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exsilium information
| Zelos Wilder/Kaneis Major Birth Name: Zelos Wilder Alias: Kaneis Major Age: 23 (22 canon age) Birthday: September 4th* Gender: Male Height: 5'10" [179cm] Weight: 150lbs [68kg] Blood type: AB* Eyes: Blue Hair: Red Distinguishing marks: Long red hair and crystal on his chest. Room: Unit 103 with Allen Walker, Sophie Lhant and Cheria Barnes Previous Residence: Meltokio, Tethe'alla, Aselia Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Canon point: Post Death Weapon: Cruxis Crystal Date of Arrival: December 2012 *munfudged LINKS CR Chart Ability Growth IC Contact Activity Permissions Post |  |
Character HISTORY:
Canon
Kaneis's first life, or Zelos as he was known then, was a life of misfortune. Born out of an arranged match made by the church, he came into the world with a Cruxis Crystal in his hand which marked him as the next Chosen One of Tethe'alla. To the people of the world, this meant he could possibly be a savior to bring them salvation and prosperity according to legends in their religion (think the Dali Lama meet Jesus with an extra emphasis on sacrifice). And so Zelos was raised in the same manner that most Tethe'allan Chosens were raised, as an inhuman thing meant to save the people who one day may have to give his life in order to save his world.
When he was about seven years old, his father (the previous Chosen) committed suicide after an affair with a half-elven woman was found out by the public. His mother, resentful of her life, mostly kept herself locked in her room and would never look at her son no matter what he tried. When he was about ten, he discovered that he had a half-sister through the affair his father had named Seles. Even though she was seven years younger and sickly, they would play together whenever they could and they were each other's only source of happiness and love. However this went sour not too long later when his mother was murdered by Seles's mother in an attempt to kill Zelos so Seles could be the Chosen, her dying words being "You should have never been born" to a traumatized Zelos. Seles's mother was executed, Seles was sent to an abbey for a life sentence of house arrest and Zelos was left as an orphan alone in the Tethe'allan noble court- a place so corrupt and vile that it makes a den of vipers feel like a vacation spot.
With no friends and now no family, Zelos's life over the next years were miserable. Due to Meltokio's uncaring atmosphere and attitudes towards the Chosen, he was forced to lock away any negative emotions, guilt, insecurities and fears behind a mask of fake happiness, confidence and shallowness. He hated his life, but he was never allowed to show it. Any trauma he had developed from his childhood ended up festering inside of him, twisting them into feelings of self-hatred and worthlessness.
At around age fourteen, he was approached by Cruxis with a deal: if he worked for them, they would free him from his status and transfer it to Seles. Thinking this was the only way to bring him and sister any sort of happiness, he agreed. At some unknown time later, he was approached by the Renegades with the same sort of deal. Being both perceptive and un-trusting, he decided to play all the fields. And so for the next eight years he led a triple life: to the Tethe'allan public he was a shallow and womanizing happy-go-lucky Chosen that seemed more interested in women's measurements than world saving. To Cruxis he was an "unwitting pawn" that they groomed to be their ace in the hole (though their original intentions with him are not known), bestowing him with magic and having him go through the angel transformation process. Finally with Renegade he was their "friend", a spy used on anyone the Renegades regarded as threats. All the while none seem to catch on that he was playing all sides against each other to see which side would come out strongest and worth his allegiance.
Life remained to be the status quo craptastic until he was twenty-two years old and a group of mysterious travelers showed up in Meltokio. They were from Sylvarant, who had come to Tethe'alla in hopes of finding a cure for their Chosen, led by a young man and idealist named Lloyd Irving. Zelos was sent to accompany them to keep an eye on them (by Cruxis, the Renegades and the kingdom of Tethe'alla - though they only knew about the last one). Zelos intended nothing more than to use them for his own advantage- then lose them.
The journey lasted a long time, spanning across two different worlds. While initially apathetic to everything, Zelos began getting affected (or "infected" as he called it) by the events and people around him much more than he had ever anticipated. Little by little, he found himself caring about his traveling companions and the state of the world. He began doing actions that went against the defensive mantra, doing things that served no benefit to him and only brought him trouble - simply because they were the Right Thing to Do or he wanted people to be happy. Whenever he realized what he was doing? He'd waiver between scoffing in disbelief and feeling a great deal of fear that this would only lead to more pain - yet there was little he could do to go back.
