Abyss terms/mechanics and Tear's skills
Because some people haven't played Abyss, which is a crying shame as it's an awesome game, I'm kind of super ambitious today, it's actually difficult to find most of this compiled in one place, and I don't want to type stuff out all the time :|
Resources would be my notes from the game Tales of the Abyss itself, the side game Tales of Fandom 2, as well as what I know of the novels, dramas, Kin no Inori and what was said during the Famitsu PS2 interviews forever ago.
First things first. Going to have to explain a lot of Abyss terminology and science so bear with me and prepare for words.
I like making spiffy charts
So basically at the end of the day there are three types of people living on Auldrant: the average everyday Joe with either no capability or a little but no talent, Fonists who have access to the First through Sixth Fonons and can use them to perform elemental phenomenon, and Seventh Fonists who either have access to the First through Seventh Fonons or simply only can use the Seventh to heal, affect the human body, and for those with larger capacities for it, read the Score. Which is reading the future the planet and its people are heading towards.
Foneest?
The basis of Fonic Artes is this: You take fonons into your body through your fonslots, collide them with your body's own fonon frequency (sort of like fingerprints), join them together and give them purpose/ direction with a fon verse, and bam. Elemental kabooms. Fonists only have the ability to use the First through Sixth Fonons-- all of them, if you can use the Second, you can use the Fifth. The Seventh Fonon is the only discriminate one. Though most fonists seem to concentrate on one or two elements and master them-- Jade being the exception, mastering the four main elementals completely and mostly ignoring the First and Sixth Fonons.
First Fonon - Darkness
Second Fonon - Earth
Third Fonon - Wind
Fourth Fonon - Water
Fifth Fonon - Fire
Sixth Fonon - Light
In terms of capacity (the potential one has as a fonist) versus skill (the actual training one received, artes they know) highest to lowest is as follows. This is for the First through Sixth Fonons only. This is also no way canon, based on speculation and how gamebreaky characters are. leaving Nebilim out since she's an earth destroying side boss that is optional BT
Capacity
Jade/Van/Original Ion/Tear -> Ion (seventh replica)/Asch/Sync -> Legretta/Florian -> Arietta -> Anise/Natalia
Skill
Jade -> Van -> Original Ion -> Legretta -> Sync/Asch/Tear -> Ion (replica)/Arietta ->Anise/Natalia ------------>Florian
Basically Jade and Van are probably currently the world's best fonists.
What the heck is a Seventh Fonist?
The Seventh Fonon is a fickle thing; one needs to be born with an inherent ability in order to be able to use it. It doesn't matter if you've mastered the First through Sixth, if you don't have said ability to control it, you're going to end up blowing everything around you (and probably yourself too) to hell. Though it's never said in-game directly, from looking at people who can use the Seventh Fonon it seems to be a genetic trait. Because of this there are very few Seventh Fonists and those who can use only it tend to be Scorers-- those that belong to the Order of Lorelei and read the Score for the people-- and/ or Healers.
So what is the Seventh Fonon and why is it so damn special? Throughout the course of the game, the Seventh Fonon has been called by the fonon of sound, the fonon of life, and the fonon of memory and all of these reflect what it's capable of.The element associated with it is sound and using it is pretty much manipulating sound vibrations and resonances to heal/repair the body and to chant the Score, which is the planet's memories. However, a big difference for the Seventh Fonon is that it can't attack, only affect the body by either healing or supporting it in some way. Fonic Hymns are used to activate the ability instead of a fonverse and are considerably weaker than Artes.
Wait I lied, there is one way for the Seventh Fonon to do damage; hyperresonances. An abnormal phenomenon that occurs when two Seventh Fonists interact with high levels of the Seventh Fonon and it can destroy any matter to an atomic level and reform any matter from an atomic level. However, as they are very rare occurances (because Seventh Fonists usually keep a limiter on their Seventh Fonon output when around other Fonist to keep from blowing things apart all the time) ,the fact that they are considered forbidden because of the destructive power and the lack of research regarding them, hyperresonances are rarely considered when dealing with the Seventh Fonon.
