Leonhart Avadonia

"The entire nation is suffering from hunger. In times like these, the captain of the royal guard shouldn't have such luxuries either."

- Leonhart Avadonia

Leonhart Avadonia was the Captain of the Royal Guard for the Kingdom of Lucifenia and one of the Three Heroes. Defecting from Beelzenia, Leonhart served King Arth of Lucifenia during the kingdom's expansion war. Following the war, the man served the royal family as captain of the royal guard while raising both Germaine and Allen as his adopted children. As the people suffered under the rule of Arth's daughter Riliane, Leonhart became the princess' most inflexible opposition.

Early Life
"You said that I was "just" earlier. But that's from the perspective of the stubborn people of Lucifenia. The eyes of the enemy residents and soldiers might've seen me as "evil"."

- Leonhart to his adopted daughter

Born in the Beelzenian Empire on January 15, EC 462, Leonhart was raised in the art of swordsmanship and developed into a child prodigy. During the war between his own country and the Kingdom of Lucifenia in the early EC 470s, the youth became infatuated with Lucifenia's beautiful Queen Anne and defected from Beelzenia to join the enemy nation. Pursued by soldiers from his home country, the young swordsman quickly struck them down; after felling his fifth enemy, Leonhart removed the soldier's disguise and was horrified to see that it was actually his younger brother he had killed. Later on, Leonhart was approached by a little girl at the top of the cliff. As she prepared to attack him before slipping off the cliff, Leonhart approached her with his sword drawn.

Later he entered the Lucifenian military and became part of the royal guard, serving King Arth through many battles. He maintained his crush of Queen Anne, but after seeing Anne's fealty to King Arth the guard decided to discard any notion of romance with her and just serve by her side. Leonhart also began learning swordplay under the famed Asmodean swordsman, Nahed. At some point, Leonhart met the local blacksmith of the Langley family and visited him regularly to repair his weapons and armor. As the war dragged on, the young and loyal knight committed numerous atrocities against the enemy for Arth's conquests, including killing innocent civilians, and became especially brutal towards his fellow Beelzenians.

Around EC 477, he met and became friends with a fellow defector, Mariam Phutapie. Around EC 480, the two of them fought with the Beelzenian Empire's staff officer Elluka Clockworker and were quickly defeated, their weapons blown away in a windstorm the mage created. Leonhart also encountered her bodyguard Gast Venom and dueled him. Observing his swordplay, Leonhart learned Gast always aimed for the neck for the finishing blow. Afterwards, he exploited the weakness and defeated the "Demon of Asmodean", though sparing his life. A week after facing Elluka, Leonhart joined Mariam and Arth at Sanosun Bridge and witnessed Elluka join them as well, the three of them swearing an oath to the Lucifenian king on the bridge.

During the campaign against Beelzenia in EC 482, Leonhart discovered a newly orphaned baby there that had been the sole survivor. Preparing to kill the child, he then noticed the crest of the Beelzenian Imperial family stitched on her clothes, and instead decided to take the child as a potential hostage. Over the next five years he took the girl, renamed Germaine, along with him during his campaigns and kept her in a temporary house. One day, he and Germaine were approached by a group of spies; one of them, an old woman, urged him to hand over the child in his care. Before he could negotiate with the group, Leonhart was startled by Germaine rushing in front of him to protect him. Moved, Leonhart then defended his "daughter" from the spies.

After that day, Leonhart adopted Germaine, treating her like his real daughter as penance for his misdeeds. As the years progressed, Leonhart, Elluka, and Mariam helped push King Arth's offensive and turn the war to Lucifenia's favor. By EC 490, the three became known as the Three Heroes for their wartime actions, commemorated as such with his comrades and Arth for a portrait by Nikolay Tolle. When offered to be granted noble status for his heroics, Leonhart refused and continued living downtown away from the palace.

Twiright Prank
"I already asked Mariam to help with the investigation. And... I have a request for you."

- Queen Anne

After King Arth's death in EC 491, the war ended and Leonhart continued his service as the captain of the royal guard at the royal palace under Queen Anne. In December of that year, the political dispute caused by Minister Presi over the right of succession escalated as rumors spread that Anne and Prime Minister Genesia were doing something immoral, angering Leonhart. During the event, some of his soldiers reported that Presi had been meeting secretly with a suspicious old woman.

Called to privately meet with Anne in the Hall of Sounds, the two of them discussed how Presi was advocating for Riliane as the documented successor, likely to counter his rival Genesia. Leonhart also told Anne that a rumor about her and Genesia was also circulating, but she quickly refuted it to him. The conversation soon turned to Riliane's recent strange behavior, and the queen sent him to the kitchen to see for himself.

