Karel
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Karel |
| Occupation: | Swordmaster |
| Relationships: | Karla (sister), Bartre (brother-in-law), Fir (niece), Guy (student) |
| Fandom: | Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade/The Binding Blade |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Karel is a character who appears in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He is a Sacaen swordmaster.
Some Short Canon Background
Karel was born and raised in a family where only one can inherit the sword. The family tried to compete and kill each other over it. Karel has cut them down, save for his sister Karla, and he was the sole survivor of this massacre.
Afterwards, he continued to seek out worthy opponents and kill them without remorse or regret, and from these feats, he earned the fearsome reputation as the "Sword Demon". He encountered Eliwood and company while looking for worthy opponents to fight, and joins them in order to observe this skill.
Common Pairings
- Karel/Geitz is very common among yaoi fans in the Fire Emblem community because not only do they have a support conversation together, but also because they're both the older brother of another character (Karla in Karel's case, Geese from The Binding Blade in Geitz's case) and because they're both optional recruitable characters in The Blazing Blade.
- Karel/Guy is popular among master/student fans. Guy idolizes Karel, and Karel agrees to be his mentor in swordsmanship.
- Karel/Lucius is fairly popular, due to fans seeing Lucius as Karel's morality pet. In their final support conversation, Karel admits to feeling calm around Lucius and showing a rare vulnerability not seen in his other supports. [1]
- Karel/Lyn, despite not having support conversations together, some fans ship because Lyn is one of the characters that can recruit Karel to the player's army next to the main lord in FE7, and while recruiting him. Karel said to Lyn that she is "so beautiful" or that her swordplay is beautiful may have gotten some fans to ship them together.
- Karel/Bartre due to being in-laws and having a support conversation together in that game. This is a rare shipping.
Fanon and Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Some fans headcanon Karel as asexual due to his lack of paired endings.
- A good number of fanworks touch on the change in his personality between FE7 and FE6. Many fans believe that his promised duel with Guy led to the death of his protegé, which may have led to the change in Karel's mindset. Others believe it was the death of his sister Karla from illness that made him realize what was really important.
Example Fanworks
Fanfic
- Beach - Lyn deals with a possessive Karel.
- End of the Path - Karel and Guy meet again, after the ending of FE7.
- Meet your maker in peace - This Karel/Geitz fic takes place shortly after FE7.
- Sainted - Lucius pulls Karel from the bloody path ahead of him.
- To Know Peace - Lucius feels worn about the battles he's faced, while Karel joins in and admits to his own weariness.
Fanart
- A Warm Drink Around the Fire
- Bleeding Is A Luxury
- FE Heroes: Karel
- Fire Emblem Compedium - Karel (FE6)
- Fire Emblem Compedium - Karel (FE7)
- Healing - Fire Emblem 7
- Karel's journey
- Sword Demon Karel
- Thanks for 400
- The breeze that runs through the plains
Controversies
Characterization
Karel's alignment and characterization in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade has long been debated amongst fans[2][3][4], due to the fact that Karel goes from being the "Sword Demon" to the "Sword Saint" during the timeskip between FE7 and FE6. Despite the fact that Karel joins the protagonists in both games and was never classed as an antagonist, fans have a tendency to group him with the game's villains,[5][6] and refer to him variously as a 'villain', 'anti-villain', 'reformed villain', 'redeemed villain', 'former villain', 'villain protagonist', 'villain turned good' or even an 'antagonist'. Some fans regard Karel's "Sword Demon to Sword Saint" transformation as an example of the "Heel–Face Turn" trope[7][8] rather than a genuine redemption.
Other fans believe that Karel was no less than a anti-hero when he was the Sword Demon in The Blazing Blade and regard him as a wise, enlightened good character as the Sword Saint in The Binding Blade. They also argue that although Karel is an enemy in Fire Emblem Awakening's DLC/SpotPass battles and a unit in Fire Emblem Heroes, his treatment is similar to that of the three main protagonists of The Blazing Blade and their other allies, meaning that they and Karel always appear on the same side regardless of who they fight against.
The implied "death" of Guy
Many fans believe that it is implied that Karel kills Guy during the duel they promised a year after the events of FE7, with Karel being the victor of said duel. Some think that the death of Guy may have caused Karel to repent and become the Sword Saint, while others think that either most of Karel's A supports, Fir being born, or Karla dying of illness is what caused Karel to change. Some believe that Guy is known as the Saint of Swords and believe that Karel stole this title, although fannish meta has indicated that this may have been a mistranslation.[9]
Links and Resources
- Karel at Fire Emblem Fandom Wiki - canon resource
- Karel tag at DeviantArt (be warned that this tag doesn't always apply to this character)
- Karel at Fanfiction.net
- Karel tag at Pixiv
References
- ^ Karel & Lucius support conversations
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=Characters.FireEmblemTheBlazingBladeMainStory
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=YMMV.FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=YMMV.FireEmblemHeroes
- ^ https://bootlegkiciu.tumblr.com/post/172033894987/heres-part-3-of-villains-yes-i-know-not-all-of
- ^ In an art meme (originally at this link, now offline), artist kordi drew Karel and Valter next to the words "Hero & Villain or villain and villain?" They later clarified that they did not intend to equate the two characters.
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=VideoGame.ElibianNights
- ^ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=Fanon.FireEmblem
- ^ FE7 Blazing Blade: Did Guy become THE Sword Saint? Or LIKE the Sword Saint? [JPN/ENG] by kantopia, published June 16, 2016 (Accessed April 12, 2020).