Fictional Setting of Madlax - Terminology

Terminology

Due to the specifics of the genre, many terms and concepts remain unexplained even upon finishing the series, so the audience has to guess their meaning and nature by their visible effects.

• The Gift (資質, Shishitsu?) is a rare affinity found among the humans who possess paranormal abilities, such as altering the reality by entering the spiritual space called the Sanctuary. Those who have the Gift can be recognized by the lack of common reaction to the Words of Saruon from the Holy Books, however, experienced mystics like Friday Monday, Lady Quanzitta and Nakhl can also tell a Gifted person by simply looking at them. Apparently, there is a gradation of power among those who possess the Gift, since abilities accessible by some of them, cannot be used by others:
  • The only person within the series who can reach the Sanctuary on her own and subsequently use the Gift to its full extent, applying global changes to the reality, is Margaret Burton. In 1999, Friday Monday had the same magnitude of power, but has lost it because of his facial injury. Colonel Richard Burton entered the Sanctuary but was unable to resist the Words of Awakening, so whether he has had the Gift is arguable. The least prominent but obvious Gift belonged to Carrossea-Poupee, who could only reach the Sanctuary with Margaret's help. Madlax does not have the Gift, but is able to follow her other persona, Margaret, to the Door of Truth. Quanzitta Marison can communicate with the Sanctuary residents, but has never displayed any other abilities commonly associated with the Gift.
• The Door of Truth (真実の扉, Shinjitsu no Tobira?) is a metaphysical construct that separates the Sanctuary from the material world as most humans know it. Only those with the Gift can reach and go through it.
• The Sanctuary (聖都, Seito?) is a spiritual dimension, where the power of those with the Gift reaches its limits. Such things as splitting oneself into multiple personae or starting a global war are only possible within the Sanctuary, though the latter also requires the presence of all three Holy Books and a very powerful Gift in a person. Although entering the Sanctuary is only possible from certain material locations (such as the cave guarded by Lady Quanzitta and Friday Monday's residence), once inside, a person can apparently exit it to any geographical point, which'd explain how Margaret returned directly to Nafrece in 1999 and in the end of the series.
• A "persona" (multiple: "personae") is a living being that is created when a person possessing the Gift wishes to separate themselves from certain parts of their personality and to accomplish that, draws upon the power of the Sanctuary. Such beings receive a physical form that is rarely similar to the original and a number of peculiar traits, such as Madlax's supernatural battle skills and regeneration. The nominal "main" persona is the one that retains the Gift since only they can merge the others back together.
  • A "memory keeper" or a "memory ghost" is a special type of personae that appears when a Gifted person loses or forcibly rejects their memories while within the Sanctuary. Memory keepers cannot leave the Sanctuary without assistance from other personae in the material world, however, they do appear to them in dreams and visions. Aside from that, only the mystic Quanzitta Marison can communicate with them directly. In the series, only two memory keepers are depicted: Laetitia and Poupee.