Felt Blanchimont

Felt Blanchimont is the one of the two protagonists of Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny. He also appears in the spin-off title Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World.

A young man with exceptional talent in alchemy who prefers swordplay instead, Felt grew up together with Viese in the Alchemy City of Noir in Eden. Yearning for an adventure in the unknown world of Belkhyde, he would go on a journey to the world beyond to save his home and, eventually, the world.

Story

Spoiler warning! puni puni.
Plot and/or ending details follow.

Felt's story begins when he was found by Viese on the Belkhyde Gate, the latter getting angry because he forgot his promise to come to her establishment as a full-fledged alchemist. To make up for his mistake, he accompanied Viese to make her first pact with Dour, the Wood Mana, towards the Marmel Forest. Along the path, once again, Felt came across the Azure Azoth, a mystical sword with a red glowing orb in the middle of the hilt, long believed to be the forest's guardian. Felt told Viese how much he admired the sword, and he once again tried to pull the Azoth out of its resting place.

"Yep, that's not budging."

          — Felt to Viese, after failing to pull out the sword

Failing to do so, he responded that as usual, it didn't even move. After making a pact with Dour, they were about to take their leave when a great earthquake immediately shook Eden, and as the quake subsided, the pair was surprised when they saw a large crater in a place where the Great Tree of Dour had been. Viese advised that they should go to the Eden Temple, where they can meet Kreuz.

Along the way, he came across the Azure Azoth once again. Hearing a strange voice coming from the sword, Felt was convinced that someone was talking to him and asked Viese if she could hear the voice. Viese responded negatively, saying that she didn't hear any voice. He then decided to pull the sword off, and much to his and Viese's surprise, he did manage to pull the sword off. He then heard the Azoth speak to him, and although he did not understand, the Azoth told him that indeed, Eden will soon pace towards the crisis. He then sheathed it as his possession, and returned to the Eden Temple.

They met up with Kreuz in the Eden Temple and reported that the Great Tree also vanished before their eyes, with Kreuz acknowledging that almost half of Eden had been wiped out. Felt also showed the Azoth to Kreuz, who advised him to hold onto it just in case. When they returned to Noir, news had spread fast, and the casualty had become clearer - it was almost certain that every part of the continent except the main body was gone. Felt and Viese decided to check on the Belkhyde Gate just to be sure.

When they arrived at the Belkhyde Gate, however, the sword started speaking again, asking if it's time to go. To the pair's surprise, the gate opens, and a hologram of a girl appeared, stating that a state of emergency has been declared in Gardo and that the master of the Azoth is required to intervene. Having more questions than answers, they then decided to return to Noir for the time being, but Felt had come to the realisation that sooner or later, he must leave the world he knows behind.

Eight days after the quake, Kreuz and Felt were talking about the earthquake, noting that since nothing else had happened and they had left no stones unturned in Eden, then the answer must lie in the world beyond. Kreuz asked Felt who he should send to investigate Belkhyde, and Felt volunteered himself to go, since the mysterious girl specifically asked for the master of the Azoth, and even though he did not know if it was fate or not, he was the one who wielded the Azoth, concluding that he had to go. Kreuz warned him that it would be dangerous, to which he acknowledged. Felt explained that he had always yearned to see what's beyond the gate, to know what dwells beyond. Kreuz then acknowledged that it was perhaps Felt's destiny to see Belkhyde with his own two eyes, but then he asked about Viese.

Kreuz: But, what of Viese?

Felt: ...I caught her crying.

While acknowledging that he knows nothing of the world beyond, Felt is aware that he has to go, that there is no one else Kreuz can send. He reminds Kreuz that the key to saving Eden may lie in the world beyond and tells him that Viese is waiting for him, so he will definitely return. Kreuz then formally sends Felt to investigate Belkhyde, and the days start ticking down to the time Felt must leave.

The day when Felt is finally ready to leave arrives. Felt arrives at the Belkhyde Gate earlier, with Viese trailing not too far behind. Felt is surprised to see Viese there, implying that he doesn't expect Viese to come and that he's ready to go whether she bids farewell or not. Viese then hands him a Heal Herb and the other half of the Share Ring for good luck. Not knowing how long he'll be gone or if he will return, Felt braces himself anyway, and he steps into the gate - not knowing that he leaves a crying Viese behind.

