Wriothesley/Storyline

Wriothesley is the current Administrator for the Fortress of Meropide.

Profile

Personality

Wriothesley is the "Duke" of the Fortress of Meropide, serving as the prison's administrator and overseeing the facility's overall status. Despite his appearance, Wriothesley is fairly calm and collected, not worrying too much about the prison's infamous reputation as he only sees himself as a "leader" of sorts to oversee the population and ensure they have the "tranquility" they desire. He sees the prison as a place of rebirth and is willing to protect that way of life, not wanting others to suffer like he once did, and becomes extremely angered should such a circumstance occur on his watch. His relaxed policies has made him very popular among many inmates, who tend to address him as if he was nobility, due to being bestowed the title of "Duke" by the Palais Mermonia.

While he owns a pair of mechanical gauntlets for use in fighting, he is not an advocate for violence, not wanting to get more blood on his hands. However, he is willing to kill others should he have no choice, to maintain law and order.

Outside of his duties, he enjoys drinking tea.

Appearance

See also: Night's Chilling Howl

Wriothesley uses the tall male model. He has tufted black hair with grey streaks, pale grey eyes, and pale skin. He bears a scar beneath his right eye; three scars extending from high on his neck down to his mid-chest, with one on the right, one on the left, and one along the midline; and scars on his left and right forearms.

History

Past

Wriothesley spent his youth as an orphan, not even knowing the identities of his biological parents. He was eventually discovered by a noble family and adopted by them. At the time, he lived a fair life and was given a name of his own. He eventually discovered the truth behind his adoptive parents' intentions; they were human traffickers and sold their "children" to others for wealth, while others who could not be sold were "disposed" of. Learning this, he flew into a frenzy and slew them without hesitation, setting the rest of his "family" free. When he was questioned about his personal information, he no longer wished to use his adopted name and made up the name Wriothesley. He was subsequently sent to trial and pleaded guilty to the charges presented, with Neuvillette sentencing him to the Fortress of Meropide.^[5]

During stint in prison, Wriothesley quickly grasped the rules in the prison. He also discovered a Cryo Vision as he took out his paper to be registered in the prison. Wishing to ask the registrar what to do, she instead slipped him a paper telling him to hide it well. Wriothesley quickly understood his current situation and heeded the advice.^[6] He quickly built a name for himself in the Pankration Ring, fighting with the help of mechanical gauntlets which were maintained by both himself and researchers from the Fontaine Research Institute.^[7]

Wanting to reign his influence, the administrator of the time wiped his account clean. But with the support of the inmates and guards, Wriothesley instead challenged the administrator to a duel, who quickly fled upon learning this. Unfortunately, this occurred when he was about to be released, and with no one to handle his papers, Wriothesley slid into the role, becoming the new prison administrator.^[8] He continued providing for the inmates, who appreciated his efforts and the situation was quickly noticed by the Palais Mermonia, with the administration offering him the title of "Duke." He accepted the title, but chose not to attend the ceremony and as such, the Palais Mermonia sent the documents for him to sign.

Three "hidden" rules were set by Wriothesley in order to teach inmates the value of Credit Coupons; to not overwork oneself, to appreciate their value and a third rule regarding Sigewinne and the infirmary. Failing to heed these rules would result in various consequences; overworking would result in a mystery meal by Sigewinne, while betting on both fighters in the Pankration Ring would result in a special Fonta drink that Wriothesley had deemed of low value.

The prison's tranquility was fairly consistent in most part, though Wriothesley was disappointed when the Fatui started infiltrating it. He captured numerous operatives and "removed" them as an internal provocation.

Present

The Traveler first meets Wriothesley when they are sent to the Fortress of Meropide for stealing cake meant for Furina as a front for them to investigate Tartaglia's disappearance in the prison. Learning of their arrival, Wriothesley had a group of Gardemeks greet them. He gave them a tour of the prison and told them that they would be on their own after the meal, having learned of their visit from Neuvillette.^[9] Alongside the Traveler's arrival, he discovered the House of the Hearth had sent Lyney, Lynette and Freminet to the prison to gather intelligence, which left him dismayed.^[10]

Aware of their motives, Wriothesley opted for a confrontation at his office, where an impulsive Lyney demanded his siblings back. He agreed to do so by having the Traveler tell him what they learned in the prison; while they were successful in two of them, they had failed to discover the final hidden rule. Lyney tried to attack Wriothesley, but was stopped by Sigewinne, which he appreciated, as he would have to stop holding back if she hadn't done so. Shortly afterwards, Clorinde arrived with Freminet, and he invited her to tea while discussing a few matters.^[11] The Traveler and Sigewinne later returned, the latter taking Clorinde for a check-up while Wriothesley asked the Traveler to accompany him to a hidden section of the prison. There, he revealed his suspicisons that the Primordial Sea was behind a sluice gate keeping it in bay, though in recent days, it had begun to show signs of failure. To prepare for the catastrophe, he commissioned the construction of The Wingalet, though its construction was kept secret to the inmates or there would be a serious riot on his hands.^[12]

The next day, the prison began to shake as the sluice gate catastrophically failed. Wriothesley ordered an evacuation while he and Clorinde went to the Forbidden Zone, using their elemental powers to close several backup gates. As the Traveler arrived, he told them to fetch Neuvillette, while he and Clorinde remained behind to watch the gates. He made a bet with her about his arrival; he believed he would come alone, while she believed he would bring a small entourage with him. Neuvillette arrived by himself, so Wriothesley won the bet. They then thanked him for his assistance and told him to return to the surface.^[13]

