[Erio]

Yay! Finally I finished this. You'll see why it took so long. There are references scattered all around the place... but they should all be easy to spot. I'm not as crazy as Kha.

Lots of Bluecheesium here, though not as much as others.

Well, hope you like it.

Oh, yeah, a small warning, there are a lot of pictures here. I wanted to include many more, but I was afraid some of you might complain.


---

Part 1 can be found here.

Spoiler for Special Episode 01 - Part 3:

Special Episode 01: Maidens (Second Half) – Part 1


It was a beautiful sight, a small town with some houses made of stone, and some of wood, and a huge castle at the edge of the town.

Spoiler for Image:

I was walking around the town and saw a group of mages practicing their spell casting… Well, it was not really me. Apparently, I was experiencing the memories of one of the mages of the time. Even without the use of technology they had ways of recording memories and maybe other things. And these recordings were not just visual; I was able to know what this person was thinking too. Again I have to say, this is incredible.

The mages were all equipped with staves (or wands) and books.

Spoiler for Image:

The regular staves did not have anything special. In fact, they were just long wooden sticks. The more advanced staves had some kind of crystal somehow inserted at one of its tips. The crystals, while some where of different colors, were very similar to the one on this ring. These staves did not have any kind of artificial intelligence whatsoever. They were only used as a tool to focus the energy of the mages so the mages could cast spells more easily. The mages concentrated in channeling and gathering their energy, and also the energy of the surroundings, into the staves before casting a spell. It is very similar to what we do nowadays; however, we modern mages are used to have Intelligent Devices do almost all the spell casting work for us.

The staves equipped with crystals were only given to more experienced mages. These crystals naturally amplify the magical energy poured into them, resulting in much stronger spells. Speaking of which, the spells I was able to see were purely elemental in nature. Apparently, the mages were able to transform the magical energy into pure elemental energy, such as fire, ice and lightning, something not very common in our time. (( In modern Mid-Childa, as seen in canon, regular spells are not composed of 100% elemental energy—for example, Fate’s attacks, which are mostly composed of pure energy (like Nanoha) and only partially composed of lightning elemental—, and thus weather manipulation spells are needed when fighting AMF. ))

The mages back then used these crystals to amplify their power, in a way similar to how cartridges are used nowadays to temporally boost the regular magic output of a mage. However, these crystals are way more dangerous, as their usage is not limited and they can also provide a constant magic boost up effect. From the little I saw, I believe these mages were much more powerful than the average mage in our time, and some, thanks to these crystals, could have been even more powerful than the TSAB’s best.

From what I saw, the use of the crystal does not seem to harm the mages in any way, and no side effects were spotted. However, I do believe there may be side effects for the constant use of these crystals.

The staves, as mentioned above, were only used for energy gathering and spell channeling. The most important equipment for these mage was their books.

Spoiler for Image:

These books were used in different ways. For one, mages were able to inscribe spells onto pages of the books so they could cast the spells faster. These books did not have any kind of artificial intelligence either, and thus the mages had to do all the work when it comes to casting a spell. Inscribing the frequently used spells into the books would greatly improve the performance of a mage in battle, where enemies will wait for no one. For this system to work there was a Quick Search spell that allowed the mage to quickly find the spell needed. From the little I saw, it worked very well.

The spell books were also used for storing magical energy. The mages used some of the unwritten pages of the book to store energy of various different types, such as fire or ice energy, for later use. This reminded me of the Book of Darkness case, where the Book’s pages had to be filled with pure magical energy drained from mages. The pages filled with magical energy surely resemble cartridges, as they allowed the mages to quickly gather the energy needed for casting spells.

While the methods used by these mages can surely be considered old and not very effective, they do work, and from what I saw, the effectiveness of these mages in battle was no worse than that of the mages of our time. In fact, the mages of our time may be too spoiled by the use of Artificial Intelligence to do most of the spell casting work for them, and may even be considered inferior to the mages of this ancient civilization. And this is not taking into consideration the use of this unknown crystal.

However, the use of Artificial Intelligence has given the opportunity to more people to become mages, and thus there are many more mages in our time than there were back then.

