Headscratchers / Tales of Arise

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Alphen and pain

• Alphen sure cries out in pain a lot for someone who supposedly can't feel pain. And he references feeling when his injuries aren't fully healed, as well. How exactly does his "no pain" thing work, in the end?
  • He doesn't feel pain, but he can still feel damage caused by injuries. For example, when his shoulder is dislocated, it doesn't hurt him, but he can still tell that his arm isn't moving the way it's supposed to.
  • Similarly, unusual fatigue may alert him to having overextended himself. And if he is struck to where it interferes with his breathing then he's bound to notice that and voice the discomfort of having the wind knocked out of him. He may cry out in reflex too, much as this troper does at times if something happens where they expect pain to happen but in reality there is little or none. Recall Alphen wasn't always like this, and subconsciously his body may remember what pain is and when he is supposed to feel it.
  • There is some amount of Gameplay and Story Segregation at play too. In the story, Alphen doesn't feel pain but does know when there are issues with his body as mentioned, but in gameplay Alphen reacts to being hit like if he could most likely since if Alphen could just No-Sell attacks it would cause balancing issues.

How big are the realms?

• Dahna is an entire planet, and when conquered was split into five realms. But each realm's capital is within walking distance of each other? Even if we assume there's actually several days between each capital (it would be reasonable to count each campsite as marking a day of travel), there is no mention of using mounts, caravans, or any other sort of vehicle to speed up travel. That seems very odd for realms that are supposed to comprise twenty percent of a planet. Not to mention Messia 224 implies that there are at least two hundred and twenty three other small villages in that realm alone.
  • There's a map of Dahna during the opening sequence. By comparing it and some space shots (this troper used ones taken during the reveal of true form of Rena and formation of the "flower") it can be seen that there are two continents, with bigger, western, containing Orbus Calaglia, Cyslodia and Ganath Haros, and smaller, eastern, containing Elde Menancia and Mahag Saar. They are separated by a large, circular sea, about the size of the Arctic Ocean. Cyslodia and Elde Menancia are connected with a chain of islands, implying that the underground passage is here, and it actually allows you to cross the sea. Ditto for passage from Ganath Haros to Cyslodia (there's a large bay here). Continents seems to occupy only one hemisphere, since they all can be seen from space simultaneously. Travelling them on foot would take months, but it's probably just Space Compression and Conservation Of Details at work.
  • This is supported by the fact that, during the story, returning to previous locations has the characters comment about how long its been since they last saw the group.
  • Course, this question also assumes that the planet is of similar size to Earth. It could be substantially smaller, which in turn would make the continents and all distances smaller.
  • As with almost any other game where you get to explore large territories, Overworld Not to Scale and The Law of Conservation of Detail are in full effect. The game only shows us the parts of the world that are important to the game, and anything else is abstracted to make the game actually playable.

Alphen's powers

• How exactly do Alphen's Sovereign powers work? Aside from being able to wield the Blazing Sword, he's much stronger and faster than a normal man. But that could just be a case of Charles Atlas Superpower.
  • Being a Sovereign gives Alphen the ability to manipulate incredibly vast amounts of astral energy at will. Going by how he uses it in battle (as in whenever the Sovereign sigil appears in his eye), he basically powers himself up with said energy which grants Alphen an increased amount of strength, speed, endurance, and literally firepower in regards to the Blazing Sword.

Try breaking the helmet

• If Balseph cracking his mask was enough for Alphen to remember his name, why doesn't he or some other character try to break off the rest of the mask to see if that will restore the rest of his memories?
  • More than likely because doing so poses a risk to Alphen himself. One mistake and it could kill him. The only reason he didn't die to Balseph was because of sheer luck. Also, the description for the mask in the costume menu states that it cannot be broken by normal means. So really, you'd need some extraordinary strength like Balseph's to even attempt to it which all goes back to how it poses a risk to Alphen himself.
    • Made even worse by the fact that Alphen can't feel pain - he still has to watch out for internal injuries, and hitting him with enough concussive force can easily give him a TBI.
  • Also, despite being the first Lord you fight, Balseph is no joke. He is, in terms of raw strength, either the strongest, or the second strongest Lord, and he also was without a Master Core.
  • Also also, it looks like the mask was cracked not by the blow itself, but overloaded after absorbing the mana from said blow, and this is entirely hit or miss - if you miss this way, you may vaporize his head instead of just causing an injury.

