Stroud

Stroud
Title(s)	King Stroud
Gender	Male
Race	Lorimarian human
Faction	Lorimarian Army
Health	Painfully high
Level	Too high to count
Status	Lorimarian King
Location	Isle of Lorimar, Illusia, Mavolia
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Stroud, the Evil King of Lorimar, is quite the typical bad guy. He craves power, and thus seeks to open the door to Mavolia, which would unleash dark spirits called The Echoes on the world. Anyone touched by the Echoes becomes a kind of monster called a Grimslie, and usually never go back to their true form--or if they do, it's just before they die.

Stroud knows this (though probably never expected anyone to challenge him after he thought he got rid of Keldy), but seeks to use The Echoes' power to become stronger and control Illusia, then the whole of Fa'Diel.

Stroud has a marking on the right side of his face--a gray sword-like shape with a wing coming out of it--that apparently only royals of his bloodline (or of Lorimar) have, and later on we find out someone shares the mark with him.

Background

Stroud became king of Lorimar, Land of Ice, at a very young age. His attempt at fratricide on his little brother by throwing him -- then a baby -- into the sea failed, though he did not know this until he invaded Illusia and met Keldric.

Involvement

Players meet Stroud early on (unfortunately, though without Stroud we wouldn't have a plot, I guess!) when he invades the Isle of Illusia, looking for the Door to Mavolia, not the Guardian Beast like Keldy and Ritzia originally thought.

Strategy

The first time the player fights Stroud, it's a matter of staying away from his sword attacks and stunning him long enough to get good hits in. The blue orbs, barrels, and boxes on the ship can help with this. The blue orbs freeze and stun Stroud longer than the barrels and boxes do. Stocking up on Gnome tokens helps; if the player shoots them at the blue orbs, boxes, and barrels, Stroud may be drawn into them and stunned.

The second time the player faces Stroud he's in his Grimslie form and is much harder to fight than the first time (not that that time was easy either!). The thing to do is stun him any time you can by throwing things at him or experimenting with Spirit Tokens to see which ones work (Gnome, Luna, Undine, and Salamander have the best chance of working). Aside from that, do whatever works, and use anything around to throw at Stroud, including crystals, pillars, and Spirit Tokens. Once he's stunned, use Faye's Full Tilt spell and go for it. Healing items are in the pillars, or scattered around the battlefield.

The third time you have to have a mix of fighting Stroud and destroying the large flower pillars that are up on the platforms. You go up the stairs until you're across from the pink crystal flowers and jump onto them. Only attack a flower that is glowing. After you destroy the flower pillar, Stroud will become stunned, and you have to quickly jump down and attack him. If there is anything around, throw it at him to stun him further, then use Full Tilt or any other helpful spells of Faye's (Ice Blade, Fire Blade) if you have enough magic.

Quotes

"Where have you been? This very island IS the door to Mavolia!" -Stroud to Leks, Illusia's Village Guard

"That brat with the weed on his arm...he's one of the Tree Folk, isn't he?" -Stroud about Keldy after they briefly fight each other

Trivia

Stroud tried to get rid of his baby brother, Keldy, so that he would be the only child that could become king of Lorimar. The identity and whereabouts of Stroud and Keldy's parents is unknown. It also isn't known if Keldy's parents knew that Stroud tried to kill him. If they did, though, they didn't care or Stroud got rid of them because they knew. Talk about family troubles.

See also

• Keldric