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Seven individuals who pledge their loyalty to the Grandmaster and execute her plans.

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    The First Anguis 
Voiced by: Ryohei Arai (Japanese, Evolution games)
Appearances: The 3rd | Azure | Cold Steel IV

Identity currently unknown. Has appeared during several scenes across the series at the Celestial Globe.


  • The Dragon: He’s shown to be the member of Ouroboros closest to the Grandmaster, other than Campanella.
  • Taught by Experience: In the post-credits scene of Cold Steel IV, he's the one who insists that the Anguis and Campanella not get involved in Cedric's development after joining the Society, reminding the others how that ended for Weissman.

    The Second Anguis - Vita Clotilde, The Azure Abyss 

Vita Clotilde

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vita_clotilde_sen_iii.png
Vita as of Cold Steel III
Vita as she appeared in Cold Steel I and II
Misty
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grianos_initial_design___concept_art_28sen29.jpg
Grianos
Grianos-Aura
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Ayaka Maeda (Japanese, The 3rd Evolution only), Erica Lindbeck (English)

A stunning woman who is the top star of the Heimdallr Opera House and known as the Azure Diva. She also has another job at Radio Trista where she goes by the alias "Misty" and serves as the hostess of show Abend Time. She is later revealed to be the Second Anguis of Ouroboros whose title is Azure Abyss.


