Skuld, I remember when I first got her at the Guild Hall. The guild was relatively new, and we were looking for new members to try explore the Labyrinth. Initially, the guild wanted brute force, and were planning on taking a lanskencht, troubadour, survivalist and medic. I was hesitant to put on a protector, I figured most things would be dead before ever posing a threat to the rest of the party.

That all changed on the second floor, when the first FOE encounter occured. Rear Line and Front Line gaurd never meant anything until then. But those two moves would fend off and probably save countless deaths in the party. Not only to prevent the medic from being one shotted, but to also keep the front liners alive long enough for the medic to cure, especially in the early stages when cure took forever to cast...

Skuld would soon prove to be invaluable for much of the game as she learned more abilities such as parry and especially defender and provoke. Defender increased defense, often high enough to allow boss fights to be *a lot* smoother, and allowing for more offensive strategies. Provoke and Parry... well... they just made it so that the really high Def protector would draw an attack and either parry or take minimal damage.

By the time I reached the 3rd statum, Skuld was an unchangable person in the party. She never killed a boss, or an FOE, and rarely even got the deathblow to an enemy. But her ability to protect and defend everyone in the party made her my favourite character throughout the whole game. She was always the designated target for every desperate attack, and the last person away for every desperate retreat. She was and always will be the greatest stalwart shield of the guild.