OOC: Character Information Part 2
Canon History: Emil supposedly grew up a normal boy with his parents in Palmacosta. The world was in decline, running out of mana to support the world, but there was a way to reverse it: if the Chosen of Regeneration, sixteen-year-old Colette Brunel, successfully went on a journey to regenerate the world, everything would flourish.
The Chosen along with her friend Lloyd Irving and a number of other companions reunited their world, Sylvarant, with another world called Tethe’alla, which had been split apart from Sylvarant millennia ago and existed parallel to it since in competition for limited mana. Lloyd and his friends solved the mana problem by planting a new World Tree to supply enough mana for the united world.
The now-merged world suffered through natural disasters and drastic weather changes, while tension developed between the Sylvaranti and the more technologically advanced Tethe’allans. A group calling themselves the Vanguard formed to defend Sylvaranti people from their Tethe’allan “oppressors.” Around a year or two after the worlds reunited, Lloyd Irving and the Church of Martel still strong in Tethe’alla were blamed for a Palmacosta massacre in pursuit of the Vanguard that became known as the Blood Purge. Lloyd killed Emil’s parents in the Blood Purge after they told him to escape to his aunt in Luin, and in the time since he never forgave Lloyd.
Luin was miserable. Because Lloyd had helped to save and rebuild Luin in the past the people of Luin worshipped Lloyd as their hero. Emil, the only one who believed Lloyd wasn’t the hero they thought he was, was ostracized and considered sympathetic to the Vanguard. Timid and friendless, he was a prime target for bullies and his relatives’ harsh words-at least, until six months after the Blood Purge when he met Richter, a man looking for a girl with a jewel on her forehead. Richter told Emil to stand up for himself, and his words resonated with Emil throughout the game: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.”
Lately Emil had been hearing a strange howl, and in pursuit of it he defied his uncle’s orders and ventured outside. While trying to fend off a monster he met Marta Lualdi, the girl Richter had been looking for. Marta recognized Emil and was smitten with him because she believed that he’d saved her in the past, though Emil didn’t recognize her. Marta went off into the caves, while Emil notified Richter that he’d seen her.
Accompanying Richter to the caves, they came to a door. Richter went inside, telling Emil to stay, but Emil entered anyway after hearing Marta screaming and found Richter about to kill her. Richter claimed Marta was trying to awaken Ratatosk, the “demon lord” who would destroy the world. Marta denied it and Emil sided with her, distracting Richter so she escaped. Richter left and summoned a creature to keep Emil trapped in the room meanwhile.
The Centurion Tenebrae appeared to him, explaining that the only way out was to forge a pact with Ratatosk and accept his power in battle. Emil realized that the howling he’d been hearing had been Tenebrae’s, and after hearing that Marta had wanted Emil to become her knight he made the pact. He gained new abilities in battle, fighting with a ferocity he would have otherwise never had. Tenebrae later showed Emil how to make pacts with monsters, which would help strengthen both Emil and Ratatosk.
They found Richter already injured, naming Lloyd Irving responsible before passing out. Emil didn’t want to just leave him, since even though he was after Marta Richter had helped Emil out before, so he fetched help before going to catch up with Tenebrae.
They found Marta attacked by Lloyd, who pummeled them and took what Tenebrae identified as Lumen’s core. Marta was again grateful to Emil for saving her, knowing that he’d become a Knight of Ratatosk for her sake. Tenebrae and Marta began explaining: cores were basically Centurion eggs, and the jewel on Marta’s forehead was actually Ratatosk’s core. Ratatosk had reverted to his core form when the worlds were split in two, as a Summon Spirit of the old Great Tree and the lord of all monsters. Ratatosk’s dormancy was the cause of the natural disasters and to awaken him they had to find and awaken all the cores of his Centurion servants.
Back in Emil found out that Marta had been a Vanguard member but ran away with Ratatosk’s core. Church soldiers showed up for Marta and the core, claiming Lloyd’s authority. When Emil accused her of bringing trouble (first Palmacosta and now all Luin would die because of her) Marta went to give them the core-which was when Tenebrae told Emil that removing the core before its time would kill Marta, meaning that he’d essentially sent Marta to her death. Emil went to stop Marta from sacrificing herself despite knowing it could have social repercussions.
After fighting the soldiers the side of Emil possessed by Ratatosk’s power-angrier, more aggressive, near berserk at times-fully manifested itself for the first time and the people of Luin grew afraid of Emil. It was partially to protect him from this this that the mayor asked Emil to go seek out Lloyd. Marta and Tenebrae went with him, since their journey meant they all needed to find Lloyd and Marta had, after all, wanted Emil as her Knight whether or not Emil remembered her.
Their journey brought them to Asgard, where they met Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration, who was also pursued by the Vanguard. Through investigations of mysteriously strong winds caused by the core of the Centurion Ventus, they and Colette became friends. They told Colette about their beliefs about Lloyd, who was willing to believe them despite trusting Lloyd too. Colette eventually left on her own to search for Lloyd.
Emil and Marta left for Iselia, Lloyd’s hometown, and Emil had visions of Richter trying to kill him. He encountered Richter in Palmacosta, and it turned out Richter was in the Vanguard too. Despite their opposing sides Richter defended Emil in front of Alice, a sadistic Vanguard member, and told Emil to forget the Centurions’ cores because he would get Ratatosk’s core even if it meant Marta’s death. Richter later found Emil with Marta and this time he was prepared to fight, but Zelos Wilder, Tethe’alla’s Chosen, stepped in. Unlike Colette, though, Zelos dismissed what they had to say about Lloyd.
While finding the source of storms blocking their passage they somehow ended up on a shore near Iselia anyway. There just about everybody loved Lloyd and those who didn’t like him (i.e., the mayor) believed in him, which angered Emil. A remark from Marta finally prompted Emil to tell her that he was tired of her treating him like her knight in shining armor-he didn’t remember her from Palmacosta and he certainly couldn’t be the brave hero she wanted him to be.
Things got awkward after that, and as they headed out to the human ranch to help Raine, Lloyd’s former teacher and companion, find a missing boy Marta had a talk with Emil while he was possessed by Ratatosk. A split between Emil and Emil while under Ratatosk’s power became more apparent; the latter referred to his “normal” self as a pathetic coward. When Marta defended him Emil returned to his normal self, and they both apologized to each other. Marta began making an effort to not push herself on Emil, and Emil found that he actually missed it.
After finding the boy and returning to Iselia they talked with Raine, but her objective view regarding Lloyd’s involvement with Palmacosta angered Marta because if anybody accused Emil of such things she would have defended him to the end. Emil realized that people believed in Lloyd for the same reason-he was their trusted friend, so naturally they would defend him.
Raine already knew a little about who they were and what they sought from Colette. After hearing the rest they were directed towards the Triet Ruins for Lloyd. Inside the ruins they came upon Raine’s younger brother, Genis, who’d been following Lloyd on his own. They theorized that each core was around the locations where Lloyd and his friends had found Summon Spirits in the past.
