List of characters in Tales of Symphonia
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This article lists the characters in Tales of Symphonia, a video game released on the Nintendo GameCube and Playstation 2 console systems. Throughout game's story, several characters strive to save the intertwined worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. One world is home to half of the party, while the other world is home to the remaining half.
There are many non-player characters who supply a small role in the video game. Some of these characters are beneficial to the party, while others openly oppose them. The major antagonists include members of such organizations as Cruxis and the Desians. The Renegades are also considered antagonists for part of the game.
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[edit] Playable Characters
[edit] Lloyd Irving
(ロイド・アーヴィング "Roido Āvingu" / Japanese voice actor: Katsuyuki Konishi English voice actor: Scott Menville (Tales of Symphonia) and Brian Beacock (all other appearances))
Age: 17
Height: 173 cm / 5 feet, 8 inches
Weight: 58 kg / 127 pounds, 10 ounces
Lloyd is the game's main hero. Orphaned as a child, he was adopted and raised by a dwarf, Dirk, just outside the village of Iselia. He is friends with Colette Brunel and Genis Sage, of whom he is very protective. He accompanies Colette as one of her guardians on her Journey of Regeneration. While Lloyd is a bad student with a tendency to goof off, he is serious about protecting his friends and defending his ideals. He also has acute knowledge of Exspheres, a talent that comes in handy quite often over the course of the journey. Thanks to Dirk, his adopted father, he is a skilled craftsman. The player is able to control Lloyd for most of the game. He uses two single-edged swords, on the theory that having two swords doubles one's power, and is one of only two characters to possess no magical attacks.
Lloyd experiences the most character development of any party member: at first an irresponsible and brash young man, he slowly transforms into a gentle idealist who wishes for peace in the world. As Kratos observes, he displays many of the characteristics of the game's antagonist Mithos, who was once a the great Hero of the Ancient Kharlan War. Despite their many similarities, Lloyd wants to save the world without sacrificing any lives; Mithos is willing to sacrifice any number of people to achieve his "Age of Lifeless Beings." Kratos also claims that Lloyd is capable of admitting and correcting his mistakes, something Mithos could never do. Lloyd possesses a very strong heart, and adheres unwaveringly to his morals of racial equality and altruism.
Lloyd is a playable character in the Wii game Soulcalibur Legends. He will be returning in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, the sequel to the first game. In an early trailer for the game, he is depicted in an antagonistic light; whether this means that Lloyd is a major antagonist, or a temporary enemy, is uncertain.
[edit] Colette Brunel
(コレット・ブルーネル "Koretto Burūneru" / voice actress: Nana Mizuki /English voice actress: Heather Hogan (Tales of Symphonia).
In the Japanese version she is known as Collet Brunel
Age: 16
Height: 158 cm / 5 feet, 2 inches
Weight: 44 kg / 96 pounds, 13 ounces
The Chosen One of Sylvarant, Colette is a kind, selfless girl. Throughout the game, Colette is shown to be quite clumsy, as her repetitive tripping causes the most unusual (and usually beneficial) things to happen, from making a hole in the wall at school to devastating complex machinery. As she is Sylvarant's only hope for regeneration, her early life was somewhat sheltered in order to protect her. She is rather clueless, as she often misses things that are obvious to everyone else. However, she is a very kind person who is able to "smile and forgive" (as Presea puts it) almost anything. Colette has a tendency to hide her problems from others, such as her affliction with Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium, a disease that causes the crystallization of the body. This often annoys Lloyd since he wants to help her, but Colette hates making others worry for any reason. It is strongly implied that she has romantic feelings for Lloyd, but she prefers not to say so, instead, staying by his side, letting her behavior speak for itself. Colette is primarily a ranged fighter and defends herself using two chakram; later in the game, she can learn powerful angel magic.
Colette is a very mature young woman. She was brought up with the knowledge that she would need to die to save the world, and has gained from that a truly selfless nature. However, she later recognizes that she made a mistake in her willingness to sacrifice herself, believing in Lloyd's ideal that no life should be born for the sole purpose of dying. As such, her greatest wish at the end of the game is to ensure that no one else makes the same mistake she did. She tends to try and befriend new people that she meets, such as Sheena (who trying to assassinate her at the time) and Regal (who was trying to kidnap her).
[edit] Genis Sage
(ジーニアス・セイジ "Jīniasu Seiji" / Japanese voice actor: Ai Orikasa / English voice actor: Colleen O'Shaughnessey)
- In the Japanese version he is known as Genius Sage
Age: 12
Height: 141 cm / 4 feet, 8 inches
Weight: 29 kg / 63 pounds, 13 ounces
Genis is a child prodigy from Iselia. He is Lloyd's best friend, and the younger brother of Iselia's school-teacher Raine. Because of his actions, he and Lloyd are exiled from Iselia, and the two join Colette's Journey of Regeneration. Genis is a magic-user, and fights with powerful elemental spells, as well as using a kendama for limited physical attacks.
