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Often, in the lands of Fraldarius, there is a tale spoken of a shepherdess and the cruel duke whose heart she won. Across his lands, he ruled with an iron fist and cold heart, striking fear into his subjects and his house. However before there was this cruel duke, there was his ancestor, the lady of the skies, Fraldarius.
Fraldarius was a curt, but just woman whose actions echoed forever in Fódlan’s history. She freed the people of Faerghus from an oppressive yoke, protected them and founded a house which proudly bore her namesake. Affectionately, her people called her the Shield of Faerghus, a title which would be passed down through her family and through the ages.
But when Fraldarius grew into an old granny and had seen her children and her children’s children and their children have children, she passed away. But the Goddess Sothis saw all the good deeds that noble Fraldarius had committed during her time in the world and decided that she—along with the other Elites—should live on. Sothis moulded Fraldarius’s soul into a symbolic mark (nicknamed a Crest) and let her free. However, Fraldarius was bound to return to her ancestors when they needed guidance, goodness and the truth.
Now, once upon a time, in the lands of Fraldarius there was a young boy. His name was Felix, the second son of the current Fraldarius family. When he was born, Felix was a happy, sweet and kind boy. Fraldarius had been born into him, her Crest resting heavy upon his young shoulders. But duty evaded Felix, for his elder brother would inherit the dukedom. Felix was free to laugh and play with his dear friends, Sylvain, Ingrid and Dimitri, who held close to his heart. But of all the closest, he held his elder brother Glenn closest to him. He loved Glenn with fierce adoration and hoped to one day grow up to be like him.
And Glenn loved him too. He taught Felix of the sword, and of their birthright as Fraldarius men. He spoke of fairytales and fables of daring knights and of Kyphon; a knight of their bloodline who helped found Faerghus.
Oftentimes in their youth, the four of them would laugh and play. In the faces of these children, strife and sadness would never surface. Not Sylvain’s cruel elder brother, not Ingrid’s fallow lands, not Dimitri’s late mother and not Felix’s disappearing brother.
But happiness could not last, not in the lands of sorrow known as Faerghus.
When Felix was still very, very young, his mother died. The Duchess Fraldarius was mourned by her people, her husband and sons. The funeral and mourning lasted a week, but the numbness that followed her death lingered for years to come. From that day forth, Felix’s heart began to grow cold.
More sorrows rose when Sylvain’s brother, Miklan, was disinherited and lashed out against his crest-bearing brother. Glenn, who had been on fine terms with Miklan lashed out against his father.
“Can we not provide him room and board?
If left alone he will become another ward!”
But Rodrigue, the current Duke Fraldarius, refused him.
“Old Gautier protects the border.
And I fear the repercussions if we disobey his order.”
Furious, Glenn refused to speak to Rodrigue for months. But when old wounds began to heal, new ones resurfaced. Galatea territory faced a horrible harvest and starvation. And when Felix saw Ingrid once more, she had grown pale and weak.
But as the years passed and Felix’s heart grew colder and colder, the worst tragedy struck: the Duscur revolt. Glenn, a knight at the time, had been sent away to assist in subjugating the revolt but instead perished with many others, including Lord Lonato’s son, Christophe.
With his heart encased in almost frozen ice, Felix drifted from his friends. He refused to appear in court or outside the territory, mourning in vain. When Rodrigue attempted to chide him or ask the boy to leave, Felix would only snap further.
But with time comes only more woes. Memories became harder for Felix to grasp and process. First came the marriage of Ingrid to Sylvain—as the countess had been betrothed to Glenn and Felix refused to even look at her after his death. Then came the addition of the kind-hearted Ashe of Gaspard territory, who had been sent away from his homeland for safekeeping. And finally, the worst of all, had been the death of Rodrigue.
As he laid in his final hours, praying to Sothis, he called upon his ancestor, Fraldarius. To her, he begged:
“Kind ancestor, loving ancestor, noble ancestor;
Guide my son of Fraldarius and make him into a man of splendour.”
Fraldarius answered, her apparition appearing before the dying duke. She gazed upon her child and sighed.
“I can bless your Felix with a boon;
Wealth, military success, perhaps a face to make women swoon.”
“Fraldarius, make my Felix into a good man.” He begged.
“Dear Rodrigue, I cannot do something with such a span.”
“Fraldarius please, use your mighty strength,
Your kindness and righteousness that goes lengths!”
Hearing her ancestor’s dying pleas, she relented.
“Alright Rodrigue
I cannot lie, your son gives me intrigue.
I cannot make him a better person;
But I can give him advice and hope he does not worsen.” She promised him.
Assured by his ancestor, Rodrigue passed in his rest. Prompt as ever, Faerghus called for the crowning of the young Duke. And on the day of his ascension, Fraldarius returned to Fódlan to Felix’s preparation chamber.
