Knights in The Nightmare/Characters

Character sheet for Knights in The Nightmare. Unmarked spoilers abound, so be warned.

Story characters

 * King Willimgard Ron Dragan d'Gleivnir

The king ruling over Aventheim Castle, thirty-eight years old. He carries the blood and powers of the Arbitrator, but because the Arbitrator line's knowledge of their role was sealed generations ago, he does not know how to use these powers. He is an active fighter known as the "Lion Heart King" for his prowess in battle, and because of this, he is very well-liked amongst his knights and citizens. He does, however, receive criticism from political opponents—including his own son—for doing nothing to change the enslavement of the Mehse and the discrimination towards the Tiamat race, among other things. He's also a bit on the gullible side. He took Alighierie as a lover out of loneliness, since his queen died not long after his son was born.

Right before the beginning of the game, Willimgard is killed by Melissa (or Marietta) when he stumbles upon her and Zolgonark. With his nation in shock and Capehornus free to act on his plans, Maria (or Meria) steals the vessel containing his soul and releases it as the Wisp, helping it fight monsters and working together with it for her own purposes.

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Wilmgard".


 * Active Royalty
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Back from the Dead: In certain endings.
 * Dead to Begin With
 * Determinator
 * Failed a Spot Check: Alighierie seems incredulous that he managed not to notice the scars from her amputated horns and wings, considering that they have seen each other naked often.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: In Ending I and Ending G.
 * Heroic Mime: Except for a few of the flashbacks and two of the bad ends. Justified though in the main game: it's hard to talk when you're a little ball of light.
 * Horrible Judge of Character
 * Interspecies Romance: With Alighierie.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia
 * Laughing Mad: Ending G.
 * Our Souls Are Different
 * Overly Long Name:
 * Odd Name Out: Willimgard Ron Dragan d'Gleivnir.
 * Posthumous Character
 * Yin-Yang Bomb


 * Maria

An armor-clad valkyrie who appears to be about twenty years old. She is a fragment of the archangel Marietta's personality, split from Melissa in the main route of the game. Maria steals the king's soul from the castle and frees it in the abandoned church, and occasionally aids him in his quest to regain his body. Her main goals are to find Marietta's staff Ancardia and to find a way to atone for Marietta's desire for power and its disastrous consequences. Halfway through the game, Maria is trapped in the throne room of Aventheim after shielding the Wisp from Zolgonark's attacks; she only reappears in the final two scenes. In the canonical ending of the game, she triumphs over Melissa, becomes one with her to return to being Marietta, and returns to Asgard despite knowing that she will be castigated and exiled. She restores Willimgard and Alighierie to life in return for Willimgard's help.

Maria is reticent and downcast, endlessly blaming herself for Marietta's actions. She is also very kindhearted and a worrier, and does her best to help the Wisp whenever she can. Eventually, she takes courage in Willimgard's perseverence, and decides to give her all to take responsibility and "punish herself".


 * The Atoner
 * Character Blog: She has her own Twitter here. It's ridiculously adorable.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Extreme Doormat
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Face of a Thug: She has a very stern, statuesque beauty that's best depicted in the PSP key visual and Tobe's portrait art, but is a complete Shrinking Violet in personality.
 * Game Breaker: Hand her Ancardia and the Black Feathers and let her go to town.
 * If she has both, she will be able to use Rivellion in the final two scenes. Yes, that Rivellion.
 * Glass Cannon: 7.77 VIT is not a lot. Especially on the more vicious difficulty levels.
 * It's All My Fault
 * Kuudere
 * Lady of War
 * Lethal Chef: Not quite lethal, but she seems to be having a lot of trouble trying to learn how to cook.
 * One Note Chef: Graduates to being one of these after training extensively.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Poor thing.
 * No Guy Wants an Amazon: Seems to have this misconception according to some of the stuff she's been tweeting.
 * Power Gives You Wings: Even if it only works for a few seconds.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Spirit Advisor: To Yggdra in Yggdra's route. It's, uh, complicated.
 * Taking the Bullet
 * Theme Music Power-Up


 * Meria

Heroine of the game's alternate route, accessible only as a New Game+ bonus. She is an armor-clad Astarte who appears to be about twenty years old, and a fragment of Marietta's personality, split off from Marietta herself. She takes Maria's place in the story, rescuing Willimgard's soul from Aventheim and helping him get back to the castle to confront Zolgonark. Unlike Maria though, Meria is the embodiment of everything Marietta hated about herself; also, rather than fighting to atone for Marietta's Plot Induced Stupidity, Meria fights a.) for her right to be an individual free from Marietta, and b.) because she has a beef with Zolgonark.

She is also just a tad bit insane.

While not cheerfully slashing her way through monsters, Meria offers the Wisp some sage advice (including one particularly touching speech) and gets into fights with Marietta, whom she cannot abide. It is implied that Meria is actually deeply insecure about her identity, which is suggested to be the reason she wants so badly to be free from Marietta. Otherwise, she is a cocky loose cannon. In her sole ending, however, Meria takes the same actions as Melissa for some reason. Must be 'cause she's supposed to be EVIL.

The Romanization of Meria's name is a point of contention between fans, as it has been officially and unofficially written at least three different ways. "Meria" and "Mellia" are the two most common, and Atlus used "Mellia" in their localization.

