Escanor

is the Lion's Sin of Pride of the Seven Deadly Sins. He is renowned for gaining immense power during the day, and gradually becoming weaker with the setting of the sun, leaving him frail and submissive at night. His Sacred Treasure is the Divine Axe, Rhitta. His inherent power is named Sunshine.

Appearance
In the wanted poster, Escanor is depicted as a middle-aged man with a beard and a ponytail hairstyle.

Escanor has a mustache and a pair of glasses. Escanor's attire is a suit commonly worn by bartenders and although slightly baggy, does appear to fit his non-sunshine form far better than his previous attire. He temporarily wore spectacles during his first formal appearance in the plot. His lion symbol is on his back.

Ten years ago, he wore a suit of full body armor with a unique helm (which may be too large to fit him properly in the early morning or night, and conversely too small to fit him during the sunlight hours, particularly noon).

Escanor was revealed during the Vampires of Edinburgh side story to be a very meek and weak looking young man, with short-cut hair and a set of clothes that seemed too large to fit him. His clothes were made to be intentionally loose so that they fit him properly when he increases his size.

During the new Holy War, Escanor wears a long-sleeved white jacket that is open at the front with white fur trimmings on the side of the jacket and white spiky fur on the neck of the jacket, and an ornamental golden hand guard. He wears black pants and a belt with three rows of studs and a large buckle featuring a sun with spikes around it and studs around it. He wore white boots that are decorated at the top with a miniature sun and swirly wing-like designs around it.

Personality
Escanor's personality changes drastically along with his strength between day and night. At night, he is skittish, submissive and unfailingly polite. Whereas in the day he is arrogant, boastful, and domineering, he also takes it upon himself to deliver judgment to those he feels have sinned, such as those that toy with feelings. Both personalities seem to be truly him, and he remembers everything he does in either, though at night he has chastised himself for losing control during the day.

Despite the great contrast, there are some personality traits he retains day or night, such as his feelings for Merlin and fondness for writing poetry. Even with his prideful personality he still cares for his comrades but in his own way. Pretending to annihilate Gowther, instead attacking the two Commandments for toying with people's hearts. Proof that he retains his love for Merlin was how the belief that Merlin loved Arthur romantically left Escanor disheartened visibly. But at night he cares very deeply for his captain and comrades, not wishing to harm any, even those he only recently met.

Escanor also does not particularly desire anything, as when competing in a tournament for any prize he desires, he simply stated he would like to deliver alcohol for that tournament and not compete, despite his power.

He is also accustomed to others calling him a monster for his unique body changes after suffering a bad childhood when his power first manifested. Even the likes of demons refuse to believe he is a human.

During the day, Escanor's pride and attitude is such that he never holds hatred in his heart to anyone, even Demons, as he does not hold hatred to those beneath him, he only pities them. This quirk has given him immunity to a Commandment. His pride is also unfailing as when his own blow got reflected to him with greater power, he is not surprised he got injured by his own attacks. His pride also does not seem to prevent him from acknowledging the strength of others, as he openly acknowledged the strength of Estarossa and Meliodas during his fights with them. He is also not above asking for help, as he asked Hawk to help him declare his feeling towards Merlin. These examples, however, are somewhat contradicting due to Escanor still viewing himself above others during the day. This was even pointed out by Hawk when he stated that despite asking him for help, he was still being surprising forceful, and even a little shameless about the favor he was asking for.

Escanor fell in love with Merlin at first sight, as she was the first person to not only be unafraid of him or his power but to even be interested in it as well as him. Since then, she has become the one person he does not view himself as being above. In fact, in both of his forms, his love for her seems to go far beyond his own pride, as during the Great Fighting Festival arc, despite knowing that she may never feel the same way he feels towards her, he still views her as the one to illuminate his path, just like the Sun would, which temporarily allowed him to fight during the tournament. Despite not viewing himself above her, he is still very prideful when it comes to impressing her and trying to make himself of use to her, so much so that even when visibly injured or exhausted in front of her, he pridefully acts as if he is top condition and continues to boast in front of her, which normally tends to simply annoy and/or worry her, as well as everyone else around him.

Despite his casual nature in day, he seems to be capable of being serious, chastising his fellow Sins for playing around while they were about to go to war with the Demons. Escanor in both his night and day form happens to care deeply for his fellow Sins, regarding them as his closest friends and willing to put himself through any challenge to aid them. Escanor also carries some internal anxiety over not being able to protect his loved ones in spite of his great power.

