Template:Character infobox Foltest — king of Temeria, prince of Sodden, sovereign of Pontar and Mahakam as well as the senior protector of Brugge and Ellander. Son of king Medell and queen Sancia of Sodden. Sancia's relationship with Sodden meant that the principality became a vassal state and Ekkehard paid tribute to Foltest after the death of Gutram.
Foltest is not married. Many rumours circulate about the king's romantic status, since he already established at a very early age, by his scandalous affair with his own sister, Adda of Temeria, that his taste is unusual. After his accession to the throne, he very much wanted to marry Adda and make her his queen — this mortally offended the king of Redania, Vizimir as it had been previously been arranged that Foltest would marry his daughter Dalimira. Adda died, however, and the marriage never did occur, but the affair was a scandal and one that would not go away because the union produced a child, a daughter. A cursed child — probably cursed by Ostrit, who was in love with Adda, but possibly by Foltest's own mother — who died shortly after her birth, or seemed to, until she emerged as a striga.
The girl's curse was ultimately lifted by Geralt of Rivia and she was named Adda, in honour of her mother. All this made Foltest rather ineligible as a royal bachelor mainly because any potential union would always be tainted by the scandal. However, Foltest did not remain celibate for long. His current love is the Baroness Mary Louisa La Valette. It is widely rumoured that both the baroness' children, a son Bussy and a daughter Anaïs, are not the children of the old baron La Valette, but the progeny of Foltest. Foltest's own daughter, Adda the White, is officially regarded as the successor to the Temerian throne, but the girl is clearly impaired and disabled.
Foltest, as with his father, is not very fond of his grandfather, Hugo of Rivia. Upon his accession to the throne, he demanded that Hugo's portrait be removed from throne room. He is also in the habit of "leaving Hugo out" of family genealogy. Plenty of time is devoted to lauding his great-grandfather, Griffin, as he is known to speak warmly of "Grandmama Bienvenu" and "Great-grandmama Clarissa". He tends to be very evasive of any questions regarding family lineage.
The king's Royal Council includes the sorceresses Triss Merigold and Keira Metz, as well as Fercart of Cidaris, Willemer the priest, Bronibor and Hereward of Ellander. Foltest and Demavend of Aedirn joined forces to fight Nilfgaard, but the emperor Emhyr var Emreis was also prepared to fight and met their challenges blow for blow.
After the war with Nilfgaard, he was one of the negotiators of the peace treaty.
Quick Answers
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Biography
He had a child with his sister Adda. This child was cursed (presumably either by Ostrit, who fell in love with Adda, or by Foltest's mother, who was highly furious about the incestous union of her son and daughter) so that died just after its birth, killing her mother as well. Foltest ordered to bury them beneath his castle in Temeria.
Seven years later his daughter came back to life — but as a striga. The monster was so dangerous that Foltest was forced to move his residence somewhere else. The beast was, however, still a threat to all of the citizens living nearby. Foltest determined a great reward to the striga's killer but nobody succeeded.
One day a certain man told Foltest that the curse could be reversed so the King forbade killing the striga. It changed nothing — even the greatest witchers could not manage to do this. The spell was finally broken by Geralt of Rivia.
The daughter was also named Adda after her mother.
During the Second War with Nilfgaard was secretly in love with the baroness La Valette.
Personality
Foltest was a very wise and handsome monarch. He was planning to attack Nilfgaard (with the help of Aedirn) — however, this plan was anticipated by the Empire and thwarted.
The Hexer
Foltest played by Edward Żentara.
He was played by Edward Żentara in both the movie and the series. His representation in the movie and television series is not particularly true to the novels which describe him as a very handsome and young man.
The Witcher
Foltest in The Witcher final cutscene
In the original game, we hear about the king far in advance of any actual meeting. There is talk in the streets which suggests that the monarch is "away", but his specific location is never indicated. King Foltest only arrives in Chapter V, in the midst of the raging conflict in the streets of Old Vizima between the Scoia'tael and the Order of the Flaming Rose.
