Lohen/Storyline

Lohen is the Vice Captain of the Knights of Favonius' Fifth Company.^[5][6]

Profile

Lohen is the Vice Captain of the Fifth Company, a company specialized in range weaponry. In combat, this company does not fight as one, but splits into multiple squads to aid other companies and gain the advantage against long-range opponents. Lohen is a dedicated fighter even within his company, eager to fight more monsters and help Mika gain the ideal position for his surveyor work.^[6]

Personality

Lohen is a wild and cocky young man, with a manic and bloodthirsty streak. Stated by Varka as only caring about fighting, Lohen pointedly states his enjoyment of combat, regardless of whether or not he'll win, and refuses practice sessions claiming it's not fun to attack objects that can't fight back. Without monsters around to fight, Lohen will set his sights on his fellow knights, particularly Varka who he frequently attempts to trap and surprise attack for fun. Lohen also possesses a mischievous streak, often pranking his fellow knights and playing tricks on them when they get drunk. Once again, he pointedly focuses on Varka, drugging or poisoning his drinks to see what happens. Despite all this, Varka praises Lohen as tougher than himself,^[5] and Mika comments that Lohen has a special charisma that inspires his companions to follow his brave and crazy tactics to fight the enemy.^[6]

Being extremely observant, Lohen is quick to tell when someone is lying to him. Mika is a particular source of this, as the cartographer attempts to keep Lohen safe by not including enemy camps on his maps, but Lohen finds out anyways.

In combat and against enemies, Lohen uses any advantage he can find, including unscrupulous methods such as poison and torture. In fact, he has a particular love of poisons and has a variety with multiple effects at his disposal, not all being lethal. Ultimately, Lohen seeks to become more powerful so as to protect others, which has led to him developing a high tolerance for pain as well as honing his skills, and seeking any other advantage he can find.^[7] These sources of power can be dangerous, including those tied to the Abyss, but he refuses any power that would cost him his autonomy as he's committed to being more powerful himself, not with the assistance of anyone else.

Having intense love for physical and mental thrills, Lohen willingly puts himself into danger, causes himself pain, and puts himself in the line of fire as the thrill reminds him he's alive. In one particular instance, he used himself holding an apple as the practice target for his subordinates. In contrast, he strongly dislikes menial, everyday tasks, quickly growing bored if forced to do chores.

Despite his wild and chaotic personality, Lohen does understand wisdom. He understands what true strength is and politely told off Nicole and the Hexenzirkel for attempting to teach him about it. Rather, he specifically does not seek true strength, believing that's best left to the heroes and legends like Varka or the Traveler.

Appearance

See also: Frost-Forged Edge

Lohen uses the medium male model. He has pale skin, short and fluffy mint-gray hair and dull red eyes with an outer greenish ring. He has a small beauty mark under his right eye.

History

Past

Lohen was raised by his father and mother. He was trained in bow making, but was not taught how to fire the bow itself. One day, as he and his father went to deliver an order to the city, they were attacked by skilled bandits hired by Eroch, who was kidnapping children for Dottore's experiments. Despite his father's efforts to protect him, he was ultimately kidnapped. Fortunately, the Knights of Favonius, led by Adorno, arrived and rescued them before they could be moved to another location. Adorno immediately took note of Lohen's unusual demeanor and marked him as a person of interest.^[8]

Following the incident, his parents became fearful of him being taken away, but Lohen, now intrigued and wanting to protect others, began sneaking out with his own handmade equipment to practice on the surrounding monsters. He quickly developed a reputation for himself and subsequently joined the Adventurers' Guild, much to his parents' outrage. They tried to dissuade him, even calling Adorno, but Adorno told them that they could no longer stop him, but instead guide him on his path. Lohen subsequently applied to the Knights of Favonius and successfully joined, later asking Adorno what happened to the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Adorno told him that the suspect had committed suicide and told him about Varka, who caught his interest.^[9] Lohen would attempt to challenge Varka with numerous methods, who initially saw him as a younger self and had him sent to confinement. When he was released, he gave Varka a large bottle of wine, and as he drank it, he immediately realized it had been adulterated and recalled Adorno's words; Lohen had never cared about winning or seeking glory. Varka shrugged off the drink, much to Lohen's awe, and he swore to continue challenging him and also as a way to ensure they couldn't be used on him either.^[10]

Lohen ultimately worked his way up to vice-captain of the Fifth Company, which caused concern because of his unusual attitude and constant attempts at "ambushing" Varka. After one session, he thought about being able to fight head-on as the company had always been ranged, which meant they could not sustain prolonged fights if their ammunition ran out. Seeing several spears, he decided to train with them; on the next session, a spear emerged from the middle of the formation. Seamus Pegg thought he was insane by making himself a target, but Varka noticed that the company's strikes were much sharper and he was still standing, which he believed would work well in their favor, granting him the position of Vice-Captain for the company.^[11]

When Varka announced an expedition to Nod-Krai in order to quell the unrest from Andrius' remaining fragments, Lohen was itching to join. However, he was constantly refused due to most people not supporting him, and he ultimately decided on a thought-provoking question to be admitted. He wrote up some scenarios which could endanger the expedition and ended it with the question "If the Knights of Favonius can't even protect themselves, how can they protect Mondstadt?". These were the words of the previous Grand Master before he was ambushed, and upon reading this, Varka approved Lohen's request to join.^[12] In order to gain the trust of the Northern Intelligence Network, Lohen was tasked with infiltrating and dismantling a smuggling ring, which he did perfectly apart from revealing himself once he was deep within enemy lines to subdue everyone.^[13]

