Elenor Silverberg

Elenor Silverberg (エレノア・シルバーバーグ, Erenoa Shirubābāgu) is a major character in Suikoden IV. Elenor is a deeply troubled master strategist exiled from the Scarlet Moon Empire.

Isolated by her own choice on the abandoned Hermitage Island, Elenor would spend years drinking herself into a stupor only to be roused by the possibility of finding the answers to the questions that had plagued her since her expulsion.

Appearance
Elenor was a woman of average height, thin and gaunt with sallow skin and brown eyes. Her hair was also brown, and unkempt in style and showed signs of recession around the scalp and temples. Only a very loose ponytail, kept in place by a green bow, kept her long hair in check.

Clothing wise, she dressed in all black. A black coat, complete with a black scarf wrapped around her neck and shoulders, covered her dark vestments and she also wore a pair of black trousers. The only splashes of color came from the off-color white bits of trim on her clothing. Her boots were similarly black. She was also rarely seen without a bottle of liquor in her right hand.

Personality
As a master strategist of the Silverberg family, Elenor had no little sense of esteem for her own tactical skills. However, in many ways she despised her talents, finding herself disheartened by the decisions she had to make as a military strategist and leader. Her inability to reconcile the pragmatism of war with her personal compassionate nature brought her much grief.

Elenor was also consumed with regret and guilt over the expulsion of Graham Cray. As Cray had adamantly refused to explain his actions, Elenor would end up ruminating on the incident that led to their expulsion again and again over the years. It was partly this drive for an answer that led her to eventually become the chief strategist of the Allied Forces.

These two aspects of her personality pushed Elenor into a life of drinking. Kika herself would describe Elenor as a troubled woman and because of this seemed reluctant to involve her in the Island Liberation War initially despite the respect she held for Elenor's capabilities.

History
"Humph. I've always said... People are better when they're simple."

- Elenor Silverberg

Elenor Silverberg was an esteemed tactician and one of the famous Silverberg line of tacticians. She had served the Scarlet Moon Empire in the past and had won great fame and renown with her service. As a strategist of the Empire, she had worked to repel attacks from the Kooluk Empire.

However, her service would come to a halt when the involvement of her subordinate, Graham Cray, in the Man-Hunting Incident led her to be expelled from the Empire. As she had high hopes for Cray, this incident hit her harder than it otherwise would have.

Following this, she moved to the isolated Hermitage Island where she became a recluse, giving herself to excessive drinking. Her understudy, Agnes, would serve sake to her silently as she ruminated over the past. She would meet Kika at some point with the two having a relationship of mutual respect.

Several years later, Kika would refer the crew of the Headquarters Ship to Elenor but not before noting that Elenor had her own problems and that she may not choose to help them repel the Kooluk forces. Upon arriving, the crew were drugged by Agnes on Elenor's orders. She would then learn from the group that Graham Cray was behind the Kooluk Empire's Southern Expansion Policy and its invasion of the Island Nations.

Her interest piqued, she had the hero collect a restorative for the sleeping drug and a Silverberg crest to prove his dedication. Wishing to correct her student, who had changed so much in countenance since the incident that led to their expulsion, as well as to discover his motives, she would agree to serve as the tactician of the Allied Forces.

Her influence on the Island Liberation War was insurmountable. Under her direction, the various islands of the region were able to unite into a single force, capable of liberating the Kingdom of Obel from the Kooluk. Holding a keen strategic mind, Elenor agreed with Lino En Kuldes' plans to duel the hero so that the youth may be made leader in order to provide a single talisman for the fledgling force.

She would spend time with both Lino and Kika throughout the war, the three forming something of a high-ranking triumvirate in the naval forces. She respected both Lino and Kika's differing, but effective examples of leadership and their support of the hero would prove vital.

As a tactician, she was ruthless. She was more than willing to exploit the hero's Rune of Punishment in her plans, regardless of the damage it might have caused to him or the surrounding area, such as when she had the hero use the rune on the flaming ships sent by Cray to ram their navy. However, contrary to that, outside of battle she was a very kind-hearted woman who cared for her colleagues and tried to ensure their safety.

Following the liberation of Obel, she would try and interrogate Colton but quickly dismissed him as a lost cause due to his conviction. As the war continued, she would reveal her history with Cray to the hero and how she continued to try and piece together his motivations to what seemed to be a senseless attack.

In the lead up to the final battle, she would use her contacts and connections in the Scarlet Moon Empire to prompt an incursion on Kooluk's northern border, forcing resources to be diverted from the southern war. She would lead the infiltration team at El-Eal Fortress, shutting down its giant Rune Cannon and allowing the navy to advance on the fortress.

After the fall of El-Eal, Elenor attempted to escape the crumbling fortress safely but was stopped by Graham Cray. Cray would rebuff Elenor's attempts at discerning his motivations, dismissing humans as the fools of the world, prompting the strategist to declare she would have to train Cray again from scratch. As the two conversed, the fortress continued to collapse around them.

Elenor was not seen since then, although Agnes continued to maintain her residence on Hermitage Island in anticipation of her return.

Trivia

 * Elenor holds a preference towards wines from Kanakan.
 * Elenor is the earliest known female Silverberg, pre-dating Odessa by almost 200 years. She is also the oldest known Silverberg that has made an appearance in a game. Julian Silverberg, the first Silverberg strategist ever known, never appeared outside of publications.