Prince Fermut — The Book Eating Magician

Prince Fermut is an Andras imperial heir who intends to replace his father, conquer Meltor, and unify the north under his rule. His innate Refraction Aura Ability makes him a dangerous sword master, but privilege and reliance on inherited power leave him unable to adapt when Orta solves its mechanics.

Biography

Elvenheim, Kargas, and the Pirate Archipelago

Fermut is introduced as the empire's third prince and the secret commander of the Knights of Shade. He judges servants by whether they followed his instructions rather than killing them for an unfavorable result, then orders a complete investigation of Theodore Miller after the failure of an imperial operation. Behind that measured command, he has already fixed his larger objective: within five years he intends to bring down the father he considers incompetent and claim an empire where royal authority rests on superior personal strength. (Chapter 117)

His bond with Hyde illustrates both patronage and control. Fermut rescued the immigrant child from a desperate life, shaped him into a loyal killer, and later gives the one-armed swordsman Claimhb Solais with an order to rebuild his technique around the left arm. Hyde's divine fire, anti-magic edge, and resistance while wielding the sword come from the artifact; they are not manifestations of Fermut's Refraction or proof that Fermut can use those properties himself. (Chapter 117)

Eastern Legacies, Quattro, and the Soldun Civil War

Hyde's loyalty keeps him fighting Theodore even after retreat becomes the safer option, and he dies carrying out the mission Fermut assigned. Fermut consequently loses both a devoted master and temporary custody of Claimhb Solais. The episode shows the strength of the dependence he created in Hyde, but the subordinate's demonstrated divine-sword powers remain Hyde's item-assisted combat, not an extension of Fermut acting at a distance. (Chapters 169–171)

Fermut later pressures Lloyd Pollan into investigating the Meuse Desert ruins, seeking rare metal for armor or a new weapon while advancing the faction that opposes the reigning emperor's caution. He denounces Andras's ten-year truce as cowardice and wants the empire to destroy Meltor before unifying the north. Although he recognizes imperial decay, his answer is conquest and personal succession rather than reform. The oppressive aura with which he forces Lloyd to comply reveals how readily his political project treats even a Seven Sword as expendable material. (Chapter 183)

East Continent and the Northern War

By the failed secret talks, Fermut is crown prince and strong enough to hold the Third Sword's position. He answers Veronica's provocations with royal outrage and survives her punch through dense aura, but he withdraws only when Crowd removes him from the encounter. Fermut then helps lay the Rutben trap for Orta. His Refraction Sword initially neutralizes the space magician's greatest advantages, folding attack paths and blocking escape, until Randolph's intervention lets Orta retreat. Rather than reconsider the risk, Fermut commits troops to a decisive battle and expects victory to lead directly to his coronation. (Chapters 262–269 and 276)

In the rematch, Fermut's innate Refraction again curves sword paths, shortens distance, and traps spatial movement. Orta uses the Empty Eyes to calculate the changing refractive index and exposes the weakness produced by Fermut's lack of adversity: the prince repeats a gift he has rarely needed to refine, while Orta learns from the first defeat. Orta destroys his chest twice. A separate demonic magic sword regenerates the wounds and bends space to carry Fermut away, but consumes his aura in the process, leaving him alive yet no longer a sword master and collapsing the morale of the imperial army. Those regenerative and escape effects belong to the weapon, not to Refraction. (Chapters 284–285)

Fermut returns to Emperor Kether expecting restoration and still speaks of becoming the next emperor after having killed rival siblings to secure his place. Kether instead calls him a disgrace, severs the connection between his body and soul, and drains him. Only at death does Fermut understand that the father he planned to overthrow is something monstrous rather than merely incompetent. Invidia, revealed through Kether's imperial shell, later reproduces Fermut's Refraction from a stolen record; that use does not mean Fermut survived, consented, or possessed the host. (Chapters 286, 289, and 294)

Appearance and personality

Fermut is a handsome young man with long blond hair and reddish eyes. As crown prince he wears luxurious armor and carries a bloodstained or red-lit sword, presenting the polished appearance of an imperial heir even in battle. Dense aura and master-level conditioning let him survive impacts that would kill an ordinary person, but the corpus does not credit his armor with a named independent defense. (Chapters 262, 269, and 284–285)

