https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erebonia_crest_2.png

The Empire of Erebonia is one of the two superpowers of Zemuria, and is west from Calvard and Crossbell and north from Liberl. It is the biggest country on the continent, and has what might be its most powerful military in the Imperial Army, which takes pride in the tanks of its armored divisions.

The country's history is filled with more bloodshed than anywhere else on the continent, and conflicts between the nobility and the commoners have been going on for a long time. It's also quite expansionist, taking many smaller and weaker countries and annexing them. Its chancellor for the first half of the series is Giliath Osborne, a populist dictator amassing power at the expense of the nobility. While his goal to increase the power of commoners is a noble one, his methods and general authoritarianism have exacerbated Erebonia's poor relations with neighboring countries and created significant internal opposition that more elitist nobles have capitalized on, resulting in terrorism that ended up spilling over into Crossbell during the West Zemuria Trade Conference, and ultimately a civil war that only ended up allowing Osborne to fully consolidate power. Following the end of Trails of Cold Steel IV, Carl Regnitz, a more moderate and significantly less authoritarian political ally of Osborne, becomes interim chancellor, continuing Osborne's positive legacy while diminishing the negative.

Erebonia has had a rivalry with fellow superpower Calvard over many issues, most notably in ownership of Crossbell.

Its current emperor is Eugent Reise Arnor III, with his family consisting of his wife Priscilla and his children Olivert, Alfin, and Cedric.

Trails of Cold Steel, the third and currently longest arc in the Trails Series, is set in Erebonia. It also plays a notable role in Trails into Reverie, which marks the end of the overall franchise's first half.

Tropes applying to the country itself:

BFS: Erebonian swordsmanship evidently specializes in claymores considering that all of the greatest swordmasters of the nation all wield ridiculously huge swords.
Empire with a Dark Secret: The cause of the Empire's bloody history is the Curse of Erebonia formed from the fusion of the fire and earth Sept-Terrions and the rogue Divine Knight Ishmelga which can inflict a Hate Plague on certain people, which reaches its zenith near the end of Cold Steel III in getting the populace to engage in a worldwide war. Things rapidly improve when Ishmelga is taken out of the picture, starting with the aforementioned war ending after merely a day, but it'll likely take decades for Erebonia to come to terms with its history, especially given what it took to get rid of the Curse.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: To Imperial Germany as an expansionist military and industrial powerhouse with the Chancellor as the the Emperor's highest ranking official (who just so happens to have a lot in common with Bismarck) and the use of Pickelhauben in some military uniforms such as the Provincial Army. Also ties to the Austro-Hungarian Empire what with a (near) assassination of one of the members of the Imperial Family being used as a catalyst to start the series' equivalent of a World War.
- The westernmost Province, Lamare, has a few French influences to it, with several areas within it and characters from there having French names, being known for its opulence and wealth, and attempts at uprising similar to how France broke off from the Carolingian Empire which several other Germanic nations share history with.
- The people of the Nord Highlands seem to be based after Mongolian tribes due to their Born in the Saddle culture, living in yurts and having certain cuisine reminiscent of the area such as kumis, kebabs, and naan.
- Erebonia's arc throughout the games resembles that of Japan from the Meiji Restoration through World War II. On the heels of a sudden influx of technology (Commodore Perry breaking sakoku/the Orbal Revolution), a long-standing empire undergoes heavy social reform under the guidance of a charismatic new leader (Emperor Meiji/Giliath Osborne), who expands the rights of the commoners and upsets the traditional nobility, sparking a civil war (the Boshin War/the October War). The reformist faction wins the civil war, breaking the back of the traditional nobility, and begins a campaign of aggressive military expansion, annexing its neighbors (Korea, Manchuria, et al./Crossbell and North Ambria) and ultimately attacking a democratic great power (America/Calvard), starting a world war. The world war ends with the chancellor (Tojo/Osborne) taking all the blame and dying for it, the Emperor (Showa/Eugent) remaining on the throne, and the opposing great power undergoing a colossal economic boom as a direct result of the events that concluded the war.
- In addition to Erebonia's general arc, many aspects of Erebonia's culture are similar to those of Japan. Thors Military Academy resembles a Japanese high school in many ways: students stand and bow at the beginning and end of class, their school club system resembles that of Japan, test scores are posted on the walls, etc. Outside of school, Erebonians frequently bow to each other to express gratitude or apologies. An animist religion predated the worship of Aidios, and many parts of the country still continue its practices as more of a cultural thing than a proper religion, and it's not seen as incompatible with belief in other religions, much like how Shinto is practiced in Japan. Martial arts schools throughout the country may wield western-style swords, but their training practices resemble those of Japanese martial arts schools rather than western ones.
Good Republic, Evil Empire: Played With and ultimately subverted; despite Erebonia's negative reputation, Calvard's opposition of Erebonian imperialism is more because it impedes their imperialism, especially when it comes to the topic of Crossbell. Ultimately, both countries have their own problems.
- Ironically, Reverie offers the closest thing to an inversion in the series thus far, as Erebonia is trying to reform its government, while Calvard's shadier side is becoming more apparent, thanks to its new president.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: At the start of the series, Erebonia was treated as one of the main superpowers on the continent and seen as The Dreaded by their neighbors, eventually becoming the largest and most powerful nation in Western Zemuria upon annexing Crossbell and North Ambria by the start of Cold Steel III. By Reverie, their reputation has taken a large hit after nearly dragging the entire continent into a war under false pretenses. They have been forced to heavily downsize their military and pay high reparations, which resulted in their Arch-Enemy Calvard going through a great economic resurgence and supplanting them as the wealthiest and most powerful superpower on the continent. They have also ceded away several valuable territories, such as Crossbell and North Ambria, which regained independence after the war. It is noted that many citizens, both amongst the civilian population and members of the military, were less than happy with this turn of events, which spurred them to join or assist the Ebon Defense Force in Reverie.
Kaiserreich: Erebonia as a whole has many similarities to Prussia, with Kondo himself saying that Falcom heavily based it on Imperial Germany.
Universally Beloved Leader: Downplayed; Despite the massive class divide pervading the Empire causing severe resentment towards both the Noble Families and Chancellor Osborne, few people have anything particularly bad to say about the Imperial Family themselves, with the princes and princess being held in high regard (though few people express any particularly strong opinions on the Emperor himself). Even the Reformist faction wouldn't dare actively harm any of them and the only ones who do threaten their lives are either clear-cut villains or those doing it against their will. The villains exploit this at the end of Cold Steel III by staging an assassination attempt at the emperor, which kicks the entire population on the verge of a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and nearly starting a war against Calvard.
What the Romans Have Done for Us: Erebonia has annexed several new territories over the years under Osborne's rule, which many characters within the Empire and without have condemned. That said, several of the new territories have shown to have had their situations improved after becoming part of the Empire:
- Jurai came under dire economic straits due to the loss of one of its main trading partners when the Salt Pale incident reduced North Ambria to a salted wasteland. The connection to Erebonia via having a railway being built and the elimination of customs from being made a special economic zone allowed them to regain their prosperity to the point many wished to remain part of the Empire after the Great War.
- North Ambria had its economy so crippled by the Salt Pale that it was reduced to what in modern terms would be called a least developed country, and the state was forced to rely on its Jaeger Corps for income. After being annexed as an Imperial Province after the Northern War, it was stated Imperial investment in its infrastructure, in particular efforts to desalinify North Ambria's soil, allowed for newfound economic resurgence and stability in the region that many citizens consider a vast improvement over their previous state of affairs.
- Zigzagged with Crossbell; the state received a great amount of stability and economic growth under Governor-General Rufus Albarea, but that stability and economic growth came with political repression, it being a buffer state between Erebonia and Calvard ensured it became a site of numerous conflicts between the two powers who had wanted the city for themselves for some time, it was used as a launch pad for a continent-spanning war, and the Empire ends up having to sanction an overthrow of Crossbell's Imperial Defense Force garrison when they go rogue and refuse to stand down upon Rufus' arrest. As such, while the rapid reforms in the wake of Osborne's death lead to a much less repressive Erebonia and thus much more amicable relations, Crossbell is more than eager to regain its independence.

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House Arnor

In General

The ruling Imperial Family of Erebonia, who have been in charge of the empire since it's founding. They reside in the capitol of Heimdallr.

Color-Coded Characters: The family is heavily affiliated with the color red. All of them are shown dressed in red formal wear, live in the scarlet Valflame Palace within the imperial capitol of Heimdallr which is known as The Vermillion City, and their ancestors piloted the Vermillion Divine Knight which only allows members of the Arnor House to become it's Awakeners.
Heroic Lineage: The family traces its lineage to several vaunted heroes in Imperial History, chief amongst them are Dreichels Reise Arnor who won the War of the Lions and Emperor Hector who drove away the Dark Dragon Zoro-Agruga who had turned the capitol into miasma-ridden city of the dead for nearly a century.

Emperor Eugent Reise Arnor III

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eugent_reise_arnor_iii_28sen_iii29.png

Voiced by: Jun'ichi Suwabe (Japanese)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie

The current ruler of the Erebonian Empire and father to Olivert, Alfin, and Cedric.

Forgiveness: He easily forgives Ash for his attempted assassination, as he knows that Ash isn't to blame in the first place as Ash was prompted by the curse.
Face Death with Dignity: He allows himself to be shot by Ash because he knows that the boy has no fault, and the cause is coming from the curse of Erebonia. Osborne was going to do it but the emperor volunteers instead. Downplayed in that despite being in critical condition, he manages to survive.
The Fatalist: He believes there's no way to cure Erebonia's curse and is powerless to stop it, despite reading the Black Records. This is why he completely trusts Osborne to remove its curse.
The Promise: He's already promised Osborne that he was going to leave everything to him ever since Hamel happened, if it means helping Erebonia out in the long run. Then again, he is making a promise to the reincarnation of his ancestor.
Puppet King: From the way Olivert describes Osborne's relationship with Eugent in The 3rd, a player would deduce that the emperor is this towards Osborne who has the power in the empire. Subverted in the reveal of Cold Steel III where Osborne has to ask permission from the emperor every time he does the things that he does in the series, though he's always granted it.
Secret-Keeper: He knows and holds the original contents of the Black Records and knows that Osborne can't die that easily, not even from a Boom, Headshot!. He then offers himself to be shot instead. Finally, he also knows that Osborne is Dreichels' reincarnation, which is why he doesn't say anything else when Rean tells him what Class VII saw at the Spectral Moon Mirror.
Small Role, Big Impact: He barely has any screen time in comparison to other characters, but he was the one responsible for giving Osborne the power he currently has in the first place. Thus, every action that Osborne takes can traced back to the Eugent giving him the authority to do so. Later on Ash's attempted assassination of him ends up changing Erebonia and western Zemuria as a whole as it ends up serving as the catalyst for the first World War in Cold Steel IV.
Star-Crossed Lovers: With Ariel Lenheim. Due to their respective social statuses in the Empire, many of the nobility, including Eugent's own father, were opposed to their relationship. It eventually culminated in tragedy as Ariel would be killed by jaegers on orders from a noble family trying to win favors from the Four Great Houses, an event that their son, Olivert, fortunately survived. His son manages to do better as he marries a foreigner from Liberl who also works as a bracer.
Teen Pregnancy: The fact Ariel dropped out of Thors before graduating to return home indicates it's likely he impregnated her with Olivert while they were still students, which would have made him 19 or so at the time.
Uptown Guy: His relationship with Olivert's mother, Ariel Lenheim. He was a prince of the Erebonian Empire whereas she was a commoner.
Walking Spoiler: Most of the information the player receives on him as a character comes from the third Cold Steel game, including critical developments late into the story.
Wham Episode: His critical injuries from Ash shooting him with a gun made by Calvard is what starts off a chain of events that allow Osborne to declare war on the Republic of Calvard.