After Anne explained Elluka suspected Presi was plotting something and Mariam was sent to investigate, she requested the war hero protect her son. Not long after accepting the assignment, an assassination attempt was made on Alexiel's life and Leonhart foiled it. After Presi's treason was discovered and he was promptly defeated by Elluka and Mariam, Anne accepted Alexiel's request to be adopted by Leonhart to avoid further political problems.

Father of Two
"We, the three of us, can live happily together, just like before!"

- Germaine, recalling her and Allen's childhood with Leonhart

With "Alexiel" dead, Leonhart adopted his new son "Allen" and took the prince home, introducing him to Germaine. Around that time, he heard that Mariam had also recently adopted a child she had found, discussing their position as parents with her later in a meeting alongside Elluka.

A few days later, when Chartette Langley had gone missing, he, like the other adults, gave up on finding her and assumed she was dead. Once he discovered that both Allen and Germaine had gone into the Forest of Bewilderment and fought off bandits to rescue her, he became furious, hitting Allen in a drunken stupor and lecturing them for their dangerous actions.

As time progressed, Leonhart began taking his young foster son to the royal palace to practice fencing, training him in the art of swordplay as well as horseback riding. When Germaine expressed her interest to learn fencing as well, Leonhart refused to instruct her in the art. On one occasion, while drinking with Germaine, he amiably related his fight with Gast Venom, describing the difficulty of the battle and Gast's tendency to aim for the neck.

Reuniting the Broken Twins
"What? Do we still plan to bring them together?" "I did intend to enlist him as a servant at the palace soon. She won't remember him, but having the siblings together wouldn't be a bad influence. Allen also agreed to it."

- Elluka and Leonhart

After the death of Queen Anne in January of EC 499, Leonhart noticed Princess Riliane refused to have any of the royal guards come near her. The knight then decided to have Allen enlist as a palace servant, allowing him to reunite with Riliane while protecting his twin. After the captain of the royal guard shared his plan with Allen, the boy agreed to the idea.

He later attended an assembly of ministers and Princess Riliane in the Hall of Sounds, hearing Riliane proclaim her birthright to the rule the nation in place of her mother. After the meeting ended, he met with Elluka and Mariam and voiced his criticism of the young and inexperienced Princess governing the Kingdom, although recognizing she was the only appropriate contender for the throne.

There was further conversation on what to do regarding the kingdom's political situation and their lack of savvy on solving it, before agreeing on the current plan to leave Riliane in charge and bring in Allen to hopefully be a positive influence on her. Mariam abided, suggesting they share their decision with Prime Minister Minis. After more friendly banter they went their separate ways again.

After returning home, Leonhart announced his plans to take Allen to the palace the next day to his foster children, prompting an entire night of objection and argument from Germaine. That morning, he and his beloved son went to the palace, where he was introduced to Riliane. After the princess left, the warrior explained to his son that that was his sister.

Later, he requested Ney find her mother to inspect the boy. After Allen had been brought in as a chamberlain, Leonhart instructed him to keep their relationship as parent and child secret from Riliane.

Troubling Times
"Even if she is still young to be involved in politics, she should think more about her people."

- Leonhart regarding the Princess

As the year progressed, Leonhart continuously opposed Riliane's selfishness and disregard for the populace, often quarreling with her at the palace over her conduct and extravagance. Pulling his status as one of the Three Heroes, the frustrated royal guard captain remained obstinate as Riliane increasingly executed her subjects for minor offenses. At some point, he came in contact with King Kyle and the two collaborated with each other in secret. In response to the poor harvest yields and starvation throughout the kingdom that year, Leonhart ordered that he and his daughter abstain from drinking alcohol until the people’s suffering had ended.

In November, Leonhart met with Riliane and Minis in the Hall of Sounds to argue a case for distributing the palace's food reserves to the populance to compensate for the famine. Riliane coldly refused, with Minis intervening to keep Leonhart from losing his composure before the warrior stormed out. Over the following month, he continued failing to convince Riliane to help feed her people.

The day of Riliane's birthday, Leonhart made his rounds to increase security for the party that night. While passing by the stables around 3 o’clock, Leonhart noticed Josephine, the princess' horse, was missing. Seeing Allen and Chartette cleaning the Heavenly Yard, he approached them to discuss the matter.

Before bringing up Josephine, Leonhart discussed with Allen how he was taking to palace life as a servant, as well as how Germaine was doing back in town. Upon Chartette's interuption, the talk soon turned to Levianta's issues with famine, where Leonhart expressed his anger at Riliane's lack of action on the matter.

