Ouryu

Notes:
 * Title Obtained: Ouryu Overwhelmer
 * Appears in the following BCNMs: Ouryu Cometh
 * Appears in Promathia Mission 4-2: The Savage
 * Ouryu's special attacks include: Wyrm special attacks, Draw-In, Invincible, Absolute Terror (ranged Terror attack), Geotic Breath, Ochre Blast, Touchdown, Stonega III, Stoneskin, Break, Breakga
 * Ouryu is susceptible to: Sleep, Lullaby, Silence, Gravity, Blind, Paralyze
 * Mistmelt, obtained from the quest Fly High will help keep Ouryu on the ground.

Historical Background
Ouryu

In East Asian mythological cosmology, there is in some cases a 5th Shijin, a Guardian Beast of the directions (the other Shijin are Genbu, Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku). The Eastern system has 5 directions (North, South, East, West, Center) and 5 elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, Earth). This Shijin takes those final qualities. The Guardian of the Center is the Golden Dragon or the Yellow Dragon. The Yellow Dragon is connected with the direction Center, the change of seasons (or Late Summer), the element Earth, and the color yellow. Its Chinese name is Huanglong (sometimes Huang Long, huang "yellow" + long "dragon"). The Huanglong emerged from the sea to teach the art of writing to the emperor, creating written history for the first time. It should be noted the Japanese cosmology does not have this 5th Shijin. The 5th element in the Japanese elemental system is Void, which leads to there being no animal representing it. However, the Japanese counterpart to the Huanglong is considered to be the Ouryu, though there are notable differences between the two, there are some similarities.

In Japanese folklore, the Ouryu (ou "king" + ryu "dragon") were the highest, most mature form of a dragon. In other words, the Ouryu was the pinnacle of the dragon life cycle. After 500 years, a normal dragon would become a Kakuryu (horned dragon), but after a period of 1000 years, a Kakuryu becomes a Ouryu (dragon king). These Ouryu were considered sacred, having 'flame-like' wings and worked for the Japanese emperors. Online searches for "Ouryu" turn up very little, however searches for Ryuu-ou, Ryuuou, Ryuou turn up much more. Ryu-ou ("dragon king") also refers to Pre-Buddhism era folklore dragons. These dragons could live in water and have the power to control rain. They were occasionally depicted as humans with snake tails, or humans wearing a dragon's hood or snake's hood (something which would probably resemble Kain the Dragoon from Final Fantasy IV). After Buddhism become a prominant religion in Japan, the Ryu-ou came to be depicted as attendants of Buddhist deities. They served the role of protectors of the Buddhist faith. They were shown as dragons or humans with a serpent forming a crown on their head. It should be noted Ryuuou was the name of the final boss of the first Dragon Quest (1986), which was released by Enix. When Dragon Quest (renamed Dragon Warrior) was released in the United States, Ryuuou was renamed Dragon Lord. Ouryu was created/implemented after Square-Enix had merged.

If Ouryu were to be backtranslated into Chinese, the equivalent of "dragon king" in Chinese folklore is Long Wang. These were a category of dragons which ruled the seas. They lived in crystal palaces on the ocean floor, guarded by shrimp soldiers who were commanded by crab generals. They ruled over all the creatures of the sea and could control clouds and rains. They technically ruled over all moving bodies of water, from rivers to seas. To provoke the wrath of a Long Wang could invite a flood. Long Wang could transform into humans wearing the clothes of a king, bur with a dragon's head. They occasionally appeared as waterspouts. The item needed to enter the BCNM battle with Ouryu, the Cloud Evoker, mentions being used to bring rains. That would lead to the implication that Ouryu of FFXI is based on the Long Wang and Ryu-ou, not the Huanglong.

The Shijin

In Eastern Asian mythological cosmology, the Shijin (also spelled Shishin; called the Ssu Ling or Si Ling in China) are 4 guardian beasts that guard the 4 cardinal directions (North, South, East, West). The 4 of them are associated with 4 of the 5 elements of Chinese philosophy (Water, Wood, Metal, Fire, Earth). There is a 5th direction occasionally added (Center) and a 5th guardian beast. Chinese philosophy includes this guardian, but Japanese usually does not. They are independent of the Chinese Zodiac Animals and they each rule a quadrant of the night sky. They evidently originated during the Warring States Period of Chinese history (400s BCE- 221 BCE) and were frequently painted on the walls of tombs to ward off evil spirits. The Shijin have frequently been used in Animé programs (Fushigi Yugi, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Digimon) as well as some other video games, most notably SaGa 1 (1989/1990, sold in the United States as Final Fantasy Legend, published by Square).

Ouryu the Wyrm

Ouryu, like the Huanglong and the proper 5th Shijin is Earth-element. While Ouryu is not yellow, he is a natural, earthen color (a light brown color).