Teresa

"This little girl, who's not even half my size... taught me that tears can flow even from these silver eyes."

- Teresa of the Faint Smile, about Clare.

Teresa was Claymore No. 1 of the 182nd warrior of the 77th generation to be created by the Organization. She is known to be one of the eight No. 1 warriors who had the power to surpass an Abyssal One. She may even have been the strongest warrior the Organization has ever produced.

She was known as "Teresa of the Faint Smile" (微笑のテレサ, Bishō no Teresa, lit. "Smiling Teresa") for the faintest of smiles that graced her face as she effortlessly slaughtered Yoma. Her power was so great that she rarely had to use even ten percent of her Yoki.

Etymology
"Teresa" is a transliteration of the Japanese "Teresa" (テレサ, pronounced "te-re-sah" or "te-re-zah").

In the West, "Teresa" was originally a 4th-century Spanish name, confined to Spain and Portugal, until the 17th century. The word "Teresa" was possibly derived from the Greek θέρος, meaning "heat" or "summer," or θερίζω, meaning "to harvest." It could also have been derived from Θηρασία, an island in the volcanic island group of Santorini in the Greek Cyclades.

In the series, Teresa is depicted as one of the Twin Goddesses of Love, the other being Clare.

Human
In a dream, Teresa remembered her once long, black hair, and dark eyes, and was permanently haunted by the betrayal of the people she trusted, and were responsible for her being sold to the Organization.

Claymore
Teresa had long, wavy, pale blonde hair parted down the middle, which she wore loose. She had silver eyes like all other Claymores, and wore the standard uniform.


 * Height: 180 cm (5 ft 10.86 in)—same height as Irene

Personality
As a trainee, Teresa always attempted to escape. She was known as a "problem child."

Before Teresa met Clare, she was a cold-blooded, solitary killer who would accept any assignment without complaint. She would often intimidate the townsfolk and made it sound as if the Organization was responsible for sending Yoma to the towns that did not pay the required fees. When Teresa met Clare, she was obstinate to have the little girl follow her around and even physically beat and kicked her away. When Clare did not give up following her, however, she opened up her heart and her former cold personality changed and she became very attached to her. In Irene's opinion, being with Clare had caused Teresa's heart to lose its toughness as a warrior. Though these eventually changes led to Teresa's death, Irene theorized Teresa was happier in her last days because of Clare and would not have changed her actions would she have had the chance to relive her life.

Acute Yoki Sensing
Teresa possessed an exceptionally sensitive ability of yoki sensing. She could detect minute changes in the flow of yoki in both Yoma and Claymores alike, accurately predicting and defending against their every move. As a child, Teresa was also able to track down Rafaela, who had completely erased her aura after the incident with Luciela, in the woods. Irene concludes that Teresa's adeptness at sensing yoki was the main reason why she was the top notch warrior.

After Teresa's death, Clare inherited this gift by taking in her flesh.

Unrivaled Yoki Power
Augmenting Teresa's already superior physical qualities was her massive yoki. A mere ten-percent release was enough to easily frighten and dispatch an Awakened Rosemary, who was a former No. 1, and to defeat a near-Awakened Priscilla, the incredibly powerful No.2 warrior of Teresa's generation who became the strongest character in the series subsequent to her Awakening.

Organization Rating
From Claymore Databook 1.


 * Yoki: S (Special Level of Ability)
 * Agility: A
 * Muscular Strength: A
 * Spirit: A
 * Perception: S
 * Leadership: B

Early Life
Teresa's early life is vague. She guessed that her parents named her after one of the Twin Goddesses of Love. In her dreams, she remembered having black hair, that she believed was her best feature. At some point in her life, she was sold to the Organization by the people she trusted. It wasn't clear whether it was her family, or the town she was from.

During her Claymore training, she was called a "problem child" by her handler. It was during one of her escape attempts that she met Rafaela in a Yoma-infested forest.

As a Claymore, Teresa was a cold-blooded killer who cared for no one, performing her assignments in a blase manner. She enjoyed frightening clients with horror stories. She outwardly appeared to be obedient, but was not above keeping some secrets from the Organization, and even had her own suspicions about dubious actions.

Her handler was Orsay.

Rockwell Hill Massacre
Teresa was immediately ranked as a single-digit warrior upon completing her training. She, then, participated in the mission to slay Hysteria, Claymore No. 1 at the time, who had reached her limits but didn't send a black card to anyone and likewise refused execution. The mission took place in Rockwell Hill. Hysteria, with her unmatched speed, slaughtered the many warriors sent to kill her. Teresa, however, managed to critically injure Hysteria, taking away her speed advantage. Hysteria was eventually slain by the Claymore No. 4 of that time, Rosemary.

Battle with Rosemary
Some time later, Teresa overtook Rosemary as Claymore No. 1. Since then, Rosemary held a grudge against Teresa and secretly plotted a way to kill her.