The Sages are both half-elven, but they pass themselves off as full-blooded elves to avoid discrimination. After experiencing racial discrimination in Tethe'alla, Genis starts to express a hatred for humans, but remembers that his friends are themselves human. Late in the game, when the party meets Mithos, Genis is excited to finally have another half-elven friend, and he becomes torn between being Mithos' friend and Lloyd's. Even after it is revealed that Mithos is indeed Yggdrasill, the main antagonist, he still offers Mithos friendship, eventually honoring his friend's final wish to die. He also holds a crush on Presea Combatir: he tries to hide it for a little while, but his feelings for her soon become apparent to the party. Though he is often portrayed as a coward and thinks of himself as such, he is actually a very strong boy. Like his sister, he is very intelligent, but unlike Raine, is a superb cook whose skills are only rivaled by Regal's.
[edit] Kratos Aurion
(クラトス・アウリオン "Kuratosu Aurion" / Japanese voice actor: Fumihiko Tachiki / English voice actor: Cam Clarke)
Age: 28 (real age: over 4000)
Height: 186 cm / 6 feet, 1 inch
Weight: 78 kg / 171 pounds, 10 ounces
Kratos is a mysterious mercenary who is hired to accompany Colette on her journey. Though he accompanies the party for quite some time, it is later revealed that Kratos is a high-ranking angel, one of Mithos Yggdrasill's from the Ancient Kharlan War, and a spy for Cruxis who was sent to ensure that Colette completed her task. He betrays the party in the Tower of Salvation, but his true motives remain unclear until much later, when it is revealed that he is actually Lloyd's father and has been searching for a way for a human to wield the Eternal Sword and fix what Mithos had done to the world. He was forced to kill Anna, his lover and Lloyd's mother, when she was turned into a monster by an uncontrolled Exphere.
Despite his long life and many years of experience, Kratos is, up until the end of the game, a fatalist, taking a long time to come to the realization that he does not have to cling to Mithos' ideals. Depending upon choices the player makes, he may or may not rejoin the party at an extremely late point in the game. He hates himself to a good extent, and constantly tells Lloyd not to die, probably because he never truly got to be a father to Lloyd. Kratos is a powerful melee fighter and an excellent spell caster. He wields a double-edged blade and shield, and is proficient with elemental, curative, and angelic magic.
[edit] Raine Sage
(リフィル・セイジ "Rifiru Seiji" / Japanese voice actor: Yumi Touma / English voice actor: Kari Wahlgren (Tales of Symphonia) and Tara Platt) (Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology))
- In the Japanese version she is known as Refill Sage
Age: 23
Height: 166 cm / 5 feet, 5 inches
Weight: 49 kg / 108 pounds, 13 ounces
Raine is Genis' older sister and Iselia's schoolteacher. Raine is a cool, pragmatic thinker: for much of the first half of the game, she is the only character who thinks about the long-term consequences of the party's actions. She is overly fascinated with ruins of any kind, mainly because of her distant memories of being abandoned at the Otherwordly Gate. She raised Genis from childhood all by herself, and doesn't hesitate to employ corporal punishment to discipline him or Lloyd. Raine is a classic staff-wielding healer, and is also gifted with light-element offensive spells and stat augmentations. Despite this role, she is far from the stereotypical RPG healer in terms of personality.
Though she and Genis both claim to be elves, it is revealed later that they are in fact half-elves, and that they came from the parallel world of Tethe'alla. They were sent to Sylvarant by their parents to escape Tethe'alla's highly discriminatory laws and to keep the child prodigy Raine from being manipulated by the Imperial Research Academy. While on the run from the Academy, Raine fell off of a boat and nearly drowned, leading to a severe case of hydrophobia. Eventually, Virginia, Raine and Genis' mother, sent them both through the Otherworldly Gate so that they could escape. The reason Raine and Genis were able to live in Iselia was because Raine told the villagers they were elves; she had Genis hide his true nature as well. Raine is the complete opposite of Genis in cooking, and tends to make rather repulsive food. She takes comments about her cooking straight to heart and usually loses her temper.
[edit] Sheena Fujibayashi
(藤林しいな Fujibayashi Shiina) / Japanese voice actress: Akemi Okamura / English voice actress: Jennifer Hale)
- In the Japanese version her name is romanized as Shihna Fujibayashi
Sheena Fujibayashi
Age: 19
Height: 164 cm / 5 feet, 5 inches
Weight: 48 kg / 106 pounds, 10 ounces
Sheena is a beautiful woman from the flourishing world of Tethe'alla. She was originally sent to Sylvarant by Tethe'alla's Pope and King with orders to assassinate Colette, but events cause her to join forces with the party instead. Sheena is tough but kindhearted, and is always accompanied by Corrine, a man-made Summon Spirit. Sheena is a very strong-willed person. Owing in part to her upbringing as a ninja, she acts tomboyish much of the time, but she does possess a sweet side that becomes apparent as the plot advances. She has very little confidence in her ability to make important decisions. She dislikes having to be rescued, preferring to rely on her tough facade instead to save face. Like Lloyd and Colette, she is a strong believer in altruism. She is willing to bend the rules imposed on her, such as the Pope's orders to kill the Chosen, in order to do what is right. Despite the anger that some of Mizuho bears towards her, she understands that mistakes can be corrected, and absolutely refuses to give up on someone—even her greatest enemy.
