Rubiss

"'I am Rubiss, an Enchanter, and long ago I promised Erdrick to help when the time came.'"

- Rubiss speaking to the Scions of Erdrick at her shrine

The Goddess Rubiss, also known as The Spirit Rubiss 「精霊ルビス」 or The Spirit Goddess Rubiss 「精霊神ルビス」 in Japanese, is a deity and recurring character in the Dragon Quest series, especially in the Erdrick series. She is also known as Rubiss Apisto Calichthys, 「ルビス・アピスト・カリクティス」 in Japanese, in The Legend of the Spirit Rubiss series. She created Alefgard long before Dragon Quest III. She is also referred to as the Spirit of the Earth or the Great Land Spirit in Dragon Quest XI.

Appearance
Rubiss has several different appearances throughout the Dragon Quest series, either depicting her as an elf or as a human. In her most common appearances, she is depicted with red, curly hair, pale skin and blue eyes. She is also tall and typically taller than most humans. In other appearances, she is depicted with green hair instead.

Personality
As a goddess, she is omnipresent and omnibelevolent. She is affectionate for those who are titled Erdrick and those who display heroism. Despite this, she is strict with her goals and oftentimes comes across as manipulative. She is also cautious and self-aware as she knows how powerful she is and how her interference can be controversial.

Biography
Rubiss gains story from both direct and indirect participation across various Dragon Quest works. These include videogames, books and other material. While she canonically makes her first appearance in The Legend of the Spirit Rubiss series, a series that focuses on her, she chronologically makes her debut in Dragon Quest III.

Dragon Quest I
Rubiss does not appear in any version of the game and in the Famicom version of the game she was not even referenced. It was only in the Super Famicom (SFC) remake and future versions where she is referenced by name by two Sages: one in Sanctum and the other in Cantlin. She is also mentioned in the Famicom Dragon Quest Official Guidebook.

BS Dragon Quest I
In the Satellaview version on the game, BS Dragon Quest I, Rubiss appears disguised as an old woman, voiced by Hisako Kyōda, and oversees Hero. During the broadcast, Rubiss awakens the power of Erdrick in the Hero and gives blessings to the Hero such as Critical Hits in battle and full recovery of HP and MP. It is only revealed at the end of the final episode that she is the old woman and describes herself as "the one who travels through time". As the old lady's voice fades out, it is replaced by Rubiss' actual voice, the voice of Rika Matsumoto, and what Rubiss says is altered by how the Hero performs.

Novel
In Novel Dragon Quest, a novel based on Dragon Quest I, she is called The Spirit Goddess Rubiss and only appears by name. A white bird, said to be her messenger, appeared and gave the Chimaera Wings to Manuel, a clown from Kol, telling him to give them to the baby born in Damdara. In addition, the sage who delivered a map to Damdara was told to do so by a spririt, and the sage who delivered the Dieamend was told to do so by the god Mithras. It's unclear if there was a reason for the division of responsibilities between the deities, or if the deities simply didn't cooperate with each other.

Dragon Quest II
This is the first time that Rubiss is included in a game, although she only appears as a voice. After the Scions of Erdrick – Hero (Dragon Quest II), the Prince of Cannock and the Princess of Moonbrooke – collect the 5 Sigils, she will suddenly speak to the them out of nowhere when they enter her shrine named Rubiss Shrine located in the ocean "I hear a mortal voice calling me. 'Ah, three descendants of Erdrick.' 'Yes, I shall help thee.' 'I am Rubiss, an Enchanter, and long ago I promised Erdrick to help when the time came.' 'Now is the time.' 'Receive now my charm and my spell of protection'"

- Rubiss speaking to the Scions of Erdrick at her shrine

and then gives the Hero the Eye of Rubiss. In the Famicom version, the Hero has an inventory limit and Rubiss will show her mischievous side while also informing the Hero to make inventory space.

In remakes starting from the Super Famicom remake, upon defeating Malroth Rubiss will give the Scions of Erdrick a special message whenever they re-enter her shrine.

