Degenbrecher's oprec was something that I was looking forward to immensely; my personal hopes were that it would be about her friendship with Gnosis, and perhaps detail the moment they began to truly bond with each other, perhaps through the form of some other of Gnosis's schemes or shenanigans. (Though it seems those hopes were fulfilled in her second module.)
In that respect, I find her oprec to be on the somewhat disappointing side--it gives us no new information about her at all, simply detailing once again an average day of hers, how she spends her time helping the locals with their farmwork or engaging in her hobbies, and how beloved she is in Kjerag to the competition knight seeking her. All of this is content we already knew, from her profile, voice lines, and RS, and I am bit let down that we didn't get anything truly new (and the inception of her friendship with Gnosis, after the manga, would have been something new and would give them both additional depth).
However, I believe her oprec serves another purpose: to reinforce the idea that, post-OS, regardless of what she says, Degenbrecher isn't leaving Kjerag.
At the end of OS, Degenbrecher says this:
Gnosis's question and unease demonstrate that he's fearful of her departure, that now that Karlan Trade has changed hands to him and Enciodes has taken a step back from the public, she will leave as there is no more work to be done. Degenbrecher reassures him that he need only call her and she has his back, though it's preceded with a rather tsundere line about their paths just so happening to go the same way; Degenbrecher has quite the tsundere streak when it comes to her friends, often denying to their faces that she cares about them at all but asserting her unwavering loyalty to others when they are out of earshot, to say nothing of her actions speaking volumes.
Still, this line is ambiguous enough that it could arguably be taken to mean that she might leave. However, both Reignfrost's Talk 1 line and his profile paint a rather different image, as well as the post-event comics that I mentioned earlier.
But aside from those, which are more easily overlooked, the strongest piece of evidence that Degenbrecher does not intend to leave but fully plans to remain in Kjerag comes from her oprec.
The oprec revolves around a nameless competition knight (nicknamed "Chilly Knight") and his attempts to secure a rematch with Degenbrecher, as he still bears her a grudge for an incident which occurred during her departure from Kazimierz, where she kicked a pebble into his face. Degenbrecher, however, is utterly disinterested in engaging with the Chilly Knight, dismissing his attempts to coax her into a duel in favor of gathering chickens and searching for a lost burdenbeast, leading the Knight to drown his sorrows at a bar and try to learn more about her from the locals.
The locals share their anecdotes about her life and her likes--from her love of animals, children, fishing, and even suggesting that she's quite devout--before sharing her pastime of 'battling' avalanches. This spurs the Chilly Knight to pursue her once more, where he finds her preparing to face another avalanche.
Degenbrecher is once again surprised to see him, and once again refuses to engage with him in favor of her true pastime, going as far to lay out her feelings about Kazimierz and knightsports in general.
And thus we come to what I think is the point of the oprec:
"I know that is where I'd stay."
Despite the shifting of the powers in Kjerag once more, despite the changes that the country is facing, Degenbrecher remains unmoved, her feelings unchanged. As long as Kjerag remains Kjerag, it remains her home. Even the fact that the Chamber of Commerce is desperate enough to be willing to allow her to return despite being exiled from Kazimierz doesn't move her. She wishes to continue her simple "retirement" in Kjerag with her friends, and nothing more. She cares not for the "warrior's glory", but finds fulfillment and value in using her strength to selflessly help others instead, something the 'Chilly Knight' cannot comprehend. He belongs in Kazimierz, is Degenbrecher's final line of the oprec; people of this sort belong there, while she belongs in Kjerag.
There really isn't much else I can say about it; like Degenbrecher herself, it's simple, blunt, and to the point. But by no means is that a detraction--as a "day in the life" episode, it succeeds in hitting that comedic note and depicting the Kjerag commoners' love for Degenbrecher and their shared adventures with her, as well as fleshing out more of her hobbies and pastimes, inasmuch as they were already mentioned in her profile.
However, what I can say is that I have seen a few people speculating that Degenbrecher will leave Kjerag now that Enciodes has left Karlan Trade and she isn't formally employed by him (though, ironically, as a diplomat, now he requires a bodyguard more than ever). But that, to me, seems a very far-fetched assumption when everything about Degenbrecher's character, particularly after this oprec, emphasizes repeatedly that she's a Kjerag through and through. Her second module is also about her 'new contract', though I'm still dodging spoilers about it so I will talk about it when the time comes. As much as OS shook up the status quo, I don't think Degenbrecher is going anywhere.
On the heels of his first one, Courier's second oprec is another absolutely incredible addition to the Kjerag lore compendium. I would rank it as one of the top Kjerag oprecs, once again lending a great amount of characterization and development not only to Weiss but to Enciodes as well. Let's jump in!
The oprec, "Run Like The Wind," builds on the first one, "Shadow of Silverash," but goes in a completely different direction: not a flashback to ten years in the past, this is present day, and rather than exploring Weiss's role as Enciodes's most loyal lieutenant, it explores Weiss establishing his own independence and his own company, formally leaving Enciodes's service and employ.
Funny enough, I'd like to think this was actually foreshadowed in Harold's oprec, which takes place shortly after RS:
Indeed, Weiss is struggling with his own issues: what it will mean for him to leave Enciodes's side when he's been beside him and supported him for so many years--not merely in his business affairs, but in a personal sense, too, as this oprec also at last details more of their long-hinted-at bond.
I've said it before, but I truly appreciate how with each new piece of Kjerag lore, Enciodes's character gets further developed by his relationships to those around him, and his launch image is further shattered. Not only do we get to witness him panting and huffing at the tender age of 32 as a constant routine of paperwork has utterly ruined his stamina (and his dignity), but we also see multiple new facets of him expanded upon in this oprec alone!
For instance, despite the fact that Enciodes is struggling to climb a hill, he sticks through his decision to see with his own eyes "the importance of logistics," and doesn't complain, and plays along with Weiss's scheme, pretending not to be the important personage he is as he meets with Weiss's contacts; the way he listens so attentively to Weiss's feelings and thoughts about himself, his past, and his job and passion for logistics; to the way Enciodes so freely and honestly offers his own feelings and estimation of his own actions in the past; even the way he says he took after his mother Elizabeth (I presume not just her bravery, but also her Victorian background)—all of it fleshes him out beautifully. I absolutely adore how far Enciodes's character has come from his launch image, how completely and thoroughly it's been changed, nigh shattered. I went into this already in "The Faithful Gambler" so I won't repeat myself, but I love how we see not only that his stoic facade is being upheld less and less, but we see what's behind it, how behind his great and ruthless intellect is also a great heart that he continually stomps on to achieve his goals, and how he's kind of a dork and little bit pathetic in a charming way.
The bond between Enciodes and Weiss is also shown off beautifully. From the way Enciodes is quick to stop Weiss from shredding his proposal (and I love that it's Tenzin who saves the papers) and bids Weiss to show him whether he can actually pull his proposal off, to the way Weiss offers his hand when Enciodes is wheezing up the mountain (it's also quite adorable how freely and unabashedly Weiss ribs him and rubs it in, and how Enciodes doesn't really get offended by it; he can't even pretend he's not struggling), to the way Weiss wants Enciodes to feel for himself the importance of logistics (including lugging a heavy parcel all the way from Turicum), and to the way Weiss, despite being someone who, by Enciodes's words, "watches everything and keeps it to himself," so freely and earnestly shares his feelings about his own job as messenger and how it shaped his life.
We also see at last how Weiss became part of the Silverash family, and I really love how Enciodes admits his own childish and selfish motives of wanting to show Weiss off by assigning him tasks, and the way Weiss has no hard feelings about it whatsoever. They're truly more similar than first glance would indicate, as Degenbrecher observes in "Shadow of Silverash"; quite naturally, though, as they grew up together!
And of course, the heart of the story, the two of them reminiscing over their childhood escapade to the very village that they visit for the second time to convince the village headman to accept their proposal. It's more of Enciodes being the wild, trouble-making child that his father laments in Gnosis's oprec, yearning to see what the outside of Kjerag was like and sneaking onto a downhill transport cart and bringing a terrified Weiss with him. Enciodes, in typical Enciodes fashion, refused to listen and reasoned that they would get into trouble regardless, so they might as well go a little bit further. It's so very Enciodes, the recklessness, the curiosity, the gamble, all of it. I love this so much, it adds so much to both of them.
It's difficult to say whether this anecdote took place before or after Gnosis's oprec and the kidnapping incident, but I suggest it was likely before, due to the fact that there is no mention of Gnosis, Enciodes wanting a male companion, and the way he says "Weiss's situation is a little special" to Gnosis. In fact, I would go far as to postulate that Enciodes perhaps even targeted Gnosis to be his companion and his equal on account of deciding to no longer involve Weiss on such dangerous expeditions, but that is a subject for another post and mostly speculation on my part.
The clear way Enciodes encourages Weiss to make his own choice and his own decision rather than always putting Enciodes ahead of himself is so wonderful. I'd almost speculate this is a form of apology for dragging Weiss against his will and assigning him tasks as a child. It's a small detail, but I love too once again how Enciodes chooses his most loyal people--or his most loyal people happen to be--people who share his ideals. "We happen to be of similar minds."
I love the way they understand each other, how Weiss understands that Enciodes, in his roundabout way, is trying to tell him that no matter his decision, their emotional bonds remain.
I also really love their final exchange:
It's so lovely how Enciodes asks whether this new company will be Karlan Trade's ally or enemy, and how Weiss answers with something Enciodes taught him, an answer which no doubt makes Enciodes proud. I also appreciate how Weiss's new company may not be directly related to Karlan Trade, but the important thing is that it will be an ally of Kjerag. Because just because one leaves Kjerag doesn't mean one stops being of Kjerag or stops carrying Kjerag in their hearts.
This oprec is also notable for being chronologically the latest oprec, taking place after everything else, so I feel compelled to comment on the foreshadowing and implications therein. This very clearly takes place after RS, and I can't help but feel there might be a hint concealed in here somewhere for Kjerag 3. Perhaps this part, where Weiss mentions a nomadic city potentially taking shape along Kjerag's outskirts--
--or simply the new knowledge of this "Terra Nullius", or "no-man's-land" which surrounds Kjerag. It's interesting how Weiss points out that Karlan Trade developing this land is unacceptable, indicating that it would cause geopolitical and international tensions were they to step out from beyond Kjerag's official borders. We know from RS that Karlan Trade (and Enciodes by extension) is playing a very delicate balancing act by forging ties with Terra's superpowers to avoid being conquered by any of them and retain their independence, and I so appreciate the little details like this which demonstrate how tricky an endeavor it is. The nomadic city also perhaps is a nod to "Project One", AKA the battleship "Walnut" which is currently being concealed beneath Lake Silberneherze; it's possible that Enciodes and Gnosis may attempt to conceal this battleship by having it pose as a nomadic city, but I won't speculate too much as Gnosis's second module (titled "Project No.1 Model") will likely reveal more details about the ship.
In addition, not to repeat myself, but Weiss officially leaving Enciodes represents an interesting shake-up in the Kjerag cast. This was arguably foreshadowed in RS with the release of Degenbrecher, and how the way she replaced Weiss was emphasized not just in her file but in Weiss's first oprec. There's also a very clear marketing push with the recent content towards Karlan Trio—Enciodes, Gnosis, and Degenbrecher—moving away from the previous unit of Enciodes, Matterhorn, and Courier. In Matterhorn's oprec, which takes place shortly after BI, Enciodes dismisses him from his post to look after Ensia, but we see by RS and Ensia's second oprec that Matterhorn is not shadowing her but back in Kjerag. Perhaps he has made his choice to do the opposite of Weiss and remain by Enciodes's side, as his very nature is that of a caretaker. I'd be curious to know more about it; perhaps that will be expanded upon in the future. I don't have any complaints about this because I love the Karlan Trio dynamic and I hope HG keeps developing it.
