| “ | Having lost her husband and children to the Empire, the elf Arioch has gone mad. She wanders the world in order to satisfy her insatiable lust for murder, feeling no guilt as prey after prey falls victim to her insanity. A very dangerous ally indeed.
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Arioch is an ally and side character in Drakengard. She formed a pact with Undine and Salamander in exchange for her fertility, marked on her waist. As an ally, Arioch is a threat to herself and others.
Story[]
Drakengard
Arioch was originally an ordinary housewife, living in Niflheim. However, one day her beloved husband and son were slaughtered by the Imperial Army, the shock of which completely shattered her heart. She has the tall stature and beautiful features peculiar to the elf village, but madness dwells in her eyes, so that others do not dare to even speak with her. Still, the way she bursts into sudden laughter in the middle of her screams, as if remembering something, is an act so strange as to stand out from even the most eccentric of normal people.
Having been overcome by insanity, Arioch murdered and devoured young children. Her crazed mind thought that by doing so she could "protect" them within her womb. After these bloody incidents had come up many times, Arioch was captured by the Imperial Army, and taken into custody.
Drakengard
the Anguish of an unsmiling Watcher
Arioch follows Caim until the eventual sealing ceremony performed upon the red dragon by Verdelet.
flowers for the Broken spirit
Arioch follows Caim until the eventual defeat of the monstrous Furiae and the awakening of her clones. It is unlikely that she or the rest of the group survive this apocalyptic event.
a Companion's eternal farewell
Arioch follows Caim until the eventual defeat of Angelus and the uprising of the dragons. It is unlikely that she or the rest of the group survive this apocalyptic event.
the wild dreams of a Deluded child
The death of the High Priestess causes the Sky Fortress to collapse, killing the Goddess in the process. Manah's death angers the Watchers, as all order in the world begins to collapse with the final seal's destruction. The Watchers descend from the crimson sky, along with their leader, the Queen-beast. As Caim's party hurries to defeat the Queen-beast, they are surrounded by a horde of Watchers. After she kills and devours one of them, Arioch is thrilled at the prospect of feeding several children at once and willingly offers herself to the giant infants. They eat her alive, her last breaths spent uttering mad cries of pleasure.
the End of the dragon sphere
Drakengard 3
Although Arioch doesn't appear in the game, Zero can find and use her weapon. Its weapon story is a soliloquy of Arioch's descent into madness after her family's death. She was particularly obsessed over her departed child and was envious of the parents who were able to keep their children. Her deep-rooted jealousy soon became her insane desire to "be one with children".
Drag-On Dragoon 1.3
The World of Dragons
She is an elven woman who teams up with a yellow dragon. She is mentally tormented by the loss of something very precious in her past at the hands of the Union. She appears to be an acquaintance of Leonard's.
The World of Humans
Record unavailable.
The World of Demons
Record unavailable.
The World of God
Record unavailable.
Shinjuku 2013
Record unavailable.Personality[]
After the death of her family, Arioch lost her mind. Whoever she may have been before the war is long since gone, replaced by a woman who delights in death and destruction. As an inherently broken person, she focuses single-mindedly on slaughter.
More than anything, Arioch enjoys feeding on flesh - particularly that of children. It is possible that this urge was caused by her weapon and not her madness alone, as is implied by the weapon's story in Drakengard 2.
Abilities[]
Despite her broken mind, or maybe because of it, Arioch is capable of packing quite a punch in battle. Her pact with the elemental spirits allows her to manipulate fire and water, even preventing her from being harmed by these elements.
Development[]
Taro Yoko explained that her cannibalism was devised as his explanation for a mad mother wanting to "be one with children". When asked if she wanted to devour Seere or not, he wasn't sure. Her character was roughly inspired by Ritsuko Akagi from Neon Genesis Evangelion. According to his comments in the Dengeki Online interview series, Arioch's character and story for the first game was penned entirely by Yoko.
Dengeki Online conducted a follow up interview series to their character popularity poll with series's producer Takamasa Shiba and series's character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka. Fujisaka remembers being taken aback by Arioch's character and ruminated on how to make it translate to her design. He compensated by ignoring it and going for a traditional fantasy design, feeling that an expected look would better highlight her eerie behavior.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Arioch's name is based on that of a demon.
- In Dengeki Online's character popularity poll, she was voted to tenth place by fans.