empatheias application
Jun. 1st, 2016 04:10 amPlayer: Amanda
Contact:
Age: 25
Character: Mithos Yggdrasill
Age: Physically about 13, actually over 4000 years old
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Canon Point: After his second death
Background:
Tales of Symphonia, and Mithos.
Personality:
What can a person who has lived for four thousand years with only a singular goal in mind be, if not a product of their obsession? Is there any hope that after such a long time, even a trace of that person who once was remained?
Mithos has lived for so long that it's hard to know what he was like before his sister's death. It's implied he was much like Lloyd Irving through conversations- an idealist. The hero Mithos was said to have fought endlessly for equality between races, always believing there was a way to make everyone equal without having to sacrifice anyone, a "perfect solution" that could mean peace without hatred- due to his youth, some of this was likely just innocent optimism, but he managed to sway others to his way of thinking thanks to his idealism. It's also known he was incredibly attached to his sister, Martel, and was in awe of and greatly respected his sword teacher, Kratos.
Innocence is so easily lost, though. Martel was senselessly murdered- by a human, no less, yet another race causing Mithos grief- and Mithos became hell-bent on nothing more than bringing her back. His dream for a world where everyone could live equally became a dream of a world where Martel was alive, a dream of a world just for him and those he deemed worthy, a single-minded cause that would cause Mithos to develop a persona known as Yggdrasil and bend the world of Aselia to its knees.
Yggdrasil is the adult persona Mithos needed to control Cruxis and the Desians. When he takes this form, he is ruthless and cunning- a true villainous mastermind, capable of leading two separate organizaions and dominating two separate worlds. He shows no mercy to anyone as Yggdrasil, not even his own compatriots- Without hesitation he murders Pronyma for calling him the wrong name, and he on several occcasions lets his generals die just because they aren't worth saving. The cold, calculating personality of Yggdrasil elicits fear in any Desian who thinks they may cross him, and it is this angel that the lifeless beings of Welgaia worship. Yggdrasil is what Mithos seems to think a mature, powerful adult must be, but even then there are cracks in his facade...
Because Mithos, despite what he would like to portray, is a child. A child shaped by loss, by 4000 years of hatred, by power and dominance far beyond what a child should have... but a child. His "plan" to ingratiate himself with the party so that they do what he wants never really seems to have an end point in mind- He makes friends with Genis, he helps them out several times... and then he just hangs around and has a good time with them, like a child distracted by a fun game. His friendship with Genis turns out to be genuine, and is strong enough that even when masquerading as Yggdrasil he takes a Fireball to protect Genis despite the absolute absurdity of an evil villain protecting his enemy, a random child. He seems to see himself in Genis; Genis is to Mithos as Genis' sister Raine is to Martel, and when Raine comes down with a sickness Mithos throws everything aside to save her and spare Genis the pain he saw before.
As a child, though, Mithos also has a streak of childlike, bullying cruelty, molded by his millenia-long crusade. When Mithos wins- and he wins often, given his cunning and his elaborate network of spies and armies- he relishes in it, bragging and maniacally laughing. Whenever he has the chance to bully someone who wronged him, he does so, even if said person was his friend and his sister's fiancee and his "revenge" is just kicking him in the shins for ten minutes while cackling to himself. A vindictive person at heart, Mithos has no issue casting aside everyone important to him in favor of his main goal.
That main goal guides Mithos more strongly than anything else. The only person Mithos seems to have a genuine love and respect for is his sister- but even so, he's long since stopped understanding her, holding her up to an impossible ideal, one where her love for her brother would cause her to cast aside the entire world just to make him happy. When Colette speaks to Martel and tells Mithos to stop what he's doing through her, Mithos simply ignores her- the sister he knows, the one he idolizes, the one he's fashioned for himself out of memories and hatred and bitterness and love and regret, would never say such a thing, would never ignore his obsession. All Mithos wants is to return to the days when he had his sister's love, and the world seemed fresh and new.
But Mithos has long since given up his idealism. The world is full of hate, in his eyes- hate for half-elves, for those of your own race, for those with different views, for logic... Mithos refuses to accept that the world, or anyone in it, can change, after so long, and the only way he can see to make the world be at peace and without hate is to end it outright and populate a new one with beings who cannot feel, or hate, or do much of anything at all, in fact. Even after dying, and seeing what Lloyd planned to do, Mithos' spirit whispers that his path is the one he chose to follow, and that it's far too late for him to change it- even now, after knowing everything he does, Mithos would follow that same path, because it's the only one he knows.
Martel is all that matters. If a world exists without Martel, that world should cease to exist altogether.
Abilities:
Elves, in the world of Tales of Symphonia, are gifted with the power of magic, wielding the elements to their whim and utilizing mana to generate power. Mithos is no different- as a Magic Swordsman he possessed the ability to use powerful Strike Artes, abilities channeling mana through his sword. It's implied that this is not an ability he's lost. Mithos' talent with magic was staggering, even allowing him to become a Summoner at a young age, a rare art that requires a great deal of discipline.
However, by magnifying his power through a specialized type of Exsphere known as a Cruxis Crystal, Mithos is a legitimate angel- he wields holy energies to a terrifying degree, allowing him to destroy his enemies with beams of light, amplify it into lasers, and even punish "sinners" by weakening them with a skill called Retribution. Despite his stature, Mithos was one of the most powerful beings on his planet.
Mithos also possesses the ability to modify his physical form- he most commonly does this by giving himself energy-based wings allowing him to fly, but he also uses it to swap between his Mithos body and his Yggdrasil body.
Mithos is also a talented swordsman, though his skills have probably dulled over the years as he relied more on his magic.
Alignment:
Daimonia. He came very close to being Elios for his hatred of humanity/elves and his love of his sister, but his unresolved grief over Martel being dead and drive to restore her is his primary cause, and it is by far his overwhelming emotion.
Other:
Dude's going to casually be swapping back and forth between Mithos and Yggdrasill a lot- this means very little overall since it's just the same character pretending to be someone else, but figured I'd mention it!
Sample:
Test drive! Mostly Mithos, but a bit of Yggy too.