Renefarious

Renefarious (レネフェリアス, Reneferiasu), also known as Renefarious XIII (レネフェリアス13世, Reneferiasu 13-sei) is a major character in Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki. He is the Holy Emperor of the Holy Empire of Ionia.

History
"In any case, it is truly magnificent that you met them suddenly and defeated them without hesitation. Your valor is worthy of praise."

- Renefarious XIII

Renefarious XIII was the reigning Holy Emperor of Ionia in HIY 300. As Holy Emperor, he bore responsibility for the nation's preparations for the centennial monster attacks. Such preparations were, he stated, Ionia's very reason for existing.

The hero, Myra, and Ilia Barcai first met Holy Emperor Renefarious at the Yggdrasilian Palace following their encounter with the centennial monsters. Renefarious took their report with all due seriousness, having his subordinates begin preparations to defends against the monsters, the Teras Pharma. He would also arrange for a duel between the hero and Machia Zaphir, wishing to witness two Blue Flash Style practioners in contest.

In truth, Renefarious was, like Lethe, a Refiant, his body originally recreated some 300 years in the past and reinforced with magic power. He was one of the sages who would help establish the barrier, protecting a small area of land from the world threatening Teras Pharma and enabling him to establish the Holy Empire of Ionia in order to watch over it.

As long as he did not remove himself from proximity to the 300-year-old Era Tree at the Yggdrasilian Palace, time did not flow for him as it did for others, leaving him immortal. Because of this, throughout the history of the empire, he presented his reign as a dynasty. By HIY 100, he was Renefarious IV and married to Astrid, who would come to know of his immortality and by HIY 300, he was presented and known as Renefarious XIII, thirteenth in his line.

As the centuries passed, Renefarious came to believe that the role of people in creating the Teras Pharma and the destruction of the old world proved that there could be no hope for peace and order outside of repressing technology and curiosity completely. Fearing the potential interference of the Stars of Destiny, Renefarious would lead a plan to disperse the Stars through time through the use of the Era Trees.

Even following the destruction of the Teras Pharma by the hero, Renefarious would refuse to disperse the barrier, believing that the rapid accumulation of such land, prosperity and power would only provide the opportunity for the world to repeat its mistakes and bring it to the brink of destruction once more. To keep Ionia's orderly rule intact he would go so far as to engineering an insurgency to keep the people bonded together in fear. This would become the Vermilion Axe.

Renefarious' plans would be threatened when the Company, continuing to research the reasons behind the Teras Pharma and using the Era Trees to unite the Stars of Destiny, gradually uncovered the truth of Renefarious' machinations, including the replenishment of Teras Pharma outside the barrier once their numbers started to thin in the wake of repeated Era Tree usage.

Although Renefarious' inner circle was comprised of those who truly believed in his actions, these revelations turned many outside of the Yggdrasilian Palace against him. Eventually he would be isolated in the Yggdrasilian Palace as the Company marched on Thaksis.

Fighting for the continued isolation and stagnation of the world, he would challenge the hero and his allies to battle, merging with the Era Tree to become a powerful monster himself. Although he realized that he had taken part in a battle against the much like that which devastated the old world, he still believed in his actions and that the world would eventually be lost to despair.

His defeat marked the fall of the barrier and the opening of the world beyond. In HIY 200 and HIY 100, the unravelling of his schemes led to his political power being kept in check by the Starbearers of those time periods in an attempt to prevent his historical atrocities from occuring.