Graham Welles

"Hunting, Adrien. Fighting for justice. It's in your blood. It's what'll lead you to recovery."  

- Graham to Adrien, explaining the Hunt.

Graham Welles, also known as the White Wolf, is a character and enemy in Sanguine Melancholia. He was the leader of Maelstrom and an ally to Adrien Knox.

In-Game
Graham is an older man (compared to the rest of the party) with a strong moral compass. He is usually quite good at keeping his composure when faced with adversity, but he knows when it's time to retreat. He's shown to care quite a bit for the people who follow him as Hunters of the Maelstrom.

Graham's first appearance comes following the first battle with Vrid, in which the player is saved by Graham who fires a shotgun blast at the soldier, failing to harm him but causing him to flee. He joins the party shortly after.

He is later stabbed through the gut by Hyakutate's Archdemon while fighting atop Lucien's train, and is left in critical condition. The party goes to Precinct 02 in order to find him medical supplies only to find that it has been left in ruins after Abilsin set an Archdemon loose inside of its walls. This Archdemon turns out to be Zinnovia, Graham's sister.

Witnessing the death of his sister was meant to be the final nail in the coffin for Graham's mind, which was previously touched by Abilsin and prepared for full manipulation. The Hunters of the Maelstrom fell for the trap, causing Graham converted into little more than a slave to Abilsin's desires. Lucien confessed his love for Graham in hopes of restoring his sanity, but it did not work, and the Black Wolf was left with no choice but to shoot his old partner, putting him out of his misery.

Zinnovia Welles
Graham adored his sister's company, and is still recovering from her death. He is shown to have trusted her a great deal, as even when she lied and told him that Lucien's letter was written to her, Graham accepted this to be the truth without a second thought.

Witnessing Zinnovia's death, even after she became an Archdemon, caused enough emotional distress in Graham to complete his manipulation.

Lucien Knox
Graham and Lucien were known to be great friends and hunting partners before their falling out, orchestrated by Zinnovia. Prior to being manipulated and mercy killed by his old partner, Graham briefly speaks with Lucien after initially being wounded on the train, where he reveals that he's happy to see Lucien again, and is relieved that he survived.

Lucien secretly fell deeply in love with Graham, but never had a chance to admit this to Graham after Zinnovia sabotaged his initial attempt.

Hoyt Margrave
Graham is shown to have an immense amount of trust in Hoyt, going so far as to ask him to lead Maelstrom if he should ever perish. Hoyt deeply respects his boss, and is heartbroken by his death. After Graham's passing, Hoyt makes an effort to be more like his departed boss and friend.

Voice Lines (Sanguine Melancholia)
Battle start: When attacking: Leveling up: When killed in battle:
 * "Let the Hunt begin."
 * "Don't be afraid."
 * "I'll watch your back."
 * "I can do this all day!"
 * "You brought this on yourself!”
 * “Just give up!"
 * "Is everyone okay?"
 * "It's not our time yet."
 * "Another wonderful Hunt."
 * "Forgive me...everyone..."
 * "Zinnovia..."
 * "The Hunt...is over..."

Trivia

 * Graham was slated to appear in Better Days, but his role was given to Edmond early in development.
 * Graham and Lucien are the only two characters in the game to share a weapon type. All shotguns in the game can be equipped by both characters.
 * Despite being the oldest members of Maelstrom, Graham and Lucien both have some subtle, childish traits.
 * Both men choose to wield their shotguns with one hand. As there is no tactical reason for doing this, one can only assume that it is done in an attempt to show off.
 * Both of the two spend years feeling conflicted about the other due to a misinterpreted love letter, resembling typical middle or high school drama.
 * Graham and Lucien both wield a shotgun with one hand as a reference to Rufus Shinra from Final Fantasy VII. Graham even wears a white coat that resembles the one worn by Rufus.
 * Graham's manipulated self is the only enemy in Sanguine Melancholia to have no attacks or Abilities whatsoever, and will do nothing but wait to be killed. This is implied to be because just before the "battle" begins, Graham is stunned by pain as his wound starts to hurt.