Dion Lesage

Dion Lesage is a major character in Final Fantasy XVI. A Dominant, Dion is skilled in both martial and intellectual arts. However, not everything in his past and upbringing is as gilded as it seems. He is the leader of the Holy Order of the Knights Dragoon, whose main role is protecting the holy emperor, Dion's father, Sylvestre Lesage, with whom Dion has a strained relationship. Dion is the Dominant of Bahamut, the Eikon of light, and is revered by the empire who consider dragons to be holy creatures. Dion is associated with the wyvern tail, a flower that symbolizes Sanbreque.
== History ==
Dion Lesage is the first-born son of Sylvestre Lesage, emperor of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque. He was born out of an affair Sylvestre had with a courtesan in the Year of the Realm 850. Sylvestre's wife was a noblewoman who could not have children, and so Sylvestre sought to sire an heir with another. After Dion was born, Sylvestre pressured the courtesan to give up the baby to be raised by Sylvestre and his noblewoman wife, but had the courtesan killed afterward even if she agreed to conceal the real identity of his firstborn son's mother. When Dion was but one year old, he awakened as the Dominant of Bahamut. What happened to Sylvestre's first wife is unclear, but she also disappeared or died at some point. 
Starting from seven years of age Dion began his schooling and studied alongside Terence, who was the same age as him. Dion was a prodigy in both military arts and literature. It is implied he was acquainted with the lord marquesses of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, Clive and Joshua Rosfield; in 859, when Dion was nine years old, he attended the Tri-Unity summit between the state leaders of Rosaria, Sanbreque, and Dhalmekia where he met Joshua, a fellow Dominant the same age as him and who was heir to the ducal throne. Unbeknown to everyone, Sylvestre conspired with the wife of the Archduke of Rosaria to have the empire annex Rosaria during this meeting, and a year later this happened during the Night of Flames when Elwin and his sons were announced to have been killed when the Phoenix went on a rampage. When the boys were twelve years old, Terence officially became Dion's attendant.
It is implied that Dion's status as the Dominant of Bahamut helped his father, already high-ranking in the Sanbrequois nobility, to be voted as the holy emperor of Sanbreque, and so Dion became the crown prince at fifteen years of age. Sylvestre remarried Anabella Rosfield, the former wife of the Rosarian archduke, and she soon became Empress Anabella and the vicereine of the now Imperial Province of Rosaria which she ruled with cruelty. Dion enlisted with the dragoons and participated in many wars as the nations of Valisthea fell further into chaos, becoming a war hero and celebrity. When Dion was seventeen, Anabella and Sylvestre had a son, Olivier Lesage, and Dion began studying under Harpocrates II Hyperboreos's tutelage.
At age eighteen Dion was "promoted" to the rank of holy dragoon. In the Japanese version, he stepped down as crown prince as a result, and his half-brother Olivier succeeded him as crown prince of Sanbreque. In the English version, he is still called crown prince. He sustains an injury while protecting Terence who stayed by his side to help him recover, confessed having held feelings for him for years, and the two entered a relationship at Dion's insistence.
Dion established the Holy Order of the Knights Dragoon in 870 when he was 20. Harpocrates left the empire and Dion never finished his studies. As the leader of holy dragoons and Dominant of Bahamut, Dion was called upon in the empire's wars. He once defended Drake's Head as Bahamut from the rogue Dominant of Ramuh, Cidolfus Telamon. Dion also took the field against Odin during the Battle of Belenus Tor in 873 when he was 23 years old.
In 878, when Dion was twenty-eight years old, the Dhalmekian Republic and the Empire of Sanbreque were at an impasse in their war for control over the Crystalline Dominion. Dion's ability to take to the field during this conflict was hampered by the threat of Titan responding in kind, which would result in excessive casualties. With Titan's Dominant, Hugo Kupka, injured in his battle with Clive Rosfield, who lived on under the moniker "Cid the Outlaw" having secretly survived the Night of Flames, the Republic was forced to sue for peace. In a meeting with the Council, the Holy Empress and Sylvestre's sons, the emperor instructed Dion to lead the republic on in negotiations, then destroy their army as they retreated. Dion was horrified by this request, both in his ignobility and potential to turn Twinside into a battlefield, killing many innocents. Despite his misgivings, he left for the battlefield on his father's command, but his words fueled the elder Lesage's suspicions against his eldest son. 
