Rigan Nelson (リーガン・ネルソン, Rīgan Neruson?) was a member of the anti-church organization, the Liberators, and was in charge of its base in the Entris Federation's capital city Esperado.
Appearance[]
Rigan was an older gentleman with swept-back gray hair and a curly mustache.
Personality[]
Rigan was able to present himself in a very professional and accommodating demeanor.
As a member of the Liberators, Rigan despised the Holy Church, as well as the gods that rule over Tortus. He was truly dedicated to their cause and will do all he can to support it.
Background[]
Rigean had spent his life rebelling against the Holy Church. He would join the Liberators during its founding, and eventually become the branch leader in Esperado, the capital city of the Entris Federation, while working undercover as the manager of the luxurious "Hotel Lusheina."
At some point, Rigan's wife Holly and their daughter Shirley were among a group of Liberators that the church had captured and taken to one of their most heavily guarded cathedrals to be tortured. A then eleven year old Miledi Reisen had managed to rescue Shirley, but was too late to save Holly.
Chronology[]
Three years later, Miledi arrived at Esperado with several new comrades she recruited, in order to get some of them to work in secret with the Liberators that were already stationed there. Shirley had guided them to the the hotel's secret passage underground that lead to the Liberator's Esperado branch HQ. When they reached the hotel's wine cellar, she and Miledi demonstrated to the newcomers the elaborate mechanism that opened a hidden entryway among one of the walls at the hotel's wine cellar, but it only lead to the city's sewers to act as a decoy for intruders. Rigan then suddenly appeared from under the floor and lead them to their base. While Miledi was getting reacquainted with various members of the Liberators, Rigan was interacting with her comrades Oscar Orcus, Naiz Gruen Caliente and Meiru Melusine, in order for them to get a better understanding of each other's intentions with regards to Miledi. Soon they all saw each other as trustworthy individuals after each of them expressed their unwavering support and dedication for Miledi. Rigan then provided Miledi and the others an update on the current affairs with regards to both the Liberators and the world, and then offered rooms at his hotel for her and her guests to relax during their visit.
When the Liberators had learned that the Commander of Holy Church's Templar Knights Laus Barn had defected, Rigan and the other Liberators in Esperado were planning a rescue mission after learning that Laus was heading their way. During one of their meetings, after receiving intel from Sui (who was on loan to them from the Haltina Republic) about two mysterious individuals that had arrived at the Holy Church's cathedral in Esperado that were tasked to hunt down Laus, Rigan soon realized that there were actually Laus' sons Kaime and Selm, based on Sui's description of them.
Following the successful rescue of Laus, Rigan and the rest of the Liberators were making preparations for their final battle against the the church and its god Ehit, codenamed "Operation Revolution Tolls." As their mission grew closer, Rigan was standing out on the hotel roof one evening. Shirley approached him soon after and asked what he was looking at, to which claimed nothing. The two of them discussed the current state of affairs, including the church's heightened security and the status of all the Liberators were preparing for battle. Shirley expressed her frustration at not being able to participle in the final battle due to her being a non-combatant, but Rigan assured her that they would still be needed to support their comrades once the fighting came to an end. He then went on to express his guilt at having dragged her daughter into his fight against to world, but Shirley quickly cut him off and told him that she was a Liberator and proud of it, and even chastised him for his sentimentality.
Sometime later, the Holy Church raided serval locations that were affiliated with the Liberators, including their base in Esperado. They captured almost everyone in the base, with Shirley being the only one who escaped thanks to the "Dark Gate" teleportation artifact, but was gravely injured. She ended up at the Liberators' HQ, the undersea ship Lac Elain. Miledi wanted to rescue her captured allies, but Shirley told her not to via their communication artifact Skynet, and conveyed a message left by her father about her and her friends needing to spend as much time as the could to prepare themselves for battle. Reluctantly, Miledi and the others agreed to hold off on rescuing everyone until the day that they were to be executed, in one month.
On the day of his execution, Rigan was among the first of the church's prisoners dragged out in the square of the Elbard Theocracy, along with Karg D. Verand and Baharl Devault. As the church's archbishop Kimaris Simtail was setting the stage to have them killed, while preaching to Ehit, Rigan and the others instead expressed their contempt in such a casual manner, despite their present situation. As Kimaris was about to kill Rigan and the others, he stopped when the Liberators suddenly launched their attack against the church aboard Lac Elain, which had been retrofitted to serve as an airship.
Rigan and the others were rescued and teleported to Lac Elain. He was soon reunited with his daughter, who was manning one of the ship's guns, and the two of them had a brief but emotional reunion. Soon after, he and the other rescued prisoners were in awe as the Liberators were wiping out the church's strongest fighters. Despite the Liberators initial success against the church, they were eventually forced to retreat when Ehit unleashed an army of apostles against them. Although most of them managed to teleport to safety, those on board Lac Elain were still vulnerable. The apostles managed to destroy the ship, but the crew managed to escape the destruction by boarding the their backup ship, the Melusine. Even so, the apostles resumed attacking them, but were repelled when an army of transformed dragonmen arrived to aid the Liberators. Over the next few months, Rigan and the rest of her comrades had taken refuge in the Dragon Kingdom.
In response to the attack against the Holy Church, Ehit's apostles unleashed a wave of magic that brainwashed the people of Tortus into killing every member of the Liberators. It even reached those of the Dragon Kingdom, which resulted in a coup that was instigated by those brainwashed by Ehit. During the attack, the building were Rigan and the other Liberators had taken residence had been heavily damaged. Rigan had been caught underneath the rubble, with his chest caved in. Shirley desperately attempted to save him, but Rigan's injuries were too severe. With his final breath, he told Shirley to abandon the Liberators, in favor of living her life, and also said the same thing about Miledi before succumbing to his injuries.
Relationships[]
Shirley Nelson[]
Rigan loved his daughter very much. He felt guilty that she had been born into his fight.
Miledi Reisen[]
Rigan greatly admired Miledi as the leader of the Liberators. He was especially moved by her after she risked her life to rescue his wife and daughter from the church, and how she tearfully apologized for failing to arrive in time to save his wife.
Karg D. Verand[]
Rigan and Karg had developed a friendship while they were imprisoned together by the Holy Church.
Baharl Devault[]
Rigan and Barharl had developed a friendship while they were imprisoned together by the Holy Church. Following Rigan's death, Baharl offered a small prayer for him.
Quotes[]
- (About Miledi): "Miledi... That girl bears the burdens that are too heavy for—"[1]
- (To his daughter): "Forget...about revolution... Live for your own happiness instead..."[2]
Trivia[]
- Rigan's surname "Nelson" means the son of Neil. It is a masculine given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicization of the Gaelic "Néill," which is of disputed derivation. The Gaelic name may be derived from the words "nél," meaning "cloud" or "niadh", meaning "champion."
- Rigan did not have a mustache in the Manga.