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fantasyinvader · 4 years

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So, I decided to finally do it. A long post comparing Edelgard to one of my favorite literary characters, If you even just skim my usual writings, you’ll know who.

Elric of Melnibone is a fantasy character by Michael Moorcock. His saga is often touted as the birthplace of dark fantasy, and has been massively influencial on geek culture in general. It actually served as the basis for Law and Chaos in the first edition Dungeons and Dragons...where Elric was briefly canon before a legal dispute with a company wanting to make their own Elric game. Warhammer is another thing influenced by Elric, and it’s hard not to see where Shin Megami Tensei may be influenced by the saga as well.

I once talked about the influence Elric may have had on Dany from ASoIAF, and since Edelgard is often compared to Dany I figured I could do this as well. The following is just some points of comparison between the two, from me to you.

Empire

Edelgard is the Emperor of the Adrestian Empire, which has existed for over 1000 years. However, it has seen considerable decline over the centuries. While it’s rule once covered the entire continent of Fodlan, now it is one of three countries after people broke away from it. A book in the Shadow Library presents the Empire as very decadent in it’s past, and would use execution as a form of entertainment. This is a historical novel and possibly not factual, but it’s presence suggests this wasn’t an uncommon view of the old empire until recently considering it was Seteth who banned it. Part of it’s decline can be rooted in it upholding some traditions, such as the Crests, from antiquity. It’s rise to power stems from working with the Nabeteans, dragons in a human form. It’s royal lineage claims lineage from one of those dragons, Seiros, though her being a dragon is not something people know. Instead, she is seen more as a saint who helped found the Empire, though she instead runs the Central Church rather than lead the Empire..

Elric was the Emperor of Melnibone, and ancient Empire that ruled the known world for over 10000 years. However, it is a shell of what it was once was. Over the last thousand years it’s influence has waned due to it’s decadence and the hedonistic nature of it’s people. This has led to humans carving out their own kingdoms, the Young Kingdoms, with that time and as of Elric’s reign they have even chanced raiding it’s last city of Immyr. Melnibone is a very beautiful place but this only serves to contrast the cruelty of it’s people. They’re sadistic hedonists, to the point abusing slaves is a regular childhood passtime. Despite worshiping beings of chaos though, Melnibone is committed to a strict adherence to it’s hierachy and traditions. Part of it’s rise to power had to do with it’s relationship with dragons, who helped them conquer the world in such a manner that humans are instinctually afraid of dragons because of it. Another factor is their relationship with Arioch, a lord of chaos who acted as their patron though Aricoch hasn’t been present in Melnibone in a long time.

Views on the Empire

Edelgard sees the Empire as one that has declined, and she wants to restore it to prominence. A big part of this is doing away with the Church and the current system of nobility, instead implementing a system where power is instead gifted to those deemed of merit by her. She also aims to reclaim the lands of the Kingdom and the Alliance. Her whole gig is that she will make people follow her own beliefs. Depending on the route, she may be successful or lead the Empire to it’s destruction.

Elric saw the decline of his Empire, seeing it as a result of it’s decadence. Elric originally left Melnibone in order to venture into the Young Kingdoms, hoping to learn about justice (an alien concept to his people) from humans as Elric wished to rule Melnibone as it had never been before. According to Fortress of the Pearl, Elric intended to create an advisory council filled with people of different nations. This council would share their various perspectives with Elric, who would consider them before making his own decision (Elric does recognize he lacks common sense in some regards). He wanted to restore his empire, making it a beacon of goodness to the world while also caring for the weak.

The Childhoods that Shaped Them

This is one of the harder sections to do, since Edelgard's backstory is full of holes and the implication that she is lying. But the basic version is that as a child, Edelgard was taken from her father and (possibly fabricated) siblings to the Kingdom when a civil war broke out in the Empire due to her father's attempts to consolidate power. Edelgard was kept in isolation for two years, spent the third with Dimitri and then was taken back to the Empire. There, she was experimented on by TWSITD who made her stronger, and it also caused her hair to turn white. Edelgard blames the nobility and the Church for this, saying it's all because of the society she lives in and begins to plot conquest in order to change it.

