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Cerridwyn the Winterbliss, commonly referred to simply as Cerridwyn is a character appearing in the Soul series of fighting games. She is generally considered an antihero.
What lies in her soul is Voracity.
Her subtitle in promotional material is The Winterbliss, the same as her in-series title.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Cerridwyn was born in the kingdom of Ylisse, where her mother Aversa, and father Shirou were living. She was the youngest of their three children. She had a sister named Morgan, and a brother named Loathe. Cerridwyn had a strong desire to learn to fight from a young age, and as Ylisse was on the brink of war, Aversa and Shirou honored her request to begin training as a knight at the age of seven. Sending her to the Deeprealm was not an option, so she would have to get strong the old-fashioned way. Because of her early departure from her family, her memories of them are vague at best.
She reached the Boreal Valley, a land enwreathed in snow, where she would complete the bulk of her training with a band of warriors known as the Outrider Knights. Due to her strong affinity with ice, she would also attempt to learn basic magic. From age seven to thirty, this is where she would spend her entire life.
Before Soul Calibur[]
As this article is meant to chronicle her involvement in Soul Calibur, this section is only a summary.
Cerridwyn was slain out of jealousy by her superior, Sir Vordt. An unknown force caused her to resurrect some years later in the kingdom of Lothric, and she swore revenge on the knight. She met an aloof, timid woman named Lynenh, with whom she formed an unbreakable, sisterly bond. It was said that their goal was to return some lords to their thrones and reach the 'First Flame', but scholars cannot agree on what their fate ultimately was. Some say that their world, separate from that of Soul Calibur, was reset, and the First Flame is no more.
Still, there are others who argue this theory, and claim instead that Cerridwyn and Lynenh lived through this event, leaving the world of the First Flame behind for another quest, taking place somewhere known only as the 'New World'. There, they took on the role of hunters, proving to be valuable assets in researching the New World's fearsome monsters. Cerridwyn and Lynenh were two of the commission's most powerful members, even facing off against creatures known as Elder Dragons. Later during their time in the New World, they were even able to bring down the fearsome Behemoth, nearly dying in the process.
Soul Calibur VI[]
During the Evil Seed incident, an Astral Fissure opened, but instead of another Berserker, out came a sleeping Cerridwyn. Stranger still, there was no one on the other side to confront her. Could the fissure have activated on its own?
Cerridwyn awoke from her slumber to find herself in another world. With Lynenh nowhere to be found, she wandered the land in search of her blood-sister Lynenh. After many days, she reached civilization in Yanguang, asking around for anyone who might have seen Lynenh, but no one recalled such a woman. However, she did meet another girl who was willing to help in her search - Kara. It didn't take long for Cerridwyn to realize that Kara was not too unlike her; exuding a lusty aura and a desire to make love. Cerridwyn took great interest in Kara, even though she spoke of many things outside of the fourth wall, which Cerridwyn saw as nonsense. Kara cut the conversation short, speaking about some "MC" she had to assist, and left Cerridwyn to her own devices. Her search continued across the continent.
Later, when Susulu was trying to help Haoyu bring his brother Haoran back from malfestation, Cerridwyn overheard them explain the concept of an 'edge master'. She met up with Kara again, and due to their similar views about sex, offered to become Kara's Edge Master so that Kara could better assist Susulu, and maybe even impress some men along the way. However, in order to learn from someone as strong as Cerridwyn, Kara would have to best her in combat.
Knowing her experience in Lothric and the New World would give her an unfair advantage, Cerridwyn suppressed her power for the battle, doing her best to fight on equal footing. The battle was close, but Kara indeed emerged the victor, earning the right to be taught by Cerridwyn. Kara learned several techniques from her, including advanced parrying, roll catching, and dead-angling against shielded opponents. It didn't take long for the two to hit it off as friends, speaking of all the outrageous things they'd do to any man willing to come to bed with them, and they regularly exchanged lewd jokes out of earshot of others.
"Yeah, well... I'd suffocate 'im with my thighs until he begged for mercy! Hahaha!"
After Kara confronted Nightmare and fled after damaging him, Cerridwyn challenged the Azure Knight herself. Even with his immense power, he was thoroughly defeated by Cerridwyn, as she had faced enemies far tougher back in Lothric, and her fighting style was similar. Despite this, she lacked the power to defeat Nightmare for good, as her weapon was ordinary metal without any blessings. Cerridwyn still took the opportunity to mock Nightmare, saying that she was saving him for Lynenh, but was quick to flee before he recovered.
