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Trails Series Erebonia Thors Class VII Original Male
(aka: Trails Series Crow Armbrust)

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    Rean Schwarzer 
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    Elliot Craig 
Characters in Trails Series Erebonia Thors Class VII Original Male
Elliot, as of Cold Steel III, without his hat
Elliot in his Thors uniform
Elliot as he appeared in Cold Steel II
Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (Japanese), Lucien Dodge (English, games), Drew Breedlove (English, Northern War)

"I'll make my music resound throughout Erebonia. No! Throughout all of Zemuria."

Son of Olaf Craig, a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Army and commander of the 4th Armored Division. Unlike his more masculine and militaristic father, Elliot prefers to live the life of a musician much like his sister and late mother. However, at his father's insistence, he ends up joining Thors Military Academy. Though initially reluctant at the idea, he ends up enjoying his stay there after meeting all his friends in Class VII. He also ends up joining the Wind Orchestra during his time at Thors. In combat, he uses an Orbal Staff.

After graduating from Thors and with blessings from his father, Elliot ends up living his dream of becoming a musician as he enrolls at a music academy in Heimdallr. By the time of Cold Steel III he has graduated and has become a travelling musician.


  • Beware the Nice Ones: He might be one of the nicest guys at Class VII but when it comes to rehearsing for the concert, he can be the scary type.
  • Big "WHAT?!": He has this reaction when Class VII is given command of the Courageous.
  • Character Development: He eventually grows more capable and confident in himself over the course of the first game, though he still admits in his dance event scene that he still has a ways to go. Come the second game, and Elliot has made good on that statement and it's because of this that his dad finally decides to let him attend the Music Academy he always wanted to go to.
  • Costume Evolution: His canon wardrobe is as follows:
    • A Class VII school uniform in the first Cold Steel game.
    • A yellow jacket with a brown hood, a blue-ish green shirt, and blue pants in Cold Steel II
    • A yellow vest, white undershirt, and blue-ish green pants in Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie.
  • Crippling Overspecialization: His regular attacks and Crafts all perform magic damage, which means he's hamstrung when facing enemies who are resistant to or outright immune to magic and Arts.
  • Disc-One Nuke: In the first Cold Steel game, players can have an infinite source of mira just by having him cook the first recipe players get in the game and sell the item that gives out more money compared to buying the ingredients for it.
  • Enemy Scan: His Detector α Craft allows him to scan enemies for info, which also comes with the ability to reduce attack power and magic power by 50% aside from unbalancing the target.
  • Fanboy: Of Misty and Vita. Who, unbeknownst to him, are the same person until the finale of the first game.
  • "Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: His friction with his dad over his less-than-manly hobbies is a big part of his character arc in the first game.
  • Gradual Regeneration: Echoes/Resonance Beat grants this to all allies in range, along with a DEF boost. At 200 CP, his second S-Craft Remedy Oratorium also gets this effect as an added bonus, at 50% per turn.
  • Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Well, Military Dad, Artistic Son but the dynamic is the same. General Craig the Red was rather unimpressed with his son's desire to pursue a career in music and forcibly enrolled him at Thors. By the beginning of Cold Steel II after they reunite, he changes his mind.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft in the first game is Seventh Rhapsody, with Cold Steel II adding in Remedy Oratorio. For Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie, his S-Craft is Remedy Fantasia.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: In the time between Cold Steel II and Cold Steel III, he grows his hair out long enough to tie it into a ponytail.
  • Magic Music: All of his Crafts except Detector have a musical theme to them. His S-Craft even involves transforming his Orbal Staff into a violin and playing it for massive damage. In the sequel he's able to summon a pipe organ for emergency healing and resurrection for Cold Steel II and play healing song via his orbal violin in Cold Steel III.
  • Magic Staff: He uses an Orbal Staff as his weapon.
  • Master of None: Like Emma, he is the only character to have ranks in all four attack types but each individual rank is extremely low. He'll never encounter an enemy he can't Break but at the same time, his odds aren't as good as dedicated fighters. The fact that he does magical damage makes up for it to an extent since he can easily hurt enemies that strongly resist physical damage.
  • The Medic: The most geared towards healing of Class VII, with his second S-Craft having the unusual distinction of being a healing move in the second game. He also gains a healing S-Craft in the third game to emphasize his medic role.
  • Military Brat: His father is one of the top generals in the Imperial Army. New Class VII, remark that he doesn't give off the son of a military officer.
  • Morph Weapon: His version of the Orbal Staff can transform into violin.
  • Nice Guy: The nicest guy in Class VII as far as anyone can tell.
  • Nonchalant Dodge: By Cold Steel III, he's learned how to dodge his father's over the top hugs.
  • Required Party Member: He must be in the active party for the battle against Rufus, Lechter, Claire and Millium in Cold Steel III.
  • Serious Business: The performance at the Academy Festival. Elliot is normally the sweetest kid around but when it comes to doing music right, he can be positively scary.
  • Ship Tease: Starts getting it with Mint in Cold Steel III and IV. They even spend the final night at Michelam together.
  • Shout-Out: The Music Club's performance in Chapter 5 of the first Cold Steel game is a huge one to "Cagesong of the Ocean," right down to the circumstances that see Elliot participating and the song itself.
  • Skyward Scream: Screams in anguish in the normal ending of Cold Steel IV when Rean, Crow, and Millium take off for the atmosphere to kill themselves.
  • Support Party Member: His Craft selection veers sharply towards support, with an analyzing skill, a healing/recovering skill and a DEF-boosting/HP Regen skill. His only attack skill for much of the game does low damage though he get a better one towards the end of the game and his first S-Craft is fairly powerful. His S-Craft from Cold Steel III onwards is also geared for support.
  • Unreliable Narrator: He paints his dad as a cold, harsh dream crusher who has a lot of friction with Elliot, so Class VII was pretty surprised when he turned out to be an affectionate and doting father who honestly wants the best for his son.

    Machias Regnitz 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/machias_regnitz_29.png
Machias as of Cold Steel III
Machias in his Thors uniform
Machias as he appeared in Cold Steel II
Voiced by: Takuya Sato (Japanese), Edward Bosco (English)
Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II | Northern War | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie

"I'll help Class VII however I can, as a protector of justice."

Vice-President of Class VII. He is the only son of Carl Regnitz, the governor of Heimdallr and leading champion of Osborne's reformist movement. Where Nobles are concerned, he has a chip on his shoulder bigger than his shotgun and he's determined to prove himself better than all of them. After enrolling at Thors he quickly ends up forming a heated rivalry with Jusis Albarea. Though it takes time, both are eventually able to settle their differences to a degree and become more amiable with each other. During his time at Thors he also ends up joining the Chess Club.

After graduating, Machias decides to enter a political academy. By the time of Cold Steel III, he has graduated and has become an investigator of the Erebonian Empire's Government Accountability Inspectorate.