When Leonhart continued to show his frustration with Riliane's childishness and lack of perspective as a ruler, Allen spoke up in her defense, pointing the blame at the attendants around her instead. Leonhart was further incensed at this, but after noticing how uncomfortable Chartette was becoming finally brought up the subject of Josephine being missed.

Allen expressed doubt that she was stolen, slowly coming the conclusion that it was the result of a fugitive rather than an intruder. They then heard Ney scream from the Hall of Mirrors, telling them Riliane had escaped from the palace. Led to Riliane's room, Ney explained how she had walked in to find the princess missing and showed them the opened secret passage at the back of the fireplace.

Leonhart then immediately ordered everyone present to gather as many able hands as possible, organizing a search party to find the escaped princess. Returning to the stables, the knight discerned Josephine’s tracks from the ground and followed them to the Forest of Bewilderment. Leonhart then joined the search party in exploring the woodland alongside Allen. Soon into the search, however, Allen informed Leonhart that he had an idea where Riliane was located. After a cautionary warning not to get lost, Leonhart allowed him to go and continued his own search.



Leonhart traveled to the nearby port town with the rest of the search party after seeing Allen's signal flare. Once he saw Riliane and Allen together, he pushed Allen aside to face the princess directly, berating her for leaving the castle. Riliane coldly rebuked his criticisms, before cheerfully suggesting they instead rejoice in her safety. Leonhart was commanded to bow before her again, furious. The knight then escorted the princess back to the palace along with the royal guard.

During the celebration that night, the jaded warrior guarded one of the stairway entrances to the Hall of Mirrors as he watched the celebration. When Riliane’s massive birthday cake was presented before the crowd, he was infuriated by the extravagance of it while the rest of the country was starving. He stormed out of the hall towards the staircase, not even stopping when Allen pursued him. As he left he expressed his distaste for Riliane's behavior, calling her "The Daughter of Evil". Sometime after he left, he headed home to spend time with Germaine.

Eve for Reflection
"Whereas the old just meddle and the country stagnates. By all rights, it might be better to let younger generations like you and Allen take over. Then older generations like mine quietly step out of the limelight to atone for the sins we've committed—maybe that's for the best."

- Leonhart

A few days later, he realized he had forgotten Allen’s birthday and went out to buy a fancy-looking mirror similar to the one owned by Riliane and kept it at home. As the new year progressed, Leonhart saw the corpses beginning to stack up around the city from starvation, robbery, or murder. Refusing to stand by any longer, the captain of the royal guard began sneaking into the palace warehouses at night and smuggled out some food, giving it to the starving people.

Later on, he was summoned by Riliane and, certain it was because of his smuggling, slipped into a depression, discussing his misdeeds and the consequences he was sure were to follow during dinner with Germaine the night before. Though initially he started talking about his actions with smuggling food, eventually it moved toward his crimes during the war, though remaining vague when Germaine pressed for more information.

The next day, Leonhart left for the palace and answered Riliane’s beckons that night. Despite his misgivings, after some banter the princess told him she believed it was time they start considering the people’s well-being. Stunned, Leonhart listened as Riliane elucidated how grateful she was for his food eviction at the palace stores, allowing him to freely distribute the food with her permission first from then on. Shortly after Riliane offered him Blood Grave wine, the two celebrating until late at night.

Around three o’clock the next morning, the drunk and merry warrior meandered through the empty courtyard until stopped by Allen, who noted his stupor. In response, he barely articulated his excuse, preparing to give the servant his present when the boy drew a sword on him and told him he needed to die. Confused, Leonhart drew his sword and asked who gave him the order and, when Allen refused to say, realized it was all Riliane’s trap. Dueling him, Leonhart cornered Allen when he suddenly felt weak, kneeling to the ground as Allen explained they drugged the wine.

Too weak to support himself, the warrior collapsed with his gift rolling out of his arms. Apologizing for forgetting his birthday, Leonhart explained the gift and said he needed to pay attention to his appearance as a palace servant. Allen asked why Leonhart wanted to kill Riliane and, in response to the warrior’s confusion, stabbed him with the sword. Telling the boy he had yielded to "The Daughter of Evil", the wounded Leonhart gave Allen some last pieces of advice and then died.

Afterlife
Following his death, Leonhart was sent to the Heavenly Yard and remained there. In EC 998, he and the other souls were pulled back to the Third Period as the ground world merged with the Hellish Yard. Afterward, he returned to his duties as captain of the royal guard in the palace and attended Princess Riliane's dinner party in the Hall of Mirrors, overseeing its security.

