Prince Ingway of the Valentine Kingdom (Old Norse: Ingwaz, pronounced as Yeenvass) is one of the two tritagonist characters of the main storyline of Erion Saga book series (the other being Mercedes), he is the only non-playable main character in the main storyline and Velvet's older twin brother, he is also one of the two anti-hero characters in the story (the other being Oswald) he is mostly known for having a stubborn and rebellious attitude through out the main storyline, he was one of the characters that have major influence on the climax of the story.
Profile Overview[]
Ingway is one of two illegitimate children born as the result of Odin's affair with Princess Ariel, the other being his younger twin sister Velvet. By default, this makes him the grandson of King Valentine, as well as Gwendolyn and Griselda's older half-brother. After the destruction of his kingdom, he came to reside in Elrit Forest with his sister, eventually becoming allies with the Wise Men of Titania (though this alliance would later end in a betrayal). His ongoing plot throughout Odin Sphere has him seeking revenge against his father, which unfortunately leads him to the fate of becoming one of the five disasters that brings about Armageddon.
He is a royalty figure in the destroyed valentine kingdom like his younger twin sister velvet, he shares the same situation as her even in being an exile in status when their kingdom was destroyed by a disaster, they both had lived together through the main storyline until his final death in the armageddon after battling cornelius in the burning ruins of the ringford kingdom.
Ingway is a rebellious person, he does not agree to anyone who simply violates his law of beliefs, this can be seen when he was reclutant in his younger twin sister relationship with cornelius, in an attempt to stop their relationship, he cursed his younger twin sister love partner into becoming a pooka, this curse is where ingway was hoping to hate his twin sister's love partner for being in a pooka form state.
He is the only one of the main characters that are not playable, he does not have a psypher weapon of his own, in contrast to alice who is a minor character in the game but compared to ingway, she is a playable character even though she was only a minor character.
Appearance Traits[]
Ingway was born at the same time as his twin sister, he is a 23 year old man valentine prince, like his twin sister Velvet, Ingway's clothing has Arabian influences and he shares a number of physical features with her, although he's noticeably a bit more tanned than she is. His gold hair is short and messy and he also has violet eyes and a lean yet muscular build. He wears a dark violet turban with a pale feather that matches with his thick-collared mantle, under which he wears no shirt. The wraps on his wrists, waist, and knees are violet in color and he wears baggy white pants that reach his knees with black tights/socks and yellow shoes that resemble ballet flats. His mantle appears to be pinned by a chain with diamond-shaped ornaments on it and he has a jeweled dagger in gold and blue sheathe. (His character artwork suggests it's supposed to be on his right hip, although it constantly shifts during cutscenes due to Vanillaware's habit of flipping sprites when characters face different directions to save time.)
As a frog, Ingway is mainly green in coloration with a yellow underbelly and feet. Unlike other frogs in the game, he has blue markings on his sides and is comparatively duller in coloration.
Personality Classification[]
Compared to his sister, Ingway is incredibly pessimistic about his life and firmly believes that he and Velvet are destined to suffer. This is in part due to his rough childhood and the tremendous guilt he feels for many of the atrocious acts he commits throughout the story. He often speaks to others rather bitterly and appears to harbor a very deep self-hatred of himself. He's also rather infamous for his ability to manipulate and trick others, such as when he uses his ability to shapeshift in an attempt to get information out of King Edmund or when he causes Cornelius a great deal of agony over Velvet during their encounter in Elrit Forest. Ingway, however, is shown to be rather selfless when it comes to those he cares about, such as wanting Velvet to be able to live peacefully or the gentleness he shows Mercedes in their interactions. This selflessness, however, is somewhat misguided at times, as his attempt to destroy the Cauldron using the spell of Darkova resulted in him unleashing two of the Armageddon's disasters at once. He lacks a sense of self-preservation and frequently shows the traits of a death seeker, seeing it as the only way to repent for the sins he's committed.
Outside these traits, Ingway is also shown to provide a good deal of snark and sarcasm whenever the situation warrants it. During his time as a frog, he appears to be a little more laid-back and relaxed, albeit very stubborn when it came to making sure Mercedes kept her promise to kiss him.