  • Aesop Collateral Damage: In Cold Steel I, his and Jusis' vitriol reaches a head during the second Field Study resulting in their Combat Link breaking while fighting a monster. They then go at each other's throats over it, not noticing that the monster was Not Quite Dead resulting in Rean pushing them out of the way and getting slashed. They're both clearly contrite over it, and become less acerbic towards each other, and in Machias' case causes him to drop his earlier vitriol towards Rean lying about his social class.
  • Aggressive Categorism: He's a Commoner and really doesn't like Nobles. He gets along with Jusis about as well as you would expect.
  • Always Someone Better: Makes no bones about his annoyance at being bettered on the entrance exam by Emma (and ONLY her). He vows he will beat her and everyone else on the midterms and dutifully studies at every opportunity. They wind up tying for first place.
  • Angry Collar Grab: During Chapter 2 of Cold Steel I, his and Jusis' issues come to a head when their Combat Link breaks while fighting a monster. The two then proceed to blame the other for it, and grab the other by the collar, and would have come to blows had said monster not proved itself to be Not Quite Dead and tried to deliver a sneak attack on them.
  • Badass Bookworm: One of the most academically gifted students at Thors (the only person who can ever best him is Emma) and he can frequently be found in the library on his days off. He's also one of the best characters in the game combat-wise. After graduating, he becomes part of the Government Accountability Inspectorate, and proves to still be capable in a fight.
  • BFG: He pulls one out for his S-Craft Ultimate Shot, Second S-Craft Trinity Cannon, and final regular craft Shotgun Blast.
  • Birds of a Feather: With Dudley in Reverie, to whom Machias is something of an Expy of.
  • Black-and-White Morality: At the beginning, he was firm in the belief that all Aristocrats Are Evil and that Osborne and his Reformists, which included his father, were good for trying to end the class system. His time in Class VII helped him outgrow this mindset via seeing actually heroic noblemen amongst his schoolmates, and seeing how shady and unscrupulous Osborne and his followers actually could be.
  • Blind Without 'Em: Admits as much when he decides to take his glasses off in order to disguise himself during a segment in Cold Steel II as he and the rest of Class VII were wanted fugitives of the Noble Alliance at the time.
  • Blue Is Heroic: The jacket he wears in Cold Steel II and his Inspectorate uniform are both blue, and for his initial faults, is a firmly heroic character with a strong sense of justice.
  • Broken Pedestal: He initially saw Osborne as a hero for his Reformist faction's rhetoric of overturning the class system which resulted in his beloved cousin's death. He loses this view over the course of the story, as his adventures with the rest of the Class gave him a better look of how ruthless and underhanded Osborne's methods are, and how many people have been, and will continue to be, hurt by his policies.
  • Butt-Monkey: He's the subject of most of Fie's trolling and any time a Noble wants to blame someone for anything or take their frustrations out, he's usually first in line because of who his father is. In Cold Steel II, he also ends up getting kidnapped by Bleublanc who then goes on to impersonate him and leave Machias himself tied up inside the storage room aboard the Courageous. Machias was not amused.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: In Cold Steel IV, he calls out his father on why he's detaining both Towa and the empress at the former Duke Cayenne's home in Ordis.
  • Character Development: In the beginning of Cold Steel I, he outright cannot stand nobles, but steady interaction with Class VII makes him realize that not all nobles are as stuck-up as he believed them to be and that all of them have their Hidden Depths to some degree. By the Cold Steel II, he's a far more level-headed and mature person who's generally more tolerable of the upper class and his relationship with Jusis is now something of a heated but more friendly rivalry.
    • His character is fully developed in Cold Steel III, as he no longer has any petty grievances against the nobility. He goes out of his way to ensure they get a fair shake, even if it means opposing his own father (someone who is largely responsible for weakening the power and influence of the nobility as a member of the Reformist faction). In Cold Steel IV during a bonding event, he can even make peace with his late cousin's fiance, who kick-started his hatred of nobles in the first place.
  • Chess Motifs: Actualized in Trinity Cannon, when he summons enormous chess pieces to aid him in attacking the enemy.
  • Class Representative: The Vice-Representative of Class VII.
  • Costume Evolution: His canon wardrobe is as follows:
    • A Class VII school uniform in the first Cold Steel game.
    • A blue jacket with a red arm-band and dark pants in Cold Steel II
    • A blue variant of the Inspector uniform jacket with dark blue pants in Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie.
  • Covert Pervert: He expresses sincere jealousy towards Rean when it's discovered he went out on a late night date with Claire during their Field Study in Roer, and later he's shown to be quite pleased when he sees Claire in casual clothes too. In general, of all the male members of Old Class VII, he's most likely to comment on Rean's Chick Magnet status after Crow, usually with a hint of envy.
  • Curtains Match the Windows: His hair and eyes are both green.
  • Cynicism Catalyst: When he was growing up, he had a cousin who he thought of as a Cool Big Sis. She was being courted by a Noble up until said noble's relatives decided to fix him up with an Arranged Marriage, and they decided to remove the threat to the match by harassing her until she was Driven to Suicide.
  • Damage Reduction: His default Master Quartz Keeper, decreases the amount of damage it wields the lower their HP is.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: His primary element is Earth, best shown in his Petrifying Shell Craft.
  • Expy Coexistence: He's basically a younger and more temperamental Dudley. It goes even further in Cold Steel III, where Machias has started using Orbal pistols in his S-Craft in addition to his shotgun and even works a similar job of being an investigator for a government based organization. For bonus points, said S-Craft's name begins with Justice, just like both of Dudley's S-Crafts. Fittingly, the two are shown to get along rather well when they meet in Reverie.
  • Extra Turn: His Burst Drive Craft allows whichever party members were in the area of effect to immediately move the next turns. From Cold Steel II onwards, it also restores some of their EP as well.
  • Fanboy: Of Misty and Vita. He's shocked that he never considered the possibility of them being the same person.
  • Firing in the Air a Lot: Fires his shotgun upwards to the sky when using his Energy Shell or Burst Drive Crafts.
  • Firing One-Handed: Some of his crafts have him fire his shotgun with just his right hand.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: After his cousin Elsa's suicide, he was angry and needed to lash out at something. It started with her fiancee Arthur and his family, but snowballed into hatred towards the entire class system. While the others in Class VII sympathize with his past and why he hates the nobility, Machias himself admits his behavior was unjustified. He was convinced that Aristocrats Are Evil and stereotyped good people as pompous snobs without even trying to know them.
  • Gun Kata: His S-Craft from Cold Steel III, Justice Bullet, starts with him do this to his enemies.
  • The Gunslinger: Fights mostly from a distance with firearms, starting with a shotgun as his main weapon, before adding a BFS, and his final S-Craft has him beinging in handguns and smgs.
  • Handshake Substitute: By Reverie, his and Jusis' vitriol has died down to the point their victory link quote has them performing a fist bump while back-to-back.
  • Hates Rich People: He seems to have deep hatred for the Erebonian noble class, but despite knowing that there are two other classmates who are nobles as well, one of them being Adopted into Royalty, he takes all of his resentment out on his classmate Jusis Alberea the most.
  • Healing Shiv: His Energy Shell Craft in the first two game has him fire a bullet that restores a portion of HP and EP of anyone in it's radius.
  • I Hate Past Me: If you get his dorm event in Cold Steel II, he considers his attitude when he first arrived at Thors "embarrassing," saying that even Millium was more dignified than he was. He describes it as a time of his life he'd rather forget and worse, he feels that on the inside he still hasn't changed. He's hoping to try his best to change in the future.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Machias can be quite hot-headed and critical of others, especially nobles, but is also kind to those he feels have earned it. He softens up in later games.
  • Let Me at Him!: During the orientation, the group runs into Jusis, who is quick to chastise Machias for his earlier outburts and reveal his status as Governor Regnitz's son. If the player doesn't choose to call out Jusis for his attitude, Machias will attempt to charge Jusis, only to be held back by Rean.
  • Let Us Never Speak of This Again: If you choose him as cooking partner and the result is a peculiar dish, he will namedrop this trope.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft in the first game is Ultimate Shot, with Cold Steel II adding in Trinity Cannon. For Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie, his S-Craft is Justice Bullet.
  • Maybe Ever After: Cold Steel IV implies that Machias might start seeing Patiry in a different light, after helping her at her part-time job at Mishelam.
  • Missing Mom: He mentions in Cold Steel I that his mother died while he was still young.
  • Multi-Ranged Master: Starts out with a shotgun, and later gets a BFG for his later Crafts and S-Crafts. For his Justice Bullet S-Craft in Cold Steel III onwards, he also dual-wields a pair of pistols and submachine guns.
  • Must Have Caffeine: In his first bonding event, he found his love of coffee from his father. He's not a fan of tea since it reminds him of nobles. It's further shown by the fact that coffee is one of the recipes he is expert at, and when on the run at the start of the war, his base of operations has a small percolator and a bean grinder. It even extends to Randy Orlando's name for him being "Macchiato."
  • Neat Freak: Has a shade of this when helping to decorate cafeteria for School Festival.
    Machias: Damn, it somehow moved three rege out of place while we were talking. I need it to be perfectly parallel with those tables over there.
  • Nerds Love Tough Schoolwork: There's a bonding event in Cold Steel II in which he invites Rean for a few hours of studying, noting that there's been no chance since they all had to leave the academy and they need to make sure to keep up. This is his way of relaxing on his day off.
  • Not So Above It All: His normally stoic demeanor flies completely out the window when he's around Vita and he tries (and fails miserably) not to act like the starstruck fanboy he secretly is.
  • Only Sane Man: Machias will often comment on remarkable things everyone else doesn't worry about.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: During his Justice Bullet S-Craft from Cold Steel III onwards.
    Machias: You've failed your inspection.
  • Pyramid Power: Machias' Trinity Cannon S-Craft creates a pyramid using chess pieces that encloses the enemies before delivering massive damage.
  • Required Party Member: He must be in the active party for the battle against Rufus, Lechter, Claire and Millium in Cold Steel III.
  • Secretly Wealthy: His father is the governor of Heimdallr and a champion of the reformist faction. Machias tries to hide this at first, not wanting to seem like he's taking advantage of his father's position. He makes it maybe half an hour before Jusis calls him out.
    Jusis: Pretty rarefied air for a simple commoner, don't you think?
  • Ship Tease: Get a good deal with his childhood friend Patiry in Cold Steel III and Cold Steel IV.
  • Shotguns Are Just Better: His primary weapon is a shotgun. It can fire slugs (in some Crafts) and buckshot and gives him a natural area of effect for his normal attack. Petrification Shell is especially nasty, having a huge area of effect and coming with a high chance of causing Petrify.
  • Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He and Jusis have been at each other's throats since day one. Even after both undergo Character Development, they can't resist ribbing at each other.
  • Smart People Play Chess: He is one of the academically smartest members of the class and was part of the chess club during the first two games.
  • Stoic Spectacles: Subverted. He can be stoic from time to time, but he's also one of the first to show a wide range of emotions.
  • Taken for Granite: His Petrification Shell Craft lanches a shotgun shell with a large area of effect and has a high chance to petrify the enemy.
  • Team Dad: He tries to be one for his classmates, particularly Fie, chastising her for falling asleep and not paying attention in class. The others tend to ignore him, however.
  • Time Master: His Burst Drive craft allows other allies in the affected area to take a turn after him.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: He really likes coffee to a very serious degree. Several of his Bond Events have him trying a cup, and his Daydream in Reverie consists of him and Dudley investigating a smuggling ring that made him no longer get his favorite dark roast from a local cafe in Crossbell he came to favor.
  • Tsundere: Very much so, especially when it comes to Jusis. Fie even lampshades it in Cold Steel III she describes him as being "tsun-tsun".
  • Vitriolic Best Buds:
    • While Machias and Jusis genuinely hate each other at first, overtime the two of them grow to consider each other a close friend, even if they won't admit it and still snipe at each other at every opportunity.
    • Machias is the most frequent victim of Fie's trolling and often gets on her case due her consistently nonchalant approach to school life, but they nevertheless get along quite well, and Fie regards him as an older brother just like the other male members of Original Class VII (save for Rean).
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In Cold Steel IV Machias manages to break Arthur (the former fiance to Machias's cousin) out of the curse by invoking this trope. Notable because he manages to do so without relying on magic or physically fighting him order to do so.

    Jusis Albarea 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jusis_albarea_29.png
Jusis as of Cold Steel III
Jusis in his Thors uniform
Jusis as he appeared in Cold Steel II
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tachibana (Japanese), Ben Diskin (English)

"I shall fulfill my duty as a noble."

The second son of Duke Helmut Albarea of Bareahard, head of one of the Four Great Houses of Erebonia. As such, he has the highest social standing of all the first-years at Thors and knows it. A devotee of Erebonia's ancient traditions of knighthood, he uses sword in combat as a practitioner of court fencing and believes in the idea of Noblesse Oblige. He develops an intense rivalry with Machias on their first day at Thors, and it isn't until their field study in Bareahard that the two are finally able to find common ground with each other. Having a fondness for horses, he ends up joining the Riding Club during his time as a student.

After graduating he returns to Bareahard in order to fill in for his father as lord of the Kreuzen province after Helmut's arrest thanks to his actions during the civil war. He still maintains this position a year and a half later by the time of Cold Steel III.


