Hey there,
It’s me, IAwaitYouAtTheDreadIsle. But I usually go by Red when I rarely peek my head into the community. You may know me from the famous F2E Nergal sprite where he both has no turban and no scar in the Resource Repository. Or my other weird post envisioning Rutger and Galle as long lost brothers on two sides of the Disturbance of Bern. If you can’t tell, I think about Elibe a lot. So here I am, to give you a little look into my cranium and the rabbit holes I dig for myself within. It gets weird.
The Long Version
Part 1: The Pirate and the Princess
On a surface level they’re a cute couple. The dashing yet valiant rogue from the Western Isles and the future queen of Bern with a pure and loving heart for her people. Good nature, bravery, and pragmatism are in no short supply for Fire Emblem casts, which is probably why the army camps in every game are basically medieval renditions of Love Island. What makes them work specifically, is that they both want to redeem their family names. Desmond and Geese’s father were horrible people, with both having older brothers that were severely affected by this upbringing, with Zephiel killing Desmond and Geitz running away from home. They can understand each other’s pain, compliment each other’s shortcomings, and if not lovers, it would be a friendship without equal.
There is the issue of age, but I’ll be honest, Geese does not read much as someone in his 30s. He’s got bright eyes and big dreams with a merchant company that only sunk recently. The only source is the artbook which lists Barthe’s weapon of choice as Lance/Bow and Zelot’s nation of origin being unknown. I can imagine that Geese could have been ten or more years younger than Geitz since having large age gaps between siblings isn’t uncommon. And Blazing Blade plays pretty fast and loose with Binding Blade canon anyway. For all we know, Geese’s father had a whole host of sons, but just liked the youngest the best and spoiled him rotten. Not unlike a certain King of Bern…
By the way, I hate that Geese and Geitz’s father does not have a name for the prominence they have in both of their backstories. You think with being such a prominent character, it would be brought up more. Hell, we know the names of Nino’s entire dead biological family, you’d think we get this guy’s name. Considering the way Geitz talks about his father as someone with this larger than life image and the truth of him being a slave owner, he would also have to be criminally profit driven or even extremely self centered. He might even have named his sons after himself, so he’s probably called something like Geese or Geitz Sr.
Or maybe Gorlois.
Part 2: Father and Sons
Now before you flip the table, (and I hope you don’t, this schnitzel is heavenly) I am not saying Astolfo is a slave driver. His backstory makes no claims of this and it makes no sense with his character. Also it wouldn’t make sense chronologically, since the man would have to canonically be in his forties during Blazing Blade at minimum. He might be another runaway son, which would be fitting as the affluent heir turned urchin thief is a common trope. Geese actually says nothing about his family, making Geitz’s shaky account the most reliable one we have.
Taking both Astolfo, Geese, and Geitz’s supports together also allows us to weave a pretty sick tale if you think about it. The son of a very influential merchant who ran away from his father’s business after discovering his horrific secret. He finds himself in the employ of House Ostia, where he tells Marquess Hector all about the family’s shady dealings. He is tasked with assuming his old name once more, and traveling to the Nabata Desert to confront the source of the slave trade once and for all.
This unknowingly destroys the base of the entire company his father had built, throwing his estranged and innocent little brother’s business into ruin. Which led to him saving the life of Prince Myrddin, a distant relative to Guinevere (you only get one extended family tree exploration today, we don’t have the time), when they officially meet on the Missur Peninsula. The same place where his father exploited the innocent for profit, he finds a treasure more valuable than all the gold in the world.
Part 3: In the Name of Bern
Oh we’re not out of the woods yet. There is one last member of this gaggle of siblings that I left out. The men in this family are clearly marked by this naming scheme beginning with G and ending in S, but that says nothing of the women. Enters the third runaway sister and the Faye to this group of village boys, Brunnya.
I wish I could say there was some obscure support line that proves this connection, but I feel like this one’s pretty obvious. I mean…
It’s honestly a pretty cute family photo. We can probably wave away design inconsistencies with ‘different moms’ as a serviceable explanation. More importantly, there is a good argument for this whole family to be of Bern origin with her involvement. The company is clearly based in the Western Isles, with Geese going as far as the Black Fang’s neighborhood to get away. Even if Brunnya did the same thing, it wouldn’t explain how she became a wyvern general.
If you remember my last text post, or just paid a similarly concerning amount of attention to Binding Blade’s story, you’d remember that Galle isn’t a wyvern general SPECIFICALLY because he is of foreign birth. If it was enough that my pookie Narcian of all people could become a wyvern general in his place, it’s clear that status plays a huge role in rising through the ranks, even with Zephiel on the throne. Murdock is the exception as a common born knight chosen by the prince himself since youth, likely one of the only two humans Zephiel has faith in left. Furthermore, he has no other reason to put Brunnya specifically in the position, since he clearly isn’t attracted to her in the story. Ohtz and Pereth are mages of similar strength and loyalty, so nobility is the only logical conclusion remaining.
As an aside, if we consider their chosen partners, all of these siblings save Geitz have a thing for blondes. Something to think about.
If this is too long and you didn’t read it all, shame on you. But in short, Geese is the son of merchant who had noble blood, meets a stunning young princess from the land of his birth on the same peninsula his father bought his slaves and his brother lost his memory. They share near identical lives full of family drama, with the whole Etrurian side of Guinevere’s family tree deserving a post of its own. Geese is the only logical choice as the new King of Bern.
They would be a cute couple and deserve the world.