Editing Darklaw

{{CharacterTab|Darklaw}}
{{expand}}
:''You may be looking for [[Espella Cantabella]]'s pet cat, who is also named [[Eve]].''
{{Character
|name       = Eve Belduke
|image      = Darklaw Portrait 1.png
|occupation = High Inquisitor of [[Labyrinthia]] (lapsed) <br> Great Witch to the [[Shades]] (lapsed) <br> First Shade (lapsed)
|age        = 20<ref>'''[[Phoenix Wright|Phoenix]]:''' Do you remember what age you were then?<br>'''[[Espella Cantabella|Espella]]:''' I'm not quite sure, but I think I was six or seven.<br>'''[[Hershel Layton|Layton]]:''' And how old are you now?<br>'''Espella:''' I'm 18 years old.<br>'''[[Judge (Labyrinthia)|Judge]]:''' That means those events did take place more than ten years ago. It's very odd that you have memories that old. But perhaps you're mistaken about your age at the time.<br>''[[Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]''. [[Capcom]]. Episode: ''[[The First Story]]'' (in English). 2014.</ref><ref>'''[[Storyteller]]:''' Espella and Eve were best friends at the time. Eve is two years older than Espella. She used to be like a big sister to her.<br>''[[Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]''. [[Capcom]]. Episode: ''[[The First Story]]'' (in English). 2014.</ref>
|ageref     = The First Story
|status     = [[The First Story|Alive]]
|eyes       = Turquoise
|hair       = Purple
|family     = '''[[Newton Belduke]]''' (father; deceased) <br> '''An unnamed mother''' (unintentional victim; deceased)
|friends    = '''[[Espella Cantabella]]''' (childhood friend & attempted scapegoat)
|affiliates = '''[[Storyteller]]''' (former superior) <br> '''[[Zacharias Barnham]]''' (former subordinate) <br> '''[[Olivia Aldente]]''' (assault victim; arrested)
|alias      = Darklaw <br> The Great Witch{{tt|*|Shade leader title}}
|japanese   = ジョドーラ (''Jodōra''){{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> クローネ・ベルデューク (Kurōne Berudyūku){{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|french     = Aurora{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> Eva Belleduque{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|german     = Gloria{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> Nora de Victoire{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|spanish    = Diana{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> Selene Belduke{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|italian    = Laura{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> Dafne Belleduque{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|dutch      = Darvell{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Darklaw''}} <br> Eva Belduke{{tt|*|equivalent of ''Eve Belduke''}}
|vaenglish  = [[Jo Wyatt]]
|vajapanese = [[Toa Yukinari]]
|vafrench   = [[Violaine Fumeau]]
|vaspanish  = [[Graciela Molina]]
|vaitalian  = [[Tania di Domenico]]
|vadutch    = [[Marjolein Algera]]
|theme      = "[[Sealed - The Darkness Within]]"
|debut      = ''[[On a Dark and Stormy Night]]''}}
{{quote|Darklaw|[[Hershel Layton|Did]] [[Phoenix Wright|you]] [[Luke Triton|all]] [[Maya Fey|just]] come [[Inquisitors' Hall|here]] to stand around speculating? If so, there's a quiet cell in the [[Deathknell Dungeon|dungeon]] which has just become vacant... You can speculate all you want in there.|''[[The Great Witch]]''}}

'''Eve Belduke''', better known by the pseudonym '''Darklaw''', was the High Inquisitor of [[Labyrinthia]] and tasked with ridding the town of witches. She was also the only person normally able to meet directly with the town's "creator", the mysterious [[Storyteller]].

==Legendary Fire==
:''Main article: [[Legendary Fire]]''
[[File:Espella and Eve.png|thumb|left|Espella and Eve as children.]]
Eve was the daughter of [[Newton Belduke]], and was the childhood friend of [[Espella Cantabella]]. They lived in a small town that Newton and Espella's father, [[Storyteller|Arthur]], had created.

During an expedition, Newton and Arthur discovered a large, silver bell and constructed a [[Bell Tower|bell tower]] in the town for it. They intended to ring the bell for the first time after the annual Fire Festival held in the town, but young Espella wanted to sound the bell herself first. On the night of the festival, she asked Eve to sneak over to the tower with her. The girls took their respective mothers' pendants with them, each being one half of the keys necessary to access the [[belfry]]. Once there, however, Espella found herself unable to ring the bell, as she was put off by a cautionary tale Arthur had told her about an evil witch called [[Bezella]] who would possess her if she rung the bell. Espella therefore decided to watch the festival instead. Eve, frustrated by her friend's actions, decided to ring the bell herself, but an unusual condition brought about by a substance in the area's groundwater caused her, and everyone else in the town, to fall unconscious the moment the bell rang.

