Ganache

Ganache Nighthawk ( ガナッシュ・ナイトホーク, Ganasshu Naitohōku) is a party member in Magical Vacation who wields the Darkness element. He is a student of Will-o'-Wisp Academy, as was his sister Vanilla before her mysterious departure.

Personality
Ganache mostly keeps to himself, only ever socializing with a few people. He puts most of his faith in Olive, who can understand his emotions with her telepathic power. Ganache starts to develop very obsessive behavior and acts irrationally as the game progresses, which becomes worse with every ounce of knowledge regarding the Enigmas, Will-o'-Wisp's secrets, and the disappearance of Vanilla.

Backstory
When Ganache was 9 years-old, he and a group of powerful magicians were ordered by the kingdom to protect a rural village from violent trolls. It took them three days to eradicate the monsters, but peace returned to the town once they were all dealt with. One of the villagers, a young girl named Candy, was inspired by the magicians' work and wanted to become powerful witch.

Three years later, Ganache got accepted into Will-o'-Wisp Academy and encountered Candy, who was still adamant about mastering her Wind Magic. Upon realizing that Ganache was one of the kingdom's magicians from her childhood, Candy immediately fell in love. The young Darkness mage would struggle to keep Candy off his back after their reunion, as she wanted to follow him everywhere and gain his affection.

Prologue
As the protagonist goes around the school to bring their friends to the Magic Bus, they see a few students in the Music Room talking about the Valencia Beach rumors. One of the students, Cider, is in full denial of the alleged student disappearances, but Olive objects by using Ganache's sister as an example. Cassis sides with Olive, while Arancia is impartial to either side. They stop bickering once the protagonist comes by, then they all walk to the lecture hall to find Cabernet.

Once everyone is on the Magic Bus, Miss Madeleine notices Ganache's absence when taking attendance. Olive volunteers to find him, as does Candy, but Madeleine only lets the former go. The young Beast mage finds Ganache playing a sad song on his harmonica, sitting on the root of a riverside tree. He stops playing upon hearing a familiar voice, which he believes to be Vanilla's at first, then opens his eyes to see Olive instead. By using her powers, she senses that Ganache is thinking about Vanilla, and asks if he would be willing to solve the mystery of Valencia Beach with her. The disheartened warlock is hesitant at first, but is shocked when his friend has a premonition of all the students disappearing at camp.

Olive returns to the Magic Bus with Ganache in tow, then Balsamico drives off to Valencia Beach with all 16 students on board.

Epilogue
"A rumor had spread amongst those possessed by Enigmas that Ganache had become a vessel for Kerendu. From the shadows, his followers grew, slowly plotting their aggressions towards the Kovomaka Monarchy. And yet, neither them nor his other classmates, in the face of his rising numbers, believed his magic to truly be gone.

In just under a year, Ganache would find himself leading the country’s many magicians who shared his burden. Not a soul dared to challenge them with opposers to his movement quickly dwindling, as did the need for battle.

In custody, the word had even reached his sister. Before long, with the help of a group known as the Biscotti Sect leading the charge towards rebellion, Ganache alone would head to where his sister was interned.

On the day they finally reunited, Vanilla went in prepared for the worst. Instead, what appeared before her was not a beast of darkness, but a young man there of his own volition, without a single droplet of magic to claim.

His words were sparse, 'I may have lost everything, but I have grown to accept that.' Upon hearing these words, Vanilla’s eyes overflowed with tears. With her binds undone, she too would unite with the Biscotti Sect, and in time, her need for magic would come to a close. Thus, Kovomaka ushered in an era of peace that would last for over two centuries."

Magical Starsign
Ganache appears in Magical Starsign as a supporting character, this time going by Carbon (魔法使い・ブラック, Mahōtsukai Burakku, Sorcerer Black). The party first encounters him on the planet Shadra, where he and many others have taken refuge in the Chocomilk Caves. According to some of the wounded refugees, Kale tried feeding them to Shadra in its larva state, but most of them managed to escape with their lives. Carbon brought them all to Chocomilk Caves to hide from Kale, who deployed Enigmas, pirates, and Space Police to capture those in hiding.

At one point, the refugees were trapped in Chromagar Cave until Miss Madeleine sacrificed herself to free them, and she remains stuck there with high exposure to gummy fumes. If Miss Madeleine is crystalized by the fumes, Shadra will absorb her magic and use it as energy for maturation. Carbon then informs the students about Kale's plan to free Shadra from the Dark Planet, as Craaken's book tells of it devouring the sun and giving birth to another.

Before the students leave to find their teacher, a horde of Enigmas lead by an Equillekrew storm into the cave. Sorbet demands that her friends leave it be, and how their top priority is finding Miss Madeleine, but they are stopped when a circle of Space Police fly in. Luckily, the fleet is commanded by General Knucklestorm, who joins Carbon in the fight against the Enigmas.

It should be noted that Carbon being Ganache is entirely speculation, but they are considered to be one in the same due to their uncanny resemblance. A boy named Diecast in the Chocomilk Caves makes a direct reference to Ganache and Vanilla, citing them among many others as legendary wizards from Kovomaka. Since Ganache is mentioned by name, Carbon may be his own person or a descendant of the Nighthawk lineage. As of now, any possible relations are unknown.

Quotes
"We better not get close to it. This place is dangerous... [...] Darkness... Endless darkness..."

- Ganache to Olive by the cave at Valencia Beach

"Candy, when was your birthday again? [...] I'll prepare a present for you too."

- Ganache after receiving a belated birthday gift from Candy

"Miss Madeleine... Just wait... I'll bring back everyone..."

- Ganache as he is taken away by Enigmas

"If [the Enigmas] were able to fuse on the spot, I'm sure they would have done so at the beach. They brought us all [to the Light Realm] and are waiting for us to wear ourselves out... I don't think they can fuse with us unless we decide to."

- Ganache in Oturan Village, revealing the Enigmas' conspiracy

Trivia

 * Ganache is a blend of chocolate and cream used for pastry filling, icing, or glaze.
 * It can be argued that the "chocolate and cream" origins of Ganache's name doubles as a Yin-Yang analogy, in reference to his moral ambiguity.
 * His favorite food is tempura.

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