#yuan ka-fai

[arwensarboretum]

Spoilers for Tales Of Symphonia!

Tales of Symphonia thoughts:

This has never occurred to me before and now that it has I am BAFFLED that I never thought of it before: Why are the Chosens humans instead of half-elves?

I know the Half-elves are discriminated against heavily, which would imply that the people of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant wouldn't take kindly to a half-elf with celebrity status, but I still think that being chosen to save the world would probably ingratiate at least those specific half-elves to the community at large, even if it was only during their active journey of regeneration. (We also know that even the human chosen are a bit ostracized because of their positions, so it's possible the average person could still be discriminatory to the chosen) (this would make it harder to the Chosen themselves to have enough positive feelings towards the world to want to save it though, so maybe it was because of that.) The half-elves are generally persecuted because of their long lifespans, but, in the case of the chosen, that wouldn't really be a problem as they begin their journey at age 16 and die at the end of it. The normal reason for discrimination wouldn't apply to a half-elf chosen.

We know that Martel is a half-elf, and that the Chosen of Regenerations serve 2 purposes: 1. to flip the mana hourglass system between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla and 2. to provide a host body for Martel's soul. We know that the body has to be organic (see Tabetha) and empty (see the steps to becoming an angel), and we know that in order for the body to accept Martel's soul, it has to have a similar enough mana signature for the transfer to be possible. We also know that that CAN work on humans as Martel is successfully transferred into Colette's body, but WHY? aren't the Chosen's half elves? Wouldn't that make it easier to find a mana signature that matches instead of selective breeding (which we know happened because of Zelos's parents arranged marriage). There would probably still need to be selective breeding if they were half-elves, but at least the race would match and the vessel body would already have the ability to sense and manipulate mana due to being a half-elf. I think it would be easier and therefore faster to match a body that already is the same race.

It's possible the Cruxis crystal renders that point moot because it messes with the host physically, but we know from Kratos and Zelos that their ability to use magic is NOT from the cruxis crystal (hence why Colette can only use angelic magic while Zelos and Kratos can both use magic that's closer to Genis, Raine and the other elves and half-elves we see in world), they had to eat the stone Aionis in order to gain the ability to use magic. So the magic in the blood thing doesn't apply to humans. (We also see this in Sheena as she is many generations removed, but does have some elven blood which allows her to be a Summoner.)

We know Martel had magic. She was a half-elf. She was the team's healer. In the computer game (I forget its name), we see her use magic. It's also speculated by Raine that maybe the Journey of Regeneration the Chosen have to go on is to test if they are similar to Martel in personality who was self-sacrificial and wanted to save the world. Colette matches her very closely all the way down to their shared illness, so it makes sense that Colette can bear her soul, but why aren't the chosen half-elves? Surely half-elves going on the journey successfully would either already have, or would develop Martel-like traits that would facilitate the transfer, and would make it easier to find a functional body. I don't know if mana signature is affected by race. Maybe it's not and is some personality like thing. Yuan was able to transfer his mana into Kratos to keep him alive (which is a half-elf to human transfer (which itself may or may not be affected by the fact that they are both angels)) so maybe the race of each member doesn't matter at all. But it makes me wonder. Wouldn't it be easier if they were? Maybe that's not how mana works at all? Maybe the mana transfer is facilitated by them being different races? This wondering led to point 2 - which is entirely unrelated to Martel, but instead inspects Mithos and his relation to half-elves and their status through the years.

Mithos has lived 4,000 years as basically the ruler of both worlds. With the Eternal Sword and pacts with all summon spirits, being an angel, a trained swordsman and a powerful caster, he is an unmatched force of power, and is using that power to turn everyone into lifeless beings in order to achieve his sister's goal of ending discrimination. This leads me to some questions.