Novel
In Novel Dragon Quest, she does not appear when the Rubiss Charm is obtained. Instead, she assists the Scions of Erdrick in their final battle against Malroth. She also gives three women known as Blind Witches each a mission in their dreams to help the Scions of Erdrick.

Dragon Quest III
This is the first time Rubiss physically appears in a game. She was petrified by Zoma and sealed away in the Tower of Rubiss. When the Hero, titled Erdrick, thaws her with the Faerie Flute, she gives them the Seal of Rubiss and then tells the Hero that she will repay them if they succeed in defeating Zoma, implying that she will help the Alef and Scions of Erdrick who are the Hero's descendants.

The Seal of Rubiss is a "token of Rubiss' affection", leading to assumptions that she is therefore the love interest or potential wife of Erdrick. And if The Legend of the Spirit Rubiss can be treated as canon, it would mean that Rubiss has always been married to Erdrick and that she reaffirms are undying love for him throughout her many reincarnations.

Rubiss is depicted as an elf in remakes of Dragon Quest III and elves are larger than humans, including Rubiss and another elf called Aurhea. In the Dragon Quest XI Michikusa Adventure Guide, she is described as an older lady. And of course, she is older than entire world itself. It is also unclear whether or not the spirit who controls the Personality Test is Rubiss or a different spirit.

Novel
In Novel Dragon Quest, she is represented as a goddess who came from the heavenly world, similarly to the Dragon Queen. 800 years before Baramos brought disaster to the upperworld and she had an old wise man construct four towers, although the proved to be no use. When Rubiss is freed from her petrified state in the novel, she gives the Hero, named Arusu in the novel, the Seal of Rubiss and Auroral Armour. She appears only as a light to everyone except for Arusu. After Arusu is victorious and everything is over, Rubiss appears in the dreams of the Hero's Mother and informs her that Arusu and his party can never return to the upper world.

Game Book
In the game book, she appears in the dreams of King Lorik I and orders him to help the Hero. It leads to the King making many preparations to assist the Hero. Rubiss could not fight Zoma herself as she was far too powerful and the entire world would be destroyed in an instant. She is also allegedly the Hero of the lost continent of Mu.

Dragon Quest VI
While Dragon Quest VI is not a part of the Erdrick Series, and instead the Zenithian Series, Rubiss still makes an appearance. It is unclear as to whether they are the same "Rubiss", as no direct connection is established. And unlike DQ2 and DQ3, she does not make a direct appearance. However, there are many connections between Dragon Quest VI and Dragon Quest III, such as an illusion of Zoma appearing, Cloudsgate Citadel appearing in Dragon Quest III and background of the opening scene from Dragon Quest VI before they battle Murdaw in Murdaw's Keep and the background of the Dragon Quest III Personality Test being similar.

Rubiss has her own castle in Dragon Quest VI called Rubiss' Palace, where she quietly watches over the Hero under the sea. She is also the spirit that the residents of Weaver's Peak worship. And at the beginning of the story, she talks to the Hero through his sister Tania which leads him to depart and begin his journey. She is also the mysterious voice that talks to Nevan and Gallows Giant. Furthermore, she is the creator of the Ocarina which is a vital instrument to the story. At the end of the game, Rubiss' blessing prevents the Hero and his companions from being petrified. So while Rubiss had no direct appearances, she still had a significant indirect impact.

Novel
In Novel Dragon Quest, she operates in the same way as the game by overseeing the protagonists. She has the power of foresight but is limited in what she can say about the future.

CD Theatre
She mainly appears in the same form as in the game, but instead appears at the end of the first volume after the protagonists defeat Murdaw. She informs them of other demon lords and encourages them to continue fighting. The rest of her parts from the game are omitted, like when she talks to Nevan and her castle.

Dragon Quest VII
Although she never makes an appearance, the Eye of Rubiss appears in the remake. It makes the wearer completely immune to Kamikazee and Whack. Despite this being the only time her name appears in the game, she is indirectly referenced as the 'Spirit of the Earth' like in Dragon Quest XI. Dragon Quest VII is also related to the Erdrick Series and takes place after Dragon Quest II.