At the age of seven, Sheena ventured to the Temple of Lightning with the people of Mizuho in order to form a pact with Volt, the Summon Spirit of Lightning. Unfortunately, Volt speaks a language that only certain scholars can comprehend, and she was unable to understand what he was saying (specifically, his unwillingness to form another pact after being betrayed by his last summoner). Volt went on a rampage, killing a quarter of Mizuho's population and putting the chief of Mizuho (Sheena's adoptive grandfather) into a coma. Sheena feels very responsible for this event: it causes her great internal turmoil for the first half of the game. In some ways, Sheena is a stereotypical teenager, switching between refusing to admit her feelings and trying hard to do so. Although she develops a crush on Lloyd, Sheena is too insecure to act upon her feelings; whether or not she ultimately reveals how she feels is based on the player's actions. She has a constant irritation with Zelos (who loves to flirt with her), and there are mentions of past conflicts between them (specifically Zelos trying to peep on her while she was in the shower), but underneath the two of them appear to get along. Sheena is a fair melee fighter, and fights using magic-infused cards. Sheena is a vital member of the game: she can call upon powerful Summon Spirits to aid the party in battle. By summoning the spirit Shadow, she is the only member of the party able to use Dark attacks.
[edit] Zelos Wilder
(ゼロス・ワイルダー "Zerosu Wairudā" Japanese voice actor: Masaya Onosaka / English voice actor: Shiloh Strong)
Age: 22
Height: 179 cm / 5 feet, 10 inches
Weight: 68 kg / 149 pounds, 10 ounces
Zelos is the Chosen One from Tethe'alla, the flourishing world. He is often the comic relief of the group, dropping tactless comments at the most inopportune moment. He is also quite the "ladies' man," approaching most situations hoping to meet or impress any pretty girls nearby, and (under certain conditions) can charm gifts out of nearly every female NPC in the game. He takes every opportunity to hit on his female team members, much to their annoyance. In combat he functions almost identically to Kratos, using the same weapons and armor as well as the same tech roster, although he is lighter and faster in battle.
Growing up in Meltokio's upper-class society, Zelos became highly popular due to his title, status and looks—earning praise and adoration for what he was rather than who he was. It seems that neither of his parents much cared for him; they were forced to breed to continue the bloodline of the Chosen. Zelos witnessed his mother's accidental murder at a young age, when a magic attack meant for him hit her. As she fell dying, she grabbed Zelos by the shoulder and said: "You should never have been born." Despite the superficial personality Zelos developed to deal with the challenges of his life, he is actually perceptive, intelligent, and surprisingly sensitive; at times he shows that he's not as vapid or careless as he seems, though most characters don't notice it, or make a big deal of it if they do.
Later in the game, Zelos has been revealed to be leaking information to the Renegades and Cruxis and originally planned to betray Lloyd the whole time but grows to believe in Lloyd's ideal. If the player choses to talk to Kratos at Flanoir, Zelos will betray the party and will die. In a pivotal moment, Zelos betrays the party and allows Cruxis to capture Colette. Depending on the player's choices towards Zelos up until this point, he may either turn out to be a double agent, having engineered the entire encounter to allow Lloyd's party a chance to attack Mithos, or may have to be slain if Lloyd's party is to proceed, in which case, Kratos Aurion rejoins the party in his stead. Zelos is slated to appear as a playable character in the game's sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, establishing his survival as canonical. He also survives in the manga.
[edit] Presea Combatir
(プレセア・コンバティール "Puresea Konbatīru" / Japanese voice actress: Houko Kuwashima/ English voice actress: Tara Strong)
Age: 12 physically; 28 chronologically
Height: 138 cm / 4 feet, 6 inches
Weight: 24 kg / 53 pounds
Presea is a twelve-year old lumberjack from the small town of Ozette, in Tethe'alla. When the party first meets her, she is the victim of an Exsphere with a Key Crest made of an unknown substance other than Inhibiter Ore; this is part of an attempt to use her as a host body in creating a Cruxis Crystal. She agreed to take part in this experiment as her sister Alicia had left for Altamira, and their father, Sieg, had become too ill to continue work as a lumberjack: Presea wanted the Exsphere to enable herself to be strong enough to use his axe in his place. The Exsphere, as usual, increased her strength, but because it was not controlled by a Key Crest, it suppressed her emotions, causing her to behave robotically. When she is finally given a working Key Crest, it is revealed that the Exsphere also slowed her aging process. The rest of Ozette's villagers shun her and call her a monster for being seemingly unable to age, wielding a massive axe with the body of a twelve year-old, and for not burying her father, who had succumbed to an illness long before without her noticing. Presea wields an axe in battle, and, though slower than other characters, is quite powerful.
