Despair and Judgment: The Weeping Heron

A great demon has been slain, and the suffering of a tortured soul has been been brought to an end. Lehran is by far the most fascinating of the obstacles that stand in the way of Ike, Micaiah and Sanaki, although it is very difficult to talk about him without spoiling his identity. His presence lingers in the shadows of everything that happens on the continent, and his morality and sympathy vary wildly depending on who is the one reading into him. Time for some context.

Mortals cannot stand against gods! Don’t you see the futility of what you’re doing?  
You are all so very flawed… Flaws must be corrected!
Can you feel your judgment, hanging in the air? Can you see that your time has come?
The laguz and beorc have doomed each other with their mutual hatred. You have brought extinction on yourselves!

He has a lot of quotes at the ready for attacking and using his Judgment attacks.

Ike: You can try to complicate things, Sephiran, but it comes to this… You are my enemy. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sephiran: So be it.

Ike: I have to ask, Sephiran. What are you after? What’s this all about?
Sephiran: Why do you wish to know? You would achieve nothing by learning my reasons. You would help no one. I lost faith in lesser beings, and desire an end to them. That’s all.
Ike: So why did you save me on that day?
Sephiran: May I ask you a favor, Ike? Tell me how you feel about it now. Can you bear recalling those horrific memories?
Ike: Yes… I’m fine, now. But I suppose at the time I wouldn’t have been able to take it.
Sephiran: All beings endure tragedies for as long as they continue to live. It has always been the case that suffering is unavoidable. And this grim reality plays out over and over, in every country, under every ruler… As long as there are beings who feel, they will feel pain.
Ike: So what? We should all just give in and die? Put it behind you. Deal with it.
Sephiran: Do not make light of this…
Ike: I’m not. Sephiran, I’m extremely grateful that you once helped me through a terrible time. But we have to accept that occasionally we all have to deal with hard times. I’ve had pain, I’ve had suffering, and I have gotten up and moved on. I don’t try to forget what happened that day. I just accept it… And neither that or anything else will ever stop me.
Sephiran: You are a strong man, Ike, son of Gawain. But not everyone is as strong as you…

The former is if Ike hasn't had his memory unsealed, the latter is if he has. Which is a shame, because the latter is just... Sephiran gets so much from Ike here. This philosophy of Ike's also happens to be Edelgard's, and it served him well when his father died, just as it does here. Although... whether it is strength that Sephiran lacks...

Micaiah: You… I’ve heard about you. Have we… met before?
Sephiran: The Silver-Haired Maiden. It’s taken so long to finally meet you. If I had known you still lived, I... I… No, it’s too late. This changes nothing. I cannot falter.
Micaiah: What is the matter with you?
Sephiran: I’m just overly sensitive. Don’t feign concern over me.

Micaiah and Sephiran have quite a bit to connect over, although for some reason, they kind of leave the formal reveal a little later than I feel perhaps it should be. Means these two can't say what it is that's on their minds outright.

Sanaki: …Sephiran… Everything you’ve ever told me, every time you gave your hand to me, every time you smiled… They were all lies? …You’re the most appalling fraud I’ve ever known!
Sephiran: No, Lady Sanaki… I’ve actually lied to you very little. What I have done is hold things back. I’ve also twisted the truth from time to time… But I have only told you one blatant falsehood. That one lie has weighed heavily on me. It makes me hate myself sometimes.
Sanaki: Sephiran…
Sephiran: I’ll always care deeply for you, my little Lady Sanaki… You are my sun and my moon. I never wished to harm you. Please… You must understand…
Sanaki: …No! Sephiran, no!

I feel like the only reason Sanaki's not a formal Lord of RD Part 4 is because her arc ends with her a bit of an emotional wreck and doesn't get the time or the reason to rebuild her back up. Angst without payoff is more than a little rude on the writer's part.

Sephiran: Go back to your forest, heron. You are like me, an avatar of order. You understand what I must do. Bask in the light of Ashera’s judgement. It holds no fear for you!
Reyson: I refuse to save only myself. Such an act would be an unforgivable betrayal. I will stand by my companions, and fight to the end.
Sephiran: Are you sure you’re of the heron tribe? I’ve never met a heron like you… Your will is extraordinarily strong.

