Characters / The Night Unfurls Seven Shields

The Night Unfurls Main Character Index
Hunter's Dream Residents and Guests (The Hunter) | Major Characters (Seven Shields) | Black Dogs

Seven Shields

General tropes

• Adaptational Modesty: Big time. With the exception of Maia, the Seven Shields in the remastered version either wear armour or outfits that tone down the heavy fanservice present in the Kuroinu canon.
• The Alliance: The Seven Shields Alliance, or Seven Shields in short. The representatives, known as Princess Knights or Shields, are responsible for governing their respective territories in Eostia, with Celestine as leader. The Seven Shields, along with the Black Dogs, have been working together closely for a long while during the war against the Dark Queen of the Jagged Crown.
• Aristocrat Team: All seven members from the Seven Shields are people of high social status.
• Modest Royalty:
  • The aversion of Requisite Royal Regalia means that the seven Princess Knights would qualify... if one overlooks how their outfits seem to be designed for showing off their bodies/assets.
  • The remastered version tones down the fanservice, putting several of the Princess Knights closer to this trope.
    • For straighter cases, there's Celestine, who wears a shawl and a white robe; Luu-Luu, who is clad in raw animal hide; and Kaguya, who looks like a Miko.
    • Prim is a subversion. She wears a white and pink dress during her first appearance, but the narration describes her dress as "the work of the finest tailors of Feoh and Ur", meaning that she falls into Simple, yet Opulent. Later double subverted as she wears a more practical white dress during the ride to Ken, which would take approximately three to five days.