Because her emotions were suppressed for so many years, Presea has forgotten much about the ordinary world, and what it means to be human. Over time, she re-learns much of what she has forgotten, although, as she says, she will never get back the time she lost while under the Exsphere's control. She seems to quickly regain the ability to feel base emotions, such as hatred and a desire for revenge, though she eventually learns forgiveness as well. Presea seems to take everything quite literally. It is eventually revealed that Presea has noticed Genis' feelings for her, but it is clear that she only thinks of Genis as a friend. She has a knack for whittling, and has made figurines and brooches popular in the capitol city of Meltokio.
[edit] Regal Bryant
(リーガル・ブライアン "Rīgaru Buraian" / Japanese voice actor: Akio Ôtsuka/ English voice actor: Crispin Freeman):
In the Japanese version his name is romanized as Regal Bryan
Age: 33
Height: 189 cm / 6 feet, 2 inches
Weight: 85 kg / 187 pounds
A convict sent by the Pope of Tethe'alla to capture Colette, Regal joins the party after he recognizes Presea. He is a kind and noble soul, and a very talented cook (unusual, given that he doesn't use his bound hands for much else). He is very content with being alone, although he does enjoy company and conversation, especially with Lloyd. Lloyd idolizes Regal: he claims that he hopes to grow up and be a "cool adult" like him. He is a strong fighter, supplementing his melee capabilities with a small amount of healing (chi) magic. He fights exclusively with his feet, and uses greaves to enhance the power of his kicks. Before he donned his trademark shackles, Regal mainly fought using his hands; he claims that his strength and mastery of this previous style far surpassed those of the techniques he uses now.
It is revealed that Regal is actually the president of the Lezareno Company, a major corporation which is quite influential in Tethe'alla. He and Alicia Combatir, Presea's sister, were in love, but like Anna, Alicia became a victim of Exsphere research, culminating in her transformation into a monster. At Alicia's own request, Regal ended her suffering, but could never forgive himself for his crime and he turned himself into the authorities. Regal always wears handcuffs to symbolize his sins and to prevent himself from using his hands to kill again. During the course of the game, Regal tells Alicia's spirit that he will remove his shackles when he has avenged her death; according to a recent trailer for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, he has followed through on his promise.
[edit] Supporting characters
- Noishe, a strange "dog" that was found by Dirk with Lloyd when he was a baby. He travels with the party, serving as a steed, a watchman, and a guardian. He also travelled with Mithos, Kratos, Yuan, and Martel on the journey to end the Ancient Kharlan War, 4000 years before the game begins. It is revealed late in the game that Noishe is in fact a protozoan, a mystical creature that evolves in stages. Noishe has a distinct fear of monsters and often runs away whenever he senses one. It is later learned that Noishe developed this phobia after protecting an infant Lloyd from Anna, who transformed into a monster when her Exsphere was removed.
- Dirk, a dwarf and Lloyd's adopted father. Dirk found the infant Lloyd and his mother, Anna, in the Iselia Forest. Anna, on the verge of death, asked Dirk to raise her son as his own; Dirk accepted. As Lloyd grew older, Dirk began teaching him Dwarven crafting techniques. Dirk speaks in a rather straightforward manner and does not pretend to know things he can't do. He is one of only two dwarves appearing in the game. He cares for Lloyd as his own son.
- Marble, an old woman that Genis befriends. She originally lived in Palmacosta before Desians captured her and transferred her to Iselia's Human Ranch. Genis brings her food, and Lloyd offers to give her a Key Crest in order to save her from her Exsphere. However, when the two are visiting her, security systems detect them, and their intrusion causes the Desians to attack Iselia. Marble is turned into a mutant, and Genis and Lloyd are forced to fight her, unaware that the mutant is in fact Marble until after they defeat her. She seizes Forcystus before he can attack them, and sacrifices herself in an attempt to stop the Desian Grand Cardinal.
- Chocolat, Marble's granddaughter. She helps Cacao, her mother, run the shop that Marble founded in Palmacosta (in addition, Chocolat helps run the local tour groups), and defies Desians who attempt to buy her goods cheaply. As a result, Cacao is ordered to be executed, but Lloyd's group saves her. Chocolat is later captured, and Lloyd attempts to rescue her. However, when she learns that Lloyd was responsible for Marble's death, she shuns them and is recaptured. When she is taken to the Iselia Human Ranch, she learns what Lloyd truly did for her grandmother, and forgives him.
- Altessa the dwarf, a former member of Cruxis whom Rodyle forced to experiment on Alicia and Presea. Because of his guilt, he is initially unwilling to help the party save Presea from her Exsphere, but when Ozette is destroyed (presumably because he lived nearby), he tells the party about what Cruxis is doing. He later helps them find a cure for Colette's Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium. When Mithos reveals that he is Yggdrasill, the leader of Cruxis, Altessa jumps in front of Presea to protect her from Mithos' attack. He is seriously injured. The group flies to Flanoir to get a doctor for him; he recovers by the game's ending. In an optional scene, he is also the one to reveal the source of Kratos' magical ability.