Landing in the desert, Felt could not withstand the heat and collapsed from heatstroke. Chaos came across him and left him to die, thinking that he was a member of Simsilt and that he would be a lesson to the rebels. Fortunately, Noin came across him in her search for another member to join her cause. He was taken to the Simsilt HQ in Tatalia Village, and there he was tended until he recovered. He then asked Noin about Eden; however, Eden is a strange word to the brunette. Felt, still holding onto hope, decided to meet with the mayor of Tatalia Village, only to receive the news of the soldiers hanging around the Tatalia's sacred ruins. Noin offered the mayor to get rid of the soldiers, and Felt volunteered to join in an effort to repay her kindness. At first hesitant to involve an outsider, Noin finally relented, and together, they headed out to the Desert Ruins.

Personality

A gentle and upbeat young man, Felt yearns for the thrill of adventure beyond the peaceful Eden into Belkhyde. Quick on his feet and can never stay still, Felt finds theory boring, vastly preferring field experience compared to the more bookish Viese. A kind person who will not hesitate to extend his hand to anyone in need, Felt's kindness is met with bewilderment in a world where each person is to himself, but it is this same kindness that allowed his eventual friends to respect him as the natural leader of the group.

He exudes natural charisma and comes across as reliable, with many people entrusting someone they hold dear to his care - this was most apparent with High Priestess Eizlen who entrusted Fee to his care, remarking that she is "innocent in the ways of the world", to which Felt promised that he will protect her. He also possesses an incredible sense of justice, finding the Empire's treatment of its subjects abhorrent and naturally aligning himself with the Simsilt.

"You allow your emotions to sway your judgment. You are incapable of acting rationally. You were aware of the threat that girl posed to us, yet you saved her. And, you fail to grasp the severity of the Crimson Azoth."

          — Azure Azoth, explaining all the reasons it thought it was mistaken

His gentleness and kindness put him at odds with Elusmus, the personality inside the Azure Azoth at various points in the story as Elusmus found these particular qualities questionable and to be a potential obstacle on their quest to restore Eden. While this may stem from Elusmus's less-than-favourable judgment of humanity as a whole, Felt also has enough self-awareness to acknowledge where Elusmus was coming from.

Just like Chaos, Felt is innately driven by the love he has for someone else, someone that he loves more than himself. For Felt, this person is implied to be Viese - she is his home, and while it's never expositioned by either party, it is apparent enough for the rest of the group, particularly Noin who said to Viese:

"Felt fought his heart out here in Belkhyde to save you. [...] You are the girl Felt just had to save."

          — Noin to Viese, when crossing the sea

As common with male protagonists of his era, however, Felt can be incredibly dense on several matters, especially regarding opposite-sex attraction. Noin is on the unfortunate end of receiving this treatment, while Poe one-sidedly calls Felt his rival for Viese's love, both of which Felt takes in stride.

Abilities

Felt was noted by Viese as the one with superior talent in alchemy between the two of them. However, this potential is unfortunately squandered by his unwillingness to study the theories and dive into the books, finding them uninteresting and deathly boring. While he may not have half of Viese's persistence and hard work, he does pick up things at an incredible speed when he is willing, and notably when he can gain hands-on experience from it - for example, when he was able to master elemental extraction in less than a week while Viese took much longer. This is also apparent when Hagel, as a token of his gratitude, taught Felt blacksmithing - something that he does not take a particular interest in at first, but is hands-on. Throughout the game, it is implied that Felt accumulated enough expertise in weapon synthesis that at the end of the game, he was able to repair the shattered Azure Azoth with the Ruby Prism provided to him by Viese.

Gameplay

Felt is a very straightforward character to play, incredibly well-balanced and versatile.

Etymology

His official English translation of the name, Felt, can be traced to several languages. In German, felt is derived from the Old High German feld and is a noun meaning several things, including square.

His surname, Blanchimont, might be recognised as the name of a corner in Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in real life. It is more likely, however, that his name is a compound word of the French blanche and mont, meaning white and mountain, respectively. Taken together, his surname may mean white mountain.

Trivia

• He and Viese are the only characters able to extract elements from the enemies if they deal the killing blow.
• When in control of Felt, the game's pointer changes to a stylised Azure Azoth.
• Felt holds the distinct honour of being the first Atelier protagonist to wield a traditional sword.
• While Felt has never been initiated as a full-fledged alchemist, he does have a basic knowledge of alchemy and even referred to himself as one during a particular point in the game, when the party talked about repairing Workshops.
• Max, with his horrible memory, called Felt at least ten different names, one including "Klein", a tribute to the protagonist of the previous title, Klein Kiesling. Other name includes Fernando.
• In the opening movie, Felt is shown wearing his Share Ring on his right pinky.
• If the player observes carefully, Felt wields the Azoth without the Ruby Prism in its centre in the timeframe between the aftermath of his battle against Chaos in front of Gardo until he repairs the Azoth.

Gallery

Nelke & The Legendary Alchemists

Standard PortraitsNew Years Costumes

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