Testament (Xenosaga)
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In the PlayStation 2 role-playing game trilogy Xenosaga, the Testaments are Wilhelm's closest assistants and servants. Characterized by colored robes with matching beaklike masks, the true nature and power of the Testaments is unknown. It is hinted that they possess the power to manipulate space, and they seem to be able to appear and disappear at will. Also, each Testament has their own E.S., a special kind of spacecraft that contains a Vessel of Anima. Four Testaments exist by the end of Episode II: red, blue, black, and white.
In terms of allusions and references, the four Evangelists John, Mark, Matthew and Luke who wrote the Gospels which are part of the New Testament are sometimes depicted as wearing cloaks of these four colors. The four compass directions in several cultures, including Feng Shui, and Aztec mythology, are equivalent to these four colors. It is also possible they allude to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, though this is unlikely due to the fact that blue is not a color of the horsemen (also because chaos refers to the U.R.T.V.s as the horsemen). They are more likely connected with the Gnostic concept of Archons which were powerful agents of the Demiurge who often wore animal masks and/or came in the form of animals. The fact that the Testaments often wear masks as well as the fact that their E.S. craft all resemble different animals (as opposed to every other E.S. having a more human like appearance) supports this.
Wilhelm hints that the role of the Testaments involves "influencing space-time anomalies"; that much becomes clear when they resurrect Albedo and help to create a space-time anomaly which engulfs the Ω System.
The Testaments are incredibly powerful and may easily rank among the most powerful entities in the series. Testaments are not corporeal in nature, in fact they are more like Gnosis (which they can also transform into) than they are human. In fact they do not even exist on the same plane as physical human beings. It is explained in the Episode III database that they only appear human because they affect people's perceptions, so much so that the people they confront actually believe they are seeing them as they are. An example is given that if a picture/video were taken of a Testament, they would not appear in it because they do not physically exist. However, if they wished it, they could cause themselves to appear in the photo/video because they are capable of manipulating the Real Numbers Domain from the Imaginary side.
They exist in only one of the two planes of existence the Xenosaga universe is composed of. A plane by the name "Imaginary Number Domain" (The part of the universe consisting of consciousness), exists parallel and yet in the same space as the plane known as "Real Number Domain" (The physical, material realm). Testaments exist within Imaginary Space. They are capable of continuing to exist as themselves beyond death, due to Wilhelm's God-like power. To be a candidate for Testament-hood, one must possess what Wilhelm calls the "Shining Will." It is revealed in the Episode III database that those who can become Testament are those whose wills resonate purely with Anima. Those who resonate purely with Anima do not transform into Gnosis, and are capable of awakening the Anima Vessels. The Black Testament's speech confirms that the main heroes were in fact all capable of becoming Testaments. Assisting in the awakening of the Anima Vessels for the sake of Zarathustra, is the main task of the Testaments.
Because they do not exist on our physical plane they can subvert the laws of physics to perform phenomenal feats. Virgil aptly explains; "The laws which govern us are just too different," after he easily brushes aside the party.
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[edit] Voyager
Japanese Voice Actor: Kouji Tsujitani
English Voice Actor: D.C. Douglas
Voyager (ヴォイジャー Voijā?) is the first and oldest of the four current Testaments. He appears for the first time in Xenosaga: Pied Piper as a U.M.N. cyberterrorist named Erich Weber who also went by the hacker alias Voyager.
He is one of the main characters of the side story Xenosaga: Pied Piper, first appearing as a U.M.N. operator and support agent working under Captain Jan Sauer (later Ziggurat 8) in the 1875th Federation special-ops detachment squad. His partner is Mikhail Ortmann and he oversees operation of the combat robot Bugs.
Erich is a complicated character to describe, because he actually has two personas—one is his "real" identity as Erich, a member of the Federation police and talented programmer—and the other is his online identity as Voyager, a serial killer of unparalleled genius who preys on victims through the U.M.N. As Erich, he appears to be 28 years old, though he is in reality much older than that. At the time of Pied Piper, genetic enhancement and cloning run rampant, and Erich is one of a batch of children who were produced approximately 150 years before the beginning of the game. The purpose for their creation is unknown, but in order to continue living, all of the members of this group are dependent on a drug that stimulates the thyroid to help control their metabolic rate. Erich gets his supply of the drug by working for Dmitri Yuriev.
