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Fire Emblem story information
Haar - FE9/10

By: Katey

Profile

Details
English name
 Haar
Japanese name
 ハール (Hāru)
Class
 Dragonmaster → Dragonlord
Title
 Black Tempest
Age
 30's (in FE10)
Country
 Daein
Relations
 -

Official artwork

 

Summary

Haar is a former Imperial Dracoknight of Begnion, having defected to Daein with his platoon that was led by Shiharam. However he later defects again into the Crimean army, and returns to help the Laguz Alliance, only to leave military service altogether once the war is over. He’s best known for sleeping any time, anywhere, including in the midst of battle.

Bio

Haar is first seen commanding a troop of dracoknights during Daein’s takeover of Crimea, as their Captain. He is determined to obey orders and stay put - which means taking a nap while other Daein soldiers deal with Ike’s mercenaries. Jill, who’s under his command, wants to join the fight and kill the laguz that are with the mercenaries, however he chastises her and orders her to stay put. He points out that they’re to return home the next day and if anything were to happen to her, her lord father, Shiharam, would not be pleased.

He’s not seen again until much later, when the Crimean army is just making their way into Daein territory. He first shows up to talk to Jill, who has since joined the Crimeans, to warn her of the approaching fight which will pit her against her friends and her own father. After checking her resolve and seeming pleased to learn that she’s finally thinking for herself, he goes back to enemy territory. When the Crimean army arrives, Shiharam and his men, including Haar, are ordered to stop them in the region that has been their home since their defection eighteen years prior - and also to open the floodgates that would slow the Crimeans, yet destroy the surrounding farmland.

Faced with a conflict of interests, Shiharam realizes that regardless of the outcome, he and his men will not be able to stay in Daein. If they survive, the homes and land of themselves and their neighbours will be in ruins, yet if they die, their families will surely become targets for their failures. Therefore he orders Haar to leave the battlefield and take their families back to Begnion once the outcome is decided. Before he leaves, Haar tells Shiharam that it was an honour to serve him, regardless of their mistakes, and calls him by his old title - Commander. He puts on a brave face for the surviving men later on, even though it’s later revealed that Shiharam was his mentor and the one man he felt naturally drawn to follow. When he’s talking to Elincia he mentions that it’s hard to lose one’s leader since good leaders are hard to come by.

Haar successfully organizes the move of their families back to Begnion via help from "an old friend in the pegasus knights" - perhaps Sigrun since she mentions him later in Radiant Dawn if she talks to Jill - however he alone returns to Daein. Pretending to come back to the fold, he acts like his usual lazy self in front of the others. Yet it’s clearly only a ruse to make him seem like a harmless fool so that he might get close to Petrine - his true goal in returning is to slay her. He sees her as one of the true reasons for their suffering in Daein, and plans to get his revenge for Shiharam’s death by killing her, however suicidal the attempt may be. Unfortunately he’s once again ordered to fight the Crimean army as they attempt to cross the Riven Bridge, and can finally be recruited into their army by Jill. He tells her that he’s actually quite a vindictive man, and he never got his chance to assassinate Petrine since his unit is a bunch of tough men that serve as her watchdogs. Furthermore, he’s been ordered to attack Crimea - Daein’s way of killing two birds with one stone.

With the hope of exacting true revenge for their suffering, he’s convinced into joining Ike’s army, and once the war’s over he starts a courier service with Jill, delivering goods across the continent with their dragons. Three years later, he’s coerced into fighting alongside Marcia and Queen Elincia to help fend off wayward Begnion Dracoknights from trespassing into Crimea, and kidnapping princess Leanne. He initially declines Marcia’s plea for help, however he finally gives in once she convinces him of the gravity of the situation. Though he doesn’t feel particularly obligated to help the queen, he sticks around even longer to aid her during Ludveck’s uprising, even giving her a bit of advice as to having more confidence in that she’s a good leader. He explains that his first commanders were in the senate, who were only concerned with money and power, and the second was the Mad King himself, with Shiharam being the only one worth following.

He joins up with Ike’s mercenaries later on to aid the Laguz Alliance, and on two chapters, is able to recruit Jill back to their side. During the campaign, though Haar is there by Ike’s request, Ike approaches him to make sure he doesn’t mind fighting for them, and also asks about Jill. Haar replies that she’s a "big girl" and can take care of herself - she doesn’t need him looking over her shoulder anymore. When Ike delves further into the issue, insinuating a deeper relationship, Haar replies with, "She’s the daughter of my dead teacher. Nothing more." and tells Ike that if he doesn’t want him around, to just tell him so. Ike relents, saying that his strength is much appreciated, and Haar replies that he likes their mercenary band because they’re laid back, and they share the same goal of wanting to crush the Begnion empire.

Through certain boss conversations later in the game, it’s reinforced that Shiharam’s platoon, including Haar, were well-known in the Begnion army, and that their defection was a great loss. Levail tells of how the bravery of the Fizzart platoon was legendary among the soldiers and a great inspiration - until they defected, and took all the spirit with them. Sephiran says he remembers Haar as "Shiharam’s hotshot young protégé" and was also saddened by their defection. Haar is even remembered by senator Hetzel as one of the dracoknights who "opposed the almighty Begnion".

Personality

Through all the bits and pieces gathered about his history and motivations, it can be assumed that Haar’s constant laziness and nonchalant attitude is at least a partial ruse - he uses it to get closer to Petrine for the sole purpose of attaining revenge, he sheds the image once in the presence of General Shiharam so that he doesn’t see him as hopelessly lazy, and he seems to be quite smart, picking up on situations/knowledge/politics easily, especially for one as lethargic as he seems to be. He even seems to know quite a bit about Crimea’s political situation despite having never been associated with the country. So, though he does really love his sleep, it doesn’t stop him from being a force to be reckoned with both on the battlefield and off; he’s never off his guard even while napping, as he mentions to Ike when he comes to talk to him - he says he woke up once Ike was within fifty paces of him, though he pretended to stay asleep.

A main theme with him seems to be leadership - he resents people with a lust for power and material possessions, only following people and causes he believes in his heart to be right, even if he has to betray his country to do it. To this end, he follows Shiharam Fizzart through thick and thin while being proud of it despite their horrible situation in Daein, and later willingly joins the Laguz Alliance under Ike’s leadership despite being "sick to death of serving countries". The fact that Sephiran describes him as being a "hotshot" when he was younger suggests that Daein’s policies have taken a toll on him, as the lethargic persona he has by the time he’s introduced is far from such a word, and the fact that he’s absolutely sick of fighting and corruption by the time he’s introduced, with a deep resentment toward both Daein and Begnion even suggests disillusionment with the world altogether.

However he maintains a positive attitude and gives advice to those who need it, seeming to be happy with finally living life at his own pace once he’s free from the military. Though his past was full of hardship, he seems to be content with the fact that he never had any doubts about who he followed. Once he retires from fighting permanently, he continues delivering goods for the rest of his days.

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