Gaius took an unconventional path for an Albinauric of his ilk. His missing legs affirm that he is a first-generation silver creation. At the same time, the old man received the opportunity to learn sorcery at Sellia alongside the much younger Radahn. This was in all likelihood because the elder had accompanied the young prince as a Carian servant. We already see Rykard bring his Albinauric attendants with him from Caria Manor after joining the Erdtree royal family, so why wouldn’t the same hold true for his younger brother? In the time before he was a general with his own army, Radahn had probably taken an entire retinue to Redmane Castle, consisting mostly of household staff previously familiar to him; Gaius among them. There, the Carian staff would provide the man safety and comfort as he trained in the last “pilgrimage site” of his idol. But in this era of peacetime, there apparently wasn’t all that much for a servant to busy himself with. Old Gaius, a still younger man, therefore had the time to learn new sorcery in the neighboring town.
The Albinauric met the same Alabaster Lord who would teach Radahn the arts of gravity, making them both sibling disciples. Specifically, the servant was the teacher’s first sorcery apprentice, the term anideshi (兄弟子) making him the “older brother” to the prince in this regard. Why was he so curious to learn how to manipulate gravity? Perhaps so that it could give him legs. The Sword Lance’s description claims that Gaius was always riding a wild boar, but from what point? It would be odd for the Carians to supply the one male with a steed, especially when it wasn’t a wolf from the mountaintops. We also never see a boar large enough to be anyone’s mount in the wild. Where did Gaius find this anomaly? Caelid, most likely. Recall that the land holds no shortage of native life suffering gigantism. If local dogs and crows can far outsize man, why not pigs? Boars are present in every other grassy area; their current absence from Caelid can be blamed on the desolation from the Scarlet Rot, which no undomesticated herbivore has survived. That makes it the perfect source for Gaius’ other half.
Indeed, taking clear inspiration from his female counterparts, Gaius learned to ride the boar as a replacement for his legs. However, that requires he first capture and tame the wild animal. On his own, the feeble Carian servant would never have the chance. But with the aid of gravity magic, suppressing his boar was feasible. This begs the question of why he wanted a boar specifically — surely, he could have acquired a horse or wolf for less hassle. But given Gaius’ capabilities with a lance and armor, the boar may have been a deliberate choice. The creature with its large tusks is evocative of Radahn’s helmets. While not exactly lion fangs, Gaius might have wanted to emulate the image of his powerful master, inspired like so many after him to match the red lion’s strength and courage. If he had any hope of developing his combat skills outside sorcery, the aging Albinauric needed mobility; taming the boar supplied the means. And thanks to his teacher, Gaius reeled in a lifelong companion.
Gaius was an “older brother” to not just Radahn but also Gaea. The name “Gaia” (ガイア) is an obvious parallel to Gaius (ガイウス) and thereby implicitly his female counterpart. But we don’t meet any obvious women, Albinauric or otherwise, who practice gravity arts, least of all unnamed. Who is this mysterious character? Gaius is the name of famous Romans like Julius Caesar, appropriate for someone connected to Radahn; the armor of both him and his personal guard incorporate Roman elements. Meanwhile, Gaia means “the earth” in reference to a Greek goddess embodying the land. In that case, perhaps this Gaea is closer to nature. This brings his formerly wild boar to mind. As his legs, the mount must have been present during his training and no doubt cooperates in gravity arts, body producing the same purple electricity as both twirl through the air or make earth-shattering impacts. Female boars also do have tusks, though typically smaller compared to the males. We can thus conclude that Gaea was the name Gaius gave to his other half, both mastering gravity together from that point onward. His learning was her learning.
Black iron helmet of the veteran commander Gaius. Part of the armor said to be modeled on a fallen seed.
It is said that Gaius learned gravity arts with a White King as his teacher and was Radahn and Gaea’s older brother disciple.
On that note, Gaius is presumably responsible for introducing Radahn to his teacher. The Albinauric servant was undoubtedly aware of the prince’s close relationship with his own mount, Leonard, and thereby his troubles with continuing to ride the horse as he kept growing. If the Alabaster Lord could help Gaius with his beloved steed, why not the same for his master? In fact, this was probably the Albinauric’s plan from the start. With nothing else to offer, the meager servant had only his connections to the prince to convince the Lord to teach him first — a quid pro quo for a quid pro quo. Once he had tamed Gaea, old Gaius had obtained both his legs and proof of gravity’s potential to his master. Radahn leapt at this opportunity to stay with Leonard, leading him to become Gaius’ “younger brother” as they both studied under the Alabaster Lord. Along the way, Radahn also educated Gaius on how to become strong, whether formally or merely through example.