- Tabatha, a robot-like figure whose origins are unknown. She is thought to be a lifeless being by Lloyd's group, due to the way she talks and acts. Altessa, however, says that he made her and that she is nothing more than a doll. Later in the game, she repeats the words "MITHOS SAVED ME". This may be evidence of a malfunction, as is her giving an introductory phrase when spoken to after Mithos leaves. Mithos describes her as a failed vessel who could not accept Martel's consciousness; however, at the end of the game, she succeeds at becoming the vessel for Martel, the resurrected Spirit of Mana.
- Orochi, a ninja from Mizuho. He helps Lloyd's group infiltrate the Tethe'alla base. Brother to Kuchinawa, their parents were killed when Sheena failed to form a pact with Volt. It is interesting to note that, in the village of Mizuho, the citizens' names are all cover-ups for their real names. It is said in-game that "Orochi" and "Kuchinawa" mean "snake". In Japanese mythology, the Orochi is a great serpent. The word "Kuchinawa" can also refer to a snake.
- Neil, an assistant to Governor-General Dorr. He informs Lloyd of the Governor-General's corruption, and governs Palmacosta after Dorr dies. Although he was presumably killed when the root of the Giant Tree destroyed Palmacosta, his true fate is unknown.
- Seles ( Japanese voice actor: (Hiromi Konno) / English voice actor: Debi Derryberry), Zelos' half-sister. Her mother, a half-elf, had been married to Zelos' father, and was angry when he was forced to marry Zelos's mother, Mylene, as dictated by Cruxis. She attempted to kill Zelos so that Seles would become the next Chosen, but accidentally killed Mylene instead and was executed for her crime. Seles was imprisoned in the Southeast Abbey. When they meet, Seles and Zelos pretend to not care for the other, though deep down each is truly concerned with the other's welfare. They apparently were very close as children, and were often seen playing together. Seles is also quite prone to sickness. Surprisingly, she is a fairly skilled with both a sword and ice magic.
- Kate, a half-elf who is actually the Pope's daughter. She helps Lloyd, Zelos, Colette and Presea escape the basement laboratory in Sybak (where she and other half-elves are forced to work) so that they can rescue Genis and Raine from being executed. She also gives them advice on how to save Presea from her Cruxis Crystal. She is arrested for helping them and sentenced to die in the arena. However, the party saves her. Despite what he has done to her, she craves her father's approval and attention.
- Yuan (ユアン "Yuan" / Japanese voice actor: Toshiyuki Morikawa/English voice actor: Chris Edgerly): Yuan is a half-elf double agent—the leader of the Renegades, an organization opposing Cruxis—and one of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis. He pretends to be loyal to Mithos so he can learn Cruxis's plans and thwart them. When he is busy working for Mithos, Yuan leaves the control of the Renegades to Botta, his lieutenant. 4,000 years before the game begins, Yuan journeyed with Mithos and his companions in the past to end the Kharlan War and was engaged to Martel before she was killed. She asked Mithos and Yuan to make the world a better place and to stop the half-elf discrimination before she died. Mithos tried to do this, but not in the way Martel had intended. Yuan knew that Martel didn't want her wish to be fulfilled in the way Mithos interpreted and thus tries to stop him. Later on, he helps the Chosen's group defeat Mithos, and is thus something of an anti-hero. Yuan is resilient in his views and calculative. He firmly decides to subvert Mithos unlike Kratos, but also decides to covertly do it in order to keep close to Mithos. Lloyd and Yuan are shown in contrast to each other, despite their similar goals, with their methods being the focal point. Yuan's methods tend to be more cut-throat, and he is willing to sacrifice and harm others if necessary, while Lloyd consistently goes out of his way to find solutions that don't harm his friends or any innocents.
- Botta (ボータ "Bōta" / Japanese voice actor Takaya Kuroda / English voice actor: Robin Atkin Downes /): Botta was Yuan's lieutenant. He leads the Renegades to the Martel Temple (near Iselia) to kill Colette to prevent her from becoming Martel's vessel. He fights Lloyd's group twice, once in the Sylvarant Base and once in the Tethe'alla Base. He wields a heavy, curved sword that can perform Earth-based special attacks. He accompanies the group to the Remote Island Human Ranch, where he sacrifices himself in order to allow Lloyd's group to escape.
