Mel Darkthrop

Template:Infobox playable character

“

You make it sound like a death sentence.

”

—Mel to Edward, regarding him becoming king

Mel is the main character in the Aveyond 3 Orbs of Magic series. She is the last Darkthrop, and the only person who can fulfill the cursed prophecy: the rise of the powerful dark empire. Unlike her evil ancestor Mordred, she has a good heart.

Biography

Mel Darkthrop is a skilled thief, spy, and magic wielder. Mel Darkthrop was born and raised in Harburg by her unknown parents who died when she was only 5 years old. She is also the last direct descendant of Mordred Darkthrop.  

Early life

When Mel was about 5 years old she was placed into an orphanage. After failing to escape many times, she eventually succeeded and became a street thief.

Trouble and flight to Thais

In Lord of Twilight, Mel gets asked to steal an object from the deserted Darkthrop Mansion and bring it to her client before sunrise. It turns out to be an orb, which glows when she holds it. When Mel meets her client, a vampire named Gyendal, he accepts the orb and proceeds to attempt to kidnap her. However, she is rescued by Te'ijal, Gyendal's sister. She helps Mel navigate the Shadow Woods to the route to the School of War and Magic in Thais, where she insists that Mel enroll.

Personality

Mel is a very stubborn girl who wants nothing to do with the Prophecy. She behaves like she should be an outcast due to her poverty, her evil bloodline, and eventually the discovery of her magic. She begrudgingly accepts friendships, but those who she accepts become her friends for life. She hates noble people, especially the snobby, proud, high-and-mighty kind, such as Lydia Rupert. Therefore, she was very surprised when she found out who Edward really was. Despite this, she is still friends with him, even though she was reluctant to trust him at first, believing that he was like the other nobles - proud and uncaring for commoners. She comes to trust Edward later on as the game progresses.

She is often late for meetings and classes. For example, in Lord of Twilight, she had always been put in detention by ProfessorGray because she was never on time for his class.

Appearance

From Chapters 1 through 3, Mel retains the same style: short, black, hair adorned with an orange ribbon. She wears a green vest with a simple white shirt and black pants. In the final chapter, after she becomes a mage, her outfit is Shadwood Academy's uniform: a pale pink and white robe. Mel does, however, keep her bobbed hair and orange ribbon.

Relationships

Gyendal Ravenfoot

In the first game Gyendal commissioned Mel to steal a 'precious heirloom'. However, as soon as he noticed Mel was a descendant from Darkthrop he tried to kidnap her. (This pretty much describes their relationship through the first two games.) In The Lost Orb, Gyendal tries to gain Mel's trust by disguising himself as Spook, a fellow thief. His cover is blown, though, as well as the attraction between them.  In The Darkthrop Prophecy, Gyendal finally manages to kidnap Mel via darklings.

Te'ijal and Galahad

Mel first met Te'ijal when Gyendal, Te'ijal's brother, tried to take Mel to Ghed'ahre with him to fulfill the Darkthrop Prophecy. Te'ijal saved Mel and helped her escape the town to send her to Thais for her own safety. Mel later met Galahad when she returned to her apartment after being attacked by Gyendal's minions. Te'ijal and Galahad have been with Mel in almost every game except for when Te'ijal, Galahad and Gyendal were turned back into humans. In Chapter 4, Galahad races across the land to rescue Mel, sacrificing his humanity by becoming possessed by a demon who has also possessed Mel. While under the influence of the demon, Galahad speaks of staying with Mel forever to protect her from others who want her to become good again.

Edward Pendragon

In the beginning, Mel doesn't want anything to do with Edward and tries to avoid him, finding him a show off. However, he starts bugging her and tells her that he won't leave her alone until she becomes his friend. After a while, Mel finds out that Edward is a prince and states that they are no longer friends, but they slowly grow close once again. By the third and fourthchapters, Edward finds himself wanting to marry her. Unfortunately, Lydia tricks him into marrying her, and Mel again wants nothing to do with him. She runs away to a different  land, the Arishta Isles, where she meets June and Yvette.

Stella

In the first game, Stella appears to have fallen from Naylith to the Ruins after Gyendal ripped her wings off and surounded her with his minions. Edward takes an instant liking to her and Mel begins to think that they don't need nor want her. Stella, however, thinks that she might also be a descendant of Mordred Darkthrop like Mel, until she remembers that she is Naylithian. Even though they are not of the same blood, Mel and Stella become close friends. Stella is very kind and sweet and tries to see the good in everyone.

Lydia Rupert

Please see the main article: Mel and Lydia's relationship

The Oracle

The Oracle is seen many times helping Mel in her quests. However in the Darkthrop Prophecy this changes as she cannot help those on the shadow side.

Ulf

Mel and her friends saved Ulf from a tragic injustice, and he becomes a very valuable ally and friend. Mel trusts Ulf with her secrets, even though his guilty conscience leads him to reveal Mel's departure from the mainland to Edward. However, he did so with Mel's best interests in mind, and she eventually forgives him.

June

At The Lost Orb, when Mel talking to the man at the tavern, June came in and asked to take her in as an apprentice, however Mel refuses because she has business to do. Mel thought at first that June was really annoying, but when June opened the door for Mel, they got to know each other more. June wanted to keep Mel away from Spook and Edward, for fear that the men could distract Mel from her quest and June would not become a full-fledged magician.

Yvette

Like what everyone says about her, she has a strange sense of fun.

Nox and Uma Darkthrop

Little is known about them except that Nox wants Mel to become the Dark Ruler and Uma doesn't. At the end, it's revealed that Uma and Nox are Mel's future twin daughters. Nox wanted Mel to fulfill the Darkthrop prophecy, but Uma wanted Mel to learn to love more and make peace.

Abilities

Mel accumulates several abilites during her four quests.

Basic Thief Abilities

Trip - Mel can "trip" the enemy. This is a useful skill that disables the enemy from attacking, although it doesn't work very effectively and occasionally misses the enemy. Steal - Mel can steal from the enemy while in battle. She is able to get moderate to large amounts of gold depending on the enemy. This skill, however, often misses and fails. Chicken Dance - This skill is learned from a fellow student who hangs out in the tavern at Thais. He will teach Mel this skill for a fee of fifty coins. The Chicken Dance's main goal is to confuse the enemy, dulling said enemy's attacks by 50%. This, like the other skills, seldom works effectively and occasionally misses. (She can also learn this skill from the little chicks at the Moo Hatchery).

Magical Abilities

Mel can choose two of the three skills offered at Shadwood Academy to master. Her three options are dark magic, storm magic, and healing. When she has the Orb Staff equipped, she can learn skills from the 3 Wyvern Flames as well: Dragon Bane, Shadow Wind, and Unholy Light. When the staff is fully upgraded, Mel learns the skill Fury.