Leon Magnus

Leon Magnus is a character from the Tales series, specifically Tales of Destiny and its sequel, Tales of Destiny 2. A cold-hearted, brooding young prodigy of a swordsman from Seinegald, Leon is the youngest master swordsman to become a captain of the Kingdom of Seinegald. He's closely associated with Hugo Gilchrist and lived in his manor located in the city of Darilsheid. Although he shows a cold exterior to his associates, he opens up to a maid in Hugo's house named Marian. He is also the master of the Swordian of Earth, Chaltier.

Throughout the saga of Tales of Destiny, Leon goes by two other names: Emilio Katrea/Emilio Gilchrist and Judas.

Early life
Leon was born Emilio Gilchrist/Emilio Katrea, the second child of Hugo Gilchrist, President of the Oberon Corporation, and Chris Katrea. He also has a sister named Rutee Katrea who is two years his senior. During his childhood, Leon was attached to a girl named Marian. The family also had Swordians in their possessions, namely Atwight (Swordian of Water) and Chaltier (Swordian of Earth). Emilio received Chaltier and became his master.

One day, Hugo came upon a Swordian named Berselius, possessed with the soul of Kronos (Miktran in Japanese version), leader of the Ae'therians. Hugo, whose mind was being taken over by Kronos, was slowly losing his sanity and managed to kill Chris. However, before he completely lost it, he sent Rutee along with Atwight away somewhere in order to protect her. However, he was totally consumed by insanity before he could save Emilio. In turn, he trained Emilio to be a cold-hearted warrior and had him change his name to 'Leon Magnus'.

Leon utterly despised his father but had to follow Hugo's orders, as he brought Marian, whom Leon was greatly infatuated with due to her resemblance with Chris, to his house as a maid and threatened her life should Leon do anything crazy. As he trained, he showed great swordsmanship and discipline and due to Hugo's association with the Kingdom of Seinegald, Leon soon was promoted to the position of Knight Captain of the Kingdom.

The hunt for the Eye of Atamoni (Tales of Destiny)
While serving the kingdom, eventually Leon heard about Rutee, who was currently a Lens Hunter, and her money-hungry attitude, which granted her a bad reputation. Eventually Leon caught up with her along with her usual partner, Mary Argent, and her new partner, Stahn Aileron. Even though he recognized her as his sister, Leon pretended not to know her and quickly decimated and arrested her group. Leon also noticed that Stahn possessed the Swordian of Fire, Dymlos. Leon proceeded to confiscate their weapons and sent them to the dungeon.

However, they were later freed by Hugo so they could be used to investigate the disappearance of a huge, powerful Lens named Eye of Atamoni from the Straylize Temple. Leon was assigned to accompany them so they would not do anything crazy, much to his chagrin (their 'stupidity' sickened him), although three electric tiaras were also put on their heads. After escorting them to his house and giving them their weapons back, Leon had a brief talk with Marian before leaving. During the journey, he had to show a lot of his authority to control Stahn & co.

Eventually they found out that the Eye of Atamoni was stolen by the High Priest Lydon (Grebaum in Japanese) himself. Joined by a priestess from the temple, Philia Felice (Philia Philis in Japanese), who later received the Swordian of Lightning, Clemente, Leon set out to hunt down Lydon, first by heading to Calvalese and contacting Baruk, the Branch Manager of Oberon Coperation. Lydon had visited the region, but already left to Fitzgald. Leon then got his group heading to the city of Neuestadt, contacting the Branch Manager Ilene and eventually agreeing to capture a suspicious group of Lens Pirates. The team succeeded in capturing their leader, Philia's former friend Batista.

To interrogate Batista, Leon took Mary's tiara and put it on Batista's head, much to Rutee's dismay; she wanted to be free of her tiara. Leon didn't trust her much and when she called him 'snot-nosed brat', he was greatly insulted and proceeded to shock her. Eventually after Batista fainted and hadn't revealed any information, Leon left him in the room, with the door purposefully unlocked. As he expected, Batista escaped and the tiara, which was equipped with a homing beacon, broadcasted his (and Lydon's) location, the region of Aquaveil.

Leon headed there and confronted Batista in the town of Moreau. Batista eventually committed suicide by pulling off the tiara, shocking him to death. When Philia was mourning his death, Leon told Stahn to go, asking whether he still had the tact or decency to respect her moment of sorrow. They later confronted Lydon and King Tiberius in Terazzi. Although Tiberius was defeated, Lydon escaped to the snowy region of Phandaria. Tiberius knew he was being used by Lydon, but when he heard the word 'Seinegald', he began rambling that it would soon follow his footsteps, being destroyed by Lydon and the Eye of Atamoni. Unable to withstand hearing his country being insulted, Leon killed the tyrannical king. However, he also recognized Karyl's will to avenge his parents and thus Leon apologized for snatching Karyl's chance to extract his revenge personally.