Without a doubt, both got up close and personal with each other. Although not necessarily a friendly competition born of rivalry as the localization claims, the two did devote themselves to study, each mastering arts like Blades of Stone or Spinning Gravity Thrust alongside one another. In other words, such diligent studies were a collaborative effort, with the possibility of using each other for live target practice. But from casual bouts or individualized training, the aging Albinauric did build up his body. Of the heavy thrusting swords, Gaius’ weapon requires the most strength and least dexterity of them all. The only reason that it is a Sword Lance is because of Gaea, solely mounted combat all but demanding he charge with some sort of javelin. Otherwise, he matches Radahn following his Starscourge legend, allowing gravity to supplement for lack of finesse. Put simply, the sibling disciples supported each other in all respects. Kind Radahn wasn’t going to stop his honorary older brother from holding his own with a blade when he and the boar were hurling themselves at targets.
Sorcery of the veteran commander Gaius that manipulates gravity.
Generates rock-mass blades from the earth. Enhanced with charging.
It is said that a younger Gaius and Radahn diligently studied together and mastered this art.
Gravity art that those who learned under a White King once mastered. After floating up with gravity, makes charging attack while rotating whole body. Makes another charging attack with additional input.
Choice weapon used by the veteran commander Gaius. Weapon combining a greatsword and lance.
It is heavy and has great attack power, but it demonstrates its true value while mount riding in particular. Gaius was always on a boar’s back.
This made Gaius and Gaea an impressive team and a valued part of the later general’s army. Both warrior and steed wear black iron armor with fang designs over red cloth and hair like Redmane Knights, the boar’s caparison in particular featuring the same lion and tree designs as Radahn’s cloak. Already that demonstrates their place in the prince’s inner circle, which is only furthered by the Albinauric’s armor being made to resemble a fallen seed — specifically, a pine cone — beginning to sprout. Even if he wasn’t born by the grace of the Erdtree, the Starscourge still considered his senior an estranged son of gold, a Carian offshoot setting new roots under its umbrella. This makes the stylized gravity sigil emblazoned on Gaea’s helm take on a new meaning for Radahn. Gaius was that seed which allowed the Starscourge to flourish, and he would always be grateful. Yet despite commissioning such unique armor to honor his classmate, the army man doesn’t appear to have bestowed the silver warrior with actual knighthood.
Being an Albinauric, Gaius had no proper place in Leyndell or Caria under the Golden Order. That is presumably why it was not him but Ogha who first joined the Redmane Knights. Neither was he afforded with the respect of a knight. When the armor was commissioned, the maker included leggings as a means to ridicule the legless silver spawn — especially shameless given that the smiths simultaneously crafted an armor brace to help keep him secure on Gaea’s back to compensate. Even if never openly hostile, the boar rider felt malice from Radahn’s own men for his silver blood, likely in part because he was receiving so much attention. Gaius was always there as Radahn’s faithful servant, but the warrior wouldn’t be recognized as more despite the new general’s assured inclination to do so. They may be brothers-in-arms and in-sorcery, but not even the prince could so blatantly disregard a core pillar of Erdtree religion. Old Gaius was forever going to be impurity in the eyes of others. Perhaps that is why the warrior ended up putting his talents to use in the Realm of Shadow.
Black iron leggings of the veteran commander Gaius. Thing unwearable by him made only for malicious ridicule.
Gaius was a silver-man who made a boar his other half and rode on its back.
Exploring the hidden land, we can come across not just Gaius but a number of Radahn’s warriors. The base Red Bear denning in the Northern Nameless Mausoleum is a former Redmane soldier, evidenced by the model lion fangs on his helm’s face guard. There is also one of Radahn’s royal guard knights camping out in a northern corner of Gravesite Plains, the Savage Lion’s Claw derived from the camper’s ashes confirming the deceased’s identity. At least a small part of the general’s forces has entered the realm long before us. The reason is easy enough to surmise. As one of the highest-ranking military officers, Radahn might be made privy to the secret war ongoing in another dimension. If so, then this would have piqued the Starscourge’s curiosity. A lost land he never knew existed, hidden by his stepmother along with part of Godfrey’s history? It was enough to send an “inspection team” to survey the conflict, provide the army any needed support, and report back about the place in general. And who to be the messenger but trusted Gaius? He proved himself as a go-between and could finally test his mettle.
Helmet of Red Bear, mad warrior who forgot his name. Its face guard is modeled on a lion’s fangs.
Was the former Red Lion fascinated with wild power for that very reason?