  • Affably Evil: Played with. Perhaps the worst acts that she's done so far is kidnapping Alfin and Elise early on in Cold Steel II, and her role in triggering the Erebonian Civil War, considering the other villains in the game have done even more terrible things that even she sometimes disapproves of. Her earlier Bitch in Sheep's Clothing role as well as her tendency to taunt the protagonists early on in II make it ambiguous whether her politeness throughout the games is genuine or an act, but by the end she proves to be a Graceful Loser with some very clear scruples of her own, making her a genuine example.
  • Amicable Exes: A conversation with Crow in Cold Steel IV implies that she had some sort of relationship with him that went beyond being simple partners, but by the time of the game, both have seemingly moved on from each other.
  • Attack Animal: One of her Crafts has her Familiar Grianos transform into its One-Winged Angel form to attack the enemy.
  • Becoming the Mask: While she initially starts being Misty as a means to safely infiltrate Trista, it's pretty clear she gets a kick out of it.
  • Big Bad: She serves as the main antagonist of Cold Steel II overall.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Downplayed; she initially acts friendly towards Rean and the members of Class VII before her true allegiance is revealed. But even afterwards, it's clear that she's not that bad compared to other villains in Cold Steel II, and by III, she drops the "bitch" part.
  • Blow You Away: Her regular attacks from Cold Steel IV onwards have her send a small tornado at her opponents.
  • Breath Weapon: During her boss fight and when playable, one of her Crafts has her summon Grianos in his One-Winged Angel form, who then breathes a gust of chilling air at the enemy.
  • Broken Pedestal: Machias and Elliot were huge fans of hers, but finding out that she's part of Ouroboros put a damper on this. Likewise, Emma had a case of Big Sister Worship towards her, but Vita breaking an unknown taboo of their clan resulted in those feelings becoming very mixed.
  • Buxom Beauty Standard: She is quite well-endowed, which her outfits highlight, and several characters have commented on her beauty.
  • The Cast Showoff: In-universe, she shows off her singing voice by performing an impromptu rendition of Whereabouts of the Stars during a broadcast. Then she gets called out for it. In Cold Steel IV, she casually teleports onto Arc en Ciel's stage during a performance to join the vocal section, and does it so seamlessly that everyone in the audience thinks it was a planned part of the show.
  • Celebrity Masquerade: She is a Hot Witch and Anguis who moonlights as Erebonia's top opera star and as a popular radio personality during the first two Cold Steel games.
  • Clark Kenting: Her disguise as Misty consists of glasses, a hat, and simpler and more conservative casual clothing. No one could tell who she was, not even people who were fans of both her personas such as Machias and Elliot.
  • Color-Coded Characters: Known as the Azure Abyss as an Anguis and the Azure Diva as an opera star, and was the one who lead Crow to the Azure Knight Ordine. Fittingly enough, she wears primarily blue outside of her Misty disguise, her weapons were a blue Magic Staff and later a blue Combat Hand Fan, and has a blue bird as a Familiar.
  • Combat Hand Fan: Uses one from Cold Steel III onward as she had returned the staff that she used to Roselia after the events of the Infernal Castle, as the staff originally belonged to the latter in the first place.
  • Contralto of Strength: Erica Lindbeck gives her a low and regal voice in the English dub, befitting her abilities as an Anguis, mysterious nature as a witch, and former occupation as an opera singer.
  • Cool Big Sis: Towards Emma when they were younger. Even now, though they're on opposing sides, it's clear that Vita still cares for the former in her own way and is willing to give her advice too. Emma, for her part, still calls Vita "Nee-san" in the Japanese script.
  • Death Glare: Gives a FRIGHTENING one to Duke Cayenne after he insults the recently killed Crow while holding Prince Cedric at blade point, complete with glowing Battle Aura and booming voice.
  • The Dog Was the Mastermind: One of the biggest reveals in Cold Steel I was the fact that the friendly radio DJ that Rean would occasionally meet was also a villainous witch who was also a member of Ouroboros.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Although she's ostensibly subservient to Duke Cayenne for a majority of Cold Steel II, she's not particularly interested in his goals and is merely pursuing her own aims, irrespective of the Noble Alliance's well-being.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In an interview with Falcom president Kondo, she was the woman flirting with Kevin at the beginning of The 3rd.
  • Easy Amnesia: She has a form of memory-manipulating ability. If you speak to Trista Radio's manager before the final battle, he'll tell you that he honestly doesn't remember ever hiring 'Misty'. She also performs it on the jaegers who were hired by Duke Albarea in the prologue, making them forget about what they saw in addition to having them leave Ymir.
  • Enemy Mine:
    • In Cold Steel II, she and Crow team up with Class VII to defeat the out-of-control Vermillion Apocalypse.
    • And then in Cold Steel III she lends her assistance to the heroes when they go up against Osborne and the other members of Ouroboros. What prevents it from being a full Heel-Face Turn is that she's still loyal to the society - she just disapproves of their current operation.
    • Carries on in Cold Steel IV and Reverie as well. She is even invited to the Imperial Wedding in the former.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely cared for Crow and was genuinely upset at his death at the end of Cold Steel II, becoming noticably enraged when Duke Cayenne insulted him. It's clear she also still cares for Emma deep down.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • When the Anguis discuss Weissman's death, she, Arianrhod, and the 1st Anguis consider him an Asshole Victim. And then there's Ymir where she thinks it was too much for Duke Albarea to raze Ymir just to grab Princess Alfin.
    • She also displays a disdain for Sore Losers in the climax of Cold Steel II, where she's about to concede defeat to Class VII, only for Duke Cayenne to hold prince Cedric hostage and awaken the Vermillion Apocalypse. She's absolutely disgusted that he'd stoop this low, and after Crow sacrifices himself to defeat Vermillion and save Cedric's life, she angrily commands Cayenne to release Cedric, and would have followed through on her threats had Rufus not intervened.
    • Happens in Cold Steel III as well. The whole reason she teams up with the heroes in its climax is that she finds the Great Twilight plan to be way too dangerous to enact. As the ending shows, she was absolutely right.
  • Evil Knockoff: Played with in Reverie; she has a Hollow copy that serves as a boss in the True Reverie Corridor, most notably when it fights alongside Roselia's during Sara, Sharon, Aurelia, and Victor's Trial Door. That being said, Vita herself started out as a villain and remains an Ouroboros agent, even if she's been spending more of her time helping the heroes as of late.
  • Familiar: Grianos, a blue-feathered bird capable of transforming into Eldritch Abomination to attack enemies. It later died at Rufus' hand during the finale of Cold Steel II.
  • Fan Nickname: In-universe; her fans call her the Azure Diva.
  • Fire/Water Juxtaposition: She and her adoptive younger sister Emma are near opposites in terms of personality and roles, and fittingly enough, they also have opposite Orbal elements, with Emma having Fire as her secondary element while Vita has Water as her secondary element (which also happen to be the same secondary elements of the corresponding Awakeners they are rather close to).
  • Genki Girl: Her Misty persona acts quite energetic when hosting Abend Time.
  • Grand Staircase Entrance: Her first appearance during Rean's field study in Heimdallr is this. There are only members of Class VII (and front desk) down there and clearly, two of them are awed by her appearance.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: For the first part of the Erebonia arc, when she's pulling the strings behind the scenes to enact the Phantasmal Blaze Plan, but does not get directly involved until her proxy, Crow, is in danger. It's hinted she may also have been heading up operations in Crossbell around the same time, making her this to Zero and Azure as well.
  • Has a Type: If Crow and Loewe are any indication, Vita seems to have a thing for men with silver hair.
  • Head-Turning Beauty: Several characters have commented on her beauty with her having a decent amount of fans in both of her personas as Misty and the Azure Diva.
  • High-Class Fan: Her hand fan from Cold Steel III onwards only adds to her former diva image.
  • High-Class Gloves: She wears some in her outfit from Cold Steel III onward, which is fitting considering her former occupation as a famous opera singer.
  • Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: She holds her right shoulder throughout the finale of Cold Steel II due to Rufus slashing her in the back.
  • Hot Witch: Just like her sister Emma, she's a very beautiful member of a witch clan.
  • Humans Are Bastards: Her Aria of the Abyss S-Craft has her reciting a chant declaring this. It's left ambiguous on whether she actually believes so, or if it was done solely for dramatic effect.
    Vita: Humankind are evildoers, shackled by emotion. Fury, misery, agony, envy. Behold the Abyss, for it longs to be forever at your side!
  • An Ice Person: One of her Crafts, Eternal Winter, surrounds her targets in ice.
  • Instant Fanclub: She's a famous opera singer in Erebonia, to the point of being considered the idol of the capital. She also got a second fanclub for her Misty persona.
  • Lady of Black Magic: An elegant and beautiful woman, whose magical powers are considered second only to Crimson Roselia, the Elder of the Hexen Clan.
  • Lascivious Beauty Mark: She has a beauty mark below her left eye, and several characters have commented on her beauty and can be quite The Tease at times.
  • Leitmotif: "The Witch of the Abyss" in Cold Steel II.
  • Limit Break: Her S-Craft is Aria of the Abyss.
  • Magic Staff: She fights with one in Cold Steel II though she no longer uses it after the events of the Infernal Castle as she had returned it to its rightful owner Roselia.
  • Making a Splash: Her secondary element is Water, contrasting Emma's Fire.
  • Master of None: Not as extreme as Emma, Eliot and Alfin but she has rank for all attack type with relatively lower individual rank than most fighters. The difference is that unlike 3 other Magic Staff users, she manages to score B on "thrust" and "pierce" type.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She's got a large chest and long, shapely legs, and her default dress in the first two Cold Steel games is a Sexy Backless Outfit that shows plenty of cleavage. Several characters (both male and female) are even shown commenting on her beauty.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Much like the other members of Ouroboros joined with the Noble Alliance, Vita has no interest in their goals and says as much towards Duke Cayenne during the finale of Cold Steel II.
  • Noodle Incident: She was apparently banished from the Hexen Clan after breaking an unknown taboo seven years ago. What the taboo was and her motives for doing so and her reasons for joining Ouroboros remain a mystery.
  • Optional Party Member: You can make her playable in Cold Steel II using DLC item in Japan. For other territories, she can be unlocked by purchasing a Phantasmal Mirror for 200,000 mira.
  • Out-Gambitted: By Osborne at the end of Cold Steel II.
  • Pet the Dog: Seems to have genuinely cared for Crow and is clearly upset over his death. She even apologizes to Class VII and asks them to take care of him. Partnering them up at the Reverie Corridor and she refers to him as an ideal knight in their victory quote.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: When not disguising herself as Misty, her main outfit is a flowing blue dress befitting her status as an opera singer. She eventually trades it in for a somewhat more practical, yet still just as fancy outfit in Cold Steel III.
  • Pre-Final Boss: In Cold Steel II, she and Crow serve as the last bosses fought in the main story before the Vermillion Apocalypse.
  • Promoted to Playable: While Cold Steel II allows players to use her via Phantasmal Mirrors, she isn't physically present herself. Cold Steel IV finally allows her to be playable once again alongside a lot of characters. She is the first Anguis to become playable.
  • Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Justified because it's part of her "Misty" identity. Only Rean sees through it because of his powers help him see through her illusion.
  • Purple Is Powerful: Her eyes are purple, denoting her status as a powerful witch.
  • Purposely Overpowered:
    • While she's decently strong on her own, her Brave Order in Cold Steel IV, Secret Art - Azure Peacock, allows all characters a flat 100% increase in damage for eight turns, effectively doubling their attack power. She's only available for her dungeon's boss and the True Final Boss fight. It's balanced by the fact that it costs 5 Brave Points to cast but at that point, players already have ways to regain BP pretty quickly.
    • In Reverie, while the turn limit for her Brave Order lasts only for four turns, she's one of the two characters who has access to the Art Boost IV passive link ability where she can bestow whoever's linked with her double the damage when the one linked with her is casting arts. The only drawback is that she and the character linked with her have to be at link level 6.
  • Really Gets Around: Downplayed since the full extent of her personal life is unknown; in The 3rd she learns of Kevin's ties to Carnelia and is quick to show interest in him. The Fourth Anguis berates her for this, noting that it hasn't even been that long since Leonhardt's passing, whom Vita herself was apparently heavily interested in, and she's already showing interest in another guy. It's also worth noting that around this time she's already well-acquainted with and close to Crow.
  • Red Baron: Nicknamed as the "Azure Diva" among her fans. Her title as an Anguis, on the other hand, is the "Azure Abyss."
  • Secret Identity: In addition to being an opera singer she took on the Misty persona and a job at Radio Trista for fun. Rean is the first person to find out about it and she rewards him with a Misty sticker by dropping it off at his mailbox.
  • Sexy Backless Outfit: Her default blue outfit from Cold Steel II leaves her back exposed.
  • Sexy Slit Dress: Both the dresses she wore have a decently high slits that expose much of her legs.
  • Ship Tease: With Crow. Some of their dialogue makes them come across as exes who still occasionally flirt with each other.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: She and her adoptive younger sister Emma are near opposites in terms of personality and roles. Emma is shown to be a reserved Reluctant Fanservice Girl, lacking confidence, and finds herself frequently Locked Out of the Loop. Vita, meanwhile, is a very confident Anguis who is comfortable with her looks (to the point of being The Tease at some points) and is very knowledgeable about what goes on behind the scenes in regards to the origins of the Hexen Clan and other parts of the supernatural. Fittingly, the two also have opposite Orbal elements, with Emma having Fire as her secondary element while Vita has Water as her secondary element, the same as the secondary elements of the corresponding Awakeners they're rather close too.
  • Signature Scent: She smells of lavender, as noted by Rean and Emma. Emma catching the scent of lavendar on Rean after he ran into her by chance sets her off for a moment.
  • Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Her Dancing Blades Craft has her summon numerous floating Flaming Swords to slash the enemy apart.
  • Super-Empowering: Near the end of Cold Steel II, she casts a spell to empower Crow's weapon enough that he could stagger the Vermillion Apocalypse with his Deadly Cross, with the latter's comment indicating that she likely used it to help him clear the trials to become Ordine's Awakener. She and Roselia also cast the same spell on Aurelia, Victor, Matteus, Vandyck, and Wallace so they could deflect the Retributive Tower's Wave-Motion Gun.
  • The Tease: Flirted with Kevin briefly during the beginning of The 3rd, was stated to have regularly done so with Loewe as well while he was alive, and also did so briefly with Rean when the latter figured out her identity while she was disguised as Misty.
  • Token Good Teammate: In Cold Steel III, all the other Anguis were willing to side with the gnomes in order to reclaim the Phantasmal Blaze Plan. Vita disapproves and goes independent.
  • Tranquil Fury: When Cayenne is holding Prince Cedric hostage and calling a dying Crow a worthless wretch from a destroyed country, Vita stands, closes her eyes, and calmly orders him to unhand the prince before she makes him do it by force which is punctuated by her opening her eyes in her extremely creepy, shrunken-iris spell-casting expression.
  • True Blue Femininity: She is a graceful opera singer and Lady of Black Magic who is heavily associated with the color azure.
  • Vapor Wear: Her dress from the first two Cold Steel games revealed enough of her back and cleavage exposed to make it clear that she isn't wearing a bra.
  • Villainous Friendship: Despite Crow not being an Ouroboros member, her friendship with him is genuine, as shown by their Combat Link and when she mourns his death.
  • The Unfought: In Cold Steel I, which makes sense, given how her identity is only revealed at the end. Also, in Cold Steel III, because she and Class VII technically aren't enemies at the moment.
  • The Unreveal: It's never revealed what exactly was the taboo she broke throughout the entire Erebonia arc or even in Reverie.

