I have many hacks with characters I love: Cosette from Deity Device, Kenneth and Simone from TMGC, Ellerie from Cerulean Coast, etc.
But there’s only one unit I had both a gameplay and story experience with that stuck out with me, and that was Shorn from The Dark Amulet. (So spoilers for that hack)
Now at first glance I laughed at Shorn in the face. An edgy hardass myrmidon, but with mediocre strength, with his only stat worth mentioning being his speed stat? He’s all talk
But Dark Amulet is a game in which unit growths are almost all low across the board, I didn’t notice I was looking at one of the best units.
As I play through the early game, I my Shorn gets strength. Then strength again, then AGAIN. Am I lucky? Absolutely. Did this change my opinion? Yes.
I started making him my main carry, he dodge tanked everything and was my solution. I still found his personality dumb and I constantly laughed at him for how edgy he was.
And then chapter 9 hit.
It was an escape chapter, and the three units you start with are the lord, Shorn, and Shorn’s sister, a new unit and a thief. When you talk to Shorn with her, he gets the Kelikaga, his prf (yes I know)… And you start to see a different side of Shorn. He gets flustered, and you notice how he cares about our lord, Edric, how he’s actually loyal to him despite being hard on him before.
From here on, he starts changing. He becomes more understanding towards Edric’s problems, and officially becomes his second-in-command. He opens up.
In his supports, you start seeing him show how he cares about people, and you discover more about him. The reason he was so hard on Edric was because he lost someone he cared about, his boyfriend, in battle because he got too confident. He swore to have that never happen again.
As the game continues, he keeps showing off, being a great unit all around, even when strong units keep appearing, he still keeps being one of your best melee units.
In his supports with Gareth, you discover how he never wanted revenge for what happened to his partner. It was his fault, and there was nothing he could do but keep moving on, and be stronger. His strength of character is shown again and again.
On a conversation with the other starting unit, Miley, he earnestly reveals how he considers them friends, and how he’ll protect them. You start seeing how the shell he was before… breaks.
His devotion to Edric starts increasing, and you notice that maybe… Maybe he cares about Edric the same way he cared about his partner?
Gameplay wise, you have to deploy them together constantly to get their A support, which is unlocked at chapter 23 at the earliest. By this time, you will have gotten his 2nd prf, Kelikaraga, and seen his unique level 10 promoted skill that only the initial 3 have. He gets Galeforce. He becomes an absolute monster in the battlefield, being able to sweep enemies left and right. He truly shows his power, and demonstrates that he’s not all talk.
If you choose to get their A support, he reveals to Edric that the reason he was so hard on him was because he didn’t want the same that happened to his partner to happen to him. He reveals that his devotion runs deep, and that he loves Edric. He tries to run away but… Edric stops him, he says he doesn’t understand his feelings, but that he doesn’t want to let Shorn go. Boyfriends!
All in all, Shorn is a really great character that shows how someone overcomes the fear of loss.
