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Character Name: Zelos Wilder
Character Series: Tales of Symphonia
Character Age: 22
Background: "I never wanted to be the Chosen. I spent every moment of my life wishing I could just run away."
Personality: The image that Zelos presents to the outside world is of a shallow, hedonistic playboy. He is attractive and he knows it, often referring to himself as "beautiful," and in the Japanese version he uses the egotistical first-person pronoun oresama. He is highly flirtatious, with levels of flirtation ranging between "charming," "mildly annoying," and "in an American office that would be grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit." He takes it upon himself to nickname the female members of the Tales of Symphonia party according to what he considers their most attractive characteristics; when he first appears, he is surrounded by his groupies from the Meltokio upper class, and the the very gameplay goes out of its way to emphasize Zelos's narcissistic and womanizing nature, giving him the personal character titles of Princess Guard, Gigolo, Narcissist, Pickup Artist, and Casanova. He acts, basically, like an obnoxious drama queen.
This is largely a mask, and its purpose is twofold: it deceives those around him, hiding the real Zelos Wilder from view, and it protects Zelos from getting attached to and being let down by others. The real Zelos Wilder is an intelligent and highly perceptive cynic. All Zelos has ever wanted is a simple life, because his has been nothing but complicated. Since his mother's death and the dying words she left with him, he has grown up believing in the worthlessness of his own life. Because of him, his parents were forced into a loveless marriage. Because of him, his mother became a cold, bitter woman while his father neglected the family for his half-elf mistress. Because of him, his mother was murdered and his sister was locked away in an abbey. Without him, everyone would be happier, and as selfish as Zelos is, as much as he would like to deny it, he does care about the happiness of others.
Compared to Colette, his Sylvaranti counterpart, Zelos is a bitter, selfish coward. Being the Chosen is a gilded cage that isolates those of its office from the rest of the world; they are barely human at best, and yet if their world is ever in decline, they are expected to give up their lives to save a world full of faceless, unfeeling strangers. The only meaning of a Chosen's life is his or her potential death. It is a fate he despises so much, he would rather have died and dumped it on his sister's shoulders, easing his guilt with the grossly mistaken belief that she would be happier that way. In actuality, Seles wanted nothing more than to be a family, but for Zelos, lies are easier than the truth. Such choices would only result in Zelos jerking Seles around for his own convenience; ironically hypocritical, considering Zelos has professed to hating parents who treat their children that way.
Since he was a child, Zelos has been aware of the weight of his status and more: that the religion he serves is a falsified construct founded by a boy who would willingly sacrifice millions to bring his sister back to life. That some people will do anything for power. The royal Tethe'allan court is an awful place for an orphan to grow up, especially when that orphan is second in wealth and power only to the king himself. His mother's death and the petty power plays of courtly life tainted the boy who was once so cheerful and earnest. In order to survive in an environment where he was only seen as a pawn to be used or discarded, Zelos rebelled against the expectations of others, taking on the persona of a decadent playboy and using others in turn. Keep others at an arm's distance, don't get involved in their problems, and don't let yourself care: that way, you don't get hurt. No one is going to help you, so you can only rely on yourself.
Of course, Lloyd Irving changed this. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Lloyd is an open book: easy to read, hiding nothing. He so earnestly believes in the right of each and every person--human, elf, half-elf, Chosen--to live equally. In Lloyd's eyes, every single life has value, even someone of so little worth as Zelos believes himself to be. It's a little sickeningly sweet for a man like Zelos, cynical as he is, to swallow. It takes time, during which Zelos used Lloyd for his own benefit, playing him against others in the hopes that, like a parasite, Zelos would be able to stick himself to the strongest and survive. But those overly genuine, open-hearted idiots got under his skin, and Zelos has found that he wants to believe in Lloyd's idealism.
