Sylphs are the fastest fliers of all the Fae races, with an affinity for the winds and wind magic. As displayed by Leafa, some Sylphs possess the ability to detect air currents, magical or otherwise. They grow claustrophobic easily and don't like being any place without a breeze for extended periods of time. Builds tend towards slim, though if Sakuya and Leafa are any indication, a lot of Sylph girls in the second generation are going to be very pleased when they hit puberty.
- Claustrophobia: They are generally uncomfortable in spaces without open air.
- Weather Manipulation: Sylph magic primarily involves the Wind aspect, but also includes Lightning attacks if their level is high enough.
- World of Buxom: While individual female fae of other races can be comparably buxom, as a whole the slyphs are known for being the more "gifted" of the fae.
Sakuya (Yamamoto Sakura)
Lady of the Sylphs, Countess of Sylvain
Leader of the Sylphs and a historian by interest and inclination. Sakuya's outward appearance hides great concern for those around her. A good friend to Alicia Rue, the two leaders work well together. Being a faction Leader, Sakuya has little time to train, but is known to be a skilled swordswoman, able to match many stronger Fae despite her low inherent ability. Wields the Katana <<Takemikazuchi>>, forged by the sword smith Kofu.- Beneath the Mask: The very feminine and elegant Lady Sakuya is, in real life, actually a tomboy who only endured etiquette lessons in exchange for kendo lessons.
- Big Good: The Fae are ruled by a council of equal leaders but she is something of a Primus Inter Pares due to her Silk Hiding Steel personality and close relationship with Tristian's royal family.
- The Chains of Commanding: Sakuya feels a lot of pressure during the beginning phases of the diplomatic meetings with Tristain, and afterward.
- Cool Big Sis: Henrietta admires and looks up to her. When Sakuya had to judge a punishment for Rio's treasonous libel, she noted that Henrietta was observing her like a child does a role model.
- Cruel Mercy: She spares Sigurd the axe, opting instead for life imprisonment. It's just that the only place secure enough to hold a Fae is the La Forace prison - an underground complex that everyone wants to forget exists. It also happened to where he previously imprisoned and tormented her.
- Damsel in Distress: She is kidnapped by Ephi and tormented by him and Sigurd while she lay tied up in a cell. Rescuing her is one of the Fae's immediate goal's post-gala.
- Dark Horse Victory: She was originally elected leader of the Sylphs while Ryo and Sigurd were locked in rather nasty battle with one another, allowing her to slip under the radar.
- Foil: In contrast to fellow faction leaders, Morgiana and Mortimer, who dive head-first into their Alfheim personas, Sakuya feels much dissonance between the two. However, Morgiana remarks on how much she's enjoying her roleplay as a Fae noblewoman, with all its formal bowing and tea parties with the queen.
- The Face: Due to her diplomatic skills and close friendship with Henrietta, Sakuya is considered as close to royalty as the Fae can get in the eyes of the Tristanian nobility. Her rather low self esteem doesn't like it.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: She deplores herself as a "fake": a fake noblewoman, a fake Fay, and a fake leader who is doing the best she can but (in her estimation) that is not good enough.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: She is a inversion as, like Leafa, she has years of kendo practice in real life. This makes her a superior practitioner to those with only Transition-programed muscle memory.
- Irony: In real life, she was a tomboy historian who roleplayed an elegant noblewoman for fun. The Transition flipped the two roles.
- O.C. Stand-in: She appears as a minor character in SAO's Fairy Dance Arc and so all of her backstory and much of her character is original content.
- Ship Tease: She has Belligerent Sexual Tension with Mortimer and tender moments after her kidnapping. Even the Tristanians ship them.
- Shock and Awe: The one single ability of her katana <<Takemikazuchi>> is a lightning-empowered slash. Sigurd gets to experience this power personally.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Is extremely feminine and delicate but also posses a strong will and the charisma necessary to engage with native Tristain nobility.
- Tough Leader Façade: The Lady of the Slyphs has to be serene and graceful at all times. No matter how stressed or frustrated she feels, she has to suppress it until she is alone. Then she can scream and throw things.
- Weak, but Skilled: As demonstrated against Sigurd and Ephi, she has sufficient skill to defeat stronger and more heavily armored opponents.
