Rooks is the hero of Arcana. Descended of the legendary Card Master, Fanas, it is his destiny as the last of his kind to prevent the revival of Rimsala and vanquish her should she revive. He can be naive (tricked throughout all of Chapter 1, his decision to walk right into a trap in Chapter 4), but at the same time is very insightful into his duties and the way to go about them.
Not much is known about his past. The son of Zahan, one of the Three Knights of Lexford, he lost his parents during Galneon's coup against King Wagnall. Though they escaped to safety, a fellow knight sold them out to the enemy, leading to Galneon's murder of both of Rooks' parents. For the next ten years, Rooks would begin teaching himself the way of a Card Master, just so the legacy would live on.
Ten years after the coup, Rooks is still an amateur Card Master at best. But one day, his old friend Ariel comes back into his life. Ariel's father was the one who betrayed Rooks' parents, but despite that Rooks is willing to listen to his story about the chaos in Balnia Temple. Agreeing to go there alongside Teefa, a sorceress working under Ariel, Rooks is dragged into a conflict that will decide his very destiny, as well as that of the world.
If any of this is answered in the Japanese version, seeing as my translation skills are pretty much nill so I can't check anything other than short phrases or single kanji that make sense in software, please float me a line so I can give a better answer.
Rooks' Birthplace: Rooks grew up in the town of Galia, in the north of the game's map, however the capital of Lexford (where his father would most likely be serving the king) is all the way down south (Bintel Castle...I know the introduction says it's something different but the Japanese version has the same name for both). Did Zahan just come home to visit his wife and son in Galia, but live most of his time in the capital? Or did Rooks grow up in the capital and just end up in Galia later on?
Though I don't have any proof to offer, I believe he did at least spend some time in the capital in his childhood. Mostly because of the map improbabilities but it would also make sense if survivors fled as far from the capital as possible once Galneon killed the king. Galia being the furthest away from Bintel Castle would make the best place to hide the only heir to the Card Masters...it served the best chance of being out of Galneon's field of vision.
Bad at Names, Rooks?: Upon meeting Salah, Rooks muses about having heard her name before, only to have Axs confirm her to be the princess immediately after. However, he makes no reaction to having remembered Teefa's name when he meets her in the previous chapter.
Several possibilities exist. One, if he lived in Bintel Castle at any time in his life he might have run into the princess once. The scenario might have been Salah just trying to entertain herself while her sister was at a lesson of some sorts, and running into him then. Or any other time the sisters were not together.
Second, Salah's name might have been the more known one. From my translations, it was shown that she is the younger twin so most likely Teefa was the heir. The king could have wanted to keep the name of his first child a closely guarded secret due to the war and everything, leaving Rooks to only learn the name of her sister.
Or they could just not have wanted to spoil the surprise, but that's only if the Japanese manual isn't as spoiler ridden in its Character Profiles as the American one.
Pics of Rooks
Official Art
Rooks' Sprites
Max Level Screenshot
