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16Tropes relating to the cast of ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''.
17
18'''BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL SPOILERS ARE MARKED. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION.'''
19----
20
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23!!The Jade Gang
24
25[[folder:As a Group]]
26
27As a group, the team falls under these tropes:
28
29----
30* BadassCrew: Despite all the issues noted below, this team is very competent and strong, and ultimately save their world. You also can have any of them act as a OneManArmy in the Coliseum.
31* DysfunctionJunction: Oh boy. The best way to put it is that they all meet in circumstances that make them '''hate''' each other. For example, Luke meets Tear when she attempts ''assassination'' against his ParentalSubstitute and they meet [[{{Troll}} Jade]] when he ''arrests'' them. And that's not taking into account all the various issues and problems that come bubbling up over the course of the game.
32* EmbarrassingNickname: They are dubbed 'The Jade Gang' in a letter by Dist, which they obviously take exception to. Unfortunately, due to Jade's exceptional popularity with fans, it is the closest to an actual name for their team that they receive.
33* FireForgedFriends: Despite their dysfunctions, they are friends. It takes a lot of work, but by the end they are loyal to each other and will stand up and besides any of the party members.
34* GenderEqualEnsemble: Three men (Luke, Jade and Guy) and three women (Tear, Natalia and Anise).
35* GodWasMyCoPilot: [[spoiler:As noted in Luke's section below, he's a GodInHumanForm of Lorelei. So not so much ''co''-pilot as much as straight up ''pilot''.]]
36* ItsPersonal: Unique to the Jade Gang is that, in comparison to other games in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', the villain goes out of [[spoiler:his]] way to ensure the personal enmity of all the members by the end of the game. Though Luke is TheProtagonist, ''every'' character is given their own specific pair of scenes with the villain at the end of the game as the final boss rages on, contingent on who the player enters the fight as. In each of these scenes, [[spoiler:Van]] in some way references their connection to the plot as a whole and effectively picks a fight with them personally as a final obstacle in the path to the story's conclusion. Natalia, for instance [[spoiler:ties the fight back into her ability to lead the people of Kimlasca to a bright new age while Van tries to counter with the idea she'll lead from a throne drenched in blood, and admits that she's a skilled opponent.]]
37* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: All of them are jerks in their own way (with the exception of [[BitchInSheepsClothing Guy]] and, ultimately, [[AllLovingHero Luke]]). That said, they are good people, stand by their friends, and work to save their world.
38* PoorCommunicationKills: A lot of their problems boil under this; if their various issues or whatnot didn't prevent them all the time from doing what is needed, the BigBad and his team wouldn't have gotten so far in their plans.
39* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Not as much so as their [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia successor]]; in fact, the most ''downplayed'' example in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''. The party notes that, as an unlikely a group they are, they are composed of some of the most notable second-tier citizens of Auldrant, and are trusted by the rulers of ''every'' world government (Luke and Natalia with Kimlasca-Lanvaldear; Jade with Malkuth; Anise with Fon Master Ion; Tear with the mayor of Yulia City; the party collectively with the mayor of Chesedonia, the sole independent city-state on Auldrant; and Guy with what remains of the government of Hod [since, as far as the game bothers to spell out, he basically ''is'' said government]). On top of that, they have a lot of specialized skills and talents that aid them; Jade with his genius fonist abilities, Tear's hymns, and Luke's hyperresonance come up repeatedly as key to their success against the BigBad's plots, with Natalia's status as a UniversallyBelovedLeader to the citizens of Kimlasca being important a few times, Anise's experience with the Order of Lorelei as a Fon Master Guardian coming in handy, and even Guy's fontech geek knowledge helping them a few times.
40* WithFriendsLikeThese: Let's just say they tend to be their own worse enemies for quite some time.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Luke fon Fabre]]
44[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LukeProfile_5251.jpg]]
45
46->''"I may not do a good job right away. I may make mistakes. But I'm going to change."''
47
48->Voiced by: Creator/ChihiroSuzuki (JP), Creator/YuriLowenthal (EN)
49
50Luke is the son of a duke in Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and has been kept locked up in his family's manor since the age of ten after an incident in which he was kidnapped by an opposing nation and developed complete retrograde amnesia. In that time, he's grown up into a spoiled and selfish person with little regard for anyone outside of his immediate circle of friends. After he is inadvertently teleported halfway across the world with Tear, his journey to return home leads to some startling discoveries about himself: not only is he a prophesied [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]], but he possesses the power of hyperresonance, a force that can [[RealityWarper reshape reality itself]].
51
52After [[WhamEpisode a certain incident]], he vows to change himself for the better and gives himself an ImportantHaircut.
53
54As the main character, Luke is a pure swordsman. He is balanced in both attack and defense, and his combat style specializes in chaining artes to keep the enemy off-balance.
55
56----
57* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:The closest Luke has to a "real" parent is [[BigBad Van]] who is not only responsible for his creation but was the only one providing him with any kind of "stable" influence i.e. he was emotionally manipulated and abused by Van to be dependent on him. Van used that to turn him into a LaserGuidedTykebomb and discarded him once he served his purpose. His "blood" parents aren't too much better: Susanne tries but her ill girl status makes her [[ParentalNeglect neglect]] his needs and Duke Fabre deliberately distanced himself since he was [[BecauseDestinySaysSo doomed by the Score]]. Duke Fabre even admits later on that Luke has no parents due to how he was raised.]]
58* AccidentalKidnapping: On the receiving end and the reason the plot happens; by getting in the way of Tear trying to kill Van, a hyperresonance was set off, landing them halfway across the world. [[spoiler:It turns out Luke technically kidnapped ''himself'' when it's revealed it was just ''his'' power of hyperresonance responsible.]]
59* AllLovingHero: Post-{{Important Haircut}}, he makes a point of helping everyone, including the [[spoiler:other]] replicas that no one else likes. In fact, he reaches near {{messianic|Archetype}} levels by the very end.
60* AmnesiacHero: {{Deconstructed}} twice over. Luke doesn't remember the first ten years of his life due to being kidnapped as a child. Unlike most usages of this trope, Luke lost memories of '''everything''', from the faces of his parents, to how to eat and talk. The past roughly eight years have been him trying to relearn how to live as a human, and as a result, his knowledge is very minimal. This means that he is a child in an adult's body because he only knows roughly eight years of his life. [[spoiler: The twist later that he is a replica drives this further; he doesn't have memories because they never existed.]]
61* ApocalypseMaiden: [[spoiler:Van created him to act as this, destroying Akzeriuth and the Albertesque Seal it guards so that he can kick off the end of Auldrant. This is [[DramaticIrony exactly]] what the Score said the real Luke fon Fabre would do. Interestingly enough, it's only ''after'' Luke has been tricked into setting in motion the end of the world that he starts being able to fight against Van's plan.]]
62* ApologisesALot: Post-ImportantHaircut he apologies for everything. It's {{justified|Trope}} because of his GuiltComplex.
63* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:He's a replica of the original Luke fon Fabre.]]
64* AssInAmbassador: His power as ambassador goes to his head, and he uses it to order the party around. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] [[spoiler:as that's to be expected when a spoiled seven year old is put in a position of power.]]
65* TheAtoner: After [[spoiler:the debacle at Akzeriuth]] Luke spends the rest of the game making up for it. He actually [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] it as it becomes increasingly clear Luke is ''very'' messed up in the head thanks to that entire incident.
66* BackupTwin: [[spoiler:Was created to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this by Van, to destroy and die in Akzeriuth in Asch's place. He goes on to [[DefiedTrope defy]] it repeatedly, to the point of claiming he is himself and was never Asch by the end.]]
67* BadassAdorable: Post-ImportantHaircut his sweet attitude and NiceGuy status makes him quite cute. He also starts seriously fighting more and ends up a strong enough fighter to [[spoiler:defeat Asch and ultimately [[BigBad Van]] in battle]]. And that's without taking into account his hyperresonance [[spoiler:which, according to skit in the late game, could be used to ''destroy the atmosphere''.]]
68* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Some dialogue and thoughts from Luke reveal that his UndyingLoyalty towards Van comes from this; Van was the only one to care for Luke (specifically as a ParentalSubstitute) and Luke is almost fanatically loyal for that one reason. [[spoiler:This makes it more tragic as Van never actually even saw Luke ''as a person''.]] Luke's attachment to Guy is similar and, ultimately, he attaches himself to anyone who he sees as being nice to him pretty quickly.
69* BettyAndVeronica: Natalia [[InvokedTrope sees]] him as the Betty,[[spoiler: once TheReveal of him being the replica of the original comes out, between him and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Asch]].]] It's also {{discussed|Trope}} that he could have been the Archie between [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Tear]] and [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Natalia]].
70* BlankSlate: He thinks it's amnesia, but it's really this because [[spoiler:he was born as a replica]].
71* BlessedWithSuck: In regards to the fact that he has the power to cause hyperresonances on his own [[spoiler:but it is abused by the BigBad, and it's also supposedly too unstable to use in battle.]].
72* BloodKnight: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Luke is normally a ReluctantWarrior, but going to the coliseum reveals that he enjoys that kind of fighting[[note]] It's all harmless fun; mostly made up of very realistic illusions that make you think you are injured enough that you basically knock yourself out.[[/note]] very much (he gets very excited and giddy about it) to the point that when he was younger, there was a general agreement to not introduce him to the coliseum so he wouldn't whine his way into fighting in it.
73* BookDumb: {{Justified|Trope}}. [[spoiler:He's a seven year old that's trying to learn at the seventeen year old level.]]
74* BreakTheHaughty: At the start of the game Luke is an entitled, arrogant, spoiled brat. [[spoiler:Then Akzeriuth happens, he learns he's a replica and TheTeam abandons him...]] All of this is {{deconstructed|Trope}} when one takes into account [[spoiler:Luke is truly seven and what that means for his maturity level in the face of these events]].
75* BrutalHonesty: Can be '''amazingly''' blunt to the point the rest of the group tends to immediately berate him in response. He keeps this up even after his ImportantHaircut though he ''does'' try his hand at this mysterious thing called "tact" at the same time. [[spoiler:Since he's actually seven, it's no wonder he's like this. Children can be (in)famous for bluntly stating opinions due to the lack of experience in that regard.]]
76* ButtMonkey: It's PlayedForDrama as the world of Auldrant seems to exist solely to break Luke's mind into tiny little pieces as often and as brutally as possible, and almost all of his otherwise noble friends and family seem only too glad to help it out.
77* CharacterDevelopment: There aren't bigger developments than going from {{Jerkass}} to AllLovingHero. After his ImportantHaircut, he is humble, unsure of himself, and trying to be a NiceGuy. He's without a doubt the most developed protagonist in the series.
78* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: Made one with Natalia when he was younger, but thanks to IdentityAmnesia he doesn't remember. [[spoiler:{{Averted|Trope}} when it turns out he's the replica and thus not the one who made the promise with Natalia. However, before the DiscOneFinalBoss Luke can talk to Natalia and recites the promise on her request; between his [[YoungerThanHeLooks actual age]] and the GainaxEnding obscuring whether or not Natalia chooses him, it could ultimately count as one.]]
79* TheChosenOne: Played with. A passage in Yulia's Seven-Part Score says that a savior shall be born in the country of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear; a noble with hair of red, who shall be called "the light of the sacred flame". "Luke" means just that in Ancient Ispanian, and he is the son of a duke with red hair, so it's clear that he's the prophesied youth. Indeed, [[spoiler:Luke Fon Fabre ''is'' the chosen one. However, it's not ''this'' Luke, but rather Asch. Luke is a replica created solely for the purpose of overturning the prophecy by allowing Asch to survive an event that is fated to kill him]]. Then a later event seems to play it straight again [[spoiler:by having Luke "destroy himself" (by performing an action that causes terminal fonon separation) "and his people" (Replicas) in the "miner's city" (the Tower of Rem used to be just that). However, so much of the Score has gone off track by that point that it's difficult to say.]]
80** It gets even more complicated considering certain revelations. [[spoiler:The voice that had been giving Luke chronic headaches pre game and a little into it? That's [[PureMagicBeing Lorelei]] trying to contact his other self so he will destroy the Score. In other words, Lorelei ''chooses'' him over the original for the task of saving Auldrant.]]
81* ClassicalAntiHero: Starts as a good-hearted but extremely unpleasant ShelteredAristocrat, and though he goes on to fill the role of a hero, he's still plagued with crippling self-esteem issues even on his best of days.
82* CloneAngst: [[spoiler:Realizing that he's a replica causes him no end of angst.]]
83%%%%%%%%%%% Weblinks are not examples. Please transcribe the text from the video.
84%%%%* DeadpanSnarker: At times, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfOpGVMULZ0 here]].
85* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Luke spends a good chunk of the game post Akzeriuth looking to pull a HeroicSacrifice. It's only once he ''does'' have to do one that he turns away from this trope... except he's [[YourDaysAreNumbered dying]] by that point.]]
86* {{Deconstruction}}: On the whole, Luke is an intentional deconstruction of many standard tropes associated with JRPG protagonists, as almost all of the fairly well-known tropes used to characterize him are shown realistically.
87** Part and parcel of being a {{Deconstruction}} (as noted above) is that Luke's actions and reactions come from exactly what would happen if you put someone like him in such positions as the game puts him in. [[spoiler:What ''would'' happen if a seven year old was handed so ''much'' responsibility and power? And then [[NiceJobBreakingItHero screwed up]]? And then was taught he had to take responsibility for everything?]] Everything Luke does is '''very''' realistically handled as the norm.
88* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Luke is the one ending the Score, surprising even ''Lorelei'' in managing to pull off freeing Auldrant from it.]]
89* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Someone resembling him comes back two years later after the final battle. [[GainaxEnding It was made ambiguous if it was really him, Asch, or a combination of the two that came back.]]]]
90* DotingParent: His mother loves him [[spoiler:despite knowing he's a replica.]] She thanks Tear for watching over him in her place.
91* EasilyForgiven: Zigzagged about [[spoiler:Akzeriuth.]] While he 'pulled the trigger' so to speak, he was being manipulated by the BigBad into [[spoiler:destroying the place; he thought he was ''saving'' it.]] The others give him crap and abandon him because of it but ultimately they forgive him for it, as they all realize they were just as responsible for the situation as he was. However, he doesn't forgive ''himself'' until much later.
92* EmotionalMaturityIsPhysicalMaturity: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with.]] [[spoiler:Luke is chronologically seven and ''[[AvertedTrope definitely]]'' acts like it, particularly in the first arc where he's acting exactly what one might expect from a spoiled seven year old ShelteredAristocrat. That reduces come his ImportantHaircut but he still has the childlike emotional maturity to match the actual age. All the other characters seem to expect this trope to be played straight however, and react as if Luke is evil or an idiot for not fitting their expectations grounded in this trope.]]
93* EvilKnockoff: A inversion of the trope in every aspect. [[spoiler:He's Asch's knock off but he's also TheHero of the story.]]
94* {{Expy}}: He looks a heck of a lot like [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Zelos Wilder]] who is also a member of the nobility who acts like a jerk. He uses a number of the same artes, except for not having magic. [[spoiler:His self-loathing and DeathSeeker traits after his ImportantHaircut also invoke Zelos's personality.]] He's also a hint of Genis with his gravity-defying hair, discrimination issues, and on top of that [[spoiler: he really is a kid, at seven years old.]]
95* FieryRedhead: Long red hair and an antagonistic jerkass. [[spoiler:He cuts it off at the same time as toning down his behavior.]]
96* FiveStagesOfGrief: Goes through this after [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]]. Though he manages to be both in Denial and Anger at first, he slips into a variation of Bargaining by becoming TheAtoner post ImportantHaircut. Depression comes [[spoiler:after the month-long time skip]] and he only gets to Acceptance [[spoiler:in time to be forced to accept his ''own'' death.]]
97* TheFriendNobodyLikes: On the way to Akzeriuth, Luke falls into this; his {{Jerkass}} antics get cranked up and they only tolerate him because he's the Ambassador and thus has to be on the team. [[spoiler:This is {{deconstructed|Trope}} as this ultimately contributes to the mess that is Akzeriuth; being treated like that means he has '''no''' reason to trust the team.]] He's somewhat treated like this post ImportantHaircut until they realize his change of heart is really genuine.
98* GodInHumanForm: [[spoiler:Certain lines from Lorelei reveal that he's actually ''another'' Lorelei due to being a replica: a replica is a collection of seventh fonons given form and sentience, exactly the definition of an Aggregate Sentience like Lorelei.[[note]] To be precise, an Aggregate Sentience is a collection of pure fonons that have an intelligence of their own; Efreet for example is made up of just Fifth/Fire fonons.[[/note]] By being that and having the same fonic signature as Lorelei, Luke is thus also Lorelei. However, he is not the Lorelei who created the Score.]]
99* GoodEyesEvilEyes: His eyes are drawn wider after his haircut than before, most likely due to less apathy from him post-HeroicBSOD. They also give him a younger look [[spoiler:which may be in keeping with the reveal that chronologically and mentally, he's really seven years old]].
100* GuiltComplex: After the events of TheReveal tore Luke's sense of self-worth into little-itty-bitty pieces, he becomes susceptible to this kind of thinking, and the rest of the party have to keep a close eye on him to keep him from going over the edge. [[spoiler:It begins spiraling out of control in the last third of the game.]]
101* HeroicBSOD:
102** Goes into one the first time he kills a person in self-defence. It takes Tear getting hurt due to his hesitation for him to start moving out of it.
103** [[spoiler:Unwittingly nuking Akzeriuth, being abandoned by TheTeam, and then revealed as a replica puts him into a deep funk.]]
104** [[spoiler:Later he has another one when the miasma comes back and he's put into a SadisticChoice about sacrificing himself to destroy it or have Asch do it.]]
105* HeroicSacrifice: Wants to {{invoke|dTrope}} this [[spoiler:after he destroyed Akzeriuth]] and develops a massive GuiltComplex about it.
106** [[spoiler:He ultimately does in the last third of the game. It begins as a slow death from fonon seperation and culminates in a quicker death in the crashing Elderant. Whether he comes back at the end, is truly dead, or is merged with Asch to be a new person, is up to personal interpretation.]]
107* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Is nigh ''crippled'' by this post ImportantHaircut. [[spoiler:He only manages to move past it near the end...just in time to find out [[YourDaysAreNumbered his days are numbered]].]]
108* HeroicWannabe: Leading up to Akzeriuth he wants to be like his role model, Van, and be a hero. It's really a means to [[IJustWantToBeFree an end]] for him.
109* HypnoFool: A dark version [[spoiler:as Van uses Luke's UndyingLoyalty to him and a specific trigger to "remind" him of a situation where he had no control over his hyperessonance to cause him to destroy Akzeriuth's Sephiroth Tree and thus the entire city.]]
110* IJustWantToBeFree: What his HeroicWannabe phase was ''really'' about: getting out of the manor.
111* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler:The entire town of Akzeriuth serves as this for Luke.]]
112* IdiotHero: He admits it himself. Justified in that, even before the dramatic reveal, he only remembers the last seven years of his life and was basically under house arrest and deliberately LockedOutOfTheLoop that entire time. [[spoiler:''With'' the dramatic reveal, he ultimately averts it as, taking account his true age and all he does post ImportantHaircut, Luke is actually pretty smart.]]
113* ImportantHaircut: After his HeroicBSOD post [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]] he cuts his hair to mark his commitment to changing himself.
114* ImprobableAge: With all Luke does (stopping a war, saving the world, and becoming a MasterSwordsman) and his appearance it's easy to forget [[spoiler:he does all this at [[YoungerThanTheyLook age seven]], since he's a replica. He's ''technically'' a ChildProdigy up to eleven!]]
115* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Luke does his best to seem confident during the first part before the WhamEpisode, but considering how sheltered he is it's very clear he's at a massive disadvantage for dealing with anything in the real world (he doesn't know anything about ''shopping''!). Post ImportantHaircut, he trades this trope for straight up HeroicSelfDeprecation.
116* InternalizedCategorism: After he finds out that he's [[spoiler:Asch's replica]], he develops an inferiority complex about whether or not he should exist. [[spoiler:It gets especially bad in the lead up to the Tower of Rem, when he goes from HeroicSelfDeprecation into full-blown FantasticRacism (towards his own kind).]]
117* {{Irony}}: The SpoiledBrat {{Jerkass}} turns out to be the [[AllLovingHero nicest]] of {{nice guy}}s.
118* ItsAllMyFault: Luke's mindset through about the middle of the game till just before the end.
119* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: Though Luke does manage to fight and kill humans, he remains haunted by it to the very end, something which Jade notes during an optional conversation in Keterberg.
120* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Before [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]], he's abrasive, arrogant, and typically has selfish motives for his good deeds (he wants to save Akzeriuth so that he'll be a hero and be freed more than out of concern for the people). However, despite his mouth, he automatically helps people when he sees them in trouble and is one of the few RPG protagonists who are utterly [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier averse to killing.]] [[spoiler:This means that the plot forces him to destroy an entire city against his will, and then later consciously choose to disintegrate what are basically thousands of newborn clones in order to save the world from being covered in poison.]] Ion put it best when he said that Luke was always kind, he just wasn't very good at showing it. After his ImportantHaircut, he loses the "jerk" part.
121* KamehameHadoken: [[spoiler:His Lost Fon Drive]].
122* KickTheDog: Tends to do this to Mieu, at least until his ImportantHaircut.
123* KidHero: [[spoiler:Luke's really only seven years old. His true age and the ramifications of being thrust into so many difficult decisions and dangerous situations is pointed out several times]].
124* LaserGuidedTykebomb: [[spoiler:Van created him to destroy Akzeriuth in the original Luke's place. In other words, he's a Tykebomb created to ''replace another one''.]]
125* TheLeader: Becomes a charismatic version post ImportantHaircut. Though Jade is the one behind the planning and coming up with what they need to do, it's usually Luke making the ''decisions'' as what to do and the team does, in fact, look to him for guidance in regards to "what is next".
126** A good example is in regards to [[spoiler:the lowering of the Outer Lands]] as Luke is the one to bring up that they should bring the various government figures into it and also arrange a peace conference while at it.
127** The party showed their acknowledgement of Luke being the leader [[spoiler: before heading off their final battle]].
128* LethalChef: In a skit the party categorizes him with Natalia. Though in another scene his food is shown to be at least edible, unlike Natalia's. Being not only a ShelteredAristocrat but [[spoiler:actually seven]] it's not entirely surprising he has terrible cooking skills.
129* LightEmUp: [[SphereOfDestruction Radiant Howl]] involves Luke damaging nearby opponents with swirls of light beams.
130* LikesOlderWomen: [[spoiler:Taking into account both his actual age and his feelings towards Tear, yes, yes he does.]]
131* LimitBreak: [[SphereOfDestruction Radiant Howl]] and [[SwordBeam Lost Fon Drive]]
132* LockedOutOfTheLoop: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. Was deliberately kept ignorant after his kidnapping and throughout the game the rest of the party tends to hide things from him despite how it always tends to result in horrible situations. In particular, the sheer amount of secrets and deception around Luke [[spoiler:led to [[WhamEpisode Akzeriuth's destruction]] at his (unintended) hands.]] Worse, Luke knew at the least everyone was keeping things from him, which further [[TookALevelInJerkass aggravated him]].
133* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Pre-{{Important Haircut}}, he had long hair down to his rear.
134* ManChild: During the first part of the game he acts very immature. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} when his true age is revealed. As he's actually seven, and a sheltered and spoiled seven year old at that, his attitude is "normal" so to speak.]] He starts acting more mature post ImportantHaircut.
135* MayDecemberRomance: [[spoiler:Since he's actually seven, this is where his relationship with Tear falls.]]
136* MeaningfulName: 'Luke' means 'light of the sacred flame' which refers to a Score that drives the game.
137* MightyGlacier: His attack stat is the best of the party and he has very high defense, but [[FragileSpeedster Guy]] is faster than him and Anise is slightly more durable then he is. At end game however he'll become a LightningBruiser since his speed stat will become high enough to be right behind Guy.
138* AMillionIsAStatistic: Averted. While he never knew any of the people there, it's clear that Luke feels ''incredible'' guilt over his role in [[spoiler:the destruction of Akzeriuth, to the extent that atoning for it becomes ''the'' defining point to his character]].
139* MirrorCharacter: To Asch. Though there are more differences, they share enough traits to [[spoiler:throw into sharp relief the fact Luke is his replica.]]
140* MoralityPet: You got to do ''a lot'' of exploration in the game to find the proof, but by the third arc Luke is this [[spoiler:to Jade. The ''Reminiscences of Jade'' manga out right confirms it at the end.]]
141** It's also suggested he was this [[spoiler:to Guy; raising and caring for him forced Guy to rethink his blind hatred of the Fabres and his RevengeByProxy plan. If it wasn't for him, it's implied Guy would have gone through with it or at least remained on Van's side.]]