Empress Priscilla Reise Arnor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/priscilla_reise_arnor_28sen_iii29_9.png

Voiced by: Yukana (Japanese)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV

The wife of Emperor Eugent and empress of Erebonia. She is the mother of Alfin and Cedric.

Age-Gap Romance: She's 12 years younger than her husband Eugent, making her closer in age to her stepson Olivert.^note
Fainting: She ends up fainting in Cold Steel III after seeing her husband get shot by Ash.
Forgiveness: She forgives Ash for shooting her husband in Cold Steel IV after finding out the details of what truly happened and what has been happening to the empire as a whole.
Good Stepmother: She's shown to get along quite well with Olivert despite him being an illegitimate child born from her husband's former lover and doesn't mind him being close to her own children. A flashback shows her smiling brightly at him when introducing him to the newborn twins.
Good Parents: From what little is shown of her, she seems to be a good mother towards her children much like her husband.
I Choose to Stay: She doesn't accompany Class VII in Cold Steel IV because if the empress was missing while the emperor is at the hospital, then it would cause even more chaos and would paint a bigger target for Class VII. So she decides to stay at Ordis instead.
Rags to Royalty: She was always noble born, but until Eugent chose to court her, she was the daughter of a lesser house so unimportant that she was for all intents and purposes a domestic servant to a more important family.
Teen Pregnancy: Implied; she's 36 at a point where her children are 17, meaning that she was no older than 19 when she gave birth to them.

Prince Olivert Reise Arnor / Olivier Lenheim

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olivert_reise_arnor_sen_iii.png

Olivert during the Cold Steel series

^{Olivier, as depicted in the Sky series}

^{Olivert during his reveal as Prince}

^{Olivert, as depicted in Azure}

^SPOILERS

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Troy Baker (English, Sky games), David Matranga (English, Sky anime), Matthew Mercer (English, Cold Steel games and Reverie) ^{Foreign VAs}

The illegitimate oldest son of Emperor Eugent, he frequently masquerades as the eccentric bard "Olivier Lenheim" while away from home. He took part in the events of the Liberl arc as a part of Estelle Bright's ragtag group, and would later use his position as school chairman at Thors Military Academy to create Class VII.

