Zalbaag Beoulve

Zalbaag Beoulve, also known as Zalbag Beoulve, is an Ark Knight and the leader of the Order of the Northern Sky in Final Fantasy Tactics. A stern believer in the Church of Glabados's teachings, Zalbaag is a fearsome warrior. He is the middle son of the House Beoulve with Dycedarg Beoulve his elder brother from the same mother, with Ramza and Alma Beoulve his younger siblings from when their father Barbaneth Beoulve remarried.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Zalbaag has short auburn hair with a full fringe, brown eyes and a goatee. He wears a black high-neck short jacket with golden seams and armbands. Underneath he wears a gray loose turtleneck with white pineapple design at the center of the linings, black pants and red and black boots with a large brown folded sleeves and white outlines. He wears long red gloves with golden outlines and a golden mantle with white curly designs.
===Personality===
Zalbaag is calm and serious and treats his younger half siblings, Ramza and Alma, kindly. He follows orders dutifully, even those considered amoral by others, and thus can be seen as a stoic person who feels little remorse or sympathy. He has faith in his elder brother, and defends him when Ramza questions Dycedarg's actions. When realizing the true extent of Dycedarg's corruption, however, Zalbaag becomes vengeful and filled with rage, sadness, and remorse.
==Story==
It was partly in thanks to Zalbaag's contributions as a knight that Ivalice won the Fifty Years' War. King Denamda IV declared him the savior of Ivalice, and Zalbaag was granted the title of Knight Devout. At his father Barbaneth's death bed, Zalbaag was appointed the new lord commander of the Order of the Northern Sky, while his elder brother, Dycedarg, was appointed strategist for Duke Larg.
Zalbaag went on many missions, usually on his elder brother's behalf. Zalbaag is in charge of the unit that storms Ziekden Fortress, and he orders Argath Thadalfus to kill Tietra Heiral, a commoner girl in the care of House Beoulve whom their enemies try to use as a bargaining chip. He performs these actions matter-of-factly and without sympathy much to Ramza's distress.
When Ramza returns to the Royal City of Lesalia after a year on his own, Zalbaag initially shoots down his half-brother's implications about Dycedarg's trickery and deception. Zalbaag begins to believe Ramza when Dycedarg kills Duke Larg, and the dying noble accuses Dycedarg of killing his own father as well.
Overhearing a conference between Dycedarg and the Knight Templar Loffrey Wodring, Zalbaag learns Dycedarg used mossfungus to poison Barbaneth. He takes a herbalist to his father's grave to confirm this, and upon finding that Mossfungus was indeed the cause of death, he rushes back to Eagrose Castle to confront Dycedarg just as Ramza arrives.
Dycedarg calls his guards, but Zalbaag defeats him. His victory is short-lived; as the elder Beoulve falls to the ground, he unintentionally triggers the Capricorn auracite and merges with the Lucavi demon Adrammelech who kills Zalbaag before being defeated by Ramza.
Folmarv Tengille, the leader of the Knights Templar, calls Zalbaag back to the world of the living as a vampire. Folmarv forces him to fight Ramza, who has become the enemy of the Church of Glabados and been declared a heretic. Zalbaag, realizing he has no will of his own, calls for Ramza to kill him. Ramza reluctantly complies, banishing his brother's undead form from Ivalice. In his last words Zalbaag apologizes to his half-brother for causing him grief. Ramza bellows out his brother's name, crushed by the loss.
==Gameplay==
Zalbaag appears as a guest character during the battle at Eagrose Castle, and starts as a level 42 Ark Knight with 67 Bravery and 72 Faith, and comes equipped with the Runeblade, a full set of crystal equipment, and the Germinas Boots.
Zalbaag's Ark Knight job has different reaction and support abilities compared to all "basic" jobs. He can never learn Equip Axes, Beastmaster, Defend, and JP Boost because those were replaced with Counter, Concentration, Safeguard, and Swiftness. Zalbaag and Elmdore share the same job class but have two different skillsets; Elmdore's job skills are based on Samurai job while Zalbaag's is Knight job.
During Chapter 1, when Zalbaag kills one of the Corpse Brigade that drags Alma to his chocobo, the sword he wields is an Ancient Sword. In Chapter 4 when he confronts Dycedarg, the sword he wields resembles a Rune Blade.
===Boss===
Zalbaag appears as a boss during the battle at Mullonde Cathedral. He is a level 47 Ark Knight with 33 Bravery and 72 Faith, and comes equipped with the same equipment as before. He now comes with the Vampire ability, as well as the Adrenaline Rush, Defense Boost, and Lifefont abilities.
===Rendezvous===
When fought in the fourteenth Rendezvous battle, the fifth battle of the Brave Story, he is level 99 and starts with 75 Bravery and 68 Faith. He comes equipped with the Save the Queen, Protect Ring, and his other equipment is randomized. He has access to the Blade of Ruin and Martial Arts commands, as well as the abilities Bonecrusher, Attack Boost, and Move +1. The player fights his zombie version at level 99 with 33 Bravery and 77 Faith in the seventh battle of Brave Story. He is equipped with the same equipment and abilities as in the main story.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade===
Zalbaag appears as a Legend.
FFAB Powersap - Zalbaag Legend SSR.png|Powersap (SSR).
FFAB Powersap - Zalbaag Legend SSR+.png|Powersap (SSR+).
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Zalbaag appears in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a Lightning-elemental forward card.
===Final Fantasy Portal App===
Zalbaag appears as a Triple Triad card.
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
===Knights of the Crystals===
Zalbag appears as a card in the Ivalice Special Arena has a limited-time special arena with eighteen floors.
==Behind the scenes==
Zalbaag is nicknamed "Monkey Bag" (猿袋) in the sound test mode due to the Japanese romanization of his name where Zaru sounds and is written like "Saru", which means "monkey".
==Gallery==
Zalbaag-Beoulve-FFT-Artwork.png|Earlier artwork shared by Yasumi Matsuno on May 19, 2018 over livestream.
pt-br:Zalbaag Beoulve
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy Tactics
Category:Guest characters