Arba

Arba (アルバ, Aruba) is one of Solomon's Three Wise Magi from Alma Torran. Before becoming a Magi, she was an essential part of Solomon's resistance to overthrow the Orthodox Government, second in magic only to Solomon, and the wielder of one of the Divine Staves. She is the Magi who betrayed Solomon and formed Al-Thamen. She has been in a sealed world with Al-Thamen and Ill Ilah for a millennium. In the new world created by Ugo (on Solomon's behest), she possessed Gyokuen Ren, the Kou Empire third Empress, and is now possessing her daughter, Hakuei Ren.

Appearance
Arba is a rather tall and attractive young woman. She has long, messy brown hair that is usually kept tied in two long pigtails. She has bright, kind eyes and is often seen with a smile on her face when she interacts with her friends. She owns one of the 72 Divine Staves.

After becoming Solomon's Magi, she wears a turban like head-ornament with a wing-shaped jewel in the center and a long, layered robe draped around her body. She also wears several necklaces and bracelets on her wrists and ankles. During the fight with Sheba her right braid was sliced off. After killing Sheba, she stole Sheba's turban with a crescent moon jewel and her Divine Staff.

Personality
Arba seemed to be quite caring when she was first introduced, as she tried to make Sheba feel welcome after the latter was rescued from the tower. She openly expressed her worry when Sheba proclaimed that she wished to go back to her tower. Arba continuously displayed deep and genuine loyalty towards Solomon, always referring to him as "young master," despite the latter's assertion that this was not necessary with her no longer being his servant. She is fearless in battle and refuses to show her enemies mercy.

Arba apparently had a rather impish side too, as seen when she intentionally held back during her training session with Solomon, and cracked jokes with him right after their sparring match, telling him that his swordsmanship "sucked" and that he should grow taller, which caused both of them to laugh.

Arba is also extremely fervent in her belief of Ill Ilah, going as far as to cry and call him father every time she sees him. She was very distraught over Solomon's decision to "kill god" and attacked him in an effort to prevent his plan. After Solomon replaced Ill Ilah as god and she became a Magi, according to Ugo, she started to act strange. She is now devious, cunning and heartless, as her one goal is to summon Ill Ilah to this world to reduce everything and everyone to nothing.

History
Arba was created by David as Solomon's servant and knew him since his birth. They shared a close bond, but due to her being his servant, she felt obliged to address him more formally. However, Solomon did not approve of this, and he would constantly tell her, after their escape from the Orthodox Church. She was the person who taught him his swordsmanship. Despite their previous difference in status, her devotion and admiration for him never waned. She soon turned into one of his most trusted and powerful supporters, and together with Ugo, Ithnan, Setta, Wahid and Falan, helped him lead the Resistance. She was older than Ugo and the oldest member of the resistance, as well as the strongest swordsman and second in magic only to Solomon.

After Gyokuen Ren married the first emperor of Kou, Hakutoku Ren, and had two sons, Hakuyuu and Hakuren, Arba possessed Gyokuen and later had Hakuei and Hakuryuu.

When Sinbad was born, Arba, Scheherazade, Matal Mogamett, and Yunan sensed the strong resonation of Rukh.

She had her first two sons and husband killed in a fire fighting against Al-Thamen, Arba's subordinates. After her husband's death, she married his brother, the Second Emperor, Koutoku Ren.

Pirates Arc
Arba is first seen in Hakuryuu's memories, while he is crying after a nightmare, she comforts him by saying he does not need to worry because his father is an incredible person who is loved by the people for unifying three countries. When her husband and two of her sons died in the fire started by Al-Thamen, Koutoku Ren is appointed as the Second Emperor of the Kou Empire and with a sad face, Arba informs Hakuei and Hakuryuu that she will marry Koutoku and they will be retain their status as Imperial Prince and Princess.

Once again in Hakuryuu's memory, he asks Arba if she really killed his father and brothers, she smiles and retorts that even if it is true he is powerless to do anything.

World Exploration Arc
Arba is seen beside her deceased second husband, holding his hand when the Imperial Princes and Princesses enter the chamber. She greets and tells them to come closer. Kouen asks if the Emperor has died of an illness, she says yes and tells them to come say farewell to their King. She hugs Kouen and says that she only has him left, asking if he will support her, to the disgust of Kouha, who calls her a hag. She then makes the announcement that due to Kouen's obligation to the army, she will take over as Empress of the Kou Empire. As Kouen's suporters are about to start an insurrection, Hakuryuu steps in and chimes support for his mother in the form of a chant that facilitates her ascent to the throne.