[edit] Villains
[edit] Mithos Yggdrasill
(ミトス・ユグドラシル "Mitosu Yugudorashiru" / Japanese voice actors: Minami Takayama (Mithos form) /Hideyuki Tanaka (Yggdrasill form) / English voice actors: Brianne Siddall (Mithos form) / James Arnold Taylor (Yggdrasill form): Mithos Yggdrasill acts as both the main villain of the game and a primary hero in its story. He is first mentioned as Mithos the Hero, a legendary man who lived four thousand years before the beginning of the game. According to the legend, Mithos and his three companions stopped the Ancient Kharlan War and restored peace to the world. Mithos's full name is not revealed until extremely late in the game, along with the identities of his companions: Kratos Aurion, Mithos's sister Martel, and Yuan. These companions would later be referred to as the Four Seraphim, the leaders of Cruxis; the three surviving members are over 4,000 years old. It is later revealed that, during the War, the companions went through many great hardships due to rampant discrimination against half-elves, fueled by both humans and elves. Because of this discrimination, Mithos and Martel were shunned from their home of Heimdall and were forced to live on their own. During this time, Mithos was trained as a swordsman and a mage by Kratos. He would eventually go on to become the great hero of legend by single-handedly making pacts with each of the Summon Spirits. Mithos then had Origin create the near-omnipotent Eternal Sword, which he used to split the world in two (thereby creating the parallel worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant) in order to prevent more magitechnology from being created. The Ancient Kharlan War had been caused by magitechnology, which consumes vast amounts of mana; by splitting the world in two and controlling each half's access to mana, Mithos effectively stopped the creation of magitechnology and a second cataclysmic global war. Unfortunately, his beloved sister was slain during the conflict.
Mithos had strong ideals about peace and unity, but his sister's death deepened his hatred for humanity, and he began to obsess over her loss. He took her final words, a wish for a world free of all discrimination, to heart, but misinterpreted them as a wish to end the persecution of only half-elves. Mithos' ideals then became twisted: he became obsessed with resurrecting his sister and with ushering in a new "Age of Lifeless Beings" by using Exspheres to make everyone the same. Part of the pact with Origin was a promise that he would restore the Great Seed to the world so that it could grow again; this would restore mana to the land. Instead, Mithos took it to Derris-Kharlan in order to revive and protect his dead sister, thereby breaking his pact with the Summon Spirits.
Despite the fact that he truly means well and believes that he is saving the world, Mithos creates enemies everywhere: even his former companions, Kratos and Yuan, turn against him. At a very late point in the game, in the Hall of the Great Seed, Mithos finally manages to revive Martel by channeling her consciousness through Colette. Contrary to Mithos' expectations, the awakened Martel expresses deep regret and disappointment at what her brother has done. She begs him to stop creating his Age of Lifeless Beings, saying that what he has been doing "is wrong." Mithos sees this as the ultimate betrayal; it drives him to a state of total denial. Outraged, he attacks the party and loses, his body vanishing into his Cruxis Crystal. His spirit later escapes the Crystal and flees to Derris-Kharlan, which he tries to separate from the worlds; he is pursued by the party. Mithos' spirit (within the Crystal) reaches out to each of the party members in a desperate attempt to get them to join him. One by one, the party rejects him, pledging to risk everything in order to stop him. When Mithos is finally defeated and killed in the throne room of his fortress of Vinheim Castle, he tells the party that, despite all, he feels no regret for the choices he made, and, if given the chance, he would do everything all over again in order to save his sister. He then orders Lloyd to destroy his crystal before he has that chance. Lloyd does.
In the first game in the Tales series, Tales of Phantasia, there is a giant tree, known as Yggdrasill, that provides infinite mana. At the end of Phantasia's prequel, Tales of Symphonia, Lloyd is prompted to name the reborn Giant Kharlan Tree, but that name is never revealed. It is widely believed amongst fans (as well as being implied by consistency with Norse mythology) that Lloyd names it Yggdrasill, in honor of Mithos.
[edit] Remiel
(レミエル "Remieru" / Japanese voice actor Tetsuo Takaguchi / English voice actor: Wally Wingert):
Remiel is an angel of Cruxis. He guides Colette on the Journey of Regeneration, and calls Colette his "daughter", causing the party to believe that he is Colette's true father. However, he later reveals that this is untrue, and that he only called her that to gain the party's trust. He had hoped to use Colette for the Cruxis Crystal and become one of the Four Seraphim. After being defeated by Lloyd's group, Remiel begs for Kratos' help. Kratos refuses, mocking Remiel and the rest of Cruxis for their views on life, and Remiel dies.
[edit] Pronyma
(プロネーマ "Puronēma" / Japanese voice actor Yuki Makishima: / English voice actor: Masasa Moyo): Pronyma is the leader of the five Desian Grand Cardinals. She works for Yggdrasill and is usually seen with him. One of his more devoted servants, Pronyma is frequently seen carrying out his orders. She encounters Lloyd's group several times during the game. The fake Kilia, posing as Dorr's daughter, was working under Pronyma's orders. Kvar believes that she is stealing data from the Angelus Project, but this, in fact, turns out to be Rodyle. Pronyma is the only Desian Grand Cardinal not to have her own Human Ranch. She has many spells at her disposal. After losing to Lloyd's group, Pronyma begs for Yggdrasill's aid, addressing him by his true name, Mithos. He kills her, stating that only his former companions may call him by that name; Lloyd and the others are shocked by his cruelty.
