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Emperor Vincent Volakia (born Vincent Abelks), also known as the Wise Emperor and briefly as Abel, is a major character in the 2014 Japanese dark fantasy light novel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World and its 2015 spin-off light novel prequel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Ex.
Vincent Volakia was the seventy-seventh Emperor of the Holy Empire of Volakia, a meritocratic nation that valued individual strength above all else. Highly intelligent, manipulative, and merciless to his enemies and allies alike, Vincent Volakia outwardly exemplified the brutal qualities expected of the Empire's ruler. However, the Emperor secretly despised the barbaric nature of his homeland.
Appearance[]
Vincent Volakia was a young man with a slender build and strong posture who stood a little over five feet and eight inches tall. He had light skin with a pale complexion, almond-shaped dark brown eyes, and short black hair with leftwards swept bangs that partially covered his left eye. The Emperor was very handsome and majestic, to the point that he exuded unquestionable authority without needing to say a single word.
A man of little ostentation, Volakia opted not to wear an abundance of expensive jewellery or accessories despite his station. His regal attire of kingly refinement consisted of black shoes, black formal pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, a white cravat, a grey waistcoat with black buttons and a black interior, and white gloves. Over the waistcoat, Volakia wore an open red long coat with black notched lapels that had golden edging and buttons. Attached to his long coat's left lapel, Volakia wore a golden pendant with the insignia of the Empire, a defiant wolf impaled by swords, at its center. Finally, a large black feathery decoration with red tips was attached to the Emperor's left shoulder.
Early Life[]
Vincent Abelks was born into House Abelks in the Holy Volakian Empire, a fertile and diverse meritocratic nation governed by an absolute monarchy wherein the strong thrived and the weak were neglected. He was one of at least sixty-six children sired to different women by Dreizen Volakia, the seventy-sixth sovereign Emperor of Volakia. It was tradition for the reigning Emperor to sire as many children as possible, as the rite of succession was decided by a nation-wide political contest called the "Rite of Imperial Selection" in which each of the Emperor's children would aim to slaughter all of their siblings so that they could lay claim to the throne.
House Abelks had once been a wealthy and powerful noble family of Volakia, but had fallen into relative decline by the time of Vincent's birth. Vincent quickly proved himself as a naturally intelligent and shrew political tactician whose mere presence emitted authority. At a young age, he was able to single-handedly restore the lost prestige of his family and attain the title of "high count," a position of considerable power in the aristocracy of the Empire. Growing up as an important figure in Volakia's political landscape, Vincent survived numerous assassination attempts. On at least one occasion, he disguised himself as a woman to mask his identity.
One day, Vincent was travelling by dragon carriage when one of the vehicle's wheels snapped off going over a gutter. A commoner named Chisha Trimm, who was two years older than Vincent, just so happened to be on the scene and helped get the carriage moving again. Vincent was so impressed by the talent for calculation that Chisha displayed in getting the vehicle mobile again that he recruited the commoner right there and then. Chisha henceforth served as Vincent Abelks's chief advisor and strategist, under the new name "Chisha Gold." Chisha had shape-shifting capabilities, and as such also served as a body double for the High Count.
When he was roughly twenty years old, Vincent went to visit his sister Prisca at her mansion alongside ten of his servants, including Cecils Segmund. Instead of being welcomed by a servant at the door, he was greeted by Prisca herself. About an hour prior to Vincent's arrival, Prisca's servants had staged an assassination attempt on her that had been foiled by Prisca's bodyguard Arakiya, and so she currently had nobody left to attend to her needs. Vincent was both amused and exasperated by the current situation and the state of Prisca's home, which had been damaged when Arakiya had used her Spirit magic to incinerate Prisca's would be assassins.
Prisca received Vincent and his servants in the mansion's parlor, where she informed him that she didn't know who had sent the assassins. As his sister served him tea, Abelks told her that he would pay for the repairs to the damage sustained to her home. Cecils entered the room and informed Vincent that, after patrolling the perimeter of the mansion, he had found nothing of note. Segmund then began to complain about being assigned menial tasks, before turning his attention to Prisca and Arakiya. Irritated by Segmund, Prisca ordered Arakiya to kill him, although he was able to swiftly force her into surrender by holding his blade to her neck.
