Fern 🍞

Fern

Fern ｢フェルン, Ferun?｣ is a young human mage, and she accompanies Frieren as her apprentice and party member. She is an orphaned war refugee originally from the Southern Lands, later adopted by Heiter and placed under Frieren's care after his death.

Personality

Fern has a mature personality as a result of her upbringing, leading her to often act as the mother of the party. She constantly has to help Frieren perform ordinary tasks such as waking her up due to her being a deep sleeper, feeding her, and dressing her,[2] along with cleaning up her messes.[3][4] She acts similarly around Stark, such as getting mad when he stays up late, even though they are around the same age. Despite her outward motherly nature, Fern is easily upset and can act childish when others don't cater to what she wants or offend her, and in extreme cases, pouting and completely ignoring them when they attempt to reconcile,[5] though this can be resolved through actions like treating her with food and abiding by demands she makes. She also has a habit of following around and watching others when she is suspicious or curious about them instead of confronting them directly, as seen when she stalks Frieren after suspecting her of making poor financial decisions[6][7] and investigating Stark when she struggles to find a suitable birthday gift for him.[8] Fern is also a very loyal apprentice and has the discipline to train incredibly hard since she was young so she can manage on her own, ultimately becoming a powerful mage acknowledged by Frieren. She rarely cracks under pressure and is able to keep a level head in combat despite receiving injuries and battling opponents that are more powerful or experienced than her. Her devotion to learning magic stems from the loss of her parents at an early age and her subsequent adoption by Heiter; after nearly giving up after her parents' death, she was stopped by the priest, who advised her to stay alive for the sake of keeping the good memories she had. As a result, she became extremely dedicated with the maturity to learn magic and prove to Heiter that he could pass peacefully without any regrets and without worrying about her.[9][10]

Appearance

Fern is a young human with purple eyes and long, waist-length purple hair with a straight cut and bangs. She usually wears her hair down with two additional chest-length strands framing her face. After her sixteenth birthday, Fern began tying her hair partially back with a butterfly hair ornament gifted by Frieren.[6][11] After turning sixteen, Fern also grew to be taller than Frieren and with a more developed figure.[6][12] As a result of her mature and calm personality, she frequently wears a stoic expression and rarely expresses strong emotions. Her facial features are characteristic of those from the Southern Lands.[13] During her travels with Frieren, Fern is most commonly seen wearing a long, buttoned white dress with a Victorian top, including a frilled collar and puffy white sleeves, along with black boots. When outdoors, she also dons a long black coat with a hood, which has a gray inside layer. For her eighteenth birthday, Stark gifted her an ornate mirrored lotus bracelet, which she frequently wears on her left wrist.[14] As a mage, Fern wields a long, wooden staff wrapped with purple ribbons in battle, which was a gift to her from Heiter.[15] After the events at Graf Granat's Domain, Graf Granat gifted Fern a dark-blue, long-sleeved dress[16] that she wears with a thick, cropped, light-gray winter jacket and braided scarf in colder settings. This replaced her former winter attire, which consisted solely of a brown shawl over her normal clothes.[3][17] When she was a child, Fern had short, purple hair cut into a straight bob with bangs, decorated with a large, red ribbon on the side of her head. She wore very similar clothing to her present-day outfit, consisting of a smaller version of the buttoned white dress and black cloak, with black Mary Jane shoes. Prior to being adopted by Heiter, she wore a light-colored shoulder cape and possessed a locket with a photo of her family.[9][18]

Abilities

Mana concealment: Like Frieren, Fern is an expert at concealing her mana, a skill she has maintained ever since she was a child.[19] As a result, she can often sneak up on individuals, including demons, without being detected. She was able to catch the powerful demon Lügner off guard, which surprised him greatly as the adept mana detection of his subordinate Linie would normally expose human mages.[20] She was also able to approach Wirbel, a mage strong enough to become the Captain of the Northern Magic Corps, without him sensing her until she was right next to him,[21][22] and even Frieren herself claims to have trouble locating Fern when she is concealing her mana. She is arguably better than Frieren given she can move while completely concealing her mana, whereas Frieren must stay still.[23] [24] Mana detection: Fern has shown to be more skilled at detecting mana than any other human introduced so far. She was able to determine that Serie's mana was unstable, something that not even Lernen, the first ever first-class mage and an apprentice of Serie for over fifty years, was able to achieve. This feat was impressive enough for Serie to request Fern be her apprentice on the spot despite initially planning to fail her.[25] Fast spell casting: While she is inferior to Frieren in terms of techniques and mana,[26] her true strength lies on her quick release of magic. According to Frieren, battles end more quickly when Fern fights. When Fern fought against Lügner, she was able to overcome his attempts at outlasting her in a battle of attrition because she was able to cast multiple instances of Zoltraak simultaneously and in rapid succession to counter or even overwhelm his attacks.

Spells

Offensive magic: Zoltraak: The only offense spell Fern utilizes. Having practiced it from a young age, she is very familiar with it and is able to cast multiple Zoltraak blasts extremely quickly. Spell to make clothes clean and spotless: Magic granted to Fern by Serie for passing the First-Class Mage Exam. A legendary spell from the mythical era, it renders any clothing Fern uses it on clean, spotless, and infused with a pleasant floral scent.