Soren

"When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. You were the only one who helped. You and your father. That’s why you’re my friend. My…only friend."

- Soren, in his A support conversation with Ike

Soren (セネリオ Senerio, romanized as Senerio in the Japanese versions) is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. The staff officer and strategist of the Greil Mercenaries, he is also a close friend of Ike and harbors undying loyalty to him.

History
The son of King Ashnard of Daein and Almedha, the daughter of King Dheginsea of Goldoa, Ashnard became obsessed with Soren after he was born, but eventually lost interest in him once he discovered that he did not have any special powers. Some time later, Ashnard used Soren as bait to lure Almedha's brother, Prince Rajaion, into a trap. This proved to be successful and Ashnard transformed Rajaion into a Feral One and his personal mount.

Eventually, Soren was separated by his parents and taken in by a woman who is stated to have only done it "out of duty" and was verbally abusive towards him. At roughly the age of four, Soren was adopted by an old sage in Gallia who mistook him for a Spirit Charmer due to the mark on his forehead. The woman was delighted to be rid of her burden of looking after Soren and received money compensation. The sage put him through terribly rigorous magic training, had him work day and night, without cease. Eventually, the sage taught him how to use magic.

After the sage died, Soren sought aid from a nearby beorc village, but he was forcibly chased away. He also discovered that he was unable to speak, despite being skilled in listening, reading, and writing. When he was near death by starvation, a young Ike found him and gave his own lunch to him. Ike also promised to feed him again on the next day. However, on the following day, Soren discovered the carnage left by Greil's berserk rampage that was triggered by Lehran's Medallion. Soren checked the corpses for Ike, but he did not find him and assumed that he was safe. Afterwards, he traveled to Crimea in search of Ike. During his journey, Soren took refuge in a church under the guise of a Spirit Charmer. During his time there, the church workers instructed him in basic matters such as speech. After wandering for several years, he eventually reunited with Ike and joined the Greil Mercenaries.

Path of Radiance
Some time before the story, Soren traveled to the capital of Crimea in order to study at the royal library. During one of his days there, he witnessed the Daein army's attack on Crimea, which was the beginning stage of the The Mad King's War. Immediately, he returned to the Greil Mercenaries' base to inform them about this. From this point on, he accompanies Ike as an advisor and strategist for his army.

Radiant Dawn
Soren first appears alongside the Greil Mercenaries when they rescue Lucia from her execution at the hands of Ludveck's army. During the cutscene, he is almost ambushed by a soldier from behind, but Mia saves him.

In Part 3, he serves the Laguz Alliance as a strategist, but Skrimir looked down upon him as he rather chose furtivity than charging at the front. His ingenious plans at some of the decisive clashes between Begnion and the Laguz Aliance, however –such as how they would throw the guard of the “impregnable” Fort Mugill into disarray as well as the Ribahn River crossing to hit the enemy – made him change his mind.

In a special conversation in the epilogue, Soren's true identity as the prince of Daein is revealed, as Almedha realizes it upon seeing him and expresses her pride in him. However, Almedha did not introduce herself to Soren as his mother, being a truth that she would continue to hold forever buried within her heart, never known to history.

In the ending, he will accompany Ike on a journey to search for new lands if they share an "A" support level.

Personality
Typically rude and cold towards others, Soren prefers to be alone rather than with the rest of the company. As a result, he appears to be high-strung, though Titania thinks that this is because Soren is "a very empathetic young man." However, after the Mad King’s War, his outlook started to change ever so slightly, and he would be seen talking to others such as Titania and Ranulf as well.

Behaving with logic and thinking from a cynical viewpoint due to his difficult childhood, he puts the feelings or circumstances of others aside if it benefits the mercenaries, often suggesting not to help others if it hinders their cause unless they can gain something from it. Although he is criticized for this, his tactics are still regarded as impeccable by many, including Ike, who views him as "essential" to the company. Soren's tactics also earned him the attention of Skrimir, who never even thought about tactics prior to their meeting.

