008 | Darkness in Paradise 04

[priscilla]

Summary , First Appearance: Various unimportant religious figures! The guards make a point of holding the... yeah. The priests, monks and Bishop of Rabona's cathedral have been called to the Great Hall... which is currently lined by armed guards. And they don't know why. Upon wondering allowed, they are informed by Vincent that it was at his request, and that they have been called for a yoma inspection. Father Rodo is appalled and cannot believe that Vincent would think that a monster lives among them, and points out that no one can detect a yoma even if there were one. This is Clare's cue to remove her hood, revealing her silver eyes... which, of course does not go over well. It goes over doubly badly when the Bishop arrives, sparking a ripple of outrage from the other priests... who are kept in line by the spear-toting guards, oops. Clare eyeballs various priests for a while. Clare proceeds to check the people present one by one, while Vincent thanks Galk for rousing the guards to cooperate with this task, as well as expressing his concern for Clare's well-being, considering how seriously injured she was. Galk, however, believes that Clare's half-yoma physiology probably allows her to heal more quickly than one would thing. Sid, meanwhile, is all annoyed because they're taking orders from a half-breed. But more than that, he seems troubled by her plan to defeat the yoma: apparently Clare has suggested that she will hold the yoma in place while Galk and Sid run both through at once. It's a desperate plan hatched by a warrior who can't fight as well as she did before her wounds. As for Clare, she's troubled as well - troubled by the fact that she can't find the yoma among those gathered, though they call carry the yoma's scent. Troubled, too, by the fact that none of them shows the eye injury she inflicted on her foe. As of now, with the Bishop cleared, the only remaining suspect is Vincent... but in the end he, too, is cleared (though not without the drama of being held at spear point!). That went well. With Clare unable to find the yoma, chaos descends on the gathering - Vincent and the guards all stand to be punished for their transgressions if there is no yoma present at all. But, of course, that doesn't make sense. There is a yoma, and it must be somewhere, so where? Clare runs through the possibilities in her head: it could be a man or a woman, priest or nonbeliever, child or senior citizen... Raki wanders, unaware of the threat posed by Clare's thought bubble. Or even a corpse. Elsewhere, Raki wanders between the coffins of various mummies, tugging along that crazy big goddess statues, feeling all creeped out by the (dead) company. He even falls into an open coffin, eww. What's that coffin doing open, anyway? As it turns out, it probably has something to do with the yoma inside, which stands up behind Raki even as Clare races through the cathedral to find him. Notes and Comments Early evidence for raising the dead in zombie style! 01. Clare's early power level is pretty interesting: a few stab wounds and she's unconscious for two days. She even remains injured after she finally wakes. t's an interesting contrast to later in the series, where a wound like that probably wouldn't even slow her, much less knock her out for two days. The best part is that, at the time that a reader begins Claymore (assuming they're unspoiled), this won't seem to stick out at all. In fact, considering the low power level of early chapters and the fact that Clare is our only Claymore, it's easy to assume that she's quite a powerful character in the context of her world. It's not until we meet Teresa (and her execution squad) that we begin to see that she's not at the top of the list. 02. The Rabona yoma proves that a corpse can still carry and support the yoma parasite... but it's extraordinary appetite as well as one of Rubel's comments in a later chapter, suggests that the price it pays for its choice of host is the need to constantly feed in order to support its host body. Presumably, it takes a good deal of energy to reanimate and strengthen dead organs and flesh. In any case, the fact that it's possible could be seen as a precursor for the resurrection of three warriors later in the series, as well: after all, what greater energy source is there than the flesh of the series' strongest monster? Fact-Checking 01. Claymores heal more quickly than a human would guess. Probably, but as evident in this chapter and the next, the degree varies a great deal. In Clare's case, her regeneration speed is seriously hindered by the combination of her low rank and her status as an Offensive warrior. ☩ ☩ ☩ Back