Unlike the rest of the Knights who were stationed at Favonius Keep, Lohen was not there, spending the majority of his time combating The Wild Hunt out in the wilds. Lohen was also present with Varka when they ambushed Rerir, but they underestimated the Sinner and he was badly beat, causing him to be hospitalized for several days. By the time the Traveler and their Nod-Krai friends banished him, some of the Fifth Company personnel were ordered to return to Mondstadt, including Lohen.^[14] Mika helps Lohen and the Fifth Company adjust to their new duties.^[6]

Due to the order, Lohen ended up missing the fight against Dottore. Following the operation, Varka had Lohen bring several letters with him back to Mondstadt. Lohen decided to look for Venti first, heading to Thousand Winds Temple and fought the resident Ruin Guard there.

Present

Venti and the Traveler later investigated the sounds and discovered Lohen, who promptly introduced himself to them and gave the bard his letter. The Traveler brought him back to Mondstadt, where he delivered more letters to the Knights and other associates there. Concerned that he was tired from the long journey, Jean asked him to have the others deliver the remaining letters, and he agreed to let the Traveler bring Kaeya's letter. He wished to head to Wolvendom himself after learning of another challenger who passed Boreas' trial, hoping the wolf spirit would reveal himself to him. The trip ended up being marred by the sudden emergence of the Wild Hunt in the forest, which he eliminated without issue. Upon catching up with Boreas, Lohen was dismayed to learn that Dvalin could only bring one person to Nod-Krai, accepting that the Honorary Knight had to go alone, so he remained behind to handle any stragglers.^[15]

Before Adorno would retire, he wished to have Lohen succeed him in both position and title. The Traveler arrived at headquarters where the two were discussing the procedures, which would make him the official captain of the company. The Traveler and Paimon agreed to visit Adorno with him, where he explained to his mentor how the expedition fared. The group then investigated the surrounding area, where they ran into Diluc and later Sucrose, the latter giving him some simulated tests. When one of the enemies was Rerir, Lohen was nearly overcome with an unusual obsession but managed to hold himself back. He was taken away for a checkup, although Theodore asked him about the experiment, which Lohen was willing to continue.^[16] However, this resulted in monsters escaping into the wild, which Lohen eliminated to the best of his abilities and he tried to dissuade him from continuing, believing they were prolonging his suffering. When Varka discovered what they were doing, Lohen uncharacteristically asked Varka to give him some time, which the Grand Master allowed.^[17] However, he left in the middle of the night along with Adorno, forcing Varka to bring the Traveler and Diluc with him. They found him at an abandoned site, where it was revealed that Theodore had been using Ursa's flesh to create potions to preserve Adorno's life. Adorno, having tracked them down himself, forgave both young men for their actions before they destroyed the monsters and Ursa's flesh before dying from his injuries. In the aftermath of the incident, Jean had Lohen put in confinement, rescinded his promotion and did not allow him to inherit Adorno's title, though he was allowed to retain his vice-captain position. Once the ceremony was over, Lohen visited Adorno's grave, where he admitted to the Traveler that he would not let anyone unworthy inherit Adorno's title, even if it was himself.^[18]

Trivia

• Lohen is around the same age as Mika.^[19]
• Lohen's characterization and Constellation Lepus Miles may be references to the "killer rabbits" depicted in the margins of medieval English manuscripts. These rabbits were often depicted as violent, sadistic, and bloodthirsty creatures, in stark contrast to their reputation as docile and mild-mannered prey animals.^[20][21] The concept of killer rabbits was also later popularized by the Rabbit of Caerbannog in the 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
  • Additionally, rabbits are also frequently associated with cunning trickster archetypes in several world mythologies (see Wikipedia's section about Rabbits in culture).

Open-World Interactions

• Lohen can be encountered and interacted with in the open world in the following scenarios:
  • Talking to Hannelore at Dornman Port. See Dornman Port § Lohen and Hannelore.
  • Investigating a thief in Dornman Port. See Dornman Port § Lohen and Insigne.
  • Looking for a meal at Taste of the North. See Taste of the North § Frith and Lohen.
  • Training Ursula and Gunther at the Knights of Favonius Base. See Knights of Favonius Base § Lohen, Gunther, and Ursula.
  • By himself inside the Knights of Favonius Base. See Knights of Favonius Base § Lohen, Gunther, and Ursula.

Etymology

• Lohen is a poetic term meaning "to flare" (as a verb) or the plural of the word Lohe meaning "flame" (as a noun) in German.
• Lohen's name may also be a reference to Lohengrin, the titular character of the Lohengrin opera by Richard Wagner, itself from the Knight of the Swan medieval tale.
  • In most languages, his Constellations are all named after lines from operas and music dramas by Richard Wagner, including Lohengrin.

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Lohen
Chinese (Simplified)	洛恩 Luò'ēn
Chinese (Traditional)	洛恩 Luò'ēn
Japanese	ローエン Rooen
Korean	로엔 Ro'en
Spanish	Lohen
French	Lohen
Russian	Лоэн Loen
Thai	Lohen
Vietnamese	Lohen
German	Lohen
Indonesian	Lohen
Portuguese	Lohen
Turkish	Lohen
Italian	Lohen

References