Elias Ainsworth

Elias Ainsworth (エリアス・エインズワース, Eriasu Einzuwāsu) is one of the main protagonists of The Ancient Magus' Bride series. He is a Mage who is a being made of both Fae and human elements, though his origins are a mystery. He is the purchaser and magic teacher of Chise Hatori.

Appearance
In his most common form, Elias is a bipedal humanoid with the skull of a wolf and the horns of a goat in place of a head, with glowing red beams of light in the empty sockets of his eyes. Chise Hatori mentions that his eyes change depending on his emotions.

He is considerably taller than an average human, with the average person only reaching his chest. His neck is the only part that shows skin, which is dark purple. He wears a three-piece suit: a black robe with sleeves embroidered with white threads, paired with a black vest (blue in the manga) and a white undershirt. He also sports a blue stone bolo necktie tucked just beneath his collar (it was gifted to him by the one who gave him his name). His horns are adorned with a string of gold that hangs to his neck and connects to a red cloth.

He often pulls the red cloth behind his head over his face when outside. However, with magic, he can change his appearance to that of a human of his choice, usually with two tufts of hair that spiral into a horn-like shape.

His true form takes on an appearance akin to that of a beast. He's taller, though thinner, wearing a collar of black feathers. He gains a tail and claws. A tattered black cloak appears to drape against his back, though it seems to be a part of his body. Thin thorns twist in every direction, an additional pair of horns curve toward his face, and rib bones curl around his chest to form an extra ribcage.

Personality
Even though Elias is polite and kind, he is noted to be immensely reclusive because of his inability to relate to humans and rarely interacts with others as a result. He is extremely fascinated by humans and their emotions, which he attributes to being unable to experience them himself. To this end, he has adopted the mannerisms of a classic "gentleman" and closely studies people, though he is usually unable to imitate their examples. Though withdrawn, he tends to be aloof and has an unfriendly streak with certain people. He says he does not lie but keeps his intentions shrouded by leaving out information and tries to keep his past hidden. But despite a few instances of malice, he has several child-like tendencies, including throwing tantrums. Despite this, he is very willing to amend his wrongdoings, and while his exact actions are explicit, he regularly does deeds for the Church's recompense.

Initially, Elias is underdeveloped emotionally. He understands emotions through one-sided observations as if only knowing them by definition and never experiencing them himself. He describes his emotions physically like the twisting in his chest and the cold of Chise Hatoris' absence. Despite his usual calm and stoicism, endangerment to Chise's well-being is enough to send him into a rage, and seems to be the only thing capable of such.

His inexperience with his emotions later drives some of his actions, such as holding Chise against her will and attempting to use Stella as a sacrifice, despite knowing it would make Chise sad after unknowingly developing romantic feelings towards her.

History
The only memories from his past are the color red and the recollection of eating humans. His first memory is waking in a forest. He had decided to walk, wandering in the snow, and avoiding humans until he collapsed in front of Lindel. Lindel takes him to his master, Rahab, who decides to give him his current name and persuades Lindel to take him on as a magic apprentice. From there, he begins learning magic from Lindel while living a nomad life caring for caribou. An unknown gap of time between these events, Lindel and Elias separate, and Elias finds himself in Britain doing various odd jobs for the Church.

Plot
Elias appears to purchase Chise Hatori in the auction, introducing himself to her and bringing her to his home to explain the nature of her apprenticeship. Later that evening, he spots Chise leaving and follows her within her shadow to avoid having her taken into the land of the Fae by the Aerials and returns her to his home to rest for two days.

After that, he introduces Chise to Angelica, who hits him after learning he bought her and has to stop her from using her magic to make crystal poppies. Once they return home, they find Simon waiting for them, and they're given three assignments to handle for the Church. Elias decides to head off one of them, bringing them to Iceland.

There they run into a dragon that spirits Chise away while Elias hides in her shadow, bringing her to Lindel. The two are introduced as being old acquaintances for the last 300 years at least, where they discuss Nevin's passing and that Chise will have a short lifespan if something isn't done soon.

Their next task takes them to Ulthar, where the King of Cats requests that they deal with a blight in the lake. Elias goes off to investigate the magical residue he's been sensing until Alice drops Chise into the water, and he pulls her out before returning that night to try and purify the blight. Alice and Renfred formally appear, wanting to claim it for themselves, but once Chise scatters it and guides the souls within it to their final rest, both parties depart from Ulthar. The effort again exhausts Chise, but Oberon, Spriggan, and Titania appear to help her recover shortly afterward.

Their final task is investigating a series of murders at a local Church, thought to be caused by a Church Grim. Elias goes off to investigate once more, only to return after Chise has captured Alice. Once they learn that Joseph is involved in the case and he harms Chise, Elias turns into his monstrous form in front of her for the first time in an attempt to kill him until Renfred shoots Joseph in the back of the head. He settles down afterward and has to keep Chise from using her magic recklessly until she forges a contract with Ruth, and they send Joseph off.

The act of changing his form takes a toll on Elias, leaving him having trouble for a few days afterward in stabilizing it until Chise seeks him out and confesses she wants to know more about him when Lindel's familiar appears to tell him that Chise has to go pick up her wand alone. Left waiting for her return, Elias copes with the feeling of loneliness for the first time when he receives a messenger bird from Renfred telling Elias to let Chise know about the College, but he destroys it and has Silky bury the remains in the garden.

