Chester Burklight

Chester Burklight (チェスター・バークライト) is a protagonist in Tales of Phantasia. He is a seventeen-year-old archer from the small village of Toltus. Having lost his parents while young, he dotes heavily on his little sister, Ami Burklight.

Present Timeline
While hunting in the South Forest which his friend Cress Albane, Chester hears the alarms go off. The pair return to Toltus, only to find it destroyed. Mourning the corpse of his sister, Chester is unable to find it in himself to leave the villagers unburied, and so he allows Cress, who needs to leave for Euclid, to go forward after promising to find their vengeance together. While digging graves for the villagers, Chester notices someone coming and hides, but the person reveals himself as Trinicus D. Morrison, someone who knew Chess's parents Miguel Albane and Maria Albane. Morrison helps Chester bury the rest of the villagers and then takes him to his house.

When Mint Adenade, another victim of those who killed his village, stumbles in with an unconscious Cress, Chester watches over his friend. When Cress wakes, Chester fills him in on what happened. Morrison asks Cress about a pendant, and Cress tells Morrison that it was taken, so Morrison leaves for the Catacombs. Frustrated by the lack of answer, Chester, along with Cress and Mint, take up oath of vengeance and follow Morrison to the Catacombs, where they arrive just in time to discover the purpose of the pendants.

The pendants were used by Cress, Mint, and Morrison's ancestors to seal away the Ancient King Dhaos. Mars Uldole uses them to free Dhaos, who kills him for his impudence. Morrison uses divine power to send Cress and Mint to the past to find a way to defeat Dhaos, while Chester takes an enemy blast meant for them. The next thing Chester realizes is that Cress and Mint return, Claus F. Lester and Arche Klein in tow. The four defeat Dhaos. With his body lost amid the ruins, they believes they can rest and return to their own times. Upon meeting Arche, however, Chester is angered by her offhand comment that he looks weak. Before they can return, however, Harrisson comes from the future to call for aid, because Dhaos is wrecking havoc there. The party, with Chester now among their number heads for the future.

Future Timeline
In the future, in the town of Miguel, the future Toltus, the party rests. Chester begins to train in the middle of the night. When Cress stumbles upon him, Chester confesses that he feels outstripped by Cress when their skills used to be equal. Cress in turn offers Chester encouragement, and the two discuss the dreams of their destroyed hometown. Chester reveals that Ami had a crush on Cress, to which his friend is unable to respond. On the way to Euclid, Chester reveals his hot-blooded nature by screaming that he would kill Dhaos, to the party's exasperation.

The party go to Euclid where they find they need the Techbirds in order to reach Alvanista through the air and need the Spirit Volt's help. On the way to Volt's Cave, they meet a ninja, later revealed to Suzu Fujibayashi, in several encounters where the party forces Cress to help her. After defeating Volt, Cress asks Arche to get some chests which can be reached, and when Chester makes a comment about her not pocketing any of the treasure, Arche gets into an argument with him which Cress breaks up. On the way back to Venezia, the party rests at the inn, and Chester trains in the middle of the night again. She apologizes for calling him weak, but Chester snaps at her about having his revenge taken away by Dhaos. Arche then reminds him that Cress is the same way and that Chester's frustration affects the entire group's mood. Tired, Chester asks her to go away, and Arche quietly leaves. Upon obtaining Volt's power and subsequently obtaining the Techbirds, they proceed to Alvanista.

At Alvanista, the party is tasked with finding the three weapons which defeated the three ancient civilizations of Thor, Fenrir, and Odin. Along the way, they make a stop in the Ninja Village, Suzu's hometown, where they are asked to find Suzu's parent. In the Ninja Village, they relax in a hotspring, and Chester overhears Arche talking about Mint's bust. Encouraged by Claus, Chester attempts to peek at the girls' side, only to have Arche nail him with a pail. After finding Suzu's parents and returning to the Ninja Village, they once again enter the hotsprings. Chester notices Cress looking at him, and, when prompted, Cress begins to admire Chester's hard-won muscles from his training. This, in turn, draws Arche's attention, who returns the favor by peeping on the boys.

The party traverses to Arlee where, while Cress and Mint have a talk, Claus asks Origin for a favor to view his assistant Milard Rune, and Suzu contemplates on her actions, Chester and Arche flutter between the conversations, arguing all the while. Afterward, using the Eternal Sword, they break the time barrier that surround Dhaos's castle. Meeting him one final time, the group defeats him once and for all. In the end, Chester says goodbye to Claus, Arche, and Suzu and returns to the present with Cress and Mint. The three then resolve to rebuild Toltus, but first head out to meet with Arche.

Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon
Chester plays an important role in Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon as one of the Heroes of Eternity that guide central protagonists Mel and Dio on their quest. Two years have passed since the battle with Dhaos, and Chester and Cress have built a new town where Toltus once stood. Chester runs an orphanage, which Cress helps whenever he is around. Norn tells him that he understands orphans, how they need kindness and strictness, and asks him to impart his knowledge to Mel and Dio. He tells them that after a war or any battle, there are orphans who have suffered greatly, scarred in the heart. These orphans may turn to crime, violence, or even have their sense of right and wrong skewed, and Chester wants to do all he can to prevent that, as he himself was in that position once. Cutting off his thought process, Chester gives them a vase that opens the door to the Mysterious Tower, where the Summon Spirit Maxwell awaits.

Afterward, toward the end, Chester is remembering his little sister and how they interacted. He remembers about the flowers that would bloom on her birthday but is sharply reminded that, though the flowers bloomed, Ami was not alive to celebrate and would never again be. Meltia Bandi questions why Chester would run an orphanage, whether it is to actually help children, or if it is to fill the emptiness left in his heart by his dead sister.

Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage
In order to defeat the Demon King Xex, Claus's descendant, Fulein K. Lester, and his partner Macaron bring forth Claus and his allies into the future for help. They head to Ymir Forest to find his "Elven Bow" but end up tracking it to Arlee, which Macaron uses to call him forth. He immediately gets into an argument with Arche, though they also turn attention to teasing Cress. After summoning Mint using her Unicorn Horn, Arche and Chester tease them about their relationship and proceed to push them together, literally. When coming up against Alph, Mark Ginihle's older brother, Chester is incensed that an older brother would abandon his younger sibling and fight on the opposite side. Cress reveals to Fulein that he loves his little sister Ami too much and lost too much with her death to let another pair of siblings not enjoy the time they have together. Velga Montore agrees with Chester, stating the same thing about her twin Volga Montore

Appearance and Personality
Chester wears a light blue top with a dark blue trim and off-white, almost tan, pants. He wears a white scarf around his neck, brown, fingerless gloves, and boots which compliment his outfit's color scheme. He has long, blue hair formed in a ponytail, and carries a brown quiver on his back for storing arrows. Chester is very caring to all who are in the same position as he, but it is often hidden by his brash exterior. He can be blunt and arrogant, and enjoys arguing with people. At the same time, he also has a lot of pride in himself, and when that pride is threatened, he can quickly turn sour and cold. That same pride, however, also fuels a determined and unyielding nature, and he can be aroused to a hot-blooded nature when finding something to focus on.

Fighting Style
Chester is the series' first archer, specializing in long-ranged attacks. Initially, Chester had no artes to use, but made up for it with a very high attack power. More recently, Chester has gained a variety of archery-based artes, providing him with more versatility with elemental strikes, but at the cost of his previously high attack.

Tales of Eternia
Chester appears as an audience member in the coliseum.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2
Chester will appear in the town if Kyaro Orange dresses in an "Ami" costume and walks around town. Frio Sven and Kyaro are able to recruit him to travel with them and also able to take quests from him. Frio can dress up as Chester by coming a male Archer costume with the "Elven Bow" root item.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3
After completing Mission 7 in the Time Drift and returning there, Frio Sven and Kyaro Orange can recruit him if a unit with Arche in it approaches him. Frio can dress as Chester by combining his Archer costume with the "Elven Bow" root item.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Chester, along with Arche, appears as a playable character, and he has his original name of Chester Barklight. He is shown to be very protective of the game's heroine, Kanonno, and insists to her that she think of him as an older brother. He sees his late little sister Ami in her, and tries to justify his past regrets of not being able to protect her by protecting Kanonno. Kanonno, although appreciative of his kindness, believes that he needs to move on and stop trying to use her as a replacement for Ami. The player is able to fight Chester together with Arche and Reid Hershel from Tales of Eternia in Trial Quests later on. The only title available to him in the game is "Hunter", which is also his job class.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Chester appears as a playable character in Radiant Mythology 2. Chester arrives on the Van Eltia with Mint, Cress, Arche, and Suzu after escaping from their homeland. Chester goes on a story mission with Cress and the Protagonist to the cave. There they find soldiers plotting to kill Janis Kern, Chester and the others catch up to them and are force to fight herd of monsters sent by the soldiers. After Guede is finally defeated, Chester and the others are speaking to Veigue Lungberg and his companions on the Van Eltia looking at the mana spreading across the world.

Tales of VS.
Chester appears as a playable character, for the first time carrying a mystic arte, Shin'i. He and Arche form a team, who are constantly getting lost in side events throughout the story. In the finale of Dhaos's story, Chester and Arche team up with Cless and Mint to fight Dhaos. Prior to that, Chester can be unlocked by completing extra events in the Luke fon Fabre and Tear Grants story, and the Jade Curtiss and Anise Tatlin story.

Tales of the Heroes: Twin Brave
Chester is the partner of Cress in a serious scenario. In the story, he loses his beloved sister Amy in a disaster that claimed nearly all the people's lives in his hometown. Resolved to change the tragic past, he and Cress set out on a journey to obtain the Eternal Sword, which is said to grant its owner with the power to travel through time. Along the way, Chester's impulsiveness gets the two into several troubles, including a fight for tickets for the last train of the day and a conflict with Shing Meteoryte and Amber Hearts over being mistaken for vegetable thieves. They also confront other people who intend to obtain the sword, but they manage to defeat them and approach the ruins in which the sword is kept. There, they are warned by the keeper Reala that the sword functions abnormally now in the way that it claims peoples' lives to create some new ones. Suddenly, Elraine appears before them and seizes the sword. She tempted the two by telling them that they are able to revive their beloved ones by sacrificing other people they do now know.

Swayed by Elraine's words, Chester retreats from battle feeling perplexed. Cress keeps chasing after Elraine, meanwhile trying to convince Chester that no innocent lives should be sacrificed for those who are already dead. Finally, Chester gets it over and comes back to assist Cress, believing that no one can possibly replace Amy even though she’s no longer alive. Then they defeat Elraine and return the sword to Reala. Though not without pain, they do not regret their decision. Chester is also the protagonist of a comical scenario with Cress being his partner. Cress accidentally swallows a gel that causes him to speak more of his usual hilarious puns, this time more offensively, to everyone he meets. Chester drags him along in search of an antidote while coping with the fury of others. At last he meets Leon Magnus, who is also searching for the antidote for his partner Stahn Aileron, who is under the effect of a same gel and gets into a fight with Cress. Tired of their friends' idiocy, Chester and Leon decide to give up and leave them alone until they return to normal.