Edward Fairfax VII

Edward VII
General information
Name	Good King
Faction	Callow, Heroes
Species	Human
Status	Revenant

Edward Fairfax, King Edward VII of Callow, was a former king of Callow who became one of the Dead King's Revenants. He was the father of Mary the Songbird, and a descendant of Yolanda the Wicked. Catherine Foundling met him twice, first in the Garden of Crowns in Keter, and then later in the ruins of Liesse in Arcadia. There Sve Noc wrestled him free of his bonds so that he could raise the dead Callowans and lead them against the devils.

Background

King Edward died in Keter, fighting at the side of princes of Procer who had been the enemies of Callow just a few decades earlier. It is hinted that this may have been during the Sixth Crusade, although the Fifth and the Eighth are also possible. As the Dead King came for him, Edward claims to have told him "that even in the face of eternity I would spit on him and all his works", and as a response Neshamah made sure that he would be fully aware of his (un)life as a revenant.

Description

As a revenant, he looked to be in his late forties with white hair in sparse tufts and the beginning of a beard. As is usual in Callowans, his skin was paler than that of a Taghreb, and his eyes were a pale brown. In Keter, he wore rich but faded clothes with a brooch on his chest featuring two golden bells, and carried a sword. In Liesse, he wore "old and intricate plate" under a tabard in the royal colours of blue and gold.

The revenant probably did not look exactly like the king did as he died – for example, there is no mention of the battle wounds that would likely have killed him – but it is implied that it would at least be close.

Interaction with Catherine Foundling

As a revenant, King Edward was ultimately under the control of the Dead King. However, most of the time his master's attention was elsewhere and he seemed to be, at least to some extent, free to act according to his own will. During the meeting in Keter he gave Catherine information while purposefully avoiding to ask her about her plans, as he would have to report them if he were to learn about them. In the ruins of Liesse, he tried to warn her of a trap but was in the end, due to Neshamah's active interference, not able to do more than twitch.

Resolution

Using her Night-related ability to "take" powers from her defeated foes, Catherine called on the might of Sve Noc to "take the dead from death" and claim King Edward while a sliver of Neshamah's consciousness was still imbued in him. The potential loss of even a small sliver of his self was enough to force the King of the Dead to bargain, and in the end he agreed to a three-month ceasefire as well as leaving both Masego and Black unharmed, in return for being allowed to escape. King Edward, of his own free will, then accepted the power of Night in order to raise the spirits of the dead Liessans to one last time fight under the banner of House Fairfax.