Also, while there have been whisperings or desires on CN about SilverAsh Alter, this is not a theory I ascribe to for two reasons: one, narratively he does not need it, and two... well, look at him.
He can barely climb a hill without getting out of breath at this point, nor carry a heavy suitcase. Work has clearly gotten the best of the poor cat, and being trapped behind a desk most of the time has turned him from a closet nerd into a fully-fledged nerd. Tut-tut, Degenbrecher will need to whip him into shape if he wants to be able to merely traverse Kjerag, much less face active combat... This is clearly one of the "many things" he's been "neglecting" that he mentions in RS, as he was able to handle the Holy Hunt hike in BI but has clearly fallen out of shape three years later. (I also can't help but laugh at the idea that Enciodes might theoretically be in worse shape than Gnosis, who at least is stated to undertake expeditions for materials or resources personally but always appeared to be the weakest link physically of the trio.)
I'd much, much rather have Courier Alter, something I've always been in favor of since I started playing, and I believe there's much more potential there. Courier has always been hinted to have more to think than first impression, and I'm simply ecstatic to see him blossoming like this.
Truly, the Kjerag writing continues to be some of the best in the game.
On a previous occasion, I discussed Silverash’s second oprec, “Unbreakable Ice,” and I put forward the direct canon proof which contradicts his statements of having no friends, and theorized that this claim of his was an attempt to make himself look especially pathetic before the Doctor so as to win Doctor’s trust and foster a closer relationship. At the time, I used the evidence in Break The Ice and Keen-Edge, Silver Blade, which already provided what I believed to be a fairly solid argument.
But with the release of The Rides to Lake Silberneherze and Gnosis’s oprec, we’ve received a fresh new batch of even stronger evidence, so I feel it’s worth taking another look. Let’s dismantle this, shall we?
I'll be blunt: “Unbreakable Ice” is the most inconsistent piece of Kjerag and Silverash lore if taken at face value. Its contents are easily and blatantly disproven by the rest of the lore, which is otherwise crafted to mesh together very well—which is why I am surprised to see its statements often taken so seriously. Placed against the background of the ever-expanding and cohesive Kjerag lore, its nonsensical nature is clearly obvious, yet its significance is frequently overstated. Silverash’s actions and statements within “Unbreakable Ice” are often bandied about as highly significant and heavily defining of his character, when, in my opinion, this is both a surface-level reading of the events therein and simply incorrect, as to take “Unbreakable Ice” at face value and overly seriously requires disregarding all other lore, which carries far more narrative weight, and outweighs everything in this oprec.
If I may digress for a moment, consistency is one of the most important parts of storytelling, particularly when it comes to characters. We as the reader get to know a character’s personality through their actions in the story and subsequently have a general idea of what they would and wouldn’t do or say through consistency. Yet “Unbreakable Ice” not only is inconsistent in terms of lore, but in personality—I will argue that it also renders Silverash one of the worst things: out of character, something which pains me because, as I previously wrote in “The Faithful Gambler,” he’s otherwise a very well-written and consistently-written character, and this is one of things that makes me suspect there were other motives behind this oprec.
But enough of the introduction, let’s begin. I will be recapping the general plot and events, with a more detailed sporking of the final and most egregious section.
The oprec opens with Enciodes recounting some of his family history to Doctor (including, bizarrely, saying that Doctor “no doubt already knows” that the Silverash clan’s exploration of the outside world began with his grandfather; why would Doctor know that?), and sharing the story of how he received assistance from Viscount Walden, one of his father Olafur’s friends, when he came to Victoria, as well as the fact that Walden’s son Carle saw Enciodes as a rival and was later killed by Infected, something which worsened Walden’s hatred and policies of Infected within his fiefdom of County Sykes. His daughter Kate has also been kidnapped by Infected, and Enciodes has passed Walden’s request onto Rhodes Island, something which Walden is aware of. Walden hopes that Rhodes will be able to recover Kate, and Enciodes hopes that should all go well, Rhodes will be able to curry favor with Walden, as Walden is a relative to the Duke of Caster. This is all explained by Kal’tsit, who finds Enciodes’s actions (rightfully) suspicious, as she points out that Enciodes is actually the one who stands more to lose from the situation than Rhodes, and the only explanation is that Enciodes trusts Doctor that much, particularly after the Snowcap Incident (AKA Break The Ice). She also warns that they must be careful with their relationship with Enciodes as their collaboration with Karlan Trade is still ongoing, and getting involved in Victorian affairs beyond a business capacity is extremely dangerous for all of them.
It’s quickly discovered that the chief kidnapper is Walden’s estranged and Infected son Carle himself, and the kidnapping plot was hatched by Kate to help the Infected group that Carle has gathered around himself in the time living on the streets. Carle, naturally, immediately recognizes Enciodes and that he’s been sent there by his father and, after sharing his story, he rejects Enciodes’s offer of help, stating there’s nothing Enciodes can do for him. Enciodes retreats with quite a salient comment—
Enciodes: It seems I’ve made something of a fool of myself.
—which I’ll address further below along with another line after I finish recapping.
Doctor and Enciodes notice that Carle is headed to the city alone, where they watch him beg for an anti-Infection device for Kate, and notice that Kate has been following them. Kate begs Enciodes to help Carle somehow, and though Enciodes says he will do what he can despite Carle refusing his help, the whole entourage is discovered by Carle, who leaves with her. We then get an extra dose of exposition from a reserve guard operator about Carle’s motives being not the ransom but either murder or suicide.
Doctor decides to return to the Infected camp, presumably to do what can be done for the Infected, parting ways with Enciodes, where we are given the underpinnings of the whole story:
Enciodes: That being the case, I suppose this is where we part ways for now.
Enciodes: There is one thing I'd like to apologize to you for.
Enciodes: I should have stayed out of this after I took on the role of an intermediary and passed the commission on to Rhodes Island.
Enciodes: But it would appear that the situation has changed.
Enciodes: I'll admit, even when you got involved in Kjerag, I didn't feel as restricted as I do now.
Enciodes: You are reminding me to answer a question that I've been avoiding for over a year.
Enciodes: I must ask you once more, just how important is this question for you, Doctor?
> For me personally, very.
> I choose my partners carefully.
Enciodes: In that case, I'm afraid I have no choice but to produce my answer.
> Rhodes Island will uphold the way it's always done things.
Enciodes: Just as I have my own methods.
> I just have one question.
> Enciodes, what will you use to bargain for his life?
Enciodes: ......
This is a clear follow-up to the end of his first oprec, “Unpredictable”, released together with this one, chronologically taking place before BI and in fact Doctor’s first real meeting with Enciodes, where he and Doctor part with this conversation:
Enciodes: And in this case, that would be my views on the Infected.
Enciodes: Just how important is this question for you, Doctor?
> Very.
> I choose my partners carefully.
Enciodes: Even though that medic lass asked me to personally deliver the medication to my employees, I didn't particularly view that as one of your main tenets.
Enciodes: After this though, perhaps I'll have to somewhat revise my way of thinking...
Enciodes: It's just that I've seen all manner of idealists go on at great length about more or less everything under the sun.
Enciodes: But not once have I heard one of them bring up the word 'Infected'.
Enciodes: Do you understand what that means, Doctor?
Enciodes: It means that unless you're a bunch of lunatics, then...
At the time, Enciodes’s “answer” did not satisfy Doctor, as Enciodes didn’t really give him an answer beyond proving Karlan Trade’s sincerity through his own actions. He doubts Doctor and Rhodes’s ideals and what he sees as a lack of goal, and questions what basis the Infected have to assert their rights. He also immediately figures out Doctor’s “farce”, which he plays along with but doesn’t hesitate to retaliate against in the form of underhandedly securing a discount for himself.
Enciodes’s actions here in “Unbreakable Ice” and towards Carle are meant to be his answer to Doctor, but I feel that it was handled very clumsily, and I wonder at even the motives behind the entire oprec. While I do believe Kal’tsit is correct to be suspicious and apprehensive of Enciodes, who was only recently opposing Rhodes Island, probing his attitude on the Infected seems to be a rather poor pretense by the writers. We already know very well Enciodes’s stance on the Infected due to several points, which Doctor really should already know as well:
First, Ensia’s Infection. Although his relationship with his sisters is strained, the fact remains that his family member is an Infected, implied to have been intentionally Infected as a form of personal sabotage towards Enciodes himself. Oripathy is poorly understood in Kjerag, much less possessing of even the most rudimentary medicine or treatment for it, particularly when Kjerag itself is free of Catastrophes thanks to Kjeragandr’s influence. Yet Enciodes deliberately sought out and sent Ensia to RI, perhaps the only place where she might be helped, procuring this rare and expensive treatment for her regardless of cost and distance. He’s done everything in his power to help her, and this among other things demonstrates that he cares about her and her status as Infected is not something that disgusts or repels him.
Second, his first oprec, which in fact details very well Enciodes’s behavior towards the Infected. Through it, we learn several interesting facts about Enciodes: Karlan Trade is one of RI’s best customers in purchasing insurance and medicine for its Infected workers in Victoria, a place which is very cruel to the Infected; Karlan Trade’s Infected employees have a positive opinion of Enciodes due to how well he treats them; Enciodes is unfazed when coming face to face with his Infected employees and personally distributing medicine to them (again, likely on account of his being up close and personal with the Infection of his sister) and is displeased with Dyott for swiping RI’s medicine. Of course, he’s already aware at that point that the Doctor has set up a plot specifically to probe his reaction, but Enciodes is, for a non-Infected, actually somewhat knowledgeable about Oripathy and its transmission, likely again due to Ensia and Gnosis, the latter of whom majored in Originium studies. Although Enciodes is dubious at the time of Doctor and RI, his actions stand on their own.
Third, his workers in BI. This builds on the point above: even in Kjerag, Karlan Trade is the largest employer of the Infected, and those Infected employees are distraught to hear about the closing of the mines as they’re concerned they will no longer be able to earn an honest living as Infected. They explicitly state that Enciodes has been very good to them, and they clearly fear that their next employer will not be so kind. Doctor was present for this scene, so Doctor should know this. In addition, the result of Doctor’s inspection of the factories in Kjerag reveals only “nitpicks” with the safety measures, not anything drastically wrong, demonstrating that Enciodes (and Gnosis, who designed all the factories) did the best job possible with their knowledge.
Furthermore, Gnosis comments to Ratatos in BI that Enciodes is aware that the number of Infected in Kjerag will increase, and he is actively making plans for this in the future after receiving confirmation that RI managed to slow the progression of Ensia’s Oripathy. According to Gnosis, “the ability to deal with Oripathy” will be “an important bargaining chip” in the future, though admittedly, the Doctor was not present for this conversation. Regardless of whether Gnosis was telling the whole truth there, it’s still within Enciodes’s interests to ensure the Infected population in Kjerag is kept to a minimum and well-treated.
