#Théophile Guatier

[mwezina]

Death & FE3H

The Death archetype deals primarily with the cycle of life and is a reminder that all things must pass. Things that once held authority will lose significance, the young will one day become old, day will become night, but night will always become day. So in this way, Death is not only about death, but about rebirth. 

Death reminds us that we must let go of the past if we wish to experience something new. We see in the distance that the sun is rising after a long dark night. We also see that although the king is dead, his child (in similar coloured clothing) still lives. So although one reign has ended, another will begin. Death is a necessary component of life, as it becomes a turning of the page. Old ideas die, new ideas have space to grow. 

The Crest of Gautier may be referring to Théophile Guatier, a French poet and literary critic. He vehemently defended Romanticism, an emerging style in the literary community. Although he didn’t always write in that style, he often contributed to literary journals about Romanticism. 

The dragon associated with this crest is the Fissure Dragon. The closest idea I could find was that a fissure is a breakage in the earth. It refers to breaks and fine cracks in earth or stone. 

I can’t figure out what kind of strange dragon this may be. Considering that the Lance of Ruin twitches and looks a little unnerving, I thought maybe this dragon would be a subterranean dragon. The little twitches could possibly be sensors, the way naked mole rats have whiskers, or maybe the sensors on the Shirshu from ATLA. 

The character that I’ll connect to these ideas is Sylvain José Gautier. Sylvain has to deal with Death both literally and figuratively. His brother dies, ending with him a fearful and regretful era of Sylvain’s life. Later on in life, Sylvain can also end the reliance upon Crests prevalent in Faerghus, ushering in a new era focused on diplomacy over strength. 

He cares for literature and critiques Bernadetta’s works. His attitude is similar to Théophile Gautier’s as well, in that he defends the new and helps it take root. In Sylvain’s lifetime, attitudes around crests in Faerghus are already changing. Dimitri himself hopes to find a way for nobility to rely less on crests so inheritance lines can be cleaner and kinder. Sylvain finds a way for this to become reality. 

Interestingly, the fissure seems to be on Miklan instead of Sylvain. The scar on his face looks like a breakage. He himself becomes a fissure in his family, as he attempted to kill Sylvain numerous times. 

What do you guys think? Is the Death card more than meets the eye when it comes to Sylvain?

Previous: The Hanged Man

Next: Temperance