even_if_it_crumbles

Personal Information
Name: Cocorose
Age: Adult
Personal Journal: Coco_rose
Email / Plurk / Discord / Other: Email: nsx.commander@gmail.com,

coco_rose
Current Character(s): Third Doctor

Character Information
Character Name: Zagato
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth (anime)

Character History:
Wiki Link - for the synopsis of the Magic Knight Rayearth Story
Wiki Link - for Zagato

Born in Cephiro he grew up with his younger brother Lantis.
Both boys were tutored by Guru Clef. Clef taught many of the world's young magic users.
Cephiro is a world where the power of one's will determines everything. Early on Zagato showed great skill with magic as he has a strong will.
As he grew older he was granted the title High Priest of Cephiro. It was his duty to help Princess Emeraude pray for Cephiro. He had by this point grown strong enough in magic/will to become the 2nd most powerful mage in all of Cephiro.
Unfortunately for Zagato he fell in love with Princess Emeraude and she with him. This was an unforgivable crime for if the Pillar was ever distracted from her duties or thought of anything other than the safety of Cephiro the world would be in danger of destruction. She couldn't wish for anything for herself. Zagato began to question the Pillar System, to wonder why one woman had to be a prisoner in order to support an entire world. Why couldn't she be free too?
Lantis, who had been serving as the country's only magical swordsman, left Cephiro about this time. He loved his brother, Cephiro, and Princess Emeraude but he had seen the way the Princess and his brother looked at one another and he knew what was coming. He couldn't bare to witness the coming tragedy. Naturally Zagato was sad to hear his brother had left but he couldn't hold it against Lantis.
As their love grew Princess Emeraude came to understand how dangerous this was for her world and her people. Zagato knew it was dangerous too but he hated to see the Princess enslaved to a world whose happiness she had to pray for when she couldn't wish for anything for herself. He grew to hate the Pillar System that supported his world.
Zagato made his choice. One day he stormed the castle, defeating all who stood in his way, and kidnapped Princess Emeraude. He didn't see this as a cruel act, he was trying to protect Princess Emeraude from what he knew she was going to do.
Without Emeraude's uninterrupted prayers Cephiro turned into a world of war and confusion where monsters who used to be perfectly tame now stalked around attacking people. The once peaceful Cephiro grew very dangerous.
Princess Emeraude had the strongest will and therefore was the strongest magic user in all Cephiro. While still a prisoner in Zagato's castle she managed to call on her remaining will power to summon the Legendary Magic Knights from another world.
The three young girls who would become the Magic Knights (Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu) thought they had been summoned to save Princess Emeraude from Zagato but from his point of view he was trying to save Princess Emeraude from them. As such he sent many of his followers out to kill the Magic Knights before they could learn and train their magic, but each failed.
Right after the young girls from another world were summoned Zagato sent Alcyone, another powerful mage and former student of Clef's, to kill them before they became a real threat. She was defeated by Hikaru who manged at the last moment to harness her new fire powers and defeat Alcyone's ice attack.
While Master Mage Clef was distracted protecting the young Magic Knights and hurrying them on their mission Zagato slipped up behind him. Using a blast of focused energy he was able to zap the elder mage with a spell that turned him to stone. This was not a permanent situation and the mage was still able to interfere by speaking to the girls psychically through Mokona, but it did prevent him from interfering directly in any battles.
When the Magic Knights escaped into the Forest of Silence, Zagato decided not to send any of his followers after them as magic didn't work in the forest and he thought the many monsters there would kill the Magic Knights. He was unpleasantly surprised when the Forest of Silence appeared in his water mirror, meaning that the force that was blocking magic had been defeated... and there were the Knights celebrating their victory.
Despite orders to the contrary Alcyone attempted to defeat the three young Knights again but only succeeded in helping them learn new magical spells, via Clef speaking to the girls telepathically through Mokona. She failed a second time.
Alcyone begged for another chance to defeat the girls, saying that this time she had a plan and Zagato, even though she had disappointed him twice before, gave her another chance. Alcyone was defeated badly this time and when she returned to Zagato's castle she clung to him, calling him her dear Lord Zagato, begging his forgiveness, and yet another chance. He instead banished her back to behind the waterfall in the audience hall, keeping her imprisoned there where she would be out of trouble.
Ascot volunteered to challenge the Magic Knights. He was a young summoner who sent his monster friends out to try and kill the Knights. He managed to kill Presea the Master Smith of Cephrio but not before she had crafted the girl's legendary escudo armor. The Magic Knights buried their friend and carried on.
After several defeats a desperate Ascot decided to free Alcyone, even though he was worried that Zagato might kill him for it, because she said she had a medicine that would make his monsters strong enough to defeat the Magic Knights. It did work to make the monster stronger but by using the power of the creature's own body, killing it. As Ascot saw these monsters as his friends it was a huge betrayal.
Ascot was not punished for his failure as Caldina, a travelling dancer and enchantress, spoke up for him, saying he was just tricked by Alcyone. Zagato agreed with this and said Ascot should do better next time.
Under Ascot's watch Umi was able to revive her Rune God. These Rune Gods were Legendary Mashin that were needed to help in the final battle. You could think of them as a giant sentient robots or Gundam. Each Knight had their own Rune God to awaken and once they did then they would become full fledged Magic Knights.
Zagato decided to act himself. As a massive projection of his will he appeared before the Magic Knights, introduced himself and then called a lightening attack down from the sky to try and kill them. Princess Emeraude used her power to transport the Magic Knights to safety and she broke Zagato's Water Mirror so he couldn't watch the progress of the Knights any longer. When he confronted Princess Emeraude she begged him to stop what he is doing because she didn't want anyone else to be sacrificed. He said nothing, just looked at her sadly.