A Day in the Limelight: Likely to make up for his decreased role in Cold Steel IV, Reverie gives him his own side story and an extended sequence in Chapter 3 of Rean's route, where he singlehandedly retakes the Courageous II from traitorous members of the army.
Ambiguously Bi: He claims in his introduction to love both "daughters of serenity" and "sons of elegance", and shamelessly flirts with anything that catches his eye, be it male or female (with Aina, Joshua, and Mueller seeming to be his favorite targets, though Agate and much of the female party cast are on the receiving end of his affections at least a few times). Given that Olivier seemingly loves nothing more than getting under people's skin, it's hard to tell how much of this is genuine affection and how much of it is simply Olivier being The Gadfly.
Arranged Marriage: Had the events at the end of FC gone differently, he'd have ended up in a political marriage with Kloe.
Beware the Silly Ones: A lot of his over the top antics are designed to make people underestimate him or to deflect attention or suspicion. This leads people to sometimes forget that he's an imperial prince and can call upon a substantial fraction of the resources of the most powerful military in western Zemuria at will. He's also extremely capable in a fight.
Big Good: Of the Erebonia Arc. He forms a third faction known as the Crimson Wings to oppose the extremists of the Noble and Reformist factions and to change Erebonia for the better. Olivert was also the one who proposed the idea of Class VII in the first place, and after meeting him in person, serves as a source of inspiration for Rean and the others. If Rean is considered the leader of Class VII who keeps everyone together and leveled with his presence, then Olivert can be considered their boss who guides them and gives them the tools necessary to achieve their goals.
Big Brother Instinct: Towards Alfin and Cedric. Olivert cares about both his siblings immensely and in turn they both look up to him greatly.
Big Damn Heroes: Twice in Cold Steel II, showing up to extract Rean and Alfin from the Pantagruel in the Intermission and showing up with Toval to distract Bleublanc and Duvalie in Final Chapter.
Bishie Sparkle: Part of his victory pose, actually.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Subverted. Schera catches him contacting someone in secret, making it look like his goofy facade is a cover for espionage. After his true identity as a prince is revealed, he plays Devil's Advocate for Erebonia's invading forces for a while before revealing that he really does believe in love and peace, though he's more serious about politics then he lets on.
Brilliant, but Lazy: Olivert is a highly skilled gunfighter and orbal arts user, and probably one of the best fighters in Erebonia, but it's implied with his Arnor blood and noble upbringing he had the potential to be an incredibly powerful swordsman along the likes of Rufus or the Vanders. Olivert didn't particularly care for that lifestyle and spent most of his time at Thors goofing around or honing his skill as a musican instead and simply chose the fighting style he did because the gun was relatively easy to pick up and his Arnor blood meant he had natural talent for arts.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's an extremely competent mage and gunner despite his antics; in fact, he's probably one of the most powerful characters in the game, and even leaving his antics aside, you'll probably want him in the party anyway. His competence is a hint to his true nature.
Cain and Abel: He and Alfin are the older Abel to Cedric's younger Cain by Cold Steel III, as Cedric has begun siding with Osborne and his policies over Olivert and became more of a jerk after the Time Skip as well.
Camp Straight: Is flamboyant and also fliratious around the party to get a rise out of them, but only seriously expresses interest in women.
Childhood Friends: He and Mueller have been together since they were young boys, and despite their bickering, they've stuck by each other's side ever since.
Coming of Age Story: While it is hidden because Estelle take the spotlight, the Liberl arc is this to him as his travels through Liberl and the people he met gives him the drive to go back to his homeland and attempt to change it for the better, turning him into one of the major Big Good of Zemuria.
Continuity Cameo: He and Schera make a brief appearance in one of Daybreak's ending slides, meeting with Prince Sherid of Elsaim.
Costume Evolution: He has two main outfits that he switches between: the white clothes he wore in FC and SC, and the red clothes he wore in The 3rd. Following the Sky series, he'll generally wear the former as "Olivier" and the latter as "Olivert." And while neither change much throughout the Trails series, the Cold Steel games give his wardrobe a subtle update with both outfits getting new boots.
Crazy-Prepared: When he and Schera are kidnapped during their honeymoon Reverie, he reveals that he had Tita modify his lute to be able hide his pistol in it.
Dark and Troubled Past: He is the son of Emperor Eugent and his childhood sweetheart, Ariel Lenheim. He initially grew up in Alster, a small town in the north of the Empire living in a inn with his mother. Because his mother was a commoner and his father intended to make her Empress, the other nobles hired jaegers to kill them. The only reason why Olivert didn't die is because Mueller was around to save him. Following this, he was legitimized into the Royal Family.
Devil's Advocate: When the Liber Ark appears and causes a massive orbal shutdown that extends beyond Liberl's borders, the Erebonian Empire sends their tanks to occupy Liberl under the premise that the Ark is their secret weapon. Olivier then shows up as Prince Olivert and makes the case for Erebonia, arguing that even if the Ark is really part of Ouroboros' plot, the tanks should enter Liberl to "help", unless Liberl can prove they have a countermeasure. This is a ploy both to buy time and to allow Cassius to counter his argument with the ZFG-equipped Arseille, thus forcing Erebonia to temporarily pull back.
Earn Your Happy Ending: It took him a long time, but he finally is able to fulfill his life long wish in Cold Steel IV, while marrying Schera.
Easily Forgiven: Played for Laughs regarding his antic of stealing a high-valued wine in Bose.
Evil Costume Switch: Played with. In his imperial prince uniform worn when accompanying the Third Armored Division to Liberl's border, he wears black with a distinctly military design in contrast to his usual white civilian outfit. Of course, he's actually trying to accomplish the same thing Kloe is, he just can't let certain people in Erebonia realize it.
Failure Is the Only Option: His attempts to change the Empire peacefully without conflict are a downplayed example as despite his best efforts neither he nor his Third Way were able to prevent the Civil War or the declaration of the Great War, though they did help in ending them quickly to minimize bloodshed.
Friendly Enemy: Grows into this with Bleublanc following their first interaction with their relation being nothing but affable. In the end, this saves Olivert's life as Bleublanc is here to rescue him following the Courageous' destruction. By the time of Reverie, Bleublanc even go as far as to offer him a long lost regalia of the Arnor family that he found as a wedding gift.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Downplayed but it's shown that almost everyone he meets, from his Childhood Friend Mueller to the new party members he meets, find his eccentricities somewhat annoying. That said, all of them value him as a friend and beloved prince. When he appeared to have died at the end of Cold Steel III, everyone was heartbroken.
The Gadfly: Seems to have some elements of this, as he appears to love watching other characters squirm, with Estelle, Joshua, and Agate being his favourite targets. How much of it is Olivier's true personality and how much is just an act is open to interpretation.
Given Name Reveal: As revealed in Cold Steel III, the name Lenheim that he uses as part of his "Olivier" disguise is actually the last name of mother, Ariel Lenheim.
Guest-Star Party Member: In Cold Steel III, he is playable in both the last half of chapter 2 and the last half of chapter 4, alongside the other guest characters in his Olivier Lenheim costume. He ends up demoted in Cold Steel IV to a Support Party Member despite participating in a side quest in Cold Steel IV, mainly because there's so many characters already and he's in the Courageous II during the final battle, busy distracting the Glorious, not to mention the fact he isn't in any condition to personally take part in combat since he just lost an eye and hasn't had enough time to adjust. Reverie has him become this again.
The Gunslinger: Favors an orbal pistol, which in gameplay terms gives him incredible reach on the battlefield and the player's first S-Craft which can hit multiple opponents, often for massive damage.
Handicapped Badass: Loses his eye during the destruction of the Courageous. This doesn't really slow him down all that much however and Olivert even thinks the eyepatch makes him look even sexier.
Handsome Lech: Acts this way to nearly every person he meets be they men or women. It's partly just an act and a coping mechanism... but only partly.
Happily Married: Ends up marrying Schera in Cold Steel IV.
Heroic Bastard: His father is Emperor Eugent, his mother was a commoner. As a result, he has the title of prince but isn't eligible to inherit the throne, despite being the Emperor's firstborn. He is however one of the most heroic characters in the series, clearly wants what's best for Erebonia and has nothing but love for his legitimate siblings, who love him right back.
Hidden Depths: There is much more to Olivier than initially meets the eye, and he arguably has the most hidden from view than any other character in the party.
I Just Want to Be Normal: It's not so much that he minds being royalty (it can get him a lot of girls, after all), but he absolutely despises the excesses of the Empire and really wants to either leave it all behind, or by the end of SC, change it.
I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: In Cold Steel IV, a flashback reveals that he entrusted Schera with his artifact that allows long distance communications if anything should ever happen to him.
Internal Reformist: As an imperial prince, he pretty much is the system and he would like to reform it without the bloodshed that seems inevitable. This is one reason why he and Osborne are arch-enemies. This is also why he created Class VII, wanting to build up its members to create even more internal reformists who can bridge the gap between Erebonia's social classes and political classes.
I Owe You My Life: Towards Mueller. Part of the reason the two are so close is because Mueller had saved Olivert's life when they were young and has since continued to protect him ever since.
Large Ham: It's one of his defining traits. There's never a moment where Olivert doesn't at least try to chew the scenery with his presence. It becomes even more apparent when him and Bleublanc are on the same stage.
Late-Arrival Spoiler: His real name is Olivert Reise Arnor, and he's a prince of Erebonia who is not in succession to the throne. This was originally considered a spoiler, as his real identity was kept secret until Sky SC, but by later appearances, he's simply introduced as such.
Leitmotif:
- As Olivier, he has any and all variations of "Amber Amour" from FC as his themes.
- As Olivert, his theme is "The Final Choice" from The 3rd.
Light Is Good: He has blond hair, has Mirage as his primary element, dresses primarily in white in his Olivier Lenheim disguise, and is the Big Good of the Erebonia arc, who wishes to reform his home nation to put it's expansionist and warmongering ways in the past.
Limit Break: In FC, his S-Craft is Howling Bullet, with SC and The Third also giving him Requiem Hearts. For Cold Steel III [and Reverie, his S-Craft is Akashic Star.
Mage Marksman: His primary weapon is an orbal gun and he's statistically arts-focused.
Manipulative Bastard: He has his moments of it, playing entire scenes like a fiddle.
My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Or his country does, at any rate. He makes it pretty clear from the beginning that he's saddened by the violent expansionism of his homeland. This is actually a major driving force in his will to overthrow Chancellor Osborne and steer the Empire towards more peaceful and just policies.
Noodle Incident: He once snuck into a jaeger corps for some purpose, without even bothering with a disguise to blend in. All we know is that it worked and it gave Mueller a heart attack.
Obfuscating Stupidity: There's a mix of this since his antics are still part of his original personality. He only amplify the quirks when he's outside Erebonia.
Official Couple: While it is hinted in Cold Steel III,Cold Steel IV see him proposing to Scherazard and the game ends with their wedding.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: With a bit of Rewatch Bonus, but his reaction when he realized he was subjected to Luciola's dream in SC is incredibly blunt by contrast of his usual self. With Cold Steel III revealing that he originally had a happy childhood in Alster with his mother before her murder, it's quite likely that this was the object of his dream, easily explaining his pissed reaction.
Olivier: Dreams are... not a toy for you to abuse, pawn of Ouroboros.
Out-Gambitted: Try as he might to make things right for Erebonia, he really can't do much against Osborne's planning and political standing. While he manages to get the last word at the end of Cold Steel IV, it's pretty clear that Osborne let him win because they shared a goal in the long term.
Plucky Comic Relief: In the Sky series where he's more liberated for himself. While he does have his moments in Cold Steel, he's a bit more serious in this regard even on his Olivier Lenheim disguise.
Practically Different Generations: There's a good 12-year age gap between him and his younger siblings, largely due to him being the result of a Teen Pregnancy.
Purple Prose: He loves to speak in this way. Except when he's wearing his "official" face as Olivert Reise Arnor, where the shift in tone is almost jarring.
Recurring Character: While he isn't always playable, he's come closer to appearing in every game than any other playable character, having in appeared in every game up to Reverie, with the exception of Zero.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Averted. He wore a black and red army uniform at the head of Erebonia's tank force sent to Liberl, but remains a moral man who helps de-escalate the conflict.
Reduced Mana Cost: His Brave Order, Elegant Waltz, reduces the EP cost of Orbal arts to 0. It was Nerfed in Reverie to only reducing them to 80%.
Royal Bastard: Was born from a tryst between his father and a commoner while both were students. As a result, he is ineligible to inherit the throne despite being Emperor Eugent's eldest son.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Throughout the series Olivert has been traveling the world as both an adventurer who has had a hand in several major events as well as an active political opponent of Chancellor Osborne.
Sacrificial Lion: Unwittingly made into one in Cold Steel III as the Courageous exploding in the sky rallies the crazed citizens of Erebonia to go after Calvard as they were all influenced by Osborne's speech.
Sarcastic Confession: A very clever and easily missed one. At the end of Chapter 1 in SC, Kloe and Estelle reminisce about their role as knights in the festival play and Olivier promptly adds in that his role must be "the lone, wandering prince from a nearby country, here to take back the dark-haired princess, even if by force." Estelle quickly blows him off, but this is actually an incredibly apt description of his actual role in the story as the prince of Erebonia, with the dark-haired princess actually being Kloe rather than Joshua.
Say It with Hearts: On occasion.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the sensitive guy to Mueller's manly man.
Significant Birth Date: Born on April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day, which suits his usually silly and flamboyant demeanour perfectly.
Something about a Rose: He is a Bishōnen who believes that love is the ultimate example of beauty. His character portraits often depict him holding a rose and also often accompanied by rose petals. His Akashic Star S-Craft ends with him being showered in rose petals and asking "Did you enjoy the show?"
Sorry That I'm Dying: Apologizes to Schera as the Courageous is about to blow up at the climax of Cold Steel III.
Sure, Let's Go with That: When Scherazard confronts him at the start of Chapter 2 of FC, demanding he confess who he really is, he admits they yes, she's right, he's an Erebonian Mole. She wasn't entirely correct. He's actually much, much more when he turns out to be an Erebonian prince.
Squishy Wizard: He's one of the few characters with a single-line orbment and has good ATS, but has lower physical stats to compensate, though his range compensates for this somewhat.
Tempting Fate: It's revealed in Cold Steel IV that Olivert approached Gwyn at the end of the civil war in order to begin construction of the Courageous II in secret and did so under the belief that the original Courageous would eventually be "torn from the sky" one day. He expected that Imperial Government would take it away at some point, but Olivert never thought that the Courageous would quite literally be physically torn apart by way of explosive sabotage. He laughs this off but Schera and Mueller are not amused.
Uncertain Doom: The ending of Cold Steel III made it ambiguous if he actually perished when the Courageous exploded, or if a third party saved him. Cold Steel IV reveals that George deliberately gave a way for the bridge to survive and Bleublanc arrives at the scene of the crash site.
Unwitting Pawn: No matter what he does, Osborne will find a way to manipulate Olivert's plans to his advantage. Even when it seems like Olivert is winning at something, Osborne will snatch the victory out of his hands.
Worthy Opponent: Him and Bleublanc consider each other this due to their shared appreciation of beauty and specialty in orbal arts. He's also treated as such by Osborne, who sees Olivert as a step above his other political opponents such as Duke Cayenne and the Four Great Houses.

Princess Alfin Reise Arnor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alfin_reise_arnor_sen_iii.png

Alfin as of Cold Steel III

^{Alfin as she appeared in Cold Steel I and II}

Voiced by: Satomi Sato (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie

The second-oldest child of Emperor Eugent and twin-sister to Prince Cedric. Taking after her older brother Olivert, Alfin is a sweet and mischievous girl at heart. She attends the prestigious St. Astraia together with Elise Schwarzer whom she's close friends with. She constantly teases Elise about her crush on her adoptive brother Rean.