Marta dubbed Ratatosk’s possession of Emil “Ratatosk Mode” after one of Raine’s quirks (it was like Emil was an entirely different person, something the “normal” Emil hadn’t been aware of), and it caught on. After they found and awakened Ignis’ core Lloyd showed up. He demanded the core and refused to explain himself, but left without it.
Raine gave Marta directions to the Summon Spirits so they could find the remaining Centurions’ cores. On the way Emil encountered Richter while alone and had visions of Richter trying to kill him again. Richter told him that it was just dreams and that he should to get back to Marta and rest. Fighting would be for another day.
In Izoold they met Regal Bryant, another of Lloyd’s former companions and president of the giant Lezareno Company, accused of arson. They set out to prove his innocence and after Regal was free Raine and Genis went on to Flanoir to find out more about Lloyd while Emil and Marta stayed back with Regal to investigate the fires. When they reached Flanoir, it had just been attacked by Lloyd. While looking for any injured Emil met a man named Decus, who forced some foul-smelling cologne on him.
They went to the Temple of Ice for the next core, where they saw Raine and Genis and gave them news of Flanoir. They reasoned that Lloyd’s actions could be a result of contact with the cores, which could drive people insane. The Sages reported that a merchant had already taken Glacies’ core, so they split up again: Raine and Genis would look for Lloyd in Meltokio to the south while the others got the core.
While pursuing the core Emil and the others realized they’d been tricked. The trap was sprung: Marta was lured away and the Vanguard ambushed Emil and Regal. When they found Marta again she was under attack from Richter, who killed her and took the core. Or not, because to Emil’s great relief Marta had been saved by Sheena, another of Lloyd’s companions who’d transformed a fake Marta to fool Richter.
Sheena fell into a random pit (yes, seriously) and while looking for her Marta thanked Emil for being concerned for her earlier: she’d thought Emil would be glad she was gone. Emil told her he regretted his words in Iselia about her trying to make him who she wanted him to be, and Marta admitted that her perception of him had changed since then from a fearless knight to a scared boy who was still brave enough to give his all to protect her anyway. She loved him even more for that, but was willing to let him be if he wanted.
They found Sheena with Alice and Decus, the man Emil had encountered in Flanoir and another member of the Vanguard-not to mention the perpetrator of the original trap. They managed to escape and in Flanoir they heard that the core was now in Meltokio. There Alice trapped them with a monster bomb. Tenebrae saved them at his own expense, but Emil went into Ratatosk Mode and heard from the other Centurions that Tenebrae had returned to his core state in the Temple of Darkness.
Emil and the girls went to get Tenebrae’s core, and found it along with Richter. As they fought, Emil (who’d been in Ratatosk Mode for an unusually long time) unleashed Ain Soph Aur, a powerful attack that seemed to make Richter realize something and warn Emil to cease being a Knight of Ratatosk. Emil, still ruthless and out to kill Richter, didn’t listen and unleashed a second attack that Richter deflected. Marta jumped in front of him and took the blast. The energy, enough to destroy the entire temple, managed to knock Emil out anyway and he awoke by himself with Tenebrae’s core.
When he found Marta she brought up his time in Ratatosk Mode, and Emil got angry because everyone wanted him to be his normal self despite his cowardice. After concluding that they might like it better if he disappeared, Emil returned to his “normal” self, though his memory of everything that had happened was hazy. Once he was awake Marta managed to hatch Tenebrae and Sheena said Richter was still alive, which relieved Emil. Ratatosk Mode Emil had been out to kill Richter, but “normal” Emil didn’t want Richter to die.
They met up with Regal again, who’d identified the buyer of Glacies’ core: Seles Wilder, the sister of Zelos Wilder. Unfortunately Lloyd kidnapped her and escaped into the streets. Emil encountered Zelos again and they saw Lloyd running by with an unconscious Seles, but Zelos denied that it was Lloyd because Lloyd wouldn’t do that and he certainly wouldn’t wear bad cologne. Recognizing the trademark of Decus’ Eau de Seduction, Marta and Emil realized that it could have been Decus in disguise.
They got news that an aircraft had been seen flying south-probably to Cape Fortress, a Vanguard base. As they headed out Emil apologized to Lloyd’s friends for his accusations, because there was as much chance that everything had been Decus all along as there was that Lloyd had been responsible and he wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
At Cape Fortress they found Lloyd fighting…Lloyd. Once Decus was revealed as the fake he confirmed that he had been behind Palmacosta and Alice revealed that the Vanguard’s leader, Commander Brute, was Marta’s father
Richter appeared, and this time he was out to kill Emil. He was about to deal the killing blow when Emil pleaded with him. Richter was unable to do it, releasing Emil and mentioning a name: Aster. He left, leaving Emil with no clue as to what the name meant.
Lloyd still refused to answer any questions, though by then they’d figured that he’d been collecting cores while Decus posed as him to commit crimes. When Emil suggested working together Lloyd demanded that Emil give him all the cores they had, but they refused and he left again.
They went to the Temple of Earth to see if Solum’s core was still there (Tenebrae believed that it could be in Decus' hands), but the temple was closed due to earthquakes. Marta awakened Glacies’ core there, and Emil passed out. When he awoke he was in Ratatosk Mode again, something Marta noted hadn’t happened outside of battle for a while. They talked and Marta said that Emil in Ratatosk Mode was Emil too, so she didn’t mind him around. After thanking her Emil changed back to the “normal” Emil, who had no memory of what had just happened.
They went to the Temple of Lightning, which was also closed. When the guards handled Marta roughly Emil went into Ratatosk Mode and nearly killed one of them before the others stopped him. The director of the Imperial Research Academy came and told them that the temple was restricted access, but they could talk later at the Academy in Sybak if it was for a good cause. He recognized Emil’s appearance, but dismissed it when asked.
In Sybak the researchers too recognized Emil as looking exactly like Aster, who had been friends with a half-elf-Richter-and killed by him while both were researching Ratatosk. This bothered Emil: Richter could have been as nice as he was to Emil just because he looked like Aster, but then on the other hand it didn’t make sense to be nice to someone who resembled a friend he’d killed. Marta told him that if he trusted Richter she would too, and they went to the inn so Emil could get some rest.
When he woke he found Marta and the others and hid to listen in on their discussion about him and their theories about him: that Emil suffered from a form of amnesia, and that Ratatosk Mode was in fact the true Emil, dormant with his memories. The “normal” Emil was meant to fill in his missing memories. When Emil showed himself Regal assured him he was still Emil, but it was possible he was an amnesiac Aster.
Director Schneider told them that Aster had been a prodigy who began working at the Academy at the age of nine and doing research on summon spirits with Richter. They went out to do an experiment with Ratatosk and Richter returned alone, saying Aster was dead before leaving the Academy. It was indeed possible that he was Aster with amnesia: Aster would have been around Emil’s age had he lived. His relatives in Luin wouldn’t have known, since they’d never seen Emil before Palmacosta.
