must I spend my life in servitude?

Hey and welcome to Pawn, a static tribute to the real, the funny, and the under-appreciated Adelbert Steiner of the ninth Final Fantasy. Yeah, to Steiner. Got a problem with that? ;) In a small collection of essays, I tried to analyze various aspects of Steiner's personality, but don't fear; there's a little media here for those of you who bore easily.

Even though this site is no longer updated, I don't have the heart to close it. Aside from being my first character shrine, Final Fantasy IX doesn't have much of a following online, and I believe that this is the only Steiner tribute left. I'm sure not going to be the one responsible for obliterating him from the web. ;)

Enjoy your stay, and if you think about it, let me know what you think in my network's guestbook before you leave!

The Basics

Adelbert Steiner, thirty-three years old, is the Captain of the Knights of Pluto. He pledged his life to Queen Brahne and Alexandria, and lives to serve her and protect Princess Garnet.

When Zidane and the rest of Tantalus "kidnap" Garnet, Steiner becomes willing to give his life to save his princess and return her to her proper home. In doing so he becomes quite an annoyance to Tantalus and many of the other characters, including Garnet. He eventually gets to a point where he deceives the group for his own intentions. He believes Zidane is evil, and attempts to do everything he can to get Garnet back to Alexandria and to Queen Brahne.

He has a love and respect for Princess Garnet and worries about her well-being, and while annoying, he only attempts to return the Princess to the Queen because he feels it's best for her. He's blinded by his own perception, and it leads to self doubt.

Ironic to his rough exterior, Steiner is really a sensitive man. He has feelings that he forces himself to get rid of because he feels he has to be strong for the Princess. Even with an ability to hide those feelings, he has constant inner battles with himself about his life and his purpose.

Steiner is also highly dramatic, bringing a lot of comedy to the game. He has a tendency to jump to conclusions without evaluating everything to the fullest, and it puts him and the rest of the party into trouble.

Steiner gets them out of that trouble a lot, though. Steiner is a very strong addition in battle by himself with his weapons, and teamed with Vivi, he has some of the strongest magical moves.

Steiner's important, he's funny, and he's interesting. He is clearly one of the more complex characters in the game.

Able to Adapt

For a moment imagine being Steiner. You go through each day the same way, taking an order, leading the Knights of Pluto, protecting the princess... You would become comfortable with your life, really, and it's not a stretch to think that Steiner did too.

Now imagine an outsider coming and taking your princess, your life, away. Your comfort zone has been invaded, buddy, and it's time to react.

Here's an understatement: Steiner hates change.

It's my theory that Steiner's reaction to change goes through various phases in different points in time. The first and most dominant of these is panic. Confusion follows, then determination, and finally acceptance.

Panic is a logical first reaction, and with it came anger. Steiner's life as he knew it was stolen, and all he could see through his blinded perception was that Zidane was responsible. I sympathize with Steiner, as I'd hate Zidane for the same reasons, too. It's difficult for Steiner to trust Zidane and his decisions even after Steiner learns the truth about Garnet because Steiner sees Zidane as the cause of the changes in his life. It's my opinion that Steiner thinks that getting rid of Zidane will bring an end to the increasing amount of changes in his life. Steiner thinks that without Zidane his life can finally go back to normal.

It becomes evident that Steiner's not an abstract thinker. In fact, he can't really see more than what's obvious to him at a given time. This way of seeing life brings on his confusion. He can't make sense of why Garnet would want to change her life, would actually want to run away from Alexandria, and he blames Zidane for the corruption of his princess. Instead of accepting Garnet's truth for what it was, Steiner decided that the princess herself must be confused. It's actually quite ironic.

Determination kicks in when Steiner decides for himself what is best for Princess Garnet. Zidane came and took the princess, corrupted her, and now she's confused. If only he could get her back to Alexandria, back to the Queen. Maybe everything will be all right. Maybe...

I think that Steiner wants more than anything for his life to go back to the way it was. He has a real problem accepting the changes in his life, and his natural inclination is to want to make everything okay, to take everything back in time. Unfortunately, going back won't solve anything, and that brings back his way of seeing life. Because Steiner couldn't see under the surface of things, he had no idea that the princess was unhappy. He had no idea that Alexandria wasn't what it was, and that Queen Brahne had changed. He has problems accepting the changes in his life, and while fighting his own inner battles, he turns to Garnet for inspiration. It's truly his admiration and will for her that keeps him strong.

After accepting the corrupted Alexandria and Queen Brahne for what they were, Steiner is given a new view of life. With it comes a new life for himself, and he's able to spend it with Beatrix.

Knight or Pawn?

Steiner's ongoing inner battle begins with his inability to separate his own life from work. He believes that his only purpose in life is to serve Queen Brahne and to protect Princess Garnet. He believes that so much, in fact, that he becomes blinded of his hopes and dreams.

The sad thing is I don't think Steiner really knows who he is as a person.

"Having sworn fealty, must I spend my life in servitude?"

Let's face it: Steiner's life is his job. And his life and loyalty are held by Queen Brahne. Steiner's not the knight he'd like to be. His knights don't respect him. They fear him, yes, but have never respected him. Part of the reason is Steiner's unwillingness –- or perhaps incapability – to make a decision. It's much easier for Steiner to just take orders from the Queen and pass them on. It keeps him safe.

That safety comes with a price, though, and instead of the knight he wants to be, Steiner is a pawn on Queen Brahne's giant chess board.

