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[Character Name] Raven
[Canon] Tales of Vesperia (360)
[Point Taken from Canon] Post game
[Age] 35
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Het
[Eye Color] Green
[Hair Color] Raven. Er, I mean ash brown or something like that. IT'S A SHADE OF BROWN.
[Height] 170cm
[Other] He does not have a heart. Literally. Instead he has a blastia in its place, which is actually visible if he took off his shirt or that part is uncovered. It's pretty cool looking though. All nice, and big, and red, and glowy, and set in a pretty case frame thing I cannot think of the word right now.
[Clothing] Whoosh.
[Background]
Raven first "appears" in the game in a jail cell, and you only hear his voice instead of actually seeing him. The scene involves him speaking to a guard about some happenings about the guilds. Seems innocent enough. Once the guard leaves, he then talks to Yuri. The conversation cuts short when Alexei and a guard come to Raven’s cell and tells him to come out and follow him. Yuri is a bit confused as to why the Commandant would want to talk with a fishy old man, but he’s distracted by the oh so shiny key that Raven slips under Yuri’s cell to help him escape. The old man then tells Yuri about a secret passage underneath a statue and is escorted off after Alexei. (So yes, without Raven, there wouldn't even be a game--I mean. /moves along)
The next time Raven appears is in Capua Nor. When the party is trying to confront the Magistrate, he causes more of an annoyance for them than anything else. He goes up to the guards and directs them to the group that had been hiding, forcing a battle. But after that, he waits for them on the other side of the manor...just not for long. As they approach, he takes one of the lifts up, and though the group tries to pursue, they end up taking the lift down.
His third brief appearance is in Capua Torim after the group finally manages to make it over. It is during this time that Yuri learns about his search for apatheia, a term that won’t appear again or be explained until a while later. It’s also the reason why Raven was at the Magistrate’s manor. As soon as the rest of the group shows up, though, the old man is off and running. (Well with Rita gunning for him, it’s only understandable.)
Raven then later temporarily joins the party in Kiev Moc (he is actually seen on the rooftop as the group is leaving saying to himself, “Kiev Moc, huh? How convenient…”), again giving off the philosophical, annoying, mysterious vibe and helps them go through the forest to the Aer Krene that they are sent out to investigate. It’s here that he also reveals Karol’s fear of bugs, though he somewhat tries to help the tyke by making him confront the bug monsters himself and showing he can do it. Once they reach the Aer Krene, they meet with a long, white haired man that Raven identifies as Duke. They witness him use a sword called Dein Nomos control and basically fix the aer that had gone out of control.
Afterward, when they return to the entrance of Kiev Moc, they find a hoard of monsters stampeding toward them. When it all clears, however, they find themselves in the presence of the Don himself. It is here that they learn that Raven is actually part of the guild, Altosk -- one of the head guilds of the Union and led by the Don, the leader of the guilds. It was the Don who had assigned Raven to look after them, and it will be the Don again who sends Raven out on a messenger mission which coincidentally (or not) reunites him back with the group while traveling. During their travel, they learn that Raven’s recipient, Belius, leader of the Palastralle guild and the city of Nordopolica, is actually an Entelexeia, and they learn a little more about them as well as how they turn into cyano ciel crystals, also known as apatheia. From there, he continues to be a permanent member of the party and follows them along on their travels.
Along the way the group begins to learn a little bit of Raven’s history. For starts, when they first visit Mt. Temza, he already tells them how it was the main battlefield during the Great War. And a little further in, it is then revealed that he had at least served in the knights. Not too strange, but surprising. He doesn’t offer more than that, however, and instead steers them forward, dodging any other questions thrown at him.
While he is always there to help them (on the excuse he has nothing else to do and it’s along his agenda), Yuri notices that there is still some distance between him and all of them. On their way to Krytian city of Myorzo, in Egothor Forest Raven does say something along the lines of questioning the notion of conviction and loyalty, and how being a dead man can change that. It puzzles Yuri for a moment, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Like not getting blasted by the Hoplon Blastia Canon that was gunning for them and the various knights that littered the place.
But that question of loyalty will be come to light after they reach Myorzo (which is also inside a giant jellyfish looking Entelexeia that flies around the world) and learn more about the Entelexeia, blastia, and the entity called the Adephagos. After the talk, both Raven and Estelle, who had earlier learned she is the “Child of the Full Moon” and whose power could actually destroy the world, disappear. Yes, Raven took Estelle. He had brought with him a blastia core from the outside that would activate one of the pods, so this was obviously pre-planned. He took Estelle to...
[SPOILER WARNING]
...the Commandant Alexei himself, though the group does not realize this yet.
The next time the group sees Raven it is at the Shrine of Baction. But it’s not Raven whom they meet first. It’s the First Captain of the Imperial Knights, leader of the Schwann Brigade himself: Schwann Oltorain. Repede is the first to recognize him as their old friend Raven and during the battle, he continually says that Raven is no longer here, but that they are facing Schwann. But after the battle, he proves that he really does not want to kill them. Rather, he wants them to kill him as shown when he and Yuri do one last duel with Schwann basically letting Yuri slash at his chest.
