Rekindle Application
Jul. 3rd, 2008 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redcladidealistOOC Information
Player Name: Nivi
Player Age: 30
Player Contact: Here.
Player/Character HMD: Character HMD
Other characters in game: N/A
IC Information
Character Name: Lloyd Irving
Character Age/Gender: 18, male
Canon Point: Just after the party returns from Derris-Kharlan and Altessa makes a Rune Crest for Colette, specifically after falling asleep when Zelos drugs them.
Character History: Wiki link.
To explain where Lloyd came from, one first needs to understand the circumstances of his world. Four thousand years before the game takes place, a group of four heros set out to end a devastating war between two countries, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Mithos Yggdrasill, his sister, Martel Yggdrasill, Yuan Ka-Fai, and Kratos Aurion were successful, but shortly after the peace treaty was signed, a group of humans betrayed them and killed Martel. Mad with grief, Mithos took Martel's last wish, to end discrimination between humans and half-elves, and twisted it to form a plan where everyone would become the same lifeless being, incapable of the hatred that he saw as the root of all the pain people inflicted on each other.
The world was dying, though, the giant Tree of Mana that sustains life drained by the heavy use of magitechnology during the Kharlan War. He split the two countries into two separate worlds using the power of the Eternal Sword, a weapon granted to him by Origin, the king of all Summon Spirits. By forcing the two worlds to vie for what little mana remained from the Tree's seed, he hoped to prevent either side from developing that same technology again. The two worlds would be kept in a constant balancing act where, when one world gained too much mana, the dying world would be sent through the process of regeneration to tip the scales again.
At the same time that Mithos did all of this, he also tied the Cruxis Cystal, an enhanced form of the parasitic stone called an Exsphere, that contained what remained of his sister's soul, to the Great Seed from the Giant Kharlan Tree to preserve her. By carefully guiding and controlling each world through the Church of Martel that he, Yuan, and Kratos founded, and by manipulating the mana lineage that produced the Chosens who were sent out to regenerate the world, Mithos hoped to create a vessel that would accept his sister's soul and revive her - at the loss of the soul of the Chosen.
Continuing his plans to create an Age of Lifeless Beings, Mithos, then calling himself Yggdrasill, also formed Cruxis and the Desians, the former to manipulate everything behind the scenes, and the later to act more directly in the worlds' affairs. The Desians, mostly abused and disenfranchised half-elves, collected Exspheres and attached them to human subjects in their Human Ranches. Through constant suffering and abuse and eventual death of the hosts, all while the Exspheres drained their mana, the Exspheres would awaken and become capable of enhancing the abilities in others, provided they wore an appropriate Key Crest. These would be what Yggrasill would use to turn everyone into lifeless beings, into angels. As extra incentive for the Chosens to make the Journey of Regeneration, the Desians would pick up and move their operations to the other world when one world completed the Journey. The Journey was soon seen as the only way to end the cycle of Desian oppression.
This is the world that Lloyd was born into.
It's not certain how long Kratos had been having second thoughts about Yggdrasill's plans and methods, but at some point he encountered Anna, one of the captives at a Human Ranch and a test subject in the Angelus Project that was an effort to find a better way to create a Cruxis Crystal. He fell in love with Anna and turned his back on Cruxis by helping her to escape the ranch. Cruxis pursued them, though, determined to get Anna's Exsphere back. While they were on the run, Lloyd was born. Three years later, the Desians cornered them in the forest near Iselia. Kvar, one of the five Desian Grand Cardinals, removed Anna's Exsphere, and her mana went out of control, turning her into a monster, an Exbelua. She attacked Lloyd, forcing Kratos to kill her to protect him. She, Lloyd, and their pet, Noishe, fell over a cliff, while Kratos had to continue fighting the Desians. By the time he was able to look for them, though, they were gone, only blood and drag marks remaining. As far away from civilization as they were, Kratos could only assume that monsters must have come and dragged the bodies away. Broken, he returned to Cruxis.
But Lloyd wasn't dead. A dwarf named Dirk had found him at the base of the cliff. Anna regained enough lucidity to tell him very briefly what happened before she passed away. Dirk took Lloyd in and raised him as his own son, teaching him dwarven morals and values. When Lloyd was old enough, Dirk sent him to school in Iselia, where the boy made friends with Genis, a half-elf boy passing as an elf, and Colette, the next Chosen of Regeneration. Raine, Genis's older sister, taught them all. Through these friendships and upbringing, Lloyd developed a strong sense of equality, that people were people no matter what race they were.
When the time for the Journey of Regeneration came, a group of Renegade Desians attacked, and Lloyd defended Colette. Kratos, undercover as a mercenary, had been sent to ensure the Chosen completed the journey, and he arrived in time to save them all when they were about to be overwhelmed. Lloyd wanted to go with them, but he was denied. Unfortunately, when he and Genis later provoked the real Desians by assisting an old human woman named Marble who was a prisoner in the local ranch, the Desians retaliated by burning Iselia and turning Marble into an Exbelua, forcing Lloyd and Genis to fight and kill her. Marble injured the Grand Cardinal involved, which made the Desians retreat, but Lloyd and Genis were exiled from the town. With nowhere else to go, they caught up to and joined Colette, Raine, and Kratos on the Journey of Regeneration.