So for Seventh Fonists of the game, capacity vs. skill is as follows:
Capacity
Van/Original Ion/Tear -> Asch ---> Luke -> Ion replica -> Sync/Florian------> Natalia
Skill
Van -> Original Ion -> Tear/Sync -> Asch/Ion replica -> Natalia ------> Luke ------------------->Florian
-To give this a better perspective, a doctor in Belkend notes that Tear has over 100 times the capacity of the regular Seventh Fonist (like Natalia).
From what we see of the Seventh Fonists in-game is that aside from being a class all their own from Fonists, there are different groups that can be separated from the regular Seventh Fonist.
Yulia
Yulia was, essentially, Auldrant's first Seventh Fonist and before discovering this ability, was considered a prodigy for Fonic Artes. She ended the Fonic War herself after being blessed by Lorelei and making a pact with it, and read the seven-part Score that told of the world's future and how to escape the miasma born from the chemical reaction caused when weapons struck the core of Auldrant. Born to the nobility of the Kingdom of Hod, she also acheived the status of a deity to the people because of her deeds. Hinted that she may not have been entirely human to begin with; both by a sidequest in Daath and the fact that she read the entire Planet Score(all Seven Fonstones) herself, which takes an astounding amount of energy to do-- replica!Ion could only read about three-quarters of just the Seventh alone before it essentially killed him.
The First through Sixth Fonstones that held Auldrant's future were dispersed across the many Kingdoms of the time, though Yulia kept the Seventh, the Score of Final Judgment that held the last chapter of the planet's life, with her and hidden. Because of this, the Kingdoms of Ispania and Franc saw her as a threat and she was betrayed by her follower, Daath, captured and executed. Her husband, Albert Fende took her body, the Seventh Fonstone and their family back to Hod and went into hiding; his brother Sigmund Gardios took the rule of Hod in the public eye. By the time the game rolls around Van and Tear are the last of the Fende as Hod was destroyed completely (a la Atlantis). Yulia's blood has diminished a fair amount over 2000 years, but the siblings are still capable of a power that only they can use from Yulia's pact with Lorelei( Yulia's Hymns), as well as still having amazing fonic capacity; to the point that they are able to host Lorelei. As it's the mass embodiment of the Seventh Fonon itself, and the Seventh Fonon being particularly dangerous in large exposures, this would result in body deterioration and neural contamination/ insanity to the average Seventh Fonist, though it's not without consequence for the siblings.
Ex.
-Mohs, no ability for the Seventh Fonon + roughly 1/1,000,000,000 Lorelei's power = body mutated into a gigantic, disgusting mess of a monster immediately and mind began deteriorating in less than a day.
-Tear, hosted Lorelei for ~10 minutes = unconscious for about no more than an hour afterwards.
-Van, hosted Lorelei for about 2 weeks, depended on for life support = body crystallizing/ right arm completed mutated by end game.
Daathic Artes
Francis Daath was a follower of Yulia, as said above, who betrayed her. After this he suicided, and the street where he hung himself was named after him, and later the city took that name when it began the headquarters for the Order of Lorelei, the pseudo religion that follows Yulia's teachings and zealously upholds the Score. Only Fon Masters of the Order are can pull off Daathic Artes, as they're abilities handed down through the line. The only Daathic Artes we see in-game are Daathic Seals (ability to create and undo them), Curse Slots, and one attack Arte. I'm just going to link to here for details on them.
Lorelei
Now Abyss never states that the world of Auldrant has deities, but there are two beings in particular that would qualify for them; not self-proclaimed, but rather as perceived by the inhabitants of the planet. If Yulia is one who achieved the status of goddess by her deeds, power and the worship of the people, then Lorelei is the actual deity that makes the world go round. Lorelei is the sentient form of the Seventh Fonon, and the Score is pretty much Lorelei's "will"; its memories of the planet's entire life from creation to end. Lorelei favored Yulia, who understood it and presented its will to the people of Auldrant, and made a pact with her-- granting her the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei that she used to end the Fonic War in exchange for releasing it from the core where it was trapped. Yulia died before she could do this however, and the Key of Lorelei-- the combined Sword and Jewel-- was cast into the core. Some 2000 years later, an extension of Lorelei is born in the form of the original Luke fon Fabre-- later to become Asch as his replica took his place. Basically this means that Asch, and thus Luke as well because of fomicry and replication, is capable of creating hyperresonances by himself. They don't actually have astounding capacities; it's just their unique fonon frequency that allows this. Luke cannot create a complete one himself, but can get a power boost from Asch/ Seventh Fonists.