Of course it doesn’t kill him, as much as Schwann had hoped. Instead, the group discovers why Raven always called himself a dead man. In place of where his heart should be, glowed a crimson red blastia core. As opposed to the usual cores, this one was powered by his life force. But why does Schwann have this?
Schwann had fought in the Great War ten years ago and had actually been killed in battle. However, Alexei literally replaced his heart with the blastia core. Due to the fact that Alexei could disable the core and basically terminate his life (again), Schwann had been working under Alexei and acted as a spy. This was when Raven was born. However, Raven acted as a double agent. Not only did he spy on the guilds for the Alexei, he also told the Don what was going on with the Knights. It’s clear why he was working for Alexei, but not so much for why he worked for the Don. There is one thing that the two had in common: Estelle. Both knew that there was something about her, just did not know what.
After explaining about his little heart condition, they hear an explosion and turn to see that the door had caved in, followed by ominous rumbling. Schwann tells them that Alexei planned to bury them inside. Now that he had done his job, there was no use for Schwann in Alexei’s eyes, and as he longed for his own death, Schwann just sat down, accepting his fate. Of course Yuri would have none of that, and after a bit of lecturing, Schwann snaps to and stands to help them out. With one shot, he clears the rubble from the door. Unfortunately, the ceiling was starting to cave in and when a large piece falls, Schwann catches it, using his own life force to help strengthen himself to hold up the ceiling. Though the others are hesitant to leave, he orders them to go, and with Yuri to help force them on, they all make it out.
Just before the roof completely caves in, he says “It’s all up to you now,” and that is the last they see of him…
...Or not.
Surprise, surprise, they just can’t seem to get rid of that old man. When the group arrives into Heracles, they meet the one and only Raven the Great…followed by the Schwann Brigade. At first the group is a bit wary (and shocked to see him alive), but when Raven tosses Yuri his short dagger and tells him that he can decide what to do with him, Yuri decides that his life would belong to Brave Vesperia and that he was not allowed to die. Which was Yuri’s way of saying “We’re still sore about what you did, but we understand that you had no choice and redeemed yourself in the end. So you’re joining us now. Welcome back, old man.” Of course Yuri probably would never had said this but it’s nice to pretend. Also, everyone gave him a good punch/kick/slam to the wall (that would be Rita) as punishment.
How the hell did that old man come back from the grave...again? Well upon leaving Baction, the group had encountered the Schwann Brigade and told them what happened to Schwann. Of course, they would never leave their dear, beloved Captain to such a fate and probably hightailed it down there. Since they seem to have incredible running speed (seriously, they somehow show up everywhere even before the main party gets there), it probably did not take them as long as it took the group to make it through the shrine and dig him out of the rubble. It’s quite possible that the ceiling didn’t crush him if the pieces fell in a certain way. And how they managed to pretty much patch up Schwann and beat the group to the Heracles is again due to the Schwann Brigade and their swift traveling powers.
[/END SPOILER]
Since then, Raven has been helping the group and has become closer to them than before, ready to atone for his mistakes as well as to live his own life. Nothing truly Raven-centric happens after this. From here on out, the group continues their journey to save Estelle. Once they do, they go to Zaude, where they encounter Yeager (and in battle Raven mentions that the two were just destined to fight each other; suggesting they knew each other) and then later must battle Alexei himself.
Unfortunately Alexei still manages to unleash the Adephagos (quite unintentional, but that’s what happens to power hungry corrupted bastards) so now there’s a new problem the group has to solve. With Rita’s genius they do manage to find a way and much traveling and helping others and fighting and ridiculous tower climbing later, they encounter the final boss and vanquish the Adephagos. Note: The group never actually fights the Adephagos but instead blasts it with the power from every single blastia core in existence.
Except for Raven’s. His is special since it’s powered by his life force rather than aer. It would have sucked otherwise.
Afterward, as suggested by the credits, Raven continues to help out rebuild the Union as well as help with the Knights. The Schwann Brigade really does not want to let him go. I mean really. However, he had left the Knights after Schwann’s “death” back in Baction. But he’s still seen either helping or actually leading his old brigade. So it’s quite possible he “joined” back in since he is the only veteran and senior officer with actual experience that could help Flynn in regards to leading the Imperial Knights.
Additional note: it's suggested that Raven knows Yeager prior to gamestart, and he had a fling with a woman named Casey back when he was still part of the knights. Now, let's get into some more backstory about Raven's past more than ten years prior to game start.
[SPOILER WARNING]
Let's start from the beginning.
Through an official Raven-centric novel that was released, it's revealed that Raven had yet another identity. Yes, Raven now has three under his belt and no one would be surprised if he somehow had another hidden there. His birth name is actually Damuron Atomais and he is actually of noble birth. But he certainly didn't act like one, so his father, Spardo (great name, right?), forced him to join the knights to teach him some discipline. He was taken under Lieutenant Casey and was taught the sword. Over time, he develops unrequited feelings for her, and while it's not specified who it was, Casey does have a boyfriend. This may or may not be revealed in the next volume that's supposed to come out, but there are theories thanks to the game.
