Asad Am Halloran

Asad

Asad
Part I Part II
Name and Aliases
Name	Asad
Name (JP)	アサド
Full Name	Asad Am Halloran
Full Name (JP)	アサド・アム ハロラン
Biological Information
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Birthday	August 17
Fódlan Birthday	17th of the Verdant Moon Imperial Year 1157
Age	24 (pre-timeskip) 30 (post-timeskip)
Relatives	Cuán Am Halloran (Father)  Isra (Mother)
Affiliations
Nationality	Middle East
Hometown	Bajhad
Residence	Garreg Mach Monastery Abyss
Faction(s)	Player-dependant
Occupation(s)	Pirate Captain Merchant
Game Data
Game	Fire Emblem: Three Houses
First Seen	Chapter 3: Mutiny in the Mist
First Joined	Chapter 3: Mutiny in the Mist
First Fought	N/A
Starting Class	Thief
Voice Actors
Japanese	Junichi Suwabe
English	Ian Sinclair (Space Dandy)

Captain Asad Am Halloran, also known as Flannery Drake, Leon Morgan, Ruddock "Ruddy" Rackam, Lev Roberts, and Adam Teach, is a playable character that appears in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. He is a shady merchant who hails from the Middle East, and can be recruited upon finishing his quest in Garland Moon.

Profile

Early Life

Isra was an ordinary bar keep for a tavern in a shady inn in the city of Bajhad, when a handsome stranger waltzes right in, kicks his legs up on the table, and speaks in an accent no one has ever heard. He goes by the name Cuán Am Halloran, and has the fieriest hair Isra has ever seen. He talks her ear off into the early morning, pays with foreign gold, and smiles like he's planning something. 

Well, it turns out that good-for-nothing bastard was planning on ditching her after one wild night of bedding. He disappeared without a trace, leaving Isra with her ire and shame, oh, that, and a baby eight months later. She would've left the baby elsewhere had it not been a son. Of course, any woman wants to have strong healthy boys to carry on their husband's name. The only thing is, she's not married to any man!

It's not hard to know exactly who the father is, when his son has the exact same lion's mane. Though people generally give her the side-eye, Isra adopts a tough, devil-may-care attitude to drive away any wandering eyes and unneeded opinions. Unfortunately, this attitude extends to her son. 

Just like his father, Asad is a troublemaker. He's got a fascination with money and things that sparkle, and he doesn't like to do hard work like his mother. He'd much rather run around causing mischief. Often he'd be berated by Isra, as he liked to lie and steal, and got better and better at getting away with it. Eventually, Isra couldn't handle it anymore, and she sold him for a jug of ale to two men whose looks alone could curdle dairy.

Those men were part of The Scarlet Sails pirate crew, whose captain was none other than Cuán Am Halloran! Though the man had many bastard children around the world, this was his first time meeting one of them. With Asad being the spitting image of his father, there was no mistaking it, this boy is his son! Cuán is in love! In love with the idea of being a father and having a boy to carry on his name! What a blessing to be gifted a child who is exactly like him! Well, almost exactly. His bad habit of lying concerned Cuán, who knew the dangers firsthand. He tried to teach Asad to be more honest. "Dead men tell no tales." Unfortunately, the meaning was lost on Asad, and he took to heart a different message than the one intended.

And so Asad grew up on a pirate ship and spent his entire life on the sea. He learned the tricks of the trade, became a wonderful salesman just like his old man, and developed pride in being a Sail, so much so, that when he learns of his crew's rivalry with the dastardly Blackwater Highlanders, he doesn't care that no one can remember exactly what started the rivalry, only that generations of Sails have fought with generations of Highlanders, and he knew immediately he hated the Highlanders and wished a swift end of their kind!

This rivalry reaches its peak when Cuán attempts to negotiate a temporary truce over a territory of land where both crews fought to stake their claim. Dominance over the desert would mean control over trade routes that they'd sought after for generations. Currently, a new rival crew of land pirates, The Golden War Suns, had cropped up and was threatening both Sails and Highlanders, and they were trying to figure out how to take them out when tragedy strikes. 

They are on the Highlander's ship. As Cuán and Captain Raïs al-Hamid are deliberating, Asad, who is hanging near the back of the room, does not notice his pocket knife slip from its holder and fall through the cracks in the floorboards to the armoury below, where it cuts the rope keeping a cannon in place. Weighted with cannon balls already inside, the cannon falls, and as it does so, the back scrapes the floor below and sparks fly, lighting it. The cannon ball crashes through the floorboards, striking and killing Cuán. An all out war breaks out between the Sails and Highlanders. 