    The Third Anguis (former) - Georg Weissmann, the Faceless 

Georg Weissmann/Professor Alba

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/georg_weissmann_s_craft_sc_evo.png
The Faceless
As Professor Alba
SPOILERS
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English)
Appearances: FC | SC | The 3rd (Replica)

An archaeologist whom Estelle and Joshua meet in the prologue of FC and appears several times since. He is researching relics of ancient Zemuria. At least, that's what he claims. He is in fact a high-ranking member of the secret society Ouroboros.


  • Absent-Minded Professor: He puts on an act as one as Professor Alba.
  • Adapted Out: Despite being briefly shown in the opening credits, he does not appear in the OVA proper.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Double subverted. In FC, he appears to be a weak archaeologist who explores the Tetracyclic towers regardless of the risks, only to be revealed as the Big Bad. Then SC reveals that despite his false name and persona, he actually is a certified archaeologist.
  • And There Was Much Rejoicing: Most of his fellows Anguis are clearly amused by his demise, but it isn't hard to imagine why. Likewise, the Enforcers didn't care one bit for his death, and are more touched by Loewe's.
  • Asshole Victim: As cruel as his method of execution was, it's hard to feel the slightest bit of pity for him.
  • Barrier Change Boss: The first half of fight with him at his second transformed form after merging with Aureole, thanks to the mooks around him. The vulnerability exist even after the mooks were defeated and he can summon those indefinitely.
  • Big Bad: He's the main villain of FC and SC.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: Zigzagged. He's a proud Sadist, yet he still views himself as the savior of humanity.
  • The Chessmaster: Combined with Manipulative Bastard. He was playing Cassius, Joshua, and the Bracer Guild since the opening cutscene of the first game by making Joshua a Manchurian Agent. Years later, he manipulates Richard into starting a coup that allows Ouroboros to further undo the seals on the Aureole.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Very very cruel. He is shot with a Salt Bolt, a 'cursed' weapon that slowly transforms the victim into salt from the inside out. Weissmann is fully aware what is happening to him as his body succumbs to the effect, cursing his killer with his last breath. After his whole body was turned into salt, Campanella shattered his salt body to pieces.
  • Cutscene Power to the Max: His True Evil Eye outright traps the party in cutscenes. In battle, it simply deals AOE damage while inflicting confusion and AT Delay.
  • Dark Messiah: This is essentially how he sees himself. Not for nothing is the final battle BGM of SC called "The Merciless Savior." However, when it comes to his own standing in Ouroboros, he seems to be the only one who believes he's doing any "saving." The Enforcers working under him all have their own agendas and consider their teamwork with him to be a matter of convenience.
  • Deader than Dead: As a consequence of being killed with a Salt Bolt
  • Death Glare: His Evil Eye craft is far stronger than Joshua's.
  • Deceptively Human Robots: SC shows that he made puppet copies of Joshua that initially seem convincing, but are quickly proven to be anything but.
  • Didn't Think This Through: For all his planning, he completely underestimates Loewe when he became Angel Weissmann, not taking Loewe's Divergent Weapon into the equation, despite this same weapon being necessary to his plan mere days before.note 
  • Dying Declaration of Hate: His last words before dying are used to insult his killer.
  • Eternal Recurrence: His view of human nature is such that he is convinced that humanity can't be trusted to not make disastrous decisions over and over. The fact that about half of the known issues with the modern world are Weissmann's fault or are otherwise attributable to Ouroboros seems to have passed him by.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: In the Evolution remakes, when his voice sounds basically really deep, especially when he is gloating about his plans.
  • Faith–Heel Turn: He used to be an academic priest after being taken in by the Septian Church, but his fascination with the Aureole and meeting with the Grandmaster led to him discarding the path of faith, in his own words.
  • False Friend: For most of FC, he poses as Professor Alba, a friendly archaeologist who just happens to cross paths with Estelle and Joshua on multiple occasions, and even offers his assistance at a few points, such as helping them get past a security checkpoint when they get held up, or providing them a lead on a jaeger assault. He continues his chummy act right until the very moment of The Reveal when Joshua finally figures him out, and after emotionally breaking the poor guy, he continues the act when he encounters Estelle, who doesn't discover his true colors until well into SC's storyline.
  • Fatal Flaw: Sadism, as it contributed to his downfall when Cassius and Kevin exploited it near the end of SC. Even before that, though, his cruelty causes him to make enemies out of his fellow Ouroboros members and allies, who let him die.
  • Faux Affably Evil: After his cover is revealed in FC, he tries to come off as an affable ex-boss to Joshua, while still planning on making his life miserable and turning him into a puppet again. At the end of SC, he even gives the party a historical lecture before trying to force Joshua to kill Estelle in order to break him.
  • Final Boss: Of SC, as "Angel Weissman."
  • Flaw Exploitation: He pulls this on Estelle, knowing that if some of her comrades are put in danger she'll charge in to rescue them. Cassius and Kevin pull this on him at the end of the game, knowing that he won't possibly be able to resist the temptation to be a completely sadistic asshole once he regains control over Joshua. They're right.
  • For the Evulz: Subverted for the most part. While he's a card-carrying sadist, his acts of cruelty are usually related to advancing his agenda in some way, with everyone's suffering being treated as the cherry-on-top. Even the trauma he puts Joshua through is supposedly part of an experiment for brainwashing humanity. Not that it doesn't come back to bite him.
  • For Science!: His stated motive for most of his actions, when he isn't claiming to be a savior who can deliver mankind from doom. Even his most cruel and sadistic actions are mere experiments in his eyes.
  • Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses before and after the reveal. He's also the most evil character in the trilogy.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: No one in Ouroboros likes him, but they are forced to put up with him, as he is the only one who knows how to find the Aureole. His successor as Third Anguis, Mariabell, even remarks how much every other Enforcer and Anguis seemed to hate him.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: A series of coincidences turned an ordinary young man into one of the most dangerous people in Zemuria. First, the Salt Pillar Incident devastated his homeland and led to him being taken in by the Church. Then, his curiosity led to his desire to study the Sept-Terion and the Stigma phenomenon, which is forbidden. His desire caught the attention of Rufina Argent, who informed higher authorities about it. Weissmann was eventually excommunicated, but not before making a great deal of progress studying Stigmas... and not before he was approached by Ouroboros.
  • Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His eyes are mostly shut as Professor Alba. As Weissmann, however...
  • Greater-Scope Villain: Probably more so than any other member of Ouroboros as a lot of tragic events can be traced back to him. He was a key player in the Tragedy of Hamel, an event changed the lives of Joshua, Loewe, Rean, Osborne, Lechter and Ash, which then spiraled with Osborne becoming the chancellor and conquering other countries, Joshua and Loewe becoming Enforcers, Rean having a Superpowered Evil Side because Osborne had to transplant his heart to Rean, Lechter joining the Ironbloods to atone for his father's sins, and Ash carrying Erebonia's curse with the activation that he has "shoot the ones responsible for the incident", culminating with Ash shooting the emperor (who was innocent but offered his life to cure Ash of the curse) with a gun from Calvard and allow Osborne to declare war on Calvard. In short, the entire series can be blamed on him for pulling the metaphorical trigger!
  • Hate Sink: He has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Not even his fellow Ouroboros members seem to like him all that much: his treatment of Joshua earned scorn even from the other Anguis, such as Vita and Arianrhod. To top it all off, after Kevin shoots him with a salt arrow, Campanella makes sure he'll stay dead, by smashing him to pieces.
  • Holier Than Thou: Estelle calls him out for acting this, complete with outright telling the trope name. Made ironic and somehow an inversion since he was excommunicated from Septian Church due to his heresy act.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Anytime he seems to have a nobler side, he'll subvert it by having sinister motives behind his actions.
    • He "cured" Joshua of his catatonic state, but only because he wanted to use the boy as a brainwashed pawn. Not to mention he was behind the tragedy that caused the latter's trauma in the first place.
    • He seems oddly concerned about ending humanity's cycle of apathy and violence and isn't entirely wrong about Liberl Ark's self-destructive culture, but this is undermined by his hypocrisy. He started the Hamel massacre and the 100 Days War in order to destabilize Liberl, all to make it easier to claim the power of the Aureole, making him just as warlike and greedy as the people he looks down on. His plan to make everyone "perfect" via brainwashing is also presented as the "easy way out," which is exactly the mindset people had when abusing the Aureole's gifts.
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: At the start of The 3rd, most of the party thinks Weissmann escaped and became a Karma Houdini for all his atrocities. They have no idea that Kevin delivered karma in the form of a Salt Bolt.
  • Knight of Cerebus: His reveal as the Big Bad establishes that the lighthearted mood of FC isn't going to last.
  • Knight Templar: A completely unsympathetic example. He insists that humanity is hopelessly flawed and is doomed to either constant warfare or complacent hedonism, so he wants to use the Aureole to brainwash them via Stigmas like he did to Joshua. He also likes to conveniently ignore his own role in actively causing conflict between Liberl and Erebonia and insists that the fact that he easily manipulated these conflicts is proof that humans are sinful. He sees himself so far above humanity that he thinks his sadism is justified.
  • Leitmotif: He has no less than 3 exclusive themes in SC: "A Gravestone Struck by Lightning" for his on-foot battle, "Outskirts of Evolution" for the first form of Angel Weissman, and "The Merciless Savior" for the final form of Angel Weissman.
  • Light Is Not Good: His name certainly indicates this and even his One-Winged Angel form actually looks angelic in a way.
  • Limit Break: His S-Craft is Another Dimension.
  • Magic Staff: Uses one in combat, one given by the Grandmaster along with Loewe's Kernviter.
  • Meaningful Name: His fake and real name mean "white" and "white man" respectively, which is the color he dresses in after The Reveal. His real name could also be considered a pun on "wise man", which fits as he is a scientist.
  • Never My Fault: Even when Loewe gets him to admit to starting the 100 Days War, Weissmann has the audacity to claim that it was humanity's fault for being so easy to manipulate.
  • Nietzsche Wannabe: The ultimate explanation for his Gospel Plan and why his final battle BGM is called "The Merciless Savior": he believes humanity is doomed to continually repeat the mistakes of the past and that everything will be pointless unless he forces the species into a new direction. Other characters (namely Estelle) are only too happy to point out that part of the problems are ones he caused and get a few points for thinking more like Nietzsche when they tell him that they don't think humanity is hopeless and are working to overcome their flaws.
  • Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims to be fixing humanity's flaws by using the Stigma to make them perfect, thus preventing their Vicious Cycle of complacency, regression, and violence. Given that he constantly instigates human conflict and enjoys the suffering caused by his schemes, it becomes obvious he's a misanthrope who cares more about controlling and toying with humanity than actually saving them. This is further shown in his interactions with Joshua and Kevin. He claims the Stigma can save them from their tragic pasts, but is angered when their friends help them overcome their issues with their own free will, since that robs him of the opportunity to experiment on them and mold them to his liking.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Downplayed. He actually does own his archeology credentials, but he pretends to be ditzy in order to hide his role as the Big Bad.
  • One-Winged Angel: Twice, and almost literally, as a result of his merging with the Aureole. His first transformation is into a gigantic white monster with what look like wings folded over the front of his body, no legs and too many eyes. When the Aureole forcibly transforms him further, the 'wings' unfold to reveal enormous arms, a serpent-like tail attaches to his lower body and actual glowing wings sprout from his back with a halo completing the angelic imagery. It's even called Angel Weissman.
  • People Puppets: His specialty, and it's implied his plan for "evolving" humanity is going to involve brainwashing.
  • Perpetual Poverty: Professor Alba's excuse for never hiring Bracers.
  • Psychotic Smirk: His default expression after The Reveal.
  • Red Baron: "Weissmann the Faceless."
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes glow bright red when he finds opportunities to engage in sadism.
  • Sadist: Ragnard accuses him of being unable to feel joy unless he's making his fellow humans suffer, which Weissmann takes as a compliment.
  • Sequential Boss: The final battle of SC consists of 3 phases: one battle against him as a human, followed by battles against both forms of Angel Weissman.
  • Sinister Minister: SC reveals that Weissmann was once a member of the Septian Church who was excommunicated for unspecified reasons. He certainly dresses the part. Outside material explains in more detail that he wanted to conduct research the church considered to be tampering in the Goddess' domain, particularly concerning the Sept-Terrion and the Stigma phenomenon.
  • The Sociopath: He feels no guilt for the lives he ruined, acts charming to manipulate others, can only feel joy from tormenting others, and believes he's superior to the rest of humanity.
    Loewe: Forget bad taste. The only word for you at this point is sick.
  • Squishy Wizard: His human form has less HP than all the Axis Pillar Enforcers while having the highest ATS, though he still has high DEF thanks to being about 5 levels higher than all of them except Loewe.
  • Taken for Granite: His death at the hands of Kevin is essentially this.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Being shot by a Salt Bolt is definitely this. Though it also carry a fair bit of Death by Irony because he was killed by the incident that essentially changed his life.
  • Übermensch: He sees himself as this. The fact that his ideal is a new kind of human who will always make the 'right' decisions (as determined by Weissmann) should let you know how far off the mark he is.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Even after Kevin tells him he is the Fifth Dominion, he still smugly tells him he is no match. One bolt and an Oh, Crap! moment later...
  • Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Especially notable in FC, which was a mostly lighthearted tale of adventure until he revealed his true colors and showed himself to be far more calculating and dangerous than anyone else in the storyline. Almost all of the Cerebus Syndrome that ensues in SC can be traced back to his actions.
  • We Can Rule Together:
    • He tries to convince Estelle to join Ouroboros under the rationale that she can reunite with Joshua this way. Though this is a ruse because he only kidnapped her to lure Joshua out of hiding.
    • He tries this again shortly before the final battle after brainwashing Joshua again. Once Estelle shoots down his grandiose plan to "save" humanity, he tries to force Joshua to kill her, only to be Out-Gambitted as Joshua had anticipated this all along.
    • In Phantasma, a copy of him tries to convince Kevin to throw away his humanity to control the Stigma and be free from his grief. When Kevin refuses, the professor sics two devils, Rostrum and Astarte, on him to force him to change his mind.
  • Xanatos Gambit: During FC, he manipulates Alan Richard into instigating a coup and directs Loewe to assist him, but otherwise stays out of the action and just observes how everything plays out under the guise of "Professor Alba." If Richard succeeds, Weissman gains a useful pawn and considerable political leverage over Liberl. If Richard fails (which he does), Weissman still unearths a path to the Aureole and can use the resources of Ouroboros to finish the job.