Another side effect of Erich's genetic manipulation is that he has a congenital brain disorder, which he controls by constructing working memory inside of the U.M.N. This is how he developed such an intense affinity with the network. He became addicted to information and dove deeper and deeper, trying to find what was at the centre of the U.M.N. What he encountered was U-DO, which gave him dark visions of death and fear that drove him to become "Voyager"—a position that was originally occupied by Yuriev, who had a similar encounter with U-DO.
As Voyager, Erich kills many people, including Mikhail, Jan's wife, Sharon Rozas, and his stepson, Joaquin Rozas. Bugs later commits suicide after discovering the truth about him. Erich claims however in the climax of Xenosaga: Pied Piper that he became Voyager originally to give people rest without them having to confront the horror of death naturally and to bring originality and creativity to the world, knowing full quite well that Planet Abraxas was running out of time.
After Yuriev stopped delivering the drug to him, Erich allowed his body to die and entered the U.M.N. to appeal to U-DO. U-DO rejected him, however, and it was under the threat of imminent destruction (for once his brain decayed his consciousness would die) that he was approached by Wilhelm to become the Black Testament. He faced Jan as the Black Testament and gave him a choice: join him as another Testament or be killed and have his consciousness absorbed into Voyager's. Jan chose neither and committed suicide.
When he reappears in Episode II, he has underdone a slight physical transformation; he has very pale skin, no hair, and bright red eyes. As the Black Testament, he pilots E.S. Dan, a black humanoid mech with large, plate-like wings, a fanned tail, which resembles an angel or bird and numerous autonomous cannon drones.
Wilhelm privately sends him to Old Miltia to intercept Shion and Allen, piloting E.S. Dinah. Whether this was to stop them or possibly gauge KOS-MOS Ver. 2's abilities when she promptly rescued them, is currently unknown. He appears again alongside the Red and Blue Testaments on the Ω System when they confront both Shion's party and Patriarch Sergius. They kill Sergius and destroy his Proto Ω weapon, then turn their attention to the party. When Ziggy sees Voyager, intentionally appearing without his mask to provoke him, he goes berserk with rage. Ziggy attempts to fight Voyager but has all his attacks thrown back at him critically injuring him, as Voyager remains smugly silent. Saying nothing more, he helps the other two Testaments reassemble Albedo, who was previously disintegrated by Proto Ω, and turn him loose on the party. He appears one more time at the end of Episode II as Wilhelm welcomes the fourth and last Testament to the fold, the White Testament.
In Episode III, Voyager appears again to antagonize the party and Ziggy in particular. With help from his friends Ziggy is able to control the anger he feels towards Voyager and fight him without losing control, however he is still too much of a match for anyone to beat on their own. He meets a match in the rebuilt KOS-MOS Ver. 4, however. After she is destroyed by T-elos, Wilhelm sends him to infiltrate the Elsa to steal her remains, but after being repaired by The Professor, Assistant Scott, Allen and Shion she reawakens and helps the party to fight him off. He is not seen again until the end of the game at Michtam, the place where his and Ziggy's conflict began in Xenosaga: Pied Piper.
Wilhelm sends him to collect the Vessels of Anima from the destroyed E.S. and return them to Zarathustra deep beneath Michtam. When the party destroys Richard, Hermann and Pellegri’s E.S. Gad, Joseph and Issachaar, E.S. Dan appears and absorbs their Animas. He lures the main party eventually to the Archon district, where Ziggy once worked as a police officer. In the megalithic Archon Cathedral, he confronts Ziggy one final time after he reveals Canaan's true nature to the main party and explains to Ziggy that he became a Testament to escape the fear of death and to experience eternal pleasure for the rest of his existence. The battle ends in a stalemate, but Voyager is not defeated yet. He attacks the group on foot but is stopped when Canaan intervenes. Now fully able to recall the memories of the other "Program Canaan" equipped Realians, particularly Jan Sauer's partner Lactis, he proceeds to trick Voyager into using him to connect to the source of Wilhelm's power, Zarathustra. Taken by his lust for power and knowledge, Voyager connects to Canaan and Zarathustra and is overwhelmed by its power. He and Canaan begin to disintegrate as Canaan chides Voyager for his hubris, thinking he could access something human hands were not meant to touch. Canaan, speaking as Lactis describes his actions as making amends to for failing Ziggy 98 years earlier. Canaan disappears, taking Voyager with him once and for all. E.S. Dan falls silent and its Vessel of Anima is taken by E.S. Judah, the Red Testament's mech, which disappears deeper into the cathedral.
