Walto

Walto (ワルトゥ) is a major antagonist and member of the Four Stars in Tales of Rebirth. He is an older, bat-like Gajuma man and former companion of Eugene Gallardo. Loyal to his country, Walto acts according out of service to his country rather than what he truly feels is right. Walto is one of the two Gajuma members of the Four Stars, as Saleh is Huma, and Militsa is a Half.

Demonstration at Keketto Hostel
Walto is introduced in the story as being a man of great respect and veteran in the Royal Shield, having been promoted to one of the Four Stars. Eugene mentions that Walto has "a natural talent for the Force, a strong will, an excellent eye for battle tactics, and was crucial for planning military operations". Walto is first encountered at Keketto Hostel, where he has used his Force of Sound to manipulate the innkeeper and other residents to attack Veigue Lungberg, Mao, and Eugene. Walto's Force draws forth the latent potential of the victims and control them through a particular sound, which is not detectable with the Force Cube, allowing him to apply his Force from a safe distance. Veigue discovers the nearby clock is the sound "suggestion" that triggered the violent behavior of the victims and activates it, disabling Walto's Force.

Outside the hostel, the group encounters Walto, who greets Eugene as "Commander" and acknowledges Mao. After some small talk that irritates the trio—particularly Veigue, Walto beckons for Eugene to return to the Royal Shield, mentioning an incident that led to Eugene's forced departure. Walto then admits he knows the truth of the incident and how Eugene was caught in a trap meant to dishonor him, though Eugene remains unimpressed with Walto's resolve and disregards his speculations of the incident as meaningless. Before leaving, Walto warns Eugene that the country is being led "down the wrong path in accordance to someone's will" and that he has "sworn an oath of loyalty" to Karegia, implying he will defend it at all costs.

Manipulation at Babilograd
Later, when the group visits Babilograd, they notice the lift manager acting strangely and determine that Walto has used his Force in order to manipulate the man. Eugene mentions how Walto has a "distaste for needlessly manipulating people with his Force" and that "it is always his custom to void the suggestion once it has served its purpose". Doing so "removes all traces of his actions", but a collaborator is normally required in order to accomplish this. The group then discovers that those assisting the city's priest have been acting strangely as well lately, leading them to investigate further. After meeting with the priest, they find he is also being manipulated—an elaborate scheme devised by Walto in order to allow his plan be enacted without him being forced to remain nearby. The group manages to unravel the scheme by discovering the phrases used to trigger and dispel the effects of Walto's Force.

This process begins with a priest's assistant, who has no recollection of his actions earlier in the day, leaving the group to believe that the priest says a particular phrase to trigger and dispel this suggestion. Upon learning the phrase for the lift manager, they convince him to allow them to ride the lift down to Babilograd Harbor. At the lift, the priest arrives and is freed from his manipulated by hearing the sound of the lift being operated—all part of Walto's stratagem to remove all evidence of his actions. At the port, the group confronts Walto, who is impressed with their ability to crack his code so quickly. Walto is accompanied by Militsa, and in their captivity is a number of the abducted Huma girls, including Tytree Crowe's sister, Selena Crowe. Walto asks that Militsa create a realm using her Force of Rainbow for the battle that takes place, which they ultimately lose. After the skirmish, Milhaust Selkirk arrives, demanding Walto explain himself for involving civilians in the disturbance. Although Walto fronts a well-executed defense, Milhaust forces him to withdraw, allowing Selena and the other Huma girls to be freed.

Showdown at Mount Sovereign
Walto is only seen two other times after the events at Babilograd and prior to his final confrontation with the group. The first is on the stairs leading to the ritual dais atop Karegia Castle, where he and Militsa are unsuccessful in preventing Veigue from penetrating their attempted defense and reaching Claire Bennett. The other is during a flashback shown while Mao undergoes his Sacred Beast trial at the Shrine of Fenia. After Mao's creation, his Force became unstable, and he performed an onslaught at Karegia Castle, where Walto, Saleh, and Eugene dealt with the matter. Finally, at the mouth of Mount Sovereign, Walto joins Saleh, Tohma, and Militsa for a final showdown against the group. Upon defeat, the Four Stars are in disbelief at their loss. Eugene then convinces Walto that his blind ambition to serve his country is preventing him from realizing the atrocities Zilva Madigan is causing, and Walto withdraws his hostility. Walto drops his cane, which Militsa then grabs in preparation to kill him after calling him a traitor. Hilda Rhambling manages to subdue Militsa, however, and Eugene gives a final instruction that Walto care for Militsa, leaving the two to depart.

Appearance and Personality
Walto is a Gajuma and therefore bears the striking resemblance to an animal, which in his case is a bat. His noticeable ears; large wings that grant him flight; and ability to manipulate others using his Force of Sound, similar to bat echolocation, all attribute to his bat-like qualities. He has blue skin and penetrating black eyes. His gold-orange, slightly receding hair is accompanied by similarly-colored mustache that conceals his mouth. His attire consists of a deep purple suit trimmed in orange and lime-green lines. His bony arms lead to a pair of white gloves, which coordinate with his white cowboy-esque boots and the scarf around his neck, nestled in his high collar. He also wields a cane, which he uses as a weapon in battle.

Unlike Eugene, Walto feels a dire need to serve the Royal Shield—and by extension, Karegia—regardless of whether he agrees with the course of action being dictated. Walto refrains from fighting needlessly and prefers to handle situations in a tame manner with his Force of Sound. Loyalty and honor are crucial qualities to Walto, so Eugene's refusal to admit the truth of his unfortunate incident, leading to his exile from the Royal Shield, bewilders Walto. On numerous occasions, Walto beckons with Eugene to restore his reputation by confiding in the truth, though Eugene shies away from this exoneration for the sake of discovering what truly happened.

Fighting Style
In battle, Walto typically fights close-ranged with his melee-oriented cane that can produce damaging and status-inflicting sound waves. He moves slowly in battle and uses no spells, leaving his partners to focus on dealing damage while he disrupts spellcasters and spars with the closed-ranged fighters. Walto fights the group only twice throughout the course of the main story: once at Babilograd Harbor with Militsa and again at Mount Sovereign with all members of the Four Stars. In Cyglorg's Chambers, the game's bonus dungeon, Walto can be fought alongside the other Four Stars, as well as cloned versions of themselves—for a total of eight enemies—on the 60th floor of the dungeon.