Alexander (Final Fantasy IX)

Alexander is an eidolon in Final Fantasy IX that cannot be summoned by the player, but plays a role in the storyline. It takes the form of a winged fortress, among the largest incarnations of any common summon in the Final Fantasy series. It deals extreme holy damage to its adversaries. Final Fantasy IX is the first time Alexander's Holy element is drawn out by four seraphic wings, and the eidolon's immobile qualities are explained by its guardianship to Alexandria Castle.
==History==
Alexander is the eidolon the summoner tribe called forth hundreds of years ago back when they inhabited the Mist Continent. During an experiment the eidolon went on a rampage. To stop Alexander from being summoned again, the summoners extracted Alexander into a crystal, left the Mist Continent, and divided Alexander's gem into four fragments with one fragment, the Memory Earring, staying with the summoners and eventually coming to summoner girl Eiko's possession. In time, the people of the Mist Continent would forget the arts of summoning and eidolons fell into legend. Alexander's crystal fragments remained as treasured heirlooms in the Mist Continent kingdoms, their original significance forgotten.
Kuja sought Alexander's power to overthrow his master, Garland, and rule both Gaia and Terra. Alexander could only be summoned when all four pieces of the gem were gathered at Alexandria Castle. Using Queen Brahne's greed, Kuja manipulated Alexandria to conquer most of the Mist Continent, obtaining Lindblum's Falcon Claw and Cleyra's Desert Star. However, the Silver Pendant housing Alexandria's crystal fragment in Princess Garnet's possession eluded capture.
After Brahne's death, Garnet inherited the crystal fragments, and unaware of their significance, shared them with the summoner girl Eiko she had befriended as sign of the two of them being the last of the summoners' tribe. Kuja summoned Bahamut to ravage Alexandria on the night the two moons eclipsed, and Alexander used "summoner's call" to call Garnet and Eiko to meet atop its structure.
Garnet felt something calling for her, and went out onto the roof. Meanwhile, Eiko flying on the Hilda Garde 2 above heard the summoner's call, and leapt off the airship to join with Garnet. The two summoned Alexander that defeated Bahamut with a flurry of holy light. When Kuja called for the Invincible to steal Alexander and manipulate the eidolon for his own uses, Garland took control of the airship and used it to destroy Alexander, damaging most of Alexandria in the process. Kuja fled Alexandria bent on finding an eidolon even stronger than Alexander, but never succeeded.
==Characteristics==
Alexander spreads its protective wings over Alexandria Castle.|thumb
Kuja seems to consider Alexander the most powerful eidolon in Gaia, and thus goes into great lengths to reunite the fragments of its summoning gem by manipulating Queen Brahne. He may be right, as the summoners had deemed Alexander too dangerous to summon again and thus had divided its summoning gem into four pieces, distributing the fragments between the Mist Continent kingdoms, keeping one themselves.
Alexander is the only eidolon shown to call for a summoner to manifest him, telepathically communicating with Garnet and Eiko. Though Alexander's crystal remains divided, the four fragments brought together by two summoners succeeded in summoning him. Kuja is at awe at the eidolon's power when Alexander obliterates Bahamut with rays of holy light, but Alexander is no match to Terra's ultimate warship, the Invincible.
Alexander is a colossal angel-winged fortress that towers over the landscape, even taller than Alexandria Castle. It can shield itself and those in its vicinity by its white-feathered wings, and fire a salvo of beams to shred its opponents. Alexander is an immobile eidolon, appearing rooted by Alexandria Castle. It can be surmised as being the castle's guardian, as it calls for a summoner when the castle comes under attack.
==Gameplay==
===Summon===
Alexander cannot be summoned by the player and only appears in a cutscene. The Holy-elemental summon in Final Fantasy IX is Eiko's Madeen. Alexander representing holy, its dark counterpart could be seen as being the Shadow-elemental Ark.
=== Tetra Master ===
Alexander appears on a Tetra Master card, but the Eidolon Master in Treno's card stadium in the endgame plays it exceedingly rarely. The best way to get one is from the Ocean chocograph. Master Phantom in the Stairs of time area of the final dungeon also plays it.
==Other appearances==
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy NT ===
Alexandria was added as a stage in the arcade release via update on 16th March. The battle takes place in the Town Square, with the Ticket Office acting as a platform in the circular stage. Midway though battle, the sky turns to night and smoke appears in the distance on parts of the town, and Alexander is summoned and spreads its wings, with the red moon directly in front of the blue moon to give it a glowing halo appearing behind it, alluding to the Battle of Alexandria.
=== Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia===
Alexander appears in Garnet's updated EX animation of Holy Prayer. Its complete version, together with Eiko, is seen in Garnet's Burst Mode variation of Divine Judgment.
==Gallery==
Ffix amano alexander.JPG|Artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
FFIX PC Battle of Alexandria 16.png|Holy Judgment.
FFIX PC Battle of Alexandria 22.png|The Invincible attacks Alexander.
==Etymology==
 Alexander as a summoned monster in the Final Fantasy series likely draws inspiration from the legendary Gates of Alexander, which were believed to be raised by summoned djinn to protect the Macedonian Empire from those alleged to be the infernal and savage tribe of "Gog and Magog".
Category:Eidolons in Final Fantasy IX