Luceti application
Mun
Name: Meowzy
Livejournal Username: meowzy-chan
E-mail: silver_shiva@hotmail.com
AIM/MSN: ThaMeowzy / Silver_shiva@hotmail.com
Character
Name: Lambda.
Fandom: Tales of Graces.
Gender: Genderless. Though it's noteworthy that his voice is male.
Age: Unknown. His physical appearance is roughly five years old. His true form is at least a thousand years old, though quite frankly, it could even go up to a million years.
Time Period: End-game (Wii), after accepting Asbel’s deal but before they actually leave the Ghardia Shaft. Also, I’ve gotten permission from Akai for Lambda to be inside his old Humanoid body, so that he actually has a physical form.
Wing Color: Silver.
History: Lambda’s story began a thousand years before the game starts and is mostly explained through flashbacks in the final dungeon. While the game does elaborate on quite a few bits, other facts are rather vague and left open for interpretation. What’s certain is that the planet of Phodra was close to dying, which is why its scientists created another planet to live on. This new planet, called Efinea, was ruled by the force of Arles, which is born from the planet’s core, Lastaria, and distributed throughout the lands by the three Valkynes Criaths. Lambda is a living entity, found by chance inside Lastaria.
At first, Lambda was just a ‘sentient force’ without a body, most likely manifesting itself as a floating black orb. Seeing its potential, the scientists brought the entity to Phodra for observation. Cornel, the head of the Humanoid Research Institute, provided Lambda with a humanoid body; that of a young boy. It was a perfect match, as in-game flashbacks show that Lambda had the mindset of a toddler. He couldn’t speak, didn’t understand even the simplest of emotions and seemed to even have trouble with building a house out of blocks. Cornel did his best to nurture Lambda’s progress and raise him as a human. but there was another person who opposed it. Emeraude, a fellow researcher who was bound to a wheelchair at the time, warned him against helping Lambda develop emotions. She feared he would be faced with ethical problems later on. Still, Cornel hoped to continue raising Lambda, believing he might become an entity even beyond regular humanoids. He considered Lambda their hope for the future.
It’s implied that Emeraude and her crew still conducted a lot of experiments on Lambda, regarding him as no more than a lifeless monster to experiment on. Exactly how long this went on is unknown, but enough information was gained from the tests to build Humanoids with a near-human soul, as well as cause Lambda a great deal of pain. It’s implied that some time before he escapes Phodra, he created a cocoon as a self-defense mechanism and created many monsters, leading to the planet’s demise.
Finally, Emeraude was ordered to destroy Lambda by their superiors. There were disturbances all throughout Phodra and animals that had come into contact with Lambda transformed into violent monsters. Cornel thought it was unsurprising, as the entity had been exposed forcefully to many experiments and tests. His feelings were ignored and he was treated badly, which would’ve been enough to anger anyone. Emeraude refused to listen to his reasoning, accusing him of ignoring their superior’s orders and wanting to raise Lambda as a new Lastaria. She considered Cornel’s little “experiment” to be far too dangerous and had him arrested on the spot. As he was dragged from the room, kicking and screaming, Emeraude thought he must’ve been mad to want to have Lambda act like a human. After all, it was only a test subject.
In the next flashback, Lambda had seemingly escaped Emeraude’s clutches and gone on a wild rampage through Telos Astei, the ‘capital’ of Phodra. He was seen smashing control panels in the shuttle bay, crying out loudly, where he was approached by Cornel. The man tried to calm Lambda down, but Emeraude soon appeared on the scene as well. From his reaction, it was clear she frightened the young being. When Cornel refused to hand her precious test subject over, she ordered two of her newly built Humanoids (Ironically similar to Sophie) to attack. Cornel was shot in the shoulder, but still wouldn’t budge. They tried to flee to the nearby shuttle, though just before the doors closed, Cornel was mortally wounded. Emeraude tried to stop them, but to no avail. With his last breath, Cornel managed to launch the craft towards Efinea, telling Lambda to live on. At that moment, the young entity showed true sadness and pain. He also spoke his first real word: “Survive/live on”. Shortly after the shuttle crashed, it exploded, damaging Lambda’s Humanoid body. Presumably, this was why he left it behind and took the form of a ‘monster’. Through a special sidequest, the party can encounter Lambda’s old body and fight it until it self-destructs.
