History Characters / FinalFantasyXVITheHolyEmpireOfSanbreque

* LovedByAll: He is adored among the people of the Empire. It is also noted that songs celebrating the heroism and battle might of the warrior prince are commonplace among the lips and lutes of the bards of Sanbreque. It's pretty telling that once he [[spoiler:rebels against his father, most of the troops of Sanbreque immediately follow along without any hesitation and refuse to disobey his commands, especially as Dion makes sure his forces are also committed to protecting the lives of the citizens]]. Even more than that, [[spoiler:his men ''still'' follow his command even after he went into frenzy and destroyed the Empire's capital as Bahamut.]] At the hideaway, no one really speaks of Dion [[spoiler:until the fall of Twinside, when people are stunned to learn of Dion's kinslaying]].

* SonOfAWhore: It's implied his mother was a prostitute, as Anabella taunts him that she was a "whore who weighed her child's worth in gil".

* GoodIsNotNice: Despite being one of Cid's allies, he's not very nice about it. He tells Cid and Clive that he doesn't want them around for too long, and he only grudgingly helps them. [[spoiler:His quest for revenge, while completely understandable given what kind of man his sworn enemy is, also has a sadistic streak to it, as after he finally corners his target, he brutally kills him offscreen, and when he comes back, his apron is covered in blood.]]

* {{Foil}}: To a minor character named Yannick, another imperial soldier stationed in Northreach. Whereas Yannick held a toxic EntitledToHaveYou attitude toward one of Isabelle's courtesans, leaving her terrified of him and resulting in them both getting killed; Phillipe acknowledges his love for Isabelle but never acts upon it toward her, respecting her as her own person, and he chooses to put the town's safety as his first priority because Northreach is important to him as well.

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->''"The Holy Empire of Sanbreque, where ambition is divine."''\\
Capital: Oriflamme

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* DragonKnight: He is the commander of the Dragoons, elite dragon themed knights and he himself is able to go ScaledUp as Bahamut.

[[caption-width-right:600:Tiamat, Biast, and Aevis]

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[[folder:Tiamat]]
The Sergeant of an all-Bearer squad in the Sanbrequois army, rumoured to have been born the son of a noble. He recruited Clive from the front lines to act as a special-ops agent. His last mission was to assassinate the Dominant of Shiva, which was already a suicide mission that somehow went even worse.

* AnimalThemeNaming: The codenames he doles out to the Bastards--Aevis, Biast, Wyvern, and his own Tiamat--are all types of dragon.

* {{Determinator}}: It's not made clear if this is the result of natural fortitude, or from going berserk thanks to [[spoiler:Ultima's]] machinations, but the fact is he takes an absolutely ''insane'' amount of punishment during his battle against Clive and [[spoiler:Joshua]], and then simply recovers and begins the battle anew. His boss fight has more phases than any other, even more than [[spoiler:Ultima]], and eventually Clive, and the players doubtless, become exasperated ''that he just keeps coming back.'' [[spoiler:The brothers have to combine their Eikons as Ifrit Risen in order to finally subdue Bahamut.]] And even after he's ''finally'' defeated, Dion still manages to muster enough strength to [[spoiler:destroy Olivier]] before passing out.
** Beyond that, [[spoiler:even after having his power absorbed by Clive, he still has the willpower to transform into Bahamut without losing control, unlike Benedikta and Hugo who lost their minds after having their powers absorbed by Clive.]]

** He's also this among the [[spoiler: Dominants that Clive is forced to fight, not including Jill, as the only reason they even fought is because Dion had gone berserk from accidentally killing his father. In the aftermath, he harbors no animosity towards Clive and readily joins him in his fight against Ultima.]]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Whatever Olivier currently is (if he ever existed in the first place), he has become a soulless puppet for Ultima to talk through. When Dion stabs him, he disintegrates into aether like the Akashic monsters.]]

* BadassCreed: "To dwell in darkness that we may purge the night and welcome lasting dawn. One these, our swords we swear."

* TrueCompanions: His Active Time Lore entry mentions that he and Tiamat have fought alongside each other for years, which has led to Biast being able to trust Tiamat with his life.

Leader of the village of Lostwing, which makes its home in a valley with a ruined Fallen airship. A former official of the Sanbrequois government turned trusted ally of Cid.

