Day 19 of our jaunt through the Tarot and we move from the endlessly entertaining but enigmatic Ulrika to the less amusing but deeply ingrained Cedric. After the Moon's domain of night naturally comes the bright and majestic day of the Sun. These two cards really are like two sides of the same coin, to the point where I considered examining them in a single post, but I figured Cedric deserves his own time to shine.
First thing's first, let's look at the Sun Arcana. Where the Moon was complex and unintuitive, the Sun is very straightforward. The upright Sun represents a golden period in one's life, a time when you're enthusiastic, successful, and confident. Such positivity spreads to those around you too, and people will naturally look to you as a source of inspiration. This depicts Cedric, at least as we see him early on in Cold Steel III, pretty well. He's top of the class, he can do no wrong, he has genuine friends who care about him, and he's definitely not lacking for confidence. Still, this isn't the first time we meet Cedric, or the last, so let's look at the other end of the spectrum.
The reversed Sun indicates that something is blocking your radiance from shining. For whatever reason, you don't feel the confidence you should, or it could go the opposite direction and you feel overconfident. When reversed, the card represents a lack of optimism, a lack of enthusiasm, and a lack of hope. This pretty accurately describes the Cedric we see in the first half of Cold Steel, a young frail boy whose ailing health prevents him from being the true heir to the empire that he wants to be. He idolises his older brother, whose freedom he sees as a dream he'll never be able to have, because his illness blocks his own light from shining.
This changes, as mentioned, in Cold Steel III. Cedric appears in his upright form, in stark contrast to his previous appearance where he could only long to be as strong as he now is. This creates a sort of disconnect within Cedric, however, and slowly we see him transform into a new kind of reversed Sun. He can't understand why Kurt wouldn't join him, seeing himself as everyone's natural priority, and essentially declares an informal war on the Branch Campus due to this perceived slight. When he reveals his control of Testa-Rossa it signifies his complete return to the reversed Sun. Now with too much confidence, too much passion, and too much hope in the wrong man.
Cedric seems to always be looking for his place in the world, and Osborne offers him something he could never have achieved on his own. Deep within the prince, there's still a strong sense of honour and he's determined to pay back his debt even in his distorted form. He remains this way until he's defeated by Rean, and falls into a crisis, if his place isn't by Osborne's side then where is it? Luckily, his magnetism and malleable personality is the perfect match for Shirley, and she fulfils her role as the Star, guiding him to a new path. The path to Ouroboros. Cedric turns upright again, now with new direction and a place to call his own.
He remains this way until we see him in Reverie, which portrays his attempt to join the ranks of the Enforcers only to find himself painfully outmatched. At this moment, he reverses again and most closely resembles his young self, lacking in the confidence to push forward. However, and this is vital, this time no one else turns him back upright. Cedric draws on his own strength, the strength that once brought people like Ada and Fritz to his side, the strength that allowed him to weather the illnesses of his youth and his traumatic abduction. We last see Cedric as the fully upright Sun, now confident and capable, bidding farewell to his family and his former self at the same time.
Cedric inverts his Arcana more than anyone else in the series, but in many ways that's fitting for the Sun. Sure, the night is long and the Sun can't always shine, but it always manages to find its way back into the sky, each time a little brighter than the last. As aggravating as he can be, it has to be said that Cedric's story is one that a lot of people can relate to, one where he fails just as often as he succeeds, if not more. It's no wonder there's a strong desire to have Cedric be a protagonist of his own game, he's practically already one, just of a game that he was never meant to be playing. It's pretty obvious we haven't seen the last of Cedric, and its hard to say exactly where his story will go, but I'm certain we'll see him again. As certain as the Sun rising in the east.
This is another character I didn't appreciate enough before starting these posts, but I genuinely feel a sincere appreciation for the Prince now. Let me know when you think we'll see him again, or what his next steps could be, with his potential it could be anywhere.
