Parn (パーン, Pān) is the protagonist of the first five Record of Lodoss War light novels, as well as the protagonist of the 1990 OVA. He is a supporting character in the sixth and seventh novels and the Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight anime series.
Parn is the son of Tessius, a disgraced Holy Knight of Valis. Setting out from his small country hometown, Zaxon, Parn seeks the truth about his father's dishonorable discharge and aims to become a worthy fighter. As he grows older, fighting in several wars and traveling across Lodoss with various companions, he endeavors to aid people of all different backgrounds and eventually becomes known as the Free Knight, and later, the Knight of Lodoss.
Appearance[]
Parn has brown skin, blue eyes, and short dark hair, usually portrayed as black or brown. He wears a green turtleneck sweater and pants underneath his armor. In the novels and the 1990 OVA anime, he starts out wearing his father's armor, comprising the cuirass, tassets, and greaves of a Holy Knight, as well as a strap for a longsword/bastard sword. His father's armor has turned from white to brown with age, lack of proper polishing, and dirt, and is missing the red emblem of Valis that signifies a Holy Knight. In The Grey Witch novel, it is also stated that the central portion is silver, another clear symbol of his father's disgrace. It is also stated in The Grey Witch that he wields a shield and wears chainmail underneath the outer armor.
Before the War of Heroes, Parn is given a new suit of white Holy Knight Armor, replacing his father's tarnished armor. In the OVA, he only accepts the shield of the Holy Knight armor, but never uses it. He is also given the Sword of Law, formerly belonging to King Fahn, by Princess Fianna in the OVA after his father's sword breaks while he is attempting to rescue Deedlit from Wagnard's clutches.
His second and final armor upgrade occurs in The Fire Demon, when he acquires an enchanted armor and longsword. This armor is described to be a bright bronze color. In the Deedlit's Tale novel, the enchanted sword is described as giving off a brilliant glow. Rather than relying on the enchantment, Parn prefers to use the raw power of his armor. In the Deedlit's Tale novel, it is also stated that when he puts on his armor, he feels himself getting ready for battle, as if his "warrior spirit" is awakening.
Parn sometimes also wears a blue cape. In most of Yutaka Izubuchi's illustrations and in his Chronicles of the Heroic Knight redesign, it is tied across his shoulders. In the 1990 OVA and in other cameo appearances, it is remarkably similar to Kashue's cape, with a high collar and two medallions tying it together across the middle.
Personality[]
Parn is a cheerful young man with a strong sense of justice. He is compassionate, and determined to do the right thing and help others. He is also quick to anger, and will often rush headlong into danger to protect himself or others. He is very inexperienced and naive, and struggles to get used to fighting, both in terms of prowess and in terms of the emotional toll of war. Though he aspires to be a hero and is frustrated when Ghim insults his lack of skill, Parn is also very humble, and he idolizes those who are more skilled than him, such as King Kashue.
In the later novels, as is also shown in the Chronicles of the Heroic Knight anime, he matures considerably and gains a better sense of battle strategy and politics. He still retains his strong sense of justice, but becomes less reckless and wiser with age and experience.
History[]
Early life[]
Parn was born in Valis to Tessius, a Holy Knight of Valis, and his mother, an herbalist from Valis. After his father was killed defending a village from bandits, he was disgraced as a knight. Parn and his mother were forced to flee to Zaxon, a small mountain village in northern Alania. Young Parn grew up idolizing his father and strongly resenting the villagers who looked down upon him and his mother for his father's disgrace. Parn was orphaned at the age of ten when his mother died of illness. He only had one friend growing up, Etoh.
Parn helped out around the village, doing odd jobs to try and earn the villagers' respect. When he was sixteen, he wore his father's armor and served briefly as a mercenary in the kingdom of Flaim, during which he became aware of the existence of the renowned Mercenary King, King Kashue.
In The Grey Witch[]
When Parn was eighteen, Etoh returned home to Zaxon just as the village was faced with goblins settling outside it. Parn argued with the villagers that the best thing to do would be to wipe out the goblins, but he was unable to convince them. Angry that he still cannot get any respect from the villagers, Parn goes home to Etoh and asks what he thinks is the best plan. Etoh and Parn agree to attack the goblins using a sling and a crossbow respectively, then attack them head-on. However, their fight ends in disaster, with Parn sustaining grievous wounds, even suffering the toxins of the goblins' poisoned weapons. After Ghim and Slayn rescue them from the goblins, Etoh tends to Parn during his illness.
Parn and Etoh ask Ghim and Slayn to accompany them on an adventure. They agree, particularly since Ghim is planning on his own journey to find Leylia. They make their way to the capital of Alan, where, at a festival, Parn sees a girl being attacked by three men. He barges in to protect the girl. When she tries to attack him, he throws up his hands to show her he is not an enemy, and realizes as she turns to him that she is an elf. He and the girl fend off the attackers, and she introduces herself as Deedlit.
In the OVA[]
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 Tessius, a Holy Knight of Valis, had a black mark against his name and was killed in a war with the country of Flaim before his name could be restored.
Growing up, Parn idolized his father. He remembered Tessius 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 Pharis, the God of Light, four years before the story begins. He was also close with the mayor's daughter Liara, and may have even been childhood sweethearts with her, although this is only implied.
The truth of his father was revealed upon meeting King Fahn. His infant daughter, Princess Fianna, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Due to power conflicts, Fahn could not authorize a rescue effort because he was in deep negotiations with an unrevealed third party. Parn's father offered to go save the princess, even knowing that Fahn would declare him an outlaw so as not to violate the terms of the ransom.
After King Fahn's death, Princess Fianna gives Parn the Holy Sword of Valis to wield.