- For other uses, see Edward (disambiguation).
- "My work here isn't finished, Annette. I'm not ready to leave. When I sing, there's light in this darkness."
- — Edouard to Annette in "Devourer of Light"
Edouard (エドゥアール Edo~uāru?) is a character in the Netflix original animated series, Castlevania: Nocturne. He is an opera singer turned revolutionary from Saint-Domingue who accompanied Annette to Europe in search of Richter Belmont, only to be killed and later resurrected as a Night Creature retaining his humanity.
He is voiced by Sydney James Harcourt.
History[]
Season 1[]
Edouard was a talented opera singer until he met Annette and joined her cause to slay vampires. He accompanied her all over Europe, until they arrived just in time to save Richter Belmont from a night creature. He thanked Tera for a decent meal. Then he told his story, later singing a song when Maria was burying one of her bird familiars that died during the previous battle.
He later accompanied the group to the nest of vampires, but sadly, as they were fleeing, he wasn't fast enough and was surrounded and drained dry of blood by a massive horde of vampires. His corpse was then turned into a night creature, although he maintained the memories of his past life; so, during his first battle, he saved Annette instead of killing her. This resulted in him being imprisoned by his masters. In his cell, he would sing songs, which had an effect on the other night creatures held there. During Richter and his companions' raid on the chapel, Annette found Edouard and offered to end his life. However, this terrified him, and Annette apologized, telling him she thought that was what he wanted. After Richter runs away at the unexpected sight of Olrox, Edouard was approached by the vampire, who asks what happened to him; Edouard responds that he wants his freedom, and Olrox responds: "We all do". Later, Edouard spoke with his guard, who turned to be Jacques, another revolutionary who was killed by vampires and also had his corpse turned into a night creature, and they formed an alliance.
During the final battle, Annette made it to the cells and offered Edouard to free him, but he told her to finish her mission first before saving him. Later, when a night creature was ordered to kill Edouard for singing, Jacques decapitated it. Edouard then arrived at the basement and embraced a crying Annette as she failed to push the machine back to Hell.
Season 2[]
Edouard was seen with Emmanuel, and Emmanuel allowed Edouard to remain free from his cage; Edouard suffered many hardships as a multiple-armed night creature would beat him whenever he sang. Edouard then spoke with a new Night Creature made from the corpse of a French National Guard noble captain; she told him that if he kept singing, they would cut out his tongue. Edouard asked her to sing with him, and then they would cut off their oppressors' heads. Edouard was seen singing a song to mourn the death of their Forge Master Emmanuel, but he was then struck from behind by another Night Creature to silence him.
Edouard met with the Captain again, and she asked why he sang. Edouard told her that it made him feel free and alive. At the final battle, Edouard followed the other Night Creatures to Paris. However, he began to sing a revolutionary song, and this sparked the mutiny as the former captain talked to her men, who had also been turned into Night Creatures to fight with Edouard; a battle ensued between the noble Night Creatures and the evil ones, Edouard used his strength to kill many, but he witnessed Jacques and his other friend both be killed by the same Night Creature that had been oppressing him, in anger, Edouard charged at the beast, Edouard jumped on the back of the beast and after a brief struggle successfully broke its neck killing his tormentor.
After the Battle, Edouard met with Annette and was invited to return home with her. Edouard asked her whether he would be welcome back home as he was a hideous monster. Annette told him that he was beautiful. Edouard then rowed the boat that Richter and Annette were on to port and boarded the ship. He startled a few of the crew, but he then stood at the head of the ship and sang a beautiful song into the sunset.
Appearance[]
Edouard was a man of African and European descent. He had a fair-olive skin tone and long, curly brown hair, which he kept tied in a ponytail most of the time. One of his most particular characteristics was his big, clear blue eyes. As a famous opera singer, he could often be seen wearing elegant and expensive clothes.
After his transformation into a night creature, Edouard adopted the form of a brown-colored demon, with bat-like wings coming out of his lower back and a darker external layer of skin that somewhat resembled an open-chested one-piece suit, complete with a neck with long raised flaps and other bat-inspired motifs. He also developed a bone mask divided into four horns curved toward the back with golden tips. More notably, he grew an extra pair of arms, with his normal ones remaining almost the same, and two additional slim forearms coming out from his neck that perpetually have their hands covering his face. He also retained his big blue eyes almost intact, although now with a perpetual glow.
