Kratos Aurion

Kratos Aurion is a major protagonist from the video game Tales of Symphonia, released by Namco for the Nintendo Gamecube and Sony PlayStation 2 (the PlayStation 2 version was released in Japan only). He is the fourth person to join the party, aiding Lloyd, Colette, and Genis in a battle at Martel Temple. Later, he takes on the job of guarding the Chosen of Mana on her journey to regenerate the world.

Ancient Hero
Kratos's story actually begins approximately 4000 years before the events of Tales of Symphonia take place. Kratos, the only human companion of the hero Mithos Yggdrasill, traveled the world and helped to put an end to the Kharlan War, a war spanning five thousand years.

During these adventures, Mithos formed pacts with each of the Summon Spirits in the world. After the pact with the King of Summon Spirits, Origin, was formed, a seal, based on Kratos himself, was created to prevent anyone else from gaining Origin's power. This seal further prevented anyone from contacting Origin unless all of the mana was released from Kratos' body. Essentially, the seal could only be broken once Kratos' mana was released, ending his life. Mithos then had Origin create the Eternal Sword, which he used to split the world in two, thereby creating Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

Shortly after Mithos, Kratos, Yuan and Martel ended the war, they were betrayed by a human who had aided them during their journey. This enigmatic human killed Martel, and Mithos, driven mad with grief, misinterpreted her dying wish of a world free of discrimination, believing it to be a wish for everyone to be the same. Mithos then established the order of Cruxis, with he, Kratos, and Yuan as its first angels. Since Kratos was human, and had no elven blood in his veins (unlike Mithos and Yuan, who were half-elves) he was forced to ingest a magical rock called Aionis, which allowed him to cast magic and use magical weapons, in order to become an angel. The companions became three of the Four Seraphim (Martel being the fourth), ascended to Derris-Kharlan, and founded the Church of Martel (a cover for Mithos's Age of Lifeless Beings, a plan to replace all races with half-elven angels). They also founded the Desian organization, designed to aid Mithos in his plans.

Tortured paramour
After learning about Mithos's plans for the Age of Lifeless Beings, Kratos left Derris-Kharlan and Mithos, descending upon Sylvarant. There he met a human woman named Anna, a research subject in the Angelus Project, an attempt to culture a Cruxis Crystal within a human host, similarly to the way an Exsphere is made. The two fell in love.

Kratos soon realized that there had to be a better way to reunite the two worlds, and so he began to search for a way for a human to wield the Eternal Sword, the omnipotent weapon that Mithos had used to split the worlds. The pair were forever pursued by Cruxis, and soon they had a child, Lloyd. Eventually, the Desian Grand Cardinal Kvar caught them, at which point Anna's exsphere was removed, causing her to become a mindless monster. She attacked the infant Lloyd, who was only saved after their pet Noishe interfered. These events temporarily caused Anna to regain her old self, at which point she begged Kratos to kill her. He couldn't bring himself to do it, and Anna soon lost control again. She once again turned on Lloyd, and with Noishe too injured to help, Kratos killed her in desperation to save his son. Kvar then attacked, causing Lloyd, Noishe, and Anna's exsphere to tumble down a cliff near the Iselia Human Ranch.

Kratos managed to defeat Kvar and his men, and then descended the cliff, only to find Desian corpses that were half devoured by monsters. Believing his son to be dead, Kratos lost all meaning in his life. He soon returned to Cruxis, where he aided Mithos, believing that the half-elf would reunite the two worlds after Martel was revived.

Mysterious mercenary
When the Cruxis Crystal kept in Iselia's Martel Temple shines, indicating that the time for the Oracle has come, Mithos, knowing that the last Chosen of Sylvarant failed and that the current Chosen, Colette Brunel, has a near-identical mana signature to that of Martel, sends Kratos to watch over the girl and make sure she does not stray from the Path to Salvation. He appears to Lloyd, Genis, and Colette as they battle a fierce warrior of the supposed "Desians", Vidarr. After defeating him, Kratos introduces himself as a mercenary, at which point Phaidra, Colette's grandmother, hires him to protect the Chosen. When the party travels to Dirk's house so Colette can speak to Lloyd, Kratos sees Anna's grave. It is at this point that he realizes that Lloyd is his son.

Throughout the early stages of the game, Kratos displays outstanding knowledge of the ancient world, raising Raine's suspicions as to his true intentions. Despite his malevolent secret agenda, Kratos takes a keen interest in Lloyd's development as a warrior, although he takes a fairly callous approach to this.

