Xander (Fire Emblem)

​​Xander ​is a major playable character in Fire Emblem Fates ​on the Conquest and Revelation ​paths. He is the oldest sibling of the Nohrian royal family, and has two retainers; Laslow and Peri.

Profile
Xander is the eldest child of five in the Nohrian royal family and the child of king Garon and the first queen, Katerina. When the Avatar was adopted into the family during his childhood, he acknowledged them as one of his younger siblings, personally supervising their combat training.

Xander is known to have been born with no exceptional talents. Physically weak and adopting an introverted personality in his youth, Xander had to meticulously apply himself to his training in order to earn the right to wield the legendary Siegfried. He has also revealed that whenever he was overly pressured in making a public speech, he would pretend that he was speaking in front of a group of rabbits (carrots in the Japanese version) in order to calm himself. Xander was also known to be a shy child, a fact that he divulges to Sakura through their supports. He eventually overcame his shyness by forcing himself to talk to his father, whom he considered to be the most frightening person he had ever known.

According to the supports shared between Elise and her retainer Arthur, Xander used to be a much more doting brother and happier person during her adolescence, and was even known to have enjoyed joking and playing with her. This same support also reveals that due to Garon being cold and ruthless even in his treatment of her, Xander used to act as a surrogate father figure towards her, providing her with the care and support that she needed. However, his change in personality and demeanor due to the stress of warfare have since caused her to step away from him, as she feels that it is more important for her brother to devote his fullest attention to his duties instead of indulging her.

Xander had two different retainers prior to Laslow and Peri. During a battle with Hoshido, Xander's forces were overwhelmed and the two sent Xander away, fending off the enemy so he could retreat; as a result, both were killed in battle. While retainer-less for some time, he eventually found two new ones. The first was Peri, whom Xander had discovered at a noble's combat tournament. Despite placing third, her character and potential had impressed Xander enough to name her as his retainer. Later, Garon assigned a mysterious mercenary to him. Initially suspicious, Xander dueled his second retainer, barely winning and was greatly impressed with his skill.

Prior to the events of Fates, Xander arrested Hans for unknown charges. Even though Garon eventually released Hans for supposedly good behavior, Xander continued to remain suspicious of Hans.