Background Story[]
Ingway was born alongside Velvet to his mother, Princess Ariel, as a result of her affair with King Odin. After he found out about his and Velvet's birth, King Valentine locked his daughter and grandchildren away in the royal villa. Ingway and Velvet were able to grow up in peace for a while, but King Valentine found out who had fathered the two and brought Ariel to his court, with the twins arriving shortly afterwards. Scared that he could be executed, Ingway declared with Velvet that he did not love his mother and was witness to King Valentine strangling Ariel to death. He and Velvet then discovered a memo that Ariel had written to them, which stated that they were to die of an inevitable curse.
Although Ingway was also victim to his grandfather's abuses, he would often escape punishment by using Velvet as his scapegoat and hid whenever she was whipped. Ingway felt tremendously guilty of this, though, and the weight of his sins only became worse on the fateful day he found out about Ragnanival's plan to attack Valentine. Realizing that his father didn't stand a chance against his grandfather's forces while also believing Odin had some amount of affection for him, Ingway made the Cauldron run amok in order to save him. Hiding in the safety of the Cauldron's shadow, Ingway could only watch as, to his utter horror, the entire country was destroyed and every one of its citizens became afflicted with the Pooka's Curse. When the dust had settled down, Ingway was approached by Odin, who callously dismissed him with the words "Well done, traitor," and took the Cauldron for himself. Ingway, completely dejected, soon found a rage building within him and vowed to get revenge for Valentine and repay for the destruction that he caused.
To Ingway's relief, he discovered that Velvet was alive and had escaped the curse thanks to her Psypher. The two came to reside in the Abandoned Castle within Elrit Forest, eventually meeting and becoming acquainted with the Three Wise Men. Although he never showed himself during their meetings, Ingway watched Velvet as she began her romantic relationship with Cornelius and became very jealous. At some point during this, he journeyed to Ringford and presented Queen Elfaria with the Ring of Titrel for safekeeping.
Plotline Summary Perspective[]
Aromantic Desire[]
Ingway is the illegitimate son of Demon Lord Odin and Princess Ariel. Before being strangled to death by her father, King Valentine, Princess Ariel left a scroll of prophecy stating that Velvet's destiny is to be cursed, and Ingway's destiny is death.
King Valentine showed little care for Ingway or Velvet claiming that they were the embodiment of Ariel's betrayal, and he would even torture the children as he saw fit. During this time, Valentine continued its war with Ragnanival, and Valentine's victory seemed likely due to their weapons forged in the Crystallization Cauldron. In an effort to save his father's life, Ingway sabotaged the Crystallization Cauldron. He intended to simply make it self-destruct, but it went out of control, causing the destruction of the entire kingdom and turning its people into Pookas. Velvet and Ingway were spared from the event since Velvet was outside the country and Ingway found protection behind the cauldron.
Odin soon found the children but, fearing the consequences if it ever became public that Odin had illegitimate children with the enemy, he instead kept them in secret and gave them the abandoned castle in Elrit Forest for them to use as they wish. Ingway still desired to make his father suffer for abandoning his family and for his cold reaction after Valentine's destruction. Ingway developed a very pessimistic personality, most likely as a result of his harsh childhood, and spent a great deal of his time planning his revenge against his father. To this end, he attempted to use the Three Wise Men so he could obtain the cursed power of the Darkova. In a plan to obtain the Darkova, Ingway deceived Cornelius and cursed him into the form of a Pooka in order to prevent his romance with Velvet, and to take his place and learn of the secrets of Darkova from King Edmund. His plan failed, however, and he eventually turned against the Wise Men. Urzur attempted to kill Ingway for interfering with their plans. While Ingway didn't die, he was cursed into the form of a frog.