Now that Zelos has given in to that way of thinking, there is no turning back for him. He made a choice to put his trust in Lloyd, and that trust is absolute and unshakeable. Zelos has committed himself to Lloyd's ideals, putting his neck on the line even though the odds are against them. Lloyd is his friend. Colette is his friend. The other would-be Heroes of World Regeneration are, incredibly and unbelievably, his friends. Around them, he can be himself: a kinda pervy, self-deprecating, mellow guy. In serious moments, Zelos will display an unexpected degree of level-headed maturity. He sees things as they are and will act, surprisingly, as the voice of reason or play devil's advocate. But mostly Zelos goes with the flow and takes things as they come, following his motto: whatever will be, will be.
Abilities: Zelos's fighting skills are beyond the level of the average person in Tales of Symphonia because he equips an Exsphere, which draws out its wearer's latent abilities and boosts them to their maximum potential. Ostensibly this explains the regular gameplay elements such as durability in battle, meaning Zelos is able to take more damage than a normal person. It also allows him to use advanced, more complicated fighting artes in battle.
He is most easily described as a "magic swordsman," meaning he is a swordsman....who uses magic. In Tales of Symphonia, only elves or those with elven blood can use magic. Zelos, however, is human; he is able to get around this handicap because he, like his counterpart Kratos, at some point ingested powdered aionis, a stone suffused with mana. His magic is weak to moderate at best; spellcasting is not and never could be his greatest strength. He has access to only a handful of novice and intermediate tier spells, including three decent healing spells.
Finally, at some point during his tenure with Cruxis, Zelos received a Cruxis Crystal different from the one he was born with, and he used it to undergo the transformation into an angel. How complete his transformation is is never made clear, and he lacks Colette's access to nearly all the angel spells. He is able to manifest a pair of sunset-gold wings that more resemble fairy wings than traditional angel wings, and presumably he is able to fly on them like any other angel, although this is never shown. Like other angels, it is also likely that his senses of sight and hearing are enhanced, but because he has a Key Crest, he does not suffer any of the negative parasitic effects of a Cruxis Crystal (inability to eat, sleep, feel, or speak). The two angel spells he does have access to are Judgment, which is an advanced spell, and Shining Bind, which is Mystic Arte (limit break) level.
Character Series: Tales of Symphonia
Character Age: 22
Background: "I never wanted to be the Chosen. I spent every moment of my life wishing I could just run away."
Personality: The image that Zelos presents to the outside world is of a shallow, hedonistic playboy. He is attractive and he knows it, often referring to himself as "beautiful," and in the Japanese version he uses the egotistical first-person pronoun oresama. He is highly flirtatious, with levels of flirtation ranging between "charming," "mildly annoying," and "in an American office that would be grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit." He takes it upon himself to nickname the female members of the Tales of Symphonia party according to what he considers their most attractive characteristics; when he first appears, he is surrounded by his groupies from the Meltokio upper class, and the the very gameplay goes out of its way to emphasize Zelos's narcissistic and womanizing nature, giving him the personal character titles of Princess Guard, Gigolo, Narcissist, Pickup Artist, and Casanova. He acts, basically, like an obnoxious drama queen.
This is largely a mask, and its purpose is twofold: it deceives those around him, hiding the real Zelos Wilder from view, and it protects Zelos from getting attached to and being let down by others. The real Zelos Wilder is an intelligent and highly perceptive cynic. All Zelos has ever wanted is a simple life, because his has been nothing but complicated. Since his mother's death and the dying words she left with him, he has grown up believing in the worthlessness of his own life. Because of him, his parents were forced into a loveless marriage. Because of him, his mother became a cold, bitter woman while his father neglected the family for his half-elf mistress. Because of him, his mother was murdered and his sister was locked away in an abbey. Without him, everyone would be happier, and as selfish as Zelos is, as much as he would like to deny it, he does care about the happiness of others.
