Grahf

Grahf, known in the Japanese version as Graf (グラーフ, gurāfu), is an antagonist in Xenogears that is deeply tied with Fei Fong Wong's past, as well as the ultimate fate of Lacan.

Personality[]

Despite being a being of extreme power, Grahf's constant search for power is the will of Lacan, who was powerless to save Sophia.^[1]

Being a fragment of Lacan, Grahf is an incomplete manifestation of the Contact's power. This is still an impressive amount, as like Id, Grahf possesses immense strength, to the point that he could effortlessly destroy Gears with his bare hands.

Grahf seeks to complete himself by merging with the next reincarnation of the Contact, even going onto possessing the wills of others after his original body's death.^[1]

Grahf's ultimate goal is to awaken Deus and obliterate all life. Then he would use the Contact's full power to destroy Deus and everything else, in order to release everyone from the reoccurring cycles of tragedy and fate, notably Elehayym and Myyah.

Biography[]

Main article: Lacan

In 9501, during the Shevat-Solaris War, Sophia rammed the Excalibur, the flagship of the Anti-Solaris Alliance, into the Merkava, resulting in her death.

Moments before her death, her final words to Lacan were, "Lacan! Live!" News of her death devastated Lacan, causing him to rue his own powerlessness to stop her from dying.

In 9501, Lacan searched for the Zohar, desiring its power. Coming across a captive Myyah Hawwa in Shevat, he helped her escape, and they went to the Land of Bethlehem. There, due to Elehayym not being present, as well Lacan's own incomplete spiritual growth as the Contact, his contact with the Zohar was incomplete, creating the new personality of Grahf.^[2]

A berserk Grahf awakened the Diabolos Corps, which were Deus's prototype mobile terminals. The Diabolos Corps responded to his rage and destroyed not only Solaris, but the surface. Roni Fatima and his allies took over the Omnigears that previously belonged to the Gazel Ministers and combined their might with the Solarian Army. destroying the Diabolos Corps.^[3] However, this victory came too late, as 90%^[4] (or 96%^[5], or 98%^[2]) of the world's human population was already killed, including Rene^[6], leading to the event being known as -The Day of Collapse-.

After this defeat, Lacan awakened with no memory of Grahf's actions, confused why his former friends were running from him. He is horrified by the realization that he is the cause of all of this destruction, but remembers Sophia's final words, entreating him to live. He resolves he will live and go on living until the end of the world, and if the world does not end he will end it with his own hands.

In 9510, Lacan passed away into the cycle of reincarnation, while the incomplete personality of Grahf remained.^[5] Determined to gain ultimate power by merging with the Zohar, the will of Grahf lived on by possessing the minds of others to await the next reincarnation of the Contact.^[1]

9985 - 9996[]

Grahf discovers the new incarnation of the Contact in Fei Fong Wong when Fei is still a child and attempted to meld with him in 9985. However, Fei's father, Khan Wong, attempted to stop him. During their battle, Fei was unable to contain the powers passed onto him by the Existence and released a force so powerful that Fei's mother, Karen Wong, was killed. Fei refused living since then, and Id was the only identity left.

Grahf took Fei away and began traveling with him for about ten years, always trying to keep one step ahead of Khan, who was tirelessly searching for them.

In 9993, Grahf let Id loose on civilizations such as Elru in order to cause chaos and destruction, as well to strengthen his abilities.

In 9996, Grahf fought Khan again and passed into the body of Khan. Khan dropped off Fei in Lahan Village.

At an unknown point in time, Grahf visits Kaiser Sigmund, the leader of Kislev, and loans him Weltall for studying purposes.

Xenogears[]

When Grahf finds that Fei was in Lahan Village, he manipulates Gebler into sending Elly and her squad to steal what they think is a top-secret experiment Gear from Kislev, which turns out to be the same Gear he lent to Kislev in the first place: Weltall.

As they flee into Aveh airspace, Elly's squad is shot by pursuing Kislev forces, forcing them to land in Lahan Village, as Grahf had planned.

