Roubaul

"Wendy, Carla, you no longer need a foster family. Don't you have real friends now? Your future... has only just begun." — Roubaul to Wendy Marvell and Carla in "A Guild of One"

Roubaul
Japanese	ローバウル
Rōmaji	Rōbauru
Characteristics
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Hair Color	White
Eye Color	Black
Professional Status
Previous Affiliation	Cait Shelter
Previous Occupation	Guild Master
Base of Operations	Cait Shelter Guild (formerly)
Personal Status
Status	Deceased
Relatives	Nirvits (extinct)
Magic
Magic	Illusion Magic Nirvana
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 153
Anime Debut	Episode 63
Portrayal
Japanese Voice	Kazuya Tatekabe
English Voice	Bill Flynn

Roubaul (ローバウル Rōbauru) was a member of the Nirvit, a neutral tribe from the past, and the creator of the Nirvana Magic. He was the Guild Master of Cait Shelter Guild.

Appearance

Roubaul was a small, slim elderly man with a long white beard, complete with a mustache, which extended up on his face's sides, making for a large pair of sideburns and his two bushy eyebrows as well. On his forehead was a tattoo, composed of a dot surrounded by two arched stripes.

He donned an attire somehow reminiscent of that of a Native American chief, with a large headgear composed of feathers, with more, lighter-colored feathers adorning the back of his waist. He had a light cloth tied circling his waist, paired with loose dark pants reaching below his knees and simple shoes, and his chest was bare, with a necklace seemingly made of massive teeth around his neck, hanging over it. He also sported a large bracelet on each arm’s bicep, and some bandages wrapped around the forearms.

Personality

Roubaul was a warm-hearted and kind person, willing to create Nirvana in order for the wars ravaging the world to stop, and later, after his creation caused the destruction of the Nirvit race, to try and make amend for it by resolving to live a solitary existence (which was portrayed even after his own death) and to find someone strong enough to destroy his creation once and for all. Also, in order to make Wendy Marvell, who wanted to join a Guild, happy, he went as far as to generate Cait Shelter with his own Magic, just to avoid disappointing her.

He was often heard talking about something he referred to as “Nabura”, inserting it in his sentences. He also seemed to possess odd drinking habits: he sometimes poured liquids into a glass just to subsequently drink from the bottle itself, leaving the glass on the table, and was often shown opening his mouth to talk while still retaining the liquid in it, spilling it around as a result.

History

Roubaul during his time in the Nirvit tribe

Roubaul was a member of the Nirvit tribe 400 years before the current storyline, and the creator of the powerful Magic Nirvana, which should have been used to stop the wars ravaging the country. With the Nirvit inhabiting it as their home, Nirvana became a symbol of peace. However, all of the darkness it removed from its targets eventually took over the ones residing inside it, who slaughtered each other, with Roubaul being the only survivor, who, however, eventually died as well, but kept living on as a spirit in order to watch over Nirvana, waiting for someone capable of destroying it, something he couldn’t accomplish.

Despite having sworn to live in solitude, one day, around seven years before the current storyline, a boy with a tattoo on his right eye who claimed to be called Jellal came carrying a young girl, asking Roubaul to take care of her. Despite his promise, having been struck by the boy’s clear and earnest gaze, Roubaul couldn’t refuse. After the boy had left, the young girl, named Wendy Marvell, regained consciousness, and asked Roubaul if that was a Guild. Not wanting to disappoint her, he said that it was, and created the Cait Shelter Guild through the use of his powerful illusions, in order to make the girl happy.

Synopsis

Oración Seis arc

Roubaul's reaction when he hears that Nirvana is coming

When the Dark Guild Oración Seis tried to obtain Nirvana’s power and some legal Guilds created an elite squad to handle the matter, Roubaul was the one sending Wendy, off-screen, to join the group known as the Allied Forces. With the girl came also Carla, willing to watch over her.

Roubaul first appears alongside his seeming guildmates when they inform him of Nirvana approaching them, to which, after displaying his comedic drinking habits, he replies that they shouldn't worry, as the Magic of the Light still lives and shines. When his underlings suggest evacuating the Guild, however, he angrily reprimands them, stating that, until their comrades are out there fighting Nirvana and they believe in them, there's no need for them to move. He then wonders if the time for them to account for their sins has come.