""Just tell me... Tell me who needs to die.""
 * Affably Evil: She's crazy, but in the fun kind of way.
 * Ax Crazy:

""Looks like on the PSP homepage, there are lots of different wallpapers. I-it doesn't make me happy or anything!! It's got nothing to do with me!!" (Twitter post concerning the wallpaper featuring her)"
 * Badass
 * BFS
 * Character Blog: Recently, she has also started using Twitter, apparently feeling that Maria and Yggdra have been getting way too much attention compared to her.
 * Continuity Nod: Astarte are the name of the Valkyrie-like dark spirits Nessiah summons to aid him.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Everything Is Better With Explosions
 * Eviler Than Thou: GTFO, Zolgonark.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: To the Wisp, several times (verbally, since it's hard to slap a little ball of light).
 * Glass Cannon: 7.77 VIT? Meep.
 * Heroic Sociopath
 * It's All About Me: She makes this clear from square one.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's deep in denial about the "heart of gold" part, but it's still there.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: To Marietta, if you find Ancardia.
 * Plucky Girl
 * Psychotic Smirk
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Rebellious Spirit
 * Selfish Good
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Meria/Melia/Mellia, indeed. "Meria" and "Mellia" are the most commonly accepted Romanizations, but there's a lot of arguing over which one is "right".
 * Taking the Bullet: And watching devil-may-care, me-first Meria do it without a second thought is quite a Player Punch.
 * Theme Music Power-Up
 * Tsungire: While this was commonly found in Fanon, this has now been confirmed by Sting.


 * Who's Laughing Now?: If you find Ancardia for her, she breaks it solely to get back at Marietta. And then gloats. Complete with Noblewoman's Laugh.
 * Willfully Weak: Although it just seems that her pride and desire to stick it to Marietta are higher priorities for her than accepting full Game Breaker status.


 * Prince Nordische Raoul Dennis d'Gleivnir

Willimgard's sixteen-year-old son and only heir. Although his mother died when he was a baby, he was spoiled by his servants and the people of the castle, and so he's grown up to be rather self-centered. He does, however, have strong political ideals. He has feelings for Capehornus' granddaughter Pisce, but he and his father arranged his marriage to the princess of the Tiamat race in order to create an alliance between their peoples. Although Capehornus is Nordische's advisor, Nordische only gets annoyed with the cardinal's attempts to control him. After Willimgard's death, Nordische realized that Capehornus might have been behind it and planned to ruin Capehornus by leaking the truth to the people, but he was discovered by Yellma, who turned him into a werewolf.

As a monster, Nordische lived in the forest and preyed on the people and monsters of the area until his father (as the Wisp), not realizing his identity, killed him. While he was alive, he was closest to the knights Ganosh and Couger, and was often at odds with his father, whose popularity was greatly overrated (in his opinion).

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Nordich".


 * Arranged Marriage: To Arlier, for the sake of a political alliance. It supposedly hit him hard when the contract fell apart despite his feelings for Pisce.
 * Bishonen
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Dying as Yourself
 * It's All About Me: Somewhat justified during the one scene we actually see him.
 * Love Triangle: With Pisce and Arlier.
 * No Indoor Voice
 * Overly Long Name:
 * Odd Name Out: Nordische Raoul Dennis d'Gleivnir. Like father, like son.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: With Pisce.
 * Tragic Monster
 * Transformation Trauma
 * The White Prince


 * Pisce Pianotte Lucius

Capehornus' sheltered granddaughter, eighteen years of age. Although Pisce lives in Castle Aventheim, she rarely sees her grandfather, and does not know very many people. The knight Rosa looks after her. She's rather naive, and loves Prince Nordische wholeheartedly despite the fact that they cannot be together for political reasons. She never learned of his death, and not long into the game, Zolgonark turns her into a harpy to punish Capehornus for not warning him that Willimgard is the Arbitrator. After this, Yellma attempts to use Pisce as her pawn; Pisce flees to the ruined tower built by the Mehse and lives there until she is killed by the Wisp.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as "Piche".


 * Cute Monster Girl
 * Dying as Yourself
 * Godiva Hair: In her harpy form.
 * The Ingenue
 * Parental Neglect: Capehornus does love her, but he's barely ever around.
 * Pimped-Out Dress
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: With Nordische.
 * Tragic Monster
 * Transformation Trauma


 * Cardinal Capehornus Mirza Lucius

The cardinal of Willimgard's kingdom, and secretly one of his political opponents. Sixty-five years old, Capehornus is actually one of the Tiamat; he was exiled for researching the forbidden Written Law in order to restore the Tiamat race to power. Disillusioned by this, he swore revenge on everyone and everything that had done him ill in his life, and worked to ruin both the humans and the Tiamat race by undoing the separation of the worlds. He summoned Zolgonark to accomplish this, but between Zolgonark's power and Yellma's ambitions, all his plans are undone. The only person he genuinely cares for is his granddaughter, Pisce.

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Capehorn".


 * Alas, Poor Villain
 * Deal with the Devil
 * Disproportionate Retribution: So you researched the forbidden Unwritten Law in order to let the Tiamat people reclaim their dominion, and they punted you out on your ear because you broke the law. Your reaction is... to return all the worlds to chaos and remake them in your image, no matter who you have to kill? ...Um?
 * Evil Is Not a Toy
 * Evil Laugh
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Kick the Dog
 * Lone Dalek: He's irrefutably a creep and there's not much justification for his plans, but after all the crap he goes through, you have to at least feel a teeny bit bad for him.
 * Orcus on His Throne
 * Treacherous Advisor


 * Aqueline Ariel Lutia

An apathetic knight of the Third Order; one of Capehornus' top generals. She is twenty-five years old. Capehornus is the only person she fully trusts, but she especially dislikes Yellma, and is constantly bickering with her comrade Leonel. She wields a rapid-fire crossbow, and is a renowned shot. Aqueline strongly believes that the gods have abandoned the world, and it's up to people to create a new order. She is infamously racist and others often remark on her cold demeanor; the only person that actually cares about her is the knight Elizabeth.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as "Aquina".


 * The Archer
 * Cannot Stand Them Cannot Live Without Them: With Leonel.
 * Emotionless Girl
 * Expy: Although they don't look alike, her personality and motivations are a little too similar to those of Malice.
 * Faith Heel Turn: Implied in her backstory.
 * Fantastic Racism: The sheer number of people who complain about her racist ways is astounding.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the Blue to Leonel's Red.
 * Serious Business: Everything.