Coming across Weltall, Fei climbs in to fight back against the troops fighting in Lahan. Grahf then shows up piloting Alpha Weltall, and commands the Gears to attack. After he commands a soldier to kill Timothy, the trauma briefly turns Fei back into Id, who destroys the village in a burst of excess energy.

As Fei flees with Citan with Weltall, they encounter Grahf again in the deserts of Aveh outside of Dazil, who reveals his plans and flies into the sky, summoning a Wyrm that attacks Fei. Later, Fei theorizes to Citan that the battle between Kislev and Gebler in Lahan must have been set up by Grahf just to get him to climb into Weltall.

Grahf later appears to Myyah after Ramses has a nightmare, telling her to stay out of his way.

Grahf is rarely fought directly, and instead grants what he called "the Power" to various people by modifying the 'marking' on their Gear's Slave Generator, allowing them to gain more power from the Zohar; an ability he gained after making incomplete contact with Zohar and an ability that only he has.^[7][8] This allows antagonists such as Vanderkam, Isaac Stone, and Shakhan to challenge Fei again with enhanced abilities, but it invariably leads to madness, and their resulting destruction.

He later appears to fight against Fei with the Executioner in Solaris.

When Fei and the party go to Mahanon after it rises, Grahf and Karellen stop them. Karellen forbids Grahf from merging with Fei so he can use him as bait for Elly.

It wasn't until after Fei merged his personalities together that he finally learned that Grahf possessed his father's body, and in turn, when Khan was able to regain control of his body, he assumed the identity of Wiseman. Fei is able to beat Grahf with the newly acquired Xenogears. After that, Grahf decides to temporarily stop the Zohar by merging with it, which costs him and Khan's lives when Alpha Weltall merges with Zohar.

Etymology[]

Grahf is from the German "graf," meaning "count" or "earl".

Guest Appearances & Cameos[]

Grahf was a Rare Summon in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius during their Xenogears collaboration periods.

Quotes[]

• "Those eyes were what scared me. When I looked in your eyes I saw myself staring back."
• "Even if I go to hell, I will live till the end of this world. And if the world does not come to an end... I will destroy it with my own hands!"
• "The absence of wrath is an impediment to utilizing your true strength."
• "Yes, we will destroy god. That is our purpose... That is our destiny!"
• "That was... a most delightful scream. I was enthralled by it. Nothing is more beautiful than a scream of death."
• "The drive to massacre and annihilate, the compulsion to destroy your opponent... Such wrath is power for the soul! By eliminating your foe, you attain your first sublimation of that drive. It is this very sublimation that draws out the hidden powers within oneself! But, clinging to reason... ...suppressing your wrath and desire, makes releasing your true power a dream within a dream for you. You already know this... When wrath appeared in your heart, the machine responded, did it not? What drew out such power from your machine was truly the drive of your soul... It was your 'Id'. The sign of the purpose you've been seeking... The mark of a natural born assassin!"
• "You still don't understand... even after your contact with the existence? I came to understand after my contact with the Existence that, even if Deus was destroyed... as long as humans still inhabit this land, Myyah... Elehayym, will be born time and again. Then all living things may as well perish along with Deus itself. That's the only path to freedom. The path to release us from the eternal cycles of life, the tragedies of history and the spell of fate!"
• "Once I awaken Deus as a weapon, I'll obliterate all living things... Then I'll use your awakened self and that machine to return everything to nothing... That's what I concluded. Myyah and Elehayym... are not just Deus' mouthpieces. That 'woman' is its main body! Why can't you see that?"
• "Fei, cut away all the binds on mankind... You should be able to do that now. Save her and all the other women bound with her! I'm begging you Fei..."

Trivia[]

• According to Perfect Works, Grahf's armor was made to look like Darth Vader from Star Wars.^[9]
• The designs and color schemes of the Consuls from Xenoblade 3, most notably D, resemble parts of Grahf's design.

Gallery[]

Portrait.

Concept art.

Concept art.

Concept art.

Animation notes sketches.

Animation notes sketches.

Screenshot of an unused portion of the animated cutscene with Grahf, Id, and Khan. From a different angle and pose.

"That is our purpose... That is our destiny!"

Grahf blinking.