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[archergeneral]

Klein of Reglay
archer general of etruria
♠ memories ♠ housing & posessions ♠ occupation & finances ♠

Character Series: Fire Emblem 6.

Age: Nineteen.

Background: Like most children, Klein's story begins with that of his parents. While he was not, of course, there for their meeting, he has heard the story so many times that he feels he might as well have been. It has been told by his parents as well as those in service of house Reglay, and he knows it by heart.

When his mother, Louise, was fourteen, Count Reglay had gathered as many as twenty women to consider for his wife. Before Klein's father, Pent, would see them, however, each was required to exhibit one special skill. All the other ladies were eager to demonstrate the qualities of a good wife; they were all highborn ladies of Etruria, who sang, danced, played music, composed poetry...

His mother chose an entirely different path. She said to Pent: "My skill is with a bow. My sweet lord, if you choose me, I will protect you to life's end." While this garnered laughter from most of those in the room, one of the men within smiled instead.

It was, of course, Klein's father. "I have never met a girl whose heart was so clear, Louise."

And so Louise was chosen to become the wife of Lord Pent, Count Reglay. She was taken to live with her new husband at his home, Castle Reglay, and they lived in peace for some time, although quite often they were not at Castle Reglay, as Pent had a liking for travel.

Into this life of relative peace came their first "child", Erk. He was not related to either of the two, but was instead the apprentice to Pent, who had brought him home to Castle Reglay one day with little more explanation than the fact that he was his apprentice. Louise accepted this explanation, with her characteristic ease, and Erk was duly adopted into their small family, and treated as their own son.

Things would go happily until the events detailed in Fire Emblem 7 [Rekka no Ken]. Erk was drawn into the battle first, and later one Pent and Louise entered the scene. They would stay with the group to their final encounter, where Louise revealed something rather important: that she was, in fact, with child. That child would be Klein.

He grew up in a very affectionate atmosphere. His parents were not the sort to hide their love (at all, really), and it could be said that they smothered him with it, almost, although Klein quickly became used to their behavior. Those in service to house Reglay also kept close watch on the little lordling. He was the first son to their beloved (if eccentric) lord and lady, and would someday be Count Reglay himself.

While his father did lose himself in research from time to time, Pent kept the promise he had made to Louise in the war, taking entire days off from his work to spend with his family, and making an effort to take tea in the parlour. He had also retired from the position of Mage General shortly after returning home, although he was, of course, still Count Reglay.

When Pent was lost in his research, his mother was always there. Louise would not leave the raising of her son to maids and servants, whatever the done thing was; he grew up with his mother near at hand always, or left to the care of his father or foster brother, or some trusted friend of the family, when his mother had other matters to attend to.

His mother's keen sense of duty, therefore, was entirely passed to her son. So, to, was her deferential manner to those of rank (or, in other words, her sense of where she ought to be, and her use of titles), although he also managed to learn the way in which both his parents treated those "beneath" them - that is, as absolute equals, or as people he ought to protect (whom were equals). He manages to balance the ideals.

Even as a young child he adhered to these ideas, although there was less a sense of propriety that would come with age. He was still quite firm and well-spoken, but simply more blunt about it, as children are wont to be. This is best shown through one of the earliest events of his life, although he does not remember it (he does, however, remember being told about it much later on). He was perhaps three at the time.

For as long as Klein had been alive he had been visiting the palace of Etruria with his father, accompanying Pent on his various errands to the place. During one of these visits, he met Prince Mildain. The Prince, being an only child, couldn't help but think how cute Klein was as a toddler (which, considering that he is later noted to be quite handsome, isn't too surprising - besides, Pent and Louise were simply bound to have cute children). So he told Pent that Klein would be his younger brother, and that he would have to live at the palace from then on.

Pent, of course, did not know what to say. It was Klein who spoke up, surprising all present. "That will not do," he said. "I'm going to be your knight, so that will not do. Choose someone else for your brother."

