Maiden of Homura
The Maiden of Homura (焔の御子, homura no miko?, lit. "Maiden of Flame"), mistranslated as Maiden of Fuero in the localization, and also known as the Maiden Receiving Favor from the Goddess (神の加護を受けし御子, kami no kago o ukeshi miko?), or Goddess Maiden, is the title bestowed to the most precious life, as well as the most important politician in the society of Metafalss. Usually, this is the Maiden the people talk about when she comes up in conversation.
Summary
The Maiden of Homura is the Maiden that has existed ever since Pastalia was founded after the people of Metafalss settled on the top of the Second Tower of Ar tonelico after the Grathnode Inferia, which is bestowed to the Reyvateil who has Frelia's D-Cellophane Installed into her and thus is able to utilize her power and privileges, as well as the ability to Download and Sing Hymmnos Extracts thanks to the β-ER technique. The first such Reyvateil to possess this title was a Pureblooded β-Type called Selena, one of many that came from El Elemia alongside Frelia. She was a close collaborator of Sage Jaza and Enja, but after Enja was lost in the ill-fated expedition to Sol Marta to retrieve Frelia, and Jaza passed away from heartbreak and old age, Selena assumed the rulership over Metafalss as its second Pope and first Maiden.[1]
However, while the original intention was for the Maiden to be chosen from a single lineage descending from Selena, this became an impossibility once it was discovered that being the child of a Reyvateil, a Third Generation, doomed these children to have lives short enough to not even cross the twenty years threshold. Therefore, the Grand Bell decided to pick the Maidens liberally from the townspeople, and all the Maidens from the second up to the 14th one (Nenesha) would end up having short rules and lives due to the fact that the Diquility life extension agent was not invented until Nenesha's time. Therefore, the Maidens were likened to flowers, saying they bloomed beautifully to fade away shortly later, and were the cause of many ceremonies and festivals.[2]
Due to its political importance, the position of the Maiden was also at the center of many intrigues and schemes, one of the most tragic incidents being that all candidates to Maiden were assassinated by radicals in order for their preferred candidate to be enthroned as the 5th Maiden, and this caused such infamy that she came to be known to the future generations as the Bloodstained Maiden.[2]
Nenesha's time was also one of great excitement for the region, as this was the time when Infel Phira was finally completed, and thus a second Maiden position called the Maiden of Mio was created to be her partner and equal in her pursuit for the creation of Metafalica, as well as the Goddess Maiden being given the additional title of Maiden of Homura. However, the position was short-lived due to the attempt at Metafalica carried out by Nenesha and her partner, Infel, failing, causing Nenesha's death, the near-loss of the D-Cellophane to Raki, and the start of the First War Against the Goddess. Therefore, the Maiden of Mio position was sealed away and all records of its existence destroyed or erased, while the title of Maiden of Homura was suppressed, and she reverted to being known solely as the Maiden.
While Nenesha did not leave any descendants behind, the Maiden that succeeded her, Souffle, did produce heirs, and this finally created a continuous bloodline for the Maidens, which continues until the current days.[2]
List of Maidens
| Generation | Name | Year of Appointment (Age) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Selena | 3086 AD (49 years) | Also was the second Pope of Pastalia at the same time. |
| Second | Ene | 3184 AD (7 years) | First Maiden among the Third Generation Reyvateils. |
| Third | Unknown | 3193 AD (5 years) | - |
| Fourth | Unknown | 3201 AD (3 years) | - |
| Fifth | Unknown | 3211 AD (8 years) | Appointed by the radicals. The "Bloodstained Maiden" |
| Sixth | Unknown | 3218 AD (4 years) | - |
| Seventh | Unknown | 3228 AD (4 years) | - |
| Eighth | Unknown | 3238 AD (2 years) | - |
| Ninth | Nea | 3246 AD (6 years) | Was extremely weak as a Reyvateil |
| 10th | Unknown | 3254 AD (7 years) | Appointed because of a change of regime, and supported by the new rulers. |
| 11th | Unknown | 3261 AD (5 years) | - |
| 12th | Unknown | 3276 AD (1 year) | The youngest awakened Reyvateil in history |
| 13th | Unknown | 3282 AD (5 years) | - |
