Welkin Gunther

Welkin Gunther is Squad 7's leader, and main protagonist of the first Valkyria Chronicles title.

Appearance
Welkin has slightly messy ashy brown hair, grey eyes and and an unassuming expression on his face in most situations.

In his civilian outfit, Welkin wears a two toned brown jacket with four pockets on the front over a buttoned up cream shirt. He wears baggy blue jean like pants, done up with a brown belt with a dark grey buckle.

In his Squad 7 militia uniform, Welkin wears the standard Gallian militia uniform, but with a militry cap and a pair of headphones.

In the beach DLC, Welkin wears an old fashioned black and dark grey striped one piece bathing suit.

History
The son of Belgen Gunther, a hero of the first Europan war, Welkin Gunther was born in the rural Gallian village of Bruhl, a small village on the outskirts of the Gallian-Empire border. Welkin gained an adoptive sister in Isara Gunther at a young age, after her father, a great engineer, passed away.

Welkin's mother's life was tragically cut short as she ended up as one of the victims of the first Europan war, and Belgen was drafted into doing his part for the country, leaving a young Welkin and Isara to be raised by Martha Lipponen, the Gunther's nanny.

Upon Belgen's return, he and Welkin bonded over a shared love of nature, going fishing and sketching flora and fauna together. Although Belgen was haunted by the losses he had recieved due to the war including his beloved wife and his brothers in arms, this time with his son just enjoying nature brought him comfort and happiness.

Welkin unfortunately lost his father to a heavy illness when he was only 13, although the time he had spent with Belgen had fostered a genuine love for the nature that Gallia had to offer, and Welkin eventually went on to the University of Randgriz to study biology and with the ultimate goal of becoming a teacher and sharing his love and knowledge of nature with younger generations.

Unfortunately the second Europan war had began to manifest causing skirmishes along the Gallian-Empire border, urging Welkin to return to Bruhl, gather his sister and their possessions and move to the safety of the capital city.

As he began feeling nostalgic for his home village, he spotted some fish in the river and excitedly began to sketch them. It was here that he was arrested at gun point by Alicia Melchiott, the head of the town watch.

Alicia had not seen him before, and seeing him making notes in his book suspected him of being an enemy spy. Upon Isara appearing and clearing up the confusion, the peace was shattered by an Imperial attack on the town. Alicia and the rest of the town guard were forced to fight the troops off whilst civilians evacuated Bruhl.

Welkin lends Alicia help, picking up a gun and protecting the town until a tank shows up. With no way to fight a tank, Welkin is forced to retreat. He meets back up with Isara as she and a pregnant Martha are attacked by Imperial soldiers, but thanks to Welkin's involvement, Isara is able to reach a rifle and kill the invading soldiers. She then reveals a refurbished Edelweiss she'd been working on, the tank her father and Welkin's worked on and became war heroes with. Placing Martha, who was going into labour, into the tank, Welkin and Isara drive the tank out of the barn, heading out to save Alicia from the enemy tank. The Edelweiss ends up destroying the opposing tank, temporarily causing the Imperials to flee, and allow the Bruhl residents time to evacuate.

This is only a temporary victory however as the Imperials manage to invade Bruhl once again, but Welkin, Alicia, Isara and Martha all manage to make it safely to Randgriz, the capital city. Welkin, Alicia and Isara join the militia, with Welkin being given the role of squad leader for Squad 7.

Whilst some of Welkin's squad was happy to follow his command, two particular individuals were unhappy with him being made squad leader; Largo Potter, a war veteran who was unimpressed with Welkin's lack of experience, and Brigitte "Rosie" Stark, who was at odds with Isara due to her Darcsen blood, with Rosie's family killed during a Darcsen hunt as the source of her racism towards them.

Welkin, with a little provocation from Alicia, decides to qwell the potential mutiny by placing a bet with Largo, over taking back the currently Imperial held Great Vasel Bridge, which was allowing Imperial troops to launch attacks on the capital. Using his knowledge of water plants and where they grow, Welkin managed to locate a shallow part of the river, and drove the Edelweiss into it, emerging from the other side and catching the enemy completely off guard. He and his squad manage to regain control, causing Largo and Rosie to agree to listen to Welkin's orders from here on.

Trivia

 * As a result of Welkin starting the game without the Edelweiss, Welkin is the only character in Valkyria Chronicles(the game) to have more than one class, that of Tank commander and Scout.
 * As a Scout, Welkin has no Battle Potentials, making him the only one without. This is due to swapping over to his role in the Edelweiss before the player learns about Battle Potentials.
 * Welkin has a habit of doing strange things relating to his love of nature that freak Alicia out, such as admiring Alicia's uniform due to it reminding him of a beetle's carapiece, or asking her to hold on to goat droppings for him to study later.
 * Welkin's allies that give him stat boosts in battle are Alicia Melchiott, Juno Coren and Audrey Heitinga. Juno is one of Welkin's classmates from university who harbours feelings for him and Audrey joined the Militia specifically because she heard of Welkin's exploits.
 * Welkin has stated he'd love to be able to fly and that he'd love to ultimately become a teacher.
 * Welkin appears in SEGA Heroes alongside Alicia Melchiott, Largo Potter and Selvaria Bles as the representatives for Valkyria Chronicles.