Caldina decided to help Ascot by taking on the Knights herself and with her magical illusions she was able to beat them up pretty badly but they hurt her too. Ascot was sent out to defeat them when they were weak but they were able to talk Ascot out of using his pet monsters as weapons. He retired from Zagato's service.
Ascot then tried to convince Caldina to abandon the mission to defeat the Magic Knights but she was determined to try. She managed to enchant the girl's with her magical dance but Fuu managed to escape. And although she had to face her two enchanted friends in battle she was able to free her friends and defeat Caldina, with a little helpful interference from Ascot. Caldina too was talked out of continuing in Zagato's service, it just didn't pay well enough.
As the Magic Knights drew closer to the shrine of the Wind Rune God Inouva approached Zagato and begged to be sent out to stop them. Zagato was reluctant until Inouva mentioned he knew what Zagato's true intent was. Surprised that Inouva had been by his side the entire time with that knowledge Zagato agreed to let him go.
Inouva tricked the Knights with a disguise to learn their weakness. Fuu loved a boy named Ferio and with him a prisoner Inouva thought she would be easier to defeat. If Fuu bowed before him and agreed not to become a Magic Knight he would free Ferio. Fuu refused because she knew Ferio would be upset if she gave up and Hikaru and Umi needed her. The Rune God saw this and accepted her as his Knight. Inouva was defeated and the Rune God was awakened.
Emeraude once again begged Zagato to stop this but he said he couldn't because his heart hadn't changed, nor would it change even if Cephiro was destroyed or even if everyone died.
As there was only one Rune God left to awaken, Zagato sent a brainwashed Lafarga out to defeat the Magic Knights. Hikaru was able to defeat Lafarga when she accidentally reminded him of the day Zagato kidnapped Emeraude and broke the spell controlling Lafarga's heart.
Inouva approached Zagato again, this time to beg him to be transformed back into his true form so he could face the Magic Knights with his full powers. Zagato momentarily refused to listen. Inouva was a creature who had been a gift from Emeraude to Zagato, a symbol of the love she couldn't speak of, and that was why he had kept Inouva by his side this whole time. Zagato warned Inouva that if he were transformed back he would remain a creature forever, never to have human form again, but Inouva persisted. He had wished to become human to better help with the war, but now he wished to be himself to kill the Knights. He went on to say he understood Zagato's feelings and wished to help his wish come true. He refused to think of Zagato as evil. A loyal pet always, Inouva's wish was granted.
As a powerful elemental Inouva faced the Magic Knights again but he lost the battle and was killed. Emeraude and Zagato both grieved for him together when he died.
Alcyone returned and begged for Zagato to let her help him again but when he walked away, refusing to listen, she followed and overheard a conversation between Zagato and Emeraude. She wondered why if Zagato wanted to rule Cephio he didn't just threaten Emeraude, as Cephiro is a mirror of her heart... control her and you controlled Cephiro. Alcyone didn't understand.
Finally after all of these defeats Zagato himself went out to face the Magic Knights before they could awaken the final Rune God. He attacked Umi and Fuu while Hikaru was speaking to the Rune God behind a locked door. They were easily defeated and their magical armor taken from them. When Hikaru returned she saw her injured friends and initially she is defeated too, her armor and weapons taken from her. But Lafarga showed up to shield the Knights from the final blow. As a swordsman Lafarga was no match for Zagato and was about to be killed himself when armor-less Hikaru hopped in front to protect him. Zagato is impressed with her but says she is no match for him without her armor and weapons. He offered to send her and her friends back home if she gave up the quest to become a Magic Knight. She refused. Zagato ended up being injured when the Rune God accepted Hikaru's heart and the added power she gained was able to break through his defenses.
Defeated Zagato returned to Princess Emeraude's side. She healed him when she noticed he was hurt and begged him once again to stop what he was doing. He smiled and asked her what she thought she was doing by healing the wounds of the man who would defeat the Magic Knights. They shared a tender moment but he couldn't give up on his wish to free Princess Emeraude from Cephiro.
This conversation was overheard by Alcyone who confronted him, wishing to know if those words he had whispered to the Princess were true. We never hear what he said but given the context of the scene it was likely 'I love you.' Alcyone cried that she had been fighting for him the whole time and why had she bothered if he were in love with some one else? Zagato refused to be blamed for that saying she had been fighting for her own heart the whole time and that she was of no use to him at all. He left Alcyone in a crying mess on the floor.
Zagato created a Rune God of his own from his immense willpower and left to face the Magic Knights one last time. His will was strong and he nearly won but the will of the Magic Knights was stronger and they succeeded in defeating him.
His last wish before he died was for Princess Emeraude. He wished her to be free.
Zagato's story ends there but lost in her own rage and grief Princess Emeraude created a Rune God of her own and flew out to kill the Magic Knights herself. The gentle part of her still clung to Cephiro wishing to protect it and begged the Magic Knights to kill her before she wished Cephiro destroyed but the girls struggled with that. They had thought the whole time that they were trying to save Princess Emeraude not kill her so a new Pillar could take her place. Only those from another world can ever achieve the power great enough to kill a Pillar. No one from Cephiro would have been strong enough. To save their own lives and the lives of all those friends they had made along their journey the Magic Knights did eventually kill Princess Emeraude. The last we see of Zagato and Emeraude they are shown in death holding each other close as they had never been able to do in life.