Attack Reflector: Her S-Craft, Sacred Circle, grants the entire party magic reflect for two hits when cast at 200 CP.
Barrier Warrior: Her S-Craft Sacred Circle grants Craft Guard to all allies and adds Arts Reflection at 200 CP.
Beehive Barrier: It's subtle, but after the barrier breaks during Sacred Circle's animation, you can see pieces of hexagons before they completely disappear.
Big Brother Worship: Is Olivier's little (half) sister. The two get along well despite having different mothers and Olivier being behind her in the succession despite being the eldest. Alfin seems to take after him in not taking life too seriously.
Bootstrapped Leitmotif: "Thors Military Academy Festival" from Cold Steel I is just as associated with her as it is with the titular event.
Break the Cutie: The start of Cold Steel II has her separated from her family when Heimdallr is occupied then kidnapped by the Noble Alliance. Then comes the end of Cold Steel III where she saw her father shot and her older brother Olivert seemingly killed, both were done by her younger twin brother's approval, resulting in her fainting. While the former two do thankfully survive, she was still clearly shook by the experience throughout Cold Steel IV.
Cooldown Hug: She delivers one to Rean in Cold Steel II, while saying what Elise would if she were present.
Damage-Increasing Debuff: Her Detector γ Craft can inflict Weak on the enemy, making them take more damage from orbal arts.
Damsel in Distress: Abducted by Gideon during the Summer Festival of the first game. Was then abducted by the Noble Alliance in the second game. Rean rescues her on both occasions.
Energy Absorption: Her Sacred Shell Brave Order makes it so that any magic damage the party would take would heal them instead for 4 turns (12 in Reverie).
Enemy Scan: Her Craft Detector γ with the additional effect reducing Speed by 50% and delay.
Faint in Shock: Poor girl ends up fainting twice in Cold Steel III. The first time happens when Ash shoots her father, and the second time happens when the Courageous explodes in the sky with Olivert on it just a day later.
Fanservice Pack: The two years between the end of Cold Steel II◊ and Cold Steel III◊ worked wonders for Alfin: she's gained a noticeable upgrade in the chest and hip departments, and her new outfit exposes some cleavage. Reverie even gives her one of the more exposing swimsuits among the Cold Steel girls.
Full Health Bonus: Her default Master Quartz in Reverie, Erda, increases the power of the user's arts the higher their HP is.
The Gadfly: For all her angelic sweetness, she has a mischievous side and seems to delight in making those who are close to her (Elise in particular) feel uncomfortable.
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: During the Intermission aboard the Pantagruel, Alfin snaps Rean out of his Heroic BSoD and tells him what he really wants to do instead of having to make decisions that he's going to regret later.
Guest-Star Party Member: In Cold Steel II, she's the only character whose playable status wasn't revealed prior to release. After appearing as a guest in the Intermission (where she can only use Arts) she becomes a proper party member in the Epilogue.
Girlish Pigtails: She is a graceful and cheerful princess, and she styles her hair with a pair of pigtails from Cold Steel III onwards.
Guile Heroine: With a side order of prankster, just like her big brother.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde hair and, like Olivert, is a Spoiled Sweet Princess who treats everyone around her with respect and courtesy.
Hartman Hips: Cold Steel IV reveals that she has prominently wide hips and a perky butt.
Heir Club for Men: She's Cedric's older twin, but the former is the one set to become Emperor due to being male. As of Reverie, however, she has officially been named Crown Princess and become next-in-line for the throne, as Cedric left the Empire to join Ouroboros as a sort of Self-Imposed Exile, while Olivert is ineligible to inherit the due to his bastard status.
Heroic BSoD: Poor girl faints twice in Cold Steel III. Once after Ash shoots the emperor three times, and the other is when the Courageous explodes in the air.
The Leader: In addition to being the emotional center of Cold Steel II's Third Faction, she's also effectively calling the shots, as the Courageous is the property of the Imperial Family. She also makes all the official announcements of the group, using her position as a princess and her popularity with the public to her advantage.
Leitmotif: "The First Waltz" from Cold Steel III.
Limit Break: Her S-Craft in Cold Steel II, Sacred Circle.
Magic Staff: She fights using an orbal staff as her weapon.
Master of None: Like Elliot and Emma, she is the only character to have ranks in all four attack types but each individual rank is extremely low. She'll never encounter an enemy she can't unbalance but at the same time, her odds aren't as good as dedicated fighters. The fact that she does magical damage makes up for it to an extent since she can easily hurt enemies that strongly resist physical damage.
Nice Girl: Despite her love of teasing, she’s an incredibly sweet, compassionate young lady.
Non-Standard Skill Learning: Her S-Craft Sacred Circle is added through main story.
Paper Fan of Doom: She appears to carry one around for the sole purpose of keeping her older half-brother in line.
Paper-Thin Disguise: One that actually works. In Cold Steel II, Alfin frequently wears her St. Astraia uniform when going out in public and everyone sees the uniform without really seeing the girl wearing it, so nobody realizes they're talking to the imperial princess.
- Celebrity Resemblance: Expertly played by her when one merchant in Celdic actually does recognize her. She claims that the resemblance is uncanny and Rean says she's actually his little sister.
Parting-Words Regret: It's revealed in Cold Steel II that on the day the Civil War began, she and Prince Cedric had a big fight with each other. She feels deeply upset about it as it was the last time she had gotten to see her brother before the fighting began. Rean tells her not to blame herself and assures her she'll still have the chance.
Politically-Active Princess: Especially in Cold Steel II, where she's the only (legitimate) member of the Arnor family who isn't a hostage of the Noble Alliance.
Practically Different Generations: She's 12 years younger than Olivert.
The Prankster: She enjoys pranking people with her friend Elise. She also enjoys pulling minor pranks on Elise, such as inviting Rean and co. to meet with her without mentioning to Elise who their guests are going to be, then watching Elise's reactions.
Rescue Romance: In Cold Steel IV, she confesses to Rean that she has been in love with him ever since he saved her from the Pantagruel during Cold Steel II 2 years prior.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: While she primarily takes a back seat to the whole ruling and politicking side of her family's empire, Alfin never hesitates to help out those in need when given the chance. The most notable example of this when she accepts Olivert's suggestion to remain aboard the Courageous during the Civil War so as to give Class VII and the Crimson Wings legitimacy in their actions throughout the conflict.
School Idol: Everyone likes her. Admittedly, being the daughter of the Emperor helps but from what we see of her, she would probably have earned it on personality alone. No surprise, she's related to Olivier.
Shipper on Deck: Her shipping of Rean/Elise could only be more blatant if she stripped them nude and tossed them in a bedroom together. Naturally, Rean still fails to notice. A bonding event in Cold Steel III made it look as though she wanted to turn it into a One True Threesome between herself, Elise, and Rean, but this is seemingly dropped in Cold Steel IV, where her bonding events have her pursue Rean on her own.
Status Buff: Her Royal Cheer Craft grants the party a slight boost to their STR, ATS, and SPD for a few turns. It's upgraded variant in Reverie, replaces the STR and ATS buffs in exchange for a bigger boost to SPD, and restores 40 CP.
Stepford Smiler: At the start of Cold Steel II. When the game opens, her parents and brother Cedric are locked up and Olivier's whereabouts are unknown. Rean finds her praying in the chapel and she cheerfully starts talking about what a fun time she's having in Ymir. However, Rean immediately sees through the act and tells her she doesn't need to put on appearances for his sake. She immediately bursts into tears and starts telling him about a fight she had with Cedric the morning the Noble Alliance began their coup and how she'd intended to make up with him that night, but now is terrified she'll never get the chance.
Support Party Member: When playable, she's mainly focused on support. Royal Cheer grants a stat boost to the party, she has an S-Craft that grants physical immunity and magical reflect when cast at 200 CP. Reverie adds on some CP-restoration to the former two, and a Brave Order that allows the party to No-Sell magical attacks.
Voice of the Resistance: Voice of Class VII's third faction.
Yaoi Fangirl: She immediately starts jumping in into Rean and Elise's conversation should you by any chance choose your male classmate to spend the night with. She even claims that boys of Class VII are such hotties she's even confused where to start shipping! In Cold Steel II, she thinks she found the jackpot when Rean starts talking about Crow and what he is for him.

Crown Prince Cedric Reise Arnor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cedric_reise_arnor_sen_iii.png

Cedric as a student at Thors Main Campus

^{Cedric as he appeared in Cold Steel I and II}

^SPOILERS

Voiced by: Mai Aizawa (Japanese, age 15 and under), Naomi Shindo (Japanese, age 17), Michael Sinterniklaas^* (English, Cold Steel III and IV)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie

Alfin's younger twin brother and the Crown Prince of Erebonia, he's starts off as a shy and socially awkward boy compared to his siblings, but begins to change after the events of Cold Steel II. By the time of Cold Steel III, he has developed into a confident young man, though at a cost.

