Hunter's Dream Residents and Guests (The Hunter) | Major Characters (Seven Shields) | Black Dogs
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Seven Shields
Seven Shields
Black Keep
Olga Discordia
- Adaptational Jerkass: As much as how Olga feels that she owes Kyril for saving her and her servant Chloe from the Black Dogs, she is more reluctant to feel that way in the remastered version. She is also less cordial to him, since he did best and imprison her personally, which does not happen in the original version.
- All-Encompassing Mantle: Olga wears a rich dark cloak that covers her lean form, though according to the official artwork of Kuroinu, the fabric is heavily slitted, such that she is covered in long, thick strips.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She is six feet tall, with ankle-length black hair and a bountiful form. Her pride and aloofness is backed up by her status as the Queen of the Dark Elves, along with her exceptional talent in magic.
- Arc Villain: The main obstacle of the first Story Arc, the Assault of the Black Fortress Arc (Chapters 1-3 of the original version). Kyril and co. are tasked to head to the North, capture her, bring her back to the South, and end the longtime war that's plaguing the lands.
- Break the Haughty: Olga Discordia is a sorceress equal to the Goddess Reborn in every measure, and the Queen of the Dark Elves, so she has a good reason to be as haughty as ever. She experiences a gradual one in the remastered version. First, she gets subjected into a Curb-Stomp Battle thanks to Kyril being faster, stronger, and more durable than she is. After said Curb-Stomp Battle, she is locked up in a cell like a miserable prisoner, already a far cry from what she started as. Had Kyril decided not personally bring her back to Ken, she would have suffered a far worse fate at the mercy of the Black Dogs. While she begrudgingly admits that she owes him her life, it is not until he uses A Call Beyond to instantly kill Vault and his men that she realizes not only Kyril is a better fighter, but also a magic user far beyond her level. All of the above, combined with her sensing the dead shadows hovering around him on an instinctive level, leaves her terrified of him, even grateful that he decided to bring her and Chloe back unspoiled instead of offing her. The cherries at the top? Olga Discordia, now a former queen and a prisoner on the run, has no choice but to help set up camp and peel some potatoes, not to mention how she ends up catching a fever on the way back.
- Cool Crown: She is the holder of Haughty Garan's Jagged Crown, which indicates that she is the inheritor of that goddess's power. Ironically, the pale purple crown she wears is neither jagged nor covered with thorns.
- Dark Action Girl: Olga (pre-Heel–Face Turn) is the Arc Villain of the Assault of the Black Fortress Arc, as well as the second belligerent of the centuries-old war against Eostia due to a burning hatred of the human race. Aside from wearing dark-coloured clothing, she once offered the Always Chaotic Evil orcs a city of her own kind, the dark elves, for their entertainment in order to have them join her ranks. Olga is the most powerful among her forces due to her magical prowess capable of rivalling Celestine's own, so powerful that at least one of the battles between the two caused much devastation to the lands (which leads to the both of them wordlessly agreeing not to directly face each other in battle). The remastered version buffs her up a bit, allowing her to hold her own against the world's strongest Lightning Bruiser Kyril for a while.
- Dark Is Evil: Olga Discordia is also known as the Dark Queen, a Lady of Black Magic and the catalyst for the centuries-old war that has caused untold bloodshed. In order to strengthen her position in said war, she once sacrificed one of the cities under her reign to the Always Chaotic Evil orcs in exchange for their allegiance. Even after her defeat and Heel–Face Turn, people in general still hate her guts due to what she did in the past.
- Death from Above: Combined with Playing with Fire, she can do this via an arcane artillery strike.
- Deflector Shields: Olga in the remastered version can generate magical barriers for defence. However, they get worfed pretty quickly thanks to Kyril making short work of them.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Olga is the second belligerent of the centuries-old war that has caused untold suffering to Eostia's people. She is built up as the archetypal Evil Overlord, the person Kyril must defeat in order to end the war and bring her back to Eostia so she can face justice. Olga is defeated in the first Story Arc, but the resources and personnel she leaves behind give Vault the means of turning against the Seven Shields and cementing his status as the main threat.
- Dispel Magic: In the remastered version, Olga can cast an enchantment to "pull wraiths into the physical world", so as to nullify their intangibility.
