Lowen

"You know the saying: If the stomach is empty, empty too lies the heart."

- Lowen to Eliwood

Lowen (ロウエン Rōen) is a playable character for Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. He is a fresh recruit of the Pheraean army, who Marcus chooses to train personally.

History
Lowen was born to peasants in a poor village on the outskirts of Pherae. Although the village was far from the castle and had little worth saving, the knights protected the villagers from bandits. Inspired by their valor, Lowen aspired to become a knight himself, and traveled to the castle to begin his training as a squire. His father also became the chef for Eliwood's grandfather, the previous marquess of Pherae, until he threw out his back, and cooked for Eliwood's father Elbert later on.

Even though Lowen was a soldier, he followed in his father's footsteps and made sure that Eliwood was fed well up until he was chosen to go with Marcus on a journey to find Eliwood's father. While moving ahead to recruit able-bodied men in a nearby village to aid in Eliwood's expedition, he encountered pillaging bandits and subsequently rescued the archer Rebecca as well as the tactician to enlist their help in protecting the villagers. Once the village was saved, Lowen continued his service to Eliwood by fighting for him under Marcus's command, which eventually resulted in fighting the Black Fang and Nergal, and then returned to Pherae afterward to become decorated for his accomplishments and continue his knightly career.

If Lowen reached an A support with Rebecca during the game's events, they will be married in their ending, and he will beget a green-haired son who is said to have inherited his father's chivalrous temperament and his mother's skill at archery.

Personality
Lowen is a very gentle but insecure person, who constantly berates himself despite possessing a lot of talent in both sword fighting and cooking. Nonetheless, he is incredibly determined as well, and does not let his shortcomings get the better of him, which is most evident when he spars with Marcus. Presumably, he is the army's cook, and is quite obsessed with staying full since he comes from a very poor village, even fainting when he heard Eliwood forgot to eat breakfast. According to the other Pheraeans, Lowen keeps emergency rations in his pack, in case he goes hungry while on the field.

Recruitment

 * Chapter 11: Eliwood's Mode: Automatically from the start.
 * Chapter 12: Hector's Mode: Automatically from the start.

Base Stats
* Iron Lance in Hector's mode instead of Javelin.
 * Cavalier
 * Fire
 * 2
 * 23
 * 7
 * 5
 * 7
 * 3
 * 7
 * 0
 * 10
 * 7
 * Sword - D Lance - D
 * Iron Sword Javelin*
 * }

Promotional Gains

 * HP +2
 * Strength +1
 * Skill +1
 * Speed +1
 * Defense +2
 * Resistance +1
 * Movement +1
 * Con +2
 * Rescue -2
 * Axe Mastery E

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * }

Supports

 * Marcus
 * Harken
 * Isadora
 * Eliwood
 * Rebecca

Overview
Unlike most cavaliers, Lowen focuses on defense over offense. On average, Lowen will have remarkably high HP, Defense and Luck, making him a solidly defensive unit that is comparable to Hector or Oswin.

Inversely, his offensive parameters are not that powerful, resulting in less than stellar combat performance, although he compensates with his control over the Weapon Triangle, especially when he promotes, and by having excellent durability. Combined with his high mobility as a mounted unit, Lowen has utility in alternately running ahead to absorb hits for other units, or staying behind with the others to serve as a tank for fragiler units.

As his base stats and growth rates indicate, Lowen will not often be a liability in battle, and with his early join time, he can only keep improving and further decrease that possibility. Furthermore, Lowen has a wealth of excellent support options, and can either increase his superb Defense by supporting Marcus and Eliwood, or improve his lackluster offensive by supporting Rebecca or Eliwood for offensive affinity bonuses.

Finally, Lowen has the best Constitution as both a Cavalier and a Paladin, and loses no Speed from equipping heavier weapons such as Steel Swords or Silver Lances unpromoted, and Hand Axes or Brave Swords after promotion.

Death quote
"A knight of Pherae...must never falter..."

- Lowen's death quote

Final Chapter: Light quote
"Knights should fight, not speak! ...Was that right?"

- Lowen's quote in Final Chapter: Light

Trivia

 * Lowen's hair covers his eyes, so it is unknown what Lowen's eyes look like.

Possible Endings
Lowen - Swift Knight

Lowen replaced Marcus as the most famed knight in all Pherae. His endless zeal served Pherae well throughout his life.

Rebecca and Lowen

Rebecca and Lowen were wed, and they became two of Eliwood's most trusted retainers. Their green-haired son inherited his father's chivalrous spirit, as well as his mother's smile and skill with a bow.

Etymology
"Löwen" means "lion" in German.