How was it kept secret?

• Regarding the Hollowing going on in Elde Menancia, how exactly were the deaths of enough people to fill a lake kept secret not just from Dohalim but from the population at large for what must have been years? People knew who was being taken to the supposed "medical facility" (Kisara states she herself saw people being taken there, and an NPC talks about her boyfriend being taken there) and yet no suspicion was raised when nobody returned and no bodies were ever seen? That's a lot of deaths or disappearances to lie about, made all the more difficult by the fact that a good portion of the Renans in the government were loyal to Dohalim and would not have knowingly cooperated. This troper is admittedly not through the game yet, but the Elde Menancia arc just ended and no NPC offered any explanation. The only hint at an answer I've seen is that everyone was surprised that there were no workers in the main dungeon area, is the implication supposed to be that they were all killed recently and it's only then that the lake was filled?
  • Dohalim and Kisara were both willfully ignorant. Dohalim didn't care about protecting Dahnans so much as his own feelings, so as long as the Renans kept their experiments out of sight he was happy to just ignore them and pretend everything was fine. Kisara meanwhile, was so desperate to believe in her dream of co-existence that she saw any evidence that things weren't working as a threat to that dream. Migal did try to warn them, but was brushed off and declared a traitor. It's likely others did too, but no one was willing to take any action, and the villains were silencing anyone who spoke out behind the scenes. Anyone who knew the truth was probably too frightened to make a big deal about it. Narmy though it might have been, there's a reason Migal was desperate enough to see killing himself as the only way to force the issue.
    • That might explain Dohalim and Kisara, though even then, from what I understood Migal never even got the chance to tell either of them initially, him being framed and secretly imprisoned before they could share any words. Given how willing Dohalim was to follow Migal and hear him out, I don't think he was before this brushed aside by Dohalim and Kisara directly. Regardless, it still doesn't explain why the Dahnan populace didn't notice them losing enough people to fill a lake and getting no explanation for it, or how the conspirators were able to also fool the large number of Renans loyal to Dohalim. Again, I'm thinking the best answer might be that most of the victims died very recently, since Migal states you have to consume the fruit for a long period of time for the effects to take place. This combined with a whole production facility for the fruit needing to be built would indicate this plan took years to implement.
      • I imagine that others did notice but they were either silenced (like they attempted to do to Migal), wilfully blind or told a more palatable story to justify the disappearances.

Kelzalik: his plan, working with Almeidrea, and Beyond the Grave sidequest confusion

• When Dohalim has Kelzalik at his mercy, he tells him to go report to his master and lets him go, which seemed off to me considering that it came across to me that Kelzalik's plan was something he and his Renan allies in Elde Menancia made in secret after Dohalim decided not to pursue the Crown Contest. This is supported by the fact that when you confront him, you saw a few npcs who he talking to that are dressed like how Dohalim was before becoming a Lord, suggesting that Kelzalik's plan was to slowly gather Astral Energy using the Fruit of Helgan and was secretly training successors.
  • I think those clothes are standard Renan garb. More to the point, when Kelzalik reveals he does not seek to become a lord and the party asks just what he does intend, he states "there are other lords," which Dohalim takes as an admission that he conspired with another lord. The other evidence he uses is that the production facility Dohalim found for the fruit was beyond Kelzalik's means to have built without powerful outside help.
• In Mahag Saar, the group just starts saying Almeidrea was the one behind Kelzalik, even though the only linking evidence is both use the Fruit of Helgan. Given that the Helganquil are behind everything, wouldn't that suggest that they were behind it? Almeidrea never comments anything as far as I am aware that she was behind him. Since he apparently was on the ship later, I guess he was working for her, but it doesn't really add up.
  • I'm pretty sure Almeidrea does mention at some point that she used Dohalim's realm to experiment with the fruits, though I am not sure when she says it. That said, once the party finds out about the Helganquil, they are acknowledged to likely be the true originators of the fruit. Almeidrea was likely simply being used by them just as Kelzalik was used by her.
  • Kelzalik's notes in Autelina also mention that he's been doing secret trades with Mahag Saar, making the party reason that Almeidrea is a more likely suspect than Vholran.
• Then, in the Beyond the Grave sidequest, Dohalim starts saying Kelzalik was "plagued by all those he had to kill" and was Just Following Orders. I must be missing something because none of this seems supported at all considering Kelzalik, when confronted in Viscint, basically acts like the other Lords do in how he sees the Dahnan's as slaves. The sidequest read to me that he was going crazy because Almeidrea's dragon was like stalking him to a degree.
  • As much as he did see them as lowly slaves, this doesn't mean he was unaffected by watching them die in horrible ways. It is possible he felt guilt over this if nothing else, which manifested eventually as nightmares and hallucinations, driven by fear that the victims' spirits were haunting him and seeking vengeance. Being Evil Sucks, especially for your sanity if you aren't able to fully see your victims as subhuman.