[edit] Kevin Winnicot
Japanese Voice Actor: Hideo Ishikawa
English Voice Actor: Chris Smith (Episode I, II), Yuri Lowenthal (Episode III), Xero Reynolds (anime)
Kevin Winnicot (ケビン・ウィニコット Kebin Winikotto?) is the next oldest Testament, or at least the next to be recruited, Voyager is chronologically older on the order of 200+ years.
Kevin, in his mortal life, was a Vector scientist, Shion Uzuki's fiancé, and the creator of KOS-MOS. He was killed approximately two years before the events of Xenosaga Episode I in an accident that involved KOS-MOS' Archetype body booting up independently and murdering several members of the team assigned to build her by Vector's 2nd Division. Shion and Allen survived the attack and decided to continue the project without Kevin's presence.
Kevin's body is supposedly buried in a graveyard aboard the Dämmerung, which is the flagship and main colony of Vector Industries. However, there is no evidence to prove that Kevin's body is interred in the graveyard.
While he is dead to the world around him, Kevin continues to exist as the Red Testament, Wilhelm's right-hand man. The two of them have extended intimate conversations in several scenes throughout all three games; in one scene they even play chess together. As the Red Testament he pilots E.S. Judah, an agile red E.S. with blade-like horns, similar to the Xenogears antagonist Grahf. He rarely leaves Wilhelm's side and only appears in the open when he absolutely needs to. One of those times is at the end of Episode II on the Ω System, where he, Virgil and Voyager are required to dispose of Patriarch Sergius and his Proto Ω weapon and reconstitute Albedo. When he begins doling out orders to the others Shion recognizes his voice for a moment but makes no attempt to call out to him.
While staying in the background throughout most of Episodes I and II, Kevin takes a more active role in the events of Episode III. When Wilhelm deems KOS-MOS a failure, he orders Kevin to begin work on a replacement for her. Thus Kevin, under the guise of the scientist Roth Mantel begins work on T-elos, an advanced anti-Gnosis android of extremely similar design to KOS-MOS. His appearance as Mantel is his first interaction with the world at large since his "death" three years prior. As Roth Mantel, he exhibits an incredibly arrogant and condescending attitude and constantly puts down others in a sarcastic manner, particularly Allen and the rest of the KOS-MOS development team.
Roth looks extremely similar to Kevin, though with blond hair, green eyes and lighter skin. When Shion meets him as Roth she is struck by how much he reminds her of Kevin. People like Dimitri Yuriev, Dr. Sellers, and Juli Mizrahi are puzzled about Mantel because they can find no background information about him whatsoever; it is as if he has simply sprung into existence. At Rennes-le-Chatâeu, Kevin drops his Roth Mantel disguise and reveals himself as the Red Testament. The name Roth Mantel itself is a coy joke, as it means "Red Cloak" in German, a reference to the red mantle Kevin wears as the Red Testament.
When Shion and the party find themselves on the "Past Miltia", a recreation of Old Miltia from 15 years ago formed from the collective unconsciousness of the U.M.N., they encounter the "past selves" of many people from their current lives, chief among them is Kevin. Through interacting with this representation of Kevin many hidden details about his life come the surface. He is revealed to be the child-genius lab assistant of the late Dr. Joachim Mizrahi, who was briefly mentioned by Dr. Juli Mizrahi in Episode I. He was part of Mizrahi's U-TIC Organization and was involved in his research involving the Zohar, the Vessels of Anima, the Y-Data and the program Lemegeton. While investigating Mizrahi's offices at Labyrinthos, Shion and Allen discover Kevin's plans for both KOS-MOS and T-elos, highly detailed blueprints that unlock every last remaining black box in KOS-MOS' hardware and software. Even back then he had plans in mind for the future beyond his work with Mizrahi. He is seen with a young Shion planting flowers in a garden, so the two knew each other long before they both joined Vector. This version of Kevin, not unlike Roth Mantel, is bitter and callous towards people and is particularly despondent towards Realians.
Eventually, the real Kevin invades the fake "past Miltia" and confronts Shion directly, unmasking before her and confirming once and for all that he is the Red Testament. Knowing Kevin is still alive begins to eat away at Shion and she is torn between her loyalty to her friends and love for Kevin. Her fight takes on a new meaning; regaining her lost time with Kevin, regardless if he is in league with her enemy.
