Armored Knights

Hostile Species
Full Name	Unknown
Alias	Armored Knights Yoroi
Origin	The Last Guardian
Homeworld	The Nest
Abilities	Swordsmanship Paralyzing magic Talisman shields
Members	No named members
Hobby	Collecting human sacrifices for the Master.
Goals	Prevent the Boy from escaping the Nest (failed)
Crimes	Attempted murder Usage of black magic
Type of Hostile Species	Energy Being Brutes

“	Something in the armor's ill-omened air told me to keep my distance...	„
	~ The Boy on the Armored Knights.

The Armored Knights (in Japanese: 鎧 Yoroi, lit. "armor") are supporting antagonists in the 2016 fantasy adventure video game The Last Guardian. The guards of the Nest, they pursue after the Boy and Trico as they make their way through the Nest in attempt to catch the Boy and feed him to the entity known as the Master of the Valley.

Appearance

The Armored Knights appear to be human-shaped covered entirely in body armor. The armor is somewhat bird-like and heavily engraved, having beaked helmets, glowing green eyes, and feathered plating down the waist. Inside the armor, the Knights are entirely hollow, not made of flesh or blood but instead a magical substance consisting of a blueish green smoke, and shatter into pieces upon defeat.

Four different types of Knights can be encountered in the game, based on the locations within the Nest or the items they wield: the common ones with cyan patterns, ones covered in blue patterns, ones with bronze patterns, and a special type only encountered at the bottom layer of the Citadel with a mossy stone-like armor with hollow limbs.

Biography

Much like the rest of the creatures of the Nest, the Armored Knights have stationed the ruins of the castle, serving as the guards of the Nest, capturing the chosen ones that attempt to escape from the Master's desire to devour in order to retain its immortality. The Knights traverse through the Nest to the Citadel through certain red doors that only they can activate; once a Knight brings the Boy through one, the game is over.

The Armored Knights are first encountered by the Boy after he wakes up after Trico "swallows" him when a gate attempts to return him to his original brainwashed sense. Approaching the Knights causes them to wake up, but so does Trico, who easily defeats them without effort. While the Boy is able to pull off a Knight's helmet to defeat them when they are knocked over, they can also come to life if a helmet is brought towards an inactive standing Knight without a head; for most of the encounters, the Boy must rely on Trico to subdue them. Throughout the game, the Knights are encountered in larger groups and become smarter, better equipped to take on the Boy and Trico, although still very weak against Trico even in large groups. Regardless, they continuously attack Trico and the Boy on sight, no matter how outmatched they are.

Following the Master's demise, what happens to the remaining Knights of the Nest remains unknown, but it might be possible that they disintegrated into the magic they were once created by.

Powers and Abilities

• Spells: Some Knights are capable of casting homing magical spells to slow down and paralyze the Boy. They tend to only use spells when the Boy is at a distance or in an area or elevation that the Knights cannot reach. These spells have the same appearance as the Boy's tattoos.
• Weapons: Knights often carry swords or spears. Neither are used against the Boy but are used against Trico. While swords seemingly do no effect, spears can be implanted into Trico, which do little damage, but can hinder his speed should there be multiple embedded.
• Shields: A few Knights carry talisman shields that deter Trico, paralyzing him in fear unless they drop their shields or if their shields are broken. The boy is able to bump himself into the Knights to make them drop their shields, allowing Trico to take them out. Knights who carry shields wield no weapons.
• Light: Some Knights, when in an immobilized state, emit light from their eyes. Should the Boy or Trico walks into the light, the Knight becomes active, also waking any other nearby Knights.

Gallery

A single Armored Knight about to be attacked from behind by Trico.

A group of Knights chasing the Boy.

Trivia

• When the Boy shines the Mirror at a Knight, it shrinks to its original immobile position.
• In the Japanese version, the Knights are referred to as Yoroi, meaning "armor".
• The Armored Knights are theorized be ghosts, spirits, or even some sort of ancient technology.
• Concept for the Knights go back to Ico, where knights were going to be the guards of the Queen instead of the Shadow Creatures.