Steiner said he will do anything to protect Princess Garnet from harm, yet Steiner doesn't know where harm lies. He tricked the group into heading back to Alexandria, back to the Queen, and would have succeeded if it weren't for Zidane. He has it so messed up in his head, thinking Zidane is the root of evil, that he ends up hurting Garnet, and putting them in the way of the third Black Waltz.

As her pawn, Steiner can't accept the fact that the Queen is evil, and as a result he becomes an annoyance, if not an obstacle, to the group.

Future

When Steiner finds out the truth about Queen Brahne, he can't accept it. She was the Queen he pledged his life to, and a leader he trusted. He denies the facts for what they are throughout the game, but slowly, as any smart man would, begins to face them. He was a tool of Queen Brahne's—a pawn—and it kills him inside. He doesn't know how to feel or what to do.

So he doesn't let the truth affect him. I think he even tries to ignore it.

Princess Garnet breaks away his hard shell, though, and in serving her, he is finally able to see that she has grown up. And through her, he is finally able to accept the truth about his Queen and his kingdom.

Furthermore, he is able to accept and discover himself.

Serving Queen Brahne and Garnet was Steiner's life, and now that Queen Brahne had faltered, Steiner was finally forced to discover what else was left in his life for him.

And it gets really sweet.

His competitor Beatrix, the head of the Alexandrian Soldiers, tears away from her Queen later than Steiner does and struggles inside much like he did. They decide to look for what's left in their lives together, and in my opinion it'll be each other that they find. (I know it's cheesy, but I'm a romantic :).)

So what's ahead? Aside from a romance, I think that Steiner will finally be able to give up his naive nature. It's something that he will have to work at, but he's strong and has won so many inner battles throughout the game that I see it only as a next step. Steiner was lied to and used, and if a thing like that doesn't kill a person, it only makes him stronger.

I'm proud of Steiner. I think he's where he needs to be.

Important People

Okay, so Steiner's not exactly the friendliest person in Alexandria, and he is actually quite a nuisance to most people. Steiner has issues with almost everyone in his world, but why shouldn't he? It's part of what makes him interesting. :)

Garnet – Steiner's biggest problem concerning Garnet is that he smothers her. He feels that the way to protect the princess is to be near her at all times and to keep her from changing. He has a sworn obligation to give his life for her if needed, and as her protector and knight, he doesn't allow himself to develop a friendship until the end, which is what Garnet really wants. In my opinion Garnet has an ability to see through people and she saw through Steiner. She wants the best for him too, and tries to get him to be more than a knight, and to develop his own life.

Zidane – Steiner and Zidane didn't get along until near the end of the game when he helped him out when Zidane was emotional. Up until that point, Zidane saw Steiner as a pest, and Steiner saw him as an obstacle—and a target—to saving the Princess. Zidane attempted to prove himself and his intentions to Steiner time and time again throughout the game by fighting beside him, but stubborn, Steiner wasn't able to accept him.

Vivi – This relationship was really cute. Whether Steiner realized it or not, these two really had a lot in common. Steiner has nothing but respect for his "Master Vivi". The two seem to get along quite well which is odd as Steiner doesn't really get along with anyone. Both have inside battles, and instead of empathizing with Vivi for his, Steiner hides his own and tries to advise Vivi from a totally different perspective. I really think that at times in the game if Steiner would only have brought his worries about his life purpose and fulfillment to Vivi, both would have been better off having the other to relate to. In battle, the two have a joint attack that can be used when Steiner is playable that really hurts the enemy.

Queen Brahne – Steiner had the utmost loyalty for Queen Brahne and was blind to the fact that she was using him—as she did others—for her own purposes, and even tried to get rid of him. Steiner still admired her, and for the longest tried to restore Princess Garnet to her. (Why anyone would admire such an ugly thing beats me.)

Beatrix – Steiner and Beatrix were competitors in life. Beatrix led the Alexandrian Soldiers while Steiner led the Knights of Pluto, and they both tried to have better soldiers than the other, and tried to constantly out-do the other for the Queen. Unfortunately, they were both pawns of Queen Brahne. They both came to accept it, and when it was all over they started their lives over together.

Visual

Steiner images are really hard to come by, so you have to imagine my shock and excitement to find a collection of Steiner scans in my inbox from Alexandra. I've already used some of them in layouts (including the one you're looking at now) and icons, and now you can too. Feel free to use any of these anywhere. All I ask is that you not put them in a gallery as they were scanned specially for this shrine.

Site Stuff

Pawn was first uploaded in 2005--making this site almost five years old!--and since then it's moved around a bit and has gone through a few different layouts. I archived the site in October of 2009 on one page for easy browsing and editing. Although my interest in Final Fantasy IX has died, my love for this site has not, and it'll stay up for you all to enjoy for as long I'm maintaining websites.

I do not own Steiner or Final Fantasy IX. Both are property of Square-Enix. I'm not really looking to get sued, and you wouldn't want to sue me anyway because I don't have much. In all seriousness, I'm just a fan with a love for a great game and character (not to mention too much time on his hands). The textures used in the layout also aren't mine. They are from Hybrid Genesis and Discolore. Pawn, however, and all of the written content is mine (Todd) and is part of the Dragonzord collective.

My affiliates and related sites are linked below. If you have a Final Fantasy IX site and would like to affiliate, hit me up through e-mail.

And if you'd like to link Pawn for whatever reason, you can use one of the buttons below. (Just don't direct link my images!)

Listed at In the Fade and Amassment.