Ranulf

Friend of Nations
Ranulf
Species	Laguz (Cat)
Class	Beast Tribe (Cat)
Affiliation	Gallia
Hair color	Green
Eye color	Purple/Green
Base	Gallia
Debut	Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Ranulf is a playable unit in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and its sequel, Radiant Dawn.

Background

Ranulf was a beast warrior of Gallia and an aide of its king, Caineghis. He was a dedicated and high-ranking warrior, but at the same time had a good sense of human and a lighter side.

Path of Radiance

He was first seen in "Chapter 8: Shades of Evil" when he lead the Gallian forces in driving the Daein forces away, in order to protect Elincia and the Greil Mercenaries. Ranulf met the future leader of the mercenary group, Ike, and was initially offended when Ike called him a sub-human, but he then was surprised at how earnest Ike was to learn the proper term for a laguz. Later on, he and Caineghis used their roars to scare off the Black Knight during his battle with Greil, but they were too late to save Greil's life and simply watched Ike take Greil's body away from a distance.

Ranulf was later sent, along with Mordecai and Lethe, to escort Elincia and the mercenaries to Port Toha where they could receive passage to Begnion. He pointed them on a detour to Canteus Castle in "Chapter 10: Prisoner Release", but he was too busy with some unspecified errands to join them in the battle. In "Chapter 11: Blood Runs Red", he met with Nasir, who was going to give the mercenaries passage to Begnion on his ship. But unbenownst to Ike, Elincia and the mercenaries, Nasir was a spy for Gallia sent to judge them and determine whether or not they were worthy of Gallian reinforcement, as only the word of a Goldoan dragon would convince Gallia's elders to move Gallian troops.

As for Ranulf, he was unable to accompany the mercenaries to Begnion. He decided to remain near Gallia since Daein showed signs that Gallia would be its next target. Ranulf disguised his laguz features during their time in Port Toha, but soon his disguise was accidentally knocked off, and he was attacked by an angry mob of beorc villagers, and Ranulf did not fight back as to not violate the treaty between Crimea and Begnion. He later split apart from the mercenaries to distract most of the Daein troops. Afterwards, he attempted to battle the Black Knight in order to distract him while the mercenaries escaped in Nasir's ship. But his attacks had no effect on the Black Knight's armor, and he received heavy damage. Luckily Sephiran was able to heal Ranulf and convinced the Black Knight to stand down. Ranulf then returned to Gallia with Giffca and wondered how Ike and the others would do.

After Ike's various victories in Daein, Nasir communicated them to Gallia. The Gallians decided to send Ranulf with the Gallian reinforcements, and Ranulf also passed on news of the Crimean victories to Lucia. He was reunited with Ike when he came to fight alongside the Crimean Liberation Army in "Chapter 23: The Great Bridge" and was surprised to find Ike had matured. However, he was further surprised when he learned that Nasir had been imprisoned by Ike after being accused of spying for Daein. He explained Nasir's purpose as a Gallian spy but started to realize Nasir's motivations when he learned that Ena, Nasir's granddaughter, was among Daein's ranks. He asked to see Nasir following the battle and learn the full story, but they regretfully found that Nasir had escaped.

Ranulf then led the Crimean Liberation Army to their rendezvous with the Gallian reinforcements in "Chapter 25: Strange Lands". Nasir and Ena later joined up with their ranks, and Ranulf remained friendly with them but was also a bit suspicious of them. He also became a close friend of Ike. After the war ended, Ranulf left early to escort Reyson and Leanne to meet with King Caineghis. If he had an A Support with Ike, he also promised to return soon with an army of laborers and workers to aid in Crimea's reconstruction.

Radiant Dawn

Three years later, war was declared between the newly-formed Laguz Alliance Army and Begnion. Ranulf was appointed the second-in-command of the Gallian forces under Skrimir. However, Ranulf was impatient with Skrimir's reckless attitude and his thirst for combat. So in "Prologue: The Great Advance" of "Part 3: Intersecting Vows", he visited Ike and the Greil Mercenaries, convincing them to lend their strategic might to the Gallian forces.

With Ike's help, the Gallian forces began pulling off several great victories in the early battles with Begnion. However, they faced a stumbling block at the end of "Chapter 2: Stormclouds", when they learned that the bird laguz had failed in their attempt to stall the Begnion Central Army's advance. Skrimir wanted to rush headlong into battle, but Ranulf saw the folly in this due to the Central Army being too powerful for them, and his attempt to change Skrimir's mind led to a battle between the two. Skrimir won, but he decided to follow Ranulf's advice and pull back anyway.

Afterwards in "Chapter 3: River Crossing", Ranulf battled General Zelgius in order to distract him while the Greil Mercenaries destroyed their supplies. Ranulf was ultimately cornered by Zelgius, but Tibarn arrived in time to save him. During the battle, Ranulf had recognized Zelgius's fighting style from his battle with the Black Knight three years ago, which led him to conclude that the two were one in the same. However, he decided not to tell Ike about this until he had more proof.

