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Rickert (リッケルト Rikkeruto?) is the youngest member of the Band of the Hawk.
Appearance
Although he still has not grown into adulthood, being one of the only three surviving members of the original Band of the Hawk, his appearance changed greatly in the many years that have passed. At first, he was a very young child with an innocent smile on his face and remained for the most part similar for the remainder of the Golden Age arc. When Guts returned from his two-year long war against the demons, he had grown in height to compliment his older age, and Guts did not recognize him. His hair had also grown out and was tied in a ponytail, and he often had a scarf on his head as a budding blacksmith.
Personality
Rickert, being one of the youngest characters to remain alive to date, has a gentle, rational, and somewhat childishly innocent personality that contrasts with the rough ones of the typical mercenary, especially Guts. He perceives that Corkus was the one who started the fight with Guts and thus was responsible for losing his men. During the Battle of Doldrey, he makes a short speech about the Hawks being cornered: they will live if they fight and die if they lose, perceived by Corkus as indication that "Rickert has lost his mind", defining the out-of-character moment. The party celebrating the end of the Hundred Years' War demonstrates his childishness, in that he cannot handle the women fawning over his cuteness.
Rickert's early contact with Guts involved a degree of idolization for saving him during the swordsman's first battle with the Hawks. This mellows down to friendship, during which he becomes one of Guts' friends during the Hawks. His gentleness has been commented on by Guts, who prevented him from accompanying him on his journey because he is unable to hate Griffith. Rickert seems to share a brotherly bond with Pippin, who he is almost never seen without and who protects him during the Battle of Doldrey. This bond also extends to Judeau and may extend to the other Hawks to a certain degree, as he forged swords for the deceased Hawks during Guts' two-year absence.
Perhaps Rickert's greatest attribute is his intelligence and engineering skill. He is shown assembling a crossbow in his first appearance. His most notable work is creating the Cannon Arm for Guts by assembling it from parts he found in Godo's storage. During his apprenticeship under Godo, Rickert learns blacksmithing and upon Guts' return, upgraded his arsenal.
Abilities
Though not an overtly threatening physical fighter, Rickert's greatest asset is his brilliant mind when it comes to engineering, having been the one to design many of the weapons we see Guts using in the series. Skilled in metalworking and war craft, Rickert and his weaponry has saved more than one life, including his own.
He is not without the ability to use the things he creates, having used a wagon-mounted repeating crossbow to fend off harpies at one point. With some time for preparation, Rickert's tactical war designs are incredibly useful in fending off even powerful Apostles, such as Rakshas. Within hours, after looking at a creation he had never seen before, he was able to modify it to spray fire instead of water.
History
Golden Age Arc
Early on, Rickert was saved by Guts during the latter's first battle with the Hawks. After Guts lost to Griffith, he was inducted, and Rickert defended him by rationalizing that Corkus got his men killed by attacking. This came with a degree of idolization for Guts that would mellow with time. Rickert was a passionate soldier, if not the most notable fighter, though he had enough skill to survive many of the Hawks' battles.
When Griffith and Guts are at Zodd's mercy, Rickert is among the leading Hawks charging in to attack Zodd. After the battle with Wyald, Rickert is responsible for keeping watch over the wounded Hawks while the others move ahead. Rickert spies a strange light across a lake, which quickly passes him and heads for the camp. Rickert returns and is horrified to find that Apostles are attacking the camp, with the Count feasting on the massacred soldiers and the light, which turned out to be Rosine, having led several of her Apostle Spawn to the area to feed. Rickert is frozen with fear and is about to be killed and eaten when the Apostles are fought off by the Skull Knight.
This is not Rickert's last meeting with the Skull Knight, as a short time later the Knight finds him and deposits the unconscious Guts and Casca with him to keep them safe. Rickert takes them to Godo's mine house, where he intends for them to stay and recover and meet Erica. However, shortly after becoming well enough to walk, Guts leaves on his own, trusting Casca's safety to him and Erica. Meanwhile, Rickert begins the practice of creating swords in his spare time, and in the time Guts is gone creates hundreds and uses them all as grave markers for the slaughtered Band of the Hawk.
