Lyon

"Mm... My research isn’t complete yet, but there’s no mistaking the power the Sacred Stones contain. And the Stone of Grado seems especially responsive to my dark magic. I suppose it’s because it contains both sacred and demonic properties. Regardless, if I can just press my studies a little harder... Well, I think I might be able to use it to heal my father’s illness. If that works, there’s no telling how many other people I can help as well."

- Lyon in a flashback in The Sacred Stones

Lyon (リオン Rion) is the secondary antagonist in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. He is the prince of Grado and the son of Vigarde, as well as a close friend to Eirika and Ephraim.

Profile
Lyon is a gentle person who greatly admires his close friends, Eirika and Ephraim, princess and prince of Renais respectively. His greatest ambition was to be a strong ruler to protect his empire but harbored feelings of uselessness fueled by his weak health, his one-sided feelings for Eirika, and his hidden jealousy of Ephraim.

Aided by Knoll, who was among a team of Dark Magic researchers, he discovered and used a "forbidden" spell that allowed him to see into the future. What he saw was a massive earthquake that would destroy most of Grado. He began to experiment with the Fire Emblem, which was the Sacred Stone of Grado that contained the spirit of the Demon King, Fomortiis.

His extensive experimentation eventually caused it to split the Stone in two halves, one of which was still a Sacred Stone, the other of which was the Dark Stone, which now contained the Demon King's spirit. However, when Lyon tried to use the Dark Stone, he fell under the Demon King's influence and was convinced that he might be able to avert the disaster by reviving the Demon King and harnessing his power.

Lyon first appears in a cutscene in the chapter "A New Journey". Eirika and Ephraim share a flashback in which they talk with Lyon about their ambitions in life, etc. In Chapter 18, depending on the route taken, he is either completely possessed by the Demon King, who imitates his soft persona to convince Eirika to hand over the Renais Sacred Stone, or fakes possession (so as not to reveal the truth to his friends) and takes the Sacred Stone from Ephraim by force before revealing himself. He uses the demonic resurrection spell Naglfar in combat, as well as the demonic spell Fenrir and the leech spell Nosferatu in chapter 17.

In the last chapter, he is killed and dies in the arms of his friends, then serves as the final sacrifice needed to revive the Demon King. Despite his efforts, the earthquake he foresaw happens anyway and is seen by people as the divine punishment for Grado.

Lyon is recruited by beating the Lagdou Ruins three times and his spell, Naglfar, has infinite uses. He also gives the player another Hammerne staff.

Personality
When he is not fully dominated by the Demon King, Lyon's speech and behavior are different whether he talks to Ephraim or Eirika: when he faces Eirika he seems sad, remorseful and gentle, as well as somewhat willing to hear her; when he speaks to Ephraim, he is much more aggressive and straightforward, saying that despite cherishing his friendship with Ephraim, he wants to win a battle against him at least once.

Sometimes though, he falls completely under the Demon King's control and loses any semblance of courtesy and instead becomes menacing and dark; if this is the case his speech often appears in a black box with white text, instead of a white box with black text. His speech in a black box with white texts implies that he speaks in a very sinister tone.

Chapter 17
*Dropped when defeated *Dropped when defeated
 * -|Easy/Normal=
 * -|Hard=

Final Chapter

 * -|Easy/Normal=


 * -|Hard=

Growth Rates

 * -|International=


 * 85%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 30%
 * 45%
 * 55%
 * }
 * -|Japan=


 * 85%
 * 50%
 * 10%
 * 10%
 * 30%
 * 10%
 * 15%
 * }

Overall
Lyon suffers from the curse of having horrible stat bases, yet he has some of the greatest growths in the game (in the English version). If you are going to use him, just max him out with stat boosters, at which point he will become very effective. Do not forget to give him Body Rings until he has at least 18 Con, because of the heavy Naglfar tome. He can summon Phantoms too, just like Knoll and Ewan if you make either of them the Summoner class, and his summons have ridiculously high luck, which is also noteworthy. He is also the only character in The Sacred Stones who can get an S rank in more than one weapon type.

Since he is only unlockable in the Creature Campaign, he cannot support with anyone and cannot be recruited in the main game.

It should be noted that his class, Necromancer, has the highest stat caps of any playable character available in the game, with each stat, aside from HP (60), Skill and Speed (Both 25), at 30. This trait is shared with Idenn's Mage Dragon class as well as Nergal's Dark Druid class.

SpotPass
*Enemy only; joins unequipped

Death Quotes
"Heh......"

- Chapter 17 in The Sacred Stones "Hahaha....Hahahahaha....HAHAHAHAHA!"

- Final Chapter of Eirika's route in The Sacred Stones "Where... Where did I go wrong..."

- Final Chapter of Ephraim's route in The Sacred Stones

Normal Battle (Chapter 17)
Lyon: Do you challenge me? You humans are so inconstant. You've forgotten what it is to fear me.

Lyon vs Ephraim (Chapter 17)
Ephraim: Where's Lyon? What have you done with our friend?! ANSWER ME! Lyon: Heh heh...What a splendid fool you make. Shall I dress you in a jester's cap? Shall we watch you jape in my demon's court? Lyon is dead. I devoured him. Can you not understand? Ephraim: Monster!

Lyon vs Eirika (Chapter 17)
Eirika: Lyon, please! You must stop! I...I have no wish to fight you! Lyon: Heh heh..Wretched girl. Are you listening, Lyon. Is this truly the girl you loved? Then I will use these hands to tear her limb from limb!

Lyon vs Eirika (Final Chapter, Eirika's Route)
Eirika: Lyon... I hope you're watching. I will defeat the Demon King. Lyon: Heh, do you really think your blade can hurt me? Cut me and see! If you can even hit me, that is.

Lyon vs Ephraim (Final Chapter, Ephraim's Route)
Lyon: Tell me, Ephraim: do I look like I’ve grown stronger? The last time we dueled, I was too weak to test you. Why, I was so weak, I even lost to Eirika… Ephraim: …… Lyon: I’ve sacrificed the lives of many good people. I’ve committed many unforgivable sins. The caring heart that I once possessed died long ago…  And I’ve grown stronger because of it. I’ve grown strong enough to defeat even you, Ephraim. Ephraim:  …No, you haven’t. You’re still no match for me. You were never one for combat. It’s not in you. You should never have chosen this path. Lyon: …… Ephraim: ……Here I come, Lyon.

Etymology
The name "Lyon" probably comes from "Leon", a very popular name in Medieval to Early Modern Europe which is derived from the Greek word meaning "lion".

It is also the name of a town in eastern France. The town was originally founded by Romans and named Lugdunum. This name comes from the Celtic god Lugus, meaning light (from which the name Lugh is derived), and "dunon", which means "hill". The Romans associated Lugus with Mercury; the name Lugdunum therefore translates to either "hill of light" or alternatively "hill of crows". 

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version of The Sacred Stones, Lyon's growth rates were much worse, with many of them being 10%.