During the process of the Journey, Lloyd continued to come to face with the harsh reality of his world. With each seal they broke, Colette lost pieces of her humanity, and though she tried to keep it secret, Lloyd eventually found out. It horrified him that she was having to sacrifice parts of herself, though he didn't know the extent of what was going to happen. With every trial he became more determined to protect her and help her find a way to save their world.
It wasn't until they met Sheena, a woman from Tethe'alla sent to assassinate the Chosen so that Tethe'alla would not be sent into decline, that Lloyd realized that there was another world tied to his. Upon learning what would happen to Tethe'alla when Sylvarant started to flourish, he couldn't bear the thought that the worlds could only survive by vying with each other for mana. There had to be a way to save both worlds. The goddess Martel couldn't be that unfair. However, they didn't have any other clear options, so they continued the Journey, determining that they'd figure something out on the way.
After the final seal, though, Remiel the angel revealed that it had all been a lie and that Colette was meant to be a sacrifice. This infuriated Lloyd, and it broke his heart when Colette lost her soul. He vowed to get Colette's soul back, even though it meant preventing the regeneration of the world. In his mind, there had to be a way to save both worlds without sacrifice.
Things nearly ended badly right there when Kratos stepped in and revealed that he was part of Cruxis and tried to take Colette. Kratos had become a mentor to Lloyd, teaching him to fight and helping him work through character-defining challenges. When Lloyd found out that Exspheres were refined with human lives, it was Kratos who convinced him to keep using his mother's Exsphere so that her sacrifice didn't go to waste. He helped fight Kvar and avenge Lloyd's mother. He was someone Lloyd had started looking up to. His betrayal really, really hurt, and even to this point, Lloyd has a hard time forgiving him for it.
Once they'd escaped from Kratos and Yggdrasill with the help of the Renegades, then escaping from the Renegades in turn, Lloyd and his friends set out for Tethe'alla to see if the researchers there knew of a way to bring Colette's soul back and save the two worlds. They allied with Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe'alla, and befriended Presea, another victim of the Angelus Project, they discovered that Colette needed a Key Crest for her Cruxis Crystal. Lloyd found a Key Crest and repaired it using the skills he'd learned under Dirk, and though it didn't seem to work at first, she did regain her soul just in time to help prevent Yuan from capturing Lloyd.
During this quest, it was revealed that Genis and Raine were half-elves. Lloyd didn't care, but he did care about the fact that half-elves who broke the law in Tethe'alla were supposed to be sentenced to death. He couldn't believe people could treat anyone that way, seeing it as just as bad as what the Desians did to humans in Sylvarant.
With Genis and Raine safe and Colette's soul returned, they once again set out on their journey. They ran into interference everywhere they turned, from Cruxis to the researchers to the Pope and the King of Tethe'alla. They ended up befriending a convict sent by the Pope to kill Zelos. Regal Bryant revealed he had connections to Presea's sister, Alicia - a girl he'd loved and who he'd had to kill with his own two hands when she'd been turned into an Exbelua, though he didn't reveal that part yet. He assisted them in finding the inhibitor ore Altessa the dwarf needed to craft a Key Crest for Presea, but not in time to prevent the near-robotic Presea from leading Colette into a trap, where she was captured by Rodyle, another Grand Cardinal. Lloyd didn't even hesitate to take Presea with them, regardless of what she'd just done. He didn't blame her because she'd barely been able to think for herself, and now that she could, he trusted her to do what was right.
In order to save Colette, they needed mana to power the Rheairds so they could fly to the dragons' nest where she was being held. To do this, Sheena needed to form a pact with the Summon Spirit, Volt, a task she had tried to do once before only to end in disaster and the deaths of many of the people from her village. Lloyd and her friends supported her despite the danger to themselves. Once they gained the Summon Spirit's aid, though, a Sylvaranti Summon Spirit Sheena had a pact with appeared to inform them that a mana link had severed. The two worlds were bound with these links of mana, and they'd be broken when two opposing Summon Spirits were both awake at the same time. This became the start of another plan to save the two worlds, which they embarked on as soon as Colette was saved: Separate the two worlds by breaking all the links so they wouldn't have to compete for mana again.
For the most part this went well enough, though the earthquakes that followed each broken link were ominous. Their efforts stalled when Cruxis attacked the town of Ozette, and when they arrived, they were too late to save anyone except for one half-elf boy named Mithos. With the town in ruins, they took him along, and Mithos and Genis quickly became friends. Lloyd never seemed to notice the somewhat aloof attitude Mithos took toward the rest of them, or when he did it was easy enough to explain it away as Mithos simply being nervous and not quite able to believe that humans and half-elves could be friends. After all, the story the boy had told was that he and his sister had been badly discriminated against by humans. Lloyd was fairly determined to prove by example that not all humans were bad.