But eventually it came time for Zelos to choose a side, as things started to stack up. He caught himself feeling torn about what to do, to do the logical thing and side with Cruxis - or do the right thing and side with Lloyd's group of idiot idealists. He only grew more torn when Kratos (Lloyd's father and agent of Cruxis) approached him with a task - to use his skills to get into Cruxis and retrieve an item that would make it possible for Lloyd to reunite the worlds once and for all - though would completely jeopardize everything Zelos had worked for if things went badly. He sat on this problem, trying to figure out what to do until Lloyd approached him after a group meeting and showed that he did not trust Zelos. In fact he was told quite the opposite in that Lloyd showed an inability to trust him, but still a willingness to use Zelos in a plan to unite the worlds. The effect of these words proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Zelos Wilder, as it made him realize that not even the kindest people he had ever met were not above treating him as nothing more than a tool. This knowledge in hand, he rejected Kratos's request to help the group, claiming he would "follow his own path".
When they reached the Tower of Salvation, Zelos handed the Chosen Colette over to Cruxis as part of a deal that would allow the title of Chosen to be passed to Seles. He then went to confront his companions, revealing that he was an angel and starting a fight with them under the guise of a villain despite being horrendously outnumbered. As expected by him, it was an impossible fight and he was mortally wounded.
At the end of the fight, Lloyd goes to Zelos's side, distraught at the turn of events. Zelos tells him that he was tired of living anyway, and pleads for Colette to be rescued. Shortly after, Zelos dies from his injuries with a smile on his face.
Exsilium
And then the Initiative went and fucked it all up.
Character PERSONALITY:
It's very easy to make a quick judgement call on Zelos. To most of the people around him, he comes off as loud, cocky, shallow, laid back, snarky and possibly way too cheerful about things. He'll flirt with any girl, pull pranks, tease anyone around him, party hard and almost seems to take life as nothing more than a giant joke either out of apathy or being spoiled or simply because he's too stupid to think otherwise. Even though he has the occasional quick flash of temper, when he's around people he seems to never be down about anything for very long. Unless one is observant, it's very easy to brush off any intelligence or perspective or good advice he gives out as something no more than a complete and utter fluke or stroke of luck.
Fortunately and unfortunately, most of this is an act. An act carefully constructed by an intelligent and perceptive kid who spent his entire life alone and with a grim outlook of that changing any time soon. Realizing from a young age that 99% of the world only cared about him because he could be used for their own means, Zelos built defenses to protect himself - creating a way of life in which he needed no one emotionally and no one would think to need him. Everyone has an agenda, never do anything that can't benefit you, always pick the winning side and trust no one became his mantra. He is incredibly cynical and un-trusting of everyone around him. He knew fully well that no one would ever save him from a life he hated so much, so he takes it upon himself to try to save himself and rely only on himself. While acting like a complete goofball, Zelos in truth is observing everyone around him very carefully and trying to discern what they are after. No one thinks twice about trying to get close to the obnoxious playboy or think that they're smarter than they act, after all. Often he will use this to manipulate people around him to his advantage, as well as backstabbing anyone who he decides isn't going to further his goals.
If you do notice this and call him on it, he'll be the first to call himself incredibly selfish and a jerk. In some ways, this is true. He has very selfish tendencies and he can be rather dismissive of the people around him - especially if they are genuinely concerned for him. Yet at the same time, there's a great deal of selflessness that goes along with his motives and schemes. While he dreams of being free of the Chosen for himself, he's also driven by the idea of freeing his sister from the abbey she's locked up in and giving her the privileged status he thought she always wanted (spoiler: She doesn't and he's an idiot) -- even if it means dying himself in the process. In the Kratos ending in which he dies, he dies with a smile on his face at the thought that Seles will finally be free with him gone- even if he claims that's only a perk. He also seemed to be convinced for a long time that everyone would be so much happier if he wasn't around or was never born, something he would often base his decisions off of when asked to make a choice.