When Klein heard of this much later from Mildain much later, he would apologize for being rude; however, Mildain also said that he had not changed since that time, and this is true, but for Klein's manners. He would say the same, still, but it would be much more diplomatic than it had been.

A year or so after that event, when Klein was four, came something that he would remember for the rest of his life. He and his family had gone to Aquleia's best arena, to view the show. Before the show could even begin, Klein was attacked by one of the lions to be used in the opening.

A young pitfighter, Dieck, was the one who saved the child. Ordinarily, he was a skilled swordfighter who would defeat men twice his size with ease. But this time he was up against a lion, so he didn't come out unscathed. He was wounded all over his body, and his face suffered four deep scars.

Pent hired the swordsman who saved his child into his service. For several years, the young man served as the family's pitfighter and spread his name at the arena. But one day, when Klein was about six, Dieck suddenly bought his freedom and left. Klein, who looked up to the pitfighter as if he were his real brother thought that he was betrayed, and was saddened.

Klein would not learn of why Dieck had left for many years - he would be nineteen by the time he met Dieck once more. Dieck had left for the sake of the Reglay family; he felt that all of them were much too kind to him, as Dieck saw himself as a simple servant, calling Klein "Little Master Klein" or "Lord". Pent and Louise treated Dieck as their own child, despite the complaints and finger-pointing going on around them, leading Dieck to leave for the sake of the family's reputation.

A little before Dieck had left, Pent and Louise had their second and final child: Clarine. Being at least five years Klein's junior, and given his sense of responsibility, their relationship was quite good, and would remain so for the rest of their lives (although Klein was occasionally exasperated by his younger sister). Clarine, unlike Klein, grew up somewhat spoiled: she was treated as a proper Etrurian lady, dressed and cossetted and treated like a doll. No one could seem to help their adoration of her, at Castle Wrigley, particularly his parents.

Throughout his life Klein had been taught all the things a future Count ought to know, and more besides. The lessons he remembers best from childhood are those his mother gave him, in archery. Louise taught him everything he knows about a bow, and while he did train with others in their household, his mother is, to Klein, the best sniper he knows. He has quite a lot of talent himself, however. He eventually joined the Etrurian military, and by the time he was nineteen held the position of Archer General (although it can be presumed he acquired the position at the age of at least eighteen), making him the youngest of the Generals of Etruria. He seems to have been treated kindly by the others, and mentions laughing with Percival, and looking up to him as an older brother, in happier times.

He came into this position while Etruria was still peaceful. It did not last for long, however. First and foremost, Prince Mildain died from a fall from his horse - or was said to. In actuality, an assassination attempt was made on the Prince's life. His horse, and then Mildain himself, was shot with a poisoned arrow. General Douglas, discovering this, made it public that Prince Mildain had been killed. A different corpse was placed in the coffin, even, and everything was made to look successful, for Mildain's protection - General Douglas then entrusted the prince to his adopted daughter, and allowed the two to escape to the Western Isles.

Mildain's death was more than the king of Etruria, Mordred, could bear. The shock was so great that he never fully recovered from it. He always seemed as if he were in a different world afterward, never paying attention to anything going on in his own country. Of course this was taken advantage of - by Roartz. Roartz soon came to be in charge of what went on in court, and made certain to keep the Three Generals (whom had all held their positions much longer than Klein) away from the king unless there was a great emergency.

Klein was dispatched to the Western Isles shortly before the prince's "death", and therefore did not feel the greater effects of the events to come, although they did, of course, effect him to a degree.

The Western Isles was the name of the archipelago off the western coast of Elibe. Mostly colonies of Etruria, the Western Isles were rich with minerals and natural resources. With mining being a major industry, various rogue groups had traveled to the Isles, hoping to loot the mines and sell the minerals for themselves. Therefore, the islands' people spent their days in constant fear of bandit attacks. Klein's orders were to protect the people of the islands.

He had also hired a group of mercenaries around this time, led by the pegasus knight Tate, in order to help him fulfill these orders, as a supplement to his own forces.