Dragon Quest XI
Despite Dragon Quest XI being a part of the Erdrick series, Rubiss does not make an appearance nor her name. Despite this, the relationship between Erdwin (an Erdrick) and Serenica reflects the romantic relationship that Rubiss has with Erdrick. It is unclear as to whether Serenica is a reincarnation of Rubiss, so it is more likely that Serenica is a separate person.

Even though Rubiss does not make an appearance, there are some hints of her existence throughout the game: Cobblestone Tor located in Cobblestone village is dedicated to the "Great Land Spirit", the Forging Hammer uses "the power of the Spirit of the Earth" and Gemma recites the poem regarding the Great Land Spirit at Cobblestone too: "'Humble folk of Cobblestone, Great Land Spirit's heart and home...'"

- Gemma, before entering Cobblestone Tor

There is a clear theme of indirectly referencing Rubiss as a spirit that created the land, which is also used in Dragon Quest VII. And Yggdragon, who created Erdrea along with the Watchers, is also reminiscent of Rubiss. Even if Rubiss does not appear, her presence is still symbolised and is consistent with her influence on the Erdrick series.

There is also the iconic Mark of Erdrick that is present on Erdwin's equipment, although no clear motif of Erdrick's mark is established in the game. It more so is there to embellish the legacy of Erdrick itself, as oppose to relating to its deeper meanings and connections. Another instance of the mark appearing is at The Crucible forge where the entire forge is shaped as the mark. The anvil for the forge is set in the middle of the mark and, of course, the hammer that is infused with Rubiss' power is used there.

Even though her existence in Dragon Quest XI is unclear, there is one other significant reminiscence of her and that is the Six Orbs, which also appear in Dragon Quest III, that are used at Yggdrasil's Altar in The First Forest in order to reach Yggdrasil. In The Legend of the Spirit Rubiss, these are the same orbs that Rubiss wears around her neck.

Dragon Quest Builders
Rubiss is a spirit that controls the light of Alefgard in Dragon Quest Builders. She is put on equal footing with the controller of darkness, the Dragonlord, who eventually becomes too powerful for Rubiss and disrupts the balance. She is the spirit who revives the Hero (the protagonist) as a Builder in order to create a pathway to create a new Hero. This is interesting as Rubiss is typically not able to create Heroes on the spot, so therefore it is ambiguous as to whether the Builder is also a true descendant of Erdrick or not.

While Rubiss comes across as very impatient and often ignores the Builder, she does offer advice to them. She is portrayed uniquely in this game, in that she serves as the Master of the Builder instead of a spirit who assists the Builder with her powers. When referencing the former Hero from Dragon Quest 1 who decided to side with the Dragonlord, she refuses to reference him as a Hero and instead as just a warrior. She expresses her disapproval of him and how his choice led to Alefgard falling into such a state of disrepair.

Although Rubiss is portrayed as a kind, omnibelevolent goddess, she often says and does things that makes human individuality seem unimportant to her. This is evident in her creating a Hero figure in the Builder for the sole purpose of creating an environment so that the Dragonlord can be defeated by a true Hero. This is also why saving the people in this version of Alefgard is not a priority to Rubiss, instead she stays hyperfocused on bringing peace to the future Alefgard in which the true Hero will be born. It means that there is a great distance between the citizens and their Goddess, Rubiss; in fact, Elle, a Nun in the game, says that she will no longer rely on deities including goddesses and spirits.

Rubiss also acts similarly to a dictator, as she essentially governs full control of the rescue mission of Alefgard. So much so that Rubiss essentially tells the Builder that they are not a real Hero repeatedly, orders them to do various tasks and all-around gives the impression that she has full authority of the Hero's decisions. She remains persistent about her plans until the very end. However, for reasons that are unclear, she seems worried about the Builder using up their remaining power and therefore disappearing.

