Barrier Maiden: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|"Lafrenze, don’t forget. You are the last guardian of the door that protects this world from the dead that dwell in Hades. [[Virgin Power|You cannot ever break the barrier of purity.]]"|'''"The Witch and Lafrenze"''', ''[[Sound Horizon|Elysion]]''}}

Sometimes the [[Damsel in Distress]] isn't just a pretty and helpless love interest in need of rescuing; sometimes [[Load-Bearing Hero|she's also a vital support beam]] for the continuing existence of a safe and happy world. Kinda makes dating awkward.

 

 

 

 

Expect the Barrier Maiden to be a [[White Magician Girl]], [[The Messiah]], [[Apocalypse Maiden]] or [[Pollyanna]]. Male examples are pretty uncommon, but [[Greek Mythology|Atlas]] at least is a good one, making this [[Older Than Feudalism]]. See also [[MacGuffin Girl]] and [[Holy Child]]. Not to be confused with the [[Barrier Warrior]], but they may occasionally overlap. Also not to be confused with a [[Unusual Euphemism|Maiden Barrier]], which can also make dating awkward.

* Kotori Monou from ''[[X (manga)|X 1999]]'', who unbeknownst to her is one of the keys to the world's doom or salvation.

* Kurogane's mother from ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'' was one of these. She was the miko to the local shrine which maintained the barriers keeping the demons at bay, and {{spoiler|she was assassinated by Fei Wong Reed at a critical moment, resulting in the collapse of the barriers and the utter destruction of Kurogane's homeland, with himself as the [[Sole Survivor]].}}

** A sort-of unofficial example is {{spoiler|Anko Mitarashi. After defeating her in battle, Kabuto spares her...only to keep her prisoner and barely alive, to slowly absorb Anko's chakra so he can get all of Orochimaru's power, coming from her Cursed Seal}}. [[Nightmare Fuel|Aaaaaaargh!.]]

** Both [[The Chosen One|chosen children]] [[The Messiah|Naruto]] and [[Dark Messiah|Nagato]] could be considered male examples of this.

** Unusual in that it's not any magical power she has that makes saving her critical, but that allowing the next in line (her cousin and suspected [[Brother-Sister Incest|half-brother]]) to take the throne would give the villains enough cash to buy leadership of the church and turn it into a [[Church of Evil]].

* In ''The Elfstones of Shannara'', one of the main characters is a Barrier Maiden. {{spoiler|A bit subverted, in that a magical tree is keeping shut a rift to the Demonic Underworld, and it begins to die. The female lead, Amberle, is the chosen one, but we only find out in the climax that this doesn't mean she heals the tree - she ''becomes'' the tree. Which is a bit sad when you're a 12-year-old kid.}}

* A rather darker example of the trope: in ''[[The Vampire Chronicles]]'', the first vampire, Akasha, is in suspended animation and closely guarded in an underground vault by her vampire servants, since, while she herself is virtually indestructible, if she is harmed, all the vampires dependent on her would be destroyed. In ancient times, a usurper places her in the sunlight: while she only receives a tan, vampires around the globe burst into flame.

* There is a clear example in Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'': Melian the Maia uses her powers to guard and defend Doriath with a protection called the Girdle of Melian.

** Galadriel does the same with Lothlorien in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. It should be noted that it was Melian who taught Galadriel her stuff.

* [[Manipulative Bitch|Senna]] from ''[[Everworld]]'' serves as some sort of weird cross between this and [[Apocalypse Maiden]]. She's basically a living portal between Everworld and "the Old World" (ours), and several forces in Everworld want her for various reasons. An added twist: in a world full of [[God of Evil|murderous deities]] and a god-eating [[Eldritch Abomination]], ''she'' intends to become the [[Big Bad]] herself.

* The Eternals from ''[[Fablehaven]]'' are a group of immortal Barrier People (not all maidens) who serve as {{spoiler|the second lock to opening the demon prison Zyzyx}}. Immortality has ''not'' [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|been kind to them]], such that it is not actually all that difficult for them to be convinced to take their own lives. {{spoiler|The [[Big Bad]]'s [[Ironic Hell]] is to become one of them.}}

* Princess Jenna from ''[[Septimus Heap]]''. Basically, the safety of the Castle depends upon her presence in the Castle, leading to both the plots of ''Magyk'' and ''Flyte'' as she is persecuted by [[Big Bad|DomDaniel]] and actually kidnapped respectively.

*** In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', Peach and ''Bowser'' are a Barrier ''Couple''. If they ever got married, the Chaos Heart would be formed and begin to destroy the world. Naturally, this is the first thing the [[Big Bad]] does in the first part of the game. Peach is so easily kidnapped...