Ergo: Enciodes’s opinion on the Infected should already be known to Doctor at this point. He may not have given Doctor a formal answer, but his actions should have already proven he is no enemy to the Infected. Although he is primarily concerned with Karlan Trade and Kjerag, Rhodes has multiple partners who aren’t heavily invested in the Infected struggle, so he’s not unique in that, and I would be remiss if I did not state that Enciodes lent RI Gnosis for some time, where he undoubtedly assisted Rhodes’s research as well.
This is the first reason I call this oprec shoddy writing. I think probing Enciodes’s true motives for joining with Rhodes could have been handled better—perhaps rather than focusing so heavily on the Infected question, as relevant as it is, they could have explored the fact that despite everything, he’s an altruist at heart, thus drawing more parallels between him and Doctor, meant to be his narrative foil? Their biggest similarity is that they are idealists who sometimes have to and are willing to get their hands dirty to achieve their goals, which could have been easily highlighted.
Nevertheless, in the interest of being thorough, let’s look at Enciodes’s own statements from the end of the oprec:
Enciodes: Kjerag has experienced hardly any Catastrophes in the past, and as such, the people of Kjerag have little innate prejudice against the Infected.
Enciodes: That said, the role they play in society, what they've experienced, what they will experience...
Enciodes: I must admit, I had failed to adequately consider these things.
Enciodes: When I issued articles of incorporation modeled after Victoria's statutes, all I had in mind were some commonplace management tricks.
> That's already more than enough.
> I'm not trying to force you.
Enciodes: But not enough to become your friend, now is it?
Enciodes: I need to gain a deeper understanding of the Infected, and of Rhodes Island's business.
Enciodes: You've helped me realize that this isn't important just for Karlan Trade, but for the way I view this world.
Earlier, he also adds:
Enciodes: Carle, when you said that there was nothing I could do for you, what you really meant was that I don't understand the plight of the Infected.
Enciodes: And I must admit, that is true.
Once again, this doesn’t really make sense with the knowledge we have at hand. He may not understand it personally as he is not an Infected, but to say that he never considered their fate is a bit inaccurate. We know now canonically by the official timeline that Enciodes spent seven years in Victoria. While undoubtedly he associated primarily with the nobles on account of his background and fundraising and networking purposes, he is interested enough in the lives of the common people and curious enough that there is simply no way he did not witness and learn of the Infected’s plight, not when Victoria discriminates so heavily against the Infected. Of course he knows about their plight and their role in society—that’s why he gives them honest jobs and buys them insurance and painkillers and knows they’re dangerous near the end of their lives because they explode! He knows well they are discriminated against—it would be one of the first things he would learn upon setting foot outside of Kjerag.
Enciodes’s final statement about viewing the world also does not make sense. It's implying that Enciodes has never considered the unfortunate or downtrodden, that they never mattered in his viewpoint or purview. But this is not true. Not only because of what I outlined above, but from Enciodes’s own personal experience. For a large part of his life, Enciodes himself was unfortunate to a degree. The implication that Enciodes is a spoiled and lofty noble who never looks down to the ground is simply incorrect. Kjerag has by and large always been rural, and while the three noble families Silverash, Paleroche, and Browntail live a little better than the average person, and the Silverash territory benefited from trade with the outside world, their living situation is a far cry from that of a Victorian noble—nobles who heavily looked down upon him and Kjerag, by the way. Of those at the Harvest Ball in Keen-Edge, Silver Blade, only Walden really takes the time to speak with Enciodes on account of having known his father while everyone else is quick to brush him off; and Carle only speaks to Enciodes to mock him. Kjerag was considered an insignificant, undeveloped backwater country and its people likewise, to the point where it’s implied in Gnosis’s oprec that Kjerag is only developing so that Victoria can claim it for themselves.
Enciodes himself has also always been very curious since childhood, and we have direct evidence that he has witnessed with his own eyes the more isolated villages on the outskirts (Courier’s second oprec) and how they live, as well as been the victim of many unfortunate circumstances. From being kidnapped himself as a child (when, even then, he muses that this is because of Kjerag’s weakness and because it’s being trampled upon by outsiders), to having his parents politically murdered, to being so broke after buying Degenbrecher’s freedom that he cannot afford a taxi or car ride home, to having all of his political power taken away, to having multiple assassination attempts made on his person… the list goes on. Enciodes is privileged, but to imply he’s never experienced hardship or considered others’ hardships is a weird statement to make.
Furthermore, part of his motivation to modernize Kjerag is to improve the lives of the humble and poor laborers. We see this in the way he gives Weiss imported machinery and manpower to halt the avalanches, and the way he talks about his Originium heaters saving people from freezing to death in the brutal Kjerag winter and importing fertilizer. Only on the exterior does Enciodes appear to be a self-centered man whom does not consider others; it's abundantly clear that he's good at heart and is as kind as he can afford to be, even taking into account only BI and the oprecs released with it. There is no need for him to change his viewpoint on the Infected for his own worldviews as there was never anything wrong with it beyond perhaps overlooking it in favor of more pressing concerns relevant to his own country and its problems.
This is a character development that simply makes no sense, and I can only speculate it was written in to make it seem as though the Doctor is teaching him something—but why on earth did they choose a flaw which didn’t exist in the first place? Enciodes has never had a poor outlook on the Infected or the unfortunate, his primary flaw is his arrogance and savior complex. That is what Doctor should be teaching him to let go of: the idea that he and he alone can and should shoulder all of Kjerag by his lonesome. This is (or perhaps I should say was, given his development in RS) his most toxic and stubborn trait, and the one he needs to break out of the most. Instead, they chose an awkward “lesson” that further continues to make Enciodes look out of character.
As an aside, let’s take a look at one Carle Walden/Caster. This oprec was our first introduction to him, but now we have a second appearance of his in Keen-Edge, Silver Blade, which shows him at his “peak,” so to speak.
He claims that “everyone’s eyes were on you the moment you stepped out,” and that Enciodes “completely stole the spotlight” but this is actually incorrect. While it’s understandable as Carle is speaking primarily from a point of envy, something which he admits to as well as that his hatred of Enciodes is irrational, in the manga we see, as I said above, that Enciodes was very much condescended to on account of his background, and it was in fact Degenbrecher who drew all the attention (reasonably so). Carle himself also engaged in relentless mockery of Enciodes for similar heritage (racial?) reasons and in fact attempted to convince Degenbrecher to dump him, at which point Enciodes retaliated.
I can only guess that the reason this conflict was framed this way was to not give away the events of Keen-Edge, or perhaps the writers again goofed with the timeline and realized Degenbrecher had to have been with Enciodes for longer than first impression would indicate, and thus we got the story of how he emptied his bank account to free her (which itself raises several questions, but let’s not digress too far). But that being said, the fact remains that things still don’t match up here, particularly as in Keen-Edge, Enciodes is notably a far cry from his present day arrogant self, and is in fact visibly nervous and even a little shy up until the very end when he gives it his all to negotiate the deal between Walden and Stuart.
I highlight this mostly due to the discrepancy between what’s actually presented in the story versus what we’re told and expected to believe here in the oprec. While, again, this can be chalked up to a timeline goof or last minute changes, generally speaking, ‘showing’ in a story trumps ‘telling’. Here we are being fed a story of Enciodes showing up at the party and taking the center of attention, meant to be an anecdote that highlights his callousness or lack of concern for others as the flaw he needs to overcome as I said above, or perhaps as a foil to Carle himself, as an example of what Enciodes could become in slightly different circumstances, but as a parallel it doesn’t work because they are fundamentally different people. Carle is that short-sighted, privileged noble brought low, as I outlined above, not Enciodes. They’re not “similar people who have the same starting point and are separated from their fates by only a few small choices,” they’re “different people whose sphere overlaps somewhat and whose paths cross briefly.”
Like other elements in this oprec, it feels clumsy, and I can’t help but wonder at the motives of making Keen-Edge so different and contrary. Perhaps it was simple error, or perhaps they decided to tell a different story with that part of Enciodes’s backstory. I can only speculate. But my personal opinion is that Keen-Edge, Silver Blade tells the better tale.
The oprec concludes with the hostage exchange, and Carle’s band of Infected are chased away, leaving only Carle and Enciodes to face each other, with Doctor as the audience and Enciodes present in lieu of Viscount Walden. Carle, having no desire to live, attacks Enciodes but (obviously) fails to kill him, and when he comes to, Enciodes reveals to him that he and his brethren have already legally ‘died’ within County Sykes and will begin their lives anew in a neighboring city and work in one of Karlan Trade’s branch offices, something which Carle can also choose if he wishes. The scene closes out with this:
Enciodes: Doctor.
[Dialogue branch 1]
> We make a pretty good duo, huh?
Enciodes: Flawless.
[Dialogue branch 2]
> You should be thanking me.
Enciodes: True.
Enciodes: This commission was originally my way of apologizing to you, but as it turns out, now I owe you an even bigger favor.
Enciodes: Also, I failed to help you establish a connection to Viscount Walden.
Enciodes: Truly, a series of uncharacteristic gaffes on my part.
Enciodes: Regardless, this incident has provided me with a novel perspective on certain matters.
Enciodes: Give me some time, Doctor, and I will pay you back in a way that satisfies you.
This comment about them making a good duo feels very forced. Doctor barely did anything except stand around, treat the Infected in the camp, and ask a few questions. That’s it. Doctor didn’t even predict what Enciodes was going to do and planned accordingly ahead of time, other than standing by and letting Enciodes’s men chase Carle’s friends! “Doctor taught Enciodes how to look differently at the world”? I already explained above why that’s nonsense. Doctor barely even talked to Enciodes about the subject, nor particularly did much to show him why the plight of the Infected matters to Rhodes Island; even the exposition is left to an NPC operator. If you were to say that Doctor was able to gain Carle’s trust due to being from Rhodes Island where Enciodes was not, I’d be skeptical of that because there are ways for Enciodes to gain Carle’s trust without Doctor; for example, bringing up Ensia and her status as Infected. This would also easily allow him to establish a connection to Rhodes Island as Ensia is being treated there—and in fact, Enciodes going behind Doctor’s and Rhodes’s back and using their name and power in conjunction with his own to resolve things whilst not being an official operator would be quite like him and something which might have potentially been a less awkward way to handle this plot whilst maintaining his status as a dangerous and somewhat dubious person to deal with. This is so random.
Most importantly, I have to ask: why didn’t Enciodes do this from the start? Enciodes should already be familiar with Carle, not only from his close relationship with Viscount Walden but from his business operating such a large portion in Victoria, and even within County Sykes. It’s easy to say that Enciodes wanted nothing to do with him after the Ball, but nevertheless, it would be well within Enciodes’s capacity to investigate the situation thoroughly beforehand and discover that the kidnapping was all a scheme and Carle is actually alive, and in fact he should have because that’s how he does things, as well as employing this very same method of making Carle and his friends ‘die’ in County Sykes.
Carle refuses Enciodes’s help, true—but this should have already been obvious to Enciodes from the very beginning. Rather than stumbling into the woods and meeting Carle face to face as he did, it would have been more like him to use Doctor as a cat’s paw and not see Carle at all, leaving him none the wiser that it was Enciodes’s machinations that saved his and his friends’ lives. Why didn’t he, as he says, stay out of the entire incident after having passed it on to Rhodes? Why did he insist on involving himself like this only to fumble the entire thing? So he could impress Doctor or something? We’re never given his reason or motivation, and that’s a major oversight that leaves his actions feeling completely nonsensical. Wanting to “repay” Doctor for what happened in Kjerag does not necessarily entail Enciodes involving himself to this degree—letting Rhodes obtain Walden’s favor would have been sufficient payback.