Celestine Lucross

• Anger Born of Worry: Worried that her friend would've gotten hurt, Celestine grabs Olga by the ear after the Liberation of Ansur, upset over her marching out to a battlefield without telling her. Quite the spectacle.
• Beware the Nice Ones: A non-action example. Celestine is The High Queen, benevolent and compassionate. The rebels in the Rebel Scum Arc clearly think that she would pay any price for appealing for peace. Being Black Dog supporters, they are more than willing to take advantage of that and set a price as high as possible. Her response is to give out the order, to meet them with fire and sword, to scour them from the capital without hesitation. Proving that she has come a long way, Celestine doubles down on the punitive measures imposed on the nobility, censuring those who have sponsored the rebellion and the Black Dogs.
• Broken Tears: She weeps uncontrollably as she is assailed by explicit imagery depicting Kyril's ordeal in Yharnam (in breadcrumbs, not the entire thing) due to reading Kyril's journal.
• The Confidant: Celestine becomes Claudia's confidant as the story of the original version progresses, willing to listen and keep to herself regarding Claudia's beef with Kyril, which worsened due to Claudia's husband under suspicion of being a traitor (this information is deemed so sensitive that it must be kept secret to avert a scandal).
• Cool Crown: Wears a chaplet, indicating her authority over the Seven Shields.
• Fainting Seer: Downplayed. She has yet to experience a severe breakdown from her visions, but there isn't a single moment where she reacts positively. The other half of her vision regarding Kyril, which depicts a Blood-Splattered Warrior Atop a Mountain of Corpses, leaves her chilly and frightened. Particularly, Celestine's P.O.V. in the remastered version reveals that she feels burdened from her oftentimes painful visions.
• God Empress: The High Elf Queen of Eostia is also known as the Goddess Reborn, the Goddess Incarnate, or simply the Goddess. She is a rare non-villainous example who rules her country via a literal case of Divine Right of Kings, which grants her the power to see visions of the future.
• God in Human Form: Celestine is the reincarnation of a goddess named gentle Laurendau, though her mortal shell is that of a high elf that looks like a human rather than an actual human.
• Gold and White Are Divine: Her blond hair and modest white robe compliments her status as the Goddess Reborn.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Celestine has long blond hair and she is The High Queen.
• Harp of Femininity: Playing the harp is a pastime of hers, as shown in Chapters 23 and 30 of the original, where Kyril visits her personal quarters. Those moments accentuate her grace as both a high elf and The High Queen.
• Hearing Voices:
  • How the bad voodoo that comes with Kyril's journal catches up to Celestine, with her mind constantly bombarded by whispers that have no sign of ceasing. This, combined with several visions depicting the horrors Kyril has been through, leaves her a whimpering wreck unable to sleep soundly, her room in a mess and her belongings scattered all over the place. Thankfully, this stops after her accidental arrival in the Hunter's Dream.
  • She has to go through this trope again as a result of eldritch forces clashing with each other in a distant place, where Kyril confronts Shamuhaza, the latter twisted into an Eldritch Abomination. She's probably not alone in this regard, if we consider the riots and the sense of dread permeating the capital due to said event. The whispers are so severe that the Plain Doll has to personally intervene by entering her chambers, which puts her to sleep while freeing her from this trope.
• The High King: She is the first among equals of the Seven Shields Alliance, being the one who chose all seven Princess Knights, herself included, to govern their respective territories in Eostia.
• The High Queen: Known for her beauty and warmth, she has ruled with benevolence throughout her centuries-long reign as queen, especially during the period of the Forever War between her and her former friend Olga. Deconstructed as those attributes do not make her a Universally Beloved Leader (because it is simply not possible for everyone to like a person, just like in Real Life) like common depictions, the Black Dogs and any traitors affiliated with them being the prime dissidents. Moreover, having a "good ruler" does not magically solve every problem in the country — the ongoing warfare, and the Fantastic Racism, hence enslavement of dark elves (the latter being the underlying cause for a centuries-old war in the past) prove exactly that. Chapter 24 has Celestine coming into terms with this, resolving to step up her game.
• Informed Ability: Celestine is said to be a person of great magical strength, and Olga is the only one known In-Universe capable of matching her in combat. Several characters mention that Celestine is capable of impressive offensive magic (Olga suggesting Celestine to bombard the currently infested Rad with holy spells, Soren fearing that Celestine could simply blast him into oblivion without lifting a finger, etc.). However, not a single scene depicting Celestine in battle is ever shown in the story. Furthermore, the remastered version has Celestine's P.O.V. noting that she and Olga fought each other numerous times directly in the past, to the point where the two stopped taking the fields personally due to the destructiveness of their magics. Yet, the readers never see any sort of flashback about such events.
• The Kirk: In the original, Celestine has to balance the philosophies of Claudia and Kyril respectively.
• Power Echoes: Celestine can produce this effect by magically amplifying her voice to be more echo-y.
• Proper Lady: Celestine is praised by commoner and noble alike for her warmth and humility towards her people. Even The Cynic Kyril sees her as "pure", though he does note that her beauty and grace put her on a pedestal, attracting many who admire her for the wrong reasons. Her disdain for gaudiness and extravagance compliments her vision for prosperity and peace for all people. Both versions of the story have at least one moment that showcases her resolution and strength of mind to resist panicking (e.g., leaving her palace to experience the chaos in her city in the original version, and her confrontation with The Rat in the remastered version).
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Subverted. Among the southern faction, the Goddess Reborn is said to possess great arcane strength comparable to that of Olga, hence intuitively more formidable than the subjects under her, but she is more concerned about running her country than fighting anyone with her magic (or showcasing offensive spells of any kind) over the course of the series.
• Really 700 Years Old: She's a high elf who is over a thousand years old, and, due to being the Goddess Reborn, has the appearance to match.
• Rhyme Theme Naming: The swordswomen of the Seven Shields (Alicia, Claudia, Maia) have names that end with "ia".
• Royalty Superpower: She rules her country as The High Queen with the ability to see visions of the future, a gift that has kept the lands safe for centuries. The reason is that she received a favour from the Goddess Laurendau, which allowed her to hold the title of Goddess Incarnate.
• Seers: Celestine, as the reincarnation of the goddess Laurendau, can see prophetic visions. While she is not omniscient, this power, along with her lifespan as an elf, allowed her to rule Eostia and keep the land safe for centuries. Alas, she could not foresee that the Black Dogs would plan to take over.
• Shutting Up Now: After Olga teases Celestine about the latter's spiel on how Kyril is "important" to her, Celestine tries to defend herself by saying the knight has been loyal and tirelessly working to help them win the war, so that's why he's important. Olga merely raises one of her eyebrows further, and Celestine promptly gives up in embarrassment.
• Stellar Name: Celestine Lucross ("heavenly" or "pertaining to the sky").
• Terrible Ticking: Happens to Celestine whenever she is in proximity to Kyril, due to her high Insight. The sound that only she can hear is described as a constant, maddening rumble, akin to the sound of thunder and waves crashing against the shore. When Kyril displays Tranquil Fury in Chapter 12 and 13 of the remastered version, the sound intensifies into a noice heard in the midst of a storm. Though she has not been driven mad by the sound, it does frighten her every time this happens.