Template:Spoiler Prior to that, he was away and had left others to govern in his stead: Velerad for instance, and as we find out later, Thaler.
Associated quests
- A Game of Dice
- Her Highness the Striga
- Hope Burns Bright
- Sweet Revenge
- The Flame that Cleanses
- Under a Fiery Sky
Journal entry
- King Foltest is the ruler of Temeria. He inspires both fear and respect in his subjects. Foltest rules with an iron fist; he is decisive and hot-headed. Under his rule Temeria has become the most powerful of the Northern Kingdoms.
- |The king left the city. Theoretically, Burgomeister Velerad is to rule in his stead. In practice, the decisions come from an entirely different source, which causes chaos in the city.
- Foltest returned to Vizima and began restoring order right away. He decided to put an end to the chaos and punish the culprits. It turned out that the king had a job for me, and my deeds influenced his plan.
- If Geralt kills the striga:
- I spoke to Foltest about his daughter's death. It was a difficult conversation. If this stern man had one weakness, it was Adda.
- If Geralt lifts the curse:
- I spoke to Foltest about freeing his daughter from the curse. Adda is the apple of her father's eye, so I definitely lifted his spirits, though the stern ruler showed no emotion.
Template:Endspoiler
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The King in The Witcher 2
Having survived one assassination attempt at the hand of a mysterious killer thanks to the timely intervention of Geralt of Rivia, the king keeps Geralt nearby as he regards Geralt as a sort of 'good luck charm'. At the start of the game, Foltest is leading a civil war against the Baroness La Valette to claim his bastard children. He is eventually assassinated by the Kingslayer and Geralt is accused for the crime. One of Foltest's most trusted agents, Vernon Roche, assists Geralt in finding the Kingslayer. Leaving no lawful heirs, Foltest's assassination plunged Temeria into the chaos of interregnum. The threat of a full-blown civil war between the nobility and the last remaining bastard child remaining and her supporters.
In the game, Foltest has changed significantly, his clothes and face are completely different and is mostly focused on the design and art of the character - he appears more regal, colorful and distinctive. He only briefly appears (relative to the story) in the tutorial missions as flashbacks when recalling the events to Roche.
Journal Entry
Template:Spoiler
- In retrospect, His Royal Majesty King Foltest was certainly an exceptional persona when compared to the other crowned heads of the time. This King of Temeria, Prince of Sodden, Sovereign of Pontar and Mahakam, and Senior Protector of Brugge, Angren, Riverdell and Ellander was a firm and decisive ruler - as, I suppose, one should expect from someone so abundantly titled. He was the kind of man who, when hit, made a sound suggesting he was forged of steel and not molded of bird dung. Being unmarried, he led a rather casual private life. In his youth, while still a prince, Foltest strove to demonstrate what he was capable of, and he proved capable of much. The love affair he had with his own sister, by whom he fathered his eldest daughter Adda, is widely known, as is his later affection for Baroness Mary Louisa La Valette. Both relationships bore heavy consequences, so to speak, and in both instances Geralt found himself stuck in the middle of the resulting mess.
- Foltest most certainly still harbored feelings for his former lover and decided to save the children that were the fruit of this affair. He feared they would otherwise become trump cards in the game of politics, tools of intrigue. Once Foltest made a decision, no one and nothing could stand in his way.
- The deaths of the great and powerful of this world do not always befit their lives. The blow was so unexpected that even the witcher failed to react in time. A dagger's blade ran across the throat of Foltest, ruler of Temeria, cleanly slitting it, and his blood flowed out onto the floor of the temple solar. Thus died one of the most powerful kings of the North - at the hands of an assassin in the garb of a monk.
Video
Death of King Foltest (The Witcher 2)
Death of King Foltest (The Witcher 2)
Notes
- In Michael Kandel's translation of The Witcher short story, Foltest's name was changed to Hrobost.
Gallery
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