Sain

Sain Artwork of Sain from Blazing Sword. A knight in service to house Caelin. A bit of a scoundrel.

Gender Male Race Human Age 20's Starting class Cavalier Appearance(s) Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

“	Of course! Falling for beautiful women is what we cavaliers do!	”	— Sain to Kent in a support conversation.

Sain (セイン, Sein) is a playable character whose first and only appearance was in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. Along with his partner and companion of Kent, Sain was originally sent on a mission to locate Caelin's true heir, Lyndis, within the plains of Sacae and subsequently help her become the true heir of the principality instead of Lundgren. In the main story, he travels with other members of Caelin and Lyn in order to assist Eliwood and Hector.

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Role

Pre-game

Little is known of Sain's life before the start of the game; as he is a member of Caelin's knights, as well as his general familiarity of the area, it is generally assumed that he likely hails from the region, as well as that of greater Lycia. In addition, it is suggested that he knew Kent from the moment he started training to be a knight; their mentor was Wallace, and their first captain was stated to be Eagler.

While Sain's age is never disclosed, it is stated in support conversations that he is older than Kent, despite being less mature than his companion.

In-game

Sain first appears in Chapter 1, shortly after Lyn and Mark travel to Bulgar. Initially attempting to woo and flatter her, he is quickly silenced by his companion Kent; as Lyn walks away after believing that the knights of Caelin are no more than "oafs", the two realise that the woman Sain hit on was actually their objective. When Lyn is attacked by bandits on the outskirts of the town, the two knights elect to go and help her; after the battle, they also explain why they, two knights of Caelin, rode into the distant plains of Sacae: the marquess of Caelin, Lord Hausen had been searching for his daughter, Madelyn, who left him long ago. In this year, Madelyn sent a message to Marquess Caelin stating that she lived happily on the plains, with a daughter named Lyndis, also the name of the marquess's wife. Kent and Sain were sent to find the family; however, they learned that Madelyn had died in a banditry-related attack, but they still continued to search for Lyn, under the assumption that she is still alive due to a lack of evidence proving her death. In this time, Lyn also realizes that the bandit had called her Lyndis, a name only her parents called her. Sain and Kent realize that he must have been one of the henchmen of Lundgren, the brother of the marquess bent on taking the throne. However, the existence of Lyndis makes her the next heir, and as such, makes her a block in preventing Lundgren from immediately ascending the throne. Continuing the mission, the two protect and advise Lyn throughout the rest of her story.

After the defeat of Lundgren, Sain returns to his service as a knight of Caelin, though his ending notes that his personality does not change after his adventure.

After one year of general tranquility in Caelin, Sain appears again in Chapter 15/16: Noble Lady of Caelin. Along with Lyn, Kent, Wil, and Florina, he is trapped outside the castle, due to a sudden surprise attack by Marquess Laus, Darin. Because of this hasty retreat, the group is unable to find any salvation from other territories, and they are unaware of what Hausen's fate is. In this scene, Sain also learns of what happened in Laus, specifically calling Darin "despicable" for abandoning his son Erik in the heat of a battle. After Florina flies away to inform Eliwood of the current sitation, Sain and his comrades join Eliwood and Hector's group and fights with them for the rest of the game.

Post-game

In all of Sain's endings, the knight elects to resign his post as knight of Caelin after the territory is merged with Ostia at Lyn's request. Depending on the player's actions, he either travels all over the land, continuing to fight for justice and to find romance, or he settles down with one woman whom he finally feels true feelings for; in the latter case, he will either travel to Ilia to marry Fiora, or he will go to Pherae with Rebecca, making him the father of Wolt.

Endings

Lyn's story

Sain, Knight of Lycia
Ordinary: Sain has earned the honor of being named subcommander of the Caelin knights. Despite his promotion, he still scoffs at authority and woos the village girls. He is much loved by the citizenry.
If felled in battle: Though grievously wounded in battle, Sain has never neglected his duty. He has remained at Lyn's side and has seen her safely to Caelin.

Eliwood's and Hector's stories

Sain, the Green Lance
When Ostia took over the rule of Caelin, Sain resigned and became an independent knight. His love of women is unchanged.

Rebecca, A Wildflower, and Sain, the Green Lance
When her grandfather died, Lyn asked that Caelin be taken under Ostian protection. Sain requested a discharge and moved to Pherae with his beloved Rebecca. Their son is nothing like his father, thankfully.

Sain, the Green Lance, and Fiora, Wing-bourne Warrior
Although they returned to their respective countries, Sain and Fiora continued to seek each other out. When Lyn abdicated Caelin's rule to Ostia, Sain resigned his commission and moved to Ilia. He and Fiora later wed.