However, when the Builder ignores Rubiss and declares that they will defeat the Dragonlord on their own, Rubiss seems to want to give up on the Builder. Yet, equally she seems sad and worried, but also astonished that the Builder goes ahead with it. She seems to feel some sort of amazement and affection for the Builder, as they valiantly fight the Dragonlord just like how a true Hero would after giving away their life for Rubiss.

If the Builder decides to side with the Dragonlord, Rubiss will appear unresolvably upset and will utter words to reflect her disappointed state.

Emblem of Roto
Rubiss is the creator and spirit of the earth. After the Mu Empire was obliterated, she sealed Imajin with a spell called Omega Ruler. The effect of the seal is nearly identical to Erdrick's Lantern in Dragon Quest XI. Thousands of years prior, in an era of ancient mythology, Rubiss ordered the ancestors of the Korpokkur to guard Lake Maju.

After being thawed from petrification by Arusu (Erdrick), she went to oversee his descendants as they fought various other demon lords. But in the meantime, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, was decaying by the hands of Gorgona. This leads to Rubiss' strength waning progressively, so she puts her soul into a fairy named Teeah and prepares to battle.

During the prologue of Volume 1, it mentions that those who bare the blood of Erdrick have returned to Alefgard under the guidance of Rubiss. When the demon lord resurrects once again, Rubiss informs Tao and the others about the World Tree, asking them to destroy the World Tree. After they destroy the World Tree, she asks all warriors of the world to unite and battle the demon lord.

After the defeat of all the demon lords, Rubiss exits Teeah and materialises as herself once again. Rubiss then grants Arus' wish in honour of his achievements. She then accepts Tao as an immortal spirit and returns to the heavens with them to assist in restoring the world. In addition to this, she refers to Teeah as a shell of her former self and convincing Arus to help her by offering him an immortal body, for him to be ranked as a spirit in the heavens and for him to be the ruler of earth.

Dragon Quest: Emblem of Roto - Heirs of the Emblem
As a result of various events that transpired, Rubiss is the indirect creator of both Zoma and Quinsolma.

Before Dragon Quest III, the Hero Alto and Zoma in his human form were supporting the mission to defeat Malroth. Rubiss was courted by Zoma, however Rubiss adamantly refused due to her position. This then led to Rubiss ultimately cutting off any form of romance Zoma had for her so that Rubiss could focus on the hero Alto. Zoma became jealous of Alto, who Rubiss became affectionate for and Zoma then uses the power of the Dark Orb. And after Alto slays Malroth, Zoma murders Alto leading to Zoma then becoming the Demon King and Rubiss creating the world of Alefgard to seal the Dark Orb in a different world. And Quinsolma's existence is essentially an offshoot of Rubiss' feelings for Zoma, whom Rubiss had previously cut off.

It could be argued that if Rubiss had played her role differently, she could have prevented all of the disasters that happen throughout the Erdrick series. But, she was simply doing her role and Zoma's jealous outburst can equally be blamed for these disasters as well. This could be the reason why Rubiss does not interfere too much with future heroes.

Legend in the Dark
Rubiss appears in the chapters of Ramia and Elevating Shoes. The former chapter is told from the perspective of the twins who protect Ramia's egg in Dragon Quest III and the latter is told from that of an Item Store owner: "When monsters cooperated with humans, she gave the Elevating Shoes to a Liquid Metal Slime."

Monster Story
Rubiss appears in the chapter titled Slime. The story is connected to Legend in the Dark, in that a kind Bubble Slime was cleansed by her and it became a Liquid Metal Slime, living in the heavens.

Item Story
In Item Story, Rubiss is referenced as both The Spirit Rubiss and The Spirit Goddess Rubiss. An according to one of the chapters, Ra's Mirror, she is a new deity who joined the gods shortly after the mirror was created. In the chapter regarding Elevating Shoes, we see how Rubiss is distressed by the invasion of demons into the new Alefgard that she created. She is upset by humans falling out with spirits and other humanoid creatures due to their disparity in power. So the Elevating Shoes were created to give humans unique powers.