Why didn't Mithos use his status as the hero of the Kharlan war to improve the position of half-elves in society? This one is kind of tricky as very little is known about the direct aftermath of Martel's death and what happened immediately after they stopped the war vs what we see in the present day with the myth of Mithos the Hero and the goddess Martel, but we know that in the story Mithos is not explicitly a half-elf. It's possible that that changed over time, or that it was edited out by people who were continuously racist against the half-elves, but initially, Mithos could have used his power and leverage as the ender of the war to highlight half-elves and improve their societal standing. It's possible he did, and it simply didn't last the 4,000 years. 4,000 years an incomprehensible amount of time. But I think about it. Especially in the present as the half-elves are almost all members of the Desians. That makes sense from their perspective as it makes more sense to join a group that wants you rather than one that persecutes you, but it perpetuates the idea of "half-elves bad and humans good" and "half-elves good and humans bad" depending on which side of the divide you're on. The rift between them is intensified when it's believed that the desians are killing the Chosens and robbing the worlds of salvation (though we know this to be a plot by Yuan and the renegades, no doubt leveraging the race divide in his favour.) The set up of the system keeps them apart - that's in line with Mithos' beliefs, that people can't change, but it's still an interesting way it's being reinforced. It's possible and even likely that Mithos tried to make these changes a long time ago, but they didn't stick and then he didn't bother to keep trying as the years went by, but the current state of race relations highlights how he isn't using his power to facilitate it at all and is in fact using his power to keep people divided.

2. Why didn't Mithos make the half-elves affluent?

Another question I can only speculate on due to the nebulous information about the 4,000 years. It's possible they were at one point, but the humans despised them for their long lives and waged war against them, took their stuff, ran them off, ect. There are many ways that could have existed and then ended. With the power of Gnome though, Mithos could basically print money for whatever group he wanted and could have sustained the half-elves control over a particular area (which he did for the half-elves of Exire). Even the elves in Ymir protect their forests with magic and guards. It's possible the half-elves, if given a similar set up could have flourish in similar circumstances. It's possible they even did. But in the modern day, only Exire welcomes half-elves (and I'm still not even sure how the half-elves get to Exire? Are Rheiards something people can just get in Tethe'Alla?) (Mithos didn't seem weirded out by Lloyd group having them in Tethe'Alla or Sylvarant (How did he think they got from world to world?) but was alarmed when he learned they got them from the Renegades, so it's possible he thought they got them in Tethe'Alla and that the Renegades brought Lloyd's group through the rift? But Pronyma knew about the crashed Rheiards on Fooji... Maybe she just never told Yggdrasil? Sorry... getting off topic.) and I don't really see why that has to be the case aside from another home was never made for them. It's more than possible that many half-elf settlements existed throughout the millennia and none of them are still standing, but with the power of all the summon spirits and the Eternal Sword, I think it more than likely that Mithos could have built the half-elves another home to live it where they could have peace.

3. Looping back to the point about Martel really quick, WHY didn't Mithos use the Eternal Sword to create a body that could house Martel?

I don't know how the Eternal Sword works at all. I know you need to be a half-elf to use it. I know you can be human and use it with the Ring of the Pact. I know you need to be acknowledged by Origin to use it. I know Yuan says "it can do anything you want it to" basically. I know it was used to split the worlds. All I know is it's incredibly powerful and has the ability to bend/fashion reality to the wielders will. We only ever see it split/reunite the worlds and hold Derris Kharlan close to the planet without destroying it, but if it can manipulate reality, wouldn't it create a body for Martel? Was Mithos not able to use it anymore after breaking his pact with Origin? Was it stuck with certain settings when Origin was sealed and nothing could be done with it afterwards? Yuan planned to use it and kill Kratos to open the seal and claim the sword, so it's possible that it can't be used to do new things which Origin is sealed, but we don't know when Origin was sealed. It could have been used immediately to revive Martel after she was killed. In the PS version, if you talk to Yuan after the Tower of Salvation falls, he talks about the arrival of Derris Kharlan and how after Martel died, they needed to store her in the seed and then wait 200 years for Derris Kharlan to arrive in order to provide enough mana to save the world. I think the plan was to split the world anyways, then use the comet's mana to help the seed grow and reunite the world when the tree was big enough to sustain them both, but when Martel was killed, Mithos used the seed to sustain her instead and then refused to give the seed up when the comet did arrive, but either way, we know the sword was used to split the world and Martel died. If Origin was sealed before Martel died, maybe that was the reason they couldn't use the sword to revive her (at least without killing Kratos), but if Origin wasn't sealed when she died, why not just use it?

