Characters / Tales of Destiny

Playable characters

Stahn Aileron

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN, Radiant Mythology)

The classic Idiot Hero. He's a country boy from the boondocks town of Liena, heading off to seek to provide for his family by enlisting as a knight. He stows away on a ship bound for the capital of Seinegald, which is promptly attacked by monsters, so he grabs the first weapon he can find... Which turns out to be a Swordian, an ancient and extremely powerful sentient sword, named Dymlos, who promptly accepts Stahn as his master. And so the Hot-Blooded hick goes on to discover a huge history of cover-ups and corruption in his quest to save the world...

In the sequel, he marries Rutee, and they have a son, Kyle.

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• Anime Hair: He actually manages to pull off a mullet.
• Back from the Dead: After he was killed by Barbatos, Loni and Rutee made up a story of Stahn "being on a journey" because they were worried about the severly traumatized Kyle. However, due to Kyle's quest, his death was eventually annulled and he got to live his life as Kyle's father again.
• Big Brother Instinct: If Lilith gets hurt in battle, he's instantly regretful that he couldn't protect her.

• Clueless Chick-Magnet: In the original, Stahn manages to seduce every single female party member (including Mary if you complete her sidequest) and Ilene Rembrandt. He's completely oblivious to everyone except Ilene's affections.
• The Chosen One: Subverted. Stahn is only special insofar as he can hear Swordians. Dymlos lied about him being at all a chosen one.
• Covert Pervert: When he switches bodies with Philia in an optional skit, he immediately wonders how soft her breasts are, much to her chagrin.
• Country Mouse: Born and raised in the village of Lienea. The foil to Rutee's City Mouse.
• Dead All Along: In the sequel, thanks to Barbatos. Kyle believes he's simply out on an adventure
• The Determinator: He will not be taken down, no matter how bleak and wretched circumstances become.
• '80s Hair: His hair is big and messy, going out in all directions and falls all the way to around his waist.
• Hachimaki: Wears a green headband, though it can be hard to see under all his hair.
• Heavy Sleeper: His sister has an attack that she developed to wake Stahn up.
• The Hero: As the protaganist, though he is officially recognized as one by the world after the events of the game.
• Heroic BSoD: After Ilene commits suicide, on top of having already fought and lost Leon, he becomes depressed over not being able to save his friends.
• Hot-Blooded: The most Hot-Blooded hero the series has ever seen. If you have any doubts, look for a video of him using Satsugeki Bukouken. Oyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeyeh!
• Idiot Hero: He's pretty Book Dumb.
• Keet: Has tons of energy, and is almost always smiling.
• Lethal Chef: He once made rice porridge for Lilith and his grandfather. They said they might just die if he ever cooked for them again.
• Lightning Bruiser: Especially in the remake.
• Likes Older Women:
  • Zigzagged. It's hinted that he likes Ilene, but ends up with the younger (by a year) Rutee. The Remake omitted his date scene with the former.
  • In the original, he can also romance Mary, who is several years older than him and was previously married.
• Playing with Fire: Dymlos is the Swordian of Fire.
• The Power of Friendship: He tries pulling Tea Gardener-grade Friendship Speeches on Leon. A lot. Their effectively is usually subverted... until Marian reveals that Leon actually did consider Stahn the closest thing he had to a friend.
• Official Couple: Marries Rutee sometime before Tales of Destiny 2 and their son, Kyle, is the main hero of Tales of Destiny 2.
• Say My Name: "LEON! LEOOOOOOONNNN!!!!"
• Screaming Warrior: He begins all his Blast Caliburs with a sky-piercing battle cry.
  "ORYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"

• Spell My Name With An S: Stahn/Stan.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Is killed by Barbatos in the sequel. He gets better.
• The Unchosen One: While Dymlos initially tells him that he was chosen by fate to be able to hear the voices of Swordians, he admits in the end that it's not such an uncommon or extraordinary thing.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Stahn is the Tales posterboy for this trope.

Rutee Katrea

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (JP), Yuka Komatsu (JP, Tales of the Rays), Michelle Ruff (EN, Radiant Mythology)

A mouthy thief from Cresta, Rutee travels with her amnesiac partner Mary, stealing and doing odd jobs for cash. She joins Stahn (or rather, Stahn joins her) when he saves her from an old trap in a dungeon. She also has a Swordian, Atwight, that was given to her when she was very young. Later, it turns out that she only went on her thieving journey to help monetarily support the orphanage she was raised in, and keep it open. She's the team healer, but is also a good physical attacker.

Between Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2, she marries Stahn, has a son with him, and takes over running the Dunamis Orphanage.

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• An Ice Person: Atwight is the Swordian of Water, but many of her spells are Ice-based since Ice and Water are classified as the same element in the Destiny universe.
• Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Philia's Betty.

• City Mouse: Rutee is constantly exasperated by Stahn's country mouse idealism and lack of knowledge, contrasting with her mean streak and street smarts.
• Classy Cat-Burglar: Rutee is an attractive thief and Lens Hunter trying to raise enough money to save her childhood orphanage.
• Combat Medic: Atwight is the Swordian of Water, which has an affinity with healing magic, making her one.
• First Girl Wins: She and Philia both have a crush on Stahn. Stahn met Rutee before he met Philia. Stahn marries Rutee.
• Gold Digger: Rutee's is notoriously greedy and wealth-seeking.
• Green-Eyed Monster: In the original, Rutee hates that Stahn goes on a date with Ilene. She follows him around the city on his date and says she was glad Ilene killed herself, earning a What the Hell, Hero? moment from Stahn.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: She grows from a petty thief into a fearless hero. It runs in the family.
• Hollywood Atheist: In the manga adaptation. In the games, she doesn't have much of an opinion on religion.
• Jerkass: In the original game, Rutee was a cruel, jealous, and spiteful woman who showed little regard for her allies and gleefully spoke ill of a woman who'd just killed herself out of despair. If not for her genuine care for the orphanage she grew up in she'd have few sympathetic traits. The remake greatly toned down the worst of her Jerkass behavior and had her show more kindness towards Mary and Philia.
• Just Like Robin Hood: She steals so she can raise money to keep the orphanage she grew up in from being shut down.
• The Lancer: She tends to be a more cynical and pragmatic foil to Stahn's idealism.
• Luke, You Are My Father: Rutee is Hugo's daughter, and Leon's older sister.
• Making a Splash: Atwight is the Swordian of Water.
• Money Fetish: Not so much in the game proper, but in skits this is her number one trait, and she runs plenty of schemes to collect money.
• Official Couple: Marries Stahn sometimes before Tales of Destiny 2 and their son, Kyle, is the main hero of Tales of Destiny 2.
• Only in It for the Money: At first. This is often Flanderized into her biggest trait outside the first Tales of Destiny game.
• The Medic: Rutee serves as the game's primary healer.
• The Red Mage: She's both a fighter and a healer, though not as strong of a fighter as Stahn or Leon.
• Retired Badass: By the time of the second game she's become a full-time mom and caretaker to dozens of orphans. She is quite happy with this and not interested in returning the adventuring life.
• Shared Family Quirks: A pair of sidequests during the final part of the game allow you to read Rutee's childhood diary, and later that of her deceased mother. Rutee shares her mother's greedy streak, but only Leon got her sweet tooth.

• Stripperiffic: She exposes her midsection and wears short shorts.