As the battle rages, Asad cuts through Highlanders to get to the armoury below, so that he may find and kill the man who lit the cannon, but all he finds there is his own knife, and when he looks up above him, he sees the crack in the floorboards where he was standing, and realizes it was him who had killed Cuán, not the Highlanders! But it was too late, the battle had already started, so he doesn't tell anyone what he found. It was not hard to avoid detection, after all. The Sails make a getaway on their ship after both crews have suffered heavy casualties.

This isn't the first time peace has failed, but this is the first time the Highlanders go to their enemies to make a truce. What happens in the following years is continuous war between the Sails and the Highlander-Suns Alliance, and they were gaining traction with the popping up of more and more rivals. The Sails had control over the seas long enough! This is when Captain Asad makes a decision. He tells his crew that they need to lay low for a bit, and the perfect place to do that would be in Fódlan, where neither Highlander nor Sun had any influence. The crew splits up into two separate factions. One stays behind in Almyra to keep tabs on the goings on of the Middle East. The other makes their way to Fódlan, and once there, splits into two more, one to stay in the Garreg Mach Monastery, and one to stay in Leicester as a conduit between the monastery and Almyra.

It's just their luck that their rivals catch wind of the Sails' caravan moving across Almyra...

Academy Phase

The player has the opportunity to recruit Asad under the name Leon Morgan after they complete the Arabian Nights quest in Garland Moon. They may recruit him on the map, or if the player completes the quest without speaking to Leon, he may still be recruited later on. However, the player requires high charm stats, and a B level in authority and sword skills, or must achieve B-support with him. Upon finishing the quest, his shop is unlocked. If the player unlocked Abyss, then on their next free day, the player will find Leon's shop in Abyss. If Abyss has not been unlocked, then the player will find Leon's shop in the marketplace.

Since he does not belong to any one faction, he will follow the player in whichever route they choose. His actions at the end of the Academy Phase depend on which House the player character leads.

War Phase

[ spoiler ]

Silver Snow

[ spoiler ]

Crimson Flower

[ spoiler ]

Azure Moon

[ spoiler ]

Verdant Wind

[ spoiler ]

Personality

If there exists a physical manifestation of the word "liar," Asad would be it. It's not just a habit he picked up in his youth, he was born with the gift of a silver tongue, and he doesn't hesitate to charm his way into and out of every situation he possibly can. It comes as easily to him as breathing, he's born of a jackal with the grin of a fox, a chaotic spirit possessing but one goal, to cause mischief and mayhem and sow the seeds of discord amongst brethren. Heed this advice, do not trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. Once he's started on a yarn, he'll go on forever, confusing and confounding the listener until they cannot discern fiction from reality. 

One thing leads to another, and Asad's lying ability led to the creation of all his different personas. His true identity is unknown to anyone apart from his crew, and these contingencies exist to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. After all, you can't be mad at Adam Teach, extraordinary linguist and historian-turned-profiteer, for something that Flannery Drake, treasure hunter and expert navigator, has done! When he gets into character, it's like he's an entirely different person, though few occasions exist where he's been caught in his lie and ended up in twice the trouble. In these cases, he invents new personas on the fly, and convinces his detractors of his noble heart and good intentions, striking up new deals with them at uncanny speed.

In reality, rarely are his intentions innocent. Terribly selfish and self-serving, Asad cares about few things, and of those things, wealth and treasure are at the top. Asad does not do favours for free. This sly bastard is always scheming to screw everyone else over and come out the victor. He's a snake to the end, crafty and strategic and quick-thinking, though he often gives in to vice and impulse, and thus, often his smaller scale plots fall apart, because all one needs is a hefty bribe and a little bit of ale, and Asad can be smooth-talked to hell and back. It's the plans on a grander scale that tend to succeed, and once he's set his mind to these complex schemes, he's obsessed, mind running like clockwork, until he can finish the job.

As skilled as he is, his fatal flaw is how easily it's gone to his head. Asad is arrogant and self-assured, taking great pleasure in patronizing his enemies and manipulating them, but he is not always the smartest person in the room, and he cannot see that. This overconfidence leads to sloppiness, which leads to discovery, and once Asad's lie has been found out, he acts as an animal backed into the corner, prone to making rash decisions to get out of the entrapment. 

Like his father, he is flirtatious and vain. His hair is his most prized possession, and he'll cut the hand of anyone who messes with it. Unfortunately, also like his father, he's had many a tryst with woman and man alike, and he has a handful of children he doesn't know about. Very few of his relationships are real, even fewer are with people he actually trusts. The closest people he has are his crew, and his loyalty to them is such that he'll do anything to keep them safe. He's suspicious of others, slow to trust and assumes the worst of them all. That's how he was raised and it's kept him safe for this long. Only a liar can spot another liar, but it does get a little lonely sometimes. Good thing he can always find a warm body to spend the night.

