Shirley Fennes

Shirley Fennes (シャーリ・フェンネス) is the female lead of Tales of Legendia, and purportedly Senel Coolidge's younger sister. At the beginning of the game, Shirley is shown to constantly attempt to protect her brother Senel from the dangers faced in the course of his work with the marines of the Holy Alliance, though Shirley possesses a unique body chemistry that causes her to fall ill should she come in contact with salt air or sea water, rendering her ill-suited to such a task.

Damsel in Distress
The first several chapters of Tales of Legendia have Shirley being somebody's captive - first Moses Sandor, then Vaclav Bould and his minions. Though Senel and his party are successful in rescuing Shirley from Moses, Senel's distrust of the party leads him to take Shirley and break off from the others. In doing so, they are intercepted by Vaclav, and Shirley is once again captured. She is moved between several sites, with the ultimate goal of using her to fire Nerifes Cannon upon rival kingdoms on the mainland.

While incarcerated at the Hidden Fortress used by the Crusand forces aboard the legacy under Vaclav, Shirley befriends Fenimore Xelhes, who reveals that Vaclav is torturing Ferines to determine their suitability to be used as ammunition for the Nerifes Cannon, a deadly weapon sleeping aboard the Legacy that draws its power from the Ferines themselves. During their transfer to the Ruins of Frozen Light, an altercation between the escort, Senel's party, and Moses' bandits results in Shirley and Fenimore being freed, though they are pursued into the Waterways by the Crusand Military under the command of Melanie the Crimson. Melanie herself separates Senel from Shirley yet again, flooding one of the pathways upon which Senel's party is currently walking. Shirley and Fenimore are later approached by Walter DelQues, who, seeking to perform his duty as the head of the Merines's personal guard, wishes to help the two Ferines escape.

Later, Walter is shown to bow in deference to Shirley, addressing her as "Merines", a title given to the one who hears the voice of Nerifes and is, therefore, the de facto leader of the Ferines. When the three Ferines are nearly discovered by the Crusand forces, Shirley turns herself over rather than allowing Walter and Fenimore to be captured alongside her. Once in Vaclav's custody, Shirley is finally brought to the Ruins of Frozen Light, where she is made to translate an ancient slab hinting to the Nerifes Cannon, but not giving any explicit instructions relating to its operation.

It is soon revealed that her sister, Stella, who has been presumed dead until this point, is not only alive but being held in suspended animation inside a hollow crystal, and that it was she who brought Shirley and Senel to the Legacy and that it is she who currently controls the ship. Shirley is forced to activate the Legacy's Bridge, the structure that enables the use of the Nerifes Cannon, and while Senel's party manages to reach Shirley and Vaclav, the latter easily defeats Senel's party and escapes with Shirley once more. Senel is saved by a golden light, which is later revealed to have been the light of Stella's teriques and carried into the Forest of No Return while Shirley herself is forcibly taken to the bridge.

After Senel's party departs the Forest of No Return, the party is encountered by Maurits, the leader of the Ferines village aboard the Legacy, who then explains the events that have transpired since Shirley was forced to activate the bridge. This ultimately results in an alliance between the Ferines under Maruits and the Holy Rexalian Empire, represented by Will Raynard as an emissary of Her Excellency the Holy Sovereign, to defeat the Crusand forces aboard the Legacy and to rescue Shirley and Stella before they can be used to power the Nerifes Cannon.

Though Shirley is held in high regarded as Merines, it is later revealed that she is in fact a failed Marines, who, having purposefully failed the Rite of Accession, thereby rejecting the voice of Nerifes, does not yet possess the power to control the Legacy at will, but rather is only able to do so erratically and often not at all when under great pressure. This failure is later stated by Shirley to have been of her own choosing, as, were she to have succeeded, her consciousness would have been bound to that of Nerifes, and, though she is later shown to retain her own will, and, once playable, is able to summon the power of the same, she realised that she would kill Senel, with whom she had fallen in love with. As a result of this failure, Shirley fell into a coma from which she was revived by means of a stone similar to the Everlight, in addition to acquiring her lingering intolerance of seawater and sea breezes, though in retrieving the gem Senel and Stella had inadvertently drawn the Crusand forces to the Village of the Ferines, initiating the flight of Senel and Shirley to an unnamed land in which Senel would find work as an Alliance Marine.

