Claymore (group)

A Claymore is a genetically engineered human that features in Claymore.

History
Claymores were humans that were altered by the Organization in order to create enhanced warriors to battle the threat of the monstrous Yoma. In their early years, these warriors actually composed of both male and female warriors. The males were noted for being remarkable warriors and effective combatants. However, a critical flaw was discovered as males tended to more easily become Awakened Beings. As such, after the first generation, the practice of using men ended and women were instead used as they were more stable. Thus, from the second generation onwards, all Claymores were female warriors with any remaining males being Awakened Beings. The existence of the males was not a well known fact with only a few Claymores knowledgeable about this information and instead believed that all Awakened Beings were female warriors that had surpassed their limit. Since that time, all the warriors were female though even amongst their number some of their ranks awakened and were turned into Awakened Beings. Though called Claymores by Yoma and Human alike, in reality the Organization had no name for these warriors. Though regularly called on to serve, the majority of humans viewed the Claymores with suspicion and being as much as monsters as the Yoma they hunted. One story passed around was that a Claymore once performed the service of ridding a village of the Yoma. When a man from the Organization arrived to collect payment, the village refused to give the money for the service. As a result, the Claymores ignored all calls for help from that village when a horde of Yoma arrived who destroyed it. This story was passed by Claymores to highlight the importance of making payment for their service.

When Isley began gathering an army of Awakened Beings, Riful of the West deemed his actions to be a threat and thus decided to gather her own army of Awakened Beings. To conduct such a process, she drew Claymores on missions to attack her lair where she would capture them and begin a long drawn out period of torture that was conducted at the hands of Dauf. This entailed a Claymore being left in chains whilst rods were used to pierce their flesh and leave them in intense pain. The purpose was for them to break under the torture and awaken as a result but even then those that awakened were judged on their strength. If they were deemed weak, then Riful had Dauf kill the newly awakened Claymore as she had no use for them. Those that did not awaken were simply killed and disposed off as they had no other purpose for Riful. This activity drew the attention of a group of four Claymores including Jean and Katea. They were captured and tortured where one of their number was killed whilst another was fatally wounded but managed to escape to a nearby town where she encountered Clare. Katea was turned into an Awakened Being under torture but was deemed not strong enough to which Dauf killed her. At this point, Clare arrived in Riful's lair and battled Dauf with the aid of Galatea where they managed to stop Jean from awakening. During their battle with Dauf, they managed to wound him but Riful revealed her true nature as a Creature of the Abyss and spirited him away but not before revealing the location of the Isley of the North.

Afterwards, the Organization ordered for a large campaign to be assembled against the Awakened Being army in the north. This led to twenty four Claymores to be assembled under the command of Miria where they arrived in the settlement of Patea. Once there, they were prepared to fight off Isley's army only for them to be struck first by the Awakened Beings. The Claymores sustained few casualties and killed the initial scouting group of three but later had to battle a larger number of Awakened Beings. During the struggle, the Claymores resistance managed to worry Rigaldo who was Isley's second in command to the point that he decided to intervene rather then allow more of his warriors to perish. Turning to his awakened form, Rigaldo managed to massacre large numbers of the Claymores before being defeated by a partially awakened Clare.

Overview
Their existence was linked to that of the Yoma as they were essentially hybrids of Human and Yoma. The process that transformed them made them half Yoma and it was this that made them different as they took the flesh as well as blood of Yoma into themselves. As part of the transformation, a Claymore's natural hair color changed to silver and their eyes also became silver. The latter change was the reason they were referred to by normal humans as "silver eyed witches". Once the flesh was taken in, the aging process of the Claymore was halted allowing them to retain a youthful appearance. This was due to their Yoma blood which meant that they did not age as humans with them bodies never aging. Claymores also gained regenerative capabilities allowing them to heal any wounds in their bodies that would kill a normal human. They were able to heal wounds or reattach limbs though certain wounds took longer to heal such as shattered bones. There were only two fates for a Claymore which was either they died in battle or descended into becoming Awakened Beings. Their appetite was also affected as they could go for long periods without food or water and only required the smallest amount of sustenance to continue to function. It was said that a Claymore could go without food or water for an entire week with them eating only a few bites needed to be full. As such, certain Claymores claimed that they had a non-existent appetite when compared to humans though some of their number seemed to enjoy food more so.

