Radovan

Category:Square-Enix Characters
Category:Final Fantasy characters
gunbreaker who honors the legacy of Gunnhildr's Blades, Radovan was coerced into serving in the Garlean army upon the capture of his family by Bozja's imperial oppressors. After disobeying orders in protest of a dangerous experiment planned for his homeland, however, he was summarily incarcerated for a decade. Though he eventually escaped the gaol alongside Sophie, a member of the Dalmascan resistance, it was only to discover that everyone he knew and loved had been annihilated by the very experimentation he once sought to prevent—a tragedy that would later be known as the Bozja incident. With the shock and despair of this dreadful revelation, he came close to taking his own life, but found the will to carry on in honor of the memory of the queen and clan he could not save. Dedicating his life to protecting those in need of succor, he took up the mantle of bodyguard once more, and ventured forth to Eorzea—where both Radovan, now forty-five, and his close companion, Sophie, remain.
— Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume III, p. 231Radovan fought as a forced conscript in the Imperial Army, with his family being held hostage as a motivator. On a mission away from home, Radovan refused to kill for the Empire and was imprisoned for his disobedience. He was fitted with a Magitek shock collar and thoroughly abused by the wardens of the prison, much as the other inmates were. When he was approached by Vitus quo Messalla with the option of freedom under the condition that Radovan worked for him as a member of the Alaudae, he refused, not wanting to be a dog for the Empire any longer. He was tortured brutally and imprisoned once again. 
Over the course of ten years, Radovan steadily dug his way out of his cell. However, due to a miscalculation, he ended up digging through the cell of Sophie. Upon doing this, the pair used the commotion caused by the digging to escape from the gaol. The pair traveled together, with Radovan planning to return home to his family. Unfortunately, he returned to nothing but the rubble remaining after the Bozja Incident. Losing his family and his homeland, Radovan intended on taking his own life, only to be stopped by Sophie. Together, the two vowed to never let this happen again, and would work together to defend all who needed them. They left Bozja behind and made for Eorzea.
The pair did odd jobs and bodyguard work for a time until crossing paths with the Warrior of Light in Gridania. Observing their talents in combat, Radovan offers to train them in the art of the Gunbreaker, which they accept. Returning to Gridania, the trio took up a job protecting a famous musician from attackers who intended to kill her, during which Radovan trained the Warrior of Light on the various techniques of a Gunbreaker. After apprehending the jealous musician behind the attacks, Radovan and Sophie travel to Ul'dah.
While in Ul'dah, Radovan had diffculty finding work, until the pair were hired by a woman who wanted them to scare off her ex-husband, who apparently kept approaching them all around the city. She planned to lure him outside the city walls, then have Radovan, Sophie and the Warrior of Light scare him off. The plan went off without a hitch, but Sophie had a sudden realization, and urged the other two to follow her. Leading them out further into the desert, Radovan witnessed the woman preparing to sell her son to a pair of slavers. At that moment, the father they had just scared off jumped in front of his son, refusing to let the slavers take him, which prompted them to beat him into the ground. Wishing to save the group, Radovan gave the order to move. Though he made to attack, he suddenly seized up and was unable to move, leaving the fighting up to the Warrior of Light. After the confrontation, the father explained that due to his gambling, his wife left him, taking their son. Though he managed to turn his life around, it turned out that the mother had fallen in with a bad sort, and had to do whatever she could to make ends meet. The trauma of this caused her to turn to the drug Somnus, which slowly changed who she was, to the point of only caring about the next high, even going so far as to be willing to sell her son. Sophie explains that her time in prison brought her close to people who suffered from the same affliction, and she knew the signs when she saw the mother. The father planned to have her treated for her addiction, and would take care of their son in the meantime.
With the family back safely in the city, Radovan explained his past to the Warrior of Light, and noted that the effects of the shock collar had caused some form of permanent damage to him, and the paralysis of the collar would unexpectedly flare up from time to time. He apologized and said that he had grown tired of the desert heat, and he and Sophie made their way to Limsa Lominsa.
While in Limsa Lominsa, the pair are tasked with safeguarding a prisoner, Guldweitz, to the city. As an extremely high-ranking criminal, he had made several enemies on both sides of the law. Now that he had turned himself in and planned to expose the entire underbelly of the city, he needed to be guarded from bandits on the road. Radovan suggested that the Warrior of Light lead the charge. Once they reached the checkpoint, a Yellowjacket guard came and informed the group that the bandits had merely been the lookouts, and the rest of the force was up ahead. Because of this, the prisoner was to be handed off to her and everyone else returned to their posts. After a bit of arguing, the Yellowjacket takes Guldweitz with her. 
Now acting on his own hunch, Radovan gives chase, only to find Guldweitz in a cave on his knees and the Yellowjacket brandishing her axe. As it turned out, the Yellowjacket had lost a dear friend thanks in part to Guldweitz, and she planned to take revenge. Radovan talked her out of this idea, explaining that though Guldweitz may be irredeemable, he was still acting in a manner that would save countless lives. The rest of the Yellowjackets caught up and took her back to base, leaving Guldweitz alone with the group. He explained that he had become terminally ill, and realized that though he had made his way to the top of the underworld, Limsa Lominsa was the way it was because of people like him. He then decided to do something good with the rest of his time and turned himself in. Appreciating the bravery this took, Radovan led him the rest of the way to the city. 
