Medina Orthinanos

Medina Orthinanos (メディナ・オルティナノス) is a game-original main character in Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, a game adaptation of the Sword Art Online series. She became the current head of the disgraced Orthinanos noble family after the passing of her father in an accident. Born into an environment where the Orthinanos are labeled as a family of defects (欠陥品), Medina aims to become an Integrity Knight to clear the legacy of the Orthinanos name.

Project Alicization
Medina has short, crimson red hair and green eyes with short, thick eyebrows. She is often seen wearing crimson red armor with white and gold-colored patterns. She also has a narrow cape hanging behind her back and gloves with wide wrists on her hands in the same colour. Below the short skirt of her overalls, black, thigh-high boots with the same crimson, white and golden patterns accompany her outfit. Medina's preferred choice of weaponry is her katana, the Mirage Blade.

During her first year at the Sword Mastery Academy, Medina wore a standard gray uniform and rearranged her hair so that her bangs covered her right eye. After becoming an Elite Swordsman-in-Training and being allowed to customize her uniform color, she wore an orange uniform.

Background
Medina was born into House Orthinanos, a first-rank noble family that once had been charged with a secret task by the Pontifex Quinella herself. When the Orthinanos family failed that task, they were labeled as defective by Quinella and demoted to second-rank, which led to them being ostracized by the rest of the nobility. Subsequently, the Orthinanoses were forced to live on land poorly suited for growing crops and forbidden from working in the government or military.

Despite these circumstances and her family's poverty, Medina had a relatively happy childhood, being particularly fond of her sparring sessions with her father. However, in the 377th year of the Human Empire Calendar (HEC), their territory experienced an extended drought. Since her father was unwilling to place more taxes on their already suffering tenant farmers in this situation, he lacked the funds to purchase for her a new wooden sword to train for the Swordcraft Academy test. Upset, the noblewoman expressed to him her wish that she had been born into a different family.

To Medina's regret, those were the last words she spoke to her father, as he died in an accident in the 12th Month of that same year while participating in a horse race in an attempt to obtain money for her practice sword. As the accident had been caused by the nobleman's ignorance of the alteration to the landscape of the race's route since he last visited it, the girl suspected and accused the other nobles competing in the event of indirectly arranging for his death but still blamed herself for spurring him to enter the race in the first place with their last conversation. Guilt-ridden, the noblewoman vowed on the family sword she inherited from her father that she would rebuild House Orthinanos's name as atonement, and to always remember the promise she made with him to remain strong, just, and proud of their family.

Alicization Lycoris
During her journey through the Lodend Mountains to Zakkaria in the 3rd Month of 378 HEC, Medina was attacked by a pack of wild beasts. While defending herself from the animals, she encountered two boys named Eugeo and Kirito, who assisted her in dispatching the beasts. After the battle, Medina learnt that the boys were heading for Zakkaria as well and thus reluctantly agreed to let the boys accompany her for the remainder of her journey, despite her irritation that they would interfere with her training.

Having arrived at Zakkaria a day and a half later, Medina parted ways with the boys to continue her training, eventually enrolling at the Imperial Sword Mastery Academy in North Centoria. <!-- Shortly after she, Eugeo, and Kirito passed the entrance exam in the 4th Month of 379 HEC, the girl encountered the boys at the entrance to the Academy grounds.{Commaception -Gsi} Though the girl attempted to distance herself from the duo, she appreciated how they treated her as an equal, in contrast to the harassment she faced from the other nobles attending the school.

Sometime later in the 8th Month of 379 HEC, Medina was attempting to escape Kirito's efforts to converse with her when they encountered a starving stray cat wandering close to the Academy campus. Feeling pity for the cat, the girl accepted the boy's suggestion to adopt it so she would not be prohibited by the Taboo Index from feeding it.

