Jowy Atreides

Jowy Atreides (ジョウイ ・アトレイド, Joui Atoreido) is a major character and antagonist in Suikoden II who also appears in both Genso Suikogaiden Volume 1 and Genso Suikogaiden Volume 2. An adopted noble who manages to rise from exile to monarch, Jowy Atreides is the bearer of the Black Sword Rune, one half of the Rune of Beginning.

The Early Days
"If we make it.....but...somehow get separated....Let's return to this spot. That way we'll be reunited. Promise me....Riou....."

- Jowy Atreides

Jowy was not an Atreides by birth, but rather the result of a previous relation his mother, Rosa, had before marrying Marcel Atreides. As such, Jowy was never fully accepted as a family member by his stepfather or stepbrother. Despite this, Jowy had a relatively happy childhood thanks to his friends Riou and Nanami. Young Jowy also held a crush for the young Princess Jillia Blight.

Jowy entered the Highland Army's youth division, the Unicorn Brigade, along with Riou, and was eventually assigned to Tenzan Pass following the truce between Highland and Jowston. Following the massacre of the Unicorn Brigade by Luca Blight, Jowy washed up in Jowston and was rescued in Toto by Joanna, Marx and Pilika. He then went to rescue Riou who was being held by Viktor and Flik but ended up being captured as well.

Eventually, the duo escaped and returned to Kyaro only to be captured by Rowd and sentenced to be executed as spies. Luckily, they, along with Nanami and Mukumuku were rescued by Viktor and Flik. Jowy ended up working alongside Viktor's mercenary force and aided Jowston in their struggle against Highland. Following the destruction of East Muse, Jowy received the Black Sword Rune, half of the Rune of Beginning, in Toto, while Riou gained the Bright Shield Rune.

A New Path
"Yes, I've got a reason to bear that burden...and I will."

- Jowy Atreides

When confronted with the lack of unity and constant infighting between the individual City-States of Jowston, Jowy felt that it would be unable to repel Highland and he began to feel that the only way to save the City-State would be to destroy Highland from within. And so, on an infiltration mission near the Highland border, Jowy was captured and decided to work under Luca Blight. Upon returning to Muse, seemingly to rejoin with Riou and Nanami, Jowy assassinated the mayor of Muse, Anabelle, and fled.

Following Solon Jhee's execution, Jowy volunteered to command the Highland siege on Greenhill City and after achieving success, requested the hand of Jillia Blight in marriage. He won Luca's trust by planning a foolproof assassination of Agares Blight, thus giving Luca the throne.

But Luca's kingship did not last long. Conspiring with Leon Silverberg, and having the support of Culgan and Seed among others, Jowy cooperated with the New State Army, under the command of Riou, to murder Luca, thus propelling Jowy to the throne after his marriage to Jillia. At this point, however, Jowy felt that any attempt at peace would be futile with tempers raging between the citizens of both nations and so made it his goal to unite the Dunan region under the flag of one nation in order to bring peace.

The End of an Era
"It's what I always hoped for, and I want to believe I'm brave enough to accept fate."

- Jowy Atreides

Although aided by Leon Silverberg, Jowy gradually began to lose ground during the war, partly because he found himself unable to execute some of Leon's more ruthless tactics and also because his body was weakened by the Black Sword Rune, which he was using to restrain the power of the Beast Rune that Luca had sought to unlock. Eventually pushed back beyond its pre-war borders, the Highland Army made one final stand at L'Renouille before being defeated. After securing the safety of Jillia and Pilika by making a residence for them in Harmonia, Jowy escaped to Tenzan Pass where he awaited Riou and prepared to fight him in one final battle.

Reconciliation
"This is where our journey began. You and I walked along the same path for so long together but this is where they began to diverge..."

- Jowy Atreides

Riou, however, refused to fight, and took several harsh blows from Jowy before the latter collapsed, dying from his overuse of his Black Sword Rune. Fortuitously, Leknaat appeared and used the power of the Stars of Destiny to heal Jowy's body. Finally the long conflict between the two friends had come to a resolution. The two returned to Kyaro where they were reunited with Nanami, who both Jowy and Riou thought had perished at Rockaxe. With the three best friends reunited at last, the group set off on a journey to see the world.

Trivia

 * In Greek mythology, the "Atreides" are the descendants of Atree "Fearless". The name Atreides designated thus Menelas and Agamemnon.
 * Jowy wields a Star Staff during his tenure in your group. The second and third levels of his weapon, the Heaven Staff and Heavenly Star Staff, can only be obtained through some sort of game-hack. Jowy departs long before his weapon can be modified that high, and when he makes one more return appearance later in the game, he is using an unnamed sword.
 * Jowy's name is misspelled as "Joei" at some point in conversations by both Pilika and Nanami later in the game.