After the funeral, Judar confronts Hakuryuu about whether he is still being controlled by Arba. Judar says that Hakuryuu has become strong, and that he wishes to show this power to her, as she nears them with a crowd of Al-Thamen's priests behind her. When she arrives, Arba says to Hakuryuu that Judar has been praising him so much and, for that reason, she has been wanting to speak with him for a while now. She moves closer to Hakuryuu, wanting to touch his face, but Hakuryuu slaps her hand away and her personality changes to her true self. She retorts that Hakuryuu has learned to scowl and he has the same eyes as Hakuyuu and Hakuren, maybe like them, she should kill Hakuei too. Enraged, Hakuryuu activates his Djinn Equip without an incantation and fiercly attacks the defenseless Arba, only to get stopped in his tracks by her extremely powerful borg and then blasted away and out of his Djinn equip just as quickly as he had entered and attacked her. Mocking him after defeating him without a weapon, Arba pats his head and says that all he has to do is remain her cute, little Hakuryuu, forever.

Magnostadt Arc
In Magnostadt, the furnace of Black Rukh doesn't need Matal Mogamett as an intermediary anymore. It seemingly becomes independent, and destructively absorbs the magoi of the people around it. Mogamett questioning why it's still absorbing magoi, notices someone at the other end of the tunnel and asks who's there. The tunnel leads back to the Kou Empire, with Arba sitting on the throne. While black miasma comes out of the tunnel, she smiles, and, in tears, says: "We finally meet... "Father"!".

The furnace, now a ball of concentrated Black Ruhk, starts floating up, from the 5th Level Authorization District. The two members of Al-Thamen watching in the sky near Magnostadt, asks why the 200,000 humans underground are still alive, and who supplied Magoi in order for the furnace to become the Medium for their IlI llah's descent. Arba, answers that the great quantity of Magoi that Magnostadt has been hiding and accumulating, became the substitute for the Magoi of the people underground. She explains that the furnace was active for almost 10 years, and being active in Magnostadt it gathered Black Rukh, sucked Magoi and continued to grow. The two priests ask if that was the result of Empress Gyokuen's guidance, but Arba denies, saying that this is something that the people of this world did on their own.

Then, she says that it has been Ithnan's parting gift, although he didn't build the furnace directly, and calls Ithnan a boy. Arba explains that Ithnan betrayed King Solomon, even if he deeply respected and loved him. In the same way, she says, the humans by themselves desire to oppose to the “great flow” of this world. Ithnan disagreed with Arba's style of infiltrating the core of a country and interfering directly, but in the other hand, thanks to him, the humans opened the "Black Spot" by themselves 10 years later. Then, spilling tears of joy, Arba exclaims, followed by the priests: "Aaah, Father!!, we finally meet!!!", and says, "Your hands will be guided by the “medium” and in the instant they will touch the surface… this world will change!! A pure scenery where only a black sun shines… Just like in Alma Torran!!!"

A priest addresses to Arba, saying that they are unable to locate the Magi, and adds that it seems all of the Metal Vessel users of Kou have disappeared. Arba requires if all of them, and murmurs "Hakuryuu...". She answers to let them be, it's more important that this moment they have been waiting for is burned in their memories.

Arba is watching the Dungeon Capturer's efforts, and after she sees Alibaba Saluja being unable to cut the "medium" with Amon's Sword, she says that it's useless; the medium is the crystallization of the incredible quantity of magoi it gained from the lives of several tens of thousand of people, and of the Black Rukh, and it’s even impossible to graze it. She adds that, furthermore, it continuously gives birth to countless Black Djinn, so just six people using Solomon’s Metal Vessels it's useless against it.

The Dungeon Capturers and Aladdin are wondering what is the new being born from the "Medium" when Arba explains that the "Medium" is already adapting itself to their "Father" little by little and it's still nothing more than a naked infant who struggles against Solomon's principles. The priests who are in Magnostadt say that she's exactly right.