Rosemary Awakened and then sent her black card to Teresa via Orsay in an attempt to lure her to a secluded location and then finish her off. Despite her initial confusion as to why the former No. 1 warrior would send her black card, Teresa went to Godahl Plateau to meet up with Rosemary. Rosemary's intentions immediately become clear to Teresa and the two engaged in battle, with Rosemary assuming her Awakened form and apparently gaining the upper hand. However, Teresa easily wrenched herself free from her grasp and proceeded to release 10% of her yoki. Rosemary briefly faltered at the size of Teresa's yoki but was unable to dwell on it as she was slain shortly afterwards.

On her way back, Teresa encountered Orsay and lied about the events that took place, saying Rosemary did not awaken and died a splendid death worthy of a former No. 1.

Time with Clare
In the village of Theo, Teresa sensed the yoki of seven Yoma. After killing six, she spotted the seventh hiding behind a young girl. After killing the Yoma, Teresa discovered that the girl was kept as its prisoner and toy for quite some time.

Despite rebuffs to the mysterious girl's attempts at affection, the girl persisted. She followed Teresa through the wilderness and despite Teresa's initial annoyance, she eventually became fond of the young girl. Teresa named the girl Clare, after the Twin Goddesses of Love, Clare and Teresa, and Clare mutely affirmed that it was indeed her name. A few nights before Teresa had a run in with some bandits, where she accidently cut off one bandit's hand, the rest off the bandits soon revealed themselves afterwards where the leader states the cardinal rule: "that Claymores couldn't kill humans," implying that they could do anything to her (rape her) without fear of being killed. Teresa then smiles and tells them: "Is that all?" and shows them her terrible wound, telling them she would gladly "have fun with all of them" and ultimately driving them away. The bandit who had his hand cut off then tracks down Teresa and attempts to rape her. Teresa then states that he saw her body and that he wouldn't gain any pleasure from raping her, but the bandit then replies it was to humiliate her. Afterwards Clare awakens Teresa's lost compassion, leading Teresa to say:

"This little girl, who's not even half my size... taught me that tears can flow even from these silver eyes."

From that point onwards, Teresa began openly displaying her affection for Clare without holding back. However, she decided to leave Clare with foster parents in Rokut, believing a normal life would be best for the young girl. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the village was raided by a group of bandits, the same group that was encountered outside of Theo. Teresa rushed back to save Clare and, seeing the latter's bloodied form, flew into a fit of rage. She killed all the bandits, breaking the cardinal rule that a Claymore should never kill humans, no matter what the circumstances.

Battle with Priscilla
By breaking the Organization's cardinal rule, Teresa became a target for execution. At the execution site, instead of accepting her punishment, Teresa disabled all five of the Claymores tasked to slay her. She calmly said that she had found a reason to live—Clare.

Priscilla (Claymore No. 2), Irene (No. 3), Noel (No. 5) and Sophia (No. 4) were then summoned to execute Teresa. Teresa defeated them easily but considered killing Priscilla, noting the monstrous potential the younger Claymore possessed. However, Clare had softened her warrior heart. Thus, she spared Priscilla and left the town with Clare in tow.

Priscilla, her idealist views shattered, went into a fit and pursued Teresa, seeking revenge. Priscilla released over 70% of her yoki and attacked in blind rage. However, she still lost to Teresa, who released a mere 10% of her yoki. Priscilla, then, passed her limit and begged Teresa to euthanize her before she fully Awakened. Teresa agreed to do so, lowering her yoki release and shifting her eye color back to silver. Priscilla, then, grabbed her sword and struck, and Teresa's hands were cut off first before she was decapitated. This cast some doubt whether Priscilla deliberately lured in Teresa to strike her down when she was least expecting it. After this, Priscilla completely Awakened.

Clare, then, decided on using the Organization as a means of revenge. She carried Teresa's head back into the town and wandered, searching for a man-in-black. Upon meeting/finding Rubel, she demanded that Teresa's flesh and blood be put inside her own body.

Clare
At first Teresa was irritated by Clare's persistence in following her. Eventually, she became attached to the young girl and the two eventually developed deep love and care for each other. Teresa also comments about how Clare taught her true love and how the two forged an unbreakable bond.

Irene
While Irene showed familiarity with Teresa at the start of the battle, it was unclear what sort of friendship, if any, existed beforehand.

Priscilla
Teresa is an object of obsession for Priscilla. She sees Teresa as evil for killing humans. During her battle with Dauf, she regained her memory of the incident with Teresa and expressed delight that she would be able to kill her again.

Behind the Scenes
Teresa has a song on the Claymore Intimate Persona CD called "Tensei" meaning "Reincarnation." Teresa's story in the anime is almost identical to the original one from the manga, except that she appears at the end of the anime saying goodbye to Clare after her final fight with Priscilla.