Blood of Dawnwalker Marat & Lacra - Can Both Help Against Brencis?

Marat is Crake’s real name — and yes, both he and Lacra can stand with you against Brencis. Just not at the same time. The two ally questlines in Blood of Dawnwalker can both be completed in a single run, both characters can both be romanced, and both endings behind them are reachable from one save. But the moment A Deal with the Devil arrives, the game makes you choose. Here is how both chains work and how to get the most out of running them together.

Who Is Marat?

Marat is Crake’s birthname. The leader of the Manumit rebellion goes by Crake in the field — the name the movement knows him by — but his given name is Marat, and the game uses both. If you have seen “Marat” in a guide and wondered whether you missed a third ally: you did not. There are two ally chains, not three.

His path is the revolution: raising Infamy, building the rebellion, investigating what hunts the night, and ultimately restoring Catalin Dragosti to the valley at the head of an army.

The Two Chains, Side by Side

	Marat (Crake)	Lacra
Entry quest	The Firebrand (via Mert the Miller)	A Friend Like This (the rogue Vrakhir in Svartrau)
Identity	Rebel leader, birthname Marat	Ancient vampire, bound to Brencis by a Blood Ritual
Chain length	Long — incl. Shadows in the Woods, Where Loyalty Lies, What Hunts the Night, What Moves the Dead, Who Pulls the Strings	Long — incl. Song of the Mountain, Hive and Seek, Our Rotten Roots, The Night of Horrors
Final quest	Rise at Dawn	Midnight Reckoning
Ending unlocked	The Knyazmaker	The Patricide
Final fight	Full rebel assault on Greifberg Castle	Night assault through the ancient ruins
Romance	Yes — the most commitment-oriented of the three romances	Yes — intense, explicitly not serious

Both chains fit comfortably inside the 30-day limit if you start them early. Neither blocks the other: completing Lacra’s quests does not close Marat’s, and vice versa.

Why the Finale Forces a Choice

The exclusivity is not in the chains — it is in the ending. When A Deal with the Devil begins, the dialogue offers the two ally options side by side: answer with Lacra and you commit to The Patricide; answer with the rebellion and you commit to The Knyazmaker. The game needs one finale, and each ally brings their own.

So the honest answer to “can both help against Brencis?”: both can get you to the gate, and either can walk through it with you — but only one walks through per ending.

The Optimal Strategy: Run Both, Save Once

This is where the 30-day structure pays off:

1. Start both chains early. The rogue Vrakhir pursuit in Svartrau (Lacra) and Mert the Miller’s lead (Crake) are both early triggers. Delaying either is how runs get squeezed.
2. Complete both chains fully. Midnight Reckoning and Rise at Dawn should both be available before you commit — each takes days, and finishing them late risks the 30-day clock.
3. Make a master save before A Deal with the Devil. This is the pivot.
4. See both endings from that save. The game returns to the title screen after credits — no free roam — so reload the master save, pick the other ally, and see the other finale. Two endings, one playthrough’s worth of work.

The ending checklist is built for exactly this flow, and both romances can also be pursued up to their respective points before the split.

Which Ally Should You Pick First?

The Knyazmaker first is the common recommendation: it closes the most story threads (the rebellion, Catalin, the valley’s political future) and rewards a completionist run. The Patricide is the more intimate finale — darker, more personal, and the only way to resolve Lacra’s ritual. Both are worth your time; that is the point of the master save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Marat a different character from Crake?

No — Marat is Crake’s birthname. Guides use both; the game uses both.

Can you complete both Lacra and Crake’s questlines in one run?

Yes. The chains are independent and both fit inside the 30-day limit. Only the finale choice is exclusive.

Can you romance both Marat and Lacra?

Both romances can be pursued up to the finale split. Neither blocks the other before that point.

What happens if you finish neither chain?

The ally options simply do not appear at A Deal with the Devil — you default to the solo Folk Hero fight or the Turncoat deal.

Related Guides

• Lacra Character Guide — Her chain and ritual backstory
• Crake Character Guide — The rebellion chain in detail
• Save Catalin — The Knyazmaker finale’s hidden choice
• Patricide Ending — The Lacra finale
• Rogue Choice — How Lacra’s chain begins

---

Source: GamesRadar romance guide (Marat birthname), IGN All Endings, Method.gg, PowerPyx, site questline data — chain structures and finale exclusivity cross-verified across five sources.