Artemis
Artemis Blood Code Study- Mia Karnstein
"A blood code received from Mia. It holds a dauntless will to strive to overcome a cruel fate and liberate those who suffer. This code has high stamina and attack-type Gifts, but suffers from low endurance. It also features Gifts that boost drain abilities."
Introduction to Blood Codes and Mia
Blood Codes are the abilities imbued within a Revenant's Blood. Each Blood Code is unique to each Revenant that resides within the Gaol of the Mist. Once a Revenant has awakened from their slumber after the BOR parasite has been placed in them, the blood takes on a Code which I believe derives from the characteristics of that Revenant.
Mia is also a Third Generation Revenant. She awakened after the Queen was slain as seen from Nicola's memories. Mia is devoted to protecting her brother but as she meets MC and the others, she joins their cause to discover more about her brother's memories and helps to save the Successors.
Greek Mythology
Mia's Blood Code is based on the Greek Goddess Artemis.
Artemis is a Moon Goddess who is notably known for her being a huntress and a defender of purity. Most people know her for using a bow and arrow.
She plays a part in the Trojan War of Homer's Iliad and she was on the Trojan's side. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae killed a sacred deer and dared to boast about his bloodthirst for war and also proclaimed that he bested Artemis herself. Now Artemis like the rest of the Gods and Goddesses was enraged and demanded the sacrifice of his first daughter Iphigenia would appease her. Agamemnon lied to his daughter that she would be married to Achilles but in reality, she was going to be sacrificed instead.
In the end as a protector of women, she took Iphigenia and transported her elsewhere. Artemis replaced Iphigenia with a Stag by the altar.
Artemis also relates to Heracles 12 labors.
In Heracles' third labor, he was tasked with capturing the Golden Hind (Stag) of Artemis. The main hope was for Artemis to be angered at Heracles for going after her sacred golden deer of hers, which is what ended up happening. Heracles begged her to forgive him and explained to Artemis why he needed to capture the stag. He was commanded to bring the stag to king Eurystheus to make the stag one of his pets. Artemis heard his pleas and forgave him. As long as he lets the stag go she won't harm him. Heracles brought the deer over to the king but knew if he gave the stag to the king, Artemis would harm him in some way. Quick on his feet, he told the king he'll give the deer to the king if the King comes out and gets the deer for himself. He agreed. Of course the minute the king walked to the stag, the stag ran back to Artemis.
Similarities between Mia and Artemis
Artemis is a divine huntress, Mia is a Revenant that hunts the Lost. Artemis cares and protects wildlife, nature and women and children. Mia's brother Nicola is her life, and she was willing to steal blood beads from other Revenants to ensure his survival.
In Greek lore, Artemis and Hephaestus are in fact siblings. While there's not much interaction between them in mythology, it makes sense that Rin gets along with Mia so well since Rin holds the Hephaestus blood code. They're both close in age and this helps Mia transition better with the crew at home when she joins them.
A really intriguing point to mention is that Davis holds the Hermes blood code and Hermes in Greek Mythology is also Artemis' sibling. Sadly, they don't really interact in the game but it demonstrates how they would have a good friendship with each other. They both have a similar way of seeing things through so if these two were to interact, it would be in respectful terms.
"It holds a dauntless will to strive to overcome a cruel fate and liberate those who suffer." This connects with Artemis' compassion towards humans. Seeing how Artemis was willing to switch Iphigenia with a stag even though she demanded the sacrifice in the first place? Or she relented with Heracles pleas when he begged for Artemis not to slay him where he stood?.
Artemis is a Goddess who empathizes and shows pity and the same goes for Mia. Out of anything in the world, she would never want her brother to suffer. That's why she desperately incorporated Carmilla's teachings to her everyday survival. Artemis and Mia have a sense of stubbornness when it comes to the things they want to protect but they know when to do things fairly when they see things from both perspectives.
Mia’s weapon is a bayonet, Artemis' weapon is the bow and arrow. Both of them have long-ranged weapons that they use in their battles.
Mia was willing to hunt other Revenants down for their blood beads to save Nicola and Artemis has no hesitation to bring down punishments to those who cross her for a good reason. They always do things for the greater good. When Mia partied with MC and crew, her mission of saving the successors became a part of her journey and her character. Not only did she want to save Nicola, she wanted to help the other Successors that were suffering, just like Nicola. That humility also attributes to Artemis as well.