Ashera's world of Order would benefit Reyson and the heron clan tremendously... at the cost of literally everyone else. Reyson would accept that if it means he can still count Tibarn among his company.

Leanne: (You… It… it can’t be…)
Sephiran: (Go back to the forest. This is not where you should be.)
Leanne: (No! I’m staying here with everyone! These people are my friends… my family! I will not leave them!)
Sephiran: Has the heron clan changed so much? They’ve always been so passive and accepting of their natural fate…

Even Leanne has changed! Well, I suppose Leanne isn't much of a shock to us. But still, a young heron girl taking the side of Chaos over Order? Things have changed since Sephiran's day.

Rafiel: It is you… Now that I’ve seen your face… I know that you once went by another name.
Sephiran: You are mistaken. I am known as Sephiran, and nothing else.
Rafiel: You have closed your heart. Why?
Sephiran: …I have nothing more to say. Nothing.

...Why does Rafiel know of Lehran? Perhaps they bumped into one another during Rafiel's slave days? I can't imagine that was very good for Lehran's psyche.

Sigrun: Lord Sephiran, explain yourself! Your reasons for deceiving our empress may prevent me from striking you down as an enemy to the crown!
Sephiran: I have nothing to say to you. I am merely an obstacle. Do what you must do.
Sigrun: Sanaki trusted you! And so did I. You’ve turned your back on us, and the empire. How is that even possible?
Sephiran: Sigrun, do with me what you will. Promise me that you will look after Lady Sanaki from now on.
Sigrun: I will. I will protect her from the likes of you.

Sephiran was rather... uniquely placed to subvert Sanaki's weaknesses, but he was all the more devastating when he landed. Although I'm sure there's going to be a long few months until Sanaki's fully ready to trust anybody again. Can she really say Sigrun and Tanith are above suspicion?

Tanith: So as long as you’re alive, the doors don’t open? I’ve got an easy solution to that problem.
Sephiran: Tanith, you are a kind woman.
Tanith: Don’t flatter yourself. I do this only for Lady Sanaki.

Tanith doing things the way she does things best: beating the crap out of them until they go away. Works when your problems are enemies. Probably should've been done a little more against the Senate.

Astrid: Lord Sephiran, your every action in office earned you the trust of millions of Begnion citizens. I can’t believe that you could stab every one of them in the back like that.
Sephiran: Young lady… Actually, I should address you properly… Astrid of the Crimean Royal Knights. Did you happen to stop by your home on the way here?
Astrid: No, I didn’t.
Sephiran: Aren’t you worried about your family? Perhaps you should check on them…
Astrid: No. Everyone’s fine. Even if they’re frozen solid, I’m going to save them. I have nothing at all to worry about.
Sephiran: You’ve grown stronger. But your heart hasn’t changed. Good.

Sephiran also seems to know Astrid in some capacity. Like Rafiel, his opinion of mankind can't have been improved because of it. Astrid herself, though? Exactly the kind of woman he likes. The progressive Begnions are awesome. Unfortunately, the regressive ones kinda spoil the bunch.

Haar: We never spent much time together when I was in Begnion. But, Sephiran… I think I know you pretty well.
Sephiran: I haven’t forgotten you, Haar. Shiharam’s hotshot young protege. You were both exemplary soldiers. Your defection from the Begnion dracoknights was a huge loss.
Haar: Hmmm… Sort of like the huge loss when the senators managed to defeat all those great changes you proposed?
Sephiran: …
Haar: I suppose if any of those changes had happened, we wouldn’t be here now. Am I wrong?
Sephiran: An interesting question… I’m honestly not sure, but that’s all I can say about that.
Haar: Too bad. For you, and for me.

Good question from Haar. If Sephiran had been successful in bringing Sanaki success in revolutionising Begnion and bringing it into the 12th century, would Sephiran still be hell-bent on wiping out humanity? Or would his hope be rekindled? So long as bastards like Lekain ran around rampant, that wasn't going to happen.

Jill: It’s your fault what happened in Daein! Every pointless death in this war is on your head! Sephiran, Duke of Persis… History will remember you as the worst kind of man.
Sephiran: Everything. It’s all been my fault. You should know one more thing, however. I also had a hand in the death of your father.
Jill: …Die, monster!