Maia

• Boyish Short Hair: Maia sports short red hair. The boyish aspects are evident from how the Princess Knight wears a tunic that shows a Navel-Deep Neckline, prefers ale over the "prissy" drink that is wine, is comparatively less refined than her Blue Blood peers, is an agile dual-blades user, and fought alongside Vault and the Black Dogs (an all-male PMC group) in the past as a fellow mercenary.
• Broken Tears:
  • Happens in the original version, after Maia suffers a Freak Out due to being raped by Michelle Pantielle, something that Vault, her beloved former comrade, allowed to happen. She wipes away her tears as she tries to drink, walks out to the streets after only managing a few sips of her ale, and finds herself sobbing again.
  • In the remastered version, Celestine notes that Maia could be heard sobbing in her quarters after the reveal of Vault being a traitor, Vault being dead, and her defeat at the hands of Kyril during his Trial by Combat.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Invoked in the original version. She tries to dull her Past Experience Nightmares from her traumatic rape with a tankard of ale. She manages only a few sips.
• Fiery Redhead: Maia the Mercenary Queen is a downplayed example. In spite of the absence of a Hair-Trigger Temper, she is the most outgoing among the Seven Shields, matching her red, Boyish Short Hair. Her sarcastic and confident personality, together with her preference for frequenting a bar for some ale, bring to mind a lad-ette in all but a short temper. This is justified by her fighting alongside the Black Dogs in the past, which explains why she shows a more passionate side when Vault is concerned. Later subverted as the events of Chapter 11 of the original has made her less fiery and more melancholic.
• Freak Out: Maia goes from outgoing to withdrawn as a result of her Rape as Drama. The personality change is so potent that despite signs of steady recovery, she occasionally descends into a more melancholic state.
• The Lad-ette: Dubbed "the Queen of Mercenaries", she is the technical ruler of Ansur who used to be a fellow mercenary who fought alongside the Black Dogs, an all-male PMC group. She is outgoing, speaks in an informal, "dude-ish" way, and likes to hit the bar for an ale (to her, wine is a "prissy" drink). Later subverted as she develops into a melancholic Broken Bird over time, something that is Played for Drama.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Maia's outfit from the original version is implied to be identical to that of Kuroinu canon, being a red tunic cut to show her cleavage and her stomach.
• One of the Boys: Maia used to be like this, for she was recruited by the all-male mercenary group that is the Black Dogs, and fought alongside Vault and their merc comrades a long while ago. The Black Dogs' betrayal hits her hard.
• Troubled Fetal Position: While coping with her Rape as Drama in the hands of Michelle Pantielle, one of the things Maia does is to hug her knees to her chest while gazing emptily ahead.

Claudia Levantine

• The Confidant: Celestine's P.O.V. reveals that Claudia is the only person who had been told of the full story regarding Celestine's latest vision — a bloodstained stranger that possesses enough power to either save or destroy her kingdom (aka. the Godzilla Threshold Kyril). This indicates that Celestine trusts no one but Claudia about the specifics of her visions, especially when they prove to be troubling.
• Jerkass to One: Claudia Levantine is on good terms with the people she meets, except Kyril Sutherland, mainly because she sees him as a dangerous presence, as well as her disapproval of his brutality.
• The McCoy: Claudia puts Honor Before Reason, who acts as a contrast to the Pragmatic Hero Kyril and the mediator Celestine.
• The Rival: To Kyril Sutherland in the original version. The two fight each other via Trial by Combat due to the former wanting to punish the latter for leaving an Artifact of Doom in her liege lady's halls, which ended with Kyril winning. Furthermore, Claudia strongly disapproves of his tendency for brutality and leaving no prisoners, a grievance that only festers as Kyril uses gradually unscrupulous means to win the war against the Black Dogs. Whenever both people are present, they often come into blows due to differing ideologies. It is worth noting that Kyril is known as the "Bloody Left Hand of the Goddess", in contrast to Claudia being Celestine's second-in-command and Right Hand.

Alicia Arcturus

The leader of the Iris Knights (or the Knights of Iris) and the daughter of King Eos. Alicia rules over Feoh, one of the seven kingdoms that made up the Seven Shields Alliance.