 * Leonel Legid Fernando

A bloodthirsty knight of the Third Order; one of Capehornus' top generals. He is twenty-two years old. Leonel is unabashedly in on Capehornus' plans just so that he can fight and kill worthy opponents, and often whines about his orders to attack people that he doesn't believe are worth his interest. He often gets in trouble with Aqueline because of his lax attitude, and bickers with her over quite a lot of things. Leonel is famous for his skill with many different kinds of swords, along with his lack of remorse; there are quite a few knights in other orders who are terrified of him.

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Leonil".


 * Ax Crazy
 * BFS: He has a few of them.
 * Blood Knight
 * Cannot Stand Them Cannot Live Without Them: With Aqueline.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Expy: Of Leon.
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the Red to Aqueline's Blue.
 * Slasher Smile


 * Yellma Ul Varomone

Said to come from a ne'er-do-well Ingeid family, Yellma was found by Capehornus and quickly recruited to the Third Order, then made a general. She is thirty-six years old. Despite what she owes Capehornus, she has no loyalty to or respect for him; she makes a contract with Zolgonark for power, and tries to manipulate everything in sight in order to obtain as much power as she possibly can. She is responsible for Nordische's transformation, and also tries to manipulate Vilgo and Pisce to do her bidding; she puts Alighierie under mind control to make her retrieve Willimgard's body.

Although Yellma eventually does obtain Willimgard's body and takes it for herself, she is destroyed by Zolgonark when she tries to dominate him—much to the disappointment of many a player who wanted to pummel her.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as "Yelma".


 * Deal with the Devil
 * Evil Is Not a Toy
 * Karmic Death: Not only does she get manipulated and nuked by Zolgonark, who she tried to control, but she herself is ripped out of her body and turned into a Wisp... and then torn apart..
 * Let's You and Him Fight
 * Noblewoman's Laugh
 * Obviously Evil
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * The Unfought: Zolgonark takes care of it for you.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She tries to pull this on Zolgonark. It backfires spectacularly.


 * Ganzer F. Albandor

The fifty-year-old Grand Marshal of the kingdom, and commander of the Second Order. Ganzer was one of Willimgard's top lieutenants and a well-respected man, but after the king's death, he fell into a deep depression and blamed himself endlessly for not being there to help. Capehornus and Yellma gave him a cursed suit of armor resembling Willimgard's, and told him to wear it in remembrance of the king; once Ganzer put it on, his personality changed drastically and he came under suspicion by many of his own knights. Ganzer is one of the first bosses of the game, and can only be freed from the armor's curse through death.

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Gunther".


 * Body Horror
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Dying as Yourself
 * Meaningful Name
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * "Wake-Up Call" Boss


 * Princess Arlier Ciel Graceheize

Eighteen-year-old princess of the Tiamats. She is a wise leader who struggles to ensure the survival of her people in times when their race is small in number and persecuted viciously by the humans nearby. She is an occasional ally to the Mehse, and her people helped them build the tower that drew Asgard's attention. Because her people found the Written Law, she believes that not even they are innocent of breaking the law of the multiverse. Arlier agreed to an arranged marriage with Prince Nordische to give her people a voice in court and political standing, although the contract fell through when Capehornus tried to murder her. Arlier orders her people to capture Willimgard's corpse and places a seal on it which is linked to her life. She is very close to Sacchito, and is more understanding of the big picture than most other characters in the game.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as "Alier".


 * Arranged Marriage: To Nordische, although it fell apart when Capehornus used it to try to kill her.
 * Badass Princess
 * Berserk Button: The easiest way to seriously piss her off is to hurt or scare her pet dragon.
 * Cool Sword
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Dragon Rider
 * The High Queen
 * Lady of War
 * Our Dragons Are Different: The Tiamat clan seems to have much thicker dragon blood than Brongaa's descendants, we have to say.
 * Pimped-Out Dress
 * Princesses Rule
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Tempting Fate
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Exactly the same. Hear that, Sacchito?
 * The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask


 * Sacchito

A magically animated puppet created to protect the barrier that hides the Tiamat race's hidden sanctuary. She is very dutiful, but her loyalty is to Arlier rather than the Tiamat race as a whole. Because she's only a puppet, she doesn't place a very high value on her own life, something that Arlier admonishes her for. Sacchito is killed by Yellma, but then reanimated by her both to act as a barrier against Willimgard and so that the Tiamat people won't realize that she has infiltrated their realm.

Thus far, there is no official Romanization of her name. "Sacchito" and "Sakito" are the two most commonly seen; "Sacchito" is used in Atlus' localization.


 * Barrier Maiden: Quite literally.
 * Battle Butler
 * Extreme Doormat
 * Improbable Weapon User
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning


 * Alighierie Mirza Ector

A twenty-six-year-old Tiamat woman chosen by their late elder to become a spy in the Gleivnir court. She is praised both by her people and the knights for her beauty, intelligence, and skill in battle; she was also chosen specifically to seduce Willimgard, but although she was warned to keep her emotions separate from her job, she fell in love with him anyway. He made her commander of the Sixth Order. As part of Capehornus' removal of all those close to the king, Alighierie was accused of regicide; although she rightly guessed the intentions of her accusers, she was forced to flee the castle and captured by Yellma. She spends most of the game under Yellma's mind control, and what little she doesn't, she spends moping over the loss of her king and the feeling that she doesn't fit in with her people anymore. She also believes quite firmly that Willimgard was the only person to genuinely care about her despite the fact that she has many friends and admirers amongst the knights. Yellma kills her for disobedience.

In Maria and Marietta's best endings, Alighierie is revived along with Willimgard as a reward for his long fight.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as "Algiery".