Now, Casey is mentioned in the game through a major sidequest for Raven. The first mentioning of Casey, or at least the person, is when they acquire Fire Lilies from Ehmead Hill. Raven mentions how they were a friend’s favorite flower and he wanted to give them to them later. At Mt. Temza, Raven will throw them out over the barren wasteland where the Great War had been fought. It is then made apparent that the friend Raven had talked about was dead and somewhere buried amongst the rubble along with the many soldiers who had fought and lost their lives. Not too long after and before they turn to go, something falls from the sky and Raven is in disbelief. And he has every right to be so. What fell was Casey’s favorite compact, and this is how they learn that the friend was a girl. The final part of the quest brings them back to Zaude where they fight Gauche and Droite. After the battle, the compact slips out from Raven’s person and the two demand to have it, claiming that Yeager had been looking all over it. Though surprised and hesitant at first, Raven hands it over and receives a lovely bow in return. In fact it was Casey’s bow, the Divine Cannon.
Thus the love triangle between Raven, Casey, and Yeager is established and the questions of how Yeager could have met Casey and his own mysterious past are born. Also, Raven doesn’t tell the group much about what actually happened in that particular part of his past. He does sound a bit bitter about it, but it would be a painful subject no matter what. He’s alive but she’s buried somewhere under that sea of rock and sand when by all rights he should be dead as well.
So everything that's been mentioned in this section, especially about his "past life" as Damuron will be pretty much kept under wraps. He wouldn't even dream about it unless forced (and even then I'd be wary of doing so since I don't know all the complete details, just the basics. No more age down cards for this old man!). Just like Schwann, he considers Damuron dead. Well deader than dead. He can at least "acknowledge" that Schwann existed but Damuron is just going to get a blank face. Though he would be completely shocked if anyone knew about it.
As more details come out, I'll more than likely flesh this bit of his history out some more, but it wouldn't matter. Raven is still Raven, whether or not this information had been revealed. But at least it's better to actually know something instead of having to be forced to use head canon all the time.
[/END SPOILER]
[Personality]
Very laid back, pretty smart/wise, and likes to use his excuse of being an “old man” to try and get out of things. If Raven doesn’t like something, he’ll certainly whine about it, and he’d prefer doing as little as possible. “Takin’ it easy” would probably be his motto, if it wasn’t already.
Still, he does act more like a father figure for the group, always keeping the party in check as well as giving them encouragement. Of course, he also likes to say these things in cryptic, philosophical ways that make them go “What the hell are you talking about, old man?” and he’ll just respond “What? You don’t like my eloquent, poetic comments~?” Though he will give out advice that’s straight to the point and will be down to earth when necessary. If anyone ever needed any advice or a sort of pep talk, Raven would be the one to go to. Whether or not the person will actually understand it depends on how “deep” he wants to go.
He can also be pretty silly, especially in some of his reactions. Raven also has a tendency to not show what he’s really thinking and joke around. He goes into nostalgic bits sometimes, though it’s hard to tell if he’s serious or joking. Most likely a bit of both. He will don several masks if necessary so it really is hard to tell what the old man is thinking. The fact that he will also tend to dodge the question by focusing on more pressing matters is a skill that he is quite good at. He can also be very serious when necessary, and though he prefers watching from the sidelines and letting others take the lead, if he needs to take charge, he can and will. And then later complain about it.
One of Raven's key traits is his old man perverted mind. He loves women. Particularly the busty kind. He is totally not above peeping or encouraging the ladies to wear certain clothing (or lack of). However, he apparently can’t seem to take truly risque things rather well as he will pass out or faint at certain thoughts or images. Too much for the old man, it seems. Still, he has a lot of energy for an old guy. Well when he actually uses it, at least. But possibly due to what happened with Casey as well as his very lifestyle, he has never actually settled in on a relationship and just maintains the flirting relationships. There is also the potential reason of him always believing to be a dead man and not really looking forward into anything in life that he just turned to women as a sort of escape. Now, however, he probably could be looking more into settling down with someone. Or continue to chase women, but hey, it’s Raven.
Raven is also very adept for the heat. He can take it very well. Cold on the other hand, is a big no. He'll bury himself in blankets come winter. He also doesn’t like sweet foods. It’s not really clear as to why but he doesn’t. Yet he makes an awesome crepe (all for the women, as he says).
It should also be noted that Raven is very much a “pal around” type of guy, which does make it easier for people to open up to him. He is also great with kids, making him the ideal "uncle" type. He also enjoys learning information about other people and is pretty good at reading people, or noting their change of expression. And while he was a double agent, he’s pretty good at keeping secrets, especially his own. He does not willingly talk about his past if he can help it, except for maybe to those close to him. But even then, there would have to be a pretty good reason for it. The past is the past, and there’s nothing he can do about it but move forward now, especially since he technically has a third chance at life.
If there is one thing that Raven focuses on, it’s doing what you can do instead of worrying over it.
