Sephiran

Sephiran (セフェラン, Seferan), sometimes known under his title of Duke Persis, is the Prime Minister of the Begnion Empire, the senior-most member of the Begnion Senate and the Duke of Persis, first appearing in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in the guise of a pilgrim, though he is later shown to stop the Black Knight, though the reason for the knight's obedience is not revealed until later in the second game, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Past
He was once known as Lehran (エルラン, Eruran), the thousand year-old heron who accompanied the Goddess in her battle against the dark god, and it was he who imprisoned Yune within the medallion that would one day be known as the Fire Emblem.

Upon marrying Altina, the founder of Begnion, she bore his child, the very first Branded, thereby creating the Apostolic dynasty, every member of which was blessed, as was Lehran himself, with the ability to hear the voice of the Goddess Ashera. Shortly after the birth of his child, Lehran lost the ability to transform and to sing galdr, becoming neither beorc nor laguz. It is stated in a conversation among Nasir, Gareth, Kurth, and Micaiah that he attempted suicide many times if you complete the game more than once and both Nasir and Gareth survive the fight against the dragons.

Following his transformation, Lehran retreated to Goldoa, where he lived secretly under the King Dheginsea's care for seven hundred years. He later departed Goldoa in search of a means by which he might end the mistreatment of laguz slaves due to the extreme isolationism of the dragon kingdom. While in Begnion, Lehran met Misaha, the Apostle who would become the grandmother of the Empress Sanaki, and convinced her to reveal her Brand to the world. The Begnion senators then assassinated Misaha and framed the Herons for it. This event leads to the Serenes Massacre in which Begnion citizens burned Serenes Forest. All of the herons were killed except for the royal herons. This leads Sephiran to believe that the continent of Tellius deserves nothing but destruction. At this time the villagers he is speaking to in his memory scene find out that he is a laguz.

Additional Playthroughs
In additional playthroughs, Lehran's death can be prevented if certain conditions are met. The conditions involve using the Black Knight in Part I Endgame as well as sparing Pelleas' life towards the end of Part III. It also involves Ike initiating a fight with the Black Knight in Chapter 3-7 and does not kill him. The game needs to have been completed at least once.

Prior to meeting Sephiran in the Tower of Guidance, it is revealed in Ike's own "memory scene" that it was Sephiran who sealed Ike's memories of his mother's death to spare the young boy the pain of living with witnessing Elena's death at the hands of her beloved. This causes Ike's motivation to defeat Sephiran to be altered because he wants more answers about that event rather than just giving Sephiran a painful death.

After Sephiran's defeat another special "memory scene" plays, it is revealed that his decision to awaken the Goddess was largely influenced by the Serenes Massacre, during which all but a few of the heron royals were brutally murdered by Begnion citizens. Before Sephiran dies, Micaiah is able to save his life. Ike convinces him that he should try to make up for his past actions and help them defeat Ashera. He is reluctant at first, but he eventually decides that his actions have been wrong, and he joins as a playable character. When the game ends, Sephiran lies in Serenes Forest by Lorazieh's urging and allows the galdr to heal his worn and ragged soul. It is there where Lehran welcomes the return of Ashunera a thousand years later, and appears with his black wings visible. It is revealed that humanity has been living peacefully for the past twelve hundred years, but tensions are beginning to mount again. However, he believes that Ashunera has the ability to put an end to it.

In the final fight with Ashera, he bears only the Ashera Staff, disappointingly forsaking his powerful personal tome, Creiddylad.

Based on the fact that the expanded epilogue involves him a great deal, it can be assumed it is the canon ending.

Starting Stats
|Chancellor |Light |20 |50 |11 |40 |40 |40 |40 |23 |40 |9 |9 |8 |Light - SS Dark - SS Staff - SS |Mantle Shove Corona |Ashera Staff

Trivia

 * In Path of Radiance he is also mentioned as the Duke of Belsys and the Duke of Perseus. This was just a mistake in the translating process.
 * In Radiant Dawn, he has a bond support with both Sanaki and Zelgius. Although he no longer has them as Lehran.
 * He has the distinction as being one of few playable characters that can SS in more than one skill. (Light, Dark, Staff)
 * He also is the second playable character in Radiant Dawn to use Dark tomes.
 * In Radiant Dawn, if you use Sanaki to attack him in the Endgame, she won't offer the option to attack. This is because he has been like a father and teacher to her all her life. The feelings are mutual between the two, as Sephiran will not attack Sanaki directly either.
 * In Path of Radiance, Sephiran has the first appearance of the skill Mantle, which is described in the game to drastically reduce the damage of enemy attacks.

Ending
Light of Creation Lehran

At Lorazieh's urging, Sephiran lay himself down within Serenes, and was healed by the songs of the herons.