As evidenced by the ring I have with me, there must be other types of equipment, from jewelry to weapons and armor that make use of this crystal. However, the crystal appears to be scarce so only few select individuals possessed them, most notably the nobles. This is where the last part of the memories I was able to experience take me.

I was able to see the insides of a noble’s mansion. Needless to say, it was breathtaking.

Spoiler for Image:

In one of the rooms, I saw a blonde little girl with blue eyes. She appeared to be around ten or eleven years old. She was playing tea party with a few dolls, and it was a cute sight, as the girl was really into it. However, that’s when I noticed… the dolls were alive. They talked and moved as if they were living beings. At first, I was scared. Was this the work of a manipulation spell? Even if it was, though, the power of this manipulation spell must have been enormous, as the level of realism was absolutely unbelievable. And to think that such small child was able to not only manipulate one doll to this extend, but more than five at the same time? I’m not sure if I should be scared of the living dolls or the girl herself. If there was one word to describe this girl, it must be “genius.”

The last bit of the memories I was able to see focused on a book that this child possessed. The book was clearly different from the ones used by the average mage. In fact, it did not seem to be of the same nature. The strange vibes I sensed from just looking at this book were the same as the ones I received when I first looked at the Book of Darkness. While they don’t seem to be related, as this civilization is clearly not Ancient Belka, my intuition tells me they are very similar in power. The last thing I remember was the name of this book…

The Book of the Damned.

*end of log*

???: … Could these crystals be related to Relics? And this Book… I haven’t heard of any Books similar to the Book of Darkness… What could this mean? I think I should contact Hayate…

The young man sighed as he was overwhelmed with thoughts.

???: Very interesting, as expected from Kaylin-san.
Woman: Professor Scrya! The meeting is about to start.
Yuuno: Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me. I’ll have to look into this later…

The young archeologist closed the holodisplay and inspected the package that was sent to him by Kaylin Mathis. Inside the package he found the ring…

Spoiler for Disclaimer:

(Disclaimer: K***** M***** was used without the permission of its owner. ... *runs away from L***G***)

Spoiler for Special Episode 01 - Part 4:

Special Episode 01: Maidens (Second Half) – Part 2

Codex: The Book of the Damned

“The war I remember… the first in the world

When the gods with spears… had smitten Gullveig

And in the hall… of Hár had burned her

Three times burned… and three times born

Oft and again… yet ever she lives.

Heid they named her… when she came to the house

The wide-seeing witch… in magic wise

She performed seið when she could… worked seið in a trance

To evil women… she was always a joy.”

(Hár is a common name for Odin; Heid means “gleaming”; Seið, or Seid, is a particular type of magic—sorcery or witchcraft—, often looked on pejoratively.)


The War of the Gods… a war said to have been ignited by a single woman… a single mysterious witch. It is said that, with her sorcery and witchcraft, she was able to trick the Gods into waging war against each other.

The evil woman, whose objectives were known to no one but herself, had subdued seven immensely powerful spirits. These spirits were powerful enough to even kill the Gods themselves.

Many thought the witch had signed a pact with Daemons, as her powers were anything but Divine.

After being found, the woman, known back then as Gullveig, was burned alive… three times. And even then, she lived…

Knowing that not even Lord Odin’s sacred fire could extinguish her life, the Gods opted to seal her and toss her into the human world.

And her seven spirits had the same fate. They were sealed inside a Book… a crimson Book…

Centuries later, the Book was found by humans. Unexpectedly, humans with the ability to use magic were able to break the Book’s seal, liberating the imprisoned spirits. However, unfortunate for the spirits, they were still bound to the Book.

Not surprisingly, the spirits sought revenge on the Gods and on the evil witch who had caused their eternal grief. The now rogue spirits brought chaos and destruction upon the lands whenever the Book was found and opened. The Book was known by humans as the Book of the Damned.

One of the mages responsible for once opening the Book witnessed the horrors of its demonic powers and yet somehow survived. He then took it upon himself not to let the Book be opened ever again. From then on, the Book had been passed down from generation to generation of his family, in an effort to keep the Book away from curious hands.