Has a larger presence in the remastered version than in the original version, where she is given a task by the Goddess to find the most trustworthy agents to end the war against Olga Discordia. The search leads her to a man in a strange, tattered hat, whose demeanour and combat prowess fill her with disgust.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: Alicia's Jerkass to One attitude to Kyril is explored in further detail in the remastered version, due to their increased interaction with each other.
• Alliterative Name: Alicia Arcturus.
• Blue Is Heroic: Alicia and the knights under her command have been defending the common folk from marauding orcs for some time. Fittingly, both her eyes and her armor are blue.
• Break the Haughty: Alicia Arcturus is the celebrated Princess Knight of Feoh, prideful about her swordsmanship. In the remastered version, this image gradually fractures as she is forced to confront the reality that some foreigner in a weird-looking, tattered hat (aka. Kyril) turns out to be way stronger than she is. She finds this very, very difficult to accept, nor could she accept the stranger's brutality in battle and apathy towards her higher social status, not to mention how her cousin Prim somehow finds the man trustworthy while she clearly believes the opposite. Then comes Kyril's Trial by Combat, where Alicia sees this as the perfect chance to settle accounts, to restore her honour... and she ends up being left untouched during the fight, yet soundly defeated anyway. And then Kyril deems her Not Worth Killing, deems her a "weakling". A single word so filled with contempt that her pride comes tumbling down, which leads to her recklessly assaulting Soren as Revenge by Proxy, an action that would most likely increase hostilities between Alicia and Kyril.
• Cavalry Officer: Alicia is the leader of the Iris Knights, the finest light cavalry forces of Feoh. Her first appearance in the remastered version depicts her as a celebrated figure riding atop a barded warhorse, just to drive it home. She looks upon herself as a Knight In Shining Armour, and disdains people who don't care about her social station (e.g. Kyril).
• Dumb Blonde:
  • In the original version, this blonde Princess Knight is responsible for the largest tactical blunder presented in the story: giving up her entire, well-defended fortress to the Black Dogs in exchange for a number of hostage nuns. And the nuns themselves were even willing to let the goblins/imps keep raping and molesting them for the greater good.
  • While the above has yet to happen in the remastered version, Alicia continuously sending barbs to Kyril, who can slaughter an entire orc band by himself while she cannot, would definitely qualify for this trope.
• Faux Action Girl: Played for Laughs in the remastered version. When first introduced, the Princess Knight of Feoh is described as a celebrated figure who looks like the ideal, noble knight in every way. Except that the protagonist Kyril is not impressed in the slightest, internally remarking how "it wouldn't take much to knock her off her horse". His observation proves to be spot on when Alicia and her two subordinates accompany Kyril to clear out an orc den. She proves her "might" as a knight by stabbing her sword into a greenskin's gut... and getting her blade stuck. To rub salt in the wound, it turns out that Alicia performs worse than her own two subordinates (i.e., minor characters), a fact the narration points out as if to subtly mock her underperformance.
  "Lady Alicia are you hurt!?" Kendra approached Alicia already reaching for the healing supplies on her belt. Vera watched their rear, head on a swivel as she held her bloody sword. They had made a good accounting of themselves having slain two orcs each. Kyril had slain the rest, while Alicia only got one.^note She only "got one" because Kyril shot it in the head while her sword is still stuck.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: She develops this over the course of the remastered version. While Alicia isn't a braggart, like how most portrayals of this trope do, she prides herself on maintaining her reputation as a Knight in Shining Armor, and she takes that seriously. This is why Alicia is Jerkass to One towards Kyril, a foreigner with an aloof demeanour who doesn't show respect to her and the Goddess she believes in, like one would towards a noble of her station, yet is inexplicably more powerful than she could ever be, and is inexplicably able to gain her cousin Prim's trust — she feels that her honour as a knight is insulted, and she takes that personally. As the story progresses, Alicia is increasingly eager to prove her superiority, that she is better than Kyril. His Trial by Combat in Chapters 12-13 provides an opportunity for her to do so, yet she ends up suffering an effortless defeat at Kyril's hands, with the man even calling her a weakling upon her defeat. Her pride is injured. The next time the readers see Alicia, she does not take her loss well. Any reminder of her loss, weakness, or even Kyril's name infuriates her, to the point of violently lashing out at Soren, one of Kyril's companions, leaving the young man unconscious.
• It's All My Fault: In the remastered version, Alicia blames herself for her failure to rescue two more villagers from their fates during her hunt for an orc den with Kyril, even if those two are beyond saving by the time they arrived.

  Alicia: I still failed to rescue two others. It was my fault for not doing enough.
  Village leader: [sighs] The Goddess protects all, but we must be careful when we venture out into the wild.