Tear's Skills
Trying to break away from battle system, since if we went by that no Fonist would live more than 3.7 seconds in a fight, so going by how the anime, dramas, etc. treated Fonic Artes and battle. These are only what she's capable of in Micro, as I don't feel like listing everything, and she can't use it all anyway.
Stats
Physical Strength: D
Physical Defense/ Endurance: D
Agility: B++
Fonic/ Magical Strength: A
Fonic/ Magical Resistance: A-
Luck: E
Skills
Fonic Burst
A small burst of power; an incomplete arte. Requires no cast time or verse, thus not as powerful as artes. Can easily go out of control in the hands of one who has not gained a degree of mastery over fonons.
Witchcraft
Reduces her casting time even more; doesn't apply to Single Verse Artes. Can reduce casting time of others in a certain range of her, though not as effective as for herself, or it can slow down a target's for a small amount of time.
Tribute
Basically the ability to transfer energy to others as well as take energy from others.
Invoke Element
Can grant an element to a weapon for a period of time i.e adding the power of fire to a sword, though it would only last for a few swings. Can nullify elements and seal fonic/ magical interference.
Shields
Can create durable, temporary shields to protect oneself. Can also "throw" them to defend others. Multiple shields at once have a significantly higher energy cost.
-Healing Abilities-
Can heal a single person or a group of people in an Area of Effect: repairing flesh, muscle, bone and organ damage. Can dispel minor magical effects (curses), some poison and physical effects. Not as effective when used on self. Cannot revive the dead.
-Fonic Artes-
Eclair de Larmes
Mid Level - Single Verse
Intricate seal of light appears beneath the target, damaging it with a sudden blast.
Flamme Rouge
Mid Level- Single Verse
Seal of flames erupt around the target in a cage, engulfing it.
Holy Lance
High Level - Three Verse
Crystallized lances of light rain down and spear the target, skewering it.
Cluster Raid
High Level- Three Verse
Quartz crystals erupt from the earth, impaling the target.
-Fonic Hymns-
Okay, so remember what I said before, that Hymns cannot match Artes or damage much of anything?
Disregard that now, because Tear (and Van of course) blatantly spits in that rule's face, making several main characters, ally and enemy alike, boggle. This is because they are the only ones that can use them, and Yulia was powerful enough to create Hymns that could match or exceed Artes. These are all single verse and near instantaneous; taking effect before the verse is even finished and without cast time on occasion. HAX I know.
Nightmare
Puts people asleep for a good length of time or, if they have exceptional resistance, weakens them to the point of barely being able to move for a good while. Can also stop a target, or multiple ones, by perception suspension, for up to 5~10 seconds. There's really no one that's immune to this, as it slows a person's awareness utterly, though those with stronger abilities will be stopped a shorter amount of time. Little to no effort is required to do this.
-Downs the entire Oracle Knight force on board the Tartarus landship at once in the audio dramas.
-Puts almost an entire castle to sleep mid-game.
-Immediately freezes Sync, Legretta and some grunts (second to endgame bosses).
-In an example of how badly the miasma is damaging her, the above are all before contracting it. Once she's absorbed from 7 out of 10 Passage Rings, putting to sleep around 20~30 people causes her to collapse from the strain.
Force Field
The strongest protection in Auldrant, an absolute, encased territory. It doesn't matter what's wailing on it, it has a consistent energy cost; protecting from a crazy earth-shattering kaboom takes as much out of her as defending against a Low Level Arte. It's keeping up it for great lengths of time that's draining.
-Can withstand the weight of parts of a continent falling on it.
-Can block the miasma.
Revitalize
The most advanced and effective healing arte in Auldrant, covering a massive area of effect and, as the name implies, completely revitalizing allies.
Judgment
ANTI-ARMY BEAMSPAM.
No seriously, watch this. It's Symphonia's Judgment, but Abyss didn't have one in the anime.
While even expert Fonists would need a chant the length of Kratos' or longer in order to do something on the level of Judgment-- like Jade and indignation--, the siblings are still exempt from this, only needing one verse. :|a
Grand Cross
A unique arte; as it pierces the target from the inside out, thus wreckign them internal.