    The Third Anguis (current) - The Wellspring Alchemist (Spoilers for the Crossbell Duology

Mariabell Crois

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anguis_bell_9.jpg

Daughter of former Crossbell mayor Dieter Crois and an alchemist of the Crois clan, she accepted an invitation to join Ouroboros as Georg Weissmann's replacement following his demise. See International Bank of Crossbell.

    The Fourth Anguis - Ellroy Harwood, The Thousand Oathbreaker 

Ellroy Harwood

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ellroy_harwood_kuro.png
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda (Japanese), Keisuke Baba (Japanese, The 3rd Evolution only), Keythe Farley (English)
Appearances: The 3rd | Daybreak | Kuro II

A former member of the Order of the Moonlight Horse who, alongside Sharon and Lucrezia, joined Ouroboros after it destroyed the Order. He is now the Society's Fourth Anguis, otherwise known as the "Thousand Oathbreaker."


  • Ascended Extra: After being excluded from gameplay during the first Daybreak game, the sequel has him participate in battle.
  • Badass Fingersnap: During Daybreak, he snaps his fingers to summon pools of poison beneath his enemies.
  • Cigar-Fuse Lighting: His Hazard Cigar Craft sees him toss his cigar at some purple smoke he blew towards his opponents, triggering an explosion.
  • Combat Pragmatist: During Daybreak Chapter 5, he intends to use chemical weapons to kill all of the other teams in one fell swoop during Almata's Battle Royale.
  • Devil in Plain Sight: All of the Anguis usually disguise themselves or don't appear in public when they are carrying their plans. He don't either as a result of the pact between Gramheart and the Grandmaster or simply to live up to his name.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: He doesn't physically appear, or even get his name revealed, until the first Daybreak game, but he does technically makes a brief cameo, via his shadow, in a flashback sequence during Chapter 2 of Cold Steel III.
  • Gratuitous English: When using his S-Craft, he'll announce that "It's Showtime!"
  • Greater-Scope Villain: As he admits during his and Lucrezia's formal introduction, he's the one behind the creation of Garden, combining the remnants of the Order of the Moonlight Horse with those of the "D∴G Cult". Every negative action committed by said organization only happened because he couldn't be bothered to keep an eye on them.
  • Guest-Star Party Member: He serves as a non-playable ally during the "Cross-Renne," Walter, and Lucrezia fight in Kuro II's Intermission.
  • Hero Killer: Shows off what he can really do in the Intermission chapter of Kuro II when he kills off the entire cast which includes Kasim, Shizuna, Walter, and Lucrezia without lifting his finger via his nerve toxins. They only get saved due to the Genesis' power to perform Time Leaps, a power he was apparently counting on them using.
  • Insult Backfire: People often call him "the worst," a label he considers to be the highest of complements.
  • It Amused Me: Van questions his reason for hiring the Solution's Office during Chapter 5 of Daybreak. His response?
    Ellroy: Because it'd be more fun that way.
  • It's What I Do: He has a name to live up to after all, so count on him to break rules whethever they are minor (like smoking in an office) or major (using internationally prohibited chemical weapons).
  • Limit Break: Kuro II gives him Umbra Nordens as his S-Craft.
  • Meaningful Name: Being called the Thousand Oathbreaker is pretty fitting for a man who take delight in breaking any rules he can.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Somebody with a nickname like Thousand Oathbreaker sounds like the least trust-worthy person you can meet, though it didn't stop him from being a reliable ally during the battle against Almata.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: By virtue of using Weapon of Mass Destruction.
  • Phlebotinum Pills: His DROP-00 Z Craft has him bite into a spherical pill, restoring some of his HP and boosting all of his stats.
  • Poisonous Person: Kuro II shows that his main method of fighting is using poison, summoning pools of it beneath the target in his regular attacks, and flinging some from his hands in his "Void Snape" Craft.
  • Pre-Final Boss: In Kuro II, he, alongside Ixs and Jolda, serve as the last bosses fought in the main story before Grendel-Zolga.
  • Red Baron: Aside from his "Thousand Oathbreaker" title, Renne notes that he is also in the criminal underworld as the "Maven Lawbreaker," due to the fact that any organization that he's dealt with ends up self-destructing.
  • Shaping Your Attacks: His "Void Snape" Craft has him fling poison in the form of snakes.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Usually smokes a cigar anytime he appears.
  • Super Serum: His Demon Brute Craft has him drink a red liquid from a vile, giving him the "Reflect" buff.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: During Kuro II,more precisely, during his Intermission Bad End, he is confronted by what can reasonably be called a small army composed of two A-Rank Bracers, two Dominions, the number two of Iscariot, multiple jaegers including two of the strongest alive, two Enforcers, Heiyue, and Arkride Solutions Office. What is his response? Release a chemical gas on the island. What is their response? Dropping dead. Despite Rule of Cool being fairly prominent in Zemuria and as mundane and anticlimactic as it may be, this IS the usual outcome to a weapon of mass destruction.
  • The Unfought: Surprisingly enough, he doesn't fight the heroes in Daybreak, going as far as to surrender his team's card after Walter and Lucrezia lose.
  • Unseen No More: He was briefly mentioned during Chapter 3 of Azure, where Arianrhod says that she'll "leave the rest to Oathbreaker" while she heads to Crossbell. He's also alluded to in Cold Steel III, having gone to Alteria alongside Mariabell. Daybreak is when he officially makes his in-person appearance.
  • Wild Card: As the "Oathbreaker," he generally can't be trusted to follow rules or keep promises, yet he'll sometimes do those very things just to shatter the expectations associated with his title, making him extremely unpredictable. This is later Played for Laughs in the first Daybreak game; when Van mentions that the Solutions Office is a no-smoking zone, Ellroy retorts that he's simply living up to his name by breaking the oath of smoking in a non-smoking area.

