Oliver

Collector of Beauty
Oliver
Species	Beorc
Class	FE 9 Bishop FE 10 Saint
Affiliation	Begnion
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Green
Base	Tanas
Debut	Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Oliver is a corrupt senator who served as an antagonist in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Oddly enough, he returns in Radiant Dawn as a boss and a potential playable character.

Background

Oliver was the duke of Tanas who served in Begnion’s Imperial Senate. He pretended to be the most loyal follower of Sanaki, Begnion’s apostle and ruler, but the bishop had a darker side. He had a strange craving fort what he considered to be beautiful art. He even enlisted the aid of the laguz raven king, Naesala, to steal artwork for him from his fellow nobles. Like many beorcs, he was prejudiced against the laguz and saw most of them as repulsive. However, he had some bizarre fetish towards the heron laguz that once inhabited Serenes Forest and were believed to be extinct, as he saw them as beauty in its purest form.

Once in "Chapter 15: The Feral Frontier", he bumped into a Serenes noble, Reyson, when he visited Naesala to discuss Oliver’s next request. He began raving about the herons and asked Naesala to bring him Reyson in addition to stolen artwork. Naesala successfully lured Reyson to Oliver’s villa, at which point Oliver captured him and had him imprisoned in a secret room of his villa. However, Ike and his mercenaries arrived to investigate Oliver's villa at the orders of Sanaki in "Chapter 16: The Atonement". He was initially able to deceive them, but Mist and Titania soon discovered the secret room, at which point Oliver withdrew and sent out his men to attack them. After the battle, Reyson escaped from Oliver, but Oliver was able to elude Ike's men as well.

Oliver gathered all of his troops and journeyed deep into Serenes Forest in search of Reyson in "Chapter 17: Day Breaks". At the same time, he sent some of his men to attack the mercenaries. He was so focused towards the goal of recapturing Reyson that he believed he would be able to easily deal with Sanaki after he claimed Reyson. During one clash with Ike, he realized that Ike was carrying with him a second heron, Leanne, who was unconscious. Eventually he took on Ike's mercenaries in a last showdown and accused them of attacking him just because they were jealous of his high social status, and he promised to smite their "hideous evil". Oliver was defeated in the following battle.

He was believed dead, but the other Begnion senators were able to save him. Oliver was allowed to live so long as he remained hidden within his manor. Three years later, Ike's army decided to stay in Oliver's home while passing through Tanas in "Chapter 4: Revelations" of "Part 4: Of Gods and Men". Hetzel had Oliver lead a group of the Disciples of Order in battle against the mercenaries. However, if he spoke to the heron Rafiel, Oliver immediately switched sides and joined with the Greil Army in fighting off his former minions in order to protect Rafiel. He then rechristened himself as a protector of beauty, saying that his pursuit of beauty was the only thing important to him since he had seen death and it no longer held mystery for him.

After the war ended, Oliver became a sponsor of various artists, especially those who depicted Oliver himself.

Trivia

• He is also playable in the Trial Map mode of Path of Radiance. He is unlocked by completing the game three times.
• He has his own theme music, called "Power-Hungry Fool" in Path of Radiance and "Oliver's Fall" in Radiant Dawn. In the latter game he also has his own similar-sounding battle music, "Beauty is a Mad Mistress".
• "Power-Hungry Fool" is included on the soundtrack of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is the only reference to Oliver in the game.