Amarant Coral

Character
Name:	Amarant Coral
Occupation:	Bounty Hunter
Relationships:	Dagger (friend), Steiner (friend), Zidane (rival turned friend), Freya (rival turned friend), Vivi (friend), Quina (friend), Eiko (annoyance turned friend), Blank (acquaintance), Marcus (acquaintance), Cinna (acquaintance), Baku (acquaintance), Zorn and Thorn (enemies), Beatrix (acquaintance), Kuja (enemy)
Fandom:	Final Fantasy
Other:
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Amarant (also known as 'The Flaming Amarant') is a main character in the Square Enix video game Final Fantasy IX.

Canon

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A lone wolf with an enigmatic approach, Amarant is a mystery even to dedicated fans.

Originally hired as a hitman to retrieve a 'stolen' jewel from Princess Garnet, Amarant was promised a bonus if he could silence the 'wretched monkey' travelling with her. Having been outfoxed by Zidane once before, Amarant was enthusiastic at the thought of payback.

Amarant was 'teamed up' with a bounty huntress named Lani, however he quickly ended their alliance after he caught her using cheap, devious tricks in order to get what she needed. After challenging her to a duel and scaring away, Amarant immediately rounded on Zidane. Zidane had no memory of his past dealing with Amarant, but accepted Amarant's challenge regardless, almost solely for the purpose of impressing Dagger.

Amarant was once again outsmarted by Zidane, this time on the battlefield. Surprised that Zidane didn't simply finish him off - a practice he knew as second nature - he demanded to know why, only to receive the same response that Zidane had used after their last meeting; "The Sly Eagle doesn't Kill at Whim."

Amarant subsequently disappeared, only to come back the next day, requesting Zidane's way of thinking. Zidane suggested Amarant came with them, foreseeing use in his skills on the battlefield. Begrudgingly, Amarant agreed, if only to find out what made the boy so strong.

Amarant's character grew slowly at first. He wasn't shy of expressing his hatred of kids (namely Eiko), and would often pick fights with Freya, having heard of how tough she was. This developed into somewhat of a rivalry.

The real test to Amarant's character growth was in Ipsen's Castle.

Still failing to understand why Zidane kept so many people around him, Amarant challenged him to a race, to see who could reach their goal fastest. Amarant's claim that people slowed you down was soon proven accurate, as he had comfortably beaten Zidane's group of four. Amarant took this moment to leave, claiming that he and Zidane 'may be enemies' the next time they met.

Zidane didn't chase after Amarant, knowing that this was simply how he behaved, and proceeded to finish the puzzle Amarant had neglected, and discover their next destinations. However, when it came to leaving Ipsen's Castle, Zidane learned that Amarant had not made it out. Without missing a beat, he charged back inside, on his own, to find the lone wolf.

It turned out Amarant had been overwhelmed by the monsters, and couldn't make it out on his own. So Zidane taught Amarant the value of teamwork by helping him to escape Ipsen's Castle, something he failed to do on his own.

Since then, Zidane gained Amarant's full respect, acknowledging that it was Zidane's way of thinking that had him bested.

Links & Resources

• Amarant Coral tag at Archive of Our Own