Circumstances forced them to use an Otherworldly Gate to return to Sylvarant, where they continued their journey to separate the worlds. They allied with Yuan briefly, who no longer seemed intent on capturing Lloyd or Colette, and Yuan told them that they needed to germinate the Great Seed so that the Giant Kharlan Tree would be reborn, replenishing the supply of mana so that the two worlds could be reunited. To get to the Seed, they needed to continue to break the mana links that protected it, then expose it to mana from Derris-Kharlan, Cruxis's base, a comet made from mana.
Kratos tried to stop them, but unfortunately they succeeded, and when the Seed germinated, the Tree went out of control, wreaking havoc on the world. They had to ally with Kratos again to stop it, a fact that left Lloyd feeling torn and confused about the man. That wasn't the first time Kratos had done something that had helped them, or at least not hindered them, sometimes offered words that sounded like advice, despite being on opposite sides. The fact was, though, that he was still their enemy.
A new wrench was thrown in their plans when Colette fell ill with a toxicosis because of her Cruxis Crystal. Dirk couldn't help, despite being a dwarf, and suggested they return to Altessa, who might know more about Cruxis Crystals. Kratos parted ways with them, but offered a cryptic suggestion that ended up giving them the key to saving Colette. To collect the items they needed, they traveled to Heimdall, the restricted home of the elves, as well as Derris-Kharlan, where Lloyd witnessed what a city of lifeless angels would be like. There Lloyd learned more of the story of Mithos the Hero from 4,000 years ago, that he was Yggdrasill, and that Kratos and Yuan were also from that time, and he learned that the Eternal Sword was the key to reuniting the world.
Whatever goodwill Kratos might have earned, though, was negated when he captured Lloyd and his companions, imprisoning them in Derris-Kharlan. They escaped, and in the process Lloyd witnessed what a city of lifeless angels would be like, which only helped cement his decision to fight Yggdrasill when the leader of Cruxis revealed his plan to them. They had to fight Yggdrasill again, only barely surviving because Pronyma, another Grand Cardinal, interfered and attacked Genis, and Yggdrasill inexplicably threw himself in the way to protect Genis from the blast. Injured, he and Pronyma retreated, allowing Lloyd and the rest to escape back to Tethe'alla.
They had what they needed now to create a Rune Crest for Colette, so they returned to Altessa's home to complete her treatment. That night, unbeknownst to everyone, Zelos drugged their food. Lloyd barely made it to bed before falling asleep, still fully clothed and dressed, and even still wearing his swords. When he woke up, he was in a completely different world - and that's where this story begins.
Character Personality: Lloyd is a cocky, stubborn, determined young man, fiercely loyal and brave, but also more than a little naive. In the quiet village of Iselia that he grew up near, where very few people had any weapons training to speak of, it was easy for him to form an inflated opinion of his sword skills. He hated having it shown how much skill he actually lacked, which didn't help with how he first took to Kratos, who so outstripped him in skill that it made him feel pathetic. Rather than refuse to admit his weaknesses, though, he took it as a personal challenge to become even stronger, and even went so far as to accept training from Kratos. This is a prime example of how Lloyd meets obstacles and challenges. He may grumble and he may complain, but in the end he will do whatever it takes to do what he feels is right.
Living an initially sheltered life with his adoptive father, Dirk, it wasn't until he was seventeen that he was really exposed to how cruel the world could be. This may also be the root of his eternal optimism, as well as his ability to see and hope for the best in almost everyone he meets. For example, even after being betrayed by Kratos, a man he'd grown to respect and look up to, he still can't quite bring himself to believe that the man is his enemy. Even things like race can't dampen his idealism. Although half-elves are notoriously hated in his canon, the revelation that his best friend, Genis, and his teacher, Raine, were actually half-elves didn't matter to him. Lloyd looks more at the whole of a person than at individual aspects.
He is very enthusiastic about new experiences - or at least he is until the novelty wears off, which happens far too quickly. Lloyd's attention span is not what it could be. This is very much reflected in his schoolwork. Unless it's arts and crafts or astronomy, Lloyd hates studying. He can also be impulsive and hotheaded and often lands himself and others in trouble without really meaning to. He forms a plan and blasts through it full steam ahead, only to realize too late that he didn't consider every perspective.
Lloyd tries to be honest and trustworthy in everything he does, and he wants to believe that everyone else is like this, too. Unless he is given a good reason not to, he'll generally take people at face value - a fact which has gotten him in trouble before and no doubt will again. He strongly believes that people can change if they want to. He gladly welcomes both Sheena and Regal to join his group of companions, despite both having tried to kill his friend Colette, because they'd shown to him that they were willing to reconsider their reasons for attacking in the first place. When Kratos continues to assist him in cryptic ways, it's hard for him to reconcile this with the fact that Kratos is his enemy. Some might call him naive or gullible, but somehow he still manages to make friends with people through his sheer stubborn determination to see the best in them. There are very few exceptions to this, and most of them have shown no inclination to change or any sign of regret for their actions. At the top of this list are people like Kvar and Vharley, the one who unrepentantly started the chain of events that led to the death of Lloyd's mother, and the other who sold Exspheres and people's lives for money and didn't care when the victims died.
