User:Lanate/Sorey

Sorey (スレイ) is the main protagonist in Tales of Zestiria. He has a kind heart, an honest expression, and a positive outlook on life. He lives in Elysia, a village of seraphim, and is the only human among them, having been adopted by the seraph Gramps along with the seraph Mikleo. Unlike most humans, Sorey can see seraphim due to his high resonance. As a child, he came into the possession of a book called the Celestial Record, and from that point, he has had a fascination with ancient ruins. Sorey later enters into a contract with Lailah to become a Shepherd.

Idyllic Life Interrupted
Sorey grew up in Elysia, a mountaintop village largely untouched by the troubles of the world below. He had a happy childhood where he wanted for little, never leaving the area blessed by Gramps. He eventually learned how to fight via hunting prickleboars for meat as well as sparring with Mikleo. He often played in the Mt. Mabinogio Ruins with him, exploring and nurturing his love of history. At some point, he even learned Mikleo's true name.

His peaceful life is interrupted one day while racing Mikleo at the ruins. A storm brews at the edge of Gramps's blessed domain, and the resulting lightning destabilizes the ruins and drops him and Mikleo into its depths. There, they discover a human woman unconscious, while at the same time being attacked by hellions. This danger only makes Sorey want to get to the woman faster in order to protect her. They successfully rescue her, and she awakens. It becomes obvious that she is a normal human, unable to see seraphim, and is also reticent about revealing information about herself. Nevertheless, Sorey offers Elysia for sanctuary, over Mikleo's objections.

At the village, Sorey pleads his case to Gramps, who is initially obstinate over having an interloper in his village. Gramps relents enough only to allow the woman time to recuperate. Over the course of the next couple of days, Sorey aids the woman in preparing provisions for her journey, eventually discovering that she is from Ladylake in the Kingdom of Hyland and that she is searching for a way to help the world below Elysia, which has been swamped by chaos. Right before she sets off, she reveals her name as Alisha Diphda and then bids Sorey farewell. Sorey is then told by Mikleo that one of the daggers she left behind bears the crest of Hyland, while Gramps senses someone infiltrating his domain. Sorey and Mikleo head out to search together, eventually discovering a fox-faced hellion, one who is capable of speech, killing their fellow villager Mason. Sorey and Mikleo attack in anger, managing to weaken him, only for the hellion to consume Mason to regain his strength. The arrival of Gramps and the other villages prompts the hellion to flee, but not before he reveals that his main goal is getting away.

That night, Sorey realizes that the hellion is most likely going after Alisha and prepares to journey after her. He is met at Elysia's entrance by Mikleo, who anticipated Sorey's actions. Mikleo refuses to be left behind and bears Gramps's blessing too, as the elder seraph knew that, as a human, Sorey would eventually be drawn to other humans. He gives them his pipe to sell for money. The two of them then begin their journey into the human world below.

Dawn of the Shepherd
Sorey and Mikleo make it to Ladylake, though a caravan blocks the entrance. Sorey becomes acquaintances with the Sparrowfeathers, a traveling merchant guild. He has the option of selling Alisha's knife to Rose], one of the merchants. At the same time, he hears rumors that point to Alisha being a princess, which impresses the pair. They finally make it into the city, astounded by the jubilant atmosphere for the local Sacred Blade Festival while disturbed by the hellions who openly walk among the crowds, with regular humans unable to perceive their nature. While exploring the Nobles' Quarters, they hear a dog barking. Investigation reveals that the dog is barking at the fox-faced hellion, who disappears into blue fire as the dog gives chase. If Sorey manages to follow the dog fast enough, he manages to catch up with it; if not, the dog is killed. They do battle with the fox-faced hellion, though he is much stronger outside of Gramps's blessed domain. Eventually, their fight is stopped by an assassins' guild, the [[Scattered Bones, who claims the hellion as one of their own named Lunarre while unaware of his true nature. They begrudgingly save Lunarre despite him breaking their code by taking Alisha as a target, but one tips Sorey off that Alisha's enemies need not only use assassination before vanishing.

Sorey and Mikleo continues their search for Alisha, but their attempt to enter the church through the entrance is blocked by the enormous crowds while the back route is stonewalled by diligent guards. If Sorey still has Alisha's knife, he can use it as permission to enter; otherwise, he bribes the guard using Sparrowfeathers as an intermediary and either selling Gramps's pipe or using the money from selling the knife. Once inside, they take Alisha aside with her teacher, Maltran, and warn her of the dangers, though she is well aware of her enemies. Nevertheless, Alisha continues with the festival, though it turns into a riot when the commoners' ire at the general state of things is met with physical punishment by the guards under the pay of chancellors looking to sabotage Alisha. The entire event breeds malevolence, which causes hellions to erupt in the crowd.

As Mikleo tries to contain the hellion-influenced flames, Sorey approaches the seraph only he can see, the titular Lady of the Lake with powers of purification who the festival is supposed to honor. The seraph reveals that purification is wielded by those who draw her Sacred Blade and become a Shepherd. Sorey agrees, but the seraph begs him to consider the magnitude of the burden he is assuming, as a Shepherd is blessed with the power to purify yet cursed with humanity's scorn due to their immense powers. Sorey asks the seraph's name, learning that she is Lailah, and then reveals his dream of a world where humans and seraphim can coexist much like in the past. He assumes the mantle of the Shepherd and, alongside Lailah, quells the hellions within to return peace to the church. Sorey announces himself as the Shepherd to all within, just as Chancellor Bartlow, the one who set Alisha up to fail, enters to bring order and then leaves upon recognition of the new complications to his plot. Lailah assumes her place within Sorey, as he is now her vessel and bearer of her power. Unfortunately, the strain is too much for his current state, causing him to pass out with a high fever for three days. He rests at the inn while Mikleo refuses to leave his side.

Appearance and Personality
Sorey has brown hair, which is slightly shifted to the right. He has green eyes and wears yellow feather earrings. His attire consists of a blue shirt with white gloves, black pants with white boots, and a large white cape that extends over his chest. The cape, fashioned after the style of past Shepherds, was given to him by Alisha as thanks for helping her.

Sorey's kindhearted personality shapes him into a person who cannot leave someone who is troubled alone. This trait becomes his flaw because, as a Shepherd, he cannot take sides in the conflict between nations in order to avoid being corrupted by malevolence and causing even greater strife. Because he has never left his hometown, he is curious about things he has never experienced before, but his sheltered upbringing also makes him naive. Due to his natural earnestness, Sorey is also a bad liar, evidenced when Sergei questions him in Lastonbell. He is generally calm and easygoing, taking everything in stride and making the best of things. He puts others first, to the point of self-sacrifice; when Alisha is his Squire, he does not tell her that his vision is failing because he does not want her to worry. He has a tendency to get excited about ancient history, particularly ruins.