Melisande D'Hildegarde
This page will not contain major spoilers, only easily known details on her life. If you want to know more on Melisande, feel free to walk-up anytime.
As the years passed, I have been shuttered inside the walls. At night, I could hear their cries. I could see it all deep in the eyes of the soldiers. So I prayed the Fury. I told her I would give anything to wipe the tears of my people. I told Her I'd be a good girl if She could make the cries stop. And She did. The cries stopped. The silent knights came back. Never have I witnessed so much serenity in the eyes of those I have praised all my life. Lying so fearless, so quiet in death...
I prayed untill my grasp of reality faded, but never did my brothers came back from the Horror. The halls of the House fell silent, cloaked in black veils, tainted with the bitter mourning of the brave souls of those who gave their life to protect us from all harm. But harm has been done, and no wound could have been more deep. Other cries, quiet ones, echoed in my soul, forever stained by the absence of those I held so dearly. Father shuttered himself into different invisible walls, and Mother had no love left in her heart to give me.
I thought my marriage would bring us back renewal, hope. I thought a new dawn could lie in wait for us, that my prayers had been heard. How naive. How foolish of me. Death seemed to be the path I was bound to, forsaken by the Fury - embraced by Nald'Thal. Thrown in a never-ending maze of thorns, under Her watchful gaze, I was deemed to fight or fall. And I chose to fight, earn the Fury's blessings. I chose to make myself worthy. I had to. There was nothing to prevent my fall - nothing and no one - to help me chose a path. So I did. I chose a path and made the oath I would be stronger than my brothers. Stronger than the temple knights. Even stronger than the heroes of our people. I chose a path and made the oath no one would ever harm us again, that no one would have to suffer anymore.
I would do anything. At any cost. I will protect Ishgard. I will make their sacrifices worthy. Even if it cost me my soul."
She is a snobbish proud lady, arrogant, xenophobic, fierce and merciless. She is paranoid and suspicious of everyone. She has no respect nor compassion for anything unrelated to Ishgard.
Nature:She has fire in her blood. Her temper is abrasive. She's likely to explode if anything rubs her the wrong way. She is only driven by passion.
Trope:She spent most of her childhood at the Scholasticate to receive a religious education. She is a blinded zealout devoted to Halone, fanatic to deadly extents. She considers herself Her champion, trying hard to conquer the power which will make her worthy of guiding her people in what she considers the righteous path. Everything she does, she justifies it by her faith - even the worst terrible deeds.
Habits:For the past two years, Melisande vanished from the political scene of Ishgard. No one knows where she is and she ended up being considered dead. However, she can be spotted in U'ldah, either at the thaumaturge guild or quietly reading in the plaza from time to time.
She has a pale white aristocratic skin. Her lips are always painted in dark red. Her peridot eyes are quite expressive when she's angry. She always look arrogant and proud, speaking with a tone as cold as ice. She always wear red clothes, and gloves to cover her hands.
Scars & Markings:Her left arm bears burn scars. She has two long transversal scars in her back: one seemed to have been made by huge claws, the other looks like it has been made by a blade. There is a crystal shard embbeded in the flesh of her left palm (which comes from the Void).
Voice:She has a strong ishgardian accent, with all the snobbish way of talking of the nobility.
Clothing:When walking in the beautiful streets of the Pillars, she always wear ishgardian clothes. Usually, she opts for religious outfits. But sometimes, she can be seen in fancy noble clothes or ceremonial armor depending on the situation.
When she's travelling outside the holy city, she goes for something more irreverent. She likes wearing extravagant robes, or outfits showing more skin than she would be allowed in Ishgard. She always carry a bone-staff, finely crafted but somehow leaving an ominous feeling to everyone that may stare at it.
- Power
- Knowledge
- Thaumaturgy
- Insulting outsiders
- Bullying au'ra
- Being praised
- Everything which is not ishgardian enough
- Everyone who is not ishgardian enough
- The Dravanians
- Ser Aymeric de Borel
- The au'ra. All of them.
- The Garleans. All of them.