That is, until a little girl, at the mere age of ten, was able to purify the seven spirits after sealing each of them into seven different dolls, as she knew that the spirits were not genuinely evil.

The seven spirits, now bound to the material world as dolls, which took the appearance of the spirits themselves, swore their loyalty to this young girl… the girl who was able to ease at least some of their pain and suffering… the girl who at such young age was known as the most powerful mage…

The girl gave each of the spirits a name and called them Maidens… and told them that, from then on, they would not be known as evil spirits, but as the Maidens of the Golden Rose.

~~~

The Book of the Damned has immense power able to even surpass the Book of Darkness. However, the two Books are very different, and thus cannot be compared to one another, for this Book is not a Spell Book, but a Summoning Book.

The Owner of the Book will have control, though not complete, over the spirits dwelling inside. The spirits are bound to the mortal world thanks to their artificial bodies—the dolls—they were sealed in and thus they are able to interact with it.

While the spirits will be able to act on their own, for them to release their full power they need to draw energy from their Master, the Owner of the Book. However, there are other ways of releasing the spirits’ full power without the need of the Master’s intervention.

Aside from the seven spirits, there are other lesser spirits dwelling inside the Book, spirits that were attracted to the Book because of its immense spiritual energy.

There has only been one Owner of the Book of the Damned… until now…

Spoiler for Special Episode 01 - Part 5:

The Maidens of the Golden Rose

Shinku

Spoiler for Shinku:

Estimated Mage Rank: S+
Magic Specialty: Enhancement (Reinforcement) / “Senbonzakura” (Specialization)
Magical Energy Affinity: Holy / Divine
Role: Center Guard / Front Line Support / Secondary Front Line Aggressor

Shinku embodies a traditional Victorian aristocrat. She is extremely demanding and can seem unappreciative of others, even though this is often not the case. Her favorite words are “tea” and “servant”; she takes pride in lecturing, slapping, and generally abusing her servants, of which she doesn’t have any at the moment, at every opportunity. No matter how strong the emotion, Shinku rarely lets her sadness, joy, or fear show through. Shinku may seem cold, but she is highly protective of and cares deeply for her sisters and her Master. She can also be relied on for the occasional bit of parent-like wisdom. Despite her aristocratic quirks, Shinku is one the most level-headed Maidens of the bunch. Most of the other Maidens look up to her as an older sister.

In combat, Shinku is the “paladin” of the group. She specializes in Divine Enhancement Magic, which include defensive spells (barriers, shields), healing spells, and support spells (boosts, seals, and blessings). She also has a very special restorative ability in the form of time-reversing magic (she can restore broken objects, windows and the like, and even wounds).

While Shinku uses Enhancement Magic most of the time, her offensive abilities are actually one of the most powerful of the Maidens. Shinku fights with crimson rose petal-based attacks, which she calls Senbonzakura (“A Thousand Cherry Blossoms”). The rose petals are extremely versatile and can take different shapes and constitutions. Shinku can control the petals at will and can make them as sharp as blades and direct them to spread out for wide-ranging attacks, or group them together to use as a shield. Since they are numerous and small, the rose petals are very hard to evade if surrounded by them.

When at full power, Shinku can release the ultimate form of her Senbonzakura, which she calls Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (“Vibrant Display of the Thousand Cherry Blossoms”). In this release, the rose petals become so tiny that they are invisible to the naked eye, and also drastically increase in number, up to almost a million. This release of Senbonzakura also has another form, in which Shinku can gather and condense every tiny blade into a single scarlet sword, called Hakuteiken (“White Imperial Sword”), with incredible cutting power. In this form, Shinku also grows pure red wings made of spiritual power.

Shinku’s other weapon is a cane, which she skillfully wields like a sword. While the cane looks childish and fragile, she has actually reinforced it to make it as hard as metals.

Lastly, her Artificial Spirit, which is a companion entity every Maiden has, is called Hollier and it helps Shinku with various tasks, from scouting and repairing objects to attacking and controlling Senbonzakura. Artificial Spirits are of the form of a glowing speck of colored light that can fly around and assist the Maidens.

