Raven is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. He is one of three servants of That Man, and his right-hand man. With an immortal body that cannot die of natural causes, Raven has lived about a thousand years, and nothing stimulates him anymore, except pain.
Appearance[]
Raven's most defining trait is the silver-colored metal spike driven through his head, which protrudes from his forehead like a horn.
In XX, Raven's skin is a light cold blue, and his long, waist-length hair a medium gray. A ragged vertical scar runs across the right side of his face and eye, which emanates a silver light, and a series of small needle piercings run parallel to the scar. He wears a black body suit with a bird-shaped breastplate and long boots. His shoulders, forearms, and calves are pierced with long needles, and his forearms are loosely wrapped in bandages.
Personality[]
Raven has a mature personality, being stern but also calm and level-headed,that others can calmly communicate with because he isn't swayed by emotions. Although he has good intentions, Raven has grown incredibly jaded with the world, and has lost interest in life, having forgotten what it is like to be a normal "human". Even so, he remains capable of gentleness and empathy. Why he fights for That Man is a mystery, but he agrees with his actions, and his loyalty is absolute. It seems that, in his immortal life overriden by boredom, That Man was able to inspire Raven and offer new stimulation, for which he is extremely grateful.
After living for close to a thousand years, in a constant state of perpetual life, Raven can no longer be moved by any of his five senses. In fact, being in agony and pain have become his only source of pleasure. An unapologetic masochist, the closer Raven comes to death, the more he feels alive, for which he relishes imminent pain with anticipation.
Abilities[]
Raven's weapons of choice are four rings that have long needles affixed to them. Wearing them on the index and middle fingers of both hands, he uses them as if they were claws.
Raven's most defining ability is that he is ageless and undying, and can regenerate his entire body, even if ground into dust, almost instantly. It is unknown if there is anything that can kill him, as piercing his own brain stem did not kill him, and decapitation is likely to be ineffective as well. He postulates in his win quote to Bedman that destroying his soul could be the only viable means to kill him permanently, but is uncertain. Because he has seemingly become desensitized to pain after centuries of many a death and injury, he is able to contort and dislocate his limbs for unpredictable, long-range attacks. He is also seems to be abnormally strong in spite of his lean and seemingly emaciated physique, able to block Sol's attack with only his index and forefinger.
Excelling at combat, due in no small part to his immortality, Raven possesses a variety of abilities at his disposal. He is able to teleport himself and others by dissipating into a cloud of feathers, or simply fade away. He also seems to have a certain mastery over Spatial Deformation magic, beating Faust. Another techniques at his disposal are Slow Field needles, which reduce his opponent's movement speed via time manipulation, summoning crows, and energy orbs. Raven is also well-versed in the art of healing magic, able to heal wounds and illnesses.He has yet to exhibit his full strength as he rarely engages in battles due to his role as an observer and his masochistic nature.
History[]
Past[]
Close to a thousand years ago, Raven was born during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, somewhere in the Kingdom of Germany. He lived a very average middle-class life, until he was enlisted as a soldier in his mid-twenties and sent far away. He became an accomplished knight, waging war in foreign lands, but the campaign quickly became an unsustainable one a little over a year after it had begun. The unit to which he belonged attacked a small village to obtain supplies, but their enemies had planned for it and attacked them in the middle of the night.
Raven woke up and, sensing danger, left his room. Avoiding the enemy soldiers, he fled on horseback but he—and the horse—were struck down by a hail of arrows. Defenseless, he was stabbed to "death" by five soldiers. However, rather than dying, he found himself in a strange cylindrical space, as if caged with birds of prey, and felt immeasurable pain. After a few minutes, the pain abruptly ended, and he woke up in a pool of his own blood. Somehow alive, his wounds had closed, leaving faint scars. His aging halted on this first recovery from death, Raven thus began his infinite circle of death and life.
At some point, Raven settled in a village and started using his powers to help people, at times healing the sick and wounded, and at other times overthrowing tyrants. For these deeds he was punished and even executed, but his many returns were celebrated as miracles, and they began to view him as a god. As word of his deeds spread, outsiders sought his aid, and he left the village to help other settlements. When things settled down, he returned to the first village thinking that he would be welcomed back with open arms, but instead found that the villagers blamed him for every problem that occurred during his absence. Raven then realized that he was no god, but a simple repairman to them.
Story[]
Raven is one of three servants of Asuka R. Kreutz, and his right-hand man. He is an immortal from birth, Raven's body will completely regenerate even if it's reduced to ash. He ceased aging at the moment of his first "death," and has lived for over a thousand years. Raven is an immortal who was born in medieval Germany, over a thousand years before the events of Guilty Gear. As a young man he was recruited into an army and became an accomplished knight, waging war in foreign lands. During one campaign he and his allies were cut off from their supply lines and were ultimately ambushed in a night raid. After attempting to flee on horseback he was struck down by a hail of arrows and was then brutally stabbed to death by his enemies.
However, rather than dying, he found himself in a strange "cylindrical space" filled with window-like mirrors. There, he had the sensation of being caged with predatory birds, and felt their stares boring into him, eventually transforming into excruciating pain that pierced every inch of his body until he experienced the maximum amount of pain a human can experience. He awoke in a pool of his own blood to find that all his wounds had healed, wondering if he had been rejected by Valhalla; this was his first "death," and the first manifestation of his immortality. After this point he ceased aging and spent the next thousand years wandering the world, gradually becoming apathetic and tired of living, even attempting to end his own life by driving a specially-designed instrument with spikes on either end through his brain stem. Eventually he met That Man, who gave his life purpose, as a "witness to history."
In Guilty Gear Xrd REVELATOR, Raven is sent by That Man to help Sol and Sin rescue Elphelt by recovering Jack-O', so that she can take her place as the vessel for Justice. When confronted by Sin about That Man's goals, Raven explains that he, I-No, and That Man have grown apathetic due to their unnaturally long lifespans, and wish to prevent mankind from suffering a similar fate by correcting a past mistake. After Sin defeats Jack-O', Raven offers them his gratitude and teleports himself and Jack-O' away. Raven and Jack-O' were watching how the events were developing while waiting for Asuka to return. When the Gear Maker is finally back he send Raven to Sin and Ramlethal's location while he went with Jack-O' to Illyria Castle.
In the final battle when Sol-Badguy was trying hard to stabilize Justice and was at Ariels mercy, Raven showed up alongside Ramlethal who could stabilize Justice so Sol can fight against her. Ramlethal had her left arm and leg bandaged meaning that Raven not only saved her from death but he also healed her.
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 Heroes
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