Sephiran

Sephiran ​is a non-playable character in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and a boss/player character in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn as well as one of the main antagonists of the latter. He is the Prime Minister of the Begnion Empire, the most senior member of the Begnion Senate, and the Duke of Persis. He first appears in Path of Radiance in the guise of a pilgrim, although he is later shown to stop the Black Knight; the reason for the knight's obedience is not revealed until later in Radiant Dawn.

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Sephiran was once known as Lehran, the thousand year-old heron who accompanied Ashera in her battle against the dark god, and imprisoned Yune within the medallion that would one day be known as the Fire Emblem.

Upon marrying Altina, the founder of Begnion, she bore his child, the very first Branded, thereby creating the Apostolic dynasty. Every member of this dynasty was blessed, as was Lehran himself, with the ability to hear the voice of the Goddess Ashera. Shortly after the birth of his child, Lehran lost the ability to transform and sing galdr, becoming neither Beorc nor Laguz. If Radiant Dawn is completed more than once with both Nasir and Gareth surviving the fight against the dragons, it is stated in a conversation (involving Nasir, Gareth, Kurthnaga, and Micaiah) that Lehran attempted suicide many times.

Following his transformation, Lehran retreated to Goldoa, where he lived secretly under King Dheginsea's care for seven hundred years. He later departed Goldoa in search of a means by which he might end the mistreatment of laguz slaves due to the extreme isolationism of the dragon kingdom. While in Begnion, Lehran met Misaha, the Apostle who would become the grandmother of the Empress Sanaki, and convinced her to reveal her Brand to the world. The Begnion senators then assassinated Misaha and framed the Herons for it. This event led to the Serenes Massacre, in which Begnion citizens burned the Serenes Forest down. All of the herons were killed, save for the royal herons Reyson, Leanne, Rafiel, Lillia, and their father, Lorazieh. This led Sephiran to believe that the continent of Tellius deserved nothing but destruction. At this time, the villagers he spoke to in his memory scene learned of his identity as a laguz. It is also implied that he somehow brought Micaiah to Daein and dropped her off there to protect her from the senators since she was the Firstborn heir being the one to become Begnion's Empress and Apostle. Lehran was likely afraid that Micaiah will suffer the same fate as her grandmother did.

Sephiran is not revealed to be a major antagonist until the end of Radiant Dawn, at which point it becomes apparent that he is the orchestrator of many events transpiring in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.

Through both games, his final goal, the revival of Ashera for the destruction of the world and the purging of both Beorc and Laguz, is nearly fulfilled, as all those not under the protection of Yune are transformed into stone with the outbreak of war across the continent. In Sephiran's eyes, the Beorc and Laguz are unable to change, and will continue their path of violence and destruction for as long as they are permitted to do so. For this reason, he wishes for Ashera to cleanse the world of violence and reconstruct the world into a more peaceful place.

Sephiran is fought by Ike and his chosen companions in the Tower of Guidance in Part IV Endgame IV of Radiant Dawn. At this point in time, Ike has figured out that Sephiran is behind many of the past events, alongside his identity as the master of the Black Knight, Zelgius. He openly admits to all of the tragedies he has wrought, much to Sanaki's dismay and Ike's anger. Ike then vows to make Sephiran's death as painful as possible, whereupon the party defeats him in order to fight Ashera. During the player's first play-through of the game, Sephiran will breathe his last at the end of the battle, an outcome that may be changed in subsequent play-throughs.

In subsequent playthroughs of Radiant Dawn, Sephiran's death may be prevented if certain conditions are met. These conditions include using the Black Knight in Part I Endgame, as well as sparing Pelleas' life towards the end of Part III. Furthermore, Ike must engage the Black Knight in a fight in Chapter 3-7, with the both of them surviving the battle. In order for this set of criteria to be fulfilled, the game must have been completed at least once.

Prior to meeting Sephiran in the Tower of Guidance, it is revealed in Ike's "memory scene" that it was Sephiran who sealed Ike's memories of his mother's death to spare him the pain of having witnessed Elena's death at the hands of her beloved. This causes Ike's motivation to defeat Sephiran to be altered, as he wishes to gain more answers about that event instead of simply killing him.

After Sephiran's defeat, another special "memory scene" will be triggered. It is revealed that his decision to awaken the Goddess was largely influenced by the Serenes Massacre, during which all but a few of the heron royals were brutally murdered by Begnion citizens. Micaiah then manages to save him from the cold embrace of death, whereupon Ike convinces him to try to make up for his past actions and help them defeat Ashera. While Sephiran is reluctant at first, he eventually sees the error of his ways, and joins the army as a playable character. When the game ends, Sephiran will lie in Serenes Forest by Lorazieh's urging, allowing the galdr of the Herons to heal his worn and ragged soul. It is here where Lehran welcomes the return of Ashunera a thousand years later, and appears with his black wings. It is revealed that humanity has been living peacefully for the past twelve hundred years, but tensions are beginning to mount once again. However, he believes that Ashunera has the ability to put an end to it.

In the final fight with Ashera, Sephiran bears only the Ashera Staff, forsaking his powerful personal tome, Creiddylad.

As the expanded epilogue greatly involves Sephiran, it may thus be considered to be the canon ending of the game.