Graham Cray

グレアム・クレイ Gureamu Kurei

Artwork by Kawano Junko

Physical Information

Race

Human

Gender

Male

Birth Date

SY c.262^[1]

Age

45 (S4)

Height

185cm (6'1") (S4)

Biographical Information

Family

One unnamed son

Meta Information

Japanese Voice

Nakata Kazuhiro (S4)

Appearances

Suikoden IV

Graham Cray (グレアム・クレイ, Gureamu Kurei) is the primary antagonist of Suikoden IV. Cray is a former strategist of the Scarlet Moon Empire now working to further the Kooluk Empire's Southern Expansion Policy for his own ends.

History

The islands, your lives, you exist only to fulfil our destiny.

— Graham Cray

Scarlet Moon Strategist

Graham Cray served in the Scarlet Moon Empire, where he acted as an aide to Elenor Silverberg. At some point, he inherited the Rune of Punishment and, desperate to rid himself of the rune’s cursed influence, severed his left arm, later replacing it with a prosthetic. The Rune of Punishment then chose Cray’s young son as its next host.

Cray attempted to keep his son’s affliction under control, but during the Man-Hunting Incident his border village was attacked. His son perished while using the destructive rune to annihilate the attackers. Cray was held responsible for the incident and exiled from the Scarlet Moon Empire.

With the loss of his son, Graham became obsessed with reclaiming the Rune of Punishment in order to connect with him again through the rune’s curse. He established the sinister Cray Trading Company to expand his information and resource network, eventually becoming known as the feared "Merchant of Death".

In his pursuit of the Rune of Punishment, Cray aligned himself with the Kooluk Empire, supporting their Southern Expansion Policy and instigating the Island Liberation War. He collaborated with the El-Eal Fortress Governor, encouraging him to aid in the search for the True Rune, ostensibly for the emperor to gift to the Harmonians in exchange for military backing.

Cooperation With Kooluk

When Cray’s subordinate, Ramada, reported an encounter with the pirate Brandeau, Cray began planning to track down the rune. Upon confirming its return to the Kingdom of Obel, he ordered Ramada to seize it from the bearer, showing no concern for the potential loss of life.

As a key Kooluk strategist during the war, Cray devised the plans for the giant Rune Cannon at El-Eal and ordered the destruction of Iluya Island’s surface as a demonstration of its power. He dismissed Troy’s efforts throughout the war, openly mocking his title of "Child of the Sea God".

Once entrenched in El-Eal, Cray secretly imprisoned the Governor. Claiming the Governor was ill, he assumed full control of El-Eal Fortress and the war effort. He dispatched the Governor’s own privateer fleet in a suicide strike against the Allied Forces, heavily taxing their strength.

When Cray discovered Ramada’s espionage at El-Eal, he confronted his former spy. Ramada claimed he had gone into deep cover and returned with valuable intelligence on the Rune of Punishment. Unconvinced, Cray shot him with a poison dart from his prosthetic arm and left him for dead in the fortress basement.

Final Defeat

Despite his efforts, the Empire could not overcome the combined forces of the Island Nations, guided by Elenor Silverberg. Cray seemed unaware of his old mentor’s full involvement until she confronted him during her covert mission to disable the Rune Cannon in preparation for the Final Engagement.

He attempted to kill Elenor with a poison dart, but Ramada—who had survived Cray’s earlier attempt on his life—took the dart instead. Elenor’s infiltration team then fought Cray, forcing him to retreat.

After the 1st Kooluk Fleet’s defeat in the final battle, Graham Cray was confronted by the Hero atop El-Eal. He confessed that he sought the Rune of Punishment to immerse himself in its memories and claimed the Island Nations existed only to fulfill his and Kooluk’s destiny. Activating the Giant Tree, he sought to reclaim what he considered rightfully his.

When the Giant Tree was destroyed and the fortress began to collapse, Cray’s ambitions were left unfulfilled. He was last seen amid the crumbling rubble in confrontation with Elenor and was presumed to have perished in the fall of El-Eal Fortress.

Gameplay

Main article: Graham Cray (enemy)

Graham Cray is fought as the penultimate boss of Suikoden IV. He is fought by the player's secondary infiltration team at El-Eal Fortress, meaning the hero and the party chosen to accompany him is not available for this battle.

Cray fights mainly as a physical bruiser and holds a slight susceptibility to physical attacks over magic attacks. He also holds a slightly greater than average resistance to all attack elements, but especially lightning and darkness magic.