There was one way to know for sure, though: another researcher currently in the Temple of Lightning, Rilena, had known Aster well. They went back to the Temple and found notes relating to Ratatosk research, which researchers identified as Rilena’s. Rilena herself was possibly in danger: she was further in the temple, and the Vanguard had invaded.
They found Rilena with Decus, who attacked Emil. Emil asked his other self for help and his Ratatosk Mode side took over, opening a portal that sucked both Decus and Rilena in. The whole thing had come from Ratatosk so he had no idea how he’d done it, and he didn’t care as long as they could get on with the search for the core-which was when Marta slapped him, disgusted with his disregard for Rilena’s safety.
According to Tenebrae the technique was similar to one Ratatosk used to return Centurion cores to their altars, so Rilena and Decus were probably at the altar in either the Temple of Earth or Lightning. Since they were already in the Temple of Lightning, they continued on but found nobody. They took the core and awakened it, and headed back to talk to Director Schneider.
Marta still pointedly ignored Ratatosk Mode Emil for his callousness, which honestly hurt his feelings. In another argument Marta said that Emil in Ratatosk Mode “wasn’t Emil at all” because the “real” Emil would never have given up on saving Rilena. Ratatosk Mode Emil was angry: the “real” Emil called on him to fight whenever he got too scared, and everyone chose that Emil over him because he was the nicer, softer Emil. He was tired of endlessly helping the side that got all the friendship and praise at his own expense. The fight ended very awkwardly at that point.
Director Schneider told them Richter had been calling Ratatosk a demon lord ever since he returned without Aster: a misnomer, since Ratatosk was a summon spirit and to be called a demon lord meant association with Niflheim, the demonic realm. Rilena’s notes said that Ratatosk was the guardian of the Ginnungagap, protecting the door to Niflheim and preventing the demons from entering their realm.
As they left for the Temple of Earth another researcher noted the similarities between the core on Marta’s forehead and Exspheres, which could be highly dangerous to the wearer. Marta felt fine, but it worried her to the point where Ratatosk Mode Emil put on a mostly convincing act of “concerned normal Emil” to try to help her feel better. Marta saw through his act but thanked him and apologized for what she’d said. Ratatosk Mode Emil was a nice person too; he just needed to stop being careless with others.
Ratatosk Mode Emil denied it when she was out of hearing range. When Tenebrae asked if his memory had returned, he told Tenebrae that he’d start sticking to fights only again and that he’d be counting on Tenebrae to protect Marta if the “normal” Emil failed. He returned to normal, and the others briefed him on what had happened since the Temple of Lightning. (In the journal, he notes that reading about Marta’s argument with him in Ratatosk Mode made him consider the selfishness of forcing his Ratatosk Mode self to do all the fighting as he had in the Temple of Lightning, as if he were running away.)
They met Rilena, who told them Richter had taken his and Aster’s research and left following Aster’s murder. She spoke of a birthmark Aster had had, and Emil identified it as his own. It seemed that Emil really was Aster-which, Marta told him, didn’t change who Emil was now.
The altar was empty: Decus had Solum’s core, all right. They found an entrance from the temple into an Exsphere mine owned by Lezareno. Since it was meant to have been rendered inaccessible they went to Altamira so Regal could inform others of this, but the Vanguard attacked Altamira claiming Lezareno had kidnapped Marta. If they didn’t give up Marta, they would blow up Altamira.
Marta went to give herself up, but it wouldn’t do any good for the Vanguard to take Ratatosk’s core and it was Marta besides, so Emil, Regal, and Sheena planned an operation to rescue Marta and stop the Vanguard. They encountered Commander Brute, Marta’s father, who had Solum’s core and was too strong for them to overpower. They did manage to save Marta and nullify the bomb threat, though, so they fled and when cornered Regal stayed behind at the last minute to allow the others to escape.
They encountered Presea, another of the heroes of world regeneration who had come to help the Altamira situation. Sheena left to attend to things as her position as chief of the ninja village Mizuho, and Presea escorted Emil and Marta to shelter. The Vanguard found them, and the commander they fought told them the Vanguard had launched major uprisings all over the world. In Mizuho, Raine and Genis confirmed this information and planned on going after Brute: without their leader the Vanguard would likely lose momentum and fail. Emil and Marta were to stay behind in Mizuho, and Marta’s unsettled compliance concerned Emil.
Emil questioned Marta’s decision to stay as both his normal self and as himself in Ratatosk Mode, telling her that ever since they’d met Marta had been running from the Vanguard and her father in hopes that hatching Ratatosk’s core would make the Vanguard stop while refusing to acknowledge that collecting all the cores now meant taking Solum’s core from her father. Finally Marta realized that she did have to face her father, using Emil’s magic words: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.”
They began the raid and split up in the basement, Raine and Genis in one group and Marta and Emil in the other. The latter two encountered Alice, who begged them for help making Decus come to his senses after Solum’s core drove him insane. It turned out to be a trap, and Emil lost Marta. Alice left Emil locked in a room with Decus, who in fact really was insane-but luckily Colette and Zelos stumbled in and helped him out.
Eventually they found Marta and went to face her father, defeating him in battle and hatching Solum’s core. After that he came to his senses, acknowledging his crimes. To Emil he said that it wasn’t the end: Richter had helped organize the Vanguard for his own ends, giving Brute Solum’s core and planting ideas of grandeur inside his head. He strained himself trying to talk, Raine’s healing arts the only thing keeping him alive long enough to get a doctor’s care.
They found Lloyd facing off against Richter, and when Emil in Ratatosk Mode pulled another Ain Soph Aur Richter repelled it again, remarking that it was unmistakable: Emil was indeed Ratatosk. Lloyd turned out to know already, but fought against Richter as Emil’s friend.
Emil recovered a memory: Richter and Aster coming to ask Ratatosk to restore the balance of mana in the world, Ratatosk planning to destroy mankind in the belief that letting them live would only destroy the new World Tree, and then killing Aster and subsequently being killed by Richter in revenge, reverting Ratatosk to his core form. Though Emil himself hadn’t exactly been responsible for Aster’s death, he still felt guilty knowing that he had killed Richter’s friend when he only had the best of intentions.
He passed out and woke the next day. Now that the enemy knew this time Tenebrae made no effort to hide the fact that Emil was indeed Ratatosk, having put a fake core on Marta’s forehead to attract attention away from the real core (a thought that horrified Emil as he was). Brute asked to see him, speaking more about Richter and how he’d organized the Vanguard into what it was currently. Even if Brute ordered it to disband, those loyal to Richter would remain. Richter himself was supposedly on his way to the Otherworldly Gate to reach the Ginnungagap.
Lloyd took Emil and the others to see Yuan, the World Tree’s guardian. Yuan confirmed that Emil was indeed Ratatosk, who planned to destroy mankind. He and Lloyd had planned to seal Ratatosk in the Ginnungagap, which they would have needed the cores for, but they believed that Emil wasn’t a false persona but Ratatosk’s kindness and conscience and able to resolve things peacefully. A reunification between Emil’s and Ratatosk’s personalities, however, would have untold consequences, so they went to the Martel Temple in Iselia to speak to the Summon Spirit of Heart, Verius.