Arba keeps watching the efforts of the Dungeon Capturers when the priests who are in the battlefield ask her if she's witnessing the situation through their black Rukh. She nods and asks for Aladdin. A priest confirms that Aladdin is the Magi who appeared from the "Sacred Place" and obtained "Solomon's Wisdom". She says that Solomon was too arrogant, as not only the "proxy" he created is a Magi, but he also let him sleep in the "Sacred Palace", and now he has sent him in this world in order to crush their dearest wish. Arba heads towards Aladdin and greets him, saying that he only knows her from the Rukh's memories he saw through "Solomon's Wisdom" but that she knows him pretty well as she also served under that king.

She makes a sign with her hand a priest gives her her own Wand with reverence. She comments that this brings back memories, and calls Solomon "her king". Some memories from Alma Torran are showed and she is revealed to be one of his Three Wise Magi. Arba says that this world is already a failure and says to Aladdin: "Let's put and end to this as fellow Magi from Alma Torran!".

After this sentence, Arba adds that Al-Thamen will crush King Solomon's arrogant will, and that this is the reason why they changed into beings formed only by thoughts and came into this world; the Rukh will disappear, the world will die out and be dyed in black since they will sink the world into darkness. Just after her speech, the Medium moves, much for Aladdin's horror. A lightning clashes against the doll's back and Arba begins to laugh, saying that he finally appeared, the "miracle" born into this world and the existence that Al-Thamen hates the most after the Great King. Full Baal Djinn Equipped, Sinbad appears smiling, and Arba calls him "The First Class Singularity". Behind Sinbad, the Seven Seas Alliance appears and Arba, still smiling, says that how dare Sinbad gather all those Djinn, their masters and their Household in a single place.

Morgiana attacks the doll with Amol Selseila, and Arba comments that it's useless because it is impossible to destroy the Medium's Defensive Wall after it has absorbed so much Magoi from the Rukh and enlarged to this extent. Then, but some slots begin to appear in the Medium's Defensive Wall due to the Seven Seas Alliance's and their Household attacks, and for first time Arba is surprised. She has a bit worried expression when all the Metal Vessel Users gathered summon their Extreme Magic at once, making an octagram shape with the Medium at the center.

The Dungeon Capturers manage to make the Medium fall to pieces, but then it regenerates itself. She says that, obviously, it is not that simple and laughs loud, saying that they needed 72 people in order to defeat it in Alma Torran and they are only 13; she chuckles and mocks them.

After the Medium vanishes, Arba says that Matal Mogamett is a really useless man, and ponders aloud that a weak "core" is useless, and the next time they need to complete a Black Spot of the best quality and raise it by themselves. A priest near her agrees, but says her to rejoice since Reim's Magi is dead and her Rukh went to "that" place. Arba smiles again and says that that is good news.

Arba happily says that they have to celebrate tonight, because Scheherazade is dead and the foundations of Reim are shaking. She adds that even though this time the Medium was not useful, the "world's aperture" won't close for a few years once it's opened, and that if they are able to complete another "Black Spot" they will be able to invite their "Father" into this world immediately.

Alma Torran Arc
Arba is first mentioned in Aladdin's projection of the history of Alma Torran by Solomon, who was ordering her and Falan to follow Wahid and break through the central gate to the Mind-control tower that the resistance was trying to siege. She is then seen in the midst of the battle telling Solomon, Ithnan and Ugo to go on ahead. Once the Manticores regained their composure, Arba is seen holding her Divine Staff and shouting "We are the resistance" from a magic carpet, smiling and waving with the rest of the resistance. At their hideout she is seen beside Sheba smiling, introducing her to Solomon and the rest of the resistance. She is visibly concerned that Sheba wanted to go back to her tower and informs the girl that she would die if she continued to use her magic there.

Arba is later seen at a table, lifting weights and asking Wahid to spar later while he ate and Ithnan, Ugo and Falan played cards. She rescues Sheba from Ugo's complicated magic explanation just as their hideout stops moving. She explains to Solomon that it was the continental rift that caused the base to stop and accompanied the resistance to the Manticore's underground village, explaining to Sheba that Solomon was behaving weirdly because he was still a child.

