Alan Richard

Alan Richard (アラン・リシャール) is introduced as a colonel of the Intelligence Division of the Royal Army of Liberl. He serves as the main antagonist of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC.

Appearance
Richard is a middle-aged man with swept back blonde hair and blue eyes. He dresses in his formal commander uniform consisting of a black version of the normal Liberl green, with brown trousers and dark gray boots. In, he switches to a more civilian white collar-style shirt, red tie and slacks, until he is involved in the game's central incident. Richard uses a katana in battle, kept in a large purple sheath.

Personality
Richard behaves very politely and formally. He is a patriot and believes in supporting his country with all his might. Even his reasons for starting the coup are sympathetic, as these stem from a desire to protect the country he loves so much. He also admires Cassius Bright and esteems him highly.

Background
Richard graduated head of his class from the military academy. He was later assigned to the mobile task force led by Cassius Bright.

As a young officer, Richard was a subordinate of Cassius Bright during the Hundred Days War. Cassius also served as his master in the art of swordsmanship and trained him in the Eight Leaves One Blade style. Richard specialised himself in the fifth form, Morning Moon.

His distinguished service under Colonel Bright was recognised during the Hundred Days War and was appointed to staff of the military operations office after Colonel Bright's retirement.

As a rising star in the army, he was chosen to command the Intelligence Division he himself had suggested to form. It was in this position that he was covertly approached by Georg Weissmann, who preyed on Richard's fears concerning Liberl's safety and his own insecurities as a successor to Cassius, causing him to secretly plot a coup d'etat.

Richard captured the Capua Sky Bandits when they were escaping the bracer group of Estelle and Joshua Bright. The Intelligence Division was secretly supplying and directing the bandits, and Richard arranged to ultimately have them be captured, although the actions of the Bright siblings sped this process up. The positive publicity of the Division's success in working to capture the bandits gave Richard a positive public image.

Under Weissmann's manipulation and with assistance from Leonhardt in his 'Lorence Belgar' guise, Richard arranged for a series of disturbances around Liberl in S.1202 which he used to discredit the Royal Guard and to make himself look like a hero. He also arranged for the house arrest of Queen Alicia and Princess Klaudia and took hostages against the good behavior of General Morgan and other officers.

His coup was ultimately foiled by the Bracer Guild, led by Estelle and Joshua Bright and their companions. Richard, realizing his mistake, attempted to redeem himself by fighting Reverie in order to give them time to escape; however, he was saved by Cassius. Regardless, he was arrested for his role in the coup d'etat, and never forgave himself for his actions.

Richard is brought in to talk to Kanone after her repeated coup attempt in Grancel following the events of the Mad Tea Party. He can get through to her even when the logic and emotions of the others cannot.

Months later, Cassius recognized his genuine patriotism, and as a result, both he and the rest of the Intelligence Division were released to assist in the defense of Grancel against an Ouroboros attack. He arrived with Maximillian Cid to save Alicia and Klaudia from the invading Enforcers.

In S.1203, he accepted a discharge from the army and formed a private investigation company named R&A Research along with Kanone Amalthea. On one occasion, he concludes his investigation for Mirano and starts to wonder about events in the Eastern Quarter of Calvard. A letter sent to him urges him to head to the harbor where an old Intelligence Division subordinate is waiting for him. This subordinate asks him why he has seemingly turned his back on the military and all his values, to which Richard replies he re-evaluated his stance and believe what he is doing, on the civilian front, is the best way to support his country and its people going forward. The subordinate cannot accept his and calls his a traitor, fleeing. In the pouring rain, Kanone, who had realised what was going on, arrives to walk home with him. Richard heads for the Eastern Quarter the next day, but receives a message from Cassius requesting he send intelligence back, to which Richard smiles, says it won't be cheap and departs knowing that he still serves his country.

On another occasion, Richard is brought along by Cassius to help spar with Anelace Elfead as a fellow student of the Eight Leaves One Blade style. he helps her come to a realisation about what it means to wield a sword.

He was one of the sixteen individuals summoned to Phantasma by the Recluse Cube. His patriotism meant that he manifested with his old uniform on, instead of wearing what he had on before arriving. He helps Kevin Graham clear the remaining planes, confronting a copy of Cassius Bright in the Impregnable Fortress in the process.

Orbment

 * -|Trails in the Sky the 3rd=


 * -|Akatsuki=

Trivia

 * While not playable in, Richard is mostly implemented as a playable character in the files.
 * His Combat Orbment, while not featuring any element locks or upgrade costs (though all other upgrade costs follow a pattern and could be calculated), would look like Estelle Bright's, with an order swap that would make an "impossible" orbment where the second line doubles back and crosses itself. The visual for this orbment is Joshua Bright's, however.
 * In, he is alluded to as the Divine Blade's successor.