Tragically, with everyone in the town unconscious, there was no-one to keep the large bonfire set up as part of the festival under control. By the time the two girls had recovered, the entire town was ablaze. Newton and Arthur, who had been on another expedition at the time, arrived home and began searching for survivors, but found only Eve and Espella, the latter of whom had fainted from shock. Not wanting to get into trouble, Eve claimed that it was Espella who rang the bell, and tearfully begged her father and Arthur not to blame her friend for what had happened. The two adults suspected Eve was the one responsible, but couldn't bring themselves to punish her. The incident emotionally scarred both girls, with Eve eventually stating that Espella was the culprit so many times that she convinced herself that it was true, mentally blocking her role in causing the fire.

Sometime later, Arthur began writing stories about witches in order to cheer Espella up and convince her that it had been "Bezella" who had started the fire. To this end, he asked both Newton and Eve to help re-enact his stories, eventually fabricating an entirely new town called Labyrinthia in place of the one that had burned down. Eve herself became the first [[Shades|Shade]]; individuals responsible for creating what appeared to be the "magic" being cast by witches. She also became the town's "High Inquisitor" to battle the "witches", and took the new name of "Darklaw" in order to prevent Espella from remembering her past. Arthur became the town's ruler and took the pseudonym of "the [[Storyteller]]", while Newton became an "alchemist"/doctor. Although Espella had blocked her memories of the fire and Eve, some part of her did still remember her old friend, as she eventually got a black cat she named [[Eve]] and would refer to as her "best friend".

[[File:Labyrinthia trio.png|thumb|left|The ruling trio of Labyrinthia: [[Zacharias Barnham]], the Storyteller, and Darklaw.]]
While initially fully supportive of the Labyrinthia Project, Darklaw and her father gradually grew increasingly disturbed by the callous and oblivious way the Storyteller treated the volunteers in the project, as well as his habit of leaving direct administration for longer and longer periods of time, only returning to distribute his stories during parades. Eventually, after a lightning strike destroyed the "cloak of invisibility" (a pure black fabric that the inhabitants had been hypnotized into viewing as transparent) concealing the Bell Tower, Newton Belduke took his own life due to the overwhelming guilt he felt concerning the project, especially after having witnessed first-hand the victimization of a "witch" called [[Jean Greyerl]]. Enraged and embittered, Darklaw blamed the Storyteller and began to plot against him, vowing to make him experience the pain and sorrow that his "stories" had put her and the town through.

==The professor and the attorney==
:''Main articles: [[On a Dark and Stormy Night]] & [[English Turnabout]]''
:{{Stub}}
Darklaw decided that the best way to get her revenge was through Espella. Having completely blocked out the fact that she was the one responsible for the now-so-called "[[Legendary Fire]]", she deduced that her childhood friend must have caused it. Taking advantage of the Storyteller's long absences, Darklaw began to rewrite his stories, slowly turning the town against Espella. She knew, however, the best cause of action would be to reveal what she believed to be the truth of the Legendary Fire to the town. Having heard about the famed puzzle-solver and professor of archaeology, [[Hershel Layton]], and the mysteries he had solved, Darklaw vowed to bring him to Labyrinthia so that he could reveal the town's secrets for her.

[[File:The Great Witch strikes.png|thumb|right|Kidnapping Espella.]]
Her chance came three months after her father's death, when [[Carmine Accidenti]], a former student of Layton's, arrived in Labyrinthia and managed to smuggle Espella out of the town. Disguised as the "Great Witch", Darklaw, alongside several of her Shades, pursued Accidenti and Espella all the way to [[London]] and eventually ambushed and kidnapped Espella in [[Layton's Office|Layton's office]], where the latter was seeking his help. She then headed to [[Tower Bridge]] and waited for Layton to arrive. As expected, Layton and his apprentice, [[Luke Triton]], managed to locate Espella and rescue, although they also managed to hide her in a passing freighter moments before Darklaw transported them to Labyrinthia.

