Flame Hazes and Lords of the Crimson Realm

Shana "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" , "Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite") (Flame Haze)

Shana is the female lead of the show and a Flame Haze. She was formerly human (but as stated in the novels and manga, that once a human makes a contract with a crimson lord, they become a Flame Haze and live forever). Initially she is concentrated solely on her duty as a Flame Haze, going as far as to not bearing even a name. She sees Yuji only as a Torch, an object, marginally interesting because of his status as a Mystes. Yuji, in his need to humanize her, chose to name her "Shana" after her katana. However, she slowly opens up to Yuji, coming to think of him as a person, despite being a Torch, and eventually comes to love him. Until she met Yuji, she was identified by only her Flame Haze title "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter," or her katana, Nietono Shana (贄殿遮那, Nietono Shana^? "Vairocana of the Offering Room"). Shana has a habit of saying "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" ("Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!") whenever Yuji asks her questions or makes remarks that disturb her original worldview or embarrass her. But in reality they really care for each other. She has a great fondness for sweets, especially the melon bread. Shana is shown to be highly intelligent in the series, she has gotten a perfect score on every exam and is talented in Phys. Ed.

Shana is clearly a powerful and talented Flame Haze, known and feared by most Tomogara by title alone. This has allowed her to defeat many powerful Tomogara along the plot, and permits her many different abilities, including her proficiency with the Nietono Shana, the ability to wield flame, manipulate the power of existence, harbor extrasensory traits, and fly with wings of flame. Her duty initially made her indifferent towards human life, but through Yuji's influence, Shana has opened up slightly, although she still remains confused and disgruntled by some human traits which she considers as pointless, although some of it is used to mask her jealousy of her desired monopoly on Yuji.

Despite being the title character of the anime, Shana has few character relations with many of the characters in the show. Her main social interest is Yuji, whom she sees as her love interest, although she never admits it (except once at the end of season one). Her relationship with Yuji is one of the driving forces of the series. Shana takes orders and advice from the Crimson Lord she is bond to, Alastor, and has a mentor and guardian in the form of Wirhelmina Carmel. Kazumi Yoshida is her love-rival for Yuji, and Shana treats her with contempt and disdain. She generally treats most other characters with ignorance and indifference, with the exception of Chigusa Sakai, who she looks to as a source in answering certain difficulties when Alastor or Wirhelmina are unable to do so. Shana eventually starts to be more open to the other characters, especially in regards to her relationship with Kazumi becoming more friendly.

Alastor "Flame of Heavens" ( "Tenjō no Gōka") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Alastor is the Lord of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a divine vessel called the Cocytus, which (in Shana's case) takes the form of a pendant. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact being one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence. Unlike other lords that have a Flame Haze, his contractor can perform a method called Heaven Destruction Earth Break ( Tenpa Jyōsai^?), which requires a lot of Power of Existence and will manifest his being as the God of Atonement (Tenbatsushin^?) to the world to consume all Denizens around him. This method is his Flame Haze's last resort, as prior to Shana, no Flame Haze had survived after using it. Alastor and Shana seem to have a parent-child dynamic at first, but Alastor is aware that Shana must grow up and may be trying to adapt.

Margery Daw (Mājorī Dō) / "Chanter of Elegies" ("Chōshi no Yomite") (Flame Haze)

Margery is a tall, "well-endowed" and mature blond Flame Haze with a drinking habit. She uses the book Grimoire, which is the divine vessel through which Marchosias, to whom she is bound, expresses his will. Her specialty seems to be Power of Unrestraint, and her main powers focus around chanting spells and turning into a werewolf. She casts spells by chanting an "Improvisational Poem of Slaughter" (, Tosatsu no Sokkyōshi). Eita and Keisaku look up to her because she saved their lives once. Her reason for becoming a Flame Haze is to get revenge on a Denizen with a silver-colored flame (who is somehow linked to the Reiji Maigo within Yuji). Even before her installation as a Flame Haze, she lived only for vengeance. She was once a daughter of a landlord in medieval time, but after countless betrayals, her father was killed and she had ended up in a brothel. She gained a chance to avenge for her misery and humiliation on her enemies, only to see them be destroyed by the Silver. Her fury from being stolen of the last reason to live had attracted the attention of Marchosias. In the anime, Margery's focus shifts from fighting simply to eradicate Crimson Denizens to fighting to protect the Balance. She notes her fighting skills are no less for the shift in focus. In the light novels, Margery would not only face the Silver in an unsuccessful battle, but would later realize that the Silver had been acting on her wish for revenge in her life of misery prior to becoming a Flame Haze before she nearly got killed by Sairei no Hebi Sakai Yuji.

