#the moral of this post is that titania deserves a vacation

[nonbinaryspy]

Meta: Titania and Knightly Devotion

My favorite way to read Titania is that in spirit, she never stopped being a knight. When Ike brings up her past as a Crimean knight, she isn't particularly pleased it's being discussed, and alludes to having a lot to worry about. Still, her Tellius Recollection profile says that "she is not ashamed of bearing the title of 'Paladin.'" Meanwhile, Greil and Elena's past gives a good indication of what Titania might have meant about her worries.

Back when Greil killed Elena and the villagers, and had to flee Gallia with his children—one of whom had amnesia and the other of whom was only a little older than a toddler—I've always assumed Titania went with him. It's stated in the Tellius Recollection book that she has been with the company since its inception, but IIRC, we don't know anything about this time from her perspective. What did she know about the medallion? How must she have felt, learning what Greil had done, when Elena was also her friend? Did she mourn Elena privately for Greil's sake, as she would later try to contain her grief for Greil?

Regardless, leaving the knights to join this broken family was a big decision. She doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward the royal family or the knights, even getting defensive of them in chapter four while debating how Daein's invasion will turn out. Her choice demonstrates great loyalty to Greil. She certainly admires many things about him—his strength, his love of his family, and his values, which she shares. Those values contain arguably the main difference between her life now and her time as a royal knight.

As the Greil Mercenaries' captain, she helps people regardless of their status rather than focusing on serving the royal family. She serves Crimea and its common good with as much dedication as any knight, but she is able to do it in a more direct way than a knight perhaps would, without the trappings of politics. However, her Tellius Recollection profile lists her likes as justice and honesty, very knightly virtues. One of her design notes even says that "traces of her time in the Crimean Royal Knights remain." I imagine this is referring to elements of her visual design and her proper bearing, but I think it goes deeper.

Parts of the plot emphasize sacrifice as an ideal of knights, while also questioning it when Elincia refuses to let Geoffrey sacrifice himself (A post about this is absolutely coming soon, btw.). Titania, in deciding to follow Greil, sacrificed whatever her old ambitions had been as a knight. She continues to focus on taking care of others while hiding her own feelings. Even when Greil dies, she mourns him in private while working to keep the company together. Though Ike suggests that Titania loved Greil, it seems to have been a selfless love, not one where she looked for anything in return. That said, unlike a knight who might be expected to die for their liege, she lives so she can continue to support the mercenaries. This is even shown in one of her retreat quotes, where she initially intends to sacrifice herself for Crimea as one of its knights would, but withdraws at Ike's command:

Titania: Urgh! Ah… …I can still… …can still…fight… Ike: Stop it, Titania! That wound could kill you! Hurry up and retreat! Titania: For Crimea… I must… This war hangs in the balance… I cannot withdraw… Ike: No, that’s why you have to withdraw! I need you alive! We’ll be all right! Believe in us! Titania: I understand…Ike. And I’m sorry.

Just as Titania is too important to the plot to succumb to permadeath in PoR, she is too treasured within the group for her sacrifice to be accepted.

Titania has many roles within the group. She's a mother figure to Ike and Mist, of course—this is especially apparent in her Mist supports, where she's particularly doting. She tries to get Mist to relax, helps her with chores, goes shopping in town with her, buys her a dress, and even compares her own role to Elena's while offering herself as a confidant. If she left Gallia with Greil, then she would have literally been with Ike as long as he can remember.

But she's also a mentor who helps Ike finish his training after his father dies, and an advisor who guides him in both practical and moral concerns. She represents his conscience throughout the game. Even her Rhys supports feature her expressing concern that Ike may be tempted away from the ideals his father represented re: helping others regardless of reward, though she becomes certain that won't happen. She's Greil and Ike's second in command who they can trust to put in charge due to her calm demeanor and steady ideals.

But if you think of her as almost treating herself like Greil's knight, then doesn't that cast her relationships with Ike and Mist in the same light? She protects them. She supports them without question, and puts her faith in Ike to lead the group on a virtuous path. Despite having very personal relationships with them, she remains formal, stoic, and chivalrous, like a proper knight, rather than fitting the image of a rowdy mercenary. She's been with Greil for far longer than she was a Crimean knight, but she truly earns the title of paladin.

What really sells me on this reading is her A support with Ike, which I'm going to include in its entirety because it's one of my favorites:

Ike: Titania? I wish to thank you. Titania: W-what? What’s with all the formality? Ike: There’s no guarantee that any of us will see tomorrow, and I want to tell you this while it’s still in my head. Will you listen? Titania: Um… All right, but…what’s with you? And what have I done to deserve your thanks? Ike: You have done much. You helped my father build this company. He had lost his wife and had two young children to care for… I wish to thank you for that. Titania: …Oh, Ike… Ike: I’ve taken everything in my life for granted, and it was all possible because of you. My thanks is far too late in coming. Titania: It’s not necessary, Ike. What I did, I did because– Ike: You loved him. Didn’t you? Titania: …!!! …Um… Ike: Perhaps I’m wrong. Regardless… I stand here alive today because of you. And I still want to thank you for it. Had you not lent a helping hand, I would most likely be dead. And my father’s life cut short as well. You helped to keep him alive until the Black Knight brought him down… You made his final years happy. Thank you. Titania: Oh, Ike… …I don’t… …Sniff… …Sniff… …Sniff… Ike: Unlike my father, I lack both experience and strength, but… I’m learning. Please, keep aiding and supporting me. Please… Titania: …Sniff… Of course… Of course I will, Ike.

This conversation demonstrates Ike's thoughtfulness. He acknowledges everything she's done for him and expresses his gratitude, and even guesses at her hidden feelings. It shows the considerate person that he's grown into, in large part due to Titania's influence. In a base conversation, he even finally opens up about the night Greil died, a traumatic moment that Ike has not shared with anyone, because he feels she deserves to know. This helps her come to terms with her grief.

What's relevant about their support here, though, is his formality. Given the presentation of Titania as a motherly figure, and the fact that Ike is even calling out her feelings for Greil, one would expect him to behave more personally here, a step more casual compared to their professional relationship. But instead, he becomes more proper than he is in even meetings with politicians. It's almost like he's recognizing the princely role he plays in her life—the person she's sworn to follow, protect, and advise. That gives him a sense of duty to ensure she's properly appreciated, and that he has properly entreated her for her aid. It's certainly not a role one would expect him to be happy taking on, but maybe that's what happens when the only mother figure you remember is a gallant former knight. Either way, I'm glad her dedication at least gets the recognition it deserves.