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 in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and their remakes. He is a cavalier of Altea known as the "Bull" and is often seen with his fellow knight and close comrade Abel. Cain was present during the betrayal of Gra and the death of Cornelius, delivering his last words to Marth. Afterwards, Cain loyally follows Marth in his quest and stays with him until end of his quest.

When Marth left to comply on Hardin's request, Cain was left in charge of Altea. When the Empire attacked Altea, Cain managed to escape and reunite with Marth, once again assisting his quest. In his ending, Cain continues to serve Altea and when Jagen died, he succeeded his position.

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

He is known as the "Bull" (Great Bull in the Japanese version).

Personality
Cain is quite a prideful person, yet despite this, is very loyal and dutiful to the Altean cause. Cain also held some survivor's guilt for not being able to prevent the deaths of Cornelius and the rest of the Altean knights, but he eventually got over it.

Cain has a strong friendship with Abel, the two being as close as brothers, and it shown in Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~, he was shocked when Abel was forced to betray Altea.

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 50%
 * 60%
 * 20%
 * 0%
 * }

Base Stats

 * -|Book 1=


 * -|Book 2=

Growth Rates
Book 1


 * 60%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 50%
 * 90%
 * 20%
 * 3%
 * }

Book 2


 * 90%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 50%
 * 60%
 * 20%
 * 3%
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 75%
 * 35%
 * 0%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 80%
 * 20%
 * 0%
 * }

Support Relationships
Supports Supported by
 * Abel
 * Catria
 * Est
 * Marth
 * Abel
 * Catria
 * Est

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 40%
 * 0%
 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 5%
 * }

Support Relationships
Supports
 * Catria
 * Abel

Supported by
 * The Avatar
 * Marth
 * Abel

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, also began the trend of a duo of early-joining Social Knights/Cavaliers. 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, for example with Ruke and Rody the serious knight was statistically closer to Abel while the easy going knight had stats similar to Cain. Oscar and Kieran would also reverse the personality trend.

List of Cains
Notable Archetype in Cain's side are:
 * Ruke (FE3/12)
 * Alec (FE4)
 * Alva (FE5)
 * Alen (FE6)
 * Kent (FE7)
 * Forde (FE8)
 * Kieran (FE9/10)
 * Sully (FE13)

Anime
In the Fire Emblem Anime, Cain serves an almost identical role to that in the games. His personality, just like implied in Shadow Dragon, is more of a hotheaded one than his partner Abel. This is most evident when he brings up the troubles of Princess Nyna and the Kingdom of Akaneia. He valiantly argues a point:

"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 protecting him. Later, Cain is seen during the attack on Talys when he kills a pirate. As the pirate dies, he throws in the air a child that is caught by Abel, who says he can't 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 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 taking to Draug about his archery. 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 Nobuyuki Hiyama in the Japanese version.

Manga
Cain's importance in the manga is far more important than in the anime and even the game itself. He is still a very good friend with Abel. He is also shown to be a very strict person who is loyal to his country, but mostly to prince Marth. He often teases Abel and Julian, but still gets along with everybody well and takes his job very seriously.

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.

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 it did not involve Cain. Other video game charecters with the name Cain include Kain from Final Fantasy 4. /

Trivia

 * Cain was mentioned along with Abel in Stahl's and Sully's Support Conversation in Fire Emblem: Awakening. That Sully gets Cain's title as "Bull," while Stahl's recieves Abel's title of "Panther".

Gallery
Cain