For an comprehensive list of Shinku’s spells, please check:

Spoiler for Spell List:

All of Kha's Spells! BWAHAHAHAHAHA ...

Hina Ichigo

Spoiler for Hina Ichigo:

Estimated Mage Rank: B
Magic Specialty: Manipulation
Role: Support

Hina Ichigo is the very embodiment of childishness. She spends her day drawing silly things all over the place, even over her sisters’ equipment, something that makes Suiseiseki furious. Although she can be ridiculously naïve and selfish, Hina Ichigo has nothing but the best intentions for those that she cares about. She is the weakest of all the Maidens.

In combat, Hina Ichigo employs strawberry vines to restrain opponents. She is very good at binding her opponents using her vines (and also some binding magic); however, her weak magical power does not let her restrain opponents for long. Her real usefulness comes from her ability to manipulate objects over a remarkable distance using invisible threads. She uses these objects to distract opponents and open locks, among other things. She uses these threads so well that it appears like she has telekinetic powers. Basically, she is more useful out of battle than in.

However, Hina Ichigo’s manipulation abilities go even further. She also possesses a very unusual ability in the form of her drawings. She can control a person’s emotions by painting colors upon their body. A few examples of this type of attacks are:

• Betrayal Black: This paint makes the victim not follow any orders from allies.
• Laughing Yellow: This makes the victim break into uncontrollable laughter.
• Sorrowful Blue: Makes the victim fall into utter depression.
• Bullfight Red: This color acts as an indefinite target the victim absolutely has to strike. For instance, no matter how much you want and try to punch Hina Ichigo, you’ll end up punching the red paint mark instead.
• Relaxing Green: This causes the victim to become completely care-free. The victims will want to chill out and sit down to have a picnic with some tea in the middle of the battlefield.

Her Artificial Spirit is called Berrybell.

Kanaria

Spoiler for Kanaria:

Estimated Mage Rank: AA
Magic Specialty: Emission / Lyrical Magic (Specialization)
Role: Reconnaissance / Support

Kanaria’s personality is that of an adorable but very eccentric little girl. Her bright, somewhat arrogant disposition has made her proclaim herself as the “official scout” of the group. She fancies herself as quite the stealthy prowler and loves spying on others using her binoculars. She is also the self-proclaimed “most intelligent” Maiden. Kanaria has the unusual habit of ending her sentences with “kashira” (meaning “I wonder?” or “maybe?”).

Even though self-proclaimed, Kanaria really is the best scout of the group. She specializes in Lyrical Magic, which involves the use of sound in various different ways, such as hearing things over a very long distance, detecting movement and traps, increasing movement speed, taming, calming or charming wild animals, and even causing destruction. Her Artificial Spirit, Pizzicato, is good at finding clues and inspecting areas. Her cute binoculars are also able to see through objects and walls, as well as detect life, Linker Cores, and magical reactions. Her other support spells include wide-area scan and wide-area life detection spells, making her indispensable in almost every situation. With Pizzicato’s help, she also has the ability to heal wounds to some extend.

In combat, Kanaria uses a deceptively adorable violin capable of destroying through its sound, as well as inflict various other effects, such as immobilizing opponents. Here is a list of some of her attacks:

• First Movement – The Waltz of Attack: Shoots small sound waves with incredible destructive power.
• Second Movement – The Canon of Pursuit: Used to immobilize her opponents by sending sound waves in all directions.
• Discourse: Summons various tornados that she is able to partially control.
• Counterattack Partita: Used in close range, it sends an electric shock to the attacking opponent. It can be used without the bow.
• Final Movement – Symphony of Destruction: A huge tornado surrounds Kanaria’s body, with very powerful winds that can rip through almost anything. Kanaria can move at very high speeds while she plays her violin inside the tornado.
• Prelude of the Wild Rose: Gives an ally a temporal boost in overall combat effectiveness.

Overall, Kanaria is one of the most useful Maidens both in and out of battle.

Suiseiseki

Spoiler for Suiseiseki:

Estimated Mage Rank: AAA+
Magic Specialty: Materialization / Manipulation / “Dream World” (Specialization)