And then the balance of power within Elibe was overturned. Under the command of King Zephiel, the Kingdom of Bern suddenly began to dispatch its forces and attack the rest of Elibe. Taken by surprise, Sacae and Ilia were quickly overrun, and those who resisted were mercilessly put to death.

He would hear of much of what happened next in reports passed from Etruria, and while some activity did occur in the Western Isles, he was not involved as much until the Lycian Alliance moved into the area.

However, there were several important happenings to note.

First, and most importantly (to Klein), would be the news that Clarine had gotten herself tangled up in a mess. He was unable to leave his mission to search for her, but told Tate later on that he had several people searching for word of her. None of them would have luck, however, and he would eventually learn of her fate from Clarine herself.

Ostia had requested Etruria's protection early on in the events, and became a protectorate of Etruria, which was, of course, relayed to all of the military post haste. Also known was the death of Lord Hector of Ostia, among others.

And then things stopped, for a short while. Bern stopped all aggression towards Lycia, and was also maintaining a neutral position regarding the peace offer from Etruria. Bern's sudden lack of activity could only be described as eerie.

With Lord Hector gone, Lord Eliwood of Pherae was the only remaining power in Lycia. Eliwood summoned the various marquises to Pherae to discuss Lycia's future plans. It was decided that Eliwood would be the new leader of the Lycia Alliance. A new Lycia Alliance Army was also established. This new force's purpose was not to take the offensive against Bern, but rather to remain in Lycia and take a defensive stance. For his victory in Ostia, Roy, Eliwood's son, was chosen to lead the new Lycia Alliance Army.

Things were looking up.

However, around that time, Etruria called for Lycia's assistance in ridding the Western Isles of the outlaws terrorizing the area. The people of Lycia expressed their discontent at sending their only standing force all the way to the Western Isles, but since Lycia was still under Etrurian protection, they had no choice but to oblige. This decision was made without consulting King Mordred, as Advisor Roartz was in control of Etruria by this time.

Thus, Roy led the Lycia Alliance Army through Etruria and on to the Western Isles.

The Western Isles were largely divided up into three regions: Fibernia, Caledonia, and Dhia. All of them were rich with natural resources, and mining was a successful industry. In the north of Fibernia stood Mt Ebrakhm, home to the largest mining operation on the Western Isles. Roy led his forces towards Ebkrakhm, hoping to gather some information on the bandits.

The main gang (led by Roy) met up with a dancer called Lalam a bit after this, who told them of the horrors being enacted in the mines. The people of the mines were subject to enforced labour - something we are led to believe Klein and his forces did not know of (given their desire to protect the people of the Western Isles, and Klein's sense of honour).

Klein and Tate appear during this point in time. Lord Arcard had informed them that the Lycian Alliance was working with the bandits to attack the innocent villagers - so he had deployed them against the group, and though both had their misgivings, they head to battle. Lord Arcard had further ordered Klein to leave the fighting to the Pegasus Knights so that his forces suffered the least casulaties, but Klein had no qualms ignoring this particular order. He told his men to fight full force, as Tate's forces were "comrades", and mentioned further that Arcard's story was strange...

Soon enough he receieved an explanation as to why. Or, at least, to what was going on at the moment. He met Clarine on the battlefield, much to his relief - that she was safe, not that she was in battle. Clarine told him of her own joining of the Lycia Alliance Army, as a healer. Klein followed with a question about what sort of person Roy was (which gained, first off, a note that he ought to take care of his hair better), and then rephrased to ask if Roy was working with the bandits.

When his sister said Roy was not, and explained that the Etrurians were at fault in this case, Klein tells her he was sent to the Western Isles to protect the villagers, and would join the Lycia Alliance in order to fulfill that mission.

He quickly informed Tate of this change in plans, and she acquiesced without even asking why, saying that she trusted his judgement - it is notable that if her sister, Thanay, asked her to join she would not do so (although she would not attack any further), but instead would only do so at Klein's behest.

