Michaela

"To me, you are a wonderful person."

- Michaela

Michaela is a reincarnated human and former forest spirit of Held. She is a disciple of Elluka Clockworker, helping her collect the Seven Deadly Sins, and a close friend of Gumillia. She succeeds Held as the New Millennium Tree.

Early Life
About 528 years before EC 0, the god Held created the forest spirits of Held's Forest, including Michaela. Forbidden from leaving the forest by the deity, Michaela obeyed. At some point, the forest spirit met Elluka Clockworker and the two became familiar with each other. In EC 001, Michaela, using her robin form, witnessed the creation of the Original Sin, seeing Eve Moonlit crying with the infant Hänsel and Gretel in her arms.

Forest Encounter
Around the turn of the fifth century EC, Michaela learned much about the humans living in the area from the nearby village, and Pant, a woodcutter. In early EC 499, Michaela, along with Gumillia, saw the sleeping Held being attacked by his old friend, Elluka. After Gumillia threw a fruit at the sorceress, the spirit chastised her for "bullying" the god while in her animal form. Soon after, the sorceress began to leave and the robin flew to her shoulder, stating the lack of humans in the area was a good thing. Questioned about this, the spirit explained how people didn't come by and noted that a Lucifenian mage shouldn't be hanging around them. Asked by Elluka, Michaela explained where the robin learned about them. Michaela, asked if the spirit was interested in humanity, expressed a fascination with humans but that Held didn't let them leave. Agreeing with Elluka that the god was a stubborn, old man, the robin laughed before Elluka said goodbye and left.

With Held asleep, Michaela decided to gather some trauben from a orchard by the Lake of Amusement. After tasting the fruit, the spirit began to fly back when a black bird attacked. Painfully grasped by the large bird, Michaela dropped the fruit in the robin's claws and was freed. Bleeding from the wing, the forest spirit spiraled down and fell to the ground, knocked unconscious. Soon after, the robin was rescued by Clarith and she took Michaela home to treat the bird's broken wing. Awaking to find herself on a table, the forest spirit tried to escape before noticing her bandages. At that moment, Clarith's mother carrying a box entered and redid the bandages, apologizing to the bird for how poorly done they were. Clarith returned right after and, curious, Michaela took the chance to look inside the box, disgusted by the worms within. Refusing to eat them, Clarith gave the spirit some trauben she picked and the robin gladly ate it.

After Clarith and her mother argued about her work, she left and the woman resigned to feeding Michaela more trauben, asking she please forgive her; she then explained that Clarith was the one who saved her. Over the course of two weeks, the white-haired girl fed Michaela and spoke to her everyday of her bad work experiences. At some point, she built the robin a badly-made bird cage and, grateful for her dedication, Michaela used it. Sitting near the window each day, the robin watched Clarith work and saw how she only smiled when at home.

The following day, Michaela heard a sound and realized someone was throwing stones at the window. In the form of a chipmunk, Gumilla climbed up and squeezed through the broken window, and urged Michaela to escape after she opened  cage. Revealing she knew about spirits, Clarith's mother explained that she had been a sorceress. Michaela thanked her for her hospitality and the former mage thanked her in kind for making Clarith happy. The woman then commented that the robin was her only friend and told the spirit about the Netsuma Clan's discrimination and Clarith's cruel circumstances, much to Michaela's confusion. Saying the spirit wouldn't understand why Clarith was bullied, the woman gave her some trauben. Michaela thanked the woman and accepted her gift before leaving, wishing the spirit could thank Clarith for her kindness.

Upon her return, Michaela was greeted by Held's roar and the god lectured the spirit for breaking his regulations. The next day, the robin cried and was comforted by Gumillia. Although trying to justify the situation, Gumillia lectured Michaela for leaving in the first place and not understanding that the spirt could have died. After explaining how awful the chipmunk would feel if the robin died, Michaela apologized to Gumillia and said it wouldn't happen again. Repeating the apology to Held, the god said it was fine for his "most precious child" to learn from mistakes but not to worry him. The earth god then fell asleep and Michaela saw Clarith approach the Millennium Tree and heard her despair of being alone once her mother was gone, begging to have a friend.