"Prey slaughtered... Now what...?"
When Susulu drew the Soul Calibur from within his body and stopped Azwel from unleashing the Ultimate Seed, Cerridwyn thanked Kara dearly for helping him out as much as she did. Although Kara didn't see much in him, Cerridwyn thought it a shame that Azwel was lead down the wrong path, as he had potential to be a decent person and a skilled warrior.
After Kara's battle with Susulu, the three shared drinks before Cerridwyn left once again, in search of her dearest friend.
Physical appearance/Costumes[]
Cerridwyn's physique is stout and imposing, reflecting her superhuman strength. Though she does not take the same pride in her body as Kara does, she appears considerably thick; her butt is big enough to show through nearly everything she wears. Even Lynenh commented on how her "hips [were] huge". Despite not being particularly vain, Cerridwyn did mention that she was satisfied with her body as long as it attracted potential bed partners.
She has caramel skin, taking on a mix of her fairer-skinned father and her mother, who boasted a dark complexion. She has round, full cheeks and voluminous lips. Though brown at birth, her hair is pure-white, and cut jagged and short. Her strangest physical feature is her white eye, so much that in SCVI, it is covered by an eye patch.
In terms of attire, Cerridwyn prefers alluring dark tones and eye-catching cyans.
Her default costume is the Smith's Jacket, tying down her breasts for combat practicality. A hammer is fastened to the belt, perhaps as a memento of her fondness for hammers during her adventures in the New World. She also wears a solid black slit skirt, allowing for generous view of her thick thighs, as well as long laced boots. This outfit is designed to allow Cerridwyn to completely let loose with her reckless fighting style, with minimal inhibition in regards to movement. Its appealing look was an afterthought, but Cerridwyn considers it a welcome bonus.
By contrast, her 2P outfit is decidedly modest - a full set of light blue metal armor covering everything but her head. It is likely a reference to, or a modified form of, her original Outrider Knight armor set.
Personality[]
At face value, two ideologies define Cerridwyn best. Firstly, she is often cruel-natured, caring little for the lives of anyone outside of her allies or those she respects. She only helps others if there is something for her to gain, which is how most of her friendships are formed in the first place. Possibly due to the rigorous training she went through to achieve knighthood, and her previous death at the hands of Vordt, she is hateful by nature and doesn't give her trust to others easily. This is reflected in her fighting style - she is thoroughly reckless, preferring an all-out assault with oversized weapons and caring little for her own defense. She is prone to blacking out with rage during combat. She also enjoys finishing her enemies off in the most sadistic manner possible, torturing them in their last moments of life while her allies watch in disgust.
This fighting style is made possible largely due to Cerridwyn's other defining trait - her insatiable desire for pleasures of the flesh. Her lifelong goal is to make love to the man of her dreams, and will stop at almost nothing. Any time she allies with a male, it is customary for her to unsubtly hit on him until he relents. Unfortunately, this usually backfires due to her forward approach, and her fearsome appearance. Most men who have met her describe her as an unholy mix of attractive and terrifying. Her near-constant arousal multiplies her pain tolerance considerably. She has almost no grasp on the concept of love or a proper relationship. Unlike Kara, she doesn't take much pride in her looks, but will graciously accept the occasional compliment. She does her best to explain to others that her sexual desires are part of who she is, and many have admitted that she grew on them over time.
Outside of this, Cerridwyn has grown to respect the few allies she has a great deal. She considers Lynenh irreplaceable, equal to a blood-related sister, and swears to never let harm come to her. After meeting her grandparents, who she didn't know at first since they hadn't aged and appeared the same age as her, she was very impressed by their prowess in battle and treated them more like friends than family. Kara is one of the few people she hit it off with from the beginning, due to their similar views on sex. Everyone who has befriended her comments that she has a big heart, but she vehemently denies this, even joking that she might still be using them.
Cerridwyn does not have many particular skills outside of combat, but she has shown to be a surprisingly good dancer. She doesn't enjoy showing this off very much, but many have noted her fluid back movement.