Ace Custom: The Spiegel he pilots in Cold Steel III is bright red, in contrast to the purple-ish red ones used by his followers, Ada and Fritz.
All of the Other Reindeer: He states that his peers consider him weaker than his siblings and unfit to be emperor, which is why he latches on Osborne to become a similarly strong and ruthless statesman.
Ambiguously Evil: At the end of Cold Steel IV, he regains his sanity, but decides to join Ouroboros rather than return to Erebonia. It's not clear what he intends to do with his new role as an Ouroboros member.
And I Must Scream: Reveals to Rean that he was fully aware of everything that happened while he was shoved into the Vermillion Apocalypse up to and including killing Crow.
Ascended Extra: In the first two Cold Steel games, he's a secondary character at best. In Cold Steel III he plays a much bigger role, turning into more of a jerk. By the time the final chapter rolls around, he's turned into a full-blown villain.
Bait the Dog: In his first appearance in 'Cold Steel III, he's very polite when reuniting with Rean and requesting him to come to the main campus. Also acted somewhat cordial to the new Class VII and extending the offer to Kurt and Altina. Its only after the offer is rejected and later on that we see how far he's fallen.
Big Brother Worship: Like his sister, he adores his older half-brother. Which made him giving the OK to blow up the Courageous with Olivert near the end of Cold Steel III all the more horrifying.
Big Jerk on Campus: Becomes the de facto leader of Thors Main Campus due to his newfound skill, charisma, and status as crown prince. Unfortunately, he treats the Branch Campus as inferior and encourages his classmates to do the same. His charisma only gets him so far, since while he gets the main campus to follow Osborne for some time, they eventually defect when they realize how far he's fallen.
Break the Haughty: In Cold Steel IV, this happens to him after Kurt points out to him that even though he's worshipping Osborne, at some point he has to fight him because of the Seven Rivalries if he somehow manages to win against Rean and Rufus.
Broken Ace: Becomes much more competent in the Cold Steel III, but he Took a Level in Jerkass in doing so.
Cain and Abel: Though Cedric loves both Olivert and Alfin, he's the Cain to their Abel thanks to his support of Osborne. He fully embraces the role by the end of Cold Steel III where he gives the approval to blow up the Courageous while Olivert is aboard it and later is thrilled at the idea to take him down in Cold Steel IV when Olivert shows up alive and well. However, this is shown to be a side-effect of Erebonia's curse, and it later nets him a My God, What Have I Done? moment.
Character Development: A negative example; he starts off as a meek, timid boy with no self-confidence. By Cold Steel III, he becomes a much more confident and charismatic young man, but also becomes much more cruel and power-hungry as a result. By the end of the saga, he seems to have come to terms with everything he's done and what he's become, accepting his weaknesses as a part of himself.
Close-Range Combatant: He comes to favor a sword as his main weapon in contrast to his siblings, who prefer fighting from afar with guns or an Orbal staff.
Control Freak: In Cold Steel III, he acts like Rean is obligated to become his instructor in the main campus. To a lesser extent, he's not happy with Kurt's decision to leave the main campus and become independent of him.
Decapitation Strike: Near the end of Act 2 of Cold Steel IV, he leads a rogue assault on the Pantagruel to slaughter the leaders of Mille Mirage along with the assistance of Zephyr, Lechter, and a few members of Ouroboros. He came frighteningly close to succeeding before Olivert's timely intervention with the Courageous II and Osborne and Rufus calling him off since said operation would do more harm than good for their plans.
Demoted to Extra: Ironically, despite being playable for the first time in Reverie, he only appears in his bonus side story in the game, and never appears in the main story.
Didn't Think This Through: He fails to realize that, despite his reverent loyalty towards Osborne, his status as an Awakener means that he will inevitably have to fight him if he intends to win the Rivalries. Kurt calls him out on this in the final dungeon, which leaves him completely shaken.
Distressed Dude: In Cold Steel II he's taken by Cayenne and put under hypnosis in order to awaken Testa-Rossa. He spends most of the Final Chapter tied to a chair and rescuing him is the top priority.
- Terrifyingly averted in Cold Steel III, as he vows to never feel powerless again, and becomes harsher as a result.
Dual Boss: With Shirley in the Cold Steel IV's final dungeon.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even after his Face–Heel Turn, he cares enough about Alfin that meets with her in private during one of her bonding events, pleading with her to stay out of the war so she won't get hurt. He also appears genuinely relieved when Olivert is shown to have survived the Courageous' explosion, though he immediately follows up by declaring his intent to kill him for real.
Evil Costume Switch: After his Face–Heel Turn in the third game's ending, after continuing to initially wear his school uniform he switches to a silver colored coat and uniform by the climax of Cold Steel IV. Interestingly, by that point he finally ends up doing that, his next encounter with Rean, Kurt and the others leads him to face some harsh truths about himself and ultimately as a result while he still remains an opponent of them he ends up less openly antagonistic to them in the end than he was prior.
Evil Counterpart: In Cold Steel III, he takes Patrick's role as an obnoxious rival, despite starting out nicer than Patrick. Cedric thinks the Branch Campus is inferior in terms of their abilities and resources and mocks Juna for being from a recently annexed territory, but is otherwise accepting of both commoners and nobles as long as they side with him due to adopting Osborne's ideology. Patrick starts out as classist and balks at the idea of Class VII being filled with both commoners and nobles. In terms of academics, Cedric scores the highest among both campuses to reinforce that he's Always Someone Better to the Branch Campus while Patrick scores higher than Rean but lower than Emma and Machias. Both become antagonists, but Patrick's stint as a "villain" is really a means to protect the school and he isn't really invested in the Noble Alliance's goals at this point, quickly pulling a Heel–Face Turn once defeated. On the other hand, Cedric is fully devoted to Osborne's cause to the point of being willing to sacrifice his brother and kill Altina. Although Cedric does come to his senses, he ends up joining Ouroboros because he has committed too many crimes to resume being a prince, unlike Patrick who is now able to use his noble title for good.
The Evil Prince: By Cold Steel III, he's become a ruthless and fanatic supporter of Osborne culminating in him signing off on trying to have his brother Olivert killed by giving the ok to blow up the Courageous (which he barely survived) and assisting in getting the populace onboard with going to war with Calvard, even going as far as leading an unauthorized Decapitation Strike against the leadership of Mille Mirage. He snaps out of his worst traits that were exacerbated by the Curse at the end of Cold Steel IV, but then proceeds to join Ourobros, making him still count.
Face–Heel Turn: By the end of Cold Steel III little remains of the young boy that Class VII had helped save during the Civil War. And even after he comes back to his senses, by the end of Cold Steel IV, he joins Ouroboros.
Flaming Sword: All of his offensive crafts, as well as his S-Craft Purgatory Saber, have his blade ignite with fire before he slashes his enemies.
Foreshadowing: His very first scene has him expressing admiration towards Osborne and his strong will. Extremely ominous in hindsight, considering the sort of person he eventually becomes.
The Gift: He starts training in swordplay shortly after the Civil War and by the time of Cold Steel III, he is more than a match for Kurt, despite Cedric barely being able to pick up a sword before while Kurt had trained in the Vander style since childhood.
I Am What I Am: Thanks to pushes from New Class VII and Shirley, he is able to confront himself and grow as a person by realizing that his wish for strength is a part of him.
I Just Want to Be Special: In Cold Steel IV, he reveals that this is his biggest insecurity; he was jealous of Rean, Kurt, Crow, and Olivert and wanted to surpass them. This ends up allowing Ishmelga to influence him rather easily. He gets over it after Testa-Rossa is taken away from him and ends up lying on the ground with Shirley on top of him. His arc ends when he joins Ouroboros with Shirley, trying to find his place in the world.
Inadequate Inheritor: Insecure about his fitness to be the next Emperor. Olivert tries to mentor him. This backfires because Cedric always felt like Olivert was more worthy of the throne and that the latter's shoes were too big for him to fill. He also felt weak for depending on Olivert and Alfin standing up to his detractors. All of this made him vulnerable to Ishmelga's influence.
Incompatible Orientation: If he really has gained a crush on Shirley, it's probably one-sided, as she claims to prefer women.
Incompletely Trained:
- Reveals in Cold Steel III that his swordmanship was the result of Rufus giving him a few lessons. He still managed to catch up to Kurt.
- This gets turned against him in Reverie. When training with the Red Constellation, he's lacking in stamina compared to even the basic mooks, and he's not as strong as he used to be without the Curse's power. In order to become an Enforcer, he has to fight his way through the Red Contellation and the Enhanced Jaegers to defeat Gareth and Gilbert, but while he has enough firepower and skill to defeat a squad of mooks, he realizes he'll tire out if he fights all of them. Instead, he achieves his win condition by evading most of the mooks so that he has enough stamina to defeat Gareth and Gilbert.
Insane Troll Logic: His idea of giving Altina a "painless" death apparently involves slowly strangling her.
I've Come Too Far: Even after Ishmelga has been destroyed and he came back to his senses, he joins Ouroboros rather than coming home, as he feels that he can't face his siblings after what he's done.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: In Cold Steel III, he acts polite at first, but admits to Rean that he looks down on the Branch Campus, to the point where Rean and Kurt are the only people in that campus that he seems to respect. Even then, he acts like they're obligated to join him in Class I and treats them condescendingly when they reject his offer. While he seems to bury the hatchet with Class VII in the final chapter, this was likely to lull them into a false sense of security, as he plans on going along with Osborne's plan to sacrifice Altina and proves to be as smug as ever. It isn't until the final battle with him in Cold Steel IV that even hints at him possibly getting better.
Karma Houdini: Played with. On the one hand, joining Ouroboros means that he avoids lawful punishment for his less savory actions. On the other hand, his relationship with his family is more or less ruined, and he lost his chance at the throne, and he's fully aware that all of it was due to his own poor choices. Additionally, he also knows that no one would even be willing to punish him because he's the crown prince. But he's going to be remembered by history as the prince who sided with and supported one of the worst tyrants and warmongers in history, so while he doesn't suffer any direct consequences, he definitely didn't come out of it unscathed.
Karmic Nod: While undergoing Training from Hell at the hands of the Red Constellation, he briefly asks what he had done to deserve this, before stopping himself as he remembered everything he did throughout the Great Twilight. His admittance of his sins, and that he needs to stop making excuses for himself, gives him the resolve to see through the ordeal.
Cedric: Listen to me acting like I'm still a prince of the Imperial family and not some nobody! People have been sent to Gehenna for FAR less than the unspeakable crimes I've commited over the last year! And don't even say you were 'just being manipulated' Cedric. You did it because you WANTED to. It was your own will, your own desires, that led you to go astray, help start a war, then finally end up in the society. I need to grow the hell up and start taking responsibility for my own life.
Knight Templar: He believes that the Arnor family is duty-bound to serve Osborne, reasoning that the latter is the reincarnation of Erebonia's greatest emperor and therefore knows best. He's so fanatical that he's willing to throttle Altina to death, promote a war against Calvard on false pretenses, and kill several foreign leaders, all in the name of Osborne's agenda. He holds the rest of his family in contempt for either opposing or remaining neutral towards Osborne. Averted once he regains his sanity and realizes that supporting Osborne isn't worth all the villainous acts he committed.
Lack of Empathy:
- In Cold Steel III, for all his supposed desire to rekindle his friendship with Kurt, he doesn't care that Kurt is struggling with finding his own purpose and only cares about how he feels snubbed that Kurt willingly transferred to a different school from him. In the final chapter, he has no empathy for his supposed hero, Rean, even when the latter is driven mad by the loss of Millium. He also calmly attempts to choke Altina to death. There's a good dose of More than Mind Control behind it.
- In Cold Steel IV, Altina tells him that his lack of compassion makes him unworthy to be a leader. Cedric's response is to insult her for being a homunculus, which only serves to prove her point.
Laughing Mad: In Cold Steel III, when he pilots Testa-Rossa of his own free will and is intoxicated by its power.
Limit Break:
- When piloting his Spiegel S, his finishing move is Platinum Saber.
- His S-Craft in Cold Steel IV is Purgatory Saber, whilst his finishing move when piloting Testa-Rossa is Oblivion Arms.
Love Is a Weakness: When Alfin tries to get him to stop fighting Olivert, Cedric admits he's happy Olivert is still alive, but fears that he'll be considered weak if he's unwilling to sacrifice his family for his and Osborne's ambitions.
Magic Knight: When he's briefly playable during his Daydream in Reverie, he shows balanced physical and magic stats, a self-buff craft that increases his STR and ATS stats, several high tier orbal arts, arts focused Master Quartz, and having one Craft capable of doing magic damage in Talisman Blade. Justified, as it's stated his Arnor blood gave him a decent amount of talent in both swordsmanship and orbal arts and that he had been trained in combat by Rufus Albarea, who is a strong example of the trope himself.
Make It Look Like an Accident: In Cold Steel IV, after trapping the Mille Mirage alliance, he has no problems killing off the rest of the leaders of West Zemuria all to benefit Osborne. Too bad for him Osborne had different ideas.
Mood-Swinger: He can go from being relieved to learn of Olivert's survival to wanting to kill the latter within seconds. This is because Ishmelga's curse cranks up his obsession with being seen as a strong person who is willing to sacrifice anyone, including his family, but part of him can't let them go.
More than Mind Control: Ishmelga has been able to influence him by pressing his I Just Want to Be Special button. It's revealed that Cedric had the choice to accept or refuse Ishmelga's offer to receive the power of the Great Twilight, and he accepted of his own free will.
Moveset Clone: His Melt Slicer, Burning Cry, and Talisman Blade Crafts are quite similar to Rufus' Soul Eater, Noblesse Rune, and Renegade Edge Crafts, if in appearance if not effect. Justified, as the latter was the one who taught Cedric swordsmanship.
My Greatest Failure: Feels immense regret over Crow's death, stating that if he were only just a bit more stronger, he might have been able to control Testa-Rossa.
My God, What Have I Done?: The weight of all his actions finally catches up to him in Cold Steel IV, causing him to have one hell of a Villainous BSoD.
Never Be Hurt Again: One reason he gives for his shift in personality and thirst for power is his desire to never again be as powerless as he was when Duke Cayenne used him as Testa-Rossa's battery.
Past Experience Nightmare: After the Civil War, he spent every night reminiscing about being swallowed by Vermillion Apocalypse.To the point he had to be given a restraint to forget about the event to avoid dying of exhaustion.
Playing with Fire: Perhaps because of his connection to Testa-Rossa, by the time of Cold Steel IV, he's able to manipulate fire in a manner that goes beyond orbal arts. He retains this ability even after Testa-Rossa departs from Zemuria, hinting that it may be a latent ability.
Practically Different Generations: Like Alfin, he's 12 years younger than his brother Olivert.
Psycho Supporter: To Osborne in Cold Steel III and IV. Upon becoming an Ironblood, he received a vision revealing that Osborne is Emperor Dreichel's reincarnation, causing Cedric to become even more fanatical in serving the chancellor, to the point where he believes any sacrifice is worth it for Osborne's sake.
Recurring Boss: He's fought against three separate times over the course of Cold Steel IV.
Royal Brat: Completely averted in the first two Cold Steel games, but played straight in the third.
The Rival:
- He wants to one-up Kurt in both academics and combat, seemingly out of spite for Kurt refusing to be his right-hand man in the Main Campus. Ironic given the fact that their families have been closely tied to each other since the time of Dreichels and that their brothers, Olivert and Mueller, are best friends too.
- Late into Cold Steel IV, a flashback shows how Cedric genuinely wanted to form a friendship with Kurt when they were younger, but his "transformation" after Cold Steel II put a damper on things. After their final battle, the two do seem to admit to seeing the other as a friend, complete with Kurt referring to Cedric by his name.
- In Reverie, he ends up in a Comically Lopsided Rivalry with Gilbert of all people, since the latter doesn't appreciate being upstaged by a new hire.
The Runaway: At the end of Cold Steel IV, a combination of guilt and the knowledge he's ruined his relationship with his family drive him to join Ouroboros rather than face the disinheritance and shame he knows await him should he return to Valflame Castle.
Sanity Slippage: If the events of the third game are any indication, getting shoved into Testa-Rossa clearly didn't do much for his mental state as he becomes more of a jerk towards others. He gets even worse after he pilots the Divine Knight of his own free will.
Sanity Strengthening: Shortly before his final fight in Cold Steel IV, he loses it after breaking out of Alberich's mental block. With some help from Shirley, he is able to confront his flaws and emerge as a more stable person.
Self-Imposed Exile: At the end of Cold Steel IV, he joins Ouroboros and leaves the Empire due to seeing himself as unworthy of his status as a prince, or facing Olivert or the other members of the Radiant Wings after all he's done.
Ship Tease: Cold Steel IV gives him some moments with Shirley.
Shipper on Deck: Ships Alfin with Rean in Cold Steel III.
Shrinking Violet: Quite shy and reserved until Cold Steel III.
Sibling Murder: During the ending of Cold Steel III, he gave Alberich the OK to detonate the bombs he planted on the Courageous, fully expecting that his older brother Olivert will die in the blast. In Cold Steel IV he leads an attack on the Pantagruel to kill all the people involved with Mille Mirage, undeterred by the fact that his twin sister was also in attendance and likely to get killed in the process. Both cases thankfully failed and he came to have a breakdown from guilt from it once he was free of the Curse's influence.
Still Wearing the Old Colors: Reverie shows him still wearing his school uniform and Knights of Blood and Iron uniform despite having cut ties with both groups.
Tarot Motifs: His Enforcer number is XIX aka The Sun. Upright, it symbolizes warmth, confidence and freedom, symbolizing his status as the former crown prince and the country's source of "warmth", his arrogant and cruel demeanor and his desire for finding his place, especially in his Daydream episode in Reverie.
Teens Are Monsters: He's 17 in the third game and gleefully attempts to strangle Altina in the finale.
Took a Level in Badass: In his first appearance, he was a meek and timid boy, who in his own words could barely even bring himself to pick up a sword. From Cold Steel III onwards, he proves to be a much stronger combatant, capable of challenging the the members of Class VII and eventually becoming an Enforcer by Reverie.
Took a Level in Jerkass: He's gotten quite smug by the time he shows up in Cold Steel III. This is best shown in his attitude towards Kurt, who was supposed to become his bodyguard the way Mueller is to Olivert. And that's not even getting into everything he does in the final chapter.
Ungrateful Bastard: Zig-zagged. He displays a callous attitude toward the Vanders despite them being his family's former guardians. In the finale he straight-up tries to murder Altina, who had helped save his life in Cold Steel II. In IV, he has no problem trying to kill Rean and Crow on the Pantagruel, despite how they freed him from the Vermillion Apocalypse. However, he displays an almost obsessive loyalty to Chancellor Osborne, whom he believes was the one who saved him.
Unskilled, but Strong: Downplayed. His Divine Knight, Testa-Rossa, is one of the strongest of the seven, but while he has some experience piloting a Spiegel, he's not as skilled as the other Awakeners. In the first chapter of Cold Steel IV, he comes within an inch of being defeated by New Class VII in their regular Soldats. However, it should be noted that Valimar shared his power with those Soldats, which evens the playing field. He seems to get significantly better by the final dungeon, though.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: By the end of Cold Steel III, there's not much left of the adorable, timid young prince from the first two games.
Vicariously Ambitious: Despite his arrogant attitude, his desire to throw away his weaknesses, and his status as crown prince, he wants Osborne to take charge of Erebonia and is fine with being number two. Kurt points out that this means he wouldn't have the resolve to fight Osborne in the final rivalry.
Villain Episode: In Reverie the player takes over as him in the Daydream The Fallen Prince as he undergoes Training from Hell from Shirley in order to become an Enforcer for Ouroboros.
Villain Respect: Deconstructed. He, Ada, and Fritz agree that Kurt is worthy of joining them in the Class I and pressure him to transfer, but considering how petty Cedric acts in response to Kurt choosing the Branch Campus instead, this comes off as him wanting Kurt by his side as a means to inflate his own ego. It's implied that part of his hostility towards the Branch Campus is because he's jealous that they have both Rean and Kurt, who he believes are "too good" for a less worthy institution.
Villainous BSoD: He suffers a pretty epic one before the last fight against him. Shirley breaks him out of it.
Walking Spoiler: The least spoilerish thing you can say about him in Cold Steel III is that he's changed. A lot.
Warrior Prince: Becomes this as of ''Cold Steel III' and onwards as he shows more capability with a sword and willingness to take to the field. Unfortunately, he also Took a Level in Jerkass and uses his new found skills against the heroes and ends up joining Ouroboros as an Enforcer.
We Used to Be Friends: With Kurt who is upset by how the Prince he had hoped to serve has become a Psycho Supporter for Osborne.
Would Hurt a Child: He was the child in Cold Steel II when Cayenne forcibly uses him to activate Testa-Rossa in a process that was clearly painful, then points a knife at his throat to use him as a Human Shield. He then becomes the "would hurt" part where he is about to strangle Altina to obtain a Divergent sword, capable of killing a divine beast. He was about to do so when Altina decides to have herself killed by protecting Rean and Class VII instead.
You Can't Go Home Again: Despite coming to his senses by the end of Cold Steel IV, he decides he can't face his family again after everything he's done, and ultimately leaves with Shirley to join Ouroboros.