During the festivities, Leonhart watched as Riliane's giant cake was brought out before the princess leaped out of the dessert and commanded everyone there to kneel to her. He then watched Germaine lecture her and begin dragging her out of the Hall of Mirrors. When the princess fled out of the hall from his foster daughter, the knight spotted Allen trying to chase after her. As Germaine attempted to run after Allen, Leonhart grabbed her by the shoulder and held her back despite her protests, allowing his foster son to go after his twin.

Legacy
"Ah, now I understand, Germaine. You set off the revolution for this sole reason. Hahaha, it’s so ironic. In the name of order and justice, you set up the banner for peace. I was right."

- Allen

Following his assassination, Leonhart's corpse was discovered in the riverbank the next morning and a private funeral was held for him soon after, attended by his subordinates and comrades, including Elluka and Mariam. Although the Lucifenian Palace offered to hold a public ceremony, Germaine refused. Swearing revenge on his grave, his foster daughter later founded the Lucifenian Resistance and sparked the Lucifenian Revolution to bring retribution to her father's murderers.

Although the truth behind his assassination was never uncovered, the general populace assumed Princess Riliane's involvement in the scandal and Germaine's vengeful motives for the revolution began circulating in rumor among the public. When Riliane Mouchet confronted Germaine during her resulting depression, the former Lucifenian commander asserted that she should follow her father's example and honor his memory.

In history, Leonhart was famed in legend as one of the Three Heroes serving under King Arth I during Lucifenia's conquests. Over a century since his death, Elluka told stories of Leonhart's many adventures to Constable Ayn Anchor. After the death of Shaw Freezis, Elluka recalled also losing Leonhart and Mariam while mourning his death, lamenting not even being there to see how they died or at least try and save them.

Personality and Traits
"My father said that Leonhart Avadonia was a simple, straightforward man which was exactly the reason why he was strong."

- Riliane Mouchet

Leonhart was a straight-forward, caring, and kind-hearted man, dedicated to his family and friends. It also made him inflexible in his beliefs and stubborn, both incorruptible and unwilling to take advice from others. As a citizen of the Kingdom of Lucifenia, Leonhart was a patriot to his country, serving in the Lucifenian military since his teenage years and loyally serving King Arth during the war against Asmodean and Beelzenia.

His devotion to his kingdom and its citizens led to a concern for their well-being and fierce loyalty to maintaining the nation Arth and Anne built up over the course of decades. However, during his younger years, the knight's overzealous loyalty to serving Arth's conquests caused him to commit numerous brutalities against innocents during the war effort. After encountering Germaine, Leonhart recognized the atrociousness of his own conduct, though continuing to serve the royal family unquestioningly thereafter. Despite this, he was willing to oppose his monarch's policies or ideology if he believed they disregarded the public's best interests. Because of his loyalty and sense of duty, Leonhart desired to protect everyone he cared for from harm, although ultimately leading to his demise.

A fierce and brave warrior, Leonhart's actions on the battlefield earned him the admiration and respect of the Kingdom. Preferring a direct approach, the warrior was impulsive by nature and rarely thought too hard on a subject. When confronted with complex situations, he usually provided simple solutions and was notably light-hearted and carefree about most difficulties he would face. This forward way of thinking connected to his sense of honor, respecting upfront confrontations rather than underhanded tactics. Despite being famed as a warrior hero during the war, Leonhart was merciful in battle and spared the lives of strong opponents.

Possessing a chivalric spirit, Leonhart never hit women, even when drunk, and never plotted to betray to overthrow the monarchy despite Riliane's tyranny. Although admirable, Leonhart was a hopeless drunkard and would sometime lose his temper and lash out at others. He also felt some inner turmoil, often breaking into tears when drunk, as well as becoming maudlin and overemotional.

Although having never married, Leonhart gladly adopted both Germaine and Allen and loved the idea of being their father. Because of Germaine's tomboyish attitude, Leonhart grew worried she'd never marry and often tried to instill a more feminine appearance and behavior into her. Despite this, he showed no qualms with sharing his drinking habit with her, though refusing to train her in the art of swordplay.

Because of his simplicity, the warrior was senseless in regards to other people's deeper, untold feelings; in the same circumstances, he could also be very perceptive because of his bluntness, much to Elluka's ire.

Skills and Abilities
"Germaine's father was Sir Leonhart of the Three Heroes, correct?" "Yeah. Leonhart Avadonia. He was the strongest swordsman of Lucifenia."

