Amicia de Rune

Defiler

*I'm... Amicia de Rune... And I kneel... TO NO ONE!*[src]
Amicia

**Amicia de Rune** is the eldest child of the landed de Rune family and the older sister of Hugo de Rune. After their home becomes occupied by the Inquisition, Amicia has been thrust into the responsibility of looking after her younger brother. Hugo, who has been sick since birth, and previously a stranger to Amicia, are forced to flee on a desperate journey in search of safety.

## Biography

### Background and Early Life

Amicia was born to Béatrice and Robert de Rune. She grew up in a life of privilege and wealth, as she was a lord's daughter and was close to her family, but had become distant with each other over time, due to her father's responsibilities and her mother constantly monitoring Hugo on account of his mysterious illness. Amicia possessed little prior association with Hugo prior to the events of *Innocence*, due to him being sheltered and regularly medically treated.

### The de Rune Legacy

In September 1348, Amicia goes on a hunt with her father, Robert de Rune, and the family hunting dog, Lion. Along the way, the two discuss how Robert and Amicia's mother Béatrice are both too busy with their own obligations to spend time with Amicia. Their conversation is cut short when Lion spots a wild boar. Amicia injures the boar with a stone from her sling, prompting Lion to pursue. Amicia is horrified when Lion is swallowed underground by monstrous unseen forces. Despite Amicia's protests to save Lion, her father rushes her back to the estate to meet her mother and explain what transpired.

Upon returning to the de Rune estate, a solemn Amicia seeks her mother, Béatrice. During this time, she interacts with several of their family's servants, warning them of the dangers in the forest. Shortly after Amicia finds Béatrice in her study, forces of the Inquisition arrive at the residence, and Amicia witnesses the murder of her father. Despite her growing panic as she escorts Hugo through the sieged estate, Amicia is able to locate her mother, who saves the siblings by smashing a pot over a soldier's head. The three escape to the garden but are separated when the mysterious leader of the attackers pursues Béatrice. Believing her mother to be dead, Amicia is forced to flee the area with her younger brother, Hugo, and seek out the child's doctor, Laurentius.

### The Strangers

Entering a village, the two are forced to leave due to an angry mob's effort to kill the siblings, for which their leader, Conrad Malfort, believes they brought on the plague. They are nearly caught before Clervie, an old woman, allows them sanctuary in her home. Hugo, who is unaware of their situation, makes noises while playing, causing a frustrated Amicia to snap at him and confess that their parents are dead.

Despite Amicia feeling remorseful for scarring the boy, Hugo runs off, leading to his capture by the leader of the local brute squad, Conrad. Amicia is forced into a dual with the veteran soldier, and manages to kill him in order to rescue her brother. Hugo realizes the danger they are in as a result and agrees to follow Amicia's leadership. The two then flee a pursuing mob, entering a church for safety.

### Retribution

Having escaped the mob, a guilty Amicia confesses her previous sin of murder before the altar of an abandoned church. As she escorts Hugo within the church, Father Thomas recognizes the family crest on Hugo's pendant and offers to assist the two in escaping through an underground tunnel. Both Amicia and Hugo are terrified when they observe hordes of rats appear and devour the monk. After another tense escape, Hugo begins to long for his mother, and is comforted by Amicia's embrace when they finally escape into the sunlight.

### The Apprentice

Amicia discovers Laurentius bedridden with the plague and is tasked with ensuring Hugo's safety. She is overwhelmed and lashes out in anger at the boy, causing him to become sullen. She is told to seek out the Château d'Ombrage, a legendary abandoned castle that will provide them with safe haven.

The apprentice, Lucas, helps them set off toward this goal and teaches Amicia how to make Ignifer in an underground laboratory. On their way back, the rats close in and Amicia is forced to use the distraction of a pig being eaten alive by rats to Hugo's horror, but he gets over it when they are forced to flee to a boat as many hordes of rats emerge from the ground.

### The Ravens' Spoils

As the children make their way toward the Château d'Ombrage, they come to a battlefield filled with the corpses of English and French soldiers. Near the end of their trek across the battlefield, the children see a pair of thieves being arrested by an English soldier. The thieves give away the group's position, and Amicia and Hugo are incapacitated as a result.

### Damaged Goods

Amicia awakens the next day to find herself locked in a cage by the English forces. A guard reveals they have worked out a trade with Nicholas, selling her and Hugo to him for a ransom, and plan to hand them over within the hour. Amicia later finds herself freed by Mélie, and that she and her brother Arthur were convinced by Lucas to save the siblings in exchange for riches. Amicia escapes and rescues her brother with the help of the thieving siblings just before they are almost recaptured by Nicholas.

### The Path Before Us

Exhausted, Amicia and Hugo hide with Mélie and rest a bit before being forced to move. While riding a reaction ferry across an underground lake, she and Hugo joke about monsters living in the water and recollect something their mother told them about such creatures. Finding the castle at long last, Amicia and the group turn in for the night.

