Drakengard/Characters

The various very screwed up characters of Drakengard we all know and love.

Caim
The protagonist of the first game, Caim is a soldier of the Union, now motivated primarily by his love for his sister Furiae and a need for revenge. After suffering a grievous wound in battle, he stumbled across a similarly wounded Angelus, and forged a pact in order to preserve both their lives. The superhuman abilities and new flying mount were a pleasant bonus. Together with Angelus and his other friends travelling companions, they set out to the defeat The Empire.


 * Anti-Hero: A strong Type V. His only redeeming qualities are his love for his sister, friendship with Angelus, and that The Empire he fights is even worse. He's still a total bloodthirsty psychopath.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: The King of the Union, and commander of the Union Army.
 * Back From the Brink: Justified by the fact that he forged a pact with the red dragon Angelus.
 * Badass: More or less single-handedly felled The Empire, destroyed entire armies, and depending on the ending killed at least two different Eldritch Abominations, the king of all dragons, and.
 * The sequel makes him out as basically the most feared man on the planet, and for good reason. He outclasses the new protagonist, and manages to
 * BFS: He can acquire several, but Hymir's Finger in particular stands out.
 * Blood Knight: He basically only smiles when he's about to, is in the process of, and the aftermath of killing.
 * Character Development: Basically goes from "I care only about my sister" to "I care only about my sister and the dragon", but still...
 * Cry Cute: Yes, a male example of the trope. Watch Ending 1 if you don't believe me..
 * Determinator Come on. Just try stopping him.
 * Harmful to Minors: Not even child conscripts are safe from his wrath.
 * (This trope actually happens to Caim himself. As a child, he witnessed . This may go some way towards explaining his behavior.)
 * Hates Everyone Equally: Caim doesn't really discriminate. If you stand in his way, he will gleefully kill you.
 * Heroic Mime: He gave up his voice as part of the pact with Angelus. Though calling him "heroic" is kinda stretching it...
 * Hidden Depths:
 * The Juggernaut: Caim slaughters his way through entire armies, and that's without Angelus. The only things that can stop him are the Eldritch Abominations in the different endings.
 * Kick the Dog: He kicks Verdelet in the face once for practically no reason. Oh, and that dying elf who tried to appeal to him for help. He kicked her in the face too. And then there were those child soldiers he mercilessly crushed... And all those other people he mercilessly crushed...
 * To be fair, it is Verdelet.
 * Kick Them While They Are Down: At the end of the third map, Caim catches up to an imperial trooper trying to kill his sister Furiae. After killing the man, he spends the remaining cutscene (while Furiae and Inuart are angsting. Er, talking.) stabbing the man's dead body over and over and over. To be fair, it was his sister, and bad things happen
 * Magnetic Hero: For whatever reason, Caim seems to attract some "interesting" companions despite the fact that he honestly could not care less about them.
 * One-Man Army: The first game has him cutting through dozens of soldiers, and that's before he gets the pact; afterwards, he pretty much slaughters entire armies.
 * The second game pushes this Up to Eleven, he by himself made the entire world his enemy and doing it very smoothly! Not even the next protagonist Nowe can stop him. How bad is it? Killing his fire-breathing, flying dragon partner was seen as the easier alternative than engaging Caim himself.
 * Perpetual Frowner: When he's not adorned with a Slasher Smile, Caim's base state is 'scowling'.
 * Pet the Dog: Has some very poignant moments with his sister Furiae and with Angelus.
 * The Power of Hate Is An Awesome Power
 * Rogue Protagonist: He doesn't even bother to hide it. His first deed in the second game is Interestingly, there isn't actually much change in his personality. The only real difference is that now your on the receiving end of his violence.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: This is the key aspect of his character. His parents were killed  when he was just a kid. Both he and his sister were denied their lives, and so he has a burning hatred of anybody who sides with the empire.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: As revealed, Caim's father was a king and he's technically a landless prince. This is the big part of why he hates the Empire so much, and it makes his sister a princess on top of everything else.
 * Shoot the Dog: He's forced to do this in Ending 2 and Ending 3.
 * Slasher Smile
 * The Speechless: The price of his pact. Angelus tends to speak for him when he's not using violence to get his point across.
 * The Unfettered
 * Unstoppable Rage: Goes from making him interesting to making him a Flat Character, right back to interesting when things start getting really screwy. It's like his rage is all he's got.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: A lot of characters do this to him. Does he care? Hell no, this is Caim after all, he is the hero you wouldn't want to mess with.
 * Would Hurt a Child: With gusto. Especially Nowe.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: A lot of characters do this to him. Does he care? Hell no, this is Caim after all, he is the hero you wouldn't want to mess with.
 * Would Hurt a Child: With gusto. Especially Nowe.

