Alistair Albert

Alistair Albert
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Japanese name	サーベルト・アルバート
Romaji	Sāberuto Arubāto
Vocation	Warrior
Race	Human
Family	Jessica (younger sister) Rosalind (mother) Alexander (ancestor) Alexandra Kranbartle (ancestor)
Voice actor	Miyu Irino (Japanese)

Alistair Albert is a character in the Dragon Quest series that appears in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. He is part of the Albert family, and is the descendant of Alexander, the sage of the Blue Orb.

Appearance and Personality

Alistair is a young man whose appearance loosely resembles the Hero of the first game, and his armour also loosely resembles Erdrick's Armour, with its blue plating and gold rims. His helmet has a large opening at the front and a round blue gem in the center. His pauldrons are rather flat, made of only one curved plate each, and is connected to his cuirass through brown straps with metal buckles. A single blue armour flap dangles from the center. Underneath, he has a long-sleeved undershirt with beige sleeves and the rest is made of a brown leather material with a fluffy beige rim. At his waist, he has a red belt with a gold buckle. He carries what is likely to be a steel broadsword at his left side in a reddish-brown leather sheath, attached to himself through a brown leather strap. On his left arm, he wears a power shield on his forearm, attached similarly with a strap. He has long red pants, brown boots, and a loose red scarf. His vermillion hair is cut short, and his round eyes are a brighter shade of orange.

Appearances

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Warning: Spoilers!
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Alistair was a skilled swordsman and wizard, living quietly in the Albert mansion in Alexandria with his sister, Jessica, and his mother, Rosalind. He taught Jessica moral values and some magic. In a dream flashback sequence of Jessica's, it is revealed that he thought that his swordsmanship could be improved and that his magic was just child's play, thinking that Jessica was the superior mage. Alistair seems to have inherited Alexander's sword work and Jessica seems to have inherited his magical prowess. Although both are descendants of Alexander, Alistair was chosen as the heir that would protect Alexandria and the Eastern Tower.

Prior to the events of the game, Alistair dies to the jester Dhoulmagus. He is murdered when Dhoulmagus leaves the door to the Tower of Alexandra open, causing the swordsman to investigate. He reaches the top of the tower and patrols the vicinity, safeguarding the statue of Alexandra, before being confronted by the jester himself. Dhoulmagus condescendingly tells him that he pities the fragility of human life before Alistair realises that he cannot draw his sword. The jester then paralyses Alistair before stabbing the Sceptre of Rhapthorne through the stomach, and Alistair collapses to the ground. Dhoulmagus assures his limp body that his death would not be vain and then teleports away. Overseeing the entire incident with its eyes of red jewels, the statue of Alexandra allows his soul to remain inside the statue for a while.

In the events of the game, the Hero and the rest of the party find out that Jessica has gone to figure out who killed her brother and go after her, believing she may be in danger. However, they reach the top of the tower before she does, and finds the statue of Alexandra. Jessica arives shortly afterwards and they turn around to see her drop her bouquet of flowers before accusing the Hero of being the one who murdered her brother and coming back for the jewels in the statue. Fully intending to make him suffer the same fate, she fires off a few frizz spells, and the Hero ducks out of the way. She scorns him for being quick, figuring that "thieves need to be quick on their toes", but quickly prepares herself to cast a huge frizz-line spell at the Hero. But suddenly, the spirit of Alistair awakens and tells her to wait and stay her spell. Recognising his voice, she attempts to obey, but the spell is too large to contain. She fires it at a nearby brazier instead, and falls to the ground, but gets quickly back on her feet, pushing the Hero aside to run up to the statue and ask if it was really him. The voice of Alistair begs everyone to listen, and tells them that a part of his soul was allowed to linger in the statue of Alexandra, but time is short as the power keeping him there is dissipating. He tells them that the truth lies within the statue's eyes; before the vision of what had happened is shown, he mentions that he had investigated the tower because the door was left open. The vision then plays of what had happened, and afterwards he says to the party that it would bring great relief if the memory of his tale was of use to them on their quest. He assures Jessica that while their mother may stand in her way, she should follow her heart and do what she must, saying one last goodbye before his soul leaves the statue. Jessica begins to sob inconsolably, and cries there even after the scene has finished.

From then on, Jessica swears to avenge his death, considering herself an enemy of both the jester and his master. She consoles the two kids, Bangerz and Mash, back at the mansion, telling them that Alistair used to tell her that they would grow up to be famous warriors.

Etymology

• His latin-based name "Alistair" is likely a variant of the Latin name Alexander. The deepest etymology of its meaning comes from a Greek warrior name meaning "the one who repels men".
• His Japanese name, "サーベルト (Sāberuto Arubāto, サーベルト^?)", may come from the from the first half of the Japanese "サーベルタイガー (Sāberu taigā, サーベルタイガー^?)", meaning "sabretooth tiger".
• His last name "Albert" is the English derivative of the Germanic "Adalbert", which means "noble" as well as "bright" as in cleverness. These meanings reflect Alistair's family status and how he also used to teach his younger sister.

Other Languages

In all non-latin-based languages, Jessica calls him the language's equivalent of "big brother Saberuto".

Language	Translation	Meaning
Español	Alistair Albert	Same as English name.
Français	Alistair Albert	Ditto.
Deutsch	Alistair Albert	Ditto.
Italiano	Alistair Albert	Ditto.
한국어	사벨트 알버트 (Sabelteu Albeoteu)	A Korean take on his Japanese name "Saberuto Arubato".
中文	萨贝尔特 阿尔巴特 (Sàbèi'ěrtè Ā'ěrbātè)	A Chinese take on his Japanese name "Saberuto Arubāto".
中文 (繁體)	薩貝爾特 阿爾巴特 (Sàbèi'ěrtè Ā'ěrbātè)	Ditto.