142* MorallySuperiorCopy: [[spoiler: Following a truly vicious BreakTheHaughty sequence, Luke becomes far more kind and heroic than his AntiVillain original]].
143* MrFanservice: Taking into account all of the alternative costumes, he easily shows the most skin out of the entire male cast.
144* NeverMyFault: After [[spoiler:the destruction of Akzeriuth]], he refuses to take responsibility for what happened and at one point repeatedly shouts "It's not my fault!" This is [[spoiler:what finally drives the rest of the party to leave him. [[TookALevelInKindness He gets a lot better after his]] ImportantHaircut. Though "better" might not be quite true since he does a 180 into a full on GuiltComplex.]]
145* NiceGuy: Post-ImportantHaircut he deliberately treats others better. But as the [[PetTheDog trope]] below shows, he always was one.
146* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]]. He doesn't appreciate [[PrettyPrincessPowerhouse Natalia]] and [[GoldDigger Anise]]'s attempts to woo him but he's got some good reasons for it; Natalia is LovingAShadow and insists on him remembering their ChildhoodMarriagePromise while being a [[RoyalBrat royal pain]] to him. Meanwhile Anise is rather ''creepy'' in how a 13 year old is wrapping around him, pulling a [[TheFakeCutie Fake Cutie]] and flirty act to get at him for the sake of money, which results in an in-universe {{Squick}} reaction. [[spoiler:When he develops a crush on Tear, he {{avert|edTrope}}s this as his actions and comments make it clear, in part due to low self esteem, he wants her to chase him.]]
147* NoSocialSkills: Downplayed but pre ImportantHaircut a lot of his jerk actions come from him not having been taught how to ''properly'' express himself and he gets very awkward when he tries to show he cares for others. Even after CharacterDevelopment kicks in, Luke tends to stumble a bit when it comes to interacting with the rest and can still stick his foot in it. [[spoiler:Being actually seven, and previously very sheltered, it's no wonder Luke struggles in this regard.]]
148* ParentalSubstitute: Not him himself, but it deserves mention here since Luke has no less than '''five''' different ones. Van is the obvious one, but Guy also raised him after he got amnesia [[spoiler:or rather due to being a BlankSlate replica]]. Then it gets complicated [[spoiler:as though Jade denies it, he ultimately fills this position for Luke after Van [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness abandons him]]. And, since he's a clone, Duke Fabre and, especially, Lady Susanne accepting him as their son puts them as two more.]]
149* PetTheDog: Even before he loses his {{Jerkass}} attitude, he has a soft spot for Ion. An early skit even shows him trying (awkwardly) to make Tear better when she keeps apologizing and obviously feels guilty for accidentally dragging him across the world via hyperresonance. And he admits to being worried about Anise when they meet up with her in Kaitzur...he does this ''a lot'' actually.
150* PickyEater: Canonically he does not like (deep breath) all kinds of sketchy meat, carrots, mushrooms, milk, rappig meat, and all kinds of fish. [[spoiler:The FridgeBrilliance of his actual age, being seven years old, on top of being spoiled by the Manor, explains why he's so picky. All of the above foods are the kind children would be likely to despise.]]
151* RealityWarper: His power of hyperresonance, which he uses during his ''Radiant Howl'' Mystic Arte. Lacking any kind of finesse over it, he just forces his power into a ball and shoves it into his target.
152* RecklessPacifist: His aversion to killing puts himself and his allies in danger and injuries Tear. Moving past this is one of the earliest stages of his extensive CharacterDevelopment.
153* ReluctantWarrior: He's quickly forced to accept that killing enemies is necessary, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. It's more pronounced when he has to kill humans though, as he is haunted by doing so.
154* ReformedButRejected: Jade and Anise are initially not too pleased to see him when he reunites with them.
155* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler:He was created because Van didn't want to part with the original Luke. Guy comes to believe that Replica!Luke is the "real Luke", and his relationship with him is different than the one with Asch, the original Luke.]]
156* RoyalBrat: Initially; his mother is the king's sister and he was a {{Jerkass}}.
157* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Develops into this; he's the tertiary heir to the throne and the heir to the most powerful non-royal aristocrat in the kingdom while being TheHero. [[spoiler:Though Luke himself doesn't feel he fits this trope properly due to being [[CloneAngst a replica]].]]
158* SayMyName: In the voice dramas, [[spoiler:when Asch takes a blow from Van meant for Luke and bids Luke farewell as he dies, Luke screams his name in anguish: ASSSSSHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUU!]] Outside of that, he's one of the few Tales Protagonists to avert screaming people's names.
159* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler:He's entirely composed of seventh fonons because he's a replica. This makes him vulnerable to fonon seperation from the Tower of Rem. It turns out by the end that everyone knew. Merging with Asch at the end of the game re-stabilized him. [[GainaxEnding Maybe.]]]]
160* ShelteredAristocrat: What he starts as. Character development moves him from a cloistered nobleman's brat to [[TheWisePrince a heroic royal that is honored by his king for bravery.]]
161* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:His existence 'as a replica' threw Yulia's Score off track. Not to mention he goes out to wreck [[BigBad Van]]'s plans as well.]]
162* SphereOfDestruction: His "Radiant Howl" Mystic Arte is a sphere of reality destroying energy that he forces on an enemy. [[spoiler:Not to mention what happened at Akzeriuth.]]
163* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Does his best to seem happy despite his various [[HeroicSelfDeprecation issues]] past a certain point. Gets worse once he starts dying as he plays up the positive things more and more in an attempt to hide it.]]
164* ThouShallNotKill: He doesn't like killing. Ultimately defied in that he realises that it is unfortunately necessary.
165* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:The game leads the player and TheTeam to believe that Asch is an evil clone but the truth is that Luke is the clone.]]
166* TookALevelInJerkass: [[AssInAmbassador Ambassador Asshat.]] He wasn't a role model from the start, but after being appointed as an ambassador, he becomes much more irritable and quick-tempered; impatient to meet Van at Akzeriuth. The fact that he is LockedOutOfTheLoop by the rest of the party only provokes him more.
167* TookALevelInKindness: After his ImportantHaircut. Even his quotes during and after battle become more polite.
168* TraumaCongaLine: Oh, just about the '''whole damn game'''. Even before [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]], Luke is forced to [[WhatMeasureIsAMook kill people]] for survival, thrown head long out of his depths into situations beyond his limited experience, and ends up face to face (literally) with things that horrify him. [[spoiler:Then he's used to destroy Akzeriuth, the party gives him crap because of it and ultimately abandon him, he gets a massive GuiltComplex about his part in Akzeriuth's destruction...and that's just the ''start''.]]
169* {{Tsundere}}: Like with [[spoiler:Asch]], when he's in {{jerkass}} mode, he gets like this to Ion and whenever he's complimented. Once he takes a level in kindness, he downplays it with the tsun mode mostly coming up by the end [[spoiler:when he's flustered about his feelings for Tear]].
170* UndyingLoyalty: No matter what anyone says (though they certainly weren't giving him any actual ''reasons'' to think otherwise) Luke whole-heartedly trusts Van and will follow what he wants him to do without any question. [[spoiler:Van specifically {{invoked|Trope}} this in him and once Luke did what Van made him for, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he was discarded and left to die]].]]
171* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Is this to Van in the lead up to Akzeriuth, having been groomed since birth to only trust him and thus destroy Akzeriuth on his command.]]
172* WalkingSpoiler: It's ''very'' hard to talk about him [[spoiler:without bring up the fact he's actually the replica of the original Luke fon Fabre.]]
173* TheWatson: Being an amnesiac ShelteredAristocrat who hasn't left the family manor in seven years, Luke is perfect for the role of asking "what's going on?"
174* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Uniquely among the party, Luke recognizes enemy soldiers as human beings and values their lives even pre-CharacterDevelopment, with him experiencing a HeroicBSOD the first time he kills an enemy {{Mook}}. He'll defend himself against enemy attacks and kill if he has to, but its mentioned that killing all these {{Mooks}} haunts him, and he has unique end-of-battle dialogue against human enemies where he expresses regret.
175* WiseBeyondTheirYears: [[spoiler:As he is actually seven, a lot of what Luke does and thinks and comes to a realization about puts him firmly in this trope.]]
176* TheWisePrince: CharacterDevelopment has him transform into this.
177* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Or rather, why can't you remember who you ''really'' are in Luke's case; most people around him (especially Natalia) want him to remember his past so he can go back to being the Luke of the past. [[spoiler:Turns out to be technically this trope in full as he's the seven year old ''replica'' of the original and is himself, no memories to unlock.]]
178* YoungerThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:He's only seven years old]], the kicker being that nobody trustworthy is aware of it until it is [[WhamEpisode too late]]. [[spoiler: Interesting side note: Luke's one of the oldest replicas encountered in game. The only one that's older than him is the Nebilim replica, who's more than twice his age. However, he is the oldest Seventh-Fonon-based replica.]]
179* YourDaysAreNumbered: [[spoiler:The events of the Tower of Rem results in Luke's fonons seperating, leaving him with a limited amount of time left to live; especially as he has no choice but to use the very power that will speed up his death to save the world.]]
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Tear Grants]]
183[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TearProfileNew_639.jpg]]
184
185->''"It's not easy to regain trust once you've lost it."''
186
187->Voiced by: Creator/{{Yukana}} (JP), Nicole Balick (EN)
188
189Born Mystearica Aura Fende, Tear is a Seventh Fonist from the Order of Lorelei who- at the beginning of the game- attempts to assassinate her brother Van Grants. She accidentally teleports herself and Luke halfway across the world, and stricken with guilt she vows to return him home. Though she carries herself as a soldier, Tear possesses a powerful motherly instinct and a weakness for girly or cute things. As a Songstress of Yulia, she can sing [[MagicMusic hymns that bestow powerful magical effects]].
190
191Tear is a defensive spellcaster. She has several ways of creating Fields of Fonons that enable the local CombinationAttack, has several offensive spells, and is the party's first healer, wielding area-of-effect healing spells.
192
193----
194* AccidentalKidnapping: Thanks to Luke trying to stop her from killing Van, they got whisked away by hyperresonance across the world, placing her as the kidnapper. Considering Luke has been previously kidnapped and his [[TheChosenOne importance]], Tear is lucky for only getting a metaphorical slap on the wrist. [[spoiler:Though considering her boss sends her soon after to a place that is destined to be destroyed when she gets there, perhaps not.]]
195* TheAce: Though every character just about has their moments, Tear’s mastery of Yulia’s Fonic hymn is primarily [[spoiler: the reason the party can make Van vulnerable to attack when he is using the power of Lorelei in his last fight with them. It is also the sole reason they survive the utter annihilation of Akzeriuth, as her fonic hymn shields them from both the great fall of the landscape and the poisonous miasma that awaits them at its end. In the anime, her Fonic hymns are also often the last move done in battle before their adversaries are dealt a finishing blow by the party. In the anime’s version of the final fight with Sync and Legretta, it is her fonic hymns that renders them immobile to be finished off by Guy and Jade, respectively.]]
196* ActionGirl: Her first introduction is her trying to kill her [[spoiler:evil]] brother. Though she's your main healer, she has plenty of skills that are geared towards fighting. She also whips out her knives during several scenes when enemies show up.
197* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Tear is beautiful with long gray-brown hair, and as a soldier, she's also composed, cold, and distant at first.
198* AlwaysAccurateAttack: Fortune's Arc will never miss.
199* ArtificialStupidity: Not ''nearly'' as bad as Natalia (see below), but when her AI casts Resurrection, unless you immediately when she's done have her cast/do something else, she WILL try to use Resurrection again, even if nobody is KO'd any more after she cast Resurrection the first time. This also occurs with Anise if you have the doll head that allows her to cast Raise Dead/Resurrection. [[note]] The reason this occurs is the AI casts Resurrection -> recovers and is ready to cast another spell -> doesn't pay attention to the current Resurrection spell (which has a long animation time after casting before it hits) and tries to revive the party member who still hasn't been hit with Resurrection it sees as dead. On the other hand, revival is always top priority for healers, whereas Estelle in ''Vesperia'' will often dawdle or neglect to quickly resurrect the dead. [[/note]]
200* BadassAdorable: A ruthless soldier who sometimes shows her cute side.
201* BettyAndVeronica: {{Averted|Trope}} but it's {{discussed|Trope}} that, if it wasn't for TheReveal, she would have been the Veronica (as the woman who brought Luke into the outside world) to Natalia's Betty for Luke.
202* BigEater: Implied by Jade. Her preferred ingredients when cooking ''are'' things like eggs and potatoes, which result in rather heavy dishes.
203* BluntYes: She says the replicas on Feres Island, who don't care whether the originals live or die, have "a will to live that borders on arrogance." When one of them asks if she's calling them arrogant, she says yes, and asks them whether they can say what they did when their words are turned against them.
204* BoomStick: She uses her wand to fire beams of light at her enemy rather than using it for closed-quarters combat.
205* BrutalHonesty: Does this ''a lot'', with a strong leaning towards the brutal part of the equation. She doesn't see the point in sugar-coating anything, such as the fact that Luke will likely have to kill to defend himself on his way home.
206* BuxomBeautyStandard: People don't seem to pay much attention to her large tracts of land until it's lampshaded in some skits and Luke uses them to taunt {{A|CupAngst}}nise.
207* CatGirl: Her "Monster Collector" costume title is styled with cat ears. It has the handy ability to [[EncounterRepellant stop encounters]] when worn...at the cost of [[CastFromHitPoints chipping away at the party's HP]].
208* CombatMedic: The best healer while plenty competent with her staff and throwing knives.
209* CutenessProximity: Put anything cute near her. "So cute..."
210* DCupDistress: Her big bosom isn't mentioned very often, but when it does, she surely doesn't like it.
211-->''M-me-melons, what do you mean melons!? Are you stupid!? Can't you be a little more quiet!?''
212* DeadpanSnarker: For example, when a stagecoach driver thinks Luke's with the Dark Wings, and Luke objects, Tear agrees, saying that the man might upset the Dark Wings.
213* DefrostingIceQueen: Downplayed. She's not ''really'' a cold individual, but Luke has so many foot-in-mouth moments that it looks that way.
214* DisappearedDad: It's never explained how her father died. [[spoiler:It's entirely possible he died when Hod fell, since it's stated Van saved himself and their mother (who was pregnant with Tear) using a fonic hymn, but nothing is ever said about their father.]]
215* FamousAncestor: Yulia, mother of the Score.
216* ForcedSleep: She uses the fonic hymn Nightmare to put enemies to sleep both in battle and in cutscenes.
217* GeneralRipper: God Generals on the loose? Van is behind it. Fon Master kidnapped? Van is behind it. [[spoiler: He is.]]
218* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Tear and Luke run into this trope a lot during the early game when they are traveling alone. Because of Tear's SugarAndIcePersonality, she doesn't make a loud fuss about it.
219* HidingBehindYourBangs: Her long hair covers one of her eyes; hinting at her reserved demeanor.
220* HolyHandGrenade: Based on Yulia's hymns and the seventh fonon.
221* IdenticalGranddaughter: Aside from the hair colour, she strongly resembles Yulia.
222* ImprobableAge: A lieutenant of the Oracle Knights of the Order of Lorelei... at the age of ''sixteen''! However, considering this is a world where a pre-teen can be the personal bodyguard of the spiritual leader of the known world (who's ''also'' pre-teen) it's less of a stretch. Plus, the world of Auldrant has years that last twice as long... meaning in our earth years, she's [[OlderThanTheyLook 32]].
223* ImprobableWeaponUser: [[MundaneMadeAwesome "Pow Hammer!"]]
224* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Some of the stuff she says can really sting, and she does pull that MoralMyopia crap (see said trope below), but she's also a very loving and sensitive young lady.
225* LadyOfBlackMagic: A reserved and graceful Seventh Fonist who, despite being a WhiteMagicianGirl, has some powerful offensive spells at her disposal.
226* LadyOfWar: A beautiful and composed soldier whose weapons include songs and expertly thrown knives.
227* LawfulStupid: It's subtly implied that raising her as this was ''deliberately'' done by the Yulia City elders to help her adhere to the BecauseDestinySaysSo attitude of the Oracle Knights. Ironically, she's more open to the idea of changing ''destiny'' than she is breaking the rules of her society.
228* LimitBreak: Innocent Shine and Fortune's Arc.
229* LiteralMinded: Slips into this a few times, mostly in skits. Like assuming that when Luke says she "hasn't changed" he means her outfit...
230* MagicMusic: The fonic hymns are powerful spells, thus making her a MusicalAssassin.
231* MayDecemberRomance: [[spoiler:Being sixteen to [[TheHero Luke's]] seven, she's the December to his May.]]
232* TheMedic: She has the best healing power and the most varied healing spells of the playable characters.
233* {{Meido}}: Her "Proud Maid" costume title.
234* MoralMyopia: She chews out Luke for trusting [[spoiler:his beloved father figure Van, who then proceeded to use Luke to blow up Akzeriuth.]] However, she saw no problem with defending the honor of her direct superior Grand Maestro Mohs, even after it is readily apparent that he [[spoiler:masterminded the repeated kidnappings of her ultimate superior and, by that time, close friend Ion, and was trying to send the entire world into war.]] She never seems to bring this up, even when its revealed that [[spoiler:he knew and was fully supporting Van's actions regarding the destruction of Akzeriuth.]]
235* MsFanservice: Out of the three playable girls, Tear is definitely the most voluptuous, [[BuxomBeautyStandard especially in the chest department]]. She's even regarded as an incredible beauty InUniverse.
236* ParentalAbandonment: As stated, an explanation for how Tear's father dies is never given, and her mother [[spoiler: died not long after [[DeathByChildbirth giving birth to her]]]].
237* PillarOfLight: Innocent Shine is light magic attack beams that [[DeathFromAbove rain down from above.]]
238* PromotionToParent:
239** In a different sense; Luke's mother promotes her to "sister" in a cutscene, but she still views Tear as someone that takes care of her son when she can't.
240** She was also on the receiving end. She and Van were officially adopted by the mayor of Yulia City, but Van was the one who ultimately took responsibility for raising her.
241* ProperlyParanoid: [[spoiler:About Van. He really is responsible for all the trouble going on]].
242* SayMyName: Screams Luke's name in anguish [[spoiler:as he prepares to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] himself at the Tower of Rem.]]
243%%* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: [[spoiler:It seems to run in the family.]]
244* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Falls into this as she watches Luke become an AllLovingHero after his ImportantHaircut.
245* SugarAndIcePersonality: At first she's mainly ice (due to her insistence on being a "soldier") but over time her sugar comes out more and more around the group, and Luke in particular.
246* TragicKeepsake: Her deceased mother's pendant. She gives it up early on to pay for a carriage ride. An optional sidequest later on has Luke buy it back for her. In Tales of the Abyss Anime Last Episode cd drama, it explains how she got it back.
247* WhiteMage: She can cast healing magic based on Yulia's holy fonic hymns and is also the strongest healer of the team.
248* WhiteMagicianGirl: Averted. While she has the best healing magic, she's a soldier. Half of her skills are direct fighting instead of magic and she throws knives in several cutscenes. She's also presents a cold front in contrast to the trope's standard. She's the most action-focused WhiteMagicianGirl ''ever''.
249* WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic: Tear has to understand the lyrics, melody and symbolism of Yulia's Hymns in order to invoke their effects. Otherwise, they're just songs.
250* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Tear's beauty is mentioned quite a few times throughout the game; Guy makes a point of telling her he finds her beautiful, Luke admits in his journal that he considers her 'really beautiful', and a man in Chesedonia mentions seeing a great beauty recently, but upon considering your party mentions that Tear is 'more his type'. Even the emperor of Malkuth seems to lust after her, judging by his (apparently scandalous) bathing suit choice for her.
251* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: She's really scared of Ghosts.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Jade Curtiss]]
255[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JadeProfile_9032.jpg]]
256
257->''"I merely expressed distrust as a matter of formality."''
258
259->Voiced by: Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (JP), Creator/KirkThornton (EN)
260
261Also known as Jade the Necromancer, Jade is the oldest character to join your party (in his thirties). Born as Jade Balfour and adopted into the noble House Curtiss, he is a prodigy in fonon use and research. He grew up with the Emperor of Malkuth as a neighbor, and serves Malkuth's military as commander of the Third Division Forces. Unofficially, he's the Emperor's right-hand-man.
262
263Jade is (usually) calm and collected, and is always ready with a witty or sarcastic remark. He also tends to enjoy playing the age card to get out of physical labour (like [[BlockPuzzle pushing boxes]]). His fonic ability is sealed early in the game, restricting access to all but his most basic spells. He unseals his existing abilities as he levels up.
264
265Jade is mainly an offensive spellcaster, though he can also summon a spear for close-range combat.
266
267----
268* AdultsAreUseless: Averted, and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d to hell and back. Jade is a MagicKnight and vital to many plot events but exploits the trope for [[{{Troll}} fun]], or to get out of doing manual labour.
269* AlmightyJanitor: Jade is a [[ChildProdigy genius]] [[BlackMage fonist]], an amazing strategist, has more political connections than expected from someone originally of a "lowly" birth, and has the ear of the Emperor himself due to being ChildhoodFriends. Not to mention is trusted with highly classified and important missions. All that, and he refuses to be ranked higher than Colonel.
270* AmbiguousDisorder: It's very, very clear that Jade's mind simply does not work in the same way that other people's do, but what exactly his mental difference is and what caused it is never addressed, and since ThereAreNoTherapists, it won't be.
271* AntiHero: Jade is not nice by any means and one gets the feeling that he's more "helping his friend/boss" than "fighting ForGreatJustice". That's what he says, anyway. Having seen his softer side, however, this is hard to believe.
272* BadassBookworm: Jade is a colonel in Malkuth's military and also one its brightest scientists.
273* BadassCape: Gets one in his optional final costume, "Evil Fonist?".
274* BerserkButton: Finding out the villains are using fomicry sends him into an uncharacteristic rage.
275* BigBrotherInstinct: Though it doesn't come up in the game, in the ''Reminiscences of Jade'' manga when Nephry is attacked and injured by assailants he acts somewhat uncharacteristically (showing anger and worry, going for an immediately kill to one of the assailants, and not being quite as observant as usual when Nephry appears) in such a way to make it clear he is ''not'' taking any of this calmly and potentially even takes the whole incident ''very'' personally.
276** Nephry brings it up in the game when she describes Jade performing formicry on her favorite doll that broke.
277* BizarreTasteInFood: Jade tends to get creative with his food dishes when he's the designated cook, creating things like Potato Pizza and using tofu in the Fried Chicken recipe
278* BlackMage: All his spells focus on dealing offensive magical damage.
279* BreakoutCharacter: He's become one of the top popular characters in the whole franchise before [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Yuri Lowell]] debuted and had to share the same amount of spotlight as Jade that they both kept winning too many popularity polls ''[[HilarityEnsues they had to be banned as options]]''. This popularity netted Jade a cameo battle in [[spoiler:''Tales of Zestiria'']] alongside [[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Sophie]]; another popular character but not as popular as either Jade or Yuri.
280* BrilliantButLazy: PlayedForLaughs- Jade is ridiculously competent at everything he does except [[spoiler:he can't use the seventh fonon, and he's a sociopathic MadScientist so his inventions cause moral issues]], but he'd rather not do anything if he doesn't have to, usually tricking Guy or Luke into doing things for him. Explaining things is the most common thing Jade worms his way out of, but he also gets out of menial labour and the like.
281** This is also {{deconstructed|Trope}}. Jade later admits [[spoiler:his desire to avoid making things complicated in the lead up to Akzeriuth is why he didn't reveal what he figured out about Luke, and thus is partially to blame for what happened there.]]
282* BrokenAce: Jade is so famous, so skilled, so renowned, so respected and so damn intelligent that more or less everybody who isn't a villain ([[WorthyOpponent and even then, some of those too]]) treat him with respect. None of which he's happy about. Why? [[spoiler:Because he's ''not'' the god of a man people seem to think he is. He's a sociopathic, borderline MadScientist whose lack of emotional connection to the world and the people in it just makes their lives worse, and he ''knows it''. As the story goes on, he seems to develop envy towards Luke; as he's able to overcome his flaws and develop true compassion for the lives of others whereas Jade struggles with very similar issues up to and beyond the game's end.]]
283* BrutalHonesty: Can be like this, often in rather horrible ways. The problem is that one can't tell if he's being [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] or it's this trope.
284* CelibateEccentricGenius: He is a brilliant and multidisciplinary inventor who has enough difficulty forming friendships, let alone any sort of romantic relationship.
285* CharacterDevelopment: Subtle and rather depressing.