• Jerkass to One: Alicia (remastered version) is on good terms with her colleagues of The Alliance, as well as a respected figure among the populace, judging from the way the crowds cheer and wave at her during her arrival at Ken. The one person she heaps scorn on is The Protagonist Kyril, due to the following reasons: his aloofness, his disrespect towards people of higher status (including herself), and him being a better fighter. Her later assault of Soren is because of his association with Kyril, rather than something Soren himself did.
• The McCoy: Alicia qualifies in both versions of the story.
  • In the original version, this trope is the reason why Alicia screws up big time in the Feoh/Ur Arc. To illustrate, she sacrifices the fortress she is supposed to defend in exchange for a number of hostage nuns (despite them even pointing out that The Needs of the Many outweigh the needs of the few), which allows the Black Dogs an easy win. Yeah.
  • In the remastered version, Alicia has this trope written all over her face when she, her seconds, and Kyril arrive at an orc den. Believing that there are innocents inside the cave, Alicia resolves to rescue them even without Kyril's help. On a humorous note, she is surprised that he nods his head, since she expects that The Spock next to her would leave the captives to their fates.
• The Rival: The remastered version sets her up as Kyril's primary rival, as the two interact a lot more in this version. A brooding, sinister foreigner who is indifferent to status and reputation, his behaviour earns the ire of the Hot-Blooded Knight of Iris, who sees it as an insult to her honour as a knight. Much to her dismay, she can only tolerate his demeanour because he can cut down orcs with ease, as well as him being the potential agent in Celestine's visions that could end the Forever War that has plagued the country for centuries. Later events, where he gains her cousin Prim's respect, kills Vault after the Assault of the Black Fortress, and is supported by The Rat only intensified her distrust towards him. Then comes Kyril's Trial by Combat, an event Alicia views as an opportunity to settle accounts, and she loses the match. She doesn't take her loss well.
• Stellar Name: Alicia Arcturus (the third-brightest individual star in the night sky).

Prim Fiorire

• Cool Crown: She wears a golden tiara with a red jewel in the middle, like how a Princess Classic would.
• The Cutie: She is a young, pink-haired Princess Classic ready to enter adulthood, with a meek voice and a positive attitude. Even the resident cynic Kyril respects her and treats her cordially — she's really something else.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Prim is one of the youngest in Celestine's court, characterised as The Cutie, Rose-Haired Sweetie and Princess Classic, all of which are character tropes related to youth, optimism and innocent sweetness. The remastered version switches her eye colour from purple to bright blue to reinforce this impression.
• The Kirk: Prim qualifies in the remastered version, soothing the choler between the more emotional Alicia and the more distant Kyril.
• Princess Classic: Prim Fiorire is a teenage version. The basics are there: female, royal, and The Ingenue. Additional traits include being part of The Beautiful Elite that is the Seven Shields, the long pink hair, the tiara, and the preference of Simple, yet Opulent clothing in either white or pink. Prim straddles the line between the traditional and modern take of this archetype. She's described as delicate, because she wasn't groomed to be a Knight in Shining Armor like her cousin Alicia. Nonetheless, she proves to be quite opinionated in the belief that the Hunter is actually not a bad person and is able to contribute to Eostia's cause. Astonishingly, the resident cynic of the story (the aforementioned Hunter) has never mocked Prim for her idealism.
• Proper Lady: Prim is a shy, demure Princess Classic so unironic that she would get along with her Disney counterparts. Apart from being the only female character that's described by the narration as "delicate", the increased characterisation in the remastered version accentuates her sharp mind, thoughtfulness, and belief in the good in the sinister, Dark Is Not Evil stranger that is the Hunter.
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: A kind, polite, and gentle girl with wavy pink hair, Prim definitely qualifies. She is a Wide-Eyed Idealist and the Girly Girl to her cousin Alicia's Tomboy. This pays off in the remastered version, for she is the first Shield to successfully earn Kyril's favour. Within a single chapter.
• Simple, yet Opulent: Princess Prim Fiorire's white and pink dress is not extravagant, but finely made regardless. Described as the work of the finest tailors of Feoh and Ur, it should cost a lot.

Luu-Luu

• Alliterative Name: Luu-Luu.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Inverted. She's a tiny Genki Girl with short, curly ginger hair.
• Dying as Yourself: Brainwashed and Crazy Luu-Luu when she is stabbed through the chest by the Holy Moonlight Sword of a reluctant Kyril. She thanks him for doing the deed as he holds her hand during her final moments.
• Genki Girl: Flippant, enthusiastic, and constantly wearing a toothy grin on her face, Luu-Luu is the hyper one among the Seven Shields. These traits are lost once she gets subjected to Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong thanks to Shamuhaza, remaining a husk of her former self.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She has a child-like body frame, but she is strong enough to lift up her huge axe. Her combat prowess is best shown in Chapter 16 of the original, where Luu-Luu, as a husk, manages to keep up with the Good Hunter in speed. She also has enough strength to push him back and throw him aside a considerable distance.

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