When Shirley attempts to stop the Nerifes Cannon from firing, she is entirely unable to command her powers, and, in her stead, it is Stella who diverts the blast from the Cannon in sending her enhanced teriques to absorb the force of the blast, though she does so at the cost of the destruction of her teriques and, therefore, at the cost of her life; in the last moments of her sister's life, Shirley uses the remaining power her brooch's power to wake Stella long enough for her final words to be heard.

As the Merines
Following her rescue from Vaclav, Shirley goes with the Ferines to their village. At first she claims to go with them to provide emotional support (as even without full mastery over her abilities, a Merines still has significant social influence). However, as Maurits and others would mention, it is implied that Shirley chose to re-attempt the Rite of Accession (cleverly disguised as a "simple purification ritual" when described to Senel's party). Having been rejected by Senel the night before, Shirley throws herself entirely into the role of the Merines, believing that doing so would fulfill her responsibility to her peers as well as Stella's dying wish. Still, Shirley has difficulty securing Nerifes' cooperation, leading onlookers to wonder if she will fail again.

The Rite is disrupted when a unit from the Holy Kingdom of Gadoria invades the Altar of the Sea and kills several of the observers and guardians, including Fenimore, but the trauma of Fenimore's death is enough to complete the Rite as signaled by her hearing the voice of Nerifes. Once Senel's party arrives, Shirley states that she will no longer carry on the illusion of pretending to be Senel's sister, and takes back the "blessings of Nerifes" literally, by revoking the ability of Orerines to use any kind of Eres. Before Walter and Maurits are able to finish off Senel's party, the latter is swept away to the entrance, and Shirley departs for the Mirage Palace to prepare to activate the Wings of Light.

While connected to Nerifes (specifically Raging Nerifes), Shirley gains some degree of omniscience as she is able to sense the party's location. However, she restrains Walter from attacking the party at the Ice Monument; first by recalling him and then resorting to forcibly carrying him away via teriques. When Senel's party comes to the Palace, it becomes clear that Shirley's connection to Nerifes is not perfect, either because it is Raging Nerifes, or because of Shirley's wavering feelings, or both, as Senel's presence disturbs her seemingly-firm resolve. Though Shirley threatens to kill Senel if he approaches and claims that the only way to stop her is to kill her, her powers fail again and her emotional state causes her to disconnect from Nerifes. But when it seems that all is well, Maurits arrives and reveals Senel's prior association with Vaclav, leading Shirley to doubt Senel's sincerity or that there can be any real understanding between Ferines and Orerines, and she reinstates her connection to Nerifes, thus activating the Wings of Light. Shirley and Maurits then depart for the newly-risen physical structure of the same name.

Senel's party follows Shirley to the Wings of Light, as to let her continue uninterrupted would bring about the Cataclysm that would cover the world in seawater. By now, it would appear that Shirley has given herself entirely to Nerifes as she does not hesitate to use force in dissuading Senel and his party from approaching, but Senel's persistence in reaching out to Shirley ultimately convinces her to willfully disconnect herself from Nerifes. Maurits is enraged at Shirley's "betrayal" and attempts to take her place so he can finish the Cataclysm, but cannot handle the sheer amount of power that the Raging Nerifes imbues him with. Though Shirley does not participate in the final battle, she is still imbued with the same power that the Quiet Nerifes supplies to the rest of the party. After the battle, while the party beholds the calm sea, Senel falls off the edge due to his injuries, and Shirley dives after him. Shirley's internal commentary suggests that in doing so she initiated the Rite of Feriyen (effectively the Ferines wedding proposal ritual).

Character Quest
In her Character Quest, Shirley becomes a playable character, the last to join the party. Though disconnected from Nerifes, she did not entirely lose power as a Merines as she would learn her own flavor of Crystal Eres. Her role as the Merines is now primarily in the capacity of an ambassador, or peacemaker, as when she is directly traveling with the party she is working to mend relations between Ferines and Orerines. Though Shirley does not have her own Character Quest, she still has a subplotline involving Fenimore's twin sister Thyra, who is resentful of Shirley for having caused Fenimore's death.