Kou Empire Arc
When Hakuryuu and Judal enter the throne room and challenge her, Arba congratulates them on making it this far despite Hakuryuu being under the effects of the Admonition of Phenex, saying that that is proof of her son's desire to kill her. She then gestures to the Al Thamen magicians around her as they prepare their attacks and asks what Hakuryuu and Judal will do about the difference in firepower. However, she is caught off guard when the magicians attack her instead, as Judal and Hakuryuu explain that the two clones they captured earlier spread Belial's memory rewriting magic to most of Al Thamen's magicians. Arba kills the magicians with Sheba's borg magic, explaining that it's the magic of a little girl she was fond of in the past. She ffortlessly blocks Judal's spell and throws it back at him. When Judal tries to support Hakuryuu in using his Extreme Magic, Arba comments that they are just like a magi and king, before taking the black rukh from Judal and the Al Thamen magicians and and claiming that he is a thousand years too early to steal "that person's" favor from her. She casts Medoun Al-Samm and throws Hakuryuu and Judal to the ground, destroying the throne room in the process. Arba taunts Judal and Hakuryuu, asking the what's wrong and claiming that she raised them with so much love since they were small.

When Judal activates the Isolation Barrier and seals away her magic she is caught off guard. While caught up in her surprise that they have the isolation barrier in this world Hakuryuu gets up close and punches her repeatedly in the face. Judal urges Hakuryuu to finish her off with his sword, only to realize that she already took it. Arba claims that a battle without magic is fine and asks Judal to fetch a sword for Hakuryuu. She explains that in the previous world the strongest magician was the king but the strongest swordsman was her. After completely overpowering Hakuryuu she pins him to the ground and asks if he dreamed of killing her. Hakuryuu vows to kill her but is interrupted by Arba kissing him on the mouth. Hakuryuu trembles on the ground and she says that he hates her that much. With a leer on her face she says that she is so happy but this is goodbye, but before she can kill Hakuryuu she is pushed back by the two generals.

The generals and Hakuryuu overpower her three-on-one and manage to break her sword. However, when one of the generals accuses her of lacking faith, she goes berserk, and says that they are the ones who lack true faith. Grabbing Hakuryuu's spear, she overpowers the three and rants about how everyone is so blind and deaf that they cannot see "god" or hear his voice as Judal retreats. Arba heavily wounds the generals and laughs at their condition before nearly being overpowered by Hakuryuu, who manages to break his spear that she is wielding before she stabs him with its blade. However, Hakuryuu manages to bite a chunk of her neck off before finally succumbing to his wounds. In the end, Arba slowly gets to her feet, clutching her neck and making for the edge of the Isolation Barrier.

Arba heads to the outside of the Isolation Barrier, knowing that it will be her victory once she leaves it. She has defeated Hakuryuu and the generals, but in her current state she cannot even knock down a simple soldier. Once she reaches the outside she will be able to use magic to heal her wounds and regroup with the Al Thamen magicians who managed to resist Hakuryuu's mind controlling magic. Reflecting inwardly, Arba is very surprised that there were magicians capable of recreating a spell as powerful as the isolation barrier, and praises Hakuryuu and Judal for being able to find such magicians. She nears the edge of the barrier, thinking that while this was a little different from what she wants this is fine too, and that soon "that person" will be revived. A few feet from the edge, she is suddenly tripped by Judal, who curses her for raising him for twenty years. As he kicks her, Judal says that if it weren't for her he would me more... and then loses his train of thought. He says that it doesn't matter and leaves the killing blow to Hakuryuu, who has managed to recover. As Hakuryuu gets closer Arba pleads with him to stop, telling him that she's his mother. At the last moment she gives a start, asking Hakuryuu where she is and what happened. Hakuryuu says to his mother that at this point he doesn't care and tells her to die, beheading her with his sword. In her last moments, Arba's head grins and explodes in an attempt to kill Hakuryuu and Judal, scattering her rukh and killing her

Later, after the war has ended and Hakuryuu is coronated as the Fourth Emperor, Sinbad and Hakuei meet in a ship and Sinbad reveals that he knows that she is pretending to be Hakuei. As Arba assumes her true form, she states that Sinbad is David, and that, in Alma Torran, she hated him because he wanted to be superior to Ill Ilah by stealing it's powers, but now she understands that she is one with him, and wants to be his strength. As Sinbad states that he doesn't want her love, he also says that she is a woman with uncomparable power and knowledge, and that he doesn't need her in Al-Thamen. Stating that she will only do what he commands her to, Arba gladly agrees, crying of happiness as she is able to serve her Father directly.