The time soon comes when Kevin confronts the group face-to-face and he lays out the case for his and Wilhelm's mission to restart the universe to Shion. Stating that everything he has done was done for her, he convinces her that what he is doing is right. In his heart, Kevin still loves her but he is unable to understand Shion as a person, he cannot see her side of things, her wants, her needs, her hopes, and her fears. It is only when Allen stands up for her and himself and tells him in no uncertain terms that his ideas about Shion are all wrong that he realises everything he has done was just for his own selfish wants. Rejected by Shion, and having lost T-elos to KOS-MOS, Kevin retreats to the core of Zarathustra where Wilhelm is waiting.
Wilhelm, displeased with Kevin's string of failures, puts him in his place immediately and after a very brief moment of trying to convince Shion to activate Zarathustra tries to make her comply by force. Kevin is forced to watch as Wilhelm forcibly takes her will from her, causing her great pain in the process. Eventually her screams become too much for him to bear and he rushes at Wilhelm and slices his arm off at the elbow, halting the torture. "Are you satisfied?" Wilhelm asks, revealing that he knew all along how Kevin would ultimately betray him. Kevin then realises that Wilhelm was just using him, his ambitions and his general hatred of the world as it is to further his own goals, just like he thought he was using Wilhelm to further his. Kevin's selfish ideal of an ever-repeating world meant for only two people would never come true. Determined not to let Wilhelm have his way with the world anymore Kevin strikes him through the chest, severing his link to Zarathustra and causing it to go out of control. All by himself he suppresses the system's energy enough for Shion and the others to destroy it. His actions cost him his life but he manages to take Wilhelm with him. As he disappears he says his final goodbye to Shion and the two of them finally let go of one another.
Much more of Kevin's past, which is hinted at in Episode I and Episode II is confirmed by his actions and statements in Episode III. He was the shrouded man who handed the access device to Andrew Cherenkov before the assault of the Vector lab while KOS-MOS was still in her Archetype form. Kevin gave Cherenkov a faulty program designed to make the Archetype go on a rampage and kill everyone except Shion. He did so in order to cast off his physical body and be reborn as an ethereal Testament. His other objective was to distance himself from Shion and to bond her to KOS-MOS.
According to Xenosaga I&II, his mother and little sister are killed when the Gnosis invade his home planet of Michtam. The opening of Episode III shows his mother escorting a young Kevin to the ruins of the Michtam spaceport. After she places him in an escape pod she is turned into a human-Gnosis creature similar to "Betty", the Gnosified corpse kept in the Durandal’s isolation area. Their deaths are the impetus for the creation of KOS-MOS, the Anti-Gnosis battle android. Shortly after he arrives on Miltia after his escape from Michtam, he is approached for the first time by Wilhelm, who uses his disillusioned state to recruit him to his cause. He was also instrumental in drafting Shion into First Division. She was originally going into Third Division, but after Kevin read a thesis she had previously written he pulled some strings and got her assigned to the First Division and the KOS-MOS development project.
The Episode III database reveals his surname, Winnicot, was actually given to him by his foster parents who adopted him from an orphanage on Miltia after he was rescued from Michtam. It is unknown what his real surname is, and even if Kevin is his real first name but this seems to be the case because by looking at the Child Kevin in the Episode III character viewer he wears a tag with the name "Kevin" on it. Nonetheless he has accepted the name "Kevin Winnicot" as his own, begrudgingly albeit.
[edit] Luis Virgil
Japanese Voice Actor: Tomokazu Seki
English Voice Actor: Lex Lang (Episode I, III), Dave Wittenberg (Episode II), Andrew Love (anime)
Luis Virgil (ルイス・バージル Ruisu Bājiru?) is a Testament created during the course of Episode I. He is known to be Lt. Virgil, a man who was killed by KOS-MOS during the Gnosis attack on the Woglinde. He appeared to have a violent hatred for Realians (for example, he states the Shion's "self-rightous crap" makes him sick), and suffered from the potent DME Addiction. Even as a Testament his face still shows the cracking pattern characteristic of people with this addiction.
In a mysterious comment in Xenosaga: Episode I, he refers to chaos as boss. He first appears as the Blue Testament on the Song of Nephilim where he bails out Albedo who was just defeated by Shion, Jr. and their companions. Albedo departs, telling the Blue Testament to give "him" (most likely Wilhelm) a message: " 'it' (most likely the Y data) belongs to me" (Albedo himself). When Albedo departs、 Virgil attacks the group using his newfound powers as a Testament, which include (but are not limited to) subverting the laws of physics and transforming into a Gnosis. Moreover, the type of Gnosis that the blue testament transformed into (Ein Rugel) was the same type that the Black Testament Voyager turned into when Ziggy, aka Jan Sauer, confronted him over 100 years ago.
