Battle of the North

Battle of the North
Invasion of Pieta
VIZ Media name	Battle of the North[1]
Variant	Die Schlacht im Norden[2] (The Battle in the North de), La guerra del norte[3] (War in the North es-es), La guerre nordique[4] (The Northern War fr), La guerra del nord[5] (The Northern War it), Северная война[6] Severnaya voyna (The Northern War ru), 北方的戰亂[7] Běifāng de zhànluàn (The War in the North zh-hk), 北之戰亂[8] (War of the North zh-tw)
Original Name	北の戦乱[9] Kita no senran (Northern War)
Region	Alfons[10]
Locale	Pieta village[11]
Current status	Region and village abandoned
Opposing forces	Organization: battle group of 24 warriors Northern Army: 32 awakened beings
Commanders	Organization: Miria Northern Army: Isley
Result	Manga: Defeat of Organization Anime: Stalemate
Quote	Isley is the one causing all this strange activity among the awakened ones.[12]
First Appearance	Scene 50, Anime Scene 18

• Battle of the North ↓
  • Battle group—24 Claymore warriors
  • Northern Army—32 awakened beings

Etymology[]

VIZ Media translates 北の戦乱^[13] (Northern War) as "Battle of the North." "Battle" describes events more accurately than "war" or "campaign," since either means more than one battle.

In both the manga and anime versions, only one battle occurs, with two "engagements"—the first with the Organization battle group engaging three scouts, the second with the entire Northern Army—each engagement made up of numerous individual combats.

The Organization mission is actually unnamed in the manga and anime. 北の戦乱 is derived from chapter titles.^[14] 北の戦乱 and translated variants are unused by characters.

This event is often called the "Northern Campaign" on reference websites derived from scanlations. A military "campaign" is usually defined as a series of battles. See Notes below on levels of military activity.

Description[]

Military conflict in the northern region of Alfons, the battle site being the village of Pieta.

The battle group of 24 Claymore warriors is under the command of Miria. They oppose the Northern Army—32 awakened beings, led in the field by Rigaldo, himself under the command of Isley, the Abyssal One of the North.

History[]

Background[]

After surviving the Witch's Maw, Clare and Jean are found by Rafaela. Rubel says that a deserter like Clare would normally be executed, but the Organization is willing to pardon Clare if she joins the battle group assembling in Pieta.^[15]

Her mission: to help destroy the Northern Army, who wiped out the Pieta hunt—lead by No. 7, Eva. Warriors Kate and Lucia were also killed.^[16]

In the manga, Rubel also says that Raki was taken north by a slave trader.^[17] In the anime, Rubel says Raki traveled north on his own volition. Despite Clare's misgivings, she now cannot refuse.^[18]

Engagement I[]

When Clare and Jean arrive at Pieta, Clare discovers that Helen, Deneve and Miria are alive as promised.^[19]

Miria, as the highest ranking warrior, molds the battle group into five teams modeled after awakened hunts. She balances the weak with strong, creating five teams of approximately the same strength (see composition of teams in battle group).^[20]

Later that night, Clare and Jean join Miria, Deneve and Helen in a secret meeting in a nearby cave. Miria reveals the truth: this is a suicide mission.^[21]


Battle group confront scouts

Meanwhile, three scouts from the Northern Army approach Pieta. The meeting in the cave is interrupted by one awakened scout attacking Pieta.^[22] In the ensuing battle, the battle group manages to kill the Insectile awakened,^[23] then the Armadillo awakened and Dreadlock awakened, without a single loss.^[24]

Engagement II[]

After the scouts go missing, Isley orders Rigaldo to lead Northern Army into Pieta.

At this point, manga and anime diverge:

Manga[]

In a flashback, Miria holds the last meeting of the battle group in the Eastern Inn banquet hall. She instruct the warriors to take a half dose of suppressant. If rendered unconscious during combat, the warrior's lack of Yoma Energy makes her appear dead to both the Northern Army and Organization.^[25]

Northern Army invades Pieta. During the fighting, Rigaldo counts the loss of three awakened beings—Tyrannosaur awakened, Stegosaur awakened and one unshown—versus five unnamed warriors.^[26] Rigaldo decides to decapitate leadership. He kills Veronica and Undine, then wounds Jean. Clare awakens and attacks. But Rigaldo repels Clare and kills Flora.^[27]

He wounds Deneve. Clare further awakens. Rigaldo finally captures Miria. But Clare cuts off his arm.^[28] As Clare and Rigaldo fight, Helen rescues Miria and destroys Rigaldo's arm. Clare's giant claw gives control over her speed and she eventually kills Rigaldo.^[29]

But Clare cannot stop awakening. She demands that Helen kill her, but Jean intervenes and dies returning Clare to normal.^[30]


Last stand

Deneve forces Clare to stop grieving and fight. Miria, Deneve, Cynthia, Helen, Zelda and Clare make their last stand.