    The Fifth Anguis 
Voiced by: Hiroshi Okamoto (The 3rd Evolution)
Appearances: The 3rd

Currently unrevealed. The most mysterious of the Anguis at this point - he has not appeared or has had any information about him confirmed since his first and only appearance during Star Door 14, in contrast to the First Anguis, who has made multiple appearances since then.

    The Sixth Anguis - Dr. F. Novartis 

Professor F. Novartis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_legend_of_heroes_hajimari_no_kiseki_2020_04_23_20_019.jpg
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Dave B. Mitchell (English)
Appearances: The 3rd (Voice only) | Azure | Reverie
"But now that we have all of our subjects—ah, my manners have escaped me yet again—all of our participants assembled, let us begin."

Sixth Anguis of Ouroboros and leader of the Thirteen Factories, appearing in Azure. Not especially popular with Enforcers due to his For Science! tendencies, but still less hated than the Faceless.


  • Big "WHAT?!": After Roy proposes to the Grandmaster that he and Ouroboros would not interfere with each other for at least two and a half years, this is his reaction.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Namedropped as early as Second Chapter, and had spoken lines in The 3rd's Star Door 14.
  • Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: In Reverie, his idea of a joke is to threaten Renne's parents.
  • For Science!: His motivation for doing just about anything is to satisfy his scientific curiosity.
  • Gonk: A creepy-looking man with Scary Shiny Glasses, a bowl-cut and a hunched back. His hair colour and wrinkly face make his age quite cryptic.
  • Graceful Loser: Accepts that he cannot reproduce Simulacrum as well as the Elysium System.
  • Karma Houdini: For his involvement in helping Ishmelga Rean acquire certain technology to further his goals and indirectly being one of the causes of the entire issue in "Reverie", he got off with only a warning (and not even a stern one at that) from Vita.
  • Mad Scientist: Novartis is both clever and evil.
  • Not Me This Time: He's accused by both Vita and Renne to be behind the events in Reverie. He admits that he's only helping out the Elysium system but flat out tells them he's only there as an observer though Vita quips that he's involved himself a little too much.
  • Oh, Crap!: Seeing McBurn at the Celestial Globe since the latter's fake self warned him not to tell his real self that he made a clone of him. He also expresses surprise at the new president of Calvard, Roy Gramhardt's appearance considering it's supposed to be a secret meeting place.
  • Out of Focus: Despite appearing in a few games, Novartis is mainly interested in his pursuit of science and even as he partakes in most of Ouroboros' plots, is more than happy to remain on the background and work on his own devices, leaving most of his character and personal history unknown.

    The Seventh Anguis - Arianrhod, The Steel Maiden 

Arianrhod/Lianne Sandlot

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arianrhod_cs3_portrait.png
Arianrhod unmasked, as depicted in the Cold Steel series
Arianrhod masked, as depicted in Azure
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Cherami Leigh (English)
Appearances: The 3rd (Voice only) | Azure | Cold Steel I | Cold Steel III | Cold Steel IV | Reverie (Replica)

Seventh Anguis of Ouroboros known as the "Steel Maiden". First appearing in Azure, she makes a cameo appearance in Cold Steel I and later makes a full return as an antagonist in Cold Steel III and IV. Due to the sheer number similarities between her and the legendary "Lance Maiden" of Erebonian history, many assume her true identity to be Lianne Sandlot herself. It's later confirmed in Cold Steel III that she truly is Lianne Sandlot, having survived her historical death through mysterious means.

Arianrhod is the leader of the Stahlritter, a unit of loyal female knights who are not Enforcers, but rival them in power.