### Our Home

Amicia awakens to see Hugo cheerfully exploring the castle ruins with the intention of showing her around at last, in a secure, tranquil setting. They then share a mournful moment over the loss of their parents, hanging their pendants on a tree. Amicia learns that Mélie is setting off soon to rescue Arthur, heading into the city where his prison is located. She also learns about the Sanguinis Itinera, an ancient tome of alchemical recipes and knowledge, that may help her brother. With Hugo's illness visibly progressing, Amicia decides to join Mélie in traveling to the city to find and steal the book.

### In the Shadow of Ramparts

As Amicia makes her way through the city, she learns that the Inquisition purposefully let loose swarms of rats on the populace. This enabled the rats to expand their nest, from which the Inquisition is currently extracting Episanguis.

### The Way of Roses

Amicia reaches the university and begins to track down the location of the book down using a clue given to her by Lucas. As she sneaks past the Inquisition's forces, she learns that the Grand Inquisitor and his forces are looking for the Sanguinis Itinera as well. Before long, she encounters Rodric, the son of the blacksmith in charge of building the library. With his father having been tortured to death, he is the Inquisition's only source of information on how to find the book. Amicia distracts his captors and the two team up to progress further into a secret portion of the university. The two find the book and run away as the fire they had earlier started grows out of control, providing them with enough cover to get back to the castle with the book in tow.

### Alive

Amicia discovers a symbol in the castle's courtyard, hinting at a stronger tie to the location and Hugo's illness. These peaceful days continue until Arthur reveals that Amicia and Hugo's mother is alive and imprisoned in the city. Though she wishes to save her mother, Amicia decides it's too risky with Hugo to look after. Hugo, unbeknownst to her, overhears this discovery, and the shock of discovering his mother is alive and Amicia not going out to save her causes a massive Macula episode. Amicia agrees to Lucas' suggestion of combining his and Béatrice's research at the de Rune estate, and sets out toward her old home.

### All That Remains

Amicia and Lucas make their way to the de Rune estate only to discover that it has been overrun by rats. Amicia realizes they were the ones that attacked the guards and allowed her and Hugo to escape. Eventually, the two reach Béatrice's laboratory and research, which Lucas uses to make a treatment that eases the symptoms and slows the curse's progress. The elixir's creation causes the rats to stop attacking and allows them to return home peacefully. They then give Hugo the cure, and Amicia falls asleep hoping for good news when she awakens.

### Penance

The next morning, Amicia discovers Hugo has gone missing. Frantic, she rushes out to look for him around the castle grounds, only to trip and fall in a ditch. She then experiences hallucinations, seeing phantoms of the people she met in her efforts to keep Hugo safe. They chastise her for lying to Hugo about their mother's death and accuse her of failing to do enough to keep him safe. She eventually breaks free from these hallucinations and finds Hugo, only to realize she hasn't awoken. Her nightmare ends with Hugo going off alongside Nicholas to an unknown location.

### Remembrance

Several weeks after Hugo's disappearance, Amicia is distraught and seeks to hold onto the loved ones she still has. However, as the group is working to shore up their defenses for the night, Hugo appears alongside Captain Nicholas and attacks them. The group flees, but before long Amicia is trapped in the courtyard with Nicholas and Hugo. They nearly kill her before Arthur springs a trap on Nicholas, allowing Amicia to break through to Hugo and persuade him to stop attacking them. The boy forgives her and uses his rats to instead kill Nicholas. The children decide to use Hugo's power to take the fight to the Inquisition headquarters and rescue Béatrice.

### Coronation

Reaching the cathedral, Hugo's rats slaughter all the guards and they find Vitalis seemingly alone in the chamber surrounded by dead parishioners whom he had sacrificed to feed his own controllable rat horde. The two battle with their rats, with Vitalis initially pushing Hugo's horde back, but Hugo uses his rats to remove those Vitalis is using to protect his body from damage, allowing Amicia to kill the madman with her sling.

### For Each Other

Having evaded the forces of the Inquisition, Amicia and Hugo enter a town to purchase herbs for Lucas, who plans to create medicine for their mother. They are denied entry into a local village fair, as Amicia is warned that "important people" are searching for a teenaged girl and her younger brother. With melancholy, Hugo comments that the men standing outside of the fair looked at him in a similar way to Mélie, before she left. Amicia attempts to assure her brother that Mélie did not leave because of him, though Hugo tells her that she is lying. With their mother incapacitated in the back of their horse drawn cart, the two play a game as they ride away and joke with Lucas.

### Under a New Sun

Six months after the Inquisition is defeated, Amicia, Hugo, their mother Béatrice, and their friend Lucas, are summoned to Provence by the Order, an organization of alchemists whose local representative Vaudin may be able to shed light on how to further remedy Hugo's condition. Along the way, they are caught in false allegations of robbery, which triggers the dormancy of Hugo's Macula. Amicia is forced to battle the angry farmers. She manages this, even killing a man who was preparing to kill her mother in retaliation. Amicia is shown to be deeply shaken by the events of the fight, with Béatrice attempting to console her.