Another undetermined amount of time passes, and we see Lambda facing a mob of angered humans. Due to his monster form, he was constantly hunted down. It's implied in the Anmarcia archives that he'd targetted the Valkynes Criaths somewhere before this stage, but no details are given so it's unclear just how far he'd gotten. At this point, he’d already learned to speak, if only a bit more. Whenever he was accused of being a monster, he would try to tell his opposers that they were wrong, but his words were lost on them. With a burst of light, Protos 1 appeared on the scene. Protos 1 was an extremely advanced Humanoid, built specifically by Emeraude to eradicate Lambda once and for all. Softly, he wondered if he was really that detestable. A battle ensued, but it presumably ended with a tie, as both Protos 1 and Lambda were severely damaged. The people from Phodra, who’d watched the battle, deliberated on what to do next. With no other options left, they decided to place a seal around Efinea itself, so that Lambda would at least be trapped there.
Now, another timeskip. Lambda had taken refuge in the underground caverns below Balonia, connecting the castle, the cathedral and even a tunnel leading outside the city. Who should walk into his lair but Protos 1, now known as Sophie, who had no memories of her true purpose. She was accompanied by three young children as they searched for their friend, Prince Richard, who was also in the caverns. His life once again threatened, he attacked, taking Cheria and Hubert out with a single blow. Asbel was the next to fall, much to Sophie’s dismay. Her defensive mechanisms kicked in and she battled Lambda, only to come out victorious. With his last strength, he reached out and stabbed Sophie through the gut, damaging her body. She dashed towards him and exploded in a burst of light, perhaps even using some of her power to try and eradicate Lambda. It’s up to interpretation, really. Point is, Lambda was left without his physical body, as Sophie had disappeared entirely, her powers divided amongst her three young friends so she could be revived later on. Richard regained consciousness, but was still on the verge of death: He’d been poisoned by his uncle in an attempt to seize the throne and dispose of the King’s heir. Richard voiced his fear of dying, to which Lambda responded. Cornel’s dying words still strong in Lambda’s memory, he found a way to live on.
Lambda spent the next seven years inside Richard’s body, regaining his powers and learning more and more about the world around him. Richard lived a sad life, secluded from friends and constantly the target of assassination, which did nothing to improve Lambda’s opinion of mankind. Shortly after the seven year timeskip in-game, Asbel and Sophie were reunited with Richard. It was clear that Lambda’s presence was affecting the Prince greatly. He was vicious, merciless towards his enemies and couldn’t bear to be touched by Sophie. Whenever Richard was threatened, Lambda’s feelings of pain and hatred would take over. After his uncle was defeated and he took the throne, Richard started his plan of draining the Valkynes Criaths. Or, should we say, Lambda’s plan? The King seemed to doubt his actions, questioning the meaning of friendship and wondering why Asbel continued to stand in his way. Yet with each Valkynes Criath that was drained, Lambda gained more control over Richard’s body, thoughts and actions. After the third Criath in Fendel was drained, the King headed for the central island, where the path to Lastaria was located. By this point, Richard was surrounded by the power of Arles and speaking in an echoing voice, clearly not himself. He fought Asbel and his friends, but lost. Richard begged not to be killed, but it seemed Lambda’s mind was on other matters. He recognized Sophie as Protos 1 and Richard’s demeanor turned hostile. He attacked her, damaging her body, then created a dome known as “Lambda’s Cocoon” around the entire central island. After a trip to Phodra, where they repaired Sophie, learned a bit about Lambda and picked up a ‘hitchhiker’, Asbel and his friends invaded the cocoon to challenge Richard. Lambda’s powers had caused the King’s body to mutate slightly and clearly left him out of his mind. They fought Richard once more, freeing him of Lambda’s grasp, but that’s when things got really ugly. The ‘hitchhiker’ they’d brought from Phodra was none other than a Humanoid version of Emeraude, after all. Unaware of her history with Lambda, they’d brought her to face her old nemesis. When Sophie tried to use her powers to eradicate the entity, Emeraude stopped her by force. She wanted Lambda’s power all to herself, hoping to use it to create new life on Phodra, and allowed the so-called ‘demon’ to enter her body. Another battle ensued and it seemed Emeraude would come out victorious. However, Lambda had other plans. Seeing a great opportunity for revenge and refusing to lend his powers to that spiteful woman, he retaliated and caused her body to explode. After that, he briefly assumed the shape of his old Humanoid appearance, before Richard willingly took Lambda back into his body. Their merged form retreated into the depths of the Ghardia Shaft, which led to Lastaria, while Asbel and his friends had no choice but to retreat.
