Wyvern tail

White wyvern tail.

The elegant, white flower that is a symbol of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque.

Mysteries of the Realm

The wyvern tail (飛竜草, hiryūsō?, lit. flying dragon grass), also known as Eitrfoetida, is a typically white flower held in as a symbol of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque in Final Fantasy XVI. The flower appears to have special significance to Dion Lesage, the son of Holy Emperor Sylvestre Lesage, and represents Dion's complicated relationship and love for his father and country.

See also: Dragon Grass or Flower (symbolism)

Characteristics

A field of purple wyvern tails.

The wyvern tail is a large, usually white flower, though when it grows in the wild, it can grow purple. The varieties cultivated in gardens across Sanbreque are white, and symbolize the empire. When found growing in the wild, it grows in vast fields in rocky areas of otherwise marshy terrain. The flowers have black roots used to make ink for tattooing, once a popular practice among the tribes of the Northern Territories, even if the resultant ink is known to be venomous.

The cultivated, white variant of the wyvern tail is used as a symbol for the empire of Sanbreque. To Dion Lesage, the wyvern tail represents the trust his father the holy emperor placed in him and his duty to the realm. When the Mothercrystal of Twinside, Drake's Tail, defends itself against Bahamut, it assumes the shape of wyvern tail after peering into Dion's tortured mind.

Sylvestre pins a wyvern tail onto Dion to compel loyalty.

During Dion's interactions with his father, Sylvestre commonly pins a wyvern tail onto Dion's person, seemingly to command loyalty to himself and the nation from his son, who resents being treated as a tool of war rather than a family member. Dion has a wyvern tail on a vase on his desk at the camp where he and his soldiers take part in the wars against Kingdom of Waloed and the Dhalmekian Republic, likely as a reminder of his duty. He discards it in anger after learning that Sylvestre has knocked him down the line of succession in favor of Dion's half-brother, Olivier. Conversely, Anabella Rosfield's callous treatment of a wyvern tail blossom symbolizes how she does not care for what the flower represents, to Dion or to the empire.

When Dion gets a chance to reunite with his childhood tutor, Harpocrates II Hyperboreos, the historian presents Dion with a purple wyvern tail. Dion is amazed as he had only ever seen white variants. Harpocrates explains that the roots of both appear identical, and only when the plant blossoms will its variant reveal itself, making an allegory to how Dion, likewise, is not defined by his roots: a wild wyvern tail is said to represent Dion's brilliance, resilience, and independence.

The poison ink used for branding Bearers is derived from the black roots of the wyvern tail. The flower's gall is a strong toxicate, when digested it will lead to long-lasting stomach cramps and if applied onto wounds, will result in death.

The wyvern tail is not analogous to any real-world flower, though could be seen as superficially similar to the ghost orchid.

Etymology and allusion

[view · edit · purge]A wyvern is a medieval European mythological winged creature with a dragon's head, reptilian body, two legs (sometimes none), and a barbed tail. They appear in many crests of Europe's ancient families, symbolizing strength. The word wyvern comes from wivere, which means serpent.

Many things in Valisthea are named after dragons, and especially so in the Holy Empire of Sanbreque. Coincidentally, Clive Rosfield's name in the Bastards was "Wyvern".

In Japanese, the flower is named "flying dragon grass". Dragon Grass is a medicinal feed for dragons in Final Fantasy V that is yet poisonous for humans.