Artemisia

Artemisia is a main character of the album Moira, twin sister of the protagonist, Elefseus. Her vocals and dialogue were provided by Minami Kuribayashi.

Appearance
Her first appearance is as a child. She has white hair with purple highlights, cut short and with a section tied into a braid on the left side. She wears a white robe with a short purple cape over it. As an adult, her hair is longer, but her outfit remains the same. After her death, she appears without the cape, as it was cut off by the same blow that killed her.

Role
Although she isn't involved directly with much of the story's action, Artemisia ends up being a key factor behind the motives of her brother, Elefseus, becoming the reason why he takes up arms against fate.

Unmei no Futago
As children, she and Elefseus live happily in the paradisiacal mountains of Arcadia. Watched over by Polydeuces and his wife, whom they believe to be their mother and father by birth, they play freely, always together. Artemisia longs to reach the moon's reflection that she sees in the water, believing innocently that if she could reach far enough, she'd hold the moon in her hands. She's also described as a tomboy at this age, compared to her brother, who is quite the crybaby. This period of happiness is broken off abruptly when Scorpius and his troops burst into their home, killing Polydeuces and capturing both twins, although they attempt to flee.

Dorei Ichiba
Tied to a horse-drawn cart, she and her brother are sent off to a slave market. Although her previous life has been upturned entirely, she holds onto the warmth of still having Elefseus there with her. Even this last remnant of happiness is taken from them, however, as they are separated when different buyers purchase them as slaves.

Raijin Iki no Eiyuu
At the end of this song, she and her twin are taken away by Polydeuces soon after their birth, just as they are presented to the young prince Leontius as his new siblings.

Shi to Nageki no Kaze no Miyako
Artemisia is sold off to become a Hetaera, and given to Cassandra and Melissa as their apprentice. They bring the bewildered girl to the capital Ilion to be initiated by the priest of Anemos. Just as she is cornered by the priest, Elefseus, who was also enslaved in the city, hears her cries of fear and rushes in, stabbing him. They recognize each other, and run off together to escape the soldiers who had heard the priest's dying scream. She escapes Ilion by boat with him and his friend Orion.

Seinaru Shijin no Shima
Separated from the other two after a shipwreck, Artemisia washes up on the island of Lesbos. There she is picked up by Phyllis, and taken in by the holy woman and poet, Sophia. She has lost her vision, but Sophia picks up on some latent ability within her, and takes her hand, teaching her a new way to view life.

Hoshi Megami no Miko
Under Sophia's guidance, she has grown into a mature young woman, and learned how to read the future in the stars. She is concerned by what she sees in them: signs indicating her own tragedy, as well as trouble for her twin. However, she trusts in the gods and places her own will below that of fate. When guards show up to take a prisoner to be used as a sacrifice, she volunteers herself to go in Phyllis's place, believing it is her proper lot to die this way.

Shiseru Otome, Sono Te ni wa Suigetsu
Barely even given time to finish a final prayer, she is killed by Scorpius, and falls into a pool of water. Even if only in death, she has finally met with the moon's reflection there, holding the watery moon in her hands. Elefseus arrives to where she has fallen after her assailant is already gone, finding only her corpse. Her spirit joins him for a final farewell, although they are never able to be truly reunited.

Philosophy
Artemisia's outlook on life notably comes to be the exact opposite of her twin's. Whereas he fights against fate, seeking to allow humans control over their own destiny, she believes in accepting fate at all costs. "As if wanting to test us...the heavens keep showering us with troubles... And humans can only accept the will of the gods without question..."

- Hoshi Megami no Miko (The Sybil of the Star Goddess, 6th Story Moira.

From Sophia, she learns the beauty to be found amongst the world's cruelty. She finds meaning in accepting her limitations as a human being, something that even gives her the courage to go to her own death voluntarily.

Blindness
There is some doubt about whether or not Artemisia's blindness is permanent. Although it's clear from both the lyrics and the live portrayal that she is blind when she first washes up on Lesbos, it is uncertain if she remains blind by the time of Hoshi Megami no Miko and afterwards. Minami Kuribayashi's acting in the live does not make it absolutely clear if she has sight or not, but some take her being able to see the stars as an indication that she must have recovered it. She could have been suffering from temporary blindness incurred by a head trauma during the shipwreck. However, it is also possible that her special abilities allow her to use the stars to divine even when she doesn't have eyesight.

Moira's Vessel?
Because of her strong belief in accepting the will of destiny, some suspect there is a tie between Artemisia and Moira. Due to the concert recorded on the live DVD showing Artemisia sitting on a throne when Moira's name is mentioned during Shinwa no Shuuen, theories have arisen that she is Moira's vessel, much as Elefseus is Thanatos'. However, it should be noted when considering this theory that, in addition to the usual caution that the live is not canon, it was only on the particular day included on the DVD that Artemisia was the one shown seated on the throne. On other days, different characters were shown, as well as an empty throne on some days.