Rath

"For those whose reasoning is bent I will straighten it with my bow."

- Rath, when chosen for the final chapter

Rath (ラス Rasu, Ruth in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken and father of Sue, a character in the sequel Fire Emblem: Binding Blade. He speaks only when the situation calls for it and is the son of the Silver Wolf, who is the chieftain of the Kutolah, a Sacaean tribe.

Profile
As the son of the Silver Wolf, Rath was revered as the child with the most potential in the village. His achievements spread quickly through the village, even to Guy, who was never any good with a bow and spent most his time training his sword arm. Rath was banished from his village before the age of four, however, due to a prophecy that said he must leave the village to help "stop the burning". It is presumed that he fulfills this prophecy by joining Hector, Lyn and Eliwood's cause and helping to thwart Nergal's evil.

After leaving his village, he wandered the plains of Sacae for several years, always on the verge of starvation. The people of other tribes would laugh and ridicule him. Over time, he learned to no longer feel emotion, and was spared from the agonizing loneliness that he felt during his time wandering. He eventually began to work at the castle in Araphen, whose marquess was racist against Saceans. After encountering Lyn and her group, they managed to save Castle Araphen. The marquess however, did not respect Lyn as a savior. Overhearing Marquess Araphen speaking down to Sacaeans while talking to himself, Rath leaves the service of Marquess Araphen. Upon this, Rath left Araphen and joined Lyndis' party. When the ordeal with Lundgren was over, he left silently. He appears again in Eliwood's story, in Chapter 21, or in Hector's story, in Chapter 22.

If he achieves A-support with Lyn, they will marry and have a daughter together named Sue, who appears in the storywise sequel Fire Emblem: Binding Blade as a Nomad unit.

In Game
Description: A young hired sword from the Kutolah tribe.

Base Stats
* Lyn's Route. Drops to 7 on Eliwood and Hector's route, but goes back to 8 upon promotion.

Promotion Gains

 * Promotion to: [[File:FE7 Nomadic Trooper Map Sprite.gif]] Nomadic Trooper
 * HP: +3
 * Strength: +2
 * Skill: +1
 * Speed: +1
 * Defense: +3
 * Resistance: +3
 * Constitution: +1
 * Movement: +1
 * '''40 Weapon EXP in Bow.gif Bows
 * E Rank in Sword.gif Swords

Growth Rates

 * 80%
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 30%
 * 10%
 * 25%
 * }

Other Supports

 * Lyndis
 * Wil
 * Guy

Overall
Rath is the only choice for a Nomad in Rekka no Ken. Opinions differ on his overall effectiveness, but he isn't bad. His Strength and Speed growths, which are all an archer really needs in Rekka no Ken, are rather competent. His HP growth is good as well, and he has a decent base defense stat, even if his defense growth is poor. As a man of a few words, Rath will let his bow do most of the talking. He is a good candidate to pair up with Guy, and Lyndis can be a suitable option as well. Unfortunately, Rath is unlikely to gain any benefits from Tactician Stars, owing to the relative rarity of his affinity.

Rath rejoins the party much later in the game than his main competitors do, and is typically underleveled relative to the rest of the army. It will require dedicated investment to allow him to catch up, a matter made harder by his negligible performance during the enemy phase. He does benefit from being able to gain additional experience in Lyn's, primarily by training against Eagler and Lundgren, though he will need to use a store-bought Steel Bow to harm the latter. As with any form of boss abuse, this will severely damage the player's turncount, but it will allow Serra and Nils to gain additional experience, and it won't effect the main campaign's tactics rating at all.

Upon promotion, Rath will instantly gain a niche that other ranged units do not: access to swords. This is assisted by a respectable +3 gain to defense upon promotion as well as his solid HP stat. His strength will be no joke, and he will be able to double and kill most enemies in close combat with an Iron Sword. His evasion allows him to dodge most attacks, but he is still in danger of getting overwhelmed by swarms of enemies. Lance users can threaten him, and will typically deal about 7-11 damage per hit if armed with Steel weaponry. If Rath is to go to the frontlines, the player should have an emergency healer with a Mend staff nearby.

At max level, Rath tends to have middling Defense and Resistance, and exceptional Speed and Strength, a good defense, and fairly high skill. His only weakness will be enemies who can bypass his defense/resistance, and enemies with killer weapons, as his luck is not high. His strength caps at a moderate amount, but all of his few support options will yield offensive gains, especially in critical hit rate, which Rath can make use of, courtesy to his high skill.

Quotes
Defeat quote at Lyn's story:

Rath: ...Gaah... Lyn: Rath! Rath: Must...withdraw... I'm sorry... (End of chapter) Lyn: Rath! Are you OK? Rath: ... Lyn: What a terrible wound... Rath: I... I cannot fight like this. I must stay here. Lyn: Will I see you again? Rath: ...... ...I don't know. Lyn: Thank you. I'll never forget you. Rath: May the blessings of our Mother Earth be upon you... Lyn: Rath...

Defeat quote at Hector/Eliwood's story
'''Rath:...  Lyn''': Rath! are you okay?

Rath - The Sacaen Nomad
In the celebration following Lyn's return to Caelin, Rath slips out unseen. Whether he has returned to Sacae or has continued to work as a mercenary, no one knows.

Rath - Wolf of Sacae
Rath returned to his tribe in Sacae. His deeds earned him warm greetings from his father the famed Silver Wolf.

Rath and Lyn
When her grandfather died, Lyn asked that Caelin be taken under Ostian protection. She set out for Sacae, where she was reunited with Rath of the Kutolah. They had a daughter and lived happily in the plains.

Etymology
Rath is an Hindi word meaning chariot or wagon, which could be from the fact that he is mounted on a horse.

Quotes
"The battlefield is no place for daydreaming"

- Rath