* GoodIsNotNice: Despite being one of Cid's allies, he's not very nice about it. He tells Cid and Clive that he doesn't want them around for too long, and he only grudgingly helps them. [[spoiler:His quest for revenge, while completely understandable given what kind of man his sworn enemy is, also has a sadistic streak to it, as after he finally corners his target, he brutally kills him offscreen and comes back wearing an apron covered in blood.]]

* {{Foil}}: To Yannick, another imperial soldier stationed in Northreach. Whereas Yannick held a toxic EntitledToHaveYou attitude toward one of Isabelle's courtesans, leaving her terrified of him and resulting in them both getting killed; Phillipe acknowledges his love for Isabelle but never acts upon it toward her, respecting her as her own person, and he chooses to put the town's safety as his first priority.
* HopelessSuitor: He's in love with Isabelle, but she shows no signs of reciprocating other than acknowleding him as a good man.

* ResignInProtest: When the former High Cardinal of Sanbreque moves into Northreach in order to [[spoiler:reestablish the Holy Empire of Sanbreque]], Philippe is among those who opposes him. Unable to stand against it without causing an all-out civil war to break out in Northreach, Philippe resigns from his post to protect his home in his own way.

* MsFanservice: She wears a low cut dress with much of her cleavage showing, and is known to attract the attention of others for it. It's justified since she's a courtesan whose business requires her to attract people with her feminine wiles.
* MuggleMageRomance: [[spoiler: The reason she had to flee the Dominion--she is the Muggle who fell in love with a Bearer Mage. In an inversion of the usual trope, as the Muggle the power imbalance in the relationship favored her, as Bearers are treated as a SlaveRace across Valisthea.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Captain of the military garrison in Northreach in the empire, and one of Isabelle's stoutest allies -- and by extension, Clive's.

* MeaningfulName: The ''oriflamme'' was the battle standard of the medieval kings of France; its raising in battle meant that no quarter was to be given to the enemy.

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Downplayed. By the time Sylvestre appears on-screen, he's very much a villain albeit one of lesser importance in comparison to fellow antagonists such as Hugo or Barnabas. What's ambiguous is ''how'' evil he was prior to meeting and marrying Anabella Rosfield. Dion's dialogue [[spoiler:during his coup]] implies Sylvestre was TheGoodKing to Sanbreque who had its best interests in mind, albeit a WellIntentionedExtremist who was willing to betray the Rosaria dukedom, Sanbreque's ally, and install Anabella as vicereine in exchange for annexing Rosaria. When Sylvestre makes his appearance in the story proper, he's already bought into Anabella's spiel about "sovereign blood" and fully corrupted by it [[spoiler:after the second TimeSkip]].

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:Dion's passionate speech about how he's being manipulated by Anabella and that continuing to follow on his path of conquest will only lead to the whole Empire being destroyed and the citizens loyal to him dead genuinely affects Sylvestre, and he appears to be starting to be convinced, but then "Olivier" steps in and Sylvestre dies shielding the boy he still believed to be actually his son, denying him the chance to start redeeming himself for all that he had done to Valisthea.]]

* NotBrainwashed: [[spoiler:When Joshua tips Dion off about Ultima's machinations, Dion confronts his father and asks him whether Ultima is the one driving him to anoint Olivier as the successor and continue his bloody war of absolute conquest. Sylvestre insists that he has no idea who Ultima even is, and his mind is his own. Dion believes his father is telling the truth, and it turns out he really is; it is not Sylvestre who's been possessed by Ultima, but Olivier.]]

* TakeOverTheWorld: He expresses the desire to have the imperial banner of Sanbreque flying over every city in Storm -- the western half of Valisthea. [[spoiler:While he was already ruthless enough to mastermind a bloody coup at Phoenix Gate in the prologue, his second wife (and collaborator in the coup), Anabella was clearly a corrosive influence on him and egging him on to become increasingly megalomaniacal, all to fulfill her own ambitions.]]

->''"When our people look to the heavens, the sight of him gives them hope."''

* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:While his human form doesn't directly fight alongside Clive and Joshua, he does aid them in the final battle as Bahamut, and fights alongside the core heroes before that in cutscenes.]]

--> '''Dion:''' "For every citizen who falls, another can be bred. For every home that burns, another can be built." [[MeaningfulEcho Those were your words]]. But when the last of your citizens has fallen, and all of their homes have been reduced to ash...What will become of your empire? Of its rulers? Of your gods?

* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler: As loyal as he is to his father, he is ultimately more committed to his people's wellbeing and despises Anabella's manipulation and influence over his father. Dion has so much influence and good will among his people and his troops that he could have forcefully taken the throne if he wanted to. The only reason Dion hadn't done so earlier is his faith that his father would see reason and stop the war by himself. Not only that, Dion doesn't hesitate in the slightest to threaten murdering his half-brother to put Anabella in her place, which he does as soon as he is given the opportunity to. The fact that Olivier is his half-brother and Anabella is screaming in despair doesn't even slow Dion down. Finally, Dion condemns his father in front of the whole council in such a way that the Emperor goes from being dismissive and firm to starting to truly doubt his actions]].

* {{Determinator}}: It's not made clear if this is the result of natural fortitude, or that he went berserk from [[spoiler:Ultima's]] machinations, but the fact is he takes an absolutely ''insane'' amount of punishment during his battle against Clive and [[spoiler:Joshua]], and then simply recovers and begins the battle anew. His boss fight has more phases than any other, even more than [[spoiler:Ultima]], and eventually Clive, and the players doubtless, become exasperated ''that he just keeps coming back.'' And even after he's ''finally'' defeated, he still manages to muster enough strength to [[spoiler:destroy Olivier]] before passing out.

* {{Foil}}: Dion acts as one to Clive. Dion is, by all accounts, the perfect prince. He's dashing, graceful, gifted with the power of an Eikon associated with light and the sky, and fights for the sake of his people. By contrast, Clive is a disheveled marquess who has lost everything, becomes the Dominant of an Eikon associated with hellish flames and darkness, and fights to avenge his family. And while Clive and Joshua are extremely close siblings, Dion possesses a mutual disdain for his half-brother Olivier, [[spoiler:and tries to murder Olivier when Dion realizes that Olivier is a pawn being used to continue Sanbreque's senseless conquest. Both of them are also driven berserk by Ultima and have to deal with the hard truth that they laid waste to their own people upon losing control of their Eikon powers.]] The devs even described them as opposites in an interview.

* GuestStarPartyMember: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Dion, as Bahamut, joins the party for a single [[PressXToNotDie entirely cinematic battle]].]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Dion meets his end by taking Joshua's place in order to stop Ultima from killing Clive, buying the brothers enough time to survive and gather what's remaining of their powers to finally defeat their foe. He takes the whole blow of Ultima's attack as a price, and falls to his death, satisfied with his choice and conclusion, While Joshua ends up being killed anyway Dion's Sacrifice allowed Joshua to save Clive's life and give him Phoenix keeping this from being a SenselessSacrifice.]]

* IHaveManyNames: The prince has many titles befitting his station; Dion the Bold, Prince of Dragoons, Odin's Nemesis, Dominant of Bahamut.

* JavelinThrower: Dion's spear is as good for throwing as it is for skewering [[spoiler: this maneuver is actually what does in his father and half-brother]].

* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Thanks to Anabella, Sylvester became a cold, domineering, and ruthless emperor who no longer cares for any of his subjects. Dion is... not.
* LovedByAll: He is adored among the people of the Empire. It is also noted that songs celebrating the heroism and battle might of the warrior prince are commonplace among the lips and lutes of the bards of Sanbreque. It's pretty telling that once he [[spoiler:rebels against his father, most of the troops of Sanbreque immediately follow along without any hesitation and refuse to disobey his commands, especially as Dion makes sure his forces are also committed to protecting the lives of the citizens]]. Even more than that, [[spoiler:his men ''still'' follow his command even after he went into frenzy and destroyed the Empire's capital as Bahamut.]]

* BestServedCold: [[spoiler:He's been plotting his sadistic revenge on the former Supreme Justice of Sanbreque for many, many years, and openly admits that the entire Lostwing village was essentially a front for him to recruit volunteers he could use for an army. What keeps him sympathetic is the fact that the former Supreme Justice really was ''that'' bad of a man who fully deserved everything Quinten had planned for him, and that Quinten himself was completely upfront about his true intentions to his own people, showing that he genuinely did care for them instead of seeing them as mere pawns.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Quinten has a past as a judiciary official of the empire, and with the support of his commander he was celebrated for catching all sorts of criminals and stopping corruption. However, his superior used Quinten as a front to hide his own dealings, and when Quinten tried to expose him, [[spoiler:Quinten's entire family was murdered in retaliation]], making him leave his post and [[spoiler:swear revenge, establishing Lostwing for this very purpose]].

* TheUnreveal: We never do find out what he looks like Semi-Primed.

* TheUnfought: Of a sorts. [[spoiler:Dion is the only Dominant who Clive fights as an Eikon but not as a man.]]