Role: Auxiliary Support / Auxiliary Front Line Aggressor

Suiseiseki makes an impression with her high-pitched voice, heterochromatic eyes, and frequent use of the sentence-ending copula “desu,” and is described by Shinku as “the most timid and shy of the sisters” and even as a crybaby. She is quite easily scared of strange noises, and prefers to hide behind her sisters in the presence of strangers. With those she is acquainted however, she shows a very devious personality. Suiseiseki adores the spotlight, and her favorite activities include picking mercilessly on Hina Ichigo, and cackling maniacally. She has a wild imagination, a short temper and a fondness for telling wild lies to terrify Hina Ichigo, whom she calls either “chibi-chibi” (“tiny tiny”) or “chibi-ichigo” (“tiny strawberry”).

Suiseiseki’s abilities are similar to that of a Geomancer. Her Artificial Spirit, Sui Dream, transforms into a watering can which she uses to trigger various different effects depending on the environment and on her imagination. If used on grass, she is able to instantly materialize huge plants from the ground and manipulate them at will to attack, defend, and/or bind opponents. While manipulating plants may not seem too powerful, these plants are actually reinforced with Suiseiseki’s holy water, so making them strong as the hardest of metals is entirely possible. If she uses Sui Dream on rocks, she can have stalagmites emerge from the ground at very high speeds, or even produce earthquakes. In short, her abilities depend on the environment and on her imagination, making Suiseiseki one of the most powerful and versatile Maidens in any location and any situation.

Along with her sister Souseiseki, Suiseiseki has the unique ability of accessing a person’s Dream World. Dream Worlds are places that are mirrors of a soul, containing elements such as old memories, biggest fears and secrets, and representations of important items. Every human, and even Gods and Daemons, have them. For example, Shinku’s Dream World is a cozy Victorian house, while Suigintou’s is an abandoned snowy city. The Dream Worlds of all beings are connected via an enormous tree, which only the “Gardener Maidens,” Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, are able to access thanks to their Artificial Spirits Sui Dream and Lempicka, respectively. The more closely related two people are, the closer their “branches” are located. A person may be locked inside their dreams by these Artificial Spirits, but the Maidens never do this as it would lead to insanity.

Entering Dream Worlds can be very useful to unravel a person’s deepest secrets and to discover their biggest fears, among other things, but it can be most useful to dispel powerful curses and Genjustu (“Illusion Techniques”) that affect the person’s soul, life force, or mental stability. The latter can be achieved by tampering with a person’s Soul Tree, which is located inside their respective Dream World. The Soul Tree’s size and growth reflects a person’s life force or mental state. The growth of these Soul Trees can be assisted through the power of the Gardeners’ Artificial Spirits. Sometimes, however, it is better to let the Soul Tree recover by itself.

Souseiseki

Spoiler for Souseiseki:

Estimated Mage Rank: AAA
Magic Specialty: Illusion Magic (Specialization) / “Dream World” (Specialization)
Role: Illusionist / Infiltrator

The tomboyish Souseiseki has heterochromatic eyes like her sister Suiseiseki, but the colors are switched. Her personality is also the polar opposite of Suiseiseki; she is rational, calm, quiet and deeply devoted to her Master and to her duties. She possesses a sharpness in her speech that is similar to Shinku's, attacks ruthlessly in combat with her shears and does not tolerate sub-par actions.

Souseiseki specializes in Illusion Magic, used to tamper with a victim’s nervous system. Her most commonly used Illusion Magic involves the creation of phantasms, causing the targeted person(s) to hear, see, smell, taste and/or feel sensations that are not actually there in order to manipulate them. In other words, Illusion Magic affects the five senses, though other applications of it exist. Those under the influence of Illusion Magic either freeze in place or lose consciousness, depending on how capable they are in recognizing and defending against it.

