—King Desmond to Zephiel
Desmond is a non-playable character in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. He is the king of Bern and the father of Zephiel and Guinivere.
Though unnamed in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, he played a key role in Zephiel's antagonism in said game.
Profile
Descended from one of the Eight Legends, Hartmut, Desmond is the king of Bern and husband to Hellene of Etruria. The marriage was forced politically, much to his frustration. Desmond held true love for an unnamed commoner woman, and despite his marriage, took her as a mistress. Through Hellene he fathered a son, Zephiel, while his mistress bore him a daughter, Guinivere, a few years later.
Having despised his marriage to Hellene, Desmond viewed Zephiel with scorn. Despite his wishes, by birthright, Zephiel would eventually take the throne, even though he blatantly favored Guinivere. Hellene further exasperated his hatred of the marriage by taunting that the laws of Bern made Zephiel his successor whether he wished for it or not. To slight her, he forced Hellene and Zephiel to live in the Royal Manse outside the castle while his mistress and Guinivere were allowed to live in the castle.
Despite the bitter relationship between his parents, Zephiel genuinely desired to earn Desmond's favor and was nothing short of a prodigy in his education and training. Further supported by the people of Bern, who viewed the prince as a worthy successor, Desmond grew paranoid that Hellene and Zephiel were plotting to usurp the throne from him. To make matters worse for him, Zephiel and Guinivere had a close relationship despite him actively preventing them from meeting as often as he could. Though he declared that he would rather have Guinivere succeed him, even with Zephiel's acceptance at the time, the common folk called for Zephiel's eventual coronation, forcing Desmond to take drastic measures.
Desmond cut a deal with Sonia to assassinate his son on the eve of Zephiel's coming of age ceremony, and in exchange, would not interfere with The Black Fang's plans if successful. A timely rescue and defense by traveling lords Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn prevented Zephiel's assassination. His plan failed and it seemed that Zephiel's ascension would carry out no matter how hard he tried.
Years would pass, with Zephiel's popularity continuing to grow. Desmond tried once more to kill Zephiel, this time inviting him to the castle under the pretense of having accepted his son after years of denial. Zephiel eagerly drank from the goblet Desmond offered him, which had been laced with poison. Zephiel grew deathly ill and was presumed dead, with word reaching Desmond of his son's passing. He planned on blaming both Hellene and his tutor, Murdock, for Zephiel's death and intended to exile them as a result. A funeral was arranged for Zephiel and when Desmond approached the casket, Zephiel sprung to life, revealing that he survived the assassination attempt and murdered Desmond in cold-blood.
Desmond's ill treatment of Zephiel resulted in the new King's jaded outlook on humanity as a whole and thus plunged all of Elibe into a war that nearly lead to the destruction of the continent and potential rule by War Dragons.
Personality
Desmond is highlighted by his cold, selfish outlook on life. He was dissatisfied with his political marriage, though not entirely his fault as Hellene fanned the flames of his bitterness through her taunting. Though denied true marriage to his love, he took his real lover as a mistress and fathered a daughter with her. He showed blatant favoritism towards Guinivere, despite her being illegitimate, and saw Zephiel as a reminder that the child of his true love would never be his true successor. He did seem to care for Guinivere, but used her mainly to spite Hellene and Zephiel, even refusing to let his two children interact despite their mutual fondness.
Even though Zephiel proved to be nothing less than a loving son desperate to win his father's love and approval, Desmond's hatred of Zephiel as the physical manifestation of his denied wishes fueled his selfishness. In fact, as the years progressed, his hatred grew into paranoia that Zephiel and Hellene were plotting to steal everything from him. When Guinivere was gifted a fox cub by Zephiel, a gift she wanted to cherish, Desmond had the fox disposed of simply because he viewed the gift as an attempt to turn Guinivere against him. This fear and bitterness eventually led him to plot two assassination attempts on his son. Though the first one ended without much incident as the truth was never made light, the second one ultimately sowed the seeds of resentment in his formerly loving son and resulted in Desmond's death for all of the abuse he had dealt to him despite his former attempts to appease his father.
Choose Your Legends Placement History
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | Ineligible | ||||
| CYL2 | Ineligible | ||||
| CYL3 | Ineligible | ||||
| CYL4 | Ineligible | ||||
| CYL5 | 493 |  The Blazing Blade |
11 | ||
| CYL6 | 505 ↓12 |
The Blazing Blade |
7 ↓4 | ||
| CYL7 | 427 ↑78 |
The Blazing Blade |
4 ↓3 | ||
| CYL8 | 431 ↓4 |
The Blazing Blade |
11 ↑7 | ||
| CYL9 | 389 ↑42 |
The Blazing Blade |
10 ↓1 |