Once the prison was back to normal, the Traveler met Wriothesley and investigated the Beret Society, one of many groups in the prison. They discovered its founder, Dougier, had malicious intentions, controlling through fear and wishing to usurp Wriothesley of his position. When they confronted him in his hidden hideout, Dougier aimed at Wriothesley, who evaded all of his shots or blocked them with an ice wall. Dougier then tried to shoot the Traveler, forcing Wriothesley to rush him to ensure their safety. As he slammed him to the ground, Dougier warned him of his abuse, but Wriothesley was unfazed and coldly told him that as the Duke, he could make any rule he want and forced him into submission. He then had the prison guards tend to the society members, explaining to the Traveler how he ended up in prison and later agreed to host Avice and Faissolle's wedding in the prison to the best of his capability.^[14]

Neuvillette also learned of a hit against the Melusine Kiara and began to investigate the matter himself, learning that the person who ordered the hit was imprisoned at the fortress. He asked Wriothesley for the prisoner, Domenico, and they learned he had targeted Kiara out of frustration. Wriothesley had Sigewinne return him to the detention block, promising to deal with him later and learned from Neuvillette about his grief of losing Carole. Wriothesley told him that he was overthinking the situation, as the Fontanians at the time were far different than those in the present day. He also confirmed that the guard who sent the letter out was from the Palais Mermonia and that he would remind him to take more precautions in the future before seeing them off.^[15]

With the situation resolved, the Traveler's stay in the prison was up and Wriothesley signed their release papers. As he did so, Paimon asked about the recent tremors, and he concluded that they had come from the surface, as he had spent so much time underwater he'd know right away if it started from the seafloor. As they left, he asked the Traveler to send his and Sigewinne's regards to Neuvillette.^[16] As the Prophecy of Fontaine began, Wriothesley and his crew deployed The Wingalet to assist in rescue efforts. When the prophecy ended, he had the ship put back in storage, using its creators to divert attention from him.^[17]

Seeing that Sigewinne had plenty of time on her hands and with no notable events at the prison, Wriothesley had her take some time off at the surface. When they returned, people began panicking over seeing their doppelgangers, so he had them taken to the infirmary to wait until she returned.^[18] It then became clear that people were masquerading as others and used the chaos to escape the prison by appearing as others whose sentences were about to conclude. Sigewinne asked to assist the investigation in part due to clearing them for release; though Morgane was hesitant to do so, Wriothesley gave her his approval knowing that her expertise would help them in the case.^[19] With her and the Traveler's help, the case was completed and its mastermind apprehended. Wriothesley later accompanied Neuvillette to the Court of Fontaine, where the two explained how Sigewinne ended up at the prison.^[20]

When Natlanese visitors began coming to the nation following the conclusion of their war against the Abyss, Wriothesley and Neuvillette were talking about a smuggling case when a strange bird flew into the Palais Mermonia in panic. The strange bird could only speak a few phrases, so Wriothesley had to rely on Neuvillette to translate for him. Neuvillette was unable to fully understand its speech and learned about the bird's name as Cacucu and of his companions. Cacucu had flown to the palace after learning that flying objects were prohibited when they arrived, and the two men were unsure of what to do with him at the time. As the Traveler vouched for Cacucu, Neuvillette decided to reinterpret the law for Cacucu while he stayed with Wriothesley.^[21] Wriothesley managed to teach Cacucu how to say "good morning" while he continued the investigation with Kinich. Learning that the case was intercepted by pure chance, they decided to draw out the mastermind. At the same time, Wriothesley admitted that he was considering buying property now that the prophecy was over, and Neuvillette told him that he had perks from his title, much to his surprise. With Ororon, Ifa and Cacucu's help, they apprehended the mastermind's representative, Argenteau. Wriothesley told Argenteau that he was facing a steep sentence being a suspect in an international smuggling case, but offered leinency if he cooperated.^[22] Argenteau told them the plan he had been given, allowing them to apprehend the main suspect, Angoulvant.^[23]

Trivia

• Wriothesley is the first limited Catalyst character to use a Cryo Vision and the second to use melee attacks with hitlag akin to that of sword, claymore, and polearm attacks, after Shikanoin Heizou. He is also the first 5☆ Cryo male character.
• Wriothesley shares his Chinese voice actor with Azhdaha.
• Wriothesley was a teenager at the time of his trial.^[24] By the time he attained the title of Duke, "his age had nearly doubled,"^[25] and he has held the position for over three years.^{[Note 1]}
• One of his character stories, "The Wingalet", has quotes from the book The History of the Decline and Fall of Remuria.
• Wriothesley is known by these aliases or titles:
  • "Duke" of the Fortress of Meropide
  • Administrator of the Fortress of Meropide
  • Lord Incognito of the murky depths

Etymology

• The name Wriothesley may come from the Wriothesley family, an English noble family. Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, was one of the patrons of William Shakespeare who dedicated many of his works to him.
  • Wriothesley's skill description contains a reference to the ending couplet of Sonnet 1 (1609) written by William Shakespeare, and rumored to be dedicated to Henry Wriothesley.

Notes

References