Baron (Final Fantasy IV)

Baron (バロン Baron) is a location in Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years .It is the homeland of Cecil Harvey, Kain Highwind, Rosa Joanna Farrell and her mother, and Cid Pollendina and his daughter. It is a powerful monarchy and one of the largest cities on the planet, with a sprawling town and looming castle. Baron is one of the only nations in the world with the technology to build airships thanks to the research done by Cid, and has an elite squadron known as the Red Wings initially commanded by Cecil. The Dragoons are entrusted with defending the castle and are led by Kain. Baron also trains a squadron of Black and White Mages, and the White Mages are led by Rosa. Baigan is the Captain of the Guard. The Devil's Road leads from Baron to Mysidia, and the Ancient Waterway connects the city to the castle. The town of Baron also is one of the four towns in the world with a Training Room.

History of Baron
Baron is a very old nation, and was founded 800 years before the events of Final Fantasy IV. The land Baron was established on was abundant in natural resources, and it quickly developed into a blossoming city-state. A parliamentary government was quickly established, although only the state's most influential families were permitted to vote. Industry and agriculture quickly became the chief Baronian exports.

The rule by the people lasted for some 300 years. However, internal strife began to form within factions of Parliament. At first, matters were only political, but civil war soon broke out. A conflict known as "The Blood Stained Three Days" lasted for several days. The violence eventually settled by ancestors of the current King of Baron, and the family was crowned as the first royal family of Baron. Baron officially became a nation-state.

Fifty years after the crowning of the King of Baron, there were talks about establishing a much needed army. The King of Baron would install what would become the first of the Eight Corps of Baron: his Personal Guard Corps, whose sole duty was to protect him. It can be assumed that Baigan's ancestors were at its head.

300 years before the events of Final Fantasy IV, a merchant ship from the small nation of Mysidia arrived at Baron and soon discovered its new military power. As a result, Baron soon became a very feared nation. Also, the Dragoon Corps were founded at this time by Kain's ancestors. 150 years after that, a security treaty between Baron and Mysidia was established, allowing for the creation of the Devil's Road.

Final Fantasy IV
Baron was once ruled by a benevolent king, who took Cecil and Kain under his wing and raised them as his children. Cecil was trained as a Dark Knight, while Kain decided to become a Dragoon in the mold of his father. Cecil was eventually made captain of the Red Wings. However, the king was eventually killed by Cagnazzo, one of the Archfiends, who took the throne himself, unbeknowst to the people of Baron. One day, Cecil was asked to retrieve the Crystal of Water in Mysidia. He did so, but questioned why he had to rob from innocent people. As a result, he was dismissed from his post, and ordered to hunt Eidolons in the Misty Valley, and to deliver a Ring to the village of Mist. Kain was instructed to accompany him. The package contained Bombs which would burn Mist down.

Kain eventually returned to Baron without Cecil. When he got there, he found out that Cagnazzo (disguised as the king) appointed a man named Golbez to lead the Red Wings, and Kain was brought under his control and made second in command. Rosa was worried about Cecil, and ran off to look for him. Cid had developed a new airship, the Enterprise, but would not allow the king to use it for malevolent purposes. As a result, Cid was arrested. Golbez and Kain led the Red Wings into wars with Damcyan and Fabul for the Crystals of Fire and Air, respectively. They succeeded both times.

Cecil, after becoming a Paladin, eventually returned to Baron via Devil's Road with Palom, Porom, and Tellah. When they got there, they learned about what happened since Cecil last left, and Cecil was not allowed into the castle. They found Yang at the town's inn who had also been brainwashed by Golbez. He and his guards attacked Cecil's party, but Yang was eventually brought to his senses. He also found the Key of Baron in his pocket, which the party then used to open the Old Water Way and head to the castle in order to rescue Cid. There, they met Baigan, who was apparently not under Golbez's control. However, Palom and Porom discovered that he was deceiving them, and Cecil's party had to defeat him. They then found Cagnazzo and defeated him as well, rescuing Cid. However, Cagnazzo attempted to pull one last trick up the party's sleeve. He made the walls in the antechamber of the throne room cave in, thus forcing Palom and Porom to petrify themselves to save the party. Cid then took the party to where he hid the Enterprise, and launched it.

After rescuing Rosa and defeating Barbariccia, she warped the party to Cecil's room in Baron where Kain (now back to his senses) told the party that they needed to obtain the Dark Crystals from the Underworld. Kain showed them the Magma Stone, which could be used to find the entrance to the Underworld. Cid brought the Enterprise back to Baron via remote control.

After escaping from the Underworld, Cecil flew back to Baron, where Cid's workers installed a hook on the Enterprise so the party could carry the Hovercraft to new locations such as the Eblan Cave and the Adamant Isle Grotto. After visiting the Feymarch, the party can return to Baron and go to the basement to see the ghost of the real king of Baron. He was actually the legendary knight Odin, and he challenged the party to a battle, after which he offered his power to Rydia so she could summon him.