  • 24-Hour Armor: She's never seen without her incredibly bulky armor on, except for certain flashbacks.
  • The Ace: Easily one of the strongest fighters on Zemuria.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Averted with Dreichels himself, as her feelings were reciprocated, but circumstances prevented them from getting together. Once Dreichels had reincarnated as Osborne, a part of her had hoped that this time she would have been able to get together with him. Unfortunately for her, by the time that she found him, Osborne had already fallen in love with Kasia and started a family with her that resulted in Rean. Lianne, for her part, muses that, so long as he was happy, then it was alright.
  • Always Accurate Attack: In Cold Steel III, all of her regular crafts are undodgeable, which can be a rude awakening to those relying on evade tank builds.
  • Anti-Villain: Easily one of the least villainous members of Ouroboros.
  • Amazon Brigade: The Stahlritter are Arianrhod's bodyguards (not like she needs them) and they are exclusively female.
  • Archenemy: Ever since she learned about Ishmelga from Dreichels, she has made her number 1 goal to destroy him.
  • Armored Villains, Unarmored Heroes: Guess which side of the spectrum she's on.
  • Back from the Dead: Cold Steel III reveals that she did die as Lianne Sandlot, but she mysteriously came back to life. It's because as an Awakener, her life is tethered to her Divine Knight.
  • Badass Boast: In Cold Steel III she delivers one towards McBurn when he asks for a fight.
    "I, too, shall enjoy the night breeze if you break my helm."
    • She delivers another one while performing her S-Craft.
      "I am Steel, she who cuts through all!"
  • Big Damn Heroes: In Cold Steel I she appears in time to rescue Rean's field study group in Lohengrin Castle. It's revealed retroactively in Cold Steel IV that the reason she rescued him and his group is because he's the son of the reincarnation of the man who she once loved.
  • Blue Blood: As Lianne Sandlot, she was a Countess who ruled Lohengrin Castle and Legram, which were then taken over by her retainers of the Arseid Family.
  • Bootstrapped Leitmotif: "Unfathomed Force," a late-game boss theme for Azure, is heavily associated with her, to the point of it being reused wholesale for her boss battle in Chapter 3 of Cold Steel III.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: She is able to crush a truck engine simply by throwing her spear from faraway.
  • Contralto of Strength: In the English dub, Cherami Leigh gives her with a low voice befitting her as one of the most powerful women in all of Zemuria
  • Dual Boss: In the final chapter of Cold Steel III, you have to fight against her and Demon McBurn. Then in Cold Steel IV, she ends up fighting alongside Osborne and this time, they're ARCUS linked.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Along with the other Anguis, she made a voiced appearance in The 3rd.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: She steps in to prevent a swindler from fleeing to Calvard with stolen medicals goods following Crossbell's raid by the Red Constellation because she won't stand such a distasteful behavior towards civilians. Duvalie also mentions that she would have been just as outraged as the Crimson Wings and herself had she been around to witness Duke Albarea's attack on Celdic.
  • Evil Knockoff: In Reverie, she has a Hollow copy that serves as a boss in the True Reverie Corridor, most notably during Laura, Agate, and Roselia's Trial Door. Granted, Arianrhod spent all of her screentime on the villain's side, but she herself was never very evil.
  • Fallen Hero: Once she was Lianne Sandlot, a heroic legend of Erebonian history who joined forces with Dreichels the Lionheart to put an end to the War of the Lions. Over 250 years later however, she joined Ouroboros (a terrorist organization) and becomes one of the highest ranking members of the Society in addition to being one of its two strongest fighters. Subverted, however, as she joined for the sake of destroying the curse of Erebonia.
  • Foreshadowing: Unlike her Dual Boss fight with McBurn in Cold Steel III, she's ARCUS linked with Osborne in Cold Steel IV despite having no known relationship with him at the time. [[spoiler:It's a sign that she trusts and loves Dreichels and his reincarnation.
  • Freudian Excuse: The reason for her being an antagonist throughout the series? All done out of loyalty towards Dreichels, who in current times has now been reincarnated as Giliath Osborne. She feels responsible for not being there to aid him when he needed it most, aka the death of his wife and near death of Rean, which resulted in Osborne making a literal Deal with the Devil. She decided to join Ouroboros as a means to an end, and later sides with Osborne himself directly, in order to help put a stop to the curse of Erebonia once and for all.
  • Grow Old with Me: She made such a promise with Dreichels 250 years ago. However, reviving as an Immortal and losing the ability to bear children led her to break her promise.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: One of the nicest member of Ouroboros, and has blonde hair.
  • Heel–Face Door-Slam: After her defeat, it seems like she's going to accept Rean's offer to save her life and join the heroes' side. Then Rufus shows up...
  • History Repeats: Her final fate directly parallels that of her student, Loewe.
  • Honor Before Reason: She tells Roselia the reason why Dreichels never told Rose about the curse is because it would have been a terrible and feeble life for someone who is nearly at the end of his life and the problems of man still linger on.
  • Humongous Mecha: In Cold Steel III, she appears alongside the Aion Type Alpha II. Said game also reveals that she's been the Awakener of Argreion the Silver Knight since before the War of the Lions.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: She is so strong that she was holding back every time we see her fighting. Not even Aurelia, the strongest woman in Erebonia was enough to make her fight at full power.
  • I Let You Win: It's revealed after the fight that despite her kneeling against Rean and Crow, they both note that she threw the fight in order for Rean to absorb Argreion's essence. Subverted in that she claims to have used her full power, though she's fine with them winning as long as they can beat Ishmelga. Unfortunately, she didn't expect Rufus to back stab her at her weakest moment.
  • Immortality : A trait common to all Awakeners as they cannot die so long as their Divine Knights remain. This is how she was able to survive her historic death.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Rufus fatally wounds her by running her through with the Gold Knight's sword.
  • Ironic Name: The Arianrhod of Celtic mythology was a goddess of fertility. This Arianrhod is implied to have become infertile after her resurrection.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After finding Osborne and discovering him married with a child, she finds herself content enough that he is living an happy life.
  • Jeanne d'Archétype: As Lianne Sandlot, she was an inspirational warrior and general who lead the Eisenritter to help Dreichels put an end to the War of the Lions and was canonized as a Saint after her purported death.
  • Jousting Lance: Her weapon of choice. Even her Divine Knight has one.
  • Lady of War: One of the most beautiful, graceful, and powerful women in the entire series.
  • Law of Inverse Fertility: As it turns out, this is the reason why she left Dreichels as she was left unable to bear any children after coming back to life.
  • Leitmotif: Unfathomable Force and Aria of the Saint.
  • Lightning Bruiser: She's more heavily armored than the Stahlritter and wields a large lance, but she's still one of the fastest characters, in both her boss fights and cutscenes. When she makes her first appearance in Azure, she defeats the party with a flurry of lance strikes that are too strong and fast for them to defend against, and this is just her normal attack animation.
  • Like a Son to Me: How she views Rean after spending years looking out for him from afar, imagining him to be the son that she could have had with Dreichels. She also refers to the Stahlritter as her daughters shortly before her death.
  • Limit Break: Her S-Craft in both Azure and the later Cold Steel games is Grand Cross. Also her finishing move when piloting Argreion.
  • Living Legend: As Lianne Sandlot, the Lance Maiden.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • Arianrhod was a goddess of Celtic/Welsh Mythology with dominion over time, fate, fertility and rebirth. All three of which symbolize reveals of her origins and true motivation. Both also were rulers of a castle of great renown and significance (Caer Arianrhod and Lohengrin Castle.) The name itself means 'Silver Wheel' in Welsh. She's the Awakener of the Silver Knight, and is motivated by breaking the cycle of misfortune caused by the Curse of Erebonia.
    • Her original name, Lianne Sandlot, is also basically a reference to Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table and considered King Arthur's greatest knight. Fittingly enough, Lianne is also considered one of the Erebonian Empire's greatest warriors who also served its greatest emperor, Dreichels the Lionheart, who himself is basically a King Arthur analogue within the series. Her hometown, Legram, is also situated at a lake which coicincides with Lancelot's epithet "du Lac" which means "of the lake".