-One-shots Gigant Mohs.
Resources would be my notes from the game Tales of the Abyss itself, the side game Tales of Fandom 2, as well as what I know of the novels, dramas, Kin no Inori and what was said during the Famitsu PS2 interviews forever ago.
First things first. Going to have to explain a lot of Abyss terminology and science so bear with me and prepare for words.
I like making spiffy charts
So basically at the end of the day there are three types of people living on Auldrant: the average everyday Joe with either no capability or a little but no talent, Fonists who have access to the First through Sixth Fonons and can use them to perform elemental phenomenon, and Seventh Fonists who either have access to the First through Seventh Fonons or simply only can use the Seventh to heal, affect the human body, and for those with larger capacities for it, read the Score. Which is reading the future the planet and its people are heading towards.
Foneest?
The basis of Fonic Artes is this: You take fonons into your body through your fonslots, collide them with your body's own fonon frequency (sort of like fingerprints), join them together and give them purpose/ direction with a fon verse, and bam. Elemental kabooms. Fonists only have the ability to use the First through Sixth Fonons-- all of them, if you can use the Second, you can use the Fifth. The Seventh Fonon is the only discriminate one. Though most fonists seem to concentrate on one or two elements and master them-- Jade being the exception, mastering the four main elementals completely and mostly ignoring the First and Sixth Fonons.
First Fonon - Darkness
Second Fonon - Earth
Third Fonon - Wind
Fourth Fonon - Water
Fifth Fonon - Fire
Sixth Fonon - Light
In terms of capacity (the potential one has as a fonist) versus skill (the actual training one received, artes they know) highest to lowest is as follows. This is for the First through Sixth Fonons only. This is also no way canon, based on speculation and how gamebreaky characters are. leaving Nebilim out since she's an earth destroying side boss that is optional BT
Capacity
Jade/Van/Original Ion/Tear -> Ion (seventh replica)/Asch/Sync -> Legretta/Florian -> Arietta -> Anise/Natalia
Skill
Jade -> Van -> Original Ion -> Legretta -> Sync/Asch/Tear -> Ion (replica)/Arietta ->Anise/Natalia ------------>Florian
Basically Jade and Van are probably currently the world's best fonists.
What the heck is a Seventh Fonist?
The Seventh Fonon is a fickle thing; one needs to be born with an inherent ability in order to be able to use it. It doesn't matter if you've mastered the First through Sixth, if you don't have said ability to control it, you're going to end up blowing everything around you (and probably yourself too) to hell. Though it's never said in-game directly, from looking at people who can use the Seventh Fonon it seems to be a genetic trait. Because of this there are very few Seventh Fonists and those who can use only it tend to be Scorers-- those that belong to the Order of Lorelei and read the Score for the people-- and/ or Healers.
So what is the Seventh Fonon and why is it so damn special? Throughout the course of the game, the Seventh Fonon has been called by the fonon of sound, the fonon of life, and the fonon of memory and all of these reflect what it's capable of.The element associated with it is sound and using it is pretty much manipulating sound vibrations and resonances to heal/repair the body and to chant the Score, which is the planet's memories. However, a big difference for the Seventh Fonon is that it can't attack, only affect the body by either healing or supporting it in some way. Fonic Hymns are used to activate the ability instead of a fonverse and are considerably weaker than Artes.
Wait I lied, there is one way for the Seventh Fonon to do damage; hyperresonances. An abnormal phenomenon that occurs when two Seventh Fonists interact with high levels of the Seventh Fonon and it can destroy any matter to an atomic level and reform any matter from an atomic level. However, as they are very rare occurances (because Seventh Fonists usually keep a limiter on their Seventh Fonon output when around other Fonist to keep from blowing things apart all the time) ,the fact that they are considered forbidden because of the destructive power and the lack of research regarding them, hyperresonances are rarely considered when dealing with the Seventh Fonon.
So for Seventh Fonists of the game, capacity vs. skill is as follows:
Capacity
Van/Original Ion/Tear -> Asch ---> Luke -> Ion replica -> Sync/Florian------> Natalia
Skill
Van -> Original Ion -> Tear/Sync -> Asch/Ion replica -> Natalia ------> Luke ------------------->Florian
-To give this a better perspective, a doctor in Belkend notes that Tear has over 100 times the capacity of the regular Seventh Fonist (like Natalia).
