Signum, Servant Archer
Signum (シグナム), voiced by Kaori Shimizu, is a character in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. She is the leader of the Wolkenritter (German > "Cloud Riders" or "Overcast Knights"), a creation of the Book of Darkness. She is generally seen as the cold one, but Shamal has said that Signum's heart has warmed since they met their mistress Hayate Yagami. Signum's weapon is a chain-link sword called Laevatein, and as a magical creation, she has no familiar. She is named for the Opel Signum, much like characters of Magic Knight Rayearth are named for cars, and her device appears to be named after the mythical sword Laevateinn, but due to the spelling it might be a homage to the fiery Armor Slave Laevantine.
Like Vita, Signum’s life before becoming part of the Book of Darkness is a blur. And even more so, as she only recalls being in service to the same princess as the other Wolkies with no recollection of her earlier life, and she sometimes feels that it is all the result of a case of double amnesia. And that feeling of loss sometimes changes to a sense of being in waiting; it’s as if whoever she once was is still looking for something.
Each of the Wolkenritter has had dreams of snippets from their days as the living, and Signum is no exception. But as the leader of the Guardian Knights, she hides it all to be the pillar of strength of the group, only indulging in them when she is alone, letting a surprisingly soft side, almost reminiscent of Caro’s childish innocence (
), show...
Also, Signum finds Erio strangely familiar, and in trying to beat the deja vu from her mind forgot to return Erio's salute.
(
)
Road to StrikerS
In
Nanoha/Cente Gravia, the Wolkies faced their hardest challenge in protecting Hayate, when she became the unfortunate target of 3 Servants and their Meisters. Despite successfully defeating the Servants, Signum, Vita and Tesla were mortally wounded, with Zafira and Shamal not that far from the edge either. Seizing the chance, another servant Assassin took advantage of the now defenceless girl. Vita, together with Signum and Tesla, wished for one more chance at any price, and the Tome of the Night Sky gave them that wish, bringing the Knights back as replacements for the Servants they defeated. Assassin was forced to make a hasty retreat.
However, the brief battle drained what little mana Vita, Tesla and Signum had, and they collapsed again.
Later rescued by Marge and her team, Signum returned canonized as Servant
Archer, and had advanced cybernetics that reinforced her Valsaiga program body, making her attain an almost superhuman level of toughness. She later withstood two simultaneous attacks from both Dios and another of his masked allies, and still came out just minimally wounded, despite both men being powerful mages and claiming that they hit her deeply.
However, she is remains oddly vulnerable through other means, such as being drugged or passing out from ingesting food or drinks, such as Shamal's cooking or Liana's infamous health drink. Alcohol is another of Signum's banes.
After the events of Cente Gravia, Signum too misses Marge, but she often thinks of Marge’s solemn gynoid assistant Lambda of which they shared an almost sister-like connection due to similar personalities.
And after performing Unison with Agito, it seems that her Knight Armor changes slightly to resemble that of Lambda’s.
Who in the World is Signum?
This was a question the girls have puzzled over for years. Signum was the only Wolkie who had no recollection of who she was before joining the service of the same princess as the other Wolkies, meaning that she had suffered amnesia before that.
In Cente Gravia, the first theory proposed by Hayate used Kha's relation to the incredibly powerful being known as Thomas Kluize. In summary:
The second but equally amazing theory was based on how Caro resembled Signum. Later, when Signum used transformation magic to turn herself into a young girl, the end result for basically a world-weary Caro with her hair styled like Nanoha's, adding more weight to the theory.
As expected, all this only gets on Signum's nerves.
Lightning No. 2
Ten years after the epilogue of A's, Signum became the sub-commander of the Lightning Squad of the TSAB, working under Fate, who worked under Hayate. Unlike Vita, however, she did not participate in training the trainees, under the pretense that she is an old fashioned knight and can only teach to them is to get close to their enemies and rip them apart.
However, near the end half of the series, she accepted the request of Erio Mondial to spar with him. And the knight couldn’t help note how that little boy reminded her of both Kha in the past, and of someone else buried deep within her memories.
Powers
Much like Raising Heart and Bardiche speak English, yet their masters understand them, the Wolkenritter's devices speak German. Translations are in parentheses.
Belka combat doctrine consists of 3 trees:
Movement,
Magical and
Psionic.
Movement techniques focus on the body, strengthening it and facilitating the mastery of advanced melee battle finesse.
Magical techniques teach a Knight to infuse his/her attacks with enchantments and spells, turning the Knight into a devastating opponent.
And lastly, Psionic techniques focus on support skills like flight, teleportation, sensing, mental calculus and psionic communications, as well as other Belka skills like Mind Tricks and basic telekinetics. However, this tree is governed more by talent rather than training, and as such only the rarest of Knights go far in this tree, and those that do gain access to awesome traits like moving great masses with only their minds, creating psionic storms and even mind-control.