History
Escanor was born 40 years ago, the prince of the Castellio Kingdom. When he was a child, his older brother Daymond used to pick on him, until one day his power awakened, and he accidentally broke his brother's arm. His parents disowned him because of what happened and his strange unexplained appearance, and soon the Kingdom's forces mobilized to kill him. He was rescued by a kind woman named Rosa, who hid him in a barrel and set it adrift at sea. He survived but wherever he went, people called him a monster even when he helped them. That is, until he eventually meets Merlin and Meliodas who asked him to join their knightly order.

12 years ago
With a clan of vampires having taken over the Kingdom of Edinburgh and threatening the Kingdom of Liones and all of Britannia with impending war, the Seven Deadly Sins, including Escanor, were deployed to deal with them and recapture Edinburgh Castle. King and Dreyfus are noticeably unnerved with his inclusion in the mission.

When the mission started, Meliodas had Escanor released from a special containment room whilst the former was dragging the latter's Sacred Treasure. The Lion's Sin of Pride apologized to his captain and reminded him that he would like to be back by morning, if possible. After Meliodas explained that Merlin had made a portal for them, Escanor was reassured and declared his resolve to do his best.

Both Meliodas and Escanor were teleported to the Castle using Merlin's Magical Gate. After being encouraged by Meliodas to have more confidence, Escanor apologizes for being born and starts crying. After that, the two get separated and Escanor is confronted by the Vampire King, Izraf, who demands to know his reason for coming to his castle. He then attacks the Sin of Pride with telekinesis-controlled debris, which Escanor evades with ease. Their fight continues until dawn when suddenly the Sin stops dodging and faces Izraf. He easily lifts his Sacred Treasure, which he had previously been unable to move, and orders the Vampire King to fight at full power. He then demands an apology from him for being born into his world.

During his Fight with Izraf, Escanor showed his power by easily dispelling the Darkness of the Vampire King with his sheer presence. He then used his Sacred Treasure to lazily cleave the Vampire King's torso, which quickly regenerated, but having come into contact with Escanor's axe, began to burn him. Escanor then read a poem about Merlin that Izraf thought was an incantation, angering Escanor as he proceeded to incinerate Izraf with Sunshine, but not before telling Izraf he had changed his mind about killing him, despite the latter desperately apologizing and pleading for his life. After destroying the castle and killing Izraf, Escanor was approached by Merlin, who he was pleased to see. As she distracted him, he was hit by Gowther's Blackout Arrow, which Merlin had amplified to knock him unconscious until his power depleted. He was then brought home by Merlin. Back at the castle, Escanor was scolding himself for losing control and that his poems are not worthy of Merlin's ears. Merlin then entered his chamber and asked if she could hear his poem.

10 years ago
Escanor, along with the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins, was summoned to a castle to meet the Great Holy Knight Zaratras after a mission in which they defeated the Troll Queen and caused the accidental destruction of the Great Druid Altar. After they found him dead there, all of them were ambushed by the Holy Knights. When Meliodas ordered everyone to disperse and regroup later, Escanor obeyed and went into hiding.

Abilities and Equipment
Escanor has been described as the strongest member of the Seven Deadly Sins, as upon his fight with Galand and Melascula, two of the Ten Commandments, he easily defeated them when the sun began rising with little effort whereas Ban and Jericho could not do anything against either. Escanor's might is considered monstrous, both by enemy and ally alike. Estarossa, one of the strongest members of the Ten Commandments, refused to believe someone so powerful was a human and was rendered paralyzed in fear of Escanor's might.

Even Meliodas, the leader of the Sins, has acknowledged Escanor to be far stronger. Merlin also has a lot of faith in his abilities, acknowledging Escanor as the only individual who can stop Meliodas when he reverted to his previous self. True enough, using "The One" Escanor was able to defeat Meliodas in his Assault Mode with a single attack, although it is worth noting that before reaching The One, Escanor was barely capable of holding off Meliodas. At night, however, his power is the weakest due to the setting of the sun, rendering him powerless and unable to use his magic.

In battle, Escanor primarily relies on the rising of the sun to use his magic, Sunshine for battle. As when the sun rises, his magical power and size grow greatly. Just nearing noon causes his body to emit an enormous amount of heat to the point of being able to melt armor like nothing and incinerate others by being around them. Just using a single attack caused a lake to be evaporated in a flash from the intense heat Escanor gave off. His incredible brute strength increases in conjunction with his magical power, as a single swing from his axe Rhitta upon transforming was enough to cleave Galand in two and swing it with a single arm whereas Meliodas has a hard time even moving it. Escanor's durability also increases with his magic as his muscles were durable enough to catch Meliodas' weapon when he attacked in Assault Mode and easily brushed off a series a slashes at his peak. Escanor's speed also increases with his magic as he could easily match Meliodas' speed in Assault Mode with his weapon and managed to block various attacks from the notably swift Ludociel with ease.

