Parn

Parn is a fictional character in the Record of Lodoss War fantasy manga and its derivative anime franchise.

He plays a major role in the series, especially in the light novels, manga and OVA, and is the central protagonist in the manga saga The Grey Witch. He also plays a major role in the beginning of Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, but this role is diminished after the eighth episode, where a new protagonist, Spark, takes the lead.

Description

In the OVA series, Parn begins as a simple village youth, but through extraordinary circumstances dons his father's armour and sword, and takes on the role of a fighter. This differs from his introduction in the manga series, where he is already a mercenary when discovered by the rest of his party. It is never disclosed in the OVA or Chronicles of the Heroic Knight as to what Parn's age is.

Parn specializes in the use of bastard sword. In the beginning of the OVA series, he wields his father's sword until it is destroyed. At this point, he is granted the Holy Sword of Falis to continue his journey. Parn's romantic interest comes in the form of Deedlit, an elven princess.

Character history

Parn grew up in a more or less peaceful village, with the only real concern being a nearby goblin tribe. As a child, he was ostracized by the others, because his father had a black mark against his name.^[1] Parn later learned from King Fahn that his father willingly made himself look like a rogue knight so that he could rescue the king's infant daughter from the people of Flaim, who were intending to offer her up as a sacrifice to Shooting Star, an ancient red dragon who was terrorizing them at the time. He was successful in this endeavor and also allowed Fahn to avoid any personal blame for the incident, however Flaim and Valis still ended up going to war. When he was called, Tessius silently rode to the front and was killed on the battlefield before his name could be restored.^[2]

Growing up, Parn idolized his father, remembering him as a great man, despite what the others had to say about him and knowing him only as a man of honor. Never knowing the circumstances of his father's fall from grace, he knew his father only as a kind and gentle man with a warrior's spirit.

Parn had a best friend by the name of Etoh, who left the village to become a priest of Falis, the Supreme God, a couple of years before the story begins. He was also a good friend with the mayor's daughter, and may have even been childhood sweethearts with her, although this is only implied.

Role in the OVA series

At the beginning of the OVA series, Parn fends off a group of goblins, rescuing the mayor's daughter from them, and killing one in the process. Because of his actions, there is a dispute among the villagers about what must be done, and Parn decides he will deal with the goblins alone, but is then joined by his childhood friend Etoh, who returned to the village at the same time as the attack.

After taking part in the defense of the village, the mayor decides to do Parn a favor. To help him save face, the mayor secretly exiles Parn, asking him to leave the village, but publicly declaring that Parn is leaving to scout out the land, and see what news there is of a possible upcoming war with the country of Marmo.

During his travels, Parn manages to meet several other characters, including an elf named Deedlit, a dwarf named Ghim, a sorcerer named Slayn, and a thief named Woodchuck. Ghim and several others act as mentors to Parn and attempt to teach him to defend himself, though Parn's skills are lacking, as Deedlit remarks that he "needs help". When, by happenstance, Parn and his comrades rescue Princess Fianna, Parn comes into good graces with Fahn, the king of Valis, and Kashue, the king of Flaim. They send Parn and his comrades on a mission to gain intelligence about the Karla the Grey Witch, who is a wildcard in ongoing War of Heroes between Marmo and Lodoss.

When Parn returns, Fahn reveals that his father, whom most thought had died dishonorably, had actually died a hero, acting on his own in order to save the then infant Princess Fianna and save the kingdom from war. Parn is then granted the title of "Holy Knight of Valis", a title which he accepts but never uses by name, instead preferring to simply be known as "Parn".

During the war with Marmo, Fahn is killed in a duel with Emperor Beld. Karla then kills Beld as well, to prevent either side from becoming too powerful. Seeking justice for her actions, Parn and his friends go to Karla's stronghold. Karla attempts to sway Parn to her side, but he refuses. In the end, Karla is defeated at the cost of Ghim's life; however, Karla manages to possess the body of Woodchuck in order to make her escape.

Afterwards, Parn is forced to go to the cursed island of Marmo when Wagnard abducts Deedlit to uses her as a reagent for a spell. Fighting for Deedlit's life, Parn overcomes many obstacles, and with the help of the opposing blades, Beld's demon blade named Soul Crusher and Fahn's holy blade (which is called the Holy Sword of Falis ), he is able to stop the spell and save Deedlit's life.

At the end of the series, Kashue grants upon Parn the esteemed title of "Knight of Lodoss", which later derives into his more commonly used title in the second series of "The Free Knight.

Role in Chronicles of the Heroic Knight

Parn once again serves as the protagonist for this series, but only for the first eight episodes. Presented in a different light, Parn is slightly stronger and has more skill in this series, which takes place approximately five years after the death of Ghim.^[3]

Parn is the one who peacefully befriends Shiris, but due to a mistake on what was taking place, her partner and best friend Orson attacks him in his berserker mode, trying to kill him. He nearly delivers a fatal blow, but like in the OVA, Shiris stops him from doing so.

Parn works with the other characters to uncover what the Marmo forces have been plotting, discovering that their intent is to acquire the Scepter of Domination. He assists Kashue with trying to prevent the sceptre from falling into the hands of Ashram, and also assists in the slaying of the red dragon Shooting Star.

At this point, Parn's role in the series becomes marginal, and he has hardly any screen time at all. After one final battle which ends in a stalemate, Parn and Ashram both agree to go their separate ways, with Ashram admitting that he is going to leave Marmo with the rest of his people to search for peace.

Voices

In Record of Lodoss War, Parn is voiced by Takeshi Kusao. His English voice actor for the US Manga Corps dub is Bill Timoney, credited as Billy Regan.

In Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, the voice of Parn is changed as he is now voiced by Nobutoshi Canna. However, his English voice actor remains the same, as Timoney reprises the role for the second series.

Origins

Parn is based on a role-playing game character of the same name, played by the Japanese translator/game designer Nao Kitagawa who translated the Stormbringer role-playing game to Japanese. Kitagawa was an ardent fan of Michael Moorcock, so he jokingly called own character Parn, "Eternal champion". However, in the game sessions, Parn was dubbed as Sanmu Senshi (3無戦士, lit. 3 "no" fighter) from his personality: muri (no way), mucha (nonsense) and mubou (reckless).

Parn was a character for the Forcelia campaign world, which was offered to TSR at one point, but rejected due to current policies. A human fighter, Parn has a delight in using the bastard sword.

Notes

• He first appeared as a player character of the 4th version of the classic Dungeons & Dragons game, where his class was fighter at first. Then he got a paladin class by using the Companion Set rules. However, his wisdom attribute is lower, and he can't use cleric magics.
• In Sword World RPG (It's one of the official RPG of Record of Lodoss War), he is an 8th-level fighter/2nd-level ranger at finally. In Record of Lodoss War Companion (It's also another official RPG of Record of Lodoss War), his character class is knight.
• Parn is the protagonist of the story, featuring the common role of the boy who grows up through his experiences. He goes from a low-level fighter with little skill to a fighter who can fight nearly on par with the finest swordsmen in Lodoss.
• Parn changes slightly between the OVA and Chronicles, becoming a stronger and more skillful adventurer. This may be the result of his years of adventure between the two series, however.

References