After the army had crossed the Ribahn, they began to execute their plan to take out the Begnion Central Army. But the plan failed when Zelgius challenged Skrimir to a one-on-one duel, at which point Skrimir gave in to his pride and went ahead to take on Zelgius. Ranulf joined with Ike and the others and made their way up the cliff, but they arrived too late. Skrimir was defeated but left alive. Zelgius gave the army a chance to retreat. The Gallians were left with no choice but to retreat. It was a long and arduous journey. Along the way they battled with more of the Begnion army, as well as the Daein army. After a confrontation with Dheginsea in Goldoa, they finally returned to Gallia and mobilized to defend their homeland from the Begnion Central Army, who were planning an invasion.

With the arrival of Sanaki in "Chapter 10: The Heart of Crimea", the Laguz Alliance Army was reinvigorized. They began to take on the Daein Royal Army until everything was disrupted by the awakening of the goddesses Yune and Ashera, when Ashera turned nearly all of the world into stone. Yune then split up the remaining fighters to take on Ashera in "Part 4: Of Gods and Men". Ranulf was assigned to travel with the Hawk Army at this point. Since he was going to be separated from Ike, before they parted he told Ike about his suspicions that Zelgius was the Black Knight.

Possible Fates

Ranulf has two different endings, depending on whether or not he has an A Rank Support with Ike in Radiant Dawn.

• Default Ending- Ranulf became an adviser to the newly crowned King Skrimir. Ranulf was run ragged by his duties and winced at them but still indulged Skrimir.
• Ike and Ranulf's Ending- Ranulf departed after seeing Skrimir crowned as king and went off on a journey (presumably joining Ike on his journey), simply commenting that there was so much that he hadn't seen.

Support Conversation Summaries

In Path of Radiance, Ranulf is capable of having Support conversations with three other characters.

• Ike- Ranulf meets up with Ike while he's in a late night training session, wanting to talk with him but seeing that Ike is "crazy" at the moment. Ranulf explains that he considers Ike crazy due to the blunt and straightforward way he deals with people, such as his yelling at the apostle. They then begin telling jokes and laughing together. In the second conversation, Ike meets up with Ranulf, thinking he is training or showing some secret laguz power, only to find that Ranulf hates training and is only exercising. He then tells Ike about his tail and almost lets slip the laguz secret to keeping their tails from getting in their way when they sleep, although he is disappointed that Ike does not persist in asking him about the secret. In the final conversation, Ike comes upon Ranulf when he's jumpy due to the negative energy being emitted from Ashnard's headquarters. He is able to calm himself down but is ashamed that a beorc saw him in such a state and admits that he does not completely trust Ike. Ike then tells Ranulf that he trusts him completely, but Ranulf calls him dumb and walks away, leaving Ike to wonder whether Ranulf was giving friendly advice or if he was angry.
• Lethe- Lethe and Ranulf are reunited, and he promises to help her and Mordecai with their responsibilities. Lethe complains about the beorcs' abilities and usefulness in battle, but she also admits that they surpassed her expectations. In the next conversation, Lethe asks Ranulf about how his new trainees are doing, since they include her sister Lyre, and Ranulf expresses confidence in them but Lethe is more skeptical about them. He then learns that Lethe hadn't talked to Lyre in a long time and suggests they patch things up, but Lethe tells her to mind her own business. She does suggest that the homeland get better protection while they are away. In the final conversation, Ranulf offers Lethe an opportunity to return to Gallia, but she refuses. Ranulf is able to tell how much Lethe has changed and is surprised, and he gets Lethe to admit her attitude towards beorcs has changed. Ranulf says they should party with Ike and his mercenaries after they win the war, and Lethe is actually interested by this idea.
• Mordecai- In the first conversation, Ranulf and Mordecai get reacquainted, and Mordecai asks Ranulf if he thinks he is making progress in learning the human language. Mordecai remembers how the laguz needed only roars to communicate, but Ranulf reminds him the beorcs might be frightened by the roaring, and Mordecai agrees that he does not want to scare the beorcs. In the second conversation, Ranulf wakes Mordecai from a nap and notes that both he and Ike seem to have iron nerves, but Mordecai says he does not mind napping because he trusts his allies. He then tells Ranulf about his inability to properly attack enemies. In the third conversation, Mordecai apologizes to Ranulf and says he cannot change the way he fights because it is the way he is. Ranulf assures Mordecai he has no need to apologize and is no burden to Ike's army, and the two agree to crush the enemy and bring the war to an end.

In Radiant Dawn, Ranulf has an automatic Bond Support with Ike.

Trivia

• Unused Path of Radiance data indicates that at one point Ranulf was intended to also have support conversations with Tauroneo.