Viese Blanchimont
Viese Blanchimont is one of the two protagonists of Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny, the other being Felt Blanchimont. She also appears in the spin-off title Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World.
A recently full-fledged alchemist, she is Felt's childhood friend and grew up together with him in the Alchemic City Noir in Eden. Aware of her average talent, she works hard to make up for the lack of talent she perceived herself to possess.
Story
Plot and/or ending details follow.
Viese's story begins when she was acknowledged as a full-fledged alchemist. She was first seen conversing with Kreuz, who gave her a pair of alchemically-made rings, adequately named Share Ring. Kreuz then told her to give the ring to someone "special", causing Viese to stutter nervously. When she is about to leave the Eden Temple, Lutanus, the librarian of the temple, gives her a recipe as a token of celebration, allowing the player to synthesise Heal Herb and Fear Bottle.
Viese returns to Noir and back to the Workshop, hoping to find Felt there. Not surprised that she can't find him there, she then heads to the Belkhyde Gate, and just as she predicted, she indeed finds him there staring at the defunct gate.
- "Don't 'oh, hello' me! What happened to 'let's celebrate when you become an alchemist', Felt?"
- — Viese, scolding the ever forgetful Felt
Viese asks Felt if he's still thinking about the other world, to which Felt affirms. Remarking that Eden is too small for him, Viese then continued asking if he skipped the study session the day before, which earned her another affirmation. Felt explains that the theories bore him and that he can concentrate better being around the Azoth. Viese then asks if Felt wants to tag along as she's heading to the Marmel Forest and the two head out to the forest.
As the two exchange banter and pleasantries, they then come across the Azoth. Viese remarks that the place is a bit odd, to which Felt answers it's because the place is full of Mana's powers. As with so many times, Felt tries to pull the sword out of its resting place - which ended up in failure. While Felt wonders out loud that the Azoth must have some amazing powers, Viese notes that the middle of the sword is full of red gems that looks familiar - to which Felt answers since the sword is created via alchemy, someone will eventually figure it out.
The two then arrive at Dour's Great Tree and he pops up, congratulating Viese on being a full-fledged alchemist. Dour laments the fact that her workshop is a bit crowded, which apparently rubs Felt the wrong way - though not for long. Felt provides Viese with the Mana Gem, and she then makes her first Pact - one of many:
- "Mana, the father of power, the mother of life, the source of all nature...I, Viese Blanchimont, have pledged to uphold the sacred tenets of Lilith. In honor of that pledge, I have come to make a pact with Dour, the Wood Mana!"
- — Viese, making a pact with Dour
Dour once again appears, remarking that the pact is a success. With a pact and recipe in tow, Viese can now start synthesising in her workshop - and the two are about to leave when an earthquake strikes. Viese almost falls off the ledge; fortunately, Felt manages to catch her in time. After the quake subsides, Dour appears and frantically tells the pair to look at where the Great Tree was - to their shock, the tree is gone. Determining that they should reconvene with others back in town, they take their leave of the forest.
Personality
A gentle and hard-working young woman, Viese is acutely aware of her perceived lack of talent and works twice as hard as the average person to make up for it. A kind woman who believes that alchemy is an art to help people, Viese treats both the art and the Manas that make alchemy possible reverently and seriously, in contrast to her childhood friend, who takes alchemy less than half-seriously. Well-known and well-liked in Eden, Viese is always ready to help those in need, sometimes to the detriment of the receiving end - this was most prominent in Melona and Coco's side story, where the Wind Mana was required to make 6 Cure Jars to replace the ones she broke in Melona's shop because of her carelessness. Viese offered Coco to make the items required, to which Coco thankfully declined.
Generally timid and content to stay behind to support Felt, Viese is capable of taking things into her own hands, as seen when she decided to go to Belkhyde after radio silence from Felt convinced her something was wrong. She often invoked Felt when in need of courage, showcasing their closeness not only on the surface (the childhood friends trope), but also hints at a deeper bond.
- "All I want is to live peacefully with Felt and Iris in Eden. It might not be much, but it means everything to me. I won't fight to save the world...But I will fight to save my family, and that includes Iris."
- — Viese and her conviction
Viese is a woman of hearth and home, highly valuing family values and family-like bonds. She considers Iris her little sister, taking the girl in out of pity at first, but gradually considers her a part of her family with Felt, though some may also argue that her relationship with Iris is less sisterly and more motherly. What is clear, however, is that Iris is her driving force for the last leg of the game, where Viese summons the courage she needed to brave the gruelling final dungeon and face the final boss because she knows Iris needs her most at that point.
Abilities
Viese is an average alchemist, something that she overcomes by studying and working harder than average people - as a result, she can Synthesize almost everything the moment she becomes a full-fledged alchemist. While she might not have any special talents or abilities per se, her perseverance is actually her most important asset, as it is what allows her to decode the Share Ring and enables her to use the full extent of its powers. While she might not have half of Felt's natural talents, she does have twice his persistence and patience in learning, to the point that she is the party's main knowledge silo at the end of the game.
Gameplay
For the majority of the game, Viese is tied to checking the holy grounds and making pacts with Mana, along with Synthesizing Items. She can Synthesize Mana Items, Accessories, and Alchemy Items. She will also Initialize all Mana Items for Felt to Synthesize in the overworld. She is tied to several sidequests that reward the player with various items and recipes, though it must be noted that if the player advances too quickly with Felt in Belkhyde without switching back to her often, it is possible to miss these short sidequests that can end up locking the player out of finishing the game, one easiest examples being unable to make the Flay Hammer because the player misses Yach's sidequests (one of which rewards the recipe for the hammer). This should be noted as a very rare and unintended case.
Gameplay-wise, Viese fills the niche of being the party's primary support character. Since she comes in so late in the game, however, players may or may not find her valuable, especially when considering that the player may either depend on Noin as their primary healer or healing items that at the point the story converges, should be at the higher on the tier list (e.g., Heal Bulb, Refuel, etc). That being said, Viese has access to more potent healing spells that Noin lacks, and all of her healing spells have the added effect of dispelling status effects.
Trivia
- According to her official biography in the Bonus content of the game, she likes sweets.
- She is the shortest female playable member, standing at 158 cm.
- She shares her voice over actor with Iris Fortner of Atelier Iris 3.
- She and Felt are the only characters able to extract elements from the enemies if they deal the killing blow.
- It is unclear where she wears her Share Ring. On the official render, what seems to be the Share Ring can be seen on her right wedding ring finger, while in the opening movie, she wears it on her right pinky, just like Felt.
- When in control of Viese, the game's pointer changes to a stylised staff, specifically Angel Staff.
- It is very possible that Iris Blanchimont of Atelier Iris 1 took her last name from Viese's last name, since Atelier Iris 2 is the prequel of the aforementioned series.
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