❅ APPLICATION ❅
Character
Name: Prince Crescendo
Fandom: Eternal Sonata
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Time Period: After defeating Waltz on Mt. Rock
Wing Color: Sky blue with flecks of gold
History: A note: Since not a lot of history on Crescendo's past is revealed most of this stuff is fanon and inferred through his current characterization. Fanon is bolded.
Crescendo is the only Prince to the Kingdom of Baroque and as royalty he was well educated. He has also been trained in combat; his main type of weapon is a mace and shield. Also since he was appointed captain of his own ship Crescendo is probably proficient in commanding and seafaring too. Given his status he attended many balls and probably met Serenade there. They spent a few years together until they became engaged and are still so during the present time in which the game takes place.
At the moment Crescendo is currently the leading nobility of Baroque due to his father being taken ill and thus indisposed. He is first met on board his ship where Frederic and his group are picked up after having fallen into the Fusion River when Tuba destroyed the Cabasa Bridge in front of Fort Fermata.
He is amicable enough and offers to take everyone back to Baroque with him since they obviously had nowhere else to go. Unfortunately the idle peacetime was cut short as a group of pirates attack his ship. Thankfully though Frederic, Polka, Beat and Salsa defeated the pirates and their captain, Dolce, thus allowing Crescendo and the rest of the party to make a safe journey onward towards Baroque.
A good deal of time is spent in Baroque, but a majority of it shows Crescendo speaking to Jazz, along with the others until he is finally left to his own devices. It is at this point that he is trying to figure out the course of action in which he wants to engage Forte. He doesn’t want to cause another war and have countless of his people killed so he decides on an ulterior motive, something which none of the others suspected. A commotion in the hallway draws both Crescendo and his fiancée out of his room where they witness two guards handling a rather old, decorated, mirror. Crescendo immediately recognizes it as a priceless heirloom known as Lament, a mirror which belonged to his grandfather. Lo and behold what happens to Crescendo, Serenade, Frederic, Polka, Beat and Salsa is nothing short of unexpected. They are unwillingly sucked into the mirror and separated from one another. Throughout the time in the mirror they see the past king of Baroque and Forte arguing with one another on how to go about a peaceful relationship. Finally they make it to the deepest part of the mirror and defeat the spirit that resides within it the action frees them and puts them back into their own world. It then that Crescendo fully realizes that his job as a prince is the safety and security of his people. And through the choices he makes the consequences are his alone. Unlike his grandfather, who used the spirit of the mirror as a go to in the previous war, Crescendo is willing to take matters into his own hands and face his responsibilities along with the consequences of his actions.
Soon after this Crescendo finally confronts Serenade about knowing of her joint allegiance to both Baroque and Forte. It is after this that he requests Jazz and the others to wait while he decides on the best course of action to take. However in that time period Crescendo and Serenade come to the conclusion that the both of them will go to Forte alone and offer themselves up to Count Waltz in order to obtain peace between the two countries. They go off to Mt. Rock to face Waltz head on, but not until the others come to fight Waltz and successfully defeat him in battle. It is here that he will be taken to Luceti.
Personality: Crescendo is the epitome of a kindly noble. He is charismatic, charming, and the people of Baroque entrust their lives to him. He also, however, has a brave and bold disposition as well. Never once giving into the thought of having to fight Forte to establish peace this thinking however puts him into a very tough position. Crescendo’s decisions in the game based upon his feelings and while pure at heart there are advantages and disadvantages to a ruler having such things being the main backup to the choices they make. His choice to leave Baroque and sacrifice himself to Waltz being one such instance where his feelings give way to a very poor choice and thus have dire consequences. He goes through many trials, such as Lament Mirror and facing Count Waltz head on, but from these trials he finally comes to realize that while not violent in nature; he needs to fight to help secure peace and protect his people at times.
