independent, selective, Clive Rosfield. written by Wulf; He/Him. 30+. GMT. ©

History leading up to the beginning of FFXVI:Clive Rosfield was the firstborn son of Archduke Elwin Rosfield and his wife, Anabella. As the eldest son of the Rosfield bloodline, he was expected to inherit the power of the Phoenix, the Eikon of Fire. When he never awakened as such, Anabella considered him a failure and treated him with contempt.Clive's younger brother, Joshua, became the Dominant of the Phoenix. A 15-year-old Clive was chosen as his First Shield, receiving a portion of the power of the Phoenix that he could use to protect his brother. Clive grew up alongside his brother and their common friend and the archduke's ward, Jill Warrick, whom Clive cared for like a sister. One day, when they joined Elwin on his annual tour of Rosaria, Clive wanted to show Jill the snow daisies at Mann's Hill, but they got caught in bad weather and never reached their destination. Whenever he wanted to be on his own, Clive would row to an island off the coast of Quietsands with his pet wolf pup, Torgal, where he had a secret tree house. Clive was close with his uncle, Byron Rosfield, and used to act out scenes from The Saint and the Secretary with him, Clive always insisting he be Sir Crandall while Byron play the villain Madu.Clive was trained by the Lord Commander Rodney Murdoch of the Shields of the Flame in the art of combat. One day, Joshua, Jill, and Torgal were watching and cheering him on. After Clive succeeded in his training, Joshua used the power of the Phoenix to heal his wounds. When the three children headed to greet Elwin, who had returned from a trip, Anabella scolded Joshua for going outside while he was still recovering from his sickness. Clive attempted to greet his mother, who only gave him a hateful glare. As Anabella left with Joshua and Lord Murdoch, Clive and Jill went to greet Elwin together. Elwin told Clive that war was coming, that the Blight was finally spreading into Rosarian territory, and the duchy was planning to reclaim the Drake's Breath Mothercrystal from the Iron Kingdom. Clive would be joining Elwin and Joshua at Phoenix Gate, where Joshua was to perform the Ancestral Rite of Reunion, but Clive was first tasked with traveling to the abandoned village of Stillwind to clear out the beastmen that had taken up residence there.That night, Clive and Jill watched the moon together. Clive reaffirmed this was his time to prove himself, as it was his responsibility as Joshua's Shield to protect him, and worried over Joshua taking too many risks with his powers. Jill offered a prayer for Clive's safe return to the Metia star while expressing her worries about the impending war. The next day, as Elwin and Joshua departed for Phoenix Gate, Clive was joined by Sir Tyler and Sir Wade for Stillwind, where they encountered a pack of goblins. After cornering the goblin leader, a morbol burst from the ground and ate it. The three were taken by surprise, as morbols were not usually found so far south. Clive delivered the finishing blow and the three Shields headed for Phoenix Gate.That evening Clive sat outside with Torgal, who had followed him from Rosalith, commenting that Jill would be worried about the pup's disappearance. He was joined by Joshua, who had snuck out of the feast where everyone was singing the brothers' praises. Clive explained that before he had proved his mettle with the sword, everyone thought he was just a spoiled child, but conversely everyone believed in Joshua. Joshua argued it was the Phoenix they believed in, and that Clive should have been the one to inherit the Eikon's power, since he had leadership skills. Clive said it was Joshua's responsibility as the Phoenix's Dominant to bear the burden of leading Rosaria, while it was Clive's to protect him.During that night, the castle was infiltrated by a small force from the Holy Empire of Sanbreque to kill everyone within. Clive urged his father and Joshua to escape while he remained behind to hold off the enemy. Clive and Rodney discovered that imperials had infiltrated their original company from Rosalith, meaning that Elwin and Joshua were in grave danger. Clive whistled for his chocobo, Ambrosia, before he was set upon by a ringing in his ears and took notice of a hooded man nearby who seemed to be addressing him before suddenly disappearing.Elwin was killed by imperials disguised as Rosarian soldiers, and the shock made Joshua's powers go out of control, causing him to prime into the Phoenix and begin destroying the castle. Clive attempted to reach his brother but was nearly hit by falling debris. He was saved by Ambrosia, who lost her left eye in the process. Clive suffered a crippling headache and a mysterious figure wreathed in flame appeared. Clive transformed into Ifrit, a second Eikon of Fire, and inadvertently incinerated Rodney in the dark Eikon's flames. Clive blacked out as Ifrit became immediately hostile and attacked the Phoenix.Near the end of the fight, Clive heard Torgal crying before he regained consciousness, witnessing Ifrit attacking the Phoenix. He pleaded for Ifrit to stop while Joshua called for Clive to help him. Ifrit plunged its claws through the Phoenix's chest before unleashing a massive explosion that consumed Phoenix Gate. Clive swore revenge against Ifrit before blacking out again. He reverted into human form and lost all memory of his transformation, believing that the Eikon's Dominant was the hooded man he had seen. The next morning, Clive was found by imperial soldiers and Anabella, the mastermind behind the attack. Anabella had the soldiers enslave Clive for the imperial front lines out of spite for her late husband, who always praised Clive's skill with a blade.For the next thirteen years, Clive fought as part of the Bastards, a Sanbrequois unit made up of Bearers, people capable of wielding magic without the use of crystals, under the pseudonym "Wyvern". His only reason to fight was to survive to eventually find and kill the second Dominant of Fire, the hooded figure he believed had killed his brother. Clive had been marked by a tattoo on his cheek, branding him as a non-human slave.