Yelena

Yelena (Russian: Елена Yelena), also known by her cover name Vijava, was a former Fatuus and Kirya's sister. She was the original cultivator of the "Auguste" perfume,^[2] which was the most popular product during Fontaine's "Perfume Mania" around 20 years ago.^[1] She committed suicide to protect the perfume's secrets, an act which Kirya blamed her collaborators for. His quest for vengeance leads to the events of Emilie's Story Quest, Pomum de Ambra Chapter: Act I - Floral Debt, Blood Due.

Profile

Yelena and Kirya were originally members of the Fatui; according to Sylvain, she greatly doted on her younger brother. To spare him of the rapid aging caused by a Delusion, which already affected her own body, Yelena took him and deserted the Fatui. They fled to Fontaine, where Yelena passed herself off as the Sumeru scholar "Vijava" and used her Delusion to cultivate a flower with distorted elemental energy. Collaborating with Fontainian perfumer Edgar and merchant brothers Sylvain and Lucien, the four created the "Auguste" perfume with this flower. The exorbitant prices that "Auguste" was selling for — going as high as 10 million Mora — led to an investigation by the Marechaussee Phantom. Fearing that her and Kirya's history as Fatui would be exposed, but too weak from overusing her Delusion to flee herself, she chose to burn the flowerbeds and die by self-immolation to hide any trace that a Delusion was used to cultivate the flowers.^[2] Meanwhile, Edgar, Sylvain, and Lucien were imprisoned for spurring the economic bubble; Kirya, whose existence had been kept a closely guarded secret, was able to escape.

Unbeknownst to the group, Yelena's efforts to hide her deteriorating condition from Kirya led him to blame the other three for her death. Over the next two decades, he masterminded a plot both to take revenge on them, and to determine the truth behind her suicide.

Quests and Events

Story Quests

• Pomum de Ambra Chapter (Emilie)
  • Act I: Floral Debt, Blood Due
    • Base Note: Auguste

Story

Legacy

The events of Floral Debt, Blood Due occur as part of Kirya's plan to both avenge Yelena and determine the true reason behind her death. Concluding that it was ultimately his own fault, as she committed suicide to protect him, he attempts to kill himself with "Auguste" as atonement. However, his plan is foiled by none other than his own student, Emilie, who used improved perfume-making techniques developed over the past 20 years to create an accord for "Auguste" — a feat which had been impossible in the past.^[3]

Weeks after the incident, Emilie releases a modified version of "Auguste" named "Yelena" in honor of Yelena, hoping to finally undo the myth around it. During the making of the perfume, Emilie researched the flower language meanings of the three fragrances present in "Auguste" — Rainbow Rose, Glaze Lily, and Cecilia — and concluded Yelena may have meant to send the message "Forget the past, and keep on living." Kirya, however, points out that any interpretation they might draw would only be conjecture.^[3]

Trivia

• Yelena (Russian: Елена) is a feminine given name, the Russian form of Helen.

Other Languages

Change History

References