Template:Sideicon Sieghard, commonly known by his title of Veritas of the Earth, is a major character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and a member of the Sworn Six of Paladia being the fifth encountered. He debuts in the Mysidia chapter as an antagonist during season one, but is a supporting character during season two.
Profile
Appearance
Like his comrades, Sieghard is a man of average stature fully covered in armor, his being of mostly dark brown with several gold markings with a green loincloth. His helmet has two long horns and he has long blond hair. His most identifiable trait is his massive shield, which is actually the face of a Demon Wall.
Beneath his armor he wears nobleman's finery, consisting of a white longcoat with armored epaulletes, ornate golden embroidery, and red lining, beneath which he wears a lavender waistcoat, a collared shirt, and a cravat, as well as armored black gloves and boots. He wears a head adornment similar to a feathered headdress, fashioned to resemble a human skull. He is androgynous and elegant and wields a large shield comprised of five interlocking pieces and a lengthy whipblade.
Personality
Before joining the Sworn Eight, Sieghard loved poetry, painting, and fighting, and spent his life pursuing beauty, eventually concluding that nothing was as beautiful as he was. As Veritas of the Earth, being clad in a suit of armor that concealed his outward appearance, he adopted a new persona that was unconcerned with beauty.
Similarly to the rest of the Sworn Six, Earthlord centers on his goals, being motivated by a burning hatred. No matter the circumstances, he keeps his cool and focuses on the bigger picture.
Prior to the war between Aldore and Hess, Sieghard forged a friendly rivalry with Dark Fina. The war turned them into bitter enemies, deciding to fight to the death. After knowing her motives for joining Hess, he views her in a more favorable light, reigniting their rivalry with less hostility.
After removing his armor, Sieghard becomes increasingly narcissistic, annoying his teammates and bordering on the insensitive. He can come to care for those around him, which he is good at hiding under the guise of narcissism. In moments of severe emotion he can drop the facade, for example when he sees something he believes to be deeply unjust, and displays genuine rage.
Story
Sieghard was born into a noble family in Paladia a clan made of warriors who value beauty and grace above all else, which in great part shaped his personality. At some point when he came of age, his older siblings Theobald and Dietlinde dance in grace celebrating their younger brother's step into adulthood. As per family traditions they went to the warehouse so Sieghard could select a weapon of his choice to use for the rest of his life.
In the way their gardens had monsters so they broke their way through them until reaching the warehouse. Inside Sieghard inspects the equipments while the siblings flaunt about their weapon choices. Sieghard then makes his choice, a shield, to everyone's surprise. He reasons the shield is perfect for it will protect his appearance, and since the shield has a mirror he can look at himself all the time, even in battle. This revelation shocked the siblings deeply who were proud Sieghard could honor the family's beauty.
Later on a merchant requested help from the nobles as a thief stole merchandise, so Theobald and Sieghard tried to find the culprit. Upon reaching the scene of crime Theobald inspects it and summons everyone in the neighbourhood declaring that he was completely sure of who the criminal was. One of the culprits instantly admits to the fault for Theobald was so graceful and sure of himself that he could not possibly hide it anymore. The thief and the accomplice fight the nobles giving Sieghard the chance to display his new weapon to everyone. The culprits were then apprehended.
When war broke out and the world was split into the Aldore and the Hess factions, he was loyal to Aldore, but Dark Fina joined Hess. This devastated him emotionally and the two became mortal enemies. Sieghard was part of the original Sworn Eight of Paladia, serving as one of Aldore's main lieutenants, while Dark Fina was another figure of importance in the Hess faction.
Through unknown circumstances some inhabitants and places of Paladia ended up in the world of Lapis. The original Veritas of the Dark and Veritas of the Bolt (Sakura) defected the Sworn Six in favor of living peaceful lives in Lapis. With a newfound membership, the group reformed under the Six Sworn of Paladia.
Veritas of the Earth discusses plans with Veritas of the Light (Citra), asking her if "he" can be sensed. Light assures thus, and says that "they" have hidden the Crystal long ago. Earth warns Light that it matters not who she is, but if she gets moved by "foolish emotions" he would kill her. Light claims to have discarded her emotions except for hatred, and if Earth is capable of keeping his cool when it comes to Fina. Earth dismisses the concern for he is fully dedicated to their greater goal. The two march towards Mysidia.
Earth and Light ambush Rain and his party at the Nameless Ruins where the Crystal of Light resides. Sakura greets them, but is stricken by Light, who chastising Sakura as a traitor for having abandoned the armor and their ranks. Earth uses a quaking attack that pushes them outside the Crystal Chamber. Outside, Earth confronts Fina and asks her if she remembers him, but she does not. Outraged, he claims he will make her remember, and Fina accepts the challenge. Earth deems her unworthy of fighting him directly as she's not a warrior of Hess in her current state, and uses his shield to summon a Demon Wall while he escapes.