• Tsundere: A strong contender for Most Triumphant Example among the Tales characters. She acts like one all throughout the game, towards her son and his friend in the sequel and also to Stahn's spirit after he's killed by Barbatos.
• Water Is Womanly: Inverted. She is the master of the Swordian of Water and a female healer, but is a Tomboy in personality. (Atwight, on the other hand, fits the trope more)

Leon Magnus

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (JP), Michael Lindsay (EN, Radiant Mythology)

Captain of the Seinegald Knights and the youngest master swordsman the country has ever seen, Leon was originally sent to arrest Rutee, Mary, and Stahn, and ends up accompanying (read: babysitting) them to investigate problems at Straylize Temple. He's a grouchy teen with a big attitude. In the original PSX version, he stays grouchy and hates the party. In the remake, however, he starts to loosen up, and thinks of the party as close friends (though he'd never admit to it). He also has a Swordian, Chaltier, who has been his best friend since he was little.

He makes an appearance in Tales of Destiny 2, but that's another (spoilerific) story. For tropes that apply to him in that game, see the Tales of Destiny 2 character page.

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• Abusive Parents: Hugo is emotionally abusive towards him and late in the remake shown to be physically abusive too (ie: he knocks Leon out for five days). There are also subtle hints Hugo might also be sexually abusive in the remake. In a slight subversion though, he is Brainwashed and Crazy (not that Leon knows that part).
• Always Save the Girl: Deconstructed. Marian is the only person to show Leon any love for the first sixteen years of his life and is essentially his surrogate mother, it's not a huge surprise he's determined to save her. Hugo relies on this to keep him line, and his determination to save her, whatever it takes, finally destroys his reputation and gets him killed.
• Anti-Villain: Type IV, too. Though it looks more genuine in the remake where he actually befriended Stahn & company. In the original, however, he came off as a dark Type II.

• Badass Adorable: Not in the original, but his side in the remake gives him a boatload of adorable moments (mostly involving Marian) that arguably push him into this trope.
• Beef Gate: In the original game the player must fight a level 50 Leon when normally the party will be about level 7. They are meant to lose to progress the plot. However, should the player somehow win against him either through the use of cheats or by severe level grinding, they will get a hidden secret ending.
• Big Eater: He loves sweet stuff.
• Break the Badass: His father does this, using Marian's safety and his insecurities against him. Sadly, it works.
• Came Back Wrong: He's resurrected as a zombie to fight the party again after he dies in the original, begging for death throughout.
• Chick Magnet: Especially in skits. In one, Rutee tries to use this to her advantage by selling knockoff Swordians with his personality for 99 million Gald each... They sell out.

• Composite Character: The PlayStation 2 remake of Tales of Destiny greatly toned down his Jerkass behavior and rage, making him more in line with his Older and Wiser portrayal, Judas in Tales of Destiny 2. This progression was exaggerated in Tales Of Versus, where he practically has his Judas personality despite still begin Leon.
• Cool Uncle: In escort and crossover titles, he bonds more strongly with Kyle than with Stahn or Rutee.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He is Hugo's son and Rutee's younger brother- Hugo was able to send Rutee to safety before succumbing to insanity, but it was too late for Leon. He keeps his son on a leash with Marian, Leon's personal maid, whom he thinks of as a surrogate mother. Unfortunately, Leon doesn't get to see the end of the story...

• Despair Event Horizon: This is eventually what the second half of his story brings him to in the remake. Everything he's done to try to protect Marian has failed, he thinks she's killed herself to get him out of serving Hugo, and he gets beaten so badly by his father that he can't wake up for five days, having nightmares about Marian's death all the while. When he finally wakes up, he starts screaming about how weak he is and banging the floor in anguish.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Chaltier is the Earth-elemental Swordian. However, Leon's personality is a far cry from the typical earth-elemental characterization.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Only Marian is allowed to call him Emilio.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Leon looks very feminine and in-universe, many NPCs mistake him for a girl until he speaks.
• Expy: He's suspiciously similar in many ways to Final Fantasy II's Leon.
• Face–Heel Turn: Thanks to Miktran and Hugo holding his personal maid and mother-figure, Marian, hostage.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • His Ineffectual Loner status is so bad, it gets him marked as a traitor and killed, all because he couldn't ask his friends for help saving Marian.
  • The escort series usually have him get out from this flaw resulting him becoming a very dependable Aloof Ally.
• Forced into Evil: Due to Hugo holding a hostage's life over his head.
• Freak Out: Near the very end of his story, he gets a big one after thinking Marian committed suicide for him.
• Future Me Scares Me: In Radiant Mythology 3, he and Judas constantly argue and generally irritate each other.
• Fragile Speedster : He's great at dealing damage and darting around the battlefield, but his defense is low and his HP count isn't much higher than Rutee's or Philia's.
• Glass Cannon: Great at dealing damage, but low defense and HP.
• Hair Flip: One of his sprite's animations in the original involves flipping his bangs up. His arrogant hair flip became a recurring presence when he appeared in other games.
• The Heart: Surprisingly enough. He may be a Jerkass, but he does (indirectly) inspire Stahn to become a better swordsman, mediate arguments (in his own way) and he's also the first to bring the party back to reality whenever things are getting too idealistic or too dark for their own good. Plus, in both versions of the game, he also supports Johnny via The Power of Friendship. Not that he would ever admit it, though.

• Heroic Sacrifice: In the remake he dies to get the rest of the party to safety by operating a mining elevator before the mines were flooded. This is in stark contrast to the original, where he dies in disgrace after being too badly wounded to swim away during collapse.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Chaltier. This is especially prominent in the remake.
• I Want to Be a Real Man: Has shades of this in the remake. His goal is basically to be a man who does not need to rely on his father.
• Ineffectual Loner: To the point that he repeatedly rejects asking Stahn for help in saving Marian in the remake.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: This prompts Leon's Face–Heel Turn. Hugo threatens to hurt Marian if his son won't steal the Eye of Atamoni and even when he does, refuses to let her go until he betrays his friends. Even then, he doesn't let her go. Made worse by the fact that she tries to commit suicide to get him out of it in the remake.
• Jerkass: In the original, where he constantly got irritated with Stahn and Rutee and shocked them into compliance. He was completely rewritten in the remake to make him a more sympathetic character.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the remake, which vastly tones down the worst of his Jerkass behavior and emphasizes his tragic past.
• Kill It with Fire: While his primary elements are earth and darkness, his "Cleansing Inferno" Mystic Arte has him immolate you with a cross-slash wreathed in red and purple hellfire.
• Kill Steal: In the original version of the game, he kills Terazzi (because he knew too much about Hugo's plot), robbing Johnny of the chance to get revenge.
• Likes Older Women: His relationship with Marian has been interpreted this way on more than one occasion.

• Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Mad Dictator's Handsome Son, anyways. Not that Hugo isn't a looker himself.
• Meaningful Rename: He named himself Leon Magnus, in an effort to distance himself from his abusive father.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: As much as he talks about hating Hugo and wanting to leave his side, sadly averted because of a hostage.
• Nietzsche Wannabe: In the original game, Leon's attitude is generally nihilistic and self-centered. Averted in the remake, which turns him into a Defrosting Ice Kid.

