Melusine

Melusines are an amphibious, all-female species in Fontaine. They are the "daughters" of Elynas.^[1]

Overview

Most Melusines live in Merusea Village, but of the ones who work in the Court of Fontaine, many choose to live there, "because it's so much more convenient."^[2] Some Melusines who work in the Court of Fontaine, like Sedile, choose to return to Merusea Village on vacation.^[3]

Melusines tend to be diligent with their duties and possess a strong sense of justice. Their senses of perception are also stronger than those of humans. As such, the Marechaussee Phantom, the elite investigative force of the Court of Fontaine, is mainly composed of Melusines.^[4] Notably, Melusines have very limited combat abilities,^[5] since they are rather small and not very dextrous.^[6][7] However, they are not universally helpless. During a visit to Natlan, Marine was able to clear out a monster nest with ease to earn money.^[8] Some Melusines are also capable of wielding rifles, and with exceptional skill,^[9][10] though the shape of their hands still prevents them from using pistolets.^[11]

Melusines view Neuvillette as "[their] ideal of the perfect father."^[12] Similarly, Fontaine's citizens believe Neuvillette shows more affection for Melusines than humans, equating it to a father's love. Neuvillette himself recognizes the Melusines as both his dependents and successors, believing them to be a great example of a "new sort of Hydro Vishap species."^[13]

The Melusines acknowledge that their senses not only cause them to perceive Neuvillette differently from humans, but that each Melusine's perception of him even varies a bit between every Melusine. When they created a signboard of him, they made a necessary compromise and "split the difference" of how to portray him.^[14]

Melusines are implied to have very long lives, as several Melusines, such as Sigewinne and Kiara, are among those that were the first born over 400 years ago.^[15] Melusines, however, still suffer the adverse effects of aging. Enghiene, a Melusine with the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol, had her ability to wield firearms impaired by her age.^[10] She ultimately had to retire after 150 years of service.^[16]

Since Melusines' sense of vision and taste are different from humans, humans are sometimes confused or disgusted by their preferences. For example, Mamere's art was considered incomprehensible to most.^[17] Melusines also find Breacher Primuses to be "completely adorable."^[18] Sigewinne's secret cooking, meant to help restore stamina, has the prisoners of the Fortress of Meropide calling it "mystery meat" and an "ill omen" despite the effort she puts into making it.^[19] Wriothesley and Escoffier even describe the milkshakes she makes to be "desolation" and "absolutely deadly" respectively.^[20][21] Nonetheless, Wriothesley appreciates when people recognize the thought and care she puts into her creations, and Escoffier as a chef does not criticize Melusine food as it is not normally meant for human tastes in mind. Considering her high standards, Escoffier is fine with making Poissonchant Pie for other humans.^[22]

The denizens of Merusea Village value scrap mechanical parts as a form of currency, called "components," due to their aesthetic quality and abundance in the area. Melusines exchange these components for goods such as those sold by Xana, and give them to one another as tokens of gratitude for helping each other out.^[23]

Melusines consume Tidalga,^[24] though they also enjoy the wide variety of human food that's available.^[25] They require sleep like other biological beings, and have the same reaction to coffee and tea as humans do.

Some of the Melusines, particularly Sigewinne, enjoy reading astrology publications.^[26]

Melusines are capable of seeing colors beyond that of the spectrum that humans are capable of seeing.^[27]

Appearance

Melusines are bipedal creatures of a short stature, and are almost faun-like in appearance. They have large tails, mitten-like hands, and stubby feet, and some have small wing-like appendages on their backs. They also have long "feelers"^[28] on their heads that resemble the rhinophores of sea slugs, as well as human-like head hair.

Currently, there are two main variants of Melusines. Variant 1 has a fluffy tail, curled horn-like feelers, and a skin pattern of little flowers. Variant 2 has a long tufted tail, ear-like feelers, and striped skin patterns. Each Melusine has a unique combination of variant type, skin color(s), pupil style, and hairstyle.

Sigewinne is an exception, as while she is still a Melusine, she has a "special body" which makes her physiologically similar to a human.^[29] Her human-like appearance is due to a potion she had consumed from her teacher, who was willing to teach Melusines at a time when they were still viewed with suspicion. She had befriended a human, though when her friend became ill, her parents refused to let her give treatment due to being a Melusine, and she took the potion in order to appear as a human and save her friend. She decided to remain in her current form ever since.^[30]

Pahsiv, a unique Primordial Bathysmal Vishap, can take on a Melusine form at will.^[31] This form has a tufted tail and ear-like feelers of a Melusine, but her skin patterns and pupils remain those of a Bathysmal Vishap.

Melusines typically wear simple shirts or dresses with a small neck bandana or choker. When they are working as Gardes or Aquabus guides, they wear special uniforms suited to their roles.

