Begnion

Path of Radience
The Begnion Empire is a theocracy in relation to the Goddess Ashera situated in central Tellius. It is the largest of the nations. It is also home to the Holy Pegasus Knights, of which Marcia used to be a member; she fled after debt collectors frequently hounded her barracks for money that her brother Makalov owed. She becomes acquainted with Ike when he helped her defeat aggressive pirates in Crimea, and then joins Ike's mercenaries on a later day while on a journey to locate her brother, Makalov. Her Deputy Commander is Tanith, who considers Marcia's departure as desertion. She sees great potential in Marcia as a future officer in the pegasus knights, and it is in part because of that that she became enraged when Marcia submitted her hasty resignation. The reason for Marcia's resignation was her untrustworthy older brother, Makalov. Makalov has a tendency to gamble, get himself in debt, and make dealings with conspicuous figures. After he is found running from debt collectors by his sister, the company repays all of his debts, forcing him into long-term service. He gains the romantic interest of Astrid, who is a Begnion noble. During a conversations together, she gives Makalov a family heirloom, believing that he'll pawn it off in order to use the money wisely, when in fact he plans to simply gamble the donation away. He eventually returns the heirloom to her after being pressured to give it back by Marcia.

When the Mercenaries venture out to battle a resistance force in the Grann desert, they meet Stefan, a branded—these are laguz-beorc hybrids. These appear human, but have the longer lifespan of the laguz. He invites himself into the company after meeting one of the beast laguz of the group. He attempts to recruit his fellow branded, Soren, into a unit of branded that exist in the Grann desert. Due to maltreatment that Branded are subjected to, he harbors hatred towards Begnion and the laguz. On the same mission, the Mercenaries also encounter Tormod, a young boy that leads a laguz emancipation group based in a Begnion Desert; he wishes to free the laguz that remain enslaved by Begnion nobles. He is very close to the beast laguz Muarim, and treats him as family. Later in their quest, the Mercenaries also recruit Devdan, a man that is fond of making other people happy. He loves flowers, peace, and children. He had been forced to work at Oliver's villa without pay as punishment for trespassing before the mercenaries entered a battle with the mercenaries entered a battle with the guards. He refuses to fight children, and sides with Ike's company as a result. Devdan has a habit of referring to himself in the third person, and he works as a street performer when not on the battlefield. In a conversation with Largo, he introduces the berserker to "Nadved", a character drawn on a piece of paper, demonstrating that Devdan is a skilled ventriloquist.