Pronyma

Pronyma (プロネーマ), also called Twilight Pronyma, is an antagonist in Tales of Symphonia and the leader of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. She has a more direct connection with Yggdrasill than her comrades, and is the only Grand Cardinal who does not have her own Human Ranch.

Personality
Her appearances within the game shows Pronyma as a scheming and heartless person who does not care for anyone besides herself and her leader Yggdrasill.

Fighting Style
As a Desian Grand Cardinal, Pronyma is a formidable opponent. She is fought twice throughout the game, with minor differences each time. During the first battle, Pronyma fights by herself, while in the second battle she fights alongside two of her underlings, known as Iduns. These hardy creatures have no particular techniques other than melee slashes with their scythes, though they do have the ability of inflicting the status ailment Weak at random.

Pronyma herself is armed with a sturdy rod, which she uses as a melee weapon as well as a magic-channeling tool. Like her comrades, Pronyma represents a base element amongst the Grand Cardinals. Magnius represents Fire, Kvar represents Lightning, Rodyle represents Earth, Forcystus represents Wind, and Pronyma herself represents Water, both liquid and solid. As such, Pronyma is proficient with both Water and Ice magic, making use of the Spread, Aqua Laser, and Ice Tornado spells. Perhaps due to her advanced rank, Pronyma also has access to Light and Dark magic, using the Dark Sphere and Prism Sword spells effectively.

Pronyma has two exclusive techniques, available only to her. These are Leonazium, which sets a magic circle in midair and fires fierce battle energy in the shape of a lion's head, identical to a red-colored Beast. The other technique is Agarazium, which lifts a magic circle from underneath the target, dealing damage and launching them into the air.

Outside of battle, it is possible that Pronyma is an expert in spying, as she is capable to keep an eye on both Kratos and Yuan without either of them noticing. However, in Tales of Fandom Vol 2, Zelos Wilder states that at least Kratos apparently was filled with confusion within himself, which was the reason he did not notice her.

Leadership Role
As the leader of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals, Pronyma is shown or mentioned several places. The first mention of her is from Kilia after Colette reveals her wings before Dorr and Neil, and mentioning her name when she loses in battle.

The next time, she is actually seen, but through a hologram in the Asgard Human Ranch talking to Kvar just as Lloyd Irving and his two other chosen companions barge into the office. Having previously heard about Lloyd’s connections to Kratos Aurion, her superior, she states that she can see the resemblance, which confuses Lloyd. However, Kvar is not much interested, and claims that Pronyma is stealing information and data from his base because of her jealousy, which Pronyma denies. She then reveals her knowledge of the Mana Cannon before she shuts down the communication, leaving Kvar to fight the heroes.

Reawakening Colette
After Colette Brunel, the Chosen of Sylvarant, sacrificed her heart and became soulless, Pronyma is ordered by Yggdrasill to keep an eye on Kratos, who he suspects will try to indirectly help the heroes behind Cruxis’ back.

As time goes, Pronyma eventually receives a new order from Mithos; the Chosen and her companions are headed to the Fooji Mountains to get back the Rheaird, and she is supposed to retrieve her. When she arrives, she sees that Yuan Ka-Fai, another of her superiors, have already captured the rest of the group except Colette. Receiving the cold shoulder when asking what he is doing, Pronyma agrees that as long as she gets Colette, she does not care what Yuan he does to Lloyd. However, when she gets closer to the soulless Colette, she sees that her Cruxis Crystal has a Key Crest on it, and attempts to take it off. This triggers Colette’s soul to return, and she refuses to let her take it off, claiming that it is the birthday present Lloyd gave to her.

Although shocked that the Key Crest actually could bring her soul back, Pronyma tries once again to take Colette, though now Colette knocks her away and frees her friends. Pronyma then fights them, but loses. While unconscious, Yuan wakes her up while Kratos distracts the party, and the two of them fly away.

Mischievous Days
During the rest of the game, while Yggdrasil is interacting with the heroes as the orphan Mithos, Pronyma continues to watch over Kratos, and also contacts Zelos Wilder, a triple agent who works partly with Cruxis while being friends with Lloyd and the Chosen of Tethe’alla. At one point, she encounters Rodyle, and in order to fool his plans to destroy the Tower of Salvation, she most likely makes him think she is on his side, and gives him a Cruxis Crystal that she claims will control the Mana Cannon, and also give him super strength. However, in reality, this Cruxis Crystal is not capable of controlling the Mana Cannon, and when Rodyle tries to use it, it makes him mutate into a monster instead.

