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Aegis (イージス, Ījisu) is a legendary Holy ÄRM shaped like a shield. In its inactive form, the shield is small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand. When the ÄRM becomes invoked the shield grows until it can cover the user from any attack heading in its direction.

The ÄRM uses the user's affection for a certain person as the source of its power. In the case of Nanashi's attachment to his late friend Pirun, the defensive strength is significant enough that it can prevent an attack from an ÄRM from the second strongest knight. The shield also has healing properties and these are strong enough to return vitality to a person with a lot of injuries and that lost a lot of blood.

The disadvantage of the shield is that if enough force is applied in an attack then the shield can break.

Etymology and Origin[]

The aegis (Ancient Greek: αἰγίς aigís) is an object from Greek mythology and referenced several times in the Iliad, carried by both Athena and Zeus. It is usually depicted as a shield, but has also been interpreted to be animal skin or the head of a Gorgon.

The Greek αἰγίς aigis, has many meanings including:

  1. "violent windstorm", from the verb ἀίσσω aïssō (word stem ἀιγ- aïg-) = "I rush or move violently". Akin to καταιγίς kataigis, "thunderstorm".
  2. The shield of a deity as described above.
  3. "goatskin coat", from treating the word as meaning "something grammatically feminine pertaining to goat": Greek αἴξ aix (stem αἰγ- aig-) = "goat", + suffix -ίς -is (stem -ίδ- -id-).

The original meaning may have been the first, and Ζεὺς Αἰγίοχος Zeus Aigiokhos = "Zeus who holds the aegis" may have originally meant "Sky/Heaven, who holds the thunderstorm". The transition to the meaning "shield" or "goatskin" may have come by folk etymology among a people familiar with draping an animal skin over the left arm as a shield. However, the first meaning directly alludes to Nanashi's affinity for lightning.

History[]

One day, Nanashi returned with a haul of treasure that included several ÄRMs. The bandits tell the women at the fort that they intend to sell the haul at the market and for anyone who's interested in any items in it must take it now. Pirun noticed an ÄRM that was shaped like a shield with a white maiden etched into it. When she asks what it is, Nanashi responds that it was an ÄRM that none of them knew how to use or what kind it was. He then gives it to her as a present.

After Peta's massacre on Luberia Fortress, Nanashi met with the few survivors who had already collected the dead bodies and arranged them for identification and burial in one of the halls. Nanashi walked through the hall, glancing at how many there were, when he noticed a hand sticking out from under the woven blanket clutching onto a shield ÄRM. Nanashi realized it was Pirun, and got on his knees to hold Pirun's body while she was still wrapped in the blanket.

The next morning during a storm, a funeral procession carried all of the deceased victims to a hastily readied cemetery near the river gorge. When the wagon that carried Pirun's body hit a pothole on the trail, Pirun's ÄRM which had been laying on top of the blanket covering her fell off and into the river at the bottom of the gorge. Nanashi initially tried to go after it, but stared down to the river below, accepting that it was lost.

The night before Nanashi's match against Peta, Galian ambushes Nanashi outside the fort and chases him to a rope bridge, in an attempt to stop him from fighting Peta the next day. Nanashi catches him off guard by destroying the bridge they stood on, both of them falling in to the river below. Before swimming back up to the surface, Nanashi sees Pirun's ÄRM on the riverbed glowing red, prompting him to grab it. The other bandits help him up from climbing back up the cliff, and Alviss inquires about the ÄRM in Nanashi's hand. Nanashi says it's nothing before suggesting that they all go back to the fort. Galian climbs back up behind them, calling out to Nanashi that he'll die tomorrow if he goes through with fighting Peta. Nanashi says nothing, continuing back to the cemetery to return Pirun's ÄRM to her grave marker. After Nanashi returns to Reginlief Castle alone, Dorothy glances at Alviss, who's thinking of the ÄRM at the grave marker that resumed glowing.

The next day, Alviss meets with Nanashi to hand him Pirun's ÄRM, saying that it wants him to take it with him into battle against Peta. Nanashi struggles throughout the battle, however, being tortured with his lifeforce and magic power literally drained away.

Just as Peta swings his Sickle Death down, the scythe breaks in two upon impacting a barrier that formed around Nanashi. Pirun's spirit appears above him praying, as her ÄRM, the Legendary Holy ÄRM - Aegis, activates in response to the threat to his critical condition. The ÄRM not only protected him from further harm, but also restored Nanashi to full health and replenished all of his magical energy that was previously lost in the battle. Nanashi stands up again, fully healed and with a full tank of magic power, whereas Peta used up a great deal with his own ÄRMs. Peta attempts to use Blood Syringe once more, but Aegis manifests itself into a larger form to block the attack, and hiding Nanashi from his sight. Out of frustration, Peta summons his Guardian, Body Eye, to destroy the shield. Despite success, Nanashi was able to turn the battle in his favor and kill Peta, finally avenging Pirun and the others. Nanashi picks up a broken piece of Aegis and says it's the best charm he could ever have, thanking Pirun.

Gallery[]

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