  • Metallic Motifs: Lead a group of knights as Lianne and Arianrhod respectively named the Eisenritter (Iron Knights) and Stahlritter (Steel Knights), is known as The 'Steel' Maiden, and pilots the Argent (Silver) Knight.
  • Multi-Melee Master: Implied; while she's only ever shown wielding her trademark lance, Duvalie and Loewe owe their Master Swordsman credentials to her tutelage, indicating she's well-versed in swordsmanship as well, possibly as a result of her long life. In Loewe's manga, Arianrhod easily defeats him with a sword and states that the next time they duel, she'll use her lance.
  • Mysterious Protector: Briefly plays this role in Cold Steel I during Class VII's field study in Legram for reasons unknown. Cold Steel IV reveals that this was because Rean was there. It's also revealed that she had been secretly watching over him as he grew up, to the point that Osborne actually refers to her as one of Rean's mothers alongside Kasia and Lucia.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By not telling Rose all about the curse that's stalking Dreichels, Osborne ends up making a deal with Ishmelga that nearly starts a global conflict all over the world.
  • Old Friend: To Roselia. She's the one who guided her to Argreion, her Divine Knight, a few years before the War of the Lions happened.
  • Only the Worthy May Pass: She serves as this in Azure where she tests the SSS's conviction and strength under KeA's demands. This is under the logic that if they couldn't last long enough against her, there is no way they can take on Sigmund and Arios.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: It's quite obvious she didn't even bother to try and disguise her identity as Lianne Sandlot. Everyone who's ever heard about Arianrhod are quick to assume that she has something to do with her past self.
  • Parental Substitute: She is one for the youngest members of the society and the Stahlritter. She explicitly calls Duvalie her child in Cold Steel IV.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Because she never told Roselia about the curse and Ishmelga stalking Dreichels for 250 years, the issues with Erebonia continued on.
  • Red Baron: "The Steel Maiden." And formerly, "The Lance Maiden" when she was still Lianne Sandlot.
  • Religious Bruiser: Technically, since she was canonized as a Saint for her role in the War of the Lions.
  • Really 700 Years Old: From a chronological standpoint, she's well over 250 years old despite looking like a young woman in her early twenties.
  • The Reveal: Cold Steel IV reveals the reason why she joined with Ouroboros without saying anything to Roselia for twenty years: she's been looking out for Osborne ever since she found Dreichels' reincarnation. Then tragedy struck towards Osborne's life which she then takes it upon herself to help out Osborne get rid of the curse for good. Roselia did not take it well when she finds out about it.
  • Shoulders of Doom: She wears an armor with large and spiky pauldrons.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: In all of her centuries-long life, she never loved anyone but Dreichels. To the point that her feelings even extend to his reincarnation in Osborne.
  • The Smurfette Principle: The only female Awakener of the seven Awakeners. She's also the oldest of them all.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Dreichels. Both fell in love and had sworn to live with each other after the "War of the Lions" ended, but circumstances such as her "death" prevented that from ever happening. It turns out that she left him due to her inability to have children after coming back to life. She clearly regrets this however as by the time Dreichels reincarnates as Osborne she once again has a desire to be with him. Unfortunately for her she missed her chance since Osborne had already married Kasia and had a son with her (Rean) by the time Lianne finds him.
  • Strong and Skilled: She's one of the most physically powerful combatants and has unparalleled skill in wielding a lance. This is reflected in gameplay in Cold Steel III, where her normal crafts are always accurate even against characters with high evasion.
  • Take Up My Sword: Or rather her name, as Lianne asks Laura to continue the tradition of having the initial letter "S." in the Arseid line as one of her last wishes before she dies.
  • That Man Is Dead: When Laura calls her Lianne Sandlot, she describes that name as an "illusion of the past".
  • The Stoic: She is a little bit short on the emotions scale.
  • Together in Death: With Dreichels/Osborne and Rutger at the end of Cold Steel IV.
  • Too Powerful to Live: She's one of the strongest characters in the series and a legendary nigh-immortal warrior who has lived for over 250 years, and every time she is fought she will either utterly curb-stomp the party, turn out to be holding back, or even both. And then, after her final defeat, it seems like she's actually going to pull a Heel–Face Turn...? Sadly but not surprisingly, it really is too good to be true, as she's promptly killed by Rufus. Her joining the ranks of the heroes would have disintegrated any shred of difficulty they previously had due to her overpowered stats and Divine Knight, both in-game and meta-wise. And this is just from the implications of her surviving until the end of the Erebonia arc. If she was given a second chance like with Crow, being an Anguis would result in invaluable information on Ouroboros being revealed to the Bracer Guild and Septian Church while nullifying the threat of anyone that isn't her fellow Anguis, Mcburn and the Grandmaster.
  • Turns Red: In her boss fight in Azure, when her HP reach a certain threshold, her mask will break and she will stop holding back. By the end of the fight, her mask is probably not the only thing who is broken.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Dreichels. So much so that she even ends up developing feelings towards his reincarnation in Osborne, and later joined Ouroboros out of a sense of duty towards him.
  • Villain Forgot to Level Grind: When she appears in Azure, she is a juggernaut who deal Curb-Stomp Battle left and right and only left the stage after the SSS passed her Secret Test of Character. By the time of Cold Steel III two years later, while she still serve as a colossal roadblock, she is now matched by a few characters. Justified. When you spent 250 years training, you're likely to have no more room to improve.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Black Records 13 foretold that she would die in the Rivalries before the Tuatha De Danann and the Salt Pales appear, meaning Rean had no chance of saving her.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: She and McBurn serves as the first opponents guarding the Gral of Erebos.
  • Walking Spoiler: Much of the white tropes come from Cold Steel III and IV revelations.
  • Walking the Earth: After her resurrection she decides to travel around outside of Erebonia for decades until Dreichels' deathbed. Afterwards she then spends the next two centuries looking for his reincarnation out of worry that the curse that haunted him would come back to do so again. It's during this time that she meets the Grandmaster, but it's not until she finds Osborne and believes him to be safe that she decides to join Ouroboros.
  • Weapon Tombstone: After her death, the Stahlritter used her lance and helmet to make a grave in Crossbell.
  • Wham Shot: When she summons her own Divine Knight at the Naval Fortress. Even her Stahlritter were shocked and were unaware of its existence.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: She says as much after she's defeated in Cold Steel IV...
    It's been a long journey. So long...
  • Wolfpack Boss: In Cold Steel III, you actually fight her and all 3 members of the Stahlritter at the same time in Chapter 3.
  • World's Best Warrior: A contender for being the most powerful character in the series. Very few could hope to match her, with Ein Selnate and McBurn being such people. Lloyd and the SSS were lucky enough to break her helmet when they fought her. Even after Aurelia Le Guin (a contender for Erebonia's strongest warrior) manages to bring Arianrhod to her knees in battle, it's revealed that she was still holding back to some extent and only fought with the strength she had when she was Lianne Sandlot.
  • Wrecked Weapon: Her iconic lance finally breaks in Cold Steel IV while fighting Class VII. Considering what happens next...
  • Xanatos Gambit: What her plans for the Third Rivalry were. If she wins, she take the power of the Ashen, Azure and Palatinate Knight for herself and is almost guaranteed to fight Ishmelga during the Final Rivalry. If she loses, she entrust her power and her life to Rean, giving him a massive boost as he has proven himself strong enough to be able to prevail against Ishmelga. Sadly, Rufus was following the match and intervene to steal the Argent Knight's power but her point still stand, as Rean prove himself able to win the other Rivalries.


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