“Young man, I am Fraldarius,
The falcon knight, who fought the perilous.
Your father has sent me,
To assist you with all the powers that be.”
“Why would my old man send you?
I care not, you could talk until your face is blue.” Felix snapped.
“The Duke sent me to make you a better person,
And to stop you from treading a path where you worsen.
As a father, he feels that he failed you;
Believe me or not, I speak the truth.” Fraldarius commanded. Her ghostly hands called upon magic, slipping a ring onto Felix’s finger.
“That is the dying promise he spoke to me;
And I will fulfill it with all the powers that be.
Every time your err, this ring shall prick your finger,
With a needle that I fear it is not ginger.”
Before him, Fraldarius faded from view and Felix was crowned Duke of Fraldarius. And to his surprise, his father’s dying wish was for kind-hearted Ashe to act as Felix’s confidant, his entrusted advisor. But even gentle Ashe could not tame or sweeten Felix’s wicked heart. The ice surrounding him only seemed to grow further and further.
Felix heard all of Sir Ashe’s advice and wisdom, and heeded most of it during the day, but by moonlight, Felix shed his robes and noble name and took to the sword. He challenged every greater fighter in the territory and out, winning bets--although he never placed a mark down-- winning the hearts of buxom women and men alike, and winning the favour of sycophants who only encouraged his duelling, foul heart and wicked tongue.
Across the land, there was an anxious young lady of noble birth named Bernadetta. At the behest of her mother, Bernadetta was stolen away upon her 15th year and given to a shepherd. This was done to protect her from her father, who wished to marry her off for a profitable marriage. Under the shepherd's guidance, she cared for a flock of sheep in the lower regions of Fraldarius territory.
Bernadetta was a powerful and talented soul. She enjoyed painting and music and above all, writing. She longed to publish her own books one day but was too frightened for her safety. For years she tended to her little flock and wandered the moors that surrounded the shepherd’s home with her sketch pad and charcoal. And one evening, in the glow of the setting sun, Felix crossed into her lands as she began her route home. He cried out to her:
"Bring forth your best swordsman,
The one who is strong of hand.
I am the leader of this lands,
The last remaining Fraldarius man.” He commanded, the ring pricking his finger furiously.
Shocked and scared by the stranger before her, Bernadetta flung her hands up in the air, knocking the sword from Felix’s hands and throwing him back into the grass. She fled, with her sheep, trailing behind her. Laying in the grass, Felix was awestruck that the first one person to beat him was a mere shepherdess. Staring at the sunset, he vowed to himself:
“What skill... I must know it. I will take her hand,
And make her my bride, duchess of this land.”
As he did, the ring pricked his finger hard, bloodying and ruining his glove. Furious, he wrenched it from his finger, and cast it out into the moors.
Fraldarius appeared before him, furious as her ancestor.
“Casting off the ring in meagre hopes of knowledge?
Wicked boy, you try patience’s edge!
You’ve one last chance,
Before my hand becomes a lance.”
Felix ignored his ancestor’s warning and returned to the moors the following day, finding the cottage that housed the shepherd and Bernadetta. He arrived this time with the noble procession and his advisor, Ashe. Startled by their presence, Bernadetta hid behind her guardian. The shepherd asked their business, Felix pointed at the cowering girl.
“Your young apprentice has taken my interest;
Until she tells me her secrets I will not rest.
Fair Shepherdess, you will share your life
With me, and become my wife.” He proposed.
Shocked and stricken, Bernadetta froze. The procession, the shepherd and Ashe all waited with bated breath as the young girl gathered her voice. "
I will never.
Your wickedness stretches on forever.
I know who you are,
Felix of Fraldarius, the one whose heart is hard.
Your reputation precedes you,
And for my safety, I must refuse.” She responded.
Enraged, Felix drew his sword, ordering his men to do the same. “If you shall not coming willingly,
I will capture you fleetingly!” He cried out, his guard lurching for the shepherdess. Bernadetta cried out knocking away their swords as she had done to Felix. She fled out the back door, the guards and Felix following in pursuit.
Noble Ashe grabbed Felix’s arm. “Your grace, do not do this!
Leave her behind! I assure you that her heart is one that you will not miss!” He pleaded.
Felix threw off Ashe and fled after her. Bernadetta was captured, and in the process fainted. He ordered his guards to imprison her until she agreed to reveal her secrets and wed him.
But Bernadetta refused to. Though she was meek and fearful, her spirit could not be broken. She sat in her cell, thankfully with her sketchbook and charcoal and drew, under the watch of hourly guards. Her patience was everlasting.