 * Back from the Dead: In the best endings.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Glass Cannon: She's ridiculously powerful—her Law Index starts at 100 when Priestesses' most powerful attacks are their law ones—but her base Vitality is very low and like all knights, she's only got so many levels she can gain.
 * Informed Attribute: We see that she's intelligent and resourceful, but don't get to see any other reasons why she's constantly praised by everyone.
 * Interspecies Romance: With Willimgard.
 * It Got Worse: The story of her life.
 * Meaningful Name: Her first name is a feminized version of Dante's last name. (Yes, that Dante.)
 * The Mole: She was supposed to be the Tiamats' spy. We all know how that one turned out.
 * Nice Hat: But she's cuter without it.


 * Agin Donier Gaudy

The former elder of the Tiamat race, and Princess Arlier's chief advisor. He was seventy-seven years old. Agin was the one who decided that the Written Law be hidden in the past, and also orchestrated Arlier and Nordische's arranged marriage. He was the one who decided to send Alighierie to spy for them in the Gleivnir court. However, when Capehornus sabotaged the arranged marriage, Agin sacrificed himself to give Arlier the chance to escape, and was killed by Leonel and Aqueline.

In Atlus' localization of the game, his name is Romanized as "Azhan".


 * The Chessmaster
 * Heroic Sacrifice
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: His plans were well-reasoned, but they still wound up boxing the entire world in. And killing him.
 * Nice Hat
 * Posthumous Character
 * Too Clever by Half


 * Vilgo

The leader of the Lemonoug race (also known as the Mehse or "those westerners"), an impossibly old man. After their first attempt at building a tower to Asgard, he and his race were cursed with technical immortality—only fatal injuries will kill them, but their bodies age and decay—and were cast out and enslaved by the Gleivnir kingdom. Vilgo and his people tried to build a second tower to plead for Asgard's intercession, but all they got was Marietta and a very destroyed tower as a result. Vilgo hates the kingdom with all his soul, but feels powerless to oppose them after all the atrocities they've put his tribe through. He raised Vienya after the deaths of her parents.

After Capehornus' death, Yellma transforms Vilgo into a lich and sets him against the Wisp to buy time for herself to find Willimgard's corpse.

Thus far, there is no official Romanization of his name. "Vilgo" and "Virgo" are the two most commonly seem; "Vilgo" is used in Atlus' localization.


 * Best Served Cold
 * Demoted to Extra: He's one of only two human characters in the entire game who doesn't have a full name.
 * Fantastic Racism: Poor guy.
 * Fate Worse Than Death
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: ...especially if it means watching your body fall apart and decay?


 * Vienya

A very young Mehse girl. Although she is a talented witch, due to the bondage of her people and her own poor living conditions, she tends to appear very scruffy and bedraggled; she has a crow named Moja as a familiar, which is often seen sitting on her head. Vienya's parents were murdered by a knight from one of the orders, after which she was raised by Vilgo, the chief of her tribe—so it's no surprise that she hates the kingdom as much as he does. Vienya is eventually revealed to be suffering from starvation; she picks the pockets of what few travelers come through the Mehse lands for food.

Although she is unable to pickpocket Yellma, she does learn from the witch that Willimgard is coming, and decides to fight the Wisp to avenge Vilgo and her parents. Vienya is a selective mute—probably due to the trauma of losing her parents—and communicates telepathically with Moja, who interprets for her as best he can.

Thus far, there is no official Romanization of her name. "Vienya" and "Vinya" are two of the more commonly seen variations; "Vienna" is used in Atlus' localization.


 * Black Magician Girl
 * Blinding Bangs
 * Cute Mute: She's quite talkative in her own head, but never actually speaks to other people.
 * Cute Witch
 * Demoted to Extra: Like Vilgo (and no one else), she has no full name.
 * Eyes of Gold: From the few glimpses we get through her hair, anyhow.
 * The Faceless
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Hulk Speak: The way Atlus chose to translate Moja's dialogue (which, in Japanese, used only kanji and katakana).
 * Kansai Regional Accent: She has a bit of a Kyoto-ben dialect, like most of her fellow Lemonoug, and uses uchi as her first-person pronoun.
 * Messy Hair
 * Player Punch: The flashback scene you get after you fight her.
 * Polly Wants a Microphone: Moja, of course.
 * Talking Animal: Her familiar, Moja, speaks (VERY LOUDLY) in simple sentences.
 * You Killed My Father: Averted; although she's lost two sets of parents to the Gleivnir kingdom, she's still an enemy character.


 * Melissa

A fallen angel who seems to be in her twenties. She is a fragment of Marietta's personality, split off from Maria in the main route of the game. Melissa remains in bondage to Zolgonark, but despite being bullied and ordered around by him and his human flunkies, her main prerogative is finding Marietta's staff Ancardia. To this end, she hassles Maria and the Wisp multiple times over the course of the game. Throughout its second half, however, she spends most of her time lying in wait and trying to recover; after Zolgonark is defeated, she is unable to resist the temptation of his power and eats it, becoming Melod Melgis. She is unable to control her power, and is defeated by Maria so that the two of them may become Marietta once again.

Instead of being presented as an evil character, Melissa is characterized as aimless and mercurial, neither wholly good nor wholly evil. However, she is also unable to stop herself from lusting after power and trying to get hold of it at any given opportunity. She killed Willimgard when he stumbled upon her and Zolgonark prior to the beginning of the game, but does not seem to have any particular ill feelings towards either Willimgard or Maria.