### Newcomers

The siblings enjoy the market after finding refuge in the new town. After they reach their new house, Hugo suffers a nightmare as the Macula's hold on him advances, and Béatrice asks Amicia and Lucas to go find the magister. Along the way, they discover that the rats and plague have spread to the region.

### A Burden of Blood

Amicia and Lucas are sent off by Béatrice to bring back nightshade to aid in the treatment of Hugo's seizures. During this time, Amicia incurred a panic attack, and murders dozens of Provence infantrymen while enraged.

### Protector's Duty

Hugo's condition hasn't improved for days despite being under the care of Magister Vaudin. Amicia shares her growing frustrations about Vaudin and the Order's ways with Lucas and begins to try and think of another solution to Hugo's problems. Soon after, the rats devour the city, forcing the group to flee by boat.

### In Our Wake

A band of mercenaries led by "The Wall" ambushes them as they ride down a boat. Amicia fights back and kills a decent few. She confronts Arnaud, who delivers a blow to her head that leaves her grievously wounded. This sends Hugo into a rage, sending out rats to chase away her oppressor. The siblings decide not to join their mother and Lucas in the boat as it sails away.

### Leaving All Behind

Despite the hard decision of abandoning their mother and friend, Amicia and Hugo attempt to find a way to the island in his dreams while avoiding any encounters with the soldiers looking for them. In a quarry area full of soldiers, she lets Hugo use his powers to kill all the soldiers as she is too weak to fight. However, Hugo goes overboard and has a seizure, sending another wave of rats their way. Amicia uses her remaining strength to carry Hugo up a platform and away from the horde of rats before collapsing.

### Felons

Amicia is surprised to learn that it was Arnaud, the man who tried to kill her, who saved her from the rats. With another ally on their side, they recruit his smuggler friend Sophia and travel to La Cuna, the island that Arnaud said matches the one in Hugo's dream, where they hope to find a cure for his affliction.

### A Sea of Promises

Upon arriving in the island, the siblings immediately start looking for the mysterious place that Hugo sees in his dream in the hopes that they finally get a cure to the Macula. At a stage where Arnaud and the Count are fighting, Amicia decides to interfere that leaves him apprehended. As the Count is about to confront the siblings, he is stopped by Emilie, the Countess, who invites them over to their castle for food and rest.

### Tales and Revelations

The next day, they are allowed to explore in search of clues tied to Hugo's dream. They reunite with Sophia while doing so, and quickly discover via an ancient stone map that the island is tied to the Order. Hearing of a ceremony being held at an ancient Order temple up in the mountains, they are surprised to find that it has been repurposed as a holy site for a cult led by the Count and Emilie. As they sneak off, they find references to and traces of Basilius, the first carrier of the Macula, and his protector, Aelia Dragas.

### Bloodline

Hoping Aelia hid some clue to Basilius' whereabouts before she died, the group then makes their way toward a prison tower's ruins on a nearby island. They discover Aelia's ring, which instructs them to return to the map they found in the theatre ruins. Hugo grows furious when they learn that a group of slavers has been repelling the rats by making human sacrifices to them as instructed by the Count and kills some slavers in an effort to release the imprisoned slaves. Horrified, Amicia admonishes Hugo for killing people when it was not necessary. However, as he contends that she frequently commits murder, it becomes clear that Amicia has a negative influence on Hugo. The siblings escape with the help of Sophia and they ride a boat back into the sea.

### The Cradle of Centuries

Back at La Cuna, they discover that the island has been overrun by rats, partly because no sacrifices are being made anymore and partly because Hugo's lax use of the rats has allowed the Macula to advance. As the stone map reveals a secret underground passage, Amicia uncovers Aelia's trail and pays respect to her corpse. Hugo's distress over the fate of Basilius causes the rats to flood the cathedral. Outside the surface, Amicia calms him and realizes that the Macula feeds off of its carrier's fear, anger, and pain, and worsens when these emotions run wild. At the same time, when the user is happy, calm, and content, the Macula is managed. To his end, she decides to take Hugo to a remote home in the mountains owned by her family, where she and Hugo can live in peace.

### The Life We Deserve

After learning the truth about what happened to Basilius, the de Rune siblings finally reunite with their mother and Lucas. Béatrice agrees that Amicia's plan is their best hope of saving Hugo. Their reunion is cut short when the Count summons Amicia and reveals his own plan. Amicia is enraged, but the Count injures her arm by knockingher down a flight of stairs, and she ends up in a central courtyard, where Emilie has Béatrice bound and ready for sacrifice. She then fights a losing battle with a sword against the Count, only for the Count to nearly kill her. Béatrice then begs Emilie and the Count to spare Amicia, willingly sacrificing herself for their sake. Amicia pushes Hugo to his limits, whose rats devour everything around them as the ground collapses beneath them.

### Nothing Left

Recovering from the fall, Amicia is badly hurt from her encounter with the Count and learns that Hugo is now catatonic due to the Macula's influence being so strong. Lucas offers to lead them to the surface, only to discover an ancient rat nest formed by Basilius' loss of control of the Macula centuries ago, with enough rats to consume the world. Hugo wants to stay, but Amicia won't let him, angering the nest. Once they reach the surface, Hugo regains his senses. After learning that Arnaud is still alive, Hugo convinces Amicia to help him just before his execution. The group boards Sophia's ship and sails away.