Angelus
A red dragon who holds a rather disdainful opinion of humanity. Seeing the situation she was in at the beginning of the game  perhaps she can be forgiven her views. After agreeing to a pact with Caim, she becomes his mount, his (rather ineffectual) voice of reason, and over time, the closest of his companions, to the extent where Caim sheds tears when they part in the first game's canonical ending.


 * Back From the Brink: She was dying, just like Caim, when they met. Only a pact with him saved her life.
 * : In the first ending, wherein she
 * Character Development
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: And how!
 * Morality Pet: Becomes one for Caim as their relationship deepens, especially in the sequel.
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Pet the Dog: Towards Caim, despite starting out as allies of convenience
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Despite disliking humans, Angelus asks Caim if he really has to kill that many.
 * Pet the Dog: Towards Caim, despite starting out as allies of convenience
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Despite disliking humans, Angelus asks Caim if he really has to kill that many.

Inuart
A bard who was initially Furiae's betrothed until her ascension to becoming the Goddess robbed them of their chances at wedding each other. Nevertheless, he remained close to Furiae and Caim... although a strong undercurrent of jealousy remained towards Caim's exploits, as well as Furiae's deep (perhaps too deep) affection for her brother - one that the villains wasted no time in exploiting.


 * Anti-Villain: A borderline example.
 * Blessed with Suck: His pact took away his ability to sing, which was one of the most important things to him.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Evil Counterpart: To Caim.
 * Note that the 'evil' part is pretty much just because he joins the villains. Given he does not regularly engage in child murder, genocide or gleefully slaughter people for the heck of it and has a noble (if misguided) goal, 'evil' is sort of a relative term here...
 * Face Heel Turn
 * Green-Eyed Monster: A lot of his actions are fueled by his envy towards Caim.
 * Love Makes You Crazy: See below
 * Unwitting Pawn: Really, the poor guy got manipulated left and right...
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: See above.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: See above.

Furiae
A young maiden chosen to be the 'Goddess', a title for a person bearing a Seal that supposedly prevents The End of the World as We Know It from occurring. A rather colourless individual, the strongest facet of her personality is also a rather unpleasant one...


 * Barrier Maiden: She's the Goddess - if she dies, disaster ensues! Artwork of features an unknown woman, who some suspect is Furiae and Caim's mother.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Can you say Squick?
 * : And... nope, sorry, there's nothing the player can do to prevent this.
 * : In Ending 2
 * Prophetic Name
 * Prophetic Name

Arioch
"Voiced by Megumi Hayashibara (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)"

One of the few survivors of the Empire's attack on the Forest seal and elven purge. After enduring such horrific circumstances, her mind... broke. In exchange for her womb, she entered into a pact with the spirits of ice and fire, Undine and Salamander.

"So sweet..."
 * Action Girl / Dark Action Girl
 * Ax Crazy: And holy freaking HOW!
 * Break the Cutie: She was once a kind and loving mother, until Empire soldiers slaughtered her family...
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She disappears from the face of the planet in the sequel, with the only mention of her being in the form of her weapon, which your protagonist can find.
 * Eats Babies
 * I Am a Humanitarian
 * An Ice Person: The power of her pact partner, Undine.
 * : So you like eating babies, huh?
 * Laughing Mad
 * Our Elves Are Better: Averted. She's really not better than anyone in the Crapsack World of Drakengard, except at being crazy.
 * Playing with Fire: The power of her pact partner, Salamander.
 * The Quiet One: Doesn't talk very often, but when she does...

Verdelet
As the Union Hierarch, Verdelet is responsible for maintaining the goddess seal, down to replacing her if necessary.


 * Cursed with Awesome/Blessed with Suck: The only thing Verdelet sacrificed is his hair, which is rather light compared to others. However his dragon pact partner has since become petrified, leaving him with just his not-quite-telepathy.
 * The Load: Not much use.
 * Mr. Exposition: His only purpose in the game is to remind Caim how doomed the world is.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:.
 * Non-Action Guy: The only member of Caim's group that cannot fight.
 * Non-Action Guy: The only member of Caim's group that cannot fight.