- Yukina Freezis and Riliane Mouchet

A famed swordsman of his time and among the strongest warriors produced in the Kingdom of Lucifenia, Leonhart utilized a traditional Lucifenian fencing style. Trained by a legendary swordsman of Asmodean, Leonhart's strength and speed augmented his capabilities and improved with age and experience. His favorite move, "Bull Style", involved momentarily raising his sword as high as his head before striking his opponent with great force. Because of his simple way of thinking, Leonhart rarely hesitated in battle and overwhelmed his adversaries with brute force, although he was also willing to employ taunting during fights to unnerve them.

Even when drunk, the swordsman was still deadly in battle and acted seemingly unimpaired while fighting; he was also able to resist powerful anesthetics for long periods of time through his sheer will, even while being inebriated, and suffered no apparent side effects in battle. However, Leonhart's greatest ability was his skills in observation. In combat, he was able to watch, learn, and adapt to an opponent's fighting style, gaining him leverage against his opponents, which allowed him to challenge the equally legendary Gast Venom in swordplay.

Despite this, his skill extended to more than just the battlefield. When Princess Riliane had fled from the palace, he was the first to notice Josephine was missing and later discerned her hoof prints from the rest of the earth to follow their trail. He was also a capable mentor, honing Allen's skills and making him an excellent swordsman. While drinking, Leonhart sometimes sang along with Germaine.

Character Connections
Anne Lucifen d'Autriche: Leonhart's former employer. Leonhart had a close friendship with Anne before her death, with the queen trusting him to raise her son and enlisting his aid in political disputes or in wartime. In his youth, Leonhart fell in love with Anne, finding her very attractive; recognizing her feelings for Arth, he learned through many years to be satisfied with simply serving the queen as best he could.

Elluka Clockworker: A fellow member of the Three Heroes. Leonhart and Elluka had a deep friendship cultivated over the course of the Lucifenian Expansion War that would continue to his death. The two enjoyed spending time together and looked to each other's counsel in difficult situations, although Leonhart would sometimes act overly candid in contrast to her evasive nature.

Mariam Phutapie: A fellow member of the Three Heroes. Leonhart and Mariam had a deep friendship cultivated over the course of the Lucifenian Expansion War. Finding her to have a unique character, the two enjoyed spending time together and looked to each other's counsel in difficult situations. This friendship continued until his death, however he remained unaware of her feelings towards him.

Allen Avadonia: Leonhart's adopted son. Leonhart cared deeply for Allen as a son after adopting him, acting protective of the boy and wishing to reunite him with his sister, although he was exasperated with Allen's formality towards him after joining the palace; in addition, Leonhart expressed concern for Allen's appearance as a palace servant. Although bewildered by the boy's intentions to kill him, he did not hold it against him after guessing the cause, using his last words to give the boy advice.

Germaine Avadonia: Leonhart's adopted daughter. Although initially only taking care of her as a bargaining chip, Leonhart was moved by the girl's bravery and love for him, coming to consider her as his real daughter. Leonhart shared many interests with Germaine, including a love of wine and headstrong nature, although he expressed vexation for this when she got into fights in public. He similarly disliked the idea of Germaine learning swordplay or going into battle. Nonetheless, after she grew up and learned swordplay anyway he, entertained plans to make her his successor if he were to die.

Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche: The child of Anne that he swore to protect. Uneasy about her rule initially, Leonhart only became further infuriated by Riliane's reckless immaturity and overindulgences, as well as her poor treatment of Lucifenia's people. Due to this, he often opposed her both publicly and in secret; although caught off guard and overjoyed by Riliane's supposed attempts to make peace, he correctly guessed that it was she who ordered Allen to kill him.

Kyle Marlon: An old acquaintance of Leonhart's. The Marlon King appeared among those close to him at the slain warrior's funeral, though their relationship was kept secret.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Leonhart's name is possibly derived from Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart; King Richard earned his nickname due to his valor as a warrior and military leader.
 * Leonhart's name is partially inspired by the name of his representative Vocaloid, LE♂N, with both names sharing the first four letters.
 * His last name, Avadonia, seems to be a corruption of Abbadon.

Curiosities

 * He shares the same birthday (January 15th) with his Vocaloid.
 * Originally, the origin of Germaine's birth and how she was adopted by Leonhart was planned to be included in The Daughter of Evil: Praeludium of Red but was cut for convenience.
 * When asked about his favorite character in The Daughter of Evil series, mothy answered that he liked the Three Heroes.
 * In Epic of Evil: The Daughter of Evil Fanbook, Leonhart was voted as the seventeenth most popular character in The Daughter of Evil series by Japanese fans.

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