 * Affably Evil: She's not actually that bad a person. God help you if you're between her and something she wants, though.
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: Mildly implied in-game; often Flanderized in fandom.
 * Black Magician Girl
 * Card-Carrying Villain
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * The Dog Bites Back / Not So Harmless / Who's Laughing Now?: After being whacked around by Maria for the entire game and generally abused by Zolgonark all the time, as soon as Zolgonark is defeated, she eats his power to become an out-of-control demigod.
 * Drop the Hammer
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Stripperiffic


 * Marietta

A recurring character in the Dept. Heaven series, Marietta is an archangel who appears to be in her twenties but is much older than that. She is one of the most devout servants of the gods, and in the story of Knights, she is sent down to punish the world of Aventheim for building a tower that almost reaches Asgard. Wishing for more power so that she can serve Asgard better, Marietta makes a Deal with the Devil with Zolgonark, who of course just manipulates her into helping lift his barrier and then splits her soul in two and hides her staff, intending to make her his pawn.

In Maria's route, where the two halves of her soul are Maria and Melissa, Marietta's role ends here. In Meria's route, however, Marietta serves as the "good" half and Zolgonark's pawn while Meria is the "bad" half and the heroine. Marietta assumes Melissa's role as the one to kill Willimgard and act as the proverbial thorn in the protagonists' sides, and is ironically a lot nastier than Melissa was. At the end of the game, the player is presented with the option to betray Meria and side with Marietta in order to get an ending resembling the better ones in Maria's route.

More of Marietta's story can be seen in Yggdra Union and Riviera.


 * Alternate Character Interpretation: In-Universe. In Maria's route she's portrayed as a person who genuinely wanted to do good but made a very stupid choice and suffered for it. In Meria's, she comes off as a real Jerkass.
 * The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Deal with the Devil
 * Drop the Hammer: Meria's route only.
 * Everything's Better with Sparkles: No, it's not. It's really really not.
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Good Is Not Nice: Oh, boy...
 * Kick the Dog
 * Knight Templar
 * Lady of War
 * More Dakka
 * My God, What Have I Done?: At the very end of Meria's ending.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
 * Oh Crap: A really, really big one, if you found Ancardia for Meria.
 * Omniscient Morality License: She tries to act like she has one. Meria calls her out on it.
 * Perpetual Molt: she uses this as one of her attacks
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Sadistic Choice: Meria's route only. Are you going to side with the woman who killed you for the sake of order, even if it means betraying a trusted comrade—or stay loyal to Meria, who saved you and nearly died for you, even though your world will suffer for it? And no, you may not Take a Third Option.
 * Split Personality: It's vaguely implied in a flashback that Marietta has one even before the events of the game gives the two separate bodies.
 * Stripperiffic
 * Too Dumb to Live / Plot Induced Stupidity: Yes, Marietta, agree when the creepy disembodied voice offers you power in exchange for your assistance doing something it won't tell you about beforehand! Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong with this plan!


 * Zolgonark

The three-headed demon lord of the Underworld, summoned to this world by Capehornus and Yellma. While both intend to use him for their own means, Zolgonark is only interested in the freedom to take over the world of Aventheim. He summons three Accursed--Rivulia, Dotaurus (and his "dog" Garm), and Scoppio—to serve his ambitions, and manipulates Marietta into helping him bypass his barrier. He then proves himself despicable by bullying Melissa (or Marietta), turning Pisce into a harpy, and blasting Maria (or Meria) when she tries to protect the Wisp.

Zolgonark is eventually defeated by the Wisp and the heroine, and has his power eaten by Melissa or Meria. He is connected to the character Hades from Riviera.


 * The Devil
 * Eviler Than Thou: As Yellma eventually discovers. He does, however, wind up on the losing end of this with Meria.
 * Legions of Hell: His Mooks.
 * Obviously Evil
 * Orcus on His Throne: He was even ever-so-conveniently summoned in the throne room.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": A few Sting books have his name written with a "c" instead of a "k".
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Yellma tried this on him and failed. He promptly returns the favor.


 * Lord of Aventheim Castle

A mysterious, godlike presence taking the form of a skeletal man in a red rocking chair. He is the narrator of the story, and only appears in special cutscenes at the end of Maria's route. He reveals that he created Aventheim when the worlds became separate so that no matter what political nonsense went on in Asgard and the Underworld, he could observe the behavior of mortals in this world uninhibited. So far all he has noticed is that humans are inexplicable and never learn from their mistakes, causing history to repeat itself endlessly, but he still finds humans fascinating.

He is accompanied by a raggedy black cat even more mysterious than he is (the game designers themselves admit in the manual that they have no idea if the cat is the Lord's familiar or another godlike being, or just a normal animal).


 * All There in the Manual: His role is discussed in the Dept. Heaven World Guidance book.
 * The Fatalist
 * God's Hands Are Tied: Because if he interfered, it would ruin his experiment.
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * Man Behind the Man: Of a sort; this particular world is his experiment in observing human nature.
 * Narrator
 * Pass the Popcorn
 * Physical God: Very probably.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: He gets rather disapproving when you start attacking the Mehse and Tiamat races, and calls you out directly on attacking Pisce.


 * Hector

A recurring character in the Dept. Heaven series, he is one of the Seven Magi, and is also an arrogant prick extremely dismissive of the worth and rights of individuals, believing mortal creatures and the other races of Asgard to be beneath him. He appears in special cutscenes in Meria's route, and orders the sealing of Heaven's Gate to protect Asgard (read: himself), despite protests from his Servants that he may be abandoning Marietta to die.

Hector is an incredibly important figure in the continuity of this series; see the backstory of a certain character from Yggdra Union for why we despise him, and Riviera for a game in which he takes a major role.


 * Bigger Bad
 * The Chessmaster
 * Continuity Nod: The fact that Hector even shows up in this game only has two purposes—to show how everything is part of his Xanatos Roulette, and as fanservice for people who've played the other Dept. Heaven games.
 * Continuity Porn
 * The Faceless
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Light Is Not Good
 * Orcus on His Throne: Again! Ito loves this trope in this game.


