Arria Ekberg

Arria Ekberg
Information
Appearance	Tales of the Tempest
Hometown	Adelhabith
Residences	Janna
Age	18
Height	5'5" / 165 cm
Weight	115 lbs / 52 kg
Race	Human
Occupation	Priestess
Weapon	Rod
Japanese Voice Actor	Kae Araki
Character Designer	Mutsumi Inomata

Arria Ekberg (アーリア・エクバーグ, Aaria Ekubaagu^?) is one of the protagonists in Tales of the Tempest. She is a priestess working for the Church in Janna, though she originates from the remote Adelhabith.

History

Arria was born and raised in the far northern village Adelhabith. In her youth, she befriended Albert Mueller, who had been exiled from Janna with his family, and she greatly admired his determination despite his difficult circumstances. Shortly after he left the village to become a knight, she left as well to become a Warrior Priestess at Janna Cathedral. She became acquainted with Lukius Bridges and Rommy, two high-ranking priests, during this time. She does not support the Leymon hunt, but is unsure of how to act against it on her own. She does, however, work hard to cull the Spots that have mysteriously begun appearing in the city.

Arria first appears in the story when Caius Qualls and Rubia Natwick are fleeing from the Black Knights, and she shows them to a back alley. When they explain their situation, she sympathizes with them despite technically being their enemy. They encounter her again when preparing to rescue the imprisoned Forest Ledoyen, and she guides them to a secret passage through Janna's sewers. Tilkis Barone immediately takes a liking to her, but she isn't very responsive to his advances. When the captured Leymon are all found alive alongside Forest, she becomes more suspicious of what else the Pope is hiding, so she leaves Janna with the rest of the party until she can find the truth for herself. They encounter Albert during their escape, and while he and Arria don't exchange words, he suggests that he already has a plan to keep track of them.

The party gets separated in the Janna escape, and Arria ends up with Caius and his rescued father, Ramrus. When Rommy appears and kills Ramrus, Caius' Leymon power spikes out of control, and he drives her away in his awakened beast form. Arria helps an incorrigible Caius process what has just happened, and she suggests they find their missing companions and keep moving forward together.

Arria hypothesizes that the Pope is attempting to invoke Life Magic, a powerful spell that requires Pensients to bring forth. The reunited party sets out for the ruined City of Leymon to search for information. They battle Albert again along the way, and Tilkis seems to take note of Arria's fondness for him.

When the party spends the night in the desert port Laurus, Arria sneaks out of town. She meets with Albert, and it is revealed that she has been feeding him information on the party's whereabouts. Albert declares that her task is complete, and he will soon launch an attack at Laurus that will kill her companions she has led him to. She protests, but he will hear no objections and leaves. Tilkis then reveals himself, having followed her and eavesdropped on the whole conversation. With his reassurance, she comes clean to the rest of the party and warns them of Albert's impending strike. In a difficult moment, she is forced to fight and kill Albert when he comes for them. After a short heart-to-heart, Tilkis leaves her to grieve in peace, and she cries.

Facing forward with new conviction, Arria lets her hair down and continues traveling with the party. The Pope's dying words lead them to her childhood home of Adelhabith, where she is recognized by her grandfather. He encourages her to keep moving forward on the path she has chosen instead of staying in the frigid, isolated town.

At the end of the story, she joins Tilkis Barone in his home country to help eliminate the remaining Spots there.

Appearance and Personality

Artwork for Tales of Card Evolve.

Arria is a beautiful young woman donning a pink and purple variation of the traditional priest garb. She has fair skin, crystal-blue eyes, and long blond hair that she keeps curled upwards for most of the story.

Arria is kind and knowledgeable, but she has a weakness for Albert that clouds her judgment during parts of the group's journey. However, upon learning that Albert is no longer the man he once was, Arria decides to stand up to him once and for all.

After Albert's death, Arria lets her hair down, symbolizing her letting go of the past, continuing with the group to save the world. Eventually, she develops feelings for Tilkis, who reciprocates them.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Tales of the Rays.

Arria is a powerful priestess adept in offensive, healing, and support magic, using a crystal staff as her default weapon. Her offensive spells consist of the elements Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Dark, while her healing magic matches that of Rubia Natwick's. She has the highest max TP and magic power/resistance in the party, but the lowest max HP and physical defense. In addition, while Rubia's support spells are defensive, Arria's are offensive.

Other Appearances

Tales of the Rays: Fairy's Requiem

In Tales of the Rays, Tilkis is used as a Living Doll Beta and acts as a subordinate of Glasstin Lysander in the Asgard Empire.

By the tenth chapter of the arc, the pseudo-core was removed with the help of Ion. Now free, he finds Arria and escapes with her.

Gallery

Artwork for Tales of Asteria.

Artwork for Tales of Link.