When it comes to anything regarding his past, he tends to prefer to ignore it, or say that it happened to someone else. That Schwann Oltorain was a completely different person, and Damuron Atomais just doesn't exist anymore. For example, when acquiring Vanji Lost from Drake, he calls Schwann his brother. This is either because he no longer wishes to associate with that past or he just wants to forget and move on with his new life as “Raven”. On several occasions he’ll refer to how Schwann had done this and that and now he, meaning Raven, must amend those past mistakes. This does become a little difficult since the Schwann Brigade will never let him go. He looks at their strange affection with both fondness and annoyance. But whenever he's referred to as "Captain Schwann" he will go "Who?" or "It's Raven. R-A-V-E-N, Raven!" and get annoyed.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Raven is mainly a bow user, though he can also use a small dagger to help with close combats. His bows are actually unique, as well, in that they can actually fold and come together to form a katar that he can also use in close combat. He is also a master of the sword, but he prefers the bow. However, if he must use a sword, he will use the Imperial Knights style and be rather fast. He’s also rather acrobatic for an old man. Despite complaining about old bones and all, he can do a no-handed backflip (repeatedly) and when he uses his skills, he can jump high into the air and twirl around and all that jazz.
As well as being able to use various bow techniques, he can also cast a few spells. Most of them are wind based, but he does have one ice spell and can stop time for a few seconds. One other unique skill he has can heal people. As it is a skill rather than a spell, he can use this frequently without worrying about cast delay and it does not take as much energy.
In terms of cooking, Raven is actually rather good. Chock it up to having to be a bachelor or the incentive of impressing the ladies, but Raven is probably the third best cook judging from the skits, with Judith and Yuri being the top two, respectively. He just doesn’t want to have to do it a lot. Ironically, his main specialty is something that he himself would not eat: the crêpe. He might not be able to make awesome, creative dishes like Yuri and Judith, but when it comes to simple, good cooking, Raven is probably the guy to go to.
Because of his personality, Raven is also able to get along with people very well. He can adapt and understand them fairly quickly, as he does have personal experience. Since he also had to pretty much watch people and be able to read them so he can extract information for his past line of work, Raven is adept at reading expressions. This makes it fairly easy for him to learn something or let the person slip on certain things. It’s not always easy or simple, though. He’s not a mind reader and can easily judge incorrectly or just fail. But he is certainly good at it.
This is also true for Raven himself. As stated before, he is naturally very secretive, and for good reason. So if there is something he does not want to talk about, he will say partial truths or flat out lie, whichever is easier. Or if there is something more pressing at hand, he will deter the attention away from him and to that instead. He’ll slip up every once in a while though, or talk of the truth in such a way that it just sounds like he’s making a story or just rambling. Making things vague also works very well.
[Affection]
If you're a girl, he'll take any of them. Well. Maybe not punching. He could live without those. But any loving affections he will welcome with open arms~ If you're a guy, well, a simple hand shake or a pat on the shoulder is good enough. Unless you're a kid. Then bear hugs or something would be allowed. As for Raven giving affections, ladies beware and gentleman can expect the normal guy-type things.
[Fighting]
While Raven can fight, he'd prefer not to. Old man and all. Though he can also feel a bit left out if he's always left out of the party. Still, he's more of a "reactionary" type unless the situation calls for preemptive action. Either way, I don't mind fight logs and making Raven suffer pain, but as for killing...erm. Let's talk about that one.
[Other Permissions]
The only thing that mind readers wouldn't be able to get off of him would be any thoughts or anything about his life before the Great War. That he pretty much buried so deep that it would be pretty hard to get past. But otherwise, anything is game, and players are free to ask me for anything o/
[Other Facts]
Uh. A lot of what is Raven's actual past past is pretty much unknown so I'm pretty much going to have him evade any direct questions whenever possible 8D There is a novel released that actually tells about Raven's past, but there isn't a full translation available and I'm only going off the most important points from it.
Water isn't very good for him due to his, uh, heart condition. And it's hard to tell whether or not he has high physical endurance. On the one hand, he seems to do fine, but on the other, he tends to wheeze and complain and be all "Are we there yet?". He's a tough guy, though, and is very physically fit.
Taking him from the 360 version so he has no idea who Patty is, a PS3 only character. As for movie canon, he only made brief appearances without bearing much of an impact. There's also the fact that the fandom is in a complete controversy as to whether or not the movie should be considered "canon", even if it does match up with the PS3 version which was altered and expanded on from the original 360 version. So...I'll mostly try to avoid any mention of the events, but if it does come up I'll wing it. Raven is a pretty good character to have for "unknown" ground since he will ICly dodge/evade such topics to begin with.
One final note is he will retain all of his memories of Somarium. They'll just be a bit hazy since it's been several months since he's been here. Since so much has changed (and a lot of his original CR is gone), it will be almost as if he's starting afresh, which is actually what he might do. Plus there are some inaccurate details that were made about his history that need to be retconned. Not that it happened a lot, but yeah. He will still remember mostly everything (if his old memory serves him well), and will be pleasantly surprised at how different Somarium is now. And by pleasantly, I mean completely shocked and probably wonder if this is even the same place anymore. It will take some adjusting, that's for sure.
