APPLICATION
Character: Aster
Series: Tales of Symphonia Dawn of a New World
Deviance: 1
Age: 16. Aster’s age is never stated in-game, but it’s assumed he was around Emil’s age when he died due to their physical similarities.
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Canon Used: Tales of Symphonia Dawn of a New World and Tales of Symphonia.
Appearance: Aster looks exactly the same as Emil Castagnier. They could easily be mistaken for twins. They even have the same star shaped mark on their collarbone. The only major differences between the two are their eye color and outfit. Asters’ eyes are dark blue/light purple hue. His outfit, typical of most others in Sybak, is a two piece black school uniform under a white lab coat and a pair of brown knee high boots.
http://i.imgur.com/Orvl3.jpg
Psychology:While Aster is dead well before the game starts, he’s the driving force behind the main events that occur in canon and comments are made about his personality at various points. While most of this is head canon, I’m taking it from the main traits stated about him in the game.
Aster is much like Emil Castagnier in personality and physical appearance. My head canon for him is that he’s miles more confidant than Emil though. He didn’t grow up under the same circumstances of abuse and mistreatment by so-called family and villagers. While he might have a few hiccups of insecurity here and there, it would take a lot to shake him.
Aster is an idealist. This is the core of his personality. He believes that there is a way for everyone to be happy and that this almost unrealistic happiness is obtainable. In his case it’s fixing the world so that there are no longer disasters plaguing it. While this may be a daunting task to others, Aster finds it a challenge and is under the impression that as long as he follows this dream of helping the world, he’ll be able to change it. The interesting part behind this is Aster wants to help the newly joined world as it is and accepts the Slyvaranti without the prejudice many Tethe’allans have. He believes everyone should work together to make a better world and doesn’t approve of discrimination in the slightest, even if he’s aware of how widespread it is. After all, his best friend is a half elf.
He is a researcher through and through. He enjoys learning and testing his theories. Aster is the first person to realize that summon spirit controlled the flow of mana in the world after years spent learning about how the other summon spirits work. With Richter by his side, Aster wanted to discover Ratatosk and convince him to fix the flow of mana that had been disrupted when the worlds reunited and a new world tree was born. While his knowledge extends beyond summon spirits, that’s his niche. He arguably knows more about Ratatosk than any other human in the world. It wouldn’t be uncommon to find him taking notes on things that seem mundane or ordinary, if he feels it could further his research.
COURAGE IS THE MAGIC THAT TURNS DREAMS INTO REALITY. You guys will seriously not believe how many times this is said in the game. Aster was the person to originally state this. It can be assumed that he followed this mantra to a T and had a resolute personality. For a person his age to go up to a summon spirit, and then argue with him when he realized that things were not going according to plan, takes almost suicidal bravery. Especially since it’s very likely Aster knew Ratatosk did have the power to kill him-and consequently, he was killed. This goes into his speech as well. He doesn’t have the same verbal quirks as Emil. He rarely trips over his words or stutters, unless he becomes flustered from an unexpected situation.
Aster is a benevolent person. He’s well-liked by his peers and doesn’t believe in the discrimination against half elves or the Slyvaranti. Described as a gentle person, he has a soft spot for all living things and will do his best to help others. He would never turn away someone who was in trouble and it’s very likely, during their journey, Aster and Richter got off-track many times in order to help the people suffering around them. He’s also not the type to hold grudges. He lives by a live and let live attitude. In his mind, everyone has a place in their world: humans, half elves, elves and everything in between. However, he will hide his problems if he doesn’t want other people to concern themselves over it. “I’m fine, really!” for Aster means “I’ll figure it out on my own or die trying.”