 * Primea

The latest, most successful result of Hector's as-yet-experimental synthetic Grim Angel creation process. She is a very young girl who is seen only in special cutscenes in Meria's route; her real name is never revealed (if she even has one), but her registration number is 549, and the other characters refer to her by her codename, Primea. She is not a complete Grim Angel, and her fake Diviner is only a prototype. Her wings are slightly malformed at the shoulder—whether this is congenital or a result of Hector's modifications to her body is unknown.

Primea appears to be a rather naive and airheaded young girl; although Hector and his Servants discuss their plans around her, all their talk goes straight over her head.


 * Ahoge
 * Children Are Innocent
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Expy: Of #367/Nana-chan, who is herself an Expy of Malice.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * You Are Number Six


 * Melod Melgis

A godly figure of questionable sanity, born when Melissa (or Meria) eats Zolgonark's power. Depending on the ending, she is either defeated or destroys the multiverse, breaking the boundaries between all the worlds to create a chaotic, desolate plane where power is the only law. The final boss of Maria's route.

In Atlus' localization of the game, her name is Romanized as Melad Margus.


 * Barbie Doll Anatomy: Well, we can't go showing a god's naughty bits. Especially in a CERO-A/ESRB-T-rated game.
 * Cosmic Horror
 * Everything Is Better With Explosions
 * Evil Laugh
 * Expy: Of Seth-Rah, most likely. Their basic premise is even the same.
 * Full-Frontal Assault
 * Godiva Hair: See also Barbie Doll Anatomy.
 * Mix and Match Critter
 * Omnicidal Maniac
 * Physical God
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Reality Warper
 * This Is Your Brain on Evil
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity


 * Pamela

The Dept. Heaven series mascot, a witch who originally appeared in Yggdra Union and will show up in a randomized stage at a randomized level if the player has Yggdra Union in the GBA slot of their DS/Yggdra Union save data on their memory card. She is accidentally pulled into Aventheim while trying to travel to another dimension for her research, and decides to side with the Wisp to get rid of Zolgonark's corruption so that she can go home.


 * Awesome but Impractical: Her Chaos Index is through the roof and her level cap is 99, the highest in the game. Her Law Index leaves a lot to be desired, and Gram traps can't be used against a number of bosses, even with the added hassle of having to map out enemies' movement patterns first to make sure the right enemy will step on them at the right time.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: A little bit less so than in the Episode II games, but still in effect.
 * Continuity Porn
 * Cute Witch
 * Immortal Immaturity
 * Trapped in Another World


 * Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz

The heroine of Yggdra Union, who has a route of her own in the PSP remake only. She trades places with Maria at the release of the Wisp in what appears to be a freak time-space accident; though she wanders off on her own quickly afterward, Yggdra is understandably rather disconcerted at being suddenly plopped into a completely different continuity, and winds up allying with the Wisp, much like Maria and Meria before her. Thus far, any other details are unknown, although it's likely her path of the story will play out similarly to theirs.


 * The Artifact: DS version.
 * BFS
 * Continuity Porn
 * Dojikko
 * Everything's Better with Princesses
 * Fandom Nod: Yup, COME NEAR ME AND I'LL KILL YOU is back again.
 * Idiot Hero
 * Naive Newcomer
 * Out-of-Character Moment: During the tutorials, she has a lot of disparaging stuff to say about Maria, complaining that heroines without catchphrases are lame, and that heroines who aren't also the protagonist like Yggdra herself are out-of-date. This seems to be around for the sake of Rule of Funny; much Flanderization has since occurred within the fandom.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass
 * Sharing a Body: With Maria. Or something. Yggdra is in control starting from the moment Willimgard is released from his Soul Jar, but Maria seems to still be around as a Spirit Advisor.
 * Trapped in Another World

Orders of Knights

 * The First Order (King's Knights)

One of the smallest orders, these knights are the king's handpicked bodyguards. Because of the importance of their duties, this order is incredibly difficult to get into, and only the knights with the highest qualifications are included in its ranks. All four members are of the Elvale race, perhaps not coincidentally.

This order is led by Willimgard himself, and its members are Gieche, Ganosh, Bordoo, and Beatrice. Ito, the game designer, compares these knights to elite prep students in an escalator high school.


 * Emotionless Girl: Beatrice.
 * Five-Man Band
 * Long-Lost Relative: Beatrice to Hansreev.
 * Nerd Glasses: Gieche.
 * Parental Substitute: Ganosh to Nordische. Apparently Willimgard isn't winning any Daddy Of The Year awards.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Gieche.


 * The Second Order (Guardian Knights)

The kingdom's main line of defense, under the command of Grand Marshal Ganzer. It's the second-largest order, and contains many competent knights who are both very serious about their duties and quite close-knit. Their usual station is at Fort Gerhard, which is said to be one of the most important defensive points for the entire kingdom.

Aside from Ganzer, the knights in this order are Josef, Jungwill, Diora, Bergmann, Walder, Hildegardea, Cornelia, Hysrick, Freibear, Rolenta, Meryl, Lyzz, Johanna, and Colts.


 * Ambiguously Gay: Johanna.
 * Cool Big Sis: Diora.
 * Green Eyes: Diora, made all the more striking because she's black.
 * Ill Girl / Incurable Cough of Death: Cornelia.
 * La Résistance: Bergmann apparently tried to get one going against Ganzer after the latter became Brainwashed and Crazy.
 * Lethal Chef: Johanna.
 * Parental Abandonment: Lyzz and Rolenta.
 * Plucky Girl: Diora
 * Team Mom: Meryl.
 * Those Two Guys: Josef and Jungwill.
 * Tsundere: Rolenta.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Colts.


 * The Third Order (Cardinal Knights)

Capehornus' handpicked pawns. As they are all directly under his command, they often carry out hush-hush missions that fit into his master plans; not coincidentally, the order is filled with strong personalities that have trouble working together. Many of the knights in this order also have... issues.