Reincarnation
A few days later, Michaela consulted Held on the matter, since the god had been sleeping during Clarith's visit. While the god forbid her from interfering with the affairs of humans, Elluka arrived and interrupted their conversation. Agreeing to help the sorceress with her mission to gather the Seven Deadly Sins, the deity offered Gumillia and Michaela to assist her in finding one of the sin fragments as reincarnated humans, with Michaela as Elluka's tracker. Surprised, Michaela was told the spirit had three years to learn about humans while helping Elluka. The three traveled West through the forest in search of a good place to perform the ritual. On their journey, Elluka told Michaela to not be afraid of becoming a human and follow instinct.

Once the ritual site was prepared, Elluka told the two of them to imagine beautiful women from Elphegort, preferably those who weren’t currently alive. Michaela discussed the names with Gumillia and they agreed on whose appearance they would have. Imagining the visage of Eve Moonlit, Michaela reincarnated as a human in her image. Upon seeing her visage, Elluka commented about her choice of appearance. The sorceress then took the two humans to an abandoned house, using it as a shelter from the rain where they could study magic and the basics of being human. One day, Michaela woke Elluka up early, hurrying the sorceress to eat breakfast outside with them. Staring at her face, the sorceress told Michaela how a woman's charm was in her eyes and that she should remember to wash her face from time to time. Heading outside, she greeted Gumillia and explained she was going to wash her face. At the nearby spring, she stared at her reflection and smiled. During the third month they trained with her, the sorceress taught Michaela the Clockwork Lullaby. Sometime later, Elluka asked her to demonstrated what she learned and the girl complied, singing the spell song.

After answering Elluka that she heard the sound of Sin north of the forest, Elluka ended the practice lesson and said she just need to repeatedly practice in order to master the spell and find the vessel's exact location. The sorceress then spoke of Gumillia's greater magical potential and ability to predict the weather and revitilized flowers earlier that day. During dinner later that night, Elluka told Michaela to go to Aceid for easier information gathering and that the vessel was likely possessed by someone unique such as King Sohni Elphen, Duke Parkage Meld, or Keel Freesis, who all lived in the capital. Feeling a headache, Michaela snapped that she knew and earned Elluka's concern. After explaining she felt hot, Elluka suspected the girl was sick and lectured her about not taking care of herself. Given a herb and told to go to bed early, the former spirit took the medicine and went to bed.

When she awoke the next day, Elluka and Gumillia were about to leave and she thanked the sorceress for the short time they spent together. Saying the medicine worked and she felt better, she looked at Gumillia and grabbed her hand to sooth her worries, explaining she would be close to Held while Gumillia's future in Lucifenia was unknown. After Gumillia promised to rescue her if something happened, Michaela reciprocated the sentiment and they hugged. With Elluka's send off that they would meet again in three years, the two left while Michaela headed towards Aceid. Taking a detour to see Held first, Michaela collapsed near the Millennium Tree due to her illness. Clarith found her later on and carried her back to Yatski to heal.

Residence in Yatski
After Michaela regained conciousness, Clarith said she still had a fever and told her to continue laying down before replacing the towel on her forehead with a new one. After Clarith explained what had happened, Michaela sighed in relief and thanked her, struggling to get up. Once she learned they were in the village, she expressed her appreciation for the Netsuma's help and introduced herself. When Clarith asked why she fainted there, Michaela hastily explained she was heading to Aceid from Lucifenia. The white-haired girl noted she never heard of such a thing and the former forest spirit said that the country was inhabited by lots of different races. Clarith, after Michaela stared at her in silence, burst out in apologies when her mother arrived and offered the sick Elphe a bowl of soup.