### Healing Our Wounds

Following the escape from La Cuna, the Count catches up to them aboard his own ship. Hugo's call to his sister distracts Amicia, and she is shot. As the Count departs with Hugo and the archers continue their attacks, Arnaud decides to escape with Amicia by throwing her overboard and jumping into the ocean as well.

### Dying Sun

Despite being direly wounded, Amicia manages to survive with the help of Arnaud. Amicia becomes hellbent in finding Hugo to prevent him from dooming everyone with the Macula. A fight ensues as Arnaud takes on the Count head on. Arnaud is eventually stabbed by the Count, but he uses the opportunity to remove the Count's helmet, exposing his opponent's head to Amicia, who deals a headshot toward the Count. As the fight ends, Amicia tries to help out Arnaud, but he passes away. Amicia then unties Lucas and Sophia and they make their way to the walled city of Marseille.

### King Hugo

Inside a supernatural space, Amicia meets Hugo and together, they walk through the illusions of past memories of different people that they have encountered. Hugo vanishes, but Lucas reappears. Together with Lucas, Amicia approaches the center where Hugo has fully turned into the Macula. Hugo says his goodbyes to his sister as he wishes to be killed in order to save the world. Depending on the player's choice, Amicia can either choose to kill Hugo with her sling or Lucas will be forced to kill Hugo as Amicia protests.

### Legacy of the de Rune Family

Amicia is shown to have found a new purpose following a year after her brother's death. She is now determined to track the Macula, and better prepare those impacted by it for the hardship they will need to face in order to stop it.

To this end, she gets back in touch with Sophia, recruiting her to travel the Mediterranean in search of the future protector and carrier. **If Amicia killed Hugo**, then she reveals to Sophia that Lucas has gone to study alchemy, and will not be joining them. **If Lucas was forced to kill Hugo**, Amicia describes her resentment of Lucas for killing Hugo and declares her desire to never see him again. After saying her goodbyes to Hugo via his grave, she embarks on her voyage with Sophia. It is unsure how or where Amicia plans to locate members of her genetic line, or if such ancestors are even alive.

## Physical Appearance

In *A Plague Tale: Innocence*, Amicia is a fifteen-year-old brunette with arched eyebrows, large blue eyes, and fair skin with faint freckles and moles around her face. Because she is a child from a noble family who never had to fight to survive, Amicia sports a good figure, but not too athletic. She is also noticeably tall for her age.

At the beginning, Amicia wears fine clothing consisting of a white undershirt with lush sleeves and long, narrow cuffs, a fitted overshirt, dark skinny trousers, and dark breeches. She also wears a silver necklace with a pendant of the de Rune coat of arms embedded into it. As a member of the noble class, she has an intricate hairstyle anchoring her rank; Amicia wears her hair in a high braided bun with smaller knots, all of which are interwoven with a pink ribbon. Her brother also tends to give her a variety of small flowers to wear in her hair throughout their travels.

Following the order's raid on her home, Amicia gains a few scars on the bridge of her nose, lower lip, and chin, and her hair falls to a single braid down her back. After meeting Clervie, she changes into equipped clothing.

Amicia's weapon of choice is the sling, which was given to her by her father as a gift. In "*Requiem"*, she utilizes a crossbow along with her original sling.

In *A Plague Tale: Requiem*, Amicia has noticeably gotten taller, albeit slightly. Her apparel has changed as well as she wears a padded gambeson, but she has kept some pieces of her clothing from her previous adventure. For example, she retains the armor plate on her right elbow and the crafted leather pouches from *Innocence*. Despite only aging five months since her previous adventure, her facial structure has changed considerably, bearing a more pronounced jawline and cheekbones. He voice has also deepened, the developers likely making these stylistic choices to convince players of Amicia's maturity.

Amicia's hair undergoes a symbolic change during the events of *Requiem*. At the beginning of the game, her hair is as it was in *Innocence*, long in a braid. This symbolizes the de Rune girl's femineity and humanity within the company of her family. As the game progresses and Amicia becomes independent, parts of her hair are cut at and removed with force, mirroring the losses she incurs from Hugo's declining innocence, and the death of her mother. By the end of the story, Amicia's short hair can be interpreted as her having little remaining emotional stability, for as her family is decimated, so is her former self. To this end, she takes on a new appearance to cope with her changed circumstances and decimated life.

## Personality

*Amicia de Rune fears nothing!*[src]
Amicia, ready to take on the knight's challenge

Amicia starts out as a normal girl, with a fondness for practicing on a slingshot, the outdoors, and her pet dog Lion. It is implied that she reads often, due to her knowledge of the Amazons mentioned in works such as "The Illiad". Though partially capable of finding her way out of tense situations, she can be rather short-tempered with her younger brother, who has is prone naivety, and a short attention span typical of his age. She is a fast learner and often exhibits the virtues of courage and parental affection. On account of being raised in a life of luxury, Amicia developed delicate mannerisms and pitch-perfect politeness.