• Overused Copycat Character: A variation. Ever since Tales of Vesperia came out, he's been used as the basis for a cameo costume five times with two of those being his Judas outfit, but it still counts. Granted, none of those characters were anything like him in personality, but appearance is another story. Jude for one looks exactly like him in the getup.
• Real Men Wear Pink: No matter how you look at it, that cape is, well, pink. And that lavender shirt has pretty frilly sleeves.
• Redemption Equals Death: Again, remake only. Though he firmly takes his chance at redemption in the sequel.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: He is Rutee's brother.
• Pretty Boy: Of the old-school willowy, fair-faced teen variety. He's quite popular among the female fans partly due to this.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: He was kept at home away from people for most of his life and molded into a fighter, so he has a very hard time working with or relying on others.
• Senseless Sacrifice: His death in the original. He doesn't end up killing any of the party like he was supposed to, Hugo flooding the mine only gets him killed, and the person he was trying to protect, Marian, didn't even care much about him.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: ... He was less than thrilled at the thought of Rutee using his beauty to get money out of girls in an omake.
• Spell My Name With An S: "Leon" or "Lion"? Canonically, "Lion" is used in the Japanese versions, while Radiant Mythology cements the western one as "Leon". The change is probably due to the fact that "Lion" is pronounced differently in English.

• Suicide by Cop: In the original, he goads and taunts Rutee and the rest of the party by proxy into attacking him.
• Superboss: In the Bonus Dungeon in the Updated Re-release of the sequel. It's technically not him, but a shade taking on his appearance. Can also be a Mirror Boss if Judas is in the party.
• Sweet Tooth: He tries for Real Men Hate Sugar, but he's not very good at concealing his love of deserts.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Not quite tall (Leon's height is stated to be 159cm/5'2.5", which is below average height for a male teenager even by Japanese standards), but definitely dark and snarky.
• Trapped in Villainy: Due to both his Fatal Flaw of refusing to ask for help out of his situation and due to Hugo having taken Marian hostage and threatening her life.
• Trauma Conga Line: What the second half of the game basically is for him in the director's cut of the remake. In short, after defeating Greybaum, he has everything he wants. He's respected by his fellow knights (and respects them too), and Marian finally sees him as an adult. Then she is taken hostage, Leon is forced to steal the Eye of Atamoni and the flying dragon to keep her alive, effectively ruining his knight career (plus he is made to fight against a knight he previously befriended), and Hugo makes it clear that this is a neverending nightmare for him. Then Marian attempts suicide to save him, which results in Leon attacking Hugo and getting knocked unconscious for five days, after which he loses his will to live until Hugo reveals that Marian is alive. Then he is forced to fight against Stahn...
• Too Happy to Live: In the second half of his story in the remake. Nothing like a Trauma Conga Line and Heroic Sacrifice to set the mood...

• Tyke Bomb: Hugo certainly tried to make him into this, but the abuse he was put through made him rebellious instead of obedient, and his father finally resorts to kidnapping Marian to keep him in line.

Philia Felice

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP)

A priestess doing research at Straylize Temple, Philia is a soft-spoken, mild-mannered girl who joins the party after they rescue her. She is very faithful and loyal, and always wants to believe the best about people. Even after witnessing her superior stealing a priceless sacred artifact, she still wholeheartedly believes that he is not evil. She decides to stay with the party upon learning that he was just a pawn in a much bigger scheme, threatening the entire world... When the party finds the Swordian Clemente, it picks her as her master, and she becomes the party's spellcasting powerhouse.

She appears occasionally in Tales of Destiny 2 as her temple's high priestess and gives the party advice here and there.

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• All Love Is Unrequited: It's heavily implied that she has a crush on Stahn, who hooks up with Rutee. It's also hinted that she had a crush on Leon, who died (see Ship Tease, below).
• Betty and Veronica: Philia is the sweet, friendly Betty to Rutee's brash Veronica in the Love Triangle for Stahn's heart.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Certain skits in the remake depict her as more of a Mad Scientist prone to Scary Shiny Glasses moments. There's also that creepy giggle as she's concocting a Philia Bomb, and her second Blast Calibur cut-in...
• BFS: Partial subversion. Clemente is the biggest of the Swordians, but he's completely useless as an actual sword. His best function is as a catalyst for magic. But, he's still a big effing sword.
• Bolt of Divine Retribution: Indignation of course. Especially since the sequel and remake establish that Lightning and Light are the same element in the Destiny universe. She takes this even further with her third Blast Calibur; Rebirth Crusader.
• Elemental Powers: In the remake, she has a wide range of elemental spells as well as her usual Light spells.
• Holy Hand Grenade: Tales Of Destiny 2 and later the first game's remake establish Lightning and Light as the same element.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She has a crush on Stahn, but backs down and lets Rutee have him.
• Mad Scientist: Downplayed, but when practicing alchemy she gains Scary Shiny Glasses and a menacing chuckle.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Usually she's pretty nice, but when she starts talking about bomb making...
• Ship Tease: With Leon. She's the only character that met up with Leon between when he left at the end of the first arc and when he fought the party under Hugo's orders.
  • In Destiny 2, she's the only one of the other 4 Swordian masters to mention Leon by name.
  Philia: Leon Magnus, he was as cold as ice, and kept himself away from the others, but the truth is, he was kind, and had a heart that was warmer than everyone else's.
  • It should be noted that she mentions that out of all her memories of fighting alongside Stahn and co., her most painful memory is fighting against Leon.
  • In response to this, Leon, as Judas, tries to help her by saying that Leon never regretted his decision, and he doesn't want her to be saddened by it. It's also worth noting that this is the only time he ever speaks to one of his former comrades in the entire game.
  • And if it wasn't enough, it's hinted that Philia can see through Judas's Paper-Thin Disguise, something even Rutee, his own sister, couldn't do.
• Shock and Awe: While Philia wields spells of a variety of elements, Clemente's actual element is Lightning.
• Spell My Name With An S: Philia Philis or Philia Felice? Previous cameos used Philis, but more recent games have changed it to Felice.
• The Smart Girl: Philia is the most intelligent member of the party, throwing chemical vials of her own making in combat before wielding Clemente.
• Superboss: She appears in the cameo battle in Tales of the Abyss.
• Taken for Granite: Stahn mistakes Philia for piece of statuary the first time he sees her.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: She does enjoy throwing bombs at enemies in battle.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Philia is the gentle and kind girly girl to Rutee's brash and crude tomboy.
• White Magician Girl: Subverted. She may be a gentle, violence-opposing priestess, but she's no healer.

Garr Kelvin (Woodrow Kelvin)

Voiced by: Show Hayami

The prince of Phandaria, who travels around to practice his archery and become familiar with the people he will one day rule. He's often accompanied by his archery teacher's granddaughter, Chelsea, who has a crush on him. He and Chelsea help Stahn get to town after the ship he stowed away on crashes, and then joins Stahn again later when the quest for the stolen Artifact of Doom takes the group to his kingdom. He is chosen as the master of the Swordian Ignetos, and decides to help out Stahn again when the world is threatened.

Garr appears in Tales of Destiny 2 as the king of Phandaria and assists the party at various points.

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• Ambiguously Brown: Like Mary. There doesn't seem to be a specific reason for it.
• Big Brother Instinct: He treats Chelsea like his little sister despite the two not being blood-related and is very protective of her.
• Blow You Away: Ignetos is the Swordian of Wind.
• Bow and Sword in Accord: Woodrow is both an archer and a swordsman. While he was limited to using one or the other in the original version, the remake made him capable of wielding both at once.
• Chick Magnet: A sidequest in Darilsheid pits Kongman against Leen to see who is most popular with women. Woodrow acts as the spokesman asking the girls whom they like most. They all choose Woodrow. The title he gets suggests it's his aura of royalty doing it.
• Crutch Character: He's overleveled the first time he joins your party, and in accord with the trope he is much weaker later on. In this case it's because he doesn't gain any levels between when he leaves and joins again, and is underleveled when he rejoins. This is fixed in the PS2 remake, where he joins at an acceptable level and his attacks hit most enemies' weaknesses in the area.
• Demoted to Extra: He gets considerably less spotlight than the other four Swordian masters. This spreads even to his Swordian, Igtenos, who remains deactivated for a majority of the game, and thus not having a speaking role in any of the scenes or skits until near the last stretch.
• Lampshade Hanging: There is an entire sidequest in the remake built around people all over the world confusing him for Veigue.
• Mage Marksman: And a Magic Knight in the remakes, now able to use magic and a sword and bow.
• Modest Royalty: He does not bring up the fact that he's the prince of Phandaria until it becomes necessary to do so.
• Rightful King Returns: The Phandarian storyline revolves around him reclaiming the Phandarian throne from a usurper.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: He lives among the people of Phandaria specifically so he can get to know them as people, not just as subjects.

