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If it is indeed true that behind every great man is an even greater woman, then it is not solely because she merely stands by her man. She is not merely a physical presence that gives him confidence, and not just a physical body that gives him comfort. Her words and deeds, no matter how childish some of it may sound, inspires greatness within him. Her knowledge and experience teaches him of the world, and truth about life and nature. She is almost an unseen and unnoticed fuel whose first revelation to our hero causes him to accept and understand things seem greater than he is, but not necessarily beyond his reach.
She is like a Priestess of fate, an Oracle of sorts.
The Priestess elicits the major action that is first signaled by the Magician. She helps direct this undirected force that, although seemingly heading for a right direction, is still in need of some guidance. She sees the power, but yet uncontrolled potential of the hero, and seeks to balance and tame it so that it may be used for greater ends that maybe neither of them fully understand.
But will the hero answer her call? She calls for balance and discipline, most likely at odds with the gung-ho attitude he has lived for. It all depends on his desire to tame himself, to follow the guidance of the voice that is not his, whose only desire is to help him reach the limits of his potential. He becomes aware of her existence, perhaps he had known of her all along. What matters now if he's willing to accept her voice.
Will he accept the guiding voice of the Priestess?
Every hero would eventually meet, or reunite, with that entity that is the foil to his or her raw personality. This character is often a voice of reason to his one-track mind. He is still naive, simple and straight to the point. The Priestess tends to be that first voice beyond him that is more wise to the world, more experienced and therefore almost fit to be a guide, a mentor. She enters a pack with him, to travel together, to learn together so that she may teach him, and maybe so he may teach her as well.
He wakes up on a bed of flowers. Getting back his bearings, he remembers the fall he took from the passageway after the destruction of the second reactor. He is awoken by a voice he barely recognizes; a beautifully calm voice. When he sees her he remembers: the flower girl from the city above. They talk for a moment when she reveals that some men are after her and she needs a bodyguard. As one who claims to be a Jack of All Trades, he gets himself hired as her bodyguard. His payment? A date. Yes a date. It may have sounded so simple and so silly to the uninitiated, but this meeting would signal the beginning of a story and an adventure beyond their wildest imaginations.
They are not related by blood, but they are as close as a brother and sister could get. The older of the two, she had always been taking care of them ever since the death of their adoptive father Genkaku. Now that they are branded as traitors by the very same country they had fought and almost died for, she willingly sides with the innocence of her brother and sticks with him, fighting those who have become his enemies. As they run she can only counsel him as to his decisions. She constantly suggests that they instead run and find a place where there is only peace, to finally stop fighting. He clearly disagrees, more so when finally decides to join the mercenary army. Even then, she sticks by her brother, to protect him at all costs.
Some would consider the personification of a Priestess to be merely a foil, a minor character whose only purpose is to celebrate the qualities and faults of the hero. Much more than that, however, I believe she is the character most responsible for the growth of the hero. Their words, deeds and interactions set the stage for who the hero would ultimately become. She is the catalyst for the tale of a boy who becomes a man, as he traverses the world in search of glory, riches, adventure and of course, himself. What better way to get lost to find the self than with a traveling companion?
She is, after all, she who brings out the best in him.
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