Compared to Colette, his Sylvaranti counterpart, Zelos is a bitter, selfish coward. Being the Chosen is a gilded cage that isolates those of its office from the rest of the world; they are barely human at best, and yet if their world is ever in decline, they are expected to give up their lives to save a world full of faceless, unfeeling strangers. The only meaning of a Chosen's life is his or her potential death. It is a fate he despises so much, he would rather have died and dumped it on his sister's shoulders, easing his guilt with the grossly mistaken belief that she would be happier that way. In actuality, Seles wanted nothing more than to be a family, but for Zelos, lies are easier than the truth. Such choices would only result in Zelos jerking Seles around for his own convenience; ironically hypocritical, considering Zelos has professed to hating parents who treat their children that way.
Since he was a child, Zelos has been aware of the weight of his status and more: that the religion he serves is a falsified construct founded by a boy who would willingly sacrifice millions to bring his sister back to life. That some people will do anything for power. The royal Tethe'allan court is an awful place for an orphan to grow up, especially when that orphan is second in wealth and power only to the king himself. His mother's death and the petty power plays of courtly life tainted the boy who was once so cheerful and earnest. In order to survive in an environment where he was only seen as a pawn to be used or discarded, Zelos rebelled against the expectations of others, taking on the persona of a decadent playboy and using others in turn. Keep others at an arm's distance, don't get involved in their problems, and don't let yourself care: that way, you don't get hurt. No one is going to help you, so you can only rely on yourself.
Of course, Lloyd Irving changed this. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Lloyd is an open book: easy to read, hiding nothing. He so earnestly believes in the right of each and every person--human, elf, half-elf, Chosen--to live equally. In Lloyd's eyes, every single life has value, even someone of so little worth as Zelos believes himself to be. It's a little sickeningly sweet for a man like Zelos, cynical as he is, to swallow. It takes time, during which Zelos used Lloyd for his own benefit, playing him against others in the hopes that, like a parasite, Zelos would be able to stick himself to the strongest and survive. But those overly genuine, open-hearted idiots got under his skin, and Zelos has found that he wants to believe in Lloyd's idealism.
Now that Zelos has given in to that way of thinking, there is no turning back for him. He made a choice to put his trust in Lloyd, and that trust is absolute and unshakeable. Zelos has committed himself to Lloyd's ideals, putting his neck on the line even though the odds are against them. Lloyd is his friend. Colette is his friend. The other would-be Heroes of World Regeneration are, incredibly and unbelievably, his friends. Around them, he can be himself: a kinda pervy, self-deprecating, mellow guy. In serious moments, Zelos will display an unexpected degree of level-headed maturity. He sees things as they are and will act, surprisingly, as the voice of reason or play devil's advocate. But mostly Zelos goes with the flow and takes things as they come, following his motto: whatever will be, will be.
Abilities: Zelos's fighting skills are beyond the level of the average person in Tales of Symphonia because he equips an Exsphere, which draws out its wearer's latent abilities and boosts them to their maximum potential. Ostensibly this explains the regular gameplay elements such as durability in battle, meaning Zelos is able to take more damage than a normal person. It also allows him to use advanced, more complicated fighting artes in battle.
He is most easily described as a "magic swordsman," meaning he is a swordsman....who uses magic. In Tales of Symphonia, only elves or those with elven blood can use magic. Zelos, however, is human; he is able to get around this handicap because he, like his counterpart Kratos, at some point ingested powdered aionis, a stone suffused with mana. His magic is weak to moderate at best; spellcasting is not and never could be his greatest strength. He has access to only a handful of novice and intermediate tier spells, including three decent healing spells.
Finally, at some point during his tenure with Cruxis, Zelos received a Cruxis Crystal different from the one he was born with, and he used it to undergo the transformation into an angel. How complete his transformation is is never made clear, and he lacks Colette's access to nearly all the angel spells. He is able to manifest a pair of sunset-gold wings that more resemble fairy wings than traditional angel wings, and presumably he is able to fly on them like any other angel, although this is never shown. Like other angels, it is also likely that his senses of sight and hearing are enhanced, but because he has a Key Crest, he does not suffer any of the negative parasitic effects of a Cruxis Crystal (inability to eat, sleep, feel, or speak). The two angel spells he does have access to are Judgment, which is an advanced spell, and Shining Bind, which is Mystic Arte (limit break) level.