Elric's mother died during childbirth, which made his father a distant figure in his life. Elric was also born a weak albino, incapable of even standing if not for sorcery and potions. As a result of this weakness, the young prince ended up spending more time studying in preparation for taking the throne. In his studies, Elric learned about concepts that had long been forgotten by his people. Stuff like justice, guilt, mercy, and how your actions can cause trouble for others. This caused Elric to become a more kind and gentle Melnibonean, but as a result of this he was alienated from most of his people for they could not alien and distant to them. Elric's training made him a masterful swordsman (but not to the same extent as his cousin Yrrkoon) and the most powerful sorcerer Melnibone had seen for generations. Through his dream quests, he relived the adventures of his ancestors. He doesn't remember these quests though (and they would have been big warnings to what was in store for him), instead only taking the magical knowledge they learned with him. As a result of successfully completing these quests, Elric was deemed his father's successor over Yrrkoon.

Allies

One of Edelgard's chief allies is the group known as Those Who Slither in the Dark. The same people who experimented on her, calling her their greatest creation. They provide her with aid in her war in the form of weapons and destabilizing her future targets. However, Edelgard does not like them for obvious reasons and plans to take them out. She is using them to further her own ends at the moment, providing them resources in order to reap the benefits. TWSITD are also implied to be aiding/manipulating many other groups in pursuit of their own goals.

Edelgard also has Hubert and Jeritza. The former is willing to kill anyone he feels is a threat regardless of Edelgard's orders, the latter is a mentally ill man she has weaponized. There are various other allies as well, but it's weird. In CF, she'll cry for two up and comers in her army in a show to gain sympathy. But she'll also toss her former classmates into danger and show no reaction to their resulting deaths. Even Hubert, who has been her longest serving ally. She also dismisses his contributions, saying she never had anyone to support her like Dimitri (in Azure Moon) had.

Elric has Arioch, the patron god of his people. Arioch is a lord of Chaos, also known as the Knight of the Swords. He lends Elric his aid at various points, but it's always a matter of when he chooses to do so. If Elric is doing something Arioch doesn't want him to do, then he will not answer his call. Aricoch calls Elric his favorite Melnibonean and his slave, Elric invoking his help give him more presence and power within the world as well. This is part of Arioch's plans, but during the final war Elric rejects the side of Chaos and slays Arioch's physical body, banishing Arioch (who exists in many bodies across the multiverse) from ever stepping foot in Elric's world ever again. Chaos is also shown to aide others in pursuit of their goals

Elric also has various friends, chief among them is Moonglum. Moonglum is a thief and mercenary, in addition to someone with less of a conscience than Elric himself! Moonglum does chase after riches, but has issue with Elric's methods. Moonglum will sell slaves for a profit and, in one instance, killed a giant Elric had worked out an agreement with because fate said that the giant would be slain. During the course of his adventures, Elric loses all those he holds dear. This helps fuel a deep sense of self-loathing within him.

Pride

Edelgard is a very prideful person, to the point many would call her arrogant. As such, she will not sway from the goals she sets for herself. Even if her army is defeated and she herself is facing her executioner, she will not back down. She is even willing to throw away her humanity in this regard.

Elric's (out of universe) nickname is the Proud Prince of Ruins. Despite his self-loathing, he will not kill himself due to his pride. It is also for this reason that Elric will not allow anyone to kill him. In addition, he's also fighting the influence of Stormbringer (his black runesword). To quote Blue Oyster Cult, Elric doesn't want to be a “red-eyed, screaming ghoul.” In addition, while he serves Chaos he makes it clear he does not want to be their plaything.

Goals

Edelgard claims that her goal is to dismantle the Church of Seiros and the Crest Nobility System, freeing mankind while also creating a system where people of merit are appointed to power. However, there are many hints that her real goal is the conquest of Fodlan, unifying it under her uncontested rule. After that, she intends to have her underlings take out TWSITD from the shadows.

Before the fall of Melnibone, Elric wanted to rule his Empire as it had never been ruled before. To this end, he left his throne to journey out into the young kingdoms. He intended to learn from humanity subjects such as justice. However, after Yrrkoon usurpted the throne and Elric lead human raiders in destorying his own empire, Elric wandered the world searching for answers.

