Ernst

Ernst (エルンスト, Erunsuto) is a supporting character in Suikoden V. Ernst is a young man who was transformed into a leopard by a powerful rune.

History
Ernst was a young boy who came across the Beast Rune in some ruins and was transformed into a leopard by its curse. Accompanied by his childhood friend, Norma, they sought a powerful magician to remove his curse, eventually arriving in the Queendom of Falena. He would help he and Norma earn potch by performing tricks, using his human intelligence to impress onlookers.

Eventually, the two would come across Levi, a mage who believed he could, in time, remove the curse affecting Ernst. Thus, Ernst and Norma would join the Imperial City Recapture Army in order to stay close to Levi.

Although Ernst was normally always in leopard form, during the full moon the rune's power was apparently weakened enough for him to resume human form a single night. Ernst had quite a sweet tooth so as he could not taste it in leopard form, he would use these nights to binge on sweet foods. He could repress his curse for short bursts of time in battle, allowing him access to the rune's powers.

Following the Sun Rune War, Ernst would bring Levi and Norma back to the Kingdom of Zelant to find clues as to the rune's curse in the ruins where Ernst originally discovered it.