In Iselia Verius said he would protect Emil’s spirit in the way he wished-but he would have to come to a decision first. Emil didn’t want to just get rid of Ratatosk, because he was just as much a part of Emil as Emil himself. As they left the temple Mode Emil emerged to fighting off demons trying to get through the door to their world. Without all his Centurions, Ratatosk wasn’t strong enough for the task so he grabbed Lumen’s core from Lloyd and hatched it before anyone could stop him.
Emil had another flashback, this time of Palmacosta when Marta awakened his core. Ratatosk put a fake core on her forehead as Tenebrae had said and assumed Aster’s body. His new form had no memories or knowledge of who he was, so when it encountered the mother of the true Emil (already dead) and her failing sight caused her to think her son was before her, the persona and memories of Emil Castagnier were created to make up for the lack of true ones.
Emil faced off with Ratatosk’s personality, countering Ratatosk’s arguments that only returning to full strength would stop the door from opening with his own plan: stop Richter, and then have his friends “kill” him. This would return him to core form and effectively lock the door to Niflheim. It meant that he would lose himself, in a way, but Emil believed it was a fitting atonement for Aster’s murder. With Verius’ help he sealed away Ratatosk’s personality, taking on the role and responsibility as the Summon Spirit Ratatosk himself.
Everyone decided to head for the Ginnungagap next to stop Richter, but first everyone split up to attend to personal business before what would most likely be the final battle. Emil went around to see the world one last time and finally returned to Luin to face his aunt and uncle. They awkwardly reconciled, and though Emil believed that he would never get to go back he at least knew he was still welcome there.
He met with Marta that night in Altamira, talking about their plans for the future: Marta planned to help bring peace to Tethe’alla and Sylvarant in a way different from the Vanguard, but Emil would have to stay back and guard the door. Marta didn’t want to lose Emil and seemed hurt that he could be so calm. Feeling just the opposite, Emil fumbled out a love confession and they kissed. Even if they were apart, he said, she would always be in his heart.
They went to the Ginnungagap the next day, and Lloyd and his friends were teleported because of an ancient trap Ratatosk had set in the past. While looking for them Emil and Marta found Alice and Decus looking for them, seeking to kill. Emil and Marta killed both instead with heavy regrets (Alice and Decus had died for each other, something Marta noted wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the Vanguard) and continued on.
After finding Lloyd and the others Aqua appeared, stalling for Richter. She told them his plan: make a deal with the demons for their power and Aster’s resurrection in exchange for killing Ratatosk and allowing the demons to invade the world. Aqua tried to fight but they defeated her, returning her to core form. Feeling it would be cruel to hatch her right then, Emil entrusted the core to Marta.
Finally they confronted Richter, almost too late: he’d already opened the door. They defeated him but didn’t kill him, and when Emil began working on keeping the demons back Richter offered him the Sacred Stone, which would turn Emil’s mana into flames toxic to the demons. Richter had been planning to use it along with the Chosen’s Cruxis Crystal to make himself an immortal lock on the door after killing Ratatosk and reviving Aster.
Emil then initiated his plan: pretending that Ratatosk’s personality had managed to take over again at the last minute, he provoked Lloyd and Marta into a fight. Just as Marta was about to kill him, though, his act slipped and she realized it was really Emil. Tenebrae explained how Emil had planned to have them “kill” him in atonement for killing Aster-and, Emil added, sealing away Ratatosk’s personality too because that wasn’t any better than killing him and Emil had no right to a peaceful life after what he’d done.
Marta and the others convinced him not to do it, Marta supplying the magic words: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.” Emil confronted Ratatosk’s personality again, showing him that both of them had changed since they first started out. Both knew each had learned from and needed the other and out of respect for Emil’s courage Ratatosk agreed to lend Emil his strength.
Trusting Ratatosk, Emil awakened Aqua's core and made a pact with her, restoring Ratatosk to full strength and, he believed, returning him to who Ratatosk was meant to be. Ratatosk's job wasn’t done, though: the door had already been forced open by Richter, who was willing to seal the door as planned. Ratatosk offered to help by rewriting the laws of the natural world so that eventually living things would no longer need mana, and the mana would be redirected to maintain the seal.
His next step was to seal the Ginnungagap’s entrance so that nobody could ever enter again. Everybody said their goodbyes and left; Marta was last, telling him she would always love him. For a brief moment Emil returned to his former “normal” self to return her feelings before the sealing ritual was complete. It would take a thousand years to draw all mana out of the world’s life forms, during which Richter would remain in the Ginnungagap (even without a Cruxis Crystal half-elves could live for a thousand years) and help guard the door.
In the meantime Richter brought up a new possibility: offering himself as an energy source, Ratatosk could separate himself into his core form and into his physical form and Emil could live out a full life outside of the Ginnungagap. Verius and the Centurions were willing to help, so eventually Ratatosk accepted and soon Emil reunited with Marta in Altamira.
Other notes:
* The mun would like to note that due to some overleveling, while playing the game she and her brother used two monsters in their main party instead of Lloyd or other returning playable characters (compared to various Youtube gameplay videos which employ the characters). This shouldn't really affect anything ICly except maybe a few more references to monsters.
→ deviations
Crux: Commander Brute was fatally wounded and died in the battle for Solum’s core.
Tangent: Marta and Emil were devastated by Brute’s death-he had, after all, been Marta’s father, and in the end when Solum’s core was hatched he’d returned to his former self again only to give them each a few last words and die.
They pushed on for the remainder of the journey nevertheless, albeit with heavy hearts, knowing that they had to stop Richter and protect the door to Niflheim or else everything would be in vain. When it was done Emil/Ratatosk was ever more reluctant to allow himself a full and peaceful life, because he’d killed not only Aster but also Brute and Decus-and that was only directly.
By the time he decided to accept Richter’s proposal and Ratatosk was split into Emil and his core form again, it was too late. Marta was facing her sentence as a member of the Vanguard, and without either of the two most important members (i.e., Brute and Richter) around political pressure dumped the blame on the leader’s daughter. It was only through Marta’s deeds on their journey and her friends’ appeals (Lloyd and his friends were, after all, very prominent figures and Zelos especially had a lot of influence with the king) that she was given just a few years in prison.
Emil managed to see Marta a few times, but because of their circumstances and the lingering feelings over Brute’s death their reunions were bittersweet. He began trying to help promote peace between Sylvarant and Tethe’alla as he and Marta had spoken about in Altamira, but his heart wasn’t in it and his friends could all see something was bothering him. Eventually they convinced him to take a break for a while (adding an element of friendly coercion), and someone suggested a city known for fresh starts and a chance to regain perspective: Soeldei.
Allegiance: The Legion
Reason: Emil’s life before becoming a Knight of Ratatosk was largely unremarkable, while once he did make the “pact” fighting and combat became an important part of his life because he needed to protect Marta and help collect the cores. Though his training was more free-for-all and learn-as-you-go rather than militant, the idea of the Legion feels more familiar than any other of the Soeldei factions would upon his arrival and Emil would most likely reach out for that.