See, as a being of Chaos Elric held a certain worldview. There was no master plan of the universe, there is no order but what we force upon the world. Bad things happen just because, so there isn't any reason for Elric not to do as he wishes. The fall of Melnibone is actually a pivotal moment to Elric, who had before believed in questioning his use of his own power and restraint. For instance, he allowed Yrrkoon to live before despite being a traitorous son of a bitch because Elric believed he was so much more powerful than his cousin, and allowing him to live showed that. Now Elric had taken up a more hedonistic lifestyle common with his people. Elric's travels see him seek out any form of proof though that there is a great will at play, for Elric is willing to accept that because it would mean his suffering had reason.

Towards the end, Elric tries to avoid his destiny. See, the Lords of Law had long since planned out Elric's life in pursuit of their goal. Believing there to be a greater power that willed this, they set up Elric to be their tool during the final war. The world, heavily influenced by Chaos, would be destroyed and Law would be able to rebuild it as a safer one for mankind (should mankind come into existence again). Elric tried to avert fate and win the war against Chaos, but in the end he failed. The world was warped and a reset was the only option.

The Ends Justify the Means

In pursuit of her goals, the game makes it out that there is very little Edelgard wouldn't do. Conscript an unwilling populice to fight for her? No big. Destablize other nations or attempt to assassinate heirs before the war starts? Yawn. Work with TWSITD? From before the game began. Using monsters that they made out of people? Sure, she says she doesn't like it and would stop it if she could, but she doesn't as there's mention of their usage in CF.

It's all wrapped up in her attempts at spreading misinformation. She is shown to lie and keep people in the dark in order to support her war. She makes herself look like the hero in this case, but the clues are blatantly there if you take even one step outside her narrative. She is viewed not as a liberator, but a conquerer. And it's hard to get a grasp of what she herself believes, since due to her manipulative nature every word out of her mouth is suspect.

While Elric will attempt to do the right and honorable thing at times, his nature as a Melnibonean (be it blood or being raised in such a culture) has made him a pragmatist. As such, there is very little Elric wouldn't do in order to obtain victory.

Burn a half-million not-Dothraki alive with napalm spitting dragons? Okay. Sustain himself on the souls of those slain by Stormbringer? He finds it distasteful, but it gives him power that he's addicted to. Summon demons who will rip out the souls of his enemies, flinging them to the wind so they may never know peace? Standard practice. Force a man to attempt to eat a giant pearl while pouring poison down his throat to wash it down? The dude deserved it. Single-handedly commit a massacre in such a manner survivors suffer PTSD? That was the price they payed for the Pearl.

Elric doesn't try to justify his actions though. He doesn't claim moral high ground, in his own words he may have slain dictators and sorcerers, but did so with means equal to that which was already there. Not to mention, he does recognize the sheer number of good people who die because of him since he often overlooks collateral damage. Elric fully realizes just how evil his actions are, he's haunted by what conscience he does have, and he world around him recognizes this as well. People fear him, hiring Elric as a mercenary is akin to inviting your own doom. Hell, when he was trying to lead humanity against the forces of Chaos his past acts caused the people of the Souther continent not to give their support (which may have turned the tide at that point of the war).

Despite this, Elric has been shown to free slaves, save children and stop rapes because he wishes to. This is in spite of his own culture, which used slaves, would use cannibalism as a punishment. In addition, while Elric can be cruel (boyhowdy can he be cruel), he is never cruel without cause. You have to piss him off pretty bad in order to get a nasty death. In addition, Elric is shown to repay kindness as best he can.

The reason why I did this was I compared Elric to Dany before, and how he might have influenced her. People compare Edelgard to Dany all the time, so I wanted to put her against Elric. Honestly, once I began writing I keep coming up with more and more stuff. Edelgard has a lot in common with Elric, I could go on. How they're both short-sighted and make dumb decisions, or how Edelgard is known for being unemotional while Elric, when he's performing his evilist of actions because otherwise he's either a dramaqueen or theatrical, can commit atrocities without emotion or hate. But I'm going to stop here for now. Let me know what you guys think.

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