Black Swan

The Black Swan is a spell created by Maria Saberhagen in order to destroy Akabara Strauss for the sake of peace. The spell is parasitic in nature, giving its host five years to destroy Strauss before dying. Upon death, the spell will find another suitable host while carrying with it all of the preceding Black Swan's memories and abilities.

Creation
In order to create a spell strong enough to kill Strauss, Saberhagen believed a child who shared his blood would be the most suitable. While reluctant to kill both Stella and her unborn child, Saberhagen sacrificed them both to form the core of the Black Swan. While child was killed for the foundation of the spell, Stella was killed so her spirit could temper the spirit of her child. Adelheid was the only witness of the slaughter and kept the secret for over a thousand years. However, Strauss eventually learned the truth from his battles with the Black Swan and continued to battle against the spirit of his lover and their child for the next thousand years.

Appearance and Abilities
Because both Stella and her baby are the core of the spell, the Black Swan has a tendency to choose hosts that either resemble Stella or her child. As such, the Black Swan has always been female, usually a young and beautiful girl, with a personality somewhat similar to Stella as well. The spell is parasitic and will kill its host within five years, unless she is able to kill both Strauss and Adelheid, the last pureblood vampires in existence.

Upon becoming the host of the Black Swan, the girl is endowed with superhuman strength and healing abilities, along with the ability to completely nullify the spiritual powers used by vampires. Though the first Black Swan was barely able to withstand an attack from Bridget, each successive Black Swan gains the memories and abilities of her predescessor. The forty-ninth Black Swan, Yuki Komatsubara, was able to match Strauss, allowing Kayuki Hirasaka, the fiftiest Black Swan, to surpass him.

Known Black Swans
Before Strauss is finally defeated, fifty girls became the host of the Black Swan.


 * Cynthia, the first Black Swan, was an adopted daughter of Saberhagen, who accepted her fate and died in battle against Strauss.
 * Emily, the second Black Swan, feared her fate upon become the next host and approached the dhamphires for help.
 * Yuki Komatsubara was the 49th Black Swan and was killed by Renka's sword.
 * Kayuki Hirasaka was the last Black Swan and completed her mission and was free from the curse.