weaknesses . Steiner ' s Trance triples his damage output . Steiner has access to many support abilities , mostly those which boost his physical attack power against enemies , such as MP Attack , Counter and the Killer abilities . Steiner is also fought as a Steiner three separate times in the game , and as with other player characters , as well as a Mirror version . Creation and development . Steiner is designed as a Knight , a traditional " Final Fantasy " job , to keep with the game ' s theme of returning to the series ' roots . Early in development , apparently before Beatrix was created , Steiner was the captain of the paladin corps , and was less bumbling but still a comical character , with a tendency to follow the queen ' s orders literally rather than using common sense , such as when she would have ordered him to charge forward he ' d refuse to turn around when the others warn there is a Bomb behind him . In an old development memo for " Final Fantasy IX " Hironobu Sakaguchi has since published online , Steiner would have been ordered to look for Garnet after she is reported missing from the castle . Steiner was envisioned as being able to enter any room in the castle , unlike Zidane , who was playable in the castle before this , the previously inaccessible rooms containing gear and items the player could then equip . Steiner would have led a force of paladins onto the Theater Ship to fight Tantalus in the introductory sequence and use Magic Sword on his own , doing so in a cutscene in preparation to fight the thieves . After the Theater Ship takes flight the paladins , bar Steiner , would have been blown off the airship ' s deck . Musical themes . " Steiner ' s Theme " exhibits Steiner ' s clumsy demeanor , represented in the composition by the syncopation paired to its slow tempo and the odd , fumbling melody over the underlying serious tones . It plays during comedic moments when Steiner is unwittingly the subject of jokes . The song " Steiner ' s Delusion " has a similar melodic elements borrowed from Steiner ' s regular theme , which expands the comedic and reckless nature from Steiner ' s theme further . This is achieved from the tones of the horns , and the odd placement of the melody against silence , like hiccups . " Steiner ' s Theme " may be based on Prokofiev ' s " Dance of the Knights " . Other appearances . Steiner has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Etymology . Adelbert derives from Adalbert .