Felix, however, was not as nearly as patient or calm. His childhood friends, shocked at his taking of an innocent girl, attempted to talk sense into him. The knightly Ingrid pleaded for her release And noble Dimitri ordered for Felix to release her. Felix refused both of them, proclaiming that she held secrets to make him the best swordsman in Faerghus.
But Sylvain was coy. He warned Felix that his people would revolt and rally against him if he did not do the right thing.
“Or, rule with the might of Charon;
And a fist of iron.” The Margrave laughed.
That night, Fraldarius appeared before Bernadetta’s cell. She placed a sleeping spell on the guards so that they would not wake. She released the girl, supplying her with a bow and arrow, provisions and a cloak to hide herself from the territory. With her help, Bernadetta fled into the safety of Gautier, which bordered on Sreng.
The guards took to their horses and wyverns and began the search for Bernadetta. And Ashe, learning of the shepherdess’s escape, woke Felix in the dead of night.
“Felix, good sir awaken!
Your lady’s freedom is retaken!”
Felix accused Ashe of freeing the shepherdess and attempting to undermine him. He demanded that he face punishment, ordering the guards to place him in Bernadetta’s cell. He ignored the pleads and cries of Ashe, taking his sword and shield and fleeing to find the runaway bride. Halfway into the forest, Fraldarius appeared before him in a fit of rage.
“Felix of Fraldarius,
He who could care less!
I
have seen your wicked deeds
And how you discarded the ring’s heed.
You are no man, only a monster
And for that you now must wander!” She commanded.
In a great flash of light, Fraldarius transformed Felix into a monster: one of a thick, dark coat like a lion, with canine paws, deer-like antlers, and talons and wings of an eagle.
“Your face and body may look insidious,
I assure you that your soul is hundred times more hideous!” Fraldarius confessed.
“Your mother, your father and your brother think you can:
But you shall stay like this until you become a better man.”
Felix, now a monster, was left in the dense forests to ruminate upon his ways and his error. For a moment, he ached and felt pity for his past discretions. But this ache was nothing more than guilt for all that he had lost. Felix would have to grow much, much more than this in order to become a better person.
In the first few days, the monster wandered the forests, making his way closer to the Fraldarius territory and was captured by a hunter who wished to add him to his collection of oddities. Felix fought, but was tethered and locked up in a carriage. As the hunter took him back to the heart of the territory, he heard sounds of happiness upon the kingdom. The hunter asked what great fortune had fell upon their lands of sorrows, and a young woman answered:
“The cruel duke is dead!
And now kind Sir Ashe will become House Fraldarius’s head!” She chirped happily.
However, Felix howled in rage, realizing that his flattering friends had only used him. The hunter sped forth, ready to offer Felix to the new king. At the coronation ceremony, Ashe proclaimed:
“I only take this seat as mine,
until the Duke can return in due time.” He promised.
When presented to the king, Ashe gazed into Felix’s eyes tenderly.
“Poor sweet beast,
You will find rest here at least.” He promised. And as Ashe ordered for his handlers to move the beast to the menagerie, Felix realized that Ashe had only ever been kind and just to him; and that he had been cruel and terrible to one of his truest friends.
Menagerie was secluded and lonely, giving Felix must time to ruminate and think. The first night, he resolved to apologize to Sir Ashe. The second night he decided to apologize to his childhood friends. The third night, he promised to find the shepherdess Bernadetta, and apologize to her.
In the moonlight of the third night, Fraldarius appeared.
“It seems as though young Felix is learning his lesson,
And for that, his woes will lessen.
Good actions will be rewarded
And so slight leisures can be afforded.” She agreed. With her powers, she transformed Felix from a beast into a dog, with a coat as dark as the night.
When the menagerie keeper reappeared, he marvelled in the beauty of Felix. He hurried the newly-transformed Felix to Ashe, proclaiming that a miracle had occurred. And when Felix stepped into the sitting room, he saw his friends Ingrid, Dimitri and Sylvain sitting for tea with the new duke.
Ingrid, a lover of all animals, took an instant liking Felix. Sylvain attempted to pat him too, but Felix shifted away. She pleaded with Ashe to allow her to keep him, which kind Sir Ashe allowed. In his mind, Felix apologized to Ingrid, and begrudgingly, Sylvain. As if she could understand him, the knights gazed upon the dog and thanked him.
One morning, Ingrid gave Felix an extra roll to eat. He gratefully took it and fled out into the countryside, to explore and enjoy his day as best as he could. When he started towards the fields that he had known all his life, he noticed a lump in the snow. Curled in the powder was the shepherdess, Bernadetta. After fleeing the palace, she hid in the woods until she ran out of provisions. She was weak beyond words, unable to continue walking. Desperate to save her, Felix dropped his roll at her hand, barking for her to eat.
