Peony Upala Malkuth IX

Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX, known more commonly as Peony IX, is the reigning monarch of the Malkuth Empire, who appears as a major supporting character in Tales of the Abyss.

Information
His first appearance is in a scene after Luke fon Fabre and his party enter Keterburg for the first time, while Nephry Osborne, the sister of Jade Curtiss, has a conversation with Luke about Jade and his past. In the animated rendition of the series, Peony appears in a flashback scene, briefly yelling at Jade about what he or the others would do if Jade had died. Peony's castle is located in the capital of Malkuth, the floating city Grand Chokmah.

History
Before the game begins, Peony's father had four noble concubines besides his wife. His mother was the one with the lowest status. The emperor had three sons and one daughter, none of them sharing the same mother, and all but Peony died in a struggle for the Malkuth throne since the reigning emperor had many enemies. The Closed Score predicted that Peony would rule Malkuth, which is why his father kept him confined in a manor in Keterburg, far from the political turmoil of the capital.

At his new residence in Keterburg, he rarely has any opportunity to leave the mansion to play with the other kids of Keterburg. But despite his closely guarded childhood, he was able to befriend Jade, Nephry, and Saphir, fellow students who attended a private school with him under Professor Gelda Nebilim. Peony himself stated that Nephry was his first love.

Years later, as the current emperor of the Malkuth Empire, Peony assists the party in trying to achieve a lasting peace with the rival country of Kimlasca. Both he and King Ingobert of Kimlasca conclude all military aggression from their respective nations through a peace treaty, signed in the neutral grounds of Yulia City. Following this treaty, Peony gives the party permission to use a secretly developed flying machine, known as the Albiore, to help them evacuate residents from Engeve and Sheridan and transport them to Chesedonia, after stopping the town from falling into the Qliphoth.

Trivia

 * Peony likes to keep rappigs as pets, naming them after people that he knows to help himself remember their names.