Wow. It's almost like he wants to die. Although, personally, I wouldn't really say it's his fault Shiharam is dead. Maybe if he engineered Shiharam leaving Begnion for Daein, he'd have a foot to stand on, but Haar's conversation disproves that. I think Sephiran is a tad too far away from the situation for him to really claim guilt.

Sephiran: King Pelleas, correct? Aren’t you brave, coming all this way!
Pelleas: If you’re the one who’s been pulling the strings behind all this, please tell me… Who… Who am I?
Sephiran: …I don’t know. All I know is that you are a powerful practitioner of magic… I know that you were an orphan born and raised in Daein. But that is all Izuka ever told me.
Pelleas: So… I’m not Ashnard’s true son?
Sephiran: No, you’re not. Ashnard’s son is of dragon tribe blood and is thus Branded.
Pelleas: I think I’m going to be ill…
Sephiran: Be assured that you were essential to Daein’s reconstruction, which was a vital step toward waking the goddess. Fortunately, Izuka was able to use you to execute my plan.
Pelleas: You are going to pay! You are going to… BLAAARRRGH!

This is a follow-up to the Izuka conversation. Not quite as essential, but rather revealing all the same.

あなたはデインの復興に必要な駒でした。
デイン復興は女神の目覚めに
欠かせぬ要素の１つ……
私がイズカに命じ、
あなたを利用させました。

And apparently, Sephiran was also in on the scheme to get Daein resurrected for the purposes of his plan, and did the order on Izuka to get Pelleas coronated. Sephiran just keeps helping Daein get into some nasty situations.

Sothe: Here goes…
Sephiran: Hello, child… I’m a little surprised to see an ordinary boy like you, fighting for the world. This day is full of surprises!
Sothe: No one’s more surprised than me. I can’t read people’s feelings like Micaiah… I’m not invincible in battle like Ike… Between all these laguz kings and great beorc heroes, I don’t really belong here.
Sephiran: Then why are you here?
Sothe: Because there’s one thing I can’t afford to lose. Micaiah. I’ve come all this way just to protect her… I won’t lose her now.
Sephiran: The depth of your feelings… Might I ask your name?
Sothe: Sothe. Now if you want to stand in our way, I’m prepared to cut you down.

I find it interesting that they point out the "laguz kings". Not really expecting me to bring someone like Lyre, are they? I like how Sephiran gets a talk with Sothe about how far he'd go to protect his loved ones. Funny meeting, that.

Sephiran: King Naesala, it seems as if everything went well with the pact.
Naesala: Yes, for which I am thankful. The blood pact yoked Kilvas to your country’s control… but we no longer suffer the curse for opposing the tyrannical edicts of your corrupt, bloated senators. Present company excluded, of course.
Sephiran: I’m quite glad to hear it.
Naesala: You shouldn’t be. You’re not like the other senators, but your insane agenda has turned my nation to stone! Freedom means nothing to a statue.
Sephiran: My goal was simply to save Sanaki. With your help, she is safe. The mutual benefit of your country was a happy accident, so don’t feel indebted to me.
Naesala: So you won’t object when I tear your lungs out here and now?
Sephiran: By all means. Be my guest.

Sephiran and Naesala kinda seem to know one another in some regard, especially where their blood pact is concerned.

Sephiran:

キルヴァス王…
誓約の件はうまくいったようですね？

Naesala:

あぁ、あんたには感謝している。
…キルヴァスの誓約は、
国と国の間で交わされたもの。
元老院に逆らっても…
皇帝に与している限り、
呪いが降りかかることはない。
お陰で…やっと生きた心地だ。

Sephiran:

それはよかった。

Naesala:

いや、よくはないだろう。
せっかく自由の身が目前だってのに、
人はみんな石になるんじゃ意味がない。
といって、恩人に手をかけるのもな。

Sephiran:

気にしなくてかまいませんよ。
私は、サナキ様をお救いするため……
あなたに動いて欲しかった。
利害が一致しただけのこと。
恩義に縛られる必要はありません。

Naesala:

じゃあ、お言葉に甘えて
あんたの野望…阻ませてもらおうか。

Sephiran:

はい。
どうぞ心置きなく。

And it turns out this is indeed the case. Sephiran was the one who clued Naesala in to the loophole in the Kilvas Pact, allowing him to break free of the Senate's chains. Naesala thanks him, but points out freedom means nothing to a statue, and voices the concern that his current Pact with Sanaki will be invoked if he acts against him. Sephiran tells him he won't hold it against him, all he wanted was for Naesala to help Sanaki out of a jam, and Naesala can help himself to Sephiran's entrails.

