Cain (Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light)


 * Not to be confused with the Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 character, Kain.

"...Sire, I...I cannot bear this! Failing to protect His Majesty...then leaving my brothers to die, slinking away like some coward...This indignity is too much to bear! One day I will repay them in kind. I will avenge the fallen...I swear it!"

- Cain in Shadow Dragon

Cain (カイン Kain, romanized as Kain in the Japanese versions) is a playable character from the Akaneia Series of Fire Emblem. Alongside his boon companion Abel, Cain is a Cavalier of Altea who is also known under the alias Bull (猛牛 Takeushi, lit. Ferocious Bull).

According to Takayashiki Hideo's novel adaptation of Mystery of the Emblem, Cain is 24 years old. 

War of Darkness
Prior to the fall of Altea Castle in the Prologue of Shadow Dragon, Cain fought under the banner of King Cornelius, who led the charge of the resistance against the betrayal of Gra. After King Cornelius tragically fell in battle, Cain was assigned the task of delivering his final words to Prince Marth. While enduring several wounds that he had sustained during the battle, Cain promptly rushed off in the direction of Altea Castle.

Cain succeeds in reuniting with Marth at the end of Prologue II of Shadow Dragon, just after Marth escapes from Altea Castle with Abel, Frey and Jagen. In the following chapter, after hastily brushing aside Marth's concern over his wounds, Cain delivers the late king's final words, which are as follows: "Tell my son that I leave the future of Altea and our continent in his hands. He must rise now where I have fallen. As Falchion’s rightful heir, he has been born into greatness… Now… he must be great." Should Cain be selected to act as the decoy of Marth in Prologue IV, he will thus not be available to assist his liege in bringing the War of Darkness to an end. Canonically, Cain is not selected to be the decoy, and after the War of Darkness concludes, he devotes his time towards instructing young recruits in warfare.

War of Heroes
Chronologically, Cain returns in Prologue III of Shin Monshō no Nazo, where he is observed to have become quite proficient at being an instructor of newly-inducted recruits of the Altean Army, taking charge of the practical training of the 7th Platoon, then comprising of the Avatar, Ruke, Rody and Raian. Cain then proceeds to test their mettle against the might of several allies of the previous war in the ensuing chapters of the Prologue, and if the player fulfils the necessary requirements, he will personally challenge them in Prologue VII.

Shortly before Marth sets out to fulfil his covenant with Emperor Hardin in Chapter 1 of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, Cain is entrusted the task of defending Altea Castle. After Altea Castle falls to the combined might of Gra and Aurelis at the end of Chapter 4, Cain manages to escape, reuniting with Marth at Chiasmir Bridge in Chapter 8. He will thereafter aid Marth in bringing the War of Heroes to a conclusion, whereupon he is promoted to assume the command of the Altean Knights following Jagen's death.

Personality
Like a majority of the cast appearing in Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi and Mystery of the Emblem, Cain's character is not very well developed. Nevertheless, it is possible to deduce several points about his personality based on the few interactions that he has. Similar to many other knight characters in the aforementioned games, Cain is passionately loyal to the liege that he serves, willing to overlook his personal welfare in order to fulfil his duties. This is especially evidenced through his firmly sticking to the final task assigned to him by the late King Cornelius, in spite of the grievous wounds that he had sustained in battle.

Despite this, Cain has also revealed signs of being emotional, a fact that is depicted through his ardent, yet sorrowful, outburst in Prologue III, where he vows to avenge the deaths of his king and fellow comrades. Through this outburst, it can also be determined that Cain views his role as a knight of Altea with immense pride, as he deems his sole survival amongst his beloved comrades to be a representation of cowardice and disgrace.

Cain's devotion to Altea is one that transcends his representing the country on the battlefield; following the end of the War of Darkness, he devotes his life towards honing future generations of Altea's knights to secure the country's defence.

Recruitment

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Base Stats

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Overall
Whether or not the player decides to use Cain over Abel or vice versa, this is dependent on both personal preference and the actual title that they appear in. While differences vary amongst the games that they participate in, certain common points hold true across all these games; Cain excels in Luck, while Abel excels in Strength.

