Shanoa

Shanoa is a heroine of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. She represents the Order of Ecclesia, the only group who seems up to the task of defeating Dracula in the Belmonts' absence. She is able to absorb Glyphs using the large rune on her back, which provide her with magical weapon abilities. Although she is often seen wielding an ethereal crimson-coloured rapier, Shanoa can use any other weapons granted by her glyphs.

She is able to equip 3 glyphs, much like Soma Cruz's souls, and can combine them to unleash devastating combos either with a spell or a massive weapon, such as a large Holy Claymore or a hail of daggers. The weapons range from scythes, axes, daggers, lances, hammers, and swords, while spells range from summoning a fierce wind, lightning orbs, giant stone fists, fireballs, ice shards and blasts of light or darkness. Shanoa's glyphs also allow her to swing from place to place using magnetic forces or transform into monsters such as a cat-woman or a winged lilith.

She also appears in the cross-over games Castlevania: Judgment and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair as a playable character.

Official background: Shanoa is one of Ecclesia's female warriors. She joined the clan at a young age, and was groomed in her training to destroy Count Dracula. An accident during the Dominus ceremony wiped away her memories and emotions. Shanoa possesses a unique ability, allowing her to channel power through glyphs that are marked on her body.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Shanoa is able to equip a glyph on each shoulder and on her back. Shoulder glyphs can call forth close-range weapons like swords and spears, long range weapons like throwing axes and bows, or elemental attacks like fire and ice. Basically, she can utilize all the weapons and elements all the other vampire hunters in the series can use, with the notable exceptions of whips, vials of holy water, and crosses. Each of these attacks consumes MP. Her left and right shoulder glyphs can be performed very rapidly if alternated one right after the other or can be combined in a powerful Glyph Union attack, which consumes hearts rather than MP. Back glyphs give her an ability that she can turn on and off at will.

Castlevania: Judgment
$Judgment$

Shanoa appeared as an unlockable character in the 3D fighting game Castlevania: Judgment for the Wii. She is unlocked through a Wii-DS connection option from the game Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS, or by beating the True Story with her. Her outfit is something resembling a nun's. Her theme is "An Empty Tome".

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
$Harmony of Despair$

Shanoa plays in the co-op game Castlevania: Harmony of Despair much as she does in Order of Ecclesia. The selection of glyphs available to her is limited, but makes her powerful. She can equip two glyphs as her primary attack glyphs, and up to four sub-glyphs. Magnes is her only back-glyph.

Trivia
Michelle Ruff, Shanoa's English voice actor, also voiced Maria Renard in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and redubbed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.