One of his faults is that he can be very gung-ho about getting what he wants and accomplishing all the things he feels he must do. Once he makes up his mind, there’s no persuading him out of it. Despite all the proof he had to the existence of Ratatosk, there was always a chance that he could have been wrong or perhaps had the whole idea behind mana flow incorrect. That didn’t occur to him because it had to be true. There had to be some way to help the people of their newly joined world. When they finally confront Ratatosk, Aster sounds completely shocked that Ratatosk won’t help and that the summon spirit wasn’t nearly as helpful as his mind made him out to be. He even argues against his views right then and there. Silly Aster, like that would really help.
Aster is extremely smart. He understands concepts that fly way over the heads of adult scholars and excels academically. As has been reiterated through this application, he figured out that centurions and a summon spirit, Ratatosk, controlled the mana flow in their world. He spent years researching the validity of this argument. Of course, he had the help of colleagues Rilena and Richter along the way too. Aster never holds his intelligence over the heads of others and is more than willing to help if someone has questions on something he understands. Unfortunately, the downside to this is when he doesn’t comprehend something or a theory doesn’t go the way he planned, he works himself to the limit. He would be the poster boy for all nighters. This probably occurred many times during his hypothesizing about Ratatosk and may stem from being expected to understand everything from those around him starting at a young age.
It’s hard to imagine Aster having much a childhood when his life focused around academics. While he can be playful-and will tease, especially if your name is Richter-he doesn’t act like the 16 year old he is. Despite his appearance, he gives off the air of being an adult (maybe that’s just the fancy lab coat). The position he was put in, being the youngest student at Sybak University, probably forced him to grow up quickly, not that he seemed to mind. He also has a tendency to hide his problems much like Emil. He opens up and trusts easily, but if he’s having a problem it would be an issue reserved for close friends, if he told anyone at all. Richter is his closest confidant.
Now, Aster is very aware of the fact he died. You don’t really come back to life without being a little rattled. Adjusting to his new surroundings might be difficult and he may have lapses of confliction on whether or not he should be ‘alive’. (Emil also had similar moments like this towards the end of the game and I feel like they would react like this to the situation).
Other Skills/Abilities: Aster is a genius: a child prodigy. At age nine, he was admitted to the Sybak University; the school’s prestige is known well throughout their world.
Other Weaknesses: Physically, Aster is no threat to anyone. It can be compared to Emil prior to getting Ratatosk’s power. If a normal adult human/ large teenager/big dog wanted to they could easily take him down. He really has no way to defend himself. Unlike Emil, he doesn’t have any powers. He’s typical human.
History:
Aster’s life prior to entering Sybak is a total mystery, but I’ll do my best to supplement.
What is known about him is that he was born in Tethe’alla and was alive before the worlds were joined back together. At the age of nine, he was accepted into Sybak as the youngest student to ever attend because of his bright mind.
From this moment on, it’s assumed his parents were out of the picture for one reason or another and he led a primarily self-sufficient lifestyle. It’s during the course of his stay in Sybak that he met a girl named Rilena. She became one of his friends early on.
Eventually, he ended up working in the research laboratories with the half-elves. This is where he met Richter. They quickly grew close and Aster considered Richter his best friend, despite the fact he was a half elf. Their combined efforts lead them to hypothesize the existence of the summon spirit Ratatosk and both of them set out to find him. Why? The worlds had been rejoined. The erratic mana flow was causing the now single world to experience one natural disaster after another and the climate change all over the world was drastically affecting everyone.
They embarked on a journey of their own to find this summon spirit and ask him for help. They had to travel into the dangerous Ginnungagap and find the gate to Niflheim, the demon realm. Ratatosk was waiting there, as they predicted, along with the centurions that helped control the world’s mana and monsters based on specific elements.
Aster and Richter told Ratatosk of their crisis, asking for his help. Ratatosk responded with bitterness and anger, stating that he would help restore balance to the world, but would kill every human and half elf in the process.
Aster immediately stood his ground and begged him not to do this. He said that humans and half elves were a very important part of the world too, but Ratatosk didn’t want to hear it. Within moments, the prodigy was hit with an attack, Ain Soph Aur, and killed on the spot.
Canon Point: Post-death.