Souseiseki’s other Illusion techniques include disguising herself and others (change of appearance), altering objects’ magic auras (used for distraction), Illusory Script (writes a script that only the intended user can read), Sight Blur, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Mirage Arcana (a hallucinatory terrain used to disorient victims), Shadow Evocation (summons an illusion of her design, such as objects, human beings, or daemons, which are up to 50% real), and Shadow Walk (enables her to step into shadows to travel rapidly). At full power, Souseiseki can use a powerful Illusion spell called Shades, a stronger version of Shadow Evocation capable of producing an illusion that is almost 80% real.

Thanks to her unique ability of accessing a person’s Dream World, Souseiseki is able to unravel the victim’s deepest secrets and discover their biggest fears and weaknesses, giving her a huge advantage when using Illusion Magic against them. This knowledge allows her to use one of her most powerful illusion techniques called Phantasmal Killer, a fearsome illusion-based attack capable of even killing the victim. It is said that Souseiseki knows an even more powerful version of Phantasmal Killer, called Weird, with which she was able to kill a God.

With her Illusion Magic, Souseiseki is a very versatile Maiden both in and out of battle. She is very good for infiltration and reconnaissance missions, making her a very valuable Maiden, much like Kanaria. In battle, aside from Illusion Magic, she also uses her shears, created by her Artificial Spirit Lempicka, as if they were swords to attack her opponents with surprisingly good swordsmanship.

Like her sister Suiseiseki, Souseiseki is a Gardener Maiden that has the power to enter the Dream World, and carries a set of pruning shears that she uses to tend Soul Trees. When a person is naturally depressed or affected by powerful curses or Genjutsu, the Soul Tree’s growth is hampered by weeds, which Souseiseki can cut using Lempicka.

Suigintou

Spoiler for Suigintou:

Estimated Mage Rank: S+
Magic Specialty: Dark Magic (Specialization) / “Kuroi Hane” (Specialization)
Magical Energy Affinity: Dark
Role: Front Line Aggressor

Sadistic, spiteful, and arrogant, Suigintou has no inhibitions when it comes to battle and will use any method possible, regardless of how brutal, to win. Her desire for revenge against the Gods and the evil witch Gullveig was, and still is, the strongest of all her sisters. However, upon meeting her Master, Suigintou's attitude and motivations began to shift; her softer side has emerged, and she now even hopes to save her Master from her terrible curse. Still, Suigintou’s desire to win is the strongest of all the Maidens, making her probably the most powerful of them all in battle. In fact, in some cases, her willpower alone is so strong that she can use her full powers independently of her Master.

If Shinku resembles a “Paladin,” Suigintou is Shinku’s opposite, a “Dark Knight.” Suigintou’s Dark Magic involves the use of dark energy, a different type of magical energy not naturally present in the material world. Due to the otherworldly nature of this energy, the spells and abilities that employ dark energy have increased effectiveness over dwellers of the material world, as they are not used to it. Taking this into account, even though her use of Dark Magic may be ranked at S+, her actual threat level surely exceeds SS.

Suigintou’s use of Dark Magic includes direct damage spells, such as Shadow Bolt and Shadowburn, draining spells (absorbs different attributes, such as strength, magic power, and speed), and hexes (reduces the victim’s effectiveness in battle in various ways). Dark Magic spells are particularly good at breaking barriers and shields, making them deadlier than regular spells. There are also few enhancement-type spells in Suigintou’s Dark Magic arsenal, such as Dark Pact (imbues the user’s weapon with dark energy), Shadow Step (allows the user to move faster in the shadows), and Shadow Form.

Along with her Artificial Spirit, Meimei, Suigintou’s main weapons are her ragged black wings. These black wings are made of Kuroi Hane (“Dark Feathers”), which she uses in different ways, much like Shinku’s Senbonzakura. With her arrow-like feathers, she can conjure up a shield, a large sword, or even twin black dragons she uses to attack opponents. She can also use the Kuroi Hane as very sharp and deadly projectiles, which appear to be unlimited.

When at full power, Suigintou can release the ultimate form of Kuroi Hane, which is actually a compression of her power, rather than a vast expansion or release of it. Her large sword actually shrinks into the form of a daito, a Japanese long sword, with a black blade. Her sword’s new form is called Tensa Zangetsu (“Heavenly Chains Moon Cutter”). This hugely compressed power enables Suigintou to move at speeds exceeding those of Flash Move and Sonic Move, and gives her matching agility and reflexes, allowing her to use her natural strength to its limits. Tensa Zangetsu’s special skill is the Getsuga Tensho (“Moon Sky-piercing Fang”), which fires concentrated dark energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of a crescent moon.