The Chosen along with her friend Lloyd Irving and a number of other companions reunited their world, Sylvarant, with another world called Tethe’alla, which had been split apart from Sylvarant millennia ago and existed parallel to it since in competition for limited mana. Lloyd and his friends solved the mana problem by planting a new World Tree to supply enough mana for the united world.
The now-merged world suffered through natural disasters and drastic weather changes, while tension developed between the Sylvaranti and the more technologically advanced Tethe’allans. A group calling themselves the Vanguard formed to defend Sylvaranti people from their Tethe’allan “oppressors.” Around a year or two after the worlds reunited, Lloyd Irving and the Church of Martel still strong in Tethe’alla were blamed for a Palmacosta massacre in pursuit of the Vanguard that became known as the Blood Purge. Lloyd killed Emil’s parents in the Blood Purge after they told him to escape to his aunt in Luin, and in the time since he never forgave Lloyd.
Luin was miserable. Because Lloyd had helped to save and rebuild Luin in the past the people of Luin worshipped Lloyd as their hero. Emil, the only one who believed Lloyd wasn’t the hero they thought he was, was ostracized and considered sympathetic to the Vanguard. Timid and friendless, he was a prime target for bullies and his relatives’ harsh words-at least, until six months after the Blood Purge when he met Richter, a man looking for a girl with a jewel on her forehead. Richter told Emil to stand up for himself, and his words resonated with Emil throughout the game: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.”
Lately Emil had been hearing a strange howl, and in pursuit of it he defied his uncle’s orders and ventured outside. While trying to fend off a monster he met Marta Lualdi, the girl Richter had been looking for. Marta recognized Emil and was smitten with him because she believed that he’d saved her in the past, though Emil didn’t recognize her. Marta went off into the caves, while Emil notified Richter that he’d seen her.
Accompanying Richter to the caves, they came to a door. Richter went inside, telling Emil to stay, but Emil entered anyway after hearing Marta screaming and found Richter about to kill her. Richter claimed Marta was trying to awaken Ratatosk, the “demon lord” who would destroy the world. Marta denied it and Emil sided with her, distracting Richter so she escaped. Richter left and summoned a creature to keep Emil trapped in the room meanwhile.
The Centurion Tenebrae appeared to him, explaining that the only way out was to forge a pact with Ratatosk and accept his power in battle. Emil realized that the howling he’d been hearing had been Tenebrae’s, and after hearing that Marta had wanted Emil to become her knight he made the pact. He gained new abilities in battle, fighting with a ferocity he would have otherwise never had. Tenebrae later showed Emil how to make pacts with monsters, which would help strengthen both Emil and Ratatosk.
They found Richter already injured, naming Lloyd Irving responsible before passing out. Emil didn’t want to just leave him, since even though he was after Marta Richter had helped Emil out before, so he fetched help before going to catch up with Tenebrae.
They found Marta attacked by Lloyd, who pummeled them and took what Tenebrae identified as Lumen’s core. Marta was again grateful to Emil for saving her, knowing that he’d become a Knight of Ratatosk for her sake. Tenebrae and Marta began explaining: cores were basically Centurion eggs, and the jewel on Marta’s forehead was actually Ratatosk’s core. Ratatosk had reverted to his core form when the worlds were split in two, as a Summon Spirit of the old Great Tree and the lord of all monsters. Ratatosk’s dormancy was the cause of the natural disasters and to awaken him they had to find and awaken all the cores of his Centurion servants.
Back in Emil found out that Marta had been a Vanguard member but ran away with Ratatosk’s core. Church soldiers showed up for Marta and the core, claiming Lloyd’s authority. When Emil accused her of bringing trouble (first Palmacosta and now all Luin would die because of her) Marta went to give them the core-which was when Tenebrae told Emil that removing the core before its time would kill Marta, meaning that he’d essentially sent Marta to her death. Emil went to stop Marta from sacrificing herself despite knowing it could have social repercussions.
After fighting the soldiers the side of Emil possessed by Ratatosk’s power-angrier, more aggressive, near berserk at times-fully manifested itself for the first time and the people of Luin grew afraid of Emil. It was partially to protect him from this this that the mayor asked Emil to go seek out Lloyd. Marta and Tenebrae went with him, since their journey meant they all needed to find Lloyd and Marta had, after all, wanted Emil as her Knight whether or not Emil remembered her.
Their journey brought them to Asgard, where they met Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration, who was also pursued by the Vanguard. Through investigations of mysteriously strong winds caused by the core of the Centurion Ventus, they and Colette became friends. They told Colette about their beliefs about Lloyd, who was willing to believe them despite trusting Lloyd too. Colette eventually left on her own to search for Lloyd.
Emil and Marta left for Iselia, Lloyd’s hometown, and Emil had visions of Richter trying to kill him. He encountered Richter in Palmacosta, and it turned out Richter was in the Vanguard too. Despite their opposing sides Richter defended Emil in front of Alice, a sadistic Vanguard member, and told Emil to forget the Centurions’ cores because he would get Ratatosk’s core even if it meant Marta’s death. Richter later found Emil with Marta and this time he was prepared to fight, but Zelos Wilder, Tethe’alla’s Chosen, stepped in. Unlike Colette, though, Zelos dismissed what they had to say about Lloyd.
While finding the source of storms blocking their passage they somehow ended up on a shore near Iselia anyway. There just about everybody loved Lloyd and those who didn’t like him (i.e., the mayor) believed in him, which angered Emil. A remark from Marta finally prompted Emil to tell her that he was tired of her treating him like her knight in shining armor-he didn’t remember her from Palmacosta and he certainly couldn’t be the brave hero she wanted him to be.
Things got awkward after that, and as they headed out to the human ranch to help Raine, Lloyd’s former teacher and companion, find a missing boy Marta had a talk with Emil while he was possessed by Ratatosk. A split between Emil and Emil while under Ratatosk’s power became more apparent; the latter referred to his “normal” self as a pathetic coward. When Marta defended him Emil returned to his normal self, and they both apologized to each other. Marta began making an effort to not push herself on Emil, and Emil found that he actually missed it.
After finding the boy and returning to Iselia they talked with Raine, but her objective view regarding Lloyd’s involvement with Palmacosta angered Marta because if anybody accused Emil of such things she would have defended him to the end. Emil realized that people believed in Lloyd for the same reason-he was their trusted friend, so naturally they would defend him.
Raine already knew a little about who they were and what they sought from Colette. After hearing the rest they were directed towards the Triet Ruins for Lloyd. Inside the ruins they came upon Raine’s younger brother, Genis, who’d been following Lloyd on his own. They theorized that each core was around the locations where Lloyd and his friends had found Summon Spirits in the past.
Marta dubbed Ratatosk’s possession of Emil “Ratatosk Mode” after one of Raine’s quirks (it was like Emil was an entirely different person, something the “normal” Emil hadn’t been aware of), and it caught on. After they found and awakened Ignis’ core Lloyd showed up. He demanded the core and refused to explain himself, but left without it.