Reality Description: His reality is a world once torn apart, but put back together thanks to the heroes of the predecessor game Tales of Symphonia. Unfortunately, the worlds didn’t mesh very well the second time around.
Now Tethe’alla and Slyvarant have become one world and a new tree of mana grows. The problem is that the Tethe’allans with its superior technology looks down on the Slyvaranti, who have lived under the rule of Desians for many years. They not have been allowed to make technological advances because of their restricted mana during this time. The Church of Martel holds a powerful hold on both countries, but Tethe’alla behavior forced Slyvaranti to form the Vanguard, a group of fighters who want to stop Tetheallan oppression and the Church of Martel. In reality, this group is a cover up for finding all the centurion cores. The Vanguard is run by Marta’s father on the outside, but the real mastermind is Richter, who wants to use the cores to open Niflheim.
Each world, prior to its restoration, had a Chosen of Mana: a person that would go on a journey of regeneration to help the world. Colette is the chosen of Slyvarant and Zelos is the chosen of Tethe’alla. These people used to be seen as figures of hope, but because of the corruption in the Church of Martel, that’s no longer the case.
The world has drastic weather changes, which is why Aster was researching Ratatosk to begin with. The desert is covered in snow, the once ice city Flanoir no longer has any snow, among other changes. The world has many monsters (typical of any tales of game) that can be encountered outside of cities. There are various temples dedicated to all the summon spirits, which also hold the centurion cores. These are based on various elements like Earth, Fire, Ice, Darkness, Lightning and so on. Along with all these problems, the discrimination against half elves is still very real too.
Because Aster died in the Ginnungagap, that’s one of the distorted places in his reality. As soon as you enter, it’s like veil is placed over your eyes. Nothing is clear. Everything-the floors, the wall included-is a fuzzy mess. Walking in there is similar to running around with constant vertigo. Another place is Sybak. That was his home for at least 8 years of his life and while it may look normal at first glance, certain places will be distorted like they are in the Ginnungagap. These places will be Aster’s room, the library, and the research labs.
Series: Tales of Symphonia Dawn of a New World
Deviance: 1
Age: 16. Aster’s age is never stated in-game, but it’s assumed he was around Emil’s age when he died due to their physical similarities.
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Canon Used: Tales of Symphonia Dawn of a New World and Tales of Symphonia.
Appearance: Aster looks exactly the same as Emil Castagnier. They could easily be mistaken for twins. They even have the same star shaped mark on their collarbone. The only major differences between the two are their eye color and outfit. Asters’ eyes are dark blue/light purple hue. His outfit, typical of most others in Sybak, is a two piece black school uniform under a white lab coat and a pair of brown knee high boots.
http://i.imgur.com/Orvl3.jpg
Psychology:While Aster is dead well before the game starts, he’s the driving force behind the main events that occur in canon and comments are made about his personality at various points. While most of this is head canon, I’m taking it from the main traits stated about him in the game.
Aster is much like Emil Castagnier in personality and physical appearance. My head canon for him is that he’s miles more confidant than Emil though. He didn’t grow up under the same circumstances of abuse and mistreatment by so-called family and villagers. While he might have a few hiccups of insecurity here and there, it would take a lot to shake him.
Aster is an idealist. This is the core of his personality. He believes that there is a way for everyone to be happy and that this almost unrealistic happiness is obtainable. In his case it’s fixing the world so that there are no longer disasters plaguing it. While this may be a daunting task to others, Aster finds it a challenge and is under the impression that as long as he follows this dream of helping the world, he’ll be able to change it. The interesting part behind this is Aster wants to help the newly joined world as it is and accepts the Slyvaranti without the prejudice many Tethe’allans have. He believes everyone should work together to make a better world and doesn’t approve of discrimination in the slightest, even if he’s aware of how widespread it is. After all, his best friend is a half elf.