- Drowning My Sorrows: During her Heroic BSoD in the original version, Olga is seen drinking, sorrowful about her servant, surrogate daughter, and Living Emotional Crutch Chloe being in critical condition. Kyril stops her from continuing by grabbing her wine bottle and down it entirely.
- Evil Former Friend: To Celestine. They were close until they came to blows over the fate of humanity. Their friendship fell apart by the time Olga declared war on Celestine's kingdom, where she had been sending orc raiders and other monsters to her lands for centuries. Later subverted after their reconciliation, together with the Black Dogs stepping up to become the main antagonists of this fanfic.
- Evil Overlord: Gender-Inverted. Olga Discordia, the Dark (Elf) Queen, is set up as this the old-fashioned way. She lurks in an intimidating fortress (the Black Fortress) amid a Mordor in the North (Garan), with the Always Chaotic Evil fantasy races under her command. She's the most powerful among her forces due to her sorcerous powers, yet hangs behind the action. Moreover, she has attributes of a Satanic Archetype (e.g., Pride, beauty, association with fire and dark, rebellion against the Goddess Reborn, and the many names). However, Olga ends up being a subversion over time. To begin with, she is actually the Disc-One Final Boss since she is ousted and later gets a Heel–Face Turn. As the readers see more about her character throughout the story (especially in the remastered version), it is revealed that her motivation for starting the Forever War against Eostia is not some generic world domination, or conquest for that matter. Rather, it is her wrath for the Fantastic Racism and subsequent enslavement of the dark elves, which leads to her prejudiced hatred of humanity as a whole. Last but not least, for all her flaws, especially the time where she sacrificed one of her cities to the orcs, she's neither a megalomaniac nor an incarnation of evil.
- Fallen Princess: Exaggerated to "Fallen Queen". She starts off as The Dreaded Queen of the Dark Elves, only to suffer defeat in the hands of the Black Dogs, and is taken prisoner. She even goes through an extra Break the Haughty sequence in the remastered version.
- Hellfire: Olga's flames are referred to as hellfire. They are described in the remastered version as "hotter than hell itself". We don't know if some sort of "Hell" exists in the Kuroinu 'verse, though.
- I Owe You My Life: After Kyril breaks Olga and Chloe out of prison, Olga says to Kyril that she owes him for saving their lives from the Black Dogs. The entire trope is played differently in both versions of the story.
- Played Straight in the original version. Olga eventually brings up the rescue many chapters later, pledging to assist Kyril should he need it, as payment.
- Subverted in the remastered version. Olga is grateful for the rescue, but she doesn't feel obligated to help him. It's not like she would suddenly forget that Kyril was the one who put her in a cell in the first place (because they were on opposing sides of a war). If anything, the fact that she is his prisoner irks her to no end.
- Impossible Hourglass Figure: Olga is described by Kyril's P.O.V. to have a voluptuous body covered by a corset. Considering her design in Kuroinu canon (which encapsulates the entire package of big breasts, narrow waist, and wide hips), he is clearly understating her physical appearance.
- Informed Ability: Kin mentions that Olga is a necromancer, yet the readers never see her raising the dead.
- Lady of Black Magic: She is a haughty Ms. Fanservice with magical prowess that rivals Celestine, the Goddess Reborn. Throughout both versions of the fanfic (moreso for the remastered one, courtesy of the additional fight between Olga and Kyril), she has shown a variety of magics, including: Mordor creation; fire manipulation; control over the Black Fortress; Deflector Shields; swiftness augmentation; knockback; anti-intangibility; and trivial abilities like catching a pillow mid-air and sound muffling.
- Laughing Mad: The original version has her giggling uncontrollably when she and Celestine are reading the contents of Kyril's journal, an Apocalyptic Log that doubles as an Artifact of Doom. Luckily subverted later as she managed to stop rocking back and forth to pull herself together.
- Logical Weakness: For all of Olga's arcane might, she needs a staff in order to cast her spells. Therefore, she's helpless once the staff is lost or gets broken.
