Zelos Wilder
Template:TOS character Zelos Wilder (ゼロス・ワイルダー "Zerosu Wairudaa" in Japan) is a fictional character in the video game Tales of Symphonia. He is 22 years old, is 5'10', and weighs 149 pounds. He is voiced by Shiloh Strong.
Overview
The Chosen One from Tethe'alla, the other world. He is almost never serious and often is the comic relief of the group, always ready to cheer everyone up at heavy-hearted moments. Quite the ladies' man (one of his possible titles is called Gigolo, which he gets by speaking to every female character in the world), he has the ability to charm every women he sees, who in turn give him gifts (the player will be able to take this advantage in the game). Zelos is handsome and sometimes appears to think slowly (though it is said in the game that he is highly skilled at mathematics), and approaches most situations hoping to meet or impress any pretty girls nearby. He takes every opportunity to hit on his female team members, much to their annoyance. However, he can be serious when he wants to be, and can be surprisingly sensitive at times (after Corrine sacrifices himself to save Sheena at the Temple of Lightning, Sheena becomes depressed. In one of the optional Z-Skits, we hear that Zelos is still acting lighthearted, as if Corrine had not just died. He is then chastised by the other members of the group for not taking it seriously enough. When they leave, Zelos reveals that, if the party members continue being sad around Sheena, the Summoner will only get more depressed, and will not move on with her life; the only way to help her get over the loss is for them to move on).
History
The first impression Zelos gives is that of a skirt-chasing, irresponsible and immature guy. However, Zelos has more internal conflicts and emotional pain than he lets on (though clues are dropped throughout the storyline), possibly more severe than any other character in the game. As Zelos reveals to Lloyd in Flanoir (if the player chooses to talk to Zelos), his mother, Mylene, was told to marry his father, the Chosen at the time, by the Oracle of Cruxis, even though she did not want to. Growing up, his home life was less than comforting. His main caretaker was Sebastian, the family butler. Both his parents had affairs outside the marriage and seemed to care little for him. After his father's death, his mistress, in fact, attempted to kill Zelos when he was a child so that her daughter Seles (Zelos's younger half-sister) could become the Chosen. Mylene was accidentally caught in the crossfire, and the snow turned red with her blood. As his mother was dying, her last words to Zelos were: "You should never have been born." His younger half-sister Seles was exiled to an abbey for life, and Seles' mother was executed for the crime. It is highly likely most of Zelos's narcissist-like behavior stems from his painful childhood.
Zelos's Choice
Zelos's fighting style is similar to that of Kratos. Zelos has some useful spells, although he prefers to fight on the front lines if left to his own devices. His weapons are very strong and he moves fast. One of the major twists in the plot involves Zelos. After Altessa, the dwarf craftsman in Tethe'alla, is badly wounded, the party takes the Rheiards to the city of Flanoir to find a doctor. The doctor requests an entourage and takes the four characters who have the lowest relationships with Lloyd.
That night, three people will come to the room Lloyd is in at the Flanoir Inn, asking for him to go for a walk with them. The player may have Lloyd agree to the walk with any one of them, or may deny them all (in which case, Lloyd goes outside on his own, where he meets his father, Kratos). Morning comes, and Lloyd decides to make a direct attack on Cruxis, at the Tower of Salvation. If Lloyd spoke to one of the first three guests, Zelos betrays the party at the Tower. It is later revealed that he needed to fake betrayel to obtain material neccesary to forge a certain object and he rejoins them. However, if Lloyd spoke with Kratos at Flanoir, Zelos decides to fight the party when he betrays them. The party is forced to kill him. As the Chosen of Tethe'alla dies, he tells Lloyd of how he wished for a "simple, easy life", and that, now that he is dead, Seles (his half-sister), will become the Chosen. It's what she always wanted, he says. He then tells them where to find Colette, after that, Zelos Wilder dies.