Imreann is a character in Final Fantasy XVI. He is the high priest of the Crystalline Orthodox and the de facto leader of the Iron Kingdom. In his religious fanaticism, he propagates cruel practices of subjugation of Bearers and all magick-users, human sacrifice, and aggression toward nations that do not follow the dogma of the Crystalline Orthodox that posits that the Mothercrystals themselves are deities.
History[]
Imreann leads a human sacrifice ritual in the inner sanctum of Drake's Breath.
Imreann was born in the year of the realm 820 to the previous high priest of Crystalline Orthodox, and was raised as a successor for this role.[1] He eventually takes over the role, and though the kingdom does have a royal family, the high priest is the effective ruler of the kingdom as the leader of the state faith. Imreann led the worship of the kingdom's own Mothercrystal, Drake's Breath on the volcanic Mount Drustanus, sacrificing Bearers kidnapped from other lands on its altar and, presumably, discovered among the kingdom's own populace.
After Iron Kingdom's raid to Rosaria after the Night of Flames saw the duchy's archduke and heir to the throne killed, many kidnapped women and girls came to reside in the Iron Isles and Imreann's purview. Jill Warrick was one of these girls kidnapped from Rosalith Castle, and in the year 861, Imreann tried to forge Jill to become his "nightly attendant"; Shiva awoke within her, and Imreann dropped his initial plan with Jill,[1] forcing her to fight for the Ironblood as their weapon of mass destruction instead.
In 873, Imreann deployed Jill/Shiva to the Battle of Nysa where she faced off against the Dhalmekian Republic and Titan. She disappeared during the battle, and Imreann never learned what happened to her until Jill returned to the Iron Kingdom five years later to exact her revenge.
Imreann sees Drake's Breath destroyed.
Jill returned to the Iron Kingdom with Clive Rosfield, the Dominant of Ifrit, to kill Imreann and destroy Drake's Breath under belief that the Mothercrystals were propagating the Blight. Jill used her knowledge of the area and her powers over ice to sneak them to Mount Drustanus and to the orthodoxy's heart. After learning that Imreann was about to sacrifice more girls to Drake's Breath, the two rushed to the inner sanctum where they found Imreann. Jill ranted over the injustices Imreann had propagated his entire life as the high priest, and though Drake's Breath fought back by summoning a monster composed of lava from the depths of the volcano to fight them, Clive and Jill succeeded in shattering the crystal's heart, and Drake's Breath dissipated. Imreann was beyond shocked, unable to comprehend that the center of religion was suddenly gone. Jill wasted no time or showed no mercy in killing Imreann to exact her vengeance for all the ways the man had wronged her and all under his jurisdiction.
The loss of Drake's Breath and Imreann's death led the Iron Kingdom to quickly destabilize and fall apart, leading their Iron Crusade warriors to abandon their battles on the continents and flee back to their native home. The royal family of the Iron Kingdom attempted to maintain control and unity but since Imreann and the church held the true power of their nation, they were already reduced to mere figureheads, which left their efforts leaving little effect. Thus, when Ultima began his Primogenesis, the Iron Kingdom was brought even closer towards total collapse.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Imreann wears long robes adorned with fur trim and elaborate jewelry of silver medallions and beads. He wears a headgear that covers his hair entirely.
Personality[]
Their souls were sullied with the stain of aether! I merely cleansed them of their corruption!
Imreann justifying the practice of human sacrifice
A cruel, sadistic fanatic and zealot, Imreann believes his acts are holy in the name of the Mothercrystals, no matter how atrocious they may be, such as sacrificing Bearers on a daily basis. Imreann refuses to see his actions as unjust and views all the other nations and their peoples are either heretics or need to be forcibly converted to the Ironblood's faith. Imreann could still be considered a pragmatist, as despite the orthodoxy denouncing Dominants as abominations, he sees their value in aiding the kingdom's Iron Crusade on the battlefield. He kept Jill Warrick alive after she awakened as Shiva's Dominant, but enslaved her to be the kingdom's weapon. This could also prove him as a hypocrite to his faith, using religion as a means for power.
Imreann treated Jill cruelly during her captivity, forcing her to commit whatever act he desired under the threat of murdering those she befriended as he acknowledged Jill would not comply to threats to her own welfare. Imreann took every opportunity to demean Jill as a weak girl and an unholy abomination. After promising Jill that if she fought for the Iron Kingdom, the girls she cared about would not be harmed, yet after she held up her end, Imreann killed them anyway, displaying no remorse. He felt a sense of satisfaction in breaking his word to Jill, viewing it as a method to break Jill herself, further showcasing his depraved and fiendish nature.
His fanaticism leads to a heightened sense of confidence and arrogance, believing that nothing can stop the Iron Kingdom's campaign. His confidence would be shaken after Clive and Jill defeated his warriors and the Flame Liquid beast. Imreann is left distraught and hysterical after Clive destroys Drake's Breath, something the high priest could not fathom as possible.
Behind the scenes[]
In the English localization, Jill simply mentions that Imreann killed his victims and kept them in chains during her rant before the battle. In the Japanese version, she mentions that the children he put in chains were female, and that he had violated them before murdering them.