Marchosias"Claw and Fangs of Violation" ("Jūrin no Sōga") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Marchosias is the Crimson Lord to whom Margery Daw is bound. He expresses his will through the divine vessel Grimoire, which takes the form of a book. He talks wildly, makes comments without remorse, and often teases Margery, often earning a retaliatory punch. He does genuinely care about her, however, perhaps not in the form of friendship but as a companion in battle. The dynamic of their relationship is quite different than that between Shana and Alastor; Marchosias will serve as Margery's vehicle from time to time and occasionally suffers physical abuse at her hands, but they seem to be equals in their quest. In the anime, Marchosias craves battle more than protecting the balance. He has an 'ultimate attack' called the "Flame of Illusion", which summons a dragon-like form around his Flame Haze instead of the usual werewolf form; this shape is powerful enough to cause damage that can pierce a Timestop Seal. In the anime, when Margery temporarily sinks into apathy, Marchosias displays at least a measure of wisdom and understanding for her plight. Nevertheless, he is quick to re-ignite Margery's spark so they may continue their battle against the Denizens and is not above using trickery to do so.

Wirhelmina Carmel ( Viruherumina Karumeru) / "Manipulator of Ten Thousand Ribbons" ("Banjō no Shite") (Flame Haze)

Wirhelmina is a young lady that wears a maid's uniform all the time. She is bound to Tiamat, whose will resides in the divine vessel Persona, which shifts forms between a headband, and a mask when in battle. During the great war, Persona's shape was a tiara. Her title's meaning is like the term for a player (in chess) who can predict moves far ahead.

She is one of the great Flame Haze from the age of the great war, fighting alongside her friend, Mathilde Saint-Omer (the previous "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter"). Together, they are like the counterpart of the "Pair of Wings" combination between the Crimson Denizens Merihim and Illuyankas. Her ability is the power to control an infinite number of ribbons which appear from around her. Wirhelmina, who always speaks in an overly formal and polite manner, has nearly no expression. She's very skillful in many things, like singing and house chores, and is the one who took care of Shana during the girl's training at Tendōkyū. Cooking, however, is one of her weaknesses; this was made even more evident in the second season, after her attempts at cooking crashed Chigusa's kitchen.

Wirhelmina dislikes Yuji as an overprotective mother might dislike her daughter's boyfriend, and constantly refers to him as "the Mystes", though later on, she occasionally refers to him by his proper name. This is possibly due to Wirhelmina's own desire to gain Shana's affections. She has, in the anime, advocated killing him so as to keep the Reiji Maigo out of the hands of the Bal Masqué and had to be stopped from performing the deed herself twice by Shana. In the anime's second season, Wirhelmina has begun to, more or less, accept Yuji's presence, if not his influence on Shana, and, on Shana's request, becomes Yuji's training partner when Shana is otherwise not available. In the light novels, Yuji retaliates and nearly kills Wirhelmina with the Blutsauger in a wild rage, for she tried to make Shana give up on Yuji by force. At this moment, Tiamat called her partner "Princess!" implying that Wirhelmina was born to a Royal family. Wirhelmina always uses de arimasu, the uncontracted form of desu normally seen only in writing, to end her sentences.

Tiamat"Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies" ("Mugen no Kantai") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Tiamet is the female Crimson Lord to whom Wirhelmina is bound. She is described by her own Flame Haze as a most unsociable entity; she is taciturn and to the point, saying nothing more than what is necessary, usually in a monotone, betraying no emotion regardless of the situation. In the novels, her lines are almost always written in four kanji letters, with no hiragana or katakana.