Raine gave Marta directions to the Summon Spirits so they could find the remaining Centurions’ cores. On the way Emil encountered Richter while alone and had visions of Richter trying to kill him again. Richter told him that it was just dreams and that he should to get back to Marta and rest. Fighting would be for another day.
In Izoold they met Regal Bryant, another of Lloyd’s former companions and president of the giant Lezareno Company, accused of arson. They set out to prove his innocence and after Regal was free Raine and Genis went on to Flanoir to find out more about Lloyd while Emil and Marta stayed back with Regal to investigate the fires. When they reached Flanoir, it had just been attacked by Lloyd. While looking for any injured Emil met a man named Decus, who forced some foul-smelling cologne on him.
They went to the Temple of Ice for the next core, where they saw Raine and Genis and gave them news of Flanoir. They reasoned that Lloyd’s actions could be a result of contact with the cores, which could drive people insane. The Sages reported that a merchant had already taken Glacies’ core, so they split up again: Raine and Genis would look for Lloyd in Meltokio to the south while the others got the core.
While pursuing the core Emil and the others realized they’d been tricked. The trap was sprung: Marta was lured away and the Vanguard ambushed Emil and Regal. When they found Marta again she was under attack from Richter, who killed her and took the core. Or not, because to Emil’s great relief Marta had been saved by Sheena, another of Lloyd’s companions who’d transformed a fake Marta to fool Richter.
Sheena fell into a random pit (yes, seriously) and while looking for her Marta thanked Emil for being concerned for her earlier: she’d thought Emil would be glad she was gone. Emil told her he regretted his words in Iselia about her trying to make him who she wanted him to be, and Marta admitted that her perception of him had changed since then from a fearless knight to a scared boy who was still brave enough to give his all to protect her anyway. She loved him even more for that, but was willing to let him be if he wanted.
They found Sheena with Alice and Decus, the man Emil had encountered in Flanoir and another member of the Vanguard-not to mention the perpetrator of the original trap. They managed to escape and in Flanoir they heard that the core was now in Meltokio. There Alice trapped them with a monster bomb. Tenebrae saved them at his own expense, but Emil went into Ratatosk Mode and heard from the other Centurions that Tenebrae had returned to his core state in the Temple of Darkness.
Emil and the girls went to get Tenebrae’s core, and found it along with Richter. As they fought, Emil (who’d been in Ratatosk Mode for an unusually long time) unleashed Ain Soph Aur, a powerful attack that seemed to make Richter realize something and warn Emil to cease being a Knight of Ratatosk. Emil, still ruthless and out to kill Richter, didn’t listen and unleashed a second attack that Richter deflected. Marta jumped in front of him and took the blast. The energy, enough to destroy the entire temple, managed to knock Emil out anyway and he awoke by himself with Tenebrae’s core.
When he found Marta she brought up his time in Ratatosk Mode, and Emil got angry because everyone wanted him to be his normal self despite his cowardice. After concluding that they might like it better if he disappeared, Emil returned to his “normal” self, though his memory of everything that had happened was hazy. Once he was awake Marta managed to hatch Tenebrae and Sheena said Richter was still alive, which relieved Emil. Ratatosk Mode Emil had been out to kill Richter, but “normal” Emil didn’t want Richter to die.
They met up with Regal again, who’d identified the buyer of Glacies’ core: Seles Wilder, the sister of Zelos Wilder. Unfortunately Lloyd kidnapped her and escaped into the streets. Emil encountered Zelos again and they saw Lloyd running by with an unconscious Seles, but Zelos denied that it was Lloyd because Lloyd wouldn’t do that and he certainly wouldn’t wear bad cologne. Recognizing the trademark of Decus’ Eau de Seduction, Marta and Emil realized that it could have been Decus in disguise.
They got news that an aircraft had been seen flying south-probably to Cape Fortress, a Vanguard base. As they headed out Emil apologized to Lloyd’s friends for his accusations, because there was as much chance that everything had been Decus all along as there was that Lloyd had been responsible and he wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
At Cape Fortress they found Lloyd fighting…Lloyd. Once Decus was revealed as the fake he confirmed that he had been behind Palmacosta and Alice revealed that the Vanguard’s leader, Commander Brute, was Marta’s father
Richter appeared, and this time he was out to kill Emil. He was about to deal the killing blow when Emil pleaded with him. Richter was unable to do it, releasing Emil and mentioning a name: Aster. He left, leaving Emil with no clue as to what the name meant.
Lloyd still refused to answer any questions, though by then they’d figured that he’d been collecting cores while Decus posed as him to commit crimes. When Emil suggested working together Lloyd demanded that Emil give him all the cores they had, but they refused and he left again.
They went to the Temple of Earth to see if Solum’s core was still there (Tenebrae believed that it could be in Decus' hands), but the temple was closed due to earthquakes. Marta awakened Glacies’ core there, and Emil passed out. When he awoke he was in Ratatosk Mode again, something Marta noted hadn’t happened outside of battle for a while. They talked and Marta said that Emil in Ratatosk Mode was Emil too, so she didn’t mind him around. After thanking her Emil changed back to the “normal” Emil, who had no memory of what had just happened.
They went to the Temple of Lightning, which was also closed. When the guards handled Marta roughly Emil went into Ratatosk Mode and nearly killed one of them before the others stopped him. The director of the Imperial Research Academy came and told them that the temple was restricted access, but they could talk later at the Academy in Sybak if it was for a good cause. He recognized Emil’s appearance, but dismissed it when asked.
In Sybak the researchers too recognized Emil as looking exactly like Aster, who had been friends with a half-elf-Richter-and killed by him while both were researching Ratatosk. This bothered Emil: Richter could have been as nice as he was to Emil just because he looked like Aster, but then on the other hand it didn’t make sense to be nice to someone who resembled a friend he’d killed. Marta told him that if he trusted Richter she would too, and they went to the inn so Emil could get some rest.
When he woke he found Marta and the others and hid to listen in on their discussion about him and their theories about him: that Emil suffered from a form of amnesia, and that Ratatosk Mode was in fact the true Emil, dormant with his memories. The “normal” Emil was meant to fill in his missing memories. When Emil showed himself Regal assured him he was still Emil, but it was possible he was an amnesiac Aster.
Director Schneider told them that Aster had been a prodigy who began working at the Academy at the age of nine and doing research on summon spirits with Richter. They went out to do an experiment with Ratatosk and Richter returned alone, saying Aster was dead before leaving the Academy. It was indeed possible that he was Aster with amnesia: Aster would have been around Emil’s age had he lived. His relatives in Luin wouldn’t have known, since they’d never seen Emil before Palmacosta.
There was one way to know for sure, though: another researcher currently in the Temple of Lightning, Rilena, had known Aster well. They went back to the Temple and found notes relating to Ratatosk research, which researchers identified as Rilena’s. Rilena herself was possibly in danger: she was further in the temple, and the Vanguard had invaded.
