Arth Lucifen d'Autriche

"Such unfounded confidence is my charm..."

- King Arth

Arth Lucifen d'Autriche, known posthumously as Arth I, was the king of the Kingdom of Lucifenia and the father of Riliane and Alexiel. Transplanted into a mud doll after dying in his youth, the prince embarked on a large-scale conquest to expand Lucifenia's borders and later married Anne Swee, making her his queen. Throughout his many battles, the king earned the loyalty and friendship of his closest retainers, the Three Heroes.

Early Life
"The gallant prince: Arth Lucifen d'Autriche. He governed opposite of his father, the king, declaring war on our neighboring countries one after the other, and began expanding his territory. Every man praised him, longing to be him. And every woman desired to be his wife."

- Prim Marlon regarding Arth's youth

Born in the Kingdom of Lucifenia in EC 457 as a member of the Lucifenian Royal Family, Prince Arth met Prim Rogzé and her best friend, Anne Swee, during his childhood, becoming close friends with them. Sometime in the early EC 470s, Arth and his family were killed when their carriage fell off a cliff near the Millennium Tree Forest. After the disembodied soul wandering into the forest, Arth encountered the forest spirit Lich, who "revived" him by giving him a new body made of mud.

Transformed into a golem, Arth took control of the government and began planning to expand his kingdom's dominion to unite the Evillious region. He eventually discarded Elphegort from his invasion plans due to the natural protection it was provided by the Forest of Bewilderment between them.

Afterward, Arth declared war upon their neighbors, Asmodean and Beelzenia, one after the other and invaded. Beginning to expand Lucifenia's territories, the young prince became famous within the kingdom. During this time, he fell in love with Anne; asking her to be his wife and revealing his true nature as a mud golem to her, Arth was met with her acceptance on both counts. After the two were married with Prim's blessing, Arth was later officially crowned as the new king.

He met with Prim sometime after and, while drinking from his wine glass, ingested a poison she had placed in the wine. Seeming to narrowly avoiding death, the king refused to let anyone remotely suspicious near him. With Prim's family known to specialize in drugs and poisons, such as the new Gift poison used on Arth, the royal couple distanced themselves from her until she left for the Kingdom of Marlon.

Conquest for Lucifenia
"Heh, you say this to the great king who made Lucifenia a mighty nation; there's no doubt."

- Arth touting his legacy

As the years progressed, Arth and Anne's relationship became strained as they were unable to have children together. In EC 477, Arth became acquainted with Leonhart Avadonia and Mariam Phutapie, defectors from Beelzenia and Asmodean, respectively. Later on, he made the two executive officers of his army. Around EC 480, Arth witnessed Beelzenia's famed Elluka Clockworker defeat Leonhart and Mariam by conjuring a windstorm; deciding to confront Elluka himself, Arth witnessed her flee to the Millennium Tree Forest.

Later on, Arth approached Elluka again, offering her to join him and serve by his side. A week later, Arth met with Leonhart, Mariam and Elluka at Sanosun Bridge, with the three swearing an oath to him. After the birth of General Gaston Mouchet's daughter on August 25, EC 480, Arth permitted the highly acclaimed and distantly related commander to name her after his grandmother Empress Riliane Roses.

Around EC 482, Arth and his wife were visited by Prim as the Queen of Marlon. During the visit, Arth was secretly seduced by the Marlon queen and they pursued an affair. After Prim left, Arth and Anne's relationship improved and, by a miracle, they sired twin children together on December 27, EC 485, Alexiel and Riliane. As the war dragged on, Arth and his armies gained more and more territory; eventually capturing Retasan Fortress.

In EC 489, he and Alexiel visited a market with Leonhart and, encountering an old woman selling toys in a bottle, Arth taught Alexiel a lesson about being thrifty despite being royalty, chided by Leonhart for doing so. Around EC 490, he posed with his wife and the "Three Heroes" for several portraits by Nikolay Tolle. Around the same time, Beelzenia became weakened by the Gula Disease and Arth took the chance to invade and conquer more of the territory. In EC 491, Arth's mud body finally gave out during the campaign, resulting in his death, and he passed away with Alexiel willed as his successor.

Afterlife
Following his death, Arth was sent to the Heavenly Yard and remained there, reunited with his wife; in his afterlife he learned that the sun god had locked Allen in the device Black Box for a special purpose. In EC 999, he and the other souls were pulled back to the Third Period as the ground world merged with the Hellish Yard. Once there, Arth and Anne returned to the royal palace with their daughter and allowed Riliane to throw a dinner party for everyone from their era. During the festivities, the royal couple passed by Riliane's room in the halls and saw the princess flee into it.

Shortly after, they spotted Allen running after her and Arth greeted his long lost son, musing about how important he had become. As he talked with Allen, Arth shared his confidence that the world wasn't finished yet and, during their reunion, warmly expressed his pride in his son before allowing Allen to meet with Riliane. As Allen prepared to enter Riliane's room, however, Arth inhaled some of the Eighth Gift in the air and began feeling sleepy; despite Anne's attempts to support him, Arth collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

Legacy
Soon after Arth passed, it was publicly declared that he had died of Gula; a political struggle also broke out between ministers over the right of succession after Minister Presi forged a will claiming Princess Riliane was Arth's true successor. In the wake of the incident, the King's heir, Prince Alexiel, was entrusted to Leonhart as his adopted child, "Allen," while the prince was publicly declared dead. .

