Gunther Barkhorn

Gunther Barkhorn (バルクホルン), also known under his alias as Roaring Lion, was a knight of the Gralsritter of the Septian Church and occupied the seat of 8th Dominion.

Appearance
Barkhorn is an elder man with stark white hair, moustache and a beard. He has amber eyes. He wears a Gralsritter Knight uniform of dark crimson consisting of a grey shirt, black waist coat with long tails, short sleeve jacket and white boots. A medallion hangs around his neck and he has several belts on his person.

Personality
His quirky sense of humour stems from the hidden quest "Absentee Father" in, where he had Class VII desperately pursue him in their Courageous. Unbeknown to them, he was using the Merkabah.

Background
As one of the twelve Dominions, Barkhorn ranks among the elite of the Gralsritter. He was the oldest Dominion in duty until his "death".

Barkhorn and a Squire were requested to investigate the Salt Pale incident in North Ambria in S.1178.

Before S.1203, Barkhorn took a hidden disciple named Van Arkride, teaching him "proper" martial arts. He never stopped Van from becoming a Spriggan, either. Van later discovered that, during a conflict between Erebonia and Calvard, Barkhorn died after being involved in a certain incident in the Nord Highlands. After his "death", he took the name Bergard Zeman and wandered for about three years of East Zemuria until he reunited with Van in S.1208.

Part of Barkhorn's duties consist of weekly visits to the Nord Highlands and holding a Sunday School for the children of the Nomadic Settlement. In, Gaius Worzel remembers how Barkhorn's teachings educated him about Zemurian history, warfare and the Orbal Revolution.

During the hidden quest "Absentee Father" in the Finale of, Class VII had to chase a travelling priest all throughout Eastern Erebonia. However, each time they come close to finding him, they find that he has left each church before the party is able to arrive. Ultimately, the party is handed a letter that makes Gaius realise that the priest was his former mentor from the Septian Church, Barkhorn whom Sara Valestein recognises by his alias. Here is an excerpt of the letter:

Greetings, students of Class VII.

You have my apologies for not taking the time to speak to you after you've come all this way in pursuit of me. I did very much enjoy our little game, however.

While it may not have been able to catch up in the end, that Courageous of yours is quite an impressive ship. I hope you'll make good use of it in the future.

I also hear that you are working to improve the lives of this country's people and better the current situation. An honorable goal, if I may say so.

This is an old nation, but change is always possible. With youngsters like all of you striving to improve it, it may have a bright future indeed.

Regardless, I will now be departing for western Erebonia. These are dangerous times, and I have duties as a clergyman to fulfill--and fulfill them I shall.

Good luck to all of you in the future, wherever your travels may lead you.

- Barkhorn, the traveling priest If Gaius is active in the party, the following is added:

"P.S. I was pleased to hear that you're still well, Gaius. Say we meet again one day under the beautiful skies of Nord." The following P.S. is added to all party formations:

While it was not my intention, I seem to have caused a lot of concern to poor Father Paulo. Please do pass on to him that I'm alive and well.

I also seem to have wasted quite a lot of your time by making you pursue me from place to place. It's not much, but please accept the attached as an apology.

During the Erebonian Civil War, Barkhorn was operational in the western half of Erebonia. After the civil war concluded, he noticed that Gaius was worried about the war situation between Erebonia and Calvard and decided to visit him in Nord Highlands. Gaius explained to him he had a bad feeling based on the destructive wind blowing across the highlands.

Immediately thereafter, a Republic aircraft broke through the 7th Armored Divison's line of defense and attacked the nomadic settlement, Gaius' home. Barkhorn suffered a mortal wound as he protected his pupil. With his dying breath, he bestowed his stigma upon Gaius, passing down the position of Dominion No. 8 to his faithful pupil.

Barkhorn survived the attack, having faked his death to allow all of his disciples to grow without being bound by the Gralsritter's name and "large shadow". He returned to Calvard in S.1208 and met with Van. Under the name Bergard Zeman, he joins the Arkride Solutions Office.

Following Almata being taken out by Spriggan, he temporarily left Arkride Solutions Office for the holidays and returned to Arteria and reunited with most of the other Dominions after they realized he was alive.

Trivia

 * To honour his teacher, Gaius adopted Barkhorn's red ribbon bound ponytail.
 * The name Barkhorn may be a reference to the Nazi Luftwaffe pilot Gerhard Barkhorn or an alteration of the Mongolian name Borkhuu.