Also, side note: Why did everyone decide that killing Kratos was acceptable here? If the sword cannot be used without Origin's acknowledgement and only Mithos has that, that means in order for the wielder to change, you'd need to kill Kratos, meet Origin, have him acknowledge you and then, if you're a half-elf you can wield the sword, and if not you need the ring of the pact. But why did that need to be linked to Kratos's life force? I know Kratos was the best fighter on the team at the time so it's possible no one thought he would be defeated so it was their safest bet, but it's really putting a target on him. Maybe not if no one else KNEW he was the seal and Mithos never thought Yuan or Kratos would betray him, but if Origin needs to be unsealed to use the sword, then Kratos agreeing to help Mithos reunite the worlds after reviving Martel in the wake of Anna's death is equivalent to Kratos agreeing to die so Mithos can use the sword (which is in character at the time for Kratos, but still messed up), but if that's NOT necessary for the Eternal Sword to be used, and Mithos can just do whatever he wants with it still, why doesn't he use it to revive Martel?

The Mithos in the game that we get and his counterpart in the OVA are slightly different. Mithos in the game is entirely focused on bringing back Martel and I find it easier to think he either didn't notice or didn't care much about fixing the rest of the world once he got his systems in place to bring Martel back. He obviously valued her wish, which we see in the Age of lifeless beings - he wanted her to have a world without discrimination, but his goal seems extreme and he seems in favour of that extremity. There's not a lot of nuance to his view, and if he has nuance in his view, it's never explained. In the show, Yggdrasil explicitly tells Lloyd he tried everything to end discrimination and bring back Martel and nothing worked. In a lifespan of 4,000 years that would be a depressing and horrific experience and his age of lifeless beings makes more sense if he tried things I mentioned and more and everything simply didn't work up front or fell away with time and the discrimination continued. It would overtake any hope left after long enough, and Mithos clearly had fallen to apathy about the state of the worlds in the end. It's possible game Mithos did the same and there was simply nothing left to try that he could think of and didn't consider reviving old plans as he believed people can't change. It really brings into perspective how awful it would be.

I don't really have a good closing for this. I had questions and thoughts. If anyone has speculations, feel free to add them. It just makes me think.

[wherefore-whinnies]

[VD: Yuan from Tales of Symphonia is speaking. He says, "Silence! Do you think we'll pass up this opportunity?!" He has a moustache. /End VD]

THE MOUSTACHE IS REAL DOUBTERS GET OUT

[copics-and-renegades]

Whumptober 2024 Masterpost

Despite my overall mental state (which is. bad. lol) I'm still very glad I participated like every year. I would have been so sad not to have done it. :')

Biggest thanks to all the organizers, all the volunteers, all the participants, the tumblr whump community, everyone who liked, reblogged and commented... You are all making this be a very special event. Thank you. (Hey, I'm FEELING something right now, and it's this warm fuzzy feeling of love and gratefulness. That's so nice.)

<3

Fandom is, as always, Tales of Symphonia. Whumpees are, as always, Yuan and Botta of the Renegades. Whumpers vary lol. Will be tagging, as usual, with cw, possibly tropes, characters, if ship, if nsfwhump... If I personally feel it's particularly fucked-up, I'll be dead-doving, too, but still view everything at your own discretion. Lots of warnings for creepy whumper and invading of personal space this year, because "I want to vomit and also crawl out of my skin" is one of the main emotions I currently have access to. ^^"

Thank you all. <3

Whumptober 2022 Masterpost

Whumptober 2023 Masterpost

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Whumptober 2024 - The Complete List

Day 01: Race Against The Clock

Characters: Botta

Content: forced nudity, drowning, death threat, restraints, claustrophobia

Day 02: Trust Issues

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Mithos Yggdrasill

Content: creepy whumper, noncon touching

Day 03: Set Up For Failure

Characters: Botta, Desian Grand Cardinal LORD Magnius

Content: creepy whumper, intimate whumper, pet whump, restraints, torture, humiliation, sexual harassment, burns, collars

nsfwhump

Day 04: Sensory Deprivation

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: forced nudity, restraints, claustrophobia

Day 05: "If My Pain Will Stretch That Far"

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: restraints, torture

Day 06: Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Characters: Botta

Content: autassassinophilia, blood, knives, self-harm, sexual themes

nsfwhump

Day 07: Only For Emergencies

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: living weapon whumpee, blood, wings

Day 08: Used As Bait

Characters: Botta

Content: restraints, overly literal interpretation of the prompt lol

Day 09: “Frame me up on the wall, just to keep me out of trouble.”