Death of the Emperor[]
Not long after the assassination attempt, Vincent and Prisca gathered alongside the other remaining thirty children in an annex in the capital city under orders from the Emperor. Lamia Godwin, one of Vincent's sisters, approached him and Prisca and started trading barbs with the latter. Godwin insinuated that she was behind the recent attempt on Benedict's life, and then began querying Abelks on why he thought they had been gathered in an annex rather than the Emperor's abode, the Crystal Palace. Before Vincent could give an answer, Emperor Dreizen Volakia himself entered the room and all chatter quickly silenced.
Though most siblings knelt upon his entry, a small number, including Vincent, Prisca, and Lamia did not. The reason they didn't kneel was because they recognized that their father had grown frail and weak, and was therefore no longer worthy of their reverence. One of the older brothers, named Rommel, shouted at them to show some respect, only to be mercilessly insulted by Prisca Benedict. The Emperor took the side of those who didn't kneel, and summoned the Yang Sword Volakia (a magical sword capable of conjuring fire that could only be wielded by the ruler of Volakia or their potential successors) to test Rommel's mettle.
Rommel gleefully took the Yang Sword's scabbard in his hand and was instantly burned alive, as the blade judged him unworthy of the Volakian throne. Many siblings were reviled by Rommel's death, but Vincent only saw it as a confirmation that only truly rightful Emperors could wield the blade. All of a sudden, thirty-one Yang Swords materialized out of thin air in front of the remaining thirty-one children. The Emperor then declared the beginning of the Rite of Imperial Selection and told each of his children to draw their respective Yang Swords, as it would purge the unworthy before the beginning of the contest.
With that said, Dreizen Volakia, the seventy-sixth Emperor of the Holy Volakian Empire, grasped his own Yang Sword and was immediately burnt to ashes as Rommel had been moments prior. With his death, the Rite of Imperial Selection had begun in earnest. Vincent drew his Yang Sword and was deemed worthy, as were Prisca Benedict, Lamia Godwin, and eight other siblings. Of the other twenty remaining children, some chose not to draw their Yang Swords out of fear of immolation, and were therefore not eligible to join the contest, and the rest died by said immolation. The participants returned to their domains to draw up their strategies.
The Rite of Imperial Selection[]
From the get-to, High Count Vincent Abelks was considered the favorite of the contest, a fact that none of the other participants denied. Three months after the beginning of the Rite of Imperial Selection, a ginormous army that eclipsed Vincent's own forces five times over encircled his family's castle. Lamia Godwin led the army, which consisted of her own fighting force as well as the armies of five of the other contestants. Prisca Benedict and four other children of Emperor Dreizen, including a man named Palladio Manesk, had temporarily joined forces under Lamia Godwin's leadership in order to deal with Vincent, their greatest threat.
Despite the sheer immensity of the army that surrounded his walls, Vincent considered it within his expectations and as such was unconcerned. He had defensive fortifications set up and deployed Cecils Segmund to repel the besiegers.
Recruiting the Shudrak[]
Vincent decided that in order to regain his throne, he'd need a fighting force under his control. In the south-eastern corner of Volakia was the Badheim Jungle, a massive tropical rainforest in which a tribe of warrior women known as the people of Shudrak resided. The Shudrak people were honorable and formidable hunters and, more importantly, they swore no obedience to the ruler of Volakia and as such did not answer to those who usurped Vincent's throne. The former Emperor believed that the people of Shudrak could be useful allies if he could ingratiate himself to them.
Vincent entered Badheim alone, hoping to hide out and enlist the aid of the Shudrak people. He travelled to the forest's eastern edge where the cascade known as the Great Waterfall marked the edge of the world itself. Situated there was a secret location known only to the Emperor and his closest retainers: a nameless graveyard dedicated to long-forgotten Emperors of Volakia. Within one of the graves was a stash of useful equipment placed there to aid an Emperor in hiding. Vincent knew he had to move quickly, as his usurpers also knew about the graveyard stash and had likely sent assassins after him.