Tiring of the constant pirates and cutthroats, Radovan and Sophie made their way to Coerthas. Hired by the Garlond Ironworks, Radovan is tasked with protecting a defecting scientist named Cato Mammula, who seeks to aid in the battle against the Empire. When it turns out that he is being pursued by the Alaudae, a dangerous band of well-skilled murderers fighting for their freedom from their imprisonment with the Empire, Radovan asks Sophie to stay behind, explaining it to be far too dangerous for her, and implying that he won't be able to protect her. Taking offense to this, she storms off. Radovan explains to the Warrior of Light that while she was more than capable, he couldn't put her in harm's way like that, as she had filled the void left behind by his family's death.
When Radovan and the Warrior of Light meet Cato, Radovan recognizes him, but says nothing. The group fights its way through the Alaudae that pursue them until they reach Camp Dragonhead. the Ironworks engineer suffers an injury and has to stay behind in Camp Dragonhead, but Radovan insists he take Cato to Ishgard and complete the mission, with the Warrior of Light watching to make sure no one pursues them, and they set off. 
When Sophie catches up with the Warrrior of Light and hears of what happened, she explains that Cato was in charge of Project Meteorand was partially responsible for the destruction that befell the Citadel. She says there is a good chance that Radovan intends to exact his revenge, and the two set off after them. The Warrior of Light manages to stop Radovan before he brings his Gunblade down upon Cato, and Cato speaks, telling him that he has felt horrid guilt over what happened, and that he's spent his life since then trying to atone. It was the reason that he defected. When it seems that Radovan is still about to kill Cato, the Warrior of Light questions his honor as a Gunbreaker. This finally gets through to Radovan, who declares that he has thrown away his honor as both a Gunbreaker and a man, and calls the Warrior of Light the "Last of them" before walking into the blizzard.
In reality, Radovan did not seek the death of Cato, but had actually noticed the Alaudae spying on them from the cliff. Though he did want to hear Cato confess his crimes, and did derive pleasure from seeing him driven to his knees, he knew the Alaudae now targeted the Warrior of Light. He distanced himself from them and began tracking them of his own accord. He then also made a surprising discovery; the Alaudae in the field were not only led by Vitus, but were also still wearing their collars. Taking one off a slain Imperial, he met with Cato. The two spoke late into the night, and eventually came to an understanding. Radovan asked Cato to make an override device for the collars, which Cato did. Radovan then followed quietly along with the Warrior of Light and Sophie, waiting for Vitus to spring his trap and capture them.
Just as Vitus was about to land a fatal strike on the immobilized Warrior of Light, Radovan intercepted the blow, driving Vitus back. He activated the collar override and took out the members of the Alaudae, leaving Vitus to fight for himself. Vitus merely killed the incapacitated Alaudae, and brandished his own Gunblade, calling the one wielded by Radovan an "antique". Radovan, Sophie and the Warrior of Light all engaged Vitus in battle. It was a brutal struggle, with Radovan and Sophie eventually being downed, but the Warrior of Light managed to defeat Vitus. With their opponent slain, they returned to Ishgard.
Radovan thanked Cato for what he had done, noting that they would not have survived without his device. He then turned his attention to the Warrior of Light, thanking them for guiding him back on the path of the Gunbreaker. He told them that he didn't have anything else to teach them, but wished for one more favor; he asked for them to guide him and Sophie to Mor Dhona. He hoped that if the adventurers there saw the Warrior of Light with a Gunblade strapped to their back, they would be more interested in learning the ways of the Gunbreaker from him. Arriving in Revenant's Toll, he confessed that he and his ancestors were being overly cautious by not teaching their art to outsiders. Radovan thanked the Warrior of Light for everything they had done for him, and told them to follow their path wherever it may lead.
Some time later, after the events on The First, the Warrior of Light returned to Radovan, telling him about their adventures, and Thancredbeing trained by another Gunbreaker Hrothgar. Sophie comments that she heard rumors about a Gunblade wielding Hrothgar, but assumed they were about Radovan. Realizing that some of his people may well have survived the Incident, he takes off following rumors of where the Hrothgar had been seen. 
The trio follow these rumors all the way back to Ishgard, where they learn that the Hrothgar sought out Cato. Fearing that the mysterious Gunbreaker sought to kill Cato, Radovan, Sophie and the Warrior of Light tracked them down in Coerthas. Finally the group finds Rostik, and learns that many of those who did not live in the Citadel or were away on missions survived. Rostik had chosen to leave the past behind and sought Cato for help rebuilding Bozja. He also asked Radovan to join him in rebuilding. Guessing that Radovan would follow his people, Sophie turned away, hiding her face and her disappointment. 
Radovan declined however, saying that he had already lost a family, and did not want to lose another. Though they were as different as night and day, he says that she is important to him. Rostik understood, and asked that should Radovan cross paths with any Bozjans, to direct them to him, and set off again.
Back at Revenant's Toll, Radovan says he doesn't feel the need to rush to find more successors to the Gunbreakers, and intended to continue on as a bodyguard to show what the Bozjans are capable of. Though he would be traveling around, Mor Dhona would always be his new home, and a place to "hang his hat".