Immortal

Immortal (不死者) refers to an Awakener who has been revived from the dead, and is now ageless, thanks to the influence of the Divine Knight they are the Awakener of.
== Description ==
The system of Immortalisation ordains that Awakeners are compulsorily kept alive under the influence of the curse until they complete their Rivalry.
If an Awakener dies, and their Divine Knight is also fatally damaged, the Awakener changes into a Nosferatu, an incomplete Immortal. The Divine Knight will restore itself over time.
However, if an Awakener dies but their Divine Knight is not fatally damaged, they can eventually come back to life as an Immortal. Immortals are ageless; namely, Lianne Sandlot was nearly 300 years old before her death, yet even during her final years, she still appeared to be a young woman. The only way for an Awakener to be truly killed is for their Divine Knight to be absorbed into another one, following the conclusion of a Rivalry (wherein the winning Divine Knight absorbs the losing one). When this happens, the Awakener of that knight will die. A non-Immortal Awakener does not die if their Divine Knight is absorbed.
However, if the winner accepts the loser as their kin, they are given the chance to prolong their lives. For example, Crow Armbrust and Ordine were defeated by Rean Schwarzer and Valimar in the First Rivalry, but Rean declined to absorb Ordine, allowing it and Crow to continue living. Rean also declined to absorb Zector after the second rivalry and Argreion after the third rivalry - though Rutger Claussell refused to become Rean's kin, meaning Valimar had to absorb Zector anyway whilst El-Prado suddenly ambushed and absorbed Argreion just as Arianrhod had seemingly agreed to becoming Valimar's kin, resulting in her death.
The Divine Knights later performed miracles to revive Crow outside of the Immortal system.
=== Postmortem Awakeners===
There is one known example of a character who became an Awakener after death: Rutger Claussell of Zephyr. When the legendary duel between him and his arch-rival Baldur Orlando of Red Constellation was set-up by Black Alberich, both of them were selected as potential Awakeners of Zector. Both Rutger and Baldur died after the 3-day long battle, but in the end, the Gnomes decided to revive Rutger and he reappeared as Zector's Immortal Awakener two years later.
=== ===
Despite the absence of Divine Knights, Melchior and Gerard Dantes are able to become an Immortal by sacrificing themselves whilst Pandemonium is active. It is not certain whether an Artifact is required for this process, but both of them possess one. Melchior and Gerard's eyes turn black with yellow pupils, and they gain glowing red markings across their body - something the Erebonian Immortals did not have.
== List of Immortals ==
* Lianne Sandlot (late S. 900s): Revived as an immortal in front of Roselia in Eryn after the Vermillion Apocalypse pierced her heart toward the end of the War of the Lions. More than 250 years later, she died when Rufus Albarea absorbed her Divine Knight into his own.
* Giliath Osborne (S. 1192): Became an immortal the moment his heart was transferred to his son, Rean. Died after his Divine Knight was absorbed by Rean's after the final rivalry.
* Crow Armbrust (sometime in S.1204-1206): Revived as an immortal by Copper Georg, who manipulated him into becoming Azure Siegfried, after the Vermillion Apocalypse pierced his heart toward the end of the Erebonian Civil War. The only known surviving Immortal.
* Rutger Claussell (sometime in S.1204-1206): Revived after initially dying in a mortal battle with Baldur Orlando. Died a final time after losing the Second Rivalry and having his Divine Knight absorbed by Rean's.
* Franz Reinford (S.1196): Became an immortal after being taken over by Black Alberich and was effectively controlled by Ishmelga, which is why he was able to become an Immortal. Died shortly after Ishmelga was destroyed due to Ishmelga no longer existing.
== Trivia ==
* The area underneath the Old Schoolhouse where Loa Erebonius is fought is surrounded by graves of Awakeners who failed their Rivalry demonstrations.
* The red markings gained by Melchior and Gerard Dantes when they become immortals are similar to the markings found on McBurn and Campanella, both characters known for their inability to age or longevity. A character in Shunran Aysen is also described as having markings all over his body and being tremendously hard to kill.
Category:Concepts