Nailah: Who would’ve guessed that a madman on the other side of the desert would somehow threaten Hatari?
Sephiran: Hatari. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see it. The wolf tribe has survived all this time in the far corner of the world. Only the goddess could have known that.
Nailah: Perhaps even she didn’t know it. Your goddess isn’t perfect, you know. Does an imperfect goddess have the right to judge imperfect beings?
Sephiran: I see your point. Does the creator retain the right to destroy her creations when they are no longer what she envisioned? I imagine we could discuss this sometime… if only we had more time. I believe you alone might be able to sway my opinion on this, Lady Nailah, Queen of Wolves.
Nailah: You have too many opinions. I’m done talking.

And such a shame it is, because I think Nailah's point is the most interested in posing a counterargument to Sephiran and Ashera the game gets. The game is fully aware that Ashera isn't perfect, and presents the idea that Ashera really doesn't have room to complain about humanity's faults when she's got her own. Ultimately, though, the game never does question whether the Covenant was a flawed attempt at fixing humanity's issues.

Sephiran: Hello, King Tibarn. I thought I might see you. Only the strongest reach the top. It’s only natural that you would be among them.
Tibarn: You know what? I don’t believe you’re the big, bad, evil guy you want us all to think you are.
Sephiran: What could you be talking about?
Tibarn: Ah, I was right! I see it in your eyes. I’ve been around for a while, and learned a bit about spotting fakes. So now that your secret’s out, maybe you’d like to open up and tell me: Who are you really?

Tibarn doesn't see Sephiran as the threat. Of course he doesn't, he's Tibarn, but I wonder what he's spotted.

Sephiran: Duke of Tanas, imagine seeing you here!
Oliver: Lord Sephiran, as lovely as always. But has it come to this? Must we fight to the death, and deprive the world of one of our beautiful countenances? Can other lovers of beauty endure such a loss?
Sephiran: I confess that your presence has me bewildered. Could this be part of Yune’s plan? I simply never would have imagined you here. Your presence proves that Tellius is unravelling at the seams. Judgment cannot come soon enough.

And Oliver's ultimate boss quote, being so random and repulsive that Sephiran somehow loses more faith in humanity, despite already having hit rock bottom. I wonder if Oliver's senses are being distracted by Lehran's heron qualities.

Lehran is the tragic villain, whose crimes against humanity are caused by a deep-rooted trauma. But Tellius puts in the legwork to not only show that Lehran did have humanity's best interests at heart a long time ago, but gave him something that made sure to target exactly the right buttons to make his downfall stick. And even then, he still bonds with some Branded and beorc to miss when he finally hits the massive "kill them all" button. Sephiran got into enough power to have some say over the people that caused his suffering- albeit not enough to avoid winding up arrested by them- and was definitely playing their dastardly causes for chumps. Who's to say that, if he were genuine, he might've managed to make a difference to the world after all?

While I would be tempted to put a 3H character to Lehran here, the fact is there's no really helpful comparison here. There are bits of him scattered throughout Thales, Rhea, Edelgard, Claude, and in our dreams of a Dedue who at least treats the genocide of his own people like Rafiel does, but the general politics and manpain demands of Fodlan are met with other concepts that a character like Lehran just wouldn't fit into. And honestly, more power to them, the politics from Fodlan kick ass because there are multiple competing sides, rather than just Lehran utterly dominating the entire continent. Not everything had to make it over.

Even among FE villains, Lehran stands apart. There's usually one dark wizard playing chessmaster over their continent- for Fodlan, it's Thales, and the position is named "Gharnef" after Archanea's. Lehran has a lot less in common with Gharnef than Thales does, although he certainly fits the mold. Something about not being a cackling madman and using Light magic more than Dark helps that impression. Lehran approaches the subject of making Gharnef interesting by giving him depth, motivation and sympathy, while Thales apporaches the subject of making Gharnef interesting by leaving these traits in mystery and using the themes of Crimson Flower to highlight how little those traits matter to him today. A chief example of how there are different paths to making a story interesting.