Wakfu Season 4 Artbook: The Battle for the Eliacube

Wakfu Season 4 Artbook: The Brotherhood of the Forgotten

Okay, so maybe my B2 level of French failed me, but didn't the original members of the Brotherhood of the Forgotten, i.e. the Eliotropes and Echo, refer to each other with nicknames?

I mean, beyond Bouillon calling Oropo "Poète" or "Wordsmith", I'm pretty sure Echo and Sidaire called him "Oro" (which, coincidentally, means "gold" in Spanish) instead of Oropo most of the time. At the same time, Echo and Oropo called Sidaire "Sid" more often than not.

Can someone confirm this?

Oropo's OVA: Continuing a Trend

So yesterday I rewatched Oropo's OVA in order to make a screenshot compilation of Echo, and while the fact remains that in terms of plot relevance or even narrative choices the special is a hot mess that only provides information for things that, in the great scheme of things, are fairly minor or we already knew about (the markings on Echo's hands being burn scars, Grougal's blindness, how Chibi died, the fact that Oropo manipulated Nox from the Eliacube...), it should be noted that it at least doesn't change the characters' established characterisation.

With the clear exception being Chibi and Grougal, of course.

But when it comes to what would become the Brotherhood of the Forgotten, Oropo and Echo's characterisation is very consistent to what we already saw in season 3.

First and foremost, it's plain to see Oropo's Eliotrope team is his first attempt at replicating the Brotherhood of the Tofu. As every character introduced shares at least some traits, minor or even corrupted as they might be, with Yugo and his friends.

Interestingly enough, while this serves to establish early on Oropo's desire to have Yugo's life, to be Yugo, it also highlights the same flaws he displayed during season 3. Namely, how he's an overally atrocious judge of character.

Once again, he's allowed a few rotten apples into his basket. As it just wouldn't be wise to have characters like Bouillon and Ripulse near. I'd like to think those two examples are self-explanatory.

On the one hand, Bouillon might be a formidable fighter, but his single-minded focus on battling and inability to "share" with his allies means he just can't be trusted to work well in a group. If you think about it, this ultimately led to his downfall, as he might have stood a much better chance against Grougal if instead of fighting him alone he had allowed his "siblings" to join him, thus, possibly overpowering our favourite black dragon.

And, on the other hand, Ripulse didn't even attempt to hide his treacherous and cowardly nature. But, much like when Adamaï questioned choosing someone as sadistic and deranged as Toxine as the next Sram goddess, Oropo still ignored Sidaire's more than justified distrust of Ripulse, which, if not for Echo, would have cost him dearly.

In fact, if you remember, Oropo was genuinely surprised when Chibi turned out to be alive, as his sources had assured him he was long dead. Only for Sidaire to accurately deduce said sources were probably Ripulse, and while he claimed he had always been incompetent, his assassination attempt at the end of the OVA implies he always gives wrong information in hopes of getting Oropo killed or weakened enough to deliver the finishing blow himself.

To make a long story short, one of Oropo's flaws is that he surrounds himself with people that just can't be trusted, thus, endagering his life, that of his truly loyal supporters, and the very goal he strives to achieve.

The other characterisation they managed to nail was Echo's, even though the OVA didn't focus on her nearly as much. To be more specific, it focused on her loyalty to Oropo and how, despite everything, it actually works to the detriment of both of them.

If you think about it, while Echo is indeed staunchly loyal to Oropo and his cause, she's the kind of supporter who just follows her leader blindly, even when rebelling against his wishes once in a while might actually be more beneficial to their goals in the long run.

Once again, the best example of this is Oropo's trust in both Ripulse and Toxine, and how it almost backfired spectacularly on him.

In both cases, it's clear to see Echo is perfectly aware of how neither of them can be trusted, just like she has absolutely no qualms about punishing them or outright getting rid of them if they prove to be more trouble than its worth.

However, it should be pointed out Echo is only willing to reach those extremes if she catches the person in question trying to directly harm her or Oropo. As long as they aren't affected by their actions, they can stay regardless of the danger they pose to everybody else around them.

As I said, Echo's loyalty to Oropo (and probably her love for him contributes to it as well) doesn't manifest in a desire and willingness to do whatever it takes to reach their goal, even if it means going against Oropo's wishes or disagreeing with him. It manifests in almost blind adherence and obedience to him and his wishes.

After all, much like Adamaï and Sidaire, she knew Ripulse and Toxine were trouble and couldn't be trusted, but unlike the former two, she never voiced her opinions to Oropo or even questioned his decision to trust them. Not even after Toxine disregarded their orders and sneaked into her room to kill Eva and Flopin. Instead, she left them to their own devices until they posed a direct threat to her and Oropo.

And that in itself is another major aspect of Echo's character: her inaction and indifference to the wrongs going on around her until they directly affect Oropo or her, despite her insistence that what they're doing is precisely for the sake of the World of Twelve.

Because wasn't that what ultimately caused her to betray Oropo and save the day? The fact that Oropo betrayed her? We all know this. Echo didn't reveal Oropo's plans because she had seen the light or anything like that. She revealed his plans because Oropo had hurt her.

She had no problem with him disposing of the demigods that were no longer useful to him despite insisting they were their children. There was nothing wrong with emotionally manipulating and tormenting the Brotherhood of the Tofu or driving a wedge between Yugo and Adamaï to make sure they wouldn't pose a threat to their plans. And kidnapping children, their pregnant mother, and trying to kill their father was seen as a necessity.

