On the subject of names, I find it interesting that Noah was the one who chose to cast off his name, identity and all associations of his past in order to fit into the Archadian society whereas Basch was able to retained his by fleeing to Dalmasca. Though between the two, it was obvious that Noah was the one who ‘cannot escape the past’*.
Name changing is not unusual among immigrants who move to a new country even in our world. The Jewish Americans and European immigrants during WW2 are a prime example and it is a common issue among the diaspora. Though, funny how it was Noah, the one who stayed, that discarded his name and that he had to ‘reclaim’ it (and his former identity/ties/bonds) in the end. While Basch who left and pledge his allegiance to Dalmasca was able to keep his name and ‘die’ with it. Postcolonial discourse would call Noah’s behavior as ‘hegemony’ or ‘domination by consent’ as he grudgingly accepted the rule of Archadia and later became part of the system. Even the Dalmascans (colonies) who fell for Vayne’s speech (Empire) and subsequent reformations to their country fit into this category.
Honestly, one could write a postcolonial dissertation with this game.
Otherwise, there is also the issue of Noah adopting the name Gabranth. Of course, his main reason would be because it was his mother’s maiden name. But I also wonder if he did it willingly because he wanted cut ties for good and adopting an Archadian-sounding name would make things easier for him? Or was he forced to? As in, he did it because he did not have much choice in the matter as any reference to his past in Landis might be detrimental to his career in the military and hinder his ascension in the society strata? The Emperor might ‘overlook’ his background in favour of his ‘talents’ and service to the nation but there would be plenty of others, especially the nobility (yes, Ghis, I’m looking at you) who would look down on him*. On top of that, his mother was ill after the fall of Landis and the quickest way to enter the city from the slums would be to enlist in the army. Not that I think Gabranth would ever consider any other career.
On a completely unrelated note (and a bit of personal headcanon), I believe that Judge Hausen could be Gabranth’s men. The Germanic name was the first indicator; he was Larsa’s personal guard sometime after Gramis charged Gabranth with the duty to defend Larsa; and the fact that he was the very few decent Judges in the game probably helped formulate the thought too. It would make sense for Gabranth to send his own men in place of himself when he could not be there personally.
I’d like to think that during Gabranth’s tenure as a Judge Magister that he jump-started the careers of his ex-countrymen who had problems ascending the ranks due to their foreign background. Considering that he’s the leader of the Intelligence Bureau, he needed to surround himself with retainers he could trust and who better than former countrymen who were in his debt. It was probably done out of necessity as well as his subconscious inclination and longing towards his homeland. Sadly, things went kaput for him after he decided to participate in the King Raminas’ assassination, partly out of duty but more because he wanted to get back at Basch for abandoning him and their home.
*On the surface, Gabranth might be taunting Reddas and inciting Ashe to war but it was obvious that his speech was, in a not-really-subtle way, directed to himself. Reddas knew and called him out on it, saying ‘history chains bind us too tightly’. Basch knew too but only spoke out in the end, offering a solution to the problem that has been eating Noah up.
**Clearly something is wrong when you start to make inane comparisons between a badass hottie like Gabranth and, well, Ba’Gamnan.