At the end of the game, Cecil and Rosa are married and take the throne of Baron as the new King and Queen. All the living characters in the game except Kain attend. Kain is off training on Mount Ordeals.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Baron is invaded by monsters at the start of the game led by the Mysterious Maiden. The Maiden attacks Cecil with Bahamut defeating him almost instantly. When Cecil's son Ceodore arrives back at Baron he finds the castle guards have been replaced with monsters and Cecil is under the Maiden's control. Later when Yang and his daughter Ursula return to Fabul they find it under attack by a fleet of Red Wings led by Kain Highwind. Edward talks to Cecil in Baron and notices his strange behavior. Later, he finds Damcyan under attack from the Red Wings.

Ceodore and the Mysterious Man arrive at Damcyan and is joined by Edward on his return to Baron. When they arrive at Baron Cid and Rosa join Ceodore's party only for Rosa to be kidnapped by Kain. They chase him into the castle where it is revealed that the Kain holding Rosa hostage is actually his darkside who defeated the original Kain on Mount Ordeals and the Mysterious Man is the real Kain. After a duel with his darkside Kain emerges victorious and becomes a Holy Dragoon.

The other characters then travel around the world gathering Eidolons to undo the barrier around the castle preventing them from entering. Inside the castle Ceodore and his party do battle with Cecil and Odin, the present king and former king under the Maiden's control. During the battle Odin comes to his sense and knocks Cecil out freeing him from the Maiden's control.

Baron is visited one last time in the ending where Cecil and Ceodore have a duel to see how strong Cedore has become. The outcome doesn't matter as it's just a friendly spar. Kain has become the new leader of the Red Wings and wishes to help Ceodore obtain his proof of Knighthood.

In the castle
(Note, in the beginning of the game, players can only get 1 Cure1, 1 Tent, and 300 GP in the SNES version. In the DS version, this changes to 1 Ether, 1 Tent, and 480 Gil)

In the castle

 * 500 accumulated gil
 * Potion
 * Tent
 * Phoenix Down
 * Decoy
 * Hi-Potion X2
 * Red Fang
 * Ether
 * Echo-Herbs
 * Bacchus's Wine
 * Heavenly Wrath
 * Remedy
 * Bomb Crank
 * Phoenix Down
 * Hermes Sandals

In town

 * 2000 accumulated gil
 * Potion
 * Hi-Potion
 * Artic Wind
 * Spider's Silk
 * Unicorn Horn
 * White Fang
 * Dry-Ether
 * Potion

Final Fantasy IV
(Note: In the beginning of the game, only the Item Shop can be accessed.)

DS Formations

 * Floating Eye x3
 * Floating Eye x2, Sword Rat
 * Helldiver x4
 * Goblin x4
 * Goblin x3, Sword Rat

Outdoors (Return of the Moon)

 * Bloodbones x2, Lilith
 * Bloodbones x2, Soul x2
 * Bomb x2, Gray Bomb x2
 * Cave Bat x3
 * Cockatrice x2, Gargoyle
 * Cockatrice x3
 * Domovoi x4, Goblin x2
 * Gargoyle x2

Castle - Observation Platform (Return of the Moon)

 * 1) Belphegor (Event)
 * 2) Ahriman, Spirit x3 (Event)
 * 3) Stratoavis, Cockatrice x3 (Event)

1F - 3F

 * Cave Bat x3
 * Gargoyle x2
 * Gatlinghog x2, Sword Rat x2
 * Ghoul x3, Revenant
 * Lilith

B1F - B2F

 * Gargoyle x2
 * Gatlinghog x2, Sword Rat x2
 * Ghoul x3, Revenant
 * Lilith

Outside (Last of the Red Wings)

 * Bomb x2, Gray Bomb x2
 * Cockatrice x2, Gargoyle
 * Cockatrice x3
 * Cockatrice x3, Zu
 * Domovoi x4, Goblin x2
 * Gatlinghog x3, Sword Rat x2
 * Gargoyle x2
 * Domovoi, Gatlinghog (Event)
 * Flamehound (Event)

Outside (Return of the Dragoon)

 * Fell Turtle x2, Ice Lizard x2
 * Frostbeast x2
 * Hellflapper x2
 * Naga x2
 * Goblin Captain x4
 * Flamehound x2
 * Gremlin x2, Goblin Captain x2
 * Goblin Captain x3, Black Lizard

Music
The background music that plays inside Baron Castle is called "Kingdom Baron", while the track that plays in the town of Baron is Final Fantasy IV's "Town Theme".

Trivia

 * In the Dawn of Souls and 20th Anniversary remakes of the original Final Fantasy, Baron is one of the automatic names the player can choose for the Warrior job.
 * Baron is mentioned in Final Fantasy Tactics, in its history records.