Over the next few months, Medina continued to suffer persecution from her classmates, including her fiancé. This eventually culminated in posters vilifying House Orthinanos being displayed on the Academy's bulletin board in the 11th Month of 379 HEC, prompting the girl to retreat to privately vent her frustrations on practice dummies. Shortly afterwards, she was approached by Kirito, who revealed he had disposed of the posters and questioned why she had to experience such extreme mistreatment. As the boy had repeatedly offered her help and encouragement whenever he had seen her in trouble on prior occasions, the young noblewoman divulged how her family had become pariahs and explained her intent to restore House Orthinanos's honor by proving herself to Quinella. Having finished her exposition, Medina was then requested by Kirito to participate in an extracurricular lesson with him, wherein Academy students would assist the Centoria city guard with exterminating wild beasts. Though reluctant to risk putting the boy in trouble by continuing to associate herself with him, the swordswoman agreed to join when she learned her refusal would be inconvenient for Sortiliena Serlut.

Having returned from their extracurricular lesson, Medina and Kirito traveled to feed the former's cat. To their distress, they found the cat had died due to Medina's fiancé deliberately feeding it improper foods. When she attempted to confront him over the matter as well as his general abuse of her, the nobleman threatened to indirectly harm her and Kirito if she refused to obey him. Unwilling to jeopardize Kirito's safety, Medina decided it would be best to sever ties with the boy so her betrothed would not have any reason to target him. For the next several months thereafter, the girl rigorously distanced herself from Kirito and Eugeo, rebuffing any attempt at conversation from them.

On the day of the Elite Disciple promotion exam in the 3rd month of 380 HEC, Medina was summoned by her fiancé to a remote part of the Academy a short while before the start of the practical test. When the girl protested she would be late for the exam, she was thrown into a storage shed by the nobleman, who divulged he was aware of her deliberate underperformance in the quarterly placement exams in a bid to avoid his attention until the final exam, declared her actions and capabilities thereof to be an insult to him, and announced the termination of their betrothal. Shocked by the revelation her fiancé never had any intention of honoring their engagement and thus her attempts to rebuild her house's reputation via complying with his demands had been for nothing, Medina could only sit where she had fallen as the nobleman manipulated a passing janitor into locking the shed, fully expecting no one would come rescue an outcast like her. However, to her shock, she was soon freed by Kirito, who had noticed her absence and managed to locate her just in time for them to arrive at the examination venue with only minutes to spare.

Having succeeded in ranking among the top eight on the practical test, Medina was approached by her ex-fiancé, who accused her of cheating. Averse to continue facing further derogation from him, the girl challenged the nobleman to a duel, where she would reinstate their engagement and declare her exam results as fraudulent if she lost. Fueled by rage over how he had used her, the swordswoman easily dominated and defeated her former betrothed, though the Seal of the Right Eye prevented her from following through on a impulse to actually kill him towards the end of the fight. After the exams, Medina joined Kirito for an impromptu private party celebrating their advancement to Elite Disciples, where she confided to him what she had experienced in the battle and inquired how he had managed to find her in the shed. Although unsatisfied with his claim he had heard her voice, the girl nonetheless thanked the boy for rescuing her and giving her hope, despite her prior attempts to shun him.

Several weeks later, sometime after the 5th Month of 380 HEC, Medina received a request to join the Anti-Cedar Task Force (ACTF), which had been formed by the Axiom Church to combat an outbreak of magical beasts created by the Cathedral Cedar, a massive tree that had suddenly enveloped the upper levels of the Central Cathedral. Despite some initial hesitation, the young noblewoman decided assisting the task force would contribute greatly to eventually restoring House Orthinanos's honor. Surprised to find the registration process being overseen by Eugeo and Kirito, who she heard had been arrested for assaulting Humbert Zizek and killing Raios Antinous, she assumed they had been personally pardoned by Quinella in exchange for their cooperation. After a brief conversation with Kirito regarding their actions since they last met, Medina was accepted into the ACTF, whereupon she was assigned by Bercouli Synthesis One to work with the boys' group. Though the swordswoman doubted she could fell the Calamity Plants (Clamps), giant flowers seemingly related to the Cathedral Cedar from which the magical beasts were spawned, as doing so would require enough willpower to resist the Pontifex's Incarnation itself, she felt confident in her ability to handle the monsters themselves.