[Canon] Tales of Vesperia (360)
[Point Taken from Canon] Post game
[Age] 35
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Het
[Eye Color] Green
[Hair Color] Raven. Er, I mean ash brown or something like that. IT'S A SHADE OF BROWN.
[Height] 170cm
[Other] He does not have a heart. Literally. Instead he has a blastia in its place, which is actually visible if he took off his shirt or that part is uncovered. It's pretty cool looking though. All nice, and big, and red, and glowy, and set in a pretty case frame thing I cannot think of the word right now.
[Clothing] Whoosh.
[Background]
Raven first "appears" in the game in a jail cell, and you only hear his voice instead of actually seeing him. The scene involves him speaking to a guard about some happenings about the guilds. Seems innocent enough. Once the guard leaves, he then talks to Yuri. The conversation cuts short when Alexei and a guard come to Raven’s cell and tells him to come out and follow him. Yuri is a bit confused as to why the Commandant would want to talk with a fishy old man, but he’s distracted by the oh so shiny key that Raven slips under Yuri’s cell to help him escape. The old man then tells Yuri about a secret passage underneath a statue and is escorted off after Alexei. (So yes, without Raven, there wouldn't even be a game--I mean. /moves along)
The next time Raven appears is in Capua Nor. When the party is trying to confront the Magistrate, he causes more of an annoyance for them than anything else. He goes up to the guards and directs them to the group that had been hiding, forcing a battle. But after that, he waits for them on the other side of the manor...just not for long. As they approach, he takes one of the lifts up, and though the group tries to pursue, they end up taking the lift down.
His third brief appearance is in Capua Torim after the group finally manages to make it over. It is during this time that Yuri learns about his search for apatheia, a term that won’t appear again or be explained until a while later. It’s also the reason why Raven was at the Magistrate’s manor. As soon as the rest of the group shows up, though, the old man is off and running. (Well with Rita gunning for him, it’s only understandable.)
Raven then later temporarily joins the party in Kiev Moc (he is actually seen on the rooftop as the group is leaving saying to himself, “Kiev Moc, huh? How convenient…”), again giving off the philosophical, annoying, mysterious vibe and helps them go through the forest to the Aer Krene that they are sent out to investigate. It’s here that he also reveals Karol’s fear of bugs, though he somewhat tries to help the tyke by making him confront the bug monsters himself and showing he can do it. Once they reach the Aer Krene, they meet with a long, white haired man that Raven identifies as Duke. They witness him use a sword called Dein Nomos control and basically fix the aer that had gone out of control.
Afterward, when they return to the entrance of Kiev Moc, they find a hoard of monsters stampeding toward them. When it all clears, however, they find themselves in the presence of the Don himself. It is here that they learn that Raven is actually part of the guild, Altosk -- one of the head guilds of the Union and led by the Don, the leader of the guilds. It was the Don who had assigned Raven to look after them, and it will be the Don again who sends Raven out on a messenger mission which coincidentally (or not) reunites him back with the group while traveling. During their travel, they learn that Raven’s recipient, Belius, leader of the Palastralle guild and the city of Nordopolica, is actually an Entelexeia, and they learn a little more about them as well as how they turn into cyano ciel crystals, also known as apatheia. From there, he continues to be a permanent member of the party and follows them along on their travels.
Along the way the group begins to learn a little bit of Raven’s history. For starts, when they first visit Mt. Temza, he already tells them how it was the main battlefield during the Great War. And a little further in, it is then revealed that he had at least served in the knights. Not too strange, but surprising. He doesn’t offer more than that, however, and instead steers them forward, dodging any other questions thrown at him.
While he is always there to help them (on the excuse he has nothing else to do and it’s along his agenda), Yuri notices that there is still some distance between him and all of them. On their way to Krytian city of Myorzo, in Egothor Forest Raven does say something along the lines of questioning the notion of conviction and loyalty, and how being a dead man can change that. It puzzles Yuri for a moment, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Like not getting blasted by the Hoplon Blastia Canon that was gunning for them and the various knights that littered the place.
But that question of loyalty will be come to light after they reach Myorzo (which is also inside a giant jellyfish looking Entelexeia that flies around the world) and learn more about the Entelexeia, blastia, and the entity called the Adephagos. After the talk, both Raven and Estelle, who had earlier learned she is the “Child of the Full Moon” and whose power could actually destroy the world, disappear. Yes, Raven took Estelle. He had brought with him a blastia core from the outside that would activate one of the pods, so this was obviously pre-planned. He took Estelle to...
[SPOILER WARNING]
...the Commandant Alexei himself, though the group does not realize this yet.
The next time the group sees Raven it is at the Shrine of Baction. But it’s not Raven whom they meet first. It’s the First Captain of the Imperial Knights, leader of the Schwann Brigade himself: Schwann Oltorain. Repede is the first to recognize him as their old friend Raven and during the battle, he continually says that Raven is no longer here, but that they are facing Schwann. But after the battle, he proves that he really does not want to kill them. Rather, he wants them to kill him as shown when he and Yuri do one last duel with Schwann basically letting Yuri slash at his chest.
