Eilie

Eilie (アイリ, Airi) is a character in Suikoden II who also appears in Genso Suikogaiden Vol.2. She is part of a circus group along with Rina and Bolgan.

History
"Bolgan likes Riou, but Eilie.... she LOVES Riou."

- Bolgan

Eilie is a part of a travelling group of circus performers along with Rina and Bolgan. When she was a child, her parents were killed by thieves, leaving her sister, Rina as her only family. The two had traveled ever since, leaving the Grassland behind.

Eilie performed as a knife thrower, having perfected the basics she had learned from her parents, and was said to possess considerable skill with them, both as a performer and a fighter. The group would perform as part of a circus for a time, which was where they first met Bolgan.

Eilie and her travelling group first encountered Genkaku's grandson while performing in Ryube Village when Eilie selected the hero as part of her act. After the performance, Eilie, Rina, and Bolgan travelled with him and Jowy to the Highland Kingdom.

However, business proved poor in Highland and the trio quickly moved back to the City-State of Jowston. They would end up stranded in Coronet Town following the fall of Muse City. The troupe would meet the hero's group again while waiting for an opportunity to travel to South Window Principality.

Here Rina would first reveal Eilie's crush on the hero, pointedly asking if Nanami was his girlfriend, then exclaiming her delight for Eilie when their sibling relationship was revealed, much to her flustered irritation.

After being reunited, Eilie followed him to South Window City, becoming part of the New State Army. Eilie expressed great concern during the Dunan Unification War and did her best to cheer him on. Her feelings for the New State Army leader continued to deepen but she was unable to express her feelings, partly due to her sister complex.

Having known the hero since his travels with Jowy and Nanami, Eilie was all too aware of the impact the war and the loss of his loved ones was having on him. As such, she was always close by as part of his personal guard and sought to encourage him whenever possible. As Jowy was a one-time traveling companion, she also had mixed feelings about fighting him and asked the hero not to see him merely as an enemy.

As the end of the war approached, Rina wondered what her and her troupe would do afterwards. Eilie understood that they would return to their nomadic lifestyle, but knew it would be painful to leave the hero, wanting to stay with him. Following the end of the war, Eilie returned to her life as travelling performer, but often thought of her love, even if she never communicated her feelings to him.

Some time later, in Milit Village, she would help confront and defeat a band of thieves styling themselves as the Fire Bringer with Nash Latkje and her former comrades from the New State Army. In Milit, she also chose Nash as the target of her knife-throwing game, and got the audience excited by intentionally missing the first throw.

Personality and Traits
Although usually labeled as impulsive and despite her role as a performer, Eilie was actually quite shy. Eilie was also said to have a large inferiority complex towards her sister, Rina.

That said, overall she had a refreshing, friendly personality that does not fuss about small details, as well as an inner strength that kept her troubles from seeming insurmountable. Despite the losses she suffered as a child, she did not hold a pessimistic view of the world.