Ratatosk

Ratatosk (ラタトスク) is the Lord of Monsters and one of the protagonists of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. He is also the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, which was destroyed before Tales of Symphonia.

Distribution of Mana
Some ten-thousand years ago prior to Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla are still one. In the world's natural state, mana does not exist; it is only after the arrival of Derris-Kharlan does mana come into being on the world. Observing that the overwhelming energy from the ethereal comet will no doubt negatively affect the world, Ratatosk calls upon the eight Centurions: Lumen, Aqua, Solum, Tonitrus, Glacies, Ignis, Ventus and Tenebrae. Along with his own power, the nine are able to evenly distribute and balance the flow of mana throughout the world. Ratatosk subsequently creates monsters in order to sustain that balance, which lasts several thousand years after that. Ratatosk makes his home in the Ginnungagap, where he watches over the gateway between this world and Niflheim, the demonic realm.

Fateful Meeting
During their travels around the world, Mithos Yggdrasill and his companions meet Ratatosk and forge a pact with him, getting the Derris Emblem in the process. Much like his fellow Summon Spirits, Ratatosk is betrayed when Mithos decides to sacrifice all mankind for the sake of saving his sister, and thus their bond is severed. However, unlike the other Spirits, Ratatosk actively shows his hatred for Mithos and his friends, placing a curse on anyone who dares to enter the Ginnungagap with the Derris Emblem. After these events, Ratatosk falls into a deep sleep.

Murder at Ginnungagap
Sometime after the Journey of World Regeneration, Sybak researchers Aster and Richter Abend enter the Ginnungagap with the help of Centurion Aqua. It is here that the two meet with Ratatosk and try to convince him to reform the mana of the recently unified world composed of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Ratatosk orders his Centurions to do so but adds an additional task: to eliminate all humans and half-elves in retaliation for the death of his Tree. Further argument leads to Ratatosk killing Aster and to Richter dealing a mortal blow in return that reverts Ratatosk to his core form. Tenebrae flees with Ratatosk's core to Palmacosta, where, having lost his memories, Ratatosk assumes Aster's form and the Emil Castagnier's identity. Ratatosk goes into remission in this time, and the new constructed personality Emil takes the forefront.

Being Human
Ratatosk is awakened once more when Tenebrae feed Emil the power to fight, and he assumes the appearance of a red-eyed Emil during battle. He is a marked contrast from the timid Emil, bring loud, abrasive, and confrontational; this personality is eventually dubbed Emil's "Ratatosk Mode". At the beginning, he seems more like Emil's violent side and shares Emil's feelings, such as the hatred for Lloyd Irving, the purported leader of the Palmacosta's massacre. As more Centurions are hatched, however, Emil stops remembering his time in "Ratatosk Mode" while Ratatosk grows fully aware of events even when not in control of the body. When Ratatosk begins to regain his former self, he also begins to love Marta and care about others on his own accord. Sadly, when he regains his memories fully, he only focuses on the betrayal he experienced at the hands of humans and half-elves. When Ratatosk goes too far and tried to attack his friends, Emil snaps and calls on the power of Verius, the Summon Spirit of Heart and faces Ratatosk in his heart. Unable to come to a resolution, Emil seals away Ratatosk and gains full control of his body.

At the Ginnungagap after defeating Richter, Emil tries to get the party to slay him by pretending to be Ratatosk. In the normal and good endings, Marta sees through this act because she loves both Emil and Ratatosk, and she urges him to reconcile with his other self. When Emil faces Ratatosk in their combined soul, Ratatosk finally realizes that "kindness is not a weakness" and merges fully with Emil. Now subdued from his knowledge, he begins to rewrite the world's laws so that it is not dependent on mana to live any longer, though it would continue to be necessary for magic and Summon Spirits. In doing so, he will close the Ginnugagap to all outsiders. He asks Richter to burn the mana in his body to help seal the gate he broke, but he says he will release him in the future when he can use the world's mana instead. In the good ending, Richter convinces Ratatosk to let his Emil personality free for the rest of that form's natural life. Ratatosk assents, and Emil reunites with Marta.

Appearance and Personality
Ratatosk has an abrasive and arrogant personality focused on only his goals. He sweeps aside all he considers weak, including his alternate self, and responds with derision when forced to interact with those he believes to be beneath him. Anyone who gets in his way is mercilessly crushed, even if they were at one point allies. Ratatosk dislikes the inhabitants of the current world due to the fact that they killed his Tree. Through his journey and learning from Emil Castagnier, Ratatosk eventually mellows a little, acknowledging that kindness has its place, even inside of him.

Fighting Style
Ratatosk is Darkness-elemental and gains strength when Darkness is the major element on the Elemental Grid. His fighting style is rough and unrefined; he swings wildly and recklessly though with natural agility. Unable to use magic, he instead supplements his strike artes with the ability to alter them into elemental variations capable of easily manipulating the Elemental Grid to form pacts with monsters. Ratatosk's skills also heavily focus on aerial combat and the ability to dominate there. Though his moveset is identical to Emil's, he has one unique arte: Ain Soph Aur, an ironically light-based extension to his Devil's Hellfire mystic arte. He uses it against Richter Abend while still in his Summon Spirit form, which tips Richter off to his true identity when it is used in his human guise.

Trivia

 * Ratatosk's name, like many features of the Aselia timeline, comes from Norse mythology. Ratatoskr is a mythological squirrel that resides in Yggdrasil, the tree of Midgard. His duty is to carry insulting messages between Nidhogg the dragon, who lives under the tree, and Hrasvelg the eagle, who lives on top of Yggdrasil.