Hex Imprisonment[]
Ingway in his cursed form
The cursed Ingway encountered Mercedes in the Forest of Elrit and caused her to lose her Tasla into the swamp. He agreed to find it for her provided she break the curse on him by kissing him. Not liking frogs herself, Mercedes was unwilling to keep her end of the deal for some time, forcing Ingway to tag along with her for a majority of her story. During this time he did assist her in her retaking of Ringford from Melvin and followed her up Horn Mountain when she went to speak with Wagner. Shortly after this, he revealed vital information about Beldor, as she needed the help of someone who could visit the Netherworld in order to Rescue Brom, the dwarven blacksmith. He accompanied her to Titania to retrieve the wizard and ultimately saved her by casting the Pooka Curse on Beldor just as the sorcerer was preparing to attack Mercedes. Casting the spell wore Ingway out however, and Mercedes decided to finally make good on her end of the deal and kissed Ingway, causing him to return to his human form. The two then developed a possible love interest towards each other although Ingway insisted that he must leave her due to duties he had to attend to but promised they would meet again.
Enslaved Beast[]
After assisting Cornelius in overthrowing Urzur, Ingway returned his attention to obtaining revenge on Odin. To this end, he struck a deal with Queen Odette, borrowing her army so he could attack Odin. Velvet attempted to stop him however, and Ingway unleashed the power of Darkova on her. She subdues him before the spell is complete and he reverts to his normal form, but unfortunately the spell has taken hold of him and he soon finds that he will never be free of it until he dies. Ingway says this is his just reward for abandoning his mother but Velvet shows him the second half of the letter Princess Ariel wrote for them this brings great distraught to Ingway greatly as his actions born from his beliefs were not as warranted as they had been originally.
Armageddon[]
The start of Armageddon finds Ingway changed, wanting to do some good. When he sees his grandfather at the cauldron starting to bring about the end of the world Ingway transforms back into Darkova in order to stop him and destroy the cauldron once and for all. Unfortunately, he didn't see the wise man Beldor lurking about after returning from the Netherworld when the gateways were opened. Beldor promptly casts a spell to control Darkova and Ingway is made a prisoner in his own immense, beastly body. Depending on which character is chosen to fight him, the general events change slightly, but ultimately he always dies.
True End Path - Family Sword (Cornelius v. the Darkova)
If Cornelius is chosen to fight the Darkova, Cornelius encounters Ingway in the ruins of Ringford. After a short talk with Beldor, Cornelius vows that he won't allow Ingway to suffer in his beastly form any longer.
After the fight, Velvet comes across an injured Cornelius and Ingway. Ingway reveals to Velvet that, within their mother's note, he found a hint to the world's salvation that involves reversing the Cauldron's core to release the Phozons stored within. His last request to her is that she complete her duty. After she leaves, Ingway remarks that, even then, he still thinks of Mercedes. Before passing on, he expresses the wish to see her one last time.
Later, shortly before her battle with Onyx, Mercedes comes across Ingway's corpse and cries, as he promised her that they would see each other again.
False End - Gemini (Velvet v. the Darkova)
If Velvet is chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway will beg Velvet to kill him before the fight begins. After the battle, Ingway awakens and briefly mistakes Velvet for their mother. Delirious, he asks her what happened to the Cauldron before requesting that she let him rest, dying moments later. After remarking that they'll be together with their mother like in the past, Velvet dies atop his corpse. Beldor appears and laughs over their deaths, but his mirth quickly turns to rage, as he is unable to find the Spell of Darkova on Ingway's corpse.
False End - Reunion (Mercedes v. the Darkova)
If Mercedes is chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway will kill a slew of her fairy soldiers before Beldor appears. Mercedes prepares to fight against the Darkova using her Riblam, but Beldor reveals the true identity of the Darkova, causing her to hesitate.
After the fight, Ingway reverts back to his human form. Upon seeing Beldor strangling Mercedes, he kills him by stabbing his dagger in his backside before dragging himself over to Mercedes. Although he says that he'll go find the fairies to assist them, Mercedes makes him stay and tells him about her victory over the Aesir, causing him to remark that she did well. She then confesses her love for him before dying in his arms. Ingway breaks down in tears and screams for the heavens to kill him, only realizing then what his heart had been telling him. It is uncertain what happened to him afterwards, although it can be assumed that he died alongside everyone else in Erion.