Not long afterwards, Medina accompanied Kirito's team on a mission to the Sothercrois Empire, where multiple Clamps and magical beasts had been spotted. While investigating the report of one such sighting in a town in the Warmia Greenbelt, the group learned a Lost Child of Vector had been interfering with the local hunter's Calling by hunting in the same hunting grounds. Driven by empathy over losing one's purpose because of another, Medina confronted the amnesiac hunter and attempted to persuade him to cease his encroachment. Growing indignant when he shoved her out of irritation, the young noblewoman lectured the Lost Child that he had no right to steal the purpose of others. To her astonishment, the amnesiac hunter quickly apologized for his actions and thanked her for showing him the error of his ways, going so far as to declare her his savior.

Having located and eliminated the Clamp in the region, Medina and the others proceeded south to the Vizeah Valley, where an especially powerful magical beast had been seen. Shortly upon arrival, they encountered a small band of skilled Lost Children of Vecta who were pursuing the beast themselves. Despite her misgivings, the swordswoman reluctantly consented to temporarily work with the warriors when she learned the monster might be too strong for the ACTF team to handle on their own. After finding and dispatching the creature, Medina awkwardly gave the Lost Children squad's leader a celebratory high five at his request, expressing interest in fighting alongside him again in the future. To her surprise immediately afterward, the warrior responded by addressing her as his savior and dedicating himself and his group to hunting the magical beasts on her behalf.

A short while later, Medina and the group continued further south to the Deusoldort Desert, both in search of more Clamps and to help reopen a blocked passage between the regions. In the process of acquiring equipment to protect themselves from the desert heat and winds, they attracted the attention of one of the local villagers, who requested they locate a Lost Child of Vecta he had recently taken under his care but had wandered off. Having found and rescued the girl from a monster, the swordswoman learned the Lost Child's departure from the village had been spurred by fear over her amnesia, loneliness, and lack of purpose. Sympathizing with the girl's situation, Medina held the crying Lost Child's hands to comfort her, assuring her she could find the answers to her questions in her own time. To her shock, the girl instantly calmed down and thanked Medina for her kindness, even calling the swordswoman her savior despite never having each other before.

Once Kirito's crew escorted the Lost Child of Vecta back to the village, they decided to stay the night there before resuming their journey. Unable to sleep, Medina wandered around the village, pondering on the Lost Children she had encountered and how they had changed their attitude toward her as soon as she made physical contact with them. Her musings were interrupted by the approach of the Lost Child she had soothed, who inquired if there was any way she could improve the young woman's apparent malaise. Uncertain of the limits of the girl's commitment to her, Medina commanded the Lost Child to become her friend, not really expecting her demand would be obeyed. To her surprise, the girl quickly accepted the request.

Exhilarated by the amnesiac girl's devotion to her, Medina decided to surreptitiously amass more Lost Children of Vecta that would pledge themselves to her. After Kirito's team resumed their Clamp hunt, the young noblewoman covertly had her followers locate Clamps scattered throughout the desert and relayed the information to the others, claiming her knowledge was based solely on gut instinct. With this information, the group was able to fell several Clamps in rapid succession, which enabled them to deduce from the flowers' roots that they were all connected to a central stalk; severing this stalk would eliminate all Clamps in Sothercrois and prevent them from regenerating.

Before Kirito's crew could begin their search for the central Clamp stalk, though, they encountered a merchant who claimed to have seen a titanic creature, the description of which Alice Synthesis Thirty identified as a giant from the Dark Territory. As the ACTF had received reports of a disturbance at the Southern Corridor earlier, the team decided to investigate the giant sighting to check if the corridor had been breached. Having secretly rendezvoused at night with her supporters who had discovered the giant's footprints, Medina led the others the next day to the tracks, which they followed until they found the Dark Territory denizen, who named himself Zacza. Once the crew managed to defeat the giant, they concluded from the comments Zacza had made about his brothers prior to his death that other giants had also invaded the Human Empire via the Southern Corridor. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to advance her mission of rebuilding her family's name, the young noblewoman furtively joined her followers while everyone else slept and hurried to the corridor to gain all the glory of repelling the Dark Territory invaders herself.

Having reached the entrance to the Southern Corridor, Medina and her supporters ventured deep into the labyrinthian passageways within, where they encountered another giant. Despite their numerical superiority, they struggled to handle the Dark Territory denizen until Kirito's group arrived to reinforce them. Though reluctant to share the glory of protecting the Human Empire with them, the young noblewoman acquiesced to cooperate with the others and continued to the end of the corridor. There, they found Zacza's elder brother Ziczi killing the last of all the other giants, as well as an unconscious Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one bound to a Clamp Core, the source of the central Clamp stalk. After managing to vanquish Ziczi, the crew severed the Clamp Core and resuscitated Eldrie before returning to Centoria to report their findings.