Once the party reaches the Tower of Salvation, Kratos goes on ahead of Lloyd and the others with Colette, delivering her to Cruxis. Lloyd and the others arrive just as Colette prepares to become a true angel, sacrificing her memory and her heart. Remiel reveals this to the party, and attacks them. Lloyd and the others defeat him, at which point Remiel begs for Kratos to save him. Kratos lets Remiel die and reveals his true identity as an angel of Cruxis to Lloyd. When Lloyd and the others learn this, they engage in a near-impossible battle with Kratos (the player can actually defeat Kratos, seeing a scene in which Yggdrasill arrives before Lloyd can finish Kratos off, but doing so is relatively difficult). Afterwards, Mithos (known as "Lord Yggdrasill" in the game at this point) himself comes to the tower from Derris-Kharlan where he nearly kills the entire party.

Questionable outsider
Kratos is encountered once again in Tethe'alla, atop the Fooji Mountains, when the party goes there to retrieve the Rheairds. During these events the party becomes aware for the first time that there is some relation between Yuan, who they know only as the leader of the Renegades, and Kratos. Kratos is encountered by the party in Sybak as well. This time he is even more mysterious, indicating that in order for Colette to live she must remove the key crest that cured her Angel Toxicosis- a request that Colette does not understand or carry out.

Throughout these later events in the game it becomes increasingly difficult for Lloyd and the others to see where his true allegiances lie. Before the party severs the final mana link atop the Tower of Mana, Kratos appears and alarmingly warns the party not to do so. However, after the Great Tree goes haywire and begins to tear the world apart, Kratos rejoins the party and aids them (against Mithos's orders) in destroying the tree. Kratos appears before the group again as they attempt to enter Derris-Kharlan's city of angels, Welgaia, through the Tower of Salvation in order to gain a mana fragment to cure Colette's Chronic Angelic Crystallus Inofficium. It's here that Kratos admits to them himself that he was one of Mithos' companions 4000 years ago, confirming what the elven storyteller had told them. Again Kratos engages the heroes in battle, at the end of which (regardless of who wins) angels are summoned and ordered by Kratos to capture the party.

The next time Kratos would encounter the party is when Yuan offers to let him secretly meet Lloyd. At Altessa's House, Lloyd learns that Kratos is his father and immediately goes into denial. Yuan then threatens to kill Lloyd unless Kratos releases Origin's seal. Kratos seems impassive, but when Lloyd's attempt to attack Yuan fails, Kratos dashes in front of him, blocking what could have been a fatal blast from Yuan's weapon. Kratos falls unconscious, and Lloyd tries to get a grip on the situation - but this is interrupted by Colette, and, moments later, Mithos himself, who finally reveals himself to be Lord Yggdrasill.

In Flanoir, Zelos is seen talking to himself about Aionis- presumably after talking with Kratos. Kratos may appear once again, right after the Flanoir Doctor is escorted to Altessa's home, most likely if Lloyd refuses to go outside with anyone else. He will reveal to Lloyd all the events that transpired in Anna's death (the well-known Flanoir scene). Zelos later is seen speaking with Kratos after the doctor arrives at Altessa's house, and makes his decision to either betray the party while helping Kratos get Aionis, or to betray the party in order to die.

Kratos next appears after the initial defeat of Yggdrasill in the Great Seed Chamber. He tells Lloyd that the only true way to reunite the two worlds is for him to wield the Eternal Sword. Kratos then proceeds to Heimdall's Torent Forest and waits for Lloyd at Origin's seal. After dueling Lloyd, Kratos is badly injured, but not killed, instead gaining Lloyd's forgiveness. Kratos then releases the remaining mana in his body and opens the seal to Origin, but Yuan appears in a deus ex machina moment and puts a small bit of his own mana into Kratos, saving him.

Salvation and beyond
He gives Lloyd his finest sword, a blade made of flame called Flamberge.This blade, along with Dirk's ice blade(Vorpal Blade),form one of Lloyd's strongest weapons, the Material Blade. He joins Lloyd in the final battle against Mithos.

After the defeat of Mithos at the hand of Lloyd and the others, Kratos is one of the last angels remaining in the world. He agrees with Lloyd's idea that Exspheres should no longer be able to be used by people, due to the senseless waste of human life involved. For this reason, he decides to remain on Derris-Kharlan and jettison Cruxis's supply of Exspheres into space. He uses the remains of the Tower of Salvation to return to Derris-Kharlan, which now drifts into the depths of outer space.