I feel like the writers gave Enciodes an idiot ball to hold for the entirety of this oprec; “uncharacteristic gaffes” and “made a fool of himself,” indeed. And why did they give him an idiot ball? So they could promote the idea that he and Doctor make a good team and so Doctor could give him guidance (that he shouldn’t have even needed) on what to do. Enciodes is—and is meant to be—a very smart and shrewd character. He’s supposed to be smarter than this. He’s supposed to be able to understand his opponent well and manipulate them into the ideal position and outcome. He doesn’t just charge right in like this all willy-nilly, that’s just not him. This just doesn’t make sense for what we’ve seen of him as a character. Heck, one of his defining traits is being a reserved, seemingly all-knowing chessmaster, playing on another level than everyone else! We see this both in his first oprec and in BI: he always seems to be three steps ahead of what’s going on and anticipates others’ moves. This plot only works by him being stupid. And lampshading it like that by having him admit he’s made “uncharacteristic gaffes” doesn’t make it better because we’re not given sufficient justification for why he’s making them. (E.g. is he sleep-deprived? Stressed? Worried? Distracted? Emotionally out of sorts?)
Or what, are we expected to believe that Enciodes Silverash just gets so flustered being around the Doctor that he can’t help but make an idiot of himself? I’ll sooner believe that chocolate pasta is a beloved dish in Siracusa.
And even with Enciodes holding an idiot ball, in the end, he still figures out his own way to clumsily solve the problem, making the “taking him down a peg” framing barely have any impact. It just all feels so contrived.
And for the record, I’m not saying he needs to be perfect or flawless in everything he does, nor am I against Enciodes getting more characterization beyond his “chessmaster” persona. He has received it in spades since the release of RS and in multiple oprecs and the manga, all of which I have written about extensively. I absolutely love seeing him get more and more human with each new piece of lore, from the shameless way he asks Gnosis to feed him while kidnapped as a child, to the way he clenches his hands bloody in anxiety watching Degenbrecher fight the army, to the way he’s too weak to keep pace with Courier’s avalanche team yet doesn’t want them to waste their time waiting for him—but this is not it.
Following this, Doctor arrives at Rhodes and receives a report from Kal’tsit that although they have failed to make an ally of Viscount Walden and cannot rely on his network while they are passing through Victoria, the commission was by Rhodes’s standards a resounding success. She also informs Doctor that Enciodes has passed the physical tests and signed on, and is waiting for Doctor in the reception room.
Doctor goes to meet Enciodes, where Doctor is rightfully baffled as to his presence and status as an official operator. They have some back and forth where Doctor questions Enciodes’s motives and Enciodes states in one dialogue branch that it’s a form of repayment and in another that he’s here to follow up on Ensia’s treatment, and that the contract he signed with Kal’tsit is very lopsided to his detriment but it’s a price he’s willing to pay. Doctor more or less states that Enciodes doesn’t belong there and continues pushing to know the true reason he’s there.
Enciodes claims he wants to be Doctor’s friend. We have two dialogue branches here:
[Dialogue branch 1]:
> Does the president of Karlan Trade lack friends?
Enciodes: I have plenty of business partners, subordinates, competitors, and enemies. What I'm missing is—
Enciodes: A friend.
[Dialogue branch 2]:
> I thought we were already friends.
Enciodes: I trust we've already reached a tacit understanding, to some degree.
Enciodes: But understanding between individuals is always asymmetric, which is why I do not trust tacit understandings, Doctor.
Enciodes: The best way to know what someone else is thinking will always be to ask them directly, no?
> There are plenty of others who could do it.
> A lot of people understand you.
And in both branches, Enciodes again claims that he lacks a friend, and that the “tacit understanding” between them is insufficient for them to be friends, hence his presence. Doctor, clearly not believing this, begins to list all the people who could “understand” Enciodes—and Enciodes proceeds to reject each and every one of Doctor’s suggestions, as apparently none of the people in his sphere are suitable. I will now begin sporking the entire text, as this is the worst and most bizarre part of the story.
Enciodes: Such as?
> Enya.
Enciodes: Enya is doing superbly right now. Better than I could have imagined.
Enciodes: We did reach a mutual understanding, in a sense, but that is precisely the reason we were able to clearly see each others' choices.
Enciodes: All I can say is she would be a very suitable partner, but not a friend.
This I cannot fault. This is consistent not just with Enciodes’s statements at the end of BI but also with Cliffheart’s second oprec, where she states that both Enciodes and Enya not only can understand each other’s choices but also believe that there is something about the other’s choice that is correct. By the time of RS, they are also effectively public partners in terms of governing Kjerag. We also know that the strained relationship between Enciodes and Enya is one of the core conflicts of the Kjerag storyline, so if he said anything else, it would be strange.
> Ensia.
Enciodes: I realize that Ensia is no longer a child. She has keen insight into a variety of matters.
Enciodes: I will give her everything she wants, and respect her opinions.
Enciodes: But there are far more things I cannot tell her than things I can.
Again, this section is reasonable. We know Enciodes cares for Ensia, and he does not seek to restrict her movement outside of Kjerag—in her second oprec, she is in Laterano and effectively becomes an ambassador to the country with regards to Kjerag’s faith in Kjeragandr—but due to their positions, he naturally cannot be as open with her. In BI, it’s clear that Ensia, though understanding of much, did not fully grasp the magnitude of what was going on or taking place, nor the inherent danger. She’s matured much by the time of her second oprec, but nevertheless, it’s likely that Enciodes would always need to keep some secrets from her.
Now here is where things begin to go off the rails:
> Gnosis.
Enciodes: Gnosis seems to have already made quite a name for himself in your lab, thanks to his talent and personality. He may be knowledgeable about many things, but that is a product of the years we spent together.
Enciodes: He is not someone I can share anything with, and he understands that better than I do.
Even three years ago, I was struggling to comprehend this comment in the wake of Break The Ice and all the supplementary material, but now with RS behind us and even more starkly, Gnosis’s oprec, I feel I can confidently state that this is utter nonsense.
If there’s one thing that can be said of Enciodes and Gnosis’s relationship, it’s that they in fact share everything; that they are partners in a true sense of the word; that they may not trust anyone but they trust each other. Gnosis’s oprec torpedoes these two lines with such force that it’s almost hilarious. I doubt many people have read it, but to briefly summarize, it details the moment the two of them bonded as children and realized that the other had similarly big dreams and ambitions regarding Kjerag, thereby showing the inception of their “shared dream,” and in addition, detailing the “future” Enciodes promised Gnosis:
Enciodes: I’ll make Kjerag big enough for you. And you’ll stay.
Gnosis: What kind of promise is that?
Enciodes: No good?
Gnosis: If we’re going to do this, we’ll make Kjerag big enough for the both of us.
Enciodes promised Gnosis that Kjerag would be big enough for him one day, and Gnosis promised him the same in turn. To claim that Enciodes cannot “share anything” with Gnosis is absolutely absurd. Throughout the past twenty years the two of them have labored tirelessly in pursuit of this shared dream and shared future to make Kjerag worthy and great not just for the sake of it, not just for the sake of their home, but for each other!
Not only that, but the oprec explicitly ends on Enciodes and Gnosis stating that they are each other’s first friend. Enciodes says that neither Matterhorn nor Weiss are really his friends as Matterhorn is more of his caretaker (which is true) and “Weiss’s situation is kind of unusual.” They’re not his friends, but Gnosis will be the first—Gnosis, who understands and shares his feelings about Kjerag more deeply than anyone else: so deeply, in fact, that they pledge to work towards a shared future together.
This isn’t even touching yet on how close they are in RS. From the way Degenbrecher mentions that Enciodes “spoke up” for Gnosis and would have been in “deep trouble” if Gnosis hadn’t done all his work on the railway, implying that Enciodes hugely stuck his neck out for Gnosis so he could stay; to the way Enciodes carries the drunken Gnosis into the Karlan Trade office and sits beside him and holds his hand and his arm over his shoulders and is completely unperturbed by Gnosis vomiting inches away from him, not to mention their affectionate and earnest bickering and conversation throughout; to the way Enciodes asks Gnosis for moral support as they watch Degenbrecher battle Harold’s army; to the way Gnosis says he won’t “arrange care” for Enciodes’s wounded hands, implying that it’s something he ordinarily would do, and the way he pledges to support Enciodes no matter what decision he makes, even if it’s a decision he would not personally make, and the way Enciodes reaches out to him emotionally for support during arguably one of his toughest times. They act like genuine friends throughout the entirety of RS, and actually behave closer emotionally than in BI!
And I haven't even mentioned that the climax and plot twist of BI is the very fact that Enciodes and Gnosis were friends and allies all along. This fact is given a huge narrative focus, with a whopping three CGs dedicated to their handshake and reaffirmation of their continued friendship. That handshake is one of the biggest moments of the story. A large chunk of BI-6 Before is purely flashbacks of Gnosis reflecting on their shared history and dedication to their dream over the past twenty years, from Enciodes believing in Gnosis’s innocence and Gnosis promising to study the complicated things to Enciodes promising to find him to them meeting up again in Victoria to Gnosis pledging to take on all the sin regardless of consequence to himself for Enciodes’s sake! And there's also the fact that BI ends with Enciodes asserting to the Doctor themself that Gnosis is his friend:
Enciodes: Gnosis is my good friend, as well as collaborator. He and I do not necessarily see eye to eye—he has his own ideas and methods. But I understand him.
Frankly, for Enciodes to claim Gnosis is anything but his friend is absolutely ludicrous.
Finally, I can’t help but feel that Enciodes claiming Gnosis is “knowledgeable” merely due to the “years [they] spent together” is somewhat insulting on top of being nonsensical. I’m very sure Gnosis’s scientific abilities were something which rubbed off from Enciodes… (sarcasm) (Enciodes, do you still remember when you fretted about Gnosis’s quiz results being different from yours?)
> Degenbrecher.
Enciodes: Degenbrecher and I are on sublime terms, and it is true that she has great insight in many areas.
Enciodes: The thing is, she doesn’t care. She deliberately keeps herself uninvolved in most affairs. From her perspective, much of what I do is merely inviting trouble for myself.
Enciodes: And I can’t deny that.
Much like Enciodes’s comments about Gnosis, all of his reasoning makes absolutely no sense whatsoever post-RS. It is, in fact, absolutely incorrect and inaccurate.
First: she doesn’t care? Starting from the manga, she carries Enciodes home after the Viscount Walden’s ball despite the fact that technically her contract with him was up; she decides to join his ventures on account of the fact that he trusted her with his life despite knowing her all of three months; she accompanies him back to Kjerag and helps him out with all sorts of things, from the Alpine Snow Water shipments to evacuating citizens; to being his bodyguard and champion; to facing an army of two thousand men. It’s also implied that the three of them go out to dinner together on a regular basis. Even in BI, they are shown to be quite friendly, with Degenbrecher being one of the few non-family members to refer to Enciodes exclusively by his first name with no titles, and they exchange friendly banter.
And similar to Gnosis, Degenbrecher talks at length about Enciodes in her voice lines, establishing clearly that she does, in fact, care: she talks about retrieving documents Enciodes forgets; about his self-neglect; about being used to having home-cooked dinners the three of them at the Silverash mansion. Would Degenbrecher, who refuses to be controlled, who refuses obligation and debt, who is objectively a hundred times stronger than Enciodes, bother to do any of this if she didn’t really want to?