Despite not having her own Character Quest, there is still a Dark Shirley. This incarnation of Shirley's dark side "that gave into weakness" is encountered in tandem with Dark Senel inside the Cradle of Time. These two are the last of the dark incarnations created by Schwarz, though Dark Senel's existence appears to entirely be in a capacity as a guardian to Dark Shirley.

Shirley also plays a great role in Chloe's Character Quest and Jay's Character Quest. In Chloe's, it was Shirley who changed her mind about going back to Gadoria by slapping her. Later on the two become good friends after they talked about their feelings for Senel. In Jay's, she was kidnapped by him and taken to Mirage Palace where they were later saved by the Oresoren. This is also when Shirley heard of Jay's secret from Solon ("I want a family"), and later on convinced him that he was not alone and that they should go back to the others together.

During the Character Quest, Shirley goes through some deep character development. At first she comes off as the typical sweet girl of the bunch, but she also shows some signs of being somewhat playfully violent and seems to be as sarcastic as Jay at times- she even earns the titles "Mean Girl" and "Jealous Girl". Her little mean side can be seen when she pinched Norma hard during the Interlude because she wouldn't wake up, when she got extrememly mad at Senel because she thought he slept with Grune, when she threatened to use her Crystal Eres on Norma if she were to sleep in Senel's house, when she slapped Chloe, and when she playfully teased Jay that she would tell the others his secret. In a general sense, she opens up a lot to the other characters and becomes very close to Chloe and Norma who, in turn, start teasing each other as well as Senel and the others.

Appearance and Personality
Although she is calm and quiet, giving those around her the mistaken impression that she is frail, Shirley is, in fact, quite stubborn and, upon reaching a decision on a course of action, is nearly impossible to dissuade. During the Main Quest, she is shy and quiet and only wants to interact with Senel. Due to losing all her powers due to the failure of her first Rite of Ascension, Shirley cannot fight and thus cannot protect herself, resulting in numerous kidnappings. As the Merines, Shirley appears to posess a much colder personality, to the point where even her voice comes off as being rather monotone. She becomes a much more open character in the later half of the game, interacting with other characters in the party other than Senel. By doing so, Shirley has become stronger and much more trusting of other people.

Fighting Style
Shirley is a Crystal Eren, making her roughly the equivalent of a spellcaster, though she learns the fewest Crystal Eres of any Crystal Eren in the game and possesses the lowest intelligence among them. Due to her numerous kidnappings and her role as the Merines throughout the main scenario, Shirley only becomes a playable character during the character quests.

In combat, Shirley acts as a cross between a spellcaster and a melee fighter by default, though her Crystal Eres are significantly stronger than her physical attacks. She attacks by casting her teriques out of the pen she carries, though it is never explained why she is shown to carry a feather pen, and later other writing implements, at all. It is likely she acts this way by default because all of her spells, except for Tidal Wave, are shared with all the other Crystal Eren. As a unique feature, Shirley can direct the attack pattern of her teriques after sending it out, altering its movement two more times, similar to any fighter's basic three-hit combo. This allows her to aim it toward either airborne or ground-bound targets, giving Shirley the ability to act as a more direct disruptor of enemy actions.

Interestingly, though Shirley possesses one of the lowest intelligence scores of any of the Crystal Eren, she is perhaps the most powerful one, as her spells, barring Tidal Wave, are stronger variants of several possessed by her fellow Eren. In addition to possessing separate animations for her spells, she is the only character to learn an Eres ranked as "Ancient High", this being her exclusive Tidal Wave spell, which also appears to be the strongest in the game. Most of her spells also have hints of the pink color when used.

Party
Judging by how Shirley acts toward other people during the first few parts of the game, it is safe to assume that the only real contact that Shirley has ever had were with Senel, who has been a brother to her for so long, and Stella, her actual sister. Shirley is rather shy, and possibly even scared, of the rest of the party at first. She becomes much closer with them during the Character Quest, though, and thus becomes a much happier person.

