Isabelle (Final Fantasy XVI)

Isabelle is a character in Final Fantasy XVI. Also known as the Dame, she is the owner of the brothel known as The Veil. She is an ally of Cidolfus Telamon and helps Clive Rosfield get inside the capital of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque.
== History ==
==== Past ====
Originally known as "Carla", Isabelle was a highly-sought-after courtesan from Twinside in the Crystalline Dominion. At some point, she fell in love and secretly began a relationship with a Bearer who acted as the guard for her master. However, the two were eventually caught, with Isabelle's lover being viciously beaten and forbidden from ever looking at her again. Isabelle decided that the two of them should run away together, and so they fled Twinside. Their journey was long and full of hardship, with the two lovers “half-dreading and half-praying” that each new day would be their last.
Eventually, they found their way to Northreach, where they were taken in by the courtesans of the Veil, the town's local brothel. Unfortunately, Isabelle's lover succumbed to his injuries, and passed away soon after they arrived, leaving Isabelle distraught. Isabelle was touched by how the men and women of the Veil were willing to aid her and share her grief, and swore she would spend the remainder of her life doing the same thing for the people of Northreach. As time went on, she became the Madame of the Veil, taking on the alias of “The Dame” and eventually becoming an ally of Cidolfus Telamon.
==== Aiding Clive ====
In the year 873, Clive Rosfield sought out the Dame in Northreach in order to acquire passage into Oriflamme, seeking to aid Cid in the destruction of the Drake's Head Mothercrystal. She met him in the marketplace outside the town gate, telling him to call her “Isabelle”, and agreed to help him in return for assistance with a problem of her own; one of her courtesans, a girl named Tatienne, had gone missing, and she wished for Clive to help find her.
After asking around, Clive reported back to Isabelle, having learned that Tatienne had lost a comb that Isabelle had given her as a gift, and had gone to Moore with a soldier named Yannick, who was madly in love with her, though his behavior towards her was closer to that of a jealous stalker. Isabelle expressed that she wished Tatienne had just told her about the comb instead of keeping it from her, and asked that Clive go to Moore to find out what happened between her and Yannick, but warned him that the people there didn't take kindly to Bearers.
Isabelle would travel to Moore herself in order to let Clive know that his team had arrived and was ready to go to Oriflamme when he was ready. She would additionally learn from Clive what had happened to Tatienne; Yannick had stolen her beloved comb, believing it to be a gift from another man, and had purchased another one in the hopes that he could get Tatienne to marry him. While it is not directly stated, it is implied that Tatienne refused him, and, in a fit of rage, was murdered by Yannick before he then killed himself, leaving their bodies to be eaten by wild animals. Isabelle was devastated to learn of Tatienne's fate, revealing to Clive that it wasn't uncommon for soldiers to fall for courtesans, but it seldom ended well. Clive left Tatienne's comb with Isabelle, to remember the girl by, which she thanked him for, before wishing him luck on his journey.
==== Under New Management ====
Five years later, following the destruction of Twinside at the hands of Dion Lesage and the death of the remaining members of the Sanbrequois royal family, Moore and Oriflamme had completely fallen to aetherfloods, and Ultima's Thralls had begun attacking Northreach. Isabelle called for Clive's aid once more, and she informed him that, along with the two aforementioned problems, the former High Cardinal of Sanbreque's Council of Elders (having reverted to his noble title of “The Duke of Oriflamme”) intended to make Northreach and the nearby Caer Norvent into a military stronghold to act as the new capital of Sanbreque and rebuild the Holy Empire, at the expense of the town's inhabitants. Isabelle had previously attempted to reason with the Duke, but he wouldn't listen to her. She then asked Clive to see if he could not convince the Duke to change his mind in her stead.
After speaking with the Duke and asking the people of Northreach about their opinions on the matter at hand, Clive returned to the Dame and informed her that he had been unable to reason with the Duke, in part because their discussion was interrupted by the latter's daughter, Sabine, who vehemently opposed her father's plans. Isabelle admitted that it would be useful in defending the town from the Thralls, but that the people deserved to have their voices heard. Clive replied that the Duke seemed to value the people's obedience more than their opinions, and that he feared the latter saw them as little more than pawns to be sacrificed for the greater good. He added that while the town's inhabitants wanted to maintain their freedom with the Dame in charge, the soldiers were content in following the Duke's orders. Disheartened, Isabelle believed the battle to be lost until they were approached by Philippe, captain of the town guard.
He revealed that he had resigned from his position because he had realized that protecting Northreach meant more to him than following a noble's orders just for the sake of it. He told Isabelle that they had to be ready for when the Thralls returned, and everyone had to stand together, believing that they could with the Dame as their leader. These words helped rekindle Isabelle's hope, and she realized her next move should be to direct Northreach's attention towards their true enemy. She thanked Philippe, and allowed him to take a few of the men from the Veil to aid him in in keeping watch around the town. Afterwards, she told Clive that she would continue her efforts to get the Duke to see reason, but would likely call upon Clive's aid again in the future.