  • Aesop Collateral Damage: In the first Cold Steel game, his and Machias' vitriol reaches a head during the second Field Study resulting in their Combat Link breaking while fighting a monster. They then go at each other's throats over it, not noticing that the monster was Not Quite Dead and attempting to make a sneak attack resulting in Rean pushing them out of the way and getting slashed. They're both clearly contrite over it, and become less acerbic towards each other and more open towards cooperating with the rest of the class.
  • Ancestral Weapon: His first bonding event in Cold Steel IV results in him getting the Holy Sword Elvars as a cosmetic change to his weapon. He brings it out against Rufus in the latter's boss fight near the end of Cold Steel IV and by Reverie, he has an exclusive Craft with it where he slashes the enemy apart with it.
  • Angry Collar Grab: During Chapter 2 of Cold Steel I, his and Machias' issues come to a head when their Combat Link breaks while fighting a monster. The two then proceed to blame the other for it, and grab the other by the collar, and would have come to blows had said monster not proved itself to be Not Quite Dead and tried to deliver a sneak attack on them.
  • Arranged Marriage: His bonding event in Cold Steel III has him dealing with several noblemen trying to set up their daughters with him to get in his good graces.
  • Badass Arm-Fold: In Reverie, he crosses his arms at the end of the game when he tells Normal Ending Rean that they can no longer listen to Elysium's guidance after they've rejected it when Rean tries to warn them of the future.
  • Badass Longcoat: He wears green longcoats as part of his attire from Cold Steel II onwards, and is still as capable a warrior as ever.
  • Baritone of Strength: Ben Diskin gives him a suitably low and cultured voice to match his combat prowess and noble pedigree.
  • Barrier Warrior: His Platinum Shield grants himself and anyone around him in the range Craft Guard. Cold Steel IV also adds some additional Gradual Regeneration to the party for a few turns as a bonus.
  • Bastard Angst: Is revealed to have been born from an affair between Duke Albarea and a commonborn woman during the Bareahard Field Study. Feeling out of place in House Albarea due to his status, while desperately seeking the approval his father, who is shown to be an an utter jackass who could care less about him, played a major part in his initially cold demeanour. He thankfully outgrew it as he became closer with his classmates.
  • Big Brother Worship: Towards his older half-brother Rufus at first, who had brought him into House Albarea and taught him swordmanship and the other manners of noble etiquette. He loses this aspect as the series goes on after Rufus Took a Level in Jerkass after revealing his allegiance to Osborne, thus going against everything that Noblesse Oblige Rufus had taught him.
  • Blade Spam: His Rapid Thrust and Arc Slicer Crafts both have him rapidly stab his enemy multiple times before ending it with a slash. His third S-Craft,Aeolus Saber, also starts with him delivering a series of rapid sword thrusts.
  • Blow You Away: His secondary element is Wind, as is his Default Master Quartz, Mistral from the first two Cold Steel games.
  • Blue Blood: The Albareas are one of the Four Great Houses of Erebonia, he's as Noble with a capital N as you can get.
  • Boomerang Bigot: Some of his attitude towards Commoners stems from the fact that he was born and raised as one and always felt out of place among the Albareas as a result. He aggressively plays up the mannerisms expected of a Noble to make up for it.
  • Broken Pedestal: At the end of Cold Steel II, he lost respect for his brother Rufus. Less because of Rufus being a part of the Noble Alliance and more because of him revealing himself to be an Ironblood, one that wants to get rid of the noble system in the empire, and him governing Crossbell instead of Bareahard and also not fulfilling his duty as a board member of Thors, waiting for Jusis to graduate. Jusis even admits to Rean in the epilogue that he doesn't even know Rufus anymore if players talk to him after school. When he kills Arianhrod after her defeat, Jusis is so disgusted he stops calling him 'brother' altogether, addressing him as simply 'Rufus Albarea'. By Reverie however, the pedestal is slowly back to normal, as Jusis is back to calling him 'brother' after seeing he is not the same as before.
  • But Now I Must Go: Tries pulling this in Cold Steel II after his father razes Celdic and Jusis feels the need to put a stop to his misdeeds personally. Subverted in that his friends won't let him.
  • Cain and Abel: The Abel to Rufus' Cain by Cold Steel II. Although they quite obviously care for each other, a source of tension between both brothers is the fact that Rufus is allied with the Noble Alliance whereas Jusis chooses to oppose them with Class VII. Then it's revealed that Rufus is actually a double agent working for Osborne which throws Jusis for a loop and has him admit he doesn't really know his brother anymore. Things only get worse by the time of Cold Steel III and IV as Rufus slowly allows himself to be consumed with his ambitions and Jusis, along with Class VII, has to stop him.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: In Cold Steel II, after Duke Albarea has been humiliated and imprisoned for sending his troops to raze Celdic and STILL doesn't comprehend that he is in the wrong, Jusis yells at his father that his situation is entirely the result of his own actions and that he has completely forgotten the responsibilities of being a Noble in his lust for power.
  • Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: With Millium. He is exasperated by her antics thanks to being the frequent victim of many of them and more than once his patience is tested whenever the two of them are in the same room. Though with that said, he still finds it in him to look after her and come Cold Steel III he's basically gotten used to her. He is also notably the most cut up of the original Class VII bar Rean after her death and the most overjoyed along with Altina when she is properly revived in Cold Steel IV.
  • Character Development: Is extremely proud of his noble lineage when first encountered, to the point where he can come across as arrogant in situations where he means well. Through interactions with the rest of Class VII, Jusis mellows out and is more comfortable with helping others while still keeping the dignified air of a noble. In the second game, he finds his own pride in being a noble in his own way after confronting his father and his relationship with Machias is now something of a heated but more friendly rivalry.
  • Child of Two Worlds: He was born from an affair between Duke Albarea and a common-born woman, and he had been raised by his mother and maternal uncle prior to being taken in by the Albareas after the former's death 8 years prior to the start of the first Cold Steel game. Though he has embraced and takes great pride in his status as an Albarea, it's clear he has some Bastard Angst from his background due to his father treating him as The Un-Favorite for his origins.
  • Classy Cravat: Wears one as part of his attire from the second game onwards to emphasize his noble bearings.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: He and Rean serve as this to Millium, doing their best to keep her more impulsive actions in check.
  • Color-Coded Characters: Wears a bright green longcoat as part of his attire from Cold Steel II onwards, fitting as House Albarea's main colors are green and he became the de-facto ruler of Bareahard, which is known as the The Verdant City.
  • Conflicting Loyalty: In Cold Steel II he finds himself torn between joining Class VII again or remaining with his family as part of his duties as a noble. A quick spar with Rean convinces him to do the former.
  • Costume Evolution: His canon wardrobe is as follows:
    • A Class VII school uniform in the first Cold Steel game.
    • A green coat, blue shirt, and black pants in Cold Steel II
    • A dark green coat over a white shirt and pants in Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Especially when Machias and Millium are concerned.
  • Death from Above: His Aeolus Saber S-Craft ends with him leaping into the air and throwing his sword at the enemy.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Male version; starting when the party visits Bareahard in Cold Steel I, he starts softening up little-by-little.
  • Dramatic Unmask: In Reverie, he's the one who manages to unmask "C" by slicing his mask off, revealing his brother underneath the mask who also cut his hair short, which also sets up a plot twist as the Rufus at Crossbell isn't the same Rufus who's standing in front of him at the end of Rean and Rufus' chapter 2.
  • Dub Name Change: A minor version; his upgraded Brave Order, Noblesse Arc, was changed to just Noble Arc in the English version.
  • Elemental Hair Colors: He has blond hair, which matches with his primary element of Space.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: He was absolutely shocked to discover that his older brother Rufus, who had been the one who instilled the values of nobility into him, was secretly the right-hand man of Osborne who sought to abolish the nobility.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Jusis is haughty and arrogant like most nobles, but even he is disgusted by Patrick's condescending remarks towards his non-noble classmates.
  • Expy: He pretty much looks like a younger Chester Stoddart and fights with a similar sword. If he wasn't part of Class VII, the white uniform Nobles get would make the resemblance even closer.
  • Fan of the Past: Has an interest in old-style swordsmanship from Erebonia's past and is a member of the Equestrian Club at Thors.
  • Friend to All Children: Gets along with children with unexpected ease as seen with two kids in Bareahard who revere him. It's only Millium he can't handle.
  • Full-Name Ultimatum: In Cold Steel IV, he start referring to his brother solely as Rufus Albarea when Rufus shows exactly how low he is willing to sink for his ambitions.
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Ends up punching Rufus in Cold Steel IV for moping around, not realizing that he should have done better.
  • Handshake Substitute: By Reverie, his and Machias' vitriol has died down to the point their victory link quote has them performing a fist bump while back-to-back.
  • Heal Thyself: His Default Master Quartz from Cold Steel III onwards, Dunamis, allows him to regain a percentage of HP whenever he inflicts damage with his normal attacks or Crafts.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: He uses a 'Knight's Sword' as his weapon.
  • Heroic Bastard: He's only a half-noble. His mother was a Commoner that his father slept with, and he's spent most of his life being treated as an unwanted child. This explains a lot of his initial jerkass moments.
  • Horseback Heroism: Part of the Riding Club and his second Limit Break in Cold Steel II, Asteion Knight, has him riding his horse Strahl to attack his enemy. Does this again when bailing Rean and the New Class VII away from the Northern Jaegers in the third game.
  • An Ice Person: His Treasure Sword Craft and first S-Craft Crystal Saber involve freezing the enemies in a large radius before slashing them.
  • Icy Blue Eyes: He has pale blue eyes that fit his originally aloof and stoic demeanour.
  • I'm Not Here to Make Friends: Jusis wants everyone in Class VII to know that he is not their friend and has no interest in becoming friends with any of them, especially the Commoners. When visiting Bareahard, he refers to the other members as 'just classmates, nothing more'. At the end of the chapter, he starts defrosting and when confronting his family troops, he calls Class VII his friends.
  • Instant Runes: Creates several when performing his S-Craft Crystal Sabre.
  • Insufferable Genius: He is very boastful about being one of Thors' top students in contrast to Machias and Emma. During chapter 3 of the first game, he doesn't even try to hide his lack of surprise that Class VII ranked first among the classes in the exams, saying that a class he is a part of couldn't possibly place anywhere other than the top spot.
  • Jack of All Stats: He's extremely well balanced, has high levels in two attack types and can fill any role required depending on who else you have in your party. He also has one of the best buffs in the game and in the sequel gains a barrier move. His only real downside is an unimpressive S-Craft, though his second one in Cold Steel II is a lot better.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Although he can be quite arrogant and stand offish, Jusis at heart is caring towards his friends and loved ones and is more than willing to step up when there's trouble in order to protect the people.
  • Light Is Good: Bright blond hair, Icy Blue Eyes, wears bright green, and his primary element is space which is colored gold. Despite his aloof demeanour, is still a good guy.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft in Cold Steel I is Crystal Saber, with Cold Steel II adding in Asteion Knight. For Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie, his S-Craft is Aeolus Saber.
  • Magic Knight: He fights with a sword and has several nice attack Crafts, one Craft that does magical damage (making him one of playable character in the franchise to be able to inflict both with Crafts alone) and an exceptional mass buffing skill. He also has a nice EP pool, above average ATS and an Orbment setup that's good for accumulating a lot of powerful Arts if you want to set him up that way.
  • Missing Mom: His mother passed away when he was child before he was taken in by House Albarea.
  • Not Helping Your Case: Even if Machias is in the wrong for assuming all nobles are bad, Jusis certainly doesn't help matters by often acting very much like the kind of nobles he hates, and overall he contributes at least as much to their antagonistic relationship as Machias does. There's a reason Machias takes the longest to warm up to him (and even longer to admit it).
  • Not So Stoic: Certain instances such as his rivalry with Machias, Millium's antics and the like can make his dignified mask slip.
  • Odd Friendship: Develops one with Gaius as the two are seen hanging out together through the latter half of Cold Steel I. Jusis is an initially Defrosting Iceking and part of the nobility, while Gaius is a straight up Nice Guy from the Nord Higlands which practices no class system. Despite this, the two get along rather well, no doubt due to Jusis strong interest in horses.
  • One-Handed Zweihänder: In Cold Steel IV he gains access to his Ancestral Weapon, the Holy Sword Elvars in his bonding events as a cosmetic change. Despite the sword being nearly as long as he is tall, he has no problems wielding it singlehandedly like his usual sabers.
  • The Proud Elite: Very proud of his heritage and he'll make sure you know it. Of course, it turns out he's a half-noble, half-commoner by birth.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers this towards Rufus after his final battle in Cold Steel IV where Rufus wonders where he went wrong and why he ultimately failed.
  • Redeeming Replacement: Becomes the ruler of the Kreuzen Province after the end of the second game and is definitely a step up compared to his father Helmut and step-brother Rufus.
  • Required Party Member: He must be in the active party for the battle against Rufus, Lechter, Claire and Millium in Cold Steel III and the battle against Alberich and Rufus in Cold Steel IV.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: As member of the Albarea family, one of the Four Great Houses of Erebonia, Jusis is practically the highest ranking noble in Class VII and in Thors Military Academy by default. However, unlike his father, Jusis never fails to always do the right thing and lives by the notion of "Noblesse Oblige".
  • The Runaway: After years of putting up with emotional abuse from his father and a month of trying to keep order in the Kreuzen Province while his father would prefer to scheme and Rufus is acting as supreme commander of the Noble Alliance, a speech from Rean in Cold Steel II causes him to realize he can no longer morally justify supporting the Noble Alliance. As a result, he leaves a letter informing his father that he has run away in order to rejoin his classmates and walk his own path.
  • Say My Name: He screams Millium's name when she is killed by the Nameless One. He also says her name a lot in Cold Steel IV.
  • Ship Tease: Gets a ton with Millium in Cold Steel III and Cold Steel IV. See her entry and the game's page for details.
  • Shout-Out: His Treasure Sword skill is essentially a cut-down version of Loewe's Dead Emperor Sword/Meiouken.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Becomes part of his conflict in the second game, where he feels responsible for cleaning up the messes caused by his father. When reuniting with Rean and the rest of Class VII, he's initially reluctant to go along with them because he believed he had lost all rights to call himself friends with Class VII, especially with Rean, after his father Duke Albarea had sent a group of Jaegers to attack Ymir to kidnap Princess Alfin, resulting in Baron Schwarzer nearly dying and Elise and Alfin being captured. Rean naturally doesn't agree and convinces him otherwise.
    • Again, when learning that his father ordered his men to kidnap Elliot's sister Fiona, he can be seen apologizing to him in the next scene. Just like Rean, Elliot doesn't hold it against him either.
    • And then there's when his father ordered Celdic to be burned. This was enough that he wanted to part ways from Class VII to give his father a piece of his mind. Class VII tells him otherwise and decides they're all going with him for that.
  • Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Has two of these in Machias and Millium, though in Millium's case it's completely one-sided.
  • Space Master: His Primary Element is Space, which is also the Element of his Default Master Quartz, Dunamis from Cold Steel III onwrds.
  • Spam Attack: His Rapid Thrust and his S-Craft in Cold Steel III has him rapidly thrusting his sword at his enemies.
  • Status Buff: His Noble Command Craft from Cold Steel I and II allows him to grant himself and the others additional Strength, Art Strength, and speed buffs. His Brave Order, Noble Rise, and its upgraded form Noble Arc" have the same effect along with a damage increase for the whole party. In Reverie, he gains the Craft Holy Sword of Elvars, which increases his STR and ATS, along with giving him the Brandish buff which increases the damage of his regular attacks and Crafts before doing damage.
  • The Stoic: Usually acts in the aloof and regal manner befitting his status as a nobleman.
  • Sword Beam: His Rune Blade Craft from the first two games had his sword glow before delivering a magic slash at the enemies.
  • Sword Plant: He does this when using his Platinum Shield craft.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: His S-Craft from Cold Steel III through Reverie, Aeolus Saber has him throw his weapon at his enemies.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Started out rather proud and aloof claiming to the rest of the the Class I'm Not Here to Make Friends. He grew out of this throughout the games while still maintaining the dignified air of his station.
  • Tragic Keepsake: Is shown to be holding onto Millium's hat after her death at the climax of Cold Steel III.
  • Tritagonist: By Cold Steel II, he starts to share the role with Alisa for the series in general. His family's actions have a strong influence throughout the story, with Jusis' relationship with Rufus in particular becoming a focal point of development for both characters which is only further expanded upon in Reverie.
  • Tsundere: He acts like this towards Machias and Millium. He will rarely, if not never, admit that he actually likes both deep down as much as he does the rest of his classmates.
  • The Un-Favourite: As showcased when Class VII Group A has their Field Study in Bareahard, Jusis isn't held in high regard by his father Helmut Albarea and is treated rather coldly by him. This is because Jusis is an illegitimate child born from a commoner mother. Cold Steel III reveals that Helmut deliberately played this up so that the nobility wouldn't find out that Rufus, Helmut's supposedly favored son, was a bastard child born from his wife's affair with his younger brother. He brought Jusis in to keep up the illusion of a stable family and partially to get back at his wife.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: While he and Machias genuinely hate each other at first, it's nevertheless clear to everyone around them that they care for each other deep down even if they still exchange barbs at each other.
  • Was It All a Lie?: Finding out that his big brother Rufus is an Ironblood, one who opposes everything the nobility stands for, really made him question his brother. He admits to Rean after the latter comes back from Crossbell that he doesn't even know any of his family anymore after their secrets are out. And then it turns out that Rufus isn't even his older brother at all but rather his cousin since he's the product of an affair between Duke Albarea's legal wife (not Jusis' mother) and brother.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: His entire goal in life is to have his father acknowledge him. He finally gets his attention after Jusis calls him out on why he's imprisoned, with Helmut acknowledging Jusis' similarities to his mother. And even then, he tells Jusis to hold the line till he gets back, still unrepentant for what he's done.
  • White Sheep: To the Albarea family. Compared to his father and Rufus, Jusis is unquestionably a good person.
  • You Fool!: Screams at this towards Rufus after revealing that he intends to become an Immortal willingly in Cold Steel IV.

