Sylphiel Nels Lahda

Sylphiel Nels Lahda (Japanese: シルフィール＝ネルス＝ラーダ, lit. shirufīru nerusu rāda) is a priestess from Sairaag in the Slayers series. Her Japanese voice actress is 冬馬由美 Yumi Tōma, and her English voice actresses are Stacia Crawford in the first two series and Stephanie Sheh in Slayers REVOLUTION.

Sylphiel's only known family is her father, Elc, who was a priest in Sairaag, and her uncle, whom she lived with after Sairaag was destroyed by Copy Rezo. Elc was killed when Copy Rezo destroyed most of the city; he was later resurrected by Hellmaster Fibrizo, only to be killed again when Fibrizo was destroyed by the Lord of Nightmares. There is no mention of her mother in the novels, manga, or anime.

Sylphiel is a priestess of the shrine to Flare Dragon Ceifeed in Sairaag. When she was young, she took the Bless Blade from the shrine and hid it under the holy tree, Flagoon. This later proved to be useful, as the sword was needed to defeat Copy Rezo-Zanaffar. After each destruction of Sairaag, Sylphiel was involved in the efforts to rebuild it. Her life revolves around helping other people.

Sylphiel is an extremely gifted cleric of white magic. She's more powerful in the art than other white magic-using characters like Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune and Naga the Serpent. Unfortunately, her skills in other areas of magic are lacking. She has not mastered the basic fundamentals of offensive magic like shamanistic or black magic spells. The most famous example is her version of Flare Arrow, which looks more like a small carrot than an actual Flare Arrow. By the time she reappears in Slayers REVOLUTION, however, she seems to have improved her abilities, although her Flare Arrows still needs work. The only exception to her lackluster offensive magic skills is her ability to cast a perfect Dragon Slave, which she studied very hard to learn so that she could impress Gourry Gabriev and be on par with Lina Inverse in at least one respect.

Relationships
Lina Inverse: Sylphiel and Lina's friendship is a bit tense. Sylphiel is openly attracted to Gourry, and this makes Lina uncomfortable. Lina also becomes frustrated with Sylphiel's sensitive nature, which tends to leave Sylphiel hesitant in times of crisis. Despite this, they do take initiative to protect each other, with Sylphiel once saving Lina from the brink of death. The two girls eventually become more friendly by the end of Slayers NEXT. Sylphiel knows about the existence of the Giga Slave, and tried to persuade Lina not to ever use it again, fearing the possible consequences that may follow.

Gourry Gabriev: He is probably the person who is nicest to Sylphiel. He, however, does not seem to be aware of her crush on him, or if he is, he never lets it show. When they are together, he speaks to her and treats her gently, perhaps more like a close friend or younger relative. Many times he has taken the initiative to protect her from harm. Sylphiel would want nothing more than to be by Gourry's side forever.

Zelgadiss Graywords: He was sometimes fairly rude to Sylphiel, although she never held it against him. She probably assumed that it was because of the way he is, and he has nothing personal against her. He was insensitive to her feelings a number of times, and he was quick to be scolded by his friends.

Appearances

 * Slayers novels (3,4,8)
 * Slayers anime (EP18-EP26)
 * Slayers NEXT (EP23-EP26)
 * Slayers TRY EP05 (Mentioned only by Zelgadiss), Episode 24 (In an eyecatcher)
 * Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story volume 5 and 8
 * Slayers REVOLUTION (EP12-EP13)
 * Slayers EVOLUTION-R (EP01,EP13)

Musical appearances

 * Alone