[edit] Forcystus
(フォシテス "Foshitesu" Japanese voice actor Takahiro Yoshimizu / English voice actor: Andre Sogliuzzo): Forcystus is the first Desian Grand Cardinal that Lloyd encounters, as he controls the Iselia Human Ranch. He brought charges against Lloyd for violating the non-aggression treaty near the beginning of the game and subsequently had Iselia razed. Despite his willingness to form non-aggression treaties with humans, Forcystus was known as a hero among the Desians and other half-elves for killing every member of a group of humans who were leading a massacre of half-elves. One of his arms is a strange golden metal capsule; it appears to be some form of energy cannon that he uses in battle, along with his powerful wind magic. At the end of Disc 1, an enraged Lloyd kills Forcystus after he attacks Colette, who was protecting Chocolat at the time.
[edit] Magnius
(マグニス "Magunisu" / Japanese voice actor: Shinji Kadawa /English voice actor: Chris Edgerly): Magnius is the Desian Grand Cardinal in charge of the Palmacosta Human Ranch. He used Governor General Dorr to collect Gald for the Desians, manipulating him into believing that, should he follow the Grand Cardinal's orders, he would be able to save his wife, Clara, who had been turned into a monster by Magnius via an unleashed Exsphere. Magnius is a pyromancer and wields a huge axe, making his melee techniques quite powerful. Magnius is defeated and killed by Lloyd's group. After they escape the Ranch, it is revealed that Magnius was being used by Rodyle for the purpose of furthering his plans for the construction of Thor's Hammer, alternatively known as the Mana Cannon, by having him collect Gald and attempt to eliminate the Chosen. Rodyle taunts Magnius one final time before the Pyroclasm dies. Magnius frequently refers to humans as 'vermin' instead of the usual 'inferior beings', making it something of a catchphrase.
[edit] Kvar
(クヴァル "Kuvaru" / Japanese voice actor: Shigeru Ushiyama / English voice actor: Chris Edgerly):
Kvar is the Desian Grand Cardinal in charge of the Asgard Human Ranch. He controls the element of lightning and is often considered the cruelest of the Grand Cardinals, even by his own subordinates. Kvar is a highly skilled wizard who employs small robots to distract his opponents, while he blasts them with spells at a safe distance. He also pioneered the Angelus Project, which Anna (Lloyd's mother) was involved in. The Exsphere that she was used to grow was picked up by Dirk and later used by Lloyd. It is revealed in the game that Kvar was directly responsible for Anna's death, as he unleashed Anna's Exsphere, which led Kratos being forced to kill her. Kvar and Rodyle were working together to build the Mana Cannon. However, after Kvar's death, Rodyle spends no time mourning for him and just helps himself to the Angelus Project research. Oddly, Kvar does not directly address Kratos until Lloyd's party defeats him, when he calls Kratos a 'pathetic, inferior being'. Kratos, full of wrath, stabs Kvar several times, thus avenging Anna's death.
[edit] Rodyle
(ロディル "Rodiru" / Japanede voice actor: Takeshi Aono / English voice actor: Daran Norris): Rodyle is the Desian Grand Cardinal in charge of the Remote Island Human Ranch. He controls the element of earth and manipulates Magnius and Kvar to get Gald and slaves to help him with his Mana Cannon project, as well as secretly stealing Angelus Project research from Kvar. An ambitious man, Rodyle merely pretends to work for Yggdrasill while actually plotting to overthrow him after destroying the Tower of Salvation. He works with the Pope of Tethe'alla and Vharley the Exsphere broker in the hopes that performing the Angelus Project over there will produce a Cruxis Crystal strong enough to power the Mana Cannon. Rodyle deceives Presea for a long time by using the Cruxis Crystal on her. He is also (indirectly) responsible for the death of Presea's sister, Alicia. Rodyle dies after using a flawed Cruxis Crystal on himself in an attempt to kill Lloyd's group. The player does not fight Rodyle in his normal, true form; instead, he turns himself into a monstrous entity using a Cruxis Crystal.
[edit] Abyssion
(English voice actor: Fred Tatasciore)
Abyssion is a hidden villain who can be found in Flanoir once either Soul Eater or Evil Eye (both Devil's Arms) is obtained. If the player speaks to him, he will tell them about the Devil's Arms, nine cursed weapons, and give the player the Nebilim Blade (one of the Devil's Arms) and the key to a series of black chests. Each chest contains one of the nine weapons. When eight of the nine Devil's Arms are located, he tells the player that he will wait in the Temple Of Darkness, where he will seal the nine away. Upon finding the final one, the player may speak to him there and hand over the weapons, only to discover that he is intent on reviving the evil swordsman Nebilim. He then uses the Necronomicon to summon the spirit of the dark swordsman, who possesses Abyssion's body and attacks the party. After the fight, the soul of Nebilim attempts to possess Presea, but Colette saves her. Abyssion is often considered one of the strongest foes in the game, even harder to defeat than Mithos, due to the fact that he can cast many of the game's strongest magical spells with very little casting time required and has almost twice as much HP as Mithos' final form. He can also execute many physical techniques taken from most of the playable characters, since he wields every weapon type. This battle has been known to last as long as a half-hour provided that the party is not over-leveled at the point of this battle. He is immune to All-Divides in the PS2 version of the game.
