Fremont
- Sarkaz Royal Court
- Ludwigs-Universität
- Liches' Temple of Knowledge
- King of the Liches
- Professor
Fremont is an NPC in Arknights. He is mentioned as the Lich King in the Shatter of a Vision story arc of the Main Theme and narrated Leithanien: Originium Arts A1.1 before appearing in person as a major supporting character in Zwillingstürme im Herbst.
Fremont is also one of the possible final bosses of Sarkaz's Furnaceside Fables under the name Fremont, Enlightener of Minds.
Background[edit]
While appearing as a cranky elderly Sarkaz, Fremont is actually the current lord of the Liches' Temple of Knowledge. For over 500 years, he led the tribe to stay in Leithanien to teach its inhabitants about Originium Arts, where they developed a unique sound-based Arts known in the region. He later became a Professor in the famous Ludwigs-Universität known for his temper towards the students.[1] He is also the one who "adopted" Lessing and took him under his wing. Fremont is noted to have disdain in political affairs noting that the Liches have stayed neutral in pursuit of knowledge and they will depart from the regions they stayed if they're getting involved in it.
Fremont usually prefers to not interfere in Kazdel's affairs. As a matter of fact, during the Victorian Crisis, Theresis sent an invitation to other Sarkaz tribe in the Royal Court, including the Liches, which Fremont responded by sending Ermengarde as his messenger to Theresis.[2]
Story[edit]
Zwillingstürme im Herbst[edit]
Several days before the 23rd anniversary of the Witch King's death, Fremont receives a request from one of Leithanien's Twin Empresses, Grimmacht. The empress wishes to extract the Voice of Terra from Ebenholz in order to recover the Witch King's legacy, the Genesis Horn. Thus, Fremont dispatches two of his students, Lessing and Gerhard Hoffmann to capture him and bring him to Ludwigs-Universität.[3]
After Lessing brings Ebenholz to the university's spire, Fremont examines Ebenholz. He is pleasantly surprised to discover the Voice of Terra still intact within him and begins to make preparations to extract it. However, Gerhard suddenly betrays him and uses spacial defence Arts and escapes together with Ebenholz. Lessing instinctively chases after them. While Fremont waits in the spire, he is visited by Viviana and Gesatzswächter Brandt Reiner. The two inform him that Gerhard may in fact be involved with the Echoes of Herkunftshorn who are plotting something.[4]
Realising this, Fremont immediately heads to the Witch King's secret underground chamber beneath Ludwigs-Universität. He discovers Lessing fighting against Gerhard and the Witch King's remnants, who intend to use Ebenholz in a ritual to revive the Witch King. Fremont is agitated by Gerhard's actions, saying that even if he succeeded, the Witch King would never acknowledge him. Gerhard seemingly does not care and reveals the stolen Güldenesgesatz score from Sturmland. Despite Fremont's warnings, Gerhard unleashes the power within the score and summons the Genesis Horn.[5] Thankfully, Empress Grimmacht quickly arrives to cut down the false spire. When Ebenholz asks about Gerhard, Fremont plainly says that he escaped, but the Witch King's Arts inside the Güldenesgesatz will ravage his body and he'll collapse in no time.[6]
Now that there weren't any more distractions, Fremont brings Ebenholz to his spire to remove the Voice of Terra from him. He easily disposes of the Voice—rather anticlimatically—and says that it is "just noise." [7] With that matter settled, Fremont makes preparations to leave Leithanien with the rest of the Liches. However, their journey is cut short when Fremont receive news of ensuing chaos at Das Kaiserinnensfest. Realising that this was a serious incident, Fremont tugs on all the Liches's threads, urging them to come to Zwillingstürme immediately. He arrives at the Twin Empresses' spire and discovers the fugitive Arturia Giallo playing music there. He warns Arturia to stop, but she refuses, even using her Arts to glimpse into his memories. In anger, he attempts to use Exile to banish her, but the two get end up getting sucked into a mysterious space known as Kargereich.[8]
Inside the strange dimension, he encounters an illusion of his past self together with a younger Witch King during the amendment of the Güldenesgesatz. At the time, Fremont had lent his phylactery to the Witch King so that he could research Kargereich.[9] Later, he meets the Witch King's "echo" and demands the Witch King return his phylactery, only for him to say that he had already returned it long ago. Fremont then proceeds to use his Exile on him, ridding him once and for all. With the Witch King gone, Kargereich begins to rapidly collapse. Fremont uses his threads in order to keep the space stable, buying some time before managing to establish a connection with Lessing. Together with the other Liches, Fremont opens a portal that allows Ebenholz and the others trapped inside Kargereich to escape.[10]
At the end of the Zwillingstürme incident, Fremont resumes preparations with Ermengarde to leave Leithanien with the rest of the Liches. The calamity was a stark reminder that more crises like this may arise in the future, and the Liches must be prepared when the time comes. To that end, he asks Ermengarde to send a message that the Lich King's court, the keepers of the Temple of Knowledge, will return to Kazdel.[11]
A Kazdelian Rescue[edit]
Some time after the Liches' return to Kazdel, Fremont became the person-in-charge of the preparation for the ritual to appease the Revenants in the Soul Furnace. However, the constant arguing of the Revenants quickly annoys him. The preparation is halted when the fragments of the Soul Furnace's eldest revenant hijack the cannons on the Military Commission's airship guarded by Manfred, causing them to fire off and shoot the Soul Furnace, destroying Nymph's house roof in the process. Wiš'adel later met him and inquired him over the incident which he assumes there's something wrong with the Revenants.[12] He later is seen shooing Nymph and her friends in the Soul Furnace core when they're indulging the Revenants in their stories.
The Masses' Travels[edit]
Fremont was appointed as the spokesman of the Kazdel delegation for Laterano's second Summit of Nations, which would welcome the Sarkaz for the first time.[13] Later on, Ermengarde contacted Fremont after she found Cecelia and Enforcer near a furnace node, albeit in an unusual state. Fremont then asked her to bring them both to him.[14]
References[edit]
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