Lloyd has been hit very hard by some of the events that have happened during the course of his journey to help save the worlds. He's had to kill and make decisions that have led to people's deaths - and he would do almost anything to keep that from ever happening again. In his mind, no one should have to sacrifice themselves or others. Everyone deserves to live. That doesn't mean he won't fight for what he believes in, though. If anything, those deaths have only made him even more determined to fight for and protect the people and things he cares about.
Character Abilities: Lloyd has an Exsphere attached to his left hand which boosts his speed, endurance, reflexes, and strength. He can jump higher (perhaps as much as eight feet), push himself to keep going despite injuries (though these will get to him eventually), doesn't break every bone in his body when he does reckless things like jump off of cliffs, and can make limited use of mana when fighting. Mostly, this use of mana boils down to bursts of strength, agility, and/or speed, though he can also create narrow "shock waves" that peter out after about fifteen feet. His one defensive technique, Guardian, creates a shield of mana that lasts for only a few seconds that reduces the impact of both physical and magical attacks, but doesn't negate them completely.
A full list of his techniques can be found here.
Lloyd specializes in a dual-sword fighting style. Most of his skill is self-taught, although Kratos helped train him during the Journey of World Regeneration. At this point, he's a fairly passable swordsman, even without use of mana techniques.
While most of his academic grades are abysmal, Lloyd excels when it comes to astronomy, P.E., and crafts. Being raised the son of a dwarf, he knows his way around a smithy, and can even do some metalwork, though this is mostly limited to smaller, less strength-intensive things like jewelry or figurines. He has some basic knowledge of carpentry and woodworking. Living out in the woods with only himself and Dirk meant maintaining and repairing the house themselves. He has also stated that he plans to build a boat someday, so it's safe to assume that he's spent some time learning how to apply his skills toward that.
Lloyd also knows the dwarven runic language well enough to inscribe the necessary runes for a Key Crest, so his grasp on that is probably fairly solid.
The only other ability of note he has is his ability to pick locks. Given the general lack of technology present in Sylvarant, this likely only works with low-tech locks. Any kind of digital or magical lock will be beyond him. In fact, the one time he had to get through a technology-locked door, his solution was to physically bust it open.
Character Inventory: His typical red jacket, red gloves, black pants, and black undershirt, a pair of swords, a set of lock picks, and an apple gel. The gel is slightly squished from being slept on. He also has the Exsphere that's mounted on his left hand.
Samples: Interactive sample number one. (Prose)
Interactive sample number two. (Network post/commentspam)
He didn't know what woke him up. It was quiet, or as quiet as it got at night in the woods. The others were asleep, curled up in their sleeping bags, with the sole exception of Zelos, who was standing watch right then.
Well, sitting, technically. The redhead was idly tending the dying fire, poking the coals with a stick. Was that what had woken Lloyd up? The crackle of coals falling apart? He listened for another moment, but nothing else happened. It was probably nothing. He should go back to sleep. He closed his eyes, curling a little bit to try to conserve heat.
Then it happened again, and this time, awake, he noticed. Something cold and tiny had just landed on his cheek. He lifted his hand to brush it off.
"Damn it..."
The soft curse snapped Lloyd's attention back to his friend, in time to catch the last of a glare Zelos was shooting at the sky. Frowning, Lloyd sat up.
"What is it?"
Just like that, the glare disappeared, melting faster than the snowflake that had hit his cheek. Zelos tossed him his typical, careless grin and gestured with a dismissive hand.
"Nothing, bud. Go back to sleep."
Lloyd eyed the older boy. He trusted his friends. All of them. If something was really wrong, they'd tell him. Yeah, they lied sometimes when something was private, or when they thought he was better off not knowing, but if it was something that would put them all in danger, every fiber of his being trusted his friends to say whatever needed to be said. Including the Tethe'allan Chosen. He might be a jerk sometimes, and he might act a little bit weird, but in the end he'd put himself at risk to help them when they'd needed it.
So, this wasn't something like that. But Lloyd knew what he saw. That wasn't his imagination, either. Something was wrong.
But it was something Zelos wanted to keep to himself.
He could pry, but somehow he knew that wouldn't go over well, and he didn't have any evidence except his gut feeling that there was even anything to worry about. Weighing his options, it didn't take long to figure out what he was going to do. Dwarven Vow number one hundred and eight: Let sleeping dogs lie. He wouldn't poke.
But he could still help. With a mischievous grin, he climbed out of his bag.
"Lloyd..."
Lloyd ignored him, still grinning as he sat down next to him at the edge of the fire's warmth. Pulling his jacket around him to ward off the cold night air, he met Zelos's eyes.
"Hey. Wanna help me think up a really scary story to tell everyone tomorrow night?"
Zelos looked at him, trying to look reproving - and then that fake smile cracked. It became something more like a smirk.
"You? Scary? Yeah, right."
Lloyd huffed, pretending to take offense when really this was exactly what he had wanted. "Hey, I can do scary!"
"Yeah, with my help," Zelos teased. "That's why you're asking, right?"
"No way, you don't even know how scary the idea I had is! Just wait 'til I tell you!"
The smirk became real.
"Sure. You're on."
