The Heroic Legend of Arslan - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Neither the novels nor the manga of The Heroic Legend of Arslan have been translated into English; therefore, this summary deals with the anime OVAs. As it directly focuses on the events of the first OVA, the characters names as they are translated there will be used (see "Names" below).

Arslan has two qualities that make it unique among anime fantasy tales. While the world in which it takes place is one where magic obviously exists, said magic is of an extremely limited nature. Until the end of the anime, the only magical happenings involve a few rare occasional spells and a giant, humanoid monster. There are none of the races typically associated with a fantasy realm, such as elves or dwarves. It is, at the core, a war story taking place between human nations. In addition to this, there is an underlying theme of exploring the repercussions of slavery on a society, having an absolute monarch who treats the poor as cattle, and religious obsession.

The story opens with a battle between the armies of Palse and Lusitania. The king of Palse, Andragoras, is quickly proved to have poor judgement and a quick temper, as he demotes one of his most loyal servants, Daryoon, on the word of a man who proves to be a traitor, Kharlan. In this first battle, the Lusitanian army deliberately leads the Palsian forces into a seemingly simple assault. The assault turns into a bloodbath, as the Lusitanians booby-trap the battlefield by soaking the ground in oil. Not only do the Palsian war-horses slip and break their legs, but the enemy forces set the oil on fire, burning many of the soldiers alive.

Daryoon's uncle, Eran Vaphreze, takes it upon himself to lead the king away from the battlefield before Andragoras can be discovered and killed by enemy troops. Before he rides off, he commands Daryoon to dedicate himself to protecting the crown prince, Arislan. While Daryoon rides off to seek out the prince, Vaphreze and Andragoras attempt to escape. They are unsuccessful — Vaphreze is murdered by the leader of the Lusitanian army, an incredibly strong and enigmatic warrior who, because of his unique headgear, is known only as Silvermask. Silvermask declines to kill Andragoras, preferring instead to kidnap him and drag him back to his stronghold in Zahburu Fortress.

Having survived the Lusitanian assault, Arislan and Daryoon seek help for their cause, in the form of the philosopher/swordsman/tactician, Narsus. After a bit of trickery on Daryoon's part, they convince Narsus to help them in their cause. Narsus' young boy servant, Elam, goes with them.

As this goes on, Lusitanian troops march to the capital city of Ekubatana; in order to convince Queen Tahamine to surrender her city. An interrogator of the Lusitanians — a high-ranking cleric named Jon Bodan — tortures captured Palsian soldiers outside its gates, declaring to all who would hear that he will only stop when Ekubatana surrenders. While she refuses, the city is eventually invaded successfully. The Queen is captured, and the city's buildings, sculptures, and sacred writings are all destroyed.

As Arislan travels around, trying his best to avoid being located by the armies and agents of Silvermask, he meets two others who are convinced to join his cause of re-taking and rebuilding Palse. Pharangese, an aloof, cold priestess of Misra, is sent by her holy order to protect and serve the prince — a fact which she considers to be natural, as she is the wisest, most beautiful, and most deadly.

There is also the travelling musician and con-man Gieve who is no mean swordsman himself. Gieve actually makes his first appearance when he, defying both a strong wind and a long distance, successfully shoots one of Jon Bodan's victims, sparing the poor soldier anymore misery and humiliation. For his skills with a bow, Gieve is paid well, and is also offered the chance to serve as the Queen's bodyguard as she attempts to escape the besieged Ekubatana. While making their way out of the castle, Gieve learns that the "Queen" he is escorting is actually a double for Her Majesty, in order to permit the real Queen to escape in a more secretive fashion. When she is captured by be city's attackers he escapes on his own, encounters Pharangese, and declares that he will dedicate himself to following her. She simply tells him to help protect the prince.

The most obvious stumbling block to Arislan's ability to re-take his kingdom is his utter lack of an army. As it is ironically observed at the conclusion of the first episode, with six fighters at his command, they have doubled their forces, and will only need to take on 50,000 enemy soldiers each. The subsequent episodes chronicle Arislan's plans on finding an army to back him up. They also cover wide and sundry sub-plots, Silvermask's identity and motives, how Andragoras came to the Palsian throne, and the introduction of various new characters.