At the camp of the Holy Order of the Knight Dragoons, North of Ark, Dion's second-in-command and lover, Sir Terence, saw to his injuries. The two discussed the dilemma Dion faced and how best to avert war. Their discussion was interrupted by a message from the emperor notifying his son that he has abdicated the throne for Dion's half-brother, Olivier, and instructed him to maintain his position, infuriating Dion. Knowing full well that Anabella was responsible for this, Dion contemplated confronting his father. He was interrupted unexpectedly by the arrival of Joshua Rosfield, his childhood friend whom had thought long dead, and his companion, Jote, who had been seeking Dion to join them in the battle against Ultima.
Dion learned from Joshua that Ultima is a mysterious all-powerful entity once worshiped as god across the realm who was now after Joshua's brother Clive, wanting to make the latter his vessel to become corporeal for an unknown end. Joshua convinced Dion that Ultima was meddling with Sanbrequois politics on the highest level, perhaps having even possessed Dion's father Sylvestre. Dion made haste to Twinside, the empire's new capital after having abandoned Oriflamme after Cid's second attempt to destroy Drake's Head had succeeded in 873.
The dragoons loyal to Dion over the empire, Dion led a mutiny against his father. He confronted his family in person, trying to make his father see his new wife's treacherousness, Anabella having famously betrayed her first husband and home country to the empire. Having deemed that Ultima had not possessed his father, but Sylvestre and Anabella's young son Olivier, Dion tried to save his father by disposing of the threat. Sylvestre, unable to understand his son's warnings, leapt in front of Olivier as Dion threw his halberd, killing his father instead of the weapon's intended target. Ultima gloated through Olivier, implying that he had orchestrated Sylvestre dying for him to unleash Bahamut to "test Mythos". Dion lost control of his powers in his grief and rage, primed, and attacked Twinside indiscriminately. Drake's Tail, the Mothercrystal of Twinside, fought back and delved into Dion's innermost feelings, assuming the space of a crystal flower, similar to the wyvern tail that Dion's family considered to be the symbol of the empire and to Dion represented the trust he had for his late father.
Joshua and Clive joined forces to quell him as Dominants of Phoenix and Ifrit, respectively. Their battle against Bahamut took them to outer space, and eventually the combined powers of the Rosfield brothers and Dominants of Fire brought Dion out of his prime. Badly injured and barely conscious, Dion used the last of his strength to throw his halberd into Olivier while declaring vengeance for Sylvestre, this time killing its intended target. In response, an unhinged Anabella took her own life. Dion hallucinated his father's spirit as thankful for ridding the empire of Ultima's influence. Clive used his powers as Mythos to absorb Bahamut's aether from Dion. Ultima enacted Primogenesis, plunging the realm into further chaos by turning living beings into Akashic and nulling both Bearers' and crystal shards' magic powers.
Clive brought the injured Dion back to his hideaway in the deadlands. As soon as Dion regained consciousness, he left to witness the destruction he had unwittingly caused. Still ailing, he was nursed back to health by an orphan medicine girl called Kihel.
From this point on Dion wallowed in guilt and became haunted by feelings of unworthiness and shame for his mistakes and perceived weakness. Though the dragoons again rallied behind him, calling him "Your Radiance", signifying they considered him the emperor of their realm, Dion never shook the sense of failure and worked the rest of his days to atone for his mistakes. Dion placed his trust in the Rosfield brothers and Dominants of Fire who worked to fight against Ultima and free the realm from slavery. When Akashic overran the realm, Dion and his dragoons helped fight them, and even came to Dhalmeks' aid though the republic had been the empire's sworn enemy. During this Dion asked Terence to part ways with him and return to Twinside to look after the orphan girl Kihel toward whom Dion considered he owed a great debt. Terence sensed that Dion believed he would die in his upcoming mission and wanted to resist the order, but eventually relented.
Dion came aboard Midadol Telamon's new mythril engine-powered ship, the Enterprise, to help Clive and Joshua fight the Akashic protecting the final Mothercrystal on the realm, Drake's Spine in Ash. He led the charge until Clive and Joshua were spirited away, and destroyed the Mothercrystal by felling the Ultima who was the being acting as its heart. This activated a giant crystal buried under Twinside, Origin, which rose to the skies of Valisthea. During the hasty retreat from Stonhyrr, Dion held off the Akashic long enough for Clive and the other Cursebreakers to board the Enterprise, before following. Dion volunteered to take the Rosfield brothers to the flying Mothercrystal as Bahamut, as though the spirit of Bahamut had been taken from him, he believed he could still prime as Clive had seen another Dominants do.