• Superboss: He's in the Tales of Symphonia cameo team.
• Warrior Prince: The Prince of Phandaria and a Swordian Master.
• The Wise Prince: He is seen as a wise and competent prince. His great wisdom leads Phandaria into a prosperous golden age in the sequel while Seinegald in contrast is becoming a weaker and weaker world power.

Mary Argent

Voiced by: Yuri Amano (JP)

An amnesiac woman traveling with Rutee. She carries around a sword that she knows is deeply connected to her past, she just can't remember how. In Phandalia, the party gets imprisoned by a man named Dahlis, who awakens Mary's lost memories. Her weapon of choice is an axe, though in the original she could wield swords as well.

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• Amnesiac Dissonance: She's good, but her husband is evil.

• Brutal Honesty: One of her titles, "Breaker", notes that she has a knack for making the atmosphere awkward due to her blunt nature.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: When she's an amnesiac, at least.
• Companion Cube: Her sword isn't treated as a character (it might have been if there weren't already 6 sentient swords in the plot), but it comes close at times.
• Cutting Off the Branches: In Tales of Destiny the player can choose whether her husband, Dahlis, lives or dies by picking a different travel route. Destiny 2 shows Mary living alone, suggesting the canon route is that Dahlis died.
• Guest-Star Party Member: While she's with the party for the first half of the game, she will leave after her character arc. While she can potentially be re-recruited afterward, but when this option becomes available depends on certain conditions. In the PSX version, if Dahlis is killed, she'll rejoin you very late into the game, provided you go visit her on regular intervals to comfort her. If he survives, she'll only rejoin you VERY late in the game, The remake subverts this, as Dalis can no longer die and it looks like Mary will be leaving for good to settle down with him, but the next time you meet her as part of the story she'll choose to go with you anyway.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Her husband deliberately attacked her and made her lose her memory in an attempt to protect her.
• Memento MacGuffin: Mary travels with a sword that's the only hint of who she was before losing her memory.
• Multi-Melee Master: Whether it be with a sword or an ax, there's no questioning Mary's competence.
• Never Gets Drunk: Zigzagged. Not long after you meet her in the remake, there's a scene where she drinks through what must be half the bar's supply and is totally good to go the day after. It's not always the case, however.
• Playing with Fire: Her Hi-Ougis both use fire.
• Rescue Romance: Her husband met her by saving her from dying in the middle of a blizzard after she got split up from the rest of her fighting force.
• Quest for Identity: The reason she travels with Rutee is so she can find out who she is.
• Supreme Chef: One of her titles. There are a number of skits where her cooking is praised. Stahn and Rutee frequently ask her to make their favourite foods. She also cooks the Phandarian specialty stew for the Blue Dragon sidequest in the PSX version.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Due to her village being attacked by goons and her husband's near death.
• Weapon Specialization: She wields axes, despite her Memento Macguffin being a sword.

Karyl Sheeden (Johnny Shiden)

Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (JP)

A traveling bard who ran away from his wealthy family. He calls himself a lazy failure. Is often over-the-top.

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• Big Brother Mentor: A stealthier version, especially to Leon. Also has hints of The Smart Guy, due to his political and historical knowledge.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: He describes himself as a lazy bum. However, everyone else around him sees the effort he really puts in.
• Childhood Friend Romance: A Love Triangle between him, Eleanor and his best friend Fate. It ended in tragedy.
• Guide Dang It!: Getting his skills in the PSX version (especially Golden Voice) can be a bit of a challenge. The results, however, are definitely worth it.
• Heartbroken Badass: Part of his motive for going after Tiberius is because he killed the woman he loved. Not that he'll admit it.
• Hidden Depths: He tries to pass himself as a good-for-nothing bard that is shirking from his responsibilities to the Sheeden family and prefers the life of a performer. In truth, he cares deeply for Fate and infiltrates an enemy castle on his own to save him. One of the reasons he kills Tiberius is to free the citizens of Aquaveil from his tyrannical rule, even though he would never admit it out loud.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the remake, because he loved both his childhood friends, he let Eleanor and Fate get together despite his feelings for her.
• Improbable Weapon User: He fights with lutes or electric guitars.
• Instrument of Murder: He wields both a lute and electric guitar in battle.

• Lethal Joke Character:
  • In the PSX version, the AI controlling him is near useless. However, if a player is controlling him, he's an absolute monster of a midrange fighter, able to whale on enemies at close range and both use Samba or Golden Voice and buffing abilities at far range. He also has a healing move that is more effective and faster to cast than Nurse or Revitalize, which both have long spell delays and animations that ruin the flow of combat. The auto-targeting system the game uses works very heavily in his favour, as with it Samba is a guaranteed three-hit ranged move. If this isn't good enough for you, the lategame enemies are mostly all weak to sound. Guess what elemental category his attacks fall into.
  • In the remake, none of his stats are particularly high unless you mess with herbs, while his moveset is a mix of support skills and rather unorthodox sonic attacks. It doesn't help that he spends most of the game out of the party and only joins permanently after Hugo's defeat. However, sonic attacks are the most common weakness among endgame enemies, and Maware Rondo combos with itself, making spamming it an incredibly easy to juggle bosses and combo them infinitely (including Barbatos). This was such a common way to trounce bosses that in the Director's Cut of the game, the final boss's powered-up form is wise to the whole scheme and automatically counters the use of said move with Celestial Earth.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: In the remake and Leon's side manga, as soon as Tiberius challenges him to a duel. He drops the ditzy bard facade and proves he is the best swordsman in Aquaveil.
• The Lost Lenore: Though he stepped aside and allowed Fate to be with Eleanor, it didn't matter in the end, since she died at Tiberius's hands. It's implied to be one of the reasons he's after Tiberius.
• Make Me Wanna Shout: His scream ("WHOA!!!") can materialize into object and crush his enemy.
• Musical Assassin: He fights in battle with musical attacks.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: He claims to just be helping out a friend, but Fayte points out the people are also being helped by Terrazi being deposed and Johnny can also get revenge for Elanor's death.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: The master of it. He pretends to be a lazy and carefree bard, but he's very perceptive, writing songs about party members that accurately reflect their personalities after just meeting them and infiltrating a castle all by himself with relative ease. In the remake, he is also the strongest fighter in Aquaveil, not that he'll admit it.
• Rebellious Princess: Gender-Inverted Trope. He's a son of one of the noble families of Aquaveil, but he's much more comfortable on his own as a Spoony Bard.
• The Unchosen One: He would have been Swordian Chaltier's master had the sword not been stolen when he was young.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Inverted. At least in the PS1 version, the Impulse enemies that appear later in the game are immune to most of the attacks Swordian users can use (including Stahn), but a good beating with a lute is somehow able to penetrate their armor. The Samba attack also works well against them.
• World's Strongest Man: Implied. He defeated Tiberius Terazzi in a duel and Terazzi was mentioned to be by leaps and bounds the most powerful swordsman in Aquaveil.