286** While he keeps an almost invariably cool facade, Jade is initially very emotionally detached and aloof to everything. As Luke grows and Jade sees the fruits of both his inventions and his apathetic treatment of others, he begins to increasingly loathe his work and curse his irresponsible detachment from his surroundings. Late in the game, during a skit contemplating both, [[spoiler:he wishes he could go back in time and kill himself as a newborn]] and, for once, he doesn't seem to be joking.
287** During a private chat with Luke, he confesses that [[spoiler:he had guessed that Luke was a Replica long before TheReveal, but that he withheld the information because he felt explaining would be a hassle]]. He's aware of the ramifications of keeping everyone in the dark about this, with no small amount of self-loathing.
288** Though it wasn't visible much during the ending, but the anime version shows more visibly[[spoiler: his eyes's colors have turned back into brown. In the official guide, the Tales team confirmed that it wasn't a glitch or editing mistake. Jade had his Fonic sight removed after the final battle showing how much he has changed.]]
289* ChildProdigy: When he was younger there wasn't any fonic arte he couldn't learn -- except seventh fonic artes. This is a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] taking account he was also a CreepyChild (see below for details).
290* ColonelBadass: Jade is a colonel in Malkuth's military.
291* ColonyDrop: A late-game sidequest grants him several "forbidden spells" and one of which is Meteor Storm.
292* CoolOldGuy: Parodied. Jade repeatedly pulls the "old man" card despite being only thirty-five and he's ''aware'' of how ridiculous this is when he states that he doesn't consider someone a true adult until they're in their forties. [[BrilliantButLazy He just invokes it to get out of hard work]].
293* CompetenceZone: If one of these exists, then Jade is in it and everyone else is too young.
294* CreepyChild: He used his genius-level skill in fonic artes to torture monsters ForTheEvulz. His own sister called him a monster, but he got better after Professor Nebilim showed him the errors of his ways.
295* CrutchCharacter: Sort of. The first time he joins your party, he's level 45, while Luke and Tear are probably closer to 5. This changes very fast.
296* CursedWithAwesome: Jade admits on several occasions that his intelligence is a curse. Considering his inventions and ideas are used equally by heroes and villains alike, he's not wrong.
297* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:He states that, if he could, he'd go back in time and kill himself before his intelligence could blight the planet. He doesn't take any such actions in the present.]]
298* DissonantSerenity: For example, if the party gets attacked from behind by an enemy encounter, his reaction is to just laugh and cheerfully proclaim "This is ''terrible''!"
299* DressedToHeal: The "Doctor Mambo" costume.
300* ElementalPowers: Has access to [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[BlowYouAway Wind]]/[[ShockAndAwe Lightning]], [[MakingASplash Water]]/[[AnIcePerson Ice]], [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], and {{Light|EmUp}}, missing only [[CastingAShadow Darkness]] and the seventh fonon.
301* FourEyesZeroSoul: He skirts around the edges of this trope, but his self-awareness of his LackOfEmpathy and a desire to do something right despite that lead to him defying it.
302* TheGadfly: 90% of Jade's dialogue consists of making snarky jabs at the other characters to get a humorous reaction out of them, and he enjoys every second of it sporting a {{Perpetual Smile|r}}, and sounding utterly joyful, and humorous while doing so. This leads to many comedic moments with him throughout the game.
303* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: This ColonelBadass isn't just show- he joins your party for the first time halfway through the first boss fight at level 45, when Luke and Tear are likely around 5. Its not much later that the [[PowerLimiter Fon Slot Seal]] hits him and brings him down to their level.
304* GenderBlenderName: Jade is also a common girl's name.
305* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan:
306** [[spoiler:He delivers one to Natalia during their final mission in Eldrant for being so clingy to Asch, and almost getting herself and the others killed when Asch dies.]]
307** He does a verbal one to Luke when [[spoiler:St. Binah falls into the Qlipoth]]. The elder [=McGovern=] tells Luke it's proof that Jade's warming up to him. If Jade didn't care, then the reprimand would have been too much of a hassle.
308* GlassCannon: He's putting out better numbers than anyone else on Unknown difficulty due to his huge Fonic Attack growth and very strong spells. However, he's got low physical defense growth and mediocre health and is the only character incapable of healing himself without special equipment and/or items. This becomes his primary bane in his solo arena battles that while he's got combos they don't do much. His best damage comes from spells which he barely has time to do (his fastest spell is Photon). In compensation, he's the only character to receive a costume upon winning his solo arena
309* TheGlassesComeOff: [[spoiler:Before the fight with Van. This is bad news for Van, considering the glasses are a PowerLimiter for his fonic powers]].
310* GuiltComplex: He does his best to hide it, but a close inspection proves he has this for [[spoiler:how fomicry is being used by the villains and Luke's very existence, and [[CloneAngst issues]] born from that, blaming himself as the one ultimately behind it.]]
311* HammerSpace: Where Jade keeps his spears when he's not wielding them. It's {{justified|Trope}} by explaining the fonic arte that lets him do it as essentially breaking them apart into their individual fonons and keeping those fonons stored in his arm when he's not using them; this ([[GuideDangIt missable]]) explanation actually turns out to be a ChekhovsGun when [[spoiler:something similar ''accidentally'' happens to Luke, who is made of Seventh Fonons, with an item that is ''also'' made of Seventh Fonons.]]
312* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Subtly done; the one who has the worst opinion and impression of Jade Curtiss will always remain Jade Curtiss himself.
313* HeterosexualLifePartners:
314** He is this with Emperor Peony, the only person Jade's sarcasm fails against. Instead, he himself is teased.
315** He ''used'' to be this with Dist before actively disassociating himself from him to escape his past. Dist still hasn't gotten over it.
316* HotForTeacher: Subverted. While there's enough subtext to suggest that this was be the case, Jade confesses that he has difficulty in forming truly meaningful emotional bonds with others. As such, this is denied.
317* IAmAMonster: Subtle and usually PlayedForLaughs. Until it isn't as Jade has [[DarkAndTroubledPast some]] [[CreepyChild very]] [[SociopathicHero good]] [[MadScientist reasons]] to believe it.
318* ImprobableAge: He created the first replica when he was ''nine''. This is PlayedForDrama when he and his sister reveal their awareness that such a thing was unnatural for a boy of his age. It's implied his use of torturing monsters ForTheEvulz with his fonic artes came soon after.
319* InstantRunes: They form in preparation for the Mystic Arts.
320* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Downplayed. While his significantly higher intelligence than other kids his age made it harder for him to relate to them, the true reason he had few friends was because he ''creeped the other kids out''.
321* ItSeemedTrivial: The reason why he kept the information concerning [[spoiler:Luke being a replica]] to himself is that explaining would be a hassle.
322* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Implied to be what he did to Dist to extract information about Mt. Roneal. We don't see it because of RelaxOVision (although Dist was screaming), and Jade '[[BlatantLies covers it up]]' with incidents about earthquakes awakening an underground monster.
323* JerkassHasAPoint: He's never ''nice'' about it, but when it comes to advice and bringing up important things, Jade has a point always. Sometimes not one even he likes to admit [[spoiler:like the whole Tower of Rem situation.]]
324* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Small but it's there, and becomes more noticable as the story progresses. He even gets a title called "Soft Meanie".
325-->''Sure you can be bitter, mean, nasty, sarcastic, and snide. But once in a very long while, only to those you trust, you can actually be nice.''
326* TheLeader: Pretty clear mastermind for the main cast, though he shares the role somewhat with Luke as the charismatic one.
327* LimitBreak: [[SphereOfDestruction Mystic Cage]] and [[ShockAndAwe Indignation]].
328* MadDoctor: A small sidequest results in him testing out an experimental treatment on the character of your choice. He gets a doctor's outfit costume title as a result. If you equip it for a battle, he tells Anise in a skit that he originally planned on being an autopsist, not a soldier.
329* MadScientist: He was the one who invented fomicry; [[note]] [[ChildProdigy When he was nine]][[/note]]. No more needs to be said.
330* MagicKnight: He is the game's most powerful offensive magic user, yet he also has high enough attack power and hit points to make him aptly suited for melee combat as well but [[GlassCannon his lack of healing abilities and physical defence means he won't last long in the role]].
331* ManChild: Subtly done for the most part, but it really comes out when he joins forces with Anise to tease the others, such as the moment when he joins in on tickling Guy.
332* MySisterIsOffLimits: He is not pleased when he discovers that the rappig Peony named after Nephry has the prettiest collar.
333* {{Necromantic}}: {{Averted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Though his original goal in fomicry was to revive his teacher Nebilim, he flat out says he wasn't in love with her.]]
334* NotSoStoic: Though he is normally unflappable (noted below) there are a few times where he's pushed to his limits and actually expresses genuine emotion.
335* OddCouple: In the ''Tales-of'' metaverse, he hosted the bonus talk-show ''Viva Tales-of'' with [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Zelos]] and the two of them play off each other surprisingly well.
336* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 35. He does not look it.
337* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: At a few points.
338** [[spoiler:As Luke ponders sacrificing himself]], Jade says that "as (Luke's) friend," he feels compelled to stop it, something Luke says he never heard Jade refer to him as before. Jade then follows with an apology.
339** He loses his temper when he hears that the villains are using fomicry.
340** After [[spoiler:the collapse of St. Binah]], Luke is quite upset and desperate to do something about the problem, and Jade scolds him for acting like a child. [=Elder McGovern=] tells Luke that this is a sign that Jade is warming up to him, seeing him as worth scolding.
341* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Zigzagged. At one point, Jade has an idea that might answer a significant plot point, but since he's not a physicist, he insists they go to consult one to make sure his theory will work, which looks like an aversion of the trope. Then the physicist they consult confirms that he's absolutely right...and calls Jade brilliant for thinking of it in the first place. This happens with other disciplines, too, though not to the same degree, and with occasional lampshading - while Jade's field of expertise is fonic artes, he's apparently ''very'' well-read in a wide variety of other subjects. When it comes to biology he straight-up admits it's not his subject and can only make guesswork about the various creatures the group encounter but he entertains the idea of dissecting them to learn more.
342* OverratedAndUnderleveled: Justified in a way that makes him seem even more awesome. In terms of cost, using a fon slot seal on someone is the equivalent of [[DeathFromAbove nuking them from orbit]].
343* ParentalSubstitute: Though he denies it, it's very obvious that he has become this to [[spoiler:Luke]] despite himself, as pointed out by [=Elder McGovern=] when Jade scolds [[spoiler: Luke]] like a concerned parent would.
344* PerpetualSmiler: He always has a smug smile on his face. It pissed Luke off when they first met.
345* PhlebotinumBreakdown: He wears glasses to keep this from happening to the fonslots in his eyes. In an optional scene, the player can see what happens to someone who ''doesn't'' do this.
346* PowerLimiter: Gets hit with a Fon Slot Seal early in the game, which reduces his strength by about 40 levels and he breaks the seal as you re-level him. [[spoiler: Also has a willing Power Limiter in the form of his Glasses regulating his Fonic Sight, check out TheGlassesComeOff up above for more on that one.]]
347* ProfessorGuineaPig: In his youth, he experimented on himself, which increased his Fonic ability by way of the Fonic Sight. However, during an experiment of harnessing the power of Seventh Fonons, [[spoiler:it backfired horribly. Professor Nebilim's house was set ablaze and the backlash fatally wounded her. This course of events led up to his attempt at replicating Nebilim and [[CameBackWrong her coming back as a bloodthirsty monster]]]].
348* RedEyesTakeWarning: He did it to himself, when he was eight, by using magic to mutilate his eyes. "Fonic Sight" increased his power, but it's been banned because the arte usually makes people go blind [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity or insane]] or dead.
349* RenaissanceMan: He's an OmnidisciplinaryScientist who also is a skilled tacticial, is a capable fighter and fonist, and has some knowledge of medicine. Not to mention [[BreadEggsMilkSquick torture and interrogation]] judging by Dist's screams in a certain incident.
350* SociopathicHero: Jade is aware of the concepts of right and wrong, but is unable to fully comprehend them. Unlike most {{Sociopathic Hero}}es, he is troubled by this and makes an effort to do the right thing. Thus making him a case of MoralSociopathy.
351* SpecsOfAwesome: He's an [[StoicSpectacles unflappable]] magic soldier who wears glasses not because he needs them but to protect his enemies.
352* StepfordSmiler: Hits this by [[StepfordSnarker constantly snarking]] with a cheerful tone and smile. In truth he's bothered by his moral sociopathy and how his inventions have been turned to evil.
353* TheStoic: As a kid, where he bordered on emotionless to go along with his status as a CreepyChild with an AmbiguousDisorder. As an adult, however, he's replaced stoicism with {{smug|Smiler}}ness and is generally much more emotive.
354* SummonToHand: He mutilated his own arm with "[[MagiBabble the contamination effect]]" so he could summon and dismiss his spear at will.
355* SurroundedByIdiots: a playful variation ''"*Sigh* I'm babysitting a group of children."''
356* ATasteOfPower: That Liger Queen was created so that Jade would brutally murder her with powerful spells. [[note]] It becomes necessary in Unknown given Luke and Tear do ScratchDamage if they're not properly levelled with bonus stats. [[/note]]
357* TokenEvilTeammate:
358** While Jade's not exactly evil, he's a lot less hesitant to ShootTheDog than the other party members and is willing to cross lines that nobody else would even approach. [[spoiler:While he never quite loses the sociopathic streak, he does gain enough understanding of people to be a better friend.]]
359** If you look at his early childhood, his personality and actions are often disturbingly similar to those of real-life ''serial killers''. Had he not ever had his upbringing to teach him the meaning and value of a life, or even lost one of the few people in his life that he gave a damn about the way he did to help reinforce this deeply, he could easily have grown up to be a Villain.
360** It's even lampshaded if you fight the FinalBoss with Jade as your active character, and neither Luke nor Tear in the roster, as the BigBad [[VillainRespect expresses admiration]] for how [[spoiler:Jade's unethical science and callous disregard for life is what made his plan possible in the first place]]. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame Jade's response amounts to a very uncomfortable]] "ShutUpHannibal" moment.
361* {{Troll}}: Jade tends to spend most of his conversations messing with whoever he's currently talking to. This is most apparent when he's dealing with Luke or Dist.
362** It's made crystal clear, even if you'd never seen Jade before, [[spoiler:in his cameo boss fight in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria''. He doesn't even have to speak to the party yet to give off this aura. Jade's new guard pose seems to be actually just him pushing up his glasses and, sometimes he'll stand there, unflinching, as you hit him. You can actually get his health down low even 20 levels lower than him (and not even take much damage in turn), since Jade retains his GlassCannon status... and then he uses Mystic Cage, which for those who don't know, is a Mystic Arte that hits pretty much the entire field in its original game. It'll kill your party, no problem. Considering this is consistent with his character, it's hard not to think he's just screwing with you]].
363** [[spoiler:And what he says when he wipes out your party, likely with said Mystic Cage? "Don't worry. It's only death."]]
364* {{Tsundere}}:
365** A very mild version, but he tends to treat Peony (and late in the game, Luke and Anise) in a dismissive way that's completely unconvincing when they tease him. One of his titles in the Japanese version is "tsundere ojisan" (tsundere old man). It's translated as "soft meanie" in the English version.
366** He's also an example with Dist. While Jade ''is'' very clearly tired with him, he still seems to care about him as a friend deep down.
367* VitriolicBestBuds: With Peony, who is the only person ever to get away with teasing Jade as mercilessly as Jade teases everyone else.
368* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Jade is the only main character in the game who is never shown taking an interest in ''anyone''. This also extends to friendly compassion, to the point that Anise has to tell him flat-out that he's becoming concerned for their well-being when he starts questioning his feelings towards them.
369* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Like the rest of the party, Jade says this to Luke. It's also returned by Luke himself, as he's the first one to genuinely see Jade as actually a very good person. On Jade's part, he's surprised and honestly touched (though he's quick to cover it up) by this faith.
370* YouMonster: Would you believe he used to be one? His sister straight-up calls him a "monster" because [[TeensAreMonsters he was a sadistic freak in his youth]], who tortured helpless animals no reason other than [[ForTheEvulz he found it entertaining]]. He only stopped being one because [[ThePowerOfFriendship Gelda Nebilim was able to change him]]. Tragically, it was because he developed an immense love and respect for her that led to the BreakTheHaughty moment [[spoiler:that puts the events of the whole game into motion: her death and his subsequent application of fomicry to living beings]].
371[[/folder]]
372
373[[folder:Anise Tatlin]]
374[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AniseProfile_213.jpg]]
375
376->''"Come on! If you don't try harder then it's just annoying!"''
377
378->Voiced by: Creator/HalkoMomoi (JP), Creator/MelissaFahn (EN)
379
380Anise is a Fon Master Guardian, the personal bodyguard and aide of Fon Master Ion. Her sugary sweet appearance and demeanour hide a ruthless and money-hungry personality that dreams of marrying into money and violently curses out enemies. She also works as a subordinate to Jade.
381
382She is known as a "puppeteer", and can make her plushie Tokunaga grow to an incredible size using her knowledge of Fonic Artes. She uses this ability to ride Tokunaga into battle and beat her enemies into submission. The gameplay result of this is that she's something of a hybrid character - she possesses a "wide heavy swings" combat style similar to characters like Presea from ''Symphonia'', also has a line of both [[YinYangBomb light and dark]] attack spells, and is reasonably tanky but not quite the wall of HP that some other "heavies" of the series are. She also has access to a specific line of doll accessories which grant her unique passive abilities that change up her gameplay (and the form Tokunaga takes when enlarged).
383
384----
385* ActionGirl: She might be young, but with Tokunaga's help she's fully capable of taking on various enemies and monsters.
386* ACupAngst: She ''is'' just thirteen after all, but with [[BuxomBeautyStandard Tear]] in front of her and more than a few taunts directed her way Anise really dislikes being flatchested.
387* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Downplayed as they have little screen time but when they do show up they embarrass her with their lack of common sense.
388* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:After Ion dies and she stops being a GoldDigger.]]
389* BitchInSheepsClothing: A minor example. She acts very cutesy, but she's a lot more rude and foul-mouthed than she lets on. [[spoiler:Not so minor when it's revealed she's TheMole.]]
390* BodyguardCrush: It's hardly a secret that she crushes on Ion.
391* BlackMagicianGirl: Her speciality is offensive magic and she's so small and squishy that she has to ride Tokunaga just to take part in battle.
392* CastingAShadow: Her spells mostly consist of contrasting light and dark elemental powers.
393* CuteBruiser: Tokunaga, her puppet, is cute and can crush monsters with its fists. SHE, on the other hand, is as physically weak as her young age and short stature would suggest.
394* DarkIsNotEvil: A hero who uses dark magic. (Negative Gate and Bloody Howling)
395* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:Acts as a spy for Mohs for most of the game due to the latter keeping her parents hostage, eventually leading to Ion's death. Contrary to Luke's game-long redemption arc, Anise's is glossed over with a bit of crying and no hard feelings from the rest of the party. This can be explained because Anise did what she did for her parents, and shows genuine horror and remorse ''before'' Ion dies, and tries to get their help. She also tests to see what the party does with traitors as far back as when they learn Guy was originally on Van's side. She's easily the hardest on traitors, and remarks how stupid they are for trusting Spinoza.]]
396* {{Expy}}: [[spoiler:Like Luke and Asch, she is a third one of Zelos, but unlike Luke and Asch, it's her character, not her appearance, that makes her an expy.]]
397* FeminineWomenCanCook: She's the best cook in the party, plays up her cuteness, and looks forward to being married (to a rich guy of course)
398* GenkiGirl: Compared to the rest of the cast, anyway, she has a lot more energy.
399* GirlishPigtails: Part of her 'cute girl' act is styling her hair in this fashion.
400* GlassCannon: Not so noticeable on your first run through the game but she dies quick on higher difficulty levels.
401* GoldDigger: She hits on a number of characters like Luke and Peony for their wealth. When Jade mentions that [[spoiler:Guy, as a Malkuth nobleman has a good deal of it, she starts hitting on him too.]] She gets over this later, and it's also explained that she was so focused on money because [[spoiler:her parents are ''extremely'' gullible, and are constantly in ridiculous amounts of debt because they keep donating money they don't have to the CorruptChurch and they constantly fall for mail-order time share and vacation scams, and she wants to help them pay off their debts.]]
402* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:Forced to work for Mohs to pay off her parents' debt, and this escalates to outright kidnapping when Mohs wants to use Ion to read the Score]].
403* ImprobableWeaponUser: While she equips wands, all of her physical attacks use her giant plushie.
404* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's nice to her friends but everyone else either gets the 'cute girl' act or a scathing comment.
405* {{Kawaiiko}}: She deliberately plays up her age and appearance to invoke this trope.
406* LightEmUp: Half her spells are light based.
407* LittleMissConArtist: Part of her whole GoldDigger shtick is acting adorable and cheerful to pilfer coins from gullible {{Non Player Character}}s.
408* LimitBreak: Final Fury and Fever Time.
409* LoveHurts: [[spoiler:Her love for her parents causes her a lot of trouble and Ion's death causes a HeroicBSOD.]]
410* MarionetteMaster: She rides a plushie puppet.
411* TheMole: [[spoiler:For Mohs, for most of the game, culminating in the death of Ion.]]
412* MoneyToThrowAway: Fever Time [[note]]20,000 coins to be exact if it doesn't end the battle[[/note]].
413* PintSizedPowerhouse: Played with. She's is weak physically and Tokunaga has to grow to seven or so feet to fight in battle. She's also magically strong.
414* PrecisionFStrike: "I'll ''kill'' you bastards!" and "We're going to shove [[spoiler:the Commandant's]] ideas up his ass!"
415* RaceLift: Her skin is much more white in the anime.
416* RapidFireFisticuffs: Final Fury has Tokunaga rapidly punching a target.
417* {{Shoryuken}}: Her Dragon Surge/Stone Dragon Ascent arte as well as Final Fury can be extended to Dying Moon which is an uppercut in this fashion.
418* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: While she is after someone with a lot of gold what she really wants is someone with a heart of gold.
419* SupremeChef: The majority of the recipes you obtain she can upgrade them to make it better. She even has a title that can make her NOT ruin dishes. There's a skit where she can force Luke to call her "Anise-sama" by withholding her cooking.
420* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: "Ionian Sergeant Anise Tatlin: Oracle Knights Fon Master Guard WINS!"
421-->'''Guy:''' [[LampshadeHanging That's WAY too long!]]
422** One of her win quotes has her stumbling trying to say it all.
423* YinYangBomb: She can use spells of the First and Sixth Fonons, which are Dark and Light spells, respectively.
424[[/folder]]
425
426[[folder:Guy Cecil]]
427[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GuyProfile_1461.jpg]]
428
429->''"Enter the amazing Guy!"''
430
431->Voiced by: Creator/YasunoriMatsumoto (JP), Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (EN)
432
433Guy is Luke's servant and "best friend", going so far as to travel into the middle of enemy territory looking for Luke when he goes missing. Though Guy is extremely charming, he suffers from a crippling case of gynophobia and freaks out if he is touched by a woman. He also has a geeky obsession with Fon Machines. [[spoiler:He's actually a Malkuth Noble; Gailardia Galan of the House of Gardios, and originally of Hod which was destroyed fifteen years ago. Paired with that is some HiddenDepths, including a particularly dark side.]]
434
435In battle, Guy is a swordsman who sacrifices attack power for pure speed in both his movement and rate of attack, a FragileSpeedster to Luke's LightningBruiser.
436
437----
438* AlliterativeName: His full name ([[spoiler:Gailardia Galan Gardios.]])
439* AmbiguousDisorder: Averted. Guy's condition isn't explicitly pegged as gynophobia when it's introduced, but it's clear that the game isn't dancing around the issue of it. [[spoiler:Strictly speaking, it's PTSD.]]
440* AncestralWeapon: [[spoiler:The Jewel of Gardios is an heirloom of the House of Gardios.]]
441* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:He feels that he was partially to blame for what happened at Akzeriuth, because A). he was in cahoots with Van and knew that he was up to no good and B). feels responsible for raising Luke into the spoiled brat that was easily manipulated by Van.]]
442* BadassNormal: He's the only one of the team to not have any fonic artes or special power/destiny, and he keeps up just fine with them. In fact, he's a GameBreaker in terms of ability!
443* BecomingTheMask: In his backstory. [[spoiler:Guy originally ''hated'' Luke and the Fabres, only working for them to kill Luke in a RevengeByProxy plan. Then Luke was kidnapped and returned "[[BlankSlate amnesiac]]" and Guy ended up in charge of his care. Before he realizes it, his friendship with Luke is 100% genuine, something he only becomes aware of throughout the game when he meets the "real" Luke and comes to the conclusion the replica is the only Luke for him.]]
444* TheBet: He mentioned in the Jewel of Gardios sidequest having done one with Luke, who doesn't remember it.
445--> [[spoiler:If the son of my father's killer, the man I hated more than anything, grew into someone who could make me feel loyalty towards him, then perhaps I'd lose my desire for revenge.]]