The Four Great Houses

House Cayenne

In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lamarre_dukedom_crest_28sen29.png

The most powerful of the Four Great Houses, located in Ordis. It rules over the western province of Lamare, which includes Raquel, Milsante, Alster, Aragon, and Grenville.

Duke Croire de Cayenne

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duke_cayenne_sen_ii.png

Voiced by: Bin Shimada (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II

The head of House Cayenne and the leader of the Noble Alliance.

Aristocrats Are Evil: A major antagonist and Upper-Class Twit who started the Civil War to protect Noble privelages and settle a long forgotten family grudge.
Big Bad Wannabe: He isn't as clever as he thinks he is, or as powerful and he certainly is never in as much control of the situation as he believes himself to be. He's shown how it's really done at the end of Cold Steel II.
Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: His chief bodyguards aren't Erebonian. Fitting the historical basis for the trope, they're former jaegers.
Early-Bird Cameo: He is first mentioned in Azure during a major story sequence.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Unleashes the Vermilion Apocalypse, considered by everyone in the room at the time, even Vita, to be an incredibly stupid idea. If it weren't for a hasty Enemy Mine, it likely would've killed everyone in Heimdallr right there, and possibly the whole world.
Evil Laugh: Gives one off when the Vermillion Apocalypse is awakened.
Evil Red Head: Bright red hair, and is responsible for triggering a Civil War over a one-sided family grudge.
Evil Uncle: Downplayed in a petty way with his niece, Musse, whom he simply sent off to boarding school rather than do anything serious to her after potentially killing her parents.
Faux Affably Evil: On the surface, he acts like he's a friendly noble and claims to be sympathetic to the plight of the civilians caught up in the war. Despite that, he comes off as incredibly condescending to commoners and he's not that different from the more abrasive Duke Albarea when it comes to petty motivations.
Hate Sink: He not only starts a civil war because of his excessive pride in his house, he nearly gets everyone in Heimdallr killed when he forces Cedric to pilot the Vermillion Apocalypse. To rub salt in the wound, he insults Crow after the Vermillion Apocalypse kills the latter, prompting Vita to attack him. He doesn't even get a small Pet the Dog moment like the similarly despicable Duke Helmut Albarea, since he treats the rest of his family as political obstacles while Helmut at least expressed some affection for Jusis's mother.
Humiliation Conga: Gets one at the top of the Infernal Castle. First Crow tells him to butt out of his duel with Rean, then proceeds to lose the duel that Cayenne was counting on him to win. Over the protestations of Vita, he then activates the Vermillion Apocalypse, which is summarily defeated. His futile attempt to regain control of the situation sees him hold the Crown Prince hostage, only to see Vita threaten to turn her powers on him. Before she can make good on that threat, however, Rufus arrives... only to reveal he's been a double agent working against the Nobles the entire time. Cayenne is promptly ambushed and pinned by Altina, and Osborne chooses that time to reveal that rumours of his death were greatly exaggerated, before calmly explaining his plans to use Rufus to destroy the power of the Noble Alliance from the inside. In the course of one scene, Cayenne's plan to rule the Empire is utterly ruined, his most hated rival is revealed to be alive and kicking, and he discovers that virtually everyone in the Noble Alliance was just paying lip service to his leadership while quietly waiting to dump him at the earliest opportunity.
Inadequate Inheritor: Is seen as this compared to his late older brother Alfred.
Insane Troll Logic: Seeks to redeem the memory of his ancestor, who is remembered only as a traitor, by committing an act of treason.
Laser-Guided Karma: At the end of the Civil War he was stripped of his title and imprisoned while his hated enemy Osborne went on to become the de facto power of the Empire. His uncle, Marquis Ballad, also states he just barely avoided the death penalty for his crimes.
Man Behind the Man: As hinted in Azure, he is bankrolling the Imperial Liberation Front. Also plans to be this to the throne of Erebonia by keeping Prince Cedric hostage to control Testa-Rossa.
Moment Killer: Non-comedic example that doesn't involve romance. During the end of the finale he does this 3 times: first when he interrupts Class VII's reunion with Crow to give off a Motive Rant, again when he gets mad at how Class VII and Crow seem to bury the hatchet and awakens the Vermillion Apocalypse, and finally, interrupting their mourning Crow's death by holding a blade to Cedric's throat.
Motive Rant: Makes one close to the end of the finale of Cold Steel II, revealing his attempts to rule over Erebonia with Testa-Rossa to continue the work of his ancestor Orthros Reise Arnor, the False Emperor who used it to occupy Heimdallr during the War of the Lions.
Non-Action Big Bad: He never gets his hands dirty and relies on others to do the dirty work. However he did intend to pilot Testa-Rossa himself, only to be disappointed that he was unable to since only a pureblooded Arnor could.
No Name Given: His first name was not given until Cold Steel III; he didn't even give it while introducing himself to Class VII in Ymir during Cold Steel II, only stating his family name and title.
Red Herring: He's not C, but you could easily be forgiven for thinking he was at first, especially given how he was introduced in Azure.
The Resenter: His motivation for starting a civil war is essentially resentment that his ancestor, Orthros Reise Arnor, was deemed an usurper in the history books while Prince Dreichels' descendants went on to rule the Empire.
Smug Snake: He's a pompous narcissist who for all of his supposed power is simply being used by everyone around him.
Sore Loser: He earns the disgust of both Class VII and Vita when his reaction to his impending defeat is to hold Prince Cedric hostage and force him into Testa Rossa, thus awakening the Vermillion Apocalypse and forcing an Enemy Mine to put a stop to it. This ultimately results in Crow's death, and would have earned him a brutal reprisal from Vita had Rufus not beaten her to the punch.
Spanner in the Works: Without even intending to, his unleashing of the Vermillion Apocalypse threw a massive spanner into Ouroboros' Phantasmal Blaze Plan. Even Vita never expected him to go that far.
Tyrant Takes the Helm: His older brother Alfred was spoken of as a capable and caring ruler. When he died, that made way for Croire to become the Duke and end up triggering a Civil War.
Upper-Class Twit: A bit of a given, he's the head of the Noble Alliance which wants things to stay the way they have for the past three hundred years or so.
Villainous Breakdown: Begins when Vermillion Apocalypse is defeated ruining his plans, continues when Rufus reveals his true agenda and reaches its epic conclusion when Osborne reveals that he's still alive.
Would Hurt a Child: Abducts Prince Cedric, who is only 15, and uses him to forcefully summon Testa-Rossa and the Vermillion Apocalypse which clearly hurts the poor kid. When his plans fail, he holds a blade to Cedric's throat to use him as a shield and hostage.