Chelsea Torn

Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe (JP)

A young archer, the granddaughter of the greatest archer in Phandalia, and Woodrow's number-one fangirl.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Downplayed; Woodrow is uninterested in her crush on him but chooses to ignore it since she's just a child.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Justified, as she's just a kid, but she can get on everyone's nerves with her demands and obsession with 'Woodrow-sama!'
• Fangirl: Woodrow's. Chelsea is constantly chasing Woodrow and dreams of marrying him.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Her chasing of Woodrow was all for naught, as Destiny 2 shows she took a different path in life.
• Fragile Speedster: She's very powerful from a distance and is the only character who can use all her moves while airborne, but her physical defense is worse than a paper bag.

• Guest-Star Party Member: Briefly at the start of the game. She can be optionally recruited again later.
• Gold Digger: Played for laughs, but she definitely has her eye on becoming queen of Phandaria, even sitting on the throne while Woodrow's away. It doesn't pan out.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She acts like a bit of a brat, but she's a pretty decent kid at heart.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Subverted. Chelsea is a loud hyperactive Keet wearing a fanservicey outfit, but Woodrow sees her as nothing more than a friend.
• Older and Wiser: She can be met in Destiny 2 as a grown woman aiding local citizens with disaster relief after the events of the first game, having significantly matured in the meantime.
• Precocious Crush: Her obsession with Woodrow is treated as one.
• Say My Name: "Woodrow-sama!~"
• She Is All Grown Up: Loni comments on how beautiful she is in Destiny 2 after 18 years have passed since the events of the first game.

• Weaksauce Weakness: Inverted. Her arrow-based attacks can harm the Impulse enemies that appear later in the game, with said enemies being immune to most attacks of the Swordian-users.

Bruiser Khang (Mighty Kongman)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (JP)

The reigning champion of the Neuestadt Arena, he often acts like a jerk and a showoff. However, he's a good person deep down, and has a crush on Philia. He suffers the same fate as Leon; in the original game, he was an irritating and unsympathetic bonus character, but in the remake he was rewritten into a very entertaining (mandatory) addition to the party.

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• All Love Is Unrequited: Philia is nice to him, but certainly doesn't reciprocate his affections.
• Ass Kicks You: Both his skill Ikasu Hip/Hip Attack and his second Blast Caliber Tres Bien Hip.
• The Big Guy: He towers over the rest of the party members and is a muscle-bound badass.
• Broken Pedestal: He used to admire the former arena champion and idolized him, until he learned that the matches were fixed. This motivated him to become a proper idol champion and put an end to fixed matches.
• Catchphrase: "ORE-SAMA WA CHANPION DA!" ("I'M THE CHAMPION!")
• Characterization Marches On: His original version is a completely unsympathetic He-Man Woman Hater, while the remake retooled him into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold with a less sexist worldview.
• Dogged Nice Guy: His crush on Philia. Much more evident in the remake. Some skits flanderize this into his only trait later.
• Dumb Muscle: Across all adaptations. In the original he was a moronic Jerkass who believed women should Stay in the Kitchen, which earned him an ass kicking from Stahn. In the remake he's still stupid enough to think he can fight the goddess Atamoni to make Philia marry him.
• Gratuitous French: His second Blast Caliber, Tres Bien Hip^note Very Good Hip.
• Hate Sink: In the original, where his very first scene has him loudly show up insulting Ilene and women in general for no reason, prompting Stahn to beat him up. This was removed in the remake, where his idiocy is instead Played for Laughs and his misogyny is greatly toned down.
• He-Man Woman Hater: In the original game, he hates all women and insults Ilene for being female. This provokes Stahn into fighting him.

• Jerkass: He a total unlikable jerk in the original game, but the remake turns him into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
• Large Ham: He has only one volume, and that is loud.
• Love at First Sight: The moment he sees Philia, he is head over heels into her.
• Mighty Glacier: He's incredibly slow compared to the other characters, but hits very hard once he finally reaches his enemies and has quite high defense.
• Optional Party Member: The only one from the original game who does not start as a Guest-Star Party Member.
• Rage Against the Heavens: A comedic version. He falls into a Corner of Woe when the high priest reveals Philia is married. It lasts for five whole seconds, since the priest clarifies that Philia is married to god, at which point Khongman decides that he will challenge god for her hand.
• Stay in the Kitchen: His attitude towards women in the original game. This is removed in the remake.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Inverted. At least in the original PS1 version, his 1-2 Combo (Rhomb Shoulder) attack is one of the best attacks to use against the Impulse enemies that appear later in the game, which are immune to most attacks the Swordian users have access to. (Are you beginning to see a pattern among the player characters who can't use Swordians?)

Lilith Aileron

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (PSX version), Chie Sawaguchi (later appearances) (JP)

Stahn's little sister. She isn't playable in the original game (except by hacking), and is an optional character in the remake. She's an assertive girl who will kick your ass with cooking utensils.

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• Absurdly Youthful Mother: Her daughter in the sequel, Lymle, is apparently two years older than Kyle, meaning Lilith had to have been pregnant with her during the events of Tales of Destiny when she was 15. No mention of this is made in the remake.
• Ascended Extra: She wasn't intended to be playable in the original (though she could be hacked in), and was made playable in the remake.
• Ascended Glitch: She was only playable through a glitch in the original game, but she was so popular in battle she was added as an optional playable character in the remake, and even has her own Side (as part of Stahn's Side, but still).
• Call-Forward: Fighting her in the remake in the arena isn't just a Shout-Out, it's a Call-Forward to her daughter, Lymle, who will replace Kongman as the arena champion. There's also a skit where he asks her to take his place in the arena. She doesn't want to, but her daughter stepped up to the plate.
• Chef of Iron: She kicks ass with a frying pan and fish.
• 11th-Hour Ranger: Can only be recruited in the arena in the remake, and even then not after a considerable amount of time has passed.
• Hammerspace: Lilith can pull a frying pan, a giant fish, and a powerful laser out of nowhere.
• Improbable Weapon User: She fights with frying pans, ladles, and giant fish pulled from Hammerspace.
• Improvised Weapon: Her frying pan and ladle attacks were originally designed to wake her brother up.

• Little Miss Snarker: She always has a quip to say.
• Making a Splash: Almost literally, with the giant fish she pulls out of hammerspace splashing through conjured water.
• Promoted to Playable: In the PS2 remake, where she can formally join the party without using a glitch or a hack.
• Retired Badass: In Tales of Destiny 2, where she's done fighting and has become a model housewife.
• She-Fu: Before her fighting style was retconned, she used mostly kicks and punches.
• Shock and Awe: Her Thunder Sword hi-ougi.
• Shout-Out: The way you recruit her in the remake (beating her in the Neuestadt Arena) is the same as how Kongman was recruited in the original- it's even parodied. You think you're about to fight Kongman... Until Lilith comes in and beats him up.
  • It's also a shoutout to Street Fighter 2, as her appearance in instantly defeating Kongman and being the true champion is a reference to Akuma killing M. Bison with the Shun Goku Satsu. She even obscures how she defeats Kongman like the SGS does.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: A hilarious subversion. With her pink dress and apron, she looks the part. With her weapon and love of housework, she has the skills for the part. With her rather ''abrasive'' personality...she is most definitely not the part. In Tales of Destiny 2 she has matured into a straight example of the trope.
• Yandere: Played for Laughs. Her Little Sister Instinct towards Stahn sometimes crosses the line into frightening people.