- The lowborns
- Most of the nobles who aren't loyal to Dzemael
- Ishgard
- Halone, the Fury
- Saint Reymanaud's Cathedral
- Saint Endalim Scholasticate
- House Dzemael (and Archombadin)
- Ishgardian fancy dresses
- Ishgardian fancy jewels
- Ishgardian tea
She thinks the foreigners are plaguing Ishgard with sins and vices. She only sees the opening of the gate as a defilement of Ishgard's traditions and fears this will only lead to internal quarrels and political chaos. As a matter of fact she openly loathes everyone bold enough to walk in the Pillars without belonging to the aristocracy.
Besides, she cannot bare to look at au'ra people. Their scales, horns and tails are too much alike of those of the dragons, and always force her to remember painful memories. She'd rather ignore them, or bully them if she's not in a good mood (and she never is). She believes the Xaela are mere save beasts and would rather have them eradicated.
She has the conviction that thaumaturgy is the master art, and every other form of magic or way of fighting is inferior to the power she seeks. As a matter of fact, she fell in awe when discovering books about the Machi civilization...
Her loyalty has no flaw - be it a strenght or a weakness for her. Although it is very difficult to earn her trust, once she makes an oath towards someone she's ready to go to deadly extents if necessary. She will never fail that person and will follow blindly his/her path.
Her faith is also a powerful strenght. When everything shattered around her, she held on by praying Halone to guide her. When the situations are too harsh for her to endure, she always turns to the Fury and finds the strenght to keep going.
As a matter of fact she has a strong willpower. She lost her brothers, saw her parents becoming mad with grief, has been rejected by her own mother, took alone the responsabilities of her House, traveled on the most dangerous roads by herself to seek power, has been beaten so many times that pain became a habit, and witnessed so many dreadful situations she managed to overcome, that obviously her will is difficult to bend once she has decided something.
She is easily overwhelmed by her emotions. She often struggles to keep control in stressful situations. If provoked, she is likely to lose her temper and run carelessly towards the enemy.
She can burst in quite impressive fits of anger if someone badmouth Ishgard. Regardless her own safety, she is likely to stand against everyone who would want to defile her beloved city.
Her two failed marriages are a very sensitive subject. She's likely to be very bitter and angry if probed on the subject, considering the first betrothed has been murdered and the other left Ishgard with a bad reputation.
She developed a craving for power and knowledge over thaumaturgy and everything related to the Void. This already led her to crazy extents and sacrifices.
She is gifted with magic. As a child, she was overprotected and could not really learn the true art of thaumaturgy, even in the Scholasticate. When she left seeking power ton defend her city, she met Zagi'zi Kumai, who revealed her potential. Since then, she ran into so much troubles that she had way too many opportunities to practice in deadly situations. She is a quick-learner and will likely become a powerful thaumaturge...if she survives long enough to get there.
However, she is definately not a warrior. She cannot run long distances, nor jump high heights, nor carry heavy weapons. Her body is weak and if someone can get close to her, it would be easy to knock her out.
"By the balance of Her spear will all be set free". House Hildegarde's motto quotes the Enchiridion as a token of their unflawned faith towards the Fury throughout the ages. The coat of arms of the House represents their great ancestor Lucienaux Anselm Hildegarde, as a mounted knight on a chocobo, piercing the flank of a dying scared dragon with a spear. His glorious battle against the dragon's general Irmekt still fashions the dreams of Hildegarde's heirs. The tale has been told generation after generation as the first righteous and praised deed the family done to earn its place amongst nobility, pledging their lives to House Dzemael.
Throughout the generations, House Hildegarde has earned its reputation of loyalty, faith and respectability. Their wealth has been mostly used for the Church, and to support the military efforts in the war against the Horde. No scandal tainted their history, no flawn in their praised faith towards the Fury and the sacrifices they made during the war.
Lord Adhémar was the head of the House. He spent most of his life living as a scholar, writing lenghty researches about aether and its use. His arranged marriage with Lady Aurore D'Amarante was an unexpected yet fitting match. She was an Inquisitor when he married her. All her children were raised to value blood heritage, purity of the elezen race, scorn to the outsiders, and prevail duty over one's own happiness. She was well-known for being a merciless woman, strongly dedicated to the Holy See. She insisted to give her 3 sons a path as temple knights, while sending her daughter to the Scholasticate to follow a more quiet and secured path under the watch of Halone.