Forgotten, the lightest snowfall continued to drift through the night.
Player Name: Nivi
Player Age: 30
Player Contact: Here.
Player/Character HMD: Character HMD
Other characters in game: N/A
IC Information
Character Name: Lloyd Irving
Character Age/Gender: 18, male
Canon Point: Just after the party returns from Derris-Kharlan and Altessa makes a Rune Crest for Colette, specifically after falling asleep when Zelos drugs them.
Character History: Wiki link.
To explain where Lloyd came from, one first needs to understand the circumstances of his world. Four thousand years before the game takes place, a group of four heros set out to end a devastating war between two countries, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Mithos Yggdrasill, his sister, Martel Yggdrasill, Yuan Ka-Fai, and Kratos Aurion were successful, but shortly after the peace treaty was signed, a group of humans betrayed them and killed Martel. Mad with grief, Mithos took Martel's last wish, to end discrimination between humans and half-elves, and twisted it to form a plan where everyone would become the same lifeless being, incapable of the hatred that he saw as the root of all the pain people inflicted on each other.
The world was dying, though, the giant Tree of Mana that sustains life drained by the heavy use of magitechnology during the Kharlan War. He split the two countries into two separate worlds using the power of the Eternal Sword, a weapon granted to him by Origin, the king of all Summon Spirits. By forcing the two worlds to vie for what little mana remained from the Tree's seed, he hoped to prevent either side from developing that same technology again. The two worlds would be kept in a constant balancing act where, when one world gained too much mana, the dying world would be sent through the process of regeneration to tip the scales again.
At the same time that Mithos did all of this, he also tied the Cruxis Cystal, an enhanced form of the parasitic stone called an Exsphere, that contained what remained of his sister's soul, to the Great Seed from the Giant Kharlan Tree to preserve her. By carefully guiding and controlling each world through the Church of Martel that he, Yuan, and Kratos founded, and by manipulating the mana lineage that produced the Chosens who were sent out to regenerate the world, Mithos hoped to create a vessel that would accept his sister's soul and revive her - at the loss of the soul of the Chosen.
Continuing his plans to create an Age of Lifeless Beings, Mithos, then calling himself Yggdrasill, also formed Cruxis and the Desians, the former to manipulate everything behind the scenes, and the later to act more directly in the worlds' affairs. The Desians, mostly abused and disenfranchised half-elves, collected Exspheres and attached them to human subjects in their Human Ranches. Through constant suffering and abuse and eventual death of the hosts, all while the Exspheres drained their mana, the Exspheres would awaken and become capable of enhancing the abilities in others, provided they wore an appropriate Key Crest. These would be what Yggrasill would use to turn everyone into lifeless beings, into angels. As extra incentive for the Chosens to make the Journey of Regeneration, the Desians would pick up and move their operations to the other world when one world completed the Journey. The Journey was soon seen as the only way to end the cycle of Desian oppression.
This is the world that Lloyd was born into.
It's not certain how long Kratos had been having second thoughts about Yggdrasill's plans and methods, but at some point he encountered Anna, one of the captives at a Human Ranch and a test subject in the Angelus Project that was an effort to find a better way to create a Cruxis Crystal. He fell in love with Anna and turned his back on Cruxis by helping her to escape the ranch. Cruxis pursued them, though, determined to get Anna's Exsphere back. While they were on the run, Lloyd was born. Three years later, the Desians cornered them in the forest near Iselia. Kvar, one of the five Desian Grand Cardinals, removed Anna's Exsphere, and her mana went out of control, turning her into a monster, an Exbelua. She attacked Lloyd, forcing Kratos to kill her to protect him. She, Lloyd, and their pet, Noishe, fell over a cliff, while Kratos had to continue fighting the Desians. By the time he was able to look for them, though, they were gone, only blood and drag marks remaining. As far away from civilization as they were, Kratos could only assume that monsters must have come and dragged the bodies away. Broken, he returned to Cruxis.
But Lloyd wasn't dead. A dwarf named Dirk had found him at the base of the cliff. Anna regained enough lucidity to tell him very briefly what happened before she passed away. Dirk took Lloyd in and raised him as his own son, teaching him dwarven morals and values. When Lloyd was old enough, Dirk sent him to school in Iselia, where the boy made friends with Genis, a half-elf boy passing as an elf, and Colette, the next Chosen of Regeneration. Raine, Genis's older sister, taught them all. Through these friendships and upbringing, Lloyd developed a strong sense of equality, that people were people no matter what race they were.
When the time for the Journey of Regeneration came, a group of Renegade Desians attacked, and Lloyd defended Colette. Kratos, undercover as a mercenary, had been sent to ensure the Chosen completed the journey, and he arrived in time to save them all when they were about to be overwhelmed. Lloyd wanted to go with them, but he was denied. Unfortunately, when he and Genis later provoked the real Desians by assisting an old human woman named Marble who was a prisoner in the local ranch, the Desians retaliated by burning Iselia and turning Marble into an Exbelua, forcing Lloyd and Genis to fight and kill her. Marble injured the Grand Cardinal involved, which made the Desians retreat, but Lloyd and Genis were exiled from the town. With nowhere else to go, they caught up to and joined Colette, Raine, and Kratos on the Journey of Regeneration.
