Born in Sellia, Hugues left home to study and become a Haima battlemage at Raya Lucaria. And yet, according to the description of his ashes, this sorcerer dedicated to quelling conflict ironically came to seek it after a point. Why? We need only see how Hugues is imprisoned in the Sellia Evergaol, overlooking the town from Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow. Something back home incited him to fight and be forcibly arrested. The most relevant answer would be foreign occupation, the beefy and patriotic sorcerer resisting the invaders disturbing his humble home on behalf of his feebler kinsmen. But Sellia has had many occupiers from other lands in its long history. Was it the Erdtree occupation, the Farum occupation preceding it, or the more fundamental Carian occupation before that? Most likely, that last option, as we can still find Hugues’ legacy beyond the bounds of an evergaol.

Ashen remains inhabited by spirits. Summons Hugues, Battle Sorcerer, spirit.

Hugues is from the town of Saria, learned in the Haima class at the academy, and became a battle sorcerer. The “one who quells battle” wielding Cannon and Judgment nevertheless came to seek battle one day.

The Converted Fringe Tower in Liurnia stands out for a variety of reasons. Our reward for raiding the study at the top are texts for the Gavel and Cannon of Haima, the owner’s history at the academy obvious. But the crest on the tower’s seal relays a Sellian patriot, not associating with Raya Lucaria like in other instances. How convenient that this rise belongs to a Sellian of the Haima Conspectus like Hugues — it is almost as if this is his tower. Indeed, a Carian troll knight has been stationed in front to keep the tower’s research from curious minds. This is odd when said research hides out in the boonies, with only the Frenzied Flame Village nearby. Why would the royal family be scared of just anyone reading a battlemage’s work? Perhaps the same reason Carian-controlled Sellia felt it necessary to lock Hugues away in a prison above their reach, the revenant effectively disappearing from the world overnight as if he never existed. They felt threatened by what either might say.

In fact, the tower reveals much about the Haima sorcerer’s research. Glowing blue flowers precede the rise, and even compared to other towers, this one is filled with mostly bookshelves plus a great many armillary spheres. Why collect so much reading and model material to study the stars? Because the goal demanded such depth of knowledge. A graven school emerges from the floor as we climb the tower, the ball of sorcerers presumably sourced from the Black Knife Catacombs and related graves situated beneath the clifftop rise. The battlemage wanted to examine the Primeval Current despite Rennala’s ban, so built a facility on the fringe where a person could conduct such forbidden research in peace. It is no wonder we find no witch statues inside the rise. The academy’s peacekeeper was secretly challenging royal authority, creating rather than ameliorating conflict from this study of the heavenly bodies.

However, dabbling in forbidden arts is not what makes the tower unusual. Rather, the oddity comes from the Marika statue sealing the entrance. Being another Converted Tower, the master of this place adopted the tenants of the queen’s worship somewhere down the line. So important was she to the tower’s research, only glintstone scholars who reach similar enlightenment in the face of her likeness can dispel the seal and access the full breadth of it. Perhaps it was thanks to positive interactions with the locals, or the Minor Erdtree looming above the cliffs. But whether the village or the tree had any effect, the sorcerer ultimately came to embrace the deity, and the reason is apparent from the study of the Primeval Current. Through Marika, the Haima sorcerer must have discovered the connection between the Greater Will and the headwaters in the silver river high above. Put another way, the god behind the Erdtree’s god proved the farce to Caria’s claim of moon supremacy. Worship of Marika as the Greater Will’s chosen representative was to revere the source of the flowing stars.

All of this is consistent with Hugues, whose French name means “intellect” or “understanding”. From his choice of schooling, the man originally wanted to end tensions back home between the Laskyar and Sellia, especially under the increasingly oppressive influence of the Carians. Following education, the village bringing together sorcerers and prayors out on Liurnia’s frontier must have seemed adequate to test what he learned. But during his experience there, he grew suspicious of the Greater Will the faithful spoke of and so sequestered himself in his tower. And after confirming the discovery of a lifetime, it is only natural that the Haima sorcerers felt the desire to do battle well within his heart — everything Caria preached was a lie, and the royalty had the audacity to hide the truth in order to retain their grip over Liurnia and Caelid. All that time spent hoping to build bridges between his people and theirs, only to realize the other side’s contribution to sorcery was nil. Rennala and her family were corrupting minds with their nonsense, Erdtree royalty included.

As a true Marika convert, Hugues saw conflict with gold’s enemies as the correct course of action to freeing Sellia. But how to overthrow the Full Moon Queen and her glintstone knights? With an army, of course. So began the creation of that army with bodies that bowed to Caria’s moon. After succeeding with his test case at the tower, Hugues returned home to continue his research in preparation for a grand rebellion. The graven school left in front of the crystal formation outside of town may well be his handiwork; it just so happens to be situated in the valley beneath the Sellia Evergaol. Regardless, the battlemage was no doubt planning to convert all the academy occupiers into the new guardians of a liberated Caelid. This serial killer’s crimes were evidently discovered and he was arrested, his tower cordoned off. Perhaps Caria respected Hugue’s work too much to destroy it and the brain which wrote it, much like with Lusat. In the end, however, they couldn’t permit dissent. At least Hugues can take comfort in knowing that his god would have total domination over both them and Sellia soon enough.

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