Interestingly enough, the two stories from Artemis' mythology both feature Stags. The first one being the story of the Trojan War. Artemis was enraged at the king of Mycenae when he killed one of her stags. Alternatively, in the beginning, Mia is enraged at Jack for killing Nicola. The difference as we know that Jack didn't 'kill' Nicola out of pure bloodthirst, it's aligned with his duty. However, the King of Mycenae just did it just to pacify his ego.
The second lore is when Heracles ends up saving the stag he tried to capture by letting it escape from the king and allowing it to go back to Artemis. Similarly, the MC saved Nicola from his frenzy and allowed Mia and Nicola to reunite.
The unique part is that just as Artemis closely cares for nature and Stags (and they’re usually symbolic to her), Mia cares a lot for her younger brother Nicola. If we take a closer look at Nicola's Successor design, he has two antlers as if he's a Stag.
Artemis’ Gifts
Focused Gift Speed-Increases the speed of your Gifts while you are focused.
Shock Web-Manipulates ichor to create a low-power trap at your feet that staggers any assailants.
Dexterity/Willpower Up-Increases dexterity and willpower.
These Gifts of Mia's involves the skillsets of Artemis'. Having a great amount of speed, a trick or trade to stall your prey (web) and having the dexterity and the willpower to keep up with an opponent would be similar to the features Artemis exhibits as a goddess.
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Bloodsucking Blades-Temporarily increases the drain rating of weapon attacks for you and your partner.
In Greek Mythology, the only warrior that Artemis approved of and hunted with was Orion. For those who aren't aware of their story, Artemis and Orion were companions and possibly lovers. Their story ends in various ways with mainly Orion dying because either Artemis defending herself from him or the other gods who tried to protect Artemis' chastity and wanted to rid of Orion. Mia will not kill you of course, but this Gift could probably related to Artemis' relation with Orion and how they would hunt together and gave each other strength.
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Fusillade Rondo-Fire a barrage of homing bullets. An offensive skill performed with Bayonet.
Bayonet Mastery-Increases attack power when equipped with a bayonet.
Blood Grab- Dodging enemy attacks drains their ichor according to your weapon's drain rating.
These Gifts are aligned with Artemis's proficiency as a Huntress. For Fusillade Rondo, Fusillade means "A series of shots fired in rapid succession" and Rondo is a musical term that's utilized in a concerto/sonata and instrument composition, it's used in a refrain four times. Bayonet Mastery is simple since Artemis is a master at using her weapon so it makes sense that Mia has this Mastery Gift. Blood grab could relate to Artemis' dexterity in general when facing her opponents.
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Ice Armor-Temporarily creates a barrier around you and your partner that boosts ice resistance.
Freezing Roar-Fires a projectile of freezing ice at the target.
Guard of Honor-Generates a number of ice pillars that unrelentingly bombard the target.
In terms of affiliation with the element of ice, there isn't much correlation to go by asides from Artemis' (possible) personality since she is a goddess that only favors wildlife, nature, and women and can easily be enraged at injustice. The properties of Armor, the Roar and the Guard of Honor, each of them can relate to Artemis and how she protects herself. Ever Hunter/Huntress would require some form of Armor, the Roar could represent her ties with the animals and nature itself, and the Guard of Honor metaphorically displays Artemis' allegiance with the system of justice and how she would target those who would go against it.
Concluding Thoughts
Mia is a really strong character, and I think this Goddess is a perfect choice as her blood code. I'm not too sure about her alternate Astrea's Blood Code at this point, but with how everything fits in with the story Artemis is the way to go. I was excited to type Mia's blood code analysis, the ideas in my head just kept pouring in with how her lore mixes in so well with how they designed Nicola. This is brilliant. It's the little things in character designs that make me so amazed at times. Even when I first played CV I never thought of these details until I started looking back on it. I can understand why Mia is highlighted a lot and I honestly enjoy how her side of the story played out and her contribution to the crew back at home base. She's a very warm character that is always there to support MC and the others, and I hope she and Nicola can continue to be happy.