Leafa (Kirigaya Suguha)
Lieutenant Kirigaya of the Arrun City Watch, Flight Instructor Leafa
A long time player of ALO, now a Faerie of the Sylph race. Younger sister to Kirito and a skilled swordswoman in her own right. Leafa is a brave and free-spirited fighter, though she often shows a degree of shyness when interacting with those close to her. A good friend of the Cait Syth hunter KoKo. At her brother's urging, she initially declined a combat position and took up a role training the other reborn Faeries to use their wings. Very protective of Yui, who refers to her affectionately as "Aunt Sugu".- Cowboy Cop: A downplayed example, but she's young, impulsive and idealistic and can get carried away.
- Mama Bear: Aunt Bear in this case, but she nonetheless takes Yui's wellbeing seriously. She took it very hard when her niece was kidnapped in the Tarbes arc.
- Ship Tease: With Klein and Brenhen. Klein has to remind himself she's Kirito's sister; Younger sister.
- Stern Teacher: Koko says her flight lessons are scary, but she insists that she's less stern than her grandfather.
- She Is All Grown Up: The outfit she puts together with Koko's help is like a grown-up version of her game's avatar, because she's not a kid playing a fantasy game anymore but a young woman working in the City Watch Service. Cue Klein mentally-kicking himself for realizing this.
Novair
A mild-looking Sylph and Lady Sakuya's personal assistant, always to be found at her side. Has short spiked blond hair and played a mid-level Ranger before the transition. He is brutally murdered at the beginning of the second season as part of a plot between Reconquista and a group of Fae traitors.- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Argo and Kirito are amazed at the extend of his duties, and don't feel that "personal assistant" or "secretary" is enough to cover it all. With his death, they sincerely fear that Arrun won't be able to continue operating at all, let alone smoothly. Sakuya hired four people to replace him.
- Subordinate Excuse: It is heavily implied by his conversation with Argo that he carried a torch for Sakuya and in fact acting as Sakuya's personal assistant was part of a long game plan to put him in her good graces. Unfortunately, he is killed by Rip Jack before anything could come of it.
Ryo
The current head of the Sylvain City Council and self proclaimed rival of Lady Sakuya. He claims to have been an office manager of some sort prior to the Transistion and ran against Sakuya in the last Pre-Transition elections. He is the leader of an opposition group called "Friends of the ABC" that has arisen calling on the Faerie Lords to call for elections. Unlike Regin however, he is extremely ambitious, but not all the bright and is interested in trying to make a power grab. His latest bid for power was largely made possible by Ephialtes and the latter's benefactors in Reconquista, though Ryo did not realize who was backing him at the time. He was being used as a part of the plan as means to both distract and discredit the Faerie Lords, as well as to serve as a Scapegoat to draw attention away from Ephialtes and Sigurd.- Artistic License – Economics: His "plan" to distribute the faction treasuries to everyone is wrong on so many levels. To the point where Rute almost Face Palms at the very idea.
- The Fall Guy: His role in the plan was to serve as a scapegoat to draw attention away from the Ephialtes and Sigurd.
- Head-in-the-Sand Management: His proposed approach to deal with the threat of Reconquista is accuse the Fae Lords of dragging them all into a war for no reason at all. He seems unaware that Reconquista will kill all of them just for being Fae.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He views himself as a rival to Lady Sakuya but really, he is little more than a blowhard Troll
- Troll: He is really only interested in getting attention for himself.
- Unwitting Pawn: Subverted in that while he started off as an unwitting pawn, he eventually realized that the Norseman and the Spartan were using him. He didn't really care.
Ephiael/ Ephialtes (Akito)
The Spartan
A mage knight chosen to lead Lady Sakuya's Guards after Novair and Lilian were murdered. He, along with Sigurd are both working for Reconquista as part of their plan to assassinate Wales and kidnap Henrietta. He is doing so to destroy the Faerie Lords and their plans to try and bring the Fae home, as well as their plans to build some sort of orderly society.- Bomb Throwing Anarchist: His main motivation is to bring down Fae society because he knows very well that he can't function under any form of Law and Order.
- Boomerang Bigot: Hates humans even though he used to be one.
- Freudian Excuse: He was shunned by his family for being a NEET and so he hates "the old world" and by extension everyone that wants to go back to it.
- Hikikomori: In real life, he was a shut-in that couldn't function in society for some reason.