Kratos in Flanoir
Depending on the actions of the player, it is possible to have Kratos rejoin the party later in the game. In order for this scene to occur, the player must choose against going outside with one the first three characters in the Flanoir scene (if Lloyd has the best relationship with Kratos, he will appear first). Afterwards, Lloyd should hear a voice call his name. If the player proceeds outside, a cinema scene will play involving Lloyd and Kratos. Afterwards, Kratos gives Lloyd a locket and then leaves.

If this scene has been viewed, then the subsequent events will be extremely different. In the Tower of Salvation, the party will not fight the Gatekeeper, but Zelos instead. They will be forced to kill him.

When Lloyd descends to the bottom of the tower, Kratos' locket will save him from the arrow fired at his chest and the knife in the wall will be different. Most noticeably, however, Kratos will save the various characters in the party from the traps, and will tell Mithos how he no longer agrees with his vision.

Kratos will not join the party and become a playable character again until after Lloyd fights him in Torent Forest. Once he does, Kratos will rejoin the party with the title "Judgment", which enables his Cruxis costume. In the PS2 version, wearing his "Judgment" costume allows him to use his ultimate technique, "Shining Bind". Kratos also learns the technique "Judgment". If Kratos does not rejoin the party, he will remain at Dirk's House, staying there to rest and allow his injuries from the battle with Lloyd to recover.

In battle
Kratos' fighting style is similar to that of Zelos, though it seems like Zelos has a little shorter range than Kratos. Kratos has some useful offensive and healing spells, together with the Angel Skill Judgment, although he prefers to fight on the front lines. Although he uses the same weapons and armor as Zelos, his sword-play varies subtly from that of him: Kratos' sword-play is stronger, reflecting his strength rather than his finesse. The varied sword-play style also affects some of his techniques. For example, when Kratos uses the technique Victory Light Spear, he tends to lift himself up too fast, often missing the final mid-air spiral cut. Zelos, on the other hand, has no trouble flawlessly delivering all four hits from the same technique. Also, in the PS2 version, his Mystic Arte is Shining Bind.

Kratos uses swords and daggers, like Zelos. His strongest weapon is the sword Last Fencer which can be won by defeating Seles in the Coliseum. The strongest dagger is Crystal Dagger, although it is not as strong as Last Fencer. His gag weapons are the dagger Toy Dagger and the sword Baseball Bat, and they can be bought in the completely rebuilt Luin. His Devil's Arms are the dagger Fafnir, which is obtained in the Gaoracchia Forest, and the sword Soul Eater, which is obtained after beating a giant Sand Worm in the Triet dessert.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Although Kratos is not a playable character in the sequel, he serves as the game's narrator as in the previous game. He also appears in a scene outside the story, talking to Yuan through a hologram.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3
Kratos appears Narikiri Dungeon 3 as a playable character along with the other Tales of Symphonia characters.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Kratos appears in this game as a playable character. He is the leader of the Ailily chapter of Ad Libitum, a guild in the game where the player becomes a member in. Kratos has not revealed his relationship with Lloyd, although Lloyd uses the Material Blades. If the player gives the right circumanses, it is possible to fight Kratos in a Trial Quest, and through victory the player can get the invitation to become a Magic Knight. He can also fight against the player along with Lloyd.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Kratos will reappear in the second instalamation of Radiant Mythology. His role is still unknown, but scans and videos have revealed that his Mystic Arte, Shining Bind, will have a cut-in picture.

Tales of Destiny
In the PS2-remake of Tales of Destiny, Kratos appears to offer the party a quiz instead of Arche and Cress from Tales of Phantasia.

Tales of Vesperia
Kratos appears as a cameo in the 200-Man melee and in the secret dungeon Labyrinth of Memories. He has been renamed to Traitor to Heaven, which may be because he betrays the party and is one of the Four Seraphim, the leaders of Cruxis, which reside on Derris-Kharlan that is hidden in the heavens of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. He has Shining Bind and Guardian Field from the PS2 version of Tales of Symphonia.

Trivia
"Kratos" comes from the Greek word Cratos, meaning strength. Cratos was also the name of a Greek demi-god, a companion of Zeus and the son of the Titan Pallas and the goddess Styx, who was the representative of the river of the same name.

Aurion comes from the Greek word "morning".

According to the second Namco poll, Kratos was the most popular character in the Tales series.