Rio

Rio(リオ, Rio)
Other names	Leo (ADV Films subtitles only)
Race	Human
Allegiance	Tribe of the Great Snake Fang of the Animal (briefly)
Novel
Novel appearances	Legend of Crystania Legend of the Gods’ King 1 Legend of the Gods’ King 2
Manga
Manga appearances	Legend of Crystania
First appearance	“The Land of the Gods”
Last appearance	“The Unbreakable Life”
Anime
Anime appearances	Legend of Crystania: The Motion Picture

Rio (リオ, Rio) is resident of Crystania and a follower of the animal god Rumiss, the animal god king of the barrier. She is the leader of the Tribe of the Great Snake, the tribe who follow Rumiss' teachings, and her mission in Crystania is to protect the land from outsiders. Rio is an animalmaster, meaning that the god she follows, in this case Rumiss, has bestowed her with a talent.

Because of her mission, Rio and her tribe frequently encounters Redon and his group and fight on multiple occasions. In Legend of the Gods’ King 2 she dies after a tough battle with Jenoba and Redon, but vows to kill Redon in the next cycle.

History

　Rio first appears in Legend of the Crystania, as a member of the Tribe of the Great Snake, and thus tasked to protect the world of Crystania from outsiders, she and some fellow tribesmen inspect a crack in the Gods’ Wall that may have been used by outsiders to gain access to Crystania. At the crack, they find Obier and Raifan, but missed Redon’s party who had been there sometime before. Rio and her men take the duo captive.

　Rio and her followers later encounter Redon and his group, who had been stopped by a group of Crystanian mercenaries, including Rome. Rio joins the Crystanians and says they are of the People of the Dark. The situation intensifies and a battle ensues, but Redon and his party manage to get away, with Obier and Raifan.

　The next day, Rio, with Rome, encounter Redon's party again. Redon tells her they wanna leave Crystania, but Rio says that's no longer possible because the way they came in is now sealed. They fight once more, but when she fails to get the upper hand, and losing one of her warriors to Obier, she and her men transform into snakes. Redon's party uses magic to escape once again.

　Some time later, Rio decides to join the Fang of the Animal to fight against Beldia, whose army consists roughly half of outsiders. However, in order for the Fang of the Animal to accept them, they must first part with the outsiders, who had joined their cause. The Fang of the Animal accepts. Not much later, Barbas unleashes a "miracle" on the fort, destroying it almost instantly. Rio is assumed to have died in Barbas’ attack, but she actually survived, though severely wounded. She encounters Redon's party one last time, when Redon, Jenoba, and Nasare are trying to return to Fort Roma following a recent defeat. Rio transforms into a snake, but is ultimately killed by Redon.

In the movie

　Rio appears in the Legend of Crystania movie, but not in the OVA series. In the dub she is called “Rio”, but in the sub her name is spelled “Leo”.

Rio, as she appears in Legend of Crystania: The Motion Picture.

　Throughout the movie, she and her tribe have several encounters with Redon and his group. A detachment of her tribe, led by a captain, meets the six adventurers when they just ventured into Crystania. The six adventurers manage to get away. Rio herself first encounters the six adventurers when she is facing Boakes and Sheru. The six adventurers interfere, but her captain recognizes Redon's group and tells Rio they are “the intruders”. A battle ensues in which Rio and her men are defeated and get away.

　Rio manages to track down Redon and the others to a Fang of the Animal fort where they have taken refuge. They fight again, but suddenly Barbas appears and instantly destroys the fort. In the wake of the destruction a giant worm attacks the survivors and Redon, Sheru and Rio fall into one of the worm holes. Inside the worm hole, a heavily injured Rio saves Sheru from an attack by a tigerman. She says not to thank her, she is merely doing her job trying to stop all intruders. She dies of her wounds in Redon's arms, saying things will be different when she is reborn.

Gallery

The First Adventurers: Legend of Crystania artwork by Yen Makino

Crystania: Legend of the Gods’ King 2 artwork by Yukitoshi Hotani