They found Rilena with Decus, who attacked Emil. Emil asked his other self for help and his Ratatosk Mode side took over, opening a portal that sucked both Decus and Rilena in. The whole thing had come from Ratatosk so he had no idea how he’d done it, and he didn’t care as long as they could get on with the search for the core-which was when Marta slapped him, disgusted with his disregard for Rilena’s safety.
According to Tenebrae the technique was similar to one Ratatosk used to return Centurion cores to their altars, so Rilena and Decus were probably at the altar in either the Temple of Earth or Lightning. Since they were already in the Temple of Lightning, they continued on but found nobody. They took the core and awakened it, and headed back to talk to Director Schneider.
Marta still pointedly ignored Ratatosk Mode Emil for his callousness, which honestly hurt his feelings. In another argument Marta said that Emil in Ratatosk Mode “wasn’t Emil at all” because the “real” Emil would never have given up on saving Rilena. Ratatosk Mode Emil was angry: the “real” Emil called on him to fight whenever he got too scared, and everyone chose that Emil over him because he was the nicer, softer Emil. He was tired of endlessly helping the side that got all the friendship and praise at his own expense. The fight ended very awkwardly at that point.
Director Schneider told them Richter had been calling Ratatosk a demon lord ever since he returned without Aster: a misnomer, since Ratatosk was a summon spirit and to be called a demon lord meant association with Niflheim, the demonic realm. Rilena’s notes said that Ratatosk was the guardian of the Ginnungagap, protecting the door to Niflheim and preventing the demons from entering their realm.
As they left for the Temple of Earth another researcher noted the similarities between the core on Marta’s forehead and Exspheres, which could be highly dangerous to the wearer. Marta felt fine, but it worried her to the point where Ratatosk Mode Emil put on a mostly convincing act of “concerned normal Emil” to try to help her feel better. Marta saw through his act but thanked him and apologized for what she’d said. Ratatosk Mode Emil was a nice person too; he just needed to stop being careless with others.
Ratatosk Mode Emil denied it when she was out of hearing range. When Tenebrae asked if his memory had returned, he told Tenebrae that he’d start sticking to fights only again and that he’d be counting on Tenebrae to protect Marta if the “normal” Emil failed. He returned to normal, and the others briefed him on what had happened since the Temple of Lightning. (In the journal, he notes that reading about Marta’s argument with him in Ratatosk Mode made him consider the selfishness of forcing his Ratatosk Mode self to do all the fighting as he had in the Temple of Lightning, as if he were running away.)
They met Rilena, who told them Richter had taken his and Aster’s research and left following Aster’s murder. She spoke of a birthmark Aster had had, and Emil identified it as his own. It seemed that Emil really was Aster-which, Marta told him, didn’t change who Emil was now.
The altar was empty: Decus had Solum’s core, all right. They found an entrance from the temple into an Exsphere mine owned by Lezareno. Since it was meant to have been rendered inaccessible they went to Altamira so Regal could inform others of this, but the Vanguard attacked Altamira claiming Lezareno had kidnapped Marta. If they didn’t give up Marta, they would blow up Altamira.
Marta went to give herself up, but it wouldn’t do any good for the Vanguard to take Ratatosk’s core and it was Marta besides, so Emil, Regal, and Sheena planned an operation to rescue Marta and stop the Vanguard. They encountered Commander Brute, Marta’s father, who had Solum’s core and was too strong for them to overpower. They did manage to save Marta and nullify the bomb threat, though, so they fled and when cornered Regal stayed behind at the last minute to allow the others to escape.
They encountered Presea, another of the heroes of world regeneration who had come to help the Altamira situation. Sheena left to attend to things as her position as chief of the ninja village Mizuho, and Presea escorted Emil and Marta to shelter. The Vanguard found them, and the commander they fought told them the Vanguard had launched major uprisings all over the world. In Mizuho, Raine and Genis confirmed this information and planned on going after Brute: without their leader the Vanguard would likely lose momentum and fail. Emil and Marta were to stay behind in Mizuho, and Marta’s unsettled compliance concerned Emil.
Emil questioned Marta’s decision to stay as both his normal self and as himself in Ratatosk Mode, telling her that ever since they’d met Marta had been running from the Vanguard and her father in hopes that hatching Ratatosk’s core would make the Vanguard stop while refusing to acknowledge that collecting all the cores now meant taking Solum’s core from her father. Finally Marta realized that she did have to face her father, using Emil’s magic words: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.”
They began the raid and split up in the basement, Raine and Genis in one group and Marta and Emil in the other. The latter two encountered Alice, who begged them for help making Decus come to his senses after Solum’s core drove him insane. It turned out to be a trap, and Emil lost Marta. Alice left Emil locked in a room with Decus, who in fact really was insane-but luckily Colette and Zelos stumbled in and helped him out.
Eventually they found Marta and went to face her father, defeating him in battle and hatching Solum’s core. After that he came to his senses, acknowledging his crimes. To Emil he said that it wasn’t the end: Richter had helped organize the Vanguard for his own ends, giving Brute Solum’s core and planting ideas of grandeur inside his head. He strained himself trying to talk, Raine’s healing arts the only thing keeping him alive long enough to get a doctor’s care.
They found Lloyd facing off against Richter, and when Emil in Ratatosk Mode pulled another Ain Soph Aur Richter repelled it again, remarking that it was unmistakable: Emil was indeed Ratatosk. Lloyd turned out to know already, but fought against Richter as Emil’s friend.
Emil recovered a memory: Richter and Aster coming to ask Ratatosk to restore the balance of mana in the world, Ratatosk planning to destroy mankind in the belief that letting them live would only destroy the new World Tree, and then killing Aster and subsequently being killed by Richter in revenge, reverting Ratatosk to his core form. Though Emil himself hadn’t exactly been responsible for Aster’s death, he still felt guilty knowing that he had killed Richter’s friend when he only had the best of intentions.
He passed out and woke the next day. Now that the enemy knew this time Tenebrae made no effort to hide the fact that Emil was indeed Ratatosk, having put a fake core on Marta’s forehead to attract attention away from the real core (a thought that horrified Emil as he was). Brute asked to see him, speaking more about Richter and how he’d organized the Vanguard into what it was currently. Even if Brute ordered it to disband, those loyal to Richter would remain. Richter himself was supposedly on his way to the Otherworldly Gate to reach the Ginnungagap.
Lloyd took Emil and the others to see Yuan, the World Tree’s guardian. Yuan confirmed that Emil was indeed Ratatosk, who planned to destroy mankind. He and Lloyd had planned to seal Ratatosk in the Ginnungagap, which they would have needed the cores for, but they believed that Emil wasn’t a false persona but Ratatosk’s kindness and conscience and able to resolve things peacefully. A reunification between Emil’s and Ratatosk’s personalities, however, would have untold consequences, so they went to the Martel Temple in Iselia to speak to the Summon Spirit of Heart, Verius.