Differences between the two characters vary wildly amongst different games. In Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Abel has more balanced growths as compared to Cain, and sports a higher strength growth, alongside slightly lower growths in Skill, Speed, Luck and HP. Abel's bases are all either the same, or higher than Cain's, with the exception of Luck. He is preferred in this game by many players for his well-rounded stats and superior strength growth, which proves to to be more useful than the slight speed and skill growth lead that Cain possesses.

In Book 1 of Mystery of the Emblem, Cain and Abel's growths are almost exact carbon copies of their first game, with the minor addition of a Mag/Res growth, and a significant decrease in Cain's health growth (from 90% to 60%), one of the three superior growths defining Cain in the first game. A more significant difference between the two in this game is that of the two characters' bases: They both start out with bases that contradict their respective growths, which has set the precedent for the Cain and Abel pair archetype that will come to be repeated in future titles. Cain starts out with higher Strength in Book 1 (7 to Abel's 6) while possessing lower Skill and Speed, while Abel starts out with less Strength and more Skill and Speed. They end up very similar in this portion of the game, largely because their growths balance out their bases, and despite eventually going in different directions stat-wise, they still perform very well regardless.

In Book Two, however, differences between the two are far more noticeable, aside from their growth rates, which remain almost exactly the same (aside from Cain gaining less level EXP as compared to before). Cain is recruited much earlier in the game (Chapter 8), while Abel joins much later (Chapter 15). For one, their level differences are a major factor: Abel starts out as a Level 1 Paladin, and following the trend set in Book 1, has base Skill and Speed that exceed his Strength. Cain, on the other hand, starts out as a Level 9 Cavalier with lower bases in everything (due to the fact being, of course, un-promoted) and therefore, Abel has "better" bases and more balanced stats. Cain also regains his higher HP growth advantage, where it is increased to 90%. Leveling them up, of course, Abel proves to have higher strength once again, and is preferred by many in the end as compared to Cain, even though both prove to be very useful and are usually on most players' rosters. While Abel often boasts better base Defenses on average, Cain contrastingly winds up with superior HP.

In one of the recent DS remakes, Shadow Dragon, the two characters' bases are very similar to Book 1 of Mystery of the Emblem: Both starting out pretty alike, Cain's is still slightly stronger while less swift and skilled, while Abel's bases are the opposite, with better skill and speed and worse strength. The similarities end here, however, as their growths are markedly different from both of the previous games. In this game, Cain and Abel actually have identical Speed and Skill growths. Abel has a significantly inferior Luck growth (the luck gap between the two is not as extreme in previous incarnations), less HP growth (65% compared to Cain's 75%) and a slightly better Strength growth (40% compared to Cain's 35%). Abel is often preferred over Cain, often placed higher (if only slightly) on Shadow Dragon tier lists due to his slightly higher strength growth, which is on par with common hard hitters like Barst.

Another reason justifying this is the fact that there are often no real situations that can be handled by Cain better than Abel; Abel proves to be superior in quite a number of situations that Cain cannot handle as well, due to (assuming they are of the same level and class) the fact that Abel will quickly surpass Cain's Strength while usually staying slightly ahead on Skill and Speed. The loss to luck is not felt too badly on Abel, and the HP growth difference between the two is usually not something that determines their overall combat usefulness, as they both have high growths in this department regardless. Many players therefore choose Abel over Cain, even though both are very useful and preferred in a game that is generally considered to have a poor roster of characters.

In the next DS remake, however, the differences separating the two are once more made distinct, their growths being more unique in Shin Monshō no Nazo. Again, Cain is superior in Luck while Abel wins out on Strength. However, for the first time, their Defence growths do not match (as they were identical in every other game that they appeared in together), with Abel winning out (40% compared to 35% on Cain). Abel upholds his reputation of being more balanced by having slightly lower Skill and Speed once more (both 60%), while Cain supersedes him in this regard, possessing exceptional growths in these areas (70%). Also, oddly enough, Abel actually has a higher HP growth than Cain, swapping the HP discrepancy of the two characters. This game being a remake of Book Two of Mystery of the Emblem, Abel once again joins later while Cain is recruited much earlier. In the end, Cain proves to be a stronger, more reliable character overall, while Abel proves to be merely decent. Abel's growths, while arguably better, are nonetheless hindered by his later arrival and worse bases, and on average, Cain at the same level as Abel appears (Level 1 Paladin) has superior stats in every area.