- The Man Behind the Monsters: While the brutish orcs have their chieftains, they are ultimately under the command of Olga Discordia, the Dark Elf Queen. Naturally, she resembles a human, and a downright gorgeous one at that. Later subverted as she gets ousted and replaced by Vault, a hunk-y mercenary leader who intends to lead both his own human mercenaries and non-human hordes to take over the South.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Olga's last name, Discordia. She's set up as the Evil Overlord who has engaged in war, or rather, sown discord for centuries.
- Of Corsets Sexy: Part of Olga's default outfit that covers her voluptuous body. One example of Adaptational Modesty in this fanfic, compared with her corset with the front and back parts missing as depicted in Kuroinu canon.
- Orcus on His Throne: Justified. During the centuries-old war before the events of the main plot, Olga, the Dark Queen, did not start off like this — she used to take the field personally and fight Celestine head on. The two stopped doing that since their magics were destroying the lands, and her goal is not "world destruction". The most Olga did was to smote Garan into a Mordor via Black Magic in order to deter enemy armies. Meanwhile, her fortress is well fortified, and she could send raiding parties down the south. There's also how a presumably long time was used to raise Chloe, her surrogate daughter and would-be vassal.
- Peeling Potatoes: In the remastered version, one misfortune of Olga's Break the Haughty sequence involves peeling potatoes at the cook Boris's request. Rather than a Punishment Detail, Olga and the rest of the Great Escape crew need dinner, so someone's gotta help out. Furthermore, she accepts his request because she imagines that Kyril would forbid her from eating if she were to pull some sort of stunt. On a humorous note, Olga lampshades her current predicament — formerly Dark Queen, now a glorified potato peeler.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Among the northern faction, Olga, Queen of the Dark Elves, is a master sorceress, being way stronger than the fighters under her.
- Really 700 Years Old: She is a dark elf who has fought Celestine for centuries, and is described to have the appearance of a Ms. Fanservice.
- Satanic Archetype: Known as the Dark Queen, she is a prideful Lady of Black Magic who starts a Forever War by rebelling against the Goddess Reborn, is associated with fire and dark, and is known by various titles. Later subverted as she is merely the Disc-One Final Boss, her motive for rebellion is portrayed in a sympathetic light, she gets a Heel–Face Turn, and her association with dark (dark elves) is not malicious in nature.
- Shipper on Deck: She is the "shipper with a crush" type, often gleefully teasing Celestine about her feelings towards Kyril, while harbouring feelings to the man herself.
- Stock Light-Novel Calamity Princess: Olga Discordia, Queen of the Dark Elves, resides in the Black Fortress of Garan like a typical fantasy Evil Overlord. She's a prideful, talented Lady of Black Magic that can manipulate flames hotter than Hellfire, but her Colour Motif is associated with dark colours rather than the more common red, as evidenced by her midnight hair and dusky skin. Fuelled with an intense hatred of humanity, Olga rebelled against Celestine Lucross, the Crystal Dragon Jesus of Eostia, even waging war with the country for centuries, due to her wrath for the enslavement of her kind. Alas, the intervention of an Outside-Context Problem, Kyril Sutherland, led to the war effort playing against her favour, causing the Dark Queen to be disgraced as a prisoner. As the story progresses, Olga cooperates with both Kyril and Celestine in the war against the Black Dogs, eventually confronting a past crime against her own people (sacrificing one of her cities to the orcs for them to Rape, Pillage, and Burn).
- The "Love Interest" part is played in an unorthodox way compared to usual depictions of this archetype. While it's true that the male protagonist Kyril eventually becomes the key for Olga to confront her demons, as well as one of the few people who takes a neutral stance in regards to said demons, Olga is the one that seeks for the protagonist's affections rather than the other way round, a persistent suitor among his Unwanted Harem no less. Kyril, despite being the object of affection, is a Celibate Hero whose "care" for her is due to him giving his word to protect her from harm in the past and seeing her as a friend. Moreover, Olga certainly has the looks, but she is neither dependent on the man, nor magically bound to him.
- The Usurper: Discussed in the remastered version. Kyril learns from the books in Celestine's archives that Olga is described as a usurper. On the other hand, the story never reveals how exactly Olga inherited the power of Garan and became the Dark Queen, making this notion an Informed Attribute. Even Kyril himself notes that the history there is a bit sketchy.