In the beginning of Path of Radiance, Soren displays a rather obvious dislike for laguz. However, with Ike's assurance, he is able to hold it back. His resentment towards laguz is also present during Radiant Dawn, albeit not as strongly as it is in Path of Radiance.

Soren shows a great amount of compassion towards Ike and seems to have devoted his life to him. Ike seems to have great insight into Soren's personality, calling him a "softie" who tries to put on a strong face in one of their conversations in Path of Radiance. His extreme loyalty to Ike can be compared to the devotion that Almedha harbors towards her false son, Pelleas. Throughout the game, Soren is regarded as "the boy always at Ike's side" by other characters, with him himself also declaring that Ike is his only friend.

Soren also seems to dislike being interrupted, as seen when he is explaining his battle plans to Skrimir. This is also shown when he receives the Hammerne staff from Aimee.

Recruitment

 * Chapter 4: Automatically from the start.

Growth Rates

 * 45%
 * 5%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 15%
 * 55%
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Support Conversations

 * Ike
 * Stefan

Promotion Gains
* Depends on player's choice. ** If his weapon rank is still at E before promotion.

Overall
Soren is the first mage available to the player in Path of Radiance. This not only allows him to increase in Wind weapon rank faster than other mages, but it gives him more room to level higher. Statwise, Soren will easily cap his resistance, come close to capping his magic, and will have rather high speed. Upon promotion, Soren can choose a new specialization: staves or knives. He is not well-suited to knives due to his low strength. Therefore, staves is the better choice. His high magic makes him an excellent healer. His defense though, is very low, even compared to other sages. You should keep him away from any physical unit with a higher movement that could attack him head-on. That being said, his avoid is quite high, though it is mitigated by Soren's virtually non-existent Strength stat, which lowers his Attack Speed and overall avoid. However, an Energy Drop can alleviate this to a slight amount, as it allows Soren to wield Elwind without losing any Attack Speed whatsoever.

Compared to other Sages, Soren has his strengths, though he also has his flaws. Soren's magic, skill, and speed exceed Ilyana's, though her magic and skill are still fairly solid. However, Ilyana has much higher strength to supplement her bend towards Thunder magic, which is noticeably stronger than Wind magic; to put it in perspective, the D-rank Elthunder has more might than the A-rank Tornado. This allows her to use heavier tomes, especially Thoron and Rexbolt and lose less attack speed than Soren does. However, Ilyana's speed is a bit shaky, though it is not particularly low, only needing a Speedwing or some bands to push her speed a little higher. Compared to Tormod, Soren has better magic, skill, and resistance and has much greater availability, but has noticeably lower strength and defense; Tormod also has Celerity to make up for his lesser availability, which is incredibly useful given that the Mage and Sage classes have movement equivalent to the Knight and General classes in Path of Radiance. Tormod also has similar speed but excels in the stronger Fire magic, though his strength will usually not be high enough to avoid Attack Speed penalties from using Bolganone.

Compared to Calill, Soren has the option of picking Staves over Knifes, which is a particularly noticeable boon given that Calill's strength is not high enough to deal significant damage with Knives. However, Calill also joins with a B rank in all three anima weapon types, meaning she has a much greater chance of having an A-rank in multiple tome types, allowing her to use some of the most powerful tomes in the game. Soren's magic, speed, and resistance are noticeably higher than Bastian's and also can choose to have Staves over Knifes, which, like Calill, Bastian lacks the strength to utilize. However, Bastian's resistance is still fairly respectable, and he has much greater strength, giving him by default the ability to use Elthunder and Tornado without losing Attack Speed, though Bastian's noticeably lower magic and speed is a noticeable problem for him.

Availability
◎=Forced　○=Available
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Growth Rates

 * 40%
 * 25%
 * 80%
 * 60%
 * 35%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * 70%
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Bond Support

 * Ike: 5%

Overview
As an Archsage, Soren can reach his Stat Caps in magic, skill, and resistance easily, but he has rather questionable speed and strength growths. Once he caps Magic, Skill, and Resistance, Bonus Experience can help him max out his other stats. Of all potential Archsages, Soren (along with Bastian) have the highest cap in Magic but the lowest cap in Strength, but Soren's strength as an Archsage will always be high enough to suffer no loss of attack speed from wielding Rexcalibur.