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: restraints, humiliation, hostile work environment

Day 10: Blow To The Head

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: restraints

Day 11: Convenience Store

Characters: Botta

Content: blood

Day 12: Cannibalism

Characters: Botta

Content: knives, blood, unhygienic

Day 13: Multiple Whumpees

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Botta, Mithos Yggdrasill

Ship: Yuan x Botta

Content: creepy whumper, noncon touching, noncon kissing, humiliation, restraints, collars

Day 14: “I wear my camo to your favourite club, ‘cause I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted and helpless with no control.”

Characters: Botta, Mithos Yggdrasill

Ship: Yuan x Botta, Yuan x Martel

Content: homophobia, queerbashing, choking

Day 15: Painful Hug

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Botta

Ship: Yuan x Botta

Content: forced nudity, noncon touching, humiliation, restraints, strangulation

Day 16: Vermin

Characters: Botta, Desian Grand Cardinal LORD Magnius

Content: creepy whumper, pet whump, solitary confinement, noncon touching, captivity, humiliation, muzzles, restraints

Day 17: Venom

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Mithos Yggdrasill

Content: creepy whumper, intimate whumper, noncon touching, biting

Day 18: Communication Barrier

Characters: Botta

Content: guns, choking, sexual assault themes, vomit

nsfwhump

Day 19: Blood Trail

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Botta

Ship: Yuan x Botta

Content: blood

Day 20: Emotional Angst

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Botta

Content: sexual assault themes, sexual assault aftermath, trauma, fractured jaw, lashing out

Day 21: Body Horror

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: living weapon whumpee, restraints, body modification, transformation, wings, collars

Day 22: Reopening Wounds

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Mithos Yggdrasill

Content: creepy whumper, sadistic whumper, forced nudity, corporal punishment, humilation, whipping

Day 23: Public Display

Characters: Botta

Content: forced nudity, restraints, humiliation, collars

Day 24: No Light, No Light In Those Bright Blue Eyes (I Never Knew Daylight Could Be So Violent)

Characters: Botta

Content: pre-whump

Day 25: Permanent Smile (Surgery)

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Mithos Yggdrasill

Content: knives, threats, hostile work environment

Day 26: Breakfast Table

Characters: Botta

Content: forced nudity, torture, humilation, captivity, collars

Day 27: Voiceless

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: medical whump, living weapon whumpee, dehumanization, forced nudity, noncon touching, restraints, muzzles

Day 28: Denial

Characters: Botta

Ship: Yuan x Botta (implied)

Content: Modern!AU, defiant whumpee, police brutality, torture, interrogation, restraints

Day 29: Fatigue

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: exhaustion

Day 30: No-Holds-Barred Beatdown

Characters: Botta, Desian Grand Cardinal LORD Magnius

Content: blood, choking, broken bones

Day 31: "I'm Alive, I'm Just Not Well"

Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai

Content: despair

[annon-guy2]

Tales of Symphonia: Successors of Hope - Prologue

Chapter Protagonist: Kratos Aurion

Special thanks to tumblr user, The Science of Aster, for download to the Novel.

[anoodleyqueer]

I tried painting yuan ! I'm usually not one for drawing and painting faces but I don't hate this one :]

it looks better in person tho :/

[umbry-fic]

Dawn and Fireflies

Summary: "To us, the dreamers," Martel had said, once. But was this really what it meant to dream?

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Yuan Ka-Fai, Original Daemon Characters Relationships: Yuan Ka-Fai/Martel Yggdrasill, Yuan Ka-Fai & Original Daemon Character Rating: G Word Count: 1924 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 03/03/2024