446* BewareTheNiceOnes: Usually, Guy is a friendly and upbeat NiceGuy. Then his charge (Luke) is threatened and he becomes frightening.
447* BigDamnHeroes: "Enter the amazing Guy!"
448* BitchInSheepsClothing: {{Downplayed|Trope}} but Guy is not ''quite'' the NiceGuy he appears to be; he does have a mean streak to him and can hold a grudge [[spoiler:such as the whole revenge scheme against the Fabre family to which he has enough lingering feelings about to allow the Curse Slot to effect him.]] Events in the game reveal [[spoiler:he was once a straight example, as though he acted all cheerful and subservient, he ''hated'' all of the Fabre family and, until Luke's kidnapping, secretly wanted to kill him.]]
449* BlackComedy: His fear of women is funny until Guy remembers what happened to cause it. On successive playthroughs, the game's treatment of it before Guy gets his memory back can skirt close to DudeNotFunny territory.
450* BrokenAce: Charming, well-spoken, an accomplished swordsman, unfailingly kind and intelligent; it seems like Guy's only flaws are a few endearing quirks like his fear of women and obsession with fontech. [[spoiler:Then you find out about his family's murder, and the plot to kill Luke in front of his father as a result. Add that he knew Van was up to no good, and did nothing to stop him despite not really wanting Luke dead anymore. ''Then'' he holds a sword to King Ingobert's throat at the peace conference, and it becomes clear that he's not over his past [[StepfordSmiler nearly as much as he seems to be]].]]
451* ButtMonkey: Though not as much as Luke, Guy tends to get the short end of the stick, whether it's with his gynophobia, riffing him on how he spoils Luke, or ending up the butt of jokes.
452* BuriedInAPileOfCorpses: [[spoiler:The real source of his gynophobia, since he was trapped for days under the bodies of his sister and the maids who died to protect him]].
453* ChickMagnet: To his great despair, many girls would like to hold his hand or otherwise be too close to him for comfort.
454* ChildhoodFriends: [[spoiler: He grew up with Van.]]
455* ChildrenRaiseYou: An interesting take on the trope. [[spoiler:Guy raising and caring for Luke made him move beyond RevengeBeforeReason and ultimately perform an off-screen HeelFaceTurn.]]
456* ChivalrousPervert: "Well, I do love LOOKING at beautiful women..."
457* CoolSword: [[spoiler:The Jewel of Gardios which hangs in the entrance hall of Luke's house throughout the game and is acquired through a sidequest. Like the Key of Lorelei it doubles as an InfinityMinusOneSword in subsequent playthroughs, since it unlocks Guy's second Mystic Arte]]
458* CovertPervert: Relatively early on, there's a skit that brings up showers and the women of the party in the same sentence. While the girls are going after [[ButtMonkey Luke]] (thanks to jumping to conclusions) only Jade notices that Guy is ''drooling''. As the team gets to know each other, the "covert" part disappears.
459* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:When he was young, his entire family was wiped out, and his homeland was destroyed soon after. He dedicated himself to {{Revenge}}, something which is subtly implied to be the only reason he stayed alive, and originally supported [[BigBad Van's]] plans just so he could have that revenge.]]
460* DeadpanSnarker: "Jade is someone's pet."
461* DoesNotLikeWomen: A variant. He doesn't HATE women; he just can't stand being touched by one and with good reason; [[spoiler:when his family was murdered he was buried in the corpses of dead women so being touched by women reminds him of that]].
462* DoubleAgent: [[spoiler:For Van, up until about the time of Akzeriuth. He's technically [[BigBad Van's]] Lord, and Van is more than willing to serve as his vassal, as long as Guy is willing to let him continue his plan to murder everyone else in the world. Suffice to say, he's not that interested in avenging his family since he's gotten to like Luke.]]
463* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:Even though he didn't realize how far Van had gone, Guy ''did'' still cooperate with him to work from the inside to destroy House Fabre. The party doesn't care. Possibly it's because he broke off ties with Van and tries to convince him to stop his EvilPlan by invoking his liege lord status.]]
464* FragileSpeedster: Guy is the fastest playable character, but can't take many hits. By mid-game, he's the JackOfAllStats and by endgame, he's a full-blown LightningBruiser due to his ever-improving defenses and HP and an increasing TP pool to spam his self-heal technique with ''and'' a reasonable (but not outstanding on higher difficulties) damage output.
465* GenkiGuy: Around fon-tech he's an excited little kid.
466* HatesBeingTouched: But only by women because of something in his past.
467* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Off screen, Guy did this as he grew to care for [[MoralityPet Luke]]. After Akzeriuth and a final confrontation with Van, Guy is firmly on the team's, and particularly Luke's, side.]]
468* HeterosexualLifePartners: His friendship with Luke is genuine. [[spoiler:After the party splits up, he's the first one to reunite with Luke, and is explicitly said to have gone out of his way to have done so.]]
469* HiddenDepths: There's more to him than "Luke's cool-yet-dorky buddy". Look at Broken Ace for details.
470* IaijutsuPractitioner: Several skills function like this, including his Mystic Arte Brilliant Overlord.
471* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Hilariously so considering his phobia.
472-->'''Luke:''' Don't you feel sorry for the women you lead on like that?
473* InformedAbility: He's a qualified lifeguard but this is never relevant to the plot.
474* InnocentlyInsensitive: During the first part, Guy cheerfully says more than a few things that are somewhat mean to Luke. [[spoiler:Not so innocent when you find out his backstory and his original [[RevengeByProxy plan]] for Luke.]] After [[spoiler:Akzeriuth and TheReveal]] he drops this aspect...mostly.
475* LimitBreak: [[PlayingWithFire Razing Phoenix]] and [[SwordBeam Brilliant Overlord]].
476* MoreThanMindControl: [[spoiler:The curse slot Sync puts on him can't make him do anything he doesn't deep down want to do. Sync makes him attack Luke because Guy ''wants'' to kill him.]]
477* NiceGuy: He's well-spoken and a great friend to Luke.
478* ParentalAbandonment: Both his parents, along with his older sister, are dead.
479* PreasskickingOneLiner: Before entering Overdrive mode: "''You wanna see how strong I really am?!''"
480* PromotionToParent: An interesting take on it. [[spoiler:Guy did the bulk of raising Luke when he came to the manor and completing the Jewel of Gardios sidequest has Duke Fabre refer to Guy as Luke's "real" father by his actions and treatment of Luke.]]
481* PunnyName: He has ''guy''-nophobia.
482* RealNameAsAnAlias: [[spoiler:Guy is a childhood nickname while Cecil is an alternate spelling of his mother's maiden name Cecille.]]
483* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:What he was initially planning to do to Luke in retaliation for what Duke Fabre did to his own family.]]
484* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: {{Invoked}} and {{Deconstructed}}. [[spoiler: Guy is given the chance to get revenge for the slaughter of his family during the negotiations during the later portion of the game, and King Ingobert even admits he is justified in doing so. However, it's quickly dropped because Guy realizes he would need to become this trope if he wanted to feel satisfied, because everyone involved at the meeting was guilty in some way for the destruction of Hod (Duke Fabre led the attack that killed his sister, Malkuth was responsible for the experiments that destroyed Hod, and Tedoro basically let people know it was destined to happen). Guy drops his vengeance for good after this; realizing he has nobody to blame for his revenge without killing a lot of people]].
485* ShipTease: With Noelle during one side quest. It turns out he just wanted her to let him pilot the Albiore. In the main story, he has a lot of moments between him and ''Natalia''.
486* StepfordSmiler: Guy is permanently good-natured, cheerful, and friendly. [[spoiler:He's been plotting with Van for years to kill Luke in revenge for his own family's murder at the hands of Luke's father.]]
487* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:Getting over his gynophobia to save Anise. Sadly, he still yelps whenever he's suddenly glomped by girls, except he's trying to keep it under control.]]
488* TookALevelInKindness: More in backstory and you have to read between the lines for it. [[spoiler:He originally was on [[BigBad Van's]] side and wanted {{Revenge}} on Duke Fabre by [[RevengeByProxy killing his son in front of him]]. Raising and caring for Luke made his mask genuine.]]
489* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:His deceased father's sword.]]
490* UndyingLoyalty: Towards Luke. [[spoiler:Explicitly so at the conclusion to the Jewel of Gardios sidequest where he makes an oath of fealty to him.]]
491* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Women in regards to his gynophobia.
492[[/folder]]
493
494[[folder:Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear]]
495[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NataliaProfile_2510.jpg]]
496
497->''"A victory for me is a victory for my people!"''
498
499->Voiced by: Creator/MichikoNeya (JP), Creator/StephanieSheh (EN)
500
501Natalia is the princess of the game, being in line for the throne of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. She is stubborn, haughty, and an utter romantic. As Luke proposed to her before his amnesia, she constantly pesters and pressures him to remember the promise they made. When Luke leaves the capital on a diplomatic mission, Natalia stows along and blackmails her way into the party. Despite her overbearing attitude, she is a sincere ruler who only wishes to see her country and people prosper.
502
503Natalia is an archer who fights at a distance. She is also the party's second healer, restoring larger amounts of HitPoints but only to one person at a time.
504
505----
506* AbhorrentAdmirer: Luke at least views her this way; her {{clingy|JealousGirl}} nature and refusal to shut up about their ChildhoodMarriagePromise makes her ''very'' annoying to Luke. She moves past this.
507* ActionGirl: A crack-shot with a bow, and often one of the first party members to leap into battle. For more detail, see TheAce below. This girl kicks ass.
508* TheAce: In regards to her archery. In terms of cutscenes alone, if one pays attention, during cutscenes where fights take place, ''she's nearly always the first one to get a hit in''. Seriously, Luke would have ''died'' had she not fired on Largo, and would have died even earlier if she hadn't, while ''turning'', expertly ''sniped'' Sync out of a tree. She gives cover fire when the group is ambushed by Legretta (who uses ''guns''), and certainly gets a ''LOT'' farther than the others in doing any real counterattack. Ironically, that girl who everyone but Jade and Luke have doubts letting into their group is ''also the one who most often saves their collective asses.''
509* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler:Largo is her biological father. They were separated when the real princess was stillborn and Natalia was chosen to fill in.]]
510* ArtificialStupidity: Her AI ''loves'' to waste her TP...
511* BattleCouple: She vies for peace, but Natalia is the most willing to scrap among everyone in the party. The game proper allows Natalia to be one half of a combat couple with Asch at multiple points, but [[spoiler:the ending leaves it ambiguous as to whether there's an 'Asch' left for Natalia to continue to be with.]]
512* BettyAndVeronica: [[InvokedTrope Sees herself]] as the Archie between [[spoiler:[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Asch]] and [[AllLovingHero Luke]] once TheReveal kicks in and she starts to appreciate the both of them as their own person.]] It's {{discussed|Trope}} that, if not for TheReveal, she might have ended up the Betty (as the fellow noble with the childhood engagement) to Tear's Veronica for Luke.
513* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: With Luke. [[spoiler:The original Luke, Asch, made such a promise to her and Luke himself doesn't know about it.]]
514* ClingyJealousGirl: When the second thing she does is get confrontational about Tear's presence on her first appearance, it's obvious she's this. She's not as bad as other examples; once she befriends Tear, she drops that attitude entirely. She remains rather clingy to Luke [[spoiler:until TheReveal shakes her and makes her start rethinking everything.]]
515* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Sometimes falls into this, such as believing Anise's stories about Van's beard and eyebrows.
516-->'''Luke''': Natalia can be surprisingly out of it sometimes.
517* CombatMedic: She can be played as either a healer or an offensive fighter.
518* CovertPervert: It doesn't take much for Anise in a skit to get Natalia to admit she would like to ''peek'' on a guy bathing!
519* DeathOfAThousandCuts: CutscenePowerToTheMax notwithstanding, Natalia doesn't do a lot of damage in battle with her primary weapon. Still, her ranged attacks are a lot more effective than Tear's, on account of a much higher projectile movespeed, and it lets her participate in battle from a safe distance. Additionally, her high rate of fire and low recovery time means she's able to keep attacking fast enough for her damage to add up quickly, making up for her middling damage output. Her artes, additionally, pack quite a punch. One such arte in particular, Gallant Barrage, is this trope incarnate; she unleashes a veritable ''stream'' of arrows, first fanning outward and then in a singular burst forward. These arrows briefly stun enemies, meaning if Natalia uses this arte at point blank range, whatever enemy is on the other side of her bow is in for a world of hurt.
520* DistressBall: Captured twice but the only time she needs rescue is when Luke is there with her.
521* DudeNotFunny: She gives herself this treatment in-universe. She's extremely fond of teasing Guy for his fear of women but once she learns ''why'' he suffers from it, she apologies instantly and stops ridiculing him for it.
522* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: The hair of gold is always on display and heart of gold is most commonly shown around her subjects. She's done a great deal to make her kingdom a better place to live for everyone.
523* HumbleHero: Surprisingly so, in fact. While she can act like a royal brat at times, one of the first things she requests of the party is that they treat her as an equal. Her authority over Guy can be forgiven because he's literally been one of her servants for years, and she quickly acclimates to considering him as an equal. All but her actual princess outfit, which she only wears for formal events, mind you, are practical, not showy. When she wins battles, she cites her people as the source of her strength, and in general tries to actually make friends with the commonfolk and succeeds. This is best exemplified if she's chosen as the person to oppose Van at endgame - he'll quickly assume she's a power-hungry monarch who thinks herself noble for serving Asch's will, only for Natalia herself to reply she isn't as vain as to think herself the hero - and when he presses the issue further, she [[StealthInsult tells him to his face she has the less important job of kicking his ass and taking his power so]] [[TheHero Luke]] can save the world without any hint of jealousy or scorn.
524* IdiotBall: Played purely for laughs. She's the first to swallow Anise's tall tales, and tends to make outright idiot decisions whenever the RuleOfFunny calls for it. For example? She ''set a metal pot on fire by accident and tried to fix it by '''casting Heal'''''.
525* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Elven Bow. There are a couple bows that have better stat boosts than it, but you can only use her second level mystic arte (Noble Roar) when the Elven Bow is equipped, so most people stick with it.
526* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yeah, she's a bona fide RoyalBrat, but at the same time she has legitimately changed her people's conditions for the better. As she progresses through the game, she loses the "Jerk" part completely.
527* KissingCousins: [[spoiler:Subverted. Natalia and Asch were thought to be cousins before her parentage was revealed and it turned out that she was of no blood relation to the royal family, Asch included.]]
528* LethalChef: In the skits, burns a roast and tries to use Heal on it. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation This is less prominent in the game itself]].
529* LimitBreak: [[RainOfArrows Astral Rain]] and Noble Roar
530* LovingAShadow: Just by how she treats Luke and her glorification of the ChildhoodMarriagePromise suggests this, paired with her romantic nature and tendency to pester Luke about remembering his promise. [[spoiler:It ultimately turns out to be more complicated than that; Natalia made the promise with Asch and the traits she loves still are in there, if buried under a lot of trauma.]] Part of her character development lies in her moving past that and finding true, genuine love for Luke [[spoiler:though whether she picks the original or replica is unknown.]]
531* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Though her father didn't tell her this himself, Mohs and the wet-nurse did. Even then, they didn't specify his identity. Luke figured it out and got Largo to confirm it.]]
532* TheMedic: Shares the role with Tear in an odd way. They seem to make up for each other's weaknesses: Tear can't heal as well as Natalia, but she can heal more people. Natalia can only heal one person, but she also gets spells that not only buff party members but also gives them cool other effects. Physically, Tear is a pain to fight as, but has actual, painful spells. Despite not having spells capable of hurting others, Natalia's strike artes and physical attacks are probably tied with Guy as the third strongest on the field.
533* MissingMom: Her mother died when she was a child. [[spoiler:Her real mother committed suicide out of grief over her baby daughter being taken away from her.]]
534* ModestRoyalty: Her travel outfits are quite un-{{pimped out|Dress}}. She can get her princess dress as an alternate outfit, but it's still pretty modest for something [[ErmineCapeEffect you'd expect a royal to wear]].
535* MoralityPet: She is perhaps the only person in the world that Asch cares about. The Dark Wings says he talks about her all the time and he can't say "no" to her. [[spoiler:When he [[KickTheMoralityPet rejects her later in the game]], it's a sign that he's ''really'' losing it.]]
536* MsFanservice: In some of her [[AndYourRewardIsClothes alternate costumes]], she shows more skin. It's surprising given that she's not the resident busty character.
537* NavelDeepNeckline: Her Star of Malkuth costume is open all the way to her navel.
538* MythologyGag: [[spoiler:Her real name, Meryl, belonged to another powerful healer [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia much earlier in the series]]]].
539* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[spoiler:Her real name is Meryl Oakland but only her wet nurse and real father know that.]]
540* OverlyLongName: Princess Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear... Wow, try saying ''that'' five times fast.
541* ThePaladin: She might not be part of a holy order, [[DownplayedTrope but in every other respect]], she's a Paladin. She helps the helpless, cares for the people in her country, helps them in fighting evil, is a ''very'' skilled combatant who stands up for the people who suffer in her country and does relief work on their behalf, prefers to use diplomacy to solve the issues with Malkuth, and most of her magic is either healing or buffing.
542* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Her ''real'' mother died before the game, and her father is one of the God Generals. It's not their fault as she was taken away from her biological parents as a baby to replace the real Princess Natalia, who was stillborn. As an attendant, there wasn't anything her mother could do about it and keep her job. Her father was away at war at the time, and couldn't do anything about it either, though he gladly would have. Her adoptive father also abandons her on learning she's not his blood relative, but comes to his senses and realises it doesn't matter.]]
543* PluckyGirl: Travelling, monster fighting, saving the world; it doesn't get her down. [[spoiler:Discovering that she's not the real princess, that does the trick.]]
544* PoliticallyActivePrincess: Despite her initial brattiness, she is very much one of these. Luke even refers to her as a "wannabe queen" at one point. She uses her influence for the benefit of her people or engaging in international diplomacy, to the point where she's already almost universally considered a much better ruler than her father, the king. The people in fact, are so fond of her that they [[spoiler:choose to protect her even after her lineage is revealed; she is not a real member of the royal family.]]
545* PrettyPrincessPowerhouse: Natalia has a very romantic soul and is (usually) very polite and sweet, but is also a very competent member of the team with her archery skills and healing abilities.
546* RoyalBrat: When she first joins the party she is abrasive and acts stuck up, but mellows after a short period. She does occasionally slip into these habits later on, but then she's usually quick to check herself and apologise. At one time she said that she was trying not to boss Guy around so much but she was having trouble because she was so used to acting that way. After she ran away and forced her way into the group, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Anise asked the question everybody else was thinking]]- "Anybody else think I should rip daddy's little girl a new hole?"
547* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: She's beloved by her people because she does so much to help them and volunteered to save the world instead of lounging in the palace. The reason everyone in Baticul is willing to save her from the guards when [[spoiler:it's revealed that Natalia's not the real princess]]. She takes good care of Kimlasca and listens to the needs of its people.
548* SignificantGreenEyedRedHead: [[spoiler:Inverted. Natalia's lack of red hair is used as proof that she is not the real princess.]]
549* SilkHidingSteel: She's a firm and proper princess but she's unquestionably one of the most lethally effective party members of the group. To put into perspective her strengths, she's the only party member to, for sure, [[spoiler:kill one of the God Generals, her own father Largo at that, where as the others are defeated in battle and pass away after from wounds]]. Once the game gets past her introduction, she's shown to be as strong as Tear in her resolve and dedication.
550* {{Stripperiffic}}: Although her regular outfit is modest enough, her alternate costumes reveal quite a surprising amount of flesh.
551* StrongFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:Greatly resembles a younger version of her wet nurse/maternal grandmother]].
552* TrueBlueFemininity: The three outfits you're guaranteed to see her in without obtaining extra costumes (that is, her main outfit, the dress she wears when she's first introduced and her epilogue outfit) are all pale blue. It's a little odd, considering she's the princess of Kimlasca, a country whose flag, coat of arms, military uniforms, etc., are always red, whereas Malkuth's are blue.
553* UniversallyBelovedLeader: The people of Kimlasca adore her for [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething putting work into improving things for them]] as proven [[spoiler:when they protect her when it's revealed she's not princess by blood and gets the army after her.]] It's not crazy to say people like her more than they like her dad, the ''actual'' king of Kimlasca.
554[[/folder]]
555
556!!The Order of Lorelei
557[[folder:Fon Master Ion]]
558[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/IonProfile_6420.jpg]]
559
560->Voiced by: Creator/IkueOtani (JP game) Creator/YumikoKobayashi (JP Anime), Creator/ErinFitzgerald (EN)
561
562Ion is the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei, meaning that he is technically the ruler of the world. He arranges for Malkuth to kidnap him so he can escape from Mohs and investigate the conspiracy that seems to have sprung up. He is one of the few people trained to read the Score. Though he can use powerful techniques known as Daathic Artes, he suffers from a weak constitution and often collapses after using them.
563
564----
565* AssistCharacter: He's not playable, but his Mystic Arte can be used as an extension to Luke's during NewGamePlus.
566* BadassAdorable: Ion is patient, endlessly forgiving, and physically frail. He's also a very proactive leader who isn't afraid to pull rank on those who underestimate him.
567* CloneAngst: [[spoiler:Played with. Being a clone of the original Ion it doesn't seem to bother him, and he states at one point that he wants to help other replicas with their problems. However, he comments while dying that "there are plenty of replacements for him", hinting that it got to him more than he let on.]]
568* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Both green.
569* DistressedDude: He is often kidnapped during the game, especially earlier portions to unlock the Fon Slot seals.
570* DudeLooksLikeALady: As pointed out in the manga, it is easy to mistake him for a girl.
571* EmotionalMaturityIsPhysicalMaturity: [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]]. Though he's [[spoiler:physically]] 14, he shows greater maturity than expected. [[spoiler:But with the reveal of him being actually a replica comes hints being dropped he's actually as emotionally stunted as you would expected from someone with only two years of life experience. He never ''cried'' until Sync attempted suicide in front of him and had to have it pointed out to him.]]
572* HeroicRROD: Using Daathic fonic artes puts a strain on his body.
573* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:His reading the Score provides Luke a valuable clue, and he also absorbs Tear's Fonons as he is dying, which cures her miasma poisoning, but also would have caused his death if he were not dying already]].
574%%* LarynxDissonance
575* MoralityPet: When Luke is in {{Jerkass}} mode he acts as a downplayed version, bringing out his [[HiddenHeartOfGold nicer]] side.
576* MorallySuperiorCopy: [[spoiler: This Ion is a NiceGuy and one of the heroes' most reliable allies, in stark contrast to the original who was TheSociopath who treated people like pets and may have been behind the plan to replace the world with a replica.]]
577* NiceGuy: He's one of the few who's unfailingly patient with Luke even at the height of his arrogance and abrasiveness.
578* NonActionGuy: He can use Daathic fonic artes, including one to extend Luke's LimitBreak, but this is greatly taxing on him and he has no other means of self-defense.
579* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Leader of Daath and well-respected mediator.
580* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler:He was created specifically to be one for the original Ion. It's had a severe impact on Ion's self-worth and prevented him from developing his own identity.]]
581* StepfordSmiler: Is revealed to be [[spoiler:a variation of Type B; Ion doesn't have the experience or emotional maturity to deal with things in an emotional manner. His default smile is actually fake and part of how he was trained.]]
582* SquishyWizard: The main reason he's a NonActionGuy despite his incredible powers: he's so frail that using them is a threat to his health.
583* WiseBeyondTheirYears: He's fourteen and is one of the most effective {{Reasonable Authority Figure}}s in the entire world. [[spoiler:Gets taken further with the reveal he's actually ''two years old''.]]
584* YoungAndInCharge: He's the equivalent of the Pope at fourteen years old. [[spoiler:He's only a two year-old mentally.]]
585[[/folder]]
586
587[[folder:Van Grants]]
588[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/VanProfile2_2457.jpg]]
589
590->Voiced by: Creator/JojiNakata (JP), Creator/MichaelMcConnohie (EN)
591
592Born Vandesdelca Musto Fende, Van is the commander of the Six God-Generals, and Commandant of the Order of Lorelei's Oracle Knights. He is also Luke's sword-instructor and mentor, and one of the few people to treat him with patience and respect. Despite this, Tear seems intent on offing him, and the God Generals who are supposedly under his command are wrecking havoc upon Auldrant.
593
594----
595* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:'''Is''' this to Luke considering his status as his ParentalSubstitute and being responsible for his very existence. He emotionally manipulated and abused Luke so he would be a useful "tool" and then discarded him once he did what he was created for. [[DramaticIrony Ironically]] extra materials reveal his own parents were rather abusive to him due to his Scored doom to destroy Hod.]]