Known Melusines

Playable Characters

Sigewinne

Other Characters

50 Characters match the category selection:

Lore

Around 400 years ago, the Marechaussee Hunters and members of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo battled inside the remnants of the great beast Elynas. During this battle, "someone" caused an explosion, killing many and causing the mechanical components of clockwork meka to pierce through Elynas's body. The Melusines were eventually born from these wounds, with the components becoming "tokens" associated with each Melusine.^[1][17]

Elynas's consciousness regarded the Melusines as his own daughters, teaching them how to establish a home — Merusea Village — and enabling them to grow and live happily within his own remains. As time passed on, the Melusines could no longer hear Elynas's voice, and by the start of the game's events, only Mamere could hear him.^[1] After Mamere met and befriended the Traveler, she could no longer hear his voice.

According to Mamere, all Melusines are born possessing special mementos known as "tokens", and every Melusine has a different token. Mamere got a mechanical component inscribed with runes, which can seemingly be used to interact with and repair Clockwork Meka such as Seymour who recognizes Mamere's token as his lost "artificed clockwork relay module,"^[17] while Aeval's token is the shard of a sword.^[32]

According to Carole, the Melusines stayed in the Merusea Village for almost twenty years until they met Neuvillette, who responded to their wish and brought them to the Court of Fontaine.^[33] Fontainians were hesitant to accept Melusines into their society at the time, believing them to be creatures of calamity due to an increase in "strange incidents," coupled with Neuvillette having just been appointed as the Iudex. Some rejected the idea that two different species could coexist, and other humans considered the Melusines to be monsters. Carole was one of the few Melusines to venture outside Merusea Village, but she sacrificed herself five years later to prove her innocence after being lured and framed by hardliners for murder, who opposed Neuvillette's reforms. Following her sacrifice and the subsequent trial of Vautrin, in which he feigned anger to prove Neuvillette's impartiality and fairness, people began to trust both the Iudex and the Melusines. Neuvillette helped pass a law declaring that all Melusines are to be addressed with she/her pronouns rather than it/its^[34] and harsh punishments were imposed for anyone who treated them as monsters. By the events of the game, essentially every Fontainian is willing to protect a Melusine from danger.^[35][36]

Breacher Primuses do not attack Melusines, as both were born from Elynas' body.

Trivia

• A Melusine, likely Blathine, was first shown in the Version 3.8 Special Program, as part of a story narrated by Alice showcasing a teaser for the nation of Fontaine.
• The names of Melusines seem to be based on fairies around the world. For example, Cosanzeana is a Romanian fairy, Aeval and Elphane are based on Celtic fae, while Sigewinne is derived from a water spirit mentioned in the Middle High German epic Ortnit.
• After giving a negative review to the Seven Nations Gazette, Neuvillette was speculated by that tabloid to be the only male Melusine.^[12]
• The Melusine Philharmonic Orchestra is a renowned Fontainian orchestra that is entirely composed of Melusine musicians.^[37] It is unclear what instruments they play, as their hands are not very dextrous.
• Neuvillette considers Melusines to be a new form of Hydro Vishap or "dragonheir" in some way.^[38] This may explain Sigewinne's Character Title of "Wondrous Dragonheir." However, it is unlikely that Melusines qualify as dragons, who are typically creatures of the Light Realm, as they were born from the flesh of Elynas, an Abyssal being, although there is still a chance that can be classified as such given that there are other Abyssal beings classified as Dragons such as Durin.
• Melusines that deviate from the main variants:
  • Elphane — Variant 1, with Variant 2 leg patterns
  • Manaia — Variant 2, with Variant 1 leg patterns
• Melusine is mentioned in the descriptions of the following 12 Furnishings:
  • "Slippery Shack"
  • "Small Stonecrab"
  • "Soft Water's Voice"
  • "Bedroom Bedlam"
  • "A Sister's Duty"
  • "Good Stuff Is for Sharing!"
  • "Happy Times"
  • "Hello! Welcome!"
  • "High Stone Platform"
  • "Let's Play!"
  • "Satisfying Weight"
  • "Shiny Shell"

Etymology

• A Melusine is a figure in European folklore, commonly described as a female freshwater spirit. She is usually depicted as a woman whose bottom half is of a fish or a serpent, and less commonly with wings or two tails. In France, the country on which Fontaine is inspired, Melusine legends are majorly prevalent in its northern regions, Poitou and spread to the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg).
  • French interpretations of Melusine legends involve the House of Lusignan, whose members claim to be descended from Melusine. There are also folklore stating that the earliest castle of the House was built by the water spirit, Melusine.
  • Melusines may have come from the Poitevin legend of "Mère Lusine," leader of a band of fairies associated with building Roman structures in the countryside.

Gallery

Variant 1 (Flowers with curled antenna and a sea slug tail)

Variant 2 (Stripes with non-curled antenna and a long tail with three fins at the tip)

Other Languages

Change History

References

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