Roubal surrounded by his terrified members

As Zero readies to fire Nirvana against Cait Shelter, all of its members snuggle up to Roubaul in fear, with him, perfectly calm, asking why they clamor so much, and stating that's their fate, the reckoning for their heavy sins. All of them are then surprised when Nirvana misses them, due to Allied Forces' intervention.

When the Allied Forces manages to destroy Nirvana, Roubaul and his guildmates are seen looking in surprise.

After the battle, Allied Forces takes shelter and rest in their Guild, and, having gathered them in the plaza together with his guildmates, Roubaul thanks them for their doing. When the most exuberant members of the Allied Forces propose to celebrate the occasion and start dancing around, Roubaul and his Guild remain silent and serious, with the Guild Master apologizing to them for not having revealed them the truth about the Nirvit. Having been told that it doesn't matter and it's alright, he remains serious, asking them to listen to him carefully. He reveals that Cait Shelter isn't formed by the descendants of the Nirvit tribe, but by the Nirvit themselves, and that he's, in fact, the one who created Nirvana, four hundred years before, in order to put an end to the wars ravaging the world. He goes on to explain the mechanics behind the Magic, claiming that the darkness it took away from the targets eventually took over Nirvana itself and the Nirvit, with the following conflict resulting in the death of them all, aside from him, who survived for some time before dying himself and becoming a spirit.

Roubaul disappears with a smile

Since then, he continued to watch over the place, waiting for someone strong enough to stop his creation, and claims that, with that goal accomplished, his task is finally over. The members of Cait Shelter then start disappearing before Wendy's astonished eyes, with Roubaul apologizing to her for having deceived her, with Cait Shelter having been nothing more than illusions created by him: he created them so as not to disappoint Wendy herself, who wanted to join a Guild, when a mysterious boy brought her unconscious to him. Wendy cries desperately, unwilling to believe that, but Roubaul comforts her, saying that Carla and her don't need illusory comrades anymore, as now they have true companions. As the girl runs tearfully towards him, Roubaul starts to vanish in the air and smiles to her, bidding her farewell as he tells her that the future awaits her, and that's only the beginning. He thanks everyone again and asks them to take care of Wendy and Carla as he disappears, now able to rest in peace, his long task finally over.

Magic and Abilities

Cait Shelter, Roubaul's Illusion

Illusion Magic (幻影魔法 Genei Mahō): Roubaul possessed vast ability in using this type of Magic, so much that he was capable of literally creating the Cait Shelter Guild out of nowhere with it. Each illusory being he created possessed its own personality and feelings, something which even Jura Neekis, an extremely powerful Mage and a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, called a frightful Magic. In addition, each of them seemed to possess a physical form, and appeared capable of doing lifelike things.

Nirvana activated

Nirvana (ニルヴァーナ Niruvāna): Roubaul was responsible for the creation of Nirvana, a powerful Magic with the power to turn darkness into light and light into darkness, switching the alignments of the ones it struck. It was originally created to stop all of the wars raging through the country, but ultimately led to the extinction of the Nirvit tribe. It was suggested by Klodoa that Caitshelter, essentially Roubaul, possessed knowledge of how to seal Nirvana once again, which is why Brain targeted the guild first.

Immense Magic Power: Roubaul was capable of keeping the illusions he created for Cait Shelter working for over seven years, demonstrating a vast amount of Magic Power; a feat which was made more impressive by the fact that he himself was nothing more than a spirit at the time, having been dead for many years.

Ethereal Abilities: Despite the fact that Roubaul is deceased, he has a physical presence that can be seen by others, allowing him to communicate with them and even perform his Magic.

Quotes

• (To Allied Forces) "I watched over Nirvana for 400 years until someone appeared who would be able to destroy it."
• (To Wendy Marvell and Carla) "Wendy, Carla, you no longer need a foster family. Don't you have real friends now? Your future... has only just begun."

Battles & Events

• Nirvana's Creation