Toushin

About
Toushin, or War Gods, were weapons created for mankind to fight on equal footing with the Dark Lords. The Toushin were enormous war machines created by the Holy Magic Sect.

24 of them were planned for production, one for each initial member of the Holy Magic Sect.

They were powered by magic and remotely operated by mummified mages that lived deep within the Holy Caskets of floating Toushin Toshi fortresses.

Most of them were humanoid in appearance, though there were some exceptions (The frame of Toushin Λ was adapted from a dead Earth Dragon).



The original plan was to create metal bodies similar to the Tousho and simply transplant the brain of a mage into the Toushin body, but this created many moral concerns about the nature of the self and the soul, with the timelessness of biometal magic also being brought into question. Ultimately the Sect opted for an embalming process that would indefinitely prolong the lifespan of the controller and keep them preserved within a highly protected Casket inside a powerful floating fortress. Additionally, the Toushin would be susceptible to Magic Master Rune's mind control, and would be forced to obey his orders. An Embalmed Controller is linked and synchronized with their Toushin to an incredible level: they live through the Toushin, they see through the Toushin, and if either of them die then the other will fall alongside it.

Strength-wise, the Toushin were at the very least on par with the Dark Lords, some even mightier, but even then they could not breach the Invincibility Field.

Magic Master Rune and his Holy Magic Sect were well aware of this limitation and instead focused on forcing the Dark Lords back in an attempt to wear them out, seal them, and slowly gain more territory for the forces of mankind. Unfortunately, in the end the Sect did not succeed in gaining much territory at all. Even after 32 years of combat, mankind was no closer towards the initial goal of eradicating the Antagonist Race.

The sudden and surprising outbreak of war between the Monster Realm and the Holy Magic Sect slowed the production of the final four Toushin. Three of them were scrapped and #24 was built but never activated, the man it was built for rejecting it due to fears of losing his personality.

The Embalmed Controller within the Holy Casket had three important duties:

# 1: To channel magic through the Buoyancy Staff that keeps the Toushin Toshi afloat indefinitely

# 2: To receive and act upon instructions transmitted by M.M.Rune, who lived in the lower levels of the Holy Capital Detna Luca

# 3: To operate the Toushin for purposes of combat



The Toushin were no mere metal statues of combat. Advanced weaponry, new paths of magic, specialized weaponry, and incredible technology was produced to accommodate these fierce fighting machines. The work done to improve these beastly creations took the scientific abilities of mankind to untold levels.

If the body of a Toushin was destroyed then the mind of the Embalmed Controller and the corresponding Toushin Toshi would also collapse with it. The same goes for the destruction of the Toushin Toshi or the Embalmed, if one of three is destroyed, then all of them suffer the same fate.

The method of linking Toushins, Embalmed, and Toushin Toshis always remained a mystery. It is said that only M.M.Rune ever understood the intricacies of the connection between the mind of the Embalmed, the Toushin, and the Toushin Toshi.

Trivia

 * On the Rance IV Hint Disk, Purin, one of the lead scenario designers of the Rance Series, revealed that Toushin Mu had a female-based body type, and was the only Toushin other than Theta to possess one.
 * In a Twitter Q&A, Orion, the lead artist of the Rance series, revealed that a basic face shape was designed for the otherwise unseen Toushin Kappa. Orion also stated that Kappa was unique among other Toushin due to being outfitted for aquatic combat, presumably in reference to the Japanese youkai of the same name.