Lyon

"Mm... My research isn’t complete yet, but there’s no mistaking the power the Sacred Stones contain. And the Stone of Grado seems especially responsive to my dark magic. I suppose it’s because it contains both sacred and demonic properties. Regardless, if I can just press my studies a little harder... Well, I think I might be able to use it to heal my father’s illness. If that works, there’s no telling how many other people I can help as well."

- Lyon in a flashback

Lyon (リオン Rion) is the main antagonist in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. He is the prince of Grado and the son of Vigarde, as well as a close friend to Eirika and Ephraim.

Appearance
Lyon has long, purple-gray hair and wears a dark purple cloack that cover most of his body. His face is rather pale, and he has purple-gray eyes. When he's not fully dominated by the Demon King, Lyon's speech and behavior are different whether he talks to Ephraim or Eirika: when he faces Eirika he seems sad, remorseful and gentle, as well as somewhat willing to hear her; when he speaks to Ephraim, he's much more aggressive and straightforward, saying that despite cherishing his friendship with Ephraim, he wants to win a battle against him at least once. Sometimes though, he falls completely under the Demon King's control and loses any semblance of courtesy and instead becomes menacing and dark; if this is the case his speech often appears in a black box with white text, instead of a white box with black text.

Character History
Lyon is a gentle person who greatly admires his close friends, Eirika and Ephraim, princess and prince of Renais respectively. His greatest ambition was to be a strong ruler to protect his kingdom, fueled by his weak health, his one-sided love for Eirika, his hidden jealousy of Ephraim and his feelings of uselessness. Aided by Knoll, who was among a team of Dark Magic researchers, he discovered and used a "forbidden" spell that allowed him to see into the future. What he saw was a massive earthquake that would destroy most of Grado. He began to experiment with the Fire Emblem, which was the Sacred Stone of Grado that contained the spirit of the Demon King, Fomortiis. His extensive experimentation eventually caused it to split into two stones, one of which was still a Sacred Stone, the other of which was the Dark Stone, which now contained the Demon King's spirit. However, when Lyon tried to use the Dark Stone, he fell under the Demon King's influence and was convinced that he might be able to avert the disaster by reviving the Demon King and harnessing his power.

Lyon first appears in a cutscene in the chapter "A New Journey". Eirika and Ephraim share a flashback in which they talk with Lyon about their ambitions in life, etc. In Chapter 18, depending on the route taken, he is either completely possessed by the Demon King, who imitates his soft persona to convince Eirika to hand over the Renais Sacred Stone, or fakes possession and takes the Sacred Stone from Ephraim by force before revealing himself. He uses the demonic resurrection spell Naglfar in combat, as well as the demonic spell Fenrir and the leech spell Nosferatu in chapter 17. In the last chapter, he is killed and serves as the final sacrifice needed to revive the Demon King. Ironically, the earthquake he foresaw happens anyway and is seen as the divine punishment for Grado. Lyon is recruited by beating the Lagdou Ruins three times and his spell, Naglfar, has infinite uses. He also gives the player another Hammerne staff.

Initial Stats (Chapter 17 Boss/Playable)
|Necromancer |Ice |14 |44 |22 |13 |11 |4 |17 |19 |7 |9 |Dark - S Staff - A |Fenrir Nosferatu** Naglfar* Physic* Hammerne*

* Playable version only. ** Dropped when defeated.

Initial Stats (Final Chapter Boss)
|Necromancer |Ice |18 |73 |29 |19 |15 |9 |26 |29 |7 |9 |Dark - S Staff - A |Naglfar

Growth Rates

 * HP 85%
 * Mag 50%
 * Skill 55%
 * Spd 55%
 * Luck 30%
 * Def 45%
 * Res 55%

Overall
Lyon suffers from the curse of having horrible bases yet some of the greatest growths in the game. If you're going to use him, just max him out with stat boosters, at which point he'll become very effective. Don't forget to give him Body Rings until he has at least 18 Con, because of the heavy Naglfar tome. He can summon phantoms too, just like Knoll and Ewan if you make either of them the Summoner class, but his summons have ridiculously high luck, which is also noteworthy. Since he is only unlockable in the Creature Campaign he cannot support with anyone and cannot be recruited in the main game. It should be noted that he has the best stat caps of any playable character available in the game (60hp 30str 25skl 25spd 30lck 30def 30res). They are identical to those of Nergal from the previous title.

Death Quotes
"Heh......"

- Chapter 17

"Hahaha....Hahahahaha....HAHAHAHAHA!"

- Final Chapter of Eirika's route

"Where... Where did I go wrong..."

- Final Chapter of Ephraim's route

Normal Battle (Chapter 17)
Lyon: Do you challenge me? You humans are so inconstant. You've forgotten what it is to fear me.

Lyon vs Ephraim (Chapter 17)
Ephraim: Where's Lyon? What have you done with our friend?! ANSWER ME!

Lyon: Heh heh...What a splendid fool you make. Shall I dress you in a jester's cap? Shall we watch you jape in my demon's court? Lyon is dead. I devoured him. Can you not understand?

Ephraim: Monster!

Lyon vs Eirika (Chapter 17)
Eirika: Lyon, please! You must stop! I...I have no wish to fight you!

Lyon: Heh heh..Wretched girl. Are you listening, Lyon. Is this truly the girl you loved? Then I will use these hands to tear her limb from limb!

Etymology
The name 'Lyon' probably comes from 'Leon,' a very popular name in Medieval to Early Modern Europe which is derived from the Greek word meaning 'lion.'

It's also the name of a town in eastern France. The town was originally founded by Romans and named Lugdunum. This name comes from the Celtic god Lugus, meaning light (from which the name Lugh is derived), and 'dunon,' which means 'hill.' The Romans associated Lugus with Mercury; the name Lugdunum therefore translates to either 'hill of light' or alternatively 'hill of crows.' []