596* TheAce: He is the Ace in a world that's just a few competent civilians short of being a WorldOfBadass [[spoiler: and, in a weird way, while he's very much [[BrokenAce a broken one]], he's also [[{{Reconstruction}} a straight one]]... [[BigBad to the villains]].]]
597* AntiVillain: Type IV, technically speaking. Van is just a good guy who wants what's best for Luke, regardless of what the Score dictates. Unfortunately, the political leaders of the world don't give much of a toss what he thinks. [[spoiler:This is later subverted when it's revealed that he's ''actually'' a Type III, a Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain. He believes the Score is a drug that creates tragedies and destroys free will and seeks to destroy it. To do that end he has to destroy a lot of other things. Unfortunately for everybody, those "other things" include every human on the planet.]]
598* AuthorityInNameOnly: He has this relationship with the God Generals. They support the Grand Maestro faction of the Order of Lorelei, so people believe that he does as well. However, it turns out that he's actually on the Fon Master's side and that his generals have effectively gone rogue to fight for Mohs. [[spoiler:[[ILied Except it turns out that that's not true at all]]. They've been following his orders from the beginning. He just acts like this is the case in order to win Luke's, and the player's, trust.]]
599* BeardOfEvil: Subverted. His goatee is clearly [[GoodHairEvilHair evil hair]] but he's a good guy who just grew it to look older than he really is. [[spoiler:It's also DoubleSubverted once you realise that he's the BigBad.]]
600* BigBad: Tear starts off believing that he's the villain and the fact that his God Generals are running rampant only serves to confirm her suspicions. It's subverted when it turns out that he's just an AuthorityInNameOnly and that his men are ''really'' loyal to [[TheHeavy Mohs]] [[spoiler:and then ''DoubleSubverted'' when it turns out that ''he's'' the true power behind Mohs. Once Akzeriuth falls, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he rapidly begins taking the stage for himself]].]]
601* BigBrotherMentor: To Luke. He trains the boy and teaches him about life beyond the mannor. [[spoiler:There are hints that he was this to Asch as well, before he learned the truth about him.]]
602* BrokenAce: MasterSwordsman, top-level MagicKnight, Seventh Fonist, descendent of Yulia, promoted to Oracle Knights Commandant at a young age, has a beautiful singing voice... and yet he has mental and emotional scars deep enough to lose the collective Outer Lands in.
603* BrokenPedestal: For Tear. She resolved to kill him after overhearing him say something to Legretta about killing everyone in the Outer Lands. Even when this turns out to be a misunderstanding, she's still sceptical of him. [[spoiler:He's also this to Asch and, eventually, Luke when it turns out that there was ''[[ILied no misunderstanding after all]]''.]]
604* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Order of Lorelei is dedicated to keeping destiny on its set path. The only reason why he's got such a high rank when he does ''nothing'' to hide his attitude [[spoiler:even after TheReveal]] is because he's just that damn good at his job.
605* CainAndAbel: Played with. [[spoiler:In the beginning, Luke sees him as the Abel to Tear's Cain, given her attempted fratricide but it soon becomes clear who's who in their relationship after TheReveal.]]
606* DarkAndTroubledPast: Though not particularly forecast by the Score, he turned out to be an ApocalypseMaiden in his own right. [[spoiler:Once, he and his sister Mystearica were citizens of the land of Hod, and young Vandesdelca was a volunteer in experiments on fomicry and hyperressonance. It was hinted that his mother was held hostage in the official guide so that Van would cooperate. But then, a war came to Hod, threatening the experiments... which were, secretly, being carried out by Malkuth. They hooked Van up to a machine that used his hyperresonance to create an EarthShatteringKaboom, destroying Hod. Malkuth then blamed said Kaboom on Kimlasca-Lanvaldear as a pretext to declare war. Hod, as a landmass, sunk into the Qliphoth below; its populace was wiped out almost to a person, with only ''three'' canon survivors. And when Van and Tear ''somehow'' got to Yulia City alive, Van learned that nobody gave a damn about what had just happened to him, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo because the Score said it was all okay]]. This was Van's StartOfDarkness, and frankly, it's hard to fault him for that.]]
607* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:His enemy is The Score, but he does everything in his power to make it come true... so that it does so on ''his'' terms. Ultimately {{subverted|Trope}} despite his attempts otherwise; he fails to do anything that stops the Score as it turns out he's more tied to it than he realizes.]]
608* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:He throws himself off a ledge into the core of Auldrant, and we get a shot of him grinning wildly as he falls to what he and the party fully believe to be his death. He survived, but only because he [[RememberedICouldFly remembered that he could make a pact with Lorelei thanks to the Fonic Hymns]].]]
609* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:Betrayed his family, who are all Watchers, and betrayed Asch and Luke respectively to throw the Score off track.]]
610* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler: No matter how far he fell, he always loved Tear, and wanted to protect her however he could. His final words are to her, and it's clear, even during the final battle, that he cares for her.]]
611* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:To a lot of people.]]
612** [[spoiler:Luke, the child used to create a hyperressonace to sink a town.]]
613** [[spoiler:To Tear, the watcher who went rogue.]]
614** [[spoiler:To Guy, the man obsessed with revenge.]]
615** [[spoiler:He can also fill-in this role for Jade, given their differing outlooks on fomicry.]]
616* EvilMentor: Tear sees him as this, even though he was quite the opposite to Luke and [[spoiler:Asch]]. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that he trained the latter two and raised them to exploit their trust and abilities.]]
617* FamousAncestor: The mother of the Score, Yulia Jue herself.
618* FinalBoss: Subverted. [[spoiler:After defeating him at the Absorption Gate, the game continues... and then it's DoubleSubverted when he reappears for the ''real'' FinalBoss fight at Eldrant.]]
619* GuestStarPartyMember: He's not a playable character but he accompanies the party sometimes early on in the game. He also appears in a skit and gets his own chat face. This is rectified for ''Radiant Mythology 3'' where he's fully playable. Theodore insists him come back to Yulia city more often as it is his second home.
620* HappilyAdopted: Though it wasn't shown in neither of its adaptations, in the Tales of the abyss Anime episode zero drama cd, which sets before the main plot, showcased a rare moment with Van having a family conversation with his adopted grandfather saying how grateful he was for taking him and his sister as his grandchildren after their mother passing. Theodore insisted him to come back more often since Yulia city is his 2nd home and that he was always welcome here.
621* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: His [[JustifiedTutorial training session]] with Luke at the beginning of the game has him talking about "buttons" and "sticks", in fully voice acted dialogue, as if they're perfectly normal aspects of combat and swordplay.
622* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:It's made increasingly clear throughout the game that his war against the Score has turned him into, in a fashion, what he hates. The most prominent is how he forces Luke to destroy Akzeriuth; which is '''very''' similar to how [[DramaticIrony he was made to destroy Hod]]. In other words, he ''starts'' his master plan by recreating the same incident that resulted in him hating and wanting to destroy the Score in the first place.]]
623* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Created Luke to kick off his plan to destroy Auldrant and create a replica world, throwing a SpannerInTheWorks in regards to the Score. Luke promptly goes on to screw up his own plans and ultimately kills him, in a fashion that doubles as KarmicDeath (see below).]]
624* HumblePie: [[spoiler:Following his defeat and near-death at the Absorption Gate, he is infinitely more respectful in his interactions with Luke to the point of offering him to join him, something he never considered before.]]
625* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:For all he goes on about how creating a replica world is the only way to "save" Auldrant from the Score and how they have true free will, he has no trouble creating and using various replicas as mere pawns and obviously also hates them. His treatment of Luke compared to Asch stands out in particular.]]
626* ImprobableAge: This is a plot-point for him. He's just so damn good at everything he does that he became the Commandant at a young age. However, he got a lot of stick for it, so he grew his beard to look older.
627* InformedAbility: According to Tear, Van has an amazing singing voice. [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome Sadly, we never get to hear it]]. However, we do get to see him play the organ (with one hand) and he uses the [[KillItWithFire Fifth Fonic Hynm]] [[spoiler:in the final battle]].
628* InTheBlood: Van can also use Yulia's hymns given he is equally her descendant.
629* {{Irony}}:
630** [[spoiler:His whole plan came about for "saving" Auldrant through creating a replica world. It's because of his very actions that the main party and the rest of the world comes to realize that the Score leads to destruction and thus fights to save the world. In other words, Van managed to save Auldrant by virtue of making just the right ''enemies'' whose actions intended on stopping him opened a way to actually save the world.]]
631** [[spoiler: It's possible that the destruction of the world predicted in the Score is, in fact, Van's plan succeeding, which would mean [[SelfFulfillingProphecy the world is only fated to destruction because Van found out it was fated to destruction and decided to destroy it.]]]]
632* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:His eventual defeat at the hands of Luke, the boy he created and trained to use a sword, is ripe with this trope.]]
633* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:To kick off his BigBad run, Van tricks and hypnotizes Luke into destroying Akzeriuth and then leaves him to die. Luke, who even after that looks up to him as "Master Van" and appears to consider him his [[ParentalSubstitute father figure]]. And despite that Van discards him once he has destroyed Akzeriuth. He then continues to treat him as a "thing" and dismiss him whenever he interacts with him.]]
634* TheLeader: A Mastermind/Charismatic hybrid for the Oracle Knights. He plans their operations and they follow him because they ''believe'' in him.
635* LimitBreak: Imperial Slaughter, Celestial Elegy and Ancient Requiem. Interestingly, Imperial Slaughter and Ancient Requiem are basically Rending Saber and Radiant Howl, respectively.
636* LogicalFallacies: As Guy points out [[spoiler: right before the final boss fight]], Van's entire ideology collapses on itself no matter how things turn out. [[spoiler: Either he's right about the Score being absolute and humans having no free will... which would include ''himself'', rendering his attempts to ScrewDestiny pointless, or he's enacting his plan against the Score of his own free will... therefore proving that the Score isn't abolute and that ''his plan isn't necessary''.]]
637* MagicKnight: An excellent swordsman who is also a powerful fonist.
638* ManipulativeBastard: Rather then manipulate Luke through ObviouslyEvil means, he spends years getting Luke to trust him. [[spoiler:He does the same to Asch, ensuring their loyalty, though Asch catches on.]]
639* MeaningfulName: Van's full name, [[spoiler:Vandesdelca, means "one who would seize glory" in Ancient Ispanian.]]
640* MemeticBadass: An in-universe example according to Luke and Anise, the latter of whom tends to play up his ability to ridiculous levels. His eyebrows can shoot hypno beams!
641* MirrorCharacter: [[spoiler:From Grand Maestro Mohs. Just as Mohs is willing to start the war and kill countless innocent people for the Score, Van is willing to destroy the whole world just to defy the Score. In fact, his sister Tear points out that he is so intent on [[ScrewDestiny screwing destiny]] that he's shackled to it more than anyone else.]]
642* MoralEventHorizon: Not him personally but, in-universe, he considers [[spoiler:the Watchers of Yulia City]] to have crossed it by not warning [[spoiler:the people of Hod that they would be destroyed]] because they ''knew'' it would happen and did ''nothing'' to stop it. It's the primary reason why he's so adamantly against the idea of following the Score; as shown further when he offers to make Luke a member of the Oracle Knights to escape his own awful destiny and [[spoiler:the primary reason why he became the BigBad]].
643* NecessarilyEvil: His constant attempts to defy the Score could be seen as this, given that he's supposed to be one of the people upholding it. [[spoiler:Also, see "OmnicidalManiac".]]
644* ObviouslyEvil: The God Generals have tried to kill the heroes throughout the first half of the game. It is no secret that Van is the ''leader'' of the God Generals. Luke somehow fails to put two and two together... Except it turns out that, actually, he's just an AuthorityInNameOnly and the God Generals have actually gone AWOL. Still, that doesn't stop Tear and Asch from suspecting absolutely every little thing he does as part of a plot to take over or blow up the world. [[spoiler:It turns out that they were only half-right...]]
645* OmnicidalManiac: Tear accuses him of being one, even though it's his job to protect the world. [[spoiler:Turns out that Van's definition of "[[ExactWords protecting the world]]" means protecting it from the ''Score'', which he views as being the true villain. He believes that the world needs to be replicated in order to help its people escape from it, which has the tragic side-effect of destroying the original world in the process. Obviously, he isn't an insane monster and it's clear that he regrets the fact that so many people will die - even if he claims otherwise.]]
646* OneWingedAngel: Averted. [[spoiler:He completely bypasses this and becomes something approaching the BishounenLine during the final battle, as his last form is just his regular one with a few whistles and bells.]]
647* OneHandedZweihander: His sword is pretty darn massive, yet he has no effort in swinging it around with a single hand.
648* ParentalSubstitute: How Luke views him because Duke Fabre does his best to pretend Luke doesn't exist while Van teaches him swordplay. [[spoiler:Unfortunately Van was [[InvokedTrope invoking]] this so he could manipulate Luke. He also did the same to Asch for similar reasons, though Asch is more aware of exactly what was done to him.]]
649* {{Pride}}: [[spoiler:Is ''very'' arrogant about his plans and ability to succeed. He utterly refuses to believe that all his work into Asch could result in failure (ie him ultimately turning from his plans) and that Luke is anything but a failure thanks to this. It leans him into being a SmugSnake at times. After they defeat him at the Absorption Gate, he wises up...but not enough to realize that he ''cannot'' win by the end.]]
650* PromotionToParent: Even though they were technically adopted, he did the bulk of the work raising Tear.
651* RageAgainstTheHeavens: [[spoiler: He really, ''really'' hates Lorelei for creating the Score and his goal is to kill him as part of "saving" the world.]]
652* {{Revenge}}: Just because he looks calm and collected on the surface doesn't mean that Van has ever forgiven or forgotten [[spoiler:how the Watchers allowed his homeland of Hod to be wiped out just [[BecauseDestinySaysSo because destiny said it should be]].]]
653* SayMyName: "Luuuuuuke!" "Mystearica!"
654* ScrewDestiny: Despite being the leader of the Oracle Knights, Van makes it ''extremely'' clear that he thinks destiny can go screw itself. He is the polar opposite of [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Grand Maestro Mohs]]. [[spoiler: Though it's later noted he's one of those most bound by the Score.]]
655* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler: Destroying Hod led to his parents' death as well.]]
656* SorryThatImDying: [[spoiler:Shortly before dying after the final battle, he apologizes to his fallen subordinates for failing to bring their vision to life.]]
657* TheSvengali: [[spoiler: To Asch. Given that the RageAgainstTheMentor starts not long after the beginning of the game, that aspect to their relationship is never explored on-screen; however, interviews state that Van kept Asch isolated and uninformed in order to keep him pliable. As for the LimaSyndrome that's common to this trope, it flips back and forth but Van certainly is convinced he "needs" Asch for his plans; ignoring the fact that if he had used [[UndyingLoyalty Luke]] instead from the start, a good chunk of his plans would have gone without a hitch.]]
658* SlipknotPonytail: When Luke [[LetsGetDangerous gets serious]], he fights without concern for the survival of others. When Tear gets serious, she [[CutscenePowerToTheMax starts performing feats of knife and magic combo-ery that are impossible in-game]]. When Van gets serious, his... hair comes undone.
659* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:Essentially, his plan is to ScrewDestiny by ''forcing'' the prophecy to come to pass and building a new world as the old dies.]]
660* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Invoked. Even though Van is a master and father figure to Luke, a high ranking member of the Order of Lorelei and world renowned swordsman, fonist and soldier, as well as the one who saves Luke from being stabbed in the back and having his powers fired against his will, Asch and Tear seem to think that his public image of the guy is a bit ''too'' perfect and decide to try and take him down despite everyone dismissing their concerns as paranoid delusions. [[spoiler:Then he makes Luke nuke a city and leaves him for dead.]]
661* WalkingSpoiler: Not as big as others in the game but [[spoiler:talking about him without revealing he really ''is'' the BigBad from the start is impossible.]]
662* WellIntentionedExtremist: He's very happy to break the rules of the Oracle Knights to save Luke and the other people he cares about from horrible fates recorded in the Score. [[spoiler: He ultimately wants to free the world from the Score and this unforunately involves replacing the world with a replicated one.]]
663* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: [[spoiler: When Van was 11, he was used as a test subject for experiments on generating hyperresonnance. He and the researchers lost control of a particularly powerful one, which destroyed the island of Hod, killing most of its citizens, Van's parents included. It's implied that his father died during Hod's destruction, but his mother survived long enough to give birth to Tear, whom she was pregnant with at the time. In the Shiro no Ashita novels, it was hinted that his mother was held hostage to keep Van under control.]]
664* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He supports human free will over the Score's predetermination because of all the suffering he went through. [[spoiler: He is largely portrayed in a sympathetic WellIntentionedExtremist or NecessarilyEvil light.]]
665* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Does this to Luke after he has him destroy Akzeriuth. Not to mention the rest of the party except Tear, who he gives advice to use a special technique of the family to survive the collapse into the Qliphoth (thus letting her save the whole team). [[HoistByHisOwnPetard This ultimately bites him in his ass]], especially in regards to Luke.]]
666* YoungerThanTheyLook: Van attained the rank of Dorian General and Commandant of the Oracle Knights at a remarkably young age, and was on the receiving end of a lot of ire because of it. He grew his beard for the sole purpose of trying to look older so people would leave him alone about his age (he's 27, believe it or not).
667[[/folder]]
668
669[[folder:Grand Maestro Mohs]]
670[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MohsProfile_4205.jpg]]
671
672->Voiced by: Kaneomi Oya (JP), Terrence Stone (EN)
673
674The second-in-command of the Order of Lorelei. He is obsessed with the enforcement of the Score, and is attempting to provoke a world war because it is supposedly predetermined.
675
676----
677* BeautyEqualsGoodness: The counterpart concept, Ugliness Equals Evil, is in play. One of the most hideous characters in the game and one of the worst people in it.
678* BecauseDestinySaysSo: ''The'' defining element of his character. He believes the Score leads the world to prosperity and is always right.
679* BigBad: His plan to begin a major war sets him up as this before he's even introduced. [[spoiler:However, not too long after it's subverted. As it turns out, he was nothing more than an UnwittingPawn of the ''real'' BigBad all along.]]
680* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Provided happily by Dist imprinting a glyph on him that grants him control over the seventh fonon.]]
681* DiscOneFinalBoss: PlayedWith, because the heroes's "victory" over him in "Disk One" is political. They don't get to physically ''fight'' him [[spoiler:until near the end of the game.]]
682* DramaticIrony: He seeks to fulfil the Score to bring peace and prosperity to the world, no matter who gets hurt in the process. [[spoiler:Turns out that the whole point of Yulia writing the Score down was because she and Lorelei wanted people to ''avert'' it, as the world is destined to die if the future isn't changed]].
683* EvilIsPetty: He decides to be vague about how to get to the Sephiroth in Mt. Zaleho, apparently for no other reason than to get back at the party for interfering with his schemes.
684* GodBeforeDogma: Inverted. Even though Ion, Yulia Jue, and [[spoiler:Lorelei ''itself'']] all seem to have been of the opinion that the Score is just one possible path among many, Mohs takes the view that the Score ''must'' be fulfilled at any cost.
685* {{Gonk}}: He's a nasty looking piece of work.
686* HateSink: While Van has sympathetic motivations for his villainy, Mohs has nothing to back up his moral bankruptcy. He is smug and manipulative and causes many problems for the party, including turning King Ingobert against Natalia, kidnapping Anise's parents, and [[spoiler:forcing Ion to the Planetary Score, despite knowing [[WouldHurtAChild it could kill him]].]]
687* TheHeavy: He's responsible for a massive chunk of the political drama that the party encounters, [[spoiler:even when it's revealed that he isn't the main villain.]]
688* InNameOnly: His [[spoiler:New]] Order of Lorelei has no actual religious teachings to it, no real preaching, and no codes of conduct. It's just a gang made up of his lackeys [[spoiler:and the God Generals who are manipulating him]].
689* ManipulativeBastard: He's no fighter. The major problems he causes for the protagonists and the world at large are all based on manipulation of others. For instance, he starts a war and disinherits Natalia based on words alone. [[http://community.livejournal.com/talesoftheabyss/859890.html#cutid1 And according to supplementary material,]] he [[spoiler:''arranged'' the birth switch in the first place to keep the world on the Closed Score's prophecies.]]
690* AMillionIsAStatistic: He absolutely does not care how many people the war will kill as long as it leads to the fulfilment of the Score.
691* ObviouslyEvil: We're told that he wants to ''start a war BecauseDestinySaysSo'' before we even ''see his face''.
692* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:An artifical seventh fonon ability turns him into a monster. Only then do the protagonists fight him.]]
693* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:After Dist turns him into a monster he becomes irrational and loses the ability to speak coherently.]]
694* SinisterMinister: A classic example of a character who cares more for the power of his religion than its actual teachings.
695* SmugSnake: Because he's legally untouchable due to his position, he takes almost every effort to smugly lord over the party at practically every meeting.
696* StartMyOwn: [[spoiler:After it becomes clear that he's lost all influence within the Order of Lorelei, he starts the New Order of Lorelei with himself as the Fon Master/Pope]].
697* SuperEmpowering: He attempts to gain the power of the Seventh Fonon through this. [[spoiler:It doesn't work]].
698* TragicMonster: [[spoiler:Some might say so, at least in-universe. Of course, he's still an utterly irredeemable piece of garbage who never apologises for any of the really quite awful things he does, but after Dist mutates him into a twisted freakish monster, he gradually degenerates into a raving lunatic; by the time you finally get to exact revenge upon him, he's so far gone that he probably couldn't spell his own name. Even Anise, who has more reason to hate him than anyone, finds it hard not to feel sorry for him at the end.]]
699* {{Troll}}: See "EvilIsPetty". He deliberately dicks with the party once they start spoiling his schemes.
700* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Van used him to further his own plan.]]
701* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The party can't touch him legally.
702* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Just before his OneWingedAngel moment.]]
703-->'''Mohs:''' ''I am '''RIGHT!!''''' How can you not understand?!
704* WellIntentionedExtremist: Played with.
705** Everything he does is for the sake of achieving prosperity from the Score. [[spoiler:Even though he later knows full well that said prosperity would mean lots of sacrifices, and would not last very long.]]
706** He doesn't count as this ''in-universe'' to most people. In-universe, he's neither well-intentioned nor an extremist. He's following the Score, which everyone follows to the letter, to bring prosperity. The only time he really counts as an extremist to the public in-universe is when he accepts Dist's "help". [[spoiler:Though for what it's worth, he does seem in denial that the fall of Auldrant will happen.]]
707* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:The artificial ability to control seventh fonons ultimately costs him his humanity.]]
708* WouldHurtAChild: He has no regrets about using Ion and [[spoiler:Florian]] to further his ambitions.
709[[/folder]]
710
711[[folder:Florian '''(spoilers)''']]
712->Voiced by: Creator/IkueOtani (JP Game) Creator/YumikoKobayashi (JP Anime) Creator/ErinFitzgerald (EN)
713
714Like Sync and Ion, he's a replica of the original Fon Master Ion. He was saved to keep reading the Score in case Ion refused. He plays the role of Fon Master after Ion dies.
715----
716* BackupTwin: He was kept as back up for the Fon Master in case something happened to the new Ion. He looks the same and has similar abilities but none of the memories.
717* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Both green.
718* DudeLooksLikeALady: Due to being a clone of the same person he has the same effeminate look.
719* MeaningfulName: Florian's name means "Innocent One" in Ancient Ispanian.
720* ReplacementGoldfish: For the original Ion and ''his'' replacement Goldfish, the second Ion.
721* SoleSurvivor: By the end of the game, Florian is the only remaining Ion replica.
722* WalkingSpoiler: Due to being yet another replica of Ion, and showing up to read the Score after the Ion replica in your party is dead.
723[[/folder]]
724
725[[folder:The previous Fon Master '''(SPOILERS)''']]
726!! Fon Master Ion (Original)
727
728[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Original Ion]]. He was the one that took in Arietta, worked with Van to craft the plan to destroy the Outer Lands, and was a massive {{Jerkass}} unlike his replacement.
729----
730* AlasPoorVillain: Despite being an utter {{Jerkass}} it's hard not to feel pity as he dies alone; he was truly a child and realizes only at the end he had Arietta as a friend.
731* AllThereInTheManual: Most information about him is found in extra materials, like the Ion Gaiden.
732* BerserkButton: Even though he treated her like a pet, Ion did seem to have a small soft spot for Arietta. When insurgents try to kill him, Arietta steps in and takes the blow, prompting an [[TranquilFury enraged]] Ion to kill them all, claiming only he is allowed to hurt his pet.
733* BitchInSheepsClothing: The replica [[NiceGuy Ion's]] personality is what he ''pretended'' to be in public. He was anything but.
734* CreepyChild: 12 years old at his death and did terrible things.
735* DudeLooksLikeALady: This Ion is where his replicas (excluding possibly Sync) get their looks.