That is the shining core of their relationship: nothing but her own will keeps Degenbrecher in Kjerag and at Enciodes’s side. He literally can do nothing to stop her should she choose to leave at any time. Absolutely everything she does is because she wants to and no other reason. The fact that she stays with him speaks absolute volumes regardless of any dry teasing she might do. Even her EP, “Blade Catcher,” emphasizes just how much Degenbrecher cares about him and how she’ll protect him, swearing to be his wall and keep him safe from harm and taking all the blows.
This is simply a laughable statement to make. (And let us not forget the anecdote from her module story—the day that Enciodes effectively had a silent internal meltdown because she forgot to wear his friendship medal once and made him think that she hated him. Would he have that reaction if they were not close friends?)
To say that Degenbrecher views what he does as “inviting trouble for [himself]” is also incorrect based on her op file, as well. Degenbrecher herself states that Enciodes was the first person she couldn’t comprehend, the first person with genuine aspirations she met. She doesn’t fully understand what motivates him, but she understands him well enough to draw a parallel between the literal avalanche she fights and the figurative one that he faces and to realize that he makes the same choice she does (i.e. to fight it). Their conversation in RS-ST-3 also further emphasizes how similar they are by the way neither of them have lost in their respective fields and how they’re both fighters. Furthermore, it’s Enciodes’s aspirations themselves that are one of the reasons that keep Degenbrecher by his side: she finds him different, interesting, and she wants to see how his life unfolds and ends. If Enciodes wasn’t “inviting trouble for himself”, then he would be a lot more boring for her to observe and she wouldn’t even be there, so this comment doesn’t make sense.
Fourth, why should Enciodes himself admit that he’s inviting trouble for himself when modernizing and gaining independence for and making Kjerag powerful is his literal goal? Of course it’s inviting trouble, but that’s like a chef saying they keep making a mess by cooking a meal—it’s inevitable to the goal in mind and one has to accept it. What is his alternative to not inviting trouble, just leaving things as is? Obviously not when it’s been his life’s mission, and inheritance and legacy since he was a child. Enciodes has nurtured this dream for nearly his entire life and will do whatever necessary to realize it; to see him refer to it as “trouble” feels quite wrong.
> Matterhorn and Courier.
Enciodes: Matterhorn and Weiss... I trust them implicitly, and feel comfortable handing them many responsibilities.
Enciodes: While I won't say that our relationship as superior and subordinate creates a distance between us, realistically speaking we will always have a hard time reaching a mutual understanding. As the giver and recipient of trust.
This is the only other rejection other than his sisters that makes sense, albeit only half: it’s well-established that there is, in fact, a distance between Enciodes and Matterhorn—just look at Matterhorn’s oprec (chronologically just after BI), which paints a much starker and more painful image of the way Enciodes willingly isolates himself from his loved ones and draws a stark line between his present-day self and his childhood self, as well as how their roles and positions leave something of a wall between them.
However, Weiss's two oprecs conflict with this statement quite heavily. The first one takes place shortly after Enciodes’s return to Kjerag after studying abroad, and in it we see that Enciodes grants and permits Weiss considerable authority and resources to handle matters in his own way regarding an impending avalanche. We also see what I would call a very friendly exchange between them:
Enciodes: Do as you see fit.
Weiss: Yes, sir.
Enciodes: [smiles] I said you didn't need to call me ‘sir.’
Weiss: [breaks into a grin] Old habits die hard.
This clearly establishes that the “distance” of master and subordinate between them is much less than first impression would imply, and the formalities exist primarily from Weiss’s own desires and actions rather than Enciodes’s. They are in fact more friendly than first glance would indicate, which makes sense given they've known each other since childhood. Weiss’s second oprec also expands upon this vastly, with Weiss quite cheerily and chirpily ribbing Enciodes’s lack of stamina regarding mountain climbing and the two of them reminiscing upon one of their childhood escapes and how Weiss was treated as a son by the Silverashes and a brother by Enciodes himself. There is little to no distance between them, as they speak freely to each other about their fond memories and adventure together, and Enciodes in fact encourages Weiss to step out of his shadow and forge his own path, while also taking the time to remind Weiss that their emotional bonds will remain even if Weiss leaves Kjerag.
Enciodes claiming they will always have a hard time reaching a mutual understanding is a puzzling statement. Degenbrecher comments in Weiss’s first oprec that he's “just like Enciodes,” regarding his way of handling people and maneuvering them into the optimal situation, which we are also shown in Weiss’s second oprec as well, and nowhere is this emphasized better than there, which demonstrates clearly that they, too, are “birds of a feather” and of similar mindsets, even with their power imbalance.
Enciodes: So, as you can see...
Enciodes: I can share bits and pieces of myself with each of the people you mentioned.
Enciodes: But for various reasons, I cannot share everything with them, just as they cannot share everything with me.
I already covered why this is utter nonsense above, so I’ll refrain from repeating myself.
[Dialogue branch 1]
> You've drawn too many lines.
Enciodes: I never wanted to.
Enciodes: Just as nobody asked me if I wanted to become head of the clan that year.
Enciodes: I've grown accustomed to weighing the value of each and every person I encounter, and designating a role for them on my path to progress.
Enciodes: Within the spheres I have designated for them, I am completely genuine.
Enciodes: But nobody can claim it all.
[Dialogue branch 2]
> Because they all have ties to Kjerag…
Enciodes: Correct.
Enciodes: At the core of my enterprise is the land of Kjerag, to the point that all the people I find around me are intimately connected to the land itself.
Enciodes: Most of the time, this isn't a bad thing.
Enciodes: However, I have realized that I am lacking an objective viewpoint who can criticize or discuss matters concerning myself.
Let’s look at the first dialogue branch first.
Enciodes saying he “never wanted to” draw all those “lines” is disingenuous. He willingly chose to draw those lines, same as he made the decision of being a good clan leader over being a good brother, per his module. He was completely aware of what he was doing. This is, plainly and simply, whining. “Woe is me,” he says, “nobody asked me if I wanted to become the clan leader.” Of course nobody asked him—it's been his fate and destiny from the moment he was born, and he knew this since basically the moment he was conscious. His fate and duty as future leader has been impressed on him from essentially the moment he was born. He never had a choice, unless he wanted to run away, which he never chose to do and never would. He was gone from Kjerag for seven years, long enough to the point where Ratatos assumes that he has run away (per “Browntail”), but this is only an expression of her envy because he never would do that and never intended to. The same applies to his remark about “weighing people”: this is something, as I said in “Gambler”, that he has been brought up and trained to do since he was a child. Enciodes is a noble by birth, comparable to characters like Siege and Delphine: groomed since childhood for leadership. And this is something that Enciodes is very, very aware of.
He claims to be genuine within the spheres for each of these people, but Enciodes saying “nobody can claim it all” is, again, disingenuous in the face of what we see in RS. It's plainly evident that there are very few lines, if any, between him and Gnosis and Degenbrecher. He speaks quite openly even about the most painful decision he had to make (pushing Enya to become the Saintess), and Gnosis even teases him about it in a brilliant display of intimacy. What, specifically, can they not claim? What is it that he is restraining from them? They would not have their unshakable bond if he was only showing them part of his heart.
The second dialogue branch:
Enciodes saying that all the people he knows are connected to Kjerag is technically untrue; though she is a Kjerag in all but blood, Degenbrecher is an outsider, and in fact, arguably, one of the most qualified to advise or comment on Enciodes and his actions. She even says as much in one of her voice lines, where she says he treats her like a sword in which to scrutinize himself, which I personally think is a roundabout way of saying he asks for her input and criticism. Given how she’s known him since he was an inexperienced teenager and is ten years older than him, she is rightfully the best person to call him out on his nonsense—which she in fact does, more than once, quite bluntly: telling him that his idea of trust is rather twisted; telling him to “shove those thoughts back into his head”; telling him repeatedly that he talks too much; telling him that he never says what needs to be said to the people who need to hear it.
And so we come to the crux of this whole song and dance: Enciodes’s purported desire to have an outsider to talk to.
And here I am compelled to note that this alone would have been enough. There was no need to go through this longwinded series of rejections: Enciodes could have simply claimed that he wanted an outsider’s viewpoint with whom to discuss matters, and left it at that. It would have made sense, even! Enciodes does, in fact, lack someone from outside his sphere whom to consult and speak with, and Doctor does, in fact, happen to be a good candidate for this after the events of BI. There was no need for him to deny the fact that his actual friends are his friends in order for him to befriend Doctor; it would have made him appear more earnest and less like he was trying so hard. Even the elaborate plot with Carle, as much as I criticized it above, would have still been something I would accept if framed as a method of “testing” Doctor rather than Doctor testing Enciodes; it would be like him to test someone he wanted to become friends with whom he didn’t know well… or someone he wanted as an ally, which would make more sense and play into Gnosis’s statement from BI regarding the fact that there will be more Infected in Kjerag in the future and Enciodes is preparing to deal with it.
But instead, the writers chose to handle it in a way that makes Enciodes look like a callous liar at worst, or insincere at best—and funnily enough, his first oprec establishes that Enciodes is a dangerous person precisely because one can never be certain if what he’s saying is fully true or not, no matter how sincere he may appear. Doctor clearly is skeptical of Enciodes’s words here, but we’re still supposed to believe he’s being honest, even though it doesn’t make any sense.
There was no need to be so heavy-handed with this.
Continuing on:
Enciodes: ......
Enciodes: Enya and Ensia were still very young when our parents suddenly passed away.
Enciodes: The family's heavy responsibilities fell completely onto my shoulders. For both my sisters and the clan, I could only grit my teeth and pick up the mantle as a Silverash.
Enciodes: After a few years of this, I realized that nothing would ever change from simply remaining the head of a clan in Kjerag.
Enciodes: So I left to study in Victoria, following in my father's footsteps.
Enciodes: What happened during my time abroad would make a fascinating topic for another time, should you be interested.
Enciodes: But judging from the results, I made the correct decision. If I hadn't left, I would never have understood what Kjerag needed, nor what challenges it would face.
Enciodes: A few years later, I voluntarily ended my studies and returned with my capital and connections to form Karlan Trade.
Enciodes: I'll admit the whole process was originally meant to take much longer. While abroad, most of my time was dedicated to studying and networking, though it is not as if I didn't have moments of leisure as well.
Enciodes: Unfortunately though, the alarm bells ringing in my heart pushed me to make my decision early.
Enciodes: What comes after is the history of Karlan Trade's development.
Enciodes: I cannot claim full credit for our achievements, but I have indeed put everything I have into it, and into the land.
Enciodes continues doing what he began to do in the previous dialogue branch: whine. This is so out of character for him. Enciodes would not complain about the burdens of being the head of the clan, nor the responsibility on his shoulders, not when he’s been groomed for the position since he was a child. Enciodes talks very openly in Gnosis’s oprec about his future role, and is completely aware of what awaits him and plans what he’s going to do when he’s the leader. Gnosis even comments on it, remarking that he (Gnosis) doesn’t understand Enciodes’s “sense of duty” and how “he acts as if he was born to lead.” Enciodes has been dutiful for his entire life.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t grow resentful of it later, but Enciodes is clearly talking about it as if it was something which was thrust upon him against his will, which simply isn’t true. Only the timing was sooner than he expected. I don’t deny for a second that it was undoubtedly difficult, but canonically, he was already preparing for it and it would have happened sooner or later.