    Gaius Worzel 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gaius_worzel__sen_iii.png
Gaius (with Zeo) as of Cold Steel III
Gaius in his Thors uniform
Gaius as he appeared in Cold Steel II
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Kaiji Tang (English)

"May the wind and the Goddess bless us."

A foreign exchange student from the distant Nord Highlands situated at the north-eastern edge of the Empire. Through the recommendation of Zechs Vander, he leaves his family behind as he ends up attending Thors to learn more of the world beyond his homeland. Thanks to his heritage, Gaius is a naturally friendly and reliable young man. Thanks to his interest in painting, he ends up joining the Art Club during his time at Thors. In combat, he utilizes a spear. He is also quite religious, offering prayers to Aidios whenever he has the time.

After graduating from Thors, he ends up returning to his homeland in order to protect it. He returns to Erebonia in Cold Steel III in order to aid his classmates once more.


  • Animal Battle Aura: His first S-Craft, Calamity Hawk, has his battle aura shaping around him in the form of hawk's wings and tail.
  • Animal Motifs: To birds, appropriately enough. He comes from the Highlands which worships the wind itself which features in several of his Crafts, he has a hawk named Zeo who acts as an Attack Animal in one of his Crafts, his first S-Craft is named Calamity Hawk and has him gain a hawk shaped Animal Battle Aura, and he gains the title of Soaring Phoenix when he becomes a Dominion.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: He delivered a short poignant question to Patrick after he mocked most of Class VII members.
    Gaius: "(...) I can understand the importance of tradition, lineage, dignity, pride — I get why those would matter... But where do you think they let you get off saying the kinds of things you did?"
  • Attack Animal: His Hunter Wing Craft consists of his hawk Zeo performing a Dash Attack at the enemy.
  • Badass Longcoat: Sports a red one in Cold Steel III. Fans immediately perked up at the familiar design. It's a Dominion-style longcoat, cementing the fact that he's the new 8th Dominion of the Gralsritter.
  • Badass Preacher: Just like the other Dominions who don't preach, he's a subversion despite being part of the church.
  • Baritone of Strength: He has the deepest voice of all the members of Class VII, and by the end of 'Cold Steel III is a strong contender for being one of the strongest members by virtue of becoming a Dominon.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of the nicest members of Class VII, but it is best not to push him. It is best seen when he verbally tears Patrick apart when the latter starts hurling verbal abuse at Class VII after losing the mock battle he instigated against them.
  • The Big Guy: He's the tallest member of the original Class VII, and he makes sure to provide extra muscle.
  • Blow You Away: Two of his Crafts and both of his S-Crafts involve wind. It's also his primary element-restricted slot.
  • Cast from Hit Points: His Wild Rage craft lowers his HP to refill his CP gauge. It also grants a boost to his STR and DEF from Cold Steel III onwards.
  • Catchphrase: "The Wind", sometimes with "and the Goddess" added. Lampshaded once by Rean and Jusis. A few of his classmates also start to use it at times.
  • Church Militant: He finally becomes a full-fledged Dominion, taking Barkhorn's seat in Cold Steel III after two games worth of teasing.
  • Continuity Nod: His painting is on display in Daybreak II.
  • Costume Evolution: His canon wardrobe is as follows:
    • A Class VII school uniform in the first Cold Steel game.
    • A red vest, a black shirt, a blue undershirt, and black and blue pants in Cold Steel II
    • White pants and a red and black variant of the Gralsritter longcoat in Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie.
  • Cultured Badass: Knows how to fight but is also quite well spoken and likes to both paint and play the sitar.
  • Death from Above: Savage Fang and his original S-Craft Calamity Hawk both have him leap into the air before striking the enemy with his spear. His final S-Craft, Howling Heavens, has a giant version of his spear plunging down from the clouds to pierce his enemies.
  • Disc-One Nuke: He is this in Cold Steel IV as soon as he joins the party thanks to his powerful S-Craft rating at 4S where everyone else is hovering at 3S+ at most, his Wild Rage skill, Musse's Brave Ordernote , and a treasure chest at the third dungeon of Eryn that contains a "Chrono Burst R" quartz, long before players can even obtain the Chrono Burst quartz. Pair him up with a character that can refill his EP via ARCUS links and stock up on restoration items for HP, EP, and BP and he can kill bosses very easily. There also exists a cryptid that drops a Lost Arts Quartz right next to the Eryn portal that can be defeated with this strategy and obtain the quartz itself long before players are supposed to challenge that boss.note 
  • Dishing Out Dirt: His secondary element is earth, best shown in his Savage Fang craft which has several spikes sprout from the ground upon him slamming his spear to the ground.
  • Dual Wielding: He pulls out a second spear for his new S-Craft in Cold Steel II, "Twin Cyclone."
  • Empowered Badass Normal: He was already a capable warrior from the start, but upon gaining a Stigma after becoming a Dominion in Cold Steel III he became even more powerful, capable of even fending off the likes of McBurn and Arianrhod with backup from Laura and Emma, which puts him in the running for one of the strongest members of the Class.
  • Evil Knockoff: In Reverie, he has a Hollow copy that serves as a boss in the True Reverie Corridor, most notably when it fights alongside Wallace's during Fie and Toval's Trial Door, and alongside Wazy and Thomas' on the seventh floor.
  • Forced to Watch: In Reverie, he is powerless to stop a railway gun from shooting on his village.
  • Foreign Exchange Student: He comes from the Nord Highlands and decided to go to Thors after a recommendation from Zechs.
  • Foreshadowing: If the player maxes out his bonding events in Cold Steel III, then he'll give Rean a sneak preview of his Stigma at Heimdallr.
  • Funny Foreigner: How he's seen by other students though he rarely even acts like one.
  • Gentle Giant: The tallest member of Class VII and one of the nicest and most even-tempered members as well.
  • Good Old Ways: The Nord Highlands is a remote region northeast of the Empire that haven't changed much in the past three hundred or so years. His family and tribe still lives nomadically.
  • Horseback Heroism: How he saves Rean and co. in Cold Steel II. He also did the same thing for Lt. General Zechs Vander in the past, impressing the man enough to write up a recommendation for him to attend Thors.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft in Cold Steel III is Calamity Hawk, with Cold Steel II adding in Twin Cyclones*. For Cold Steel III and IV, as well as Reverie, his S-Craft is Howling Heavens.
  • Loyal Animal Companion: He has a hawk named Zeo, with whom he is rather close. He joins up with him wherever he goes from Cold Steel II onwards and even acts as an Attack Animal in one of his Crafts.
  • Nature Spirit: He prays to Aidios (and is first encountered by the player at Trista's church) but he also talks about the traditional belief in the Wind, which is what the nomads of Nord Highlands believe in.
  • Nice Guy: Easily one of the kindest, most loving and patient characters in the franchise. The only instance so far where he loses his cool is when Bleublanc gets absolutely delighted over the fact that Nord is about to get burned into the ground.
  • Non-Standard Skill Learning: He can learn his Craft Hunter Wing from a Bond Event earlier than normal, though if the player doesn't see it, they'll still get the skill eventually via leveling up. In Cold Steel III, you can only use his S-Craft in the final chapter when he reveals that he's the 8th Dominion.
  • Not So Above It All: In Reverie, one of the victory skits sees Gaius having a standoff with Estelle and Randy over who wields their respective weapons better.
  • Occult Blue Eyes: He has sky blue eyes and is one of the more spiritual members of Class VII, and eventually becomes a Dominion with all the supernatural powers that entails.
  • Out of Focus: Barring part of Cold Steel I Chapter 3, Gaius stays out of the spotlight during the Erebonia arc, leaving him to have the least amount of focus among Class VII overall.
  • Power Gives You Wings: While performing his S-Craft "Calamity Hawk," he appears to have burning wings and a tail sprouting from his back in the shape of a hawk.
  • Red Baron: His official Dominion title is the "Soaring Phoenix."
  • Religious Bruiser: Is no slouch in combat and is quite religious as well. Taken further when he becomes a Dominion.
  • Required Party Member: He must be in the active party for the battle against Arianrhod and Demon McBurn in Cold Steel III.
  • Scholarship Student: He earned one from an officer in the Imperial Army Zechs Vander, Mueller's uncle which allows him to attend Thors despite not being as academically qualified as the other students.
  • Ship Tease: Gets quite a bit with his former fellow art club member Linde in Cold Steel III and IV. They spend the final night at Mishelam together, and Rean feels as though it would be rude to intrude on their date if you try to speak to them.
  • Supernatural Sensitivity: His 'wind sense' allows him to notice when he enters an area where the higher elements are active.
  • Take Up My Sword: In Cold Steel III, he becomes the newest 8th Dominion after Barkhorn transfers his Stigma to him.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: The tallest and tannest member of the class. If you take him along to collect clothes for the concert, the store owner considers hiring him as a model. Rean even agrees mentally, saying he'd look good in anything.
  • Tattoo as Character Type: He has scrolling tattoos on his arms and wears his uniforms with rolled-up sleeves to show them off. It's a tribal custom.
  • Took a Level in Badass: After acquiring his Stigma from Barkhorn, he becomes the 8th Dominion and becomes increasingly stronger than he was before. It's especially notable because, in-story, he goes from being not too impressive combat-wise compared to other members of Class VII, to being one of the strongest members of the group, possibly THE strongest bar Rean. It was enough that his re-introduction in Cold Steel III was what made Arianrhod stop fighting the new Class VII.
  • Tornado Move: His Turbulence Craft and second S-Craft Twin Cyclones have him produce tornadoes to attack the enemy.
  • Tranquil Fury: Gaius responds to a volley of insults directed at his class by Patrick by calmly shutting him up and telling him that tradition does not excuse the remarks he made—among them calling Fie a "jaeger-tot" and Gaius himself a barbarian.
  • Warrior Artist: He grew up hunting with a spear, he attends Thors Military Academy, and he enjoys painting in his spare time.
  • Willfully Weak: Throughout most of Cold Steel III as he doesn't have access to his S-Craft, making it harder to utilize his Wild Rage combos. When he finally materializes his Stigma, the gloves come off.

