Caterpillar

Caterpillar, also referred to as Cater,^[1] is a quest-exclusive NPC that appears in the World Quest Game of the Rich in Series Unfinished Comedy.

Profile[]

After the initial failed experiment of Rene de Petrichor's rebirth, Jakob Ingold utilized Carter Scherbius' remains and Ordo's opponents for experiments, resulting in the creation of Narzissenkreuz. The remains left were then grafted onto "those who have lost their intellect," which most likely refers to the hilichurls, in order to create Caterpillar.^[2]

Although he appears as a child, Cater is actually not a child as Lanoire explains. He initially explains that his appearance is due to an illness. Cater was first imprisoned in Meropide 400 years ago,^[3] after carrying out a deed for his "master" Narzissenkreuz, a powerful mage.^[1]

It is later revealed that Cater was a hilichurl, who was endowed with sentience and taught human speech as part of a miracle performed by his master using the mystical power of the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz.^[3] He was then inducted into the Narzissenkreuz Ordo and given the moniker "Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth," a name which symbolized his status as a creature which turns into a chrysalis before metamorphosing into a new lifeform, as well as his master's hope that he would one day become human. Narzissenkreuz also believed that he could save Fontaine from the prophesied apocalypse. However, the plan failed, and the Ordo was disbanded.

Caterpillar does not consider himself human, going so far as to describe himself as a "monster in human skin" with an inconsistent identity, comprised of "impure elements." As such, he is currently searching for a definitive answer to his identity.

At an unknown point in his life, Caterpillar discovered the "Path of Pilgrimage", a path that the Oceanids took from Fontaine to Sumeru in search of the former Hydro Archon Egeria. He appeared in the artist Julien's dreams and told him of this path.^[4]

After centuries of being imprisoned in Meropide, Caterpillar met a child named Lanoire who had been born inside the fortress and barred from leaving because she lacked official identification, though she had family outside the prison. Wishing to become "more like a human" and to atone for his sins as a human would, Caterpillar befriended the girl and plotted to reunite her with her family.^[3] During the events of Unfinished Comedy, the Traveler helped Cater and Lanoire escape from Meropide, and bring Lanoire back to her grandfather Earnshaw.

After relocating to the present-day Ordo, Cater tells Ann and Seymour that that Narzissenkreuz used the "world formula" described in Rene's Investigation Notes to calculate the arrival of an apocalypse that would end the world, and that the Doomsday Clock inside the Ordo is calibrated to count down until that moment arrives.^[5]

Caterpillar, alongside the Traveler, Ann and Seymour, eventually reforge the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz in an attempt to stop Jakob's world from being realized. He and Seymour fought against the Tower of Ipsissimus' Clockwork Meka guardians while the Traveler and Ann descended into the Primordial Sea to confront the Master. They successfully defeat the Master, who agrees to travel to the surface to see the world and make some amends. Once the group parts ways, Caterpillar decides to continue wandering to find the true meaning of his identity.

The Traveler would eventually run into Caterpillar inside ??? when checking in on Canotila, where he appears to suffer from memory loss and encounters a strange dog in the realm. When the Traveler catches up to the pair, the dog asks him what it looks like in their eyes, which they claim is a puppy. The dog and Caterpillar urge them to leave, as they belong in a "brighter" world. As the Traveler is ejected out, Caterpillar asks for the dog's name, though it is not made clear. The Traveler would eventually return to the realm to find Canotila, where they defended her from an Anemo Hilichurl Rogue, highly implied to be Caterpillar, though his status is left unknown.^[6]

Caterpillar would eventually return to the real world and visit Lanoire for her birthday in his true form, causing her grandfather Earnshaw to panic, as it appeared to him that she had been kidnapped by a hilichurl. The Traveler and Paimon would find them, where they spent some time together. He warned her not to approach anyone who looked like him, though he also finishes the story he had told her earlier in prison before leaving.^[7]

Appearance[]

When disguised as a human, Caterpillar resembles a young boy with white hair and soulless eyes who wears simple clothes. The skin of his arms and legs fade into a brownish-black color from below the elbow and knees respectively. His true form is that of an Anemo Hilichurl Rogue.

Quests and Events[]

World Quests

• In the Wake of Narcissus
  • Act I: Search in the Algae Sea
    • Cupid's Lover
    • Meteoric Lance
    • Muse's Mother
    • Search in the Algae Sea
    • Thalia and Melpomene
  • Act II: Savior's Wake
    • Savior's Wake
  • Act IV: Rowboat's Wake
    • Rowboat's Wake
• Scenes from Life in Meropide
  • Scenes from Life in Meropide: Safe Operation
• Unfinished Comedy
  • An Eye for an Eye
  • Game of the Rich
  • Hereafter...
• Happy Birthday
• Pursuit (Part 1)
• Riddles Awaiting Answers
• The Final Question
• Unfinished Story

Dialogue[]

Other Languages[]

Trivia[]

• Caterpillar is a reference to the character of the same name from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Change History[]

References[]