Analysis / Trinity Seven

Magi and their Archives and Thema

Archive: Superbia (Pride)

• Arata - Thema: Imperium (Rule); domination and control. Type: Power copying and anti-magic.
  • Arata has no shame, which means he has very little pride to protect, hence why he fits under Superbia. His particular thema, Imperium, relates to his overall attitude towards magic. While he wouldn't mind getting power, he isn't particularly driven towards it. When offered a shortcut to power (by Liese's example), he repudiates it because it treats others like resources to be exploited. Similarly, when the Breakdown Phenomenon happened and Hijiri gave him a Grimoire, his first wish with his newfound power was to relinquish it, in exchange for a normal life. Fundamentally, he doesn't want power if it comes at the expense of others, hence why Imperium is his thema.
• Mira - Thema: Iustitia (Justice); retribution and balance. Type: "Gehenna Scope," analysis and countermagic, tool-assisted.
  • Mira does not enjoy her work in Grimoire Security, but she does it out of a sense of obligation. This submission of her own will and desires to the needs of others is counter to pride, hence Superbia is her archive. Her thema of Iustitia is in particular about punishing magical transgressions and taboos, and throwing power back against itself. However, by her own inclination she swings between the extremes opposite "Justice" - if she could, she would rather not be the hand of retribution; yet when something does anger her, she will go overboard and propose disproportionate retribution, rather than a truly fair or just response. Her magic and thema are very close to Arata's, except where his is about overruling others through raw power, hers is about an equitable and informed response to mitigate the effects of others' magic. She relies heavily on a crystal ball to help analyze others' magic and then focus her warding and countermagic powers.

Archive: Luxuria (Lust)

• Lilith - Thema: Abies. Type: Alchemy (firearms).
  • Lilith is excessively prudish and proper, concerned with the sexual conduct of those around her - not just towards her, as she is a frequent target of harassment, but also between others (such as when she complains about Yui's inappropriate closeness to Arata's). Thus her aversion to the sexual makes Luxuria, or Lust, her archive. (Her thema, Abies, might be from the archaic English term "aby" which relates to payment, related to Equivalent Exchange in alchemy. This stands out as an oddity as most magic terms are Latin, but in Latin "abies" means the fir tree, which is, well, not an abstract concept that would likely be a thema.) The nature of her magic, alchemy, is not entirely clear how it relates to Lust and the sexual, though those firearms are awfully phallic... Well, okay, it's because alchemy is a generative act. She creates with her magic, much as sex creates life. The "costs" of alchemy, in magic power and the self, are similar to the toll reproduction can take on a mother throughout pregnancy and life afterward, caring for one's child.
• The Magic King of Luxuria - Thema: Vanitas (Vanity), Fall
  • The Magic King of Luxuria is not by nature a lustful being, and admits that having a child required going against his nature. However, his magic is a hideously powerful and dark expression of Lust - that as life is created, so must it also be destroyed. His primary thema of Vanitas is thus inherently self-absorbed, creating and consuming all for his own purposes. It is nihilistic and hopeless, treating life as a meaningless tool and resource. Yet, as with any mage, he still defies his thema, just in a twisted manner: he chose to create a life for a purpose, to continue on beyond the end of his own universe. It's just that that child was also meant to be a further tool...

Archive: Avaritia (Avarice)

• Yui - Thema: Amicitia; friendship. Type: Song magic.
  • Yui wants for little. She has spent most of her days in a dream realm where she can take on whatever appearance she wishes, surrounded with whatever she desires. Her magical power is one of the greatest in the school, so much so that it's too much for her. Thus is her archive Avaritia, as she does not obsess over wealth and gain when she can close her eyes and "have" any worldly possession she can imagine. Her thema of Amicitia is about friendship and closeness with others, the only thing she has been denied by her power. Nor is she entirely conscious of other people's boundaries. As a result she does not quite understand proper behavior and relationships with others, lavishing Arata with affection and implying she'd be willing to go so far as having sex with him despite only barely knowing him.

