Vienne Mountains

The Vienne Mountains is a location from Final Fantasy VIII. Forming the southern border of Trabia just north of Esthar, this mountain range stretches from the west coast to the east coast.
A mountain trail allows passage over the mountains from the Trabia Crater to the Mordred Plains, but it is impossible to reach until after the player has gotten the Ragnarok since the entrance from the side of Trabia is blocked by the Trabia Crater, which Balamb Garden cannot bypass. Entering from the side of Esthar is also impossible before the Ragnarok is acquired, since the Mordred Plains can only be accessed by flying.
The location features in a dream sequence, and visiting it during the present day is optional and lacks any reward. A scene from a movie "Zefer", starring Laguna Loire, was shot on the trail. The scene, Scene 12: 'Death of the Sorceress' , required that Laguna, acting as a Sorceress' Knight, fight a mock Ruby Dragon to protect his sorceress. Real Ruby Dragons infiltrated the set and the shoot was stopped as the crew fled, forcing Laguna, Kiros, and possibly Ward to deal with the monsters. Laguna could also glimpse the Lunatic Pandora flying in the far off horizon.
== Geography ==
South of the Trabia Crater and north of the Mordred Plains, the Vienne Mountains separate the Esthar and Trabia continents. The mountains have a little snow on top of the rocks, and a clear road is laid out across the mountain, used for a film set and also traversed by the Ruby Dragon.
== Enemies ==
Enemies can be encountered along the mountain paths:
*Bite Bug
*Bite Bug x2, Mesmerize
*Mesmerize
== Quests ==
=== Ruby Dragon fight ===
During the dream Squall Leonhart has after visiting Rinoa Heartilly in the Balamb Garden infirmary after the Battle of the Gardens, a Ruby Dragon corners Laguna who must fend for himself with a gunblade. He can only use as a sword, without the trigger function.
Laguna must strike at the dragon when it is not charging with . Doing this successfully makes the Ruby Dragon recoil. When the Ruby Dragon charges at Laguna, he can defend with to take no damage. Striking at the Ruby Dragon when it begins its charge can cancel its attack as the Ruby Dragon will recoil.
Both the Ruby Dragon and Laguna have an HP meter at the bottom of the screen, and whoever runs out of HP first, loses. If the player loses, they have to try the minigame again from the beginning.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
==Behind the scenes==
If the player finds Timber Maniacs #9 before the dream is played in the game (when Squall visits the infirmary to see Rinoa), Ward will not appear alongside Laguna and Kiros. Timber Maniacs #9 is in Shumi Village, in the Artisan's house.
Ruby Dragons are not usually fought at Vienne Mountain area; they appear in Centra forests, Island Closest to Hell, and Deep Sea Research Center. Ruby Dragons suddenly appearing at the mountains may be because of the implied Lunar Cry near the area that left behind the Trabia Crater, induced by the Lunatic Pandora Laguna spots in the dream.
The movie scene with Laguna reuses many assets from the rest of the game. Laguna's knightly attire is the ghost of the king at the Tomb of the Unknown King with a head swap . The sorceress is the Queen of Cards model , while the director is the cameraman from the Timber TV studio sequence. Laguna's animations with the blade are Seifer Almasy's gunblade-wielding moves, and the boss of the sequence, the Ruby Dragon, is a normal yet tough random encounter faced mainly in the optional late game areas of the game. The minigame against the dragon is also similar to the scuffle Squall had with a Galbadia Garden paratrooper mid flight during the Battle of the Gardens. Laguna using Seifer's moveset as "Zefer" has been explained as Seifer having copied his stances from the movie that he liked as a child. Seifer's love of the film and admiration of Zefer is confirmed in Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia.
== Gallery ==
Kiros and Laguna at the Vienne Mountains from FFVIII R.png
FF8ScreenshotLaguna8.jpg|Laguna portrays a knight for a movie.
==Citations==
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VIII
Category:Mountains
de:Trabia-Tal