—Rafal to Nel
Rafal is a character from Fire Emblem Engage from the Fell Xenologue DLC story. During the Fell Xenologue, he goes by the name Nil. He is a scion of the Fell Dragon Sombron from a parallel universe version of Elyos.
Profile[]
Rafal is one of numerous Fell Dragon children of Sombron in the Fell Xenologue story. Like the other Fell Dragon children of his timeline, Rafal had a twin of his own, but said twins identity is unknown.
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
Rafal had met his brother Nil sometime in the past and the two bonded over their shared feelings of weakness in comparison to their twin siblings. When Nil tragically died, Rafal was the one who discovered him in his death throes. Because their likeness was so similar, Nil pleaded for Rafal to take his place as Nel's brother. Rafal obliged, taking Nil's identity and making it seem that he had died that day instead. Despite putting on a convincing façade as Nil, Nel was immediately able to recognize that Rafal was not her other half. With time, Nel came to care for Rafal however and saw him as a true second brother. Sombron was also aware of the deception, but tolerated it since he considered the real Nil to be a failure.
While training, Rafal was soon able to awaken and harness the power of the bracelets, which impressed Sombron. When he wanted to reveal his new power, Sombron forbade him from doing so, instead having him act as if he was weak to hide his true power. Rafal obeyed the request and supposedly joined Nel in opposing Sombron, though prior to his death, Sombron used his magic to taint Nel's dragonstone to foster feelings of resentment and envy in Rafal over his sister's greater strength and ability to transform. By doing so, Sombron sought to stir conflict between the siblings and compel Rafal to take his place as his heir following his death to their world's Alear.
Continuing to masquerade as Nil and progressively losing sight of the reasons for his pursuit of power, Rafal accompanied his sister, Alear and the Four Winds in claiming the Emblem Bracelets to save their world. Attempting to honor his father's wishes, Rafal sent assassins to eliminate Nel at Lythos Castle, having already claimed two of the bracelets for himself. After Nel slew the Ivy and Timerra of their world and left to clear her head with the Four Winds following her, Rafal revealed his true nature and captured Alear along with the bracelets that Nel left behind. He then led Nel and the Four Winds into a temple full of Corrupted, kidnapping Nel and leaving the Four Winds to die. Alear's allies manage to break through Rafal's forces and defeat him. After witnessing the temple collapse, Rafal believes that his Corrupted had slew the Four Winds, unaware that he had only killed Mauvier, as he sacrificed himself to let the others escape. He then attacks Nel and demands that Alear meet him at the Fallen Somniel if they valued her life.
Arriving at the ruins of the Somniel, Rafal demand that Alear remove the seal on the Bracelet of the Three Houses, which they did. Immediately upon doing so, with the other bracelets in his possession that he had seized from Nel, Rafal transforms into a Great Fell Dragon and tries to kill the group, only to be defeated and the bracelets dissipated with them. Believing his fate to be sealed as he had failed his mission, he was instead surprised when Nel impaled herself with her sword and died in front of him. Even after Alear and Zelestia realized that Sombron had manipulated him, Rafal states that he was responsible for his own actions. He then asked Alear if it was true that dragons of great power could impart their life force to others, which Alear confirmed, though warning him it would take a thousand years. Rafal accepted the outcome nonetheless, believing the time spent in a dead world would be suitable punishment for him. Alear then extended him an invitation to their world, which he accepted under the condition that he would only join them if Nel would forgive him.
Alear took the remaining members of the Four Winds with them back to their Elyos, leaving Rafal with Nel's body. Rafal was eventually successful in reviving Nel with his life force, who forgave him and thus accepted Alear's invitation with her, joining their army.
The dragonstone created by the Emblems was large enough that Rafal was able to split it into four separate pieces, two each for himself and Nel, without its potency being reduced. With these, both are able to assume their dragon forms, even with Nel's original dragonstone destroyed.
Personality[]
Rafal appears to share a close bond with his sister Nel, working together with her to save their world.
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
Prideful and self-centered as well as strong-willed, the true Rafal in opposition to his Nil persona is supremely certain of himself and jubilant over his newfound strength. Many of his lines also reveal an extremely penitent and sensitive side to this impression, however, as Rafal offers to supersede the Divine One's place should they ever be in a position where they must give up their life. His Pact Ring wake up event covers the ground of his past regrets, as Rafal fears that he will lose his loved ones a second time to a final and shattering effect. He expresses shame over his reprehensible nature as someone who brought his world to the brink of extinction, citing it as the reason for why he cannot initially accept the Pact Ring or why others ought to avoid him.
