✖ 000 ✖ application
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CHARACTER
Name: [AU/OU] Emil Castagnier/Ratatosk *note that for this application, I will sometimes refer to the two of them as Ratatosk when describing general aspects of the character, to prevent confusion, and also because it has been established that the base personality was, in fact, Ratatosk.
Series: Tales of Symphonia 2: Dawn of the New World
Canon: Ratatosk will be taken shortly after the doors to the Ginnungagap were sealed for all eternity; in other words, post-series.
Age: Technically, Ratatosk is over 10,000 years old, and Emil is, give or take, two years old six months, personality-wise. If judging age by their appearance, though, Ratatosk - in his current form - appears to be 16.
Gender: Currently, Ratatosk is posing to be a healthy teenaged boy. He is, however, originally asexual, or... in other words, he can pretty much be whatever the hell he wants to be.
Profession: Igura Participant
History:
In the beginning, there was Ratatosk, the Lord of Monsters, and the original guardian and Summon Spirit of the Great Kharlan Tree. This was more than 10,000 years ago, and even before the meteor, Derris Kharlan, came into contact with the world and brought with it all the wonderful complications that eventually led to the withering of the Tree which Ratatosk protected, and the splitting of the world into two.
To deal with the creation of mana that resulted from Derris Kharlan's arrival, Ratatosk created monsters to roam the land, and to regulate it; this is the direct reason for the title "Lord of Monsters". Presumably, Ratatosk was able to maintain the balance of the world for at least several hundred or thousand years after the creation of mana like this. However, Derris Kharlan brought with it not only mana, but elves as well, and as those previously alien beings, gifted with the power of magic and unnaturally long lives, began to mingle with the normal humans of the world, it created yet another complication, one that Ratatosk himself could not have foreseen would eventually bring about his downfall; half-elves. And, truly, he could not have foreseen it at all with the world's two biggest kingdoms, Tethe'alla, and Sylvarant, engaging each other in a full-out war, utilizing mana itself to power its machines of destruction, and eventually straining the Great Kharlan Tree. This was quite possibly where and when Ratatosk's hatred for humans and half-elves began. It was however, more pronounced, and fanned to its full flames when a certain group of young heroes, a team of three half-elves and one human, eventually sought his trust, and his aid, only to turn against him and eventually force him into a slumber that would last 4,000 years.
To split the world into two, to regulate the mana between two worlds, and to force those worlds to constantly thrive off the gradual destruction of the other, like an hourglass, Mithos Yggdrasill - a half-elf - defeated and sealed off Ratatosk and his Centurions.
For 4,000 years, Ratatosk remained asleep, dormant with his Centurions.
And eventually, Mithos Yggdrasill was defeated. The world was restored to its original form. A new Mana Tree was born, blessed with a new name and a new guardian. Ratatosk, as a direct result of the world's reunification, was finally able to awaken. If he was sealed 4,000 years ago by a band of half-elves and a human, he finds himself awakening to the very same combination; a human and a half-elf.
His welcoming committee consisted of two researchers from the Sybak Research Facility; the half-elf Richter Abend, and the brilliant young human, Aster.
The two researchers had come to ask for his help in once again regulating the mana levels in the world. However, Ratatosk, still bitter about the fate he had endured and the exile he was forced to suffer after the betrayal of Mithos Yggdrasill's group, could only think of wiping the humans and the half-elves from the face of the new world. Insignificant things, he called them, and proceeded to demonstrate their insignificance by killing Aster on the spot with a blast of Ain Soph Aur.
He could not have foreseen that this action would provoke the half-elf with Aster, nor could he have foreseen that despite being thousands of years in age, he would be so weakened after being sealed for so long... weak enough to be defeated by mere half-elf, a researcher, who was more suicidal than murderous when he launched himself at Ratatosk.
After being fatally injured, Ratatosk reverted into his core form. At which point, with the Lord of Monsters himself unable to do anything anymore to safeguard his continued existence, especially after the Centurion of Water, Aqua's betrayal, Tenebrae, the Centurion of Darkness, took it into his hands, or more specifically, his tail, to ensure his Master's survival.
It is shortly after these events, which occurred in the Ginnungagap, that Emil Castagnier - or rather the Emil we know from the game - was born.
