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Fredefalk or Friedfalk[2] Vellga[N 2] was prince of Creyden and the father of Renfri. He married Aridea after the demise of his first wife[3] Silvena, Renfri's mother.[4]
Biography[]
Not much is known about Fredefalk except with his first wife he had a daughter named Renfri, whom he adored. After his first wife presumably died, he started a relationship with Aridea, with whom he had a couple children out of wedlock[5] before the two married. It's known they had at least one son while they were together. However, years later, Aridea was poisoned and subsequently died and rumors spread that Fredefalk himself killed her after finding a younger, more robust, mistress.[N 3] He shortly died himself in a strange hunting accident.[3]
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game[]
Renfri's reward tree[]
- Scroll 1: Fredefalk recalled that day—the day when the night came at noon and Renfri was born. The sun was slowly fading, plunging Creyden into a blue twilight. Courtiers and villagers fearfully gazed at the sky, waiting for the moment when the gluttonous shadow would consume the remnants of light. Princess Silvena was lying in her bed. The hunting clothes were stained with blood—this time her own. As soon as she mounted the horse, the pregnant woman suffered excruciating pain. Dark streams trickled down from between her thighs and did not stop flowing as the unconscious princess was carried into the chamber. The unfortunate one Silvena had chosen as her chosen prey, which she intended to personally shoot with a crossbow, was very lucky. More than the maid who dared to look the princess in the face. More than the stable boy who missed a splash of mud while cleaning the Princess's saddle after the last hunt.
- Scroll 2: Ever since Fredefalk had learned that Silvena was with child, he had wondered what their child would inherit from her mother. The fact that she could be like him had not even crossed his mind. The prince was sure that a girl would be born. She will have eyes the color of seawater and will look at him the same way as Silvena—as if challenging him to a duel in which he had no chance to win. Fredefalk shifted his gaze from the pale face of his unconscious wife to the window. The thin silver ring of the sun seemed to crack under the onslaught of darkness. The silence was broken by a scream. Silvena opened her eyes and began giving birth.
- Scroll 3: The girl, Renfri, turned out to be healthy and strong. She was, after all, her mother's daughter. Silvena's breathing was shallow but steady. She was asleep. The sweat clumped the Princess's long light hair into wet pods. Fredefalk looked inquiringly at the midwife, standing in a bloody apron on the other side of the bed. The woman nodded. Fredefalk wasn't surprised. He had never doubted that of the two of them he would be the first to die, not his wife. The prince leaned over the cradle and looked at the shriveled, reddened face. He expected the newborn to have closed eyes, but it seemed to him that something flashed between the sparse lashes. A quick, evil glance. Or maybe a drop of moisture? The prince stretched out his hand and carefully touched the light down on the baby's head. He thought about it. After a long moment, he motioned for the midwife. He whispered in her ear, and she listened silently. When he was leaving, he stopped at the door. The woman stood still with a silk pillow she held just above Silvena's face. One word was enough. The midwife was waiting.
- Scroll 4: Aridea, Fredefalk's second wife, was in many ways similar to Silvena—maybe that was why the prince noticed her. What, in turn, differed her from Fredefalk's first wife, was her lack of panache and imagination. Aridea's exploits never become as famous as Silvena's hunts—overshadowed by stories of Renfri's exploits. First, there was the puppy that her stepmother had given her and which, in unexplained circumstances, fell out of the tower window. Then a maid, mutilated with tailor's scissors, who herself swore it was an accident. Gradually, whispers began to spread among the courtiers about the Curse of the Black Sun, affecting girls born soon after the eclipse. Fredefalk did not give credence to the superstitions, but he did not silence the rumors. From her narrow, pale face, Silvena's eyes looked at him searchingly, as if Renfri was judging whether she was strong enough to beat him.
He did not remember what he considered to be the final proof. Suddenly he felt he couldn't wait any longer. All it took was one word to finally be free of them both—mother and daughter. One word whispered into the ear of the right person. Aridea tilted her head, her pupils dilating as she listened to her husband's whisper. - Chest: The dollhouse is in disarray. Little princesses in little tiaras made of real diamonds lie in a row, stripped of their dresses. Their porcelain faces remain perfectly indifferent as if they have become accustomed to similar humiliations. Fredefalk straightens up and walks to the open window in Renfri's chamber. The prince looks at the garden. He sees Aridea handing a heavy bag to a man dressed in hunting clothes. Renfri runs out of the palace. The hunter takes her by the hand and together they walk towards the forest. On the man's back sways a crossbow, while in the princess' chamber sways a golden cage. The canary's home nudges Fredefalk on the shoulder. On the sawdust-covered bottom lies the tiny body of a dead bird dressed in a dress. The prince returns to his memories.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ The name of Fredefalk's first wife is mentioned in Gwent: The Witcher Card Game.
- ↑ His family name is mentioned in the Trial of Heart scenario for Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni.
- ↑ Stregobor believes Renfri actually killed Aridea, but Renfri claims she didn't, having something more special in mind to kill Aridea.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni
- ↑ Mniejsze zło
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Last Wish
- ↑ Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
- ↑ According to Renfri in The Last Wish