Lina Inverse

Age: During her time with Naga, Lina was around 13 or 14 years old. In the first series of Slayers (novels and anime), she is 15, turning 16 sometime before NEXT, and 17 before TRY.

Family: Her parents own a grocery store in Zephilia. Her father is an ex-mercenary, and her mother an ex-sorceress (sound familiar?). Her older sister Luna Inverse is the Knight of Suifeed, and she works part-time as a waitress. Lina is terrified of her sister, and she probably deserved these feelings. When she was younger, Lina wanted to make money, so she sold projections of Luna bathing, and as a result, Luna punished her. It's been said that Lina started training to be a sorceress as a result of an inferiority complex to her sister. Nevertheless, Luna was the one who suggested Lina go out and explore the world.

Reputation: Lina is known as the most powerful and feared sorceress in all the land. By the age of 14, she had already become famous. Despite her bad habits of eating too much and taking money from bad guys, she has good intentions. Most of her bad nicknames such as "Dra-mata," "Robbers' Killer," and "The Enemy of All Who Live" come from the fact that she sometimes causes a bit too much collateral damage when fighting the forces of evil. Lina is a member of the sorcerer's association, and her assigned mage color is pink. At times Lina appears to be fearless, but there are (at least) two things she is afraid of: Luna and slugs.

Skills: Her specialty is offensive black magic, yet she is also skilled in shamanism and swordsmanship. Lina has an extremely high magic capacity, and she is able to draw upon indescribably powerful chaos spells such as the Laguna Blade and Giga Slave. When she acquired the demon's blood talismans from Xelloss, she was able to increase her magical capacity even more, giving her the ability to cast more powerful spells more often. However, even one Laguna Blade can drain her of all energy. Lina has used the Giga Slave three times. The first time she tested it, she turned a body of water into a sea of death, where no life would grow. The second time was when she summoned it into the Sword of Light in order to defeat Shabranigdo, and finally, in NEXT, when she intended to defeat Hellmaster Fibrizo. The last time, however, the Lord of Nightmares possessed Lina's body and used it as a medium for destruction. Lina almost cast the Giga Slave in TRY to kill Dark Star, but she was stopped by Sirius and Erulogos.
In addition to battle skills, Lina is also a master businesswoman. This is to be expected, as she grew up in a family of merchants. She tries to get the best bargain on everything, and when she doesn't get her way, she gets violent!

Friends: Lina's initial impression of Gourry wasn't too great. She thought of him as just a stupid, annoying guy following her around. Then she became attached to him, and they became the best of friends and partners. Gourry is supposed to protect Lina, when in reality, they both look after each other. They share a mutual understanding that goes beyond the means of conventional friendship. Throughout NEXT, Lina found herself becoming increasingly self-conscious and flustered around Gourry, especially when he would do something nice for her. At the end of NEXT, she realized she had fallen in love with him, and she gave her life so that he could be spared. Fortunately, she was returned to her rightful state, and she and Gourry were reunited. In the end of the novels, Lina and Gourry traveled back to Zephilia together, and in the anime, it is assumed they simply kept on wandering the land with each other.
Lina and Naga's relationship is certainly strange. One day, Naga appeared before Lina, declaring herself to be Lina's greatest rival. Ever since then, they have shared a love-hate friendship and rivalry. Sometimes they are on opposite sides, but most of the time, they work together. Lina often gets annoyed with Naga's over-confidence and tendency to overlook important facts, and in return, Naga teases Lina about her short stature and underdeveloped body. It's not known why they parted ways, but Naga was the one who told Lina to travel to Saillune to meet a prince. Unfortunately, Lina didn't realize who exactly this prince was, and in the end, Naga got the best of her.
Lina and Zelgadiss are able to respect each other as both friends and allies. They both share some of the same battle instincts and skills, and they help to keep each other in check. Lina forces Zel to get up and do things, while Zel forces Lina to calm down and pay more attention to what's going on around her. They are nearly equals in intelligence, and as a result, they are able to hold intelligent conversations when everyone else is going crazy. However, Lina gets easily fed up with Zelgadiss' low self-confidence, and in turn, Zel hates Lina's quick temper and bad habits.
When they first met, Lina thought Ameria was annoying, and she wanted to ditch her as soon as possible. Eventually Ameria proved she could be useful and more than just a tagalong, and Lina accepted her as a friend and companion. They share an almost sister-like relationship, showing affection at some times, and jealousy and irritation at others. One thing is for certain; Lina is envious of Ameria's physique. She doesn't think it's fair that a younger girl has a more develped body than her.
Lina and Xelloss share a mutual respect, not friendship. Each knows the other is capable of utterly destroying him or her, so they both have a sort of truce with each other. They help each other, but only when their interests overlap. Xelloss often gets the best of Lina, using her greed or quick temper to his advantage, and she usually gets her revenge.
Lina feels sympathy for Sylphiel, and she tries her best not to become annoyed with Sylphiel's shy and reserved nature. Despite her intelligence, Lina isn't fully aware of Sylphiel's attraction to Gourry, or at least she pretends not to know so that no feelings are hurt.
Lina's relationship with Martina is bizarre and varied. Lina destroyed Martina's kingdom, and as a result, Martina became intent on getting revenge, doing everything from putting curses on Lina to messing her up at every possible opportunity. Lina saw Martina as an annoyance that had to be dealt with. In the end of NEXT, Martina helped Lina realize her feelings for Gourry, and the two of them became somewhat closer to being friends.
When Filia came to Lina asking for help, Lina didn't understand why she, of all people, was being chosen as the representative of the human race. She was initially annoyed with Filia's way of "testing" her power (attacking a port during an important delegation). Throughout TRY, Lina and Filia were often irritated at each other, but they still worked together despite their differences. Lina helped Filia to see the truth in the world, and they got along well by the end.

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