Zion Thenardier

Zion Thenardier is one of Brune's general and minor antagonists of the Madan no Ou to Vanadis series. As Felix Aaron Thenardier's elder son and his family's sole heir, Zion was notorious for his atrocious invasion towards Alsace and his ill-rivalry against Tigrevurmud Vorn, his fellow Brune general and the ruler of Alsace.

Appearance
Zion has a messy hair style and the average height of the normal person. He also appears to have winkles on his face. As the son of the renowned regal family, Zion equipped heavy armor to show off his prestigious status.

Personality
Zion is a arrogant and sadistic aristocrat who cares only noble prestigious lifestyle and belittled anyone he deemed inferior, especially the archers who he viewed as cowards. Being the son of the ruthless duke, Zion also shared his father's tendency of ruthlessness to almost everyone, especially towards Alsace's peers who supported his nemesis.

Battle of Dinant
Zion was one of many Brune's generals to join the 25,000 strong Brune Army to repel the invading Zhcted Forces from Dinant Plains. During their camp, Zion and his goons came and insulted Tigre and Bertrand and attempted to destroy Tigre's bow, who retaliated by pushing him away. Even after pushed by Tigre, Zion remained unapologetic about his previous insults until Mashas stood up and invited him for the banquet, much to Zion's chagrin and left. Following the Zhcted Army's ambush, Zion fled from the battle.

Alsace Invasion
Main Article:Alsace Invasion

Prior Brune Army's terrible defeat, Zion's actions have tainted his reputation and humiliated House Thenardier in the progress. In courtesy of his father influence however, all these faults would shift to Tigre who was taken as Zhcted's prisoner. Zion was summoned by his father to lead 3,000 troops, to decimate Alsace, claiming that the city no longer functioned while tended to eliminate the "weak link". Despite his father's absolute order, Zion found it disturbing at first and asked question if it was even necessary to do so. With Thenardier calm answer while even gloated the King's death would be his stepping stone for power, Zion reluctantly followed the duke orders and prepared his troops for Alsace.

Zion later met Drekavac whose eerie appearance irritated him. However, he quickly followed Drekavac to the stable as he told him that he had a special gift for him. To Zion's surprise, he saw two dragons inside the stable. Drekavac then tells Zion told the dragons were well trained and they were now belonged to him. As Zion raised his hand to touch them, one of the dragons bow down to him and Zion couldn't be more exited about it. Drekavac allowed Zion to takes the dragons into the battlefield, while further warned him that since they still considered wild, the dragons mustn't allowed to be taken into the crowded cities. With the tamed dragons as his side, Zion confidently smirked and march his troops to Alsace.

His army took three days to reach Alsace. However, Zion learned that nearly all Alsace residents have already evacuated and its only residents were shrine refugees. Regardless, Zion commenced his order to destroy Alsace, where his troops plundered the city and even murdered anyone who tired to escape. Even with such extensive damage, Zion remained bored until he looked the Vorn Mansion from afar and decided to "visit" it before burning it down. While trespassing into the Vorn Manor, Zion confronted Titta and insulted Tigre's name in front of her. Even Titta urged him to leave Alsace, Zion didn't heed her warning and chased her through the Manor Balcony. When Titta tried to defend herself, Zion easily subjugated the maid and, as his further insult to Tigre, attempting to rape her.

However, Zion's hand was shot by the returning Tigre and cried in an agonizing pain, before escaped via the manor's back door. While returned to his camp, Zion was shocked to learned about Leitmeritz Army arrival and their alliance to Tigre, prompted him to believe that Tigre has "betrayed" his kingdom. Nonetheless, Zion remained confident as he still has his dragons and vowed to crush Tigre and his new allies to exact revenge and retribution from the previous humiliation.

Downfall and Death
Main Article: Battle of Molsheim

In the battle, Zion led his 2700 soldiers in the Molhem Plains to fight against Tigre and his allies. Even when Ellen and Tigre easily defeated the first formation of his army, Zion remained confident as the Earth Dragon managed to halt both Tigre and the Vanadis from advancing. When Zion heard reports about incoming ambush troops, he seemly "learned" the ambush from the Dinant Plains and deployed his 400 soldiers to intercept them.