Abilities

 * Escanor's ability is one of duality, he is the weakest amongst all holy knights at midnight but starting from dawn his power level begins to rise steadily from one hour to the next until it peaks at noon. During his fight with Galand, his power level was shown increasing by 5 points with seemingly every second and was measured at 50,060 while continuing to rise. At his peak, according to Merlin, he easily surpasses any of the other Sins. This cycle is marked by distinct differences in his abilities, personality and appearance.
 * Daytime: Beginning with the rising of the Sun at dawn Escanor begins to make a dramatic change, both physically and mentally. He grows much taller and muscular as time passes, with his clothes being ripped off him unless specifically tailored to his growth. In this state, his physical strength and endurance are incredible and his immense magic power casually radiates from his body as intense heat which normally reduces everything around him to ashes He seems to be able to exert some control over this, being able to prevent friends from being hurt or turning his power up at will to produce intense light and heat to capable of melting even stone. In this state, his normally skittish demeanor is replaced by one of confidence and a royal atmosphere. During noon when his power is at its peak, he becomes a colossal man, dwarfing larger people.
 * The One: During noon, when his power is at its peak for one minute, he becomes the manifestation of power itself and his body dwarfs normal people. In this form, he is said to be invincible.
 * Night-time: With the setting of the Sun, Escanor returns to his original, skittish self. He's seemingly weaker than an average human, and his power level has been measured at 15.


 * Escanor delivers a powerful downwards slash with his axe that causes considerable damage that can be felt from several meters away.


 * After Escanor reaches the peak of his power, and he becomes The One, he makes a downward swiping motion with his hand that can cut an opponent.  This attack was powerful enough to destroy Zeldris' Ominous Nebula.


 * After Escanor reaches the peak of his power, and becomes The One, he thrusts his index finger at his opponent with enough force to pierce them.

Weapons

 * Divine Axe Rhitta: A giant, ornamental axe, named after a maiden said to be loved by the Sun. It is incredibly heavy and most of its weight is concentrated on the head, which makes it very off-balanced, yet in the day he is able to wield it with one hand.


 * Large Spear: A large spear Escanor possessed and was shown with briefly ten years ago before the Seven Deadly Sins were framed for Zaratras' murder. It appears to be not as heavy in comparison to his Sacred Treasure.


 * Magic Glasses: Given to him recently by Merlin, Escanor is able to suppress his daytime form. However, he will instantly transform into his larger self if they are removed.

Power Level
Due to his power, Escanor's power level is constantly fluctuating and cannot be accurately measured for an extended period of time. The lowest it has been recorded is 15 at an unspecified time during the night, and the highest it has been recorded is 114,000.

At high noon his power reaches its peak, and he becomes "The One," described as an "invincible incarnation of power" by Merlin, for a minute. In this form, he surpasses Meliodas' Assault Mode, indicated to have a power level of 142,000. Wielding the limits of "The One's" power strains Escanor's body, incapacitating him for some time due to expending years of saved up magical power to the point of nearly dying. Ultimately, Escanor damaged himself more than the target of his full power.

Merlin
Escanor is in love with Merlin, having fallen in love with her at first sight. This loves stems from her being the first person to not only not be afraid of him or his power, but to be actively intrigued by it. In his own words, he never expected her to return his feelings and has accepted that, viewing her as the one to illuminate his path, just like the Sun would.

Due to his feelings, he has a very hard time expressing them and remains shy in her presence regardless of the time of day. Despite his pride, she is the only person he does not view as above himself. He regularly tries to impress her with his power, yet she usually responds respectfully towards his advances. Though Escanor has accepted if she never returns his feelings, Escanor remains saddened and slightly jealous over her relationship with Arthur Pendragon, as he secretly listened as she mentions him as her "hope", leaving him crushed. After Arthur was stabbed by his own sword, Merlin was left deeply saddened by this and Escanor, trying to cheer her up, listened as Elizabeth compares her feelings for Meliodas similar to Merlin with Arthur. Believing them to be a declaration of love, Escanor left heartbroken, unaware her relationship with Arthur is a master/pupil relationship.

Though it is unknown if Merlin reciprocates his feelings, she cares and respects him. She also has a lot of faith in his skills, knowing he is the only one capable of stopping Meliodas in his assault form. She was also worried and slightly annoyed over how he tried to look tough in front of her despite Escanor barely able to stand after fighting Meliodas. Merlin also expressed interest in each version of Escanor (being night or day). She was also interested in letting him read the poem he wrote her. She also did not object in allowing him to give her a massage while she was taking a bath.

