Deedlit
Deedlit is a fictional character in the Record of Lodoss War fantasy role-playing game setting, light novels and its derivative anime franchise. A female high elf add shaman (spirit magic-user class in Sword World RPG and Record of Lodoss War Companion) , she is the romantic interest and inseparable companion of Parn. Deedlit is a major character in the Record of Lodoss War light novels, and is a considerable icon of an elf in anime.
Deedlit plays almost as much a major role in the Record of Lodoss War OVA, and plays a major role in the beginning episodes of Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, but plays only a lesser role in the later episodes, as the story begins to center around a young knight named Spark. In the third series, Legend of Crysania, she plays no role whatsoever.
Being a shaman, Deedlit relies almost exclusively on elementals and spirits around her to use her magic. For air effects, such as flight, and/or lighting an area she uses Sylph. For water effects, usually for attacking enemies and blocking some attacks, she uses Undine. She does not seem to use fire and earth elementals.
Character History
Deedlit is a high elf who comes from the Forest of No Return, her peoples' homeland, where they reside in solitude. This solitude comes in part because typically a meeting between a high elf and another of the races results in conflict, due to the high elves having a tendency to treat the member of the other races other as a child. This stems from the fact that high elves are considered immortal, yet other races have much shorter life spans, and even dark elves and mirror elves only live to be 1,000).
Deedlit is a special figure among her race because she is The Last High elf to be born within the last 1,000 years, being just a little over 200 years old. She is considered as a result of her rare status, to be the last hope for the high elven people to prosper and flourish once more. She received the best education from her mentors in her homeland, including how to wield a blade, as well as how to cast shaman magic to harness the power of spirits.
Deedlit was restless in her homeland, and decided that staying there was simply a very slow death to extinction. Because of that, she left the forest, seeking out the "Tree of Truth", a means to find out how to help her people to become something more than what they are in their reserved state. She believes she has found it in the form of Parn.
Role in Record of Lodoss War
In Record of Lodoss War, Deedlit plays a major role. She is the one who tells Parn and Etoh to return to their village to go and do battle with the goblin clan, which results in Parn's secrete exile from the village, but starts him on his journey. Deedlit does not actually meet Parn until the second episode, where she scolds him for even considering practicing his swordsmanship on a tree, before she shows him the spirits within all things.
At the beginning of it all, her relationship with the others is strained at best. She gets along well with Etoh and Slayn, but her prejudice against other races has her quickly butting heads with the other companions, including Parn himself. However, seeing the results of her racial prejudice, she begins to change as a person. Not unlike Parn, Deedlit has a life changing experience throughout the story and also like him, becomes a much better person for it.
Due to Deedlit's mutually returned infatuation and romantically inclined relationship with Parn, the two become close very quickly. She does tend to get jealous of Shiris, who makes passes at Parn, something that he does not notice but is relieved when Parn makes his love for her publicly apparent on several occasions, which shames and publicly embarrasses Shiris, resulting in her taking it out on Orson.
Though typically saving Parn himself early on in the series, things take a turn when the dark wizard Wagnard finds out that in order to resurrect Kardis, the goddess of destruction, he will need both the Scepter of Domination and the essence of a high elf, due to their immortality. His choice of which high elf to use as a sacrifice falls upon Deedlit, as she is the only high elf who is not within the Forest of No Return.
In the end, Deedlit is saved by Parn and in a dramatic closing, the two of them leave the holy city of Valis for destinations unknown, though it is possible their journey is to go in search of Woodchuck, who was possessed by the Karla the Grey Witch.
Role in Chronicles of the Heroic Knight
Deedlit of course, serves as Parn's companion, and best friend. From the beginning of the series, her power is never in question, as she is the one who saves the life of Cecil, the disciple of Slayn and the guard of a village who tries defending it from Shiris and Orson. Deedlit saves his life during the confusion, and is the one who helps to put down the berserker mode of Orson, a highly dangerous warrior whose anger alone is enough to increase his power twofold.
When the companions split up, there is no question as to whether or not Deedlit will go with Parn, and she falls into a sort of marching order with him, going everywhere he does. She comes into tensions with Orson and Shiris, with Orson for being a berserker and thus too dangerous, and Shiris for her infatuation for Parn, as well as her status as a mercenary.
Despite her feeling threatened by Shiris, Deedlit continues to work alongside them, and is even saddened when Orson himself loses his life to save the lives of everyone else in the party. She is instrumental in the defeat of the red dragon Shooting Star, and saves the life of the companions on several occasions.
At this point, Deedlit continues to travel with and assist Parn, but her on-screen time is very short. She is present when Ashram and Pirotess declare that they are leaving for a new land to find peace, but her role is minimal at this point, other than defending Parn from Pirotess.
Voices
In Record of Lodoss War, Deedlit is voiced by the well-known seiyu, Yumi Tōma. Her English voice actor for US Manga Corps is Lisa Ortiz.
In Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, Deedlit is voiced by Shiho Niiyama until episode 19, which is her final work, and Junko Noda from episodes 20 until the end. Ortiz reprises her English performance for most of the series with the exception of episodes 19-21 when, due to illness, she was substituted by A.J. Parks.
Origins
Deedlit is based on the role-playing game character of the same name, played by the Japanese science fiction novelist Hiroshi Yamamoto, and has become somewhat of a popular anime character. Despite Hiroshi's own gender (male), he played a female character, something that is common amongst experienced roleplayers in general.
Actually, Deedlit and Parn weren't a couple in the D&D game sessions. Deedlit was more interested in Parn's magic sword than in Parn himself, she used this opportunity to embezzle his sword when Parn died. This is a famous and amusing episode for Japanese RPG fans. Deedlit and Parn's relationship was romanticized in the light novels and anime series.
Deedlit was Hiroshi's character in the campaign being played in the Forcelia campaign world, which was offered to TSR at one point, but rejected due to current policies. A high elf magic-user, Deedlit specializes in the usage of spirit magic called Silent Spirit, something not atypical to a magic-user of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, but was designed specifically for the Japanese official Forcelia RPGs, Sword World RPG and Record of Lodoss War Companion.
Notes
- She first appeared as a player character of the 4th Edition of the classic Dungeons & Dragons game, her character class was Elf, which is a fighter/magic-user hybrid.
- In Sword World RPG (It's one of the official RPG of Record of Lodoss War), she is an 8th-level shaman/5th-level fighter/3rd-level ranger at finally.
- Deedlit is one of the few characters to remain 100% consistent throughout the light novels and its two derivative anime series. Her role and abilities never change, even if her actual role in the series itself changes slightly.