736* DyingAlone: Very much so; he isn't even ''known'' to be dead until TheReveal of the Ion they know being a replica, and even then, outside of Luke's group and those already in the know, Ion is believed to be the "real" one.
737* {{Jerkass}}: He is the opposite of the main story's Ion in this regard; rude, cruel, and manipulative.
738* ManipulativeBastard: He played nice and twisted people into doing as he wished. He even manipulated Arietta into being loyal to him this way.
739* PetTheDog: He's an aversion because he ''literally'' considered Arietta like a "pet" to him, so any affection he showed her was offset by his dehumanization of her.
740* PersonOfMassDestruction: Unlike the replica versions of him, he had no trouble pulling out Daathic Artes to murder anyone. At one point he utterly destroyed those who hurt Arietta.
741* PosthumousCharacter: He's been dead for two years and that's only found out when Ion's replica status is revealed.
742* RageAgainstTheHeavens: He hates the Score so much he wants the world to end and sets in motion events for that to happen after he dies.
743* SmallRoleBigImpact: He's [[PosthumousCharacter dead]] for the entirety of the game, but is the one responsible for a majority of the events there, having created the "destroy the world to destroy the Score" plan of Van's.
744* ThanatosGambit: He was going to die anyways, so he dies through fomicry, creating a replica to replace him and act as a pawn for Van.
745* WouldHurtAChild: He ''kills'' a replica of him; the equivalent of a newborn.
746* YoungAndInCharge: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. Because he was a child, he wasn't mature enough to handle the burden of leading the Order of Lorelei or his death forced in front of him repeatedly. It eventually turned him into a villain.
747* YourDaysAreNumbered: His entire reason for forming the plan of Auldrant's destruction and his hatred of the Score.
748* VillainousLegacy: Heavily implied he was the one behind the whole "destroy Auldrant" plan, but died before seeing it begin in earnest.
749[[/folder]]
750
751!!The Six God Generals
752
753[[folder:As A Group]]
754The Six God-Generals are the highest-ranking members of the Oracle Knights, the military arm of the Order of Lorelai, and answer directly to Van Grants. Despite their supposed allegiance to the Order of Lorelei, they follow their own agendas and act as the main antagonistic force to the party.
755
756The Six God Generals as a group provide examples of the following tropes:
757* ChurchMilitant: They are warriors in service to the Order of Lorelai.
758* HiddenDepths: They all receive an impressive amount of depth, to the point of rivaling the heroes in this department.
759* {{Leitmotif}}: "Oracle - Coercion" and "Awkward Justice".
760* TheMagnificent: They each have one: "The Quick", "The Tempest" etc.
761* MusicalThemeNaming: Apart from Asch, whose MeaningfulName follows a different logic.
762* ThePsychoRangers: They mirror the main party in numbers and serve as their {{Evil Counterpart}}s (see each of their individual trope lists for more details).
763* RagTagBunchOfMisfits: Just as much as the main party. All of them come form completely different walks of life, with only Asch and Arietta being anywhere close to each other in age.
764* RecurringBoss: All except Asch are faced as bosses three times, whether alone or with others, and Asch is fought twice (but only as one-on-one duels against Luke).
765%%* StandardEvilOrganizationSquad
766* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Each God General is working for his or her own goals. The relationships between them range from simple professionalism to thinly-masked tolerance.
767[[/folder]]
768
769[[folder:Asch the Bloody]]
770[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AschProfile_7199.jpg]]
771
772->''"You're weak! NOTHING!"''
773
774->Voiced by: Creator/ChihiroSuzuki (JP), Creator/YuriLowenthal (EN)
775
776Asch is a mysterious character that works as one of the Six God-Generals under Van. His appearance is strikingly similar to that of Luke - whom he has a venomous hatred of - but personality-wise they are completely different: where Luke is ignorant and naive, Asch is intelligent and hardened. Asch is also stubborn to a fault and easily angered (especially by Luke). Though he appears to be a loyal follower of Van at first, he soon becomes a WildCard who starts working against more or less every major character in the game.
777
778Having also studied under Van, he uses the same combat style as Luke. His moveset also includes several offensive spells. He is a GuestStarPartyMember on three occasions (being recruitable up to a maximum of three times during one of those three occasions).
779
780----
781* AdaptationalHeroism: {{Downplayed|Trope}} but all other adaptions of ''Abyss'' and appearances of Asch in Escort Titles shows his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold nicer]] side better and, particularly noticeable in the anime, he doesn't spend as much time being a [[KickTheDog dick]].
782* TheAntiNihilist: He believes that he has nothing to really live for, given that [[spoiler:his life and destiny were stolen from him]] and despises everyone in the world who isn't Natalia. Despite this, he insists on being a WellIntentionedExtremist WildCard out to ultimately [[spoiler:save the world]] because Score-damn-it-all, ''someone's'' got to do it.
783* AloofBigBrother: [[spoiler:He's Luke's elder brother in a sense, initally antagonistic, and remains aloof to the end.]]
784* AntiHero: [[spoiler:He has a noble goal and redeeming traits, but only rarely joins the party and is anything but a conventional hero as shown through his actions.]]
785* ApocalypseMaiden: [[spoiler:The Score decrees he would have been this, setting off a series of events starting with the destruction of Akzeriuth that would result in the end of Auldrant. The creation of his replica and Van's plans threw everything off track.]]
786* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:The game sets him up to serve as the party's EleventhHourRanger when he joins the team (complete with appearing on the statscreen) toward the end of the final dungeon. He proceeds to leave the party and perform a HeroicSacrifice one screen later without ever doing any fighting.]]
787* BerserkButton: Has ''quite'' a few, but the major one is Luke.
788* BettyAndVeronica: [[InvokedTrope Natalia sees]] him as the Veronica [[spoiler:between him and [[NiceGuy Luke]], his replica, after TheReveal and her accepting them as two different people.]]
789* BlessedWithSuck: [[spoiler:Same as Luke, only he doesn't abuse it. This is because he knew about it his entire life and has full control over it.]]
790* BrokenAce: Has the potential to be even stronger than ''[[TheAce Van]]'' [[spoiler:thanks to being TheChosenOne and all]]. He is just about as messed up, although for different reasons.
791* TheBully: A weird combination of this trope and StealthMentor. Asch is a remorseless bully to Luke throughout most of their interactions together but his motivations for doing so are only partly because he hates him. [[spoiler:Since he's SecretlyDying, he needs Luke to be strong enough to take out Van and he finds Luke's compassionate nature post-haircut to be a constant source of frustration. Since he refuses to acknowledge Luke as his own individual person, believing that Luke is nothing more than a copy of him, he sees Luke's lack of bloodthirst as a personal failing]].
792* CainAndAbel: It's speculated that Asch might be an evil brother of Luke's due to their resemblance, and the two certainly do have a sibling dynamic -- even more so after TheReveal of Asch's true nature.
793* CantCatchUp:
794** [[spoiler:When he joins the party as a GuestStarPartyMember during the second half of the game, his level is adjusted accordingly but his equipment is still locked at the power level he was at during his first stint, severely handicapping him. It becomes ''very'' disadvantagous if you're playing in Unknown. He's going to get crushed whenever you're controlling him... and, for the record, trying to give him bonus stats with C.Cores is futile and waste of time '''''since they will be wiped out when you're taking on the extra sidequest''''']]. [[spoiler:Players who want to exploit a certain glitch in order to keep him in the party permanently usually keep Luke dead at level 2 (who Asch levels up to whenever he joins the party) so Asch can benefit from C.Core bonuses accordingly upon massive level-up. Having the same base attack stats as Luke, his ability to cast and cancel magic to string infinite combos becomes extremely useful to the point where it's broken, especially when you find ways to unlock his equipment]].
795** [[spoiler:Also applies in universe. Initially, he's Luke's complete superior to the point where even the rest of the party consider him to be the more suitable party member. By the end, he finds himself completely outpaced by Luke in almost every way.]]
796* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: [[spoiler:As the original Luke, he's the one who made it with Natalia. It's subtly implied he still takes it very seriously, but his [[DarkAndTroubledPast various]] [[NoSocialSkills issues]] prevent him from taking her up on it. Him SecretlyDying doesn't help and the GainaxEnding obscures if he will ever go through with it.]]
797* ChildSoldier: Though ImprobableAge isn't uncommon, it deserves mention in Asch's case; it's heavily implied that being thrown into the Oracle Knights, already traumatized, when ten years old did '''not''' help his mental state.
798* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:The real one, because he's the original Luke. The prophecy was talking about him. Van created Luke to ScrewDestiny.]]
799* CloneAngst: [[spoiler:In the same way Luke suffers from being a clone of Asch, Asch inverts the trope by being unhappy that there is a clone of him. Then again, [[PerpetualFrowner is he ever happy?]]]]
800* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Massive chunks of the game could have been skipped had Asch been more cooperative with TheTeam instead of taking turns leading them on with little explanation or antagonising Luke. This is lampshaded several times later on, as Luke is as baffled as the player by his stubborn uncooperativeness.
801* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:He's the original Luke fon Fabre who was kidnapped, put through horrific experiments to produce his replica, replaced by said replica, then raised by the BigBad to be his [[TheDragon right hand man]] while working his way up in rank to become a God-General in the Oracle Knights, earning the title "the Bloody" in the process.]]
802* DeadpanSnarker: Though his usual attitude doesn't let him show it much, he has his shades of this. Like that "my hair grows fast" incident.
803* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:The whole reason for him originally going to sacrifice himself at the Tower of Rem was because he already was dying and thus rather choose to die on his own terms. There are also a lot of implications that he's been this ever since he found out about the truth of his Score and had his life "stolen" by his replica.]]
804* DespairEventHorizon: More like a Rage Event Horizon, but it counts. [[spoiler:Asch had his entire life stolen from him and his response was nothing less than pure hatred.]]
805* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Someone resembling him comes back two years later after the final battle. [[GainaxEnding It was made ambiguous if it was really him, Luke, or a combination of the two that came back.]]]]
806* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Defied. He ''isn't'' one but, rather, Van ''wanted'' him to be his right hand and greatest warrior.]]
807%%* DoubleAgent
808* DuelBoss: He has a one-on-one with Luke on two occasions.
809* TheEeyore: He is never happy; ever. The closest he gets is 'only slightly annoyed', which is during his heart-to-heart talks with Natalia.
810* EvilCounterpart: Well, more [[AntiHero Anti-Heroic]] than ''evil'' but he is definitely Luke's counterpart. [[spoiler:Makes sense, as he's the original Luke fon Fabre.]]
811* {{Expy}}: His hairstyle reeks of [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Zelos Wilder's Narcissist costume]]. Personality-wise, he's an antisocial ({{Tsundere}}) magic swordsman, [[spoiler:a temporary party member]] that prefers to [[IWorkAlone work alone]] who has a close connection to the BigBad but ultimately [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]]]] himself to save the protagonist that he claims to dislike? Hello again, [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Leon Magnus]]]].
812* FieryRedhead: Has an even worse temper than Luke pre ImportantHaircut; being angry is practically his default emotion in fact.
813* FeigningIntelligence: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. Asch is actually pretty smart, but he doesn't know quite as much as he tries to play himself as knowing. It's more often just [[NoSocialSkills horrible social skills]] than him purposefully hiding information from them or deliberately using this trope. By the third arc, the party starts to catch on to the fact that Asch isn't quite as smart as he seems to be.
814* FourStarBadass: He's a tough and powerful general in a game where AuthorityEqualsAsskicking.
815* GeneralRipper: Has the personality for it, if not necessarily the rank. He ''will'' find a way to blame everything on Luke, Van or ''both''; even if he has to use InsaneTrollLogic to do so. [[spoiler:He's usually right for Van and never right about Luke.]]
816* GoodIsNotNice: [[spoiler:Very rude, snide and generally a jerkass, but he's also trying to save the world. But he does show signs of kindness here and there, and extra Tales material portrays him as not that bad of a guy.]]
817%% * GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Subtle but he's got a faint smile on his face as he dies, if only briefly.]]
818* GuestStarPartyMember: [[spoiler:You can even level him up to the point where you can use his Mystic Arte manually]]. It's averted in the Drama Discs, where Asch decides to open up a little and joins as a permanent member until [[spoiler:he is killed by Van during the final battle.]]
819* HeroicSacrifice:
820** [[spoiler:In the game and anime, he is killed by Oracle Soldiers after a YouShallNotPass moment that allowed Luke to get to Van. Then he merges with Luke, but whether or not he's still in there somewhere is unexplained.]]
821** [[spoiler:In the Voice Dramas, he is killed by Van after taking a blow meant for Luke.]]
822* HiddenDepths: He's an [[SupremeChef excellent cook]]. There's also a manga side-story that reveals a ''lot'' about his point of view.
823* HopelessBossFight: His first duel with Luke is set up as one and the player will most likely lose. But it is possible to win under certain circumstances.
824* {{Hypocrite}}: Is very pissed off at Luke calling Van "Master Van" even after TheReveal but he, himself, still views Van in the same way as Luke does. For all his bluster and rage, he's obviously struggling a lot in regards to [[spoiler:facing his mentor and father figure as an enemy.]]
825* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Run through with several swords by the soldiers he's fighting]].
826* IdenticalStranger: To Luke. As it turns out, there's a very good reason for that. [[spoiler:Luke is his fonic clone; basically his twin.]]
827* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For all of his boasting, a clear side of him believes that Luke is superior to him. While this becomes more obvious later in the game, defeating him in the HopelessBossFight reveals that he had these feelings from the beginning.
828* InsaneTrollLogic: He constantly assumes that everything that goes wrong is Van's fault and will happy break any laws of logic required in order to justify his irrational hatred of the man. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a case of CassandraTruth crossed with TheExtremistWasRight. Asch isn't always right in what he specifically blames Van for but he is always on the right lines, which usually leads to the heroes filling in the blanks. Furthermore, if he ''had'' just been allowed to murder Van when he had the chance, the entire plot could have been avoided. Unfortunately for him, his atrocious social skills prevent him from being taken seriously until it's too late.]]
829* InterfaceSpoiler: If one checks the Records menu at the beginning of the game, they'll be aware that a character named Asch joins the party at some point.
830* IWasJustPassingThrough: No matter what, Asch did not help you because he wanted to help you. It's only because his plans required it.
831** Jade pokes fun at this in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' Voice Adventure DVD when Asch claims to have been at the right place at the right time "coincidentally" when he saved Jade from Barbatos, in a completely different world and right at the last moment...
832* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: For all his uncooperative behavior and anti-social personality, his interactions with his parents and Natalia are touching, as is his devotion to his ideals. While in the party, the non-player-characters and Anise note that behind his cold exterior, he may be a NiceGuy, in which he replies "[[{{Tsundere}} S-shut up!]]". This is more obvious in the Japanese version, where Chihiro Suzuki makes Asch sound audibly embarrassed when Anise brings up him possibly leaving Ion behind in the Tartarus to be for Ion's protection rather than just him "getting in the way." [[spoiler:Plus, for all his animosity towards his replica, he seemed really appalled when Jade "killed" Luke during the Doctor Mambo sidequest]]. Overall, his kinder side is much more obvious in the Drama Discs and the Asch manga, his equivalent to ''Destiny'''s Lion Side; where the summoning of [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ALL the Six God-Generals]] to slaughter the Tarturus' crew just to capture Ion was what added onto his suspicions about Van, deeming it to be strange and unnecessary. Remember, he was a soldier and, at that time, he was just following orders from the Commandant and doing his job. Regardless, he didn't have much of a kill count during the Tartarus slaughter.
833* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: What he evolves into, because of Luke's CharacterDevelopment. When Luke finally stands up to him near the end of the game, Asch's response is a combination of pure bafflement and even more UnstoppableRage - even lashing out at [[MoralityPet Natalia]] - simply because he adamantly refuses to acknowledge that [[spoiler:Luke doesn't need him anymore]].
834* KickTheDog: Tends to lash out at Luke a lot.
835* KickTheMoralityPet: While's never been the nicest of guys, the fact that he starts [[spoiler:yelling at Natalia]] as a means to vent his frustrations regarding Luke standing up for himself near the game's ending is a clear indicator of just how much his rage and hatred have consumed him. He doesn't even seem bothered when [[spoiler:Luke makes him promise ''for her sake'' to come back alive from his last stand.]]
836* LaserGuidedTykebomb: [[spoiler:The reason they had Susanne give birth to him was because the Score foretold he would bring Kimlasca prosperity...by kicking off a war via destroying Akzeriuth and dying in the process. Van kidnapped him, made his replica, and tried to turn him into his own personal {{Tykebomb}} but Asch rebels against him as well.]]
837* LimitBreak: Rending Saber is a sonic wave attack followed by a SwordPlant and [[StuffBlowingUp a massive burst of]] PureEnergy.
838* MagicKnight: He's skilled with a sword but he also knows a number of spells.
839* MakeMeWannaShout: It's implied that Rending Saber is connected to the Seventh Fonon, as one of the Kanji used for it relates to sound.
840* ManChild: Subtly done, but some of his lines in the latter part of the game and his attitude and actions reveal that he's been "stuck" in his development ever since [[spoiler:he was kidnapped by Van and replaced by his replica.]] Emotionally speaking, he's still the bitter, angry ten-year old of that time.
841* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Given who his mentor is, it makes sense for him to have picked up a few tricks.]]
842* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:He used to be the "light of the sacred flame" but after he was replaced, he became its ashes.]]
843* MemeticMutation: An in-universe example. The fact that he never smiles is noted a couple of times and before long the party turn it into a sort of RunningGag amongst themselves.
844* MirrorBoss: To Luke, as the two have the same fighting style.
845* MirrorCharacter: To Luke. He ''knows'' this too which is why the sharp differences between them tend to throw him into a massive rage.
846* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: During his [[spoiler:YouShallNotPass]] moment.
847-->'' [[spoiler::"No. Your fight is with me, Asch--no, Luke fon Fabre! Prepare to die."]]''
848* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Somebody trying to destroy Akzeriuth? It must be Van. Let's kill him! The continents is sinking into the Qliphoth? If we kill Van, everything will sort itself out! Planetary-replication threatening to engulf the world? Asch ''[[InsaneTrollLogic will]]'' [[InsaneTrollLogic find a way to blame Van]]. [[spoiler:As it turns out, there is a FreudianExcuse behind this; namely that Van manipulated and betrayed him to create Luke]].
849* NoSocialSkills: With the exception of Natalia (and even then she's not immune to his rudeness), he's terrible with people: being rude, abrasive, secretive, condescending, and just an all-round jerk to everybody that he meets. This is, however, justified: [[spoiler:Van saw him as little more than a tool to accomplish his goal of killing Lorelei and has little regard for his personal wellbeing. This kind of emotional abuse, which he must have endured for years, on top of the fact that Van took advantage of his trust to create a replica that stole his life, rightful destiny, and even his ''fiance'' more or less caused Asch to cross a DespairEventHorizon.]]
850* OtherMeAnnoysMe: A ''very'' weird take on this. [[spoiler:Since Luke is his replica, he sees him as "another me" to a certain extent. The fact Luke isn't the strong, ruthless person he wants him to be, and in the end [[SubvertedTrope isn't]] Asch but his own person, turns him into a walking BerserkButton for Asch.]]
851* PerpetualFrowner: He's never without a frown. It's often {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d [[http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/329/d/8/MY_FACE_by_Noirrac.png and has become memetic]].
852* PrepareToDie: [[spoiler:"No. Your fight is with me, Asch--no, Luke fon Fabre! Prepare to die."]]
853* {{Pride}}: By far and away the single most arrogant being in the ''Tales'' series. [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste Characterising him as such was the point of his character,]] as it helps him to serve as a ShadowArchetype to [[spoiler:Luke]].
854* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's the original Luke fon Fabre. The other Luke is his clone]].
855* RevengeBeforeReason: [[spoiler:Asch has a reason (albeit it still shouldn't be excused), that being his issues regarding trust ever since Van betrayed him and seeing his family and fiancee getting friendly with his replica, not knowing it wasn't him, as a child. Ever since then, he's kept his problems bottled up to the point where he withholds information so he wouldn't have to get close to anybody ever again, but of course his resentment of Luke adds fuel to it.]]
856* SayMyName: Sorta... [[spoiler:"REPLICAAAAAAAAA!"]] Yes, it's memetic.
857* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler:Implied in the main game, as one of the Dark Wings states it. However, the issue is never confronted directly in the main quest. Doing the Contamination Effect sidequests imply that he may have been undergoing a delayed Big Bang the whole time. It's canonised by the anime and Drama Disks as Asch goes through one of the symptoms of the Big Bang before his death in both.]]
858* SemiDivine: [[spoiler:Though completely human by lineage, he was born as an isofon of Lorelei (something which should be impossible) and possesses powers far greater than any normal seventh fonist.]]
859* SignificantDoubleCasting: Shares the same voice actor (in JP and ENG) as Luke [[spoiler:because Luke is his replica.]]
860* TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler:To the main party. This is {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d with his costume title, Abyss Silver, a common color for sixth rangers in ''Franchise/SuperSentai''.]]
861* SourOutsideSadInside: Heavily implied (and [[AllThereInTheManual shown in extra materials]]) that he honestly does want to connect with others and is still that sweet, serious kid he was before. Unfortunately, the trauma he's gone through and his ''many'' issues prevent him from being honest about his feelings and he spends most of his time doing his best to drive away ''anyone'' who attempts to get close to him. Such actions are [[TruthInTelevision far from uncommon]] among victims of similar abuse to what he went through.
862* StockholmSyndrome: [[spoiler:He spent seven years loyal to the man who kidnapped him and even after switching sides it's clear that he still admires and respects Van. There's also a scene in the manga adaptation which shows Van convincing him that he is the only one who still cares about him after seeing everyone else embrace Luke in his place.]]
863* StrongFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:He looks a lot like a younger version of his father, Duke Fabre.]]
864* {{Tsundere}}: A male version, towards both Natalia and Luke.
865** "[[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8zrdj5TqZ1qhl3tfo1_500.jpg Don't get me wrong. I only saved you because the Fon Master told me to.]]"
866** "[[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8ztok7hGF1qhl3tfo1_1280.jpg D-don't get me wrong. I'm just helping you on the side. I have no intention of getting friendly with you people and that replica.]]" You get the point.
867** This is exemplified in the ''Tales of Fandom Vol. 2'' crossover sidestory (which takes place before ''Tales of the Abyss's'' FinalDungeon), especially during the School Uniform side-skit for the entire Abyss party:
868--->'''Natalia:''' My! You'll don them?\
869'''Asch:''' [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial I-it's not like I decided to wear them or anything.]]\
870'''Natalia:''' That is a shame.... I had wanted to see your graceful figure...\
871'''Asch:''' ...w-well, I didn't say I ''wouldn't'' wear them, either.\
872'''Guy':''' Man, you sure are quick to change your mind.
873** Jade pokes fun at this in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence'' Voice Adventure DVD when Asch claims to have been at the right place at the right time "coincidentally" when he saved Jade from Barbatos, in a completely different world and right at the last moment... "It's not like I worry about you people or anything."
874* UnstoppableRage: His default mood is rage, rage, and even more rage. He does his best to remain calm despite it, but it does ''not'' take much to set him off and remove the thin veneer of calm.
875* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[spoiler:Was once a [[TheWisePrince wise young noble]] who was determined to make Kimlasca a wonderful place for all. Then he got kidnapped and "replaced" by a fake...]]
876* WalkingSpoiler: A literal sense. [[spoiler:It's hard to hear his voice, see his face, or observe his fighting style without realizing Luke is his replica.]]
877* WeakButSkilled: [[spoiler:Enforced by the game. While he's statistically superior to Luke, his terrible availability mixed with his lack of access to capacity cores means that, by the end of the game, Luke is statistically stronger, but Asch has a more varied and versatile move pool.]]
878* WhenHeSmiles: There is a ''single'' skit where he actually smiles (around Natalia naturally) and it's downright '''adorable''', up there with Luke's genuine smiles. [[spoiler:Considering he's the original Luke fon Fabre, it's not surprising they have the same smile.]]
879* TheWisePrince [[spoiler:The way he used to act according to Natalia most certainly qualifies and disregarding his more... brusque actions toward Luke, he still has strong tendencies in this direction.]]
880* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:In the final arc he stands alone against an army of knights to buy Luke time to reach Van and stop Eldrant. He kills all of them before succumbing to injuries.]]
881* YoungerThanTheyLook: Believe it or not, but he's 17. It's more obvious when his hair isn't pulled back [[spoiler:thanks to his resemblance to Luke being more obvious then.]]
882[[/folder]]
883
884[[folder:Legretta the Quick]]
885[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LegrettaProfile_6900.jpg]]
886
887->Voiced by: Creator/MikiIto (JP), Creator/CindyRobinson (EN)
888
889TheLeader of the Six God Generals and Tear's mentor, who carries herself with the composure and integrity of a soldier. She wields [[GunsAkimbo two pistols]] and [[LightIsNotGood light-elemental magic.]] Her true name is later revealed to be [[spoiler:Giselle Oslo]].