Meliodas
Besides Merlin, Meliodas is the person Escanor respects the most. Meliodas is aware of Escanor's insecurities and feelings for Merlin and actively encourages him to gain more confidence and tell her, but he does so, in a kind way befitting a leader.

Upon learning of Meliodas' curse, Escanor comes up with and recites a poem regarding both his and Meliodas' curses in an attempt to cheer him up, as he understands what it feels like to be cursed. Meliodas in return appreciates his efforts and thanks him with a smile.

Although Escanor in his day self seems to also respect Meliodas, as he obeyed when Meliodas ordered him to retreat when the Sins were declared criminals, his respect is considerably reduced due to his arrogance. While acknowledging Meliodas's power enough that he deemed himself the only Sin capable of taking him on after Meliodas reverted to his previous self and took it upon himself to fight him and stop his rampage, he also took this as a chance to prove that he's much stronger than him, but Meliodas mocked him refusing to believe a mere human could beat him, which Escanor responded in mocking stride. They viciously fought, with Meliodas toying with Escanor and dealing the latter serious wounds, but praised him for being impressive. However, once Escanor entered "The One" he easily defeated Meliodas with a single attack and mocked him, questioning how it felt to be looked down upon by a human. However, despite this, Escanor still considers Meliodas his old friend and desires to save him just like the other Sins.

Ban
Being both members of The Seven Deadly Sins, their relationship is that of comrades. As such both are concerned about each other's well being as demonstrated by Escanor aiding Ban, Jericho, and Elaine without hesitation from Galand and Melascula as well as Ban being fearful for Escanor's well being against Melascula's 'Gloom Cocoon' and Gloxinia impaling Escanor. At night, Ban tends to playfully make fun of Escanor.

That being said Ban is wary of Escanor during the day and does not trust him completely seen by him thinking he would kill Hawk, Jericho, and Gowther and him being startled to see it was already day when being kept in the storage room. In the day, Escanor sees himself as an authority figure to Ban as he orders him to stay where he is until nightfall.

Gowther
Escanor and Gowther seemed to have met soon after. Escanor considers a close friend despite Gowther not having a "heart" to truly understand what this would mean. Even when Gowther attempted to break Escanor's spirit, Escanor did not blame him, but the Ten Commandments for toying with Gowther's desires in the first place. His faith in Gowther is so much that he doubts the latter's claim of being heartless.

King
Escanor and King are both members of The Seven Deadly Sins, and as such, their relationship is that of comrades. Due to their limited interaction with one another, it is currently unknown how close they are compared to other members of the sins, however like Ban, King is very wary of Escanor during the day because of his power.

Diane
Escanor and Diane are both members of The Seven Deadly Sins, and as such; their relationship is that of comrades. Due to their limited interaction with one another, it is currently unknown how close they are compared to other members of the sins, however like Ban, she is very wary of Escanor during the day, and has even stated that she finds him scary when his power is active. However, Diane has also shown great admiration of Escanor and trust in his abilities, hailing him as the strongest man alive after he managed to defeat Meliodas and proclaiming he could handle anything.

Bartra Liones
Not much is known between Escanor and Bartra. However, Escanor's relationship with the King of Liones seems to be one of mutual respect, as when the Seven Deadly Sins were originally assembled, Escanor was more than willing to answer to the king and show loyalty to him as a knight of Liones. In turn, Bartra has just as much respect towards him as he does with the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins, perhaps even more so due to Escanor's power. During the Ten Commandment's attack on the kingdom, The king was among the many who were both surprised and happy at Escanor's arrival, and with his fight against Estarossa.

Elizabeth Liones
Escanor is the last of the sins to have met Elizabeth, meeting her shortly during the Great Fighting Festival in Vaizel, then being properly introduced to her after Meliodas' revival and the complete reunion of all seven Sins. Since then, the two have become quick friends with one another, with their friendship and trust in one another being surprisingly strong. Even after the revelation of her and Meliodas' past, the activation of both of their curses, and even after watching him fight to suppress Meliodas' Assault Mode, the two seem to be on good terms with one another, enough that Escanor is willing to fight to save her and Meliodas both from their respective curses.