Soren's main competition as a candidate for Archsage comes from Ilyana, as both are the only anima mages with enough availability to level and promote rather easily. Soren's main advantage is Wind magic being stronger than Thunder magic in this game and also having a B rank in Fire and Thunder Tomes by default, meaning he does not have to grind weapon ranks to use most Fire magic, which is the strongest anima weapon type of the three in Radiant Dawn. In particular, Soren can reach an S rank in wind magic as a Wind Sage long before he is able to promote, meaning once that happens, he can easily revert to using the stronger Fire Magic until he promotes. Ilyana, on the other hand, needs extensive usage in order to push her Thunder magic proficiency up to S before promoting to an Archsage, and also will have to use that time to grind Fire and Wind ranks if seeking control of the anima weapon triangle is desired (though this can be compensated by assigning her the Discipline scroll that can be stolen from an enemy during Part I). Soren also will have better speed, magic, and resistance, which is much more valuable in the last two endgame chapters. Although Ilyana is the only character capable of using the Rexbolt, she cannot safely use it to kill many Dragon Laguz in the endgame unless they are weakened due to the excessive power and durability Dragon Laguz tend to have.

Despite these many advantages Soren has over Ilyana, the latter has considerably better availability due to being available in most of the Part 1 Chapters and also returning in Part 3. This means that by the time Ilyana rejoins in Part 3, she can be roughly on par level-wise with Soren, maybe only being two or three levels behind. However, Ilyana's better availability is only an asset if she is trained and promoted before the end of Part 1; if that does not happen, training Ilyana in Part 3 is going to be more trouble than it is worth. Hard Mode in particular tends to favor Soren over Ilyana, as she will be competing with a number of characters in Part I for very limited experience, and most of the characters in Part I will need to be better trained in Hard Mode than in Easy and Normal Mode for the chapters they are used in during Part III.

While Ilyana cannot use the Rexbolt to face many Dragon Laguz in the endgame one-on-one (especially Dheginsea, with which Ilyana is almost certain to be KOd by one-on-one), the ability to use it is still very useful, as being the strongest Tome in the game, it will do much more damage than Soren can with an Archthunder or Thoron tome. In addition, while Thunder magic is the weakest type of Anima magic in the game, it is only one point weaker than Wind magic, though Soren in general will be inflicting more damage with Wind magic than Ilyana can due to his much higher magic growth rate.

SpotPass
*Enemy only; joins unequipped

Description

 * Shrewd Strategist
 * An officer in the Greil Mercenaries. A coolheaded realist who has opened up to Ike. Appears in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

Base Stats
Rarity:

Battle Conversations
Maijin: ''A mage, eh? I'll have to keep my guard up around you, no matter how young you look.'' Soren: ''You forced this combat. We cannot allow you to return home. Are you ready to die?''
 * Vs. Maijin

Death
"I don't like it, but I'll follow your orders and go ahead... But, Ike, watch yourself!"

- Soren's escape quote

(Chapter 17 and before) Soren: Oof! That was... poorly done. Ike: Retreat, Soren! You've done all you can here! Soren: But, Ike... Ike: You heard me. Fall back! You can still help us with our planning. Besides, if you tell us all what to do, we'll be better off, right? Soren: I... I understand... Please... be careful!

(Chapter 18 and after) Soren: Oh... Ow! Ike: Hold it, Soren! You're not staying in this a moment longer! Withdraw! Soren: Ike, I can still-- Ike: Our tactician isn't allowed to make faces like that. Ever! Listen, we need you planning our strategies at base, so leave that attitude behind. That is, unless you have a problem with the two of us in command. Soren: Of-of course not! I didn't see... ... I understand. But listen... Stay safe, Ike.