Second point: as I said above, Enciodes has been nurturing this dream of Kjerag’s development and freedom since he was a child. He willingly chose to do all of this: chose to leave, chose to study, chose to return; chose being a strong leader over being a good brother and willingly broke up his family, and in RS admits to Degenbrecher that he would make the same choice again and both he and Enya know that. He refuses to shy away from the consequences of his decisions. So again, why would he complain about all of this? These are his own choices, and he’s very aware of that fact. He owns them. He doesn’t regret them, even though emotionally they were painful to make them. Enciodes knew it was the price he had to pay for his dream, and so he paid it without complaint.
We only have one instance in the whole storyline where he complains: in his module, when he was fourteen, talking to Tenzin as he took care of it. But there’s a large difference between Enciodes as a child venting to Tenzin, isolated and powerless because he had no one else (he laments Gnosis leaving, and the text explicitly calls Gnosis Enciodes’s “best friend”), and Enciodes as an adult effectively barging his way onto Rhodes Island and pouring out a sob story to Doctor almost the minute he’s signed on. Because that’s what this is: a patently false sob story. “I want to be your friend, Doctor! I don’t have any friends! It’s been so hard, I’ve been working so hard and my responsibilities and duties are so heavy and have left me so alone! And you’re the best candidate for it! Let’s be friends, you’ll be my first one!”
Come again? Who are you, again?
And if even we were to assume that he’s seeking a confidante as he later says, it simply doesn’t make sense why Enciodes would choose the Doctor, whom he barely knows as a person, to share his burdens and thoughts with over his companions of over ten years—something which we see he does in fact do in RS-ST-2! An advisor, sure—but immediately dumping (what he claims to be) his innermost thoughts and emotions on someone he barely knows doesn't make any sense, particularly for someone so guarded on a daily basis.
Enciodes: One more thing.
Enciodes: I'll admit that doing things this way may have come as a surprise. Perhaps even caused you some trouble.
Enciodes: But the next time you see me, you should be glad.
Enciodes: After all, nobody is better suited to solve your problems than me. Isn't that right?
Post-Babel event, this is hilarious. To quote a friend of mine, “Do you prefer to start with Seaborn or Originium?” Enciodes may be a big fish in the small pond that is Kjerag, but on Terra, he’s very much a small fish. It references his voice line, but I have to note that it’s one of Enciodes’s lines that makes the least sense. Enciodes, ultimately, knows very little about the Doctor, even post-amnesia Doctor. This “friendship” of theirs would be inherently one-sided (Doctor listening to Enciodes's troubles and offering advice), which isn't a friendship at all, not to mention his insistence in this whole scene makes it feel rather forced. The only “problems” Enciodes could solve would be taking the helm briefly during an operation, or engaging in the kind of deceptive plot played with Carle during this oprec, which are both very, very small problems for Doctor.
The way this line plays Enciodes up as someone bigger and greater than he actually is is just kind of silly. It attempts to overemphasize their parallels in a way that just doesn't hold up to scrutiny, particularly as the “connection” and parallel between Enciodes and Doctor is something which only stems from them both being strategic, idealistic geniuses and nothing more. Not only that, but their “connection” has become increasingly tenuous over time, particularly as AK hits the third arc and we have multiple characters who have a real connection to Doctor are introduced (most importantly, Priestess). Perhaps before BI, before we knew what Enciodes was capable of and he was still considered a “warlord” per his profile, maybe that line still would have made sense. But knowing now that he's nothing more than an extremely shrewd businessman from a backwater country, it's just kind of ridiculous. It comes across as Enciodes styling himself a bigshot because he has one or two toys and a few pennies to rub together, which is in itself ridiculous because Enciodes doesn't do that sort of thing. He's a daring gambler who has bitten off more than he can chew, but why would he so brazenly declare that he's the solution to all of Doctor’s problems? Think about Lone Trail; think about Babel; think about the Victorian Crisis in the main story and the Sarkaz. Where does Enciodes Silverash fit into any of that? He just doesn't. None of those problems have anything to do with him and vice versa. He cannot help with any of them, much less solve any of them.
In conclusion, “Unbreakable Ice” is an oddly and awkwardly written piece that simply does not mesh with the rest of the Kjerag storyline, in fact contradicting parts of it both in lore and character, most egregiously at the end with his claims of Doctor being his first friend. Much as I said before, the most rational explanation that retains internal consistency with the rest of the Kjerag content is simply that Enciodes is lying. He wishes to make himself appear as pathetic as possible so that Doctor will take pity on him and allow him to remain as an official Operator. He’s sucking up to Doctor; it’s the only thing that retains any plausible logic after RS, because it’s utterly and completely undeniable at this time that both Gnosis and Degenbrecher are his friends, and very close friends at that.
(Or, as a friend of mine has joked, the only way Gnosis and Degenbrecher aren’t his friends is if they’re his lovers.)
On a meta level, the explanation is much simpler: “Unbreakable Ice” is 100% pure pandering fanservice. Enciodes remains one of the most popular male characters, and it benefits HG’s profits to market him as a potential partner to the playerbase because his merchandise sells. And sadly, fanservice often entails warping a character’s personality and ignoring some of their canon backstory in order to make them more appealing. This oprec practically guts his entire character: inexplicably cuts off his canonical bonds; ignores canonical facts which were already previously established; and alters his prior demeanor for the sake of flattering the player character. (And sadly, it works, for as I said in the introduction, of all the Kjerag oprecs, or even of all the game's oprecs, this is the one of the ones that's most remembered and treated as important despite having some of the poorest writing.)
Simply put, it is an inconsistent part of the Kjerag storyline, and one whose contents are probably best ignored or cherrypicked. The only elements of value here are the additional lore regarding Olafur, Carle, and Viscount Walden, none of which is even particularly vital or important to the overarching plot. Neither does the oprec add anything new to Enciodes's character like the other oprecs, and in fact actively detracts from him. It also doesn't provide any new information or fresh lore or character development for anyone involved other than Carle, who is already an extremely minor character and only tenuously involved in the Kjerag plot to begin with.
For the discerning reader who is interested in the interplay of political intrigue and interpersonal relationships of the Kjerag faction, “Unbreakable Ice” is best ignored as, per the title, breakable nonsense.
As an aside from my thoughts on Courier's second oprec, I feel it best to address the significance of it in relation to Gnosis and Silverweiss in its own post, as this is somewhat of a separate topic.
The way Enciodes and Weiss reminisce about their childhood adventures and how Enciodes wanted a male companion of his own age struck me quite sharply--my first thought was simply, "What about Gnosis? Did Enciodes and Gnosis not have their own adventures as well, given the whole kidnapping incident detailed in Gnosis's oprec? Did Enciodes himself not state to Gnosis that Gnosis would be his first real friend, as 'Weiss's situation is a little special', per his own words?"
As I stated in my previous post, it's difficult to say whether the anecdote about the village took place before or after Gnosis's oprec and the kidnapping incident, but I suggest it was likely before, due to the fact that there is no mention of Gnosis, Enciodes wanting a male companion, and the way he says "Weiss's situation is a little special" to Gnosis; it's possible this happened before Enciodes and Gnosis began to receive their joint tutoring and thus met. In fact, I would go far as to postulate that Enciodes perhaps even targeted Gnosis to be his companion and his equal on account of deciding to no longer involve Weiss on such dangerous expeditions... because to Enciodes, Weiss is different.
Enciodes states that he "took [Weiss] under his wing" after Weiss's grandparents begged Olafur to take him in and Enciodes persuaded him, and also assigned Weiss his messenger tasks because, he admits, he "wanted to show [Weiss] off". This relationship is more like a traditional noble's patronage: Weiss comes from a poor peasant or commoner family, and Enciodes is the heir to the Silverash territory and effectively one of the three young ruling lords of Kjerag. This gesture of whimsical magnanimity is pretty classic trope, where a noble takes a shine to a commoner and adopts them into the family as a servant or one of their own. While I don't doubt Enciodes's kindness and liking of Weiss was genuine, there's still an inherent power imbalance to the relationship when the act of adopting Weiss itself is a flexing of Enciodes's aristocratic power and something which puts Weiss into his debt, on top of the fact that Enciodes saved his life when he was lost in the woods.
Enciodes also states that his family treated Weiss like a son, and he viewed Weiss as a brother; likely an impressionable younger brother who viewed him with a sort of blind hero worship, something which is implied to be carried on to Weiss's adult years up until this point, as Weiss's material emphasizes his fierce and undying loyalty of Enciodes.
But Gnosis is not those things. Gnosis is not Enciodes's brother, Gnosis does not view Enciodes with blind hero worship, and Gnosis is not one of common blood.
No, Gnosis is the opposite: Gnosis is apart from Enciodes's blood ties, which is notable because Enciodes has issues and problems with his familial ties; Gnosis is in fact quite disdainful of Enciodes not only at first but doesn't ever hesitate to criticize him; Gnosis has his own background, problematic blood ties, and noble or semi-noble heritage that means he does not require Enciodes's patronage or assistance in any way. Gnosis stands completely on his own in Kjerag, and Enciodes cannot do anything to hold any debt or obligation from Gnosis, he can only try to persuade Gnosis into becoming his friend through a mutual honest exchange of feelings and through Gnosis's own choice. Gnosis must choose to accept Enciodes, Enciodes's ideas, and Enciodes's dreams, which is a repeated theme throughout their relationship: the fact that they choose each other over and over again.
Enciodes and Gnosis choose each other at the end of the kidnapping venture:
They choose each other to be their partner, now just in the moment but in the future as well, choosing each other to build a future together with.
Gnosis chooses Enciodes and his dream of a better Kjerag rather than giving up and running away; Enciodes chooses Gnosis despite his difficult nature and background. Furthermore, Enciodes chooses Gnosis as his equal, as his partner for his dream. Gnosis is still Enciodes's first friend--the first friend of that type, standing on equal footing with him and sharing his dream in a way that nobody else does.
This element of choice is what is vital to their relationship, and in fact, I would argue, the most important element in the closest relationships Enciodes has: Gnosis and Degenbrecher, as I said in "The Faithful Gambler"; the way he gives them the freedom to choose to remain with him.
Enciodes does this with Weiss, as well: in Weiss's oprec, Enciodes is also giving him the freedom to make his own choice. Enciodes never assigned Matterhorn or Weiss specific duties within Karlan Trade because he "never thought of himself as their master" and "never thought about determining their fates for them". Though I wonder if, as Weiss says, he does not still feel some guilt for, as a precocious child, assigning Weiss messenger duties that Weiss did not particularly like at first and dragging him on unwilling adventures--was it in Enciodes's mind that perhaps it was not Weiss's choice? Or was it simply expected due to the debt and the power imbalance between them? Or did Weiss do it simply to please him, because he admired Enciodes and wished to serve him in some way? I don't believe Enciodes was intentionally cruel, but perhaps he did not fully grasp the consequences of his actions at the time on account of his age, and it's beautiful how it has become a fond memory between him and Weiss, and how now he goes out of his way to give Weiss that choice and the ability to determine his own future, perhaps as a form of apology or repentance.