When the village mayor threatened to evict Clarith and her mother from their home since they haven't paid their rent, Michaela offered to pay the rent with the money Elluka gave her and asked if she could stay here for a while. All of the townsfolk adored Michaela due to her wonderful personality, but she was distraught about how Clarith is discriminated by the rest of the village due to her white hair. When Clarith's stepmother died, Michaela suggested that she and Clarith leave Yatski Village and told her that she is the nicest person she had ever met. Clarith, with renewed happiness, wholeheartedly agreed. Michaela and Clarith left Yatski Village to start a new life in Aceid, capital of Elphegort.

Flight to Aceid
There, the two of them began working for Keel Freesis, head of the trading guild. One day, Kyle Marlon paid a visit to the Freesis Mansion and he fell in love with Michaela, giving her a shell pendant to prove his love for her. Michaela took it, believing that it was just a friendly gesture. Kyle did admit his betrothal to Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche and when he asked Michaela about the possibility of "leaving everything behind" and running away with her, Michaela was shocked.

One day, Michaela was in town, singing and there she met Allen Avadonia. Allen too fell in love with her, but Michaela did admit to herself that she couldn't return those feelings. Allen delivered to Michaela a spring onion from Gumillia which is revealed to have the power to communicate to other people, notably Elluka and Gumillia.

Green Hunting
News traveled fast about Kyle Marlon's supposed "affair" with Michaela to Riliane, prompting Riliane to spark the invasion of Elphegort known as the "Green Hunting". Elluka and Gumillia attempted to persuade Michaela to leave indefinitely, but Michaela refused to leave her human friends behind and revealed to them that she intends to live as a human permanently. Michaela and Clarith then fled into the forest, pursued by the Lucifenian army. Michaela didn't want to abandon Clarith but she was forced to when she was unwittingly slipped sleeping pills earlier. She was then delivered to a shelter under a well. Allen finds Michaela and promises to help her escape once the coast is clear. Unfortunately, Michaela was stabbed by Ney Futapie, who was disguised as Allen. In her last moments, she wished for Clarith to be safe. Michaela died, not before seeing Allen one last time.

However, death didn't come by so easily, for Michaela's spirit transformed into a tree sapling and she was recovered by Elluka Clockworker and Gumillia. The two of them revealed Michaela's identity to Clarith and asked her to take care of Michaela until she matures, for she has been chosen to be Held's successor. Michaela then appears in her spirit form and says her final goodbyes to Clarith, not before saying, "I love you". Michaela was finally planted in Held's Forest by Clarith and Riliane.

Praeludium of Red
When Kyle attacked Yukina Freesis, Gumillia, and Germaine, Held persuaded Michaela to help. Michaela felt doubtful, since she had lost her human body. However, Held told Michaela that she didn't need a body or a voice; what mattered was her heart. Determined to save everyone, Michaela sung a song that helped to incapacitate Kyle and return him to normal. Kyle's shell pendant, which was identical to the one that Michaela used to wear, had shone brightly that night.

Aftermath
From the ashes of old, Michaela quickly grew up into the new guardian of the forest, succeeding Held. She was soon accepted by the inhabitants of Elphegort as the "New Millennium Tree" and was well loved by the populace in place of her creator. Michaela's life afterwards is unclear until the last years of Evillious. Evil's Theater did not go unnoticed by Michaela due to it's corrupting influence on the forest. The theater inhabitants have taken precaution that Michaela may intervene since she can directly influence the theater.

Personality and Traits
Michaela was a kind, friendly, and curious person, fascinated with human behavior and everyday life. As a result of her curiosity, she could sometimes act disobedient. Similarly, she found many actions and habits of humans odd and had little understanding of many human emotions, such as romantic affection or love. Because she was originally a forest spirit, Michaela looked down upon the rash and emotional actions of humans, although later succumbing to such behavior herself. Due to her time spent as a human with Clarith, she grew to understand these feelings and behaviors, learning to love, hate, and feel jealousy.

Skills and Abilities
As a forest spirit, Michaela was immortal, able to heal from any wound almost instantly while in Held's Forest. Similarly, she could freely transform into an animal, usually a green robin. After becoming a human, she became vulnerable to death but relatively quick to learn human habits and customs. As a mage, Michaela was not as adept as Gumillia but learned the necessary song spells as she searched for the sin fragments. Among the songs she learned was the Clockwork Lullaby, used to track the Sins, and Recollective Musicbox, to communicate their location to Elluka. Despite this, she did not understand the songs themselves as Elluka never taught her their meaning.