After the battle was won, Klein instructed his soldiers to stay behind and restructure and protect the area until further notice, while Tate sent her own people back to Ilia to make a report. Both elected to stay with Roy (or, in Tate's case, to stay in Klein's employ).

Life in the Lycian army could not be termed boring, at least. Even in the day to day aspects - Clarine occasionally made things difficult - most notably when she caused a cleric to cry after she had healed Klein before Clarine could do so. Klein bore this with disappointed exasperation, though he was not particularly harsh with Clarine - more resigned.

There was someone else in the Lycian army whom he had known, as well: Dieck. As soon as he saw the man he recognized him, although Dieck "didn't seem to notice him" at first. So, of course, he spoke to Dieck - after some time they spoke, and Klein eventually learned why it was that Dieck had left his family in the first place. After that he managed to gain Dieck's promise that he would visit whenever he could after all of it was over.

The Lycian army also had another important person from his past - Elphin, whom was Prince Mildain in disguise. Klein recognized his prince for whom he was, although he agreed to keep Mildain's secret. The Lycia Alliance Army had taken in Elphin as a tactician.

Winning the battle on one Isle was not enough. To liberate the people of the Western Isles once and for all, Roy headed for Djuto, the Isles' largest city. The Etrurian capital was located there. Lord Arcard, the supervisor of the mining operation on the Isles, resided in Djuto. According to Elphin, Arcard was of high birth, but he held no importance in the Etrurian court. Roy was still worried about Etruria's response to his attacking the capital, but he had no choice if he was going to rescue the people.

After the Western Isles were freed, however, more grave news arrived. There had been a coup d'etat at Aquleia, which quickly spread out to the rest of Etruria. Calling themselves the Revolutionaries, the coup d'etat forces sought to ally with Bern and divide rulership of Elibe. The King had been taken hostage, and the Etrurian Generals seperated. Cecilia escaped from Aquleia with Guinevere. Forming an anti-coup d'etat militia called the Loyalists, she traveled around Etruria, fighting the Revolutionaries.

However, the Revolutionaries had Bern on their side. With King Mordred taken hostage, Great General Douglas and Knight General Percival were also forced to join the Revolutionaries. With these powerful allies, the Revolutionaries slowly began to push the Loyalists out of Etruria. Eventually, the Loyalists were driven into an old castle on Misul Peninsula.

After locating Cecilia, the Lycia Alliance headed for Misul. Meanwhile, the Loyalists were under joint attack by the Revolutionaries and Bern's troops. It would only be a matter of time before the Loyalists were defeated. Or so they thought.

After rescuing Guinevere and Cecilia, the Alliance headed towards the Nabata Desert, following Sophia's lead. According to her, the village of Arcadia was located in an oasis hidden in the desert. However, Arcadia was already under attack by Bern. Roy suspected their aim to be the Dragons that were said to inhabit the village.

After saving the hidden village of Arcadia, the Lycia Alliance Army followed Igraine out of the desert. Roy's next task was to confront the Revolutionaries in Etruria. However, a messenger from Nabata came to him with disturbing news.

Fa, the little Dragon girl, had left Arcadia, following Roy and the Alliance. It would be a disaster if the Revolutionaries or Bern got their hands on her. Bent on finding her before the enemy, Roy led his forces toward a small fort on the Etrurian border.

After rescuing Fa, the group headed toward Aquleia.

As the capital of Etruria, Aquleia was the largest, most prosperous city on the continent. Preparing for the Lycia Alliance Army's attack, the Revolutionaries were concentrating their forces in the palace. The Revolutionaries' original plan was to use of the city walls for defense, but since the Elimine Church had turned to the Alliance Army's side, they were forced to retreat and shell up inside the palace, fearing that the Church may have encouraged the civilians to protest.

The Elimine Church was established by Saint Elimine, one of the Eight Heroes. The Church had followers all around Elibe, primarily in Bern and Etruria. With the Church's support, Roy was able to arrive at the palace with ease. However, Bern's southern dispatch led by General Narshen was waiting for him inside.