(Endgame) Soren: Argh! Not now... It's the last battle... How could I be so careless? Ike: Soren! Just fall back! This may be the last battle for Crimea, but it won't be the last battle for us, will it? Soren: What? Ike: We're mercenaries. After this battle, there will be hundreds, maybe thousands of fights ahead. Am I wrong? Soren: I... No... Ike: Right. So get out of here. Our little group needs you! Do you understand? Soren: Ike... I understand. I will withdraw... Ike! Don't let me down!

Battle Conversations
Soren: Our last battle, in the valley. Was that your strategy? Micaiah: ... Soren: That was impressive. You killed thousands of beorc soldiers with your little ambush. Well done. Micaiah: I... Soren: The Maiden of Dawn... What are you? One of the Branded, that's for sure. But there is something else about you... Power. Yes, I can feel it in you. You possess great power. Micaiah: Yes, and you would know. There's something very different about you, too. Your energy feels so...ancient. You and I seem to have so much in common. Soren: That doesn't matter in the slightest. The only thing that does matter is that you are a dangerous adversary. You are also in Ike's path, so it falls to me to remove you. It's almost a shame. Farewell, Maiden of Dawn. Micaiah: So, you fight for someone, as well. So very much alike... But I will defeat you. I will protect the ones I love!
 * Vs. Micaiah (Chapter 3-13)

Soren: The new king of Daein, Pelleas. How convenient. I can end this farce right now. Surrender or die. Pelleas: Who are you? That mark on your forehead... Is it a mark of Spirit Protection? Soren: No. It's something rather different. Pelleas: But that shape... It looks so much like mine! Soren: Is that so? You might still be more powerful than you let on. Still, I doubt this changes anything. Prepare yourself, Pelleas. Pelleas: But wait! There's so much I want to ask you!
 * Vs. Pelleas (Chapter 3-E)

Death
"I've been commanded to scout ahead, so I'll withdraw... Be careful, Ike!"

- Soren's escape quote

(Retreat Quote) Soren: ...Ugh... What a terrible place...to die... Ike: Soren, retreat! Soren: But, Ike... Ike: Aren't you supposed to be my strategist? Use your head! I need your help. Soren: ...I see. As you command... (Soren Retreats)

"Ike... Please live... Even if all the cities burn, and the seas swallow Tellius... You mustn't die... Not you..."

- Soren's death quote in Part 4

Heroes

 * Soren/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings
Silent Master of Winds (静寂の風使い Seijaku no kaze-zukai)
 * Though his tactical genius was unmatched, Soren never used his talents for anyone but Ike.


 * A support with Ike


 * When peace had settled on the land, Soren packed lightly and set off with the only person he had ever trusted.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Soren is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards: 🇨🇴

🇨🇴

Etymology
'Soren' is a Danish given name originating from Latin Severinus, derived from severus "severe, strict, serious". Søren Kierkegaard was a nineteenth-century philosopher and theologian whose work was the foreground for twentieth-century existentialism.

Interestingly, there was a Pope Severinus who lived in the seventh century who, when he refused to validate the Byzantine Emperor's latest religious decrees, was besieged by Isaac, the Exarch of Ravenna, an ally of the Emperor. Later, an attack on the Byzantines by the Lombards, one of the Germanic tribes living in northern Italy, probably resulted in Isaac's death.

Trivia

 * Soren's Path of Radiance incarnation came in 24th place for males in the Fire Emblem Heroes Choose Your Legends popularity poll, with 6,248 votes. His Radiant Dawn incarnation came in 39th place for males, and had 3,470 votes.
 * Although Soren's hair appears black, it is actually a very dark shade of green, much darker than his mother's or other relatives' hair. It is also noted that his Branded mark has changed slightly between the artwork of Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn. In Path of Radiance, the sides were curved inward; in Radiant Dawn, the sides are straight yet curve outward a little.
 * Soren's Japanese name resembles the word "scenario," a likely reference to his role as tactician for the Greil Mercenaries.
 * Soren shares his English voice actor Kyle Mccarley with Shadow's of Valentia's Alm.

Gallery
Soren