The order is of course led by Capehornus, and its members include Aquelina, Leonel, Yellma, Alfred, Rosa, Hansreev, Yavuz, and Grunwalde.


 * Brainwashed and Crazy: Alfred.
 * Casanova: Alfred.
 * Dysfunction Junction
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hansreev has a scar over the bridge of his nose, another one right next to his eye, and yet another one on his chin.
 * It's All About Me: Alfred.
 * Long-Lost Relative: Hansreev to Beatrice.
 * Parental Substitute: Rosa to Pisce, as Capehornus is much more inattentive than he'd like to be.


 * The Fourth Order

An order organized to support the Guardian Knights, commanded by the respected and well-liked knight Reinhardt. They take orders from Ganzer as often as from the king, and like the Guardian Knights are a tight-knit bunch that often act as examples for other knights. They serve as a secondary line of defense for the kingdom.

Their roster includes Reinhardt, Wunsche, Crowzephy, Ernest, Annalotte, Schmitz, Nina, Lillian, and Billys. Ito compares them to a group of well-rounded students with strong leadership skills.


 * Ascended Extra: Annalotte has her own softcore Ecchi phone card, an honor shared only by the heroines and one other knight.
 * Big Brother Mentor: Wunsche.
 * Dojikko: Annalotte.
 * Father, I Don't Want to Fight: Nina.
 * He Knows Too Much: Reinhardt after his investigation on Ganzer, Yellma just showed up on the 'wrong' time.
 * Naive Everygirl: Nina.
 * Nice Hat: Schmitz.
 * Onee-Sama: Annalotte to Nina.
 * Papa Wolf: Reinhardt to his subordinates.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Annalotte and Lillian.
 * Stupid Sexy Flanders: Everyone is gay for Crowzephy. Everyone.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Crowzephy.
 * Unwanted Harem: Apparently Crowzephy has one.
 * Victorious Childhood Friend: Crowzephy and her civilian friend Donatello.


 * The Fifth Order

Guards assigned to defend the castle, led by Morozoff, a friendly—if somewhat conservative—wizard. All the knights in this order are very goal-oriented, loyal citizens, devoted to their leader even if they often comment on his love of alcohol. These knights rarely see assignments for work outside Aventheim due to how well they do their standard jobs.

Their roster is comprised of Morozoff, Moulounge, Rudolf, Seriee, Baltah, Neriedor, Atkasia, Lakshmi, and Kriemhilt. Ito compares them to academically-oriented students who don't have much use for sports, festivals, and other distracting events.


 * Ascended Extra: Kriemhilt in the PSP version, as she's the player stand-in during the new tutorial missions.
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: If killed, Neriedor and Atkasia's last words are apologies to and encouragement for each other. They also give each other huge Transoul bonuses.
 * Bifauxnen: Seriee.
 * Cool Old Guy: Morozoff and Moulounge.
 * Fiery Redhead: Neriedor and Atkasia.
 * The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Neriedor and Atkasia.
 * Kuudere: Atkasia.
 * Meaningful Name: Kriemhilt's name comes from Norse Mythology. This also explains her name change in the English version; "Gudrun" is an alternate name used for the same mythological figure.
 * Genius Bonus
 * Tsundere: Neriedor.
 * Verbal Tic: Kriemhilt talks like a dictionary while using military Keigo. This results in extensive use of "de arimasu" at the end of her sentences.


 * The Sixth Order

An order comprised mostly of female knights, led by Alighierie. They work with the Fifth Order to protect the castle, and are mostly found within its walls instead of outside them. However, its priestesses sometimes get work to support other orders. They're referred to sometimes as the Glamorous Order because of the number of women in it who are thought to be great beauties.

The order is comprised of Alighierie, Elizabeth, Anselica, Belta, Carena, Dahlia, Enite, Lucia, and Leggrodda. Ito compares them to a class from an all-girl Catholic school. (Yes, think Mari Mite.)


 * Adult Child: Dahlia
 * Big Eater: Lucia.
 * Cannot Stand Them Cannot Live Without Them: Enite and Amalgun.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Dahlia, many commented being unable to understand her
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead: Carena.
 * Fundamentally Female Cast
 * Green Eyes: Belta
 * Hidden Eyes: Leggrodda
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Leggrodda and Lucia.
 * Meganekko: Anselica.
 * No Fourth Wall: Dahlia.
 * The One Guy: Leggrodda.
 * Stay in the Kitchen: Leggrodda, the only man in the order, is a bit of a chauvinist.
 * Team Mom: Elizabeth.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Enite.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Belta


 * The Seventh Order

An order comprised mostly of middle-aged men and ladies in their twenties, led by Rondine. They are adept in all forms of combat and are assigned to support the castle as often as the forts; the Seventh Order is also one of the kingdom's main invasion forces. In current times, they are positioned between Fort Gerhard and the castle.

Its members are Rondine, Audric, Busturk, Klosemn, Isolde, Natalie, Caline, Mysleen, and Anette. Ito says they were designed to be like a class full of sports fanatics that cares more about outdoing other classes than studying.


 * Badass Beard: Rondine
 * Ill Girl: Mysleen.
 * Meganekko: Mysleen.
 * Older Than They Look: Anette. Most prominent example; she's 22 but doesn't even look half her age.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Anette.
 * Tsundere: Caline, who's really heavy on the deredere side.


 * The Eighth Order

One of the few orders firmly supporting Capehornus' faction, likely because he promoted their leader, Vishnah. Ordinarily, their duty is to protect the Royal Crypt, but lately they've also been given missions of espionage and message running. They work well in small groups, and are known as one of the most competent orders. Like the Cardinal Knights, they're all very individualistic.

Their members are Vishnah, Mahmoud, Darshaan, Meslieness, Magenda, Woosh, Sofine, Couger, and Michel. Ito says that while they would be a class of excellent students, they would have low attendance because a classroom would bore them.