Shionne, Naori, the Curse of Thorns

• So I'm a bit confused about the Curse of thorns, we're told/implied Shionne has it because she's the maiden, and Shionne's the Maiden because she's Naori's descendant. And Naori talks about having the thorns (Though she doesn't display purple lightning when she touches Alphen to put the mask on him). My question is, if Naori, according to her message, was all in about getting rid of the Maiden powers, why did she have descendants to pass that power she wanted destroyed? Second, how did she have descendants. You'd think the curse of Thorns would make reproduction a bit hard. No doubt the Renans have invitro fertilization and the like (Being the result of genetic engineering themselves) but like has every member of her family from her to Shionne been test tube babies? Shionne's got like three last names besides Naori's, which kinda imply marriages happened to lead to her existing. Did 300 years worth of Renan go "Well, sure sucks living like this. Imma go to the test tube baby lab make sure someone else endure that too."
  • Well to clarify, it's my understanding that the maiden powers and the thorns are two separate things. Having the powers of the "maiden" was intended to give Naori extraordinary abilities in the control of astral energy, so that she could support and stabilize the powers of the "sovereign" during the spirit channeling ceremony. However, when Naori realized what the astral energy will she had taken in during the ceremony wanted (namely to drain all life), she instead used her maiden abilities to seal the energy away inside herself. The seal was effective enough at the time that the curse of thorns didn't manifest (hence why she could touch Alphen, get him in the healing chamber and such without issue). However, she noted that this sealing effect would not last forever, nor could she get rid of the sealed energy by dying (perhaps either it wouldn't let her die as long as it was inside her, or dying would release it on the world). So instead the maiden power and the will of Rena within her got transferred to her descendants for 300 years (why having a baby causes it to transfer is never explained to my knowledge, but perhaps the will of Rena wanted out and a baby was the closest thing it could do to that). Shionne later explains she didn't even realize she had maiden powers or that they were sealing/suppressing the thorns until the seal began weakening further when Lenegis transformed. This suggests that not only was the sealing effect unconscious/automatic (thus why Shionne's ancestors could serve their role unknowingly), but that the thorns manifesting and inflicting pain at all was a sign of the weakening suppression. Shionne simply had the misfortune of being the one in her family line born with the thorns when the maiden powers could no longer fully suppress them, thus causing the painful touch effect that made her a pariah and lab subject.

Almeidreia's act

• If Almeidreia wanted the Dark Wings to try to execute her so they'd all be hollowed, why does she try to reason with them and de-escalate the situation? What if they had actually listened? If her plan required them to be as riled up as possible, it seems like playing the unrepentant monster and deliberately trying to provoke them would have served her purpose better.
  • It may have been for her own amusement, wanting to see them be as willing to torment a frightened, helpless person as she would be. Or perhaps she believed that playing the part of a helpless woman would actually rile the crowd up more due to them having experienced so much suffering from her, inspiring a sadistic streak in them. After a life time of being slaves, her being defiant might have actually intimidated them more than angered them.

Why is the Iron Mask so hard to remove?