Marquis Wilhelm Ballad

Voiced by: Keisuke Baba (Japanese)

Appearances: The 3rd | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie

A member of the House of Cayenne, the previous Duke Croire's uncle in fact, who tries to take control of it in Cold Steel III. The Upper-Class Twit to end all Upper-Class Twits, his fellow nobles only put up with him because he seems to be his family's last survivor outside Croire.

Adults Are Useless: In a series that likes to avert this trope, he plays this straight.
Ascended Extra: From a very minor NPC in The 3rd to having a somewhat prominent role in chapter 3 of Cold Steel III.
Call-Forward: The ship that he uselessly buys in his side episode in Reverie will end up in Jingo's hands come the main story.
Closest Thing We Got: He's a bumbling idiot who cares more about his own pleasure than governing a province. The only reason the Four Great Houses - and most of the nobility - put up with him is because he's the former Duke Cayenne's only living relative and therefore the only one who can succeed him. Except he's not. Turns out, his great-niece Mildine is not only alive but, since she lacked his influence, is bereft of any of his and Croire's character flaws.
Cosmic Plaything: In his and Jingo's side episode in Reverie, nothing goes right for him after ignoring Beryl's warning not to buy anything extravagant. He gets rid of his terrible luck when he decides to abandon the airship that he bought.
Early-Bird Cameo: He was at the Lusitania in The 3rd where Kevin remarks about him.
Fat Bastard: Yeah, he's not exactly a nice guy.
Fat Idiot: Portly and incompetent.
General Failure: The one time he's in a position to order troops around, he ends up creating gaping security holes that Ouroboros is all too happy to exploit.
The Hedonist: Wilhelm embodies noble extravagance and excess to the utmost degree, frequently drinking himself into a drunken stupor or making exhorbitant purchases.
Hidden Depths: According to Angelica, he's really good at management duty. And in Reverie, he's actually a gourmet connoisseur and can correctly identify the ingredients used, schooling both Roselia and Rainer (Machias' coworker).
Hoist by His Own Petard: Commissions several railway guns for the government to gain influence, only to lose his standing when said guns were hijacked and were turned towards Ordis. His ordering Bardias to focus on the Railway Guns over all else left him undefended at Juno, allowing him to be held hostage by Arianrhod.
Humble Pie: His embarrassing failure before the Provincial Council send him on a downward spiral, though the man who comes out the other side is (marginally) a better person for it.
It's All About Me: Four jaeger corps are waging an open war in his province, and Ouroboros is prepping a superweapon, and the only places he thinks are worth protecting are the area where he'll physically be over the next few days and (when reminded of it) the location of his favorite nightclub. Which allows the enemy to get into position to launch their attack, which causes him to give more stupid orders intended to protect him personally rather than his province. All the other representatives of the Four Great Houses (who will be in the same room with him and thus share his protections for the immediate future) are utterly disgusted by his lack of regard for the rest of the province after he countermands their plans to protect the area as a whole, and this plays a major part in their decision to not nominate him as the next Duke Cayenne.
A Lighter Shade of Black: While he's a hedonistic Upper-Class Twit, he's more incompetent than actively malicious, in comparison to his nephew Croire, who is both incompetent and malicious. In Reverie, Machias discovers that Wilhelm secretly bought a self-help book to learn how to reconcile with Musse, showing that he's more open to Character Development than Croire.
The Peter Principle: While he's a fairly competent businessman, as a politician his greed and selfishness are actively detrimental to his position and only cause problems.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Calls Wallace a 'barbarian who needs to know his place' due to his highlander ancestry and only retracts his comment after being reminded that Wallace is a baron. The other who hear this are not pleased.
Puppet King: One of the reasons the other nobles are reluctant to put him in charge is that they realize he's so incompetent, that he'd be the imperial government's puppet.
Recurring Element: Marquis Ballad is a similar character archetype to Duke Dunan from the Sky trilogy, both being portly, hedonistic, arrogant, incompetent nobles who wind up losing succession of leadership to a more competent niece, but eventually grow somewhat more respectable and mature following their loss.
Small Name, Big Ego: Likes bragging about how he'll be the next Duke depsite proving to be an incompetent lout.
Smug Snake: You can see where his nephew gets it from.
Upper-Class Twit: Unlike pretty much all the other nobles who are either competent schemers or powerful warriors, or both, he's a fat worthless idiot more interested in drinking and gambling than doing his job. He's so useless when he actually has to take charge when Ouroboros makes their move, he ends up caving to panic and basically lets them have Juno Naval Fortress until Rean and Aurelia retake it. His leadership was so poor that the other nobles actually vote to revoke his position in favor of Musse, a 16 year old, who proves far more competent that he ever was. It's implied that he's a talented businessman, but as a government official, he's clearly a waste of space.
Vomit Discretion Shot: Is seen vomiting at Raquel after having too much to drink.
White-Collar Crime: In addition to botching the security of Lamare Province, he also was embezzling state funds. In his final scene, he gets arrested for it. Though he's shown again later on in the Karel Imperial Villa a month later.

Alfred Cayenne

See here.

Duchess Mildine Juzalith de Cayenne

The daughter of Alfred and Croire's niece, who was lost alongside her parents. Except not, as it eventually turns out she was alive under an entirely different name and under the tutelage of the Ashen Chevalier himself, and her great-uncle's idiocy has given her the perfect opportunity to salvage something from Croire's Villainous Legacy.

For more information, see Musse Egret.

House Albarea

In general

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/albarea_dukedom_crest_28sen29.png

The second-most powerful of the Four Great Houses, located in Bareahard. It rules over the eastern province of Kreuzen, which includes Celdic and Legram.

Big, Screwed-Up Family: Even among the noble houses, the Albarea house is very…messed up. Helmut is an abusive father to his son Jusis (who was conceived from an affair between him and a commoner woman) for his background and neglects him in favor of Rufus, resulting in Jusis' initial jerkish behavior. Then Cold Steel III reveals that Rufus himself was also born from an affair (this time between Helmut's wife and brother) but because of his noble blood, Helmut took him as his own and forced him into the position of family heir over his actual son.

Duke Helmut Albarea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helmut_albarea_initial_design___concept_art_sen.jpg

Voiced by: David Lodge (English, Cold Steel II)

Appearances: Cold Steel | Cold Steel II

The head of House Albarea and the father of Rufus and Jusis. He is proud of his eldest son, but has little time for Jusis, who is the child of one of the Duke's trysts with a commoner. He is also extremely ambitious, seeing himself as the rightful ruler of the Noble Alliance and seeking to usurp Cayenne's position by whatever means necessary.