We learn from the first chapter that Amicia is close to her father, but distant from her mother, as the latter spends most if not all of her time caring for Hugo. Throughout *Innocence*, Amicia exudes partial jealousy against her brother for his mother's attention. As Amicia and Hugo become closer, Amicia becomes protective of her brother. She expresses concern over the Prima Macula's progression and goes through great lengths to keep Hugo from harm's way. She is willing to put herself at risk of capture from the Inquisition while retrieving the Sanguinis Itinera, killing numerous people in order to protect him, and stating that she "did all she did for him and would do it again".

Amicia also becomes progressively more violent as *Innocence* progresses, losing much of her childhood innocence. After killing an armed peasant for the first time, she goes into a state of shock. This remorse fades as *Innocence* progresses, for Amicia murders guards without her earlier reservations. Players can lead Amicia to become more (merciful actions/avioding combat) or less (needlessly culling areas of all combatants) violent, though either path does not affect the outcome of the first game. Amicia tends to remain calm and rational during combat and other extreme circumstances, but this changes in *Requiem* when she begins to incur debilitating panic attacks.

As consequence for her many murders, *Requiem* sees Amicia turn into an unrepentant killer, regardless of player choice. She becomes rash in her decisions, entering into combat needlessly and slaying enemies without any apparent guilt. In conjunction with her obsession of saving Hugo regardless of cost to her Mother and Lucas, it can be inferred that her lack of empathy relays the development of early psychopathic tendencies. Part of this comes from Amicia never reflecting upon her actions, as her tireless (and fateful) pursuit of Hugo's well-being gets many of her friends and family killed. Though she appears to have found some peace through her year of solitude at her late mother's cabin, she is evidently broken from Hugo's demise, and if Lucas was forced to kill Hugo at the end, bitterly resentful of her former friend.

## Abilities and Skills

### General

*Like mother, like daughter...*[src]
Lucas, recognizing Amicia's gift for alchemy

* **Agility and Durability**: Amicia is a slim, yet strong and agile girl with rather fast reflexes, along with good perception and balance. She is able to effortlessly and swiftly vault over various obstacles, climb up to higher grounds given there's a reasonable way, and fit through lower holes. She can easily maintain her balance while slipping down a soil slope when she pursues a wild boar with Lion. She is also quite strong, being able to lift up other characters with a smaller or similar size with her hands, including Hugo, as she always does the lifting job while working with Lucas or even Mélie, to reach higher grounds. Her fast reflexes and high agility lets her manage to dodge every single attack from Conrad Malfort, or even a rat horde's smashing and subterranean attacks from Vitalis Bénévent. Despite all of these, Amicia doesn't appear to possess any melee or weaponry skills, except her sling, and tends to stand still if any enemy approaches her in any direction. She is likely to be killed if the player lets that happen and thus is easily knocked unconscious by an English soldier from behind, and Nicholas from the front respectively.

* **Intelligence**: While attempting to retrieve the Sanguinis Itinera, Amicia is able to get through a heavily-guarded and rat-infested city to reach the University all on her own—until she meets Rodric—though she does miss the help she receives from Mélie. She also manages to control her emotions while traveling to what remains of the de Rune estate with Lucas, as she prefers to see the horrifying facts and what has become of her home instead of avoiding them somehow. She is indeed tough and assertive in a way to even surpass the case of Rodric, who is supposed to be the physically toughest and bravest of the characters, as he is seemingly destroyed while facing a similar situation, but on a much smaller scale; however, Amicia is heavily drained and exhausted along the process—both physically and psychologically, such as when she is constantly troubled and haunted by her past decisions and guilt, and finally collapses as shown in "Penance". She still suffers from the aftershocks of her hallucinations when she wakes up after being rescued by others, and seemingly continues to suffer from depression for the following month. Despite her sufferings, she tries to persuade herself with the fact that Hugo isn't coming back, exactly the same she does with Hugo when Béatrice supposedly dies. Later, she remains being rational and calm, even when threatened with death by Nicholas and chooses to trust Hugo no matter what while risking her own life to help him get past the first threshold, although she could never have predicted the result. She is also the first one to stand out and support a raging Mélie, both for her friendship and for reasonable facts.

* **Noble**: Amicia is, by all means, a noble and a lady, which allows her to possess the same general abilities as any other noble rank people. This includes basic reading and writing skills, talking, dressing manners, and so on. She appears to have read a lot of books as Mélie comments and also tends to describe Arthur as a hero from the book. She also appears to be able to recognize Latin, though she might still have difficulties pronouncing said language.

* **Horseback Riding**: Amicia can ride a horse, just like her father Robert, and appears to have an ambition of beating lords at hunt, though she is still shorter than any average adult and tends to dismount while facing backwards. Amicia also appears to be very knowledgeable about horses and tends to caress them whenever she has the chance to do so.

