Flamboyant and imprudent, Furina lives for the thrill of the courtroom, often speaking in a manner peppered with bravado and drama. She is impatient and has a childlike temper, and she will occasionally make judgments that she doesn’t mean, which Neuvillette frequently has to control while conducting a trial to avoid complications. While she enjoys being in the spotlight, she only does so when it is focused at her positively, breaking down in complete shambles should something go out of plan and will try to save face at the first possible opportunity.
It is later revealed that Furina was not the true Hydro Archon. Focalors, the successor of Egeria, had separated her divinity from her body and spirit; Furina was the Archon’s body and spirit but had no powers. Focalors used Furina as a way to deceive the Heavenly Principles in order to prevent the result of the prophecy regarding Fontaine from becoming a permanent reality. Furina was tasked with maintaining the guise of an Archon and cursed by Focalors so that she could not die nor pursue her own happiness so long as Focalors lived. As a new “human,” she had difficulty taking the role but eventually mastered it. Aware of the prophecy that would doom Fontaine, Furina assumed the role of Hydro Archon for 500 years; while she was successful in this task, it wore her down mentally so that she suffered from severe self-esteem issues and paranoia, as shown when the Traveler convinced the court audience that she was a fraud in her trial.
Despite being undying due to being cursed by Focalors, Furina remained fearful of situations that seemed deadly, as she pleaded the Knave to not kill her during an attack for the Hydro Gnosis, and was hesitant in dipping her hand into Primordial Seawater to prove whether she is the Hydro Archon during a trial.
Upon being freed of her role as an acting Archon, Furina had returned to her normal self, but without the burdens associated with her role. While she is still flamboyant and dramatic at times, she now displays a softer, humbler and insecure side of herself. At first, she struggled coming to terms with her role being over, believing that her newfound freedom meant that she was no longer needed, and had trouble reaching out for the people closest to her while she was the Archon, such as Neuvillette and Clorinde. She also planned to retire from the stage despite her love of acting, finding it difficult to take on different identities after having to sustain such a heavy burden for centuries. After being comforted by the Traveler, Neuvillette, and Navia as well as getting invited to a party by Clorinde, she realizes that her journey of self-discovery means that she no longer has to live her life in solitude.
Eventually, she is able to regain the courage to move forward and go back onstage for the first time since her abdication, and learns to accept her identity not as the Hydro Archon, but simply as herself, culminating in her receiving a Hydro Vision.
The crisis of original sin was resolved, and Fontaine came under a new order. The affected areas were gradually rebuilt, and the people held high hopes for the future.
Furina was the only one with no place in this new world. She was quick to pack her bags and leave the Palais Mermonia, nor did she return to the Opera Epiclese. She simply wanted to leave the memories that brought her so much pain as far behind as possible, and she was uninterested in the debates surrounding her — the Hydro Archon’s tale was over, as it should be.
But where should an actress who had finished her part and fulfilled her duty go? None could say, and the concept of “freedom” rang hollow.
Furina’s luggage remained piled up in her new rental apartment, and she lacked all will even to tidy up or get moved in. All she could do was lie in bed and stare at the bare ceiling.
Those she knew had very quickly found their place in the new order. Whether due to their strength, duties, or friendships, their importance made them irreplaceable. In circumstances such as these, didn’t “free” simply mean being someone who no one needed?
Just as she had reached this conclusion, her new residence received its first guest — Clorinde the Champion Duelist.
The duelist was shocked at Furina’s living conditions, quickly expressing her willingness to pay for better accommodations, a notion Furina expended no small amount of effort disabusing her of. Despite this, she was dragged, however reluctantly, into at least properly unpacking and tidying up the room.
Clorinde then explained that she was here to invite Furina to a gathering. The duelist rarely took part in social events, but this gathering was one of old friends, who, as it happened, also knew Furina, and whom Clorinde had not seen in a while, anyway, so she thought she’d extend an invitation.
In days past, Furina would certainly have refused, for the greater the intimacy of her association with others, the more difficult it would be to conceal her true identity. The duelist smiled as Furina guiltily lifted her eyes, having seemingly already guessed the latter’s feelings as well as her old reasons for snubbing such events.
“I don’t suppose you have any reason to refuse now, do you?”
“Well… I’m not very good at this sort of thing, so, um… Don’t you think I’d, you know, be a bit of a wet blanket?”
That night, Furina finally got to experience what it was like to revel and drink with friends. In truth, she was cautious at first but was restored to her normal self within two cups — indeed, so much so that at one point Clorinde had to restrain her from leaping onto the table. For someone as reticent as the duelist, the real Furina’s explosiveness was quite the surprise.
As for Furina, she still knew not where to go, but if nothing else, she now knew that “freedom” did not mean solitude.
Leave a Reply