Guts is a skilled swordsman who joins forces with a mercenary group named 'The Band of the Hawk', lead by the charismatic Griffith, and fights with them as they battle their way into the royal court.

Griffith: It is my perception that a true friend never relies on anothers dream. A person with the potential to be my true friend must be able to find his own reason for life without my help. And he should put his heart and soul into protecting his dream. He would never hesitate to fight for his dream, even against me. For me, a true friend is one who stands equal to me in all respects.
Jill: It was too big, too thick, too heavy and too long, it was more like a slab of iron
Griffith: Stake your lives on this fight! Our survival demands that we stake our lives on this fight! And to survive, is to be victorious!
Griffith: He so badly wanted to be a knight. I remember this boy well. When he looked at me his eyes filled with wonder as though I were a hero. Was he happy, I wonder? He died while pursuing his dream but...I think it was my dream that killed him.
Guts: What kind of a man is he?
Judeau: Griffith? I don't know.
Guts: Every sword belongs in its sheath. Go back to the sheath your master holds. Go back to Griffith.
Caska: You... you made Griffith weak !
Judeau: Whether it is a good dream, or a bad one for that matter, no-one likes waking up in the middle of one.
[repeated line]
Guts: GRIFFITH!
Griffith: Yes... Amongst the thousands of comrades... and the tens of thousands of enemies... there was only one man... you were the only one... who ever made me forget my dream. I make the offering.