After the end of the second engagement, seven warriors survive—Miria, Cynthia, Deneve, Helen, Tabitha, Yuma and Clare.^[31]

Anime[]

During the engagement, Rigaldo counts the loss of three awakened beings—Tyrannosaur awakened, Stegosaur awakened, Mannequin awakened—versus five warriors (anime shows Pamela, Yuliana, Carla, Claudia and Eliza killed).^[32]


Rigaldo leads Northern Army

19 warriors are shown confronting the Northern Army, which disappears. Rigaldo shows up and awakens into the Silver Lion. He kills Veronica, Undine, Flora and wounds Jean and Miria. Clare goes berserk and awakens only her legs.^[33] She eventually kills Rigaldo.^[34]

After Rigaldo's death, Clare asks Helen to euthanize her, but Priscilla appears and a new fight begins. Meanwhile, Raki is galloping on a horse toward Pieta.^[35]

The fight continues with Clare pursuing Priscilla into the mountains, where the final showdown takes place inside a volcano. Miria, Deneve and Helen follow Clare, while Jean and Raki are not far behind.

When Miria, Deneve and Helen arrive, they engage Priscilla, but are soon defeated. Clare picks herself up, having flashbacks as to why she seeks Priscilla's death. Clare awakens even further, evolving into a multi-bladed, winged being.

Jean and Raki finally reach the volcano's interior. ^[36]

When Clare awakens her arms, she defeats Priscilla, who reverts to human form. Raki stops Clare from executing Priscilla. Though Clare cannot control her awakening, Jean sacrifices her life by pulling Clare back. Isley takes away Priscilla.^[37]

Aftermath[]

Manga[]

Seven survivors desert the Organization. They hide in mountains of Alfons, suppressing their Yoma auras so the Organization would presume them dead.^[38]

Due to the production of Abyss Feeders, the Organization now hunt awakened beings proactively for tissue harvesting, rather than on request only from clientele.^[39]

After the 7-year timeskip, the survivors save the Dabi hunt. One hunt member, Clarice, finds the swords used as grave-marks from the Battle of the North.^[40] But she only counts 17 swords—seven short of the original 24 warriors. Clarice reports this to Organization. But her report is ignored.^[41]

Anime[]

Next day after Priscilla's defeat, the fighting has stopped. The fate of the battle group (15 warriors) and Northern Army (24 awakened) are not shown.^[42]

Miria, Deneve and Helen leave Clare and Raki at the volcano. The three comrades split up. Miria plans to live among the civilian population, gathering evidence against the Organization.


Miria, Deneve and Helen

Back at the volcano, Clare grieves at the grave of Jean. Finally, she asks if Raki wishes to accompany her on her life's journey, yet undetermined. Which he does.

As Clare and Raki climb down the volcano, she turns to take one last look. Final iconic image—Teresa's ghost looking at Clare for the last time. The series ends here.^[43]

Additional details[]

Notes[]

• In the anime, the five Claymore casualties that Rigaldo counts are:
  • Pamela of Team Veronica
  • Yuliana of Team Undine
  • Carla of Team Flora
  • Claudia of Team Undine
  • Eliza of Team Jean
• Levels of military activity in Claymore:
  • Combat: usually one on one, though four Claymore warriors on one awakened is standard. More rarely, a single Claymore warrior like Clare combating Rigaldo
  • Engagement: a series of combats. Multi-teams combating multiple awakened beings. Example: the battle group versus the three scouts
  • Battle: a series of engagements. Example: the battle group's first engagement with the scouts and second with the entire Northern Army. The VIZ Media use of "Battle of the North" conforms to modern military usage
  • War: a series of battles. This occurs with the Northern Army's collective activity on the island continent—their battle and engagements in the regions of Alfons, Sutafu and Lautrec
  • Campaign: in a big war, two or more series of battles. Each series is a campaign. Descriptive only of the mainland war between the Dragons' and the Anti-dragon alliances

References[]

Tankōbon Claymore volumes cited are VIZ Media (en-us) editions, unless otherwise noted. Manga scenes (chapters) not yet translated cite Shueisha tankōbon (ja) editions. Manga scenes not yet published in tankōbon form cite Jump SQ (ja) editions. Fragments of Silver Omnibus (総集編 銀の断章 Gin no Danshou) 1–3, Shueisha, are only available in Japanese. Anime scenes (episodes) cited are FUNimation (en-us) editions, unless otherwise noted.