The High Priest of Harmonia, Hikusaak, has often been speculated on since being mentioned in Suikoden II and III. While he has yet to show up in an actual Suikoden game, there are many people who have speculated on whether or not he is an evil person, with bad intentions, or whether he is a great hero, with only the purest and noble intentions for his Holy Kingdom of Harmonia.

I would like to point out first, that I have to disagree with the whole "definitely evil" or "definitely not evil" labels. That is all completely subjective and there can be no correct or incorrect answer to that question. With that said, since so few things are really known about Hikusaak, the only way we can have a truly intelligent discussion on the topic is to look at the facts. SARSadmin has posted the following on his website here:

SARSadmin wrote: Name: Hikusaak Origin: Kingdom of Aronia Position: Head Bishop/High Priest Hikusaak was the hero who led a group of people in a rebellion against the Kingdom of Aronia 400 years ago in "The Hero War". Being the holder of the Circle Rune, he has lived ever since as the Harmonian Head of State and Head Bishop. He has total power over Harmonia, but for the last few decades s/he has not been seen. Some suspect that he is no longer alive. Politics have been handled by the Aristocrats after his "disappearance."

Ok, well this only tells us the basics. We know he rules Harmonia, a nation with an imperialist agenda. This brief history would seem to point out that Hikusaak is really a good guy. A hero who led his people in a great war against some Aronia Kingdom (which unfortunately, we know nothing about.)

Was Aronia good? Was Aronia bad? The truth is they were probably somewhere in between. Perhaps their leader was weak and ineffective, and hence corrupt politicians bullied the neighboring kingdoms around. We don't know, and unfortunately, we probably never will. I would say that it's safest to assume that Aronia was a bad place, and that Hikusaak was the "good" guy that led his nation to victory. But, it could just as easily have been a Highland / State situation, and by that I mean AFTER Luca Blight had been killed. This is all pure speculation, and cannot really help us determine a lot about who Hikusaak was. This can only tell us that he likely has some leadership capacity.

The following events are taken from the suikox.com timeline

SARSadmin wrote:

Solar Year - 2 The Hero's War

Hikusaak defeated the Kingdom of Aronia and established the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia. Hikusaak was therefore referred to as "the only hero."

Solar Year 0: Harmonian Theocracy and the Solis Calendar

Hikusaak became High Priest (Head Bishop in Suikoden 3) and began his theocratic rule. The Solar Year (In Solis) was adopted.

Solar Year 20: Warrior's Village Founded

The Paladin Klift defended the Lorimar region from Harmonian invasion. He founded the Warrior's Village to train warriors, starting the "Warrior's Philosophy," which has been carried on ever since. Harmonia and Klift eventually formed a truce, granting autonomy to Warrior's Village.

These events again don't really tell us a lot about Hikusaak's agenda. However, the fact that he signed a truce with Klift of Lorimar does seem to support previous speculations that state that Hikusaak was into the ideas of "honor" & �chivalry�E

However, these next two events from the suikox.com seem to support something regarding the nature of Hikusaak...

SARSadmin wrote:

Solar Year 70: Destruction of the Gate Rune Clan

Seeking the Gate Rune, Harmonian soldiers massacred the Gate Rune Clan. Windy and Leknaat managed to escape and divided the Gate rune. Leknaat lost her sight in the process, but Windy and Leknaat were able to escape in separate directions to hide from Harmonia.

Solar Year 230: Harmonian Civil War & Secession

Following rumors of Hikusaak's death, civil war erupted within the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia. A powerful Harmonian noble, Kranach Rugner, known as the "Scarlet Moon Knight," led a coup in the Toran region during the confusion. With the help of military strategist Julian Silverberg, the coup was bloodless and successful. Subsequently, Kranach proclaimed the establishment of the Scarlet Moon Empire, renaming the Holy City of Rupanda to Gregminster and set it as the empire's capital. The Sovereign Rune, previously under Harmonian control, became the heirloom of the Rugners. During the uprising, Lorimar joined under the banner of Rugner.

These events would seem to state that Hikusaak was known to be alive and well and was in charge of Harmonia from Solar Year -2 to Solar Year 230... or at least until about Solar Year 200 or so. The latter date is somewhat speculative, but Solar Year 230 seems to be the first time that Harmonians question whether or not Hikusaak is really dead or not. With that said, I think that it's 100% safe to assume that Hikusaak was in charge of Harmonia, and aware of the activities being carried out by his forces at the time of Solar Year 70. I don�t think we can deny that Hikusaak was aware of and allowed the massacre of the Gate Rune Clan. If not immediately aware, he would have known that such activities had been taking place within Harmonia. What we do not know, is whether or not Hikusaak condoned such actions or not, but as I will point out with some later facts, we can come to a fairly safe assumption about his nature.

These other facts are paraphrased, and as such, I won't bother using direct quotations. Another fact about Harmonia is its caste system. We know that all first class citizens have blonde hair and blue eyes. This is a trademark within Harmonia, and is enforced by strict marriage practices. What I think too many people assume is that all first class Harmonians have always had blonde hair and blue eyes since the kingdom's founding. I think, rather, that this was just an overly dominant trait among native Harmonians that Hikusaak and the priesthood thought should be something that Harmonians strive for, in order to mark the fact that they are native Harmonians. 400 years later, it's possible that all native Harmonians now have those traits, while Hikusaak himself might not have, when he founded the kingdom. This is just an assumption, as again we don't know the facts about the caste system's origins.

What will lead to a closer idea of Hikusaak's nature is the existence of the third class and sub-human caste rankings. Sub-humans basically are nonhuman slaves, as they are considered "disposable property" of their owners. Third class citizens are native humans of nations recently conquered by Harmonia that are treated like slaves. They may only attain second-class status after a couple hundred years, or by performing some great deed for Harmonia.