Of course it doesn’t kill him, as much as Schwann had hoped. Instead, the group discovers why Raven always called himself a dead man. In place of where his heart should be, glowed a crimson red blastia core. As opposed to the usual cores, this one was powered by his life force. But why does Schwann have this?
Schwann had fought in the Great War ten years ago and had actually been killed in battle. However, Alexei literally replaced his heart with the blastia core. Due to the fact that Alexei could disable the core and basically terminate his life (again), Schwann had been working under Alexei and acted as a spy. This was when Raven was born. However, Raven acted as a double agent. Not only did he spy on the guilds for the Alexei, he also told the Don what was going on with the Knights. It’s clear why he was working for Alexei, but not so much for why he worked for the Don. There is one thing that the two had in common: Estelle. Both knew that there was something about her, just did not know what.
After explaining about his little heart condition, they hear an explosion and turn to see that the door had caved in, followed by ominous rumbling. Schwann tells them that Alexei planned to bury them inside. Now that he had done his job, there was no use for Schwann in Alexei’s eyes, and as he longed for his own death, Schwann just sat down, accepting his fate. Of course Yuri would have none of that, and after a bit of lecturing, Schwann snaps to and stands to help them out. With one shot, he clears the rubble from the door. Unfortunately, the ceiling was starting to cave in and when a large piece falls, Schwann catches it, using his own life force to help strengthen himself to hold up the ceiling. Though the others are hesitant to leave, he orders them to go, and with Yuri to help force them on, they all make it out.
Just before the roof completely caves in, he says “It’s all up to you now,” and that is the last they see of him…
...Or not.
Surprise, surprise, they just can’t seem to get rid of that old man. When the group arrives into Heracles, they meet the one and only Raven the Great…followed by the Schwann Brigade. At first the group is a bit wary (and shocked to see him alive), but when Raven tosses Yuri his short dagger and tells him that he can decide what to do with him, Yuri decides that his life would belong to Brave Vesperia and that he was not allowed to die. Which was Yuri’s way of saying “We’re still sore about what you did, but we understand that you had no choice and redeemed yourself in the end. So you’re joining us now. Welcome back, old man.” Of course Yuri probably would never had said this but it’s nice to pretend. Also, everyone gave him a good punch/kick/slam to the wall (that would be Rita) as punishment.
How the hell did that old man come back from the grave...again? Well upon leaving Baction, the group had encountered the Schwann Brigade and told them what happened to Schwann. Of course, they would never leave their dear, beloved Captain to such a fate and probably hightailed it down there. Since they seem to have incredible running speed (seriously, they somehow show up everywhere even before the main party gets there), it probably did not take them as long as it took the group to make it through the shrine and dig him out of the rubble. It’s quite possible that the ceiling didn’t crush him if the pieces fell in a certain way. And how they managed to pretty much patch up Schwann and beat the group to the Heracles is again due to the Schwann Brigade and their swift traveling powers.
[/END SPOILER]
Since then, Raven has been helping the group and has become closer to them than before, ready to atone for his mistakes as well as to live his own life. Nothing truly Raven-centric happens after this. From here on out, the group continues their journey to save Estelle. Once they do, they go to Zaude, where they encounter Yeager (and in battle Raven mentions that the two were just destined to fight each other; suggesting they knew each other) and then later must battle Alexei himself.
Unfortunately Alexei still manages to unleash the Adephagos (quite unintentional, but that’s what happens to power hungry corrupted bastards) so now there’s a new problem the group has to solve. With Rita’s genius they do manage to find a way and much traveling and helping others and fighting and ridiculous tower climbing later, they encounter the final boss and vanquish the Adephagos. Note: The group never actually fights the Adephagos but instead blasts it with the power from every single blastia core in existence.
Except for Raven’s. His is special since it’s powered by his life force rather than aer. It would have sucked otherwise.
Afterward, as suggested by the credits, Raven continues to help out rebuild the Union as well as help with the Knights. The Schwann Brigade really does not want to let him go. I mean really. However, he had left the Knights after Schwann’s “death” back in Baction. But he’s still seen either helping or actually leading his old brigade. So it’s quite possible he “joined” back in since he is the only veteran and senior officer with actual experience that could help Flynn in regards to leading the Imperial Knights.
Additional note: it's suggested that Raven knows Yeager prior to gamestart, and he had a fling with a woman named Casey back when he was still part of the knights. Now, let's get into some more backstory about Raven's past more than ten years prior to game start.
[SPOILER WARNING]
Let's start from the beginning.
Through an official Raven-centric novel that was released, it's revealed that Raven had yet another identity. Yes, Raven now has three under his belt and no one would be surprised if he somehow had another hidden there. His birth name is actually Damuron Atomais and he is actually of noble birth. But he certainly didn't act like one, so his father, Spardo (great name, right?), forced him to join the knights to teach him some discipline. He was taken under Lieutenant Casey and was taught the sword. Over time, he develops unrequited feelings for her, and while it's not specified who it was, Casey does have a boyfriend. This may or may not be revealed in the next volume that's supposed to come out, but there are theories thanks to the game.
