Kain Highwind

"The solitary, gentle-souled dragon knight whose heart lies with the dragons."

Commander Kain Highwind of the Baron Dragoons is a playable character in Final Fantasy IV. He is a Dragoon from the kingdom of Baron, and is Cecil Harvey's childhood friend. He also has feelings for Rosa Farrell, Cecil's girlfriend.

Final Fantasy IV


Kain was born in Baron to the Commander of the Dragoons, Richard Highwind. His father was particularly active, but died suddenly one day while Kain was still young, sprouting rumors that he may have been assassinated. Kain was then raised with Cecil by the King of Baron. Kain wasn't too fond of Cecil at first, since Cecil was treated like a son by the king. It was often Rosa who would stop the two of them from fighting.

The king wanted Kain to become a Dark Knight like Cecil was, but Kain wished to follow in his father's footsteps down the path of the Dragoon in order to defend the castle. He cared for his father's dragon, who grew weak but still faithfully awaited his master's return. The Dragoons were on the verge of disbanding after Kain's father's death but reformed when they saw the devotion of both the dragon and Kain. Kain was eventually appointed the Commander of the Dragoons. As the adventure opens, Kain tries to defend Cecil after Cecil was discharged from the command of the Red Wings. Cecil was ordered to deliver a Ring to the village of Mist, and slay the Eidolon Mist Dragon in the Misty Valley that blocks the way. Kain is ordered to accompany him.

The next morning, Cecil and Kain left for Mist. They passed through the Misty Cave, a cave shrouded in mist. A voice ordered them to return to Baron. However, when Cecil and Kain refused, the mist gathered and the pair had to fight the Mist Dragon. After having defeated the creature, they headed towards Mist. When they arrived, the package they were supposed to deliver opened automatically, and bombs flew out and burned the village. Cecil and Kain found a little girl and her dead mother, the summoner who conjured the Mist Dragon and died when the Eidolon was slain. While Cecil and Kain discussed the fact that they must have defeated the Mist Dragon and thus accidentally killed her mother, the girl blamed them for the death of her mother. Cecil and Kain offered to take her to safety after pledging not to follow anymore orders from the king, but she wouldn't listen. She summoned Titan and caused an earthquake that sparked an avalanche, which separated Mist from the rest of the valley.

After this event, Kain's whereabouts were unknown. It was assumed that he returned to Baron, and encountered the new Lord Captian of the Red Wings -- Golbez. Kain is then placed second-in-command to Golbez. It is unknown whether or not he decided to do this of his own free will, or whether he is forced by Golbez and the king. However, he did eventually fall under Golbez's control. He was next seen in Fabul during the war for the Crystal of Air. It is here that he dueled with Cecil and won. Golbez then entered and stole the Crystal, and took Rosa as a hostage.

After this event, Kain was assigned to guard Rosa in the Tower of Zot, a task he did faithfully in order to remain near Rosa. He issued an ultimatum to Cecil: Bring Golbez the Crystal of Earth or Rosa dies. Cecil obliged and brought Golbez the Crystal of Earth, and Kain guided him to the Tower of Zot. However, Golbez decided not to exchange the Crystal for Rosa. As a result, Tellah attacked Golbez out of vengeance for his daughter Anna, and casted Meteo on him. This Meteo not only weakened Golbez, but also released Kain from Golbez's control. Kain then rejoined Cecil's party, and accompanied him to rescue Rosa. He revealed his secret love for Rosa here, and apologized. However, Rosa forgave him and invited him to fight alongside them, to which Kain agreed. However, they could not escape the tower without fighting Valvalvis, the Fiend of Air. Rosa casted the Exit spell and the party was warped to Cecil's room in Baron.

