Will Raynard

Will Raynard, known as Will Raynerd (ウィル・レイナード) in Japan, is a protagonist from Tales of Legendia.

Personality
A trustworthy man, he has put his crystal eres abilities to good use while serving as sheriff of Werites Beacon. While the townspeople call him sheriff, he refuses to accept that title and insists he is a natural historian. Sometimes strict and sometimes gentle, his experience, leadership skills and ability to make hard decisions serve the party well. Yet despite all his strengths, he harbors a single hidden weakness.

History
Will is the first person that Senel met on the Legacy and is therefore the first person to join the party. While rather annoyed by Senel's arrogance and not so fond of him at the start, Will is willing to help Senel save Shirley. After Senel leaves the party, though, Will loses all trust he had for him, refusing to help Senel until they reach the Oresoren Village. Will also acts like a strategist and mediator during the war against Vaclav, helping Maurits and Jay plan the battle.

During the next half of the Main Quest, Will appears to still have a strained relationship with Harriet that is explored more later on. He mostly acts as the adult who keeps things in order, or atleast attempts to, and acts more like a leader at times.

Relationships
Due to being the oldest, Will is seen as more of a "Parental Figue", something that Norma likes to emphasize a lot, as he is the one who punishes or scolds the other party members whenever they do something that annoys him or has nothing to do with the current situation. He is strict when it comes to certain things, but does have a caring side which shows up whenever needed.

Out of all the characters, Will has hit Norma on the head the most, though Senel, Jay, and Moses get their fair share of pain whenever Jay and Moses quarrel or Senel becomes too arrogant. Will has hit Shirley and Chloe once, since the two are more reserved than the others and thus don't recieve a hit on the head in Will's eyes. He has never hit Grune though; Grune doesn't start trouble or get into fights, so Will has no real reason to get mad at her.

Will has a daughter named Harriet. She initially does not like him because he was absent during her childhood.

Fighting Style
Will is a versatile character, having both offensive and healing spells in his arsenal, as well as a hammer to keep approaching enemies at bay. Despite the fact that Will equips a large hammer as a weapon, he does not have much use for it beyond normal attacks, and he is far more proficient with the magic of Crystal Eres. He has a stronger level of intelligence compared to other characters, but this advantage is offset by the equipment that the female Crystal Erens can receive.

Trivia

 * Will is referenced in Tales of Vesperia, as a skill called "Raynard" that Karol can learn, which increases his power while wielding hammers.
 * Will's "Norma Nickname" is "Teach".
 * During a cutscene, Norma talks about changing his "Norma Nickname" to Raynerd. This is a joke about how much of a genius he is.
 * There is a recurring gag in the game, in which Will punishes people, mainly the other party members, by bonking them hard on the head.
 * Similar to Raine Sage, Will has a never ending thirst for knowledge and sometimes gets wrapted up in stuff like ruins, but nowhere close to the extent that Raine does.
 * Its often stated that Will, considering his build, is much better suited as an Iron Eren rather than being a Crystal Eren.
 * Will's Mascot Costume is a Lion.