Ioleta Russell
| NPC | Quotes |
Ioleta Russell is an NPC in Arknights. She is first mentioned in Maria Nearl before appearing in person as a supporting character in Near Light.
Background
Ioleta Russell is the current Grand Knight of the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi Kazimierz. Long ago, she was a campaign knightess who was the only survivor alongside Kirill Nearl out of the eight heroes during the "Daybreak over the Golden Prairie", a decisive battle against the Ursus Empire in the year 1072 that enabled Kazimerz to recapture its lost territory. She helped Kirill in rescuing thirty Silverlance Pegasi from the hands of Ursus armies and even managed to save the other eleven campaign knights. As a matter of fact, the Silverlances have great respect for the Grand Knight and even called her the "Grandmaster."[1]
Ioleta is noted for her kindness and mercy. She adopted the Leithanien girl Viviana during her days as a campaign knightess as a request from her close friend from Leithanien, the late Kurfürst Werner von Hochberg of Sturmland, and taught her true chivalry, a virtue that is not corrupted by Kazimierz's capitalism. She also hires Senomy as her body guard even though she is a freed chattel.
Story
Maria Nearl
At some point following the Major incident, Senomy voiced her worries of her master's anger to the National Council for authorizing the rigged match to kill Maria Nearl and would "flip the Council's table by himself" towards the then-unnamed Ioleta, who replied that despite so, he remains an offender, before informing the Grand Knight that the Rhodes Island representatives had arrived at the Grand Knight Territory.[2]
As the Grand Knight of the Adeptus, Ioleta replied to a letter by Amiya regarding a bill named "Terms of Cooperation for Treatment of Infected Contestants & Medical Environment Rectification" proposed by R.I., which has since been passed by the National Council, informed her that the Kazimierzian medical companies would welcom R.I.'s assistance with open arms, and thanked them for sheltering Margaret Nearl and promising to treat the Radiant Knight fairly.[3]
Near Light
After R.I.'s arrival, Ioleta brought Amiya and the Doctor to the hotel they stayed. She also had Senomy being R.I.'s security guard throughout the Major season. Even though she could not hold an official ceremony due to R.I.'s status, she wished them good luck and hoped that they would enjoy the Major.[4]
As part of the Adeptus' struggle against the greedy Chamber of Commerce, Ioleta cooperated with Pinus Sylvestris to start the second Kawalerielki Separation so that they could infiltrate the K.G.C.C.'s headquarters to steal the secret documents concerning Area 0 and hand them to her. In turn, she ordered the Silverlances to station the city in the name of maintaining order. Sona finally met Ioleta at the Champion's Hall with the help of the Candle Knight. When handing the chip to her, Sona questioned whether the Infected could finally leave a normal life. With her wisdom, the Grand Knight pointed out that even thought they could, they still need to struggle due to their Oripathy. Even then, she encouraged her to search for the true meaning of being a knight.[5]
Liam, the leader of the Silverlances, greeted Ioleta as usual. Ioleta then asked wheter he was interested in watching Margaret's matches in the Major. Although he detested the Major, thinking that it has ruined the traditions of the knights, she persuaded him that this is the new age for young men and they should appreciate the very few heroes shinging bright in the arena.[6] In the end, Liam accepted her words and went together with her to watch Margaret's match against Tola where he was impressed by the former's improvement.
The Grand Knight greeted Margaret and the Blood Knight after the two had their finals and marched towards the Champion's Hall. There, she was glad to see that the victory ceremony for the 24th season of the Major was a simple night for the true heroes. She also knew that Margaret was trying to change the country without using her status. With that said, she encouranged the new generation for the change and proclaimed that a new day has just arrived.[1]
After the Major season, Ioleta also met Tola personally where she explained the origin of the "Khaganquest." She admired that the legendary Khagan had a living descendant. Although the Grand Knight welcomed Tola for coming back to Kazimierz after finishing his tradition, Tola refused, stating that what the Grand Knight did to stop the corruption of Kazimierz's knights was futile. In turn, she hoped that he would come back alive as she did not want to see the last remaining pure-blooded Nightzmora die in vain.[7]