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[Character Name] Zelos Wilder
[Canon] Tales of Symphonia
[Point Taken from Canon] After he betrays the party, minutes before he dies.
[Age] 23
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Hetero to the max
[Eye Color] Blue
[Hair Color] Red
[Height] 5'10"
[Other] Cruxis Crystal on his upper chest/neck area.
[Clothing] He's just too pretty...
[Background]
Zelos is the Chosen of the flourishing world, Tethe’alla. Essentially, he is a human sacrifice to save the world; to keep the Mana flow strong, by going on a pilgrimage to unlock several, well protected seals. Through this, he is an important figurehead for the Church of Martel as well as a wealthy, well known noble in Meltokio.
He was born into the Mana Lineage. His mother, Mylene, was forced into marrying the current Chosen at that time, Zelos’ father, despite the fact that she was in love with someone else. His father was even courting someone else at that time, cheating if you will. Because of this, Zelos was brought up in a home where he was pretty much neglected, his main caretaker being Sebastian, the family butler.
When Zelos was young, his father’s mistress gave birth to his half-sister, Seles. His father soon completed his task as Chosen, and through this he obtained the position of Tethe’alla’s next Chosen. Seles’ mother, who only wanted the best for her daughter, planned to kill Zelos in hope that Seles would become the next Chosen after he died and live the life of luxury that was denied to her. On this snowy day, Zelos was outside with Mylene just building a snowman. The attack that was meant for Zelos was thwarted by Mylene, who was killed in the process. Her last words to her son were,
You should never have been born.
Touching, right? As Zelos grew older, that phrase played a serious role in his maturing. He blamed himself and his title as Chosen for Mylene’s death and Seles lifelong captivity in the Abby and through that; he adopted a state of severe self-loathing. Growing up parentless in Meltokio, a city where everyone was out for only themselves, he was forced to adopt a likeable façade and lock his true emotions behind it.
Several years before he met Lloyd and the crew, he was approached by Cruxis, the order behind the Church of Martel and the mana lineage. They offered him the abolition of his title as Chosen, offering it to Seles instead, in exchange for his co-operation. His self-loathing and insecurities played a large part here, and he accepted with little hesitation. His co-operation with Cruxis basically had him become a spy, making him forcefully align himself with Lloyd and the party.
Zelos ultimately becomes torn between three parties, between working for Cruxis and their promise to end a large portion of his suffering, helping the Renegades who are opposed to Cruxis and then staying loyal to the group, in which he bonds a great deal with. Depending on what path you take in the game, his loyalties determine his betrayal in the end.
Near the end of their journey, Zelos will betray the party in the Tower of Salvation by luring Colette into a trap set by Yggdrasill. Regardless, he’ll betray the party and fight them but Zelos will be mortally wounded by the party and refuse healing, claiming that he wants to die if Lloyd chooses to speak with Kratos in Flanoir.
He gives Lloyd instruction on how to save Colette, as well as a bit of explanation behind why he wanted to die. He states that he was sick of his life as the Chosen, that he only wanted to live a fun, simple existence. He also says that the added bonus behind his death is that Seles could finally have a life of her own as well. He also asks for his Cruxis crystal to be destroyed before he loses consciousness.
Zelos will wake up in Somarium minutes before his Cruxis Crystal is destroyed.
[Personality]
When someone firsts meets Zelos, they will see a young man acting like an immature child. Zelos is an over-confident, self-absorbed, egotistical person and that is putting it lightly.
He is a very handsome noble in Tethe’alla, his long curly locks of red hair, his deep blue eyes and his bright pink attire…these features all seem to just add to his self-absorbed, narcissistic nature. He is very high on himself, and he always manages to find a way to bring up his obvious good looks in every conversation somehow. This makes him appear very egotistic, which he is. So yeah…
As well, his over-confidence leads him to be seen as a rather brash person. He truly does believe that he is the best, often referring to himself as The Great Zelos Wilder, among other nicknames. It also gives him the idea that he can do almost anything, and get away with it accordingly. This also makes Zelos seem like he underestimates everything by constantly joking around and teasing others. His over-confidence can sometime lead him to be seen as a very selfish person, one who only cares for himself and his own situation. This can also lead to him being excessively rude and critical in certain situations.
He can also be very over-dramatic at times, a legit male drama queen.
Above all though, he is a shameless flirt. If you’re a female, he will hit on you. Not only will he verbally shower any female he sees with love, he will also try his best to get with them, even if that resorts to really shameful things (like peeking in the shower etc.) which as I mentioned earlier, he will take no shame in.
Everything stated above can be classified under the façade he uses to cover up his true emotions. He lost a great deal because of his title as the Chosen so naturally, hidden underneath all of those layers lies the true Zelos, a deeply disturbed young man.
Zelos is actually very critical of himself. He tends to view himself as the reason that his family neglected him, the reason that his mother died and the reason why Seles is miserable. He blames himself for everything that happened and it could be argued that he developed such a fun loving, easy going façade because he could never come to terms with it, and hiding his problems from others and from himself seemed like the only option. It can also be argued that he became such a huge flirt because he received no love as a child, and through maturing without it he grew to crave it.
He is also a very sharp person. He analyzes everything around him and is capable of choosing the best course of action for himself. He is one of the few characters to actually realize when something is important is happening before it is too late. This also leads him to be a very good actor, his ability to analyze a situation, a person and the best course of action to take allow him to fit a desired role perfectly. This is also leads him to be one of the most effective liars in the party.
Zelos also has a softer side. Despite everything, and he develops this much later, he can be a very considerate and selfless at times. He grew up under such harsh conditions, and through this he acts to help others on occasion so that they won’t have to go through anything half as bad. He can recognize when someone is upset, all the practice of hiding his own feelings combined with his ability to read others come into play here.
In short, Zelos is a very complex individual, one that may make him seem pretty moody and hard to get along with at times.
[Specialties/Abilities]
For a complete list of Zelos’ Artes, click here!
Zelos is described as a “magic swordsman.” He uses a short sword (and on occasion a dagger) for quick, stylish close-range combat. As well, he can use a variety of short to long range elemental magic and use basic healing spells. He is able to use magic, something exclusive to those with Elven blood, because he was given an Elven blood transfusion at a young age.
Due to his Cruxis Crystal, he has the ability to form a pair of fragmented Mana wings on his back. These wings allow him to fly short distances, and because he never finished his task as the Chosen, they are much weaker and exhaust more energy to use. Prolonged use can leave a large strain on his body.
[Affection] Zelos will try his damn hardest to get with any girl in Somarium, he may also come off as a bit of a pervert to the younger generation too, but he would never try anything on someone who isn't legal. As well, he is a super pervert, so touching and hugging from him should come as no surprise. Any female is free to try whatever they want on him, he even thinks of a slap to the face as an affectionate gesture sometimes.
He also has no problems hugging a guy, but he has to be like reaaaally tight with them first. He'll go no further or accept nothing further from a dude.
[Fighting] Go ahead and fight with Zelos, his attitude will surely cause him to get into several anyway. He is more than capable of defending himself, he may look like a prissy effeminate pushover, but it'll take a lot to finish him off.
Death? Let's plot it out first! ♥
[Other Facts] TBA