Archive: Invidia (Envy)

• Levi - Thema: Expectatio; expectations, anticipation. Type: Shamanic magic, ninja arts.
  • Levi is confident and content with herself. When someone praises ninja for being cool or amazing, she proudly agrees. She does not look to what others have with jealousy. Thus Invidia is her most suitable archive, as she does not envy others when she has so much to appreciate about herself. Her thema, Expectatio, is related to her ninja arts which rely on reading and anticipating a situation to maximum advantage. When not using her power, she takes things in stride, accepting them as they come and never growing frustrated when events fail to meet her expectations. This is what made her even able to be "friends" with the perpetually-slumbering Yui, as she had no expectations for Yui to provide even so much as active company. Levi spent time with Yui simply for Yui's own sake, not her own.
• Rogue
  • A member of Iscariot, Rogue shares an Archive with Levi and some general personality and magical style traits. Specifically, she's rather proud of herself and her magic, and feels no need to envy others what they have; and her abilities grant her excellent mobility possibly surpassing even Levi.

Archive: Gula (Gluttony)

• Akio - Thema: Fides; faith. Type: "Mantra Enchantment," physical enhancement.
  • Akio's relation to her archive is immediately apparent: she is fit and trim, and her magic is almost entirely physical. She keeps herself in good shape, and has nothing of the appearance or character of a classic glutton. Her thema, Fides, relates to her past as (apparently) a Christian and guardian, but one who failed to protect the people of her home. Despite her past, she has an insatiable belief in salvation - yet a lingering survivor's guilt that suggests maybe she thinks it's not for her.

Archive: Ira (Wrath)

• Arin - Thema: Ruina; ruin, collapse, destruction. Type: "Chaotic Rune," Nordic rune spells.
  • Arin is calm, impassive, and even somewhat solicitous in situations where one would normally be angered. This is most apparent in her relationship to Arata - she is, for some reason, designated his "partner" and considers herself his de facto wife. And yet, Arata's regular perverse acts (both accidental and intentional) don't actually put her off. He flirts constantly with others and she just makes deadpan remarks about him "cheating," apparently because it's the done thing rather than out of any kind of anger. Where one would expect a person to be angry and wrathful, she is instead relaxed. Wrath is just not who she is, and so it is her archive. Her thema, Ruina, doesn't mean simply the ruin or collapse brought on by time or neglect, but destruction - active, willful, and caused by the wrathful. Indeed, she has shown off a number of spells that excel at destruction, making someone lose control of their power, and the like. But she lacks the willful urge to destroy that Ruina reflects, using it out of necessity as a last resort. If she could be summarized, it would be that she is a complete reversal of the expected responses and behaviors implied in "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
• Hijiri - Type: Chaotic Rune
  • Hijiri is not normally an angry, wrathful person - even when Arata manages to piss her off, she very quickly shrugs it off and resorts to snark and vague threats rather than actual anger. She has only once been notably driven to anger, on Arata's behalf and not her own. Her surprisingly forgiving and accepting nature may explain how she fell in love with Arata so quickly in the first place.

Archive: Acedia (Sloth)

• Liese - Thema: Stagna; stagnation. Type: "Logos," mathematical magic.
  • Liese craves results. She is not content to sit and wait. She is proactive and jumps to take risks if she thinks they will lead to furthering the growth of her power, even leading her to dabble in the Breakdown Phenomenon. Thus her archive is Acedia, or Sloth. Her specific thema, Stagna, takes this tendency further. "Change is life. Stagnation is death." She cannot just "wait and see," she must act to make things happen. When she steals the power of others, she doesn't just wait for the power to stabilize - she puts the effort in to learn how to use it faster, and then goes on the offensive. Her native magic is about inflicting her thema on others, causing them to stagnate, weaken, and fail.
• Serina - Thema: Ligare; binding, limitation. Type: Logos
  • Serina is Liese's sister, and is similarly playful and driven but with a more benign approach to her personality. Serina is driven to learn and improve, and is one of the first to approach Arata to get the "scoop" about him when he joins the school. The similarity between Serina and Liese's magic, and their overall personalities, makes them highly compatible on the field should they choose to work together. She uses an old camera as a tool to aid some of her spells, "capturing" someone just as she captures their image.

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