He is a researcher through and through. He enjoys learning and testing his theories. Aster is the first person to realize that summon spirit controlled the flow of mana in the world after years spent learning about how the other summon spirits work. With Richter by his side, Aster wanted to discover Ratatosk and convince him to fix the flow of mana that had been disrupted when the worlds reunited and a new world tree was born. While his knowledge extends beyond summon spirits, that’s his niche. He arguably knows more about Ratatosk than any other human in the world. It wouldn’t be uncommon to find him taking notes on things that seem mundane or ordinary, if he feels it could further his research.
COURAGE IS THE MAGIC THAT TURNS DREAMS INTO REALITY. You guys will seriously not believe how many times this is said in the game. Aster was the person to originally state this. It can be assumed that he followed this mantra to a T and had a resolute personality. For a person his age to go up to a summon spirit, and then argue with him when he realized that things were not going according to plan, takes almost suicidal bravery. Especially since it’s very likely Aster knew Ratatosk did have the power to kill him-and consequently, he was killed. This goes into his speech as well. He doesn’t have the same verbal quirks as Emil. He rarely trips over his words or stutters, unless he becomes flustered from an unexpected situation.
Aster is a benevolent person. He’s well-liked by his peers and doesn’t believe in the discrimination against half elves or the Slyvaranti. Described as a gentle person, he has a soft spot for all living things and will do his best to help others. He would never turn away someone who was in trouble and it’s very likely, during their journey, Aster and Richter got off-track many times in order to help the people suffering around them. He’s also not the type to hold grudges. He lives by a live and let live attitude. In his mind, everyone has a place in their world: humans, half elves, elves and everything in between. However, he will hide his problems if he doesn’t want other people to concern themselves over it. “I’m fine, really!” for Aster means “I’ll figure it out on my own or die trying.”
One of his faults is that he can be very gung-ho about getting what he wants and accomplishing all the things he feels he must do. Once he makes up his mind, there’s no persuading him out of it. Despite all the proof he had to the existence of Ratatosk, there was always a chance that he could have been wrong or perhaps had the whole idea behind mana flow incorrect. That didn’t occur to him because it had to be true. There had to be some way to help the people of their newly joined world. When they finally confront Ratatosk, Aster sounds completely shocked that Ratatosk won’t help and that the summon spirit wasn’t nearly as helpful as his mind made him out to be. He even argues against his views right then and there. Silly Aster, like that would really help.
Aster is extremely smart. He understands concepts that fly way over the heads of adult scholars and excels academically. As has been reiterated through this application, he figured out that centurions and a summon spirit, Ratatosk, controlled the mana flow in their world. He spent years researching the validity of this argument. Of course, he had the help of colleagues Rilena and Richter along the way too. Aster never holds his intelligence over the heads of others and is more than willing to help if someone has questions on something he understands. Unfortunately, the downside to this is when he doesn’t comprehend something or a theory doesn’t go the way he planned, he works himself to the limit. He would be the poster boy for all nighters. This probably occurred many times during his hypothesizing about Ratatosk and may stem from being expected to understand everything from those around him starting at a young age.
It’s hard to imagine Aster having much a childhood when his life focused around academics. While he can be playful-and will tease, especially if your name is Richter-he doesn’t act like the 16 year old he is. Despite his appearance, he gives off the air of being an adult (maybe that’s just the fancy lab coat). The position he was put in, being the youngest student at Sybak University, probably forced him to grow up quickly, not that he seemed to mind. He also has a tendency to hide his problems much like Emil. He opens up and trusts easily, but if he’s having a problem it would be an issue reserved for close friends, if he told anyone at all. Richter is his closest confidant.
Now, Aster is very aware of the fact he died. You don’t really come back to life without being a little rattled. Adjusting to his new surroundings might be difficult and he may have lapses of confliction on whether or not he should be ‘alive’. (Emil also had similar moments like this towards the end of the game and I feel like they would react like this to the situation).
Other Skills/Abilities: Aster is a genius: a child prodigy. At age nine, he was admitted to the Sybak University; the school’s prestige is known well throughout their world.