False End - Beast (Gwendolyn or Oswald v. the Darkova)
If Gwendolyn or Oswald are chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway's mind stirs within his body and he sees Beldor, mistaking him for his grandfather. Beldor goes on to explain the deception the Wise Men implemented on him before making him attack Ringford.
After the fight, Gwendolyn or Oswald is revealed to have successfully defeated the Darkova, but succumbed to injuries sustained during the battle while Ingway reverted to his human form. Beldor takes the Spell of Darkova lying near Ingway, but Ingway comes to and kills him with his dagger. Ingway then attempts to reach the Cauldron in order to stop it. His fate is left ambiguous, but it is assumed that he died from his injuries.
Relationships[]
Princess Velvet of the Valentine Kingdom[]
As Velvet's older twin brother, Ingway displays rather protective tendencies towards her, such as expressing the want for her to live out her days in peace or admitting regret over not being able to stop their grandfather from abusing her in their childhood. Despite this, he is known to occasionally lie and be harsh with her, although this is in part because they share a cursed destiny and he doesn't want her to suffer. He also expresses immense jealousy when he sees her with or hears her talk about Cornelius, telling her that he's an oaf and that she should give him up. During his confrontation with Cornelius in Elrit Forest, he even refers to her as his "darling sister" and questions why he'd give her over to him (which has resulted in some suggesting that he has a sister complex.) Although he cares for her, he'd rather she keep her nose out of his issues due to some of the dark business he's involved in, with that attitude reaching its climax during Velvet's epilogue when he attempts to kill their father with the mystic power of Darkova. In the end, he does hold a great deal of faith in her as, in the True Ending after Cornelius's battle against him, he urges Velvet to leave him behind and entrusts her with the fate of the world before she leaves to stop the Cauldron.
Ingway expressing disgust over the curse he and Velvet are afflicted with.
During the False Ending if Velvet is pitted against the Darkova, Ingway is commanded to attack her by Beldor and begs for her to kill him. Following the battle, a delirious Ingway remarks that he mistook her for their mother and asks her to let him rest before he dies, with Velvet collapsing and dying on top of his body shortly afterwards.
Prince Cornelius of Titania[]
Ingway despises Cornelius heavily to the point he was willing to cast the pooka curse on him just to deny Cornelius his love for Velvet. Ingway see's Cornelius as a pampered noble who didn't truly love Velvet even though it was the exact opposite. Ingway would only respect Cornelius at the end when Cornelius stops him in his Darkova form though it's also possible this is due to the fact he was aware of the truth of his mother's letter as he thought that the 'curse' she had placed on them made them unwantable.
Princess Ariel of the Valentine Kingdom[]
Before she was strangled to death, Ingway loved his mother dearly. Unfortunately, when his family was brought before his grandfather, Ingway became scared and declared that he didn't love Ariel to save himself, which left him feeling like he had abandoned her selfishly. For most of his life afterwards, he went on believing that his mother had cursed him out of hatred for not saving her and firmly believed that the prophecy written her memo was to come true for him and Velvet. That was not the case, however, as the second half of Ariel's memo revealed that she loved her son and had forgiven him for his inevitable hatred of her, with the first half of the memo simply informing him of his fate. By the time Ingway reads the second half, however, he was already too far gone down the path towards his destiny as the Beast of Darkova and cries over the words left to him. During the Armageddon when Ingway was speaking to Velvet, he jokingly remarked to her that Ariel was surely waiting for him in the afterlife so that she could punish him for being so bad.
Demon Lord Odin[]
Ingway hates his father with a passion and see's him as the root of all his problems. As it was because of the fact that his mother had children with Odin that caused his grandfather to kill her and for her to 'curse' him. He wishes to kill Odin as he saw him as a being who only cared for power. This hate is so great he was willing to become the Darkova, and trick Odette into giving him her army to assault Ragnanival. However after reading the second part of his mother's letter his hatred gave way to despair and confusion. While it's safe to say he still hates Odin it's not with the certainty that it had originally been.
