Messam Elmdore

Marquis Messam Elmdore de Limberry, also known as Marquis Mesdoram Elmdor, is the ruler of Limberry in Final Fantasy Tactics. He offers his body to the Lucavi demon Zalera to evade death. He is known as the "Silver Prince" by his allies, and the "Silver Demon" by his enemies. His Job, Ark Knight, is basically the Samurai with a different name. His birthday is May 21.

Story
Marquis Elmdore is a popular figure amongst the common people of Limberry even though he is a noble. He is also a devout member of the Church of Glabados. He serves as one of Duke Goltanna's loyal generals in the war.

Abduction by the Corpse Brigade
Elmdore is abducted by Corpse Brigade captain Gustav Margriff during a trip to Eagrose Castle. His servant, Argath Thadalfus, escapes and is rescued by Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral. Argath convinces the two to rescue the Marquis, despite orders from Ramza's brother Dycedarg to let him handle it. At the Sand Rat Sietch, Wiegraf Folles, leader of the Corpse Brigade, kills Gustav since he had acted without orders from Wiegraf who opposed the Marquis's kidnapping. When Ramza and Argath arrive, Wiegraf trades Elmdore for his own escape.

Joining the Lucavi
When the War of the Lions breaks out, Elmdore fights on the side of the Order of the Southern Sky. He is mortally wounded in battle, struck by a stray arrow, but because he was holding the Gemini Zodiac Stone, he does not die, but instead become a host to Zalera, one of the Lucavi demons. Now a part of the Lucavi plot, Elmdore is given two Ultima Demons disguised as human girls, Celia and Lettie, for servants. Elmdore joins his Lucavi allies, Wiegraf and Folmarv Tengille, who is really Hashmal, at Riovanes Castle.

On the castle's roof he comes across Grand Duke Gerrith Barrington trying to force Ramza to hand over a Zodiac Stone right after Ramza defeated Belias. Lettie throws Barrington off the roof, and Elmdore and Celia quickly join her to fight Ramza, who realizes Elmdore's true nature, remembering he was supposed to be dead. Despite the assassin girls' dangerous moves and Elmdore's use of the Sword Spirit powers of katanas, Ramza fends them off, and Elmdore retreats back to Limberry, telling Ramza to come as well.

Battle at Limberry Castle
As Ramza approaches the castle, Celia and Lettie attack with the help of many monsters, but Ramza forces them to retreat back inside, where Elmdore is meeting with Folmarv. The girls warn them of Ramza's approach, and Elmdore tells Folmarv to take care of resurrecting Ultima, while he would deal with Ramza. Elmdore, Celia, and Lettie confront Ramza and his allies in a hallway. Elmdore proves to be a dangerous opponent, but Ramza's forces kill Celia and Lettie. Elmdore rushes downstairs and summons several undead to help him. As Ramza enters the room, he transforms into Zalera.

Suddenly, Folmarv's daughter Meliadoul enters the room, and, witnessing Elmdore's transformation, realizes the truth about her father. She joins Ramza in battle against Zalera, and they kill the demon, thus destroying Elmdore as well.

Boss
Elmdore is fought twice as a boss in the story; the first at Riovanes Castle, and the second at Limberry Castle. At Riovanes, he is level 33 with 70 Bravery and Faith, and is equipped with the Muramasa, Black Cowl, Black Robe, and Nu Khai Armband. He has access to the Sword Spirit command of his job (which also grants him the Safeguard ability), and can also use First Strike, Doublehand, and Ignore Elevation. In this battle, he is immune to all negative statuses except Blind, Silence, Oil, and Slow. It is not necessary to KO Elmdore to end the battle; simply reducing either him or the two assassins to Critical will end the battle.

In the last battle with him at Limberry Castle, he is level 41 and comes equipped with a full set of Genji Equipment as well as the Masamune, which cannot be stolen in the original Japanese version or in the PSP remake. He has access to the Sword Spirit command still, but now comes with the Vampire command as well as the Master Teleportation, Brawler, and Shirahadori abilities. He is innately immune to the same statuses as before. Again, it is not necessary to KO Elmdore; simply reducing his HP by 80% will end the battle.

When fought in Rendezvous Missions #14: Brave Story, he is level 99 and starts with 70 Bravery and Faith. He comes equipped with the same equipment and abilities as before, and is still immune to the same statuses as before.

Trivia

 * Marquis Elmdore bears a slight resemblance to Sephiroth, both in appearance and backstory. Both also wield the Masamune.
 * There is a reference to him in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in the quest "Karlos' Day". His name is mentioned in the description of the quest in the pub.
 * Elmdore's Masamune and Genji Equipments during the battle at Limberry Castle were once the subject of debate of thievery. Despite the statement of the official Japanese guidebook, they cannot be stolen in the Japanese original version and PSP remakes, due to the hidden innate ability Safeguard of his job class. The English PS1 version made it possible even though the efficiency to steal them is extremely low. However, by reducing Elmdore's Brave stat (using the Oracle's Foxbird spell or Beowulf's Chicken), the chances of theft for all of the Genji equipment rises significantly.
 * Elmdore's death is noted in pubs. The player may check the Zodiac story character profiles to confirm the note of Elmdore's death. However, unlike most deceased characters, Elmdore's age at death will be shown in brackets instead of being completely absent.

Marquis Messam Elmdore