    Crow Armbrust (Unmarked Spoilers for the Cold Steel saga!) 

Crow Armbrust

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crow_armbrust_reverie.png
Crow during Reverie
Crow for most of Cold Steel I
Crow as he appeared in Cold Steel II
Crow in his Azure Siegfried outfit
Crow as of Horizon
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Scott Whytenote  (English)

A common-born second-year student at Thors, Crow became part of Class VII due to his failing grades, needing extra academic credits in order to graduate in time.

He is later revealed to be "C", the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front, who intends on assassinating Chancellor Osborne. That attempt ended causing a Civil War between Nobles and Commoners. He's also revealed to be the Awakener to the Divine Knight known as Ordine and later dies after managing to stop the Vermillion Apocalypse.

Eventually, Crow is brought back to life and brainwashed by the Black Workshop, now going under the name Azure Siegfried. He would later break out of it by the end of Cold Steel III and becomes an ally in both Cold Steel IV and Reverie as a way of atoning for his past.


  • Ace Custom: Reverie gives him his own Panzer Soldat, the Tyrfing X, colored azure to contrast Rean's ashen Tyrfing S.
  • Ace Pilot: Thanks to having been an Awakener for three years, Crow's experience allows him to utterly dominate Rean during their first two battles in their Divine Knights.
  • Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Frequently does this to Towa. He also did this once towards Rean. Twice, if you count the time he did it while dying in Rean's arms.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: After he dies in Cold Steel II, he never finds out that that his revenge against Osborne ended up getting undone once Osborne reveals that he's still alive. This is after siding against Class VII for most of Cold Steel II.
  • All for Nothing: Not long after his death in Cold Steel II is it revealed that Osborne was still alive, completely undoing the one purpose in life he thought he achieved as Rean angrily summarizes towards Osborne.
  • Alone Among the Couples: In the Eventide of Cold Steel IV, he along with Machias, is the only one who can spend the night alone among Class VII. Though, he has an excuse for this one.
  • Always Someone Better: Towards Rean. Rean describes Crow as both a friend and rival who's always one step ahead of him that he tries to keep up with and eventually surpass.
  • Amicable Exes: It's implied that he was romantically involved with Vita during Cold Steel IV. When asked about their relation by Ash and Rean, he makes no further comment on the subject but make clear that a lot happened between them.
    Crow: Sometimes I'm glad I didn't get too involved with her, but other times, I wish I did.
  • And Then What?: A point he remarks on during Towa's Daydream episode in Reverie. Between his scheming to assassinate Osborne and his experience as an Immortal, Crow never actually considered what he would do next if he managed to pull it off, leaving him wondering what to do in life next.
  • Arch-Enemy: Towards Osborne, whom Crow blames as being the one responsible for pushing his grandfather to die from depression after the annexation of Jurai.
  • Asleep in Class: After he temporarily joins Class VII, the first thing he can be seen doing is sleeping his way through a lecture on the War of the Lions.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Though far from being the strongest member of the ILF (that belongs to Vulcan), his time as C reveals that he can lead the terrorist group while kicking Class VII's ass.
  • The Atoner: He admits in Cold Steel IV that he needs to atone for his time as C, just like Sara for being a Jaeger. And he indeed spends the entire game doing it, since he makes references about "paying back [his] interest".
  • Back from the Dead: Thanks to the contract that he has with Ordine, Crow is able to come back to life in Cold Steel III as an Immortal. However, this is only temporary as it only applies so long as Ordine and his contract with him still exists. He's officially able to come back for real at the end of IV after the six remaining Divine Knights decide to use their powers on him, signified by how his pale tone of his hair changes back to its regular gray and the fact that he once again has a heartbeat.
  • Back to School: Played for laughs. Towa mentions that because Thors allows you to re-enroll if you drop out, Crow can technically come back to the Branch Campus to graduate. He adamantly refuses to have Rean and Towa as his teachers.
  • Badass Boast: As C, just before facing Class VII in Sachsen Iron Mine:
    C: It was the height of Summer when we last crossed blades beneath Heimdallr. Do you think you can prevail now where before you fell short ? Tell me not with words but with steel!
  • Badass Cape: Wore one as part of his disguise as C.
  • Badasses Wear Bandanas: Wears a headband in the first two Cold Steel games. Averted from III onwards. Celine lampshades this when she refers to Crow as the "bandana man" in Cold Steel IV at the Black Workshop. However, if you have him wear his DLC Branch Campus uniform from Reverie, he'll put the headband back on.
  • Badass Fingersnap: At the end of Cross Raven, after the bullets he fired surround the area, he does this and all of them hit the enemies at once.
  • Badass Longcoat: One of the strongest members of Class VII and starts wearing different longcoats as part of his wardrobe from Cold Steel II onwards.
  • Bash Brothers: Post-resurrection and getting his memories back, he always teams up with Rean for the Rivalries in their Divine Knights. He and Rean even retain their Combination Attack.
  • Becoming the Mask: Despite Crow's claims that his time at Thors was only for the sake of keeping up his cover and that the friendships he had were all based on nothing but lies, it's quite evident from the way he speaks that he's lying through his teeth as Rean and the others are able to note.
  • Beneath Suspicion: He manage to convince Thors that he was a slacking student, not the leader of a group of terrorists.
  • Benevolent Boss: He really looks out for his subordinates of the ILF and thanks Rean for saving Scarlet's life despite her Death Seeker mindset.
  • Best Served Cold: The reason he sought vengeance against Osborne was for ruining his grandfather's political career (and indirectly causing his Death by Despair) thanks to the underhanded tactics Osborne employed to annex Jurai. Crow was just a child when this happened, and spent every year since then gathering allies and plotting his revenge.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Despite being the resident jokester of Thors, everyone who knows him also know you will be able to count on him when the chips are down. Then he is revealed to be C and even more competent than everyone thought.
  • BFG: The sniper rifle he uses to snipe Osborne has a long barrel which allows him to snipe Osborne hundreds of selge away.
  • Big Bad Friend: He's C, the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front. He's also the Final Boss of Cold Steel.
  • Big Brother Mentor: To the entire class, but especially towards Rean. Even if they're on the opposing sides, Crow doesn't hesitate to offer words of advice to his junior even though helping is actually against his best interests.
  • Big Damn Heroes: His first instance as a playable character is when he jumps in to help Rean defeat the headless knight on the 4th Floor of the Old Schoolhouse. He does this again in Cold Steel III as he and Duvalie assists the rampaging Rean in his and Celine's escape from the Black Workshop.
  • Birds of a Feather: As soon as he joins the party in Cold Steel IV, he quickly hit it off with Ash.
    Ash: Show us what you're made of, then, Mister Johnny-Came-Crawling-Back.
    Crow: Oh-ho. Someone's got a cheek to talk. How's that trigger finger doing?
  • Bling-Bling-BANG!: Uses a pair of gold pistols as Azure Siegfried. He keeps them after rejoining Class VII in Cold Steel IV and is available to Crow as his alternate weapons.
  • Blue Is Heroic: Inverted at first since his reveal as the pilot of the Azure Knight Ordine, and Red Baron title as the Azure Chevalier, was made when he was revealed to be the leader of the terrorist ILF and sided against Class VII throughout the Civil War. Then he's resurrected as Azure Siegfried with an all blue outfit as the Gnome's Brainwashed and Crazy Enigmatic Minion. Finally plays this straight in the fourth game, where he also wears a blue shirt in his casual wear.
  • Bookends: The first time he becomes playable is when he teams up with Rean to take on a gigantic knight. The last time they fight together, they both take on the Vermillion Apocalypse, something even bigger than their Divine Knights.
  • Born Winner: He is considered by Class VII as their best warrior who is always ahead of them in terms of skill and fighting experience. He was able to train himself with a number of different weapons, gives Class VII in their freshman year a run for their money, and is able to convince everyone that he's just a slacker when in reality he was moving behind the scenes. He even manages to finish the Divine Knight trials only with the help of Vita while Rean had help from the rest of Class VII and Crow.
  • Brick Joke: He finally pays back Rean the 50 mira he borrowed at the start of the term, right at the end of the term having "forgotten" to return it several times previously. Rean gives it straight back and claims interest. In IV he hands it back again and claims it's time to finally work off that interest, though this time it's gone from a joke to a sad callback.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: How he presented himself in Cold Steel I where he behaves like a slacker who's lacking in school credits. But then turns out to be far smarter than anyone ever realized especially when he's revealed to be C.
  • But Now I Must Go: Subverted twice in Cold Steel IV. Just when Crow thinks he's about to die for good someone comes in to steal his death from him. The first is Rean who quite angrily tells Crow off and through Valimar decides to save his life. The second time is after the defeat of Ishmelga where he, along with Millium, believes his time has come but again they're saved by the intervention of Valimar and the other Divine Knights.
  • Car Fu: During his S-Craft in Horizon, Rowdy Throttle, he drives his bike towards the enemies, starts spinning at them, and ends with him slashing.
  • Casting a Shadow: His default Master Quartz Cypher, and ARCUS unit have time as their primary element, best shown by his Craft Nightmare Trigger. By Cold Steel IV, he has Gungnir as his default primary Master Quartz which is still a time element.
  • Childhood Friends: It's revealed in Cold Steel III that he and Stark were this to each other while growing up in Jurai. This is what partially motivated Stark to enroll at Thors Branch Campus.
  • Choice of Two Weapons: Compared to other characters, Crow has two distinct weapon styles. His first is dual wielding a pair of pistols, while the other is his Double Saber. He primarily uses the latter as "C" and keeps on using it after his identity is revealed. He can swap between the two styles mid-battle during Cold Steel IV and Reverie, though he has two gun-based Crafts and only one saber-based Craft. In cutscenes, he also has knowledge of how to use a sniper rifle.
  • The Chosen One: He is the Awakener of Ordine, the Azure Knight.
  • Chuunibyou: As "C". His costume, which is mostly black, reeks of it and he has a flare for talking eloquently and dramatic speeches. Sara even lampshades it. This is especially seen in Cold Steel IV where he shows embarrassment over his past as Siegfried yet actually defends his C persona and claiming he was badass.
    Machias: Just admit it, Crow! You love that edgelord look.
  • Cold Ham: Anytime he talks as C, he delivers his lines with gusto but with a lower pitch. Sara lampshades how hammy he sounds like in Cold Steel I.
  • Cold Sniper: He coldly tells Osborne to go finish his speech in hell right before he snipes Osborne in Cold Steel I.
  • Combat Pragmatist: At the climax of chapter 6 in Cold Steel I, he drops his double-saber so that he can blind Class VII and Angelica to make his escape and he has no problems activating Ordine's Super Mode to incapacitate Rean at the end of Cold Steel I. Even his cheating move in Vantage Masters in Cold Steel IV in his bonding event has him pull off an advanced combination to suppress Rean. Rean, however, wises up and manages to turn this around on Crow.
  • Combination Attack: With Rean in their mechs by combining both Enlightened Domination and Deadly Cross: Union Slash - Deadly Domination.
  • Continuity Cameo: In Daybreak II, Towa can be seen calling him where he says that he is investigating the CID's movements.
  • Cool Mask:
    • As C he wears a mask not unlike Zero from Code Geass. He even has a voice modulator that helps disguise what he actually sounds like. He loses it thanks to Claire breaking it with a bullet.
    • He also gets one during his stint as Azure Siegfried. His discarding it signifies that He's Back! as Crow Armbrust at the climax of Cold Steel III.
  • Costume Evolution: His canon wardrobe (as Crow) is as follows:
    • His first outfit is his Thors commoner uniform in Cold Steel I. He later updates the jacket's color to the Class VII red jacket in Chapter 6. His main outfit in II is a dark brown/black coat with a red shirt underneath and pants.
    • In Cold Steel III, he wears a mask, a blue coat and dark colored tights as Azure Siegfried. He wears this up until his defeat in the first rivalry of IV. After which, he switches his outfit to a beige coat with a fur trim, a blue shirt and black pants in of Cold Steel IV and the entirety of Reverie.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Played for Laughs in Chapter 6 of Cold Steel I. When Class VII is asked to find a cat, he reveals he carries a chic cat toy with him at all times. Hey, you never know when you might need one, right?
