Selmon
Selmon is an NPC in Arknights. She is a supporting character in What the Firelight Casts.
Background
Selmon is a Taran colleen. Fiery and rough in demeanor, both in action and in speech. She wears a Dublinn soldier’s uniform despite not being a part of said organization. Ch'en comments that the reason she wears it is because she wants to be her group’s “Leader”, possibly alluding to Dublinn’s own Leader.[1] Her first experience with Dublinn ocurred years ago in a Nomadic City, when she and her brother met an injured Taran woman in an alley, who asked them to deliver a letter. Selmon and her brother agreed and at the same time found a place for her to hide, as the local Taran citizens were being targeted for pogroms from one of the Victorian soldiers stationed there. However, the Taran woman's words made them realize about the real goal of Dublinn, that they weren't just retaliating against the Victorians. Convinced by this conversation and her brother, Selmon went to a nearby settlement to join Dublinn. But after learning how they dispose their eye-witnesses, she ran away out of fear. Her brother would pass away at some point later on.[2]
Selmon holds a strong distaste towards Victorians, even willing to pillage their carriages and kill their downed soldiers for the group’s survival, though she never has gone through with the latter.[3]
Story
What the Firelight Casts
After a skirmish between Dublinn’s and Victoria’s forces ending with a heavy loss on Victoria’s side, the angered nobles send the army after Tarans regardless of their affiliation with Dublinn. During the events of What the Firelight Casts, Selmon leads a group of Taran civilians who are trying to escape the army after mayhem caused by the skirmish.
Selmon's goal is to lead the group to meet up with and join Dublinn, believing it would help them survive and get back at Victorians. This plan is mainly agreed upon by the group except for Fionn, who argues with Selmon several times about its selfishness and danger. It’s later revealed that her main motive is to get in contact with her brother, who had joined Dublinn two years ago and cut communications with Selmon when he stopped writing letters to her.
When the group first comes across Reed, despite her also being a Taran, Selmon acts distrustful of her because of her recognition/distaste of the Dublinn uniform and use of Victorian accent. She angrily dismisses Ch'en and Bagpipe’s accounts on Dublinn units consisting of animated corpses. However after witnessing a Dublinn corpse unit ambush a Victorian squadron, as the Taran group escapes to get out of the crossfire, she recognizes one of the Dublinn soldiers as her brother and is forced to believe their words.
Selmon follows after the Dublinn unit right after, watching them from afar. She ambushes her brother’s corpse to deal a killing blow but fails and is quickly surrounded. She is then rescued by Reed who had come to check up on her. Selmon tells her about how she and her brother met Dublinn two years ago, their talk with one of its members regarding what Dublinn’s goal truly was, and how Selmon’s brother had joined them afterwards while she had hesitated out of fear and ran away.
She tells Reed that the flames she left for her brother are beautiful like flowers. Selmon asks Reed whether the dream Dublinn promised them was ever true, a question Reed is unable to answer.
Afterwards in a better mood, Selmon mentions in a talk with a few of the Tarans in the group that she still wishes to go after Dublinn, to make sure their dream can be realized.
During the ambush by Victoria's Intelligence Service lead by Puzzle, she is captured alongside the rest of the Tarans. Thanks to Fionn they're able to escape. Selmon leads them towards Reed to help her fight against the Victorian soldiers while helping Moran walk through the forest. The two come across a Dublinn unit consisting of living soldiers. Selmon says she isn't a part of Dublinn despite wearing their uniform, and a Dublinn soldier advises them to run away to safety.
As they walk through the forest, Selmon falls and passes away due to her injuries while leading Moran by the hand.
References