He is ambitious, imperious, and cruel, but capable of disciplined judgment when a subordinate follows orders. Fermut believes strength legitimizes rule, regards compromise with Meltor as weakness, and interprets the empire's decline as an opportunity for his own accession. He rewards absolute loyalty in Hyde while coercing uncertain servants such as Lloyd. His confidence becomes a limitation in combat: accustomed to an innate advantage, he does not develop the flexibility Orta gains through repeated hardship. (Chapters 117, 183, 262–269, and 284–286)

Magic, abilities, and martial skills

Fermut is an aura sword master with high physical reinforcement, dense defensive aura, and swordsmanship close enough to Randolph's level to pressure other masters. His imperial blood and training establish the strength needed for the Third Sword's seat, but his signature advantage is an innate Aura Ability rather than a property of Claimhb Solais or the demonic sword he later carries. After the latter consumes his depleted aura to save his body, the narration no longer treats him as a sword master. (Chapters 262–269 and 284–286)

Fermut Style, Refraction Sword

Refraction bends space around Fermut's aura and blade. He can turn a straight thrust into a curved approach, fold distance so one stab reaches multiple vital points, distort an incoming attack away from its target, and interfere with Blink or other spatial movement. This makes him a natural counter to Orta: the first ambush converts space itself from the magician's escape route into Fermut's controlled medium. The ability is Fermut's own inborn power; weapons may channel his strikes, but they are not its source. (Chapters 264–265 and 284)

The changing spatial “refractive index” is calculable rather than absolute. Orta's Empty Eyes and analysis decode it during their rematch, allowing him to evade the warped trajectories and strike through Fermut's defense. Fermut can apply Refraction offensively and defensively, yet his reliance on familiar patterns makes adaptation its practical weakness. Invidia later combines a stolen Refraction record with other sword masters' techniques; that composite performance exceeds Fermut's personal repertoire and should not be attributed to his mastery. (Chapters 284–285 and 289–294)

Equipment-derived survival

The demonic magic sword Fermut carries in his last battle restores destroyed flesh, continues functioning after his heart is lost, and ultimately warps him away from Orta. Its price is severe: it devours his aura until he loses the power on which his sword-master status depends. Kether later says that he gave Fermut the sword to preserve his life in fatal danger, although the source does not state when the transfer occurred or name the weapon. Its regeneration is temporary equipment support, not a natural healing ability, and it does not prevent Kether from killing Fermut's soul soon afterward. (Chapters 284–286)

Relationships

Hyde: Fermut rescues Hyde as a child, raises him into a covert killer, and equips him with Claimhb Solais after the loss of his right arm. Hyde's gratitude becomes absolute obedience and carries him into a battle he recognizes he may not survive. (Chapters 117 and 169–171)
Lloyd Pollan: Fermut distrusts Lloyd's movement between imperial factions but values his Pathfinder enough to force him into the Meuse ruins. The coerced mission ends with Lloyd's capture and destruction as a living person. (Chapters 183 and 191–199)
Orta: Fermut is initially Orta's natural counter and nearly kills him in an ambush. Orta studies the loss, solves Refraction, and defeats the prince in their rematch, ending both Fermut's master status and the army's confidence. (Chapters 264–265 and 284–285)
Veronica: Fermut tries to provoke Meltor during secret talks and survives Veronica's retaliatory punch through aura reinforcement. Their encounter helps demonstrate the gap between his royal confidence and the power that Meltor can bring to open war. (Chapters 262–263)
Invidia: Fermut seeks to overthrow Kether without knowing that the imperial persona is Invidia's host shell. After killing him, the grimoire takes Refraction into its stock of Aura Abilities and later reproduces it; the copied record is not Fermut's continuing agency. (Chapters 286 and 289–294)

Items

Claimhb Solais: Fermut possesses the divine sword after it has entered Andras's artifact collection and gives it to Hyde for left-handed retraining and imperial service. Its divine fire, anti-magic edge, and protections are item-derived effects demonstrated by Hyde, not abilities of Fermut's Refraction style. Invidia later states that Fermut took the sword from its collection. (Chapters 117, 169–171, and 294)
Unnamed demonic magic sword: Kether gave Fermut this separate weapon as protection from otherwise fatal injury. It regenerates Fermut's destroyed body and enables his escape from Orta while consuming his aura, but its final disposition after Kether kills him is not established. (Chapters 284–286)