White Dragon Nall
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Nall is the name of a character from the video game series, Lunar.
Supposedly a flying cat, Nall is the bratty side-kick of Lunar: The Silver Star Story's hero, Alex. During the game, Nall's origins become complicated and he is eventually revealed to be a baby white dragon, heir to one of the four dragons that guard the Goddess Althena. In Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, Nall is one of the three cameo appearances from Lunar 1. Far more than making a token appearance, Nall receives a starring role and his character gets an over-haul. He is able to shape-shift into a punker-style teenage boy, an image to reflect his continuing immature and irreverent attitude. But as far as 1000 year old dragons go, Nall has been forced to grow up all too soon as world events in both games drag Nall center-stage. His childish behavior is accented on occasion by piercing wisdom. His "I don't care" attitude is subverted in Lunar 2 by the fact that he runs an orphanage in the style of Never Never Land -- where teenagers act like children because they have been allowed to freeze childhood in a pitiful but powerful attempt to preserve innocence. It could be argued that Nall's orphanage is an extreme and psychologically unhealthy response to a Lunar that is fraught with turmoil. But on the other hand, no matter how dark things get in Nall's world, the sun is always shining over anything he has control over. Story writers show an express interest in adding depth to Nall this time around. Gamers get to see the same old Nall from the first game, but they also get to see Nall as the somber, loving-caretaker; the wise sage; the cautious protector; the sad brooder; the raging dragon; the love-struck blind teenager; school teacher; and once, during the climax of his character-development, the old man who has outlived his own age. Some powerful themes the writer's use Nall to confront: powerlessness, notions of childhood, immortality, historical witness, appearance vs. truth, bearing legacies, cultural (and temporal) displacement. If Nall was a two-dimensional, likeable headache in Lunar: Silver Star Story, he comes alive in brilliant relief in Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, stealing the show with Ghaleon.