Character Personality:
In a land where what you can achieve is limited only by the strength of your heart and how much willpower you can place behind your actions, Zagato absolutely thrives. He and his brother Lantis both have a strong grasp on magic, but Zagato was always stronger. He knew what he wanted and he was willing to fight for his wishes with everything he had. This trait was what saw him become the second most powerful mage in Cephiro, even surpassing his older teacher Master Mage Clef to become Cephiro's High Priest. There is very little Zagato can't do if he sets his mind on it. Many came to challenge him when he kidnapped Princess Emeraude but he was able to defeat them all and he is the only one besides the Princess who can use the power of his heart to create a Rune God. He takes on all three fully ascended Magic Knights in their Rune Gods and very nearly kills them all. In magic and a strong will Zagato has few rivals.

There is a good deal more to the character than magical powers, though that can be difficult to discover. Zagato is very reserved about his personal feelings and as such he keeps a lot of things unsaid. Part of this is his quiet brooding nature. He often takes off to quiet dark places to think. His brother Lantis was quiet in much the same way and it may well be a family trait to speak sparingly, though of the two Lantis is by far the quieter one. But part of this is also due to his wish. Zagato wants more than anything for Princess Emeraude to be free of the Pillar System. This is a selfish desire but one born out of love. Such a wish is a crime on Cephiro. If the Princess were distracted from her duty of constant prayer Cephiro would begin to break apart and if Princess Emeraude wanted it badly enough she could be the one to wish for the world's destruction so she could be with the man she loved. So naturally Zagato could never confess his feelings for Princess Emeraude to anyone. He would have been banished from court as the Princess's younger brother was or worse. For the safety of everyone the Pillar was kept isolated from family and friends, only those of the main court ever saw her because anyone else might have become a distraction to her prayers. The Pillar was absolutely forbidden from falling in love. This was the law of Cephiro and it was a law Zagato, as the High Priest, took seriously enough even if he couldn't force his heart to agree with it.