Abusive Parents: His very first scene consisted of him coldly brushing Jusis off by bluntly saying he doesn't care what he does so long as he doesn't cause shame to the Albarea name, with Jusis' reaction indicating this was the usual behaviour from him. Made even worse when it turns out Jusis is his real son, while his presumed favorite Rufus was actually his nephew born from A Family Affair between his brother and wife.
Archnemesis Dad: To both of his sons:
- He made it clear from his first appearance that he could care less about Jusis despite the latter desperately vying for his approval. Jusis then pays him back for a lifetime of abuse as well as his other crimes by leading Class VII to have him arrested in Cold Steel II, resulting in him being stripped of his rank.
- His firstborn son Rufus, gave Class VII his candid support in having Helmut arrested, and reveals to be Osborne's right-hand man who was planning to betray Helmut and the Alliance from the start. And as revealed from Cold Stell III onwards, he actually wasn't much better at raising Rufus either, fueling the latter's identity issues which drove him to villainy, and turning his back on House Albarea and the nobility in general.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Part of a reactionary rebel force that started the Civil War to protect and enforce noble privilege and a colossal Hate Sink.
Blue Blood: He is one of the Noble Alliance's hardliners and the ruler of the Kreuzen Province. His capital city, Bareahard, is one of the Noble Alliance's most loyal strongholds.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Is completely incapable of understanding why other people might disapprove of his tactics.
Green and Mean: He dresses in green, which matches his House Colors, and is an utter Hate Sink.
Hate Sink: He had absolutely zero redeeming qualities, and since his atrocities end up giving the Reformists a propaganda victory and forcing the Alliance to give up one of their strongholds, he's also the biggest contributor to the downfall of the Noble Alliance.
I Have Your Wife: Is not above trying to abduct the loved ones of his foes to gain an advantage. Starts with Machias in Bareahard during Cold Steel I, then does the same again with Princess Alfin and Elliot's sister Fiona in Cold Steel II. In his last scene, he's shown plotting to kidnap the already imprisoned emperor from Cayenne's custody as a plot to improve his position in the Noble Alliance, despite the fact that his entire faction has already abandoned him and he's been arrested.
It's All About Me: His entire motivation stems on the supremacy of the nobles over the commoners, House Albarea over the other nobles, and himself over House Albarea (and, by extension, everyone else).
The Millstone: His actions in the civil war, especially his schemes to usurp leadership of the Four Great Houses from Duke Cayenne, end up causing the war to turn against the Noble Alliance:
- Ordering the Northern Jaegers to attack Ymir results in Rean travelling around eastern Erebonia and the Nord Highlands to gather his classmates, resulting in Valimar coming into play and quickly becoming The Dreaded. Duke Cayenne's attempt to salvage things by recruiting Rean into the Noble Alliance only results in Rean joining the Crimson Wings.
- The Kreuzen Provincial Army's abduction of Fiona Craig, whose little brother is a Class VII member, forces the Crimson Wings to raid Twin Dragons Bridge to rescue her, resulting in that fortress being captured by the Imperial Army. This in turn leads to the Kreuzen Provincial Army having to abandon Celdic to the Reformists because it's too exposed without Twin Dragons. Before the operation, some Crimson Wings members note that this was an especially stupid course of action.
- He orders an attack on Celdic for accepting being under Reformist control, and the attack destroys much of the town and kills the Grand Market's manager, forcing the Noble Alliance to throw him to the wolves. This leads to Jusis personally arresting him and, upon becoming Acting Duke, promptly withdrawing House Albarea from the Noble Alliance, costing the Alliance one of its major stalwarts.
Never My Fault: Even when confronted about his horrific deeds and abandoned by all his allies, he never sees the issue with his actions and insists they were just and correct.
Parental Favoritism: At the start, while he neglects Jusis he's shown to have some respect for Rufus. Which becomes even worse when its revealed Rufus is actually the bastard child of his wife and his younger brother, yet still preferred simply for being a pureblooded noble. Learning about this disgusted Rufus enough to turn against him and become disillusioned with the very idea of the nobility.
Parental Neglect: Despite Jusis' attempts to please and bond with him, the Duke never responds with anything approaching affection and usually acts annoyed at Jusis' actions. This, combined with his horrendous actions in the civil war, ultimately leads to Jusis running away.
Pet the Dog: Surprisingly, after Jusis calls him out for his actions, he tells the latter that he has his mother's good qualities.
Slave to PR: He took in Rufus and raised him as his own, despite him being born as a result of A Family Affair between his wife and brother. Rufus made it clear, however, that it was done not out of kindness, but rather so he doesn't have to deal with the fallout to his reputation that would've ensued were he to admit to his wife's infidelity.
The Starscream: Desperately seeks leadership of the Noble Alliance and is constantly scheming up plots to depose Duke Cayenne. These plots are usually highly destructive to the cause of the Alliance and result in popular opinion turning against them; these include the dispatching of jaegers to Ymir to capture Princess Alfin and the razing of Celdic to punish them for accepting Imperial Army rule. The latter act is so damaging to the Alliance's cause, they effectively abandon him because of it and request that Class VII apprehend him.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He used Rufus as a tool to cover up his wife's infidelity and raised him without love, causing Rufus to become Osborne's most ruthless protege. He also ordered the Northern Jaegers to raze Celdic, increasing tensions between Erebonia and North Ambria; this ultimately leads to the Northern War, which ends in Osborne absorbing yet another country into the Empire.

Helmut’s wife

Duke Helmut’s wife, the mother of Rufus and the step-mother of Jusis.

A Family Affair: Rufus reveals that she conceived him from an affair with her brother-in-law (who was then subsequently banished by Helmut) during the climax of Cold Steel III, making him a bastard child.
The Ghost: She never appears on-screen and is only mentioned a handful of times, such as Jusis confirming she is alive or when Rufus reveals her affair with Helmut’s brother.
Missing Mom: She is only mentioned twice through out the Erebonia games; once when Jusis confirms she's still alive and when Rufus reveals that she had conceived him from A Family Affair with Helmut's brother. However, she never appears on screen.
No Name Given: Her name has never been mentioned.
Small Role, Big Impact: She never appears on-screen, but her having an affair with Helmut’s brother lead to the conception of Rufus, who was subsequently taken in by Helmut and raised the house’s heir over Jusis (who was born to a commoner mother). This subsequently results in Rufus gaining many of his self-image issues which drove him towards his most villainous actions throughout the Cold Steel saga as Osborne's right hand man .

Helmut's brother

Duke Helmut's brother.

The Ghost: He never appears on screen, likely due to being banished from the family.
Small Role, Big Impact: Much like the Duke's wife, the affair between the two lead to the conception of Rufus, who was subsequently taken in by Helmut and raised the house’s heir over Jusis (who was born to a commoner mother), which resulted in Rufus gaining many of his self-image issues.
Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about him without revealing the affair between him and the Duke's wife and that he is Rufus' real father.

Rufus Albarea (Unmarked Spoilers!)

See The Ironbloods.

Acting Duke Jusis Albarea

See Original Class VII Members.

House Rogner

In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rogner_marquisdom_crest_28sen29.png

Located in Roer, it rules over the northeastern province of Nortia, which includes Ymir and the Sanchsen Iron Mines.

Marquis Gerhart Rogner

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marquis_rogner_final_design___concept_art_sen.jpg

Appearances: Cold Steel II

Head of one of the Four Great Families and Angelica's father, he serves as ruler of the Nortia Province.

Ace Custom: His Hector is a bright red and appeared to be lacking the standard Shoulder Cannons.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Is utterly annoyed by his daughter's antics yet he apparently had to be restrained from breaking his house arrest when she goes missing in Cold Steel III.
Graceful Loser: He takes his defeat fairly well, especially in comparison to Cayenne and Albarea.
Heir Club for Men: Befitting a traditional conservative, he's not too thrilled that his only child and heir is a girl, and even less pleased that she's an open lesbian. His attempts to marry her off and produce a male heir is probably the dominant factor in their conflicts with each other.
Humongous Mecha: Pilots a Hector in Cold Steel II to fight against his daughter.
Large and in Charge: A large and muscular man in charge of the Nortia Province and leads and trains his own troops personally. His Hector is also larger than the standard Drakkens and Spiegels his troops use.
Mundane Made Awesome: As Fie comments, seeing Angelica and her father duel is more like everyone else just watching a family argument, only in mechs.
Non-Action Guy: Averted, he's the only one of the Alliance's leaders whose shown some combat prowess even if his only showing was a single fight againt his daughter.
Out of Focus: He is the head of the Four Great Houses we saw the least.
Team Switzerland: After he loses against his daughter and V's Goliath explodes, he talks with Alfin and declares that he will no longer participate in the Civil War.
Undying Loyalty: The reason why he doesn't participate as much in the Civil War is because he is very loyal to the royal family and only does the minimal amounts to help deter the people at Zender Gate. Once he swears an oath to Alfin that he won't join in the civil war anymore, Zechs and the Third Armored Division finally manage to get a foothold within the empire.
The Unfought: Despite being the only head of household in the Noble Alliance with any martial prowess, he is never actually fought as a proper opponent in gameplay; Angelica instead duels him one-on-one (via Soldats) in a cutscene.

Count Heidel Rogner

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heidel_rogner___concept_art_28sen_ii29.jpg

Appearances: Cold Steel II

Marquis Rogner's younger brother and Angelica's uncle. Was director of Reinford Company's 5th Division which is loyal to the Alliance. During the Civil War, he takes control of the company after sending Chairman Irina away.

Ambition Is Evil: For himself - which is why he takes over the Reinford Company - but also for his brother, being irritated that he isn't making a claim for the Alliance's supreme commander.
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: He takes over the Reinford Group, holds Chairman Irina hostage on the Eisengraf, and walks in the Reinford home like he owns it and makes a mess. The latter is what Irina is pissed about, since she can't really criticize him for the first two considering she became the CEO herself in a hostile takeover against her own father.
Dirty Coward: In contrast to his capable brother and niece, he tends to panic at the first sign of danger, relying on the use of the Nidhoggr jaegers and archaisms provided by Ouroboros to get by. When both are taken down, he's all but broken down.
Evil Uncle: When Angelica leads a storm into the Reinford Building, he has no qualms about sending numerous dangerous archaisms after her with full intent to kill her.
Smug Snake: A sleazy and cowardly Upper-Class Twit whose condescending towards everyone else but breaks down the moment things don't go his way and is put in actual danger.
Trash of the Titans: While it isn't shown, he apparently made a huge mess out of the Reinford Apartments, though Sharon has cleaned up by the time Rean goes back to see it.

Angelica Rogner

See Towa's Group.

House Hyarms

In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hyarms_marquisdom_crest_28sen29.png

Located in the old capital of Saint-Arkh, it rules over the southern province of Sutherland, which includes Parm.

Marquis Fernand Hyarms

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fernand_hyarms_sen_iii_2.png

Voiced by: Takeshi Mori (Japanese)

Appearances: Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV

Head of one of the Four Great Families and Patrick's father, he serves as ruler of the Sutherland Province.

Karma Houdini: Despite his role in the Civil War and the Hundred Days War, he never receives any punishment and still is allowed to move around freely and continue to rule the Sutherland Province due to a mix of political pragmatism, his capable leadership being needed to keep his region stable as well as him participating the least in the Civil War. By contrast, Croire and Helmut were imprisoned, while Gerhart was put under house arrest.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Is very polite, encouraging, and the people at Saint-Arkh claim that he's a good ruler. It's a wonder how pre-Character Development Patrick managed to be that guy.
Token Good Teammate: He is the only member of the Noble Alliance who never antagonized anyone during the civil war, which is why he gets away with a slap on the wrist while his co-horts get arrested.
Unseen No More: Despite being mentioned multiple times in the first two Cold Steel games, we never see him in person until Cold Steel III.

Patrick Hyarms

See Class I/II First Year Students.

Characters / Trails Series Erebonia Nobility

Tropes applying to the country itself:

House Arnor

The Four Great Houses

House Cayenne

House Albarea

House Rogner

House Hyarms

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Characters / Trails Series Erebonia Nobility

Edit Locked

Tropes applying to the country itself:

House Arnor

The Four Great Houses

House Cayenne

House Albarea

House Rogner

House Hyarms

Previous

Index

Next