Swordians

Swordian Dymlos

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP)

The Swordian of Fire. In life, he was Lieutenant General Dymlos Timber, the Division Commander of the 1st Er'ther Army. A stubborn and prideful individual with a fiery temper, he comes into Stahn's possession by chance, and because Stahn can hear his voice, convinces him that he is The Chosen One in order to escape the disaster on-board the Draconis. Afterwards, he accompanies Stahn in his journey to save the world, constantly baffled by his chosen master's stupidity.

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• Broken Pedestal: To Kyle, because he chooses to be lawful instead of good when Atwight is kidnapped. He gets over it.
• Deadpan Snarker: It's not hard to be when Stahn's your master.
• Duel Boss: In the remake. Also doubles as a Mirror Boss, as he uses many of the same techniques as Stahn.
• A Father to His Men: Dymlos is extremely popular among the Er'ther soldiers and is known for charging in battle alongside them.
• Fiery Redhead: In the novel The War Between Heaven and Earth he is shown with red hair and is said to have loved fighting so much he joined the military preemptively. This characterization is retconned by Destiny 2 and R.
• Flaming Sword: As the Swordian of Fire, he has some attacks that do this.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He and the other Swordians make one to destroy the Eye of Atamoni before Belcrant can be fired again.* Mundane Utility: Stahn suggests his fire powers would be handy for frying fish. Dymlos is not amused.
• Knight in Shining Armor: One reason why Barbatos hated him so much was his strong sense of morality.
• Official Couple: He and Atwight were married when they were humans.
• Playing with Fire: He's the Swordian of Fire, after all.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Atwight. The kiss of the trope is emphasized, but they have their slap moments.
• Spell My Name With An S: In The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel his name is romanized as "Dimlos Tymbre".
• Talking Weapon: Like all Swordians, he can talk to a select few with the ability to hear him.
• To Be Lawful or Good: He suffers through this, as well as The Needs of the Many, when Atwight is kidnapped by Barbatos in the sequel. Harold gives him a good excuse to go rescue her and choose the good.
• Tsundere: While he is a capable commander, he often loses his cool. He is particularly tsun towards Stahn, who he feels does not take things seriously enough.

Swordian Atwight

Voiced by: Emi Uwagawa (JP)

The Swordian of Water. In life, she was Colonel Atwight Eks, of the Er'ther Medical Corps. She was entrusted to Rutee when she was young by her mother, Chris Katrea, and served as her constant companion and surrogate mother figure as she grew up. She is kind, and patient, but she is also not afraid to tell Rutee what she thinks of her actions.

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• An Ice Person: Water and Ice are considered the same element in the Destiny universe.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Gentle Girl to Karell's Brooding Boy in The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel.

• Combat Medic: She was part of the Medical Corps when alive, and has healing spells.
• Damsel in Distress: In Destiny 2, Barbatos abducts her in order to lure Dymlos as well as Kyle and his party into a trap.
• Forgot About His Powers: Doubles with Cutscene Incompetence. Why couldn't she just heal Karell after he got stabbed again? She was standing right there!
• Heroic Sacrifice: She and the other Swordians make one to destroy the Eye of Atamoni before Belcrant can be fired again.
• Making a Splash: She's the Swordian of Water.
• Official Couple: She and Dymlos were married when they were humans.

• Team Mom: Which is impressive, considering she's a sword. During the Ae'ther Wars she provided counselling for the other Swordians in the 4komas, averting There Are No Therapists.
• There Are No Therapists: Averted, she provided therapy sessions for the other Swordian Masters.
• Tsundere: Type B. Atwight is kind and nurturing towards most people, with only Dymlos bringing out her tsun side.
• Water Is Womanly. The Swordian of Water, Atwight Eks, is a long haired feminine lady specializing in healing spells (when compared to the boyish female Mad Scientist).

Swordian Chaltier

Voiced by: Hideo Ishikawa (JP)

The Swordian of Earth. In life, he was Major Pierre de Chaltier, leader of the 2nd Er'ther Army Squadron. He has been by Leon's side ever since he was a child, and is the only one he considers his "friend." Unlike his master, Chaltier possesses a very gentle and restrained personality, seeming almost meek. He is, however, fiercely loyal to his young master.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: His hair is golden instead of white/platinum in Tales of Destiny 2 and he wears a different outfit. His original design in The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel gave him brown hair.
• All for Nothing: In the original game he states trying to fight the Aetherians was pointless during his Despair Event Horizon.
• All of the Other Reindeer: In his diary entry in Destiny 2, he says that he is looked down upon by his peers for being weak, and that he seeks to become stronger to prove himself.
• Ascended Extra: He has a greatly expanded role in the Destiny remake, and this role is even further expanded in Leon's Side of the Director's Cut.
• The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest Swordian Master and the least competent.
• Butt-Monkey: He was always caught in-between Dymlos and Atwight's love affair, even on the battlefield, as they always paid attention to each other and never paid attention to him, which resulted in him always getting swarmed by enemies.
• Casting a Shadow: As a secondary spell element, Chaltier can cast Darkness spells.
• Cool Sword: A Talking Weapon that allows the user to cast very powerful spells is certainly cool.
• Death Seeker: By the time of the second game, Chaltier has grown tired of living and seeks out a good death.
• Demoted to Extra: In the sequel, he is still by his master's side, although Leon no longer uses him in battle.
• Despair Event Horizon: In the original Tales of Destiny, Leon's betrayal of the other Swordians makes him cross into the Despair Event Horizon, and he states their opposition of the Aetherians was all for nothing in the end. He seems to have recovered by the time of the sequel.
• Dishing Out Dirt: He's the Swordian of Earth.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In the manga version of the first game, Leon laments being all alone at the end of his life while Chaltier sits beside him in silent disapproval.
• Dumb Blonde: In Destiny 2, he is portrayed as a ditzy blond.
• Extreme Doormat: He has a tendency of being pushed around and cowed by his fellow Swordians and Leon.
• Genius Ditz: He's quite a ditz, but was proficient enough with a sword to become a Swordian Master.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In Destiny 2, he manages to join the other Swordians just in time to help destroy the Eye of Atamoni, finally bidding farewell to Leon.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Leon. May border on Living Emotional Crutch at times in Leon's story.
• Pretty Boy: Both his Destiny 2 and Destiny R designs are young and attractive men.
• Punny Name: His first name, Pierre, is "rock" in French.

• Small Name, Big Ego: Played for Laughs. During the Ae'ther Wars, he once brags that Miktran would be no match for him, only for his boast to be interrupted by a barrage of arrows that he narrowly manages to evade.
• Stepford Smiler: In the original, he tries to maintain a chipper facade despite knowing Leon is going to betray the other Swordian Masters. It fails during the second half.

• Undying Loyalty: In the remake. When Leon apologizes to him for having him accompany him in his Heroic Sacrifice in Destiny R, Chaltier merely responds that Leon is his master, and that he would follow him no matter where he goes. He accompanies Leon even after his death and resurrection in Destiny 2, though his final words express he is tired of following Leon around by the end.
• What the Hell, Hero?: During the Director's Cut version of the game, after Marian is captured and Leon is left with no choice but to follow Hugo's orders ignoring Chal's repeated advice to contact his friends, the two of them go through a brief silent treatment until Chaltier finally calls him out for being a foolish kid. Possibly subverted though as while it does help Leon get a hold of himself, Chaltier agrees that the two of them can save Marian together instead of Leon finally agreeing to turn to his friends.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: He is tired of life by the time of Destiny 2 and wants to die.

