Ares Toraernos

Ares Toraernos is the protagonist of the Brandish series by Nihon Falcom, though he is also commonly called “Varik” due to his association with Toby Fox’s Earthbound Halloween Hack.

Ares is a 27 wandering swordsman who was once hired by the mage Balcan to kill the King of Filveria, King Giselle, as he had turned into a power hungry tyrant. However, this fight resulted in Giselle turning into Aeipron, and possessing Balcan. Balcan ordered Ares to kill him so that he wouldn’t be overtaken by Aeipron’s possession. As Ares kills Balcan, one of Balcan’s daughters, Dela Delon, walks in, and mistakes Ares for murdering Balcan. Dela swears revenge against Ares and chases after him throughout the Brandish series. In Brandish 1, he and Dela fall into the

ruins of Vittoria, and must make their way to the surface. In Brandish 2, Ares is revealed to have collected a sword in Vittoria known as the Planet Buster, a sword so powerful it can destroy planets with a single swing if desired. This results in King Badorrer of Bundevia to hire a mercenary named Karl Kares to capture Ares so he can use the sword for his nefarious goals. In Brandish 3, Ares reconciles with Dela and tracks down the Sacred Stone to stop Gower, the former advisor of Giselle, the king he and Balcan had killed many years ago.

Try as they might, nobody can ever catch Ares Toraernos.