They were forced to face General Douglas around this time, which was not something Klein enjoyed or wished to do. The General fought only because if he turned to the Lycia Alliance at that time, the king's life would be in danger - he was loyal beyond all else. He said that he had no regrets, as the Prince whose life he had saved had returned safely.

At the request of King Mordred, Roy headed for the Tower of the Saint on the outskirts of Aquleia. The Tower of the Saint was a place of worship for Saint Elimine, one of the Eight Heroes. In the tower lay various holy relics relating to her. However, the sacred tower was under the control of Bishop Windam, who had rebelled against the Elimine Church by Roartz's orders.

After they captured Aquleia, other Etrurian powers gradually began to change their views and express their discontent for the Revolutionaries.

Driven away from their palace, Roartz and Arcard fled to Sacae, which was still under Bern's control. The vast Sacae plains lay in the center of the continent. Before Bern invaded, Sacae was inhabited by various nomadic clans.

The Etrurian army joined the Lycia Alliance Army to form a joint Etruria-Lycia Union Army. The decision was to head for Sacae to get rid of the remaining Revolutionaries, and also attack Bern, who was behind them. Thinking that some Etrurian knights would not approve of being seen as serving under the Lycia Alliance Army, Roy officially named the new Union the "Etrurian Army" and became its commander.

Roy led the division responsible for entering Sacae, Klein and his sister among them. The Sacaean people were wary of outsiders in the first place, but even worse, Brenya, another of the Three Dragon Lords, had gotten the largest clan in Sacae, the Djute, under submission. The warriors of the Djute clan and Brenya's elite troops stood in front of Roy as he set foot on Sacaean soil.

After defeating Arcard, the band crossed the border and entered the land of Sacae.

The Djute clan, the most powerful clan in Sacae, had joined Bern after suffering defeat. Not standing a chance against the joint force, the other clans were quickly decimated. Although Dayan, the chief of the Kutolah clan known as the "Silver Wolf," was fighting back with guerilla tactics, the situation looked grim. Sacae had become a territory of Bern.

As the Army entered the plains of Sacae, the warriors of the Djute clan stood in their path.

After defeating the Djute clan, they moved toward Bulgar, the largest city in Sacae. As a center of commerce between Etruria, Bern, and Ilia, Bulgar has had a history of being free city without a ruler. However, with Bern's invasion, Advisor Roartz now had control of the city under Bern's protection. The Lycia Alliance approached Bulgar to liberate it and to gain some useful information on invading Bern.

After surviving many hardships, they set foot on Bern's soil at last. Guinevere guided Roy toward the Temple of Seals, but in their path stood Bern's main forces, the strongest army on the continent, led by Murdock, the leader of the Three Dragon Lords. Etruria and Bern, the two leading forces on the continent, clashing in all-out war. The longest and bloodiest day yet to be seen by Elibe was about to begin.

The group then ventured deep inside the Temple of Seals. Apparently, there was something else hidden there other than the Sword of Seals. However, Pereth, one of Murdock's best lieutenants, was already inside the temple and waiting to ambush Roy. After obtaining the Sword of Seals, Lord Roy led the Etrurian Army to Castle Bern, where King Zephiel was waiting.

They prepared to charge the castle. To end this war, and to bring peace to Elibe again. Bern surrendered with King Zephiel's death. The great war that shook the lands of Elibe was over.

However, the battle of the Lycia Alliance was not.

Roy continued to search for the Dark Priestess, suspecting that she was the Dark Dragon, and the Alliance followed him, as they had done for all the journey till that point. Following the beam of light emitted by the Divine Weapons, Roy headed for the Dragon Temple.

However, waiting for Roy in front of the temple was General Brenya, the one remaining Dragon Lord of Bern. She had rounded up Bern's remaining troops and was waiting to attack Roy. Their pride was at stake.

A battle with the now dead Kingdom of Bern...however, they were defeated quickly by the Alliance, and the group proceeded. Lord Roy then searched for the Dark Priestess to prevent the same tragedy as the Scouring from happening again. It should be no surprise that he managed it.

