Raine Loire



Raine Loire is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy VIII. A resident of the small village of Winhill on the Galbadian continent, she is the second love interest, and later wife, of Laguna Loire.

Appearance and Personality
Raine is a strong-willed woman. Independent in nature she opted to live on her own and run her own bar. Despite her independence, she does have an empathic spirit and adopts Ellone. When Laguna Loire was washed ashore after escaping from Centra, she volunteers to nurse him back to health and tolerates him despite her many excuses on to why she should not.

Raine has long brown hair held back with a hairband, and wears a white knitted jumper and blue jeans. She has white tear-drop earrings and blue eyes.

Story
Raine lived in Winhill, a small village on the Galbadian continent. She lived alone and opened a small bar in the center of town, which she tended herself. She also spent much of her time at the local flower shop, which carried her favorite white blooms.

Raine's solitary lifestyle ended when, during Galbadia's Sorceress War with Esthar, Estharian troops raided Winhill. Esthar's leader, Sorceress Adel, was searching for an heir, and the soldiers demanded the village hand over all of its young girls for consideration. Raine's next-door neighbors refused to hand over their daughter, Ellone, and were killed. Ellone somehow managed to escape the Estharians' clutches, and once the soldiers had departed, Raine adopted the little girl and raised her as her own.

Raine met Laguna Loire as an unconscious casualty. A Galbadian soldier, Laguna had been critically wounded in battle and Raine took him in and slowly nursed him back to health. Eternally grateful for rescuing him from certain death, Laguna remained with Raine for several months, repaying his imagined debt to her by helping her look after Ellone and patrolling Winhill daily in an effort to keep its residents safe and its streets monster-free. Although Raine and Laguna were only friends at first, their relationship deepened and they fell in love, much to Ellone's delight.

On a moonlit night in the fields of Winhill, Laguna presented her with a simple wedding band. Surprised but pleased, Raine accepted his proposal. Their small family was torn apart, however, when Sorceress Adel's minions returned to kidnap Ellone. This time they succeeded in capturing the girl, taking her away to Esthar to become Sorceress Adel's successor. Enraged, Laguna, along with his friends Kiros and Ward, prepared to journey to Esthar and rescue Ellone. Although Laguna promised to return with Ellone, Raine would never see her husband again.

After Laguna's departure, it became apparent that Raine was pregnant with his child. It is uncertain whether or not Raine knew she was pregnant before Laguna left, but if she did she chose not to reveal this information to him. As her condition advanced, Raine became more desperate for Laguna to return, as she wanted him to be there to witness the birth of their child.

Just before Raine's baby was born, Ellone returned to Winhill. Laguna had rescued her in Esthar and defeated Sorceress Adel, but, unaware of Raine's condition, Laguna had stayed behind to help the Estharians rebuild. He had sent Ellone home to Winhill ahead of him, promising to return when his work was finished. Raine gave birth to a baby boy, but died shortly after. Following her death, both Ellone and the baby were sent to Edea's Orphanage, which had been set up to care for children orphaned by the Sorceress War.

Raine was buried on the crest of a small hill in Winhill. Her final resting place is marked by a simple stone plaque which reads "Raine Loire". A small pair of gold angel wings, similar to those which are associated with Rinoa, decorate the top edge. At the end of Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna, now president of Esthar, finally returns to Winhill to visit Raine's grave.

Etymology
"Raine" is an old French word for "frog". It can also be derived from the french word "reine", meaning "queen".

Loire may come from a French river.

It's assumed that her maiden name is Leonhart. "Leonhart" is a variation of the English surname "Lionheart", derived from the Latin element leo meaning "lion", and 'heart'.

Trivia

 * Raine's ghost can be seen in the pub if the player returns to Winhill later in the game.
 * According to Winhill villagers, Raine used to run a flower shop in the town square, as well as the pub. Her specialty were white flowers, and she would make wreaths for Autumn festivals. It was said no one understood flowers like Raine.

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