When the heroes get captured and brought to Derris-Kharlan, for then to escape, Pronyma comes into the scene just as Genis Sage uses Fire Ball to hurt Yggdrasill. Furious that her lord is hurt, she aims a killing spell to the young boy, but the recovering Yggdrasill, who has gained a bond with Genis through Mithos, takes the blow instead and survives. Although confused with Yggdrasill’s behavior, she follows her orders and retreats.

In the end, at the end of Mithos’ infiltration with Lloyd and his friends, Pronyma appears when Mithos gets hurt by Lloyd. Suggesting to retreat with Kratos, they all return to Derris-Kharlan.

Death
During the party’s last visit to the Tower of Salvation to get a hold on a Mana Fragment, Zelos betrays the party and tricks Colette into a magical glyph which she cannot escape from. Pronyma appears to take Colette to Derris-Kharlan, and when there, she and Yggdrasill puts Colette into a machine that will transport Martel Yggdrasill’s soul into her body. At the end of the transportation, Lloyd and later his friends appear to save Colette, and Yggdrasill tells Pronyma to get rid of them. So she then fights them a second time.

After her defeat, Pronyma tries to use the last of her strength to beg Yggdrasill for help, calling him Mithos. When she does, he states the words: "Only my former companions can call me by that name, get out of my sight!" and kills Pronyma.

Cruxis
Mithos Yggdrasill - As the closest non-Seraph servant of Yggdrasill, Yggdrasill seems to trust her enough to carry out important missions like retrieving Colette and keeping an eye on Kratos. Because of her obsession to do everything for the leader of Cruxis, and also her last pleads before her death, many fans suggest that she might in fact be in love with him.

Kratos Aurion - Not much interaction between Pronyma and Kratos has been made, but it has been stated that Pronyma keeps an eye on Kratos after the party reaches Tethe’alla for the first time.

Yuan Ka-Fai - The first time Pronyma and Yuan meet each other during the timeline of the game, they show each other the cold shoulder, though while Yuan seems to be distrustful toward Pronyma, she herself seems like she respects him as her superior, and lets him do whatever he wants as long as she is able to follow Yggdrasill’s orders.

Zelos Wilder - Not much interaction between Pronyma and Zelos is shown in the game, except for their short coordination in the Tower of Salvation, but many fans think that Pronyma has a deeper role in Zelos’ life, as she is seen with him in both the manga and the anime.

Desians - As Pronyma does not have her own Human Ranch, she is set to watch over the other four Five Desian Grand Cardinals with their Human Ranches. She does not seem to care much for the normal Desians, and from what was seen through her meeting with Kvar, she acts professional whenever in front of the Grand Cardinals. She, along with Forcystus and possibly Rodyle, is the only one of the Desians to know about Derris-Kharlan and the Age of Lifeless Beings.

Enemies
Lloyd Irving - Already the first time she sees Lloyd, Pronyma can see the resemblance he has to Kratos. However, except for this, Pronyma has no trouble trying to kill him off in battle.

Colette Brunel - Like most of the others within the game, Pronyma only thinks of Colette as Martel’s host body, and is one of the villains who are after her for the sake of Cruxis’ goals.

Genis Sage - Because Genis managed to hurt Yggdrasill with one of his spells, Pronyma tries to kill him once, and probably still holds a grudge toward him during her final moments.

Tales of Symphonia manga
Pronyma has a smaller role in the Tales of Symphonia manga. There, she is first seen when she kills Rodyle after Kvar’s death, and is once again seen when she acquires the mission to spy on Kratos, and when she takes Colette away from the Tower of Salvation. However, her final moments are slightly different; instead of being ordered into fight, Pronyma casts a killing spell toward Lloyd on her own will, which makes Yggdrasill furious at her, as she could have hurt Martel. Trying to beg for his forgiveness, she calls him by his first name, in which the rest of her death is like in the game.

In a side-story chapter, it is also revealed that she was the messenger of Cruxis when they tried to make Zelos Wilder their ally many years prior to the storyline.



Tales of Symphonia: The Animation
Pronyma has so far made only two appearances in Tales of Symphonia: The Animation. The first is at the end of the third episode, where she, together with Rodyle, observes as Asgard Human Ranch gets destroyed, stating that it is a pity that Forcystus, Magnius and Kvar got defeated by humans when they thought they were the superior ones.

She is seen again at the very end of the fourth episode, once again together with Rodyle, standing before Yggdrasill as Kratos appears in his Cruxis attire.

During a trailer for the Tethe’alla Arc, Pronyma is seen talking to Zelos behind the group’s back.