Related to the above, his A support with Gregory reveals vital information in that he is willing to wear the 'mask' and push people away out of feelings of obligation rather than outright cruelty. Rafal's affected conscience compels him to keep his former allies and friends at arm's length. Further elaborating on the pretenses of his behavior, Rafal experiences difficulty in expressing both gratitude and affection due to the harsh disposition required to survive in the Fell Gradlon, where siblings must betray and murder each other to stay alive. Instead, he has a tendency to show appreciation in roundabout ways, such as gifting confections to show his gratitude or attempting to conceal them under the Divine One's pillow.
Per the norm, he is often prickly, mean-spirited, and obstinate in his point of view until proven otherwise. Other characters such as Alear, Alfred, and Gregory return this impression with understanding, catching onto the notion that Rafal is inwardly kind and well-meaning despite his undoubtedly spiky exterior. After a thousand years of isolation and self-reflection, he is ironically beginning to realize the merits of the kindness others see in him - a fact that is stated on his ally profile. This lines up with Rafal's stated admiration for Alfred's good nature and Alear's sincerity in their support chains.
Believing himself to have made a good impression of Nil, Rafal did not appear to suspect that both Nel and Sombron were already aware he was an imposter. Sombron used this to his advantage, corrupting Nel's dragonstone to foster feelings of resentment and envy in him over Nel's strength and ability to transform. Even after Sombron's death, Rafal continued to honor his father's wishes, hiding his strength and ability to awaken the bracelets from everyone else and did not care for his relationship with the others, going as far as to kill his former friends to do so.
After being defeated, Rafal considered himself a failure due to not being able to honor his father's wishes even with the immense power he had gained and felt that he deserved to die. However, when Nel killed herself to ease his pain and to avoid losing a second "brother", he expressed immense shock and was heartbroken over her needless death, revealing his true name to the others. When Alear revealed that Sombron had manipulated his feelings, Rafal did not accept it, stating that in spite of his father's manipulation, he was ultimately responsible for his own actions. Truly regretful for the events he had caused, he decided to spend his time imparting his life force to revive Nel, hoping for her forgiveness if she revived.
In his supports with Alear, Mauvier and Gregory, Rafal expresses regret over his actions; in his supports with Alear, should they present him the Pact Ring, he initially declines it due to feeling unworthy, even admitting that he would be unable to control his grief should he lose them. While he insists otherwise in his supports with Mauvier and Gregory, both men are able to discern that he genuinely regrets the actions he caused. In his supports with Nel, he is initially overprotective of her as he did not want to feel the agony of losing her again, though he accepts when Nel demands that she protect him too as they could not act as equals otherwise.
In-Game[]
- A man with Fell Dragon blood. He accepted the invitation to fight alongside the Divine Dragon.
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"
|
The younger of twins with Fell Dragon blood. A kindhearted young man who supports his sister. (As Nil)
Base Stats[]
| Starting Class | Battle Style | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fell Child | Dragon | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Bld |
| 20 | 39 | 19 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 20 | 11 | 9 |
| Emblem | Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||
| - |  Rivalry |  Axe - A Special - S |  Fell Stone Fell Slaystone | ||||||
As an Enemy[]
Fell Xenologue 5: The Fell Heir[]
| Starting Class | Battle Style | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fell Child | Dragon | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Bld |
| 28 | 60 | 15 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 10 | 25 | 42 (32+10) | 8 |
| Emblem | Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||
 ??? | Rivalry Warding Stance Surprise Attack* Brute Force* Charm* Other Half* Giga Levin Sword* | Axe - A |  Revanche | ||||||
| Starting Class | Battle Style | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fell Child | Dragon | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Bld |
| 28 | 60 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 10 | 28 | 45 (35+10) | 8 |
| Emblem | Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||
| ??? | Rivalry StalwartWarding StanceSurprise Attack*Brute Force*Charm*Other Half*Giga Levin Sword* | Axe - A | Revanche | ||||||
| Starting Class | Battle Style | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fell Child | Dragon | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Bld |
| 28 | 60 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 10 | 32 | 50 (40+10) | 8 |
| Emblem | Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||