They headed to Phandaria. Helped by prince Garr Kelvin (Woodrow Kelvin in Japan), the group defeated Lydon. However, the Eye of Atamoni's power was running wild. Leon then put a special disc on each Swordian that caused them to enter a dormant state, and the Eye calmed down. The mission was a success. Leon reported the mission's results to the King and returned home.

Betrayal and Death
The disc, however, was a ploy by Hugo to lure everyone into a false sense of security. When nobody suspected it, he used the Oberon Corporation members and Leon as well to steal the Eye of Atamoni once more in order to bring back the floating continent, Aethersphere, which was sunken centuries ago, where he would resume his plan for world domination. At first, Leon was reluctant to help, but Hugo once again used Marian to threaten and coax him to Hugo's side.

Stahn eventually learned about this and pursued Hugo to an abandoned mine below a factory named Libra IV. Just before they caught up to him, Hugo sent Leon to hold them at bay. Leon consciously accepted the task and started to antagonize Stahn and his friends, all in order to protect Marian. He also revealed his relationship with Rutee, but attacked them nonetheless, betraying the group he worked with. Eventually Leon was defeated.

In the original Tales of Destiny, as they fought, the mine was flooded with water, washing Stahn and his group away, while Leon stayed behind on the only remaining piece of land, too injured to move on. He gave a last laugh and farewell to Marian before dying. In the game's Playstation 2 remake, Leon sent Stahn away through an elevator as his injuries (and most likely guilt) prevented him from joining them; also, mentioned that someone had to stay behind to operate the elevator. As the mine started to be flooded with water, he apologized to Chaltier for bringing him into all this, but the Swordian didn't mind. As he was about to drown, he asked Marian from far away "Will this be all right? Marian.."

Nonetheless, Leon was killed. During Stahn's final confrontation with Kronos, the latter conjured a zombie in form of Leon for them to fight against (only in the original game; the remake does not feature this fight). Stahn and his group emerged victorious, defeated Kronos, and shortly after saved the world.

Rebirth as Judas (Tales of Destiny 2)
18 years after he died, Leon and Chaltier were brought back to life by a woman named Elraine. She asked for his help to rewrite the history of the world. However, Leon refused and was banished back to the world. He wandered throughout the world alone. As time passed, Stahn's tale became a legend and Leon's name was also marked in history, although as a traitor. For this, he donned a skull mask to hide his identity (the mask is made of dragon cranium, which's well known for defense power on either attacks or magic spells). He also changed his fighting style, from wielding only one sword (Chaltier) with one hand plus a shield, he now wields another sword in his other hand (although in the remake, Leon held Chaltier by right and dagger in left)

Leon later wound up in the prison of Darilsheid, where he eventually met Stahn and Rutee's son, Kyle Dunamis, and his friend, Loni Dunamis (exactly sharing the same prison). After hearing how Kyle wanted to be a hero, Leon appeared and lectured him about what it takes to be a hero. He eventually freed them both, but claimed that he didn't have a name and Kyle was free to name him whatever he liked. He was given the new name Judas. After helping them escape the prison, Judas left them and wandered some more.

Judas later reappeared in Straylize Temple, as he saved Kyle and Philia from Barbatos Goetia. Kyle asked him to join him in his quest to find the true meaning of being a hero. Judas agreed, and along with a young girl named Reala, he accompanied Kyle and Loni in their quest.

Their quest led them to be transported through time to the future where the world would not seem to be peaceful as Kyle hoped it to be. Judas and Loni were separated from Kyle and Reala, and wounded up in Hope Town. They stayed and befriended a girl excelling in archery, named Nanaly Fletch. During the stay, Judas and Loni often mentioned about Kyle and Reala and when Nanaly left Hope Town to Aigrette, she later returned bringing Kyle and Reala back. Judas rejoined the group and they eventually made it back to the present time (after a shocking revelation of Reala's identity). On the way, Nanaly was also dragged to their time so she joined them as well.

Eventually, they discovered Elraine's intention, though Judas knew it all along (but chose to keep silent about it) and Kyle's group confronted her in a parallel world where she was hailed as a savior. It was there Elraine revealed to Kyle's group about Judas' identity, that he was Leon Magnus, the traitor of the Five Heroes (which supposedly include Stahn, Rutee, Philia, Garr and Leon). Judas confirmed the revelation and later the group, except Reala, was sent to a dream world, which revolved around the past and how it would seem to make them happy. However, Reala intervened and managed to snap Kyle, Loni and Nanaly back to their senses and reality.