* **Huntress**: Amicia appears to hunt with her companion dog Lion on a regular basis. In "The de Rune Legacy", she hunts a wild boar with him and also displays a certain level of tracking skills when she recognizes the blood trails left by the boar; however, this proved to be insufficient to help her find Hugo when he runs away from Château d'Ombrage and attempts to turn himself in to save their mother Béatrice all by himself.

* **Alchemical Knowledge**: Amicia has a gift for alchemy as Lucas comments, although her mother Béatrice, as a master alchemist herself, hides the fact from Amicia and never teaches her anything. Amicia is able to make rather perfect mixtures despite the fact of it being her first attempt. She learns to craft various alchemical projectiles and mixtures from Lucas throughout the course of the game, even those from Mélie, Rodric, and Inquisition magisters, and is able to immediately use the results into the field.

### Combat

*That was... Wow... Are you trying to win the war on your own or what?*[src]
Mélie on Amicia's killing spree with her sling

* **Expert Sling Wielder**: Amicia's weapon of choice is the sling, which appears to be her only weapon as she isn't skilled with any other weaponry. The sling is a very powerful weapon, being able to break strong metal locks or even cause lethal headshots once upgraded with greater projectile speed. She has proven to have extensive training with it, being able to hit her targets precisely, even if they appear to move fast sometimes. She can also use the sling to shoot various alchemy projectiles or mixtures. Her speed and precision improve as she keeps practicing and upgrading the sling. As a result, she can sometimes handle multiple enemies at the same time to some degree. Despite her efforts and the lethality of an upgraded sling, the latter still tends to be a rather slow weapon as it takes time to prime and recharge, and thus proves to be ineffective when the wielder is surrounded by enemies.

* **Crafting**: Amicia has extensive technical knowledge with her sling, being able to apply various upgrades to it with materials looted throughout the course of the game. She is able to make high quality makeshift systems and other crucial improvements to the sling to improve its combat effectiveness. With the right upgrade to the strings or pouch, the sling will no longer make any noise, or allows Amicia to shoot two rocks in a row without priming and recharging. Amicia can also upgrade her equipment on the workstation, which includes her pocket, ammunition bag, and attirail, this respectively allows her to carry more materials, ammunition, or be able to work her upgrades without relying on a workstation, and even without tools as she'll have her own reusable tools by then, therefore she can do everything on the go, anytime and anywhere, without any issues. Once she gains access to Episanguis, combined with her alchemical knowledge, she can also apply certain container or instrument upgrades, the former including her pocket and sling pouch, to grant her even more advantages, such as allowing her to shoot alchemical mixtures like Luminosa and Somnum, which appears to be less durable, with her sling, or knock off an enemy's helmet directly by shooting a stone from her sling.

* **Projectile Hand-throwing**: Amicia can throw projectiles using her hand with considerable accuracy to mainly act as a diversion to enemies to avoid making additional noises and being spotted. The projectiles follow a parabolic curve mostly when thrown by Amicia's hand and thus are less threatening than those fired from her sling, being almost harmless, but also have a shorter range. She can also throw various chemical projectiles to serve their relevant purposes, same as those fired from her sling.

* **Imperium Channeling**: After Hugo passes the first threshold, Amicia can guide him to use his Imperium ability whenever she holds his hand. In this case, the player gains access to Imperium while controlling Amicia. This is possibly due to their bond after the incident, or their shared bloodline through the de Rune family. This ability impresses Rodric as he watches the rat horde attacks in awe, it also strengthens his confidence at the start of "Coronation" in which he tends to leave the fighting to the siblings. While holding Hugo's hand, the rats won't attack Amicia and will instead give way to the siblings. As the black rats follow Hugo's command, all protagonists enjoy the same privilege, even during the final confrontation with Vitalis when Amicia lets go of his hand.

## Relationships

### Hugo de Rune

Amicia and Hugo have no strong ties at the beginning of the game; they are more strangers than they are brother and sister. Because of the Prima Macula and Béatrice's near-constant oversight on his condition, Hugo has been raised mostly in isolation, with the exception of seeing their mother. From the start, Amicia is somewhat jealous of Hugo, since he is under the constant care and supervision of their mother while Amicia was barely ever able to see her. She also is annoyed by Hugo's naivety and curiosity, both stemming from his young age and from being sheltered for so long. Amicia is used to only having to look after herself, and, at first, she hates also having to look after Hugo.

Over time, this starts to change, and the children begin to rely on and trust one another more and more. This is especially apparent when Hugo finally starts to accept that their mother isn't coming back and starts relying on Amicia fully. Amicia also becomes more accustomed to Hugo's whims and accepting of her brother's behavior, as she begins to understand why he acts the way he does.

The two gradually grow because of each other, and they also come to love and support one another no matter what. This is evident when Hugo turns himself in to the Inquisition, and Amicia is heartbroken at losing him, even manifesting in a horrid dream that taunted her for her inability to protect him. The bond between them is shown to be unbreakable when Amicia is the one who's able snap Hugo out of his trance when Nicholas brings him to kill her and their friends. Amicia embraces her brother, and he forgives her for not telling him about their mother. Ultimately, their relationship is what enables them to survive and end the reign of the Inquisition.