This lack of communication lead to a lot of misunderstandings. The Magic Knights thought Zagato was pure evil for kidnapping Princess Emeraude and causing the destruction of Cephiro. They didn't realize until too late that he had been trying to protect her this entire time. Alcyone was convinced she could win Zagato's heart if she helped him conquer and rule Cephiro, she didn't realize until the end that he was already in love with some one else and never wished to rule Cephiro. Most of the inhabitants of Cephiro thought Zagato just wanted power and that was why he had rebelled against the Princess. Only a small handful knew him well enough to understand why he had turned against Cephiro, that watching the Princess suffer in silence for years never able to acknowledge that mutual feeling of love had driven him to take drastic action to save her.

While he did act out of love for Princess Emeraude he did still have a cruel streak. He thought nothing of having the Magic Knights killed, a group of young girls pulled out of their world and thrust into a battle on a foreign magical world. He never batted an eye over using Ascot, Caldina, or Lafarga as pawns in his game to prevent the Knights from succeeding in training their skills. While he never acknowledged Alcyone's feelings for him or gave her any reason to hope he might fall in love with her, he still used her magical skills when she offered them to him... until the point when it became clear she was hopelessly infatuated with him. He attacked his old teacher, Clef, turning him into a statue. And when asked by Princess Emeraude if he cared what happened to Cephiro he said he didn't. That even if the world crumbled and everyone died his wish, that desire to see Emeraude free, would never change. His love for her would never fade and he would protect her even if he had to become a monster to do it.

That said he wasn't entirely cruel either. Despite how scared everyone was of him he is never once shown actually killing anyone directly. Not that he doesn't try while in battle but there were several occasions where he had the clear upper-hand where he could have killed some one and he chose not to. Instead of turning Clef into a statue he could have killed him. Clef noticed Zagato standing behind him but too late to dodge his magical attack so murdering his distracted teacher would have been easy. When Alcyone failed time and again, then had the gall to cling on him like they were lovers he didn't hurt her, just imprisoned her in a bubble behind a waterfall. Even though Ascot feared his wrath after being tricked into freeing Alcyone Zagato only let him know that he had been foolish to trust Alcyone and that he should to do better against the Magic Knights next time before he walked away, a cold reprimand at best. Even when battling Hikaru the first time they met face to face Zagato gave her the opportunity to surrender, promising he would send her and her friends safely home to Tokyo if only they would give up their quest to become Magic Knights. Furthermore, despite what he said to Emeraude, he did care when people died. You see that most strongly when Inouva his loyal friend and pet was killed. He and Emeraude openly grieved the loss with her crying and he simply saying the creature's name sadly with shadowed eyes. Zagato is a prime example of a good man pushed so far over his limits by a terribly hopeless situation that he becomes at times cruel.

Powers and Abilities:
As the second most powerful mage on Cephiro, a world where the power of your will determines how strong you are and what you can achieve, Zagato does have a lot of tricks. Some of these will be nerfed in Wake as they are skills only the ascended are meant to have or are otherwise not allowed. The skills listed below are what we actually see Zagato do but in a world where the power of your will determines anything there might have been no limit to his powers.