- It's All About Me: He sees the Transition as his chance to be something other than the Nobody NEET he was back on Earth, and is willing to bring the Faerie Lords down because he thinks that their efforts to find a way home will take that from him, as well their efforts to build the very sort of society that he knows he can never function in.
- I Just Want to Be Special: As much as he doesn't want to go home, he also resents the attempts by the Faerie Lords to bring some semblance of orderly society to the Fae instead of a "Wild West" environment where one can get by on strength, because he can't function there.
- Meaningful Name: His name has been a synonym for traitor in Greek, after Ephialtes of Trachis' betrayal of the Spartans at Thermopylae.
- The Mole: He is one of three traitor Fae that assist Reconquista in sabotaging Tristian's gala. He provides them information, Alfheim equipment, and undermines Sakuya's personal guard.
- Room Full of Crazy: His home in Arrun is so full of Mirrors that Jensen likens it to a fun house.
- Social Darwinist: What he wants essentially is an environment where only the strong survive because he doesn't have any skill or even desire in communication or getting along with others.
- That Man Is Dead: His attitude towards his human self is intense dislike, so he deliberately tries to be as little like him as possible.
- Transhuman Treachery: His experience as an outcast in his pre-Transition life have given him a hatred of humanity in general as well as his former human self.
- Villainous Valor: His one virtue is that he is not by any means a coward. He earned a reputation for his bravery in the mob patrols.
Sigurd
The Norseman
A former assitant to Lady Sakuya who tried to betray her to the Salamanders prior to the Transition, only for the plan to be foiled by Kirito. He is helping with Reconquista's plot in the second arc, hoping both to gain some measure of power for himself, and to get revenge on Sakuya.- An Arm and a Leg: Gets his hands cut off in a sword fight with Sakuya.
- Beauty to Beast: After a nasty run-in with a Poe Fiend, he got half his body hexed, and now looks like Two-Face.
- It's All About Me: He is in it for revenge as well as to put himself first in line for whatever scraps Reconquista is going to throw useful Fae after they are no longer a threat.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Wears a full helmet, which hides his deformity as well as his identity, thus making it harder to know he was involved with the plot
- Villainous Valor: He is more than willing to get his hands dirty in order to accomplish his goals.
Shoichi Saitou
A doctor of medicine in the real world. He is in charge of Louise's and KoKo's recovery. An easy-going fellow, the Transition had given him a whole new life he intends to enjoy to the fullest. Technically in charge of Arrun Central Hospital, he busies himself constantly searching for ways to help those in need, whomever they might be.- Accidental Pervert: Thanks to Yuuki and having a teen body again, he stumbles into Irene enjoying her new shower.
- A Day in the Limelight: Gets two Lower Deck Episodes in "Old Eyes, Young Heart" which he shares with Recon and his granddaughter Lumis Eterne and in "Melancholy Heart."
- Blow You Away: As a sylph, he has wind-based magic, such as wind blades.
- December–December Romance: At the end of Melancholy Heart, he and Irene might be heading into a relationship, under the cover of him tutoring her in magical first aid and her providing lunch as an apology for smacking him with her bag.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: Unfortunately let his rediscovered hormones override his years of experience upon accidentally seeing Irene in her shower, earning him a beating when he handed Irene her bag instead of calmly explaining.
- Labcoat of Science and Medicine: When a doctor looks as young as he does, a doctor's coat helps establish professionalism.
- The Medic: As expected of a doctor, Saitou has extensive knowledge in non-magical healing. He also specializes in healing magic, though he does have some offenseive and defensive magic as a precaution.
- The Mentor: As one of the few fully trained doctors, and perhaps one of a handful that has decades of experience being one, he is one of those responsible for instructing the Fae-kin's first generation of medical professionals.
- O.C. Stand-in: He is originally from an official SAO side story.
- Not Disabled in VR: The reason he got into full-dive VRMMOs was to experience the world with a more youthful and strong body.
- Older Than They Look: He is an 80-year old man in the body of a 15-year old boy.
- Old Master: He doesn't look the part anymore but he is a man who has dedicated an 80 year long life to the study of medicine, and thus his shadow looms large in Arrun's budding medical field.
- Replacement Goldfish: Addressed and averted. Yui looks and acts almost exactly like the young version of his dead wife, but Saitou's professionalism wins in the end.