Some time later, Isabelle once again asked for Clive's help, informing him that the Duke had taken complete control of Northreach's garrison and had them working on fortifications, forcing Philippe to form a citizen's guard, and while they were more than happy to protect the town, they were lacking in able-bodied men, so the Dame asked Clive to help them with repelling the Thralls. She was about to inform him of the location of Philippe's men when they were approached by Sabine, who attempted to convince her to join her attempts to unite the townsfolk to drive the Duke from Northreach. The Dame refused, believing that a mob would only serve to worsen things, and stated her belief that the Duke could be convinced to join with her in defense of Northreach. Sabine claimed that this was a false hope, but that she wouldn't bother Isabelle anymore, since her mind was already made up, before leaving. Clive expressed that Sabine had spirit, but Isabelle feared that it would only serve to strengthen the Duke's resolve and seal the town's fate, which mattered little to Sabine, as she only sought to spite her father. The Dame then directed Clive to find Philippe in the marketplace outside the town gate to learn how he might help the town watch.
Later, Sabine had managed to incite a mob to confront the Duke, just as Isabelle had feared. As the two opposing factions began to butt heads, Isabelle arrived to try and diffuse the situation. She stated that Northreach's fight was not with the people, but the Thralls, which the Duke had yet to do anything about. The Duke ordered her to watch her tone, claiming he would not be corrupted by her words, as he accused her of doing to his daughter. The Dame rebutted that Sabine's words were her own, and that he would know that if he bothered to listen to her, before he chastised the Duke's daughter for taking advantage of the town's suffering for her own selfish purposes, claiming the town deserved better than that. The Duke retaliated by saying that Northreach deserved better than the Dame, referring to her as “Carla”.
He revealed that he knew of the Dame's true identity, calling her the “Slut of Twinside” before he exposed her for having slept with a Bearer in an attempt to sully her reputation. Isabelle only taunted the Duke in response, asking if he was jealous that a woman would choose a Bearer over “a pious man of Greagor”. Philippe arrived shortly thereafter to inform Clive that a horde of Thralls had appeared and was closing in on Northreach from the north and south. The Duke ordered his men to fall back to the Caer, only to be met with silence. Isabelle then made a passionate plea to the people of Northreach to make their stand and protect their homes and loved ones, and was met with rousing cheers. As the townspeople and soldiers moved to defend the town, the Duke was left in disbelief, unable to comprehend how they could choose to follow a “common whore” over him. Isabelle then met with Clive and Philippe, instructing him to send any injured to the Veil so that she and her courtesans could see to them, before thanking both men for their aid.
After Clive returned from dealing with the Thralls along the road to Oriflamme, Isabelle reported that they had survived for the time being, thanking Clive and Philippe for answering the call. She was then approached by the Duke, who admitted his being wrong about how to unite the people, seeing that the Dame had done so, not with strength or goddess-given authority, but by being one of the people and feeling what they felt. The Dame told him that their goals were always the same, but that the Duke was distracted by a vision of empires and glory, while the people had their attention on matters closer to home. As the Duke and Sabine apologized to each other, Isabelle chimed in by saying that she was certain they both had good intentions when they arrived, but that the same could be said of everyone. She told them that everyone wanted safety and prosperity, not just for Northreach, but for the whole of the realm, and that it could be achieved by standing together. She asked them if they would join her in this endeavor, to which they agreed. Isabelle then left to tend to the injured at the Veil, with the Duke commenting that it wasn't men like him who should lead the realm, but women like her.
Clive soon thereafter joined Isabelle at the Veil, offering to help move the injured, but she claimed he had done enough for one day, thanking him for his efforts. She then divulged her past to him, about how she had fallen in love with a Bearer, how they had fled to Northreach when their affair was discovered, and how the Veil had taken them in and inspired her to help the people of Northreach just as they had helped her. She claimed that Clive was very similar her lover, admitting that this was likely the reason she was so fond of him. She asked him to never stop fighting, and that she wouldn't either, saying that while it wouldn't be easy to keep Northreach together, their efforts would be rewarded. She asked Clive if the town could count on his support, to which he replied, “Always”.
== Characteristics ==
=== Appearance ===
Isabelle is a beautiful woman with blue eyes and brown hair styled into a bun. She wears a purple dress with a blue skirt and an ornate gold necklace around her neck.
=== Personality ===
Isabelle is a kindhearted woman who is willing to help the people of Northreach in any way she can. This stems from the kindness she was shown when she and her lover first arrived in the town after fleeing Twinside together. Her reputation makes her an admired and respected figure in Northreach, despite being a prostitute, with Philippe stating that, while she may be a “common whore”, the people of Northreach would gladly follow her through the gates of Hell. She cares deeply for the courtesans of the Veil, seeing them as family, and they in turn view her as a motherly figure. She was greatly saddened when she learned of the death of Tatienne, wishing she had just told her about her problems rather than keeping them to herself.
==Etymology==
Isabelle is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, meaning "pledged to God" and "God is perfection".
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XVI