Other Weaknesses: Physically, Aster is no threat to anyone. It can be compared to Emil prior to getting Ratatosk’s power. If a normal adult human/ large teenager/big dog wanted to they could easily take him down. He really has no way to defend himself. Unlike Emil, he doesn’t have any powers. He’s typical human.
History:
Aster’s life prior to entering Sybak is a total mystery, but I’ll do my best to supplement.
What is known about him is that he was born in Tethe’alla and was alive before the worlds were joined back together. At the age of nine, he was accepted into Sybak as the youngest student to ever attend because of his bright mind.
From this moment on, it’s assumed his parents were out of the picture for one reason or another and he led a primarily self-sufficient lifestyle. It’s during the course of his stay in Sybak that he met a girl named Rilena. She became one of his friends early on.
Eventually, he ended up working in the research laboratories with the half-elves. This is where he met Richter. They quickly grew close and Aster considered Richter his best friend, despite the fact he was a half elf. Their combined efforts lead them to hypothesize the existence of the summon spirit Ratatosk and both of them set out to find him. Why? The worlds had been rejoined. The erratic mana flow was causing the now single world to experience one natural disaster after another and the climate change all over the world was drastically affecting everyone.
They embarked on a journey of their own to find this summon spirit and ask him for help. They had to travel into the dangerous Ginnungagap and find the gate to Niflheim, the demon realm. Ratatosk was waiting there, as they predicted, along with the centurions that helped control the world’s mana and monsters based on specific elements.
Aster and Richter told Ratatosk of their crisis, asking for his help. Ratatosk responded with bitterness and anger, stating that he would help restore balance to the world, but would kill every human and half elf in the process.
Aster immediately stood his ground and begged him not to do this. He said that humans and half elves were a very important part of the world too, but Ratatosk didn’t want to hear it. Within moments, the prodigy was hit with an attack, Ain Soph Aur, and killed on the spot.
Canon Point: Post-death.
Reality Description: His reality is a world once torn apart, but put back together thanks to the heroes of the predecessor game Tales of Symphonia. Unfortunately, the worlds didn’t mesh very well the second time around.
Now Tethe’alla and Slyvarant have become one world and a new tree of mana grows. The problem is that the Tethe’allans with its superior technology looks down on the Slyvaranti, who have lived under the rule of Desians for many years. They not have been allowed to make technological advances because of their restricted mana during this time. The Church of Martel holds a powerful hold on both countries, but Tethe’alla behavior forced Slyvaranti to form the Vanguard, a group of fighters who want to stop Tetheallan oppression and the Church of Martel. In reality, this group is a cover up for finding all the centurion cores. The Vanguard is run by Marta’s father on the outside, but the real mastermind is Richter, who wants to use the cores to open Niflheim.
Each world, prior to its restoration, had a Chosen of Mana: a person that would go on a journey of regeneration to help the world. Colette is the chosen of Slyvarant and Zelos is the chosen of Tethe’alla. These people used to be seen as figures of hope, but because of the corruption in the Church of Martel, that’s no longer the case.
The world has drastic weather changes, which is why Aster was researching Ratatosk to begin with. The desert is covered in snow, the once ice city Flanoir no longer has any snow, among other changes. The world has many monsters (typical of any tales of game) that can be encountered outside of cities. There are various temples dedicated to all the summon spirits, which also hold the centurion cores. These are based on various elements like Earth, Fire, Ice, Darkness, Lightning and so on. Along with all these problems, the discrimination against half elves is still very real too.
Because Aster died in the Ginnungagap, that’s one of the distorted places in his reality. As soon as you enter, it’s like veil is placed over your eyes. Nothing is clear. Everything-the floors, the wall included-is a fuzzy mess. Walking in there is similar to running around with constant vertigo. Another place is Sybak. That was his home for at least 8 years of his life and while it may look normal at first glance, certain places will be distorted like they are in the Ginnungagap. These places will be Aster’s room, the library, and the research labs.