After aweing at the Great Waterfall for a moment, Vincent smashed open the relevant grave and withdrew the contents: a sword, a dagger, and a magical cloak that rendered its wearer invisible to the naked eye. Tearing a part of the cloak off and wrapping it around his head to conceal his face, the former Emperor resolved to abandon his old identity until he was ready to reassume his throne. Vincent, going by "Abel," then set off into the forest in search of the Shudrak.
Equipment[]
- Yang Sword Volakia: The "Yang Sword Volakia" was one of the ten magical swords of power, a set of unique magical blades said to be unrivalled by all other weapons. Since the Holy Volakian Empire's foundation, the sword had been in the possession of the Volakian Royal Family and served as the symbol of office and personal weapon of the sovereign of Volakia. The weapon took the form of a large, exquisite crimson single-handed sword that shone like a flawless garnet. The wielder of the Yang Sword could materialize and dematerialize the blade at will, and the sword was capable of producing powerful fire that could be telekinetically controlled by its wielder. The red flame produced by the blade was many times hotter than any regular blaze, and could absorb lesser flames. There was nothing the weapon could not affect, as even beings with noncorporeal bodies and metaphysical targets like souls could be cut or burned by the Yang Sword. The Yang Sword's wielder could even designate what was affected by its attacks and what wasn't, meaning the Yang Sword caused no collateral damage. Furthermore, the sword improved the physical properties of its wielder to an immense level while drawn. However, summoning the blade and using its power required a large amount of the user's magical energy. Like certain other magical swords, the Yang Sword had a will of its own. It only imparted its power on members of the Volakian Royal Family it deemed as candidates worthy of ruling Volakia, and those who were deemed unworthy were incinerated by the sword upon making contact with it. The weapon was also known to withhold its power from its wielder if they contradicted the sword's desire. It was possible for multiple Yang Swords to be summoned simultaneously by different candidates for the throne of Volakia, and the existence of multiple copies did not reduce its quality. Vincent Volakia, as the Emperor of Volakia, was able to wield the Yang Sword.
- Cloak of Concealment: The Cloak of Concealment was a magically-imbued artefact that Vincent came to possess while on the run after being usurped by his Prime Minister. He discovered the garment in a sack which was buried beneath the tomb of the forgotten Emperors at the southernmost edge of the world. When draped in the cloak, its user was rendered completely invisible. However, its wearer could still be detected, as the cloak failed to conceal variables such as footprints, sounds, and scents.
List of Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Vincent Volakia's design shared many similarities with that of Stride Volakia, a paternal relative of the Emperor's who died roughly fifteen years before his birth. Both had pale skin, black hair, open long coats with notched lapels, grey waistcoats, long-sleeved shirts of the same design, black formal pants, black shoes, and a feathery decoration on their left shoulder.
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 Heroes
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| Anastasia Camp |
| Anastasia Hoshin · Hetaro, Mimi, and Tivey Pearlbaton · Julius Juukulius · Ricardo Welkin |
| Crusch Camp |
| Crusch Karsten · Felix Argyle · Wilhelm van Astrea |
| Emilia Camp |
| Beatrice · Emilia · Frederica Baumann · Garfiel Tinzel · Meili Portroute · Otto Suwen · Petra Leyte · Puck · Ram · Rem · Spica · Subaru Natsuki |
| Felt Camp |
| Felt · Grimm Fauzen · Old Man Rom · Reinhard van Astrea |
| Priscilla Camp |
| Aldebaran · Heinkel Astrea · Priscilla Barielle |
| Holy Empire of Volakia |
| Arakiya · Cecils Segmund · Chisha Gold · Prisca Benedict · Vincent Volakia |
| Others |
| Archi Elior · Fortuna · Fourier Lugunica · Halibel · Hoshin of the Wastes · Liliana Masquerade · Marcus Gildark · Shaula · Theresia van Astrea · Volcanica |