In *A Plague Tale: Requiem*, Hugo's worsening sickness parallels Amicia's worsening mental health, as they barely get time to rest between excruciating situations.

### Robert de Rune

For a long time, the two saw each other even less than Amicia saw Béatrice, as Robert had prioritized Hugo's safety. They appear to have a deep bond, though Robert is unaware that Amicia has been training on the sling he gave her for years, despite the fact that the estate's servants are clearly aware and set targets for her to practice on. He simply does not have enough time for her, and when he tells Amicia this and sees how upset she is, Robert can only say, "Well - I'm here now." They spend time together with lively banter, with Robert humoring her with the "knight's challenge", and showing her how to hunt a boar.

In *Requiem*, Amicia and Lucas discover a burial built close to the Red City. Amicia laments the fact that her family was unable to bury her father after his passing. She seems to admire the grave as she remembers her beloved father and the swiftness of his death. Lucas then reassures her that her father is at peace and is still at their home in Guyenne, which seems to comfort her.

### Béatrice de Rune

Amicia and her mother had a strained relationship in *A Plague Tale: Innocence*, due to her attention being focused completely on Hugo, and what little interaction they shared was short, somewhat cold, and to the point. Béatrice dismissed Amicia's attempts to tell her about what happened in the forest, expressing irritably that she "wished [she] had time" to listen to the girl's stories. She never truly showed appreciation for Amicia, although this is because she had a lot of pressure with Hugo and his illness. Though she knew Hugo was sick, she was unaware of the full extent of his illness. As a result, Amicia felt betrayed that her mother had kept her in the dark, but Béatrice had done it to keep her safe.

In *A Plague Tale: Requiem*, Béatrice is much warmer to Amicia. However, Amicia still seems skeptical of her previously absent mother. She readily defies her decision-making and even questions her care for Hugo. This causes frequent conflict between the two as they have different ideas on what is best for Hugo. Amicia resented the fact that she was so trusting of Vaudin, seemingly more than she was of her. Amicia's obstinate desperation to save her brother, as well as her disdain for everyone who refuses to listen to Hugo's pleas to find La Cuna, eventually drives her to separate from Béatrice and Lucas. Overall, Béatrice was still concerned about Amicia, and over time, she was seemingly more concerned about her than Hugo.

In "Under a New Sun", Amicia killed a man who was ready to kill her mother in retaliation. In the aftermath of the fight, Amicia is shown to be deeply shaken by the events as she is consoled by her mother.

In "The Life We Deserve", Amicia felt devastated as she watched their mother die, and Béatrice murmured with her final breath how proud she was of her.

### Lion

Amicia is shown to be very fond of her hunting dog and faithful companion, Lion, and it is implied that she played with him a lot during her "hunts". She grieves for him following his gruesome death.

Later, if the player chooses to do so, she offers a prayer for Lion at the chapel inside her home.

### Lucas

*Lucas, I must say, It's an honor to have you by my side. You're the most reliable... steady... nice thing in the world.*[src]
Amicia

Since the moment they first meet, Lucas has been essential to Hugo's recovery, and Amicia frequently thanks him and praises him for his efforts. She is cordial with Lucas and appears to value his wealth of alchemical knowledge. Even in dire circumstances, she never forgets to bring back items that might be of interest or use to Lucas when she sets out on her own to retrieve the Sanguinis Itinera. Amicia's personal health was something he was concerned about; when she developed insomnia worrying about her brother's disappearance, he offered her a sleeping potion to help her rest.

### Mélie

Mélie believed Amicia would compensate her with wealth - thanks to Lucas - thus she considered their relationship as little more than a form of contract. Through playful teasing and interactions, they grew to view each other as very good friends. Amicia joined her in opposing Arthur to support the twins staying at the hideout for the long term, showing the development of their friendship. Mélie counseled Amicia to treat Hugo with the same care she gave Arthur, even if he might be a "pain in the arse" at times.

Amicia somehow impresses Mélie with her sling abilities and connection with Hugo, while she also appears to admire Mélie's ability to make incisive comments.

### Arthur

Although they were friends, Amicia and Arthur were not particularly close. Amicia expresses her admiration for Arthur's efforts in a conversation with Mélie. Arthur cared about Amicia's safety and was concerned when the latter fell unconscious for three days, but put his sister's safety over Amicia's. They worked together to light fires in the castle's pit every day.

### Rodric

*You know a lot of stuff, Amicia.*[src]
Rodric

Amicia and Rodric had mutual trust and gratitude for one another, especially since the former had rescued him from torture and saved his life during their first meeting. Amicia came to enjoy his company, spending time with him by exploring Château d'Ombrage. When the situation called for it, Rodric placed himself in danger with no hesitation to protect Amicia and see her through to her goal, knowing that Hugo had the best chance of survival with his sister by his side.

Rodric's final act was to return the favor Amicia gave him, sacrificing himself to save Amicia and Hugo from the Inquisition.

