Machia Zaphir

Machia Zaphir (マキア・ザフィール, Makia Zafīru) is a supporting character in Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki. She is the Knight Commander of the Holy Imperial Army's elite Order of the Gilded Leaf.

Biography
"Don't think you can advance any further! I'll scatter you here like the dew on my sword!"

- Machia Zaphir

Machia Zaphir served as Knight Commander of the Order of the Gilded Leaf, the Ionian royal guard. Serving directly under Holy Emperor Renefarious XIII, she was steadfastly loyal to him.

As leader of the Order of the Gilded Leaf and head of the illustrious Zaphir family, she was a direct descendant of Maximus Zaphir and a master of the Blue Flash Style he played a role in developing. During the hero's initial visit to the Yggdrasilian Palace she would engage in a practice duel at Renefarious' request and was impressed by her opponent's potential and growth at such a young age.

Machia would meet the hero again, this time at Achlites, following the 2nd Branch's victory over the Vermilion Axe at the Great Wall of Achlites. She would congratulate the hero and his company for their efforts in helping to repel the Vermilion Axe, conferring Renefarious' direct thanks. Her personal visit was said to be a mark of her esteem.

However, once the Yggdrasilian Throne denounced the hero's company as traitors, tarring them as a faction of the Vermilion Axe, Machia would stand steadfast against them, unwilling to listen to any protestations of innocence. Blocking their path on the Southern Highway, she and her knights would only be stymied by the timely arrival of Jagwan's scalehorde soldiers.

She would block the company's way one final time, deep within the Yggdrasilian Palace at the end of the war. There, she revealed that as one of Ionia's leaders she too was privy to Renefarious' machinations and supported him willingly. She firmly believed in his ideals and felt great empathy for the pain he felt for his actions.

Refusing to stand aside, she would attempt to repel the company but was defeated alongside her soldiers and died, lamenting her failure to protect the Holy Emperor.