Abilities
Despite her being a magician, she does not rely solely on magic to fight. She is a capable commander and duelist and is, in fact, the person who trained Solomon in swordsmanship.

As a Magi, Arba has near limitless Rukh/Magoi. She is proficient in using Black Rukh and also able to steal Black Rukh from other users. She is capable of attacking on the level of an Extreme Magic multiple times in a row. Arba was the one who mediated regarding the dungeons and metal vessels in the Kou Empire. In other words, no matter how many metal vessels she gave to humans they could never be considered a threat to her.

Physical Abilities
Arba has been trained in swordsmanship and is shown to be quite good at it, as she was the one who taught it to Solomon in his childhood and he has yet to beat her. She was able to easily fight and subdue Hakuryuu in a one-on-one sword fight and hold her own against Hakuryuu and the two generals Kokuhyou Shuu and Seiryuu Ri.

Wand
Arba owned one of the 72 Divine Staves, which enabled her to open her "third eye" and utilize extremely potent magic. Her Divine Staff has two wings on the head. Though, after she killed Sheba during the war between Al-Thamen, she stole Sheba's staff and left hers' beside the latter's corpse.

Magic

 * Borg: This is said to be the proof of a magician. It is a defensive ability that blocks out magical attacks with evil intentions. It blocks out physical attacks to some degree as well. However, its strength depends on the person. Arba's Borg uses Black Rukh. Without a wand, it is strong enough to push back a Full Djinn Equipped Hakuryuu Ren.


 * Borg Al-Samm (Eight Headed Defensive Wall): This is a Magic created from Borg. It enables Gyokuen to manipulate and expand it offensively, creating dragon heads from her Borg in Black Rukh. She adapted this technique from Sheba.


 * Strength Magic: Arba was very proficient in the use of Strength Magic as during the fight with the Magician Orthodox she was able to extend her staff into a blade large enough to split several airships in one strike.
 * Medoun Al-Samm (Funeral Destruction): This magic attacks the opponent in the direction of her hands destroying everything in its path to inflict a huge amount of damage to the opponent. This magic was so strong, that it heavily damaged both Judar and Hakuryuu Ren, leaving them extremely injured on the ground.

Solomon Jehoahaz Abraham
She was Solomon's dear friend and former servant; she kept calling him "young master" even after she was relieved of her duties, which often vexed him. She had great respect and faith in him, arguably second only to Sheba. Arba enjoyed spending her free time with Solomon, and even playfully mocked him about his height. He would also serve as her sparring partner of choice. They both wear the same accessory shaped like a crescent moon on their foreheads.

Arba arguably took Solomon's fusing with Ill Ilah the hardest. Strictly loyal to what she believed to be the one true God of their world, Arba saw Solomon's sacrifice as an act of extreme blasphemy and betrayal. In the aftermath of Solomon's ascension, Arba's personality drastically changed, becoming much more cold and quick-tempered. Her relationship with Sheba even slowly began to deteriorate to the point of constant argument. Arba collected many of Solomon's former followers and the magicians who bore ill will towards him and led a revolt against her former leader. She would go on to found Al-Thamen, the organization that exists to restore Ill Ilah to power and create chaos in the world once again.

Sheba
Arba was always very kind to Sheba, even after the latter's unpleasant nature became apparent to Solomon. They grew to be such great friends over time that they even shared the same bunk on several occasions. As the years went by, however, Sheba began to develop feelings for Solomon, and became jealous of Arba's close relationship with him. This caused some tension between the two; however, Arba would eventually convince Sheba to become Solomon's lover and partner, demonstrating how much trust she had for her friend. Arba began to develop an almost sisterly relationship with Sheba as time passed.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of Solomon's ascension, Arba viewed this as an act of overthrowing God. Sheba, however, would continue to support Solomon even through all of the tension that was beginning to build between her and her former friends. Arba recognized that Sheba had thrown in her lot with Solomon and the other species and led a revolt against her former leader and friend. Under the influence of her newer, colder personality, Arba had no qualms about battling Sheba and even killed her with no hesitation, viewing her old friend as an obstacle in the way of her own aspirations.

Trivia

 * Her name is derived from the Arabic word أربعة (Arba3a), meaning Four.