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Three Legendary Rune Gods (Selece, Rayearth, Windam)
Rune Gods, or Mashin (Deities in the OVA series) are god-like entities used as mecha throughout the series by both antagonists and protagonists.
Overview[]
The Three Mashin are the three legendary guardians of Cephiro. Umi Ryuuzaki's is Selece (also known as Seles, Celes or Ceres in early translated versions), who first appears as a large blue dragon; Fuu Hououji's is Windam, a great green four-winged bird; and Hikaru Shidou's is Rayearth (Lexus in the OVA series), a wolf with a mane of fire. The three are old and ancient, and are in fact mecha used by the Magic Knights to help them combat Zagato and ultimately kill the Pillar. Other Rune Gods have manifested in the series, although they are not living entities like the Mashin are.
Combined Rune God Rayearth[]
The three Mashin are able to combine into a greater and much stronger Mashin, Combined Rayearth (合体レイアース Gattai reiāsu?), also known as 合体魔神レイアース.[1]
In the second part of the manga and anime, the Rune Gods reside in their own pocket dimension where they wait to be summoned by the Magic Knights. During the beginning of the second part, the Magic Knights are teleported to this dimension by the Rune Gods and after declaring their will to fight, the Magic Knights are able to don their Rune Gods again and head out into battle.
In the ending of the second and final part of the series, Mokona and the rest of the Mashin declare that they will be travelling to other universes. This could explain their appearance as Kudans of the characters of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Specifically, Rayearth appears as a flame wolf to Syaoran, Selece as a blue dragon to Kurogane, and Windom as a four-winged bird to Fay.
In the OVA, the combined Mashin is named Rayearth. They also feature as "Kudans" (a kind of protective spirit) in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, also by Clamp. Rayearth is assigned to Syaoran, Selece to Kurogane and Windam to Fay.
Manifestation and Bond[]
The Rune Gods, Rayearth, Selece, and Windom, share a deep connection with their Magic Knights, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. A striking feature of this bond is the psychic link, which allows telepathic communication and gives the pilots full command over their Rune Gods’ actions. When not in use, the Rune Gods rest in a pocket dimension, waiting to be summoned by the Magic Knights through their swords and resolve.
This bond, however, has its drawbacks. When a Rune God takes damage in battle, that harm transfers to its pilot, appearing as physical strain or wounds. Additionally, if a Magic Knight’s sword—the same weapon, scaled up, that the Rune God wields—is damaged, or if the pilot falls unconscious, the Rune God vanishes back to its dimension, leaving the pilot exposed and defenseless until the sword is repaired.
In some instances, Rayearth, Selece, and Windom can merge into Combined Rayearth, a single entity whose power surpasses that of the individual Rune Gods.
Unlike these three, which originated as independent beings within Cephiro’s ancient magic, the Mashins of Zagato and Emeraude were forged from their personal wills, distinguishing their creation and essence. Thanks to their brief appearances, it's unclear if their mechanics are the same of the other three.
Known Rune Gods[]
Etymology[]
The "Rune God" name was only used in the official English release of the anime series. "Mashin" has a bit of a double-meaning; it is katakana for the English word "machine", but is a homonym of the Japanese word for "evil spirit".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Mashin" is a pun on the word "Machine", which are mechas.
References[]
- ↑ CLAMP. Magic Knight Rayearth Material Collection. ISBN: 4063196887