Fairy Princess Mercedes of the Ringford Kingdom[]
Initially when Ingway met Mercedes, he didn't seem to think of her as much more than a means to return him to his human form. His jumping into her resulted in her dropping her bow in the swamp (which was likely done on purpose) and he only agrees to retrieve it once she agrees to grant him a wish. He did, however, give her the advice and encouragement needed to lead her troops against Melvin and even assisted in his defeat by turning Melvin's soldiers into frogs. He expresses absolute disbelief when Mercedes refuses to kiss him to break his curse and, as a result, they often bickered during their time together over it.
Mercedes kissing Ingway
The more he spent time with her due to her reluctance, though, the more Ingway came to care about Mercedes. When Wagner threatens Ringford over the death of his friend Hindel, Ingway follows Mercedes up Horn Mountain to make sure she's safe, which almost results in him freezing and going into hibernation in the process. He expressed worry over Mercedes wanting to go to Titania to speak with Beldor and even tells her when they're being led through the streets that they should go back unless they want something bad to happen. His protectiveness of her ultimately results in him casting the Pooka's Curse on Beldor to prevent him from catching her off-guard with a sneak attack, which drains him of his energy and nearly kills him. He was ready to die when this happened, but Mercedes finally kept her promise and kissed him, saving his life and transforming him back into his human form. Ingway expresses gratitude over this, but is quick to reveal that he needs to leave, as he still has duties to attend to. Before leaving, he did tell her his name and made the promise to meet her again.
Unfortunately, the promise wasn't kept. In the True Ending of the Book of Armageddon, Ingway was mortally wounded by Cornelius as a result of their fight and dies shortly after the Pooka is taken away by Velvet. In his final moments, he thinks fondly of Mercedes and expresses the desire to see her again. In the new endcard found in Leifthrasir, he is shown resting in the Netherworld near the roots of the World Tree, indicating he's found comfort in being with Mercedes in death.
Ingway thinking about Mercedes as he's about to die.
In the False End, Ingway is forced to attack Mercedes under orders from Beldor, which results in the two wounding each other and putting them on death's doorstep. Despite his injuries, Ingway is able to get up and stab Beldor when he witnesses him attempting to strangle the location of Titrel out of Mercedes and painfully drags himself over to her. Holding her in his arms, Ingway shows regret over what he's done and almost leaves to get help, only to be stopped by Mercedes, who tells him of her accomplishments proudly. Mercedes then dies in his arms after confessing her feelings of love to him, which causes Ingway to break down in utter agony and scream for the heavens to kill him, as he only then realized that he loved her.
King Valentine the Great[]
Ingway was deathly afraid of King Valentine due to his madness and insanity. He feared him so much he lied when he was asked if he loved his mother still because of her 'betrayal' in bedding with Odin. Though Ingway would believe him to be dead he would not realize that he would escape the Netherworld till he came to try and destroy the Cauldron however he would ultimately fail.
The Three Wise Men[]
Ingway was initially trusting of the Wise Men when they met following the destruction of Valentine, as they shared a similar hatred of King Odin. Together, they plotted his downfall with plans to use the mystic power of Darkova obtained from Edmund. The Wise Men, however, lied about the power, took from Ingway the Ring of Titrel (which was actually a fake), and Urzur attempted to personally kill him by turning him into a weak frog. Ingway, however, returned to Titania with Mercedes and assisted her in defeating Beldor by turning him into a Pooka. After Mercedes returned him to his human form and he bid her farewell, he then saved Cornelius from being killed by Urzur and fought the sorcerer, coming out victorious and obtained the power of Darkova.
Unfortunately for Ingway, his cursing of Beldor allowed the wizard to stick around after his death as a Revenant. During the Armageddon, Ingway attempted to use the Darkova to destroy the Cauldron, but Beldor appeared, took control of his beastly form, and brought him to Ringford. Shortly before his battle, Beldor revealed the Wise Men had kept secret that they could control the Darkova and subsequently made him attack the forest. If the False End route is taken, Ingway will regain consciousness following his battle against the player and will either stab Beldor in revenge (Gwendolyn or Oswald) or to protect Mercedes from him strangling her.