During the process of the Journey, Lloyd continued to come to face with the harsh reality of his world. With each seal they broke, Colette lost pieces of her humanity, and though she tried to keep it secret, Lloyd eventually found out. It horrified him that she was having to sacrifice parts of herself, though he didn't know the extent of what was going to happen. With every trial he became more determined to protect her and help her find a way to save their world.
It wasn't until they met Sheena, a woman from Tethe'alla sent to assassinate the Chosen so that Tethe'alla would not be sent into decline, that Lloyd realized that there was another world tied to his. Upon learning what would happen to Tethe'alla when Sylvarant started to flourish, he couldn't bear the thought that the worlds could only survive by vying with each other for mana. There had to be a way to save both worlds. The goddess Martel couldn't be that unfair. However, they didn't have any other clear options, so they continued the Journey, determining that they'd figure something out on the way.
After the final seal, though, Remiel the angel revealed that it had all been a lie and that Colette was meant to be a sacrifice. This infuriated Lloyd, and it broke his heart when Colette lost her soul. He vowed to get Colette's soul back, even though it meant preventing the regeneration of the world. In his mind, there had to be a way to save both worlds without sacrifice.
Things nearly ended badly right there when Kratos stepped in and revealed that he was part of Cruxis and tried to take Colette. Kratos had become a mentor to Lloyd, teaching him to fight and helping him work through character-defining challenges. When Lloyd found out that Exspheres were refined with human lives, it was Kratos who convinced him to keep using his mother's Exsphere so that her sacrifice didn't go to waste. He helped fight Kvar and avenge Lloyd's mother. He was someone Lloyd had started looking up to. His betrayal really, really hurt, and even to this point, Lloyd has a hard time forgiving him for it.
Once they'd escaped from Kratos and Yggdrasill with the help of the Renegades, then escaping from the Renegades in turn, Lloyd and his friends set out for Tethe'alla to see if the researchers there knew of a way to bring Colette's soul back and save the two worlds. They allied with Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe'alla, and befriended Presea, another victim of the Angelus Project, they discovered that Colette needed a Key Crest for her Cruxis Crystal. Lloyd found a Key Crest and repaired it using the skills he'd learned under Dirk, and though it didn't seem to work at first, she did regain her soul just in time to help prevent Yuan from capturing Lloyd.
During this quest, it was revealed that Genis and Raine were half-elves. Lloyd didn't care, but he did care about the fact that half-elves who broke the law in Tethe'alla were supposed to be sentenced to death. He couldn't believe people could treat anyone that way, seeing it as just as bad as what the Desians did to humans in Sylvarant.
With Genis and Raine safe and Colette's soul returned, they once again set out on their journey. They ran into interference everywhere they turned, from Cruxis to the researchers to the Pope and the King of Tethe'alla. They ended up befriending a convict sent by the Pope to kill Zelos. Regal Bryant revealed he had connections to Presea's sister, Alicia - a girl he'd loved and who he'd had to kill with his own two hands when she'd been turned into an Exbelua, though he didn't reveal that part yet. He assisted them in finding the inhibitor ore Altessa the dwarf needed to craft a Key Crest for Presea, but not in time to prevent the near-robotic Presea from leading Colette into a trap, where she was captured by Rodyle, another Grand Cardinal. Lloyd didn't even hesitate to take Presea with them, regardless of what she'd just done. He didn't blame her because she'd barely been able to think for herself, and now that she could, he trusted her to do what was right.
In order to save Colette, they needed mana to power the Rheairds so they could fly to the dragons' nest where she was being held. To do this, Sheena needed to form a pact with the Summon Spirit, Volt, a task she had tried to do once before only to end in disaster and the deaths of many of the people from her village. Lloyd and her friends supported her despite the danger to themselves. Once they gained the Summon Spirit's aid, though, a Sylvaranti Summon Spirit Sheena had a pact with appeared to inform them that a mana link had severed. The two worlds were bound with these links of mana, and they'd be broken when two opposing Summon Spirits were both awake at the same time. This became the start of another plan to save the two worlds, which they embarked on as soon as Colette was saved: Separate the two worlds by breaking all the links so they wouldn't have to compete for mana again.
For the most part this went well enough, though the earthquakes that followed each broken link were ominous. Their efforts stalled when Cruxis attacked the town of Ozette, and when they arrived, they were too late to save anyone except for one half-elf boy named Mithos. With the town in ruins, they took him along, and Mithos and Genis quickly became friends. Lloyd never seemed to notice the somewhat aloof attitude Mithos took toward the rest of them, or when he did it was easy enough to explain it away as Mithos simply being nervous and not quite able to believe that humans and half-elves could be friends. After all, the story the boy had told was that he and his sister had been badly discriminated against by humans. Lloyd was fairly determined to prove by example that not all humans were bad.
