Berkut

"One is born either noble or common. This destiny cannot be changed. Has a sheep any hope of leading wolves? No!"

- Berkut

Berkut (ベルクト Berukuto) is a non-playable character who appears exclusively in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He is the nephew of Emperor Rudolf of Rigel and Alm's cousin.

Profile
Berkut is a noble who places great importance on social status. He guided the coup d’etat in Zofia by luring Desaix into betraying. Berkut also convinces Fernand to join the Rigelian army after leaving the Deliverance. He is vying to be the next emperor and commands the invasion of Zofia to prove his military prowess. He is also engaged to Rinea, who cares for him during the ongoing war. According to Lukas, he is around the same age that Alm is.

Berkut is first fights Alm in Chapter 3 where he faces the Deliverance alongside Fernand out of sport and in order to test their strength. Despite a tough fight for Alm, Berkut is defeated, forcing him to retreat to the Rigelian palace. Disgraced from his loss against Alm, Berkut begs Rudolf a second chance to face Alm, this time with the Regelian army behind him, as despite Jedah's assurance, he believes the Deliverance might be able to break past the sluice gate. Before leaving, Nuibaba offers to grant him great power through Duma to give him an edge over Alm. Seeing no honor in having to resort to a God's blessing to beat Alm, Berkut refuses. However, Nuibaba gives him a mirror, telling him to shatter the mirror if he desires power. Later, Berkut and the Regelian army meets the Deliverance just outside of the floodgates and promptly charges into battle, bent on killing Alm. He is, once again, bested by Alm. In desperation, Berkut shatter's Nuibaba's mirror, causing a curse to fall over the Deliverance. Berkut is horrified by the dark magic, but Alm's pendant from Celica removes the curse and Berkut is forced to retreat once more.

Later, as the Deliverance finishes its campaign through Rigel and arrives at the castle's doorstep, Berkut pleads to Rudolf for one more chance to face Alm. Distasteful with his failures, Rudolf denies Berkut's request and he is forced to watch as the battle unfolds.

With the aftermath of the battle, came the revelation of Alm being Rudolf's son and heir to the empire, thus rendering Berkut's sucession of the throne invalid. This, in turn, causes him to wallow in despair near an Altar of Duma, where the god himself offers to give Berkut the power he desires. Worried for Berkut, Rinea follows him into the Tower and tells Berkut that she does not care whether or not he is emperor, never desiring herself to be empress from the beginning, only to remain next to him for the rest of her days. Berkut perceive it as a slight, however, and drives him over the edge. Berkut then willing gives himself to Duma, offering whatever Duma desires in exchange for power. The price in his case being Rinea's soul, which he complies, turning her into a Witch.

Blinded by his new power, Berkut makes Rinea attack and mortally wounds Fernand, who came to check on him. Later, as Alm heads down Duma Temple to claim the Falchion, Berkut stands in his way. Despite Alm attempting to ask Berkut to work together to restore peace to Rigel and Valentia, Berkut refuses and is overcome by Duma's blessing. After the battle, Berkut begs Alm to kill him and end his suffering. Suddenly, Rinea appears in spirit, back in her normal appearance. Rinea continues to tell Berkut that regardless if he is emperor or not, she still loves him for the noble man he truly is deep down. Berkut, having regained his sanity, accepts her offer to look for his "empire" together, so long as he accepts her as his "empress". As Berkut is on his death throes, he hands Alm a ring, a memento of his mother. Knowing that Alm can restore Valentia and make it a land led by men, rather than gods, Berkut dies, finally able to reunite with Rinea.

Personality
Berkut is a prideful man who, much like Fernand, places great emphasis on social status. Unlike Fernand, who acts as if he is owed something for being a noble, Berkut feels the need to demonstrate his own power and worth, subtly signifying contrast between Zofian and Rigelian ideals. Berkut tends to come off as haughty, and even a bit aggressive, in the way that he talks down on others. He is very mistrustful of most people, particularly the church of Duma; he loathes and outright fears Jedah, and is extra-suspicious of religion and magic as a result.

His parents hammered it into his head as he grew up that might made right, and that he could never follow in Rudolf's footsteps without being strong. As an adult, while a part of him recognizes how poorly his parents treated him, he refuses to acknowledge that Rudolf treats him much the same. He is desperate to please his uncle, who is seldom shown as anything but taciturn or disapproving towards Berkut in return. His desperation is his undoing; he is fiercely proud, yet at the same time, walking on a knife's edge, terrified to fail Rudolf and prove himself unworthy or weak.

As the game progresses, he lashes out in frustration more and more, almost looking for excuses to see people doubting him, as seen with Rinea when conflict happens. In spite of that, he is much different when he is alone with Rinea, as she is the only person he has ever trusted. Their relationship is as important to his character as it is to hers. Berkut is keenly aware of her needs and feelings, and while he does still overcompensate in front of her at times, he is unafraid of expressing his true emotions in front of her. He feels that she genuinely deserves the power and status of an empress, to the point where she cannot tell him she does not want to be one, and becoming angry when she expresses relief that Alm is the rightful emperor. Rinea's heritage as a member of minor, if not downright impoverished nobility, does not matter to the otherwise strictly hierarchical Berkut. This is shown to a lesser extent when he's with Fernand as well since Berkut considers him a comrade and they both share similar social views.

Chapter 3

 * -|Normal=
 * Granted by Blessed Ring **Dropped upon Defeat
 * -|Hard=
 * Granted by Blessed Ring **Dropped upon Defeat

Chapter 4

 * -|Normal=

Granted by Coral Ring*
 * -|Hard=

Chapter 5

 * -|Normal=

*Granted by Kriemhild
 * -|Hard=

*Granted by Kriemhild

Supports
Passive Supports
 * Rinea

Quotes
"Come then! Are you going to entertain me or not?"

- Act 3 battle quote

"They’re stronger than I thought… But no… I came here to be entertained, not to give up my life."

- Act 3 defeat quote

"Only death awaits those who would profane Rigel’s soil. Consider it a mercy your bones will rest here, in sight of your homeland!"

- Act 4 battle quote

"Nrgh… No… Am I to lose again? AGAIN?!"

- Act 4 defeat quote

"You… You took…everything from me. You will SUFFER for what you’ve done!"

- Act 5 battle quote

"Graugh!"

- Act 5 defeat quote

Trivia

 * Berkut is the only enemy besides Fernand who has unused battle dialogue when selected on turn 1 and when below half health.
 * This may suggest that Berkut was once originally a playable character.