Sleipnir is a general of the Dragonia Empire, and one of the main antagonists in Shining Blade.
Appearance[]
Sleipnir is a centaur knight raised from the dead. His body is clad in a black sharp skeletal and draconic armour, with the helmet resembling a black horned skull. His eyes glow with a ghostly white, his entire body an etherial purple hue aside from the silver dead hair upon the back of his head and his horse tail. He carries with him a twisted magenta lance with a dragon skull as the hilt. Upon each of his four horseshoes he wears a golden spike pointing directly upwards.
History[]
In the past Sleipnir is said to have been a brave, loyal, merciful and righteous knight, but at some point he passed away.
Unfortunately for Sleipnir he was brought back to life in order to serve the Dragonia Empire, and whilst his loyalty to his leaders, his leadership skills and his unwavering bravery remains strong, all traces of righteousness and mercy have left his heart as he realises he is sustained by the power of darkness itself.
He is first seen in Shining Blade giving chase to Elmina Rodelia into the silver forests of Fontina. When Rage Sheena, and Altina Mel Sylphis, the protector of the forest arrive, he tells them to leave him be as he has no business with them. However Rage and Altina both tell him to be the one to leave. As they have conflicting intrests, Sleipnir agrees to be their opponent, telling them his name, that he is a servant of darkness and that they will meet their end at the end of his lance.
However despite his boasts, Rage and Altina manage to force him to take his forces and retreat for the time being. Elmina is saved by the duo and comes out of hiding, although Altina mistakes her for one of Sleipnir's allies.
The next time we see Sleipnir he is with his fellow generals, and Balder, the dark priest is furious at him and his fellow general Surt for not bringing down more kingdoms allowing the revival of Dark Dragon with the souls harvested from those who are killed. Surt takes offence, telling them he is inches away from taking Runevale. Despite his loss to Rage and Altina, Sleipnir mocks the wolfling general, suggesting he could lend him a hand after he's done with Fontina if he likes. Balder once again lays into them, but Sleipnir, Surt and Alberich suggest that Balder's claims to be the only one who can hear Dark Dragon are false and he's trying to use this connection to scare them. Sleipnir comments that it is beyond him why Dark Dragon chooses to speak to Balder, and Balder alone.
Sleipnir returns to Fontina with the Dark Knights and intercepts the elves travelling from the shelter to the hidden isolated village. He manages to capture a small child, Sheen, the grandaughter of Alpheus. She screams for help, and he tells her that if she remains still he will not harm her. At that moment Rage, Altina, Elmina, Ranah Elwyn Sylphis and the rest of the Valerian Liberation Front appear and demand he release Sheen.
Recognising Rage, Altina and Elmina, Sleipnir allows Sheen to escape, running over to Rage, who tells her not to worry as they're about to beat up the bad guys. Recognising they plan to stand in his way again, Sleipnir prepares for battle and tells them they will be smited by his lance. Unfortunately for Sleipnir, Rage and his allies are too many for him to handle and he ends up losing the battle, and he prepares to retreat stating they will settle this later. Rage calls out to him asking him how he can call himself a knight by abducting a little girl and where is his honour. Sleipnir smiles to himself remembering his days as an honourable knight, but tells Rage that he is a fallen knight, sustained by darkness and that his honor crumbled away with his flesh, before escaping back to the captured town of Elensia.
Ranah and Altina lead Rage, Fenrir, Sakuya and the others on a raid on Elensia, planning to recapture and destroy Sleipnir and his troops. The raid is a success and Sleipnir's soldiers are wiped out. With a lack of army to back him up, Sleipnir is forced to retreat.
Sleipnir, alongside Surt and Alberich once again are yelled at by Balder who claims they aren't able to change their current situation and are in danger of losing the ground they have obtained. Sleipnir speaks up, telling him that amateurs should not shoot their mouth about others battles. Thanks to Balder's interference at various points during his raids on Fontina they have been caught short, and Fafner simply stands there watching as the armies are beaten back.
Sleipnir attempts another raid on the Valerian Liberation group, but is once again forced to retreat as the tables turn. During another report meeting, Sleipnir is given the task to locate the Thunder Spirit King Egg in order to prevent the Shining Blade, the sword Rage weilds and the only thing that can defeat Dark Dragon, from being fully awakened. Sleipnir accepts and makes his way to Bestia.
On his way however he is attacked by three girls in the Bestia desert; Kanon Sheena(Rage's sister), Xecty Ein and Kureha Touka. Sleipnir manages to keep them at bay and gets enough of an advantage over them that Kanon yells out to Rage to come and help them. Seeing Rage, Sleipnir decides to put a stop to the awakening of the Shining Blade himself, telling Rage he will not allow it to awaken any further. Rage backed up by his many allies however prove too much, and Sleipnir once again is forced to retreat and continue looking for the egg instead.
He again encounters Rage and the others, and realising this means the egg must be nearby, Sleipnir digs his heels in making his last stand in the name of his pride and for Dark Dragon, staking his life on this last duel, and refusing to retreat. During the ensuing battle Sleipnir is slain, and utters that whilst a shame, he has no regrets.
Rage, victorious, tells Sleipnir that perhaps some of his heart remained, as he wouldn't be able to be a knight in the end.
Attacks:[]
- Shock wave: Sleipnir stomps his feet creating a shockwave that knocks enemies back in a wide area.
- Death Lancer: Sleipnir thrusts his lance forward surrounded by pink lightning.
- Black Shock: Sleipnir rains down meteors made of black mineral on his enemies.
Trivia[]
- Sleipnir is named after the eight legged horse Odin rode on in Norse mythology, known to be the fastest in the world.
- Sleipnir alongside his fellow generals was designed by Masa'aki Yamada, as Tony Taka had his hands full with other character designs at the time and time limits meant he could not try his hand at more beastly character designs.
- Nobutoshi Canna, Sleipnir's voice actor also is the Japanes VA for several other Sega characters including Shining Tears' Keiner, Red Eye from Last Bronx, Kai Kogashiwa in Initial D, Kai from Phantasy Star 0, Ragiv from Sands of Destruction and most prominantly, Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog.