890
891----
892* AdaptationalCurves: She's more buxom in the anime than in the game.
893* AntiVillain: Type II (Woobie Anti-Villain). [[spoiler:She tried to kill Van only to fail and be recruited by him.]]
894* BrokenPedestal: She trained Tear in Yulia City and later became a heretic. [[spoiler:A letter she left behind urged Tear not to follow her example and find her own path]].
895* DarkActionGirl: A villainous gunslinger.
896* DarkMistress: [[spoiler:Defied. Despite being in love with him, there's no romantic interaction between her and Van and with good reason - it's a love born from the Score, which she despises with every fibre of her being.]]
897* TheDragon: She's an enforcer for Mohs. [[spoiler:She's actually Van's.]]
898* ElementalPowers: She has BlowYouAway ([=/=] ShockAndAwe) via [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Divine Sabre]]. She also has PlayingWithFire via Searing Sorrow.
899%%** MakingASplash
900* EvilCounterpart: To Tear; a cold and composed soldier who is warmer than she appears and fights with projectiles. The difference is how they view The Score and their relationship they have with the central figure among their group.
901* FragileSpeedster: Legretta the ''[[MeaningfulName Quick]]'' indeed. One doesn't earn such a name without becoming a speedster. Her teammates are slower but better at taking hits, and in general she tends to be easier to stun than people like Sync.
902* TheGunslinger: [[GunsAkimbo She wields two]] with great skill.
903* LadyOfWar: Like Tear she is a graceful and deadly warrior.
904* LimitBreak: Prism Ballet
905* LoveHurts: Part of why she's an antagonist is this. [[spoiler: She was supposed to kill Van, only to fall in love with him, but she was furious when she learned the Score had predetermined she would be in love with him. She really does love him, but doesn't admit to it because it would be exactly what the Score said she would do, and she hates it. She wanted to love someone of her own free will, not because she was told she had to.]]
906%%** MoreDakka
907%%** WaveMotionGun
908* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Legretta is horrified by the fact that she has fallen in love with the man she wanted to kill and is sickened by the idea that she only fell in love because it was determined in the Score]].
909* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Her name in Japanese is Regret, which got changed to Legretta. It may have been caused in order to keep the musical name theming among the God Generals. Legretta stands for "alegretto". Largo and Arietta are both musical terms. Sync may come from "syncopation", while Dist may or may not refer to "distortion", as in "sound distortion". It seems the Japanese prefer the change, since the anime site has it as such.
910* StrangledByTheRedString: [[spoiler:Invoked in-universe and deconstructed, via TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste. She genuinely ''doesn't'' want to love Van - but doesn't have a choice in the matter because the Score controls her destiny, as it does everyone's. This is one of the many reasons why she hates it; she wants to choose who she loves.]]
911* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler:To Van; despite her love being Score based she is genuinely loyal to him.]]
912[[/folder]]
913
914[[folder:Dist The Reaper]]
915[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DistProfile_3577.jpg]]
916
917->Voiced by: Creator/KazukiYao (JP), Creator/LiamOBrien (EN)
918
919Also known as Dist The Rose (his preferred moniker) or Dist The Runny (Jade's preferred moniker for him) or (rarely) his birth name of [[spoiler:Saphir Ortion Gneiss]], Dist is an effeminate MadScientist who is also one of the Six God Generals. He hangs out on a floating chair in a permanent SlouchOfVillainy, and summons HumongousMecha to fight in his place. He has a long history with Jade.
920
921----
922* AmbiguouslyBi: While his obsession with Jade and incredibly flamboyant mannerisms make most assume him to be either a case of SingleTargetSexuality or simply gay, the game all but states that [[spoiler:he has a crush on Professor Nebilim.]] Considering a major part of his obsession with Jade is linked to [[spoiler:Jade's refusal to assist him in reviving Nebilim]], he may even be CampStraight.
923* AntiVillain: This is how he views himself; [[spoiler:horrible actions are okay for reviving the professor because she doesn't care about anyone else, except Jade.]]
924* BrokenAce: He's a brilliantly gifted scientist who has made countless revolutionary contributions to the world of engineering, but his fixation on the past has left him a bitter, twisted and pathetic man.
925* BrokenPedestal: He's shown to have worshiped Jade when they were children, but now resents him for [[spoiler:giving up on professor Nebilim]]. However, it's made quite apparent that he ''still'' worships Jade and he makes it clear that he'd drop whatever he was doing and work alongside Jade in an instant were Jade to "go back to normal".
926* ButtMonkey: The other God Generals are treated as serious threats by both the heroes and the story. Dist is not. He's treated like a nuisance and a joke.
927* {{Camp}}: While his sexuality is up in the air, his flamboyant mannerisms, hot pink-accented outfit, and insistence on being referred to as "the Rose" instead of by his actual title all push him squarely into this territory.
928* TheChewToy: Jade thinks of him not as a FriendlyEnemy but as a ''pet''.
929* CrazyJealousGuy: The ''Reminiscences of Jade'' manga shows, in flashbacks, him being a platonic example towards Jade while in the Malkuth Military, getting very upset when Jasper or anyone else had Jade's attention or appeared to be trying to "steal" his best friend. In the present he seems to have some tendencies remaining due to his focus on Jade.
930* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Though he's treated as a joke most of the time, it becomes easy to forget that he's a prodigious genius whose contributions to the technological world were as revolutionary as Jade's were to the Fomicry world. It's just that Jade is such a {{Troll}} that he rarely ever comes off as threatening.
931* DubNameChange: [[spoiler:His middle name is Wyon in Japan; an interesting case which changes the name of a dungeon (Ortion Cavern) as he named it after himself.]]
932* EvilCounterpart: For a certain value of "[[HarmlessVillain Evil]]" anyway. He is this to Jade as the eccentric MadScientist that researches forrbidden fields like fomicry. The difference is that Jade learned from the mistakes he made last time, while Dist's refusal to move on from his past define his entire character.
933* EvilGenius: He's a brilliant engineer who is responsible for constructing most of the game's most impressive machines. He's also a villain.
934* FakeBrit: [[invoked]] In the English dub he speaks with a haughty British accent but drops it when frustrated or flustered. This is further proven in a flashback to Jade's youth, where he has no accent at all. This further emphasizes his ManChild status, as he definitely does it to seem cooler and more sophisticated.
935* {{Foil}}: Jade is his team's TokenEvilTeammate, rarely takes anything seriously, is treated as one of the biggest badasses in the world by almost everybody and grew past his traumatic childhood. Dist is his team's TokenGoodTeammate (or at least the closest thing to one), carries grudges over minor things, is never taken as a legitimate threat despite his incredible amount of talent and is emotionally stunted. To further this, Jade specializes in the study of magic while Dist specializes in the study of technology.
936* TheFriendNobodyLikes: He is TheScrappy, In-universe, for the God-Generals. Despite the fact that he's the closest thing they have to a TokenGoodTeammate, he gets no respect form any of them and they all go out of their way to avoid him. It's not just aversion - they genuinely ''dislike him''. This may be because he's oh-so-obviously not working towards their goal. [[invoked]]
937** He is also suggested to have been this to a degree back when he was friends with Jade and Peony. While both of them eventually cut off all ties from him entirely, even beforehand they are suggested to have teased him constantly.
938* GadgeteerGenius: Is incredibly skilled at making fontech and fontech machines. Boss Battles with him are always with robots he created. [[spoiler:That battle plushie Anise uses to fight? Dist made it for her.]]
939* HarmlessVillain: He's certainly ''treated'' like this, but that's simply because his arch-nemesis is [[{{Troll}} Jade]], who makes sure that everyone else treats him as one. In reality, he's a legitimate genius who is quite competent at his job.
940* HesAllGrownUp: Unlike Jade, who is shown to have been tall and handsome even in his youth, Dist was a weedy little nerd as a kid but grew up into quite the pretty boy. A shame his personality didn't age as gracefully.
941* InsistentTerminology -
942-->'''Jade:''' Well if it isn't Dist The Runny!\
943'''Dist:''' It's Rose, dammit! R-O-S-E ROSE!\
944'''Anise:''' You mean Dist The Reaper.\
945'''Dist:''' It's DIST THE ROSE! I refuse to have such barbaric name!
946* HeterosexualLifePartners: Used to be this with Jade, before he dissociated from Dist after a particularly sore incident. Dist clearly wants them to become this again, and is incredibly resentful to Peony for stealing his place as Jade's best friend.
947* HotForTeacher: [[spoiler:Suggested to have had a crush on Professor Nebilim, which he still seems to harbor to this day. His crush seems to have remained that of a schoolboy crush on his teacher despite now being in his mid-thirties.]]
948* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Uses a fonic glyph to mutate Mohs into "[[OneWingedAngel the New Fon Master]]", but he seems to do it more out of [[ForScience professional interest]] and personal amusement than anything else.]]
949* LeanAndMean: Not immediately obvious since he's almost always sitting down, but Dist is a good head and shoulders taller than Jade, who is 6'1". This may be a case of YourSizeMayVary, however, as his official height is 5'9'' while his in-game model is taller than most of the rest of the cast by a wide margin.
950* MadScientist: This is how he gained his nickname "reaper". Like Jade he's done some strange and creepy things in his pursuit of science.
951* MadeOfIron: He survives fontech explosions.
952* ManChild: Childhood trauma led to him never maturing, making him come off as a whiny brat trying to look cool.
953* NonActionGuy: Justified. He specializes in Fontech and has no real reason to practice combat when he can have his inventions fight for him.
954* NoRespectGuy: Jade seems to have made it a personal goal to make sure nobody ever respects Dist. It has fantastic results, as everyone seems to hate him.
955* NotSoHarmlessVillain: At the Tower of Rem, when he reveals his most powerful robot yet [[spoiler:and starts ''massacring the Replicas'']].
956* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Jade will never let him forget how his nose used to run whenever he got angry when he was a child.
957* OpaqueLenses: Varies between the artwork and the game. In the artwork, only one is opaque, but in-game both are.
958* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:Anise relates a story where she approached Dist in the Oracle Knights lunch hall (where he usually ate alone) and struck up a conversation with him. In return, he modified her Tokunaga doll to allow it to grow to massive proportions. Anise comments that he always seemed lonely.]]
959* PsychopathicManchild: For such a brilliant mind, he's quite juvenile. It's implied that the shock of [[spoiler:watching Nebilim die and then seeing her Replica go insane]] had something to do with it.
960* SissyVillain: In case you hadn't guessed it from the rest of this list, Dist is a wimpy and effeminate villain.
961* SlasherSmile: His usual expression. Surprisingly, he's actually one of the least bloodthirsty God Generals.
962* TheStarscream: Yes, he's only using the God-Generals for his own ends but those ends turn out ''not'' to be further power and control - They're [[spoiler:finding a way to revive Nebilim]].
963* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler:The only God-General to survive the entire game.]]
964* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:He attempts this after beating him the last time. It fails. He survives the explosion, though only if you follow the catalysts and Nebilim sidequest to the end, even after she hits him in the face with a Fragmented End. Tenacious as a cockroach, indeed.]]
965* {{Tsundere}}: An incredibly transparent one. He acts like he hates Jade more than anything else in the world, when in reality it's quite clear he worships him like a god.
966* TheUnfought: He never fights you directly, instead sending giant robots he made to do it in his stead.
967* UnknownRival: Jade prefers to pretend that he doesn't exist.
968* UsedToBeASweetKid: He was a short, clumsy and adorably chipper nerd with a perpetually runny nose as a boy, who worshiped his best friend in his youth. In a bit of a twist, the reason he isn't sweet any more is his refusal to grow out of the very same traits that made him cute as a kid. The few occasions when Jade tricks him into thinking they've joined forces again makes him immediately switch into his younger traits.
969
970[[/folder]]
971
972[[folder:Arietta the Wild]]
973[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AriettaProfile_527.jpg]]
974
975->Voiced by: Creator/SatsukiYukino (JP), Creator/KateHiggins (EN)
976
977One of the Six God Generals. When she was orphaned during the Hod War, she was rescued and raised by Ligers. Due to this, she is the only human on the planet that can communicate with monsters. Van found her at an early age and raised her to become a functional- if not entirely sociable- member of society.
978
979She used to be the Fon Master Guardian to Ion, but was transferred to another position two years previously and replaced by Anise. Because of this, she has a bitter hatred of Anise, who she claims "stole" Ion from her.
980
981The party kills her "mother" early in the game (in an unrelated boss fight) and she swears to take vengeance against them. She fights alongside monsters and is a powerful spellcaster.
982
983----
984* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Arietta was in the end just a hurt child; one who desperately wanted the affections of a boy she ''didn't know was already dead'' and wanted {{Revenge}} for the murder of her mother. Her death after the duel between her and Anise is ''heartwrenching''.]]
985* AndThisIsFor: "Your deaths will be for Mommy. [[spoiler:Anise, yours is for Ion]]. For Van, too! I'll finish all of you!"
986* AntiVillain: Type II (Woobie Anti-Villain) and/or IV (Villain in Name Only). She fights the heroes to avenge her mother, (the Liger Queen), to "protect" Ion, and to support the closet thing she has to a living human parent, Van.
987* TheBeastmaster: She can communicate with monsters and they always assist her in every boss fight involving her.
988* BlackMagicianGirl: She casts dark magic in battle.
989* TheBrute: She doesn't look the part but she most ''definitely'' acts it. She's got a LeeroyJenkins attitude going on and, while she's not necessarily ''stupid'', she most certainly isn't ''clever''. She doesn't need to use her head when she can just ZergRush everything with her monsters. Van and the God Generals treat her like extra muscles for missions like AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs. This is justified given that she is a young adult raised by animals who possesses both prodigous magical talent and an ability to communicate with monsters; she's clearly ''smart'' enough to use fonic artes, but the means by which she was raised, her lack of emotional maturity, and her overwhelming force means she's likely to stick to the one tactic she knows works.
990* BodyguardCrush: On Ion. [[spoiler:This is made rather tragic as events and AllThereInTheManual reveals she a) is in love with the ''original'' Ion b) doesn't know he's been replaced by a replica, and c) the original Ion was a complete jerk who thought of Arietta as a sort of pet.]]
991* DarkActionGirl: You don't become one a God-General without being a vicious combatant.
992* DarkMagicalGirl: She's not evil, but a girl whose only friends are monsters and used by the BigBad who is a ParentalSubstitute to her. Her MagicalGirl {{foil}} is Anise; another much more lively girl who (eventually) has TrueCompanions and fights alongside her plushie. [[spoiler:She has more of a MoralityAdjustment instead of a full HeelFaceTurn...and then dies.]]
993* DontFearTheReaper: In the anime, [[spoiler:the spirits of Ion and her Liger family come to take her to the afterlife and she [[GoOutWithASmile goes out with a smile.]]]]
994* ElementalPowers: She has [[BlowYouAway Wind]] ([[ShockAndAwe Lightning]]), [[CastingAShadow Darkness]], and [[PlayingWithFire Fire]].
995* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:She teams up with the party to save Ion from Mohs. When they fail, she decides to hate them again.]]
996* EvilCounterpart: To Anise; both young girls who use dark magic and guard the Fon Master. The difference is that Arietta lives in the past while Anise gains the strength to move forward.
997* FailureToSaveMurder: [[spoiler:This is why she challenges Anise to a duel after Ion's death; she blames Anise for Ion's death.]]
998* GoOutWithASmile: In the anime, [[spoiler: she smiles as the spirits of Ion and her family come to take her away with them into the afterlife.]]
999* LightIsNotGood: Her second Mystic Arte's name? ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Evil Light]]''.
1000* LimitBreak: [[DeathInAllDirections Big Bang]] and [[WaveMotionGun Evil Light]].
1001* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler:She was purposefully reassigned because it was feared she'd kill herself if she knew that the original Ion was dead.]]
1002* MightyGlacier: Glaringly, the first boss fight against her on Unknown gives her tremendous defenses even after you try exploiting C.Core growths that you will be delivering ScratchDamage for a long while. Later fights against her don't inflate her defenses to insane proportions, though.
1003* MoralityPet: A downplayed and somewhat literal example [[spoiler:to the [[{{Jerkass}} original Ion]], who feels sympathy towards her and even cries for her during the last moments of his life despite treating her as a disposable pet beforehand.]]
1004* OlderThanTheyLook: She's sixteen despite both her appearance and personality being that of a little girl. Though the personality thing comes from being [[WildChild raised by monsters]].
1005* PsychopathicWomanchild: Not so much psychopathic though so much as she's taken slow to mature and her father-figure is a villain.
1006* RaisedByWolves: Ligers in this case. The Liger Queen was her mother.
1007* TragicVillain: [[TraumaCongaLine Let's count the ways]]: (1) She was orphaned as a baby, (2) She gets taken from her stepfamily who [[RaisedByWolves while Ligers]], were actually [[HappilyAdopted pretty loving]] to be put into servitude of Van and the original Fon Master, the latter of whom would dehumanise her, (3)falls in love with Ion only to lose him [[spoiler:twice, the first time while being kept in the dark]], (4)Loses her adopted mother and the latest brood of would be siblings to the party without being able to so much as say goodbye and then when she tries to avenge them, keeps losing more friends, (5) it's vaguely implied althought not explicitly stated that she doesn't get comforted from this in any way due to the the fact that people see Ligers as man eating monsters, instead having her feelings coldly exploited to turn her against the party and game only, (6) when she dies, she does so thrown on the ground like trash talking about how "it hurts" and lamenting her life, not living long enough to actually she herself being honored by her mourners, much of this orchestated and caused directly or indirectly by the man she pledged UndyingLoyalty to and the [[spoiler:boy she was in love with]]. ''Somebody give her a break already!!'', and a hug for that matter. At least in the anime, [[DontFearTheReaper she DOES get a happier ending]].
1008* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:Saves the party from Legretta and her men so they can try to save Ion]].
1009* WildChild: Thanks to Van she assimilated pretty well into human society but the Liger upbringing is still in there.
1010* WolfpackBoss: In two of her boss battles, she fights with her monsters, and in another, fights with Largo and Legretta.
1011* YouKilledMyFather: You know that Liger Queen Luke, Tear, and Jade killed? That was her mother, YouBastard.
1012[[/folder]]
1013
1014[[folder:Sync the Tempest]]
1015[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SyncProfile_7202.jpg]]
1016
1017->Voiced by: Creator/IkueOtani (JP game) Creator/YumikoKobayashi (JP Anime), Creator/ErinFitzgerald (EN)
1018
1019The youngest of the Six God Generals, who wears a mask at all times. He has a cruel and manipulative personality, and uses powerful Daathic Artes to curse and torture his enemies.
1020
1021----
1022* BackFromTheDead: It is unclear whether [[spoiler:he died when he fell into the core and was resurrected by Van or if he was just badly wounded.]]
1023* {{Beauty Is Bad}}: despite being very handsome, he is one of the biggest jerks in the game.
1024* ChildSoldier: Deserves special mention [[spoiler:as he turns out to be ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook two years old]]'' meaning he's basically been one since ''birth''.]] Even discounting that spoiler, he's way too young to be the commander of military forces, much less of such a high rank[[note]]Sync is not just the 5th division leader, but the Chief of Staff of the Oracle Knights[[/note]].
1025* CoolMask: A gold and red one that resembles a bird's beak.
1026* CloneAngst: [[spoiler:Is a failed Replica of the original Ion and tormented by this fact. The idea that he, himself, is a failure makes him act like an asshole to others. It also makes him suicidal]].
1027* {{Death Seeker}}: The only time Sync expresses genuine happiness in his whole life was [[spoiler:dying after his final fight with the main cast.]]
1028* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:... Sort of. He attempts to kill himself by throwing himself into the core of Auldrant. He survives because of Van.]]
1029* DontYouDarePityMe: When the party learns of his past as [[spoiler:a replica of the original Ion, the party's Ion sympathizes with him and attempts to convince him to work with the party to survive their predicament. [[RedemptionRejection Sync angrily slaps Ion's hand away]] and jumps off the Tartarus.]]
1030* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:He attempted to kill himself by throwing himself into the core. Van saves him.]]
1031* ElementalPowers: He has BlowYouAway [[MeaningfulName As if it wasn't obvious enough]] and by extension, ShockAndAwe. He also has DishingOutDirt (Ground Dasher) and PlayingWithFire (Cyclone Blaze).
1032* EvilCounterpart: To Guy in both of them are {{Fragile Speedster}}s driven by revenge. Sync allowed his thoughts of revenge to consume him, while Guy ultimately put them behind him and moved on. This contrast is brought in sharp relief when one recalls Sync's assertion that he is empty and his life is meaningless [[spoiler:outside of being used by Van]], and compares it to Guy's motto of "Where there's life, there's hope."
1033* TheEvilGenius: Played with. While a case could be made for him serving more of a [[TheDragon Dragon-y]] role in the game, his interaction with the God Generals make it clear that he's the brains behind most of their operations. Dist might be the one building their machinery but Sync is the one [[TheStrategist who comes up with the tactics, evaluates the situation]] and engages in frequent ''extremely'' horrific {{Manipulative Bastard}}ry.
1034* EvilTwin:
1035** [[spoiler:To Ion, and later, Florian. The former is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and the later an Innocent Child; he himself is a {{Jerkass}}.]]
1036** He's also a very downplayed example to [[spoiler:the original Ion, who is very similar in personality to him and shares the same omnicidal goals. Although the original Ion did start thinking of Arietta as a friend on his deathbed, Sync never gets any positive CharacterDevelopment and has no VillainousFriendship with the other God Generals.]]
1037* ForTheEvulz: Sync truly is the sort of depraved sociopath who thinks that life is utterly meaningless so everyone should kill each other. [[spoiler:After Ion's death]] he mimicked Ion's voice to Anise for no reason other than to guilt-trip her. He laughed at her reaction.
1038* FreudianExcuse: The reason he is such a mean spirited person is because [[spoiler:he was created as a clone to the original Ion, but was deemed a failure and cast away to die.]]
1039* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler:He's just as cruel and nihilistic as the original Ion and shares his goal of taking revenge on the world.]]
1040* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:His CloneAngst caused him to be the closest to the [[{{Jerkass}} original Ion]] in terms of personality.]]
1041* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: If it looks like he's doing something nice for you... he's not. [[spoiler:Anise learned that the hard way.]]
1042* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Perfectly mimicking Ion's voice to demoralize Anise ''after'' Ion's death is a pretty low blow.]]
1043* KungFuWizard: He fights with both bare-handed martial arts and fonic artes.
1044* LimitBreak: Akashic Torment and [[RapidFireFisticuffs Harrowing Gale]].
1045* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler:Other God Generals have sympathetic goals like reviving a beloved teacher or granting free will; Sync just wants to kill everyone.]]
1046* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Guy seems to recognize Sync when he sees him without the mask. This implies that Sync will be Guy's EvilCounterpart, similar to how all the other God Generals correspond to a member of the party. It turns out that Guy recoginzed Sync because Sync is a Replica of Ion and that the rest of the party would probably have had the same reaction if they had seen Sync mask-less prior to TheReveal.]]
1047* StrawNihilist: He believes that his life is completely meaningless because [[spoiler:he was born as a failed Replica and his creators intended for him to die.]] Before the last fight with him, [[spoiler:he reveals that he follows Van only because Van's plan means destroying the world that created a life as empty as his own.]]
1048* TheSociopath: The only reason he works with Van is because he basically just wants to watch the world burn. He takes amusement in cruelly toying with Anise by imitating Ion's voice not long after his death, implying a large lack of empathy for anyone.
1049* TokenMiniMoe: The youngest God General and overall youngest antagonist in the Tales series at the age of 14. [[spoiler:That's not putting into account his [[YoungerThanTheyLook real age]]]].
1050* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Sure, his backstory is sympathetic, but the guy is a total jerk.
1051[[/folder]]
1052
1053[[folder:Largo the Black Lion]]
1054[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LargoProfile_9829.jpg]]
1055
1056->Voiced by: Creator/TesshoGenda (JP), Creator/JamiesonPrice (EN)
1057
1058One of the Six God Generals, and the leader of the shock troops in the Oracle Knights. A huge man who wields a giant scythe. Largo first appears during the assault on Tartarus and places a Fon Slot Seal on Jade. Though he seems to know Natalia on a personal level, she does not recognise him.
1059
1060His real name is Badaq Oakland and [[spoiler:he is Natalia's biological father.]]
1061
1062----
1063* AntiVillain: Type II ({{Woobie}} Anti-Villain) [[spoiler:He's working towards Van's EvilPlan because the Score took his family away from him. The true Princess Natalia was stillborn so Largo's mother-in-law gave her granddaughter Meryl to the queen as a replacement. His wife Sylvia committed suicide out of grief.]]