Michaela was skilled at labor and was quite capable at her menial tasks as a maid. Having a naturally melodious voice and talent for singing, Keel refined Michaela's technique with tutors before having her perform. Because of her amazing singing voice, she became a popular idol to the people of Elphegort. She was also illiterate due to Elluka's belief that she would learn along the way, which became impossible for her as a peasant farmer in Yatski.

Character Connections
Eve Moonlit: The inspiration for Michaela's human body. She observed the event of the Original Sin and thought her to have a suitably beautiful appearance, although Michaela was frightened by what had taken place. She believed Eve to be a very wicked person.

Gumillia: A fellow forest spirit. Michaela and Gumillia were very close, with the former often spending time with the latter before they became human. Michaela asked for Gumillia's progress in Lucifenia whenever she could, asking Allen about her and using the Spring Onion, and became most concerned for her well-being during the Green Hunting.

Elluka Clockworker: Michaela's mentor. Michaela initially knew her as a friend of Held, and a powerful sorceress with her secrets to keep. Michaela became grateful to the magi for giving her a chance to help Clarith and followed all her instructions on being human, although finding her to be rather lackadaisical in nature. In the end, Michaela was grateful to Elluka for all the sorceress had done for her.

Held: Michaela's creator and predecessor. Michaela respected Held deeply and saw him as a father figure, although sometimes she would disobey his orders due to her curious nature. She was deeply worried about him during the Green Hunting when Lucifenia attempted to burn down the Forest of Bewilderment. She later returned to his tutelage when becoming the replacement Millennium Tree.

Clarith: Michaela's best friend. Michaela was initially filled with gratitude for Clarith due to the aid she gave her as a robin, and wished to protect her from the abuses of the other villagers. She saw her as a wonderful person and friend, and eventually she even came to love her, for as much as she understood love. Michaela resolved to remain as a human for the sake of staying with Clarith.

Allen Avadonia: A friend of Michaela's. Michaela was initially uncomfortable with Allen's serious, formal speech, but after he amended his words, she took pleasure in conversing with him over many subjects. She was happy to see him again during the Green Hunting, and told him about her fears for Clarith and herself. Michaela trusted and liked Allen, although she did not reciprocate his feelings of love for her and thought him foolish because of them.

Kyle Marlon: A suitor of Michaela. Michaela viewed Kyle with a mild affection, feeling sympathy for his relationship with his mother. She did not understand his advances and did not reciprocate them, although she accepted his offer of friendship. Nonetheless, Michaela was angry to discover he was already engaged, believing he was just teasing her. She was vexed by his insistence on loving her even to disastrous results, believing him to be foolish.

Keel Freesis: Michaela's employer. Michaela treated Keel with respect and viewed him as caring, as well as a confident individual. She came to care about him as family and it pained her to flee from his employ during the Green Hunting, though she was grateful that he provided her with a hiding place.

Mikina Freesis: Michaela's other employer. Michaela was fascinated by Mikina's appearance and respectable nature, though initially cautious due to the woman's dislike of Elphegorteans. After singing for Keel's banquets, their relationship became warmer, with Michaela considering Mikina to be a very caring person.

Conceptialization and Origin

 * Michaela's name is a female Hebrew derivative of the male name "Michael", meaning "who is like God".
 * Clarith's nickname for Michaela as a robin, Grüne, is derived from German, meaning "green".
 * Her nickname by the citizens of Aceid, Diva, means "a popular female singer or personality"; the word is derived from Italian, meaning "goddess".
 * Michaela's name is partially inspired by the name of her representative Vocaloid, Miku,  with Michaela's romanization containing "Mik" in it.

Curiosities

 * The Very Amazing Spring Onion is a direct reference to Hachune Miku and Michaela's Vocaloid counterpart.

Gallery
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