But the moment Oropo revealed she had never been anything but a placeholder for Amalia, the only woman he truly "loved"? Then that's where Echo drew the line, because, deep down, she was always higher up in her list of priorities.

I guess this all comes to show that, even though Oropo's OVA was little more than an excuse to introduce some characters that would have minor roles in season 4 and to have a 40-minutes-long action scene, there are some things that weren't completely butchered by it.

She should've been the moment, but she was barely given a moment to shine T-T

Finally learned our favourite lesbian Eliotrope's name. Turns out Eagle Girl is called Desperia.

...does that mean she's supposed to represent Yugo's desperation? I mean, in her concept art she does look pretty melancholic.

Okay, so it's been a hot minute since I watched season 3 and I might be forgetting a few things, but it has literally just hit me how the writers could have made Echo being both an Eniripsa and Oropo's closest ally and the person he trusts the most make more sense (beyond the lovers angle, I mean).

And that is by having Echo be the one to heal Oropo whenever he started phasing out of existence and thus prolonging said existence instead of him just getting over it mostly on his own like they were nothing but dizzy spells.

At least, I don't remember she ever assisted Oropo with those or used her powers on him.

For an Eniripsa demigoddess, Echo herself doesn't do a lot of healing. The only thing really reminiscent of a healer in her is the fact that her room was filled with bubbles capable of treating all wounds and her acting as Eva's midwife. But in neither of those instances does Echo directly use her powers to heal. She mostly just assists one way or another, though mostly indirectly.

On the contrary, whenever Echo did use her powers, they were often physical attacks that she employed offensively. Such as when she attacked Toxine or when she spread her wings menacingly after seeing Oropo kissing Amalia.

Which is why her acting as Oropo's personal nurse would have greatly benefitted their characters and their relationship with each other.

After all, if Echo had been helping Oropo whenever he started to phase out of existence, she would have effectively been the one to postpone his demise. Likewise, Oropo was a very secretive person, who only let a select few in on the most personal and vulnerable aspects of his life.

Making Echo the one to heal him whenever his time threatened to run up would further enforce the trust they had for each other, as well as highlight their closeness and justify Echo being his second-in-command beyond her being the demigoddess he's known the longest and his lover.

I was hit with the realisation that even if Echo hadn't intervened to stop Oropo, his plan, to destroy the gods and replace them with the Brotherhood of the Forgotten, would have failed nonetheless. 

If I'm not mistaken, Oropo intended to weaken the gods by severing their connection to the World of Twelve and then destroying them so his followers could ascend and replace them. However, by severing that connection, he, too, would have robbed himself of his new pantheon. Because the demigods' powers aren't a result of their divine parentage, but of their alignment. 

True, being descended from gods grants the Siblings semi-immortality and stronger abilities than their mortal counterparts, but they still owe their powers to their race. In other words, Coqueline, for example, is an Osamodas demigoddess not only because her father is indeed the god Osamodas, but because she herself is an Osamodas. 

The best example of this is actually Flopin. Technically speaking, he is a demigod—his father is Iop's latest reincarnation—and Oropo chose him to become the next Cra God. However, with the reveal that, as an Eliotrope, Oropo shares Yugo's memories and feelings, then it becomes plain to see his insistence on Flopin and Élely joining his cause had less to do with them being legitimately good candidates and more with his desire to make the Brotherhood of the Tofu his.

Just like he targeted Amalia despite already having Dathura as his next Sadida goddess and Echo as his lover. Those were Yugo's feelings clouding his judgement.

But back to Flopin and how he proves Oropo's plan was futile since the very beginning, unlike Élely and Pin, Eva's Little Wolf has never displayed any special powers beyond those of a normal Cra, something he himself is acutely aware of in season 4. That is because, while he might be Tristepin's son, he is not an Iop, and therefore, he can't inherit any divine power because he is not actually connected to the god Iop like Élely, Pin, and Goultard are. 

And that is the most basic aspect of the franchise: your powers come from the god you worship. 

This all comes to show that if Oropo had succeeded in destroying the gods, his chosen ones would have not been able to replace them as he intended, because if he killed the gods and severed the Twelvians' connection to them, then the Siblings would have been rendered powerless too, maybe even gone back to being regular humans. Meaning everything Oropo had done to fulfill his dream would have been for naught. 

In fact, I'd go as far as to say the only ones who wouldn't have suffered the same fate would have been Adamaï, Yugo (since, before season 4, there was no indication that the goddess Eliatrope lived in Inglorium), Echo and Sipho (due to their dragon heritage), and Oropo himself, as he draws his power from Yugo and the other Eliotropes.

But who's to say he wasn't counting precisely on that to become the Supreme God as he declared back in season 3? After all, he was a master manipulator...

Some food for thought.

If you think about it, Oropo really is the harbinger of his own misfortune. Not only because he manipulated the events that would shape the World of Twelve into the state it was in when Yugo accidentally created him and the other Eliotropes, thus beginning his unintentional abandonment and neglect of them which would them fuel Oropo's grudge against him and the gods he himself sent into hiding, but because he is the main reason the Brotherhood of the Tofu came to be in the first place.

In season 3 Oropo admitted to being all but tormented by memories and feelings of companions he couldn't be alongside with and of a woman that wasn't his to love, which in turn caused him to look for a replacement in his own brotherhood and in Echo. But the thing is, Yugo most likely would have never met the Brotherhood and he would have never fallen for Amalia if it weren't for Oropo's machinations bringing them together in the first place.

In other words, it's proven once again that, although Yugo might have created him and his race, Oropo had no one to blame but himself for all the misery he endured and forced upon others.