  • Critical Hit Class: His starting Master Quartz in IV and Reverie is Gungnir, a time MQ who increase the damage of Critical Hits.
  • Cross Attack: His Deadly Cross and Cross Rebellion S-crafts have him firing a large X-shaped Sword Beam at his enemies at the end. His final S-Craft Vorpal Slayer also makes a a large cross shaped silhouette at the end.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: At first, he is introduced as a perverted slacker with a love of gambling, earning a few jokes at his expense from his classmates old and new. Over time he proves himself as a capable fighter and reliable ally. And that's without taking account how as C he was capable of holding off Rean, Laura, and Fie at the same time below Heimdallr and overpower Rean regularly when they fought in their Divine Knights.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His first duel with Rean in Cold Steel II has him stomping on Rean in their fight despite the fact that Rean had a few fights under his belt in their Divine Knights. Rean even surmises that Crow didn't even need to use his Super Mode at the end of Cold Steel I to own Rean.
  • Deadly Gaze: In Cold Steel III and IV, his Eye of Balor Craft has him gathering dark energy in his eye and damages his opponents by sending said dark energy to them.
  • Death by Depower: As a result of being brought back as an Immortal during Cold Steel III and IV, he will die for good at the end of the Rivalries once the Divine Knights will fuse back into one. During the Normal End of Cold Steel IV, he chooses to die on his own terms by going along with Rean's Heroic Sacrifice rather than waiting to fade away. However, in the true ending, he is given a new body by the Sacrament Program, allowing him to survive his fate.
  • Death Dealer: His Wild Card Craft has him throwing cards that either buff his allies or inflict status effects on enemies.
  • Death from Above: How his second S-Craft Vorpal Slayer ends after catching his double-bladed saber where he stabs the enemies in the ground after catching his double-saber in the air.
  • Deep Cover Agent: Was in fact the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front who had been allied with Duke Cayenne for years, and his enrollment into Thors was meant to act as a cover to let him stay nearby Heimdallr to hopefully get info faster, and if chance arose, head there if an opportunity to assassinate Osborne showed up (which did). However, he didn't account for finding True Companions at Thors and ended up Becoming the Mask.
  • Deuteragonist: Starting from Cold Steel II onwards, he ends up becoming this as Rean's central rival and closest friend who helped instigate the main plot of the first half of the series and strong presence throughout the story overall.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: He dies at the end of Cold Steel II in Rean's arms, saying his final words to Class VII and Vita. He eventually got better however.
  • Disappears into Light: His and Millium's fate in Cold Steel IV had his life not been saved by the Divine Knights pouring their power together to save their lives.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: Although he is the Final Boss of Cold Steel I, as a whole in the Erebonia arc, he is this as Rean ends up fighting far more powerful foes than Crow.
  • Disease Bleach: After his resurrection, his hair goes from grey to a pale platinum blonde, though you'll be forgiven for not noticing before this is mentioned, given how the shade is similar to his normal hair. It returns to original grey after he is properly revived in Cold Steel IV's True Ending, and stays that way in Reverie.
  • The Dragon: Though he's the Big Bad of Cold Steel I, he ultimately serves as Vita's right-hand man.
  • Dramatic Unmask: Happens to him twice throughout the series. The first time happens when Claire shoots his C mask and reveals himself to be the leader of the terrorist group. The second time happens when he discards his Azure Siegfried mask and talking very roughly instead of talking politely, signifying that he's finally back as Crow Armbrust.
  • Dual Boss: With Vita towards the climax of Cold Steel II.
  • Dual Wielding: Uses a mismatched pair of pistols in combat.
  • Duel Boss: He's fought multiple times solo by Rean throughout the games either on foot or in their Divine Knights.
  • Duel to the Death: His final duel with Rean has him dueling with their mechs with the loser having to surrender their mech. As Crow's life was tied to Ordine, he would have died if he lost and nearly did had Rean not decided to use Valimar to create a contract between them that kept Crow and Ordine's existence stable.
  • 11th-Hour Ranger: In Cold Steel II where he and Rean team up with their Divine Knights in the final battle against the Vermillion Apocalypse. In Reverie, he's the last character who joins in chapter 2 of Rean's route and is only available when Rean's party fights off against C's party at Himmel Cemetery (though while the player only controls him for the last fight of chapter 2, from Rean's perspective, Crow fights twice in the game).
  • Energy Ball: His Freezing Bullet and Nemesis Bullet Crafts have him fire a magical orb of ice and darkness respectively from his guns.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His introduction scene with Rean establishes that he is really good at tricking people even those whose senses are sharp as Crow tosses Rean's 50 mira in the air and acts as though he caught it in his hands when in reality, the coin fell in the bag.
  • Everyone Has Standards:
    • As much of a natural pervert he is and how he's supportive of Rean getting together with someone, Crow does draw the line when it comes to Millium thanks to her age.
    • When Gideon tries to hold a blade to Alfin's throat to threaten Class VII, Crow immediately orders him to release her and Elise.
    • When Prince Cedric is being used as a medium to summon Testa-Rossa in a process that is clearly shown to be painful, Crow looks away with a somewhat ashamed face while apologizing to him, showing that he wasn't too happy about someone who was Just a Kid getting hurt as part of his vendetta.
  • Evil Costume Switch: In Cold Steel II, after he's revealed himself as the leader of the ILF, and thus doesn't need to hide his identity anymore, he ditches his school uniform and armor as C for an all-black ensemble that includes a Badass Longcoat with its sleeves rolled up, gloves, and a black headband.
  • Evil Knockoff: In Reverie, he has a robotic copy fought during Chapter 4 of Rean's route.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: His disguise as C had a voice synthesizer to give him an artificially deep voice.
  • Evil Wears Black: Wore black as a villain in his disguise as C and his outfit in Cold Steel II.
  • Ex-Big Bad: While he was the Big Bad of Cold Steel I, being the leader of the ILF, from Cold Steel II onwards, he's either The Dragon to Cayenne or Vita or The Brute to the Black Workshop. It's when Rean manages to tie their lives to one another after their final duel in the first Rivalry of Cold Steel IV is when he becomes Rean's Lancer.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Happens to him three times: in Cold Steel II when he realizes that Emma and Celine can't close the wound on his chest, he manages to say a few words to Class VII and Vita before passing on, in Cold Steel IV when the same thing happens again with Emma and Celine trying to heal him only for Crow to nearly disappear until Rean manages to Indy Ploy that, and at the end of Cold Steel IV where he was about to disappear for good before Roselia and Franz activate the Arc Rouge and Lost Zem Sacrament codes.
  • Faking the Dead: Not as Crow, but he fakes C and the ILF's deaths in the Sachsen Iron Mine.
  • False Friend: Defied. As much as he insists that his time at Thors meant nothing to him, and that it was only for the sake of throwing the RMP off his trail, Rean and his friends don't really buy his lies for a second, especially with how Crow helps Rean during the second game, and seek to have him return to them which finally succeeds by Cold Steel IV.
  • Final Boss: He is the final opponent Cold Steel, piloting Ordine.
  • Foil: Obviously to Rean. Both are leaders of a group with Rean leading Class VII and Crow leading the ILF, both of their primary elements are time, and both of them aren't raised by their biological parents. Rean only uses a tachi while Crow utilizes a lot of different weaponry from dual wielding guns to his double-bladed saber, Rean is right-handed while Crow is ambidextrous who mostly wields his melee weapon on his left hand, and their secondary orbments are polar opposites with Rean's fire to Crow's water.
  • Four Is Death: Inverted at the end of Cold Steel IV where Crow is given a new lease in life.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: When he first tosses the coin at the beginning of Cold Steel I, he actually doesn't catch the coin but lets it fall in his bag. It's not obvious at first unless players watch the scene in a video. Players are still forced to answer either hand however.
  • Friendly Enemy: Even as a member of the Noble Alliance, Crow still trades jokes and advice with the rest of Class VII. He's even the one responsible for Toval finding out where Rean was and thus partly responsible for saving the latter's life at the beginning of the second game.
  • Friend to All Children: Regularly bets candy when playing Blade with the town kids, and to all appearances loses on purpose.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Crow grew up off a relatively normal kid with a love for card games and a penchant for gambling thanks to his grandfather. However, after the latter was scapegoated for an incident he had no part and died of depression not long afterwards, Crow spends the next near decade seeking vengeance against Osborne whom he believes responsible. By age 19, he's become the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front, serves as the Awakener of Ordine, and has become so strong that Fie compares him to Sara in terms of overall strength despite her years of experience over him.
  • The Gadfly: Generally likes to tease his friends for a good laugh, especially Rean and Towa.
  • Gallows Humor: Jokes multiple times about his impeding death in Cold Steel IV. The others aren't really amused but allow him to go along with it knowing they can't really do much to change his fate.
  • The Gambler: He likes all forms of gambling and is the go-to guy for information on the new card game Blade. One of his Crafts is called Wildcard and is essentially a weaponized gamble. He's also mentioned to have spent most of his time hanging out at a casino on a field mission the player wasn't present for.
  • Genius Bruiser: While he does present himself as a slacker, it turns out that he is far, far smarter than he actually acts where Rean can go to him for advice on a midterm exam and the fact that he manages to hide his identity as C. He's also a very strong fighter and manages to kick Rean, Laura, and Fie's asses by himself at the end of chapter 4 in Cold Steel I.
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: In Cold Steel III, once he regains his memories as Crow Armbrust, he immediately dives in to stop Rean from continuing his rampage any longer inside Ordine. Unfortunately, it fails.
  • Good Costume Switch: By Cold Steel IV, he switches from his Azure Siegfried costume that was mostly blue into the costume that he wears for both Cold Steel IV and Reverie with his tanned coat. However, players can still make him wear his Azure Siegfried costume.
  • Greater Need Than Mine: When he gets stabbed by the Vermilion Apocalypse, he tells Rean not to worry about him and go rescue Cedric, as rescuing the crown prince is more important.
  • Guns Akimbo: His primary fighting style in Cold Steel I as a party member. Especially pronounced in his S-Craft. Uses a golden pair as Azure Siegfried. It's one of his two different stances in Cold Steel IV.
  • Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: During his final fight in Cold Steel II, he use his double saber while Vita assist him with magic.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: With Rean in their Divine Knight battles. Even the rest of Class VII think that their speeches are bombastic and that Rean and Crow are in their own little world.
  • Hand Behind Head: Often puts both hands behind his head, showcasing his laidback nature compared to his friends.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: At the end of Cold Steel I, he reveals himself as a villain after being an ally for most of the game. Then in Cold Steel II, he pulls a Heel-Face Turn, only to die soon afterward. Cold Steel III has him being revived as a villain (Azure Siegfried) for most of the game, only for him to regain his memories at the end and become a good guy again, this time for good. Basically, over the course of three games he goes Face -> Heel -> Face -> Heel -> Face.
  • Held Back in School: He joins Class VII to compensate for his lack of credits. When brought back to life in the second half of the series, a drunken Towa notes that Crow never actually graduated which results in her trying to get him back in school at Thors Branch Campus as a student under her and Rean. Crow is not amused by this.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Died thanks to a stab wound through the chest while creating an opening for Rean to save Prince Cedric.
  • Hero of Another Story: He spends the first 2 chapters of Reverie dealing with social unrest in Jurai along with Stark. He leaves this matter in his hands when someone with his old identity surfaces.
  • He's Back!: After spending an entire game brainwashed, Crow is finally able to break through the Azure Siegfried persona in order to stop Rean's rampage at the end of Cold Steel III.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Rean by Cold Steel IV. After spending so much time being the opposite side, there's nothing in the world that's gonna stop Crow from watching over his buddy's back.
