Hugo (Suikoden III)

Hugo (ヒューゴ, Hyūgo) is one of the protagonists of Suikoden III. He is a young warrior of the Karaya Clan whose search for the Flame Champion helps him to realise his own potential as a hero.

History
"The only son of Lucia, the Karaya Chief. He is an energetic youth accompanied by his steed, a griffon named Fubar."

- Hugo's profile

Hugo is the only son of Lucia, chief of the Karaya Clan. He is said to have inherited the martial prowess of his mother and was one of the best horse riders in the Karaya Village. He was born shortly after the conclusion of the Dunan Unification War. He has been friends with his griffin, Fubar, since he was four years old and was tutored in fighting by Sgt. Joe.

Just prior to the outbreak of the War of the Champions, Hugo was sent to Vinay del Zexay as a peace envoy perceeding talks between the Six Clans and the Zexen Federation. Shortly after this, war broke out and Hugo rushed back to Karaya only to find it ablaze, attacked by the Zexen Knights. There, his best friend Lulu was killed by Chris Lightfellow.

Following this, he began to track down the legendary Flame Champion before rejoining Lucia and the survivors of the Karaya at the Great Hollow. Tracking the trail of the Flame Champion to Budehuc Castle and Chisha Village, Hugo began to desire to become stronger, in order to protect what was important to him.

Finally, after reaching the Flame Champion's Hideaway, Hugo would inherit the True Fire Rune, the rune of the Flame Champion. Although he managed to thwart the attempts of Luc to capture the rune, Harmonian forces would soon start searching for the rune, beginning a massive invasion of the Grassland.

Unable to repel the Harmonian forces, both Grassland and Zexen forces began to fall back under Hugo was able to unite the disparate forces under the banner of the Fire Bringer as successor to the Flame Champion. Based at Budehuc Castle, this new Fire Bringer would successfully stave off Harmonian invasion.

The true threat, however, was Luc, who managed to take not only Hugo's True Fire Rune but the True Runes of both Geddoe and Chris Lightfellow as well. Sasarai was able to inform Hugo of Luc's plan to destroy his own True Wind Rune, which would potentially annihilate the Grassland and gave his location at the Ceremonial Site. This site would be the location of a final, all-out battle where Luc would be defeated, and Hugo would reclaim his rune.

Following the war, Hugo, who had grown from a boy into a true leader through his many trials and experiences, would succeed Lucia as leader of the Karaya Clan. While working to rebuild the Karaya Village, he would strive to form a bond of friendship between the Karaya, Zexen and Harmonia.

Trivia

 * Hugo's weapon upgrades as Kwan, Gwanga, Luft. Luft is German for air, the origin of the first two names is unknown.
 * Hugo does not get a traditional unite attack, but if paired with Fubar they will act as a mounted unit in battle.
 * Both the licensed Suikoden III manga and the Genso Suikoden Kiwami Encyclopedia state that Hugo inherited the True Fire Rune.
 * Hugo is self-conscious about his height and sometimes hung from his windowsill at Budehuc Castle in a desperate attempt to grow taller.
 * If Belle is recruited during Hugo's Chapters, the scene plays out differently. She seems to have immediately developed a crush on him, and this affection will continue through letters if he is selected as Flame Champion. She acts shyly if you speak to her as Hugo, and she will confess her feelings toward him to Koroku.
 * Hugo is the only one of the three possible Flame Champions to be able to use all three of the True Runes available among them. Naturally if selected for Champion he will bear the True Fire Rune, if Chris Lightfellow is selected he will instead bear the True Water Rune, finally, if Geddoe is selected, then the True Lightning Rune will pass to Hugo, as Geddoe cannot use more than one True Rune.
 * Even though fans and publications favor him as the new Flame Champion, he doesn't have the highest Fire Magic skill of all three candidates: His skill maxes out at B, while Geddoe can achieve a B+.