Chloe
- Adaptational Jerkass: Chloe acts more hostile in the remastered version than the original version, because her Fantastic Racism towards humanity is more pronounced in the former. Moreover, the remastered version includes additional members accompanying Kyril, Olga and Chloe in the journey from Garan to Eostianote , giving Chloe ample opportunity to start arguments.
- Apologises a Lot: In the remastered version, she repeatedly apologises to Olga while crying quietly in shame due to being molested by the Black Dogs two nights ago.
- Berserk Button: Any remark or action that Chloe regards as an affront to her queen Olga ticks her off, even innocuous ones, like interrupting Olga, or requesting her to help set up camp.
- Child by Rape: She is the result of a dark elf mother being raped by a human father, who is also one of the slavers who enslaved them along with many other dark elves. This explains her Fantastic Racism against humanity, as well as her Undying Loyalty to Olga, who raised her like a daughter.
- Chained to a Rock: Or rather, Chained To A Wall. This happens to Chloe after her capture by her father John Mandeville. Unlike typical examples where the victim is waiting to be a sacrifice of some sort, she suffers a prolonged period of abuse in the dungeons, even losing an eye.
- Dumb Blonde: The blonde-haired Chloe's (remastered version) Hair-Trigger Temper and Fantastic Racism towards humans means that she is a bomb ready to go off if not for Olga and Kyril disciplining her. Kyril even says that Chloe is testing his patience by needlessly antagonising other people.
- Freudian Excuse: Chloe was born of rape, the product of a human father and a dark elf mother. She, along with other dark elves, were then taken as slaves to be entertainment by human slavers, while her mother was murdered by her own father. Fortunately, Chloe was saved by Olga, who, like herself, witnessed the enslavement of her kind. Growing up into Olga's loyal vassal, she would later develop jerkassery and Fantastic Racism towards humanity, as well as a fervour to her liege lady's cause.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Normally speaking, Chloe reacts with fury towards anyone or anything she considers an affront to her liege, making this instance more of a Berserk Button. Her counterpart in the remastered version magnifies this trait, together with a tendency to antagonize people and rant about how humans suck. Her Fantastic Racism towards humans only fuels her fervor. It is quickly deconstructed to show how problematic her behaviour is — Chloe comes across as an Insufferable Imbecile whose lack of restraint is a source of discord among the Great Escape party. Her antagonising Kyril also veers into Bullying a Dragon territory, something that Olga and Kyril himself have warned. The latter has explicitly stated that should Chloe be incapable of cooperating, he would "rescind his amnesty".
- Hot-Blooded: Chloe, especially in the remastered version, has a Hair-Trigger Temper fueled by her hatred towards humanity, which causes her to come into blows with others easily. She is also immensely protective of her liege lady, Olga, even during captivity.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: Chloe scowls at Bergen when she notices him staring at her cleavage, wordlessly conveying this trope's message to him. Bergen tries to pretend he isn't staring by rubbing his forehead.
- Who Would Be Stupid Enough?: The remastered version has Chloe tempt fate by wondering who would "dare brazenly strike at the Black Fortress", right after her liege lady reminds her that a fortress is not invincible. Cue Kyril and the Black Dogs arriving moments later, even coming out victorious in the next chapter.
Other Characters
Grace Campbell
- Action Survivor: Grace from the original version is a mere Fanservice with a Smile who works in a Fantasy Tavern. She finds herself to be one of the many Innocent Bystanders that gets caught up in the invasion of Ansur by the Black Dogs. After being escorted by Sir Kyril along with her friends to safety, she decides to sneak her way through the chaos in the streets to find him, because she knows of a secret entrance that Kyril can use to enter the mercenary compound and reach Maia. At first, this is deconstructed: Grace, Chastity Dagger in hand, is obviously no match for a single mook, and as skilled as she is in sneaking around places, it can only take her so far, and she founds herself cornered by two mercs. On the other hand, she correctly figures out that Kyril, being a One-Man Army, would leave a trail of corpses behind, so she manages to end up in a place near him unharmed. Kyril, after dispatching said two mercs, would later coldly berate Grace for putting herself in deep, something that Grace herself lampshades, but thanks to her information, he is able to successfully enter the compound, find Michelle Pantielle, and rescue Maia, though not without some difficulty. All in all, Grace's contribution in the Liberation of Ansur Arc allows this trope to be reconstructed, resulting in a Decon-Recon Switch.
