Agrias Oaks

Name: Lady Agrias Oaks
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Canon: Final Fantasy Tactics
Timeline: At the end of the final battle.

Background:
The knight
…and her tale.

A few side-notes:

Since Final Fantasy Tactics was created in the early days of the PS1 and allowed for character death at any point within the game, Agrias’ actual influence on the narrative does not extend very much beyond the chapter that she is a part of. However, it is my personal headcanon that, due to the fact that Agrias is the second permanent named member to join, and by far one of the most experienced military leaders, that she was a high commander in Ramza’s company. As such, she would also serve as a resource of information in regards to certain strategic military situations, and offer her support and advice whenever she felt it was necessary. What is canon is that she had learned to trust in Ramza’s decision. And after beating witness to the extent that her Church of Galbados had become ensnared into the demonic plot, she would be willing to trust his judgment in all things, and follow his orders without question.

As far as what happened after the series ended, I am not certain … as the battle occurred very high in the air and only Ramza and Alma were confirmed to have survived it. This is not to say that Agrias did not survive it either, merely that there is no information and the ending is left completely open to interpretation.

Personality:

”A knight cannot depart and leave her work unfinished!”

Lady Agrias Oaks is a knight that has taken her role as a knight to the purest form possible. Through her diligence and perseverance she was ordained by the church as a Holy Knight. Such knights are ordained and baptized in the Church of Glabados as being administrators of the will of the kingdom and the church. Not only that, but she has proven her worth to such a degree that she was appointed the personal bodyguard of Princess Ovelia, one of the potential candidates to rule the entire Kingdom of Ivalice depending on how the political intrigue surrounding the throne falls.

Thus, the duty falls to Agrias to ensure that Princess Ovelia is kept safe and unharmed. This is a duty that she has taken very seriously. As such, she is diligent, dutiful, and honorable in all things. She guides the three knights under her company with steady discipline and even quiet trust. Yet while she has the upmost respect for her own subordinates, she is also pragmatic and realistic in her expectations. When the coming war made keeping the Princess’s safety much less certain, Agrias was not above hiring mercenaries to bolster her numbers. To the stalwart knight, ensuring her duty is fulfilled was more important than her pride. Though there is a line that she would never cross, as her convictions to maintain her honor and duty would not permit her to act amorally or uncivilized.

The company that came to her aid, however, was a brutal and derisive man, which constantly tested Agrias’ temper and her convictions. When a set of abductors came to steal away the Princess, Agrias aspired to show them enough force to get the kidnappers to run away. By contrast, the leader of the mercenaries, Goffard Gaffgarion, worked to kill them all, stating that the dead are easier to keep away than the living. This battle of idealism versus pragmatism continues for much of their journey together, with Gaffgarion suggesting more efficient means of bringing about decisive victories, and Agrias challenging those convictions with less efficient, but more virtuous, goals. Her conviction to this higher standard made her fearless in battle, and against those that would debase her name or act without honor.

While she is quick to maintain the greater path, she is also supportive of individuals who maintain these high ideals. While normally quiet and guarded, once a person has proven themselves virtuous, Agrias will be a loyal and dutiful ally. This is most proven with her dealings with Princess Ovelia. After spending such a long time guarding her, Agrias grew to have a fondness for the future monarch. Agrias knew and understood the isolation Ovelia was forced to endure – both as a potential candidate as a queen and as a target for assassins and brigands who would not want her to rule. Yet, Agrias also recognized that the princess was a young woman who only wished to do the right thing, and that wanted to make sure these difficult times were met with a period of peace and prosperity. The Guardian Commander made great efforts to talk with her ward, offering encouragement and advice whenever she was able. This bond – both with a future queen and with a stalwart person who would one day do great things – was what compelled Agrias to remain loyal to Ovelia. Even when the tides of war and fate made maintaining that friendship an impossibility.

Why is your character a good fit for the setting of Soul Campaign, and what will they do once they are in the game?

As a former Holy Knight that has once saved the world from the threat of demonic takeover, Agrias has proven herself both as a warrior and as a champion of good. She spent a long time in the company of Ramza Beouvle and, if anything, served as one of his right-hand leaders in the conflicts that gripped Ivalice. Her role in the game would maintain this position. Although she will be alarmed by the change in time and philosophy of the people, she will nonetheless recognize that the witches are a threat to mankind and the world, and will strive to do her duty and protect the people from their menace.