Notes: More Daemon AU fic that I'm pretty sure isn't canon to the additional materials but I kinda wanted some things to line up. The title is from the n-buna song, Dawn and Fireflies.

~~~

“Is it wrong of me to dream, still󠁆󠁩󠁥󠀡󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁵󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁯󠁵󠁧󠁨󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁯󠁮󠁳󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁭󠁡󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁯󠁦󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁰󠁯󠁬󠁴󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁍󠁡󠁬󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁥󠁥󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁡󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁲󠁩󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁤󠁥󠁲󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁈󠁯󠁹󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁵󠁮󠁳󠁯󠁰󠁨󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁭󠁵󠁣󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁥󠁳󠁩󠁲󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁲󠁲󠁯󠁮󠁥󠁯󠁵󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁳󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁭󠁢󠁬󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁲󠁫󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠁹󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁢󠁥󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁣󠁯󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁡󠁲󠁹󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁫󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁣󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠁦󠁵󠁬󠀠󠁥󠁸󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁋󠁯󠁲󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠁮󠀿󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁮󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁳󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁯󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁷󠁩󠁴󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁨󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁢󠁢󠁯󠁲󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁲󠁥󠁡󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁬󠁩󠁫󠁥󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁷󠁥󠁡󠁫󠀭󠁨󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁤󠁩󠁶󠁩󠁤󠁵󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀬󠀠󠁉󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁤󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁵󠁣󠁫󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁮󠁧󠁵󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁵󠁬󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁭󠁢󠁡󠁲󠁫󠀠󠁯󠁮󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁪󠁯󠁵󠁲󠁮󠁥󠁹󠀠󠁯󠁵󠁴󠁤󠁯󠁯󠁲󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁮󠁨󠁡󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠀠󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁡󠁣󠁫󠀠󠁦󠁬󠁯󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁣󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁉󠁭󠁰󠁲󠁯󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁵󠁲󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁕󠁮󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁴󠁡󠁢󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁐󠁲󠁥󠁪󠁵󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁡󠁬󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁧󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁄󠁥󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁦󠁲󠁯󠁭󠀠󠁭󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁳󠁨󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀮?”

The question broke the fragile silence of the night, leaving its remnants to seep into the sleeping earth, painted in darkness. An auburn-haired girl tilted her head, her gaze meeting Yuan’s as she held her hand over the weak flames of a dying campfire, hoping their warmth might touch her when nothing ever would again. A single dot of light fluttered around her shoulders - a lonely beacon, unable to pierce through the veil of the night󠁆󠁩󠁥󠀡󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁵󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁯󠁵󠁧󠁨󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁯󠁮󠁳󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁭󠁡󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁯󠁦󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁰󠁯󠁬󠁴󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁍󠁡󠁬󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁥󠁥󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁡󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁲󠁩󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁤󠁥󠁲󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁈󠁯󠁹󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁵󠁮󠁳󠁯󠁰󠁨󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁭󠁵󠁣󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁥󠁳󠁩󠁲󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁲󠁲󠁯󠁮󠁥󠁯󠁵󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁳󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁭󠁢󠁬󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁲󠁫󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠁹󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁢󠁥󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁣󠁯󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁡󠁲󠁹󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁫󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁣󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠁦󠁵󠁬󠀠󠁥󠁸󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁋󠁯󠁲󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠁮󠀿󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁮󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁳󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁯󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁷󠁩󠁴󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁨󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁢󠁢󠁯󠁲󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁲󠁥󠁡󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁬󠁩󠁫󠁥󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁷󠁥󠁡󠁫󠀭󠁨󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁤󠁩󠁶󠁩󠁤󠁵󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀬󠀠󠁉󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁤󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁵󠁣󠁫󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁮󠁧󠁵󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁵󠁬󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁭󠁢󠁡󠁲󠁫󠀠󠁯󠁮󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁪󠁯󠁵󠁲󠁮󠁥󠁹󠀠󠁯󠁵󠁴󠁤󠁯󠁯󠁲󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁮󠁨󠁡󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠀠󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁡󠁣󠁫󠀠󠁦󠁬󠁯󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁣󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁉󠁭󠁰󠁲󠁯󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁵󠁲󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁕󠁮󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁴󠁡󠁢󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁐󠁲󠁥󠁪󠁵󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁡󠁬󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁧󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁄󠁥󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁦󠁲󠁯󠁭󠀠󠁭󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁳󠁨󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀮.