- Chastity Dagger: Grace has one strapped to her thigh in case if some ruffian tries to put her down. The readers have never seen the knife being used in action, however.
- Fanservice with a Smile: Played Straight during her time as a barmaid. Like many others who work in stock fantasy bars/inns/taverns, she wears a Fanservice-y outfit, namely a purple halterneck and a long sarong that accentuates her legs.
- Her Heart Will Go On: As per her introductory narration in the remastered version below, Grace is a straight example, though the pain of losing her husband never really faded away.Grace sighed as, for a moment, she felt every part of three hundred years catch up to her. No one, not even Annie who was twenty years her senior, would ever know what travails she had seen through in her three hundred years. Grace had come here from the North, having lost her home a hundred years ago when the war between the Goddess Reborn and the Queen of the Jagged Crown began. She had seen terrible things during that journey, which included the loss of her dearest husband.
Considering the fact that Grace was possibly the only Dark Elf in Baskerville, those travails would stay with her till the end of her days. Grace walked out, putting a cheery smile on her face. Still, life could be worse. She made people smile, laugh and forget that the world still needed to turn without anyone capable of stopping it. - I Owe You My Life: Grace offers to become Kyril's retainer because she feels like she owes him for saving her and her friends' lives in Ansur. Kyril accepts.
- Jerkass to One: Grace Campbell is usually a Nice Girl, but it takes her considerable effort to be cordial to Olga Discordia. Her grudge towards the Dark Elf Queen stems from the time where Olga sacrificed Loraine, Grace's home, to the orcs, for them to Rape, Pillage, and Burn. She lost both her home and her husband because of that, and the grudge ceases to wane.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: Not said outright, but from how Grace feels glad that someone (Kyril) looks at her in the eye instead of leering, it's implied that she has been on the receiving end of this trope at least once, being a Fanservice with a Smile and all.
- Ready for Lovemaking: In the original version, Grace puckers up towards Kyril when he is about to inform her of her duties as his retainer. When asked about this, Grace says she thought she has to "warm his bed". Kyril, the Celibate Hero he is, rejects her offer and quickly gets back to the main subject.
- Romancing the Widow: Inverted to "The Widow Romances The Protagonist" in the original version. Grace Campbell lost her husband hundreds of years ago due to the war between Celestine and Olga. Judging from how she's pissed towards Olga because of her loss, it is clear that the pain has yet to fade. Despite this, she develops feelings for Black Knight Kyril Sutherland, becoming a member of his Unwanted Harem eager to pursue for his affections, even though Kyril is neither romantically interested nor sexually interested in any of them.
- The Social Expert: This is one of her duties as Kyril's retainer to help gather info and intel, from interacting with the nobility, to attending meetings on Kyril's behalf.
- Subordinate Excuse: Aside from her joblessness due to the chaos in Ansur, the reason why she wishes to become Kyril's retainer in the original version is to repay the knight who escorted her and her friends to safety, while getting close to the man beneath his exterior as a merciless killer.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Grace had to flee from her Doomed Hometown, Loraine, which was sacrificed to the orc war bands by Olga in order to have them fight under her cause. This contributed to her animosity towards Olga. In the original version, she is forced to experience this a second time when her new home, Ansur, is ravaged by the war against the Black Dogs.
Characters that exclusively appear in the remastered version
Boris
- Camp Cook: He is one of the cooks in the company of the Black Dogs, though he is the only one named. Boris eventually becomes a Defector from Decadence and joins Kyril's Great Escape party to bring Olga to the capital. His role as cook doesn't change during the trek across the Badlands, but the others have to help as well.
The Rat
- Genuine Human Hide: The Rat wears robes made of human skin. Goes on to show that he is serious business.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The many names of The Rat (e.g. King-Spawn of All Vermin, He Who Feasts on Ambition, etc.) sound anything but pleasing. Fitting for someone with an In-Universe reputation as a malicious entity.