Despite all that Crescendo’s dedication to his people is beyond that of what a prince should be concerned with. Albeit at the time Crescendo is only in control of Baroque because of his father’s absence due to illness, but he takes his duties and protection of his people quite seriously. Because of that he is a very cautious peace promoting individual. While Forte pushes towards conflict Crescendo remains firm in his resolve to not start another war. He feels this way because people are the product and driving force of their own choices and, while war could end matters quickly, it the king’s responsibility above all else to see to it that his subjects are not killed or hurt. Perhaps it is because of this realization that Crescendo strives towards peace instead of bloodshed and violence because it would be those countless deaths on his own shoulder’s and frankly it is not the only choice in this matter. Crescendo looks towards the future more than the past or the present seeing what had happened to his grandfather from the Lament mirror only makes him firmer in his convictions to obtain peace instead of going to war. It is this trait that makes Crescendo such a good leader because he is willing to accept the consequences of his actions and take the blame for them as well.
In regards to his relationships within the game Crescendo has known Jazz in particular for a very long time. Throughout their friendship Crescendo has aided the other in whatever it maybe he needed help with. It is not until when Forte begins to treat the miners of Mt. Rock, Jazz’s hometown, as slaves that their relationship becomes strained. Jazz with bravery decides to stand against Forte and rallies the miners into a revolt. Crescendo however, stands down because he believed violence was not the answer; he thought a more peaceful resolve could be found, which is why Baroque tried to interfere with Forte and the miners to find that peaceful solution. Unfortunately the peaceful resolve Crescendo sought only ended in tragedy. Many lives both from Forte and miners alike were lost that day and for a long time Jazz and Crescendo had not seen each other since then. It is not until Jazz comes to Crescendo as the Leader of Andantino that Crescendo decides to aid his friend from there on; even if he didn’t really think what Jazz was doing was right.
Crescendo’s probably most prominent relationship is with his fiancée, Serenade. It’s not really known but Crescendo has known Serenade to be a spy for Forte perhaps from the beginning. Yet never once does he try to take her life or make an example of her via execution or imprisonment. Actually he takes what she says to heart sometimes and the two of them end up going to Forte to offer themselves up as prisoners for peaceful negotiations between the two countries. It was only then that Crescendo realized it wasn’t just about Baroque and Forte anymore, it was about saving the world in its entirety and in order to do that he needed to join the fight to stop Waltz from destroying it.
Strengths:
Physical: Despite his royal stature Prince Crescendo is actually a damn good fighter. He knows several powerful attacks and is regarded as being a ‘paladin’. He dual wields a mace and shield along with having a balance of both light and dark based attacks, Crescendo is essentially very balanced and a good asset to have on your team. Safe to say if you’re expecting him to be a soft, pampered noble, you best not look him up in the dictionary.
Mental: Mentally Crescendo is very smart. He is nobility after all and with it comes being learned. He often at times is a voice of reason for the small portions that he is with Frederic and his group, explaining in detail the mirror for example. He is also prone to deep thoughts and taking care to make his choices matter taking time in making them and not acting reckless.
Mental: Crescendo has his ups and downs. Generally he is a good spirited individual and he’s more often than not, cheerful most of the time. He’s kind enough to take onboard his ship complete strangers and even allows them to stay in the palace. Typically however he can become serious when it comes to Forte and the war going on. His relationship with Jazz is a main emotional focus to his overall effort in this war. Having failed to help Jazz in the past has led the other to becoming more active in the war between Forte and Andantino. And he thus lends Andatino and Jazz his aid, due to his friendship with the other. Despite him telling Andantino that he can no longer aid them in this war Crescendo wants above nothing else to express his emotions clearly to Jazz in order to preserve their friendship in such times.
Weaknesses:
Physical: Regardless of military prowess Crescendo is only human and with it he, like most, can be harmed. His powers are also weakened in Luceti and therefore will not be as damaging.
Mental: Basically Crescendo thinks too much sometimes. It is his downfall specifically in game when he concocts the idea of becoming a martyr and giving himself up to Forte and Waltz to protect his people. Another instance is his overly cautious thought process; said process is the main factor as to why he stops aiding Andatino all together.
Emotional: This is probably Crescendo's major fault. Not only is he emotionally invested in his kingdom and his people but that same fervor becomes a major driving force towards most of his actions. For example his love of his fiancée Serenade, while knowing full well that she is a princess of Forte he still willingly accepts her judgment and ideas. It’s not clearly stated why but emotionally he is still very much in love with her, even offering himself up Waltz to protect her as well. He is far too kind as well, basically he allowed his idea of assassinating Waltz to be turned down because, as usual, he thought too much into it and is of course opposed to violence.