Personality[]
Edouard is remarkably generous and amicable, but that doesn't mean he isn't also courageous. Aware of the great economic and social differences between the wealthy French colonists of Saint-Domingue and its slave population, as well as himself being a creole who had the opportunity to live an accommodated life as a famous opera singer, he desires a world where more justice and equality prevail. When Vaublanc interrupted his performance while looking for his escaped slave, Annette, he immediately recognized his kind and took a dislike for him. On the other hand, when he discovered Annette hiding in his dressing room, he calmed her down and let her know she could trust him, even risking his name by helping her escape. From that day, he and Annette became best friends, and this would go to the extent of not even hesitating in leaving his lavish life and following her in joining the Maroons, escaped slaves mobilizing a resistance, along with the many battles that came with that.
When he was turned into a night creature, Edouard retained his soul despite his drastic physical change. He thus was able to remember most of his past life when he saw Annette during an attack where he was supposed to kill her and her friends and even save her from another creature. This disobedience would throw him into the abbey's cellars. Sad and lonely, he began singing his old opera songs with such passion that it had an effect on some of the other creatures there, helping them also to start recalling their memories as humans and even being able to communicate and ally with some of them.
He retained his selfless good heart even after being transformed into a monster, which he evidenced both times when Annette was able to reach his cell, the second time, when he told her to leave him and first complete her mission (destroying the infernal machine), as his work there wasn't finished, referring to how his songs could soothe the other creatures.
Powers and abilities[]
As a human, Edouard has some skill with a sword, as seen when fighting against vampires and night creatures. After transforming into a night creature himself, he becomes a monster equipped with fangs, claws, wings, and the typical speed and strength associated with their kind. His most unique ability is his opera singer's voice, which he retained from being human. It seems to take on a quality that mesmerizes some of the other night creatures and may have a persuasive element to it that allows him to remind them of their humanity.
Appearances[]
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Quotes[]
- "We're from the island of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean Sea."
- "Do you feel close to these creatures?" [...] "So, part of you has died. Like part of you died with your sister. I'll sing for them both."
- "There are five hundred people in this theater, and all any of us can smell is your dogs."
- "He's a vampire, isn't he? Your master."
- "There's not that many places to hide for people who look like us."
- "It's what's in our hearts that matters, Annette."
- "I make them happy, and they lower their guard and loosen their tongues. You learn useful information that way. It helps when I have to hide runaways."
- "Warriors in arms, Annette. Family in hearts."
- "This is an island, baby. Can you swim?"
- "I don't know what happened, who I am, what-- what I am, but I want my freedom."
- "Who were you, friend? Do you remember who you were?"
- "And in this prison, down here in the dark, Jacques. Standing guard over me. Do you accept it now, as your fate?"
- "My work here isn't finished, Annette. I'm not ready to leave. When I sing, there's light in this darkness. it touches souls. But yours, your work... is down there. Hurry. There is evil everywhere."
- "These men died because they believed in you. So you pray for them, hoping it will help. But not for us. The night creatures you will burn because you think we offend your God."
- "From when I was a boy, all I dreamed of was the opera. When I sang, people loved me. They whistled and cheered and threw coins at my feet. I wore Parisian silks. I drink champagne. But the world is dark and cruel and filled with monsters. And that was too much to bear."
- "I remember a song we sang in Saint-Domingue when we burned the plantations. A song in the language of the slaves. Grenadye alaso Sa ki mouri zafè a yo."
Gallery[]
- Main article: Edouard/Gallery
Trivia[]
- Edouard and Annette join a group of escaped slaves mobilizing a resistance called the Maroons. The Maroons were real-life descendants of Africans in the Americas and Islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. One of these groups led a six-year rebellion against the white plantation owners in Haiti that preceded the Haitian Revolution.
- While in the series it isn't explicitly stated the date when the slaves rebellion of Saint-Domingue took place, the real-life Vodou ceremony of Bois Caïman and subsequent first slave revolt of the Haitian Revolution took place in 1791, while the main events of the series' story take place one year later, in 1792. This would correctly match with the chronology of the series timeline, including Edouard's apparent age during the flashback.