Tibarn

Tibarn
Species	Laguz (Hawk)
Class	Bird Tribe (Hawk)
Affiliation	Phoenicis
Hair color	Black
Base	Phoenicis
Debut	Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Tibarn is a supporting character and ally unit in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and he can be chosen as a playable unit for the game's final battle.

Background

Tibarn was the king of Phoenicis and full of laguz pride. He was often accompanied by his two retainers, Janaff and Ulki, who were known as the king's eyes and ears due to their enhanced senses. After the tragedy in which an angry mob of beorcs in Begnion burned down Serenes Forest and drove the heron tribe living there to the brink of extinction, Tibarn became the guardian of the only known survivors at the time, King Lorazieh and his son Reyson. Tibarn's deep hatred for the beorcs was either fueled or enhanced by this tragedy they had caused. Afterwards, Tibarn refused to deal with beorcs and often raided vessels from Begnion. He became quite friendly with Reyson, whose thirst for revenge against beorcs may have exceeded Tibarn's. However, Tibarn was also often at odds with a fellow bird tribe king, Naesala of the Kilvas ravens. This was because of Naesala's mercenary actions, as he worked both for and against beorcs and laguz for money, and Tibarn accused him of sacrificing his laguz pride while Naesala thought Tibarn's customs were outdated.

In Path of Radiance, Tibarn was first seen in "Chapter 13: A Guiding Wind". Tibarn and his retainers witnessed a battle between a Begnion ship and another ship. Even though he could see that Begnion's ruling apostle was on board, he decided not to intervene because he did not want to look like a scavenger looking for scraps and hoped to fight with honor. Tibarn later attended the meeting of the laguz kings in "Chapter 14: Training". He got into an argument with Naesala about their clashing ethics, and he supported the idea of forming a laguz alliance to defeat Daein because Tibarn hoped that it would be the first step towards establishing laguz dominance over Tellius. However, Deghinsea vetoed this idea because the last thing he wanted was for the entire country to become embroiled in the war, especially since heavy warfare could revive the dark god sleeping within Lehran's Medallion.

Tibarn later set off into action with Janaff and Ulki in "Chapter 17: Day Breaks", when Nealuchi informed him that Reyson had been taken captive by Oliver and disappeared into Serenes Forest after escaping him with Oliver's men in pursuit. Tibarn was also able to learn it was Naesala who sold Reyson to Oliver, which deeply angered Tibarn. Even though Naesala claimed he would have rescued Reyson soon afterwards, Tibarn was disgusted with Naesala for betraying Reyson's trust. Tibarn, Janaff and Ulki soon arrived in Serenes and set off in search of Reyson. They eventually found him en route to the sacred altar, where he hoped to unleash forbidden seid magic to kill the beorcs in the forest. But Tibarn pleaded with Reyson not to, saying that the herons were the epitome of balance and causing this genocide would warp Reyson's very existence. Ultimately Tibarn convinced Reyson to accompany him back to Pheonicis so they could plan a counterattack.

However, on their way out of the forest, they witnessed Ike and his men in battle with Oliver. They were particularly surprised to see Ike was defending another heron. At this point Tibarn, Janaff and Ulki entered the battle as allied units and helped to finish the fight with Oliver even though it was against his nature to help beorcs. Afterwards, they found the heron was Reyson's sister Leanne, whom had been believed dead Serenes Massacre, and she recognized Tibarn from more than twenty years ago. Afterwards, Tibarn started to return to Phoenicis with his retainers and the heron siblings. However, Reyson convinced Tibarn to follow Ike because he wanted to repay Ike for saving Leanne by joining with the Crimean Liberation Army in "Chapter 18: Crimea Marches". Tibarn reluctantly allowed Reyson to do so and sent Janaff and Ulki to accompany him. He also offered Reyson his aid whenever Reyson needed it due to the great bond they had created between the hawk and heron tribes. Reyson eventually cashed in on that offer in "Chapter 25: Strange Lands". However, just before Tibarn left, the Black Knight arrived and captured Leanne while killing one of Tibarn's servants. Tibarn caught up with the Crimean Liberation Army in order to defeat the last soldier in their latest battle. He soon revealed to Reyson that Leanne had been kidnapped and apologized to him.

Tibarn continued to aid the Crimean war effort in the succeeding battles, usually distracting a group of enemies while Ike led his soldiers against the main group. Tibarn once more joined Ike's men in battle as an ally unit in "Chapter 28: Twisted Tower", when they set out to save Leanne from Gritnea Tower. However, their main purpose was to distract the enemies outside the tower while Naesala rescued Leanne, as Tibarn had forced him to perform that deed as atonement for selling Reyson earlier. In "Endgame: Repatriation", Tibarn and his men were sent to patrol the skies of Crimea's capital during the final battle and to prevent airborne foes from escaping, and Ike apologized for keeping him away from the main fight. But Tibarn was not necessarily kept out of the final battle, as during the battle, Ike had the choice of calling in either him, Naesala or Giffca as a playable ally.

After the war ended, Tibarn made arrangements with Caineghis, king of Gallia, because Reyson and Leanne wanted to live in the forests there. He acknowledged forming a bond with Ike and invited him to visit Phoenicis, promising that the entire country would celebrate his arrival.

Trivia

• Tibarn has in-built Support bonuses with Reyson (increasing his chances of delivering a critical hit when Reyson is nearby, and vice-versa) and Tibarn and Ulki (protecting them from enemy critical hits if he is nearby).