It's not likely that a "good" person would allow such discriminatory practices to exist within his nation. Before someone tries to point out that Hikusaak might not have thought up these ideas, let's consider some more facts... Since Harmonia is a "theocracy," whatever the pope, bishop, or (in Harmonia's case) High Priest says is law. It is basically a totalitarian dictatorship, in which the chief "religious" figure has the final say in all matters. It's very safe to assume that the caste system has existed in Harmonia since well before Hikusaak "disappeared." And whether or not the caste and sub-human classes were Hikusaak's idea, he allowed such practices to exist within his nation, and turned a blind eye to the obvious tyrannical results of such practices.

And again, since he was High Priest, he had the power to overturn any decision by the church. He was also considered a hero, and is bearer of the Circle Rune. With that said, he could easily rally enough support to overturn the decision, even if the church ignored his pleas against the caste system, yet he does nothing... With that said, I don't believe Hikusaak was a "good" person in the sense, but we can't really say that he is evil, either...

We know he wants to gain possession of all 27 True Runes, but we still do not know why for sure. Perhaps he shared his vision with Luc, which caused Luc to gradually go insane over time, but Suikoden III mentioned that Luc saw the vision of the True Wind Rune's former bearer, and hence this might not have anything to do with Hikusaak. In fact, Hikusaak might not have any idea about the nature of this "serene world" that Luc describes to the Flame Champion of Suikoden III. This probably isn't the case, but we probably can make a safe assumption that Hikusaak knew something of it. After all, he was the bearer of the Circle Rune of peace, order, and harmony. The fact that he wants to collect all 27 True Runes really, again, can tell us little about his nature. This would seem to point out that he is ambitious, but not necessarily evil. As one person pointed out, he might be trying to protect the True Runes from evil.

And here is the last major fact about Hikusaak. He's been missing since IS 230. What the heck is up with that, anyway? I think that there is overwhelming evidence to support that Hikusaak is still alive, though he plays no part in Harmonian politics anymore. I believe him to be responsible for Luc's rise to power within the Kingdom, and I also believe that he sent out Sasarai to help out Highland, as well as to support Luc in his quest to help him gather the True Runes. Sasarai doesn't seem motivated to conquer the Grasslands, but believes that it is necessary, "Only because Hikusaak wishes it so." He probably wouldn't have made such a comment if Hikusaak himself had not told him so, but again that is an assumption. What seems to be even more convincing is that both Luc and Sasarai are only 30 in Suikoden III. Luc mentioned that he and Sasarai were clones created by Hikusaak. It might be possible that the Harmonian priests carried the creation out, but it can't be a widely known technique, and I believe that Hikusaak wouldn't want other people to know how to do it.

So, why be so reclusive, if he's still alive? My guess is that the Circle Rune has a lot to do with that. It may be the rune of order, peace, and harmony, but... It is also mentioned that it is the rune of stagnation as well. Perhaps after over 200 years, it began affecting his personality. I believe that it likely made him a recluse like Howard Hughes or something, and he probably didn't like the company of others, as it might've interrupted his "personal order."

Without having Hikusaak in a game or story, it's rather hard to draw decisive conclusions about what he is really like. However, I would like to make a summary of his traits that I believe to be true. I believe Hikusaak was initially an ambitious, charismatic, and honorable leader (reference the hero war, and the truce with Klift.) But, even so, I don't believe he had the genuine "goodness" of the heroes that Suikoden likes to depict. I would go so far to say that he wasn't even as "good" a leader as Jowy, or Lucia. I would peg Hikusaak to being similar in personality to Gorudo, at least initially.

How come? Well, he isn't evil incarnate, like Luca Blight, but he allowed the tyrannical caste system and is known to have allowed the plundering and massacre of several villages in search of the True Runes. The Gate Rune Clan is just one example of what were (supposedly) numerous invasions by Harmonian forces in their "witch hunt." Whether or not he was a great leader for Harmonia, he obviously lacks a good deal of conviction, since he doesn't seem to care what method his men get to obtain the True Runes, and is perfectly content to allow his defeated enemies to be ridiculed and mistreated, as opposed to welcoming them with open arms into his "Holy Kingdom."

With that said, I think that he's comparable to a spectrum of real world leaders. At worst, I'd say he is a lot like Adolf Hitler. Obvious references to his "blonde hair and blue eyes" but he also would just assume kill off all of his enemies, or subject them to a long period of servitude, once defeated. He also has that whole sub-human class. And, lets remember... Hitler was Time's "Man of the Year" and was considered by many to be a great leader, and was a "hero" to the German people at the time. (Of course, history has since given us the truth about what Hitler was really like...)

On the other hand, at best... I'd say he's comparable to George W. Bush. Let's think about this for a moment, a lot of people like to compare Bush with Hitler (which is preposterous, but nonetheless it DOES happen.) Also, Bush has led attacks on nations, which many of the American people support as being just, and �the right thing to do." Bush leads America with a rather religious and moral slant, a slant that I'm sure Hikusaak would try to lead Harmonia with. While the rest of the world seems to bemoan his so-called "Great Crusade," I think that Bush really believes that he is doing the right thing for the American people, and the world as a whole. However, I cannot deny that a great many people would disagree and have just cause for calling him "evil."

The reality of Hikusaak is probably in that gray middle somewhere, and I must digress that I'm a bit disappointed on the lack of information on him that we're given. Especially when one considers that he probably is the single most important historical figure in the Suikoden World, and all we seem to know is his name, and that he led a war... Perhaps we are meant to speculate on Hikusaak and his nature, but personally, I'd like some solid facts on him.

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