In all likelihood, that is what brought Gaius to have an audience with Messmer, where he told the commander of the crusade all about not just this inspection but all the goings-on outside. It is understandable why the secluded demigod was so invested in an old man talking his ear off. He had a younger brother, from the house of Caria? After hearing that, he must know more. For perhaps the first time since starting the crusade, Messmer was learning about what had transpired in the Lands Between in his absence. Gaius was just as happy to talk about their mutual little brother, and since the Albinauric was similarly considered cursed for being born, the two ended up bonding over much deeper matters. Through these meetings, Gaius found a dear friend in Messmer. The Impaler was so touched by Gaius’ talks that he made him a commander. In this land, his word was law, and there was no glory for any of them. Isolated from history, Messmer would give the poor Albinauric the chance to prove himself just as his mother had provided the demigod before then.
Recollection of the veteran commander Gaius engraved in the Shadow Tree.
Can acquire the owner’s power via the Finger Reader. Also, can use to acquire vast runes.
Because they were both the lion’s older brother and because their births were called a curse, Gaius became Messmer’s commander and friend.
Of course, the cursed prince still needed to play politics. When we enter Gaius’ boss room, we find it filled with the arms and armor of Banished Knights, exile soldiers, arena duelists, and more under Messmer’s sign poles. A commander requires an army, and the circumstances suggest that this was the sorcerer lancer’s army. Since his regular forces were no keener to follow the orders of an Albinauric, Messmer placed Radahn’s knight-in-everything-but-name in charge of the fellow misfits drafted into service, creating a new unit of slave troops to command. These janissaries might have been regarded as a lower caste by the main army, but Gaius was still supplied the opportunity to showcase his skills at the lead of a whole battalion, just like his former master. He definitely has some battlefield experience since he is specifically referenced as a “veteran” commander like Niall and O’Neil. By all indications, he was happy to receive even this much acknowledgement for all his efforts. In fact, Radahn might have always intended his servant to retire as this warrior free to seek fame in anonymity.
Behind Shadow Keep, just past Gaius’ boss room, lies the Albinauric’s Shack, a lone archer circling in front of the burned building on wolfback. Add in the Sharpshot Talisman depicting one such female Albinauric left in the ruins, and it is easy to see that the woman joined Gaius in his mission to the Realm of Shadow and continued to live humbly under Messmer’s patronage. Was she his specific inspiration for getting a mount? Was becoming strong like Radahn all an attempt to woo her, being unrivaled in dexterity? Whatever their relationship, it is obvious that old Gaius and his beautiful female companion were happily cohabitating behind the Impaler’s castle. It may have been small, but the servant finally had an idyllic life — coming home to a smile after a grueling day on the training ground or the battlefield. This was all he could have asked for, and Radahn seemed to allow it. This was the kind younger brother’s reward.
Talisman modeled on an archer with longbow. Boosts attack power of precision shooting.
Silver archers were known as fearsome snipers excelling in dexterity.
Indeed, Radahn appears to have not been too concerned with seeing the whole inspection team again. The one royal guard knight stayed until perishing out in the field, leaving only ashes of war. Red Bear similarly forgot his name, lost to the madness of bear communion. As a red lion, the surveyor evidently decided to measure himself against an actual wild animal, specifically the red bears. And after killing his first in a brutal life-or-death battle, the bloodied warrior became so enthralled with their naked power that he wants to become a bear. To that end, he has stripped down to simple iron-riveted armor to cover himself in bear skin; even his new helmet, bearing the last remnants of his Redmane past, has since been replaced with a pelt. Such devotion has rewarded the man a red bear’s roar, but at the cost of becoming a thoughtless berserker. Others in the inspection team may have returned with a report, but clearly, they were all free to linger at their leisure. The general was thus probably satisfied if Gaius found happiness in shadow.
Chest armor of Red Bear, mad warrior who forgot his name. A vest reinforced with iron rivets.
Bringing down a great red bear at the end of a bloody life-or-death battle, the warrior was fascinated. By the purity of naked power.
I simply want to become a bear.
Still, there is always trouble in paradise. With tensions rising throughout the crusaders’ ranks after the Elden Ring was shattered, unrest also began visiting the Albinauric’s unit. The criminals and pagans were sure to notice weakness in their Erdtree overlords’ morale and begin to talk. Soon enough, they had likely all united in a desire to overthrow Messmer during this golden opportunity. Naturally, Commander Gaius stood against them in this, valuing his friendship over any sympathy for those misfits’ plight. The mob’s response? Apparently to burn down his home, though his darling lady friend escaped unharmed. As we can see, Gaius did not take kindly to the insubordination and snuffed out this insurrection before it could truly flare up, at which point we arrive and force him to contend with an intruder — looking at where he rides in from, he must be itching to start rebuilding. That perfect life was short-lived. But for an Albinauric, cursed for being born, Gaius had made the most of it.
Lokey Lore 