Zelos's self-image of himself is completely and utterly terrible. He's very well aware of what a damaged person he is, that how he behaves is wrong or terrible - Zelos hates himself for it (possibly MORE so than most people hate him) but has been damaged for so long he doesn't know how to stop being the way he is. He thinks that his entire existence does nothing but bring misery to those around him and he's a complete waste of breath. It was a thought instilled in him from his mother at a young age, and the thought has only festered over time. When he's not acting overly arrogant, if you listen to what he says it's extremely self-deprecating. He has no true confidence in himself when it comes to things that matter in his life (love, friendships, saving the world, helping people) - he's very quick to put people like Colette and Lloyd on pedestals for their attitudes and acts all while being convinced that he could never be like that. His lack of confidence manifests in a whole hosts of fears to the point that he could easily be called a coward. He's terrified of failing the world and the people he cares about, so he doesn't try. He's terrified of being like his parents (especially his father) or the rest of his family line, so he does whatever he can to avoid that yet ironically tends to act just like them in this various attempts. He's terrified of actually living so he acts generally suicidal half the time yet his fear of being like his father stops him from simply killing himself....at least, until his circumstances led him to that choice.
No matter how quickly and how much he would deny it, at his core, Zelos is a good person. In his childhood before the trauma kicked in, Zelos was a kind and earnest kid who only cared about making the people around him happy. It took a hotheaded idiot and his friends to bring that side of Zelos out again, but it's still there none the less and little by little- is what's controlling his actions and choices once again and there's little he can do to go back. Though the last events of his canonpoint has definitely caused him to backpedal a great deal, it's not impossible to bring that out again from him.
Zelos can be a very hard person to truly befriend. Trust is extremely hard to earn from him and it's something that you cannot force. This has gotten even worse after his death at the hand of the only people he had ever considered to be his friends. Even if somehow trust is earned, there is no guarantee that Zelos will open up entirely or be straightforward in his requests for help- he's still learning what it means to be a friend and to trust others. Often he will choose to do things by himself simply because that is what he's used to doing, even if he has friends nearby. Like Colette, he still has a nasty habit of bottling things up and burdening himself instead of others. However truly befriending Zelos has it's rewards: to earn Zelos's trust is to earn a true friend for life that will always watch your back. He'd do anything to help or protect the people he loves - whether that means being a doting older brother, backing you up in a fight or always believing in you even if the rest of the world is against you.
Just you know, seriously good luck getting him to feel that way about you.
Due to his canon point and the setting of Exsilium, at least initially Zelos's defenses will be at an all time high. He will be resentful that he's been denied his rest from death and pulled in to be used for another conflict. He will be extremely, extremely slow to trust or become attached to a single person around him- because hey look how it panned out last time. While he'll still be willing to talk to people, he will likely do whatever he can to hold them at arm's length or further to protect himself. How sucessful he is (hopefully not!) will be up to the CR he makes.
At the beginning, his main motivation is to reobtain the peace he got with death. He may do this by picking essentially suicide missions to go on unless/until he finds out they simply ressurrect him if he's killed on the job, after that point he'll simply try to see what path will help him achieve this goal of his. In the meantime, he's likely to do whatever he can to distance himself from his old life - such as using a fake name and lying about his background to anyone he meets unless there are castmates there to rip holes into these web of lies. Unfortunately for Zelos, living tends to be addictive and bonds can always form- we will see how long he manages on his path of destruction.
Character ABILITIES:
Listed here
In short Zelos is a master swordsman with the capability of using elemental magic. This magic can be used both for fighting and for healing, though he is not as powerful as other mages in his canon due to being born human. Through use of a Cruxis Crystal, he was transformed into an angel that granted enhanced senses, strength, reflexes and speed- as well as wings and powerful light magic. However it is rather rare for Zelos to use the full extent of his power unless he feels it necessary. Not only that, but removing or tampering with his crystal would render him a lot weaker and eventually kill him or turn him into a monster.
Chosen WEAPON: His Cruxis Crystal (the red crystal on his chest), which is the crystal given to Chosens (fufu see what I did there?) It was his main power source in canon, so it makes sense to continue being so. It already had it's own level of sentience similar to the Exsilium chosen weapons, so this just ups it's potential. Over time it would let his canon powers enhance further- he'll be able to control elements better, have stronger spells despite being a pure-blooded human and be able to use his angel skills with more ease.
Though uh seriously, good luck getting him to try to get more powerful. He is so done with you sentient power items ok. So done.
Character INVENTORY: Going with the equipment that he had during that fight, Zelos has a longsword, a shield, chainmail and a helmet. In his pocket the only real item of note is a green, unactivated cruxis crystal that is his most precious item. He won't be telling anyone about it because yeah let's not advertise he has a spare soul sucking power rock. Besides that? Yeah, just the clothes on his back.