Water Mirror - Zagato has a magic mirror that allows him to see what is happening on Cephiro. This was how he discovered the Magic Knights had been summoned and how he kept track of them for much of their journey.
Astral Projection - By looking into the Water Mirror Zagato was able to send a large projection of himself to where the Magic Knights were and launch a powerful lightening attack against them that might have killed all three girls in one go if Princess Emeraude hadn't interfered and teleported the girls away. She then broke his mirror so he couldn't attempt that again.
Ability to turn others to Stone - (Nerfed Skill) - He was able to turn Master Mage Clef into a statue by hitting him with a surprise energy blast. This did not kill Clef it only prevented him from directly interfering.
Teleportation - (Nerfed skill) - In canon Zagato is able to teleport himself amazingly far distances and he has used it in combat to avoid attacks.
Lightening Call - The ability to call lightening down from the sky and use it as an attack against others.
Barrier Shield/Circle - Zagato can create a rounded shield around himself to protect against attacks.
Mind Control - (Nerfed skill) - In one case he was able to take control of a man's heart and use his desire to protect Princess Emeraude as a means to send him into battle against the Magic Knights.
Phasing/intangibility - On several occasions Zagato was able to make himself intangible so that attacks passed harmlessly right through him but did him no damage at all.
Unnamed Silver Beam - Zagato's main attack is a silver beam of light that he can create from a few extended fingers or from the palm of his hand. He seems to be able to control how powerful this beam is with very little effort. Whether it's a small attack or a massive one that causes a huge explosion when it strikes it's target is all down to how much will he places into it. He had used this skill or one very like it to dissolve the magical armor and weapons the Magic Knights carried with them that no other monster or human on Cephiro was able to damage.
Ability to help Others Change form - When Inouva a powerful elemental monster wished to become human to help Zagato reach his goals, the High Priest was able to use Inouva's will to help him transform into a human. He was also able to reverse this transformation when asked.
Ability to Create a Rune God - His will to save Princess Emeraude was so great that he was able to create his own Rune God (giant fighting robot) and use it's skills and abilities to go toe-to-toe with the Magic Knights. What's more is he nearly won against them. Now his Rune God wasn't alive like the real ones. It was an extension of his will and once he was defeated this creation faded away.

While in his Rune God Zagato is shown to have a few other skills, mostly based around darkness or lightening. Its likely all of these can be harnessed without a Rune God too as the attacks the Magic Knights have are the same whether they are wearing their Rune God or not (with the exception of one group attack).

At one point he shoots what looks like a black hole with crackles of lightening around it at the Magic Knights
His Lightening Call gains in strength nearly electrocuting the girls in their Rune Gods.
Lightening Bolt Onslaught - A more powerful version of Lightening Call that sends multiple bolts of lightening streaking across the sky like comets to rain down on his enemies.
Ebony Annihilation - Using his will Zagato is able to create a large purple ball of glowing energy that swirls around a target causing a massive explosion when it finally smashes down on it from above. It's devastatingly powerful.

Samples

Network:
~~Test Drive Meme Link~~

[Video]

[ He held up his mirror, narrowing his eyes at it grimly, as he understood it had started to transmit his image to the other devices in the city capable of receiving the signal. ]

By now you may have heard of me from Master Mage Clef.

[ Just silence at that, no counterargument to any of the nasty things that might have been said about him. ]

I am Zagato, the former High Priest of the world Cephiro. I mean to return to that world to finish what I started. I will say this only once, I will not allow anyone to stop me. On Cephiro my magic was second only to one and here magic works much the same way. Do not challenge me. You will not win.

Third Person:

The sound of the waves crashing against the sand and the smell of the salty sea mist did little to lighten the former High Priest's dark brooding mood. This was another world one in which his magic had been taken from him, but why was he here? Zagato had the vague memory of a voice, calling out to him, screaming his name. It was Emeraude's, so full of tears and horror... all he ever seemed to do was make her cry...

No. There had been another voice too. One that had asked him to wake. Wake to what?

"Is this Tokyo?"

He spoke to that mystery voice but received no answer at all.

Grimly he clutched a gloved fist to his side. This wasn't how it should have been. He had vowed to end the Legend of the Magic Knights but instead those young girls from another world must have defeated him. Then Emeraude's tears must have been for him. Would she be free now?

He was so absorbed in his forlorn thoughts that he barely noticed when one wave, just a touch larger than the others, swept in to cover his boot. Nor did he bother to do more than glare at the water that had dampened his foot. Did such a small inconvenience matter anymore? Did anything?

"Emeraude..."

Unmindful of direction he set a course across the beach to the boardwalk, making his way aimlessly over the sand as he tried to decide what to do next. He had to return to Cephiro or at least to Emeraude's side where ever she might be now, but how...?

The tension in his fist grew as his determination began to replace his despair. He would find her! No strange voice would prevent it. He wouldn't be held here a prisoner without his magic he would find a way to return to her side, even if he had to tear this new world apart.

Wake App