"I come before you only in loyal service of His Eminence. I relinquish the throne to him gladly. But those who would seize the crown by force, I will teach you to fear God and to fear me!"
Ovis Lydnad Gideaux, or Gideaux for short, is a character in Metaphor: ReFantazio. He is Aestivum Forden's primary bodyguard and the captain of the Monk Army, which is the enforcement arm of the Crown Theocracy.
Appearances[]
- Metaphor: ReFantazio: Supporting Character
Personality[]
Gideaux is an arrogant man who is fully convinced of the superiority of the Sanctist Church and his boss Forden, being his closest bodyguard and right-hand man. He was completely convinced that the Sanctist Church will be able to take over the royal family as the ruler of Euchronia and dismissing the possibility of a weapon that would be able to bypass the king's election magic as paranoia. He will follow Forden's orders without question, and even for a brief time after his boss was exposed for his treachery by the party and ends up being assassinated by Louis using a magic weapon that could do exactly the thing he dismisses as paranoia, Gideaux stood on his side.
However, he is not without conscience, and is likely kept away from the dark by his corrupt, treacherous superiors. When Rella confesses about her involvement in Forden's assassination of the prince, he was appalled by the conspiracy Forden committed behind everyone's backs and appears to be actually shocked by how misplaced his loyalty and justice was. Near the end of the game, he makes amends to help restore the church's reputation and original goals by the public.
Details[]
Gideaux is Sanctifex Forden's loyal bodyguard, although he is mostly unaware of his boss' true, treacherous nature. Just like his boss, he does join the Tournament for the Throne, but he does not intend to be king and is willing to give his position to Forden; in spite of that, he is a significant candidate ranking third place in popularity. Having two candidates with high popular support essentially means that the Sanctist Church stood poised to take control of the Royal Tournament and establish a theocracy easily. He acts as an adversary to other rivals in the election, especially the protagonist and Louis Guiabern.
He is met a second time during the first leg of the tournament, when Neueirus Corax's gauntlet runner was stopped by a cannonade from Gideaux's and Glodell's runners fighting each other to disable the other's legs. To make sure they could approach Louis and assassinate them, the party opts to help Glodell to fight Gideaux. The gauntlet runner addresses the Sanctist runner and the party challenges the bodyguard to a battle. Gideaux gets enraged noticing that the party's gauntlet runner was the same one that previously destroyed the grand cathedral by crashing into it, and attacks them with two Sanctist knights, knowing that the protagonist is not protected by the king's magic. As Gideaux is protected by the magic, unlike the party, he cannot be defeated in battle. After defeating his two guards, he would still attempt to kill the party until Neuras knocked the Sanctist runner off-balance. Gideaux retreats, seeing that there is no more point to the confrontation.
He re-appears in the monster head exhibit in Port Brilehaven, confidently presenting a giant fish that he hunted down and announcing that it will be prepared and shared in a Sanctist banquet for the poor after the exhibit. He and Rella then attend a Sanctist senate meeting where he suggested to his superiors to have the contestants plunder pagan relics and show them off, so the Sanctist Church could display their superiority to all of Euchronia and to make up for the humiliation the church suffered from the protagonist exposing Sanctoress Joanna feeding children to a human. Rella warns Forden of the possibility of a relic that could bypass the election magic to slay any candidate (which would later come to frutition), but Gideaux shrugs off the concerns in her place.
On Montario Saint's Day, Forden announces his supposed victory to the audience, Gideaux threatens the other candidates that they might as well as give up the race as his boss would assuredly win. When Louis turns out to be alive and assassinates Forden, he expresses disbelief in the situation, and forces the party to leave the opera by ordering his troops to catch them, accusing them of assassinating Forden. Shortly after, he and Rella was invited by the council, where Rella was offered to succeed Forden's place. Gideaux rejects them, but Rella volunteers to take Forden's place for the tournament after being convinced by the council.
During Rella's speech towards the Sanctists as the new candidate, Gideaux entered an argument with Rella before she reminds him to know his place. After the party confronts Rella and she leaves to await the party's confrontation, Gideaux orders a mob to catch the party before they escape by boarding Neuras' runner.
"What became of my Church, my faith? How can I go on without it? I am lost... I thought myself the unshakeable defender of the Sanctist Church, but should it now collapse, I cannot see my path forward... ...Even I, then. I too am one of the weak that Rella fought for."
Gideaux was one of the passerby who heard Rella Melancoryphus Cygnus's confession and exposure of Forden's conspiracy. Upon hearing the confession, he himself was shocked that the unwavering faith he once held to was erroneous. According to the Igniter Consortium Head, Gideaux voluntarily stepped off from the tournament for the throne afterwards, leaving only the protagonist and Louis as viable candidates.
Gideaux would later take over the priestly and shopkeeping duties at the St. Fermis Church during the final month of the game, and helped in leading the Crown Theocracy warrior monks to control the Louis supporters' displeasure when the protagonist was announced as the new king of the United Kingdom of Euchronia. A year afterwards, he continues to operate in the St. Fermis Church, and spoke to the protagonist that he will do what he can to restore the Sanctist Church's original goal and reputation, to make amends for their misdeeds and to properly save the people through faith.
Notes[]
Attempting to target Gideaux during the confrontation with him will result in the offending party member being temporarily bound by glowing chains and forfeiting their Turn Icon. In the event of a multi-target attack, no damage will be dealt to Gideaux's allies either.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Somewhere between the events in Port Brilehaven and Virga Island, his position as the third runner was taken offscreen by Rudolf Krause via unknown means.
- The text on his campaign poster reads: "Atestu ia potencon de dio Gideaux." It roughly translates to "Witness the power of God: Gideaux."