[edit] Niflheim
Niflheim (also known as the "Forbidden Anamnesis", according to the game's Monster List) is a cursed world full of perilous dangers. Located in a book inside of the Sybak library, its intent is to destroy and replace the world. The party ventures into Niflheim in order to stop it from succeeding. Once inside, the party realizes that, if their mana (which is called "Soulfire") completely depletes while in the underworld, they will die, and the book will consume the world. The book is a harsh foe; it demands a sacrifice at every one of its fifteen levels. If the player refuses to give something up, their soulfire depletes with no way to restore it. On the final floor, the party encounters and defeats the Living Armor, the ruler of Niflheim. When the monster is destroyed, the party burns the book with their Soulfire (although the player can choose not to burn the book if they wish to replay the dungeon). In the PS2 version, the player confronts past versions of Kratos, Yuan, and Mithos, who left their past selves in the book as a way to prevent it from destroying the world. Upon the book's defeat, they beg Lloyd to finish regenerating the world. Lloyd then burns the book.
The name comes from Niflheim of Norse mythology.
[edit] Other Characters
[edit] Martel
(マーテル "Māteru" / English voice actor: Kim Mai Guest) Martel is Mithos's sister and the apparent deity worshiped by the Church of Martel—a monotheistic religion, with aspects derived from the real-life Roman Catholic Church. The Church is nearly identical in both the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, save for the hierarchical system present in Tethe'alla (which has a Pope as its spiritual leader).
As in the case of Raine and Genis, Martel took on the role of raising her younger brother, so when Martel was killed, Mithos was absolutely devastated. He decided to bring her back from the dead, no matter the cost. Near the end of the game, Mithos succeeds in doing so, but Martel admonishes him for causing countless people to suffer for four thousand years in the name of her resurrection. She then returns to the Cruxis Crystal that links her soul to the seed of the Giant Kharlan Tree. When the Tree is resurrected at the end of the game, Martel and Mithos's souls join together with several other souls to create the spirit Martel, using Tabatha, a humanoid doll, as the medium. The Spirit Martel, in turn, becomes the guardian of Yggdrasil, the Giant Kharlan Tree reborn that Lloyd renames at the end of the game as proof of the pact between them (although the name Lloyd speaks is never truly in Symphonia, the name "Yggdrasil" is given in the supposed sequel, Tales of Phantasia). Martel was also engaged to Yuan, one of the Four Seraphim. It was because Yuan was once engaged to Martel that Mithos decides not to kill Yuan when he found out about his betrayal.
[edit] Anna
Little is known about Anna's early life, except that she was born in Luin. At some point, she was taken to the Asgard Human Ranch, where she became the subject of Kvar's Angelus Project, an attempt to cultivate a Cruxis Crystal in a human body. During the time in which she was held at the Ranch, Kratos Aurion came to Sylvarant immediately prior to rejecting Mithos' intentions for the worlds. They met, fell in love and married. Unfortunately, Mithos was not willing to let Kratos desert him, and Anna was crucial to the Angelus Project, so the newlyweds were forced to flee, constantly pursued by Kvar's Desians. At some point during the flight, Anna gave birth to Lloyd Irving.
Still being pursued, the three continued to run for two more years, until they were near the Iselia Human Ranch, where Kvar and his troops caught up with them. At the top of a steep cliff beside the Iselia Ranch, Kvar removed Anna's Exsphere; as she did not have a Key Crest, the mana in her body went out of control and she turned into a monster. Confused and enraged, she attacked the infant Lloyd. She would have killed him had the family pet, Noishe, not leapt in the way, injuring and stunning the monstrous Anna. She regained control of herself for a short period of time, during which she begged Kratos to kill her, terrified that she might harm Lloyd or her husband. Unable to bring himself to kill her, Kratos was forced to watch until Anna lost control again and tried, once more, to kill Lloyd. Desperate to save his son's life, Kratos fatally injured his wife. Kvar took this opportunity to attack Kratos. During the fight, Noishe, Lloyd, and the mortally wounded Anna fell down a nearby cliff. Dirk, a dwarf who happened to be near the base of the cliff at the time, found them. Anna, who had regained her original human form, begged the dwarf to look after her son, Lloyd; Dirk agreed. He then took Lloyd and Noishe to his home. He buried Anna's body beside his house. The distraught Kratos searched the bottom of the cliff, in vain, for his wife and son. He would then return to Cruxis believing his wife and son dead. He had since given up on life, and lost his will to fight back.
Though an unseen character in the game, she has made small, cryptic appearances in the animation, speaking to her son Lloyd from within the Exsphere, becoming a partially seen character.