Alderic was the first son. He chose to be a temple knight and was praised as a model of perfection. He was kind-hearted, eloquent, loyal, faithful and skilled with a sword. The ladies would blush at the sight of him mounting a chocobo, proudly leading men with confidence. Gabriel trained very hard to see the day he would become a Dragoon. Though he lived in the shadow of the first-born, he never felt any resentment. On the contrary, he loved his brother so much it only motivated him to do better. As a matter of fact, Judicael tried to follow the same path, wanting to be a temple knight like Alderic. He tried hard but he was too young and too eager to fight.
Unfortunately, Melisande's brothers never came back from war. House Hildegarde lost all their righteous male heirs, leaving Melisande alone in a House filled with shadows, memories and ingrained misery. Lord Adhémar shuttered himself in his library, barely seeing nor speaking with anyone. As for Lady Aurore, she bursted into hysterical grief. For the sake of the House, Melisande gave orders and rested assured that their parents would be given time to mourn, withdrawing from the public scene.
At this time she was betrothed to the young Lord Theobald of House Boisnoir. She was deeply in love with the young man. But it seems the family was doomed. One day, the young lord was found half-buried in the blood-tainted snow. Murdered by heretics, they said. Starting this day, Melisande drowned into a never-ending rage. She suddenly changed her attitude. The respectable quiet lady became a raging soul. The silent submissive daughter was inhabited by a fiery soul craving for revenge. She growned lonely, casting aside all who would want to approach her. She became cold, distant and fierce. Her words became as harsh as her judgement.
On a new dawn, she left Ishgard. She left to seek the power to make things right again. She left with the faith that she would find the strenght to change, to cleanse her disgusting weaknesses and reborn anew to save the House. To protect her knights. To protect Dzemael and Ishgard, no matter what trials would await her. She left convinced that she heard Halone's call and was but walking in her brothers' path.
Unfortunately, in her quest for power she crossed the path of Kudros Crendraven and crossed the demon of the Brume - a fiend whose alias has been echoing quite often these days: the Owl. Victim to the most hideous terrorism act, Hildegarde mannor was annihilated in roaring blue flames, killing everyone inside and smashing the entire house to ruins. Only Lady Melisande's escort survived by the grace of Halone, as they were protecting her in her frequent travels. You can ready the whole story here..
Lord Adhémar D'Hildegarde ( ✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's father
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The Scholar: He was a kind-hearted man, known for his erudition and his work of charity. He spent most his life studying everything he could and have been a reliable man for the House. His ability to take good political decisions strenghten the wealth and reputation of Hildegarde, but after the death of his sons, he withdrawned from high society and barely spoke to none but his loyal knight Jean. He led a very secretive life, tainted by the darkest deeds. But his secrets are well hidden, highlighting the man's wit and social skills. He died in the explosion of Hildegarde manor, hideous crime of terrorism performed by the Owl against nobility. Many of his secrets burnt with him in the manor. |
Lady Aurore D'Hildegarde ( ✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's mother
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The Inquisitor: She has led quite a busy life chasing heretics and offering their defiled life to the Fury. Be it mere strangers, acquaintances or even children, she was merciless when delivering the Fury's judgement. She was deemed strong and raised her children for war. Although, strangely, she casted her daughter aside in the Scholasticate and never spent much of her time involving herself in her education. People said it was perhaps a wish of his Lordship to have his daughter raised for erudition. The truth might be different. She died in the explosion of Hildegarde manor, hideous crime of terrorism performed by the Owl against nobility. With her death, perhaps the former servants would be less difficult to persuade to reveal how she treated and considered her own daughter. |
Aldéric D'Hildegarde ( ✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's elder brother
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The Hero: Aldéric was a skilled knight, strongly dedicated to the House. Spending most of his days leading his men into battle, he was praised to be a good general, loved by everyone. Although he had many opportunities to marry and give the House strong heirs, he insisted to be in the heart of the battle. He said he could not raise children in such a chaotic world. Or perhaps he never liked women, would say some loose-lipped gentlemen. |
Judicael D'Hildegarde (✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's 2nd brother
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The One Who Dreamed to Be A Dragoon: Judicael was very close to his brother Alderic. Though he lived in his shadow, he tried hard to match his brother's skills. He made the oath to follow Alderic's path in protecting Ishgard against the Horde, and died trying. |