Later, the final confrontation took place, right in front of Lastaria. Richard/Lambda explained that in order to create the perfect world -one free of conflict-, he would have to drain Lastaria of all its Arles. Then, humans would die and there’d be peace. Asbel tried to convince him that this was only the will of Lambda, but Richard was being influenced so greatly that there was no talking to him. He was challenged to a battle and defeated, at which point he came to his senses for a moment. No longer knowing which emotions were his own and which were Lambda’s, he begged for Asbel to just kill them both while there was still time. Lambda would have none of that and tried to destroy Richard’s body, as he did with Emeraude. As he claimed, he had no use for a vessel which had lost the will to live. Asbel managed to pull Richard free of Lambda’s control (quite literally), which forced Lambda to once again take the form of a monster; Lambda Angelus. After it was defeated in battle, Lambda’s non-physical form continued to drain Lastaria of Arles, in hopes of regaining his powers. Sophie claimed that the only way to truly be rid of him was for her to use her power and disappear along with it, but Asbel refused to accept that option. He shoved her out of the way and reached out to grab Lambda’s form, allowing the entity into his body. The young boy passed out, while his subconsciousness tried to reason with Lambda. He aimed to convince Lambda that there was more to the world than just negative feelings, and reminded him of Cornel’s efforts to develop emotions such as happiness. The man didn’t raise him to suffer. Even so, Lambda remained skeptical, convinced that humans needed to be eradicated. As a last resort, Asbel offered his own body as a vessel, through which he would prove that the world was filled with goodness as well. Once they seemingly reached a compromise, Lambda stated that he was feeling tired and once again took the form of that Humanoid boy, curled up in a ball and glowing brightly. Asbel took this as a sign that Lambda was going to disappear and cried for him not to, but his screams were in vain. When he regained consciousness, his left eye had turned purple, a clear sign that he was being possessed by Lambda. However, Sophie stated that there was no longer a bad feeling coming from him. Lambda was at peace, waiting to see what sort of good things the world would bring. In the final epilogue, Sophie was seen playing with a young boy who’s implied to be the son of Asbel and Cheria. And there, carved in the tree where Asbel, Sophie and Richard had once vowed their friendship, was another name: Lambda.
Personality: Born an entity with no emotions whatsoever, he’s capable of growing and developing his personality further and further. He can experience the positive emotions, such as happiness, pride or friendship, but they’re very awkward on him. He doesn’t quite seem to know how to handle them and they’re outweighed by all the sadness and anger he’s experienced. He’s willing to nurture positive emotions, so long as he gets chances to actually use them. However, he’ll be reluctant to do so, especially at the start.
Above all, Lambda is extremely distrusting. After being abused, betrayed and hunted down by so many different people, it’s hard for him to allow people to get close, even after accepting Asbel’s little deal. Basically, he’s seen so many horrors that it takes time for him to come to terms with the fact that not all humans are vicious killers. However, at the end of the game, he’s at least willing to give the world a second chance and see with his own eyes just what people are capable of. Before giving anyone his trust, he will judge them harshly. They need to prove that they’re worthy of his attention, and worthy of living.