| ??? | Rivalry Veteran+Warding StanceSurprise Attack*Brute Force*Charm*Other Half*Giga Levin Sword* | Axe - A | Revanche | ||||||
Fell Xenologue 6: Seven Bracelets[]
| Starting Class | Battle Style | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Great Fell Dragon | Dragon | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Bld |
| 35 | 80 | 20 | 25 | 29 | 13 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 19 |
| Emblem | Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||
| - |  Bond Breaker+Veteran+ | Special - S |  Fell AssaultFell DevestationDrain EssenceSummon VortexFell Beam | ||||||
Growth Rates[]
| HP | Bld | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Def | Res | Lck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70% | 10% | 40% | 10% | 40% | 35% | 45% | 20% | 10% |
Supports[]
- See also: Rafal/Supports
Bonds[]
- See also: Rafal/Bonds
Overall[]
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Within the Fell Xenologue, "Nil" is the weakest of the Xenologue units deployed during most maps, though he is only mandatory for the first four maps. He is often a liability in most of these maps aside from providing an Axe unit and secondary healer if needed. Still, he is eclipsed by Nel in terms of raw combat potential and in harder difficulties, he is an outright detriment in comparison to Nel, the Four Winds, and the characters the player brings into the story. Due to being a story character, his death forces an instant Game Over. When forced to be used, since he can still equip Emblem Rings during the Fell Xenologue, Nil's best options are supportive rings such as the Ring of the Instructor or Ring of the Dawn Maiden since he will only have access to the Bond Level 1 abilities and at least their Engage Attacks provide useful utility when needed to be popped and his Dragon Status gives him additional boosts to his Engages. He also provides solid ally support through Wounded Pride, which grants allies +10 Crit if they defeat a foe within two spaces of him. Overall, Nil's performance in the Fell Xenologue is low and other units would likely be better substitutes for his deployment slot if he were not mandatory.
Once the Xenologue is completed and he joins the player's army in the main storyline, Rafal becomes a much more capable unit. For his level, he has acceptable stats with reasonable bases in Strength, Speed and Defense, and his growth rates are average but well distributed towards being a physical tank, with high rates in HP, Strength, and Defense. His middling Speed means he is unlikely to be doubling much, and his mediocre Resistance also leaves him with a potential weakness to Mages as well. His Magic growth is the worst of the four Dragons, so it's not recommended to give him any magic-based emblem but ones who uses it as a secondary resource, like the Bracelets of the Lonely Heir or Shepherd Exalt. Wounded Pride is replaced with Rivalry for his personal skill, however it is merely a name change and the effect of the two are the same as mentioned above.
Like Nel's, Rafal's starting class, Fell Child, is one of the only classes in Engage that grants access to Breath attacks that pierce foes' Defense and Resistance, letting him crack open a wide variety of tough opponents that other characters are not able to efficiently damage. It also further enhances his physical tank niche, granting good growths in HP, Strength, Defense, and build. At level 25, it also receives the highly useful class skill Spur Emblems, which will recharge adjacent allies' Engage meters by 1 at the start of every turn, greatly improving Engage uptime for allies that otherwise cannot recharge them outside of combat or from Emblem energy pools. In other respects, the class is nothing spectacular, and its low class bases mean Rafal can see a performance increase if changed to another physical role such as Hero or Warrior, though his unique class would be the main reason to use him over other characters.
As a Dragon unit, Rafal receives a multitude of extra benefits from Emblem Rings. He may not be the hardest hitting unit, but his better stats and growths finally allow him to use offensive Emblem Rings. Due to his innate affinity for Axes, Rafal can make great use of the Rings of the Sage Lord and Radiant Hero, the latter turning him into a potent tank with Great Aether. Rafal can also make for an excellent supportive unit, especially in tandem with his personal and class skills, thus he can still make use of the Rings of the Instructor and Dawn Maiden. He can also learn useful utility through the Ring of the Crux of Fate and has access to all of the Dragon Vein types to suit the needs of the battle. With DLC in mind, his high physical bulk lets him meld well with the Bracelet of the Brash General, turning him into a stalwart brick wall bruiser and melds well with his general playstyle if used more on the frontlines rather than a pure support.
Overall, Rafal is a useful unit with several interesting and potentially useful quirks thanks to his unique class. Whether he is obtained early or late in a playthrough, he has ways to contribute, should his mix of offensive, defensive and supportive abilities be helpful in a run.
