Zephyr

Zephyr
Official artwork of Zephyr from Dawn of Sorrow
Japanese name(s)	ゼファル Zefaru
Abilities	Time Stop
Type(s)	Demon
Origins	Greek mythology
Appearances	Dawn of Sorrow Portrait of Ruin

Zephyr is a boss encountered in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and later as an optional boss in Portrait of Ruin. He masters the art of time stopping and also uses knives in battle.

Origins

In Greek mythology, the Anemoi were the gods of the winds. Zephyrus was known as the god of the west wind.

Zephyrus and Chloris, from an 1875 oil painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus, was known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that he lived in a cave in Thrace.

One of the surviving myths in which Zephyrus features most prominently is that of Hyacinth. Hyacinth was a very handsome and athletic Spartan prince. Zephyrus fell in love with him and courted him, and so did Apollo. The two competed for the boy's love, but Hyacinth chose Apollo, driving Zephyrus mad with jealousy. Later, catching Apollo and Hyacinth throwing a discus, Zephyrus blew a gust of wind at them, striking the boy in the head with the falling discus.

Appearances

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Zephyr encounters Soma in the Cursed Clock Tower and demonstrates his power by destroying all the lamps in the room before Soma can even move. His attacks mostly include using his time-stopping ability to do certain moves. His weakness is actually the fact that he stands or walks a lot without attacking. At this time, the player can easily keep hitting him with Killer Clowns or a different ranged soul or weapon. The only thing the player has to be careful of is not to attack him if he has an aura around him. If the player does, Zephyr will stop time and slash him. Once defeated, Zephyr's power over time will go out of control and causes him to age rapidly until becoming nothing but bones and dust.

In the game's Library, it is said that Zephyr is close friends with the Chrono Mage, another character with control over time.

No. Name JPN HP MP ATK 110 Zephyr ゼファル Zefaru 1,234 1,234 80 Tolerance Weakness Time Stop (unaffected) Piercing, Slashing Location Common Drop Rare Drop Soul EXP Cursed Clock Tower - - Clockwork 5,678 Description "A demon with mastery over time."

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Zephyr also appears in Portrait of Ruin as an optional boss in the Nest of Evil.

No. Name JPN HP 132 Zephyr ゼファル Zefaru 3,210 Tolerance Weakness - Whip, Slash, Fire Location Common Drop Rare Drop EXP SP Nest of Evil - - 3,210 60 Description "A demon who has mastery over time."

Strategy

Zephyr fights with the power of time manipulation (chronokinesis). He also wears a strapped claw on each hand and throws knives at his enemies. His main attacks include:

• Throwing a knife in a straight line. In Portrait of Ruin this becomes three knives at once.
• Jumping off the walls and ceilings whilst throwing knives at the player's current position.
• Slashing at his foe with one of his claws, should they get too close.
• Using time powers to make himself faster and performing a charge followed by a claw slash.
• Freezing time and placing some knives above his foe, upon unfreezing time the knives would fall.

In Dawn of Sorrow, the player should get away from him when he murmurs to himself, because if they are close to him he will charge. The player could equip the Dead Pirate's soul, Backstab, because they can double jump over him and hit him from behind with a polearm, which is his weakness.

If Zephyr stops moving and just stands there, it means he's taunting the player into attacking him. If the player does so, Zephyr will stop time and slash at Soma. Instead, the player should move until Zephyr is at the very edge of the screen. After a brief moment, Zephyr will resort to stop time, jump over Soma and leave a series of knives in his track, which will fall once the flow of time resumes. By doing this, the player will be in a safe spot at the center of the falling knives, and also have a perfect opportunity to counterattack.

In Portrait of Ruin, he is far easier because Jonathan can hit him with the Flame Whip, which exploits his weakness; and if the player attacks Zephyr while he is doing his pose and knives are set up in their positions, the Whip Skill 1 can also provide protection from them. The player could also use the Alucard Spear, which deals a lot of damage. Another option is to use 1,000 Blades; however, this must be done with caution, as it's rest assured Zephyr will dash through it and slash at the player, but perhaps it's worth taking the hit in exchange of the massive damage Zephyr will receive.

Overall, Zephyr is just easier than his Dawn of Sorrow counterpart because, at the point the player faces him, they'll have a wide array of weapons and magic with which to kill him quickly.

Soul Data

The soul of Zephyr has the power to stop time. It isn't as useful as it sounds, however, and will most likely rank low on the player's most used list. It is an important component in the story, however, as it is integral in order to gain entry to the Silenced Ruins (although it's also possible to enter this area from the rear entrance by using the Cutall's special attack). The first time the player reaches the area, via the Subterranean Hell, they will witness a cannon firing at a pillar. Before the pillar is broken, however, time is stopped by a cheeky Chrono Mage. The player cannot proceed without the pillar destroyed, thus they must retreat. Once the player has acquired Zephyr's soul, however, they can turn the tables on the Chrono Mage by using it to counter the frozen time spell, which will allow the cannon to destroy the pillar and allow passage into the Silenced Ruins.

Item Data: Zephyr
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Zephyr - Clockwork - Dawn of Sorrow   Bullet Soul - Soma
	Stop time.			Find: Cursed Clock Tower Drop: Zephyr	Effect: Paralyzes lesser enemies.

Trivia

• In Dawn of Sorrow, Zephyr's skeleton is sucked into a vortex upon death, while in Portrait of Ruin his skeleton crumbles. Using Charlotte to cast Dark Rift as he dies will produce the same effect as the seal in Dawn of Sorrow, and suck in his skeleton.
• Zephyr's stats in Dawn of Sorrow are a suite of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4 (HP), 5, 6, 7, 8 (EXP). In Portrait of Ruin, his stats go in reverse: 3, 2, 1, 0 (HP and EXP). It may be a reference to time (countdown and music), which is Zephyr's element.
• In Portrait of Ruin, one of Wind's quests is called "Art of the Zephyr", where the player is asked to perform the Spinning Art three times in a row.
• Zephyr is based on Dio Brando from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and uses similar attacks, i.e. throwing knives and freezing time. One of his Japanese voice clips even echoes Dio's famous "Toki yo, tomare!" ("Time, stop!"). His fight on top of the clock tower is a reference to Part 3 of the manga.
• The graphical data for Zephyr refers to him as "Edward" in reference to his claws resembling those of Edward Scissorhands from the Tim Burton film of the same name