Centurion cores require an incubation of sorts before the Centurions housed within them can once again take their original forms. Ratatosk, being the Master of these Centurions, function in the same way; when fatally injured, he reverts to his core and is forced into an incubation period.
During the 'Blood Purge' of Palma Costa, that was long assumed to be the result of Lloyd retaliating against the Sylvaranti Liberation Front (the Vanguard), Ratatosk's core finally finishes its incubation stage and the Lord of Monsters, aware of the threat on his existence, subconsciously assumed a form that would ensure the most safety; that of a mere human.
And since the last human Ratatosk had known before reverting into core form was Aster, Ratatosk naturally took on this form. The name and personality Emil Castagnier is one that he takes for himself, subconsciously, when confronted with the real, young, and purely human Emil Castagnier's dying parents. The real Emil Castagnier is assumed to have perished during the Blood Purge.
The events in the game, which begins with Emil embarking on a journey with Marta and Tenebrae as a Knight of Ratatosk, eventually comes to an end at the Ginnungagap, where Emil finally comes to terms with his true identity, and, before sealing off the gate to the Ginnungagap, promises to rewrite the laws of the world to ensure that the world and its inhabitants no longer had to rely on mana to survive.
This decision only comes after the experiences Ratatosk himself, and through both of the personalities that exist within him, has gleaned during the journey. At first, the human emotions Ratatosk had access to were that of hatred, fear, and resentment; hatred because he believed Lloyd had killed his parents, fear because of the constant anger directed at him not only from his supposed only relatives but the inhabitants of Luin as well, and resentment... for his perceived inability to do anything. In their journey for the Centurion cores, and in their pursuit of Lloyd, Ratatosk eventually understands the depth of friendship through Lloyd's friends, who, despite reports of Lloyd's supposed atrocities, display unshakable faith in their friend. He also understands the meaning of love, through Marta's devotion for him, which he eventually returns both as Emil and as Ratatosk. Through it all, Ratatosk gains an insight on humans, and begins to understand how they really are not all that insignificant, or all bad. And that they were worth protecting and allowing to simply live out their lives as they would, to experience all that they could.
Personality:
While Ratatosk himself can be violent, eager to mete out punishment, easily angered, and condescending, Emil, on the other hand, can be the complete opposite. Cowardly at times, shy, naive, and sometimes, painfully kind-hearted, Emil's core personality was borne from Ratatosk's subconscious desire to simply not actively seek out anything that would endanger himself. Of course, Emil's personality undergoes a drastic improvement in his journey with Marta and Tenebrae, and from the extreme self-preservation-based personality that Emil begins with after his 'birth' during the Blood Purge, Emil develops into a dependable young man who, despite his own fears and the many negatives that came from being just a fabricated persona, learns to love and protect those he comes to care for in an almost completely selfless manner. Because Emil himself is an extension of Ratatosk, this growth of character Emil experiences allows Ratatosk's personality to evolve as well, to a point where he begins to understand what compassion and love towards humans, and guilt exactly is.
As the Lord of Monsters, Ratatosk quite possibly holds monsters in a higher regard than humans, elves and half-elves. This trait manifests itself in Emil in the form of unusual compassion towards monsters. Both Ratatosk and Emil, as well, learn to care for Marta greatly.
Third-Person Sample:
"I'm not going to lose!" Emil exclaimed, though it was more to calm his own nerves than to scare the group looking menacingly down at him. He wasn't afraid of them, though; not with Ratatosk promising to return tenfold that murderous intent his new opponents were currently directing at him at the back of his mind. Really, Emil was more worried about dealing more damage than necessary.
"I don't really want to do this," he muttered to himself as he grabbed the hilt of his sword and, glaring at the leader of the group, eased into a defensive stance.
If you don't want to fight, then let me handle this. Ratatosk cut in his mind, sensing the hesitation present in his other self easily.
Emil shook his head. "No, I can still... I'll do this. I'll do my part too." I'll do what I can until I can't...
And then, the sword was out of its hilt, and Emil was launching himself at the nearest opponent.
First-Person Sample Journal Post:
I'm going to get that Royal Flush. That's what I've decided. Even if that might not be the way back home, this place... it's the only thing I can do right now.
I can do this.
... but before that, just what exactly are prostitutes? I tried to ask before but they only gave glared at me...