Blue Testament appears again after Albedo summons Proto Merkabah to Second Miltia and he is reprimanded by the Red Testament to just let Albedo be for the while. When the Red Testament shows him just what his and Wilhelm's plan is and how it relates to Albedo, he reluctantly backs off. He pilots E.S. Naphtali, a blue, arachnid-limbed machine with a humanoid torso and a large accompanying rifle that can be teleported at will.
Virgil only shows up twice in Episode II. He appears once aboard the Ω System with Kevin and Voyager where they destroy Partriarch Sergius and Proto Ω and reconstruct Albedo. Then a second time in the epilogue where he, Wilhelm and the other two Testaments welcome Albedo into their fold as the White Testament.
In Episode III Virgil confronts Shion and the others on the landmass Rennes-le-Château, showing up on E.S. Naphtali and unmasking before Shion and the others. He chides Shion for her self-righteous and hypocritcal actions then attacks the party, seeking to prevent them from entering the temple on ahead. When he is defeated Albedo and the newly restored E.S. Simeon appear and he extracts Naphtali's Vessel of Anima. Together Virgil and Albedo disappear, but not before Albedo makes his presence known to the group once again.
Virgil next invades the past Miltia that emerged from Shion's subconscious and confronts her yet again. They argue with each other over their actions in the past and their emotions in the present. Virgil claims that the two of them are exactly the same, people who would do anything in order to survive and for Shion to be making excuses and trying to find justification for her actions is hypocrisy. Virgil reveals that he became a Testament only for power, and that being unable to prevent the death of his love Febronia made him develop a hunger for power. When he attacks Shion again and is defeated they argue again, but then the spirit of Febronia, who had appeared to Shion numerous times in the past, appeared before him and she too tried to reason with him. At first he was unable to face her, thinking that she could not forgive him, but when she told him she still loved him, even now when as a Testament he gave in. With the help of Febronia he renounced Wilhelm's influcence and his Testament-hood and the two disappeared into the hereafter together, both of them finally complete.
Virgil's deep-rooted psychologial issues were the driving force for most of his actions as a Testament, not Wilhelm's will as with the others. This was probably the reason why he was able to break free of being a Testament when Febronia pleaded with him.
In Xenosaga I&II Virgil and E.S. Naphtali show up on Old Miltia in the Episode II portion of the game and he confronts Shion and her companions before they reach Labyrinthos. He then attacks the group and they do battle. He later speaks with Shion before she faces Patriarch Sergius on the Ω System.
The Non-Testament Virgil is playable in Xenosaga Episode I, when the Woglinde is being attacked by Gnosis. He does not have a special attack in the game, nor does he have any Ether.
[edit] Albedo Piazzolla
Japanese Voice Actor: Kōichi Yamadera
English Voice Actor: Crispin Freeman, John Gremillion (anime)
Albedo Piazzolla (アルベト・ピアソラ Arubedo Piasora?) is the newest Testament, who appears at the very end of Xenosaga Episode II. While his identity is a mystery at the end of Episode II, in Episode III it is revealed that the White Testament is in fact U.R.T.V. Albedo Piazzolla, who had recently died in a confrontation with his brother Rubedo (a.k.a. Jr.). Wilhelm refers to him as the "weaver of the eternal circle of Zarathustra." He pilots a redesigned E.S. Simeon, with a rectangular body and suspended blades instead of limbs, with the "head" portion raised like a church steeple. This design may be meant to be reminiscent of a Hydra.
Albedo's mission as a Testament was to bring the Zohar and Abel to Zarathustra on Michtam. He did so when he invaded Abel's Ark and pulled both the Zohar and Abel right out of Ω Metempsychosis, thus robbing Dimitri Yuriev of their powers. Albedo, Jr., and Gaignun (after a fashion) then proceeded to contain Yuriev using their anti-U-DO wavelengths. It was Albedo's plan to transfer Gaignun's consciousness into Jr.'s body then destroy Gaignun's body taking Yuriev with it, however Gaignun had other plans. He invaded Albedo's body and forced his consciousness into Jr.'s body. Then Gaignun, acting as the White Testament, sacrificed himself to send Yuriev into another dimension. Albedo's consciousness then merges with Jr.'s and the two of them come to terms with one another and with Gaignun's death. Albedo then goes to "sleep" within Jr., with the promise of one day returning, and the hope that the three brothers will be together again some day, somewhere.
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