- "I saw someone in a bind, and I helped them out. Simple as that." —Graham Crossford
Graham Crossford is a character in Octopath Traveler. This compassionate apothecary is a major character in Tressa and Alfyn's stories as well as being the main antagonist of H'aanit's story (by forced transformation into Redeye), and exerts a secret influence on many of the game’s events.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Graham wears a gray cloak and an apothecary's satchel. He keeps his blond hair in a ponytail.
Personality[]
Throughout his travels, Graham demonstrates compassion toward those in need. Treating anyone in need of his services, Graham lives out his belief that everyone should be offered succor, and he encourages others to use their abilities for good as well.
Story[]
Champions of the Continent[]
At some point, Graham and Sazantos were tasked with retrieving and protecting the rings. In a final meeting, Graham admitted that while he was aware of his duties, he also couldn't leave his family matters behind. His wife had fallen victim to an apparently incurable disease and he didn't know what to do. Sazantos suggested that Graham should follow his own heart since the knight could carry the duties about the rings on his own. For that, Sazantos would use the power of the Sacred Flame to erase Graham's memory and release him from the duty of his bloodline. Graham asks him for what he is fighting for; Sazantos evades the question and bids him farewell moments before wiping his memories out.
Octopath Traveler[]
12 years before the events of Octopath Traveler, Graham left Bolderfall in search for a cure to his wife’s illness. That same year, he landed in Grandport and received a notebook, which he would fill with records of his travels throughout the realm.
2 years later, during his travels, Graham met Ogen. Having found the ingredients to cure his wife’s illness, including the feather of an Ogre Eagle, Graham sought passage home as quickly as possible. In desperation, he requested to board Captain Leon Bastralle’s merchant ship. Leon accepted, on the condition that Graham trade him his notebook. Graham therefore left his notebook on Leon's ship, where it would eventually be picked up by Tressa.
Tragically, mere days before he arrived home, Graham's wife died. Stricken by grief, Graham was approached by Lyblac, who offered to help bring his wife back to life. Graham used the elixir originally intended for his wife to save young Alfyn’s life.
2 years after his wife's death, Lyblac and Graham traveled to The Gate of Finis. As a descendant of the sorcerer Odin Crossford, who had used the Dragonstones to seal Galdera away in the afterworld, Graham was to serve as a vessel to bring Galdera back to the world. During Lyblac's rite, however, Graham resisted and attacked Lyblac. Unfortunately, before he could finish her off, Galdera's infernal magic twisted Graham into a mindless abomination: Redeye.
Between bursts of lucidity, Redeye went on terrorize the Highlands. Its depredations lasted for years until it turned the hunter Z'aanta to stone, which in turn led to its destruction at the hands of his apprentice, H'aanit. Upon Redeye's death, Z'aanta and many others were freed from Redeye’s curse, and Graham’s spirit was put to rest.
At the Gate of Finis, three journals chronicle his journey from boarding Leon's ship to becoming Redeye. After Galdera's defeat, Graham's spirit appears before his son and the travelers. He tells Kit to live on and thanks the party for not only saving all of Orsterra, but for showing him that his own journey had not been a futile one.
Quotes[]
Associated Journals[]
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
"Graham" is a name of Scottish origin, originally referring to someone who came from the English town of Grantham (whose translates to “gravel area," “gray homestead," or "gravelley homestead"). The name "Graham" may also be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "graeme," which means "grim" or "gloomy." As such, Graham's name reflects his difficult travels and the tragic destiny that awaited him at the end.
Graham's surname "Crossford" is a locational name possibly inspired by the English village of Crossford, whose ford was often crossed by monks on their way between the abbeys of Dunfermline and Culross.
Trivia[]
- Alfyn can use Inquire on Graham during a scene in his Chapter 4. At this point in time, Graham is revealed to be 24 years old, so he was likely around 26 when he transformed into Redeye.
- According to early concept art for Octopath Traveler, Graham was originally going to be a protagonist with pink hair, a white cloak, and a ravenlike companion.[1]
References[]
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 218.