In the overall, though, end-game Lambda appears very calm. He’s vicious and merciless, yes, but hardly ever has outbursts of real anger. Instead, he speaks in a rather condescending manner and does whatever he wants. If someone defies him, he’ll strike back without fail. This may have come from possessing Richard, who was royalty and thus revered by his country. After all, Lambda didn’t truly learn to speak real sentences until after he took over Richard’s body. As he had an effect on the young Prince, Richard had an effect on Lambda as well. It was a growing process for the both of them. Lambda’s grown past the infantile entity who seemed almost shy and had trouble assembling a block house, only to evolve further into a creature who seems to think it has the right to decide on life and death. He’s very arrogant, to say the least.
Strengths:
Physical: All this is assuming he gets his Humanoid body as soon as he arrives in Luceti. Physically, he won’t be able to do much at all. While state of the art back in those days, Lambda’s Humanoid body is nothing compared to the later upgrades like Protos 1. It was built solely for the purpose of allowing Lambda to wander around and develop emotionally. To see just what this entity would be capable of if it had a physical form. The Humanoid body seems capable of moving without Lambda’s presence, as seen in a sidequest, but is incapable of fighting back and activates its self-destruct sequence once its HP reaches 0, a blow which is certain to take out all party members unless the player takes proper precautions.
If, for some reason, he goes outside his Humanoid body (lifting of the power cap, for example) his abilities will increase significantly. He’ll have the power to possess other people, so long as they allow him to enter their body, and then explode them from the inside out if he so wishes. He can poison their minds with his own emotions and sometimes even influence their actions. At one point, he speaks directly through Emeraude’s mouth, after all. Aside from that, if he has enough power, he can form a physical body of his own, such as the infamous monster from seven years ago or even a larger version like Lambda Angelus.
Mental: Lambda’s capable of wonderful mental growth, considering his origin. When he first started out, he was unable to do anything or even move his body properly. In a matter of what may have been months, he was walking around with the physical mentality of a four year-old. Especially after possessing Richard, his mental state went through a grow spurt. Seven years later, he was able to speak full sentences in a rather elaborate manner of speech and seems to be on the same mental level as any human, if not higher.
Emotional: Emotional strengths are very few for Lambda. Most noteworthy, he’s capable of growth and adaption. Once he’s been in contact with a certain emotion enough, he can learn how to use it like any other person. He’s also very determined. After everything that’s happened to him, he’s ‘hardened’ to a degree and won’t allow himself to get swayed. His plan is the plan he intends to stick with and he’ll use any means necessary to follow it through. Suffice it to say, Lambda doesn’t take shit from anyone.
Weaknesses:
Physical: As said, his Humanoid body was built as a tool for him to get around. It wasn’t meant to endure battles or any other kind of stress. If it breaks, it breaks. Outside his body, he either needs arles to function properly, or another vessel to get around in. This would be troublesome, as he needs to gather enough strength to create a new (monster) body of his own. Furthermore, he doesn’t seem to be able to possess people unless they’re willing to accept him. Without a vessel, he’s left vulnerable and open for attacks, though Sophie is one of the few who could actually damage him in his non-physical form.
Mental: Despite all that growth, I’m sure there are still many things Lambda can’t do. For example, he might be able to know how to read, but seeing as he’s never had to write for himself, using a pen would be troublesome. Or how about cooking? Especially because Richard had chefs to do it for him, Lambda wouldn’t know the first thing about that. He lacks practical experience for a lot of basic things.
Emotional: Lambda doesn’t seem to understand just what emotions are or how to deal with them. During his days in Phodra, he knew nothing of pride or happiness, despite what Cornel tried to teach him. He made an attempt to smile, yes, but it came out as somewhat awkward and lopsided. Even now, after a thousand years, he prefers to stick to reasoning rather than emotions. He’s had sufficient experience with pain, anger, loneliness… But does he understand friendship? No. That’s why, when he does apply an emotion, it’s usually a negative one. And even if something happens that is meant to spur a positive emotion, it might easily get undermined by something like distrust. In a way, you could say that Lambda’s “emotional scale” has tipped in favor of negativity and it’ll take some work to get things balanced out properly.