Legion (レギオン Legion) was the Unrestricted Spell of "Commander of Thousand Conquests" Orgon, a Wanderer of Bal Masqué who was feared as the "Warmonger". It allowed him to create an army of knights which were as thin as cards.
Background[]
By shaving off his essence, his Power of Existence, Orgon could create soldiers made of paper in great numbers, all having his Power of Existence inside them. Life-sized knights appeared drawn on the paper in an eerie patina color. Particularly powerful among the knights were the "Four Cards" (四枚の手札 Yonmai no Tefuda), Hogier (ホグラー Hogurā), La Hire (ラハイア Rahaia), Hector (ヘクトル Hekutoru) and Lancelot (ランスロット Ransurotto). Orgon attacked enemies using numerous tactics centering around the Four Cards and summoned armies strategically using a combination of their troops.
Legion soldiers gave an impression of being brittle because they were extremely thin, but they were actually very strong, with just one paper knight being tough to handle for a newcomer Flame Haze. Fundamentally the knights attacked using the weapons that they possessed, such as swords, lances and arrows, but were capable of many other things. Cards with horses drawn on them could be created for the soldiers to ride and become cavalry. By lighting flames on the decorations on the helmets of two of the Four Cards, an Unrestricted Spell would be activated, which would allow the Fūzetsu cast by Orgon to move along with the Legion army.[1] The cards could overlap each other to produce a bulky knight and they could also interweave their arms and use other cards as rotating blades.
Legion's greatest characteristic and strength was that the whole army was born from Orgon's essence, meaning the whole army was Orgon himself. For that reason, in order to destroy Orgon after he has activated Legion, one would have to destroy the entire army. For most people, they would run out of energy trying to do so and be overcome by the number of soldiers. Orgon's hat and cloak, which housed his Aggregate Will, was like the control tower and operated the entire army. This meant the hat and cloak were Orgon's true body and his weak point, but as long as his Aggregate Will was not completely destroyed, the main body could be reconstructed as long as the army existed. Orgon could only be defeated by someone who could launch a surprise attack on him with a powerful blow, like Tenmoku Ikko had done. Destroying the entire army at once was also something extremely difficult to do, save for people like "Archer of Aurora" and "Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment", who specialized in destruction itself.[2] This trait of Legion was what made Orgon the personification of "outnumbering the opposition".[2] Apart from battle against a lone opponent, the paper soldiers could also be used for diversion tactics or guiding enemies, so they were also effective against enemies who didn't charge in headlong.
In the anime[]
In the anime, the knights had solid bodies and were not drawn on paper. They wore helmets and were equipped with long spears. Unlike in the light novels, they were not applied in ways characteristic of paper. For one instance, the knights resembled paper as they rushed at Merihim,[3] resembling an attack from Regular Sharp. The Four Cards were also not made apparent from their forces.
Orgon's Hogier troops
- The Hogier troops were composed of soldiers carrying pole weapons.[4]
- The La Hire troops were composed of soldiers carrying swords.[4]
- The other two troops, Hector and Lancelot, were composed of soldiers with axes and soldiers with crossbows.[5][3]
- Additionally, with a snap of his fingers, Orgon could summon lancers with horses that could walk upwards into the air.[3]
In Eternal Song[]
The Four Cards guarding Hecate.
If looked at front-on, Legion soldiers appeared to be normal knights. When viewed from the side, they were thin like cards, thus appearing to be made of paper rather than drawn on paper. Each of the Four Cards wielded a shield with a different playing card suit on them.[6]
Plot[]
During the Great War of the Middle Ages, which Bal Masqué were participants in, the Four Cards were in charge of the litter which carried Hecate of the Trinity.[6]
"Manipulator of Objects" Wilhelmina Carmel had accused Legion of being a cheap imitation of the first "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" Mathilde Saint-Omer's Knights due to the similarity of the two Unrestricted Spells. However, due to the way in which the two were constructed differed, her statement was a false accusation.
Legion was a powerful Unrestricted Spell but due to its characteristics it was weak against Unrestricted Spells which could annihilate wide areas, and it was easily exterminated by Merihim's Rainbow's Heaven Sword, which was exceptional at doing just that.
Trivia[]
- The legion was the military unit of the Ancient Roman army.
- The Four Cards take their names from the figures who served as the models for the four Jacks used in playing cards.
- Hogier is named after Ogier the Dane, who is the Jack of spades.
- La Hire is the Jack of hearts.
- Hector is the Jack of diamonds.
- Lancelot is the Jack of clubs.
References[]
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 05 Chapter 03 page 118
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 05 Chapter 04 page 202
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shakugan no Shana Episode 16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shakugan no Shana Episode 14
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Episode 15
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Shakugan no Shana X: Eternal Song Manga Chapter 11