Circumstances forced them to use an Otherworldly Gate to return to Sylvarant, where they continued their journey to separate the worlds. They allied with Yuan briefly, who no longer seemed intent on capturing Lloyd or Colette, and Yuan told them that they needed to germinate the Great Seed so that the Giant Kharlan Tree would be reborn, replenishing the supply of mana so that the two worlds could be reunited. To get to the Seed, they needed to continue to break the mana links that protected it, then expose it to mana from Derris-Kharlan, Cruxis's base, a comet made from mana.
Kratos tried to stop them, but unfortunately they succeeded, and when the Seed germinated, the Tree went out of control, wreaking havoc on the world. They had to ally with Kratos again to stop it, a fact that left Lloyd feeling torn and confused about the man. That wasn't the first time Kratos had done something that had helped them, or at least not hindered them, sometimes offered words that sounded like advice, despite being on opposite sides. The fact was, though, that he was still their enemy.
A new wrench was thrown in their plans when Colette fell ill with a toxicosis because of her Cruxis Crystal. Dirk couldn't help, despite being a dwarf, and suggested they return to Altessa, who might know more about Cruxis Crystals. Kratos parted ways with them, but offered a cryptic suggestion that ended up giving them the key to saving Colette. To collect the items they needed, they traveled to Heimdall, the restricted home of the elves, as well as Derris-Kharlan, where Lloyd witnessed what a city of lifeless angels would be like. There Lloyd learned more of the story of Mithos the Hero from 4,000 years ago, that he was Yggdrasill, and that Kratos and Yuan were also from that time, and he learned that the Eternal Sword was the key to reuniting the world.
Whatever goodwill Kratos might have earned, though, was negated when he captured Lloyd and his companions, imprisoning them in Derris-Kharlan. They escaped, and in the process Lloyd witnessed what a city of lifeless angels would be like, which only helped cement his decision to fight Yggdrasill when the leader of Cruxis revealed his plan to them. They had to fight Yggdrasill again, only barely surviving because Pronyma, another Grand Cardinal, interfered and attacked Genis, and Yggdrasill inexplicably threw himself in the way to protect Genis from the blast. Injured, he and Pronyma retreated, allowing Lloyd and the rest to escape back to Tethe'alla.
They had what they needed now to create a Rune Crest for Colette, so they returned to Altessa's home to complete her treatment. That night, unbeknownst to everyone, Zelos drugged their food. Lloyd barely made it to bed before falling asleep, still fully clothed and dressed, and even still wearing his swords. When he woke up, he was in a completely different world - and that's where this story begins.
Character Personality: Lloyd is a cocky, stubborn, determined young man, fiercely loyal and brave, but also more than a little naive. In the quiet village of Iselia that he grew up near, where very few people had any weapons training to speak of, it was easy for him to form an inflated opinion of his sword skills. He hated having it shown how much skill he actually lacked, which didn't help with how he first took to Kratos, who so outstripped him in skill that it made him feel pathetic. Rather than refuse to admit his weaknesses, though, he took it as a personal challenge to become even stronger, and even went so far as to accept training from Kratos. This is a prime example of how Lloyd meets obstacles and challenges. He may grumble and he may complain, but in the end he will do whatever it takes to do what he feels is right.
Living an initially sheltered life with his adoptive father, Dirk, it wasn't until he was seventeen that he was really exposed to how cruel the world could be. This may also be the root of his eternal optimism, as well as his ability to see and hope for the best in almost everyone he meets. For example, even after being betrayed by Kratos, a man he'd grown to respect and look up to, he still can't quite bring himself to believe that the man is his enemy. Even things like race can't dampen his idealism. Although half-elves are notoriously hated in his canon, the revelation that his best friend, Genis, and his teacher, Raine, were actually half-elves didn't matter to him. Lloyd looks more at the whole of a person than at individual aspects.
He is very enthusiastic about new experiences - or at least he is until the novelty wears off, which happens far too quickly. Lloyd's attention span is not what it could be. This is very much reflected in his schoolwork. Unless it's arts and crafts or astronomy, Lloyd hates studying. He can also be impulsive and hotheaded and often lands himself and others in trouble without really meaning to. He forms a plan and blasts through it full steam ahead, only to realize too late that he didn't consider every perspective.
Lloyd tries to be honest and trustworthy in everything he does, and he wants to believe that everyone else is like this, too. Unless he is given a good reason not to, he'll generally take people at face value - a fact which has gotten him in trouble before and no doubt will again. He strongly believes that people can change if they want to. He gladly welcomes both Sheena and Regal to join his group of companions, despite both having tried to kill his friend Colette, because they'd shown to him that they were willing to reconsider their reasons for attacking in the first place. When Kratos continues to assist him in cryptic ways, it's hard for him to reconcile this with the fact that Kratos is his enemy. Some might call him naive or gullible, but somehow he still manages to make friends with people through his sheer stubborn determination to see the best in them. There are very few exceptions to this, and most of them have shown no inclination to change or any sign of regret for their actions. At the top of this list are people like Kvar and Vharley, the one who unrepentantly started the chain of events that led to the death of Lloyd's mother, and the other who sold Exspheres and people's lives for money and didn't care when the victims died.
