Elika

Elika is the deuteragonist of the 2008 version of the Prince of Persia video game. She is the last princess of the Ahura, a people that was given 1000 years ago the duty to guard the Tree of Life, the prison of Ahriman, the God of Darkness. The task was given by Ormazd, the God of Light and Ahriman's brother to unsure that the world would remain safe from Ahriman's evil.

History
Elika grew up aware of the duties her status as the Ahura's princess would entail. In her dreams she would often travel to far distant lands she had never visited. She witnessed how the time of her people was coming to an end with their growing lose of faith in Ormazd. It escalated when her mother died and her father the king started neglecting their people in his need to grieve.

One day, Elika was trying to reach one of the weakened Fertile Grounds, areas which are crucial in preventing Ahriman's escape from his prison. She fell off a cliff and died. Her father's grief escalated to the point that he stuck a deal with Ahriman: freedom for the God of Darkness in exchange for Elika's resurrection. Ahriman kept his word and brought Elika back to life. In the process she gained magical powers. Horrified at what her father had promised to Ahriman, she attempted to reach the Tree of Life and use her own life force to strengthen it and keep Ahriman contained, but her father wouldn't allow her to die again.

While trying to reach the temple that contains the Tree of Life, with her father's soldiers hot on her trail, Elika bumps into the Prince (who is a vagabond in this version of the franchise) who has just lost his donkey in a sandstorm. At first she tries to keep him out of what's going on, but she ends up relying on his help to reach the temple. At the temple they are confronted by her father who manages to destroy the Tree of Life.

Darkness and Corruption spread across the Ahura's lands, but Ahriman isn't yet completely free from the Tree of Life. Elika convinces the reluctant Prince to help her reach the Fertile Grounds that are spread throughout the land and heal them in order to give the Tree of Life the power to once again seal away Ahriman. As they journey throughout the land, healing it gradually and facing off Ahriman's four lieutenants known as the Corrupted, Elika and the Prince grow closer.

Once all the Fertile Grounds are healed and the four Corrupted destroyed, Elika and the Prince return to the temple and face off Elika's father, who has turned into a new Corrupted. After he jumps into Corruption, Elika and the Prince fight against Ahriman himself. Elika heals the Tree of Life and reseals Ahriman, but then she gives up her life to strengthen the prison.

The Prince cannot accept it all to end like this. Encouraged by Ahriman's whispers, he destroys the Tree of Life and Ahriman resurrects Elika again. The game ends with the Prince leaving for the desert, the revived and disappointed Elika in his arms as Ahriman destroys the temple and commences spreading his vengeance on the world.

In the downloadable epilogue, the Prince and Elika fight their way through an underground palace with Ahriman and Elika's father on their trail. For the entire sequence, Elika and the Prince argue about his decision to free Ahriman in order to resurrect her. At the end of the epilogue, Elika leaves the Prince in order to find her dispersed people and call them to unite against Ahriman.

Personality and traits
Elika is initially closed off around the Prince, telling him about herself only what's necessary. Once she slowly gains more trust in the Prince, she reveals him more about herself and her situation. While initially exasperated by the carefree attitude he sports while they're trying to safe the world from Ahriman, she slowly engages in verbal competition with him about various subjects. She also comes to like him for the nobility hidden under his roguish exterior, expressing belief that he was sent by Ormazd to help her, a belief he doesn't share.

Elika is very dedicated to her bloodline's duty to keep the rest of the world safe from Ahriman and is willing to sacrifice her own life to accomplish that. Despite her focus, she is something of a dreamer, as she often dreamed as a child of various faraway places she had never visited and was unlikely to visit due to her duties as a future ruler.

Elika is utterly devoted to Ormazd's will and opposed against Ahriman. Despite this black and white viewpoint, she has mixed opinions about Ahriman's Corrupted. She strongly dislikes the insane Concubine for her attempts to drive a wedge between her and the Prince. She hates the Alchemist, an amoral Ahura scientist who defected to Ahriman's side and wishes to get the world rid of his creations instead of putting them to use like was done after Ahriman's first defeat. She shows more sympathy towards the Hunter and fervently pleads the Warrior — a king who sold his soul to save his people — to regain his lost honor that drove him to sell his soul to Ahriman. She wants to believe her father can be salvaged even as he slowly becomes corrupted under Ahriman's influence.

After the Prince frees Ahriman in exchange for resurrecting Elika again, she is furious with him for endangering the world and undoing all their efforts, even as he attempts to reason that she's needed to get rid of Ahriman permanently. Eventually she goes separate ways with the Prince, seemingly abandoning him to face Ahriman alone, with her intention being to do the only thing she's seems to be able to do: to find her decayed people and remind them of their duty.

Powers and abilities
Elika is athletic and acrobatic to the point that she is able to keep up with the nearly super-humanly agile Prince as they navigate their way through grumbled terraces. She is also highly knowledgeable about her people's lands, Ahriman and each of the Corrupted. She is also able to move and fight synchronically with the Prince.

When Elika was resurrected by Ahriman, she gained magical powers. She is unsure of the origins of these powers, but they're possibly granted by the temple or Ormazd. Regardless, she seems to be able to use her magic very effectively. It allows her to keep herself and the Prince safe from Ahriman's Corruption and use magical plates to reach platforms they couldn't otherwise reach. If the Prince is about to fall to his death or be killed by one of the enemies, Elika saves her with her magic.

Through concentration, Elika is able to heal a Fertile Ground and the small area surrounding it from Ahriman's Corruption if she's standing on the Fertile Ground. She is also able to end Ahriman's influence on the Corrupted once they're cornered in their own sanctuaries, destroying them in the process.