Starting stats and growth rates

Lyn's story Eliwood's/Hector's story

Cavalier Level 1 Affinity

Recruitment: Automatically from the start of Chapter 1: Footsteps of Fate Stats Growth Rates Max HP 19 Luck 4 Strength 8 Defense 6 Skill 4 Resistance 0 Speed 6 Constitution 9 Movement 7 Aid 16 Max HP 80% Luck 35% Strength 60% Defense 20% Skill 35% Resistance 20% Speed 40% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Iron Lance Weapon Levels E D -- -- -- -- -- --

Cavalier Level 4 Affinity

Recruitment: Automatically at the start of Chapter 15/16: Noble Lady of Caelin. Stats Growth Rates Max HP 22 Luck 5 Strength 9 Defense 7 Skill 5 Resistance 0 Speed 7 Constitution 9 Movement 7 Aid 16 Max HP 80% Luck 35% Strength 60% Defense 20% Skill 35% Resistance 20% Speed 40% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Steel Lance Iron Sword Iron Lance Weapon Levels D D -- -- -- -- -- --

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• Note: Eliwood's/Hector's story stats are used if the player skips Lyn's story, or if Sain is defeated during Lyn's story.

Promotion Gains

Class	HP	Str	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Con	Mov	Weapon level
Paladin	+2	+1	+1	+1	+0	+2	+1	+2	+1	+30, + 30, E

Analysis

Despite having the green colouration associated with the Abel archetype, Sain's boisterous and womanising personality and his growths make him Blazing Sword's Abel, in a rare reversal of the trend. Owing to being the Abel of the duo, Sain has considerably higher HP and strength growths than his companion Kent, while also having poorer growths in skill and speed. In this regard, Sain is notable for his extremely high strength; due to plenty of levels to gain strength, a high strength growth at 60%, and a rather high base strength of 8 as a level 1 Cavalier, Sain will have little difficulty in capping strength as a Paladin. In addition, despite having a poor defence growth at 20%, Sain can potentially get around this with his high HP growth, and while he cannot naturally cap HP, he can get very close to it. As a paladin, Sain also has rare access to all weapons of the weapon triangle, and as such, is one of the few characters in the game who can take all three sides of the triangle.

Sain's primary flaw is his low skill; while this can become less of a problem due to his ability to wield the rather accurate swords, forests and similar terrain can easily counter Sain, and it can prove difficult to bypass the weapon triangle compared to other characters. Complicating matters further is that while Sain's wind affinity naturally increases his hit percentage with supports, few of his support partners can compliment this. Sain also has the potential to lack in both evasion and critical evasion, owing to a low luck growth and potential for having poor speed, though unlike his problems with accuracy, these problems can be fixed with his supports.

Comparison to other cavaliers

While Sain, the Cain, specialises in raw attacking power, Kent, the Abel, focuses on speed and skill, and Lowen, who does not fall into a specific archetype, specialises in HP, defense, and luck. As all three cavaliers specialise in different fields, have different support options, will likely outclass both Marcus and Isadora, and have similar availabilities, the decision on who to make a paladin comes down to personal preference. Regardless, it is advised that if the player elects to use two paladins, the pair should consist of Kent and Sain, due to their ability to support with each other, and potentially form a support triangle with Fiora.

Personality and character

Sain is seen as a reckless and boisterous knight to other characters in the game, to the point where some can only express incredulity at his behaviour. Louise and Priscilla both express this in their support conversations with Sain, with the former thinking of him more similarly to a jester and the latter finding it difficult to describe him. . In terms of his personality traits, however, the most obvious manifestation of this is his merciless womanizing habits; in conversations with Rebecca, he even admits that he has attempted to hit on every woman he has ever seen. In addition to having support conversations with only females with the exception of his companion Kent, Sain's womanizing also ends up fueling the plot in some points of Lyn's story; the most notable of this occurs in Chapter 7: Siblings Abroad, where Sain's insistence on helping Nils's sister, Ninian, ends up influencing Lyn's decision to help the bard. However, nearly all of the women he meets are offended, scared, annoyed, or otherwise negatively affected by him. These include Lyn, Florina, Fiora, Serra, Rebecca, Priscilla, Louise, and Isadora.

Despite these instances of his boisterous personality, Sain is demonstrated to be less shallow than others make him out to be. In his supports with Kent, for instance, he tells his companion that he will not pursue Lyn so that the red-haired cavalier can instead do so, and he even offers his companion some advice on how to romance women. In addition, Sain expresses some concern to some of his romantic targets; with Priscilla, he offers to listen to her personal dilemmas involving her past, even though the truth upsets him. Furthermore, Sain upholds a strong sense of loyalty; while he still does hit on women of other nations, he notes he would not abandon Caelin that easily, and he refuses to side with Lundgren upon being offered a lucrative position in the new ruling class. Most notably, however, Sain shows outright anger at Darin upon hearing that he abandoned his own son, and in the battle against Darin, Sain tells Mark to leave the corrupt general to him, again speaking about how disgusted he is that the man abandoned his own son.