Swordian Clemente

Voiced by: Joji Yanami (JP)

The Swordian of Lightning. In life, he was Laville Clemente, the Chief of Staffs for the Er'ther Army. He has the personality of a jovial but surprisingly insightful old man, preferences for pretty young ladies aside. After the Ae'ther Wars, Clemente was stranded deep beneath the sea, within the sunken base of Radisrol, where he has waited thousands of years for a new master, which he finds in Philia.

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• BFS: Clemente is a massive sword, so large that Philia struggles to wield him. Unlike many BFS, he is used almost exclusively for magical attacks.
• Bolt of Divine Retribution: The spell Indignation, which rains down holy lightning on enemies.
• Chivalrous Pervert: He's a definite Dirty Old Man but genuinely cared about both Atwight and Philia.

• Dirty Old Man
  Philia: Was [the spell] right, Clemente?
  Clemente: Hm, not bad... But next time, push your chest out more, and try a sexier stance... Mm, yes, like that...
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite being a Dirty Old Man he didn't creep on either Atwight or Harold during the Aether Wars, treating them more like his grandchildren.

• Lightning Can Do Anything: His official element is light, which is combined with the lightning element in the world of Tales of Destiny. That somehow gives him access to spells of every element but Darkness.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: He would pretend to be senile or deaf to avoid hearing things he didn't like.

• Real Men Wear Pink: His sword is definitely pink, and very much a male sword.
• Sealed Good in a Can: His sword was sunk beneath the ocean for a thousand years prior to Tales of Destiny.
• Shipper on Deck: He shipped Stahn and Philia due to the latter's feelings.
• Shock and Awe: He has lightning and light powers.
• Talking Weapon: Like all the other Swordians, he's a talking sword.

Swordian Igtenos

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (JP)

The Swordian of Wind. In life, he was Igtenos Minarde, leader of the E'rther Army's Intelligence Unit. He has a very quiet and calm personality, and prides himself on logical decision-making. After the Aeth'er Wars, Igtenos became a symbol of the royal house of Phandaria, handed down from king to king, until he is stolen by Greybaum. Wielded against his will, Igtenos is severely damaged, and remains deactivated for a majority of the game.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: He had brown hair in Tales of Destiny 2, but was given blond hair in his Tales of Destiny R redesign.
• Blow You Away: As the Swordian of Wind.
• Combat Pragmatist: He launches a surprise attack on Barbatos during his duel with Dymlos, and manages to lead him off a cliff.

• Deadpan Snarker: He has some moments of snark.
• Demoted to Extra: He spends most of the game deactivated, and thus doesn't get much of a role in the story.
• Not So Stoic: In a side story in the Tales of Destiny 2 omake manga, he is shown to be very passionate about cute things, to almost Keet levels.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Oddly, he knows many things about Swordian construction and upgrading, things that only Harold was implied to truly understand in the sequel.

• The Stoic: In general he is quite reserved.

• Troll: He has a habit of understating situations and then being amused at his companions' Freak Out moments upon discovering the truth of said situations.

Swordian Berselius

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP)

The Swordian of Darkness. The personality etched onto Berselius supposedly belonged to Karell Berselius, a strategist for the Er'ther Army as well as the older brother of Harold Berselius, the scientist responsible for the development of the Swordians. During the final assault on Dycroft, it was Karell and his Swordian that dealt the killing blow the Miktran; however, in his death throes, Miktran struck through Swordian Berselius's core, fatally wounding Karell and "killing" Swordian Berselius.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: He was initially given pitch black hair for the light novel The War Between Heaven and Earth. In Tales of Destiny 2 he's instead a redhead.
• Adaptational Personality Change: In the light novel The War Between Heaven and Earth, Karell is depicted as a self-centered Jerkass focused entirely on his own goals to the detriment of all others. Come Tales of Destiny 2 he is very friendly and warm, completely different from his earlier portrayal.
• Artifact of Doom: Because of who's in it.
• Artifact of Death: In a sense, due to Miktran manipulating Hugo until his mind was sufficiently unhinged to possess, killing him. His body stays alive, but his mind is gone forever.

• Badass Bookworm: Okay, so he's The Strategist, he'll probably be staying behind a lot... Nope. He not only goes on a very complex rescue mission, but when he gets his Swordian he casually creates black holes like it's nothing.
• BFS: Looking at size charts comparing all the Swordians together, his sword is bigger than Clemente's.
• Big Brother Instinct: Talking to him, it's pretty clear he cares very dearly for Harold. Especially when he dies- He uses his last words to reassure her he'll always be there to protect her.
• Black Swords Are Better: The strongest and biggest of all Swordians, with a blade as dark as night.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Brooding Boy to Atwight's Gentle Girl in The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel.
• Bully Hunter: Implied in the sequel's manga, where he drove off bullies that made Harold cry.
• Casting a Shadow: As befitting the Swordian of Darkness.
• Coordinated Clothes: It's subtle, but both Karell and Harold seem to like laces and fur down their jacket sleeves.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Zigzagged. He was originally extremely kind, but by the first game Miktran has taken over and he's very evil. Averted in the light novel The War Between Heaven and Earth, where Karell was a Jerkass.
• Demonic Possession: His Swordian is being possessed by Kronos, who transferred his soul into the now defunct Swordian, taking it over. Thousands of years later, when Berselius comes into the possession of Hugo, Kronos takes over his mind as well, using him to do his bidding.
• Demoted to Extra: Zigzagged. He's the only Swordian user we don't really get to meet in the first game, but he has a role in the sequel... As a Satellite Character and dead big brother to Harold. He's also the only Swordian Master to have no official art or cameos whatsoever, not even in the Tales of Kizna Swordian special story.
• Doomed by Canon: His death in the sequel. It's coming from a mile away and if anyone tried to save him, they'd end up changing the timeline.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He is a very unpleasant person in The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel, but even he realizes when Miktran has gone off the deep end and defects to the Er'ther side of the conflict.
• Evil Weapon: Though not because it's a darkness sword, but because of Miktran.
• Freudian Excuse: His Jerkass behavior in The War Between Heaven and Earth light novel was due to his grief over losing his little sister as a child and his determination to use Miktran's technology to revive her.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Mentioned in the sequel. Had Karell not gotten in dangerously close to Miktran to deliver him the final blow, the Swordian Team might not have won the fight.

• Killed Off for Real: Unlike the other Swordians, his death also killed his sword.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: At Miktran's hand. It's how he died.
• Nice Guy: Incredibly kind-hearted, he'd do anything besides disobey direct orders to help the party in the sequel (since his sister has joined them, after all). Too bad he's long dead in the first game...

• Samus Is a Girl: The sequel reveals that the personality etched onto Berselius was Harold's all along, making Berselius and Karell a Sibling Team.
• Satellite Character: Subverted. While he does outwardly seem this way in the second game, not discussing anything besides Harold with the party and falling victim to a lot of Show, Don't Tell when it comes to his prowess as a strategist, he does have some personality, mostly shown right before his death.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Unfortunately. Killing Miktran just results in his sword getting possessed and Dycroft getting resurrected 1000 years later.
• Sibling Team: Tales of Destiny 2 reveals Karell's Swordian was imprinted with Harold's personality rather than his own, making him and his Swordian a twin team.
• Soul Jar: Like all the Swordians, Berselius is etched with a person's soul. Miktran's.
• Soulless Shell: His sword ends up being turned into Miktran's Soul Jar at the expense of the original personality.
• The Strategist: Though a lot of it is done through Character Shilling and Show, Don't Tell.
• Unholy Holy Sword: Hugo thought it was perfectly innocuous, having the personality of a great strategist and having been used to win the War Between Heaven and Earth... Not exactly. Again, Miktran's fault. By itself, it would be a very nice sword.
• Yandere: Played for Laughs. His protectiveness of Harold is exaggerated in certain 4komas.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Specializes in darkness and light magic.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious:
  Karell:"Am I... Dreaming? You called me... Brother..."