  • Hidden Depths: At first glance it would be easy to assume Crow to be nothing more than a delinquent slacker, but it becomes clear as the games progress just how talented an individual he actually is. To wit, he's one of the strongest fighters that Class VII has, is an accomplished mecha pilot, and is even creatively attuned enough to help put on a concert performance well liked by all.
  • Homing Projectile: In Cross Raven, all bullets he fire will find their way to surround the targets.
  • Hope Spot: Pulls this off on Rean at the end of Cold Steel I where Rean thinks he manages to beat Crow, only for Crow to pull out Ordine's Super Mode and trounces Rean in one hit that sends Rean into critical and is forced to flee from Crow.
  • Humongous Mecha: He's the chosen pilot of Ordine, the Azure Knight. He awakened the machine three years prior to the events of Cold Steel I under guidance from Vita.
  • I Am Your Opponent: The party comes face-to-face for the first time in his role as leader of the Imperial Liberation Front, C. All of the groups main members are there, but he declares that he will face them.
    C: Wielders of the longsword, the greatsword, the twin gunswords. Stand and face me. I shall be your opponent. ... Haha. Think of this as an entertaining way to kill some time.
  • An Ice Person: His Freezing Bullet Craft. His ARCUS' secondary element is also water.
  • Iconic Sequel Character: He's the most popular character right after Rean in the polls but is only introduced in the sixth game of the series. Only Estelle manages to beat him in the polls for all of Falcom's characters and that's only on a good day.
  • Identity Amnesia: Played with. He has no memories as Azure Siegfried due to them being sealed. Siegfried however seems to be aware of his former identity as Crow as he doesn't question Rean's attempts to get through to him and just tells him trying is useless. The problem is that the personality alteration means he just doesn't care. He only starts remembering who he was after seeing Rean inside Valimar and the rest of his students and reminds him of Rean and Crow teaming up to take on Vermillion Apocalypse. And with his memories his personality also reverts back to his true self.
  • I Hate Past Me: By the time of Cold Steel IV, while Crow will defend the aesthetic of his persona, he regrets going this far in the pursuit of his revenge. When someone start impersonating C during Reverie, Crow drop all that he was doing in Jurai in order to track him down in Heimdallr.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How he dies during the Finale of Cold Steel II when Testa-Rossa's tail stabs Ordine through the chest and he takes the same damage as its Awakener.
  • Inexplicably Awesome: His Double Saber style. Other characters mentioned how archaic the weapon is and there is only one other known practitioner of it outside of Crow himself.note  And yet, he manages to be as strong as Sara with it.
  • Irony: In Cold Steel III, he ends up working for the one guy who he tried to assassinate. Granted he had Identity Amnesia but the trope is still played straight.
  • I See Them, Too: In Horizon, he and Rean are the only ones who can see that outside Zemuria, there is a wall surrounding the world. It is implied that Millium would also see this because the three of them were involved in the normal ending of Cold Steel IV.
  • It Has Been an Honor: Before facing the final boss of Cold Steel IV, Crow has this to say towards Rean.
    "Looks like this it, man. Guess I better say it now. Thanks for everything. It's been a blast."
  • It's Personal: The reason why he assassinated Osborne was mostly for revenge against the death of his grandfather, who died of natural causes but was mostly influenced by Osborne's actions in Jurai.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even at his worst moments during his stint when he fights against Class VII, he still is willing to amicably talk with them and is willing to have a heart-to-heart talk with Rean with Crow sharing his past to Rean after the latter asks.
  • Just Toying with Them: In Rean and Crow's first rematch in Cold Steel II at Ymir, Rean notes that Crow could have easily decimated Rean without using Ordine's Super Mode at the climax of Cold Steel I.
  • Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Always carries a cat toy with him in I and in III, despite claiming to have no interests aside from his mission and fighting, Siegfried gives Coppe some affectionate pets and kind words. Coppe also, surprisingly, accepts both happily.
  • Lady and Knight: The Knight to Vita's Lady, made more apparent in Cold Steel II.
  • The Lancer: Towards Rean in Cold Steel IV thanks to their shared status as Awakeners involved in the Rivalries which means Crow is often involved in most battles concerning them.
  • Large Ham: Crow does have some hammy moments especially when he's fighting Rean. As C however, he's more of a Cold Ham.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: He dies from a chest wound, the same place where he shot Osborne. He even lampshades it, claiming 'Karma's a bitch'. In addition, he defeats Rean at the end of Cold Steel I by using Divine Knight feedback to give him a concussion, ruining Class VII's last hope to keep Thors safe from the Noble Alliance. He's killed when he gets a fatal chest wound after Ordine's chest armor is pierced, thanks to Divine Knight feedback.
  • Late-Arrival Spoiler: Trying to discuss the later games without spoiling the fact that he is the leader of the Imperial Liberation Front which is backed by the Noble Alliance, is the pilot of the Divine Knight Ordine, trumps Rean in their first and second Divine Knight duel, and ends up dead after giving Rean an opening to rescue the crown prince from the Vermillion Apocalypse is really hard.
  • Legacy Character: Unwillingly. He serve as the first user of the title, which ends up being used by other people in Reverie and Daybreak. He even warns the second C that the moniker ain't pretty.
  • Leitmotif: Together with Rean, "Blue Destination" serves as one to him. Both "The Decisive Collision" and "Remaining Glow" as well thanks to the shared melodies between all three.
  • Likes Older Women: Implied at least with Vita who's four years his senior.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft in Cold Steel I is Cross Raven, whilst in Cold Steel II it's Deadly Cross, which was his S-Craft while disguised as C during the first game. During mecha battles, his finishing move is Deadly End. For Cold Steel III, his S-Craft is Cross Rebellion, with Cold Steel IV, as well as Reverie, throwing in Vorpal Slayer. Likewise, in the latter game, his union attack (when the team setup isn't just him and Rean), is Rebellion Sword. In Horizon, his sole S-Craft is Rowdy Throttle, with Deadly Cross becoming a regular craft.
  • Living on Borrowed Time: Following his defeat in the first Rivalry, he is kept alive by virtue of Rean not absorbing Ordine but it's made clear that it is a temporary measure, and that he will not live past the final Rivalry. Ultimately, it takes a litteral miracle for him to survive.
  • Living with the Villain: C, leader of the Imperial Liberation Front terrorist group, is Crow, who's also living right across Rean's room.
  • Loner-Turned-Friend: According to Towa and George, Crow was a complete loner in his first year at Thors until he ran into Angelica, who was determined to break through his shell. With her fists. It worked.
  • Magic Gunman: His orbment line allows him to have decent EP pool, and his dual elements of Time and Water give him a decent selection of offensive and support Arts. That and gaining consistently good ATS every time he levels up makes him capable of using arts aside from shooting enemies with his orbal gun.
  • Magic Knight: He has strong physical stats with his Crafts all having decent effects, his ATS stat and EP pool are also above average and has at least one Craft that's deals magic damage. His Azure Destiny Craft increases both his STR and ATS along with his speed, allowing him to hit hard and fast with either stat.
  • Major Injury Underreaction: He says that it was just a scratch when Vermillion Apocalypse impales him in the heart.
  • Making a Splash: His secondary orbment element is water. This foreshadows his eventual rivalry with Rean's fire.
  • Mask of Power: As Azure Siegfried. The mask brainwashes him into serving the Black Workshop.
  • Mirror Character: Crow and Rean, eternally good friends and rivals. Rean is serious to a fault while Crow's a slacker for the most part. Rean is very willing to bring Crow back to the academy while Crow is trying to cut his ties from his friends. Both are Awakeners and both of their primary element is time with their secondary elements being polar opposites with Rean's fire to Crow's water.
  • Misery Poker: Before revealing his past to Rean, Crow believes his past is nothing compared to Rean's Dark and Troubled Past. After revealing it, Rean is sadder about Crow's past than Crow himself.
  • More Dakka: His pistols are shown to be capable of automatic fire in several of his crafts and his first and third S-Crafts.
  • Mortal Wound Reveal: After the battle against the Vermilion Apocalypse, Ordine ejects Crow out of the cockpit, revealing his massive chest wound.
  • The Musketeer: Has his dual pistols and double saber, though unlike Sara or Fie, he uses them separately in his attacks and Crafts instead of mixing them together.
  • Must Make Amends: When he joins back with Class VII in Cold Steel IV, he notes that he needs to make amends for the damages he did as C.
  • No Badass to His Valet: To the entire world, he is C, leader of the Imperial Liberation Front who managed to make the most heavily fortified military base of the Erebonia empire look like a kid's playground. To Class VII, he's their slacker senior who gives them a headache with Rean trying to reel him in at times.
  • Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: Gets impaled through the heart by the Vermillion Apocalypse and yet, manages to live long enough to see Rean's victory and tell his last words to Class VII and Vita thanks to Emma and Celine's efforts to heal him buying him some time. Then he gets better, with some issues.
  • NOT!: One of his escape from battle quotes is "See you later... not!"
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Like Vita, he doesn't give a damn about Cayenne's ambitions, he just want to clear the mess he started by shooting Osborne. He also makes it clear that he's not really interested in anything Ouroboros does either, just that he has a debt towards Vita that he wanted to personally pay back.
  • The Not-Love Interest: For Rean. Crow ends up becoming an irreplaceable friend for him and has a great effect on Rean's character development moving forward. Rean even initially thinks about joining the Noble Alliance if it meant being friends with Crow again as well. The "Not Love Interest" part comes in because neither Rean or Crow are actually in love with each other despite their close bond, with both also being explicitly into women for that matter as well. This doesn't stop characters like Alfin from teasing Rean about it however.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: He hides all his cunning and scheming behind a playful and lazy persona.
  • Odd Friendship: Outside of Rean, Crow is also close with the following:
    • With Towa. Despite being polar opposites personality wise, Towa is often shown as the one that Crow is the closest to among his and Towa's group and the one who thinks well of him the most. He even goes out of his way to look out for her on more than one occasion as well, asking George to check in on Towa at night while he was in Roer and again during the School Festival where he's trying to get her to take a break during her work.
    • Crow also surprisingly gets along well with McBurn. They once shared a drink on one occasion even. McBurn himself thinks quite highly of him as he believes Crow would be able to handle his power though the latter thinks McBurn is overestimating him.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The trials that Rean took to become Valimar's Awakener involved him leading Class VII into the Old Schoolhouse dungeon and facing off against increasingly dangerous monsters that culminated in the group squaring off against a Loa Erebonius and defeating. Crow, on the other hand, did most of the trials of Ordine by himself when he was 16 with only Vita to guide and help him.
  • Old Shame: In-Universe example in regards to his time as the brainwashed Azure Siegfried. As far as Crow is concerned it never happened and that his C persona had more taste. He even refers to the outfit he wore as being completely tacky.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten: Class VII picks on him when Crow was still in his Azure Siegfried phase with Crow claiming that Azure Siegfried was just terrible as it lacked aesthetics. He will however defend his C costume.
  • One Dialogue, Two Conversations: If you take Crow along to retrieve the costumes in Heimdallr during Cold Steel, he comment to Rean that Vita "must be pretty amazing to handle two jobs at once". While Rean (and the player) believe it refers to Crow learning about her Misty Secret Identity, the end of Cold Steel and Cold Steel II make it likely he was making a jab to her role as the Big Bad and the mastermind of the Phantasmal Blaze Plan, with which Crow is one of the major players.
