Alef

Alef is the protagonist and a playable character in the first Dragon Quest game. He s a descendant of Erdrick who set out to rid Alefgard of the evil tyranny of the dreaded  Dragonlord and bring the light back to the kingdom.

Appearance and Personality
The seminal Hero is often depicted as a young man of athletic build, wearing the traditional armor of Erdrick (including his helm and shield) and a bright red cape billowing behind him.

The sprite used for the original 8-bit adventure is dressed appropriately for combat, donning blue Full plate armor, a helm that superficially resembles the helmet of Ortega with an added orange pony-tail, a large circular shield embedded with a red jewel in its center (possibly a ruby), and an impressively sized claymore sheathed at his side.

Setting the narrative standard for all other Dragon Quest protagonists to follow, the Hero is utterly silent, only communicating in answers of 'Yes' and 'No'. This was a conscious decision made by series creator Yūji Horii to help draw the player into the world of Alefgard on a more personal level, rather than viewing the events of the game as an observer.