Non-Playable Characters

Hugo Gilchrist

Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (JP)

Leon's father, and the president of the Oberon Corporation.

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• Abusive Parents: Thanks to being Brainwashed and Crazy, he is a real dick to Leon. Mostly emotionally abusive but occasionally physically too.
• Absurdly Youthful Father: Considering Rutee, his daughter, is 18 and he really doesn't look any older than maybe late 30s... Yeah.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: He is made significantly more attractive in the remake.
• Adaptational Villainy: While the original game was ambiguous about whether Hugo was ever working with Miktran, the original Tales of Destiny manga establishes that he willingly worked with Miktran when the sword offered to make him rich and powerful, though he was unaware of Miktran's ultimate purpose of completely destroying the surface world.
• Beard of Evil: Hugo has a pointed goatee, immediately denoting him as evil.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: He's being alternately brainwashed and possessed by Miktran.
• Casting a Shadow: Posseses and uses the Swordian of Darkness.
• Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: What he did to Rutee. He would've tried that on Leon too, but it was too late.
• Deal with the Devil: In the original manga, he makes one with Miktran in order to gain his wealth and power.
• Demonic Possession: Thanks to Kronos. Hugo was a kind man, but after the discovery of Swordian Berselius, he was driven mad. He used the last of his sanity to drive Rutee away from home and his madness, but in process killed her mother. He then took Leon and trained him rigorously and strictly, forming him as his own puppet, using the maid Marian, whom Leon treated as a surrogate mother, as his hostage to cow Leon to his biddings.
• Despair Gambit: Pulls this on Leon in the remake using Marian's safety and finally the news that she attempted suicide to make him do plenty of things for him, including fighting his only friends. Sadly, it works, though Leon pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to make sure his friends don't get trapped in the flooding mine.
• Dying as Yourself: When the confronts and defeats him in the original PSX version, Hugo admits all of his wrongdoings and apologizes to Rutee with his dying breath before Miktran appears in the flesh.
• Fighting from the Inside: When Miktran finally reveals himself from within Hugo's body in the PS2 remake (and absolutely finishes off the party in a Curb-Stomp Battle, Hugo manages to muster up his strength when Miktran tries to kill off Rutee, causing Miktran to struggle. However, Hugo can only muster up the will to explain his reasons for making Rutee leave in the past while also telling the party that he'll detach Belcrant in order for them to escape from Miktran. Though sadly from there, Hugo's consciousness pretty much dies out for good.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears spectacles and is evil and abusive towards his son Leon. Subverted, as he's been possessed by Miktran.
• Hope Crusher: In the remake, it's pretty easy to see he's enjoying breaking his son down. Or at least, Miktran is.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Who would trust Miktran? To be fair, he is being Mind Raped and possessed.
• I Have Your Wife: He kidnapped Marian to force Leon into obeying him.
• Manipulative Bastard: Subverted in that he's also being manipulated
• Not Himself: Sometime around Leon's death, Miktran manages to possess him. Stahn notices immediately.

• Stoic Spectacles: Subverted. He appears this way at first but he's very mentally unstable.
• This Is Your Brain on Evil: Goes crazier and crazier the more Miktran speaks to him. It's clear he doesn't understand what's happening until it's too late.

• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Due to Miktran's whispers and corrupting influence.

Kronos (Miktran)

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP; PSX version); Ryō Horikawa (JP; PS2 remake)

The leader of the Heavens/Ae'therians during the War of Heaven and Earth/Ae'ther Wars and would stop at nothing at fulfilling his goal to enslave the Earth/Er'ther Lands. He is defeated by the Swordian Masters in the past, especially by Karell Berselius.

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• Butt-Monkey: Nobody really knows what his motive is, so he's ridiculed by Kyle and co. in one of the bonus disks. Hell, despite being one of the series' earliest villains, he barely shows up in crossovers (until the devs finally threw Miktran a bone and made him playable in Tales Of The Rays).
• The Corrupter: To Hugo, with the ultimate goal of possessing him.
• Cultural Posturing: According to him, the Aetherians were superior to the Er'thers in every way imaginable.
• Demonic Possession: In his last breath, he possessed Karell's Swordian (Berselius) and was put in slumber for thousands of years, until it's discovered by Hugo Gilchrist. Right after that, he drove Hugo mad and manipulated him to further his goal, including the resurrection of Dycroft. However, Stahn eventually puts an end to his ambition.
• Eldritch Abomination: His final form in the remake, where he becomes a giant purple feathered monster.

• Evil Plan: He brought Dycroft to the surface and planned to use its superweapon, Belcrant, against the Earth.
• Final Solution: He wanted to wipe out the Er'thers completely if he couldn't enslave them. He repeatedly refers to Er'thers as filthy vermin and has utterly no qualms about murdering thousands of them.
• For the Evulz: What was his motive again? He did have one in the original game, but in the second game he mostly just wants to destroy everything.
• Hope Crusher: He likes giving Leon just a little hope, then snatching it away.
• Man Behind the Man: Behind Hugo, as the person demonically possessing him.
• Manipulative Bastard: He manipulates both Leon and Hugo with ease.
• Motive Decay: His motive went from reviving the Aetherian race (conveniently ignoring there was a whole continent of the descendants of the survivors) to wanting to laser the whole planet For the Evulz.
• Obviously Evil: The man immediately begins laughing evilly and spouting racism the moment he appears on-screen, making no attempt at appearing good.
• Patriotic Fervor: Of the evil kind. Miktran is obsessed with the "superiority" of the Aetherians and the "inferiority" of the Er'thers.
• Power Floats: Absorbing the power of the Eye of Atamoni allows him to float and mutate into an Eldritch Abomination.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: In Berselius. He breaks himself out with Hugo's help.
• Taking You with Me: Subverted. He killed Karell Berselius AND managed to keep his soul intact in the process.
• Trash Talk: Insults the living hell out of Hugo when he reveals himself, and how it was easy to brainwash both him and manipulate Leon.

Marian Fustel

Voiced by: Eriko Fujimaki (JP)

A maid employed by Hugo Gilchrist. She's the one responsible for raising Leon, and as such he regards her very highly.

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• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the original game, Marian only saw Leon as her job and nothing more. In the Director's Cut, their relationship is changed so Marian has a great deal of affection for Leon and even tries to commit suicide for his sake.
• Damsel in Distress: Abducted and held hostage to keep Leon under control.
• Driven to Suicide: In the remake in Leon's story, to try to allow Leon to escape his father's control. She survives, and the ploy fails.

• Loving a Shadow: In the original, Marian believed this was the case when it came to Leon's affections for her. Rutee, however, vehemently denies that this was the case.
• Meido: The quiet and gentle maid in the Gilchrist household.
• Oblivious to Love: She seems to be completely unaware of Leon's feelings for her.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Again, according to Leon, she's very pretty.
• Satellite Love Interest: Justified, as Marian is a normal maid with no fighting prowess. It wouldn't make sense for the main plot to revolve around her or her daily activities... But the second half of Leon's story does.
• Supreme Chef: At least, Leon thinks so.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Her approval is highly sought out by Leon.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Though she's likely from a common background, being employed as a maid and all, she fits the trope otherwise.

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