Supports

Main article: Sain/Supports

Sain Cavalier Kent Cavalier Initial: 30 Per turn:+3 Serra Cleric Initial: 0 Per turn:+2 Priscilla Troubadour Initial: 0 Per turn:+2 Isadora Paladin Initial: 0 Per turn:+1 [[{{{support9}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin9}}}affin.png|link={{{affin9}}} (affinity)]] Initial: {{{initialpoints9}}} Per turn:+ Fiora Pegasus Knight Initial: 0 Per turn:+2 Rebecca Archer Initial: 0 Per turn:+2 Louise Sniper Initial: 0 Per turn:+1 [[{{{support8}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin8}}}affin.png|link={{{affin8}}} (affinity)]] Initial: {{{initialpoints8}}} Per turn:+ [[{{{support10}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin10}}}affin.png|link={{{affin10}}} (affinity)]] Initial: {{{initialpoints10}}} Per turn:+

See Support § GBA games for more details on supports.

Quotes

Death quote

Lyn's Story

In-battle conversation

Sain: NO!!! Oh, now I've done it...
Lyn: Sain!
Sain: Lyndis, Mark. I'm no good to you like this... I'll only slow you down! I'm sorry, but I must retreat!

Post-battle conversation

Sain: Lyndis! Please forgive all my nonsense on the battlefield. It was...a moment of weakness. Lyn: Oh, but, Sain, you look much better now! Sain: Yes. I'm almost as good as new! Lyn: That's as may be, but your coloring is still awful. Sain: Huh? Lyn: You should find someplace to rest and heal your wounds. Sain: No! You must keep moving forward! Lyn: Well, we can't just leave you behind like this! Sain: I'll be fine! I may not be able to defend you, but I can still ride! I'm sorry that I won't be any help in combat. Lyn: For all your jests, you truly are a knight, aren't you? Sain: Ha ha ha. My ears! Please, stop! Lyn: I suppose we must continue then. But you mustn't overexert yourself! If your injury worsens, I will force you to rest! Sain: Well spoken, milady. I abide by your decisions.

Eliwood's and Hector's Stories

“	Lady Lyndis... I... was... so happy...	”	— Sain in Eliwood/Hector's story.

Final Chapter: Light quotes

“	I won't hold back! This is for all the lovely ladies I've yet to meet!!	”	— Sain

Tactician quotes

“	Mark! The final battle is approaching. That traitor, Laus... He harmed Lord Hausen, caused grief to Lady Lyndis... As a true knight of Caelin, I will make him pay! Leave him to me!*	”	— Sain, in Chapter 19/20: Dragon's Gate, Eliwood's story

Battle History quotes

“	Oh! That was incredible! Really...well done!	”	— Sain, with S or A rank

“	Hey! That's not bad! You're rather good!	”	— Sain, with B or C rank

“	Next time, you should rely on my lance!	”	— Sain, with D or E rank

Battle quotes

Against Eagler in A Grim Reunion

Sain: General Eagler...
Eagler: Sain... I never imagined you could turn traitor...
Sain: Who's the traitor here? I am following the orders of my sworn liege lord. Not Lundgren, but my true liege, the marquess himself!
Eagler: You speak with conviction. I think it's time to test the bounds of your loyalty!

Against Lundgren in The Distant Plains

Lundgren: Ah, Sain... You're not like that stubborn fool, Kent. You're reasonable. Leave this child, Lyndis, and stand at my side. You will go far in my service.
Sain: That is a gracious offer, my lord...
Lundgren: Quite...
Sain: However, I am rather fond of my friend the stubborn fool. And if I am to pledge my service to any liege, I would choose lovely Lady Lyndis over Foul Lundgren, regardless of the risk!
Lundgren: Fool! I will make you regret your decision!

Other appearances

Outside of an appearance in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance's official art gallery, Sain has not made any other appearances in official media.

Etymology

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Sain	Old French surname meaning "grease", "fat", or "dripping". While not fitting Sain's character and sounding derogatory, obesity was seen as a sign of richness and prosperity

Gallery

style="border: 1px solid #b0b0b0; widith: 50%; background: #232855; Template:Round" align="center" | Sprite Gallery
Cavalier Paladin Sword Lance Sword Lance Axe

References

This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series.