Before they set out, Dion had the chance to meet his old tutor, Harpocrates, who now worked as a loresman for Clive's hideaway. Harpocrates had procured Dion a wild wyvern tail, which grow in an unusual purple hue in the wild, linking the flower to Dion in saying that the flower's roots do not determine the final color. Dion was touched by the gesture, but felt himself unworthy of the flower for what it still represented to him, and said he would accept it after making amends.
Joshua, Clive, and Dion bid farewell to Clive's friends and band of outlaws at his hideout. Dion primed Bahamut one last time and carried Joshua and Clive to the crystal in the sky, blasting a hole to its surface with a light beam. The three fought Ultima in the god's corporeal form, Ultima Prime, with Joshua and Clive transforming into Phoenix and Ifrit, respectively. Dion exhorted he will not put up with Ultima's actions toward the world anymore, and intending to make Ultima answer for all the suffering he caused. Dion, Joshua, and Clive combined their strength to cast Tri-Disaster. When Ultima responded by conjuring a massive ball of aether and hurling it toward them after already having cast Ifrit down, Dion intercepted the explosive's path and told Phoenix to go help his brother. Now alone against the threat, Dion conjured a light beam to push the energy concentration away. Asking for forgiveness if he could not get acceptance, he ended up taking the brunt of the onslaught, which dispelled his prime. Content in the knowledge that he had bested this form of Ultima and saved Joshua and Clive so the two could go on to save the world, Dion fell from the sky, presumably to his death. Bahamut's final burst of light beams attacked Ultima from all directions, ripping his form apart. In his final moments Dion was glad he had atoned for his father.
== Characteristics ==
Dion is associated with a white flower known as wyvern tail that symbolizes the empire, often having one nearby or on his person, others also handing him one during their interactions, such as his father Sylvestre is a seeming attempt to inspire patriotism and loyalty in his son.
=== Appearance ===
Dion has brown eyes and neck-length blond hair. He is tall, has a slender physique, and is usually seen wielding a halberd. He wears white clothing under his silver suit of armor, which has a turquoise shimmer to symbolize Bahamut's and Sanbreque's influence, much like Clive and Joshua's signature color being red. Dion wears silver earrings that resemble the shape of the tip of his halberd and have red stones.
His one arm is always bandaged and he tends to hold it close to his body when injured; he may be concealing the effects of the crystals' curse, a malady that eventually affects all who channel aether through their flesh.
=== Personality ===
Dion Lesage is honorable, humble, kind, courageous, and idealistic. His humility and legendary battle skills make him a beloved figure in the empire, earning the loyalty and respect of the imperial soldiers, which Dion does not abuse or exploit. Like Clive, Dion is motivated to preserve innocent lives, almost rebelling against his father's direct orders when they threaten the lives of citizens of the Crystalline Dominion. The biggest contrast between Dion and Clive is that where Clive adores his little brother, Dion bears nothing but contempt towards his youngest half-brother, Olivier, for his spoiled nature and how Anabella uses him to take his place as heir to the throne.
Seeing Anabella poisoning his family and trying to rob him of his birthright to satisfy her sense of entitlement, knowing that his people would suffer due to her influence, Dion considers rebelling to rid his home and family of her presence. He hesitated to usurp his father, whom he still loved and saw good in, but after declining to assist Joshua and choosing instead to lead a coup to save his kingdom, he would be left devastated after his father was revealed to be manipulated by Ultima. Ultima uses Dion to kill Sylvestre and then Dion's resulting shock and guilt to drive him to madness and destroy the capital city using his Eikon.
Dion manages to gain some manner of vengeance against both Ultima and Anabella by slaying Olivier, who was revealed to be little more than a vessel for Ultima. After his sanity is restored, Dion humbly bears the guilt of having killed innocents in his rampage. Though Dion does not seek forgiveness, he nonetheless takes as much action as he can to restore the people's trust in him.
