Rath

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

Rath is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken and father of Sue, who appears in the sequel. He speaks only when the situation calls for it and is the son of the Kutolah chieftain Silver Wolf.

History
As the son of the Silver Wolf, Rath was revered as the child with the most potential in the village. His achievements spread quickly though 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 leader 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 saviour. Overhearing Marquess Araphen 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: Fūin no Tsurugi as a Nomad unit.

Initial Stats
|Nomad |Dark |7 |25 |8 |9 |10 |5 |7 |2 |8 |7 |Bow - C |Short Bow Vulnerary

Promotion Gain

 * HP: +3
 * Str +2
 * Skill: +1
 * Spd: +1
 * Def: +3
 * Res: +3


 * Weapon Lvl: Sword-E

Growth Rates
|80% |50% |40% |50% |30% |25% |25%

Overall
Rath is the only choice if you intend on using a Nomad. He is considered anything, but not bad. He is pretty useful in battles, with his high Strength, Speed and HP to prove it. A good candidate to pair up with Guy, and as a man of a few words, Rath will let his bow do most of the talking instead.

Should you choose to level Rath, an easy way of getting him levels early on is to let him fight Lundgren in the final chapter of Lyn's campaign. He can easily get up to level 15-16, depending on your patience (Be wary, this may take a hundred turns). At first he will only be able to do damage with the steel weapons, but then have him use his Iron Bow and then his Short Bow until he gets Lundgren down to a small amount of health, and let the general recover some HP on the throne. This is also a valid method of getting Serra some levels, as have her heal Rath after every fight. Also, you can use Nils to have Serra heal twice per turn, once after Lundgren's counter attack and once after Rath attacks. Eventually, though, Lundgren's Javelin will break, and you will be able to attack him from afar with impunity.

Using the above method's only drawback is that it will bore you to death. It has taken on one playthrough almost a hundred turns to get Rath to level 16. Once he was recruited in Chapter 21 (Chapter 22 for Hector) Kinship's Bond, he can be promoted either instantly, or wait until he hits level 20 until he is promoted. There are many easy ways to promote him, for if you have used your Orion's Bolts already, there is an Earth Seal in Chapter 23 (Chapter 24 Hector) Four-Fanged Offense.

Once Rath is promoted, it does not take long before he is ready to be a frontline unit. He has a passable defense by that point, and an abundance of HP. His strength will be no joke, and he will be able to kill most enemies in close combat with an Iron Sword. He will also avoid a majority of attacks by non lance users, and lance users (unless wielding a Brave Lance, Silver Lance, or Horseslayer) will do 7-10 damage. Usually there will not be enough to kill him, but just in case, have an emergency healer with a Mend staff nearby.

By level 18-20 Rath will have a high enough resistance, be almost Speed and Strength capped, a good defence, and fairly high skill. His only weakness will be enemies who can bypass his defence/resistance, and enemies with killer weapons, as his luck is not high. Give him the final weapon from Uhai in the last chapter, and he'll be able to do great damage.

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.

Other Supports

 * Wil
 * Guy

Etymology
Rath is an Indian word meaning chariot or wagon. Which is probably why he mounted on a horse.

Quotes
"The battlefield is no place for daydreaming"

- Rath