Cecil's party was worried, as Golbez now possessed all four Crystals. However, Kain spoke of the Dark Crystals, which were in the hidden in the Underworld. These Crystals had only been rumored to exist, but Golbez knew of these rumors. Kain then explained that Golbez needed the Crystals to open "the way to The Moon." Cecil decided that his party had to head underground to protect the remaining Crystals. Kain showed Cecil the Key of Magma, which could be used to enter the Underworld. Cid Pollendina told the party that the Enterprise was back in Baron due to a remote control feature it had. The party then headed for the town of Agart and threw the Key of Magma in the well, which opened the way to the Underworld. The party entered the Underworld via the Enterprise, however, they were too late. The Red Wings had already begun battling with the tanks that the Dwarven used for war. The Enterprise was damaged in this battle, and Cecil's party had to seek help from the Dwarves in their castle. There, they met King Giott, the ruler of the Dwarven. He asked the party for help, and they agreed. However, Cid had to take a leave of absence in order to repair the Enterprise and wrap its body in Mystic Silver, which could be used to help the Enterprise withstand the intense heat. Yang Fang Leiden sensed something in the Crystal Room behind the throne, and Giott opened it up for Cecil's party to check out. There, they found Luca's dolls, together known as the Calbrena, under Golbez's control. Cecil's party defeated them. Afterwards, Golbez himself showed up. He put the party in a magical hold that ensured they would not move. He then summoned a monster, the Shadow Dragon, which proceeded to eliminate each party member one by one except Cecil. However, the Mist Dragon appeared and defeated the Shadow Dragon. Cecil was then able to move, and Rydia, the girl Cecil and Kain found in Mist, suddenly appeared and defeated Golbez. The party, Cecil and Rosa in particular, were happy to see Rydia, and she offered her help, which Cecil accepted. Golbez, now weakened to the form of a hand, was able to steal the Crystal and escape.

It was decided that the party would head for the Tower of Babel in order to get the other Crystals back. The party snuck in, and found Dr. Lugae, a scientist under Golbez working with Rubicante, the Fiend of Fire. Rubicante was teleported somewhere unknown, and Cecil's party disrupted and defeated Lugae. Afterwards, the party found the key to stopping the Super Cannon. When they reached the Super Cannon, however, its operators would not go down without a fight and made the cannon seemingly indestructible. Yang had to stop the cannon himself, and was left for dead.

Golbez cought the party escaping from the tower, and made them fall off a bridge. Luckily, Cid caught them on the Enterprise before falling into the lava. However, all was not well. The Red Wings were chasing the Enterprise, and Cid had to sacrifice himself to save the party and the airship, which escaped the Underground back into the Upper World. Before he jumped off the Enterprise, however, he asked Cecil to return to Baron and talk to his workers. Cecil did so, and the workers attached a hook to the airship, which could used to pick up and carry the Hovercraft. This method would be used to enter Cave Eblana.

In the cave, the party found Rubicante again, engaged in a fight with Edge, the Ninja prince of Eblan. Edge was ultimately defeated by Rubicante. The party tried to convince him to join them, but Edge did not want help. Still, this did not stop Rydia from crying when she reminisced upon the death of Tellah, and the assumed deaths of Yang and Cid. Edge, a womanizer, then agreed to join because he didn't like seeing Rydia, a "pretty girl," cry. The party entered the upper half of the Tower of Bab-il and found Edge's parents at the top. However, they were murdered by Rubicante and transformed into monsters by Lugae. They attacked the party, but Edge eventually brought them to their senses. Rubicante then appeared and attacked the party. The party defeated him and entered the Crystal Room, where they fell back to the Underground and found a new airship: the Falcon.

The Falcon could not fly over the lava, so the party headed back to the Dwarvens' Castle and visited King Giott, who said that it was time to defend the last Crystal in the Sealed Cave. He gave Cecil's party the key to opening the cave, which was the necklace of his daughter Luca. In order to get the Falcon to fly over the lava, Cecil headed for the hospital to find a recovering Cid. He remodeled the airship for the party, so it would be able to fly over the lava.