From what we see of the Seventh Fonists in-game is that aside from being a class all their own from Fonists, there are different groups that can be separated from the regular Seventh Fonist.
Yulia
Yulia was, essentially, Auldrant's first Seventh Fonist and before discovering this ability, was considered a prodigy for Fonic Artes. She ended the Fonic War herself after being blessed by Lorelei and making a pact with it, and read the seven-part Score that told of the world's future and how to escape the miasma born from the chemical reaction caused when weapons struck the core of Auldrant. Born to the nobility of the Kingdom of Hod, she also acheived the status of a deity to the people because of her deeds. Hinted that she may not have been entirely human to begin with; both by a sidequest in Daath and the fact that she read the entire Planet Score(all Seven Fonstones) herself, which takes an astounding amount of energy to do-- replica!Ion could only read about three-quarters of just the Seventh alone before it essentially killed him.
The First through Sixth Fonstones that held Auldrant's future were dispersed across the many Kingdoms of the time, though Yulia kept the Seventh, the Score of Final Judgment that held the last chapter of the planet's life, with her and hidden. Because of this, the Kingdoms of Ispania and Franc saw her as a threat and she was betrayed by her follower, Daath, captured and executed. Her husband, Albert Fende took her body, the Seventh Fonstone and their family back to Hod and went into hiding; his brother Sigmund Gardios took the rule of Hod in the public eye. By the time the game rolls around Van and Tear are the last of the Fende as Hod was destroyed completely (a la Atlantis). Yulia's blood has diminished a fair amount over 2000 years, but the siblings are still capable of a power that only they can use from Yulia's pact with Lorelei( Yulia's Hymns), as well as still having amazing fonic capacity; to the point that they are able to host Lorelei. As it's the mass embodiment of the Seventh Fonon itself, and the Seventh Fonon being particularly dangerous in large exposures, this would result in body deterioration and neural contamination/ insanity to the average Seventh Fonist, though it's not without consequence for the siblings.
Ex.
-Mohs, no ability for the Seventh Fonon + roughly 1/1,000,000,000 Lorelei's power = body mutated into a gigantic, disgusting mess of a monster immediately and mind began deteriorating in less than a day.
-Tear, hosted Lorelei for ~10 minutes = unconscious for about no more than an hour afterwards.
-Van, hosted Lorelei for about 2 weeks, depended on for life support = body crystallizing/ right arm completed mutated by end game.
Daathic Artes
Francis Daath was a follower of Yulia, as said above, who betrayed her. After this he suicided, and the street where he hung himself was named after him, and later the city took that name when it began the headquarters for the Order of Lorelei, the pseudo religion that follows Yulia's teachings and zealously upholds the Score. Only Fon Masters of the Order are can pull off Daathic Artes, as they're abilities handed down through the line. The only Daathic Artes we see in-game are Daathic Seals (ability to create and undo them), Curse Slots, and one attack Arte. I'm just going to link to here for details on them.
Lorelei
Now Abyss never states that the world of Auldrant has deities, but there are two beings in particular that would qualify for them; not self-proclaimed, but rather as perceived by the inhabitants of the planet. If Yulia is one who achieved the status of goddess by her deeds, power and the worship of the people, then Lorelei is the actual deity that makes the world go round. Lorelei is the sentient form of the Seventh Fonon, and the Score is pretty much Lorelei's "will"; its memories of the planet's entire life from creation to end. Lorelei favored Yulia, who understood it and presented its will to the people of Auldrant, and made a pact with her-- granting her the Sword and Jewel of Lorelei that she used to end the Fonic War in exchange for releasing it from the core where it was trapped. Yulia died before she could do this however, and the Key of Lorelei-- the combined Sword and Jewel-- was cast into the core. Some 2000 years later, an extension of Lorelei is born in the form of the original Luke fon Fabre-- later to become Asch as his replica took his place. Basically this means that Asch, and thus Luke as well because of fomicry and replication, is capable of creating hyperresonances by himself. They don't actually have astounding capacities; it's just their unique fonon frequency that allows this. Luke cannot create a complete one himself, but can get a power boost from Asch/ Seventh Fonists.