Signum is a skilled Knight, having expert mastery over magical and movement techniques, while her grasp of psionics, as evidenced by her flying capability and crystal-clear telecomms, isn't shabby at all.
Bogenform (Bow form) — Signum combines Laevatein with its scabbard to turn it into a longbow.
Nachladen — Not a real attack, just Laevatein reloading cartridges.
Telepathy — Not notable, as like flight and teleportation, all other mages in the Nanohaverse have it; however, her links appear to be strong with the other Wolkenritter, so it is tentatively listed here.
Schlangenform (Snake form) — Laevatein expands into chain-link form.
Schwertform (Sword form) — Laevatein returns to sword form.
Transformation — Signum performs a group transformation with Vita and Shamal.
Defensive Abilities
Knight Armour "Angelg" — Signum's battle costume is comprised of a battle dress designed for mobility, and armor plates. Although it is only referred to as "Armour" in the series, it seems to function similarly to the Barrier Jacket of the Mid-Childa magic system. Although Hayate discouraged her and the other Wolkenritter from fighting, she co-designed each of their costumes.
It may be Hayate's idea of a joke, but Signum noticed that after a recent design upgrade, she found her chest mantle a lot looser, and gave her assets rather unprecedented freedom.
Knight Armor "Vaisaga" — Signum's alternative battle costume created after Unison with Agito, shedding the extra gear for a more sleek and figure-complementing setting. It also bears a striking resemblance to the Knight Armor once worn by Lambda.
While it is not clear what settings changed with her armor swap, Signum did swap back to Angelg during Unison, when she prepared to fire Uberatna Sturmfalke.
Panzer Geist (Tank Spirit) — Creates a defensive aura, which surrounds Signum.
Offensive Abilities
Belka Magical Techniques
Hiryū Issen (飛竜一閃, Hiryū Issen?) (Flying Dragon Flash) - One of Signum's most powerful attacks, she spins Laevatein in Schlangenform and makes fire elemental energy run along the blade. A typhoon of flames is formed in the air between the segments of the blade, which is then thrown against the enemy. Though it falls in the Shooting-Type category, this attack has roughly the same power as Fate's Plasma Smasher, a Bombardment-Type Spell.
Karyū Issen (火竜一閃, Karyū Issen?) (Fire Dragon Flash) - Signum creates a shaft of flames and hold it as if was a sword. By swinging her arm, she can then throw the flames against enemies that are far away, hitting all enemies within her front-arc and more as it travels forwards for a short distance. She can also create this rod in her off-hand, allowing her to dual-wield Laevantine and the magic sword.
Shiden Issen (紫電一閃, Shiden Issen?) - Roughly translating to "Sword Flash", this is a weaker version of the Hiryū Issen with Laevatein in Schwertform that covers the sword's blade with flames to increase its attack power. Other than that, its just a regular melee strike.
Ougi, Tenryū Issen (Heavenly Dragon Flash) - An improved Shiden Issen that uses Laevantine as a core for the rod of fire. Signum unleashes the flames like Karyu Issen, hitting all enemies within her front-arc and more as it travels forwards for a short distance. However the flamewave travels faster and burns several times hotter.
Jizan Shikkūtō (Earth Slashing Swift Sky Sword, 地斬疾空刀) - Signum would charge Laevantine with fire beforehand while it is still in it's sheaths. Using it as a Batou technique, Signum unleashes it at an unsuspecting enemy with a quick swipe, sends fire blast towards the target if the enemy somehow managed to avoid getting struck at melee.
Suiryū Sōga (Flow of Claws and Tusks, 水流爪牙) - Signum charges Laevantine with fire, then swungs it down from above her head, releasing a column of fire that blasts through a line of enemies. It can be described as a typical Samurai ranged "blast from the blade" attack skill, akin to Inuyasha's
Kaze no Kise or Kurosaki Inchigo's
Getsuga Tenshou.
Sturmfalke (Storm Falcon) — Laevatein's attack as a bow.
Erhobener Falke (Exalted Falcon) – This is a higher powered variation of the normal SF, adding a magical bubble to SF’s tip that explodes on impact. The arcane explosion dispells a magical effect that was earlier applied to the target, allowing Signum to reduce the power of the target. Due to additional preparation needed, this shot cannot be strafed like the normal SF can.
Drei-Voranger Falke (Three-Headed Falcon) - A version of Sturmfalke that splits the bolt into 3 before launching, targeting different targets at once.
Hurrikan-Falke (Hurricane Falcon) - Launches a giant version of Sturmfalke that Signum holds back for a while to add spin to it before releasing, allowing it to "drill" through air and barriers alike, arriving at the target at unprecedented speed and is able to penetrate strong defences. This attack was based off of Kha's Caladblog II, a Traced spiral-shaped Armed Device that he uses as arrow.