By the time Darklaw was able to find Espella again, she had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting the [[Olivia Aldente|freighter's chef]]. Forced to take the incident to court, Darklaw pretended to be a school teacher and brainwashed Espella into thinking she was one of her students. Before the trial began, she informed the [[Flynch|prosecution]] and defense that Espella had already pleaded guilty, intending to take her back to Labyrinthia without undue suspicion. However, the defense attorney she had chosen, [[Phoenix Wright]], refused to accept the plea, and eventually proved that Espella was innocent, leading to the possibility of a third person. With her plan scuppered and seeing no other option, Darklaw transported Wright and [[Maya Fey]], his assistant, to Labyrinthia along with Espella, and "wrote" them into the "story" as apprentice bakers. Wright, Fey, and Espella lost all memory of the trial, with their new memories leading them to believe that they had known each other for five years.

==Name==
* Her Japanese name, "''Kurōne''" (クローネ), is likely derived from "''kuro''" (黒), meaning "black". It may also have been chosen for its similarity to Espella's Japanese name, "''Mahōne''" (マホーネ).
* Her English alias is a portmanteau of the words "dark" and "law", likely in reference to her seemingly brutal prosecution of witches. It may also be a reference to the claw-like gloves she wears (Dar'''klaw''').
* The names "Eve" (English version) and "Eva" (French and Dutch versions) originate from the [[wikipedia:Eve|Biblical figure with the same name]]. Comparisons could be drawn between the two in that both ignored an authority figure in order to perform an action that was seemingly innocuous to them, but led to dire consequences. Alternatively, it may be a play on "eve", meaning "night/evening". If so, this could be a reference to both her dark clothing and cold personality, as well as the color of [[Eve|the cat named after her]].
* "Aurora", her French alias, is Latin for "dawn", as well as [[wikipedia:Aurora (mythology)|the Roman goddess of the dawn]]. This could be intended to show that she is meant to be like the sun rising in the morning and driving away witches to the people of Labyrinthia.
* Her German alias "Gloria" comes from the Latin word for "glory". This could be meant as a reference to her perceived fame and honor as an inquisitor.
* Her German given name, "Nora", may originate from the Latin word "honor" (which has the same meaning as its does in English), although it is debatable as to whether or not the character acts honorably in-game.
* Her German surname, "de Victoire", means "of victory" in French, which may be in reference to her apparent aim of being "victorious" over the "witches".
* Her Spanish alias "Diana" is a given name believed to mean "heavenly" or "divine". The name is also shared by [[wikipedia:Diana (mythology)|the Roman goddess]] of the moon and the hunt; Darklaw's role as an inquisitor requires her to hunt down witches.
* "Selene", her Spanish given name, is the name of [[wikipedia:Selene|the Ancient Greek goddess of the moon]], thus tying in with her alias.
* Her Italian alias "Laura" comes from the Latin word for the [[wikipedia:Laurus nobilis|laurel tree]], the leaves of which were often used to symbolize a victor, particularly in Roman and Ancient Greek culture. This could be a reference to her being "victorious" over the witches.
* "Dafne", her Italian given name, is a variant of "Daphne", which also means "laurel", albeit this time originating from Ancient Greek; [[wikipedia:Daphne|Daphne]] is a water nymph in Greek mythology who was turned into a laurel tree.
* "Darvell," her Dutch alias, may be derived from her English alias. It also sounds similar to the Dutch word "''duivel''" which means "devil".

==Development==
* Darklaw is one of [[Kazuya Nuri]]'s favorite ''[[Ace Attorney]]''-related characters due to having many elements that he likes. She had even gotten the voice actress that he wanted.<ref>Ash. [http://forums.court-records.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31283 Capcom Legends interview with Nuri (art director DGS)]. [http://forums.court-records.net/ Court Records Forums]. Retrieved 2015-07-26.</ref>
* Darklaw's hair is designed to resemble a cat, with the hair ornaments intended to be "ears" and the sides resembling paws or tails.
* The claw-like gauntlet Darklaw wears on her right arm appears to be identical to that worn on the left arm of her father, [[Newton Belduke]].
* As a part of her alias as a teacher, Darklaw claimed to be from the "Owl Cote School for Girls"; "Owl Cote" likely comes from "owl" and "coat (of arms)", referring to Labyrinthia's coat of arms.
* If the special (fourth-wall-breaking) downloadable episodes are included, Darklaw is the third named character to have a mentioned birthday around the time that an ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' game take place (with the previous two being [[Dustin Prince]] and [[Victor Kudo]]), as well as the only one to have said birthday actually take place [[Awkward Moments|during an episode]].

==References==
<references />

{{CharacterPLvsPW}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:*Darklaw}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Female characters]]
[[Category:Inquisitors|Darklaw]]
[[Category:Culprits]]
[[Category:Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney|Darklaw]]