In Game

Base Stats

Starting Class Crest Thief – Level HP Str Mag Dex Spd Lck Def Res Charm 10 16 7 5 7 10 6 4 9 7 Magic Combat Arts Abilities Starting Items – Wrath Strike Locktouch Steal Materialization Steel Sword Vulnerary

Skill Level D+ E E E+ E E E D E E E Start

Growth Rates

Maximum Stats

Learnt Magic

Overall

Asad's strengths are in his dexterity, speed, and luck stats. He avoids most attacks and lands a sizeable number of critical hits, and typically strikes first and multiple times. He has average movement capability for his class, however he makes up for this with his unique set of magical skills, which grant him an increased range of attack. His weaknesses are in his defense and resilience, and his HP is rather low, meaning that he cannot take many hits. It is dangerous to send him into a group of enemies alone. Asad is best-suited to classes that allow use of swords, such as Thief, Assassin, and Swordmaster, and armoured and mounted classes should be avoided. Asad also shows a budding talent in Reason, and is also suited to the Mortal Savant and Trickster classes.

Supports

See also: Asad/Supports

• Byleth
• Yuri
• Hapi
• Balthus
• Constance
• Claude
• Lysithea
• Dimitri
• Sylvain
• Ashe
• Mercedes
• Caspar
• Dorothea
• Seteth
• Flayn
• Catherine
• Shamir
• Ithric

Quotes

See also: Asad/Quotes

Possible Endings

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Etymology

Asad means "lion" in Arabic. Am Halloran is derived from Irish Ó hAllmhuráin meaning "descendant of Allmhurán". The given name Allmhurán means "stranger from across the sea". He takes on many fake names. The given name typically references "lion," or the colour "red," as of his hair, and the surname typically refers to a famous pirate from the Golden Age of Piracy.

• Flannery is derived from an Irish surname meaning "red valour," and Drake is derived from the famous pirate, Francis Drake. 
• Leon is derived from Greek meaning "lion," and Morgan is derived from the famous pirate, Henry Morgan. 
• The nickname Ruddy means "reddish," and Rackam refers to the famous pirate, "Calico Jack" John Rackam. 
• Lev means "lion" in Russian, and Roberts is taken from the famous pirate, Bartholomew Roberts. 
• Adam can be derived from the Hebrew 'adam meaning "to be red," and Teach refers to the famous pirate, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.
  

The exception to this naming scheme is in Asad's paired endings with Claude and Dorothea, where he takes on the identity of Sinbad al-Bahri ( السندباد البحري‎, Sindibādu al-Baḥriyy, can also be read as Sindbad or Sinbad the Sailor). Sinbad the Sailor is the fictional hero of a collection of stories of Middle Eastern origin. He hails from Baghdad during the early 8th and 9th centuries A.D. The stories tell of his fantastic adventures through his seven voyages, where he encounters monsters and witnesses supernatural phenomena.

Trivia

• Asad's main quote is taken from something his father used to tell him to caution him against lying, however Asad twists the meaning of this saying to caution against saying too much to give oneself away. It is not the act of lying that is dangerous, but being caught in the act.
• Asad can accurately depict a Middle Eastern (Iraqi), Almyran (Iranian), Irish, and British Londoner accent. His natural way of speaking only has a slight accent, which is a mix between Middle Eastern and Irish.
• Asad's hometown is a play on the city of Baghdad, Iraq.
  • This further contributes to the comparisons between Asad and the fictional character of Sinbad the Sailor, who also hailed from Baghdad. Other such comparisons include:
    • Asad is constantly being accidentally abandoned by his crew or shipwrecked. In fact, his luck is downright rotten.
    • Asad is restless when on land too long, and often laments not being able to set sail.
    • Asad wants to live a comfortable, rich life filled with pleasures.
    • Asad is characterized as wily, and has no qualms about stealing from and killing others to survive.
    • In The First Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, Sinbad has exhausted his father's fortune and sets out to repair it. Over his travels, Sinbad makes friends with a King and becomes his trusted advisor, and is then awarded riches for his loyalty and service. This is reflected in Asad's story by his eventual friendship with Byleth, and how power and wealth is returned to the Scarlet Sails through this friendship.
    • In The Second Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, Sinbad is stranded on an island of rocs (mythological birds of prey), attaches himself to one, and is flown over a valley of snakes swimming in a sea of diamonds, where he notices merchants throwing meat to distract the rocs to steal the diamonds they collect from their nest, so he attaches meat to himself and is carried to the roc nest, where he steals all their jewels and is saved by the merchants. This is reflected in Asad's Verdant Wind route if not recruited, where the rocs symbolize the Black Eagles house, and the snakes symbolize Claude, who along with Asad, tricks the Empire forces, leading to their diamonds, or victory. Asad is rewarded handsomely for this.
• He is 5'8 (173 cm), 5'9 (175 cm) with heels.

Gallery

See also: Asad/Gallery