Gabriel D'Hildegarde ( ✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's younger brother
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The Impatient: Gabriel was raised like his brothers, hearing the same tales of chivalry, dreaming to be as glorious as their ancestors. Though Adhémar wanted him to stay and think more of the bloodline of the House, her mother filled his head with war tales and duties towards the Fury. He insisted to join his brothers in battle - but he was not ready to face the merciless horror of war. |
Lord Théobald De Boisnoir ( ✖ Deceased ) - Melisande's first fiance
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The heir of House Boisnoir: Théobald was a gentleman praised amongst high society for being a handsome commander. He was the first-born of House Boisnoir, pledged to Durendaire House, and whose reputation has been made through countless heirs joining the war throughout the generations. Théobald was deeply interested in the heretics' use of dragon blood, and made secretive researchs which led him to shady connexions. The mystery of his death is a fog, a riddle unsolved which left the House deprived of its heir. |
Zagi'zi Kumai ( ♥ Unmatchable) - The Master
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The Magnificent: Zagi'zi Kumai is a thaumaturge master who accepted to take Melisande as an apprentice. When they are seen together, Melisande's behavior towards him is incredibly different. It seems she trusts the miqo'te's decisions blindly, bending to his will, agreeing to all his decisions without any form of protest. If someone speaks ill of him, she would become hostile and as sharp as a blade. Lately, she has been introducing him in Ishgard as a reknown Voidhunter and unmatched thaumaturge. She has given him the sigil-ring of her House as a token of her trust and replied to the scorn with the tale of Zagi'zi protecting her life against Kudros, one of the most hunted criminal in the North. |
Sebastian Pavel ( ♥ Romantic Attraction ) - The best knight
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The white knight in shining armor: Sebastian has always been a loyal knight of House Hildegarde, watching over Melisande's safety. He has earned the reputation of being the lady's best knight, and praised to be faithful, trustworthy, loyal and brave. He is often seen by her side, acting as a guardian. When Melisande was found crying over the dead bodies of her knights, he was here to carry her to safety and bring back the corpses, earning him quite a good reputation, and the lady's heart. |
Camille Amarante ( ♥ Family ) - A cousine
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The tomboy knight: Though they did not often spend time together during their childhood, Melisande always loved her cousine. At every ball she would seek her, and felt reassured if she could spot here somewhere. She has always liked the courage of her cousine, and her inner strenght shining so beautifuly in her eyes. Nowadays, Melisande still feels the same for Camille. She trusts her and thinks her path is bounded with her's. |
Jeanvirgaud Levesque ( ● Positive ) - Adhémar's best knight
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The most worthy: WIP |
Yselta Luha ( ● Positive ) - A secret acquaintance
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The Witch of the Wild : Yselta of the clan Luha is a witch of the Wild Lands. Many tales can be heard about them, and the awe they inspire. Of course, Melisande's business with such a dreadful witch shall remain a secret. |
Rhyme Brimstone ( ● Positive ) - A thaumaturge friend
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The shit-blower: Melisande met him when enlisting for a witch hunt. As she was ready to left the foolish warriors to their fate, he persuaded her to remain in the fight. As a thaumaturge, she was keen to prove their art was superior to every kind of skill. She growned quite fond of him, considering him as an adolescent she enjoys teasing when they're seen together. |
Aronaux Farendaire ( ● Positive ) - A political acquaintance
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The heir of Farendaire House :Not much can be said apart for Melisande's respect towards the man. Although their allegiances are different, she doesn't give the impression to be as hostile as she can be with other nobles. |
Deyaenoux Bouchard ( ● Positive ) - Melisande's favorite priest
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The Sheperd: Spending quite an amount of time in the Cathedral, she met him regularly. It seems he avoided her much troubles with a hyur girl by the name of Riven, convincing her that trust should not be given to those who are not true ishgardians. She often follows his advices. After all, he is priest. He knows better. |
Irya Lila ( ● Positive ) - An old friend
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The miqo'te archer: One of Melisande's first friend and amongst the few she trusts sincerely. They met each other when she needed a guide through the Shroud to hunt elementals. Although they do not see each other very often, Melisande would always consider her as a true friend, and someone worthy for her archer skills. |
Nyssa Marola ( ● Positive ) - Melisande's cutest pet
