Sylvan

is a silver-furred wolf who is a companion to Claudia on her travels in the game Romancing SaGa and its remake Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song.

Appearance
Sylvan is a simple silver wolf.

In Minstrel Song, she has received a couple of new additions, such as a black "helmet" with yellow markings covering her head while being tied around his neck like a collar, and what can only be described as blue sleeves with yellow markings.

Battle
Sylvan is classified similarly to the nameless mercenaries that can be recruited. She can't change her equipment (other than accessories) or wield other weapons, but starts off a bit stronger than most human mercenaries. She relies on barehanded attacks to deal damage and learns the unique Jugular and Rabid Bite abilities (her only sparked arts) if she levels up long enough.

Keeping Sylvan in the party does present an interesting situation. Both she and Brau cost nothing to maintain as allies since they cannot equip anything and like any party member in SaGa games, they can gain considerable power if trained properly. Since Sylvan's wolf attacks are classified similarly to martial arts for humans, she can change into a job such as Ascetic or Martial Artist to cut down on the cost of BP per round. The player can also opt to make her a spellcaster and let Sylvan provide magic backup once she has gained some points in INT and COM.

The only downside to keeping Sylvan is that her inability to equip anything other than amulets and rings will result in her having a dismal defense level for the entirety of the game. This can result in her being knocked out more easily in later parts of the story when the enemies grow in strength considerably, preventing her from providing much help to Claudia and the others.

Story
Sylvan, a majestic silver wolf, is the earthly form of the goddess Eres. As a wolf, she lives in Mazewood with the witch Eule and the bear Brau.

Many years before the events of Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, Eule adopted Claudia, princess of the Bafal Empire, as an infant. Sylvan desperately hoped that Claudia would be spared the curse of the Fatestones but to no avail.

When Claudia reaches adolescence, she wishes to leave Mazewood and see the outside world. Eule encourages this and asks Sylvan to accompany and protect Claudia. The wolf obeys, and stays by Claudia's side until Eule's death. By this time, Claudia no longer needs protection, and Sylvan leaves the party forever. Claudia notes in the cutscene that Sylvan has aged a good deal by this point.

If the player never actually goes to the forest when Eule is calling for her, then it is possible to keep Sylvan in the party for the remainder of the game. However, due to her inability to change equipment, her defense becomes extremely weak relative to most of the other named characters.