Keith Aero Windermere (キース・エアロ・ウィンダミア Kīsu Earo u~indamia) is a character that appears in the Macross Δ television series and the prequel manga Macross Δ: Kuroki Tsubasa no Shiro Kishi. He is the illegitimate son of Gramia Nerich Windermere and the half-brother of Heinz Nehrich Windermere. He is the leader of the Aerial Knights.
Keith has been named the "White Knight", the title given to the ace of the aerial knights, and pilots a custom Sv-262Hs Draken III unit, colored in black with details in gold.
Personality & Character[]
Keith is an exemplary warrior, representative of the best the Kingdom of the Wind's military forces have to offer. Proud and fiercely loyal, he swore to protect his half-brother Heinz Nehrich Windermere despite being the illegitimate son of Gramia Nerich Windermere.
History[]
| “ | Your highness, we cannot secure the Starwind sector without your voice. Please grant us your song that carries our wind. | ” |
—Keith Aero Windermere | ||
Alienated by family and peers at a young age, Keith found solace in his friendship with Roid Brehm. The two fell under the tutelage of Herman Claus and trained to be part of the Aerial Knights. They were excellent swordsmen, and would spar on occasion. They were deeply affected by the destruction of a Windermerian village by a Dimension Eater, a weapon of mass destruction deployed by of the New United Nations Spacy, and vowed revenge after their people surrendered.
As Keith grew into adulthood, he saw himself as the guardian of his ailing half-brother Heinz. His loyalty never wavered, even as King Gramia VI used the resurrected Protoculture vessel, the Sigur Valens, to further his plans for galactic conquest. As the war progressed, he develops a fierce rivalry with Messer Ihlefeld. After his father, King Gramia VI is seemingly killed while aboard the the Sigur Valens, Heinz is crowned king; the first Wind Singer after more than a hundred fifty years, who entrusts Roid to lead the war efforts.
Heinz, already in a weakened state from the last battle, is made to sing The Song of the Wind yet again by Roid, sending more than half of Al Shahal's population into a comatose state. Keith already horrified as Heinz's body shows signs of crystallization, is further incensed when he discovers that Roid murdered King Gramia VI. He decides to defect upon witnessing Lauri Marin's entire N.U.N.S.'s fleet wiped out by its own dimensional weaponry while enroute to Windermere IV, as well as his plans to utilize the "Fold Bio-Neural Network" to bring the entire galaxy to its knees. During the final battle on Ragna, Keith joins Delta Flight and Walküre against the forces of Roid. When Freyja Wion sings Ichido Dake no Koi Nara, thus breaking the spell cast by Roid and Mikumo's song, everyone turns on Roid Brehm.
Keith dies alongside Roid after stabbing him with his sword, but not before their runes touch, where for a split second, the two former comrades remember flying together in the skies of Windermere in their youth. Roid's death ultimately halts his plan to use the Star Singer, a mind-controlled Mikumo Guynemer, to link the entire galaxy under a single consciousness.
Relationships[]
- Gramia Nerich Windermere
- Keith never had much of a relationship with his father, but nevertheless served him as a loyal knight.
- Roid Brehm
- Roid and Keith were childhood friends and later, comrades as they joined the Aerial Knights. Their mutual hatred towards the N.U.N.S.'s war against their people fueled them throughout their adult life. Keith grew to distrust Roid as he continually exploited his half-brother Heinz Nehrich Windermere for the war effort.
- Heinz Nehrich Windermere
- As a boy, Keith swore to his stepmother that he would protect Heinz from harm. However, they grew distant from one another as Keith grew into adulthood.
- Messer Ihlefeld
- Keith first encountered Messer's Valkyrie on the planet Al Shahal, and the two shared a fierce rivalry ever since. Keith ultimately kills Messer in single combat during an intense dogfight.
- Hayate Immelman
- Keith initially considered Hayate a nuisance in combat, but grows to respect him once he adopted Messer's Valkyrie. He later sees him as an ally when confronting his former peer, Roid Brehm.
- Freyja Wion
- Keith considers her a traitor to their race.
Gallery[]
Notes And Trivia[]
- In Macross Δ Scramble, Keith has two Draken IIIs: His regular one and the one he used for the final battle. If using the latter, his character portrait will change into the injured version. When riding other units, he reverts to his pre-injury state.
Macross Δ characters
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Chaos | Ernest Johnson | Beth Muscat | Mizuki Yuri | Nina O'Brien | Guy Gielgud | Harry Takasugi | |
| Walküre | Mikumo Guynemer | Kaname Buccaneer | Makina Nakajima | Reina Prowler | Freyja Wion | Claire Paddle | Lydie LeGrand | |
| Delta Flight | Mirage Farina Jenius | Arad Mölders | Messer Ihlefeld | Chuck Mustang | Hayate Immelman | |
| Kingdom of Winderemere | Heinz Nehrich Windermere | Gramia Nerich Windermere | |
| Aerial Knights | Roid Brehm | Keith Aero Windermere | Theo Jussila | Xao Jussila | Bogue Con-Vaart | Hermann Kroos | Kassim Eberhardt | Wolf Gura | |
| New United Nations Spacy | Lauri Marin | Wright Immelman | Alberto Larrazábal | Robert Kino | |
| Others | Berger Stone | Lady M | Q-Lulu | Don | |