And thus, the battle known as the Great Movement of Bern was resolved.

After Bern's surrender, Etruria dismantled its government, but after careful consideration, avoided directly administering its reconstruction. With Roy's help, Guinevere took the throne and the New Kingdom of Bern was established. And on the day of her crowning...the long months of war came to a close...

Thus regaining its former peace and balance, Elibe was blessed with a new Golden Age of prosperity.

At the end of the war Klein had one particularly memorable conversation with his sister. She said she did not want to return home after the war, because she would return to being a doll once more. After some discussion, Klein promised that they would go home as to show their parents they were safe and well, and would then discuss Clarine's future. However, ruining the thought that his little sister was maturing, she said she wanted to be a Sorcery General in order to always be together with Klein, and to wear the "elegant uniform of Etrurian Generals".

Years later Klein would put down his bow and become an ambassador for Etruria, known affectionately as the "Silver Prince". He would use his diplomatic abilities to settle various foreign affairs, and while in office, he would make sure that Etruria was the center of a peaceful and prosperous continent.

Personality: The first thing most would note about Klein would be his level-headed nature. He rarely loses his temper or cool - when he heard of his sister being in trouble, though it worried him a great deal, he reacted with a great deal of logic, sending agents to search for her while adhering to his duty. It doesn't mean he doesn't worry, or get upset - he never seems to get particularly upset at others, although he does scold Dietrich and Tate during the course of the game, and Clarine a few times (although in a more resigned manner). He nevertheless attempts to think things through before acting.

Despite that, and despite that trait leading him to question early on his orders on the Western Isles (i.e. to attack the Lycian Alliance), Klein's sense of duty and responsibility can and does outweigh this. It is his strongest personality trait, when all is said and done. Once he gives his word, he can be expected to follow through, regardless of what happens. This is perhaps shown best by his treatment of Tate and her troops - despite being ordered to let them take the brunt of the attacks from the bandits/Lycian Alliance (when they were under the impression they were working together, although neither believed it much), he insisted on fighting full force and treating them as the comrades they were. This was also due to a sense of honour, admittedly, but much of it came from the responsibility he felt for those fighting under his command - it simply wouldn't have been acceptable to him in any way to allow them to fight alone.

Still, this is sometimes to his detriment; Klein takes orders very seriously, to the point of not leaving to search for Clarine upon hearing she was in trouble (although he dearly wished to), but instead sending several people to search for her, as he could not leave his post. Or, rather, could not comprehend leaving his post as being an option at all.

Although he is not as oblivious or naive as his parents are often thought to be by any means - he states once that he envies them their easy-going natures - Klein can occasionally be idealistic. He didn't even consider allowing Tate's forces to take the brunt of the attack, nor did he consider that others might have, and his treatment of those beneath his rank particularly could be considered idealistic, for his world. He was raised to this, somewhat. Louise and Pent had not only more or less adopted Erk, but Dietrich, as well, and treated them as their own children; Klein was raised to think of others as his equals, or to treat them as such, and the remarks made about Pent throughout game 7 (about how well he treats "commoners") could easily be applied to Klein, as well. It isn't something he even considers as he does it; it's simply the way he is.

Klein is a bit hypocritical about this point, however, in that he treats those who are above him with respect and deference. Again, he doesn't really notice the problem with it; Klein's manners are quite good (and extremely correct for Etrurian court standards), and he really just doesn't think about it.

Despite being serious quite often, Klein can loosen up. He's accused of being cheeky by Percival during their conversation - which he was, really - and honestly it just depends on who he is speaking with. Clarine doesn't often get to see Klein joking around simply because she drives him to exasperation and concern - he honestly does not understand her sometimes, although he rarely does more than "..." at her, or tell her to try harder. He's young, although it occasionally can be looked over due to his status and demeanor - he admits himself to being the youngest and least experienced of the generals, and he worries about this often.

Item Lost: His bow, which was given to him by his mother before he left for the Western Isles.

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