Kate

"Then you should know that some women don't take kindly to quipping. If you don't want to talk, then let me sit by your side in silence. I just want you to keep an open heart, Zeek..."

- Kate, in a conversation with Zeek

Kate (ケイト Keito) is a playable character from TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga. She is a loyal knight of Wellt who has been assigned to be the bodyguard of Princess Sasha. She is a naive woman who is trusting of others. She deeply respects her deceased father, who was a knight like her.

Profile
Kate is introduced alongside Sasha when they are fleeing from Duke Codha's soldiers at the beginning of the game. After they are rescued by Runan, she and Sasha join his army. At the end of Map 2, she makes a promise to Sasha that they will never be separated. After Map 5, she is approached by Zeek, whom she finds to be suspicious until he reveals that he was enslaved and forced to serve the Zoa Empire.

After Map 7, Kate notices that Zeek is alone at the banquet and approaches him. Despite his initial attempt to keep his distance himself from her, she insists on staying at his side and tells him that he should keep an open heart. Following this, they begin to spend most of their time together, and as time passes, they fall in love. If the two of them and Norton are sent with Runan after the first route split, she will have a conversation with Norton at the end of Map 10. In this scene, Norton advises Kate to keep her distance from Zeek, as he believes that he is a traitor. This causes her to start crying while claiming that no one else understands Zeek like she does. If Sasha is also sent with Runan, Kate will stop her from drinking wine at the banquet, telling her that she is too young and that Liza would not approve of it.

If they are both in Runan's army, Kate will approach Zeek in a forest after Map 17. In this scene, she points out that he has been behaving strangely, as he always seems to be lost in thought. Immediately after she says this, she is bitten by a poisonous spider and Zeek saves her life. After his disappearance before the start of Map 24, she comes to the conclusion that Zeek was captured by the Gerxel Church and asks Runan to rescue him.

During the third intermission, Sasha notices that Kate has been in low spirits since Zeek has vanished and tells her not to worry about him, as she believes that Runan will bring Zeek back to them. If she is sent with Holmes after the third route split, Kate will be present in the first battle against Zeek in Map 31. After the battle, she lets him escape from Holmes and advises him to hide until the war is over. Regardless of which army she is in, they are approached by Nefka, who reveals to her that Zeek's loyalty has always been to Gwenchaos. Immediately, she demands for Zeek to tell her if she tricked her, and he remains silent as she is kidnapped by Nefka. She is soon imprisoned in the Temple of Gerxel, and during her time there, she loses all of her self-confidence.

When Runan and Holmes invade the temple, Kate can be recruited by Sasha if the two of them were sent with the same army after the third route split. By this time, she has lost all of her self-confidence and now believes that her allies will not forgive her for her mistakes. If she is rescued by Runan's army, she will be present in the final battle against Zeek in Map 39.

In the epilogue, Kate refuses to accompany Sasha to Wellt Castle and instead decides to return to her father's grave. After claiming that her father would not forgive her for her mistakes, she tells Sasha that she lacks the qualifications to continue on as a knight.

Recruitment
She appears as an NPC in Map 1. She will automatically join if Runan talks to Sasha. If she is kept alive, she will return in Map 3.

If she is kidnapped from Holmes's army (at the start of Map 32), she will appear in a cell in Map 38. If she is kidnapped from Runan's army (at the end of Map 36), she will appear in Map 39. She can be re-recruited by having Sasha speak to her in either scenario.

Growth Rates

 * 55%
 * 25%
 * 10%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * 25%
 * 40%
 * 18%
 * 0%
 * }

Supports

 * Zeek
 * Sasha
 * Loffaru

Overall
Kate is a decent unit, starting with good bases and average growth rates, but rather poor movement that can cause her to be left behind by the other characters. She will be a useful fighter who doubles as both a sword-user and an archer, and her support with Sasha will prove to be useful, especially early in the game. She also receives good support bonuses from Zeek, but since he is not playable for very long, it is limited in usefulness. Regardless, it helps her offense and defenses in the early stages of the game, making her easier to train. Her promotion gives her a mount, which fixes her movement issues, but also rather poor stat gains. Statistically, she is very similar to the other Lady Knight, Sharon, although Sharon has higher agility. Nothing in particular makes her stand out, but regardless, she is among the better half of the playable mounted units.

If the player wants to keep all of the playable characters alive for the ending, it is noteworthy that it is helpful to train Kate, as she is auto-fielded in a chapter near the end of the game and thus will be placed in the middle of the battle. Although, Sierra and Renee have some tricks that can be used to ease the situation if Kate ends up being under-trained.