1064* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler:To Natalia but it takes quite a while for her to find out]].
1065* ArmorIsUseless: Averted. [[spoiler:He's killed when Natalia shoots him in the back... the one part of his body that ''isn't'' armoured in the final battle with him]].
1066* BloodKnight: Decent guy though he may be, he sure does enjoy a straight-up scrap.
1067* BoisterousBruiser: Zigzagged. Largo makes threats like any other bruiser but, when he's put up against an enemy he's clearly outmatched by, he won't start the trash-talk unless he's made ''damn sure'' they can't do anything against him. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler:said enemy was Jade - a man who is TheCombatPragmatist to a T]].
1068* CruelMercy: Averted. He never shows it to his enemies because he believes it's an insult to go easy on an opponent.
1069* DeathSeeker: Heavily implied. [[spoiler:Outright confirmed when it's revealed that his wife Sylvia died after their child Meryl was switched with a stillborn baby, the real Princess Natalia; [[DrivenToSuicide driving her to kill herself]].]]
1070* DespairEventHorizon: He crossed it a long, long time ago [[spoiler:because he lost his family to the Score. See DeathSeeker.]]
1071* ElementalPowers: His preferred one is PlayingWithFire including Brimstone Tempest.
1072%%** BlowYouAway: As ShockAndAwe.
1073%%** DishingOutDirt
1074* EnsembleDarkhorse: In-universe. The party have varying levels of hatred and disgust towards the God Generals but they all like Largo because, despite being an antagonist, he's still a really good guy.
1075* EvilCounterpart: To Natalia, thanks to the fact [[spoiler:he is her biological father]] as well as their similar yet contrasting beliefs.
1076* FriendlyEnemy: He starts out as something of [[TheRival a rival]] to Jade for being the one who sealed his Fonic Artes but, as time passes, the whole group comes to regard him with a lot more respect.
1077* GentleGiant: Outright stated to have been one in his past and, as much as he tries, it still shows through in the game.
1078* HugeGuyTinyGirl: [[spoiler:Based on how big his daughter and mother-in-law are, he and his wife were definitely this]].
1079* {{Irony}}: Supplementary material reveals his wife married him not just out of love, but also partly because it was predicted in the score. [[spoiler:Largo hates the Score despite this, as it is also what took his wife's life when she had to hand over their child.]]
1080* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A ''blindingly'' bright heart of gold... It's just too bad that he's crossed the DespairEventHorizon and decided he has no reason to live in the world anymore.
1081* LimitBreak: [[KillItWithFire Brimstone Tempest]].
1082* NobleDemon: More so than his comrades, he doesn't mean anything personal and doesn't want to cause any unnecessary damage.
1083* NothingPersonal: Even if he has to kill a load of Tartarus guards, Largo makes it clear that he's not the kind of man who enjoys slaughter. It's just what has to be done. A truly great fight is something he relishes.
1084* RedBaron: "The Black Lion". He could only live up to this more if he were a ''genuine'' big cat.
1085* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:Went on one when he realized that his daughter had been stolen and that his wife killed herself in grief; he killed a guard before he was subdued.]]
1086* SinisterScythe: Averted. [[NobleDemon His weapon of choice is in no way indicative of his personality]].
1087* SixthRanger: He's a newcomer in the God Generals. The others have been with Van for longer.
1088* TokenGoodTeammate: Out of all the God-Generals, he's the one with the strongest moral code.
1089* UndyingLoyalty: One of his defining traits is his loyalty [[spoiler:towards Van]].
1090* WarriorPoet: He's given to waxing poetical before or after the boss fights.
1091* WorthyOpponent: Their final confrontation is more or less an exchange of compliments in-between arse-kickings.
1092* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:His final scene is guarding the Absorption Gate from the heroes.]]
1093[[/folder]]
1094
1095!!Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear
1096
1097[[folder:King Ingobert VI]]
1098
1099->Voiced by: KatsumiChoo (JP Game) Takashi Taniguchi (JP Anime), Creator/RobertClotworthy(EN Game)
1100
1101The King of Kimlasca and father to Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear.
1102
1103----
1104* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: By the civilians of Kimlasca, who loves Natalia far more.
1105* OrderedToDie: [[spoiler: To Natalia and Lueke]]. Though the decision makes him incredibly uncomfortable.
1106* ShutUpHannibal: His one to Mohs for insulting Natalia.
1107[[/folder]]
1108
1109[[folder:Crimson Herzog fon Fabre and Susanne fon Fabre]]
1110
1111->Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi (JP game) Hiroshi Nakano (JP anime), Paul St. Peter (EN)
1112
1113Or simply, Duke Fabre, is father to Luke don Fabre.
1114
1115----
1116* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite his neglect, he really does love his son Luke [[spoiler: and his replica.]]
1117* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Being a war hero of Hod War, he is one of Mulkuth's most infamous enemies. Even Tear has to warn Luke not to use his family name hapzardly.
1118* HateSink: [[spoiler:It's not readily apparent in the game, but Duke Fabre has a lot of atrocities to answer for in the subtext of the game's narrative. He was the one who massacred Guy's family. He leveraged the plight of Cecille's family heritage against her to force her into entering a sexual affair with him at the cost of his invalid wife, and he outright refused to treat Luke as his son because of the prophecy of his death at Akzeriuth.]]
1119* ParentalNeglect: He doesn't pay too much attention to Luke compared to Van, whom Luke has more respect for. His wife on the otherhand, smothers Luke.
1120[[/folder]]
1121
1122
1123
1124!!The Malkuth Empire
1125
1126[[folder:Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX]]
1127[[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Peony_wiki_pic_1606.png]]
1128
1129->Voiced by: Creator/TakumiYamazaki (JP), Creator/ChristopherCoreySmith (EN)
1130
1131The current emperor of Malkuth. To keep him safe from the political strife of Grand Chokmah, he was sent to live in Keterburg, where he met and befriended Jade and Dist. He keeps several rappigs as pets, collects weapons, and enjoys flirting.
1132
1133----
1134* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's TheWisePrince when his country needs him to be, but he's also a ShelteredAristocrat, and when people don't need decisions out of him, he has far too much free time on his hands, which he's perfectly happy to spend goofing off and avoiding paperwork.
1135* ChivalrousPervert: During a certain sidequest, the heroes ask to borrow an item from his room. He agrees to give it, free of charge, but only if the girls beg him for it. If he weren't such a friendly guy who asked for nothing more than flattery, Natalia would be right when she said "a fine case of sexual harassment".
1136* CosplayOtakuGirl: [[GenderInvertedTrope Rare Male Example]]. He gives the party several costumes, some of which are based on his favorite Sentai play while others are his own original design. Jade even comments that he can tell his best friend's handiwork and it is implied that he had him model outfits for him before.
1137* GenderBlenderName: Flowery names like "Peony" are typically given to girls.
1138* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Jade. They grew up together and he can tease Jade with impunity.
1139* HiddenBackupPrince: The offical reason he was raised in Keterburg was so there would be an heir kept safe from Grand Chokmah's DecadentCourt. The real reason is because the Score said he was supposed to take the throne, so having him be the one who was sent away and kept safe made it a SelfFulfillingProphecy.
1140* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In the anime and manga, he actually punches Jade in the face and gives him a massive WhatTheHellHero rant. This is after [[spoiler:Jade almost kills himself in a extremely risky experiment.]]
1141* PromotedToPlayable: He's a playable character in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays''.
1142* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The main party frequently turns to him for support and since they have 'save the world' business he's willing to help. By contrast, his counterpart in Kimlasca was an obstructive antagonist. [[spoiler:In fact, he's so reasonable, he's the only one of the world leaders in the third arc who flat out apologies to Luke for forcing him to make a HeroicSacrifice and says that, if he wasn't an emperor, he wouldn't want that. He even says that if Luke runs, they won't blame him.]]
1143* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He's a great help to the party and to his people. [[spoiler:When Eldrant raises, he's there to help.]]
1144* SophisticatedAsHell: His manner of speaking switches easily between formal and casual, no matter the situation.
1145* TrashOfTheTitans: Look at his personal room; neatness isn't his strong suit.
1146* UniversallyBelovedLeader: Talk to the [=NPCs=] in Grand Chokmah. They all adore him. Even when the world is literally falling apart around them, they trust that Peony has things in hand and will do what's best for everyone.
1147* OlderThanTheyLook: He's in his mid-late 30s.
1148* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: To Jade's younger sister Nephry, because the Score said she would marry someone else.
1149* VitriolicBestBuds: With Jade. They're clearly very close, because if they weren't, the way they mock and tease one another might be considered cruel.
1150* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack: He named his pet rappigs after various people in his life. Jade does not approve of Rappig!Nephry having the fanciest collar or Rappig!Jade being called "the cute Jade". Jade himself is the "non-cute Jade".
1151* WhatTheHellHero: Gives one to Jade in the past, [[spoiler:telling him upfront that Jade had failed in bring Nebilim from the dead and at least give a damn of how Saphir (Dist), Nephry, and him would feel if Jade is dead.]]
1152[[/folder]]
1153
1154[[folder:Nephry Osborne]]
1155->Voiced by: Mariko Suzuki (JP game) Takako Honda (JP anime), Wendee Lee (EN)
1156
1157Viscount Nephry Osborne, formerly known as Nephry Balfour, is the sister of Jade Curtiss and governor of Keterburg. She's also the ChildhoodFriend of Peony and Saphir [[spoiler:who is now known as Dist.]]
1158
1159----
1160* ArrangedMarriage: A variation; the Score foretold she would marry Viscount Osborne so she married him, despite having been in a relationship with Peony before.
1161* MsExposition: In regards to Jade's past she tells Luke (and thus the audience) about who he was before and the origin of fomicry.
1162* NiceGirl: She might be serious, but she's polite and kind to the others; especially Luke.
1163* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Is quick to aid the party when they need it.
1164* StrongFamilyResemblance: She strongly resembles her brother, to the point she's ''almost'' a GenderFlip of him in design.
1165* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: To Peony; when the Score declared she would marry another, she broke off the relationship.
1166[[/folder]]
1167
1168!!Other Characters
1169
1170[[folder:Mieu]]
1171[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MieuProfile_5001.jpg]]
1172
1173->Voiced by: Miki Maruyama (JP), Creator/SandyFox (EN)
1174
1175A baby cheagle who accompanies the party. He is banished from his village for one year after accidentally burning down the Liger Woods, and bound to serve Luke for that time. Despite Luke's obvious dislike and abuse towards him, Mieu doesn't mind and idolizes his master.
1176
1177He uses the Sorcerer's Ring around his belly to communicate with people and help clear obstacles in dungeons.
1178
1179----
1180* AdaptationDyeJob: Most of his fur is teal in the original game (and most other appearances) but blue in the anime.
1181* TheAtoner: He got banished for accidentally burning down the Liger Woods, causing the Ligers to invade the Cheagle Woods and kill cheagles for food, so now he's trying to make up for it.
1182* BreathWeapon: Downplayed. He's too young to use it naturally, but the Sorcerer's Ring gives him enough boost to solve puzzles.
1183* ButtMonkey: He's kicked around a lot.
1184* TheCameo: Makes a cameo as a treasure Rutee tries to sell early on in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny R''. He also shows up in the [=PS3=]/''Definitive Edition'' version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' as one of the options for Patty's Mystic Arte "Summon Friends".
1185* CloudCuckooLander: As a cheagle, perhaps it's not surprising he has some odd thoughts and comes to strange conclusions. For example, he accepts "Thing" as an ''actual name'' from Luke.
1186* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: He insists that Luke is a NiceGuy despite his [[KickTheDog treatment]]. [[CharacterDevelopment He's]] [[AllLovingHero not wrong]].
1187* CuteButCacophonic: The entire cheagle race, which Mieu belongs to, are small, plush-like creatures with (usually) high-pitched voices. It greatly annoys Luke, which he complains about almost every time Mieu opens his mouth.
1188* DubNameChange: Or rather ''nickname'' is changed; in the original Japanese script, he's called "butasaru"[[note]]literally "pig-monkey"[[/note]] by Luke. In English, he's "Thing," which is not a bad change considering it's not easy to translate, and the latter gives the same impression.
1189* HappinessInSlavery: He either doesn't notice, doesn't care that Luke hates him, or he's [[TheAtoner atoning]] and seeing through to Luke's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold.]]
1190* {{Flight}}: One of the upgrades for the Sorcerer's Ring grants him this ability.
1191* ImprovisedWeapon: Gets ''used'' as one by Luke at times.
1192* MadeOfIron: For such a small creature, Mieu can tank a '''lot''' of abuse. [[SuperToughness This is even one of his abilities through the Sorcerer's Ring]]; the Mieu Attack has him tackling obstacles and breaking them thanks to being essentially invulnerable while it is active.
1193* NoHeroToHisValet: Subverted. At first, Mieu is the victim of several KickTheDog moments from Luke. Despite this, Mieu never loses his UndyingLoyalty towards him. Additionally, a metric of Luke's CharacterDevelopment is the amount of respect he shows Mieu, who–annoying voice or not–is an irreplaceable group member from the start.
1194* NotSoDifferentRemark: Tries to invoke this with Luke [[spoiler:after he destroys Akzeriuth, saying that they both killed many of their people by accident]], but Luke is in no mood to hear him out.
1195* PlayingWithFire: Via the Sorcerer's Ring, he can breathe fire.
1196* PokemonSpeak: When he's upset or not wearing the Sorcerer's Ring, he says, "Mieu!"
1197* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: In Tear's opinion, he's cuddly.
1198* SidekickCreatureNuisance: In Luke's opinion, he's a 'thing' that bothers him. Luke does warm up to him after CharacterDevelopment kicks in, but he still finds him annoying.
1199* TeamPet: Specifically Luke's, but he hangs out with everybody.
1200* UndyingLoyalty: To Luke, [[spoiler:to the point he remains with the comatose Luke in Yulia City while the rest go off with Asch.]]
1201* VerbalTic: In Japanese, "desuno." In English, [[PokemonSpeak "-mieu!"]]
1202[[/folder]]
1203
1204[[folder:Gelda Nebilim]]
1205->Voiced by: Mariko Suzuki (JP), Creator/TaraPlatt (EN)
1206
1207Jade and Dist's childhood teacher. Her ability to use the Seventh Fonon - something even the child prodigy Jade could not - placed her in a rare position of superiority to Jade, and she used his (begrudging) admiration of her to instill him with as much morality as she could. It is due to her influence that Jade did not grow up to be evil.
1208
1209----
1210* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Her sidequest and the Reminiscences of Jade manga reveals her ending up in Keterburg came from this.]]
1211* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:After she was brought back by Jade. While some of her killing was to complete herself, it's clear she enjoys it.]]
1212* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Brought back in body, but without her original's mind and soul. The result was a smug homicidal murder.]]
1213* ChurchMilitant: [[spoiler:She is revealed to have been a Locrian Sergeant in the Oracle Knights.]]
1214* CombatMedic: Is stated to have used the Seventh Fonon and was a member of the [[ChurchMilitant Oracle Knights]]. Her actual combat prowess is never shown. [[spoiler:Though if what her CameBackWrong boss shows is correct, she was definitely no push over.]]
1215* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Her determination to unlock the Planetary Fonic Arte resulted in a terrible incident which killed off everyone involved except herself. She also previously was an incredibly cold and dangerous Oracle Knight who did a lot of terrible things for the sake of the Order.]]
1216* DeathByOriginStory: [[spoiler:She died in Jade's childhood.]]
1217* EnergyWeapon: [[spoiler:Uses these in her CameBackWrong boss battle.]]
1218* {{Expy}}: Strongly resembles [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Raine Sage]] in appearance and was also a teacher just like her.
1219%%* GatlingGood:
1220* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Died protecting Jade from the backlash of him attempting to cast seventh fonic artes.]]
1221%%* HotTeacher
1222* InstantRunes: [[spoiler:Uses these to cast in her boss battle.]]
1223* MirrorCharacter: To Jade. [[spoiler:She was once a powerful and talented soldier and fonist with a fearsome reputation who participated in horrifying experiments, only to go too far and swear off it, making the research forbidden in the aftermath. This is even lampshaded by Luke.]]
1224* MoralityPet: Did her best to invoke it in regards to Jade.
1225* PuritySue: In-universe example. Much like [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Stella]], this is only [[UnreliableNarrator Dist]]'s ''opinion'' of her. Jade seems to realize that, as incredible as she was, she was still a human being with her own faults and flaws. [[spoiler: As it's revealed in the manga, she subverts this big time during her time of the Oracle Knights to the point Luke thinks of her as a female version of Jade when he was younger.]]
1226* RedBaron: [[spoiler:Was known as the Demonic Commander when she was in the Oracle Knights.]]
1227* RedEyesTakeWarning: A inversion, of the "Kind Red Eyes" variety. [[spoiler:Her replica plays it straight.]]
1228** She plays this straight when she was in the Oracle Knights, if her title of Demonic Commander is anything to go by and she is shown to be pretty ruthless. [[spoiler: Especially when researching the Planetary Fonic Arte]]
1229* SmallRoleBigImpact: On a personal level, her relationship as teacher and role model to Jade is why he didn't end up a villain. [[spoiler:While her death resulted in the first attempt to use formicry on a living being, resulting in the creation of TheHero and Van's plans.]]
1230* SmugSuper: [[spoiler:After she CameBackWrong at least. She's the strongest enemy in the game and the party recognizes her {{Suberboss}} status. She's also violent, destructive, and almost all her dialogue in battle involves showing her sense of superiority.]]
1231* {{Superboss}}: [[spoiler:Is fought after the player completes the sidequest to complete the Planetary Fonic Arte, due to the first replica of her being only trapped and used the Arte to restore herself. She is the single strongest enemy in the game, using every high level Arte, and has a unique ultimate move of her own called Fragmented End, the most damaging attack used by any enemy.]]
1232* WaveMotionGun: [[spoiler:As above.]]
1233
1234[[/folder]]
1235
1236[[folder:Yulia Jue]]
1237Yulia Jue was a prophet and Seventh Fonist who lived during the Dawn Age of Auldrant, around 2,000 years prior to the events of the present. She left an enduring legacy through the recording of her predictions, known as the [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight Score]], which represented a highly accurate history of the world's future spanning over two millenia and became the centerpiece of the religion led by the Order of Lorelei.
1238
1239----
1240* AllTheOtherReindeer: For being a child prodigy, other children of her day left her out of their circle. In turn, she enjoyed playing with cheagles.
1241* AllThereInTheManual: Most things about her are found in extra materials, though as an important historical and religious figure there's some facts to be found in the game as well.
1242* ChildProdigy: For both technology and fonic manipulation. She also made a pact with Lorelei when she was ''fourteen''.
1243* CrystalDragonJesus: Alongside Lorelei and the Score, it is Yulia that Auldrant venerates.
1244* GreaterScopeVillain: Van [[InvokedTrope views]] her as this, as she's the one who create the Score which suppresses all of Auldrant. [[spoiler:In reality she's the exact opposite; her Hymns contain the secret message to end the Score to her descendants.]]
1245* KangarooCourt: Was on the receiving end of one; she was freed before she could be executed.
1246* MagicMusic: As the creator of the Hymns Van and Tear use, she also used them.
1247* MessianicArchetype: The extra materials paint her ''exactly'' like this, down to the betrayal by one of her TrueCompanions. However, he repented and allowed her to escape.
1248* PosthumousCharacter: The whole plot ultimately happens because of her creating the Score two thousand years before any of its mortal characters were born. [[spoiler:From both sides at that; Yulia ''wanted'' the Score to be destroyed.]]
1249[[/folder]]
1250
1251[[folder:Lorelei]]
1252->Voiced by: Osamu Hosoi (JP)
1253
1254The Aggregate Sentience of the Seventh Fonon, the Fonon of Sound, who's existence is still considered theoretical. Over two thousand years ago, Lorelei made a pact with Yulia and created the [[BecauseDestinySaysSo Score]] to guide the world. Though mostly unseen, he plays an incredibly important role in the story.
1255
1256----
1257* AmbiguousGender: Though it's ''assumed'' Lorelei is a he from his voice and [[spoiler:the fact Luke and Asch are his isofons]] the fact he's made of pure fonons and the name given to him is a GenderBlenderName, one can't be quite certain if any gender rightfully applies to him.
1258* TheChooserOfTheOne: [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]]. The Score puts Luke fon Fabre as the one to "inherite the power of Lorelei" and Lorelei helped make the Score. [[spoiler:And yes, he did pick Luke... [[TheUnchosenOne the replica]] that is. The Score is ''humanity'' choosing the original Luke fon Fabre after a fashion. Lorelei picks out the replica because he's his [[GodInHumanForm other self]] and thus capable of [[ScrewDestiny screwing destiny]] and ending the Score which is what he wants. Shame that his attempts to talk to Luke just gave him massive headaches and only fragments of his voice. And his ExactWords gave him issues the few times he could properly talk to him.]]
1259* CrystalDragonJesus: Is partly worshipped by Auldrant, though they venerate the Score and Yulia more so due to him being theoretical.
1260* CrypticConversation: Subverted. Lorelei speaks actually quite clearly, however everyone ''expects'' (due to his mystical status as a fon sentience and the one who created the Score) him to speak in metaphors and such. In reality, he's speaking as clearly as he can.
1261* ExactWords: Falls into this in both normal conversations and even the Score [[spoiler:since it's revealed that the Light of the Sacred Flame, aka Luke, ''does'' survive Akzeriuth's destruction in the Score, the phrasing of him being "destroyed" by it is meant more literally]]. Interestingly enough, it's because Lorelei is ''trying'' to be clear to the PunyHumans he's communicating with that the message tends to get garbled.
1262* GenderBlenderName: Has a deep masculine voice while the name "Lorelei" is for women.
1263* GodIsGood: [[spoiler:Is flat out ''ecstatic'' when Luke frees him and destroys the Score, happy to be rendered unneeded by humanity.]]
1264* GodsHandsAreTied: [[spoiler:The pact between him and Yulia traps him in the Core and means he can't do anything about the Score as he's forced to sustain it. He ''really'' would like to help and resorts to some LoopholeAbuse to try to aid Luke. He also technically {{subvert|edTrope}} this thanks to Luke; while the Lorelei in the Core is bound, the Lorelei that is Luke is ''very'' active in fighting the Score.]]
1265* LiteralGenie: Aside from his tendency to translate names out of Ancient Ispanian and say Light of the Sacred Flame when he just means Luke fon Fabre, for example, Lorelei is a well-intentioned example of this. The Score is a fairly straightforward list of historical occurrences in chronological order. It only comes across as confusing due to a) people treating it as mystical and metaphoric b) having been recorded over two thousand years ago it is missing some details [[spoiler:like the name of Akzeriuth which didn't exist back then]] and c) being translated from Ancient Ispanian.
1266* MeaningfulName: Lorelei means "murmuring rock". The Score is recorded on special fonstones that Scorers "read" out loud. It's also the name of a [[OurSirensAreDifferent siren]] from German folklore that lured sailors to their doom. [[spoiler:The Score leads to the end of Auldrant and all of the people there are following the Score.]] The siren angle works in another way too; the sirens of ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' sang of [[http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/section7.rhtml revealing the knowledge of the future to Odysseus]].
1267* MinorMajorCharacter: Lorelei is the focus of a major religion in Auldrant and the very reason the Score exists, not to mention is heavily implied to be why [[spoiler:Luke fon Fabre was born with his fonic signature.]] Despite that, he gets minimal amount of lines and only has two scenes where he actually "appears" in one form or another. {{Justified|Trope}} as he's trapped in the Core the entire time [[spoiler:and it's possibly subverted since [[TheHero Luke]] is Lorelei as well.]]
1268* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:Everything, from the Score to his more recent attempts to communicate with Luke and the rest, suffers from this. Lorelei means well and is honestly ''trying'' to be clear but there is a vast gap in regards to how an Aggregate Sentience like him views the world compared to the humans of Auldrant.]]
1269** [[spoiler: One example of this is when he tries to warn Luke that "One who would seize glory is trying to capture me!" Luke doesn't understand what that means, so he ends up putting it aside for a long time until he says it off hand during an important meeting. ''Everyone'' looks at Luke in disbelief because "One who would seize glory" is the Ancient Ispanian translation for Vandesdelca. Meaning Lorelei wasn't trying to be poetic, ''he was trying to tell Luke that Van was stil alive!'']]
1270* PureMagicBeing: Is made up of only seventh fonons that possess his frequency. [[spoiler:This includes Luke.]]
1271* SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler:Tells Luke he has done "admirably" and praises his successful destruction of the Score and freeing of him and Auldrant.]]
1272* TrulySingleParent: [[spoiler:Depending on how you interpret him calling Luke his [[GodInHumanForm other self]], you can see Lorelei as this to Luke.]]
1273[[/folder]]

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