In Judas' dream world, he was taken back to the time when Elraine revived him, as he remembered how he betrayed Stahn and the other heroes and eventually died. She asked him to come back to her side, although Judas kept refusing. Kyle's group eventually intervened. Elraine was enraged and asked if Kyle would accept a traitor like Leon. However, Loni and Nanaly declared that the group didn't know the traitor known as Leon Magnus, but instead is helping a friend named Judas. Eventually, the group learnt that at that point on, with history being messed up by Elraine so she would always have the advantage, Reala transported the group, including Judas, to the past timeline to undo Elraine's changes towards history.

While attempting to prevent Elraine's intervention within the timeline, the group had to work with the Earth generals that will become Swordians in the future, Dymlos, Atwight, Chaltier (in his human guise), Clemente, Igtenos and Karell Berselius. They were also joined with Karell's supposed-twin-brother-turned-out-twin-sister Harold Berselius.

They were later transported to Dycroft, during the time when Stahn defeated Kronos. As it turned out, after Stahn and the others plunged their Swordians to the Eye of Atamoni to stop it, their powers weren't enough. It was then Judas stood up was about to stab his Swordian to the Eye. However, they were soon confronted with Barbatos for one last time. Upon his defeat, he threw himself to the Eye of Atamoni, killing him. With Barbatos' death, Judas was free to give his final words to Chaltier before eventually stabbing him to the Eye, destroying Aethersphere.

The group returned to the present time right after that event and later confronted Elraine in the God's Egg. They fought and defeated her, only to revive Fortuna (God) from her egg. The group defeated her and due to her defeat, the history will be rewritten as if Fortuna, Elraine never existed, and so the group could start anew to prevent the already bleak future (as shown in Nanaly's timeline). As Judas was about to disappear after Harold and Nanaly did, he wondered whether he'll be rejected in time or would still die under the name Leon Magnus. However, one thing for sure, he would never forget Kyle and their bond. Thus, Judas vanished and it's presumed that he died once again as Leon.

Later in Kyle's restored timeline, he found a skull mask resembling Judas', brought by Stahn. He seemed to think that the mask was somehow familiar...

Chaltier
Chaltier is Leon's Swordian, containing the soul of the 2nd Er'ther Army Squadron Leader, Major Pierre de Chaltier. He has been with Leon's side since he was a child and enduring his hardships under Hugo's insanity, possibly as the only figure Leon could call 'best friend'. He specializes in short range combat, but also possesses several Earth-based magic and some Dark magic as well. Chaltier is a very restrained individual, but very loyal even if he didn't like the order, that he would follow his master (referred to as 'Young Master' in the English version or 'Bocchan' in the Japanese script) to death, even if it means betraying his fellow Swordians. According to his diary, found in the past time line of Tales of Destiny 2, he has been ostracized by his peers, and wants to become stronger to show that he's not stupid. He's mostly referred as 'Chal' by Leon. In the remake of Tales of Destiny in PS2, he is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa.

Chaltier is also present in Tales of Destiny 2, but his Earth-based spells weren't used a lot, since Judas was seen using a combination of Light Magic and Dark Magic.

Trivia

 * While being with Marian alone, Leon preferred to be called 'Emilio'.
 * Leon suffers from motion sickness and becomes annoyed with Stahn when he tries to help. If Stahn persists, Leon administers an electric shock.
 * Leon has been considered to be the most popular Tales character, mainly in Japan. Judas also followed suit, closely behind him in popularity polls. Later, Kratos Aurion of Tales of Symphonia took the #1 spot, but recently Leon reclaimed it, with Luke fon Fabre, Jade Curtiss, and Guy Cecil of Tales of the Abyss behind him, with Judas in 7th place.
 * While Kyle gave the name 'Judas' to Leon out of random thinking, the name Judas is actually a reference to the biblical traitor Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ.
 * Leon's death was featured in the crossover game Namco X Capcom (albeit slightly altered. It's heavily based on his original death since the game is released before the remake, in which Leon's death is majorly altered). In said game, he also returns as Judas by the hand of Dark Valkyrie, first as an enemy, and later joins the player's group as the final party member.
 * Leon has his own theme song, entitled "Leon - Victim of Fate" ("Lion - Irony of Fate" in Japan). This song is played in Tales of Destiny whenever the party fights Leon (in the remake, this only plays during his betrayal battle), also making appearances in Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 and Namco X Capcom.
 * Leon is the only male Tales series character to ever learn the spell 'Pow Hammer' (or 'Pikohan'). Aside from Leon, the spell has been used by Mint Adnade, Chat, Colette Brunel, and Tear Grants (all of them are female).
 * Leon has an enormous sweet tooth, and his favorite dessert is Flan, which Marian makes for him from time to time.
 * Judas' mask appears in Tales of Legendia as an accessory for Chloe. If she equips it, a skit will pop up where Chloe acts like Leon.
 * Leon appears in several of the side games in the Tales series, including Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2, Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3, Tales of Fandom and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology.
 * Judas acts as Harold's assistant in hosting the Tales of Fandom Gaiden DVD that came with Japanese pre-orders of Tales of the Abyss.