On the whole, in all games that Abel and Cain appear in, they prove to be valuable members of the army, being shining jewels among the sea of mediocre or bad characters.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
King's Voice

"Cain remained in Altea to instruct younger knights in the ways of war. He was a shining example; never did he neglect his training."

Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~
Altea's Blade

"Following Jagen's Death, Cain became the commander of the Altean Knights."

Death Quotes
"Prince Marth...Tell them...I did not run..."

- Cain's death quote in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Archetype
Cain, along with Abel, began the trend of a duo of Cavaliers who automatically join the army at the start of any given title. They are often portrayed as close friends who are very loyal to the Lord character and subordinates of the Jagen character. Invariably, one of them will specialize in Strength, HP and Luck (usually the Green Cavalier), and the other in Skill and Speed (usually the Red Cavalier). The two often have distinct personalities as well - the Red Cavalier being serious and stern, and the Green Cavalier easy-going and passionate.

However, there are exceptions to this personality rule; between the Cavalier pair, Ruke and Rody, Rody, the serious knight, is statistically closer to Abel, while Ruke, the easy-going knight, boasts stats similar to Cain. Oscar and Kieran also reverse the personality trend as well.

List of Cains
Notable characters befitting Cain's half of the archetype include:
 * Ruke (FE3/12)
 * Alec (FE4)
 * Alva (FE5)
 * Alen (FE6)
 * Kent (FE7)
 * Forde (FE8)
 * Kieran (FE9/10)
 * Sully (FE13)
 * Saizou (FE14 Hoshido & Invisible Kingdom)

Anime
In the Fire Emblem anime, Cain serves an almost identical role to that which is portrayed in the games. His personality, as implied in Shadow Dragon, is notably more hot-headed than that of his partner Abel's. This is most evident when he brings up the troubles of Princess Nyna and the Kingdom of Akaneia, where he fervently argues the following:

"I think we should send in our soldiers now! How many months have passed since Princess Nyna of Aurelis stood up and declared her attempt to overthrow Doluna's oppression? And during that time, not ONE kingdom has been willing to answer her call to arms! And every day the soldiers of Aurelis are weakened by Medeus's dogs of war! We MUST take action before Aurelis is destroyed!"

- Cain in the anime

Gordin is in strong agreement with this plan, but it is quashed by Jagen, who believes that Marth still needs people to protect him. Later, Cain is seen during the attack on Talys when he kills a pirate. As the pirate dies, he tosses a child into the air. Abel catches it in the nick of time, before resignedly remarking that he cannot believe that he is still picking up Cain's messes "after all these years".

Cain and Abel are obviously very good friends in the anime, despite Abel being seemingly unwilling to support Cain's argument about Nyna. They are rarely seen apart in the anime, and even have a toast to friendship as they oversee Gordin discussing his archery skills with Draug. In Episode 2, Cain and Abel travel to Galder in the guise of travellers, which allows them to slaughter unsuspecting pirates patrolling the town; this leads to Marth's liberation of Galder.

Cain is voiced by Hiyama Nobuyuki (檜山 修之) in the Japanese version.

Manga
Cain's importance in the manga is far more important than in the anime and even the game itself. Still very close friends with Abel, Cain is also portrayed to be very strictly loyal to his country, but mostly to Prince Marth. He often teases Abel and Julian, but still gets along with everybody well nevertheless.

After the victory over Doluna at Aurelis' secondary Castle, Ogma gets Cain drunk, giving him a huge hangover and noting that it is no wonder Aurelis is known for its alcohol.

Genei Ibun Roku♯FE
The E3 2015 trailer briefly shows Cain appearing as a Mirage, along with Tiki, Shiida, and Chrom. He is the Mirage partner of Toma Akagi.

Etymology
Cain's name comes from the biblical story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis. Cain became jealous that God favored Abel's sacrifice more, and therefore killed him and was cast from God's favor. In Mystery of the Emblem, this is slightly reversed: Abel falls out of Altea's favor for treason, although this does not involve Cain.

Trivia

 * Cain is mentioned along with Abel in the C support conversation shared between Stahl and Sully in Fire Emblem: Awakening, where his title as the "Bull" is assumed by Sully, a character that is modelled after his archetype.

Gallery
Cain