While the fighting between Lucifenia and its neighbors continued, Arth's conquests left Lucifenia the largest and most powerful nation in history. Although stabilized for years by his wife's rule for nearly a decade, the tyranny caused by Princess Riliane following her mother's death led to the Kingdom's swift decline, with starvation and crime becoming rampant. The Lucifenian Revolution in EC 500 ended the Lucifen dynasty and led to a Marlon occupation by Prim's son King Kyle.

The child he unknowingly sired with Prim, Ney Marlon, became a tool used by her mother and her close compatriot, Abyss I.R., and eventually served as a spy in the royal palace to help undermine Riliane's rule. She later led Marlon's invasion of Beelzenia in EC 505 but failed in her conquest, dying in Marlon after the Battle of Castle Hedgehog.

Historically, Arth was famed in legend as the great king that spearheaded Lucifenia's conquests along with the Three Heroes, with some believing he was capable of uniting all of Evillious under his banner. Elluka would remain grieved by his death and her apparent failure to save him from the Gula disease, recalling him while also mourning Shaw Freezis' death. During the confrontation with Fourth Shadow, she similarly mocked Elluka for her failure to save her dear friends.

Personality and Traits
Arth was an ambitious and idealistic man. Because of his love for humanity, Arth was deeply patriotic and desired to expand Lucifenia into a powerful and united kingdom, warring with Asmodean and Beelzenia for decades for that end. This firm resolve was even strengthened of Anne's acceptance of his nature as a mud golem.

Compounding Arth's love for humanity was a powerful confidence; the man seldom doubted his beliefs even when they were unfounded and, after his death, saw himself as the one who made Lucifenia a great country. Arth was aware of his confidence and believed it to be his charm, although he also recognized the dangers of such confidence and was aware that it was a flaw in his daughter.

As a military leader, Arth largely dealt in all-out offensives, preferring to direct his soldiers to overwhelm his opponents. Arth was also capable of reckless behavior for the sake of his dream, charging into Beelzenia despite the risks in order to take advantage of its being weakened by plague. However, Arth was also capable of restraint, ultimately choosing not to invade Elphegort because of the tactical disadvantages.

Skills and Abilities
"I've... always thought it. By that the character people're born with are like their capacity. I think it'd be amazing if you can unify Evillious. But, there're probably only a few people who can do it."

- General George Ausdin

Arth was a proficient military leader, able to effectively command his troops and expand Lucifenia into the most powerful kingdom in Evillious by the time of his death. As part of this, Arth was learned in the art of swordplay, and earned fame on the battlefield as a result. Arth also had a commanding presence, inspiring confidence and loyalty in his subordinates and earning respect from almost everyone he met. Compounding this presence was a charisma, with Arth being the object of affection for numerous women during his time as a prince.

As a golem, Arth's mud doll body was capable of performing the basic human functions of eating, sleeping and moving, although the king lacked any actual blood in his veins. Aside from this, Arth's body had a short lifespan, giving out after around two decades. Said body also prevented Arth from siring biological children, although he would later miraculously surpass this rule on two occasions.

Character Connections
Anne Lucifen d'Autriche: Arth's wife. Arth grew to love Anne over the course of their friendship and eventually married her. The two held a close relationship, with Anne eventually birthing Arth's children; despite this, Arth's marriage with Anne was not always a happy one, with Arth growing distant at times over the course of the war and cheating on her under the influence of the Venom Sword.

Prim Marlon: A childhood friend of Arth's. The two were friends over the course of Arth's youth, however their relationship became distant after Prim was suspected of poisoning Arth's wine glass. Due to the influence of the Venom Sword, Arth's feelings for Prim became passionately romantic, prompting their affair. Despite their complex relationship, Arth was in favor of uniting their houses with Riliane's marriage to Kyle.

Elluka Clockworker: One of Arth's subordinates. Arth found Elluka's magical abilities useful in battle and the two formed a close friendship, with Elluka defecting to aid the former. This bond continued until Arth's death during the war.

Mariam Phutapie: One of Arth's subordinates. Arth was impressed by Mariam's skills in espionage and assassination at such a young age and formed a close friendship with her after the latter defected. This bond continued until Arth's death during the war.

Leonhart Avadonia: One of Arth's subordinates. Arth relied on Leonhart's skill as a swordsman in battle and the two formed a close friendship over the course of the war; this bond continued until Arth's death during his invasion of Beelzenia.

Alexiel Lucifen d'Autriche: Arth's son. Arth was proud of his son and confident in his ability to rule, making him the heir to the throne in his will.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * His surnames, Lucifen and d'Autriche, are a reference to Lucifer, the patron demon of Pride, and Marie Antoinette, respectively.
 * Arth's appearance is based on an adult version of Kagamine Len as imagined by Ichika.

Curiosities

 * Arth named his daughter after his grandmother, Empress Riliane Roses.
 * Like his son Alexiel, Arth tied his hair in a ponytail.

Gallery
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