—Brian
Brian (ブリアン, Burian in the Japanese version) is an enemy character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. He is the older brother of Iucharba and Iuchar, the son of Danann, the half-nephew of Lex, and the grandson of Lombard. Unlike the rest of his family in the Second Generation, he is not stationed in Isaach, but at Dozel Castle instead. Despite wielding the holy Helswath axe, Brian will eventually fall to the sheer might of Seliph's liberation army.
Unlike his father and grandfather, Brian seems to merely be misguided and fighting for family honor. As he breathes his last words, Brian is observed to ponder on the significance of his past actions.
In-Game
Stats
Starting Class | Holy Blood | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Master Knight | Neir | ||||||||||
Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Lead | Gold |
30 | 80 | 27 | 14 | 24 | 26 | 12 | 27+20 | 17+10 | 9 | 4 | 3,000 |
Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
Pursuit Charge | Sword - A Lance - A Axe - Bow - A Fire - A Thunder - A Wind - A Light - C Staff - A | Helswath Life Ring |
Overview
Though his strategy of leaving his own castle virtually undefended while sending a squad of low-accuracy units to seize the enemy's castle is questionable at best, Brian is a menace on the battlefield. He possesses the holy Helswath axe, commendable stats all around, and four leadership stars. As his Resistance is lower than his Defense, it is recommended to smite him with magic-based attacks. However, most magic attacks will not be able to inflict very much damage upon him, as his Resistance is equivalent to that of a maxed out Sage thanks to Helswath's impressive boosts. Furthermore, as Helswath grants its user the ability to attack within two spaces, the magic units in question will be in danger of being easily killed.
The ideal method to easily defeat Brian is to engage him in combat with the Forseti user in the army, but even then, he will still be able to withstand at least two hits. However, if the Forseti user possesses the Pursuit skill, he will most likely be able to inflict at least three hits upon Brian in a single round instead, which is enough to defeat him quickly and efficiently. The path between Dozel and Chalphy is mountainous, so positioning the attacker on a mountain could not hurt.
Alternatively, the player may leave a swordsman with good evasion abilities (ideally Shannan) within the surrounding radius of nearby Chalphy Castle (or positioned directly on the castle itself) to distract Brian, while the main army focuses on conquering Dozel Castle. Brian's entire army will vanish the moment Dozel is conquered, allowing the player to bypass him completely, sparing a relatively sympathetic antagonist.
Death Quote
—Brian's death quote.
Etymology
Brian and his two brothers derive their names from the Irish myth of Tuireann. Tuireann had three sons with his daughter Danand (Danann), which included Brian, Iuchar and Iucharba, who killed Lugh's father Cian. After Lugh took his revenge by killing the three brothers, Tuireann wept over their graves.
Trivia
- As with virtually all bosses not directly stationed on a castle, Brian does not need to be defeated for the player to complete the game. As with all bosses that can be 'skipped' this way, Brian's fate will be completely unexplained should the player choose to spare him. This is odd, as he is technically the rightful heir to House Dozel.