And yet, despite all of this--despite the fact that Enciodes and Gnosis choose each other over and over throughout their lives, what stands out to me in the light of "Run Like The Wind" is how tightly and selfishly Enciodes tries to hold onto Gnosis and make him stay rather than letting him go to find his own path the way he does with Matterhorn and Weiss. Enciodes does not seek to tie neither Weiss nor Matterhorn to him, encouraging them to seek their fortunes in the world beyond the sphere of his influence and beyond the realm of Silverash--but he seeks to tie Gnosis to him.
Enciodes wants Gnosis's path to be with him. This is explicitly spelled out not only in Gnosis's oprec with their final exchange--
--but very clearly in BI. We can see it here:
Every time Enciodes and Gnosis have any kind of rift, disagreement, or even separation, Enciodes is the first to quickly remind Gnosis or emphasize of their bond, something he does over and over again. Even when he's supposed to be acting, he does it--not an act at all.
It is vitally important to Enciodes that Gnosis doesn't forget that they are friends and they share a dream--a dream which he specifically shared with Gnosis and Gnosis only.
This is a dream that consumes Enciodes's entire entity; it is his raison d'etre and his life's work, the thing he is willing to sacrifice almost everything for--except Gnosis, because Gnosis is the only one who shares it so intimately with him, and because Gnosis is explicitly part of Enciodes's motivation.
Enciodes also admits himself in his module story that he "selfishly" wants Gnosis to stay with him. Gnosis's life may be in danger if he remains in Kjerag, and Enciodes knows this—he knows his desire to have Gnosis be by his side is inherently selfish. But this is the one most selfish thing he does. By his module, we know Enciodes has made the decision to be a good leader over all else, always weighing others' potential and placing Kjerag as a whole above himself—with the exception of Gnosis.
Gnosis is the only person, nigh the only thing, Enciodes allows himself to be selfish about. Even when public opinion is against him, he keeps Gnosis by his side and gives him anything he wants, implied to even keep Gnosis living at the Silverash manor; even when it would serve his ends to have Gnosis be the scapegoat in their coup, Enciodes discards this plan, placing Gnosis above their goals; in dozens of small ways, Enciodes is himself with Gnosis rather than "Sir Silverash" or "the Master", doing what he wants.
Enciodes also brought Gnosis back to Kjerag not only once, but twice. Gnosis has a huge amount of potential outside of Kjerag with his academic brilliance, yet even knowing this for about as long as they've known each other, Enciodes still asks Gnosis to come help him. Even as Kjerag loathes Gnosis's very existence, Enciodes still asks Gnosis to come back and help him. Remember, Gnosis is the boy who was so desperate to escape Kjerag that he was willing to forge his father's signature on the permissary slip and cut ties with his family so he could leave. He's always wanted to leave. He has no such bonds of obligation and duty to Kjerag like Enciodes does. Yet Enciodes is the one who brings him back, who ties him down to earth, who keeps him from flying away. Enciodes is the one who gives Gnosis a reason to return--and that reason is that they have a dream and a future together.
The bond Enciodes shares with Gnosis is different from the one he has with everyone else. The promise that Enciodes makes to Gnosis is completely unique, not just in the way he promises Gnosis a homeland he won't feel like running away from, but in the fact that promise entails Enciodes by his side--and similarly, Gnosis is the only one who makes Enciodes the same promise in return.
As a Silverash, Enciodes views and positions himself and is effectively a benevolent lord: granting boons and favors selflessly, considering the bigger picture and the consequences of each action, being the steward of his land and people and the living embodiment of noblesse oblige. He is the person who makes promises to others, not the other way around; he is someone effectively defined by his authority, authority which is inseparable from him as a person, and which demands that he suppress his own desires, emotions, and personality. People do not make him promises--but Gnosis has, and promised him perhaps the greatest, one and only thing Enciodes could want.
And so Enciodes takes Gnosis's words to heart, and lets himself be selfish about Gnosis, because they are and ever will remain partners.
Courier's oprec is another wonderful addition to the Kjerag lore compendium. (I will, hopefully at some time before the release of Kjerag 3, manage to write a post about Gnosis's oprec, aside from my "Crane of Ice and Fire" essay, and an essay further dissecting the travesty that is Silverash's second oprec.) I absolutely love it.
I'll preface by saying that I was looking forward to this oprec immensely. Weiss was my first Arknights favorite, and who drew me into the intrigue of the Kjerag characters in the first place, and for quite a while, I was disappointed with the fact that he was not given an oprec with the rest of the cast at the release of Break The Ice. So I was very excited at the announcement of his oprec, and eagerly waited six months for it to come to global, and I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint.
The characters are all amazing, from Weiss to Enciodes to Degenbrecher, and I love the focus being given to their relationship and dynamics. The oprec takes place shortly after Enciodes's return to Kjerag from Victoria, and deals with the impact Degenbrecher's arrival had not only on the locals, but on Weiss as she effectively took his job. This was already hinted at in Degenbrecher's operator file, so it's great to see it expanded on like this. There are so many moments I love!
The way Enciodes trusts Weiss to do as he wills regarding the avalanche--just as I said before, just as he always does, Enciodes always places his greatest trust on his people.
And I love this playful little exchange of theirs where Enciodes tells him there's no need to call him "sir" and Weiss chirps that it's an old habit. It's a moment that really establishes them as more than simply master and subordinate, which is something that I've noticed in BI, RS, and Gnosis's oprec, so this is something I really appreciate. Weiss has always been diffident towards Enciodes, always respectful to the utmost, and by his own profile, "his most faithful supporter," but I've always felt there is a distance between them. To see them share a moment of friendly intimacy like this adds so much to their relationship. It gives them a new depth, and makes it clearer that much of Weiss's extreme respect is done of his own volition and not because Enciodes demands it of him.
This moment is also adorable, showing how Enciodes has rubbed off on Weiss, which makes sense as they've known each other since childhood. In fact, Weiss's whole ploy to win over the doubtful Kjerag noble is very like Enciodes, and I love that a lot. Through their long acquaintance, Weiss has learned how Enciodes does things, and doesn't hesitate to emulate those methods. He flawlessly engineers a situation where he can demonstrate to the hesitant people not just the capabilities of the imported technology but of Degenbrecher, well aware that showing rather than making promises is the best way to do so.
It's also impressive once again to see the lengths that Enciodes has gone in his mission to modernize Kjerag, and just how much opposition he faced. Even Silverash allies doubted him upon his return, and believed he was wrong to bring Degenbrecher with him and thought he was playing favorites merely by bringing foreigners into Kjerag! It also demonstrates just how deep-seated Kjerag's hatred of foreigners was, and just how much that has changed by the time of RS. While we still see the ongoing clash between the more open-minded youngsters and the older folk in Kjera's oprec, by the time of Harold's module (which is some time after RS), the mingling of Kjerags and outsiders is much more accepted. It's fascinating to see that even Degenbrecher, who is deeply beloved by the Kjerag people, was not immediately accepted upon arrival but in fact needed to prove herself too.
And Degenbrecher, oh, Degenbrecher. How is she so wonderful? She is such a great character, so well-written. Even though she doesn't have many lines, the few that she does are good enough to capture the essence of her (and she's a laconic person anyway). She's long been one of my favorites, and I really love how she's always (spotty translation of some of her voice lines aside) portrayed with such subtlety. Though she speaks little, her simple nature and wry sense of humor always comes through.
I also appreciate these little nods to her module story about her first medal and her hobby of fighting avalanches.
There's also, sadly, a bit lost in translation with this scene:
In both CN and JP, Weiss switches from calling her Miss/Madam Degenbrecher to older/big sister Degenbrecher (Brecher-nee-san in JP, which is the same nickname Ensia uses for her, actually), something which unfortunately doesn't really work in English. It's a shame, because Weiss simply dropping the "madam" in English doesn't give as much of an impact. We also lose the parallel with how Weiss addresses Matterhorn as "aniki". But that aside, it's still very cute, and I love how friendly and playful it is and how Degenbrecher is smiling throughout and how it shows their bond deepening.
I love how Weiss points out that her aloofness isn't haughtiness or hostility, but simply her nature, and possibly even confusion. The sweet goat was probably taken aback by Kjerag at first, and maybe didn't really know what to make of it after Kazimierz and Victoria!
And the way Weiss defends her is so beautiful too. He saw through her detached exterior to her heart of pure gold, and wanted to make sure others knew the kind of person she really was beneath it. And to think Weiss played a role in making Kjerag accept her, not just for Enciodes, but for Kjerag and her!
Not to mention Weiss orchestrating the whole thing solely to get the stubborn Kjerag oldies to accept Degenbrecher and the fact that she's an asset to them. Again, not just because Weiss is thinking about what's best for Enciodes, but because he likes her too and recognizes that she's an ally, not an enemy. It's wonderful.
And I love how he says there are other ways he can serve Enciodes aside from being his bodyguard, so he doesn't feel like he was replaced. In my previous post speculating about this very oprec, I mused that Weiss was wary of Degenbrecher as she took his position per her profile, but I had not considered it from the angle of Enciodes and his actions; i.e. Was it callous of Enciodes to bring Degenbrecher to Kjerag and replace Weiss without his input?
Ah, only on the surface level. If we know Enciodes, after all the characterization he's been given, then the answer is quite obvious: he believed that Degenbrecher would eventually win over the Kjerag people, just as he believed that Kjerag would eventually win over her and eventually the whole world. As she did, and as Kjerag will.
As a minor detail, I appreciate the note of how it was Weiss, Matterhorn, Chester, and some of the older folks who held down the fort while Enciodes was away for seven years. There's also more mention of the Browntails and Paleroches taking Silverash land, and many Silverash supporters (vassals, perhaps) going over to their side. It fleshes out further the enormous disadvantage Enciodes was at when he returned, and why he'd lost his seat in the Council, and just how difficult his ascent to his present position was. The way almost everyone, including some of his own allies, was against him yet he still succeeded through determination and hard work is impressive.
In conclusion, this has to be one of my favorite of the Kjerag oprecs, as difficult as it is to choose a favorite among them. Like the other great Kjerag oprecs (Gnosis's and Kjera's spring to mind), this oprec wonderfully fleshes out not only its focus character, Weiss, but builds on the other characters and the country as well in small but significant ways, adding a fresh new layer to the Kjerag picture as a whole. Well done.
Although I went into deep detail in my "Crane of Ice and Fire" essay and spoke of its significance here and there, I realized I never wrote a standalone post about Gnosis's oprec (I had intended to, of course, but things got in the way), and given that Rides is having its rerun on global now, it seems like a good moment to revisit it.
Gnosis's oprec is a beautiful addition to his lore. It explains so much about him so succinctly, from why he is the way he is and how he became the person that he is in present day. In fact, I would almost say it's the most important piece of lore related to him. It takes the short flashback from Break The Ice and expands upon it in the best of ways, fleshing out his character wonderfully, as well as adding to Enciodes and Kjerag as a whole. Through it, we learn the most vital thing core to Gnosis’s character: his motivations.
Let's begin with his backstory. Prior to the release of Gnosis's oprec, we had only the short flashback in BI-6 to give us a glimpse of Gnosis in his childhood and his bond with Enciodes. Though their conversation is short, it offers much, laying out Enciodes's fierce loyalty to Gnosis even when all of Kjerag turns against him and his unwavering belief in Gnosis's innocence, as well as Gnosis's own doubt, the fact that Gnosis must leave to preserve his own life and Enciodes is sad about it, and the fact that they had a dream together to make Kjerag into a strong country, as well as their promise to meet again. This conversation alone explains why Enciodes and Gnosis are so tight in BI, why Gnosis does what he does and why Enciodes doesn't leave him. I've spoken much about this flashback and the fact that it is the bedrock of their entire relationship, and I believe that's still true, but we have now an additional layer to that foundation which adds even more depth to it.
