Featherine Augustus Aurora

Featherine Augustus Aurora
フェザリーヌ アウグストゥス アウローラ
Character Information
TitleWitch of Theatergoing, Drama and Spectating
Great Lady Aurora
ClassificationWitch
GenderFemale
Also Known AsEua
Auau (by Bernkastel and Lambdadelta)
Age1000+
Hair ColorViolet
Eye ColorPurple
First AppearanceDawn of the Golden Witch (Umineko)
Satokowashi-hen (Higurashi)
Portrayed ByMichiko Neya (Umineko)
Noriko Hidaka (Higurashi)
Relationships

Just who is weaving this tale? ...Am I for you? Or are you for me?

—Featherine Augustus Aurora, Twilight of the Golden Witch

Featherine Augustus Aurora (フェザリーヌ アウグストゥス アウローラ) is an extremely powerful witch who can freely rewrite reality. She appears in the last three episodes of Umineko no Naku Koro ni as an observer and antagonist. She also appears in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou as the being Eua.

Profile

The majestic Witch of Theatergoing, Drama and Spectating. She has tired of life after a thousand years and constantly repeats a cycle of life and death.

In the past, she served as the Master for several games as a legendary witch, but her legend, glory, and memory have already disappeared into the past and have been forgotten. Only the solemn medal she wears on her chest contains those memories.

The horseshoe-shaped object floating around her head Is a memory aid device. It records her name, appearance, and other aspects of her personality.

She is so old that she would not be able to preserve her own individuality without this.

Background

Featherine is a godlike witch whose near-infinite life and nigh-omnipotence require her to wear a memory aid device which maintains her name, appearance, and personality across her existence. Featherine sees even high planes of existence such as Purgatorio as a script which she can modify at will.

In Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, she is suddenly spawned into existence when Satoko interacts with a broken horn in the Saiguden. As such, she has no name until she asks Satoko to name her, which she accidentally does by mumbling in confusion.

Appearance

Featherine appears as a tall woman with long, dark purple hair stylized in a hime cut. She wears an elaborate pink dress with multicolored highlights along with a green sash adorned with a ceremonial medal. She has a silver device that floats around her head that functions as a memory aid device.

Personality

Featherine acts in accordance with her status as a being of nigh-omnipotence and can be condescending to the beings who speak to her. Featherine claims that she needs to constantly think or else she will perish. She often refers to others as "child of man," regardless of whether they are actually human or not (e.g. she refers to Bernkastel as "child of man" during the ???? of Dawn of the Golden Witch). Featherine's power is so vast that even witches such as Lambdadelta are afraid of going against her.

Plot

Dawn of the Golden Witch

Featherine appears to Ange Ushiromiya in the form of Tohya Hachijo. After Ange deduces that Hachijo is a witch, she reveals her true form. Featherine then asks Ange to serve as her miko and read her the story titled Dawn of the Golden Witch. As the two read, they form various theories as to what Battler's sin was. When Ange finishes reading, she leaves and wistfully hopes to see Featherine again one day. In the ????, Featherine invites Bernkastel to her study and tells her that she has been observing all of the games so far. Having formulated her own theories, Featherine tells Bernkastel that she wants to check her theories against the true answers of the games. Bernkastel agrees to show her the answers in the form of a unique Game Board on which Bernkastel is the Game Master.

Requiem of the Golden Witch

Featherine is a silent observer to most of Requiem of the Golden Witch, watching as Willard H. Wright attempts to solve the game designed by Bernkastel.

Twilight of the Golden Witch

Featherine returns, at Bernkastel's request, to throw a party in celebration of the opening of the Book of the Single Truth. When BATTLER, Ange Ushiromiya, and Lambdadelta sneak into the City of Books to steal back Ange's golden key, Featherine interrupts a fight between Lambdadelta and Bernkastel. Lambdadelta refuses to back down, resulting in Featherine instantly killing her, though she is later revived by Ange. When BATTLER and Ange successfully defeat Bernkastel, Featherine congratulates them. Featherine briefly appears in the Tea Party, musing about her struggle to know when to properly conclude a story.

Satokowashi-hen

Featherine's first appearance in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is as an unnamed being in Satokowashi-hen, wherein she appears to Satoko Houjou after Satoko interacts with an object in the Saiguden. She gifts her with the power to travel between fragments, similar to what Rika is able to do. After Satoko opts to view every fragment that Rika experienced, she gives Satoko the ability to loop alongside the same iteration of Rika as long as the two die shortly after each other. Some time later, she asks Satoko to name her; Satoko mumbles in confusion and she accepts this as the name "Eua."

Trivia

  • As a Creator, Featherine is technically not a witch as Creators are explicitly defined as surpassing the concept of witches in Twilight of the Golden Witch.
  • Though there is no confirmed relationship between the two, Featherine Augustus Aurora is strongly connected to Hanyuu from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.
    • Featherine and Hanyuu share a similar appearance, specifically Featherine's dress and memory aid resembles Hanyuu's miko outfit and horns.
    • When roughly translated, the kanji in Hanyuu's name (羽入) mean "feather" (, hane) and "in" (, iri), which, when put together, essentially make "Featherine".
    • The katakana that begin "Augustus" and "Aurora", "Au" (アウ), are the same as Hanyuu's catchphrase "Auau" (あぅあぅ). Bernkastel references this by referring to Featherine as "Auaurora".
    • Lambdadelta mentions that Featherine's memory device was damaged, resulting in a change in appearance and personality. Similarly, one of Hanyuu's horns has a crack in it.
    • The kanji for the pseudonymic surname of Featherine's human counterpart, "Hachijo," can be read as "yashiro" and becomes "Oyashiro" when using the honorific "o-" prefix.
    • The pseudonymic given name of Featherine's human counterpart, "Tohya," is written using the kanji for "18." Hanyuu's alternate name "Oyashiro" can be read as the numbers 0, 8, 4, and 6, which add up to 18.
    • When Featherine first appears in Satokowashi-hen, she is wearing an outfit similar to Hanyuu's typical outfit.

See also