As a last resort, Suigintou can also create destructive blue flames, which are powered up by dark energy, making the flames extremely lethal, even for her own self. The variety in Suigintou's abilities, particularly when combined with her savagely cunning nature, makes her probably the strongest of all Maidens.

Barasuishou

Spoiler for Barasuishou:

Estimated Mage Rank: S (Suppressed); SS (Unsuppressed)
Magic Specialty: Materialization / Manipulation / Transformation
Role: Front Line Aggressor

Barasuishou is clad entirely in lavender and wears an eye patch over her left eye, though she is revealed to not be missing an eye at all. The eye patch seems to act as a seal over her emotions, since she only shows a personality when it is removed. The eye patch is also used to absorb a bulk of her powers. Barasuishou often deliberately parrots whatever her opponents say to her in an effort to annoy them. She is unnaturally calm most of the time, apparently possessing no conscience, and thus is an extremely powerful adversary in battle.

Barasuishou has the ability to create and manipulate all sorts of crystalline elements, including glass. Her creation of crystals is considered an extreme form of materialization by the Gods, falling into the specialization category. These crystals are special in that they are stronger and better constituted than even the strongest of metals. Barasuishou can materialize these crystals anywhere she pleases, without the need to even touch the surface where the crystals will appear. She often materializes them in the form of spikes of different sizes to pierce and cut targets, which she erects from surfaces in form of stalagmites or materialize in mid air to use as projectiles, though she is able to manipulate the crystals to form any kind of object.

These crystals can also be used defensively. Barasuishou can transform the constitution of these crystals to be able to reflect energy beams and some types of spells. The crystals themselves are extremely tough so they also act as powerful physical shields. The crystals can also be used to bind opponents. Barasuishou’s often used binding skill is called Crystal Coffin.

Barasuishou is also able to travel through any surface that has a reflection, such as water, mirrors, glass, and her own crystals. When at full power, she is able to travel through them almost instantaneously.

While her most often used attacks involve the creation of crystals, Barasuishou is often equipped with a crystal sword, made out of her own crystals, which she wields with very good swordsmanship. Due to its nature, this sword is extremely tough and sharp, and can be reproduced at any time if broken. Though she prefers swords better than other weapons, creating other weapons is entirely possible.

Lastly, Barasuishou is also able to create highly-concentrated energy crystals of different elements and compositions, which she can hand to others for use. These energy crystals function as one-time use grenades. The various effects Barasuishou is able to imbue into these crystals are up to her imagination, and some include elemental explosions, flash bombs, spell reflection fields, status-inflicting effects (such as freeze and petrify), and even healing. Almost any spell known to her or her allies can be imbued into these crystals, though she will need the assistance of her allies when imbuing spells she does not know. When combined with Shinku’s Enhancement spells, Souseiseki’s Illusion spells, and Suigintou’s Dark Magic spells, the usefulness of this unique ability is immeasurable.

Kirakishou

Estimated Mage Rank: ? (Rumored to be over SSS)
Magic Specialty: Unknown

While only seven spirits have been seen by Gods and humans alike, it is said that an eight spirit accompanied them at all times from the shadows. The first and only Master of the Book does not know about Kirakishou, and neither do the other Maidens. For this reason, Kirakishou was not sealed into a doll, and thus she does not possess a body in the material world. It is unknown whether she will ever reveal herself to her sisters or stay in the shadows watching over them. It is also unknown if she considers the Owner of the Book to be her Master, as it is unknown where her spirit really is. Suigintou is the only Maiden who claims to have seen her, though only once and briefly. This is the only bit of Kirakishou that she remembers:

Spoiler for Kirakishou:

Apologies for the use of so many pictures. I just pay a lot of attention to some details, especially presentation.