Hawk
Like Elizabeth, Escanor first met Hawk during the Great Fighting Festival in Vaizel, being partnered with him during the festival. Their first impressions of one another during the festival were poor. Hawk viewed Escanor as a weakling and Escanor, in turn, was both confused and frightened by the fact the Hawk was a talking pig. However, after seeing Escanor's true power during the festival, and after seeing Hawk's bravery during the events and how he carried him around for the remainder of the festival, the two quickly became close friends, though Hawk is still just as weary of Escanor's power as everyone else. Even in his Daytime form, Escanor is very fond of Hawk, to the point of holding the pig for his own protection during the Seven Deadly Sins' battle against Melascula. He even confides to Hawk about his feelings towards Merlin and asked him if he would see if she felt the same way, although Hawk did point out how shameless and forceful he was considering that he was asking for a favor.

Zaratras
Not much is known between Escanor and Zaratras. As his former, and only superior within the kingdom of Liones, besides Meliodas and the king himself, it can be implied that the two had a great deal of respect towards one another. To what extent, however, is currently unknown.

Arthur Pendragon
Escanor seems to harbor a degree of jealousy towards Arthur and his relationship with Merlin. This jealousy stems from his feelings for Merlin and how Merlin cares a lot about Arthur, misinterpreting most of their interactions as romantic. However, he does care for the boy, having been horrified by him stabbing himself under Cusack's control.

Parents
Escanor's relationship with his parents is unknown. Prior to his powers emerging his parents loved him very much. After his powers first manifested, they were horrified by his appearance and refused to believe such a monster was their son. They attempted to kill him after a soothsayer decreed Escanor was a curse on their kingdom, but he managed to escape. Even now Escanor seems to deeply lament his own family trying to kill him.

Daymond
Daymond is Escanor's older brother. The two did not get along as Daymond regularly bullied Escanor due to jealousy over how his parents paying more attention to him. When his powers first manifested, Escanor accidentally broke his brother's arm while attempting to defend himself from his brother's bullying, causing him to be hated by the rest of his family much to Escanor's regret.

Rosa
A mysterious woman from his past that saved him from being executed by his parents by placing him in a barrel to float to safety. In the anime it is implied that Escanor still remembers Rosa fondly, first thinking of her when he first met Merlin.

Vampires of Edinburgh

 * Escanor vs. Izraf: Win

Ravens arc

 * Escanor vs. Galand & Melascula: Win

Great Fight Festival arc

 * Gowther & Jericho vs. Escanor & Hawk: Inconclusive

Defensive Battle for Liones arc

 * Escanor vs. Estarossa: Win

Corand arc

 * Seven Deadly Sins vs. Melascula: Win
 * Meliodas vs. Escanor: Win

New Holy War arc

 * Assault Force vs. Zeldris, Chandler & Cusack: Win
 * Seven Deadly Sins & Four Archangels vs. Zeldris & Original Demon: Inconclusive
 * Seven Deadly Sins, Four Archangels & Zeldris vs. Demon King: Win

Prisoners of the Sky

 * Merlin & Escanor vs. Derocchio: Win

Trivia

 * In Arthurian legend, there are two characters with the name 'Escanor' including: "Escanor le Grand", who was raised by a giant and a witch and is said to be a very large man, and "Escanor le Beau", the nephew of the first Escanor, who was a handsome young man and eventually retired to a life of hermitage. Escanor is based on the first, who was said to grow stronger until noon when his strength began to diminish and was eventually defeated by Sir Gawain, whom he shared both this power and birth date with.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Special skill is unknown
 * Hobbies are unknown
 * Daily routine: Napping and writing poetry
 * Favorite food: Meat during the day, vegetables during the night
 * Charm Point: His shyness
 * He is his own complex
 * The people he respects the most are Merlin and Meliodas
 * Has no one he would mind making an enemy of
 * Weak Point: Being super weak at night
 * Birthplace: Castellio Kingdom
 * Dream/Hope: Opening up a store with Merlin
 * Regrets: Being born
 * The most embarrassing thing in his life: His noon-self - always
 * What he wants the most right now: Controlling his powers
 * Favorite animals: Cats and lions
 * Favorite scent: Wildberry
 * His power level cannot be measured
 * The Sin of Pride is usually symbolized with a horse and the color violet.
 * Escanor dislikes going out in the daytime due to his personality change.
 * He has the largest symbol, in proportion to his size, which is located on his back.
 * At night, he is known to have the lowest power level of not just all of the Holy Knights in Britannia, but lower than anyone else's recorded value at only 15.
 * Out of all the Sins, in terms of age, he is the youngest.
 * He only sleeps during that interval between nighttime and sunrise.
 * His day and night forms are conscious of each other. The Night one is jealous of the Day one while the Day one finds the Night one unsympathetic.

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