Wolf (Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light)

"The Wolfguard's strength is not mine alone. It also belongs to Sedgar, my assistant in the battlefield. As well as Vyland and Roshea... And more than anything, it belongs to Coyote... Because he was with us."

- Wolf, in a base conversation with the Avatar in Shin Monshō no Nazo.

Wolf (ウルフ Urufu) is a playable character from the Akaneia Series of Fire Emblem. Under the banner of Hardin in Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Wolf functions as the leader of the Aurelian Knights. Following the end of the War of Darkness, he establishes and captains an elite force that is known as the Wolfguard, comprising of Roshea, Vyland and Sedgar.

Background
Once a member of the people residing in the plains of Aurelis, Wolf, was captured and made a slave to the aristocracy. He was later, along with his fellow brethren, liberated when Hardin assumed the leadership of the country from the former King of Aurelis.

Some time after being freed from slavery, Wolf, alongside Roshea, Vyland and Sedgar, made a collective vow to give their lives for Hardin, thereafter swearing eternal fealty to him.

Akaneia Saga
Shortly after the Dolunian Empire began spreading its influence over the continent of Akaneia, Aurelis is, after being besieged by a troop of Dracoknights led by Princess Minerva of Medon, forced to cede much of her territory to the Empire.

Upon learning that a cluster of villages in an unnamed district of Aurelis is under harassment from bandits in Episode 2, Hardin leads Wolf and Roshea to the vicinity in a bid to restore order to the region. Later combining their might with Minerva and the Whitewings squad, the group manages to quell the bandit uprising by felling Ruben, the main orchestrator of said uprising. Throughout the entire skirmish, Wolf maintains a respectful silence, preferring to permit his liege to handle the talking. After Hardin briefly cedes praise on Minerva for her combat prowess, Wolf hastily departs with him and Roshea.

War of Darkness
By the time the events of Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi come around, much of Aurelis has been dominated by the Doluna Empire. Hardin, leading the rebellion army opposing the Doluna Empire, refuses to bow down to the enemy, gallantly executing his duties without falter. Wolf, alongside his fellow subordinates, including Roshea, Vyland and Sedgar, bravely elects to maintain his loyalty to his liege by continuing to struggle by his side. As Marth's army approaches the Northern Fortress of Aurelis in Chapter 5, on Hardin's exuberant command, Wolf heads out with his comrades in order to rendezvous with it. Having been reinforced by the might of Marth's army, the knights of Aurelis are able to successfully rid the land of Aurelis of Doluna's presence, and Wolf, under the order of his liege, proceeds to aid Marth in bringing the War of Darkness to a conclusion with his comrades. Following the end of the war, Wolf establishes and assumes the helm of the Wolfguard, taking Roshea, Vyland and Sedgar as his subordinates, where they pledge to fight for Hardin and reinforce his ideals unquestioningly.

War of Heroes
Wolf reappears in Chapter 18 of Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem, where he commands the Wolfguard to ambush Marth's army as it attempts to pass through the Adria Pass and gain access to the palace of Akaneia. After Marth parleys with the King of Aurelis in a village located in the vicinity, however, the ambush is called off, and Wolf is instructed to retreat with the Wolfguard.

After retreating from the battle of Adria Pass, the Wolfguard, with the exception of Roshea, makes the joint decision to head over to Akaneia and bolster the main force of its army, intending to protect Hardin from the impending assault of Marth's army in Chapter 19. Amongst the group of four comprising the Wolfguard, Wolf is the last to be convinced to defect to Marth's army after an emotional exchange with Sedgar, during which he is reminded of the day of his inauguration as the commander of the Wolfguard, where Hardin urges him to lead him back onto the path of righteousness should he fall into corruption. Wolf then helps Marth to defeat Hardin in the next chapter and thereafter draw the War of Heroes to a conclusion. After the war, as a result of his inability to overcome his grief at the death of Hardin, Wolf will blindly throw himself onto the battlefield with wild abandon, almost as if he desires to end his life.

Personality
Similar to many other knight characters appearing in Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi and Mystery of the Emblem, Wolf is passionately loyal to the liege that he serves, although his loyalty is one that is of an acutely extreme quality; in a bid to uphold the pledge of allegiance he has sworn to Hardin, is more than willing to overlook the crimes that his liege has wrought upon the continent under the Darksphere's influence. His heated outburst at Roshea in Chapter 18 after the latter expresses woeful doubt over the allegations that posit Marth as a man of diabolical ambitions proves as much, as he practically screams when he vehemently denies that Hardin is a liar capable of resorting to deceit.

It is later revealed that Wolf's repeated outbursts of irrational fury with regards to his loyalty to Hardin throughout his appearances in Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem is but a coping mechanism by which he denies the reality that the man whom he looks up to as both a figure of valour and his saviour had been warped into a treacherous being beyond recognition and must pay for his crimes through death. This is hinted through his recruitment conversation with Sedgar in Chapter 19; after Sedgar reminds him of Hardin's request to be led back to the path of righteousness in the event that he strays away from it, Wolf's response, where he dazedly acknowledges that the "time has come... [to] defeat Coyote...", betrays the fact that he has always been aware of the drastic transformation that his liege had undergone, contrary to the blindness that he has displayed prior to this exchange.

Additional dimensions are added to Wolf's character through his base conversations with the Avatar in Shin Monshō no Nazo. For one, it may be observed that he is an individual who does not warm up to strangers very easily, and is especially hostile and condescending to those whom he considers to be beneath him. When faced with people who temper their strength for the sake of protecting the lives of their lieges, however, Wolf humbly acknowledges them with respect, as he considers them to be projections of his own loyalty to Hardin. This is the case during his second conversation with the Avatar, where he apologises for his initial rudeness after carefully observing that their formidable combat prowess is the result of their desire to protect Marth.

The final conversation that Wolf shares with the female Avatar reveal him to be quite a sentimental person; when she quips him on how he remembers his motherland, he fondly describes it as one that is defined by "wide, endless grasslands", "flowers of all colors" and "a cool breeze blowing", before requesting her to accompany him on a tour of the Lea of Aurelis.

Recruitment

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Recruitment

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Base Stats

 * Note: Wolf only appears as a playable unit in Book 1.

Recruitment

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Recruitment

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Support Relationships

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Base Stats

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Support Conversations

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Overall
In Shadow Dragon, Wolf makes for a very decent Horseman; his greatly improved growths allow him to function as a superb Hero, General, or Berserker, should he be reclassed. A downside to using him is that he is pre-promoted and has low bases, hampering his ability to fully harness his growth rates. Wolf generally winds up with slightly lower stats than Sedgar, but is a powerful unit to use nevertheless.

In Shin Monshō no Nazo, Wolf appears to be functionally identical to Sedgar, with only minor leads in Strength, Speed, and Defence. Symptomatic of a Wolfguard unit, his superb growths are undermined by his low base stats, the fact that he is a high-level pre-promoted unit, and late recruitment.

Book 1
Aurelis Soldier

"He remained with the Aurelian Knights, and worked tirelessly to restore the nation."

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Aurelian Hero

"Wolf remained a knight of Aurelis. He helped rebuild, and later captained an elite force called the Wolfguard."

Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~
Aurelian Hero

"After the war, Wolf set his sights for Aurelis. As if searching for death, he threw himself recklessly into battle, one after the next..."

Trivia

 * Wolf is one of the potential love interests for the female Avatar in Shin Monshō no Nazo, along with Jeorge, Warren, Gordin, and Horace.