Saronia A. Irivika

Saronia A. Irivika (サローニャ＝Ａ＝イリヴィカ) is a character introduced in Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index. She is a magician affliated with GREMLIN and is the primary antagonistic character in the 3rd New Testament Light Novel.

Appearance
She was a girl of about the age 14-15. She is a blonde who sported her hair in shoulder length, complementing this is her blue eyes. The most striking of her appearance however, is her green clothes. She wore a green turtleneck and miniskirt, and sported a green hairband seemingly made out of tree branches. Finally, she wore thighhigh brown boots and carried a satchel with her.

Personality
She is a ruthless character, which complements her ability to control the minds of people. She willingly uses others, even children as a shield or hostage, and as well eliminate people who are a liability to her.

Background
Saronia came from Yekaterinburg, and was a member of Russian Orthodox Church. During World War III, the church deployed her to Vladivostok to stop Academy City forces from landing, but had little to do since the invasion was primarily carried out by supersonic bombers. She later disappears in the confusion but later reemerged and has defected to GREMLIN with her goal of having Russia to continue the War with Academy City in order to reemerge as its victor.

After World War III, she has begun taking control of several important people in the central government of the United States of America, in order to further plans of GREMLIN.

Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index
Sanoria's influence is first seen during Leivinia's Birdway's interrogation of Cendrillon after her defeat. Using her mind control powers, she uses it to will Cendrillon in silencing herself, preventing Leivinia to get information out of her.

She later appears for the first time, using cameras in every part of the island for surveillance. She talking to someone on the cellphone, reporting on how Edward Torke, a person she controlled to attack the Room 4911 where the President of the United State's aide was staying, was taken down by Accelerator and Leivinia Birdway. After the call, she then proceeds to order the loved ones of the people she took control to take out Roberto Katze and took Leivinia, having predicted Leivinia's analysis of her magic. She later issues an order to attack Kamijou Touma as well as use children she controlled to attack grownups in order to cause chaos for her escape, although this bodes well for Leivinia's plan to save the normal people that are being controlled by Saronia. She is later betrayed by the people close to the hostages she controlled, and tried to use the children to attack them if not for the timely effort of Accelerator who has located her, forcing her to flee as both Touma, Hamazura Shiage and the people she used closes in on her. Saronia was cornered until a sudden explosion by other members of GREMLIN, allowing her to escape. She is later ordered by her superior to proceed with the plan faster as her identity is now known.

Saronia reappears in Pearl Harbor's runway after Touma, Mikoto, Accelerator, Leivinia and Roberto make their to the base. Here, she waits inside a cargo plane with Trigger whilst controlling top military officers in the base. After Touma and company determined that Trigger is still in the base, Touma, Mikoto and Roberto engage Saronia in battle in one of the planes during take-off, controlling the pilot as well. After much trouble, Touma orders Mikoto to blow up the containers in the plane, surprising Saronia as she discovers that Trigger was not with her at all but had been brought in a different route. As a final act, Saronia shoots the pilot and jumps off the plane with a parachute, though, not unscathed as Mikoto had hit her

Saronia later turns up in a motel after her escape. Here, she witnesses and controls a part of the invasion of Hawaii by GREMLIN operatives, and later receives a call from one of the operatives, reminding her that they cannot use the now-controlled Vice-President and by proxy, control the United States of America, since the President has the Imperial Package to send out orders and commands. She later threatens the caller for using her as a diversion to use the Trigger.

Abilities
Her ability is based off the legend of the Leshy, a male woodland spirit of Slavic mythology. The Leshy is the ruler of the forest and the king of all animals that live there, and loves gambling.

In this case Saronia symbolically makes herself as the Leshy of her surroundings, and takes control of the humans by having them touch something made out of Russian conifer trees to make the person symbolically become a resident of the forest, and then forcing them to gamble their minds, in which if they lose would allow Saronia to control them. She can seemingly control several at a time and maintains a connection with them as long as they have the piece of conifer, although because of this magicians of Leivinia's caliber can detect who she controls and where they are.