Senel Coolidge - It is long believed that Shirley and Senel as siblings, but as time goes, it is revealed that they are in fact not. Honoring his lover's wish, Senel decided to protect Shirley in her place. Their relationsip is one of the main points in the Main Quest, as it revolves how even though Shirley and Senel are close, they hide deep feelings from eachother. Shirley is in love with Senel, despite the fact that she refers to him as "Brother", and is saddened by his love for Stella and his relationship with Chloe. In flashbacks there is even heavy evidence that Shirley as had feelings for Senel since they met. It was Senel's rejection that pushed her to perform the Rite of Ascension again and it was also the revelation of Senel's past that triggered her to activte the Wings of Light. All it took, though, was for Senel to finally admit that he trusts Shirley and than hug her for her to realize that she would never be alone again. While Senel and Shirley did perform the Rite of Feriyen (More out of accident than intention) their Relationship after the Character Quest hasn't seem to change. Norma and Chloe even notice how it seemed they haven't gotten over how they were in the past (The two even recieving titles like "Still a Brother" and "Sister Girl"), implying that Senel still loves Shirley like a sister, though Shirley's love for him remains unchanged and it is never really implied that Senel chooses Shirley in the end. Many have also become acceptng of their relationship, Will even wanting to give them some time to spend together. Interesting enough, in the original version, Shirley still refers to Senel as "Onii-Chan" (Literally- "Big Brother") during the Character Quest, though this is probably because she has been used to calling him this for years.

Chloe Valens - Shirley and Chloe didn't start out on good terms due to their feelings for Senel. The reason that Chloe was in the Bandit's Lair was to save her, though this was mainly out of an Act of Justice, but during the Quiet Lands, Chloe is shown to be one of the characters who want to save Shirley and not kill her. Chloe shows some understanding for Shirley's feelings and Shirley thinks that the relationship between Senel and Chloe is really close as Shirley notices that Senel has an easy time talking to Chloe and vice-versa, but Shirley and Senel still remain somewhat uncomfortable with eachother due to being aware of these feelings. The two become much better friends after Chloe's Character Quest, to the point where Shirle sees her like an Older Sister. The two also seemed to developed a mutual understanding of their feelings, and now they don't seem to mind being mean to Senel and talking about him. It was also Shirley who convinced Chloe to stay with them by slapping her, much to everyone's surprise.

Will Raynard - Their relationship isn't explored much, but Will does seem to show care for Shirley, and visa-verca. Shirley possibly sees him as a father figure and even attempts to fix his relationship with Harriet. Also, during Jay's Character Quest he hits for the first time and she is happy about that because it makes her feel like she's become a real part of the group.

Norma Beatty - Norma and Shirley stat of at a rather akward start. Norma sort of scared Shirley because Shirley thought that she was going to take her brooch away, and the only reason Norma joined the party and agreed to save Shirley was because she wanted her brooch. Their relationship becomes uncertain aftewards, as the brooch broke leaving Norma with no real reason to pursue Shirley. Norma is even unsure what to do when the group has to decide whether to kill Shirley or not. The two become much better acquiented during the Character Quests, though, and will often have some playful banters. Even nicknaming her Gnorma after Norma hears Shirley call Chloe C.

Moses Sandor - Moses kidnapped Shirley at the very start of the game, leaving a very bad first impression. Shirley seems to hold no grudge against him, though, and finds him to be a very funny guy. Though she does seem to find it hard to accept him at first, as it was technically his fault that the "Kidnap Shirley" chain started. Moses shows that he does care for Shirley, as he was one of the few who didn't want Shirley to be killed.

Jay - Not much is shown at the start, but Jay and Shirley's relationship becomes more evident during the Character Quest. During the Main Quest, Jay saw Shirley as more of a "goal" in a mission, since he didn't show much concern if Senel and Shirley were reunited at all. Than duing the Quiet Lands, it was Jay who insisted that if nothing else can be done he will kill Shirley for them and even reminds Senel that they don't know Shirley well enough to care about what happens to her. The two don't talk much aftewards, due to Jay's personality and Shirley not knowing much about him. During his Character Quest, the two are even compared in height because Jay thinks he is taller and that Shirley should be regarded as the youngest one. It's also during his Character Quest where Jay kidnaps Shirley for Solon, but due to this she hears more about Jay's past and becomes more understanding of him. It was also Shirley who convinced Jay that he was not alone and that he was being selfish for wanting friends but no wanting to get hurt, pointing out that she was once like that as well. The two seem to now be friends, since Jay has become more accepting.