To his shock however, Elen slew the Earth Dragon with her Veda in ease, demoralized his army. When his general suggested to use the Wyvern for the battle, Zion scolded him that he cannot risk to lose another dragon, claiming that not even 100 soldiers would compensate just one dragon's claw. Even worse, 2000 "reinforcement" army was coming to block his army's escape route which, in reality, the "reinforcements" consisted only 100 soldiers and the rest were just horses (Tigre used the sunset to duplicate the shadows). To save his life, Zion ordered a full retreat even though his subordinates suggested that they still have a chance to retaliate against the enemy. However, the retreat was foiled when the Leitmeritz Army slain anyone who escape while advancing towards Zion from all sides. With one dragon slain and his army's morale was depleting, Zion and his remnant soldiers were cornered by Tigre and Zhcted Army.

Frustrated, Zion confronted Tigre and cursed his "treason" by inviting Zhcted Army to save his skin. Tigre however retorted that his atrocities upon Alsace made him indifferent from bandits. Zion sarcastically mocked Tigre that the people were merely "plants that regrow itself" before he challenged Tigre into a duel, which Tigre accepted. Zion continued to mock Tigre who used the Black Bow and fired his initial three arrow shots, but Zion blocked those arrows with his shield. Seeing the duel was pointless against an archer, Zion impatiently charged towards Tigre with his spear until Tigre's forth arrow shot to all three arrows and pierced through his shield, critically wounded Zion's left elbow and caused him to cry in an agonizing pain. Just as Tigre was about to shoot his fifth arrow at Zion, his army intervened for his protection, allowing Zion to escape. Zion made his hasty escape by riding a dragon and flew away in midair where Elen's wind was unable to reach him. However, with combined bizarre powers of Tigre's Black Bow and Elen's Arifar, Zion was finally slain for good. With his death, Zhcted Army was declared victorious while the remaining Thenardier Army's soldiers were either routed by their enemies or fled from the battlefield.

Legacy
His downfall and death would ultimately not be the end of Tigre's troubles. The battle itself caused Tigre to be labeled as a "traitor" by Brune nobility due to his "choice" to ally with Zhcted troops and brought them in Brune. From Brune noble's perspective,Tigre "sold" his territory and loyalty to Zhcted for Alsace despite Zion's atrocious assault upon Alsace was responsible to his retaliation. Due to this, Tigre's "treachery" became obscured. After this, Thenardier begins to seek revenge against Tigre for the death of his son and Tigre chose to retaliate by forming a third force to compete with Thenardier and Ganelon, instigating a three way war. Because of Ganelon, Thenardier was unable to devote all of his efforts toward killing Tigre, and he was forced to employ more roundabout methods, such as employing Ludmila to counter Elen or summoning Roland to slay him. Despite all of this however, Tigre manages to ally himself with several nobles of Brune who shared his cause, sheltered Princess Regin prior Muozinel's Invasion, and even managed to bring Mila over to his side, gaining the strength of two Vanadis. After that, Tigre eventually defeated Thenardier, killing Zion's father roughly half a year after Zion himself met his end, and placed Regin on the throne. After the gruesome civil war, Tigre's faction was officially disbanded as their objectives were completed.

Even after the civil war, Zion was survived under his mother and Queen Regin's first cousin, Melisande who continued her late husband work in overthrowing Regin by all means necessary, including inviting Sachstein Army into Brune soil and staging a her failed attempted uprising against Regin in Nice.

Skill
Being a noble of Brune, Zion is trained in swordsmanship, knows how to ride a horse and is evidently capable of military tactics and leadership. However, Zion is completely unskilled as a leader in practice and is shown to be nothing short of a coward in battle, the most skillful display of any kind of skill he's ever actually been shown to perform with his sword is disarming Titta, who was a house-maid armed only with a knife.

Trivia

 * Despite his bad attributes, Zion is the only person who represent his father's last fraction of humanity. His death would change Thenardier into an unstoppable tyrant until his final confrontation against Tigre. That said, Thenardier did appear to acknowledge his son's incompetence, the real display of fatherly love on his part being he didn't toss him aside because of it.


 * Both Zion and Thenardier makes a one-time and final duel with Tigre: Zion ended up wounded and tries to escape with a dragon while Thenardier ended up killed in head-shot. Similarly both are killed by Tigre.