Leonard
"Voiced by Koichi Yamadera (JP)"


 * The Atoner: Somewhat...
 * Bowdlerise In the original Japanese version, Leonard is An offical bio even states that the reason he was not in the fire that destroyed his home was because he was  at the time.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: As with Arioch, he does not appear in the sequel. He does, however, get a minor mention by an NPC, and you can find his weapon.
 * Disability Superpower: In exchange for his pact powers, he gave up his sight. Not that it hinders him at all in gameplay.
 * Driven to Suicide: Almost.
 * It's All My Fault
 * Survivor Guilt: And how!
 * : against.
 * : against.

Faerie
"Voiced by Yuko Miyamura (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)"

Leonard's pact partner, introduced after his failed suicide attempt. She tried to have him take another go at it, before deciding that forging a pact with him would be more amusing. This sets the tone for their relationship.


 * Dirty Coward
 * The Fair Folk
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: Yeah, right... because you're so good and noble, huh?
 * Jerkass: The little rat!
 * Moral Myopia: Accuses Leonard of being a coward who can't even kill himself right. Then,.
 * Small Annoying Creature: She pretty much only exists to tell Leonard how much he sucks.

Seere

 * : In Drakengard 2, wherein he
 * Blessed with Suck
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Well, he certainly doesn't.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: He remains convinced that his sister is not too far gone and that he can still redeem her... up until she slaps him in the face. Once. At which point he orders Golem to squash her like a grape.
 * Eleventh-Hour Superpower:He turns out . Yeah, it's a bit of an Ass Pull.
 * Gentle Giant: His pact partner Golem, who is also a Mighty Glacier.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: He has a somewhat distorted view of his relationship to Manah. Oh, and his best friends in the first game are a pedophile, a mass murderer and an elf (the elf Eats Babies).
 * It's All My Fault: He blames himself for Manah's Freudian Excuse.
 * The Kid with the Remote Control
 * The Load: Without his magic attack, he's about as useful in combat as you'd expect from a six-year old with a knife.
 * What Could Have Been: The time theme for the final non-Goddess seal and the concept art showing Seere in a very dark light suggests he was the original final guardian.

Manah
"Voiced by Sherry Lynn (creepy little girl voice), Daran Norris (creepy Watchers voice)"

High Priestess of the Cult of Watchers and apparent leader of the Empire via mind control, Manah started her life as a simple, unassuming child. Unfortunately, her mother hated her for some reason, to the extent that Manah viewed death as a preferable alternative, and when the Watchers approached the unhappy and insecure six-year old with promises of eternal love and happiness if they accepted her, they found a willing vessel.


 * : Her One-Winged Angel form in the first ending.
 * Big Bad
 * Cloudcuckoolander: A very, very creepy one at that!
 * Creepy Child
 * Demonic Possession: !
 * Enfante Terrible
 * Fate Worse Than Death: In her mind, at the very least..
 * Freudian Excuse
 * The Unfavourite: For reasons never fully explained, Manah's mother hated her. There are some hints in the weapon history of the short sword 'Hero's Knife' in Drakengard 2, though.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Voice of the Legion: "La la la la la!"

Nowe
"Nowe: Gismor... you are a sad man."
 * And Now for Someone Completely Different
 * Broken Bird: Not really,
 * The Chosen One
 * Cry for the Devil


 * The Hero: A more traditional one, when compared to Caim.
 * Idiot Hero: And how!
 * It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": His name is pronounced "No-Way".
 * Journey to the Center of the Mind:
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His actions in helping Manah release Angelus, who quickly goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. They then kill her, with less than satisfactory results.
 * Screw Destiny
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: he never completely loses his idealism.
 * Screw Destiny
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: he never completely loses his idealism.
 * Screw Destiny
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: he never completely loses his idealism.
 * Screw Destiny
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: he never completely loses his idealism.

Legna

 * All There in the Manual: It's directly stated in the Memory of Blood supplement that Legna is both the dragon that killed Caim and Furiae's parents, and the dragon Inuart rode in the first game.
 * : Well, not per se given the setting of Drakengard, but definitely.
 * Grumpy Old Man: Probably helped along by his voice actor.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters: Legna's attitude to all humans except Nowe.
 * Sdrawkcab Name: To Angel. This bit is lost in translation when they decided to call her Angelus.

Manah

 * Amnesiac Dissonance
 * The Atoner: Deconstructed.
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Black Magician Girl
 * : Very briefly.
 * Freak-Out:
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * La Résistance: Leader of it.
 * Mysterious Waif
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * : In Ending 2.
 * : In all the other endings.
 * She's All Grown Up
 * Took a Level In Badass
 * Took a Level In Badass

Eris

 * Action Girl
 * Blade on a Stick: Her trademark weapon is a spear.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Holy Hand Grenade: Her magic and weapon are aligned with the Holy element, and as such she is the only character who can effectively kill undead enemies.
 * Knight Templar: Character Development takes her out of it, though.
 * Lady of War
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: Sorry, Eris. You're in Nowe's "friend" or "sister" zone.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: Sorry, Eris. You're in Nowe's "friend" or "sister" zone.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: Sorry, Eris. You're in Nowe's "friend" or "sister" zone.

Urick

 * The Atoner
 * Badass
 * Big Brother Mentor: Completing Nowe's mentor trifecta along with Legna and Oror.
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation:
 * My Greatest Failure
 * Invisible to Gaydar: Heavily implied to be the former lover of Yaha.
 * Invisible to Gaydar: Heavily implied to be the former lover of Yaha.

Gismor

 * Casting a Shadow
 * It's All About Me: He only cares about himself. The plight of people who are in the same position he was when younger does not bother him.
 * Jerkass
 * One-Winged Angel: His shadow form, which he takes for his final stand.
 * Scary Black Man
 * Social Darwinist

Caim
Now the antagonist, Caim is devoted to  Despite the eighteen year difference between games, he's still as strong, if not stronger, and just as murderous.


 * Anti-Villain
 * Ax Crazy
 * Badass: Look at it this way: Caim's pact with Angelus is still active, meaning if one dies, the other will too.  
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
 * Dynamic Entry: Just one slice.
 * Eye Scream: Manah stabbed an eye out while escaping from Caim. Thus, he's known as The One-Eyed Man for most of the game.
 * Kick the Dog: Two instances: a) It is mentioned early that Caim killed general Oror, Nowe's surrogate human father and Gismor's balance on the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism; b) Later on,.
 * Big Damn Villains: The latter case also means that Nowe doesn't have to do it, since both of them technically wanted the latter to happen but Nowe can't make himself do it.
 * Legendary in the Sequel: Specifically by becoming The Dreaded.
 * The Juggernaut: Only this time, you're on the receiving end of his sword. Let's just say that getting in his way isn't a very good idea...
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: "The one-eyed man," for roughly the first half of the game.
 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * Slasher Smile: Even more pronounced now.

Oror

 * Knight in Shining Armor
 * Mentor Archetype
 * The Messiah: This guy was as good as Gismor is evil.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: A limited instance: the weapon history for "Nowe's Sword" refers to Oror as "Iron Dragon."
 * Parental Substitute
 * Posthumous Character: Developed via weapon histories and what characters mention about him rather than flashbacks.
 * Retcon/Sidekick Graduations Stick: Oror is never mentioned in Drakengard. The weapon history for "Oror's Lionblade" indicates he was the leading general of the Union, probably Caim's Number Two, and that he was present in The War Sequence of the first game.
 * Warrior Poet: If the weapon history for "Oror's Falconblade" is anything to go off of.

Zhangpo

 * Fiery Redhead
 * Playing with Fire: Implied; he is partnered to an Ifrit.
 * Plotline Death: Is killed by Manah early on.
 * The Unfought
 * Villainous Glutton: Averted somewhat; he cared mostly about filling his own stomach to grow strong, but his pact price was the sensation of enjoying food.
 * Weapon of Choice: An Axe to Grind
 * What Could Have Been: Zhangpo's pact beast was an Ifrit... and we never get to see said Ifrit.

Hanch

 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted; her pact price was her beauty.
 * Hellish Leviathan: Her pact beast, Kelpie.
 * Making a Splash
 * Master Poisoner: She was the one who poisoned the drink Oror took before he lost his life, under Gismor's command. She tried the same with Nowe. It didn't work.
 * Perpetual Frowner: Due to her pact price.
 * Weapon of Choice: Blade on a Stick
 * When She Smiles: In her backstory, her smile was charming enough for her to be called "Sunsmile".

Yaha

 * Bishounen
 * Camp Gay: And he's an Elf to boot!
 * The Charmer: His pact gave him the ability to charm whomever he wants, with his price being his inability to feel pleasure himself.
 * Depraved Homosexual
 * Dishing Out Dirt
 * The Minion Master: Rather than controlling a single creature, he made a pact with a pack of gnomes.
 * Nice Hat
 * Weapon of Choice: Simple Staff