Gnosis's oprec is entirely a flashback to his childhood, and in fact, precisely about how he and Enciodes became friends. Notably, the flavor text for the oprec reads, "At first, Gnosis did not like Enciodes one bit." Given their unbreakable bond later on, this is quite an interesting line to open up with, hinting both at Gnosis's somewhat abrasive tsundere personality and at some great event changing his mind. And indeed, that is exactly what happens.
Gnosis's childhood landscape is quickly established in the oprec, as it opens up with Gnosis paying more attention to the lives of the fowlbeasts flying past the window than the lesson he is receiving beside Enciodes. He's intimately familiar with their habits, and the fowlbeasts form a metaphor for Gnosis himself, symbolizing how he yearns to fly free beyond Kjerag's peaks and how he puzzles at the invisible rule which keeps them within the mountains. Gnosis is also shown to be academically and intellectually as brilliant as he is in present day, easily aceing his quizzes (to Enciodes's chagrin) and receiving compliments from their tutor.
The tutor is the villain of the story, a Victorian who, finding that tutoring young nobles doesn't pay much, manipulates the young and ignorant Gnosis into bringing Enciodes to meet him after hours where he can kidnap Enciodes and hold him for ransom. In exchange for being his accomplice, he and his gang will take Gnosis with them to Victoria. Gnosis, disgusted, distrustful, and smart enough to realize this will backfire horribly and having second thoughts, sets about tricking the tutor in return and freeing Enciodes in an adventure concluding in a burdenbeast ride and stampede. It's a great plot which shows off well not just Gnosis's character but Enciodes's as well, establishing that many of Enciodes's defining traits were already present as a youth, from his innate charisma, his daring, and his boldness. Gnosis, too, is shown to have been not so different from his adult self, even including his sharp and sarcastic tongue! (He was a mean little bird.)
Gnosis's position and situation are also laid out: not only is he incredibly smart--smarter than Enciodes, in fact--but he feels as if there is no place for him in Kjerag, not merely intellectually but emotionally. His father is the classic archetype of the "mad sage" who, day in and day out, lost in his great archive, has lost touch with reality and the present day, buried in the events of the past and even forgetting his own son. It's absolutely heartbreaking the way Gnosis describes him as "a drowning man" and how Gnosis doesn't want to be dragged under with him.
This is Gnosis's motive for wanting to escape Kjerag. Not only does he find Kjerag "inefficient and backwards" in terms of its education and its systems in comparison to Victoria, but he also wants to escape the choking future of having to become a scholar like his father.
All of this serves to demonstrate how and why Gnosis has such a closed-off, aloof, and reticent personality. This was not something recent, this was not something born after the deaths of Olafur and Elizabeth or after living in Victoria, but rather, something Gnosis already had as a child. His natural personality simply is reserved and unfriendly, because he lived in a home where his own existence was frequently forgotten and his deepest desires denied. He was, to continue the fowlbeast metaphor, a bird in a gilded cage.
We also see the other thing which was not born when Gnosis made it to Victoria, but rather he always had: his radical streak. Desperate for escape, he was perfectly ready not only to forge his father's signature on the authorization slip, but cut ties with his family and simply disappear. Of course, one can argue this was one of those ill-thought-out adolescent plans like running away from home (which it is, effectively), but nevertheless, the fact remains that he chose to take matters into his own hands with no other choice. He's always been like this, and it's remarkable.
And of course, the second thing this oprec does is lovingly detail the inception of Gnosis's and Enciodes's friendship. Or even, should I say, their relationship.
Even within the course the day that the oprec takes place over, we have an incredible view of the way Gnosis's feelings towards Enciodes evolve. He begins regarding Enciodes with some haughty, standoffish disdain, in typical Gnosis fashion, confessing to the tutor that he cannot understand Enciodes's sense of duty nor the way he acts as if he was born to lead. He calls Enciodes "strange" and "childish" on the train ride, rebuffing Enciodes's questions about himself and attempts to get to know him better. But when Enciodes lets him in on his "secret" and his true feelings about what Kjerag should really be like and how he plans to change it, he finally gets through to Gnosis, and Gnosis responds in kind.
Gnosis recognizes Enciodes as different, much like himself, as a kindred soul thinking of life beyond the mountains and how life in Kjerag could be different. Although Gnosis had already made up his mind at that point to rescue Enciodes, that is the moment that their emotional connection was made and Gnosis began to regard Enciodes differently. We also see how quickly their rapport is born and executed, how Enciodes innately grasps Gnosis's plan and train of thought and falls into it with aplomb.
This moment is also significant because it effectively foreshadows the events of Rides and lays out how the Victorian influence in Kjerag had already existed, likely via Enciodes's mother Elizabeth, even before he was born. Even from a young age, Enciodes was shaped not only by his mother, whom he takes after according to Weiss, but by seeing how the outsiders trample upon Kjerag and want Kjerag for themselves. (This is one of the reasons I'm not sure why this oprec wasn't released with BI, as there isn't really anything in that spoils RS but would have added quite a bit, but I digress.) We also see again the echo of what Degenbrecher says in RS-8: "Kjerag will be taken care of it by its own people."
He also sees how the outsiders want to poach talent like Gnosis's from Kjerag, and how Gnosis is stifled, desperate, and miserable inside of the present-day Kjerag and how the current future of Kjerag is unbearable to him, which leads to the ending.
This ending, as I said before, is absolutely staggering. This is what Gnosis alluded to Ratatos in BI-3 with his enigmatic line, "He promised me a future." Indeed, Enciodes did: he promised Gnosis that he would change and shape Kjerag to be a true home for Gnosis, to make it a place he didn't feel like running away from so he would stay. Even now, I boggle at the magnitude of this promise. Enciodes has grown to care for Gnosis so much, has been so enamored with Gnosis, so infatuated with Gnosis, that he not only wants to be Gnosis's friend, has already decided Gnosis is his friend, but he's also determined to change the entire country to ensure Gnosis has a place there. This is not the kind of promise you make lightly, yet Enciodes does so with absolute gravity and not a shred of doubt. It still astounds me, and the only reason I can presume I don't see people talk about it more is that Gnosis is unpopular and nobody bothers to read this.
And note, too, the way Enciodes finishes that promise: "And you'll stay." Stay with him, obviously, it's the only thing he could mean and the only thing he can mean when we take the rest of their lore into account and how through it all, Gnosis has returned to Kjerag twice over and unfailingly remained by Enciodes's side. And it is canon that Enciodes wants Gnosis to stay: he not only admits as much in his module story, but it shows in the actions he takes to keep Gnosis in Kjerag, to the point where Sciurus straight-up calls Enciodes Gnosis's "sugar daddy." Enciodes ignores public opinion to make Gnosis his CTO as Gnosis is his co-founder; Enciodes gives Gnosis free rein to do whatever he wants and is implied by the "sugar daddy" line to give him whatever he wants; doesn't want Gnosis to undertake the plan of becoming a scapegoat which through logical elimination is in part because of the consequences to Gnosis himself; arranges for a safe escape for Gnosis until things die down but can still have him remain if he wants; brings Gnosis back after the Snowcap Incident and clears Gnosis's name, implied to have taken on an enormous risk by doing so... All of this, because of the promise he made. So Gnosis can and will stay.
It's painfully easy to read Enciodes as nursing a crush on Gnosis throughout the entire story here. From the way he's been watching Gnosis long enough to notice that Gnosis watches the fowlbeasts more than pays attention to their lessons and how he began to imagine Gnosis might be different and not be "one of those people whose brain is filled with Kjerag history and nothing else", to the way he invites Gnosis out to sneak onto the train with him, to how easily he trusts Gnosis, to the way he tries his best to learn more about Gnosis by constantly plying him with questions about his feelings and plans even when he's tied up, to the way he shamelessly asks Gnosis to feed him, to the way he says he's going to make Kjerag less boring, to forgiving Gnosis for the entire incident and keeping Gnosis's role in his kidnapping a secret from his family and instead making him out to be the "hero who rescued him", and finally culminating in that truly remarkable promise. Knowing what we know now with his relationship with Weiss as a child and how he considered Weiss his brother, I can't help but think Enciodes must have viewed Gnosis in a category of his own: not a brother, but something else. The single-minded way Enciodes chases after Gnosis in the story, despite Gnosis's continually cold and standoffish demeanor, is simply amazing. I note that this record likely happened when they were around twelve years old, as Enciodes was fourteen when his parents passed away; a prime age to begin having crushes and the beginnings of romantic feelings. Compounded with the rest of Enciodes's behavior in BI and RS which can also be easily read with romantic subtext (his promise to come find Gnosis in Victoria, for instance, and the easy way he handles the hungover Gnosis in the lobby, for another), it feels like this was where his feelings, and their relationship, all began.
To return back to Gnosis, I'd also be remiss if I didn't say that this oprec explains perfectly, with no exaggeration, why Enciodes is the lynchpin of Gnosis's entire life. It is no exaggeration to say that Gnosis's whole life and work basically revolve around Enciodes after this. Everything that Gnosis does is in service not just of their mutual dream, but also of the promise he made to Enciodes in exchange. Gnosis wholly and fully adopts Enciodes's dream and brings his own ideas and thoughts to the table, joining Enciodes not only as his first true friend with no power imbalances like with Weiss, but as his partner for the foreseeable future, no takebacksies. The only caveat he makes is if Enciodes abandons their dream first, then he will leave, but even at his moment of most doubt, Gnosis's heart is already set on him and already dedicated and made up, already committed through thick or thin.
I said this in "The Crane of Ice and Fire" as well, but this oprec also adds to Gnosis's metatextual crane symbolism. Not to beleaguer the obvious, but Gnosis's animal spirit is the crane--whooping cranes, to be exact--and one of the most famous fairy tales about cranes is "The Grateful Crane," something I also went into before. Gnosis, despite appearances, is that crane: Gnosis was caught in "trap" of Kjerag's stifling tradition and rigid future, and when Enciodes saved him from it with his promise, Gnosis repaid him with unwavering dedication and willingness to pluck out his own feathers to bring fortune to Enciodes despite the detriment to himself, as shown in BI.
This is why the oprec is called "Starting Point", and if we look at the medal for it, we can see that its text is quite relevant, and quite poignant.
Gnosis didn't even have a goal until he met Enciodes. He only had directionless desire, a yearning with nowhere to point it, the longing to fly but no destination. But their promise became his goal, and Enciodes's dream became and joined together with his, and in that dream, they stand side by side, in a Kjerag that at last can contain both of them. I'd also be remiss if I didn't connect that to Gnosis's first Talent: "Two Paths, One Goal," which further highlights how his goal and Enciodes's goal are the same thing--that same shining future they promised each other so many years ago.
One of the funnier things about Courier's oprec, if you think about it (aside from Enciodes huffing and puffing up the hill, anyway), is when you contrast it with his module which paints rather a different image. It makes me think of a hitman who's run out of targets and now has to return to normal life.
Because seriously, he was slaughtering assassins and engaging in guerilla warfare not that long ago, but apparently Kjerag is now peaceful enough and devoid of assassins enough that he feels comfortable leaving and focusing on deliveries.