Stern-heller Falke (Star Light Falcon) - A rare Sturmfalke that works exactly like the Starlight Breaker, absorbing residual magic to charge up a massive long-ranged shot much like a particle cannon’s. Targets hit by this bolt get burnt by starfire, reducing the ability of allies to heal the target. Due to the long cast time, Signum rarely uses this attack.
Interestingly, Signum always had this skill in her arsenal long before she could remember, and was not inspired by Nanoha, leading Hayate to make a rather disturbing conclusion of Signum’s past based on the relationship between Kha and Thomas Kluize.
Superatna Sturmfalke (Super Etna Storm Falcon) — A powerful version of Sturmfalke made by using Agito as the arrow. Signum draws upon all of her knowledge in shooting bows and uses them on this shot. As such, Signum her own magic as well as those still lingering around her, gathering it into her bow. Due to the ignition of expended magic as they are drawn into Signum, the Knight, who switches to Angelg in this attack, is given the appearance of an angel with giant fiery wings.
Visually, the attack is similar to the Angelg's Phantom Phoenix attack in magnitude, fiery opulence and sheer glory.
Belka Movement Techniques
Signum employs several basic Movement Techniques, and as such these are usually unnamed. She has 1 named MTs to date:
Sakkaku no Ken (Mirage Sword) — Signum launches herself at her opponent and deals a torrent of slashes to her target.
Sakkaku no Uta (Mirage Sign) — Signum carves two star shapes in the air and strikes through them, right through the enemy and pinning him in place. She then charges in and does five slashes on the enemy, which creates a pentagram. Signum then finishes it off by doing a final vertical slash.
Fūjinsen (Wind Blade Flash 風刃閃) — Signum sheathes Laevantine and gathers her maryoku, creating a "tornado" of mana around her. Blinking open suddenly, she rushes forward, faster than the eye can follow such that she leaves multiple images travelling
up,
down,
left and
right of her previous position while she herself is moving forwards. Signum does a quick unsheathe and slash at point blank range, right in front of the enemy.
Ōgi - Kōjinsen (Secret Technique - Light Blade Flash 奥義・光刃閃) — Signum performs the same motions as the Fuujinsen, with the only difference being where the Knight ends up. In the Ougi: Koujinsen, Signum ends up behind the opponent, and hits harder like a critical strike for Fuujinsen.
Later, when Signum's limiters were released, she uses this skill as an entire new attack altogether. Dashing straight towards the enemy, she delivers a multitude of slashes, effectively paralyzing the target. As a final strike, Signum readies herself, then swiftly slices the enemy horizontally in half, leaving the hapless Ex-Number to explode behind her.
Spoiler for Allusions, for those who are interested...:
Allusions
The creator of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is noted as a fan of Super Robot Wars, thus fans has noted that Signum might be based on or is a homage to the heroine of Super Robot Wars Advance, Lamia Loveless. There have been a lot of similarities found between both characters:
• A lot of Signum's spells bear similarities to the attacks executed by the Angelg, Lamia's canonical mecha, particularly the sword and bow attacks (And although Angelg lacked a chain-sword, Laevatein's Schlangenform translates into 'Snake Form', while Lamia is also a name of a mythological snake demon). Furthermore, Signum's overall fighting style resembles that of Lamia's other mecha, Vaisaga.
• They are voiced by the same seiyuu, Kaori Shimizu, with her using similar voice level (she is also known to voice younger characters with lighter voices).
• Their have similar backgrounds:
• Signum was once an artificial intelligence within the Book of Darkness, with ruthless attitude, devoid of any personalities, but gradually changes as she served Hayate
• Lamia was created as an android only to fulfill orders, but after being surrounded with other people, she began to develop her own conscience and free will.
• They were somehow connected with men who were considered dead once:
• Signum fought against Zest Grangeitz, a former member of Capital City Defense Forces, formerly presumed to be dead.
• One of Lamia's predecessors in the W-Series is W15, based on the Shadow Mirror universe's Sanger Zonvolt, which was considered killed in action beforehand. Also later includes Axel Almer, who was thought to be dead in Original Generations, but came back alive in the Gaiden.
• Signum's color scheme matches Angelg's (Pink and white).
• In the final episode of StrikerS, Signum managed to perform an unison with Agito, resulting a new outfit resembling Lamia's outfit, colored in blue[5]
• Both of them also experienced events where they were thought to be dead, but in truth, they were still alive. They also underwent some reprogramming in process.
• In the end of A's, Signum was abruptly deleted by the Alia and Lotte Liese under Gil Graham, only to be called back by Hayate 2 episodes later, reprogrammed with more power and her memories intact.
• In the end of the bonus section of Original Generations, Lamia was abruptly killed by Wilhelm von Juergen. In the continuation of the events in Original Generation Gaiden, it turns out she was slightly reprogrammed by Duminuss and fell under her control.