Odaiba Girls' School

Odaiba Girls' School (御台場女学校) is a Garden Located in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of three Gardens tasked with the defense of Tokyo, the other two being Irma Girls' High School for the Arts and Ludvico Private Girls' Academy. being colloquially known as "Tokyo's Three Greats" (東京御三家). Odaiba Girls' School is particularly regarded as Tokyo's most prestigious Garden.

Location

Odaiba Girls' School has a number of facilities in the Odaiba area of Tokyo. Its main campus and Madec Academy are located in the neighborhood formerly known as Harumi, just behind the Light Wall.

Overview

A striking characteristic of Odaiba Girls' School is its adoption of the Nordic tale of "Beowulf" as the Garden's theme, with its biggest influence present in the severe training that its Lilies and Madecs are subject to, inspired by the great physical strength displayed by the tale's titular hero. Furthermore, the tale can also be credited for its influence in the traditional swordsmanship education heavily emphasized by the Garden. All of Odaiba's students are given a small, sword-styled CHARM soon after enrolling, and once entering high school, they receive the similarly sword-styled 1st generation CHARM Jötunn-Schwert. Because the Garden places great emphasis on treating its students as "warriors", they are allowed to open-carry their Jötunn-Schwerts within school facilities at all times, and are allowed to keep the CHARM even once departing from Odaiba, be it when graduating or when transferring to other Gardens.

Other references to the tale of Beowulf can be seen on the Dragon that adorns the Garden's emblem, as well as in the naming conventions of Legions, such as the Heorot Saints and Hronesnæsse, or even in their CHARMs, such as the Hrunting and the Nægling

Bearing the motto of "only out of great hardship can the finest Lilies blossom" ("高いリリィとしてのクオリティは苦しみからこそ得られる"), Odaiba Girls' School prides itself on its the title as a "Garden of War" (武のガーデン). Their rigorous education plan begins at elementary school, with the goal of curating a Lily's development from an early age, so that when they reach the age where they're deployed into real combat, they are already at the apex of their abilities. Because Odaiba students are required to learn both armed and hand-to-hand combat, many of their Lilies are also very strong physically, being highly competent fighters even without using Magie or a CHARM.

Odaiba Girls' School was previously a very territorial Garden, not taking part in expeditions very often. In recent years, however, Legions Heorot Saints and Hronesnæsse have largely changed this trend, as proven with their assistance to Team Hitotsuyanagi multiple times. It should be noted, however, that they still fall short of other Gardens of similar stature in this matter, with some regarding this as the reason Odaiba has not yet reached the ranks of a world-class Garden.

Odaiba Girls' School is a sister Garden to Kamakura's St. Mercurius International School, particularly adopting their practices as a "nurturing" Garden, which entails rigorously training Lilies said to be of low skill so they may achieve their full potential.

Blood Oath

Similar to traditions such as the Schutzengel System of Yurigaoka, or the Schwester System of Ludvico, Odaiba also possesses a sisterhood pact of its own, known as the "Blood Oath" (血誓). It can only be taken between one senior and one junior, but it is possible for multiple students of the same grade to take the Oath. Nevertheless, the Oath may only be taken by members of a single Legion. The name comes from the ceremony's origins, where each Lily would add a drop of their blood to a beverage, being mixed and consumed by each of them. However, in recent times, it became more common to add a sample of Magie instead, making the "Blood" part of the Blood Oath purely symbolic, though some Lilies still prefer to follow the original tradition.

When performing the ceremony, the Lilies present recite the following chant:

ここに我らは血の誓いを立てる。
不毛の地で孤立する木は枯死を免れ得ない。
樹皮や葉はその木を守れはしないだろう。
故に我らは助け合う。
この地の為に戦い、皆が招魂の園に至る時まで、その運命を共にすることをここに誓盟せん。

Here, solemnly, we swear each
As a tree left for dead in barren soil can only await its demise
For it cannot seek protection from its own bark and leaves.
We therefore pledge to protect each other
Our vows we offer to always fight for this land, in hope that together we may spend our days on this Earth,
and together we may enter the Garden of Souls.

The specifics of the beverage are largely left to the Lilies' choosing, with some preferring to make their own, while others prefer to share the same drink. Likewise, after the ceremony, some Lilies prefer to keep the vial from which they drank from, while others prefer to destroy it entirely.

Legion System

Initially, the Garden adopted the "Top Legion" system, where a Legion composed of their strongest Lilies is selected at the discretion of the school's administration. However, following the events of the Odaiba Counteroffensive, the Garden transitioned into the "Instructor approved" Legion system . This is a system usually adopted by elite Gardens, as it displays that their Lilies are very powerful on average, rather than a select few, and as such, this further boosted Odaiba's status amongst its peers, earning it the moniker of "the Yurigaoka of Tokyo".

Though not standard practice, it is common for Legions in Odaiba to have their own, unique Legion Crest, which is carried by all members in the form of an engraved item, most commonly a ring necklace, in the same fashion as the ones awarded to the members of the Heorot Saints during the Top Legion era..

At the very top of Odaiba's Legions stand the following three:

• Legion Heorot Saints, the Garden's former Top Legion. They now govern Odaiba's student body.
• Legion Hronesnæsse, Odaiba's first ever independent Legion. They oversee the Garden's discipline.
• Legion Coast Guard, an offshoot of the previous Heorot Saints. They oversee all other Legions of Odaiba, and are primarily in charge of the Garden's defenses.

Trivia

• Because of Odaiba's emphasis on combat prowess and swordsmanship, Lilies who awaken to the Rare Skill Circlet Bless are held in particularly high regard in the Garden.
• Odaiba Girls' has visibly loose restrictions on the uniforms worn by their students. Furthermore, they allow for their highest-ranking Legions to have unique uniforms, as illustrated by the traditional Japanese-style clothes worn by Legion Hronesnæsse

Gallery

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References

Odaiba Girls' School Legions Legion Hronesnæsse  ·  Legion Heorot Saints  ·  Legion Coast Guard Faculty Akira Blanton  ·  Inaba Mayumi  ·  Nakahara Mary Tomoyo