The party defeats the Demon Wall and reaches the chamber. Earth berates Fina, convinced she has weakened and is not the same "Demon of Hess" as she used to be. He asks if siding with a pack of humans is what made her weak. He demands her to return to her old form for his sake and begins storing power. Thinking of it as an attack the party tries to interfere, but Light uses her powers to temporarily blind them, giving Earth the chance to transfer a part of his powers onto Fina. She reverts into Dark Fina who questions Earth, but he is displeased that her question is the first she has to say to him after 700 years. He claims they both want a fight to the death, but Sakura does not want to risk Fina being destroyed and teleports away with the party, believing it better for them to survive and protect the last Crystal. Earth is discontent, but Light does not care as she is confident they will find the last Crystal, proceeding to destroy the Light Crystal. Earth rejoices knowing the promised day is nigh.
As Dark Fina's resurrection has caused the other Fina to disappear into the former's mind with the risk of vanishing for good, the party goes to the Magic Library to save her. They enter Dark Fina's memories to find the source of what endangers Fina and prevent her destruction. The party learns more about the war between Aldore and Hess and meet the original members of the Veritas, traveling together. They defeat the Dark Fina of that world who believes them to be allies of Aldore. The Veritas of the Earth of the memory world attempts to strike her down, but Rain pleads with him to try to reach a peaceful approach. Earth, enraged at Rain for his suggestion, claims he doesn't know about the war or his own feelings for Fina, and claims to see things differently from Dark. Earth takes on the challenge and attempts to fight Rain, but is defeated by the party.
Gameplay
Veritas of the Earth's job is listed as Veritas. His role is Tanking. He starts with a Rarity of 4★ and can be upgraded to 6★. He can equip Daggers, Swords, Hammers, Spears, Light Shields, Heavy Shields, Helmets, Light Armor, Heavy Armor and Accessories. His Trust Master Reward "Sworn Six's Pride - Earth" provides additional ATK and DEF when equipping Heavy Shield and Armor.
Assessment
Veritas of the Earth
Veritas of the Earth's abilities mitigate damage himself or the party. He is a reliable Tank who can protect the whole party, or greatly increase his own defenses while making himself the target of attacks. Guard Smite and Steel Body enhance his ability to take on damage, while Defensive Barrier and Guardian provide lesser buffs but allow him to protect the whole party. He can increase resistance to Earth damage and do Stat Breaks. He is somewhat unusual in that he can deal damage and perform Tank duties at the same time, best exemplified by Incinerating Press, which deals damage and increases the chances of being targeted by attacks.
His passives improve his defensive abilities by boosting HP, DEF, SPR and bestowing him with incredible defensive buffs when weakened. He can counter attacks making him a solid LB crystal engine.
His Limit Burst, Demon Wall, inflicts major unmitigated damage to all enemies while granting the party with significant damage reduction. He can learn Black Magic up to Lvl 7.
Sieghard
As Sieghard, he remains mostly a Tank although he can now damage opponents with abilities scaling off his defensive stats. Although mostly a buff up from his armored counterpart, Sieghard comes with a peculiar gimmick: most of his abilities can inflict Charm (essentially a gag on his handsome appearance), which can be put to further defensive use.
During most of his growth Sieghard is focused as a Physical Tank, however, upon reaching his 7★ rarity, Sieghard can also function as a Magic Tank. Since this requires another copy of him to unlock and being a 5★ base rarity unit, this characteristic may not be fully exploitable, though.
Battle
Veritas of the Earth has 190,000 HP and commands the Earth element, using attacks such as Stonra, Stonga and Earth Shatter a handful of times per turn. He can cast Break to petrify a party member. It is recommended to bring Gold Needles or Stona, as Esuna cannot remove stone. He can use Tempered Will to increase his defenses and heal him for 10,000 HP, and can use Shield Bash, a physical attack.
Although his HP is lower than some bosses fought by that point, his stats are high and many attacks only do a few thousand damage to him. The party should stock on healing items as he's fought immediately after battling Dark Fina who is also a tough boss on her own. If possible, Full Break or Rain's Undermine should be used along Barstonra or Barstonga to significantly reduce the difficulty.
Empowered
His empowered version behaves in a similar manner albeit with added gimmicks. At 320,000 HP he greatly exceeds his previous form, and has increased defenses and slightly increased damage output. He gains a new move in Crush, which can instantly kill a player's unit.
He gains immunity to some status ailments but is vulnerable to Poison, Paralysis and Blind. The former two can be exploited to damage Earth freely despite his tremendous defenses. The player should have stat breaks ready and a dispeller to cancel his buffs, but the breaks must be reapplied.
Gallery
Etymology
Veritas is Latin for "truth".