Shem

= Introduction = A fencing student under Luqman who sometimes trained together with Zion, which he considered an younger brother. In reality he's the prince of Beolf, a country which was deemed pagan by the Mithra Orthodox Church and then destroyed by the Federation. To protect himself he cowardly begged Mithra for his life. Someday, his sister Makhaira, princess of Beolf, reappeared, but even when disguising her as dancer they lived in fear of being discovered. So he searches for a great power to enable him to reestablish his kingdom.

= Name =

Name Etymology
= Biography =

Shem was ordered on a secret mission by the Federation to reclaim the final weapons of the ancient Suluktan civilization. He spectacularly completed the mission in less than a year, stealing the weapons from the town of Zigrad where they were hidden but refused orders to return.

The ark carrying the loot was hit by lightning in the stormy sea and became stranded. Shem then ordered the thief Lucius to steal animals from the Rikukaba ranch to allow them to carry the weapons by land, making Zion, Tiana and Luqman to pursue his group. During the pursuit the heroes capture Makhaira and when Tiana takes her aside for further interrogation, Shem appears and kills her for recognizing Makhaira as the Beolf princess. This makes Zion vow for vengeance, giving him the resolve he needed to continue on his quest.

Eventually the heroes, the Federation and the Neo Empire catch up with the Archdemon and Shem in desperation to save his sister activates the weapon which instantly vaporizes 3 mountains. Then, to stop the runaway weapon, one of the Zigrad maidens has to sacrifice herself to act as a substitute for the Alhazard which was the core of the Archdemon. The weapon becomes the World Tree which carries the soul of the sacrificed maiden. Shem flees but still wants to use the Archangel to resurrect his country.

He eventually comes across surviving Beolf soldiers and bolsters his forces with their numbers to face Zion's group which has reached the Archangel. Shem is defeated by Zion and asks him to deliver the coup de grâce, however the player can choose to forgive Shem or not. If Shem is not forgiven, Makhaira acts on impulse and asks Zion to exchange her life for her brother's, jumping from a cliff to her death while Shem jumps after her. If Shem is forgiven, Luqman tells him to rebuild his country to which the brothers agree and leave.

Shem reappears after scenario 16 ends to aid Zion. If Makhaira survived, they both appear, guided by a flower of the World Tree, to help in the final battle after the World Tree returned the Langrisser to Zion. If Makhaira died, he appears and throws the Langrisser to Zion. In both cases he also brings mercenaries to help in the counterattack. After the final boss is defeated, Shem escapes with the rest of the heroes from the collapsing Archangel.

Endings
Route A&B, if Makhaira survived “When it's all over, the siblings Shem and Makhaira disappeared to somewhere. Eventually a new country called Beolf was born in the same place, but no one knows if it's their country.”

Route A, if Makhaira died Luqman asks why Shem was in place like this, because he was worried about him since he was suddenly gone. Shem says to his teacher that he certainly thought about dying but that is not yet allowed to him, who needs to atone for the sins he realized he committed only after his sister died. Luqman then asks Shem to cooperate with him, since Luqman is forming a group to protect the peace. Just then, Lutemia arrives flying and Shem comments that he can see a true angel while reminiscing of Makhaira.

Route B, if Makhaira died Shem asks the World Tree what he should do to atone for the inexpiable sins that he realized he committed only after his sister died. The Tree replies that since he wants punishment he should find a place to carry a heavy burden, being unable to die until he completes that mission. The Tree then gives the name Verethragna, the one who searches for destiny, to the reincarnated Shem.

= Relationships =