| 14th | Nenesha | 3295 AD (3 years) | First ruling Maiden after the discovery of Diquility |
| 15th | Souffle | 3317 AD (6 years) | Advocated for the creation of the Souffle Axis |
| 16th | Raksha | 3351 AD (14 years) | Assisted in the development of the Rim. She is remembered as the namesake of the town of Rakshek. |
| 17th | Unknown | 3381 AD (19 years) | - |
| 18th | Miasa | 3402 AD (12 years) | - |
| 19th | Illusha | 3429 AD (14 years) | Distinguished heroine in the War Against Neo Elemia. |
| 20th | Unknown | 3455 AD (16 years) | - |
| 21th | Unknown | 3487 AD (6 years) | Died in an accident |
| 22th | Unknown | 3505 AD (16 years) | - |
| 23th | Unknown | 3544 AD (14 years) | - |
| 24th | Unknown | 3549 AD (4 years) | - |
| 25th | Unknown | 3563 AD (13 years) | - |
| 26th | Unknown | 3593 AD (15 years) | - |
| 27th | Unknown | 3618 AD (14 years) | - |
| 28th | Unknown | 3264 AD (6 years) | Maiden that ruled the longest besides Selena |
| 29th | Unknown | 3667 AD (8 years) | - |
| 30th | Unknown | 3696 AD (15 years) | - |
| 31th | Unknown | 3722 AD (14 years) | - |
| 32th | Arshe | 3745 AD (14 years) | Died at age 22 in an IPD outbreak. |
| 33th | Cloche | 3760 AD (7 years) | Appointed by a regime change caused by a coup d'etat. |
Enthroning
Regardless of whether the candidate to Maiden of Homura is the legitimate descendant of the Maiden bloodline that stretches all the way back to Souffle's time, or she is picked by the Grand Bell to become the next Maiden, the candidate will have Frelia's D-Cellophane Installed into her at a young age after her predecessor has Uninstalled it. This will overwrite her Hymn Code H-Wave band with a copy of Frelia's, causing her to have Frelia's Hymn Code as well as access to her powers and authorization, with a few exceptions.
However, the full power of the β-ER technique that enables this will not manifest itself until a ceremony called the Heavenly Descent Festival has been performed. This ceremony consists of Singing the Hymmnos Extract EXEC_SOL=FAGE/., which activates the D-Cellophane's characteristics and also sets it up as a proxy through which the Maiden of Homura can send Frelia commands and signals for the execution of Hymmnos Extracts as if she were Frelia herself.
Abilities
As mentioned previously, the Maiden of Homura can use Hymmnos Extracts as if she were Frelia herself, and will be acknowledged as such by many of the systems present in the Second Tower and the Rim, though apparently there are some systems where this will not work, such as the elevator that leads to the Conductor Activator's top floor.
Another ability the β-ER technique grants the Maiden of Homura is the power to listen to Frelia's voice, which is where the "Descent" part of the Heavenly Descent Festival's name comes from: this means that Frelia's consciousness will descend upon the Maiden of Homura, allowing her to talk to people remotely. In fact, this ability was used to great effect by the Metafalssians to gain knowledge from Frelia, which allowed them to attain great advancements for their civilization. However, Frelia has no memory of these descents, and it has even been said that the Maidens of Homura have all been just repeating Frelia's sleep-talking for generations.[3] The Maiden of Homura is also the only person who can understand what the guardian of the Infelsphere, Infelsphere Platomine, or Soope, says.
The Maiden of Homura can also summon Frelia's own power in situations of large emotional stress or turmoil, as well as feel her emotions remotely. She can even also influence Frelia to do some actions, as seen when Luca interrupted Frelia when she was Singing EXEC_HIBERNATION/.. However, all these abilities except for listening to Frelia's voice, sharing consciousness with her, and understanding Soope, they all come at the cost of spending the Symphonic Power that Frelia needs to maintain the whole region, so abuse of these powers could potentially lead to the collapse of all the structures that allow Metafalss to exist.
Trivia
The word Fuero that is used in the localization to refer to the Maiden of Homura has no relationship with flames and fire beyond sounding slightly similar to the Spanish word for fire, "fuego". It is instead a Spanish term derived from the Latin word "forum", and it is used to refer to legal jurisdiction, historical laws for a territory, compilations of laws, privileges, arrogance, or seats of justice.
Therefore, the localized term has nothing to do with the translation for the original title in Japanese.[4]