Khamsin Nbh'w "Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment" ( "Gisō no Karite") (Flame Haze)

Khamsin is the Flame Haze contracted to Behemoth. While he is one of the oldest Flame Haze in history, perhaps even thousands of years old, he bears the appearance like a ten-year-old Middle-Eastern boy. Although a Flame Haze, Khamsin's primary function is not that of defeating Tomogara, but acting as a tuner, dispelling the distortion caused by battles between the Flame Haze and Tomogara. Despite this, Khamsin also has combat capability, and has the ability to create and move stone golem-like creatures and control stones. He is very powerful, but is more famous for his accuracy, or lack thereof, in his attacks. In the anime, Khamsin and Behemoth are collectively labeled 'the geezers' by Margery Daw. Tellingly, the once battle-happy Flame Haze expressed some uneasiness and reluctance for the notion that they might join in battle against the Crimson Denizens. He was formerly a prince who had dreamed of becoming a great warrior, but when he became a Flame Haze to fend off the Denizen, he was forgotten by everyone as the price for the contract.

Behemoth "Steadfast Sharp Peak" ("Fubatsu no Senrei") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Behemoth is the Crimson Lord whose will resides in the bracelet Khamsin wears. He speaks like an old man. With his Flame Haze, his mission seems not to be the protection the balance of worlds through hunting the Denizens, but instead by re-tuning places where the distortion is too great, such as Misaki city, where Friagne had created so many Torches in his preparation for the City Devourer.

Yuri Chvojka ( Yurī Fuvoika) / "Leader of Spirits" ( "Chisei no Hikite") (Flame Haze)

Yuri is an inexperienced sixteen-year-old Flame Haze boy, who wore an unnecessary pair of eyeglasses. He has power to control small animals and insects as a messengers, spies, and measurement, or wrap himself inside them and fly like cannonball. He was a Ukrainian immigrant, whose ship was attacked by one of the Krakens (sea-bound Denizens) during the voyage to America. Near his death he made the contract with Valac and defeated the denizen, but failed to save his family and other passengers. After reaching America, he worked under East Edge. Since he completed his vengeance so quickly, he could not develop the hatred or passion vital for the cause of Flame Haze and he lacked the coolness and rationality needed for survival. He even wished to protect people with his own life, which other Flame Hazes had thought of this idea dangerous, especially East Edge who had forbade him to engage in combat with enemies.

He met Margery, who had her first contact with Annaberg and Sydonay, and wished to assist her, but was rejected. Still, he jumped into the battle, saving Margery and had successfully defeated Annaberg. With little energy left, he tried to fight Sydonay, but took a fatal blow instead, and caught in the crossfire between him and Margery, Yuri perished.

Valac "President of Reptiles" (, "Kieki no Sui") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Valac is the Crimson Lord who expresses her will through the knife-like vessel Goverla. She speaks rather wearily, yet she looks after her partner Yuri with kindness. She had many partners before Yuri, whom many of them were powerful but suicidal avengers that none had stayed alive too long.

East Edge "Summoner of Star River" ("Seiga no Yobite^") (Flame Haze)

East Edge is the Native-American Flame Haze who runs the Outlaw disguised as a news agency in New York and took care of Yuri. He despises the term "New World" named by Europeans. He is one of the four powerful Flame Haze called "The Four Gods of Earth", who had protected the continent for centuries. In nineteenth century, the Four Gods and their comrades had plotted to destroy the government of the United States to liberate their fellow natives who had suffered from the invasion of white people. Many Flame Haze stood up to stop the plot, leading to a civil war between two groups of Flame Haze's, but this cost dearly as the balance of the world had collapsed and the Denizens wreaked havoc as they pleased. The Four Gods had no choice but to abandon the plan, along with the passion to protect the world that expanded by sacrificing their fellow people and the great earth. With a suggestion from a tuner, they each became the keeper of the four Outlaws in four major cities of the North and South America.

Quetzalcóatl "Windy Echo of Enlightenment" ("Keidō no Fue") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)

Quetzalcóatl is the Crimson Lord who is contracted to East Edge. He speaks through an engraved stone medallion with short, but deep and heavy voice. During the "civil war", he had agreed to the destruction of the U.S.A. along with his partner.