Windy

Windy (ウィンディ) is a major antagonist in Suikoden I. The last known bearer of the front half of the Gate Rune, Windy hunted for true runes, destroying several villages in pursuit of them, before becoming the Court Magician for Emperor Barbarossa Rugner of the Scarlet Moon Empire, whose court Windy manipulated in a failed attempt at getting the Soul Eater. Windy was last seen when Barbarossa jumped from the top of Gregminster Palace with her in his arms; however, neither her body nor her rune was ever found.

Like her clan sister, Leknaat, Windy was born in the Gate Rune Village. However, she did not live there long at all; in the year 70, Harmonian troops destroyed the village in search of the rune. Windy and Leknaat, desperate to keep the Gate Rune out of the hands of the Harmonians, broke it in half, each taking a part of the rune and fleeing.

Windy, now possessing the front of the rune, came to believe that the only thing that could bring any sort of justice into the world was power. Windy devised a method that would allow her to equip more than one true rune upon her, a previously unknown feat, and desired to increase her already notable magical powers. Along with Yuber and Neclord, who joined her on her quest, they set off in search of other true runes, destroying the Village of the Hidden Rune and Lycanthrope Village along the way in this search. However, the journey bore no fruit; despite their violent quest, true runes proved a rare sight.

During the mid-400's, however, Windy suddenly came into power as the Court Magician for Emperor Barbarossa Rugner; he felt an immediate kinship with Windy due to her resemblance of that of his late wife, Claudia and Windy used his feelings for her in order to exert power over his kingdom, the Scarlet Moon Empire, using the resources of the state in her unrelenting quest. She even attempted to give Conqueror Runes to all of the 5 Great Generals; however, only Kwanda Rosman and Milich Oppenheimer took them, using them to control monsters as Windy used them to keep the generals in her grasp.

But Windy's desire for runes eventually located a target. On what was supposed to be a normal apprehension of some bandits in the mountains, Ted used the Soul Eater in order to defeat an Ant Queen that had proved too much for his party to handle. Kanaan, a minor officer who observed the usage, passed on knowledge of it to his superiors, and Windy recognized the rune for what it was immediately. Sending our a garrison to arrest Ted and bring him to the palace, Windy moved to bring the Soul Eater within her grasp once and for all.

However, Ted realized what would happen and knowing he must keep the rune safe, passed on the Soul Eater to his best friend, Tir McDohl. Tir took the rune and fled the capital, while Ted was taken to the palace in an effort to distract Windy. This plan did work, but Windy did not give up, instead choosing to try whatever she could to grab the rune from Tir. Placing Ted under a Conqueror Rune to distort his personality and nullify his free will, Windy confronted Tir and his party in Seek Valley, using Ted to persuade Tir to give up the rune. Ted, however, using his last bit of strength, called the Soul Eater to take his soul and kill him; the rune eagerly agreed. This set Windy back once more, as the group fled the summit of Seek Valley.

Windy continued her search for the runes while contributing to the Imperial war effort, using her Front Gate Rune at the Battle of Gregminster in order to create a vast army of monsters from another dimension to combat the rebel troops. However, thanks to the work of Joshua Levenheit and Leknaat, her monsters were sent back to another dimension. Windy did not participate in defending the castle from the final push from the rebels; indeed, she did not show herself in the castle gardens until after Emperor Barbarossa had already lost. Mocking him for this, she demanded the Soul Eater come to her. However, it rejected her. Unable to understand this, Windy was further shocked when Barbarossa revealed that he loved Windy, even though he knew that she tried to manipulate him; his Sovereign Rune blocked any magic and he claimed he loved her for who she was. Gathering her within his arms and wishing Tir farewell, he leapt from the balcony.

Following this, it is widely believed that Windy was killed during their leap. However, no bodies had ever been recovered, and the front half of the Gate rune remains missing.