  • One-Hit KO: At the end of Cold Steel I where Crow swipes Rean in one hit in Ordine's Super Mode and down Rean goes with Valimar immediately going critical with red lights flashing all over inside Valimar.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: He calls it a scratch, except said scratch is a pierced heart. He only manages to hold on as long as he does due to, at first, Ordine not having shut done yet and then because Emma and Celine refused to give up healing him despite Vita already saying it's futile, which bought him enough time to say goodbye to Rean, Class VII and Vita.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: As seen with his Azure Siegfried persona, no one who actually sees him are really fooled and know that it's Crow. Especially once he brings out Ordine. The disguise really only works because no one wants to believe he's back as an enemy.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: His stance in Cold Steel I is this towards Osborne, as he snipes the man who made his hometown into a Special Economic Zone and made his grandfather depressed to the point of no longer wanting to live anymore.
  • Pet the Dog: Some of his actions as C take on this meaning in the context of The Reveal.
    • When Class VII has Gideon cornered and he's unable to shake them off, C intervenes right as Gideon starts to consider murdering Elise and Princess Alfin out of desperation, and promptly defuses the situation and has them released. While this proves instrumental in securing a getaway for the ILF, it also ensures that the ILF never crosses the line into actively hurting the family of one of his friends. The act also likely saved Gideon's life as well, as had anything happened to Alfin and especially Elise, Rean would have surely lost it and likely killed Gideon and his men in rage with his ogre power.
    • During the invasion of Garrelia Fortress, Crow is actually fighting against the ILF and its archaisms throughout the mission along with the rest of Class VII. Once Class VII retakes the railway guns, however, Crow makes no effort to sabotage their victory or seize control of the guns, and instead has Vulcan and Scarlet make a swift getaway that was clearly planned well in advance. This strongly implies that Crow never actually intended to go through with nuking Crossbell, likely because it would result in the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, including his friend Towa who was in Crossbell at the time.
    • In II, Crow tips off Toval to Rean's location which subsequently proves to be instrumental in saving his life, instead of taking the opportunity to finish him off when he was at his most vulnerable. Given Vita's true plans regarding the Divine Knights, Rean's life was likely never in any danger from either of them to begin with, as he was needed to complete the pseudo rivalry she was trying to kick off with the Infernal Castle.
    • In Azure Siegfried's very first appearance, he can be seen literally petting Coppe, the kitten squatting in the old SSS building.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: When about to snipe Osborne:
    Go finish your speech in hell.
  • Recurring Boss: He ties for the record of the boss you fight in the most games along with Rean and Duvalie.
  • Red Baron: Being Ordine's Awakener has lead to others referring to him as the Azure Chevalier.
  • Redemption Earns Life: At the end of Cold Steel IV after managing to redeem himself by helping Rean out in the Rivalries and settling things with Osborne properly, the two Sept-Terrions use their powers to bring Crow back to life with Crow having a heartbeat again. He uses this new lease on life to help out Jurai in Reverie.
  • Redemption Equals Death: In Cold Steel II, where he's fatally wounded in a bid to release Prince Cedric from the Vermillion, and ends up bleeding out as a result. He comes back as Azure Siegfried in III, and manages to survive for real in the Golden Ending to IV.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Rean's Blue, being a playful delinquent compared to Rean's more reserved nature.
  • Required Party Member: In Cold Steel IV, he's required in all of the Rivalries. Ditto in Reverie where Rean, Rufus, and he are stalling Zoa-Gilstein.
  • Retractable Weapon: His new weapon in Horizon is a collapsible version of his double-bladed saber.
  • Roboteching: He can do this with bullets when performing Cross Raven, likely through Orbment-assisted Time manipulation.
  • Scars Are Forever: After being brought back to life, a scar remains the front and back of his torso which serves as a reminder of his death at the hands of the Vermillion Apocalypse.
  • Secret Identity Change Trick: A villainous example. He volunteers to bring the miners to safety in Sachsen Iron Mine because it give him an opportunity to change and face the party as C with an alibi after the whole Faking the Dead.
  • Secret Identity Vocal Shift: His helmet as C modulates his voice. Without the helmet, he notably speaks with a lower voice than he did as a student. Once he joins the good guys again he settles somewhere comfortably between the two.
  • See You in Hell: He declares "See you in Gehenna!" when using his second S-Craft, Vorpal Slayer.
  • Serious Business: Artistic performances. Seeing the normally laid-back Crow so serious about making the concert a hit is really funny. Unless you're Emma, Machias or Jusis at least. Gets into it again in Cold Steel IV when the Class VII arrives in Crossbell for a mission and are in need of a distraction. Together with Elliot, he's able to create a performance worthy of Arc en Ciel in the span of a few days.
  • Shipper on Deck: He is rooting for George/Angelica. In Cold Steel II, he's also supportive of the idea of Rean getting together with one of the original Class VII girls, with the exception of Millium thanks to her age. In the manga adaptation of the first game he even helps spur on Rean and Alisa to dance.
  • Ship Tease: With Vita. Both are noted to be far closer than what their interactions on the surface imply. When asked about the precise nature of their relationship by Rean and Ash, Crow simply states that he's glad he never got too involved with Vita, but at the same time says that he sometimes wishes he did and leaves it at that. Both Rean and Ash note that Crow didn't actually answer and just left them with more questions than anything.
    • On a added note, if you're careful about it, you can check their link levels in the True Final Boss of Cold Steel IV. They are nearly Rank 7, a feat only shared with True Companionsnote, family members note or lovers.note
    • Interestingly, Reverie has their link level start out at 3 the same as anyone else's and when she calls him her Knight and gets flirty in their link quote he shuts her down by firmly stating he's her former Knight
  • Shout-Out: In the localization of Cold Steel IV, if you choose him in the Hot Springs quest, he mentions that they're just a couple of bros chilling in a hot spring.
  • Sir Swears-a-Lot: Probably the most foul-mouthed member of Class VII. Which is surprising that he is also the more formal C and as Azure Siegfried, where his (original voice over) speech pattern veers into the archaic.
  • The Slacker: He's sent to join Class VII on a temporary basis in order to earn extra credit because he's in danger of not graduating with the credits he's currently earned... and the first thing we see him do is slack off further. He somehow manages to earn enough to graduate on time regardless.
  • Sorry That I'm Dying: After Testa-Rossa stabs him through the heart, the first thing he did was apologize to Rean that he wouldn't be able to go back to the academy with them like he promised.
  • Stance System: He's able to change between his Saber Mode and Gunner Mode at will in Cold Steel IV.
  • Status Buff: His Azure Destiny Craft from IV and Reverie, which boosts his Strength, Speed, and Arts stats by 50% for 6 turns, plus 3 turns of Insight.
  • Summon Magic: Much like Rean with Valimar, he can summon Ordine wherever he is at a moment's notice. This also applies to being able to summon him in gameplay in Cold Steel IV much like Rean and his students too.
  • Super Mode: Gains one in Cold Steel IV with Patch 1.03 which gave him a Craft called Azure Destiny that costs 100 CP but gives him buffs to Strength, Arts, and Speed for six turns, and the Insight status for three turns.
  • Temporary Party Member to Villain: In Cold Steel I, he is playable for a short stretch of the game before revealing that he's the leader of the ILF and becomes the Final Boss of Cold Steel I. By the later games, however, he joins Rean for good.
  • That Man Is Dead: Tries to deny his friendship with Rean, Class VII, Towa, George, and Angelica by saying that whoever Crow was at Thors was a fake persona and that he's C at the end of the day. No one buys this and knows that Crow is simply lying through his teeth. Stark would later confirm they're exactly right and Crow's easy going gambler persona is basically who he always was back in Jurai when they were kids.
  • Thinking Up Portals: His Cross Rebellion S-Craft in the third game has him opening up a pair of portals before firing arapid volley into them that redirects them at his enemies before firing a huge cross-shaped Sword Beam at them.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: One of his Knight Crafts in Cold Steel II, Blade Throw, is him throwing his double-bladed saber at his enemies before returning to him. It's also how he starts his second S-Craft in Cold Steel IV, Vorpal Slayer. He also throws it when using his Arc Raven craft from Horizon.
  • Torso with a View: In the end of Cold Steel II, he gets a massive hole in his chest after the Vermilion Apocalypse stabs Ordine in the chest, hitting the latter in the same area.
  • Tragic Bromance: With Rean. Despite only knowing each other for less than a year, the two end up becoming like brothers to each other even after Crow betrays him and Class VII. Then he ends up dying in the assault against the Vermillion Apocalypse during the finale of the second game. Then he came back in Cold Steel III.
  • Tragic Keepsake: Keeps mementos of his deceased comrades in the ILF, and a Bond event in Cold Steel IV sees Crow personally deliver the items to their loved ones (a pair of glasses and a journal for Gideon's grandmother, and a dogtag to an ex-subordinate of Vulcan).
  • Tragic Villain: Despite the fact that he became a terrorist, he explains to Rean that he still has a role to play by ending the war because of his actions of killing the Prime Minister. What makes him tragic is that after his death, Osborne shows up like it was nothing making his entire mission to defeat Osborne pointless and a waste of time. Rean lashes out at Osborne for this reason.
  • Two Aliases, One Character: He also doubles as C, leader of the Imperial Liberation Front. He also gains a third one in Cold Steel III as Azure Siegfried.
  • Undying Loyalty: In Cold Steel IV, once he is back in the party again, he says he will work together with Class VII "to hell and back". And if you choose him for the fortune-telling in Mishelam, Beryl will say that his future is "gambling everything for his precious friends". It works that he isn't technically alive by then.
  • Vague Age: Discussed in Cold Steel IV when Rean asks Crow about his age after he mentions having shared drinks with McBurn aboard the Pantagruel during the Civil War. When prodded, Crow says that he actually lied about his actual age when he enrolled at Thors. Rean doesn't buy it however.
  • Villainous Friendship: During his time as a villain, he manages to strike a friendship with McBurn with the latter saddened by his death until his reappearance as Azure Siegfried.
  • Walking Spoiler: Thanks to his role, it's almost impossible to talk about Crow without mentioning his deeds throughout the story.
  • Walking the Earth: Following Jurai's annexation and his grandfather's death, he wandered through Erebonia until he met Cayenne. Later on, following the events of Reverie and the end of the troubles in Jurai, Crow says he will depart on a journey to find a new meaning in his life, though the credits reveal he actually stuck around the branch campus instead. A phone call with Towa in Daybreak II implies he eventually went to Calvard, though when he did so is left unclear.
  • Wardrobe Flaw of Characterization: His school uniform has his blazer open with his sleeves rolled up, his shirt was untucked with the buttons on his collar unbuttoned, and his tie worn extremely loose. Quite fitting for his reputation as The Slacker.
  • We Do Not Know Each Other: Crow will tag along if you brought no one with you to retrieve the festival costumes in Cold Steel. The two of them meet Misty/Vita in front of the store and both Crow and Vita pretend to not know the other (with a fair bit of Rewatch Bonus)
  • Welcome Back, Traitor: Rean's goal for Cold Steel II is to bring him back to Thors. Pretty much no one has objections about it.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: While most of the ILF members are trying to take down Osborne because of some grudge, Crow does it for that and then some. He sees Osborne as the one responsible for a number of Erebonia's problems and decides to put an end to it. He also sees himself joining with the Noble Alliance as a means to restore peace to the Empire after his actions had helped kickstart a civil war.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: Subverted as its made clear that he isn't without redeeming qualities even at his most antagonistic and eventually becomes The Atoner.
  • Work Off the Debt: By Reverie, his linked victory with Rean has him claiming that he should have paid off all his debts. Rean meanwhile believes that he still has some.
  • You Fool!: His link quote victory with Rean while he's lost control of himself in Cold Steel IV has him saying this towards him.
  • You Killed My Father: His grudge against Osborne is due to blaming the man for causing the downfall and death of his grandfather in the formers' efforts to annex Jurai to the Empire.
  • Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: He sees himself as a champion for freedom, fighting against the system that conquered his homeland and the man who is responsible for Erebonia's expansionist ambitions. Although his conversation with Rean in II shows that he doesn't fully believe in the sentiment; he freely admits that his vendetta was more of a personal grudge than anything else, and he doesn't actually consider Osborne an evil man.


Alternative Title(s): Trails Series Crow Armbrust

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