Conviction Arc
Two years later, about a month before Guts' return, Casca unfortunately escapes and runs off. Rickert is very distressed and nearly died looking for her, and was forced to return home empty-handed to see to Erica. Guts is equally upset when he finds out, but Erica chides him on how hard Rickert worked to find her and how Guts should have stayed around to watch Casca and help her recover, which causes Guts to realize his mistake. After Godo reinforces Guts' equipment, Rickert resupplies Guts and provides him with more tools for his upcoming quest: miniature bombs with highly condensed power.
Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc
Rickert meets Guts one more time, and that is when he returns to the mine with Casca in tow having survived the Tower of Conviction. Unfortunately, Rickert tells Guts that Godo is dead and that he and Erica will be leaving soon, as the mine cannot support them any longer. They soon meet the reincarnated Griffith, along with Nosferatu Zodd, whom he has enlisted as a personal bodyguard and mount. Guts immediately attacks, and Rickert wonders why the two are enemies while Guts duels Zodd. After Griffith leaves with Zodd, Guts offscreen tells him the truth, in that he betrayed the Hawks, but tells Rickert he will not take him in his quest for revenge as Rickert is too gentle a person to hate Griffith.
However, Rickert's days of harsh survival are not over. After Shiva is slain and the astral and physical worlds are merged, Rickert determines he must take Erica to Falconia for their survival, and fends off a horde of harpies and a cockatrice with a repeater crossbow in the back of the wagon they have enlisted. The two also witness Irvine in action.
Fantasia Arc
Upon arriving in Falconia, the two meet Luca and her girls, now working as apartment complex managers, and Daiba, though they do not find out his true nature until later. Not long after arriving, he is summoned by Griffith, who wants to meet with Rickert. Before the two meet, he is pulled aside by Locas, who shows him on a whim the nature of Apostles and what they do in their spare time: gladiating and other horrific forms of blood sport, which is needed to sate their bloodlust so they do not attack the people they are supposed to be protecting. Rickert is horrified by this, and is inwardly tormented as he goes off to meet Griffith.
Rickert then engages Griffith, going back and forth cryptically for some time before slapping him across the face. Onlookers are shocked and outraged, and Griffith himself seems unable to process it, as Rickert tells him off for his audacity and what the Hawks meant. In doing this, he inadvertently proves the God Hand vulnerable to physical harm. He leaves, telling Griffith he cannot stay in Falconia, and Griffith allows this, stopping Locas from attacking.
However, either Griffith was more infuriated by this than he seemed, or an underling took offense, as the Apostle Raksas attacks Rickert a night later in retaliation. His life is saved by Silat and the Tapasa, who fend him off and succeed in breaking his mask, which causes him to leave before finishing the fight, but he promises to return and attack again when he has found a new one. Knowing they have little time, Rickert engages Silat, answering some of his questions and requesting some of his assistance in protecting Erika.
Rakshas attacks again the next night, but Rickert is ready. Erika being kept inside and quiet, Rakshas is injured by a trap and further injured by the Tapasas, who spray fire at him with a modified fire hose. The shock and pain cause Rakshas to enter his Apostle form, putting the men's lives on the line as well as Erika's when he finds her. Erika's life is saved by Daiba, the Kushan beastmaster and sorcerer, who reveals his nature and repays Erika her kindness to him. Rickert, Erika, Silat, the Tapasas, and Daiba flee from Rakshas on several Garuda pterasaurs, but are alarmed to find that he can fly. Rickert himself takes out Rakshas, revealing a cannon he created and blasting the Apostle's head at mid range.
The group have formed a small band of their own, and their adventures henceforth are unknown.
References
- ^ a b c Shikaisha., Nakajima, R., Shimizu, Y., Mochizuki, M., Okada, M., Suzuki, M. (2016). "Berserk Official Guide Book". Tokyo: Young Animal Comics.
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