 * Bishonen: Michel.
 * Cheerful Child: Sofine.
 * Cool Old Guy: Mahmoud.
 * Emotionless Girl: Vishnah is reputed to be one, but she's actually got a Hair-Trigger Temper.
 * Expy: Vishnah, of Zilva.
 * Ill Boy: Michel
 * My Greatest Failure: Vishnah's backstory.
 * Twice Shy: Michel and Roselipp


 * The Ninth Order

A group whose main job is to police the castle and maintain security in the kingdom. They're used as information runners and as a support force for the Fifth and Seventh Orders. They are commanded by the knight Granitze.

Their roster includes Granitze, Gert, Fritz, Mauser, Platier, Minattier, Theoneil, Ermaperche, and Oryza. Ito characterizes them as mannerly students who enjoy competitions and team events.


 * Adult Child: Theoneil, but this is what everyone loves about him
 * The Archer: Granitze.
 * Bokukko: Oryza.
 * Cheerful Child: Oryza.
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead: Yet again, Oryza.
 * Dying Alone: Granitze.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper : Minattier, if only by reputation.
 * Made of Iron: Granitze. Notable because, unlike every other human we see facing monsters, this guy took a hit from  massive spiked iron mace and didn't die instantly. We're talking about a monster even   was so afraid of that he had to blind it and chain it down, then seal it away. And still refers to it as something that is possibly more powerful than himself.
 * No Sense of Direction: Ermaperche, even though she loves maps.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: Gert is a popular chef.
 * The Stoic: Granitze.


 * The Tenth Order

A new order that is led by the recently promoted Fraubellica. They don't have any particular duty, but have become couriers and reconnaissance specialists. Everyone in the Tenth Order is completely devoted to Fraubellica, which speaks for her charisma and leadership abilities. This order is also known for its officers and subcommanders.

Its roster includes Fraubellica, Silvanoier, Heinelrooy, Grimwood, Juno, Oswald, Werner, Ulrich, and Amalgun. Ito says that as a class, they would be active, stand out, and constantly win awards at competitions and festivals.


 * The Ace: Fraubellica.
 * Ascended Extra: Fraubellica has her own softcore Ecchi phone card, an honor shared only by the heroines and one other knight.
 * Cannot Stand Them Cannot Live Without Them: Amalgun and Enite.
 * Chess Motifs: For Silvanoier the chess-lover.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Heinelrooy
 * Hidden Heart of Gold: Juno.
 * Lady of War: Heinelrooy; she's even called Bride of War
 * Older Than They Look: Baby-faced Werner often complains about being mistaken for a young boy.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Silvanoier and Heinelrooy.
 * There Are No Therapists: Averted for once; Grimwood is the unofficial therapist of the orders, particularly his own.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Grimwood.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Fraubellica.


 * The Eleventh Order (Town Keepers)

The largest of all the orders, although they're considered to be little more than a backup force by everyone else. Ganzer founded them, and he has assigned them to look after the towns near the lake; because of this there are many knights in the order who don't have much combat experience yet. This order is comprised almost entirely of Nestico.

Their roster includes Rolf, Legard, Alonso, Mardin, Erica, Janis, Pilgrim, Staehelingum, Hamilton, Cress, Bonita, Lester, Simone, Flore, Bans, Firenzen, Francais, Leier, Mora, Johann, and Dreyse. Ito describes them as the freshman class.


 * Bishonen: Rolf.
 * Cool Big Sis: Francais to Dreyse, weird since she appears to need babysitting herself
 * Country Mouse: Dreyse, a rare male example.
 * Darkskinned Blonde: Erica
 * Ensign Newbie: Rolf, though amazingly he serves with distinction
 * Extreme Doormat: Francais.
 * Expy: Bonita has the same color hair and eyes—and the same vicious temper, along with a similar Hispanic-sounding name—as Gulcasa and Emilia.
 * Eyes of Gold: Bonita.
 * Fiery Redhead: Bonita.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Bonita, apparently.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Bans to Mora.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Firenzen, an infamous alcoholic who cares a lot about his subordinates.
 * Kawaiiko: Flore and (to some extent) Leier.
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover: Simone
 * Older Than They Look: Flore.
 * Romantic Runner-Up: Bans. Mora even comments that she might have ended up with him if things were different.
 * Sergeant Rock: Alonso, probably Mardin too
 * Those Two Guys: Bans and Firenzen. Both are Alcoholics who also encourage others to drink
 * Unknown Rival: Fight hard, Bans...


 * The Twelfth Order (Western Cavalry)

A very small order comprised of mercenaries hired by Capehornus to monitor the Mehse and other peoples in the west. Because they bear witness to the poor treatment and racism that the kingdom inflicts upon the Mehse and Tiamat races, as well as their origins as foreigners and hirelings, many of them have misgivings about their duties. Most of the knights in this order have no particular loyalty to any factions within the kingdom, but are working for a paycheck. Their ranks are mostly filled with Balmore people, and the sole Larocca knight in the kingdom is also a part of this order.

Their roster includes Otto, Saarland, Heckler, Hagen, and Roselipp. Ito says that he designed them with an American school in mind.


 * Dark and Troubled Past: Otto and Hagen.
 * Dysfunction Junction: Except for Heckler.
 * Emo Teen: Roselipp gets treated as one by most adults.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Heckler.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Otto.
 * Keet: Heckler.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Otto.
 * My Beloved Smother: Poor Roselipp.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Hagen and Otto respectively.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Michel remarks that he sometimes senses "someone" (Roselipp) staring at him.
 * Tsundere: Roselipp is pretty heavy on the deredere side.
 * Twice Shy: Roselipp and Michel
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Otto and Roselipp to the rest of the orders, on the treatment of the Mehse.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Roselipp.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Heckler.