Grune - Shirley and Grune don't show much of a relationship at first, but during the Chaacter Quest the two are seen playfully talking and even planting together during one of the interludes. Shirley possibly likes Gune's innocence and kid-like personality, and Grune showed no ill feelings toward her during the Main Quest (Though it's possibly due to her personality). Shirley was one of the Character's who was extremely hurt when Grune had to dissapear, to the point of tears.

Minor Characters
Fenimore Xelhes - Shirley first meets Fenimore ater she was apprehended by Vaclav and forced into a cell. They communicated through the walls until Fenimore was forced to undergo some painful tortures. It was Shirley who pleaded for Fenimore to be spared and healed. Fenimore, while trusting Shirley because she is a Ferines, finds Shirley to be a dissapointing Merines and is angry at her for not only not being there to save everyone, but for also interacting and being in love with Senel. As time passes, Fenimore becomes much more accepting of Shirley as a friend and even encrouages Shirley to pursue Senel. Fenimore is also Shirley's first friend outside Stella and Senel. It is Fenimore's death that triggers the completion of the Rite of Ascension for Shirley.

Walter Delques - It is clear that Walter shows no animosity toward Shirley and only wants to protect her, mainly because Walter has been given the position of being the Merines's supposed protector or gaurdian. He takes great pride in the role, and therefore is willing to follow Shirley's orders and to get rd of anything that threatens her life. It is unsure how Shirley feels about Walter, but she does respect him, though her feeling for him as the Merines is unclear. It does seem like she doesn't want him to get hurt. Walter also appears to be envious of Senel because of how much Shirley cares for him.

Thyra - While not appearing until the Character Quest Interlude, Thyra, Fenimore's identical twin sister, is foreshadowed in a conversation between Fenimore and Shirley in the cell, in which Feinmore mentioned how they were seperated. Until the Interlude, Thyra has just been living on the mainland the whole time the Main Quest took place. Later on, due to a request from Shirley to bring all Mainland Ferines to the Legacy, she decides to go to Werites Beacon and ecnouter Shirley herself. Thyra shows great hate toward Shirley for failing as the Merines, for living with Orerines, and for being the one who caused Fenimore's death. Shirley appears to want to be friends with Thya the same way she wanted to be friends with Feinmore, but Thyra proves to be just as stubborn as her sister. It isn't until Grune Character Quest where Thyra starts showing signs of accepting Shirley and in the end she finally accepts that what she has been doing was ridiculous.

Family
Throughout the game, it is said that Senel Coolidge is the older brother of Shirley, but the two are later revealed to share no biological relation, going so far as to technically be of different species. This doesn't seem to affect their rather sibling-like relationship though, as Senel refers to Shirley as his little sister and Shirley will often call Senel "Brother" (Or- in the Japenese version- "Onii-chan")

Stella Telmes - Shirley's only living relation is her older sister Stella, despite of them having different names, as that is a part of the Ferines culture. Stella and Shirley were probably close, Stella doing as much as possible to protect the future Merines from danger. It is unknown how Shirley feels about Stella and Senel being lovers considering her own feelings to Senel.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Although Shirley never appears in the game itself, she and Senel got separated when the Devourer attacked while they were at sea. This is Senel's main quest throughout the game, and is moving from all the towns looking for her. At the end of the game, Harold Berselius from Tales of Destiny 2 sees Shirley and tells Senel that she seems to be calling at him. Senel then runs to her in joy, however the player doesn't physically see her as she is offscreen.

Trivia

 * Her Norma Nickname in the English Version is "Shirl". In the Japanese version, she is called "Ricchan" by Norma, and referred to as "My Lamb" by Moses.
 * Shirley's second name, "Fennes", means "one who prays" in the ancient language Relares.
 * It is rather interesting to note that, despite being the Merines, Shirley has only one spell of the Sea element, where one would perhaps expect her to learn them all, barring Grune's ultimate Crystal Eres, Judgment.
 * Due to the fact that she is constantly kidnapped in the first part of the game, she doesn't become playable until the Character Quests.
 * Shirley's Mascot Costume is a rabbit.