Yuan didn't shift from the rock he was seated on as he kept vigil, staying utterly still as he turned the question over and over in the depths of his mind, even his breathing coming to a halt. It had been a century since he’d been able to discern exactly what Margot felt, but he was certain she too had frozen where she perched on a tree nearby, blending into the night󠁆󠁩󠁥󠀡󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁵󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁯󠁵󠁧󠁨󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁯󠁮󠁳󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁭󠁡󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁳󠀠󠁯󠁦󠀠󠁩󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁰󠁯󠁬󠁴󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁍󠁡󠁬󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁥󠁥󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁡󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁲󠁩󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁤󠁥󠁲󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁈󠁯󠁹󠁤󠁥󠁮󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁳󠁰󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁵󠁮󠁳󠁯󠁰󠁨󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠁬󠁥󠁡󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁭󠁵󠁣󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁯󠀠󠁢󠁥󠀠󠁤󠁥󠁳󠁩󠁲󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁲󠁲󠁯󠁮󠁥󠁯󠁵󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁨󠁡󠁳󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁭󠁢󠁬󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀡󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁩󠁲󠁫󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠁹󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁢󠁥󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁤󠀠󠁣󠁯󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁭󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁡󠁲󠁹󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁫󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁣󠁱󠁵󠁩󠁲󠁥󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠁦󠁵󠁬󠀠󠁥󠁸󠁩󠁳󠁴󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁋󠁯󠁲󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠁮󠀿󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁮󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁳󠁩󠁣󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁃󠁯󠁮󠁮󠁥󠁣󠁴󠀠󠁷󠁩󠁴󠁨󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁥󠀠󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁨󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁳󠁴󠁵󠁢󠁢󠁯󠁲󠁮󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁲󠁯󠁯󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠀠󠁲󠁥󠁡󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁬󠁩󠁫󠁥󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁷󠁥󠁡󠁫󠀭󠁨󠁥󠁡󠁲󠁴󠁥󠁤󠀠󠁩󠁮󠁤󠁩󠁶󠁩󠁤󠁵󠁡󠁬󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁎󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀬󠀠󠁉󠀠󠁤󠁩󠁤󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁵󠁣󠁫󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁬󠁡󠁮󠁧󠁵󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁧󠁥󠀠󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁵󠁬󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁭󠁢󠁡󠁲󠁫󠀠󠁯󠁮󠀠󠁡󠀠󠁪󠁯󠁵󠁲󠁮󠁥󠁹󠀠󠁯󠁵󠁴󠁤󠁯󠁯󠁲󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁅󠁮󠁨󠁡󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁡󠁢󠁩󠁬󠁩󠁴󠁩󠁥󠁳󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁥󠁰󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁩󠁳󠀠󠁡󠁵󠁤󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁴󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁁󠁮󠀠󠁡󠁴󠁴󠁡󠁣󠁫󠀠󠁦󠁬󠁯󠁡󠁴󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠁭󠁡󠁣󠁨󠁩󠁮󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁉󠁭󠁰󠁲󠁯󠁶󠁥󠀠󠁴󠁨󠁹󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁥󠁮󠁴󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁏󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁵󠁲󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁕󠁮󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁴󠁡󠁢󠁬󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁐󠁲󠁥󠁪󠁵󠁤󠁩󠁣󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁒󠁡󠁣󠁩󠁡󠁬󠁬󠁹󠀠󠁣󠁨󠁡󠁲󠁧󠁥󠁤󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁄󠁥󠁰󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁦󠁲󠁯󠁭󠀠󠁭󠁹󠀠󠁰󠁲󠁥󠁳󠁥󠁮󠁣󠁥󠀠󠀫󠀠󠁔󠁨󠁯󠁵󠀠󠁡󠁲󠁴󠀠󠁮󠁯󠁴󠀠󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁥󠁲󠁴󠁡󠁩󠁮󠁩󠁮󠁧󠀠󠀫󠀠����󠁨󠁹󠀠󠁭󠁥󠁡󠁳󠁵󠁲󠁥󠁭󠁥󠁮󠁴󠁳󠀠󠁦󠁡󠁬󠁬󠀠󠁳󠁨󠁯󠁲󠁴󠀮.

It was rare for Spiritua to say anything - she preferred to pass through life as quietly as possible. She would speak when it was required of her, dutifully reading the sermons in each town she passed on her journey. The people, in desperate need of hope, would flock to her and the light of her firefly Daemon, illuminating the scars that had been left behind by the Desians - the clusters of buildings that had been reduced to rubble, the carnage that had not been cleaned up, and the hollow eyes of the people. Her voice itself was quiet, yet it easily carried through the crowds that clung to her every word. Perhaps it was the steadfast determination that radiated from her, and her fervent desire to help, marking her as their saviour.

Otherwise, she would utter not a word, providing a gentle smile to those who approached her. She and her Daemon didn’t exchange words either, the firefly’s flickering light seeming to be ample company for her through the lonely nights in the wilderness. If they had some manner of communicating, he was not privy to it.

He had not even learned her Daemon’s name. In a way, he was glad. It was one less soul that he would have to mourn, for it was rather easy for her kind and gentle soul to endear herself upon others, no matter how much distance he put between them.

Once, he would have answered yes to her question. Back when the memories of his time in the experimental facility were still fresh - the sterilised white walls, the taste of panic sharp on his tongue as the gates slammed closed, the blood beneath his fingernails as he scratched at the metal surrounding him, caring for nothing except escape as Margot’s screeching flooded his ears. He would have spat his answer, believing that no human was worthy of dreams.

But Spiritua did not deserve his vitriol, nothing more than a rusted mess after so many years. She was nothing more than an innocent girl wishing for a better future, and despite the growing pit in his stomach with each step they took toward the Tower of Salvation, he would deliver her there. For the sake of a far-fetched dream that he could not afford to stop believing in.

So he said nothing, staring up at the pale crescent moon. She did not bring it up again, staring endlessly into the flame’s depths, waiting for yet another dawn to break.