In Iselia Verius said he would protect Emil’s spirit in the way he wished-but he would have to come to a decision first. Emil didn’t want to just get rid of Ratatosk, because he was just as much a part of Emil as Emil himself. As they left the temple Mode Emil emerged to fighting off demons trying to get through the door to their world. Without all his Centurions, Ratatosk wasn’t strong enough for the task so he grabbed Lumen’s core from Lloyd and hatched it before anyone could stop him.
Emil had another flashback, this time of Palmacosta when Marta awakened his core. Ratatosk put a fake core on her forehead as Tenebrae had said and assumed Aster’s body. His new form had no memories or knowledge of who he was, so when it encountered the mother of the true Emil (already dead) and her failing sight caused her to think her son was before her, the persona and memories of Emil Castagnier were created to make up for the lack of true ones.
Emil faced off with Ratatosk’s personality, countering Ratatosk’s arguments that only returning to full strength would stop the door from opening with his own plan: stop Richter, and then have his friends “kill” him. This would return him to core form and effectively lock the door to Niflheim. It meant that he would lose himself, in a way, but Emil believed it was a fitting atonement for Aster’s murder. With Verius’ help he sealed away Ratatosk’s personality, taking on the role and responsibility as the Summon Spirit Ratatosk himself.
Everyone decided to head for the Ginnungagap next to stop Richter, but first everyone split up to attend to personal business before what would most likely be the final battle. Emil went around to see the world one last time and finally returned to Luin to face his aunt and uncle. They awkwardly reconciled, and though Emil believed that he would never get to go back he at least knew he was still welcome there.
He met with Marta that night in Altamira, talking about their plans for the future: Marta planned to help bring peace to Tethe’alla and Sylvarant in a way different from the Vanguard, but Emil would have to stay back and guard the door. Marta didn’t want to lose Emil and seemed hurt that he could be so calm. Feeling just the opposite, Emil fumbled out a love confession and they kissed. Even if they were apart, he said, she would always be in his heart.
They went to the Ginnungagap the next day, and Lloyd and his friends were teleported because of an ancient trap Ratatosk had set in the past. While looking for them Emil and Marta found Alice and Decus looking for them, seeking to kill. Emil and Marta killed both instead with heavy regrets (Alice and Decus had died for each other, something Marta noted wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the Vanguard) and continued on.
After finding Lloyd and the others Aqua appeared, stalling for Richter. She told them his plan: make a deal with the demons for their power and Aster’s resurrection in exchange for killing Ratatosk and allowing the demons to invade the world. Aqua tried to fight but they defeated her, returning her to core form. Feeling it would be cruel to hatch her right then, Emil entrusted the core to Marta.
Finally they confronted Richter, almost too late: he’d already opened the door. They defeated him but didn’t kill him, and when Emil began working on keeping the demons back Richter offered him the Sacred Stone, which would turn Emil’s mana into flames toxic to the demons. Richter had been planning to use it along with the Chosen’s Cruxis Crystal to make himself an immortal lock on the door after killing Ratatosk and reviving Aster.
Emil then initiated his plan: pretending that Ratatosk’s personality had managed to take over again at the last minute, he provoked Lloyd and Marta into a fight. Just as Marta was about to kill him, though, his act slipped and she realized it was really Emil. Tenebrae explained how Emil had planned to have them “kill” him in atonement for killing Aster-and, Emil added, sealing away Ratatosk’s personality too because that wasn’t any better than killing him and Emil had no right to a peaceful life after what he’d done.
Marta and the others convinced him not to do it, Marta supplying the magic words: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.” Emil confronted Ratatosk’s personality again, showing him that both of them had changed since they first started out. Both knew each had learned from and needed the other and out of respect for Emil’s courage Ratatosk agreed to lend Emil his strength.
Trusting Ratatosk, Emil awakened Aqua's core and made a pact with her, restoring Ratatosk to full strength and, he believed, returning him to who Ratatosk was meant to be. Ratatosk's job wasn’t done, though: the door had already been forced open by Richter, who was willing to seal the door as planned. Ratatosk offered to help by rewriting the laws of the natural world so that eventually living things would no longer need mana, and the mana would be redirected to maintain the seal.
His next step was to seal the Ginnungagap’s entrance so that nobody could ever enter again. Everybody said their goodbyes and left; Marta was last, telling him she would always love him. For a brief moment Emil returned to his former “normal” self to return her feelings before the sealing ritual was complete. It would take a thousand years to draw all mana out of the world’s life forms, during which Richter would remain in the Ginnungagap (even without a Cruxis Crystal half-elves could live for a thousand years) and help guard the door.
In the meantime Richter brought up a new possibility: offering himself as an energy source, Ratatosk could separate himself into his core form and into his physical form and Emil could live out a full life outside of the Ginnungagap. Verius and the Centurions were willing to help, so eventually Ratatosk accepted and soon Emil reunited with Marta in Altamira.
Other notes:
* The mun would like to note that due to some overleveling, while playing the game she and her brother used two monsters in their main party instead of Lloyd or other returning playable characters (compared to various Youtube gameplay videos which employ the characters). This shouldn't really affect anything ICly except maybe a few more references to monsters.
→ deviations
Crux: Commander Brute was fatally wounded and died in the battle for Solum’s core.
Tangent: Marta and Emil were devastated by Brute’s death-he had, after all, been Marta’s father, and in the end when Solum’s core was hatched he’d returned to his former self again only to give them each a few last words and die.
They pushed on for the remainder of the journey nevertheless, albeit with heavy hearts, knowing that they had to stop Richter and protect the door to Niflheim or else everything would be in vain. When it was done Emil/Ratatosk was ever more reluctant to allow himself a full and peaceful life, because he’d killed not only Aster but also Brute and Decus-and that was only directly.
By the time he decided to accept Richter’s proposal and Ratatosk was split into Emil and his core form again, it was too late. Marta was facing her sentence as a member of the Vanguard, and without either of the two most important members (i.e., Brute and Richter) around political pressure dumped the blame on the leader’s daughter. It was only through Marta’s deeds on their journey and her friends’ appeals (Lloyd and his friends were, after all, very prominent figures and Zelos especially had a lot of influence with the king) that she was given just a few years in prison.
Emil managed to see Marta a few times, but because of their circumstances and the lingering feelings over Brute’s death their reunions were bittersweet. He began trying to help promote peace between Sylvarant and Tethe’alla as he and Marta had spoken about in Altamira, but his heart wasn’t in it and his friends could all see something was bothering him. Eventually they convinced him to take a break for a while (adding an element of friendly coercion), and someone suggested a city known for fresh starts and a chance to regain perspective: Soeldei.
Allegiance: The Legion
Reason: Emil’s life before becoming a Knight of Ratatosk was largely unremarkable, while once he did make the “pact” fighting and combat became an important part of his life because he needed to protect Marta and help collect the cores. Though his training was more free-for-all and learn-as-you-go rather than militant, the idea of the Legion feels more familiar than any other of the Soeldei factions would upon his arrival and Emil would most likely reach out for that.