Zerase

Zerase (ゼラセ, Zerase) is a major character in Suikoden V. Zerase is a supremely powerful magician and bearer of the unique Star Rune.

Biography
Zeras is a mysterious magician with intimate knowledge of the three runes of Falena, the Night Rune, as well as the Sindar civilisation. She is also the bearer of the Star Rune, a rune born from the Night Rune, which was stated by Levi to be a unique, one-of-a-kind rune, like the Dawn Rune itself.

Appearances in Rainwall
Zerase first appeared to the Prince and Lymsleia at the East Palace, where the Dawn Rune had been housed prior to the Lordlake riots. Demanding to know if the rune had been found, Zerase chided Falena for its incompetence, much to Lymsleia's anger, before disappearing. She would not be seen again until the Prince and his party had fled to Rainwall, following the Queen's Assassination. She was seen in Rainwall, apparently attempting to concentrate on something and later, when the Prince uncovered the Dawn Rune in the Barows' mansion, Zerase appeared once more, remarking that the Prince had better live up to the expectations of the rune, or she would kill him.

The Twilight Rune and Alenia
As the Sun Rune War began, the Sindar ruins at Ceras Lake had been uncovered and chosen as the headquarters of the Imperial City Recapture Army, Zerase appeared following the vision shown in the sealed room at the top of the ruins. Stating that she would answer no questions about the Sindar or the Dawn Rune (a statement which irked Lorelai and Zweig to great length), she did agree to oversee the Prince's handling of the rune, thus joining the Recapture Army as a powerful magician.

During the siege of Doraat, when it was revealed that Alenia had become the bearer of the Twilight Rune, Zerase angrily accompanied the Prince in order to force its removal from its bearer, whom she considered unworthy. After defeating Alenia in battle, she tried to remove the Twilight Rune, which Alenia was rapidly losing control of, but failed when Dolph interceded, escaping with Alenia before Zerase could extract the rune. Following the siege, she also had a short conversation with Jeane, whom she seemed to be familiar with.

Following the siege, Zerase returned to the sealed room, refusing to reveal any more information on the Twilight Rune before Leknaat appeared. The two seemed to be highly familar with each other, Zerase noting that Leknaat was telling her to continue to aid the Prince in her own mysterious way. Leknaat referred to Zerase as "Traveller of the stars", a title she later rejected.

She would assist the Prince in the New Queen's Campaign, fighting alongside Roy in order to challenge Alenia again in battle. Although Alenia was once again defeated, Zerase did not get a chance to take the Twilight Rune from her. However, despite a slight increase in her willingness to help, she was as cryptic as ever, refusing to reveal more about the nature of the runes even when it may have proved valuable in saving Lyon's life. Luckily, despite her inaction, Lyon was eventually saved.

Conflict with Sialeeds
In the latter stages of the war, during the siege of Stormfist, she realised that someone else must have equipped the Twilight Rune, someone actually chosen by the rune, when she saw the difference in power between its use in Doraat and its use in Stormfist, and so she accompanied the Prince and his companions in their infiltration of the city. She helped fight against Sialeeds, the new bearer of the rune, but was unable to persuade her to remove it.

She later got her one-on-one confrontation with Sialeeds at the Sol Falena Dam, her Star Rune clashing with Sialeed's Twilight Rune. However, her rune was not powerful enough to overcome the mastered Twilight Rune. Frustrated she remarked that she needed the Rune of the Night in order to overcome the rune's power. However, Sialeeds was soon defeated by the Prince and his companions and it was Zerase's knowledge of the Dawn and Twilight Runes that allowed the Prince and Sialeeds to cancel out the effects of the Sun Rune, used by the Godwins in a final attempt to destroy the rebel forces.

After the War
Following the final defeat of Marscal Godwin and the Sun Rune Incarnation, Zerase oversaw the return of the Sun Rune to the Sun Palace. As soon as the task was complete, Zerase vanished, her wish to ensure the return of the three runes of Falena successful, and was never seen again.