~~~

Once upon a time, Martel had proclaimed a toast on the day of her birthday. It had been a rather pitiful celebration - the four of them had been tramping through the wilderness for the past week and had no time, nor money, to achieve anything grand. Yet she’d smiled as she’d accepted the handful of berries from her brother; laughing brightly when Margot had dropped a flower crown on her head.

“To us, the dreamers,” she’d whispered when she’d clinked her chipped mug with his, one hand resting on Asriel’s head. She’d gifted them wings and taught them to fly again, to shrug off all that weighed them down.

Her, always colourful with her Daemon by her side, refusing to let anything pull her down and always believing that the next dawn to arrive would be all the more beautiful. Acknowledging the blood staining their hands and the world, yet continuing to hope for a better future, fighting for it with everything she had. A future where anyone was free to find their own happiness.

It had been a toast, dedicated to those who still dared to dream.

~~~

“Yuan?”

He didn’t avert his gaze from the grey firefly resting lifelessly in his cupped hands, standing on a plot of dirt next to the Tower of Salvation, cold sweat clinging to his forehead. It was wrong for him to be touching Spiritua’s Daemon at all, but Margot wasn’t suited for carrying such a form. And Spiritua couldn’t raise her hand for her Daemon to land on her fingertip as she always did - not after he’d watched her eyes turn glassy, all the light leaving them.

Kratos’ hand landed on his left shoulder, Margot, for the first time in a long, long while, perched on his right. For her own comfort, or his? He didn’t know. Lyra sat nearby, watching him with concerned eyes.

If Spiritua’s Daemon hadn’t scattered into dust, then… did that mean she was still alive, somehow, trapped in a body she couldn’t move? The memories of the other half-elves in the facility were vivid even now - bodies that were unresponsive even as they remained alive, unable to die as their grey Daemons shambled around, staring out of eyes that saw nothing.

Was this really what it meant to dream? Of days long past, on the road, banter flowing naturally between them as Martel held his hand while teasing her brother, Kratos letting out a long-suffering sigh as their Daemons frolicked around. Margot would mess with Lyra until the lioness snarled and started chasing her, and Asriel would dote on Will. The memories felt like they came from another life, before everything had gotten horribly twisted.

No one had bothered to learn who Spiritua was past her title. Not the people of Sylvarant, and not him. What had she dreamed of? To become a seamstress? A musician? A merchant? What were her aspirations, that she had cherished even knowing they would never come to fruition?

He buried them in the dirt together with her firefly, mourning that he never knew her Daemon’s name.

~~~

The first thing he had done after stumbling out of the facility and into the sweet sunlight was to hug Margot close, her form constantly shifting - from pigeon to canary to dove and back again. She had nuzzled his cheek with her beak, uncaring of the blood still drying on his face, and he had smoothed his hands over her feathers, uncaring of the scabs that stung with each motion.

He had held her with trembling hands, promising that they would never be separated again.

In the end, their bond had torn itself apart, because of no one’s choices but their own.