Gift List[]
| Gift Name | Type of Gift | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted Yam | Favorite | Roasted in the open fire and made without seasoning to bring out its flavor. Favored by fans of yams. |
| Fairy-Tale Book | Favorite | A picture book containing many short and wondrous tales. Favored by fans of reading and fairy tales. |
| Poetry Book | Favorite | A diverse book of poetry including submissions from the public. Favored by fans of reading and daydreaming. |
| Elyos History | Favorite | A thick book detailing the history of Elyos and its regions. Favored by fans of reading and studying. |
| Sun Visor | Favorite | The visor protects the face and neck from sunburn. Favored by fans of exercise and walks as well. |
| Quality Kerchief | Favorite | A fancy handkerchief made from shiny, hand-woven cloth. Favored by fans of luxury, cleaning, and fashion. |
| Fine Quill Pen | Favorite | A one-of-a-kind quill pen made from a rare bird's feather. Favored by fans of luxury, studying, and writing. |
| Playing Cards | Favorite | Picture cards used for various group games. Favored by children and fans of parties and games. |
| Landscape Art | Favorite | A postcard depicting a beautiful landscape. There's space to write a note. Favored by fans of nature. |
| Lovely Candle | Favorite | An exclusive candle etched by hand with an elaborate design. Favored by fans of fashion, luxury, and parties. |
| Spooky Scroll | Favorite | A rolled-up parchment inscribed with weird symbols to ward off spirits. Favored by fans of scary stories. |
| Large Plate | Favorite | A large and practical plate that holds food for multiple people. Favored by fans of cooking and parties. |
| Spirit Gem | Favorite | A gem that shines with many colors. Found only in the Somniel, especially near Sommie. Favored by all. |
| Training Weight | Disliked | A stone weight that can be held by hand or tied to the leg. Favored by fans of training and exercise. |
| Muscle Balm | Disliked | Apply to muscles after working out to avoid soreness. Favored by fans of training and exercise. |
| Sharp Chisel | Disliked | A tool used to carve intricate designs on wood. Favored by fans of crafting and weapons. |
| Utility Knife | Disliked | A handy tool that includes a knife, scissors, etc. Favored by fans of crafting, weapons, and cool things. |
| Bandages | Disliked | Mainly used for tending wounds or bracing joints and muscles to prevent injury. Favored by fans of training. |
| Horse Manure | Disliked | Ordinary horse manure. That's it. You could technically give it to someone, but why would you? |
Quotes[]
Possible Endings[]
- Atoning Dragon Rafal
- Rafal spent his days traveling the world, returning to Lythos Castle only once every hundred years to deliver a bounty of candy.
- Many centuries later, the bones of an unknown Fell Dragon were discovered. It is said that Rafal had sacrificed his life to save the world without anyone realizing.
- Rafal and Alear
- Alear became the new Divine Dragon Monarch. His/Her bonds with the rulers of each nation resulted in a lasting peace.
- Rafal gave his support to the new monarch from the shadows and never revealed himself. But any time disaster struck, an unknown dragon appeared to save the day.
Choose Your Legends Placement History[]
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1-CYL7 | N/A | ||||
| CYL8 | 87 |  Engage |
800 |
Etymology[]
Rafal is the Polish form of Raphael. It also means God's Healer in Hebrew.
Rafale (ラファール, Rafaaru) likely comes from the French aircraft Dassault Rafale. The literal meaning of the name is "gust of wind" as well as "burst of fire". The aircraft in question is a twin-engine fighter aircraft, the name going well with the twin theming of the Fell Xenologue. The aircraft's name in Japanese is ラファール, spelled the same as the character's Japanese name.
Nil is a corruption of Il, his Japanese name. Il is French for "he" and "him".
Trivia[]
- Rafal's artwork depicts him wielding Revanche.
- Rafal is similar to Aelfric from Three Houses.
- Both first appear in a DLC storyline of the respective games they appear in.
- Both have a close connection to the protagonist (Aelfric being a close friend of Byleth's parents and Rafal being a brother Alear).
- Both start out as temporary playable characters only to be fought later as a boss in the storyline.
- Both trick the player into obtaining sources of power for their own gains (Chalice of Beginnings for Aelfric and the Emblem Bracelets for Rafal)
- Both were motivated by emotional trauma early in their life leading them down a dark path (Aelfric due to Sitri's death and Rafal due to feeling inferior compared to his siblings).
- Both transform into beasts that act as the final boss in the storyline (unlike Aelfric, Rafal survives after he's defeated).
Gallery[]
- See main article: Rafal/Gallery.