Now, Casey is mentioned in the game through a major sidequest for Raven. The first mentioning of Casey, or at least the person, is when they acquire Fire Lilies from Ehmead Hill. Raven mentions how they were a friend’s favorite flower and he wanted to give them to them later. At Mt. Temza, Raven will throw them out over the barren wasteland where the Great War had been fought. It is then made apparent that the friend Raven had talked about was dead and somewhere buried amongst the rubble along with the many soldiers who had fought and lost their lives. Not too long after and before they turn to go, something falls from the sky and Raven is in disbelief. And he has every right to be so. What fell was Casey’s favorite compact, and this is how they learn that the friend was a girl. The final part of the quest brings them back to Zaude where they fight Gauche and Droite. After the battle, the compact slips out from Raven’s person and the two demand to have it, claiming that Yeager had been looking all over it. Though surprised and hesitant at first, Raven hands it over and receives a lovely bow in return. In fact it was Casey’s bow, the Divine Cannon.
Thus the love triangle between Raven, Casey, and Yeager is established and the questions of how Yeager could have met Casey and his own mysterious past are born. Also, Raven doesn’t tell the group much about what actually happened in that particular part of his past. He does sound a bit bitter about it, but it would be a painful subject no matter what. He’s alive but she’s buried somewhere under that sea of rock and sand when by all rights he should be dead as well.
So everything that's been mentioned in this section, especially about his "past life" as Damuron will be pretty much kept under wraps. He wouldn't even dream about it unless forced (and even then I'd be wary of doing so since I don't know all the complete details, just the basics. No more age down cards for this old man!). Just like Schwann, he considers Damuron dead. Well deader than dead. He can at least "acknowledge" that Schwann existed but Damuron is just going to get a blank face. Though he would be completely shocked if anyone knew about it.
As more details come out, I'll more than likely flesh this bit of his history out some more, but it wouldn't matter. Raven is still Raven, whether or not this information had been revealed. But at least it's better to actually know something instead of having to be forced to use head canon all the time.
[/END SPOILER]
[Personality]
Very laid back, pretty smart/wise, and likes to use his excuse of being an “old man” to try and get out of things. If Raven doesn’t like something, he’ll certainly whine about it, and he’d prefer doing as little as possible. “Takin’ it easy” would probably be his motto, if it wasn’t already.
Still, he does act more like a father figure for the group, always keeping the party in check as well as giving them encouragement. Of course, he also likes to say these things in cryptic, philosophical ways that make them go “What the hell are you talking about, old man?” and he’ll just respond “What? You don’t like my eloquent, poetic comments~?” Though he will give out advice that’s straight to the point and will be down to earth when necessary. If anyone ever needed any advice or a sort of pep talk, Raven would be the one to go to. Whether or not the person will actually understand it depends on how “deep” he wants to go.
He can also be pretty silly, especially in some of his reactions. Raven also has a tendency to not show what he’s really thinking and joke around. He goes into nostalgic bits sometimes, though it’s hard to tell if he’s serious or joking. Most likely a bit of both. He will don several masks if necessary so it really is hard to tell what the old man is thinking. The fact that he will also tend to dodge the question by focusing on more pressing matters is a skill that he is quite good at. He can also be very serious when necessary, and though he prefers watching from the sidelines and letting others take the lead, if he needs to take charge, he can and will. And then later complain about it.
One of Raven's key traits is his old man perverted mind. He loves women. Particularly the busty kind. He is totally not above peeping or encouraging the ladies to wear certain clothing (or lack of). However, he apparently can’t seem to take truly risque things rather well as he will pass out or faint at certain thoughts or images. Too much for the old man, it seems. Still, he has a lot of energy for an old guy. Well when he actually uses it, at least. But possibly due to what happened with Casey as well as his very lifestyle, he has never actually settled in on a relationship and just maintains the flirting relationships. There is also the potential reason of him always believing to be a dead man and not really looking forward into anything in life that he just turned to women as a sort of escape. Now, however, he probably could be looking more into settling down with someone. Or continue to chase women, but hey, it’s Raven.
Raven is also very adept for the heat. He can take it very well. Cold on the other hand, is a big no. He'll bury himself in blankets come winter. He also doesn’t like sweet foods. It’s not really clear as to why but he doesn’t. Yet he makes an awesome crepe (all for the women, as he says).
It should also be noted that Raven is very much a “pal around” type of guy, which does make it easier for people to open up to him. He is also great with kids, making him the ideal "uncle" type. He also enjoys learning information about other people and is pretty good at reading people, or noting their change of expression. And while he was a double agent, he’s pretty good at keeping secrets, especially his own. He does not willingly talk about his past if he can help it, except for maybe to those close to him. But even then, there would have to be a pretty good reason for it. The past is the past, and there’s nothing he can do about it but move forward now, especially since he technically has a third chance at life.
If there is one thing that Raven focuses on, it’s doing what you can do instead of worrying over it.