Perhaps some part of her had never forgiven him.

~~~

In the blink of an eye, time passed. Once, he had thought that reaching a thousand years would be a miracle - a dream to share with Martel, over cups of tea next to a warm flame. Now, he wondered just how long he could possibly live, watching the world continue to spin as he remained unchanged.

Chosens came and went, all different from each other. Some failed before they even stepped foot in the Tower of Salvation, felled by a Desian who went too far or a monster, hungry for blood. For the scant few who succeeded only for their Daemons to fall, he and Kratos, by unspoken agreement, would bury them in the same plot of dirt, cradling their pale, cold bodies with all the love they had left to spare, their own Daemons watching with unreadable expressions. He made sure to learn the names of each and every one, suspecting that neither he nor Kratos would ever forget the souls of the children they had sent to their deaths, even as they continued to cling to meagre scraps of hope that dwindled with each century that passed.

Five hundred years later, he guided yet another Chosen to the Tower. Elaine looked nothing like Spiritua, with her brown hair and green eyes. She was outspoken, lacking the same quiet, unshakable confidence that her predecessor had held. But she was the same beacon of hope that every Chosen before her had been, possessing the same determination to save this world she loved more than anything, knowing nothing of the true sacrifice that would be asked of her.

Her Daemon’s name was Matthew, and he too was a firefly, willing to shine a light on the path ahead for anyone. When that light flickered out, so too did something in his chest, staring at Matthew’s prone form against the perfectly laid white tiles, too reminiscent of the white walls that haunted his nightmares. Mithos, this time, had not even asked him to deal with that which remained - he had stormed out in a fury, Will nowhere to be seen, as was usually the case the past few centuries.

They had carried a dream, once, with broken, bleeding hands, a dream that almost no one alive remembered anymore. Had they truly struggled and fought so hard for a world like this? Where innocents were tortured for no reason but the blood in their veins and hatred that had been allowed to fester and rot? Mithos had never known the fear of being forcefully separated from his Daemon, but Yuan could never forget, and it filled his mouth with a bitter taste to know that it was their hands that were driving it now.

The dream the boy he had once considered a brother kept a vice grip on was nothing more than ashes that he refused to let scatter. It would not bring Martel and Asriel back - it only left them further and further away with each step they took towards accomplishing it. What would they say if they could see them now, too paralysed by grief to stop the madness that was occurring?

An empty tower with no laughter, eternally cold. A broken boy with too bright eyes and a shattered smile; a butterfly that kept trying to fly away, desperately flapping its tiny wings.

It couldn’t go on any longer.

When he made the long overdue decision, the veil finally lifting from his eyes, Margot nuzzled his cheek for the first time in centuries, silently laying one black wing on his arm.

~~~

The memories of battlefields, silent in the aftermath of a skirmish and awash with blood, came to mind as he observed the localised carnage. This Chosen’s hair was the same shade as Martel’s, slowly staining red as hers had on that faithful day. Her blue eyes were familiarly glass-like, unable to see the sun currently breaking the horizon. The reports had said her Daemon had been a firefly as well - though it was nowhere to be seen, having long since scattered to dust.

On those days long ago, when dust had fallen like ashes from the sky due to the sheer quantity, one couldn’t help but choke on it. The skies were clear at this very moment, but still, all he could taste was dust.

It seemed that nothing had changed, even a thousand years later.

[emeraldguardsman]

[july13th2004]

Source

So, someone on Twitter tweeted this screenshot where the game glitched and Kratos became shirtless and gloveless, with some of his model showing through (that's why he looks like he's wearing a bra, lol).

The only explanation I can think of for this is that when the game glitched, it swapped out part of his clothing texture with the texture you see in the screenshot. This could mean that Kratos has an unused texture, or this is simply an unused, generic texture that could be used with any male character's model.

[asotin]

Tales of Symphonia: The Animation (2007) United World Arc Episode 3

"Dwarven vow number one!" "Let's work together to make this a peaceful world for everyone!"

[meruz]

oooh for warm-up reqs: yuan from tales of symphonia if you're down for it?

*teleports behind you* heh nothing personal dude *promptly gets stabbed* *loses my engagement ring*

[viipaia]

kratos crawled into my head

[richea]

I've been having a lot of fun reading through Ufotable's animator commentary regarding the Symphonia OVA, so I went ahead and translated/compiled some of my favorite Yuan related pieces

Most of it is talking about how cool and handsome he is

(All scans are from blasteriidx, sources are the Symphonia OVA Collector's Edition booklets as well as the Supporter's Club pages)

[seine-draws]

Morikawa's band of idiots

[annon-guy2]

Tales of Symphonia: Successors of Hope - Epilogue

Chapter Protagonist: Lloyd Irving

Special thanks to tumblr user, The Science of Aster, for download to the Novel.

I hope you enjoyed this Prequel to Dawn of the New World's story.

[gailardiagalan]

tales of symphonia <3

[talesoftheraysen]

Recorded and subbed by Scarfy. Translated by Seine. Proofread by Aera and Scarfy.