Once everyone had finished relaying their account of their mission in Sothercrois, Medina explained her encounter with the Lost Children of Vecta who had sworn themselves to her upon her touch and how she collaborated with them to locate the Clamps and giants. She then learned from Cardinal that these particular Lost Children, who the acting Pontefex dubbed wayfarers, were actually amnesiac adventurers summoned from another world. Realizing she could use her control over the wayfarers to help clear her family's name, the young noblewoman asseverated she would have her followers provide the ACTF severely needed manpower in protecting the Human Empire. Although Medina acknowledged the others' concerns over the wayfarers' agency and the possibility that her power could corrupt her, she refused to ignore what she saw as her biggest opportunity to finally fulfill her lifelong dream.

Almost immediately afterwards, Medina joined a party held by the ACTF to celebrate the destruction of the Sothercrois Clamp Core. During the festivities, she conversed with Kirito's female friends, many of whom had arrived from the same world as the swordsman. Wondering why the girls would take the trouble of traveling to an entirely different world, Medina was surprised to find they simply wanted to save the boy when he was in trouble. Impressed by their resolve to remain by Kirito's side and do whatever they could to help Underworld, the young noblewoman confessed to not always knowing the best course of action to take but was comforted by Asuna's assurance they all had that feeling at times.

After the celebration, Medina enlisted Kirito's help in training the wayfarers she had brought to ACTF's headquarters, in preparation for deploying them on magical beast hunting missions throughout the Human Empire. Although appreciative of the swordsman's assistance and gratified by her followers' exponential improvement in combat proficiency, she was dismayed by the other nobles in the task force claiming her rise in social status was only due to her reliance on the wayfarers, which she acknowledged as partially correct. This displeasure was further exacerbated when Alice excluded the young noblewoman from attending a private briefing with Bercouli alongside her and Kirito, which Medina interpreted as proof the Integrity Knights were not fond of her or the wayfarers. Viewing them as the biggest obstacle in being accepted by the Axiom Church again, this strengthened the swordswoman's resolve to do everything in her power to earn the Integrity Knights' trust, regardless of the cost.

A short time later, Medina and a contingent of wayfarers accompanied Kirito's group on a mission to the Norlangarth Empire, where many commoners were reported to have mysteriously vanished. During their trek through the Cordea Plains en route to the Lodend Mountains, they were obliged to exterminate many magical beasts that had spawned due to the local sentry neglecting his duties. While reprimanding the man for his negligence, Medina recognized the sentry as one of the nobles that had attended her father's funeral, prompting him to disparage the previous Orthinanos head for the way he died. Though the young noblewoman attempted to refute the insult, the stress of remembering her father's death caused her to collapse, but the emotional support from the wayfarers allowed her to muster enough willpower to recompose herself and resume her journey.

Not long thereafter, Medina and the others learned that unfamiliar children had been sighted on the outskirts of the nearby village. As the team had also heard an old legend of a witch kidnapping good children in Norlangarth, they suspected the sighting might be related to the disappearances they were investigating and so decided to look into the matter. While gathering water with Kirito along the way, she was prompted by the boy to explain the circumstances of her feather's death. However, their conversation was interrupted by an attack from a magical beast; having dispatched it, they found small wounds on its body that were seemingly made by children. The group managed to follow the beast's trail to locate the children, who revealed to also be wayfarers; almost immediately afterward, however, they were assaulted by a pack of magical beasts. Although they succeeded in handling the creatures, Medina felt obliged to use her touch on one of the child wayfarers to protect her, sparking an argument between the swordswoman and Alice over the former's action. Even after they secured the children in a safe place and continued their expedition, the stress from the incident compelled the young noblewoman to push her wayfarers into continuing their travel despite their growing exhaustion. However, when Alice directed her attention to her followers' increasing fatigue, Medina quickly ordered them to rest for a time, but her insecurities were fanned regarding the differences between her and the Integrity Knight.-->

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Medina Orthinanos