When it comes to anything regarding his past, he tends to prefer to ignore it, or say that it happened to someone else. That Schwann Oltorain was a completely different person, and Damuron Atomais just doesn't exist anymore. For example, when acquiring Vanji Lost from Drake, he calls Schwann his brother. This is either because he no longer wishes to associate with that past or he just wants to forget and move on with his new life as “Raven”. On several occasions he’ll refer to how Schwann had done this and that and now he, meaning Raven, must amend those past mistakes. This does become a little difficult since the Schwann Brigade will never let him go. He looks at their strange affection with both fondness and annoyance. But whenever he's referred to as "Captain Schwann" he will go "Who?" or "It's Raven. R-A-V-E-N, Raven!" and get annoyed.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Raven is mainly a bow user, though he can also use a small dagger to help with close combats. His bows are actually unique, as well, in that they can actually fold and come together to form a katar that he can also use in close combat. He is also a master of the sword, but he prefers the bow. However, if he must use a sword, he will use the Imperial Knights style and be rather fast. He’s also rather acrobatic for an old man. Despite complaining about old bones and all, he can do a no-handed backflip (repeatedly) and when he uses his skills, he can jump high into the air and twirl around and all that jazz.
As well as being able to use various bow techniques, he can also cast a few spells. Most of them are wind based, but he does have one ice spell and can stop time for a few seconds. One other unique skill he has can heal people. As it is a skill rather than a spell, he can use this frequently without worrying about cast delay and it does not take as much energy.
In terms of cooking, Raven is actually rather good. Chock it up to having to be a bachelor or the incentive of impressing the ladies, but Raven is probably the third best cook judging from the skits, with Judith and Yuri being the top two, respectively. He just doesn’t want to have to do it a lot. Ironically, his main specialty is something that he himself would not eat: the crêpe. He might not be able to make awesome, creative dishes like Yuri and Judith, but when it comes to simple, good cooking, Raven is probably the guy to go to.
Because of his personality, Raven is also able to get along with people very well. He can adapt and understand them fairly quickly, as he does have personal experience. Since he also had to pretty much watch people and be able to read them so he can extract information for his past line of work, Raven is adept at reading expressions. This makes it fairly easy for him to learn something or let the person slip on certain things. It’s not always easy or simple, though. He’s not a mind reader and can easily judge incorrectly or just fail. But he is certainly good at it.
This is also true for Raven himself. As stated before, he is naturally very secretive, and for good reason. So if there is something he does not want to talk about, he will say partial truths or flat out lie, whichever is easier. Or if there is something more pressing at hand, he will deter the attention away from him and to that instead. He’ll slip up every once in a while though, or talk of the truth in such a way that it just sounds like he’s making a story or just rambling. Making things vague also works very well.
[Affection]
If you're a girl, he'll take any of them. Well. Maybe not punching. He could live without those. But any loving affections he will welcome with open arms~ If you're a guy, well, a simple hand shake or a pat on the shoulder is good enough. Unless you're a kid. Then bear hugs or something would be allowed. As for Raven giving affections, ladies beware and gentleman can expect the normal guy-type things.
[Fighting]
While Raven can fight, he'd prefer not to. Old man and all. Though he can also feel a bit left out if he's always left out of the party. Still, he's more of a "reactionary" type unless the situation calls for preemptive action. Either way, I don't mind fight logs and making Raven suffer pain, but as for killing...erm. Let's talk about that one.
[Other Permissions]
The only thing that mind readers wouldn't be able to get off of him would be any thoughts or anything about his life before the Great War. That he pretty much buried so deep that it would be pretty hard to get past. But otherwise, anything is game, and players are free to ask me for anything o/
[Other Facts]
Uh. A lot of what is Raven's actual past past is pretty much unknown so I'm pretty much going to have him evade any direct questions whenever possible 8D There is a novel released that actually tells about Raven's past, but there isn't a full translation available and I'm only going off the most important points from it.
Water isn't very good for him due to his, uh, heart condition. And it's hard to tell whether or not he has high physical endurance. On the one hand, he seems to do fine, but on the other, he tends to wheeze and complain and be all "Are we there yet?". He's a tough guy, though, and is very physically fit.
Taking him from the 360 version so he has no idea who Patty is, a PS3 only character. As for movie canon, he only made brief appearances without bearing much of an impact. There's also the fact that the fandom is in a complete controversy as to whether or not the movie should be considered "canon", even if it does match up with the PS3 version which was altered and expanded on from the original 360 version. So...I'll mostly try to avoid any mention of the events, but if it does come up I'll wing it. Raven is a pretty good character to have for "unknown" ground since he will ICly dodge/evade such topics to begin with.
One final note is he will retain all of his memories of Somarium. They'll just be a bit hazy since it's been several months since he's been here. Since so much has changed (and a lot of his original CR is gone), it will be almost as if he's starting afresh, which is actually what he might do. Plus there are some inaccurate details that were made about his history that need to be retconned. Not that it happened a lot, but yeah. He will still remember mostly everything (if his old memory serves him well), and will be pleasantly surprised at how different Somarium is now. And by pleasantly, I mean completely shocked and probably wonder if this is even the same place anymore. It will take some adjusting, that's for sure.