Novel
In the novel that Saori Kumi wrote, it tells the story of Rubiss from before she became a goddess and was still a spirit. She is next in line to be the head of the Calichthys family, one of the five families that rule Eden, the World of Spirits. She is also a member of the Corydoras family, also one of the five families that rule, but as her mother is an earthling she is disqualified.

However, Rubiss' uncle Guamon, the current head of Calichthys and cousin of Dialt, misunderstands the oracle and attempts to force Rubiss to marry his other cousin Cryptocaryon, where she instead elopes with Dialt.

As Rubiss becomes a Goddess of Earth, Dialt is reincarnated throughout various ages bearing the title of Erdrick, engaging in countless battles against evil whom both Rubiss and Dialt were partially responsible for creating. It seems that they are on an everlasting quest to extinguish evil, and then they will be able to return as just a woman and man, thus being reunited.

However, despite Rubiss' loyalty to Erdrick, the reincarnations of Dialt have had romantic affiliations with other characters. Although, there are some elements of these other characters that reflect Rubiss, such as Princess Gwaelin who seems identical to Rubiss. This is reflected in various Dragon Quest 1 related media, including Dragon Quest Builders where Princess Gwaelin is petrified to the same effect as Rubiss once was. And upon her being thawed, Rubiss is then able to communicate properly with the Builder. So perhaps parts of the love story are reincarnated too.

Dragon Quest X
Rubiss appears in the event, Challenge Against Zoma. When the Hero goes to Zoma's Castle from Patty's Tavern, Rubiss will give you the Ball of Light. If the Ball of Light does not get used, then they will have to fight Dark Zoma. After defeating Zoma, you can talk to her, but she only glows and you can't see her. You can also unlock the Rubiss Robe Set.

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest
Rubiss appears in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest and says "'I am the spirit Rubiss.' 'Who watches over all of the earth.' 'And watches over the rhythms of time.'"

- Rubiss in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest

The characters that appear in the game are under the guidance of Rubiss.

Dragon Quest of the Stars
Rubiss appears in the event Guided by Rubiss' Light which comes with a gacha banner that yields many items infused with her power: In the aforementioned event, her story arc replicates that of hers in Dragon Quest III. She is petrified but does not remember why, and she then invites the Hero to go to Alefgard on a quest to experience what being a true Hero is like. If the Hero does something to upset Rubiss, such as answering with the wrong answer, she will zap the Hero with lightning and lecture them. She also does the same thing to Cyril.
 * Rubiss Bow
 * Rubiss Staff
 * Rubiss Shield
 * Rubiss Crown
 * Rubiss Robe Top
 * Rubiss Robe Bottom

Dragon Quest Walk
Rubiss appears in the Dragon Quest III collaboration event. It is the same as her story in Dragon Quest III, where she thanks the Hero for breaking her petrified state and gives them the Seal of Rubiss. In this game, she is depicted similarly to Celestrians and Angels.

Manga Excerpts
''Disclaimer: Please consider purchasing the works as we do not condone illegal redistribution of media. All excerpts here are in limited capacity to respect fair use.''

Novella Excerpts
''Disclaimer: Please consider purchasing the works as we do not condone illegal redistribution of media. All excerpts here are in limited capacity to respect fair use.''

Trivia

 * Rubiss has the same voice actor, Keiko Han, as Yggdragon from Dragon Quest XI
 * In the Famicom version of Dragon Quest III, discarding the Seal of Rubiss leads to her becoming petrified again and the Hero having to free her, regaining her seal
 * In Dragon Quest III, 'Rubiss' is one of the names that the Hero cannot be named
 * The most powerful sword in the Game Boy Colour version of Dragon Quest III is the Rubiss Sword
 * The names in The Legend of the Spirit Rubiss are based on fish genus and species. In Rubiss' case, she has two last names: "Apisto"「アピスト」, based on the Apistogramma fish genus, and "Calichthys" 「カリクティス」, based on the Callichthyidae fish species.