Baran, the Emperor of Light (光帝バラン Koutei Baran)
As a boy, he tended to his ill little sister, Yuka. Due to his sister's piety, she refused to take the medicine he'd stolen for her and died. This tragedy caused Baran to despise God and all that he stood for, and made him cease believing in the existence of Gods.
When he met Raoh on the battlefield, he was awestruck by the man's power and begged Raoh to teach him Hokuto Shinken (such as the Gousho Ha technique) to take revenge on God. Raoh declined, as Hokuto Shinken is only passed from father to son, and told Baran his only choice was to learn it through observation. One fateful day, Raoh and his army passed a ruined village where they found a young girl who was catatonic. Taking pity on her, Baran gave her his cloak, however, Raoh ordered him to end her suffering. Baran couldn't do it and Raoh deserted him.
Kenshiro, Ryu (Raoh's son), and Satora travel to Blanca, where they discover Baran rules the country under the title of "Koutei" (Emperor of Light), using the secrets of Hokuto Shinken to convince people he is a messiah. Baran also keeps the Princess Luseli (Satora's fiancée) prisoner, as she bears a resemblance to his little sister, and protects her against her will.
Kenshiro overcomes Baran with the true Gousho Ha technique and Baran admits defeat after being moved by Ryu's attempt to sacrifice himself to stop the madness. After restoring the true king of Blanca, he allows the people of Blanca to execute him as a false messiah. Kenshiro remarks that Baran's sacrifice has shown Ryu the way of heroism in Raoh's place.
(Source: Hokuto Wiki)
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