Arcade Ending[]
With one final strike from the Giant Buster, Nightmare collapses in defeat. Cerridwyn stretches her arms toward the sun as text appears over the screen, "TARGET WAS DESTROYED".
She takes a deep breath and picks up Soul Edge, focusing her energy into the blade.
"You know where I wanna go, huh? Then submit to me, cursed sword! Do as I say!"
She tears open a jagged portal in the sky and crawls through. On the other side is Lynenh, holding a flame in her hand. Cerridwyn runs to Lynenh and hugs her, tossing Soul Edge aside before she is consumed.
"Lynenh! How the hell are ya? Things were getting really boring without... what is it?"
Lynenh winks at the white-haired warrior, holding out the flame in her palm.
"Oh, don't tell me... What have you gotten mixed up in this time?"
Reunited, the sisters set off on yet another adventure, their souls remain inseparable.
Fighting Style[]
Cerridwyn mainly borrows Nightmare's one-handed Zweihander style, but with minor differences. Many of her unique moves reference her appearances in Dark Souls III and Monster Hunter: World, such as the ability to 'riposte' after a successful Guard Impact, extra invincibility frames on dodging at the cost of her guard being broken sooner, and the ability to charge some attacks. The aura effect on Nightmare's attacks is replaced by an icy aura.
Overall, her attacks have more mixup potential than Nightmare's, but her defenses are much worse.
Weapons[]
Soul Calibur VI[]
Critical Edge[]
Avalanche Regalia: Cerridwyn tackles the opponent with her entire body. If this hits, jagged icicles will extend from her fingertips, and she will toss her weapon aside. The animation is slightly different depending on the gender of the opponent - against females, she will simply pin them down with the weight of her body, but against males, she will wrap her thighs around their face. Either way, she then proceeds to viciously claw the enemy before jumping off. If the attack successfully KOs, she will bite off one of the icicles and lick her lips. On the other hand, if they survive, she simply expresses disbelief.
Quotes[]
- "Summoning Dark Spirit Cerridwyn... Hahaha!"
- "Another invader? Gimme a break..."
- "You'll look even sexier dead."
- "Only good malfested is a dead one."
- "Found you!"
- "Not even close!"
- "Kara! How the hell are ya, girl?" - vs. Kara
- "D-dad?! I'll show you what I've become!" - vs. Shirou
- "A hollow... here? But how...?" - vs. Voldo, Astaroth, Cervantes, or a CAS Malfested
- "This'll feel good... Regalia time!!!" - activating Critical Edge
- "Like what you see? We could always settle this another way..."
- "It's pretty big, huh? My blade, I mean."
- "Relax, and let Cerri do all the work."
- "Still trying to best me, eh Lyn? Then show me that fire!" - vs. Lynenh
- "Too cold? I can make it hot real quick."
- "H-h-hi... my name's, uhh, Cerridwyn..." - vs. Siegfried, Maxi, Kilik, Groh, or Raphael
- "Feel. It. Take in all my love!" - KO with Critical Edge
- "Worthless casual... git gud!"
- "Mission successful! Returning to camp in sixty..." - victory quote
- "Praise my buns, hmm?" - victory quote
- "Ember restored, let's go!" - victory quote
- "Hmm. Lasted longer than you would've in bed."
- "Carted just like that?!" - defeat quote
- "Just watch, I'll give you eternity!" - soul charge
Trivia[]
- Although Cerridwyn defeated Nightmare once, this was quite early in the timeline. She would have lost to him circa Soulcalibur IV, and likely would lose to Night Terror as well.
- Cerridwyn could be considered a "guest" character, since she first appeared in Dark Souls III and Monster Hunter: World. Many of her quotes, attacks, and other mannerisms are obvious references to these games.
- Cerridwyn mistaking some characters for hollows is similar to Patroklos' assumption about some characters in Soulcalibur V.
- Her moderate skill as a dancer is a reference to the dancer class from Fire Emblem, the series from which her mother hails. It is unknown if this ability can reinvigorate other fighters the way it can in its home series.
- Her ice abilities have no bearing on gameplay and are purely aesthetic.
- She bears some superficial similarities to Ivy. Both have short, pure-white hair. Both characters are somewhat sexually themed, and both age very slowly due to a curse.
- The way she tears open a portal during her arcade ending is nearly identical to the way Pyrrha does this in the story mode of Soul Calibur V.