Lloyd has been hit very hard by some of the events that have happened during the course of his journey to help save the worlds. He's had to kill and make decisions that have led to people's deaths - and he would do almost anything to keep that from ever happening again. In his mind, no one should have to sacrifice themselves or others. Everyone deserves to live. That doesn't mean he won't fight for what he believes in, though. If anything, those deaths have only made him even more determined to fight for and protect the people and things he cares about.
Character Abilities: Lloyd has an Exsphere attached to his left hand which boosts his speed, endurance, reflexes, and strength. He can jump higher (perhaps as much as eight feet), push himself to keep going despite injuries (though these will get to him eventually), doesn't break every bone in his body when he does reckless things like jump off of cliffs, and can make limited use of mana when fighting. Mostly, this use of mana boils down to bursts of strength, agility, and/or speed, though he can also create narrow "shock waves" that peter out after about fifteen feet. His one defensive technique, Guardian, creates a shield of mana that lasts for only a few seconds that reduces the impact of both physical and magical attacks, but doesn't negate them completely.
A full list of his techniques can be found here.
Lloyd specializes in a dual-sword fighting style. Most of his skill is self-taught, although Kratos helped train him during the Journey of World Regeneration. At this point, he's a fairly passable swordsman, even without use of mana techniques.
While most of his academic grades are abysmal, Lloyd excels when it comes to astronomy, P.E., and crafts. Being raised the son of a dwarf, he knows his way around a smithy, and can even do some metalwork, though this is mostly limited to smaller, less strength-intensive things like jewelry or figurines. He has some basic knowledge of carpentry and woodworking. Living out in the woods with only himself and Dirk meant maintaining and repairing the house themselves. He has also stated that he plans to build a boat someday, so it's safe to assume that he's spent some time learning how to apply his skills toward that.
Lloyd also knows the dwarven runic language well enough to inscribe the necessary runes for a Key Crest, so his grasp on that is probably fairly solid.
The only other ability of note he has is his ability to pick locks. Given the general lack of technology present in Sylvarant, this likely only works with low-tech locks. Any kind of digital or magical lock will be beyond him. In fact, the one time he had to get through a technology-locked door, his solution was to physically bust it open.
Character Inventory: His typical red jacket, red gloves, black pants, and black undershirt, a pair of swords, a set of lock picks, and an apple gel. The gel is slightly squished from being slept on. He also has the Exsphere that's mounted on his left hand.
Samples: Interactive sample number one. (Prose)
Interactive sample number two. (Network post/commentspam)
He didn't know what woke him up. It was quiet, or as quiet as it got at night in the woods. The others were asleep, curled up in their sleeping bags, with the sole exception of Zelos, who was standing watch right then.
Well, sitting, technically. The redhead was idly tending the dying fire, poking the coals with a stick. Was that what had woken Lloyd up? The crackle of coals falling apart? He listened for another moment, but nothing else happened. It was probably nothing. He should go back to sleep. He closed his eyes, curling a little bit to try to conserve heat.
Then it happened again, and this time, awake, he noticed. Something cold and tiny had just landed on his cheek. He lifted his hand to brush it off.
"Damn it..."
The soft curse snapped Lloyd's attention back to his friend, in time to catch the last of a glare Zelos was shooting at the sky. Frowning, Lloyd sat up.
"What is it?"
Just like that, the glare disappeared, melting faster than the snowflake that had hit his cheek. Zelos tossed him his typical, careless grin and gestured with a dismissive hand.
"Nothing, bud. Go back to sleep."
Lloyd eyed the older boy. He trusted his friends. All of them. If something was really wrong, they'd tell him. Yeah, they lied sometimes when something was private, or when they thought he was better off not knowing, but if it was something that would put them all in danger, every fiber of his being trusted his friends to say whatever needed to be said. Including the Tethe'allan Chosen. He might be a jerk sometimes, and he might act a little bit weird, but in the end he'd put himself at risk to help them when they'd needed it.
So, this wasn't something like that. But Lloyd knew what he saw. That wasn't his imagination, either. Something was wrong.
But it was something Zelos wanted to keep to himself.
He could pry, but somehow he knew that wouldn't go over well, and he didn't have any evidence except his gut feeling that there was even anything to worry about. Weighing his options, it didn't take long to figure out what he was going to do. Dwarven Vow number one hundred and eight: Let sleeping dogs lie. He wouldn't poke.
But he could still help. With a mischievous grin, he climbed out of his bag.
"Lloyd..."
Lloyd ignored him, still grinning as he sat down next to him at the edge of the fire's warmth. Pulling his jacket around him to ward off the cold night air, he met Zelos's eyes.
"Hey. Wanna help me think up a really scary story to tell everyone tomorrow night?"
Zelos looked at him, trying to look reproving - and then that fake smile cracked. It became something more like a smirk.
"You? Scary? Yeah, right."
Lloyd huffed, pretending to take offense when really this was exactly what he had wanted. "Hey, I can do scary!"
"Yeah, with my help," Zelos teased. "That's why you're asking, right?"
"No way, you don't even know how scary the idea I had is! Just wait 'til I tell you!"
The smirk became real.
"Sure. You're on."
Forgotten, the lightest snowfall continued to drift through the night.