Bernadetta gathered all the strength she could to sit up. Felix curled behind her, steadying her back so she could eat. Felix waited for hours, as Bernadetta fell asleep upon him, regaining her strength. In the mid afternoon, Felix heard the sounds of hooves and fled from Bernadetta to find Dimitri and his procession on a hunting trip. Knowing that he would bring her back to the castle and save her, Felix let out a howl, attracting the attention of the horses.
He fled to the dark of the woods, watching as Dimitri and his men came across Bernadetta. He knelt before her, gently woke the shepherdess and offered her some food and water. He helped her onto the back of his steed before turning back to castle. In his mind, he apologized to Dimitri, who felt his words and gazed into the woods with a smile.
But before they had left, Bernadetta stared into the woods, where Felix had come from, and called out a thank you to him, her heart bursting with love and song. And before him., Fraldarius appeared once again.
“It seems as though young Felix is learning his lesson,
And for that, his woes will lessen.
Good actions will be rewarded
And so slight leisures can be afforded.” She repeated, this time almost smiling. With her powers, she transformed Felix into a cat and returned him to the castle.
That night, he slunk into Ashe’s room, hearing his woeful sighs. Ashe’s face brightened at the presence of a cat and asked for him to sit upon his lap. Felix sat beside his great chair, listening as the young knight rambled and mourned. That night, Felix learnt much more about Ashe than he had ever known. He had lost his biological parents, and his adoptive father and brother and that he was being targeted too. Ashe confessed that he had been sent to Fraldarius territory, to be saved from insurgents who wished to kill him.
In the dim lights of the chamber, Ashe looked upon Felix with a soft smile.”Poor kitty, you can’t understand me.
But I suppose that is good, you can’t be blue.”
And Felix had spoken his own apology to the king. As Ashe drifted off to sleep and Felix slipped from the chamber, Fraldarius appeared before him. Again, with a soft voice, she spoke:
“It seems as though young Felix is learning his lesson,
And for that, his woes will lessen.
Good actions will be rewarded
And so slight leisures can be afforded.” She commanded.
Finally, Fraldarius transformed Felix back into a man. But before her ancestor she warned: “Felix, you must fulfill your quest,
Otherwise I will revert you at my behest.”
But Felix did not feel worthy to apologize to the shepherdess, although she laid in her room. So instead, Felix hid himself in a cloak and fled to the shepherd. He begged to know what would make Bernadetta happiest, soon learning that she had only ever wanted her own painting studio.
When he returned, he presented himself before his friends and Ashe. To all of them, he apologized for his past behaviours—although he found it easier to do as a beast, a wolf, a dog and a cat. He told his friends of his plan, and begged Ashe to continue to reign as duke until he was ready to return.
With newfound determination, Felix fled to the attic of Fraldarius’s manor. He cleared it of cobwebs and gossamer, removed the retired junk, and found the mice and squirrels inside new homes. He crafted a little fireplace in the corner to keep the attic warm, then asked Ashe to send out servants to purchase an easel, canvases and supplies for the studio. He painted the walls a beautiful lilac purple, and even made a spot for a window and fixed the skylight to let light more in.
Finally, when the studio was prepared, Ingrid convinced Bernadetta to come upstairs. Although frightened, she wore a blindfold and was handed off to Felix, who guided her up to the studio.
“Take off your blindfold,
And behold.” Felix commanded.
Startled by his voice, Bernadetta removed the blindfold. She gazed in surprise and confusion at the studio.
“Duke Fraldarius? You live?
I thought your life had to give.” She hid behind the easel before marvelling at it’s quality.
Felix kept his distance, both shy and cautious. He glanced away from her, a blush burning his cheeks. “Bernadetta, I have been cruel to you.
I know now that it was undue.
I ask not for your forgiveness,
I know I should have less.
Accept this studio for your personal use,
And know that I promise a truce.”
Bernadetta nervously gazed at Felix before sitting at her easel.
“Stay still. Let me see your facial traits...
And I may paint you a portrait.” She said, as Felix sat himself down in a stool and gazed at Bernadetta. She sketched his likeness onto the canvas, then asked him to return the following day so that she may paint him.
As time went on, the ice around Felix’s heart melted away. While he did remain a stubborn and grouchy man, he was good of heart and steadfast to his friends. With the passing of years, Bernadetta fell in love with him and agreed to take his hand in marriage. To his people, he was known as a just and fitting ruler. To his friends, he was known as the Shield of Faerghus, running to their every need. To Bernadetta, he was her lover and closest companion. It was even said that when he returned from work abroad, she would brave the winter winds to run out and greet him at the front of the estate, embracing him against the cold weather.
Felix never did learn Bernadetta’s technique, but he did win her love; a feat more impressive than anything else.