As a boss[]
Velvet's Impostor[]
Ingway is fought in Chapter 3 of The Pooka Prince where he's referred to as Velvet's Impostor. As he is pretending to be his sister, his attacks are fundamentally the same as when Velvet is fought by Gwendolyn in Chapter 2 of Valkyrie. He throws various potions in order to damage or inflict status effects on Cornelius and uses most of the moves found in Velvet's skillset. (This applies to both the battle in PS2 version and the battle in Leifthrasir.)
The Darkova[]
He is fought as a Darkova as one of Velvet's bosses in her book story and in the true ending, in Armageddon he is also fought as one of the five bosses and considered to be one of the five disasters destined to destroy the world, in the starting event of Armageddon he destroyed the entire ringford kingdom while being the under command of Beldor being slave into his magic powers of controlling the Darkova shortly before his battle with Cornelius to remove the controlling spell of slaving in the Darkova transformation of Ingway.
Concept Art, Sprites, and Screenshots[]
Official Artwork and Merchandise[]
Trivia[]
- In the Japanese version, Ingway's voice is provided by Showtaro Morikubo. His English voice actor is Liam O'Brien.
- It can be inferred from a comment in the artbook that Ingway's human form was modeled after the god Freyr, as Velvet is modeled after Freyja, Freyr's twin.
- His Japanese name, Yngwie, is derived from an older name for Freyr, further solidifying this possibility.
- Some of Ingway's character design appears to have come from early concept art of Velvet, as seen to the right.
- Promotional material for Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir often shows Ingway standing among the other monarchs of Erion, indicating that he's considered the ruler of Valentine and an equal to them despite the kingdom's destruction and that he's still referred to as a "prince" by the other characters and by himself.
- Ingway appears in the artwork for both covers of Odin Sphere alongside the playable protagonists. Interestingly, while he appears in his human form on the cover for the PS2 release, he is shown in his frog form on the cover for Leifthrasir.
- A similar instance happened with Cornelius, although it was the other way around.
- While Odin Sphere isn't known for having obscene amounts of gore, Ingway is the only character who visibly gets bloodstains on his body and clothes. This is always seen after his transformations into the Darkova.
- Although Velvet at least gets to meet and interact with Gwendolyn, Ingway never refers to or acknowledges the existence of his half-sisters. Whether this is because he hates them or is indifferent to them entirely is never cited.
- An interview with Kentaro Onishi (a programmer and employee at Vanillaware who directed Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir) revealed that there was an idea to give Ingway his own story chapter in the remake. This wasn't possible, however, as Ingway's story would have been difficult to angle from his point of view and his lack of a Psypher meant that his gameplay wouldn't match with the main system used by the other characters.
- With the exception of Velvet, who willingly sacrificed her human form for the sake of saving the world, Ingway is responsible for the cursing of all the Pooka characters presented in Odin Sphere.
- The Valentinians were transformed into Pooka during the disaster that destroyed the kingdom, of which Ingway was the cause of.
- Ingway personally cursed Cornelius so that he couldn't be with Velvet and so that he could learn the secrets of Darkova from Cornelius's father, King Edmund.
- Ingway cursed Beldor in order to save Mercedes's life.
- Ingway was the first major male character to appear in an official figurine. (He appears as part of Mercedes's Yamato and Alter figurines.)
- Although generally considered to be one of the two Anti-Hero characters (the other being Oswald), Ingway's actions throughout his storyline more reflect those of an Anti-Villain, or a character who achieves evil ends through actions considered good. This can be seen in that his primary goal is get revenge on his father Odin; however, during the events of Mercedes's book, he is remarkably kinder and a lot more helpful compared to his appearances in Cornelius and Velvet's books, where his actions range from callous to outright villainous.
- Despite being a tritagonist and one of the main characters of the game, ingway's character status debated whether he is a main or one of the antagonists, judging by his action in the story he can be potentially considered as a villain or an antagonist character somehow he fits the criteria of both being a villain and a hero at the same time.
♦ Odin Sphere Characters ♦
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Supporting Characters
Belial ♦ Brom ♦ Griselda ♦ Hindel ♦ Ingway ♦ King Edmund ♦ Master Krois ♦ Matthew ♦ Myris ♦ Odin ♦ Queen Elfaria ♦ Wagner ♦ | |