Under normal circumstances, a Claymore closely resembled a human except for the hair and eyes. However, as they draw upon their power more, their true nature of hybrids becomes more evident with more feral features such as sharpened teeth. Drawing upon 10% of their power led to their eyes becoming yellow and 30% their Yoma side begins to show on their face. At 50% their physique changed and their limit was at 80% with those going past this being transformed into an Awakened Being. Becoming a Claymore entailed a number of benefits that sprung from their Yoma side as they were faster, stronger, more agile and gained greater durability. In addition, they gained regenerative capabilities that allowed them to heal normally grevious wounds and even reattached severed limbs. Whilst perfectly capable of repairing internal injuries, Claymores were unable to reform limbs if they were destroyed. Furthermore, a Claymore gained the ability to sense yoki with some among their kind hold greater such sensory capacity. Their abilities were heightened even further if they utilized more of their yoki and tapped into their Yoma side. When such events happened, a Claymore's eyes became yellow and slittered similar to that of a Yoma whilst their veins pulsed. Great levels of Yoki were capable of being detected in such states and enhanced a Claymore's natural abilities and the power of their attacks. However, their Yoki had a set limit and they needed to use their power below this threshold otherwise they risk transforming into a full Yoma. According to the Organization, it was only a matter of time before a Claymore succumbed to their true nature and transformed into a Yoma.

In cases where a Claymore fails to revert back to human, they transform into a powerful Yoma-based creature that was known as an Awakened Being. This transformation was startling change for a Claymore as they became more monstrous and demonic as their bodies mutated into a variety of forms. It was linked closely to sexual pleasure which was why male Claymores had a tendency to awaken early and it was why the Organization found women to be more stable warriors. Upon Awakening, they felt great pleasure an ecstasy that made it difficult to turn back from that point. Once Awakened, they were unable to return to their normal human life and instead adopted the crueler characteristics of a Yoma such as the desire to torture their enemies as well as devour their flesh. The process of turning into an Awakened Being can vary as it can be during a long drawn out battle where a Claymore taps into more of the pool of Yoki and thus accidently passing their limit. In others, they can choose to deliberately make the transformation into an Awakened Being. Whilst in some cases, physical and psychological torture was capable of forcing a Claymore to turn into an Awakened Being. In rare cases, it was possible to aid a Claymore in reverting back to human should they pass their limit and awaken. Some Claymores have the power to actually surpass their limit and still return back to normal without fully succumbing to their Yoma side with such individuals being referred to as being half-awakened. It was claimed by some that Awakening was a sad eventuality for their kind. Partially awakened Claymores found their Yoki limit to be more uncertain instead of set that allowed them to utilize abilities that would normally tax their limit.

It was claimed that they were not known for their kindness. The lives of a Claymore were described as being lonely ones. They were deeply tied to the Organization and the ruling group of men that were dressed in black. These individuals were responsible for providing a Claymore finance, weapons and new equipment such as clothes in case their old ones were destroyed or damaged. The Organization was responsible for their management and gave orders when seeking out Yoma threats. To cover their territory, they decided it into 47 districts and appointed a single Claymore to each area. As such, there were normally 47 Claymores and were ranked from 1st to 47th with the higher numbers being more powerful compared to those of a lower rank. Claymores were assigned a ranking after the completion of their training and when they were ready to conduct solo assignments with an emblem crafted to rank them in the Organization in order to distinguish them apart. Recruitment of new Claymores started at a young age though this varied among the recruits. Part of their training included etiquette allowing Claymores to pass themselves off as high noble ladies or as flirtatious prostitutes in order to better hide amongst a human town. By manipulating their larynx, they were able to also mask their tone to give it a more masculine sound allowing them to sound as an adult male. The training itself was noted for being difficult and after their training was completed then the new Claymore was given their own personal emblem that included their ranking and name. Once done, they were allowed to go on solo assignments where they were directed by the Organization in the elimination of Yoma threats. Claymores were not allowed to collect the payment for their assignments and instead allowed a black robed man from the Organization to arrive at the town or village to gather the money for completion of their service. Failure of a town or village in providing the money meant that any future Yoma attacks on that settlement were ignored.