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The cute adorable sweet fighting kitty : Melisande grew quickly fond of Nyssa from the first day she ever met her. The kit managed to grasp her motherly side, which is quite a rare sight. Over-protective towards the cute adorable miqo'te, she tried to help her bringing her memories back. After some time, Melisande was told the miqo'te left with her kin, and she never saw her again. |
Yvon Edmont ( ● Positive ) - Thaliak's Eye
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The Summoner: She did not like him at first, but being a friend of Xhosa she casted aside her prejudices. The man offered her quite an unexpected help and she know regards him with more respect, whatever her business with him might be. |
Reinard Ackerman ( ✔ Business ) - A sellsword
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The Voidhunter : When dealing with sellswords, Melisande can be quite picky. Reinard is one of the few she would consider calling for a job. She considers him as being brave enough to battle against voidsent, for some reason, and as a matter of fact she has some respect for the man. |
Chlodomer Bavarac ( ✔ Business ) - A sellsword
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The skilled sellsword : She hired him to hunt down a criminal and deemed his skills worthy of her gils. His attitude led her think he was the kind of man she needed for the kind of jobs she had. |
Rafailleur Sangmarche ( ≈ Unsure ) - The first outsider crush
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The Brass-blade : She spent quite a long time at his side, as he managed to avoid her many troubles. But with time, he realised she was a lost cause and gave up on her. Although they were somehow very close at the beginning, they now barely speaks to each other. |
Khyran Oisin ( ≈ Unsure ) - A strange encounter
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The mysterious Voidhunter : WIP |
Xhosa Jab ( ≈ Unsure ) - The usual healer
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The proud mage-lady: One of Melisande's mage acquaintance. But as they have probably never been seen together, her relationship with her is unknown. It seems she is also connected with Zagi'zi Kumai. |
Simeon Sibaruse ( ● Negative ) - The betrothed
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The heir of House Sibaruse: Simeon was a former dragoon, called back to Ishgard after the death of the first heir. He was betrothed to Melisande and they seemed to get along finelt at first. With time, this political arranged marriage shattered. The rumors will probably start going soon... |
Emanuel Miller ( ● Negative ) - A thaumaturge master
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The Dreamer : He is part of the Ossuary and a master thaumaturge. It seems Zagi'zi and him have been acquainted to each other during their studies of thaumaturgy. Melisande has been acquainted with him for a short time. Whatever happened, she knows despise him for his "different views" and deemed him as weak, although she respects his skills and secretly craves for his knowledges. |
Emon'i Allond ( ● Negative ) - A political acquaintance
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The unbearable: It would not be dificult to assume Melisande and her have been despising each other for quite a long time now. The progressists views of Lady Allond tend to crush into the conservatice walls of Melisande. It seems Lady Allond even labeled Melisande as a heretic, which made quite a scandal on Melisande's side. |
Riven Pendragon ( ● Negative ) - An acquaintance
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The unwanted : At first, Melisande was interested in the girl's ambition to know more of Ishgard and lives a respectful life. She saw ishgardian values in her and wanted to help her. But she soon realised the Hyur didn't quite catch the traditions as she would have liked. Listening to the priest, Melisande chose to scorn Riven and will always try to push her on edges to test her resolution and faith. |
Lilith Blackheart ( ● Negative ) - The worst ennemy
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The Omniscient darkness: Melisande would speak of Lilith as a dreadful Voidsent, one amongst those you would not fight without an army. They might have been seen together, talking, whispering with a palpable tension. |
Kudros Crendraven ( ● Negative ) - The Nemesis
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The Pain in the Ass: Kudros was hired by Melisande to hunt a heretic with in Thanalan. But for some reasons the man turned against her, and started an endless vendetta against her. At first, she was hopeless, unable to use her magic against him. He beated her quite often, leaving her almost dying. But as the time passed, she mastered her gifts, and started training to use them in battle. She found in him her Nemesis. Quite often they have been fighting each other. Quite often they have been seen arguing, fighting, yelling horrid accusations. It almost feels like they're playing a game to crush one another's life. |
The Owl ( ● Negative ) - The Demon of the Brume
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The nightmare: A man wearing a horned helmet, calling himself the Owl and pretending to free the lowborns of Ishgard. He is responsible for the terrrism act which destroyed Hildegarde's mannor. Melisande made an oath to hunt him down and avenge the lives he stole from Halone. |
Common Rumors
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Rare Rumors
PC Rumors
PC Rumors
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