List the abilities your character will still have in Soul Campaign:

Agrias is an exceptional knight and a master swordsman. She is also in pretty good physical condition, having walked into full battle scenarios with half-plate body armor. She is also a practiced soldier and guard captain, providing her with a wealth of battle experience and leadership experience to draw from.

List the weaknesses your character will gain (or lose) in Soul Campaign:

The two biggest things Agrias will lose is her use of Holy Sword skills and white magic. As a Holy Knight, she was able to channel the energy of her righteousness into a blade and blast enemies from a distance – which is what made her a fierce and dangerous combatant. This will be gone and replaced with her new meister ability. Though that would take some getting used to.

Also, through the way Ivalice has viewed Ramza and those associated with him in league with a heretic, Agrias is a much more cautious and private person. She’d be less willing to open up and trust people until they prove themselves, though she won’t turn away those in need.

[ MEISTER ]

Soul Description:
adamant, loyal, determined, compassionate, quiet, responsible

Agrias’s soul is sharp bright blue and looks like , with her eyes slanted half circles and two long strands of hair sticking out the sides.

Meister Ability:
Soul Shock - A variant of Soul Menace, a meister that possesses Soul Shock has the ability to channel their soul wavelength through the weapon in their hands to strike an opponent from a distance. The damage type and damage amount varies with level of synchronization, the weapon being used, and the user’s proficiency with that weapon. With greater mastery and high synchronization, this ability also extends special weapon attacks as well.

[ SAMPLES ]

First-Person
[A woman opens the channel and peers grimly into the crystal. Though at the moment she doesn’t know yet that she’s turned it on. Instead, she seems to be indirectly addressing a person explaining what it does.]

So, this device is a means of conveying instantaneous information? I had heard such tales as possible, but could never scarce believe I would see such a marvel. Aside from Marach’s toad, surely.

[Her eyes narrow a bit and she begins talking into it as though it were a horn.]

Ah… if any should hear this, I would like for you to respond in kind. Though I have no reason to doubt the veracity of my guide’s claims, it would be very much to my benefit to bear witness to this marvel’s ability to transmit another’s visage. Surely were such a means common in Ivalice, the stratagems of the battlefield would greatly benefit.

[There’s a pause as the knight appears to be watching for any signs of life. After getting some, or perhaps because the thought had occurred, she decided to add.]

I have also heard that dissidents have brought war to the people of this city. I would like to speak with the commander in charge of administrating peace in order to assess how he plans on preparing the city and what other benefit I may be to their aid.

That will be all. For now.

Third-Person

The final blow was struck. The world was coming to an end. With the final demon destroy, the battlefield and debris of airships from the old world began to crumble. Agrias watched as Ramza leapt for his sister Alma, and understood. After all, though this was a battle to destroy the source of the demon’s power, more than anything the endeavor was in order for the boy to claim the one slip of happiness that remained in his world. Through all the trials that they had been through together, Agrias could not find it in her heart to chastise this one moment of selfishness. He deserved it.

Yet as the ship began to buckle, capsizing under its own weight. Agrias knew that there was more to come. No sooner did she have that thought that the ship began to explode with malicious magic, as the final demon had sought to kill everyone else along with it. Agrias ran to try to grab hold of Lucia before being flung into the air herself. The final blow was struck. All became dark.

When the knight’s eyes opened again, she was surprised not to be ascending to the gates of paradise, but rather another room not unlike the hidden alcoves underneath the Galbados monastery. She made a quick mental task of determining her physical condition, twitching her arms and feet before checking to see if she was still armed. Curiously, the only sign of discomfort was from the arm that she had been resting on this entire time, as it had fallen asleep. Realizing that she was in good health, she took a few steps out of the chamber and peered around. Much to her surprise, a face and voice appeared to address where she was.

“To what business have you to bring me to this place?” She demanded. However, the voice continued on with its pre-recorded message. Unknown to the woman that it would not answer her queries. Agrias found that very rude indeed, though the message was helpful. As she glanced within the chamber doors, she started to wonder if anyone else had made it safely. Much further back she also wondered if perhaps this would be a place that was safe from the heresy examiners and other followers of the church. The gods knew that they had made an enemy of much of Ivalice in their pursuit of what was good.

And she’d do it again, here, were the cause noble and just.