Astaroth, fairy queen and guardian of the Philosopher’s Stone, emerges from alchemical rites as an unlikely ally to the human scholar Montmorency. Though her name echoes infernal legends, she inhabits a liminal realm between celestial and infernal dominions, her essence bound to alchemy’s mysteries. Her form mirrors a human girl, delicate and diminutive even by fairy standards, yet marked by striking beauty accentuated by iridescent butterfly wings.

Once tormented by the nobleman La Trémoille, she forges a pact with Montmorency after his intervention, their bond maturing from master-servant formalities to a partnership of equals. When France fractures post-Agincourt, their flight leads them to Jeanne in Domremy, intertwining their fates with the war’s turbulent currents.

Astaroth wields centuries of arcane wisdom, her counsel laced with sharp pride and pragmatic insight. She chastises Montmorency’s naivete yet betrays vulnerability in moments of quiet self-doubt, her vast memory occasionally faltering—such as recalling Excalibur’s lost sheath. Her pivotal act of transferring the Philosopher’s Stone to Jeanne ignites the heroine’s metamorphosis into a Ulysses, an act marred by unforeseen fractures in Jeanne’s psyche.

Bound to Montmorency as both guide and collaborator, she channels the Stone’s power through him, their symbiosis fueling alchemical feats. As political webs entangle the warring factions, she maneuvers as strategist and subtle manipulator, probing Jeanne’s judgment in calculated trials.

Her immortal detachment gradually erodes under Montmorency’s influence, his vision of peace through non-violence resonating deeper than she anticipates. This shift draws her from aloof observer to architect of Jeanne’s path, her motives ever-shadowed by the inscrutable ties between fairykind and the alchemical arts they steward.