After that, Chise contacts him through the water mirror and then flies back to his side, whereafter he wakes up again later due to using magic recklessly in time to shear Woolybug. Chise is attacked, and he takes her into the greenhouse to recover, but he learns that she recalls him nearly eating her before she left with Lindel, so he attempts to remove her memories of it. He only relents when she admits she's okay keeping the memory before admitting he has trouble empathizing with humans due to his nature and asks Chise to teach him how to do so.

Later on, Chise finds herself near death due to exhausting her magic, creating Fairy Ointment, and Elias has to take her into the Land of the Fae to recover. There he has an audience with Titania, where he rejects her offer to reside in that world along with Chise before returning home several months later and assisting Stella with recovering her brother from Ashen Eyes.

In a tragic turn of events after this, Lindel has two of his dragon whelps stolen by Joseph, and in the attempt to reclaim them, Chise takes on a Dragon's Curse. Mariel advises Elias that the curse could be moved from one host to another, and he seeks out Stella to do so because of jealousy. This drives Chise to go with Joseph when he has her hostage, and he ends up nearly accepting Titania's offer once more in exchange for finding her, only to reject it and realize that he can't keep acting that way. However, Titania extends her hand to help him find Chise along with several others, and they give chase after Joseph.

The battle essentially plays out like in the anime. Afterward, Elias exchanges ring with Chise before they become members of the College, with Elias taking the role of a professor due to his knowledge. His first class has him call upon the Neighbors within the College to assist the students, but he's forced to drop his glamour to prevent one who overstepped their bounds from getting hurt.

Anime Difference
Elias works with Aerial to defeat Ashen Eyes before taking Chise home once more, where they discuss their issues and come to a compromise. The anime ends with the two of them then exchanging rings in an informal wedding before returning home.

Magic
Elias Ainsworth is a magician specializing in shadow and magic with destructive leaning. He can hide in the shadows of other beings such as Chise, and can also produce thorns, earning him the names "Child of Thorn" (or just Thorn) and "Pilum Murialis". He's also well-versed in other forms of magic such as teleportation and even those capable of removing memories.

Shapeshifting
Elias is able to manipulate his form into any shape he wishes, including humans. He is able to take the appearance of any human he has known from their facial expression to their size, which has included Chise, Simon, and an unknown female. His default appearance is also a product of his shapeshifting in an effort to appear more human-like. Besides humanoid forms, Elias is also able to manipulate his body to animal-like forms such as that of a dog. Shapeshifting requires conscious effort on Elias' part and can be interrupted when he is agitated or in an emotional state.

Elias is also able to seperate himself into two beings. When doing so, his skull is separated into halves with each being containing one half of his face and a shadowy mass that generates from where their respective missing faces are located. The separated half, whose body is reminescent of a small dog, contains Elias' conciousness but does not possess all of Elias' powers. It is unknown if this is always the case or simply because he wanted to honor Chise's request of not being able to rely on him. Elias also states that he is not quite himself in this state, indicating the separating of his consciousness does affect him. When reunited, Elias regains his full cognition as well as the memories and experiences of his separated half.

Knowledge
As a mage with years of experience, Elias is highly knowledgeable on the various types of Fae that inhabit England. He is able to deduce the nature of a Fae, whether it be friendly, mischievous, or even hostile, and adjust accordingly to them. He also observes rituals associated with the Fae, even those long gone, as he understands the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with them in his line of work. He is well-versed in herbology and the art of creating medicine and provides his services for the villagers nearby his house.

Strength
Elias possesses great physical strength much greater than that of a human, although he rarely resorts to using it. He is able to overpower other supernatural beings such as Alcyone even when in his human-like form. This strength is more greatly visible in his beastly form, where he is able to tear apart strong monsters such as the mantis chimera created by Joseph, which easily cut Mikhail Renfred's arm off.

Quotes

 * He often says "die" to people who anger him more than not.

Trivia

 * The name Elias is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Elijah and means "Yahweh is God".
 * Elias' surname Ainsworth means "enclosure".
 * Because of his horns, Elias can only sleep sitting up or laying on his chest.
 * Elifans popularly theorize Elias to be a Wendigo (also spelled Windigo), a malevolent, formerly human, spirit that can possess human body, alter it and drive the host to engage in cannibalism. The creature originates from Northern Native American folklore. While not a part of the original folklore, Wendigos in popular culture are often depicted as oversized, often partially skeletal humanoids with elk/deer heads and horns.
 * In Official Guidebook: Merkmal, Elias' height is 200cm (6'7").
 * Elias wears black leather Classic Oxford Shoes, a common English shoe many business people wear. Oxford is also close to Elias's undisclosed location (likely in the Cotswolds).
 * The tea he serves Simon is an iced variant of Elderberry tea, a tea brewed using the dried berries of the Elder. Elderberries are toxic until dried or cooked; the tea is ideal in winter as it staves off colds. Elderberries are collected during September and October in England.
 * Elias' first name is pronounced like the Scandinavian "Elias" by Kore Yamazake and most of the show's characters. Furthermore, Elias was named shortly after Russia, Norway, and Sweden were mentioned, so his story likely begins in that area. (His name could also be English and mispronounced due to the poor transcription of "Elias" in Japanese: エリアス.)

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Elias Ainsworth