Roland

Roland

Hometown	High Mountain
Gender	Male
Race	Celestial
Affiliations	Ebonstar High Flora Gilmore (formerly) Seren (formerly)
Enemies	Ancient Gods Maple Alliance Cernium
Status	Deceased
Name (Other Servers)
KoreaMS	롤랜드 (Roland; Lollaendeu)
JapanMS	ローランド (Roland; Rōrando)
Voice Actors
KoreaMS	Shin Han^[1]
JapanMS	Youhei Matsuoka^[2]

Roland was one of the last surviving Celestials and a member of Ebonstar.

Story

Fall of High Mountain

Roland was a Celestial, a race of winged demigods who were descended from Mitra the Sun God. Ages ago, Mitra and the Celestials seized High Mountain from an evil Ancient God named Tynos, claiming it as their new home. After the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Celestials - unable to return to the heavens - remained trapped on Grandis. In High Mountain, the Celestials awaited Mitra's return and continued to safeguard his relic, the Holy Sword Azor, which could only be wielded by the Chosen One, though the sword had lost its power after the disappearance of Mitra.

High Mountain was eventually attacked by Havoc, the Apostle of Lightning. During the attack, Gilmore fled with his subordinates, Seren and Roland. Gilmore ordered Seren to destroy the bridge in order to slow down the enemy, though she and Roland refused, claiming that the rest of their company would be trapped behind enemy lines. When Gilmore moved to destroy the bridge himself, Roland drew his sword and attacked him. Gilmore reminded Roland that he was in charge and ordered him to step aside. Roland told him that even while knowing that the operation was doomed, their soldiers had rushed into certain defeat without protesting because they knew the importance of protecting Azor, and so he refused to allow Gilmore to sacrifice their lives. Gilmore shouted that sacrificing themselves for Azor was their very purpose, and that to die was their mission. He told them that they had been outnumbered from the beginning, which was why he had chosen to divide their forces. Outraged to know that they had merely been bait, Roland called Gilmore a traitor and moved to attack.

Though Seren tried to break the fight, the two continued in a vicious battle. Between disobeying orders and engaging in outright mutiny, Gilmore asked if Roland even knew who he was pointing his sword at. Roland replied that he was pointing it at a religious zealot and said that if someone like Gilmore was the Chosen One, then Mitra was not worthy to be his own god. Outraged at Roland's blasphemy, the two continued their duel until Seren drew her own sword and knocked theirs onto the ground, demanding that they stop before they revealed their position to the enemy. Gilmore told Seren to stay out of it, warning that he would cut her down too. She once again yelled at him to stop before Havoc found them. Suddenly, their blades began crackling with red lightning as Havoc discovered their location. Roland yelled at Seren to get down, just as a giant bolt of lightning struck down and knocked them out.

In the aftermath of the battle, Seren carried Azor and the swords of her fallen Celestial comrades to the holy city of Cernium. Roland, who lost his faith in Mitra, fled and eventually joined Ebonstar, a group of heretics dedicated to putting an end to the worship of the Ancient Gods. Gilmore was found by Havoc and was presented with the opportunity to undergo special experiments that High Flora were conducting, which could transform one into a special Specter with the power to slay Ancient Gods. Over the years, Roland worked alongside Ebonstar to attack Cernium's borders and destabilize the city from the inside, with Roland often disguising himself in order to spy on the climate of Cernium.

After the death of the Black Mage, the Adversary and the Glory Guard traveled to Cernium in order to help Prince Carlisle defend the city against the High Flora, as well as to stop Ebonstar's activities. During the Alliance's investigation into the power of the Ancient Gods and the Chosen One, they learned that only a Celestial could become the Chosen One, for which they began to search for clues about any other surviving Celestials, as Seren believed herself unworthy. As the Alliance continued to investigate, Ebonstar began stealing caches of holy water and black powder from the Dawn Priests and Flame Priests, hoping to use them in order to create detonations across the various temples in Cernium, thereby creating a civil war between the different sects.

While Edea and Carlisle investigated an Ebonstar hideout, Roland arrived at the Graveyard of Swords in order to distract Seren and the Adversary. Seren immediately recognized Roland and expressed her shock at seeing him, believing that he had died at the battle of High Mountain, though Roland revealed that he had merely run away and had spent many years as a wanderer. Having heard that she had become the Guardian of the Holy Sword, he asked if she had read the inscription upon Azor, written in the old tongue: “Alvationsay inway Andhay.” Though he admitted that he was rusty, Roland believed that it translated to “Salvation is in Cernium” and asked Seren if she had found her salvation.

Suddenly, Ebonstar soldiers surrounded them as Seren asked Roland what he was doing. Roland told her how sick he was of holy swords and gods, and asked why so many people had to lose their lives over a useless hunk of metal. He vowed that he would show the people of Cernium how meaningless it all was, declaring that they needed to free themselves from the gods in order to prevent such tragedies from happening ever again. As Seren and the Adversary defeated the Ebonstar soldiers, Roland attempted to retreat when Edea and the court knights blocked his path and ordered him to surrender. Roland merely laughed and told them that it was too late, just as a large explosion was set off in the city. Roland told them that the two Orders would turn on each other and destroy the city unless the knights intervened, though that would leave the city defenseless when the High Flora army appeared at the gates. Roland then spread his wings and took to the air, telling Seren that she could still escape before the city was destroyed. He warned her that Darmoor was sending his First Apostle, the same one who had destroyed High Mountain, before flying away.

During the High Flora attack on the city, Roland attempted to light a fuse in order to blow up the city gates. Suddenly, Seren charged at him, forcing Roland to drop his torch in order to parry her attack with his own sword. Seren entreated him to open his eyes, believing him to be the Chosen One who would save Cernium. Roland asked Seren how she could still believe in Mitra after everything that she had gone through. He asked if she could still remember High Mountain and its people in flames as bolts of lightning had fallen from the sky, reminding her of how the sun hadn’t dared to show its face that day. He told her that he had worried that she had become yet another power-hungry priest when he had learned that she had become the Guardian, but he had come to realize that she was still her same, naïve self. Just then, two Ebonstar archers shot Seren while her guard was down.

As she fell onto her knees, Roland picked up his torch and told her that Mitra wasn’t a god worth dying for. As he lit the fuse, Seren watched powerlessly as it reached the bags of black powder. Before they could be set alight, however, the Adversary arrived and cut the fuse before the spark could reach its destination. They then fought the Ebonstar soldiers as Roland recognized them as the one who had killed the Black Mage, whom he called a godling. Seren told Roland to surrender, but he merely joked that he wouldn’t be a good Chosen One if he gave up so easily. As Seren warned that she wouldn’t hesitate to cut him down, Roland took to the air and rushed past Seren, who managed to wound him. As he collapsed in pain, he revealed that he still had his torch, which he dropped onto the bags of black powder, creating a massive explosion that killed him in the process.

Legacy

Though Roland was defeated, his words continued to haunt Seren throughout the battle of Cernium until she finally regained faith in herself and awakened as the Chosen One. During Seren's return to High Mountain, she was swallowed by the Ancient God, Tynos, where she saw memories of Roland within the starlit void of Tynos' stomach. Seren relived Roland's denouncement of the gods, shaking her resolve in herself until she found the strength to push forward once again.