It seems Dion once had a loving relationship with his father but it became chilled and unstable following Sylvestre's marriage to Anabella, who began to instill in him her obsession with elitism and blood purity, turning him into an apathetic tyrant. Dion resents Sylvestre treating him like a tool of conquest rather than as a son. Dion's relationship with his stepmother was never a positive one, again echoing the relationship Clive had with her, as Anabella treated Dion as an obstacle between Olivier and the throne. She viewed him with disdain, mocking him as the "son of a whore" after Olivier was going to be named the emperor's heir.
Dion has a close relationship with his second-in-command and lover, Sir Terence, confiding in him his distress at being caught between his father's orders and his sense of what is right, and his wish to not bear the burden of leadership. He once knew Joshua and Clive as children, holding a measure of respect for the brothers. Though he appeared to be closer friends with Joshua following their reunion, he would nonetheless ally with Clive and follow his lead in the battle against Ultima. Dion expresses gratitude towards Clive in allowing him to reunite with his old teacher Harpocrates, whom he looked up to a great deal and regrets in having not been able to finish his studies under him. Dion believes he learned more about the world through Harpocrates's teachings than he ever could have in the gilded confines of the palace.
Dion refers to his fellow Dominants by the name of their Eikons, for example, calling Joshua "the Phoenix" and Clive "Ifrit".
===Abilities===
Dion is a dragoon and such wields a halberd and fights by leaping high into the sky both to avoid his enemies attacks and to descend upon his opponents by riding the halberd down. As the Dominant of Bahamut, Dion possesses the power of light, able to use offensive light magicks and prime his Eikon. As Bahamut, Dion is one of the mightiest forces Valisthea has known, able to conjure devastating beams of light from his wings and throat, and fly as high as into the outer space. Even after losing Bahamut's aether from his body, Dion is able to prime and not lose control of himself.
Dion is never seen in semi-primed state, but it is assumed he would appear with Bahamut's wings, as Clive does with Bahamut's power.
==Gameplay==
Dion is fought as a boss as Bahamut in Twinside. His semi-prime skills are transferred to Clive after the latter absorbs Bahamut's aether from Dion. 
==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
Dion was created to be a reflection to Clive Rosfield; while Clive is driven by revenge, Dion was made in the traditional image of a prince. He embodies the Dragoon archetype from previous installments.Bailey 2022
Following release of the game, fans praised Dion's relationship with Sir Terence for the clearest inclusion of a queer couple in the series' history.Harris 2023
===Version differences===
Dion is noted as the crown prince and future emperor of Sanbreque in the English version (such as Terence's first Persons of Interest profile being "Attendant to the Crown Prince"), but not in the Japanese version, which only refers to him as "prince"; Final Fantasy XVI Ultimania elaborates that Anabella stripped Dion of this title when he was 18 by "promoting" him to the highest possible rank of dragoon instead, making way for Olivier to become the crown prince, after which Dion went on to establish the Holy Knights Dragoon when he was 20.https://twitter.com/tinyllama_ff16/status/1706455594486698273
==="Dion the Bold"===
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A "Spoony Bard" sings about "Dion the Bold" in Lostwing's tavern when Cid and Clive stay there, but only part of the lyrics are subtitled. The ones below in italics are approximated.
:Oh, come hear the tale of Lord Dion the Bold...
:Who's tamed wyrms a-thousand, and slain that tenfold.
:One hundred full legions the young dragoon led,
:And watched as a million turned tail and fled.
:His lance levels mountains, it sunders the deep
:The skies over Storm brace for every leap.
:And should the sun set on the empire's shores,
:His name will live on forever and more.
:His name is sung forever and more.
Patron's Whisper later gets a donation from a "Merry Mummer" who is pleased Cid the Outlaw is making a name for himself so the mummer gets other requests than singing about "Dion the Bold".
===Voice===
In the English version, Stewart Clarke voiced Dion's appearances.
Dion in the Japanese version is voiced by Yūichi Nakamura. He shares his voice actor with Cid Raines from Final Fantasy XIII series, Thancred Waters from Final Fantasy XIV, Ravus Nox Fleuret from Final Fantasy XV and Trey from Final Fantasy Type-0.
==Etymology==
==Notes==
===Citations===
===References===
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de:Dion Lesage
es:Dion Lesage
ru:Дион Лесаж
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XVI
Category:Dragoons
category:Dominants