Power and Genius in Alefgard
					an essay by
					Joshua Kanary

The poor kingdom of Alefgard has faced some ferocious enemies since it was just a puddle in the palm of Rubiss's hand.  The two worst enemies are undoubtedly the Demon Lord Zoma and the self proclaimed king of kings, the Draco Lord.  Although one can say without contest that the Demon Lord Zoma was the most powerful enemy of Alefgard, even more powerful than the Draco Lord at his worst, was he truly the worst enemy?  I would like to plead the case of the Draco Lord and explain why he was a military genius and Zoma was just a pile of muscle with ego.
Now, I don't want to put the Demon Lord down.  Lord knows I don't need enemies like him.  In a straight up fight, Zoma would destroy the Draco Lord.  Although the Draco Lord had two forms, and thus two sets of hit points (204 in his first form and 360 in his second [Mawhinney, DW I&II, 2001] resulting in a total of 564), Zoma had nearly nine times as many hit points (4864 to be exact [Mawhinney, DW III, 2001]).  Even if the Draco Lord could inflict more damage than Zoma (which he can't), he would have a hell of a time destroying him.  So, kudos to Zoma and all the power he has gained in his battle to become the top Demon Lord.  However, the Draco Lord's power lies in his brains and not in his biceps.  In order to understand this, we need to look at the aftermath of all of his actions.
The Draco Lord pulled off two major offensives in one fell swoop.  First, he stole the Light Orb from Tantegel.  Second, he kidnapped Princess Lora and hid her away in a swamp cave guarded by a dragon.  It is obvious why the Draco Lord stole the Light Orb.  Without it, the kingdom fell out of balance.  Also, as long as it was in the Draco Lord's possession, it could never be used against him.  However, kidnapping Princess Lora and then hiding her away in a cave far from Charlock Castle is something that has baffled most people.
After the defeat of Zoma and the years and years of prosperity that Alefgard saw, the people were in the highest of spirits and were not ready to be easily defeated by another intruder, especially one that paled in comparison with the former Demon Lord.  By kidnapping Princess Lora, it did two things.  First, it destroyed the spirits of the people.  Enix's official website tells us that after Lora was captured, "even the bright and optimistic Lars found himself falling into hopeless despair."  He in such a state of hopeless despair that when the descendent of Loto appeared that "Lars almost sent the Great Hero of Alefgard away as a raving lunatic" (Enix 2001).
The second thing that the kidnapping of Princess Lora allowed for was a distraction from the plans he was going to pull off next.  Princess Lora was so loved by the kingdom that forces were sent out to find her.  These were forces that could've been used to storm Charlock Castle (which they would have if she had been hidden there).  These were also forces that could've been used to protect towns, such as the ill fated Domodora, from the onslaught of attacks that Draco Lord's followers would lead.
However, the Draco Lord was weak, and he knew this.  The hero still broke through his castle and stood face to face with him.  Zoma, being the big pile of ego that he is, just taunted the hero when he stood face to face with him.  The Draco Lord, on the other hand, knew he was beaten.  Thus, he offered half the world to this hero.  If the man prophesied to destroy you comes knocking at your door, you don't fight him, you join him.  Since joining him wasn't an option, the Draco Lord offered the hero a chance to join him.  Had it've worked, who knows the havoc that would've been wrought.  However, the hero defeated the Draco Lord and restored peace back to Alefgard.  The end?  No.  This is where the true genius of Draco Lord's plan comes in.  He knew all along he, personally, was beaten.  There was no way around prophecy.  So, he found himself a loop hole.
The Draco Lord could've attacked many towns in Alefgard and wiped them out.  Why Domodora? To figure this out, let's view Alefgard's towns one by one.  Tantegel and Tantegel Castle are the capital.  They are the governmental and militaristic centers of the kingdom.  To attack there would be silly because the main body of the military sits there waiting for an attack.  He would surely be defeated.  The next town is Garinham.  Here is a small village of artists.  There's nothing to gain by destroying Garinham other than wiping out a few people who don't pose a threat to begin with.  Kol is just a resort town with some nice baths.  Mercado is a fortress town that is protected by a Golem.  This leaves us with two towns that are the smartest choices for the Draco Lord:  Rimuldar and Domodora.  Why?  Along with Tantegel, they are the economic centers of town.
Rimuldar has a firm foothold in the key making business.  Plus, there are hordes of Goldmen in the Rimuldar area.  That gold used to form these Goldmen had to come from somewhere.  Thus, there must've been a ripe supply of gold somewhere in the area.  Domodora, although we don't see it in Dragon Warrior I, we do see it in III.  It is a bustling town with not only shops, but a large stable and houses being built on the outskirts of it, implying it was growing faster than it could expand its own walls.  A shopkeeper in the town owned Loto's Armor.  A shopkeeper who has enough money to afford Loto's Armor is a wealthy shopkeeper.  Domodora and Rimuldar were the Wall Streets of Alefgard.
Between these two, Domodora was the smartest choice.  Rimuldar was much too close to where he hid the Princess.  All the forces in Alefgard were looking for her there and could easily be called back to defend Rimuldar.  Domodora was on the other side of the kingdom and was wiped out before a message for help could reach the ears of the distant generals.  Because Domodora was defeated, Alefgard fell into ruin, and the Draco Lord was almost triumphant.
In the hundreds of years that passed between Dragon Warrior I and II, Alefgard's economy collapsed.  This is proof from the state it's in when the new descendants of Loto arrive.  Tantegel, which between Dragon Warrior III and I had split into a separate self sufficient castle and a self sufficient town, had joined back together into one tiny village and one small hardly impressive castle.  All other towns had disappeared.  Without Domodora, the kingdom's fate rested on Rimuldar.  One key making business is not enough to sustain an entire kingdom.  Mercado was probably the first to go.  The rich merchants of Domodora were gone and therefore not visiting the beautiful fortress of Mercado.  Kol had Rimuldar near by for all of its resort seeking merchants.  However, when the magic key was replaced by the silver, gold, and jailer's key standards, Rimuldar's key business came to an end, and so did Rimuldar.  With no one rich enough to afford the resort in Kol, it, too, disappeared.  Tantegel and Garinham were all that was left, and Garinham's already struggling artists found they could struggle no more.  The Draco Lord's plan was working even better than he could've expected if it wasn't for one fatal flaw.
The Draco Lord knew he would be defeated.  It was stated in prophecy.  However, the prophecy spoke nothing of his descendants.  With Alefgard's economy collapsing, it would be easy for even the Draco Lord himself to conquer it in one swift campaign.  However, the fatal flaw that the Draco Lord never counted on was that his great grandson would be a pacifist.  The crown of the House of Lorik was within his grasp, but this descendant would have none of it.  Thus, the Draco Lord's genius is laid to waste because of one peace minded child.
Zoma may have wreaked havoc on the Kingdom of Alefgard, but he never came close to destroying it the way the Draco Lord did.  Brains are stronger than brawn and the pen is truly mightier than the sword.  This can really be seen in the differences in Alefgard between the Dragon Warriors.  After Zoma, Alefgard prospered and grew and saw no ill effects from the Demon Lord that haunted Charlock Castle.  It is after Draco Lord that one sees that falling Alefgard takes more than a mighty a demon.  It takes cunning and patience.  This, the Draco Lord had and Zoma did not.