### Nicholas

As Amicia is Hugo's main protector, Nicholas sees her as the greatest obstacle to achieving his goal. Like with her mother, he cannot understand why Amicia makes the same error of opposing the Inquisition. Later when Hugo is unable to pass the first threshold (allowing Vitalis to as well) because of her, he saw killing her as a necessary action and did not hesitate to try and do so when Hugo failed.

### Vitalis Bénévent

Even before they met, Amicia hated the Inquisitor with a passion, for it was by his orders that tragedy befell the de Rune family. It was this hatred that eventually brought Amicia and the others to finally put an end to Vitalis' mad tyranny.

### Conrad Malfort

Conrad was convinced that the de Rune children were to blame for spreading the plague. As a response, he had the townspeople pursue Amicia and her brother, even holding Hugo captive so that Amicia would have to confront him. Amicia killed him against her will with a blow to the head, and he collapsed dead before he struck the ground while his fellow townsmen looked on in rage.

### Clervie

Clervie did not hesitate to help Amicia and her brother hide from the murderous villagers commandered by Conrad. Afterward, she provides them with several clothes since they both are soaking wet as a consequence of their flight.

### Vaudin

Amicia and Vaudin did not get along well. After Amicia delivers him nightshade as part of Hugo's "treatments", he is cold about their late arrival, and chides Amicia when she gets angry about him not being kinder in the face of Hugo's suffering. In particular, he states that "a protector" should know when their role is over.

### Joseph

Amicia met Joseph in response to Vaudin's demand to sail to the Order's headquarters in Marseille.

### Arnaud Malpart

The relationship between Amicia and Arnaud is quite special. Arnaud left Amicia a "memory" during their first meeting, and after Amicia fled with Hugo with the Count's forces pursuing, she was about to submit to the rats due to exhaustion and falls incontinent, but Arnaud saves her. Amicia learns that Arnaud made a bargain with Hugo that if he helps them find the means to travel to La Cuna, Hugo would have to kill the Count by summoning his rats. Subsequently, Amicia holds a grudge against Arnaud, despite Hugo's growing attachment to the latter. When the mission fails and the siblings prevent him from being executed, he becomes completely supportive of them.

### Sophia

Sophia first comes across as an unscrupulous pirate who warns Arnaud not to harm Amicia in front of her and is only helping because she refuses to be indebted to anyone who has helped her in some way, but she gradually grows into an important source of emotional support for both Amicia and Hugo, especially after their separation from Béatrice and Lucas, as well as the former's eventual death. She is mothering to the kids when danger is around, but while exploring, she appears to act more like a big sister to the two, making as many silly comments and gestures about Hugo as Amicia does in order to keep their spirits up.

During their voyage out to La Cuna, and especially on the island itself, she warms up further to the de Runes and proves to be their most unyielding companion. When she has been deeply disturbed by the de Runes' unsettling behaviors (Amicia's bloodlust and self-sacrificing dependency on Hugo and Hugo's use of the Macula's powers to kill the slavers), she has chosen to put her foot down despite the children's fears that she will abandon them, and instead be the support system they need to survive and better themselves.

Following Hugo's eventual death, she embarks on a journey to travel the Mediterranean in search of the future protector and carrier.

### Victor de Arles

The Count of Provence held a deep respect toward Amicia for her skills in battle, commenting how she reminded him of himself as a young man. He regarded her as a similar person to himself as one whose only purpose is to destroy. After his wife's death, Victor saw no point in living, and instead wanted to burn the world down with Hugo's destructive powers, starting with Amicia.

## Trivia

* The name **Amicia** is of French origin, and means "dearly loved" or "beloved".
* Amicia tends to repeat the word "no" whenever a traumatic event is about to unfold.
* Amicia is Aelia's mirrored image, as both are older female "protectors" to younger male carriers, willing to make strenuous, and often radical efforts to protect the one they love.
* Amicia is revealed to have an interest in music in "Newcomers".
	+ This is revealed if the player talks to a man selling lutes in the market where she says she would like to play an instrument one day.
* Despite wearing a cowl in *A Plague Tale: Innocence*, Amicia does not use it in events with heavy rain.
	+ Either it was an error on the part of Asobo Studio, or the hooded garment was intended only for Amicia's design and had no other meaningful purpose behind it.
* Due to her revenge actions by *A Plague Tale: Requiem*, Amicia can be considered sociopathic, to the point that she kills people who were not even involved in her family's tragedy.
* In "Newcomers", a woman selling combs in the marketplace asks Amicia about changing her hairstyle. Amicia says, "Thank you, but I like it like this." The woman replies, "Oh... Good for you! A woman's hair is her righteous crown!" This is calling attention to Amicia's hair to emphasize its changes later in the game.

## Gallery

Amicia looks at Hugo after killing ConradAmicia declares that she needs Lucas' helpAmicia finally sees Vitalis Bénévent in the fleshAmicia struggles to cope with her first and recent killsAdd a caption!Add a caption!
## References

1. ↑ *Focus Forums* – "Roots of Innocence - Amicia and Hugo" by Iyagovos. Published July 19, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.