Tear's Skills
Trying to break away from battle system, since if we went by that no Fonist would live more than 3.7 seconds in a fight, so going by how the anime, dramas, etc. treated Fonic Artes and battle. These are only what she's capable of in Micro, as I don't feel like listing everything, and she can't use it all anyway.
Stats
Physical Strength: D
Physical Defense/ Endurance: D
Agility: B++
Fonic/ Magical Strength: A
Fonic/ Magical Resistance: A-
Luck: E
Skills
Fonic Burst
A small burst of power; an incomplete arte. Requires no cast time or verse, thus not as powerful as artes. Can easily go out of control in the hands of one who has not gained a degree of mastery over fonons.
Witchcraft
Reduces her casting time even more; doesn't apply to Single Verse Artes. Can reduce casting time of others in a certain range of her, though not as effective as for herself, or it can slow down a target's for a small amount of time.
Tribute
Basically the ability to transfer energy to others as well as take energy from others.
Invoke Element
Can grant an element to a weapon for a period of time i.e adding the power of fire to a sword, though it would only last for a few swings. Can nullify elements and seal fonic/ magical interference.
Shields
Can create durable, temporary shields to protect oneself. Can also "throw" them to defend others. Multiple shields at once have a significantly higher energy cost.
-Healing Abilities-
Can heal a single person or a group of people in an Area of Effect: repairing flesh, muscle, bone and organ damage. Can dispel minor magical effects (curses), some poison and physical effects. Not as effective when used on self. Cannot revive the dead.
-Fonic Artes-
Eclair de Larmes
Mid Level - Single Verse
Intricate seal of light appears beneath the target, damaging it with a sudden blast.
Flamme Rouge
Mid Level- Single Verse
Seal of flames erupt around the target in a cage, engulfing it.
Holy Lance
High Level - Three Verse
Crystallized lances of light rain down and spear the target, skewering it.
Cluster Raid
High Level- Three Verse
Quartz crystals erupt from the earth, impaling the target.
-Fonic Hymns-
Okay, so remember what I said before, that Hymns cannot match Artes or damage much of anything?
Disregard that now, because Tear (and Van of course) blatantly spits in that rule's face, making several main characters, ally and enemy alike, boggle. This is because they are the only ones that can use them, and Yulia was powerful enough to create Hymns that could match or exceed Artes. These are all single verse and near instantaneous; taking effect before the verse is even finished and without cast time on occasion. HAX I know.
Nightmare
Puts people asleep for a good length of time or, if they have exceptional resistance, weakens them to the point of barely being able to move for a good while. Can also stop a target, or multiple ones, by perception suspension, for up to 5~10 seconds. There's really no one that's immune to this, as it slows a person's awareness utterly, though those with stronger abilities will be stopped a shorter amount of time. Little to no effort is required to do this.
-Downs the entire Oracle Knight force on board the Tartarus landship at once in the audio dramas.
-Puts almost an entire castle to sleep mid-game.
-Immediately freezes Sync, Legretta and some grunts (second to endgame bosses).
-In an example of how badly the miasma is damaging her, the above are all before contracting it. Once she's absorbed from 7 out of 10 Passage Rings, putting to sleep around 20~30 people causes her to collapse from the strain.
Force Field
The strongest protection in Auldrant, an absolute, encased territory. It doesn't matter what's wailing on it, it has a consistent energy cost; protecting from a crazy earth-shattering kaboom takes as much out of her as defending against a Low Level Arte. It's keeping up it for great lengths of time that's draining.
-Can withstand the weight of parts of a continent falling on it.
-Can block the miasma.
Revitalize
The most advanced and effective healing arte in Auldrant, covering a massive area of effect and, as the name implies, completely revitalizing allies.
Judgment
ANTI-ARMY BEAMSPAM.
No seriously, watch this. It's Symphonia's Judgment, but Abyss didn't have one in the anime.
While even expert Fonists would need a chant the length of Kratos' or longer in order to do something on the level of Judgment-- like Jade and indignation--, the siblings are still exempt from this, only needing one verse. :|a
Grand Cross
A unique arte; as it pierces the target from the inside out, thus wreckign them internal.
-One-shots Gigant Mohs.