The party headed for the Sealed Cave and opened it. They worked their way to the bottom where they found the Crystal. However, they could not escape without defeating a wall which tried to crush them. After this encounter, Golbez called out to Kain, who became possessed by Golbez once again and was order to steal the Crystal. He did so and then ran off with it. He was not seen again until after the party destroyed the Giant of Babel. It was here that Golbez realized that he was Cecil's brother, and that he was being controlled by Zemus. The party headed back to The Moon, and made their way to the Lunar Subterrane to find FuSoYa and Golbez fighting Zemus. They defeated him, but they could not defeat the manifestation of Zemus's hatred, Zeromus. Cecil, Kain, Rydia, Rosa, and Edge had to defeat Zeromus, with some help from their friends in Mysidia.

Kain was one of the only characters not to attend Cecil and Rosa's wedding. He felt tremendous guilt about his unintentional acts of treachery and blamed his own weakness. Instead, he climbs Mt. Ordeals to undergo a spiritual trial similar to that which Cecil went through when he became a Paladin, with the hope of becoming a great Dragoon worthy of his father's legacy. No one had heard from him since.

In the Advance release of the game, Kain, along with several other characters, undergoes a “Lunar Trial”, but his is much more character based than the other characters. Kain awakens alone in Baron to find the town has been plagued by a series of murders from an assailant jumping from roof to roof, wielding a lance. Agreeing to help Cecil and the guards investigate, Kain is plagued nightly by mysterious dreams, and keeps finding a lance soaked in blood lying in his room. Eventually, Kain is apprehended for the attacks, but he unmasks the true culprit shortly after. The next night, Kain follows Cecil in the Serpent Road room to find a mirrored chamber, with Cecil unconscious and Rosa tied up. A cloaked figure, the true assailant, emerges from the mirrors and tells Kain it is the embodiment of his dark desires, and urges them to fulfil them and kill Cecil. Refusing, the figure casts off their cloak to reveal themselves as Kain’s dark doppelganger, which later transforms into Lunar Bahamut. Kain defeats Lunar Bahamut and acquires his ultimate weapon as a prize.

Final Fantasy IV: The After


When the Mysterious Maiden attacks the Blue Planet, Porom leaves for Mt. Ordeals to find Kain, who eventually betrays her by taking the Water Crystal and giving it to Mysterious Maiden to willingly offer his services to her. Acting as her enforcer, Kain makes his way to Fabul leading the Red Wings, battling Yang before leaving escaped with the Wind Crystal.

Equipment and Stats
Kain's physical stats are heavily weighted. He can equip all spears, axes, shields, helmets, armor, gloves, and most swords, tunics, and rings. He is unable to use any kind of magic, and has 0 MP. In the DS version he gains MP, but has the lowest growth rate in the final party due to an inability to naturally make use of it.

Abilities
Kain's special ability is Jump, which allows him to deal extra damage via an aerial attack. While Kain is airborne, he avoids attacks.

In the Game Boy Advance version of the game, by performing Kain's Lunar Trial and defeating Lunar Bahamut, Kain receives the Dragoon Gauntlets which gives him Double Jump. This allows him to do double damage and also come back down in 1/4 the normal time.

Etymology
Kain references to Cain, the brother of Abel in the Torah and the Bible's book of Genesis. Cain became the first murderer by killing his brother out of jealousy stemming from the fact that God chose Abel's gift over that of Cain and from the fact that Abel was favored more by their parents, Adam and Eve.

Trivia

 * Kain's Lance, a common spear in later installments of the series, is named after him.
 * Kain's father Richard is likely a reference to Final Fantasy II, as there was a Dragoon with the name Ricard Highwind. This connection is strengthened in the DS version, where Kain states his father died fighting an evil empire.
 * In Final Fantasy II, there is a boy named Kain, whose father was also a Dragoon.
 * In Final Fantasy V, when Bartz dons the Dragoon job he wears Kain's armor with similar colors.
 * In Final Fantasy IX, there is also a character named Kain Highwind, and a lance that carries his name.
 * His ultimate weapon in the Game Boy Advance version is called Abel's Lance, a reference for the mentioned biblical etymology of Cain and Abel.
 * The original Final Fantasy IV logo features an illustration of Kain drawn by Yoshitaka Amano.