* ''[[Fatal Frame]].'' It's eventually revealed that Barrier Maidens were used to ritually seal the Hell Mouth under the house. {{spoiler|You find out that [[Late to the Party|all hell broke loose]] because the barrier maiden had only just caught sight of another man at some point before the ritual.}}

* Colette from ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', the [[Chosen One]], intended to sacrifice herself to keep the evil of the Desians sealed away. Really suffers for it, both for the cost of performing her mission, as well as most of the villains and even a few others treating her as a [[MacGuffin]]. {{spoiler|Not to mention her mission is a complete lie told by the Desians themselves, who were ''never'' "sealed away," her actual purpose being to save her world by screwing over another one, and becoming a soulless vessel for the [[Big Bad]]'s dead sister}}.

** Richea Spodune of ''[[Tales of Hearts]]'' is the non-sacrificial version, and a double serving. First, she's the only thing holding [[The Heartless]] in check. When she's temporarily incapacitated, the Zerom and their symptomatic Despir Sickness return to the world like a sledgehammer. Second, the [[Big Bad]] requires her power to activate the [[Space Whale]] to go release a world-eating monster (he has a reason, trust me). {{spoiler|Her elder sister is ''also'' one, having fused herself to said monster to seal it away in the first place}}. Yet another variant example is a massive [[Power Crystal]] powering a barrier protecting the village of Norquin. The maiden here is dead, but it's said that her will to protect the village remains in the Psistone and powers the barrier.

* {{spoiler|The protagonist}} of ''[[Persona 3]]'' is one of these, holding back {{spoiler|[[Eldritch Abomination|Nyx]], the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of Death - interesting justification for [[We Cannot Go on Without You]]. His [[Heroic Sacrifice]] makes the seal permanent}}.

** {{spoiler|He was not only just holding back Nyx, but also Erebus, who is the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of humanity's anguish and wishes for death. If Erebus and Nyx made contact, then the world would end. The protagonist becomes a wall (sealed in stone and stuck to it, no less), destined to stand between the two cosmic horrors forever, or at least until humanity as a whole is changed and stops subconsciously wishing for death. This could mean that he's there to stay but his former companions resolve to do what they can to change the world. Considering three of them could live indefinitely - Aigis being a robot, and Elizabeth being...whatever Elizabeth is - it could be possible in the long run.}}

* Another spin of the Kushinada myth is used in ''[[The King of Fighters|King of Fighters 97]]'' with Yuki, Kyo Kusanagi's [[Tsundere]] girlfriend. {{spoiler|Since *she* is the last descendant of Princess Kushinada in these days, the Orochi clan abducts her and plans to kill her in the ritual that will bring Yamata no Orochi back into this world. She survives her ordeal thanks to Kyo, Chizuru and Iori, though.}}

* Also in this category, in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', is {{spoiler|Anveena Teague, who is the embodiment of the remaining energies of the mystical Sunwell. Eventually, she sacrifices herself in order to help the players defeat Kil'Jaeden, and perhaps restore the Sunwell.}}

* Summoners in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' would qualify {{spoiler|except for Yuna, of course, who breaks the cycle.}}

* ''Nostalgia'' has one in Fiona. {{spoiler|She is the only one who can touch the tablet fragments, thus preventing the bad guys from collecting them without her. She also has to die to seal the [[Big Bad]] away.}}

* It was in ''[[Mega Man Zero]] 2'' did we finally find out what happened to the hero of the [[Mega Man X|previous series]]. {{spoiler|He used his physical body to seal the Dark Elf, a powerful [[Energy Being]] that is the cause of the [[World Sundering]] between the ''X'' and ''Zero'' series. This leaves X in borrowed time, only appearing to Zero as an [[Energy Being]] himself. Destroying X's physical body would release the Dark Elf, which would mean another mass genocide if she's in the wrong hands.}} And it just so happens to be the goal of the [[Big Bad]] of ''Zero 2''.

* Hazuki Kazama from [[Samurai Shodown]], a girl who used her powerful sealing techniques to tame and seal two inmensely strong spirits, Enja and Suija, in the swords of her two older brothers, Kazuki and Sougetsu. Too bad that Amakusa heard about Hazuki's abilities and took a hold of her for the worst...

* A gaint dragon {{spoiler|,who is Ryu's mother}}, in ''[[Breath of Fire 2]]'' is seen blocking the door that leads to the final dungeon to keep the [[Big Bad]] from coming out. {{spoiler|In a normal ending, Ryu replaces her since she dies.}}

 

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