Praline à la Mode



Praline à la Mode, sometimes referred to as the Diva of the Battlefield, is a non-playable character from Bravely Default. Praline is a member of the Eternian Black Blades. Praline is a performer and holds the Performer asterisk.

Appearance and Personality
She is 17 years old.

Story
Born in Florem, Praline became a member of the Black Blades and uses her skills to pump up her fan-base amongst the Swordbearers at the siege of the Eisenberg bridge. The party first encounters Praline upon arriving at the bridge, wherein the young woman starts encouraging a formidable force of soldiers with "Love in the Crossfire." Ringabel remarks upon her ability, citing the voice as enchanting with Edea sternly pointing out the effect of confusion it can give to a foe. Following their battle, Praline begins a last stand with the party realizing they need to retreat lest they face total annihilation. Frustrated by the endurance of those enchanted under Praline's songs, the party decides to look for an alternative means of defeating the songstress.

The party arrives at the tavern of the Grandship where the proprietress of the tavern indulges them with a tale about a Siren. Edea remarks that it's a common tale, wherein the siren lures a group of seamen to cast themselves into the sea. The proprietress mentions that the siren's song was once heard throughout the entirety of the Grandship, scaring young and old alike. It just so happened however, that a bard was aboard the ship and knew of a way to combat the menacing siren. He urged everyone on the ship to drown out her singing with their own, thus conducting a long-night display of singing to finally defeat the siren. The bard left the ship soon after, having been mentioned as heading to Ancheim to meet with a pupil.

Upon arriving at Ancheim, the party meets up with a pupil of the bard, Arca Pellar. He states himself as the first pupil and mentions to the party that Arca Pellar was dying and sought out his pupils to meet with them for the last time. He bestowed unto these pupils the secret of his singing prowess, with the first pupil stating "Always sing with your mouth wide open". Following this meeting, the party encounters the second pupil at Caldisla, stating that Arca told her to "Sing from your belly." Finally, the party meets the last pupil at Florem, a young man who states that Arca said to him "Do not be shy when it comes to song". as the pupil was prone to being faint of heart. The final pupil reveals to the party that Arca also stated "A singer has no need of finesse". prior to heading towards Hartschild.

When the party arrives at Hartschild, a young woman reveals that a bard suddenly appeared and taught music to children before passing away 10 years ago. She gets flummoxed by the responses given to the pupils and states that he told them that "Your hearts are as one", and "The most important thing is to have fun". She reveals that everyone in the town became the bard's pupil and even their children as well, hinting that even the Shieldbearers can break into song amidst a climate of war. The party discovers from the woman that Arca's belongings were brought to the Grandship.

Arriving at the Grandship once more, the party talks to the proprietress who reveals that she has Arca's baton. She willingly gives it to the party, with Edea mentioning that an inscription on the baton states, "The most important thing is to have fun." Having retrieved the bard's baton, the party returns to the Eisen Bridge to do battle once more with a zealous Praline. As Praline begins to sing "Love in the Crossfire," Edea calls out to the Shieldbearers and induces them to sing by conducting with the baton. While in the midst of being drowned out, Praline attempts to sing even louder with little success. She then attempts to use cannonfire, but the attack does not harm the party. Frustrated by the party's interruption of her singing, she engages them in battle.

The party succeeds in defeating Praline and her bodyguards, with a dejected Praline stating that she only wanted her songs to be heard. Fazed by her loss, Praline decides to quit the Black Blades to pursue an ordinary life and runs back to Florem, much to the dismay of her fans.

Following her defeat in the Third World, Praline can be found performing at the Grandship's tavern at night. Her skill at singing and providing buffs is rumored to be the reason why the tavern's service has improved. In the Fourth World, Praline is abducted by Jackal as what the thief thought was a part of a scheme by Eloch Quentis Khamer VIII. At that time, due to her description of Nobutsuna Kamiizumi being similar to that of Ciggma Khint, Praline and Jackal thought they knew the same person which made them able to get along perfectly at the time. In the Fifth World, Praline is summoned to Eternia Central Command where she supports Hayreddin Barbarossa, Barras Lehr, and Alternis Dim as a member of Eternia's third line of defense.

In Battle


As a performer, Praline uses support abilities that enhance the capabilities of her allies. She also has the ability to summon her bodyguards in battle.

Musical Themes
Praline's theme is "Love in the Crossfire", the theme played during her cutscenes.

Etymology
À la Mode is a French saying that means according to the fashion, but it can also mean fashionable in style or design. In culinary terms, pralines are confectioneries made of caramelized sugar, nuts, and chocolate of French origin, and à la Mode comes to mean a dessert served with a side of ice cream in American tradition.

Trivia

 * Praline shares her English voice actress with Airy.
 * Praline is one of the three asterisk holders that doesn't die in the first world loop. After her defeat, she simply quits being a member of the Black Blades.