When sent on an assignment, Claymores typically met with the leaders of a town in order to announce their presence. In such moment, sometimes they were offered payment whereupon the Claymore refused as they did not accept payment but rather a representative of the Organization would arrive once the task was completed. If the Claymore was killed, the town was not obligated to pay as this only happened once the Yoma was killed. On certain occasion, a Claymore may be tasked with eliminating a Yoma in a town where they were not welcomed. For such covert assignments, the Organization created a medicine that suppressed the Yoma side of a Claymore and made them effectively human for a short few hours. In such moments, their eyes reverted to their normal color but they lost the ability to sense Yoki. Furthermore, the medicine had a side effect that sometimes left the Claymore disoriented for short amounts of time. Under the rules of the Organization, this sisterhood were prevented from taking the life of a human being. Any breach of this law was considered amongst the highest offence and the offending Claymore was required to stand before judgement for their actions. This typically involved the offending Claymore being executed by a group of their peers. Another instance where a Claymore was executed were when they fast approached their limit and were on the brink of awakening. At these moments, it as claimed that they still retained enough of their humanity to recognise that they were turning into an Awakened Being but were unable to revert back. During such times, a Claymore used a Black Card that they had delivered to another Claymore that they deemed their closest friend. These individuals would normally meet them and kill them before they fully turned thus allowing the slowly awakening Claymore to die as a human being. The Organization had the noted policy of euthanizing any Claymore that fell victim to embracing their Yoma side. Claymore did not actually refer to themselves by this name but rather was a name attributed to them by humans. This was done so because of the swords that they used which were also known as a Claymore. As such, this served as one method of detecting an individual pretending to be a Claymore as those not familiar with them referred to them by such a name. Their swords was the primary weapon that thy used for combat and traditionally they served as grave markers for their slain wielder.

Members

 * Teresa : named after one of the twin goddesses, Teresa of the Faint Smile was the formerly ranked Number 1 in the Organization in the 77th class and adopted the young Claire after saving her from a Yoma. She would be responsible for slaying a band of bandits that were attacking a village where Claire resided leading her to being declared a renegade. A group of Claymores were dispatched to kill her among which included Priscilla but failed. Priscilla would succumb to her Yoma side and become an Awakened Being who killed Teresa where a distraught Claire becoming a Claymore to seek revenge for her.
 * Priscilla : a skilled warrior with noted talent who as a child saw a Yoma devour her family but later managed to enter into the Organization as a Claymore. Her skilled made her close to rivaling that of Teresa and she was dispatched to defeat her only to lose. During the battle, Priscilla ended up overextending her Yoki limit and became a highly powerful Awakened Being.
 * Galatea :
 * Ophellia : as a young girl her home was attacked by the Awakened Being Priscilla and her older brother sacrificed himself so that she could be saved. This event scarred her mentally and led to her obsession with becoming strong as she believed her brother died because he was weak. Ophellia would become a Claymore and rise to the rank of Number 4 where she would torture fellow Claymores to cause them to awaken in order to improve her fighting skill so she could prepare for an eventual confrontation with Priscilla. She would awaken during her fight with Claire and was killed but not getting Claire to promise to kill Priscilla.
 * Miria :
 * Elena :
 * Helen :
 * Clare : she was a young red haired quiet girl who was saved from a Yoma by Teresa and followed the Claymore around before being accepted by her. Clare would witness Teresa's demise at the newly awakened Priscilla and would vow revenge against her mentors killer. This saw Clare willingly asking to take Teresa's flesh into her body thus becoming a Claymore but her powers were ranked the lowest in the Organization.

Appearances

 * Claymore: