Curtana

Curtana (カーテナ) refers to the sword that is used for the coronation ceremonies of the British monarchs. It is the United Kingdom's greatest spiritual item, empowering the wielder, a member of the British Royal Family, though especially the monarch, with the power of Archangel Michael, as long as they are within the borders of the United Kingdom.

There are two such swords, the Curtana Original (カーテナ＝オリジナル) and the Curtana Second (カーテナ＝セカンド), the latter created after the former was presumed to be lost to history. Prior to the events of the British Halloween, additional replacements of the Curtana could be made.

Etymology
The Middle English name 'Curtana' comes from the Anglo-Latin curtana (spatha) (meaning ‘shortened (sword)’), which is derived from the Old French cortain and cort (meaning 'short'), the 'short sword' being due to the Curtana's broken-off tip. This in turn is derived from the Latin curtus ('(cut) short').

Appearance
The Curtana Second appears as a stereotypical double-sided Western sword. Along with the hilt, it is about 80 centimeters long. As its name suggests it had no tip and edge.

In the artwork, the hilt has a thin brownish-colored grip with a pommel at its end where the knuckle-bow is attached, connecting to the crossguard and then wrapping around at the base of the "blade". There are engravings on the surface of the metallic parts of the sword, especially the blade, depicting vines or plant-like patterns.

The Curtana Original has mostly the same appearance as the Curtana Second, which was made to replace it after it was lost. However, a notable difference depicted in novel illustrations is that the Curtana Original has two metallic "ribbons" intertwining at the base of the blade. While one extends from the knuckle-bow, the other ribbon protrudes perpendicularly to the blade at the hilt, seemingly acting as a third quillon of the crossguard. The second ribbon is omitted from the anime adaptation, which has the two swords appear identical.

Symbolism
The Curtana is a sword that is passed down from generation to generation within the British Royal Family to the head of state, the British monarch. It is a ceremonial sword that is used during the coronation ceremonies in Westminster Abbey. The sword is referred to as the "sword that decides the king", specifically it does not mean the sword is the symbol of the monarch but represents the proof of being the person chosen to be the ruler. It is also known as the Sword of Mercy (慈悲の剣) because of its form, having an edgeless and tipless blade.

However the most important symbolic aspect of the sword is its use as a spiritual item. It is referred to as not only as the sword as that decides the king but the sword that determines the country's leader of the angels.

Primary Functions
The Curtanas empowers the wielder with the same type of power that Archangel Michael, the leader of angels, possesses. Despite the similarities, however, the Curtana Second is still inferior to the Curtana Original as Lessar has stated, with the latter easily able to chip the previous sword when clashing. The greatest example of the power that the wielder of the Curtana Original gains when activating the effects of the sword is demonstrated by Carissa during the Battle of Buckingham Palace, where she alone fought against at least 500-strong members of the Anglican Church forces, which includes three Saint-level sword users. She is easily able to catch up with their speed and counter their attacks. During the battle she survives two different kinds of bombings, one from a magical large-scale flash cannon and the other a Bunker Cluster cruise missile attack with barely a scratch on her. Carissa was able to achieve such feats despite the crippling effects of the Overloading of the Curtana Original.

With the power of the Curtana Original, the knights, representing the army of angels, are empowered with a large amount of power. So great is their power that the Anglican Church during the British Halloween dared not to face them head on, quickly heading into the shadows. Some knights, like the Knight Leader, have based an entire spell in their usage of the power that is given to them by Curtana, specifically his Hrunting. Despite this, they are not so powerful that they cannot be contested, as evidenced by Sherry Cromwell's attack on them, Stiyl Magnus' victory over them in Edinburgh Airport, and the Knight Leader's defeat at the hands of Acqua of the Back using a simple blow to the back of his neck. When the Union Jack spiritual item is used, this power can be used by the people of the United Kingdom against the wielder's wishes.

Curtana Second offers the same benefits to the wielder and the knights as well, though how different it is to the Curtana Original is unknown. When Carissa activated the Curtana Original, only a fifth of the Curtana Second's power remained. It is later referenced by Carissa, after having much of its power already taken away by both its overloading, that the Curtana Original has more than 80% of its power while the Curtana Second doesn't even have 20%. Despite this, it was still usable, able to cut dimensions and give at least some benefit to Elizard if she chooses.

Due to the structure of the "All-English Land" the effects of the Curtanas are only applicable within the borders of the United Kingdom, a fact that is exploited by the witches during the Battle of Islay. This can be bypassed, however, through the use of a mobile fortress belonging to the United Kingdom, as what happened during the Battle of Dover Strait, where the knights made use of the Glastonbury mobile fortress to allow them to gain the blessings of the Curtana Second from Elizard, who is still in the United Kingdom proper. This is because the fortress forcibly designates the surroundings as within the United Kingdom, so it allows Curtana’s usable area to be rapidly expanded.

As it is a spiritual item it can be destroyed by the Imagine Breaker touching it. Moreover, it is also vulnerable to Index's Spell Intercept, allowing to alter its trajectory when used.

All Dimensions Severing Spell
The All Dimensions Severing Spell (全次元切断術式) is a spell that is unique to using the Curtana Original, and unlikely the Curtana Second as well. It is activated by merely swinging the blade and apparently wanting it to happen. The effect of this is the creation or appearance of dimensional debris due to the cutting of dimensions. The dimensional debris is created by severing every dimension at the coordinates whether they are higher or lower dimensions. These cross section objects, or dimensional debris, that are created appear as such, large white objects that look like uncolored plastic, despite the fact that it severs all dimensions is because humans can only perceive those that appear in a 3-dimensional world. The dimensional debris travels along the trajectory of the sword. The largest known dimensional debris created by Carissa is 100 meters using the Curtana Original. Despite their cumbersome looks, the debris created can be turned into powerful projectiles or shields, enough to even withstand a flash bombardment from the Coven Compass. Indeed, much of Carissa's strategy during the Battle of Buckingham Palace was to use the debris to cut down the numbers of her enemies by using them as projectiles while also using them as shields.

Kamijou Touma's Imagine Breaker is unable to negate the dimensional debris created by the dimensional cutting attack as it is a natural phenomenon created by the spell. However, since the sword's cut is so sharp there is a 1.25 second lag between the cut and the appearance of the debris. As such, if the Imagine Breaker can be used in that time-frame, the dimensional debris will not appear.

Finally, if the wielder chooses they can create a large explosion using the Curtana Original. During Touma's encounter with Carissa in Folkestone, she stabbed the sword onto the ground and took the flow of magic power focused on the All Dimension Severing Spell and changed it into a different route. The result is a powerful explosion that expands in all directions with a radius of 500 meters in the 3-dimensional world with the wielder in the center. It is powerful enough to tear the ground and knock down trees. It is also a powerful enough not to be negated completely by the Imagine Breaker, similar to Index's Dragon's Breath or Stiyl's Innocentius. This effect however isn't the proper way to use the sword and would cause the sword to vibrate. This would later force Curtana to return to Buckingham Palace as a result in order to give it a proper tune-up.

Overloading and Safety Measures
The Overloading of the Curtana Original is an event that occurs when the Curtana Original cannot properly contain its power and violently releases it. Due to the tremendous power the sword holds, if a mistake is made in controlling the power and the user loses control then it will destroy the user itself.

The Puritan Revolution, also known as the English Civil War, later occurs and due to the Curtana Original losing control it allowed the civil war to succeed. The sword later somehow ends up in a fortress, which would also fall into ruins, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was presumed lost to history.

In order to mitigate the risk of a catastrophic overload, a safety system has been built under Buckingham Palace, being the place where Curtana's wielder stays for much of the year. Although Buckingham Palace doesn't have any magical devices installed on the premises for diplomatic reasons, there is a railway line running through tunnels beneath the palace and a special railway car with a magic circle designed for the Curtana is kept in an area branching off from the main line, set to be promptly taken directly below palace when the Curtana is heading out of control. This safety device interferes with the sword by reversing the flow of magic power, in order to stabilize its power and prevent an explosion. The point were the line branches off is protected by a magical barrier disguised a normal wall, and only a member of the British Royal Family can interfere the barrier and the special railway car.

Individual Swords
The monarch and the knights' ruling structure constructed from Curtana and the "All-English Land" has "reserve power" built in. What this entails is that even when the Original was lost, their rule continued because they had purposefully left behind the ability to make another one. The reason why the Curtana Second was "hurriedly" made was because of the security measures that were prepared in the event that the Original becomes lost. So long as the clues that have been left within Buckingham Palace remained, there is still a possibility a Curtana Third or Fourth can be made.

Curtana Original
It's referred to in the narration the Curtana Original seemingly existed prior to the ascension of Henry VIII as king of England.

The existence of the Curtana Original is closely tied with the history of the United Kingdom itself. King Henry VIII, wanting freedom from the influence of other countries and the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in the governance of his own country, created the Anglican Church. In order to get rid of all external influence, he proclaimed that the country would never be violated by foreign influences and made the king (monarch) the Head of the Anglican Church. He established that the king of the Anglican Church is the leader of the angels as it was a position higher than the Pope, and that the Knights as an army of angels. To do this, Henry VIII made use of the nations of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for his "All-English Land", four representing the element of earth, in order to construct that magical meaning.

Curtana Original represents the position the monarchs have using this magical symbolism. In consequence, however, the symbolism of the monarchs being the leader of the angels and the knights their army of angels, and the blessings that the Curtana Original can give, could only apply within the boundaries of the country, using a United Kingdom mobile fortress as a loophole notwithstanding, and the fact that the "All-English Land" requires all four nations as part of one country.

Indeed, the constant conquests of the other nations likely stem from the fact to maintain this magical symbolism. Henry VIII himself had trouble with the independent Scotland as he waged war with the nation. Later, Ireland would later declare independence, leaving only Northern Ireland part of the "All-English Land", allowing for the symbolism to keep working. Carissa refers to the sword as originally being used to cut the United Kingdom apart from the planet Earth and control everything within the kingdom, likely referring to the concept of the "All-English Land" or All Dimensions Severing Spell.

The Curtana Original was prepared for the possibility of it becoming lost. As such, the Curtana Original had clues prepared within it for the analysis needed to create a Second one, and that the structure of the "All-English Land" would not be thrown into chaos when the Second was activated. These clues later end up in coded documents and paintings put inside Buckingham Palace, there they were analyzed in order to create Curtana Second.

Curtana Second
Curtana Second was created in a hurry afterwards so there wouldn’t be any hindrances to the ceremony.

Fragments
At some point, the severed tip of the Curtana was installed into a spear, known as the Curtana Lost (カーテナ＝ロスト).

Due to the clash of the Curtanas, Curtana Second was chipped and fragmented in the battle. Carissa later collected at least thirteen of these shards or fragments. With these shards, Carissa can create swords of light up to 1500 meters long. Like the Curtana Second, it gives her strength, endurance, speed, near invulnerability and the ability to slice through dimensions; making her capable of matching Durandal, which was described as similar to Curtana. Carissa often combines the use of the shards with a mobile fortress of the United Kingdom, allowing her to bypass the restrictions of the sword and its empowering effects being only be used in the soil of the United Kingdom.

Background
The existence of the Curtana is closely tied with the history of the United Kingdom itself. It isn't known for certain when the Curtana Original was created, but it existed as a ceremonial sword used in the coronation of British monarchs before Henry VIII, though it didn't attain the immense power associated with the leader of the angels until the construction of the All-English Continent.

Henry VIII
The Curtana Original acquired its power during the 16th century and the Tudor dynasty. King Henry VIII of England sought freedom from the influence of other countries and the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in the governing of his country, and split from the Roman Catholic Church, creating the Anglican Church. In order to get rid of all external influence, he proclaimed that the country would never be violated by foreign influences and made the king (monarch) the Head of the Anglican Church. He equated his position as king and head of the Anglican Church with that of the leader of the angels (being a position higher than the Pope), with the knights as his army of angels.

In constructing his special Christian rule and enabling him to enforce it, he used the four nations of the British Isles; England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, the number four representing the 'land', to give magical meaning to his rule, as four individual countries simultaneously making up one greater country. This magical symbolism formed the foundation of the great spell woven into the land, his "All-English Continent". As the sword symbolically representing the monarch, the Curtana became the focal point for the spell and its simulation of Archangel Michael's power.

While this mechanism would grant him the power to govern his kingdom as he wished, Henry VIII encountered a number of problems in implementing his rule. Scotland was an independent nation and at war with England, and while Henry assumed it would be easily conquered when he devised the rule, it proved to be a more formidable opponent than he anticipated. Additionally, the 'land' aspect used in the foundation of the spell also meant that the Curtana's blessings only applied within the nation's boundaries and couldn't be used in any colonies abroad. As there was the possibility of the sword being lost, contingencies were made to allow for the creation of another Curtana and continuation of the rule should the situation arise.

As well as giving the Curtana its great power, Henry VIII's actions ultimately created the three faction and four culture structure of the United Kingdom which has continued to the present day.

Loss of the Original and Creation of the Second
During the (1642–1651, also known as the Puritan Revolution), under unknown circumstances, the Curtana Original's power went out of control and the sword was lost, allowing the revolution to succeed. The sword would end up buried beneath the site of a former fortress, near Edinburgh in Scotland, and was considered lost to history, with many future kings and queen searching for it in the centuries since, but never finding any hints to its location.

Following the loss of the original, the Curtana Second was hurriedly created, using the contingencies prepared for such an event, so there wouldn’t be any hindrances to the ceremony. Because the loss of the original sword had been anticipated and been taken into account when the All-English Continent was constructed, the transition to the Curtana Second was successful.

The clues which were analyzed to create it were later placed in coded documents and paintings which would eventually end up inside Buckingham Palace. While the method of creating another sword and the ability to decode the documents was lost, as long as those clues remained, there was still the possibility of creating another Curtana. In order to prevent another catastrophic loss of control, a safety device was constructed on a railway car connected to tunnels under Buckingham Palace, where the monarch stayed for most of the year, to rapidly move directly below the palace and stabilize the sword's power in the event of an emergency.

Recent History
During the 20th century, a large part of became, though the United Kingdom retained  in order to maintain the four country structure needed for the All-English Continent.

Passing down the royal line to each head of state, the Curtana Second would later come into Queen Elizard's possession when she ascended the throne.

Ten years prior to the events of the series, after the Princess Villian hostage crisis, Elizard used the Curtana Second to punish politicians in the royal faction who had attempted to use Princess Villian as bait in order to seize the Spanish Astrological Sect's territories in South America.

At some point in the past century, the spiritual item Union Jack was created to allow a royal family member to interfere with the distribution of power from the All-English Continent controlled by the Curtana, and hidden in the British Museum.

In response to attempts in recent years by European Union to weaken the United Kingdom, under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, and the perceived weakness of Elizard's pacifism, Second Princess Carissa secretly sought out the lost Curtana Original in order to take control of the country. Pursuing a path of isolation, she intended to expand the sword's range of effect and use its immense power to ruthlessly destroy the United Kingdom's enemies and reform the country itself, even if she'd go down in history as a tyrant. She also intended prevent anyone from misusing that power in the future, by killing her family who could use the Curtana, destroying the means to create a new Curtana and once her work was done, destroying or sealing the Curtana Original and Second herself, taking the remains to her grave - an intention she didn't disclose to anyone. Her plot was supported by the Knights of England, who determined that it would be the more beneficial path for the UK, and New Light, who actually searched for the sword,  likely using spells passed down in relation to the Dvergr for searching for gold veins. The events of the Eurotunnel bombing and the Sky Bus 365 terrorist incident sealed Carissa's decision.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun SS2: Shopping Mall Demonstration
During the events in the Russian shopping center, New Light had an autonomous spiritual item searching for the Curtana Original, and it located the sword shortly after the conclusion of these events, beginning excavation after finding it.

British Royal Family Arc
The Curtana Original was at the center of the events of the British Halloween, with Carissa making a coup d'état attempt after having the sword delivered to her by New Light, with the support of the knights.

In the evening on October 17th, Elizard explained about the Curtana to Kamijou Touma during their initial encounter prior to the meeting to discuss the Eurotunnel bombing. At the same time, New Light were transporting the Curtana Original towards London after excavating it from the site of a former fortress near Edinburgh.

Drawing attention after intervening in the Sky Bus 365 terrorist incident to prevent the roads down from Scotland from being closed off and impeding their journey, as well as a subsequent mistake on Lessar's part, several members of New Light were captured after being pursued through London,  but they were ultimately successful in using the Skíðblaðnir to send the Curtana Original to the case held by the Knight Leader, with Carissa in Folkestone.

At midnight, with the Curtana Original in her hands, Carissa initiated her coup d'état and the knights stationed throughout the United Kingdom, greatly empowered by the sword, soon seized control of much of the country. Unable to fight back directly, many members of the Anglican Church chose to go into hiding or head outside the effective area until they could devise and mount a counterattack. With most of the power from the All-English Continent returned to the Curtana Original, the Curtana Second only had about 20% of the power left, though it still had enough power to sever dimensions.

Carissa subsequently sought to eliminate her relatives and the threat of anyone else being able to wield the Curtana, though the attempted execution of Villian was foiled by the return of Acqua of the Back (aka William Orwell). After the Knight Leader's defeat at Acqua's hands, Carissa made use of the All Dimensions Severing Spell with the Curtana Original before directing the power in a different direction and causing an explosion to overwhelm Kamijou Touma's Imagine Breaker and send him flying. Feeling the vibrations in the sword from this unintended use, Carissa decided she needed to tune the sword, but cut dimensions again and launched a large piece of debris to sink a French nuclear submarine hidden in the Strait of Dover during a call from the French president before heading off.

Following the Battle of Folkestone, as the Curtana Original was unstable, Carissa returned to Buckingham Palace in order to stabilize and fine-tune the blade. The Anglicans took advantage of this by having a small team infiltrate the tunnels connecting to facility below the palace and neutralize the barriers so they could access the special railway car remotely, and used it in conjunction with a large-scale flash spell from the Coven Compass to interfere with the sword, providing enough of a stimulus to send its unstable power out of control. The subsequent overload and resulting Telesma discharge, at 2:30 AM on October 18th, was partially suppressed by Carissa, preventing fatal damage, but the power distributed to the knights was lost and half of Carissa's own power was torn away. The discharge damaged many of the spiritual items and facilities in London and blanketed the capital in dense Telesma, forcing a temporary halt to hostilities until it cleared as the use of magic risked setting off an explosion that could envelop the entire city.

Although the Curtana's power was reduced, it was still enough for Carissa to fight many adversaries simultaneously, including 3 Saint-level opponents, mostly by herself during the Battle of Buckingham Palace, as well as withstanding multiple bombardments, both from the Coven Compass and the Bunker Clusters she had ordered to be fired at Buckingham Palace - not only to eliminate her enemies but also the means to reproduce the Curtana hidden within the palace.

During the latter part of the battle, when Carissa fought her mother, the Curtana Original clashed with the Curtana Second, chipping shards out of the latter in the process. The Curtana Original was eventually destroyed by Kamijou Touma's Imagine Breaker, when he was launched at Carissa by Acqua during an opening created by the Union Jack redistributing power from the All-English Continent to the British people and Index's Spell Intercept.

World War III Arc
During the Battle of the Dover Strait in World War III, the Mobile Fortress Glastonbury was used to forcibly designate the waters of battle as within the UK's borders, allowing power from the Curtana Second to be supplied to the knights in order to turn the tables. When the Maiden of Versailles took to the battlefield herself with Durandal, Carissa made use of a sword of light produced by a fragment of the Curtana Second to fight against her.

Carissa also used the sword of light when she teamed used with the Maiden in a clash against Misha Kreutzev (aka Archangel Gabriel). While their swords were initially able to cleave through Misha's ice wings, their attack on the archangel's main body was stopped completely by Misha's hands. When Carissa was forced to intercept one of the archangel's powerful strikes to protect some nearby soldiers, the Curtana Second shard took the brunt of the blow and shattered from the pressure. In response, Carissa brought out two more shards and wielded dual swords of light, with ten more fragments held in her belt in reserve. The fight continued a little longer before Carissa ordered a missile attack on the Star of Bethlehem to force Misha to fly away to intercept them, with her body at its limits from the strain of maintaining the Curtana Second's power output and fighting against such a powerful foe.

She later used the sword to sever some of the Golden Arms of Telesma emerging from the ground as Fiamma enacted the last stages of his plan with the Star of Bethlehem.

Magic God Othinus Arc
Carissa made use of Curtana shards again during the operation against GREMLIN and the pursuit of Othinus in Denmark.

Coronzon Arc
During the evacuation of the royal family to Scotland in the midst of the Crowley's Hazard invasion of the United Kingdom and the emergence of the reproduced Golden Dawn, Riméa carried the Curtana Lost with her. When the reproduced Golden Dawn attacked the royal carriage, in order to prevent them from reaching Edinburgh Castle and breaking the anonymization barrier on the grave of Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, she brandished the spear towards the reproduced Mathers, making use of his need to maintain his claim of being the Count of Glenstrae to delay him for a few seconds and buy Ange Catacombs and Cutia Virginroad time to act.

Coronzon intended to use the Honours of Scotland in order to hijack the United Kingdom's magical foundation from the Curtana system, which was unstable due to the damage which the Curtana Second incurred during its clash with the Curtana Original, to act as the ignition for the Ceremony of Mo Athair. During the battle to prevent the Queen Britannia from reaching the ideal location and thwart the ceremony, Elizard wielded the Curtana Second and the British forces fighting on the frozen Irish Sea were supported as they were within the United Kingdom's boundaries.

Post-Coronzon Arc
During the events which occurred at Windsor Castle after the battle with Coronzon, the other Touma took the Curtana Second while Elizard was unconscious due to Shokuhou Misaki's power going out of control and later threatened to destroy it while coercing her to stand against the original Touma. She wielded the sword during the subsequent battle in the castle grounds and her fight with Accelerator.