• It's apparently stronger than most actual forms of armor. This makes some sense at the beginning of the game when it's assumed to be some kind of punishment, but it's eventually revealed to have been intended for medical purposes and the negative side effects are just the result of it malfunctioning. There was no need for it to be so hard to remove. Wouldn't Naori have provided Alphen with the means to take it off if she could? And even if she couldn't, it doesn't seem like the thing would need to be Made of Indestructium.
  • It is noted early in the game when infiltrating the abandoned "castle" that Renans in general use materials that are very difficult for Dahnan tools to break through or take apart, and even the Renans on Dahna have limited amounts of technology compared to Lenegis. Even so, perhaps the mask isn't actually that strong so much as trying to intentionally break it with weapons would be too dangerous to risk (i.e. there would be the risk of damaging Alphen's brain if they hit him too hard). As for Naori providing a means to remove the mask, pure speculation but perhaps on the ship there was a means to remove it but since Alphen wandered off in a daze after awakening and didn't remember the ship he never got the opportunity to look for it. As for why it would be made where the patient can't just take it off whenever they want, perhaps it's to avoid them removing it before it has done its work.
  • Also when Naori puts it on Alphen, her worry isn't that the mask can't be removed (implying that there is a way to remove it) but that Alphen would have to keep it on long enough for the side effects to kick in from prolonged exposure.

Why is Cyslodia dark?

• We're told that the Lords steal Astral Energy from their specific realms in order to power the Spirit Vessel that will determine the winner of the Crown Contest. This results in realms like Calaglia being surrounded by heat and fire due to fire Astral Energy, Mahag Saar being swept by extremely strong winds that turn large turbines for wind Astral Energy, and Garath Haros being surrounded by lakes, rivers and waterfalls which focuses water Astral Energy. But Cyslodia — the realm where light energy is stored — works on the exact opposite logic. Because the light there is supposedly being stolen, the entire realm is in perpetual night. How and why exactly? Every other realm (save for Elde Menancia, where Dohalim has refused to take part in the contest) produces more of the element they're harvesting. By this logic, Cyslodia should under Endless Daytime and perpetual summer, not winter.
  • Perhaps the special method of collecting Light Astral Energy is the reason for such a different result? For the other elements it seems to be done more passively, but with light they have those special towers that directly collect and focus any light in the region toward the Spirit Vessel and away from everywhere else.
  • It's probably just that efficient. It may be generating a lot of light and lightning, but it's not letting much escape for whatever reason.
  • Aside from requiring an obligatory Arctic level for each Tales game, it is mentioned that Renans can conjure material elements and Darkness, but not the Light. So, in order for Ganabelt to actually use it he has to accumulate the Light itself first.

Rinwell's a "tomboy"?

• Seriously. Every time Law says it I always ask, "In what way?" Nothing about her seems even remotely tomboyish. She's way too feminine and far too dainty to fit the description.
  • Seems subjective to me. She's feisty, self-sufficient, and pretty heedless of her appearance. In comparison to Shionne, she's a lot less feminine.
  • Rinwell is concerned about her appearance. An optional camp chat between her and Shionne has Rinwell remark about how much she loves the fragrance Shionne is using. When Shionne offers to share it with her, Rinwell is elated and says (quote): "That would be lovely".
  • The others also seem to consider her to be feminine, given how Kisara, Shionne, and even Alphen each try to teach Law the proper way to treat a girl and tells him he should be more considerate of her feelings. Law is the only one who says she's a tomboy.
  • This can also be attributed to cultural differences. In Japan, where the game was created, a woman being bold and outspoken is considered a "tomboy", as these are traits typically associated with men and masculinity.
  • By that logic, Shionne and any other female would be a "tomboy" then, despite contradicting what the player actually sees.

Differences Between Alphen and Vholran's Sovereign Powers

• Since Vholran also has Sovereign Powers, how is it that he can also cast Astral Artes (with his eyes glowing) whereas Alphen can't cast Astral Artes? Not to mention during Vholran's 2nd and final boss fights, he displays a wider variety of Elemental attacks (spheres of lightning and dark Astral Energy, Firing Ice spikes in a circle, and a circular shockwave of dark Astral energy just to name a few) while Alphen's Sovereign Powers the are restricted Mostly to Flaming Edge Artes, and dark is the only element he can't use.
  • Since Vholran went through the Sovereign process centuries after Alphen, it's possible the Helganquil refined it to give the Sovereign better control over all elements.
  • For the Astral arts thing, he probably just doesn’t know how to do them. Not that he isn’t able to.