- Senior Sleep-Cycle: The shift from old-human-body to young-fae-body has done a number on his sleeping habits.
- Ship Tease: With Irene from Arrun Home by the way his once-again-teenage body reacts around her, and also because both of them are Out-Of-Time and thus they can relate to each other.
- Shipper on Deck: He gives this knowing-look to Eterne after she has an Anger Born of Worry moment over Recon, and how Recon seems personally invested in keeping her safe during patrols.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The transition gave him a new lease on life. In canon, he dies just over a year after the events of the Fairy Dance arc.
- Workaholic: His grand-daughter scolds him for spending too much time at the hospital and not enough time at home where he can sleep.
Lumis Eterne (Furuya Nanami, daughter of Kio)
Kekkai Miko (Barrier Maiden), Et-chan
Saitou's granddaughter and assistant. After the Transition, she has been volunteering for mob patrols, to her grandfather's displeasure, where she met Recon. She is a support mage of considerable skill.- Ascended Extra: She features in one of the semi-cannon side stories of volume 1 and has a small role in Volume 2's final arc restraining a distraught Koko but becomes more prominent in the parallel story "Melancholy Heart" because it focuses on minor characters like her grandfather.
- Barrier Warrior: Her specialty is barrier magic and she can create amazing barriers. Her special staff makes her even better.
- Daddy's Girl: Grand-daddy's girl in this case, as she is shown to have an affectionate and mutually supportive relationship with Saitou. They were playing Alfheim Online together when the Transition happened.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Her focus on barriers means she has little in the way of any other kind of magic, even buffs and healing that a support character like her would typically have.
- Miko: Her nickname comes from the way she dresses like a Japanese shrine maiden.
- Named Weapons: Her staff, Paramita, is named because it is a legendary weapon.
- Ship Tease: She is quite close with Recon. There is one line in particular where an admiring thought of how agile he is in flight calms her heart.
- Sword and Sorcerer: Recon usually acts as her "bait" to keep monsters busy while she casts spells.
Recon
A former classmate of Suguha. After the Transition he has volunteered for mob patrols and was assigned to the same squad as Eterne.- Black Magic: His specialty from canon carries over, such as invisibility or a temporary dark energy blade.
- Magic Feather: He carries around a monster tooth as a dummy flight-controller because those didn't make it through the Transition. It doesn't actually do anything to help him maneuver in flight.
- Ship Tease: With Eterne, whose finger he is wrapped around.
- Sword and Sorcerer: He is Eterne's "bait" so monsters don't interrupt her spells. He will also make diving saves if one gets past him anyway.
Bardiche (Takahashi Ueda)
A ten year old fae boy and nephew of Carmond.- Brilliant, but Lazy: Implied through Balandene's internal monologue, Ueda seems to have been this, having above average intelligence but not really utilizing it until the Transition. It's so out of character for him to have good grades that Balandene is unable to process it.
- Big Brother Instinct: Protecting Baladene, to the point where he willing serves as her emotional punching bag, is the one thing that keeps him going.
- Crash-Into Hello: His first meeting with Yui involves crashing into her because neither was looking where they were going.
- Extreme Doormat: Doesn't fight back from any of the abuse his sister heaps on him, because he knows she needs to do it to deal with the Transition.
- Meaningful Name: His weapon of choice is a bardiche.
- Properly Paranoid: Yui's unnatural intelligence, speaking ability, and emotional stability pretty much tell him she isn't a nine-year-old girl. Lucky for Yui's secret, he's Entertainingly Wrong, believing her to be an "Out of Time" person rather than an actualized AI.
- Ship Tease: He is often paired with Yui in the Omake, from innocent play-dates to a distant future where they are married and have children.
Balandene (Takahashi Kazuna)
Bardiche's younger sister.- Break the Cutie: The Transition is harder on her than any other child in Arrun Home. A contributing factor is her somewhat spoiled nature making her inflexible to the constant changes around her; examples include her brother's sudden academic achievements and her two year older body going through puberty.
- Kick the Dog: Is rather mean to Djinn that wants to play with her just because she thinks it's "weird."
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Wants nothing to do with anything "weird" to the point where she tries to avoid flying.
- Picky Eater: Dislikes eating food from fantastic creatures and prefers to eat food she could, in theory, have got in Japan.
- Precocious Crush: On Takai, her self-defense instructor.
