Xane

"Hey there, princey. Thanks for settin' me free! The name's Xane. I hail from a land few have heard of an even fewer have seen. I won't trouble you with the details. Me and my folk have the power to transform into other people. We can shape-shift, you see. When Doluna caught on, they started threatenin' me. Told me to join their army or "face my doom." Hah! Well, I wasn't about to waste my considerable talent on those evil coots! You, on the other hand...You've got character. Say, why don't we team up? I do owe you for savin' my hide. And I think you'll find my considerable talents are...quite considerable."

- Xane

Xane (チェイニー, Cheine, referred to as Chainey in fan translations) is a rare Manakete individual. One of the few Divine Dragon survivors of the war against the Earth Dragons, he lost his ability to morph into Dragon form but instead gained the ability to take form of another person.

He works under Gotoh, despite their differing views of humanity, and in Monshō no Nazo he acts as a guide for Marth in his quest to reach Gotoh and follow his ancestor Anri. In the end, though, he once again vanishes.

Personality
He is a carefree and somewhat effeminate person who likes to play jokes (at one point he annoys Tiki by immitating her and repeating everything she says). He has a dislike towards humans, to the extent that he sympathized with the Manaketes who formed the Doluna Empire and was uncaring of who won the battle between Medeus and Anri.

Nevertheless, he does possess some senses of honor and duty, as shown to his loyalty to Marth and Gotoh. He has a strange fondness for Marth, constantly referring to him affectionately as "Princey". He can be supportive to others, as shown in some of his talks with Tiki.

Recruitment
Shadow Dragon: Chapter 16, talk to him with Marth.

Shin Monsho no Nazo Chapter 14 Automatically from the start.

Book 1
|Chameleon |1 |18 |2 |2 |8 |9 |2 |4 |10 |16 |Sword |Iron Sword

Base Stats
|Chameleon |1 |18 |2 |1 |2 |8 |9 |4 |10 |6 |N/A |Iron Sword

Growth Rates
|40% |30% |0% |30% |30% |20% |15% |2%

Base Stats
|Chameleon |5 |20 |3 |0 |3 |11 |10 |6 |10 |6 |N/A |Steel Sword Vulnerary

Growth Rates
|60% |40% |0% |20% |50% |40% |30% |5%

Support Relationships
Supports Supported by
 * None
 * My Unit
 * Marth
 * Tiki

Overall
It should be noted that the only stats that matter for Xane are defense, HP, speed, luck, and resistance due to the fact that Xane cannot attack while untransformed, and when Xane transforms, he mimics the stats of the character that he transformed into, meaning that the only stats that matter for Xane are the stats that will help keep him alive or reduce the damage he takes while he is untransformed (excluding HP: he mimics all stats except current HP, only max HP, thus a staff-wielding healer should be kept around, as he is likely to have less current HP than the max HP of the character he transforms into). Also, Xane can use weapons which are restricted to certain characters, such as the Rapier, Hammerne Staff, Aum Staff, and Wing Spear, but for some reason not the Falchion, if he is copying the required character. It should also be noted that he cannot copy Manaketes, contrary to his conversation with Tiki.

Quote
"So long, Princey... It's been.. fun..."

- Death Quote, Shadow Dragon

"Hey! Wait, I'm not an enemy. Don't fight me!"

- As an Enemy in Monshō no Nazo

Etymology
Chainey is possibly derived from Lon Chaney Sr., a famous silent actor known as the "The Man of a Thousand Faces".

Trivia
"A certain shape-shifting youth will have an important role, in the guise of a mysterious bard and sage. Since this game occurs in the same time period as the first game, Dark Dragon and Sword of Light, more characters may return if the need arises."
 * Xane may have originally been intended to reappear in Emblem Saga.

- Shouzou Kaga answering a question about returning characters in an interview conducted by Famitsu