December 1, 1999Genso Suikoden: Soul Eater 1 (幻想水滸伝 ソウルイーター ⟨上⟩, Gensō Suikoden Souru Ītā Jō lit. Genso Suikoden Soul Eater Beginning) is a book published by Kadokawa Shoten in 1999.
It is the first part of a three-party light novelization of the events of Suikoden. It covers the events of the game from the beginning to Leknaat appearing at Toran Castle and Luc joining the player's ranks.
This was the first work to refer to the hero of the original Suikoden as Tir McDohl, a name that would be used in many subsequent publications and the fandom at large for the character.
Summary
Tir, the only son of Teo McDohl, Great General of the Scarlet Moon Empire, lived a life of luxury. However, when he is assigned to the Imperial Guard and sent to Rockland, Tir sees the dark side of the Scarlet Moon Empire's rule and begins to question the country he trusted. Soon after, his best friend Ted is taken away by the minions of the court magician, Windy. She is after the rumored Soul Eater rune in Ted's hand. Realizing that he could not escape, Ted entrusted the Soul Eater to Tir. Receiving the rune, Tir is now forced to flee the empire, branded as a traitor....
The novelization of the hit game "Suikoden" has finally begun!!
Content list
| Page # | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Chapters | ||
| 15 | 0 - Magician's Island 魔術師の島, Majutsushi no Shima | |
| Leknaat begins her readings for the Astral Predications and is alarmed to discover that the 108 Stars are beginning to gather and that she and Luc will be involved. | ||
| 24 | 1 - Scarlet Moon Empire 赤月帝国, Akatsuki Teikoku | |
| Teo McDohl attends an audience with the emperor and is dispatched to the north. Tir is assigned to the Imperial Guard. That night, the McDohl household host a dinner in both their honors. | ||
| 49 | 2 - Imperial Guard 帝国近衛隊, Teikoku Konoe-tai | |
| Teo departs on his mission, hoping his son will be okay in his absence. Tir is brought down to earth by his new commander, Kraze and he and his entourage depart for Magician's Island with Futch and Black. | ||
| 64 | 3 - Magician's Tower 魔術師の塔, Majutsushi no Tō | |
| Tir's entourage receive the Astral Predications from Leknaat, who feels a connection with Tir. Returning to Gregminster, Kraze dismisses the party and orders them to report back tomorrow for a mission to Rockland. | ||
| 82 | 4 - Rockland ロックランド, Rokkurando | |
| The entourage arrive at Rockland and find it under attack by the Mt. Seifu bandits. Driving Varkas and Sydonia away, they rescue the bandit's captives; Grady and Kanaan. | ||
| 100 | 5 - Chivalrous Bandits of Mt. Seifu 清風義賊, Seifū Gizoku | |
| The entourage (and Kanaan) are brought to Mt. Seifu by Haruna but Kanaan's carelessness causes the group to fall into a trap. Encountering a Queen Ant while trying to find a way out, Ted is forced to reveal the secret of the Soul Eater. Afterwards, the group storms the bandit fortress and defeat Varkas and Sydonia but Tir allows them to leave once he hears of Grady's corruption. | ||
| 132 | 6 - Targeted Rune 狙われた紋章, Nerawareta Monshō | |
| Knowing the truth, Tir releases the bandits. Kanaan is furious and returns to Gregminster with the entourage. There, he dismisses everyone for incompetence except Ted, ordering the boy to accompany him to Commander Kraze. Later, a wounded Ted returns, passing on the Soul Eater to Tir. Pahn leads the Imperial Guard to the McDohl manor. | ||
| 156 | 7 - Escape From the Imperial Capital 帝都脱出, Teito Dasshutsu | |
| Escaping at Ted's behest, Tir, Gremio, and Cleo seek refuge at Marie's inn. They plan to journey north to get Teo's help. Viktor helps them escape the capital and in exchange they agree to a meeting in Lenankamp. | ||
| 172 | 8 - Liberation Army 解放軍, Kaihō-gun | |
| Arriving in Lenankamp, Viktor brings the group to the Toran Liberation Army hideout. Realizing where they are, the tense situation flares into a brief fight before Odessa calms things down. Unwilling to join the Liberation Army, Tir decides to stay in Lenankamp for a time to learn more about these rebels. As Odessa and Tir bond, an imperial raid leads to Odessa's death. | ||
| 204 | 9 - Successor of the Will 遺志を継ぐ者, Ishi o Tsugu Mono | |
| Forced to flee once again, the two seek out Mathiu in Seika. Mathiu turns the group away but relents after they defeat an imperial force sent to conscript him. He reveals that Odessa's will was for Tir to succeed her as leader of the Liberation Army.
Tir's leadership of the early Liberation Army is then recapped up until Leknaat appears and Luc joins. An epilogue shows an assassin reporting on Tir's movements to Windy, who mocks the captured Ted before attaching a Conqueror Rune to him. | ||
Differences from the game
- Tir does not meet Commander Kraze until the day of his first mission.
- Luc does not summon a Clay Doll to fight the party. He simply teleports the entourage into Magician's Tower.
- The entourage begin their mission to Rockland the day after returning from Magician's Island, not immediately upon their return.
- The entourage fight off an attack from the Mt. Seifu bandits upon arriving in Rockland and rescue Kanaan and Grady.
- The entourage are lured into a trap on Mt. Seifu and must escape from the tunnels beneath the mountain, rather than just running through it as a normal dungeon.
- Learning the truth of Grady's corruption, Tir releases the captured bandits before they are taken into custody.
- The Keyaki Inn is not searched by imperial soldiers and it is Viktor who takes the entourage to the Liberation Army hideout, not Odessa.
- Odessa's Sarady speech to Tir is moved to the Lenankamp hideout. Rescuing Varkas and Sydonia and the journey to Sarady are completely omitted.
- An imperial raid occurs during Odessa and Tir's discussion, leading to her death when she takes an arrow for Tir.
- The events at the Fortress of Garan are referred to but not depicted.
- Early game events as the leader of the Liberation Army such as recruiting Lepant, the return of Pahn, etc. are briefly summarized.
- Windy's assassin merely spies on Tir's movements, not attack him.
- An epilogue shows a captured Ted being implanted with the Conqueror Rune by Windy.