Ilene Rembrandt | |
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Information | |
Appearance | Tales of Destiny |
Hometown | Darilsheid |
Residences | Neuestadt |
Age | 24 |
Race | Er'ther |
Occupation | •Oberon Corporation Executive •Fitzgald Region Branch Manager |
Japanese Voice Actor | •Yuri Amano (PSX) •Junko Shimakata (PS2, Drama CD) |
Character Designer | Mutsumi Inomata |
Ilene Rembrandt (イレーヌ・レンブラント Ireenu Renburanto?, "Irene Rembrandt") is a supporting character and later a minor antagonist in Tales of Destiny. She is a high-ranking executive member of the Oberon Corporation, serving as its branch manager within the Fitzgald region. Her home and office is at Neuestadt, where she owns a large and elaborate mansion at the highest point of the city. Ilene's father is Shane Rembrandt, another Oberon executive.
History[]
Meeting the "Beautiful Collaborator"[]
After failing to capture Lydon Bernhardt at the Straylize Temple in Kalviola, Baruk Songram arranges for a ship to take the Stahn Aileron and his companions south to Neuestadt, where a legion of monsters seemed to be gathering from the sea. At Neuestadt, the group first encounters Ilene at a kiosk that sells "Softy Kreem" ice candy, contemplating whether she should go home to eat or stay among the cherry blossom trees of the park. She notices a group of children in the area and decides to treat all of them with the ice candy.
However, Bruiser Khang, the reigning champion of the local arena, sees Ilene with the children and immediately tries to provoke her into an argument, claiming that she is a foreigner who is plotting to take over the region. He views the presence of Oberon Corporation in Neuestadt as an unwelcome attempt by the Kingdom of Seinegald to extend its control into the autonomous region of Fitzgald, despite Ilene's best efforts to prove him wrong. Bruiser detests her riches and upbringing, claiming that she cannot possibly understand the people of his city. While attempting to speak in Ilene's defense, Bruiser insults Stahn and his Swordian, Dymlos, challenging Stahn to an official match within the local arena. Ilene denounces this fight as meaningless violence, but both men become too passionately hotheaded to listen to her.
Contemplation of an Ideal[]
While the group watches the match at the arena, a large force of sea monsters begin their assault on the city. Shortly after Stahn defeats Bruiser, Leon Magnus rushes into the arena to gather the group and prepare a counterattack to protect the civilians. Ilene begins to coordinate an effort to lead people into the safety of the arena, but she is injured when tournament monsters are let loose inside the stadium. The group realizes that this invasion was orchestrated by Lydon and his allies from somewhere far from the shore, and they request for Ilene to lend them a ship of their own to pursue him.
After invading the enemy warship and taking Batista Diego as a prisoner, Stahn finds Ilene alone at the central park, contemplating about her responsibility of taking care of the population. They talk to each other about their ideals, and Ilene forms a close bond with Stahn since his desire to have a happy family resonates with her own wish to make everyone happy. Stahn proposes a bet with Ilene to see who can achieve his or her ideals first, and both of them form a promise to do whatever it takes to achieve their ideals. When Batista escapes from his confinement, the group proceeds to give chase, leaving Ilene behind to tend to the people of Neuestadt. Before they depart on a ship en route to the Aquaveil region, Ilene reaffirms her promise with Stahn while wishing for his group's safety.
Unwavering Loyalty[]
Shortly after Stahn and his group defeat Lydon and recover the Eye of Atamoni, it is put under the protection of Hugo Gilchrist and the Oberon Corporation. Hugo seizes the device for himself and implants it within the lost Aetherian fortress of Dycroft, providing it with enough power to float in the sky once more. Hugo's three Oberon Corporation branch executives join him as accomplices, and when the Aethersphere itself is revived, Ilene is appointed as the guardian of the Helraios research facility. When Ilene encounters the group, she pleads with Stahn not to interfere with Hugo's plan to restore the Aethersphere. Ilene truly believes that Hugo's actions are the only way to eliminate the suffering of the world, and she insists that civilization will renew itself on the Outer Shell as a world of happiness.
She proceeds to fight the group, knowing that she cannot hope to defeat them because she is fighting for her ideals, and she hopes to delay the group from confronting Hugo before the Aetherspehere is completed. After she is defeated, she looks back at her ideals once more, again doubting her own capability to make others happy. Stahn reminds her of their shared promise, and he tries to persuade her that it is still possible for her to realize her ideals. Ilene remembers Stahn's cheerful optimism and outlook on life, and she tells him that he should always stay that way. She opens a large door behind her to reveal an empty sky and a massive chasm that leads to an non-survivable drop to the surface, and with a tearful farewell, she walks backward through the door to fall to her death.
Appearance and Personality[]
Ilene is a woman of average height with fair skin and long violet hair. She has bright, emerald-colored eyes that mirror the large jewel positioned on her chest and an attire that consists of a simple yet elegant dress of gold and assorted purples with a matching coat. Her pleasant appearance is complimented by her dreamy personality. Ilene is an idealist who believes in creating "a world where everyone can laugh and be happy". She sees Oberon Corporation as a means of achieving her goal of helping everyone, by using her wealth to promote city projects and ensure general welfare of the population.
However, Ilene's philanthropic efforts remain ignored by some civilians, who see her as an imposing figure who tries to use her riches to control their lives. Later, she is influenced by Hugo into joining his campaign to destroy all civilization on the surface world after being persuaded that this will cleanse the world of its sins and evils. Ilene comes to see the people of the surface world as irredeemable souls who are tormented by suffering and wickedness, and she becomes one of Hugo's most ardent followers, who is willing to fight and die for her ideals.
Fighting Style[]
Ilene is a particularly potent spellcaster who focuses on Water-elemental magic. In the original release of Tales of Destiny, she frequently summons various mechanical devices that run across the screen, such as walking mines that explode upon contact, or mounted machine guns that shoot into the air to rain bullets from above. In the PlayStation 2 versions of the game, she is accompanied by several flying machines that shoot lasers that can cause enemies to fall asleep, and additional machines can be summoned by sacrificing a small portion of her own health during battle. Additionally, she defends herself from all enemy attacks with a device that generates a permanent shield that greatly enhances her physical defense.
Other Appearances[]
Tales of Destiny (PSX)[]
This version of Tales of Destiny is considered to be retroactively overridden by the events of the PlayStation 2 remake, and some situations are no longer considered to be canon. While Ilene's role in this version of the game remains mostly identical to her role in the remake versions, the monster invasion of Neuestadt did not take place in the original game, and her initial doubts about her own beliefs did not occur. Furthermore, an additional date scenario between Ilene and Stahn takes place after Batista is taken captive for interrogation.
During their date, she takes Stahn on a tour of the city's major locations before entering the arena to watch the ongoing fights. They enter the arena just after Bruiser completes a new victory, and he mistakes Ilene and Stahn as his next opponents. When they refuse to fight him, he becomes infuriated, insulting Stahn for hiding behind a woman instead of accepting his challenge. Bruiser then directs his insults at Ilene, prompting Stahn to fight for her sake. Ilene is impressed with Stahn's attempt to protect her, regardless of his success or failure.
Tales of Destiny 2[]
In Tales of Destiny 2, 18 years after Ilene's death, the protagonists make their way to Neuestadt and accept the request of a wealthy merchant who lives in Ilene's former mansion, which he purchased. The group ventures nearby to an abandoned Oberon mining facility to retrieve what the merchant described as a great treasure, which he in fact learned about through Ilene's will, which was left in a safe in the mansion. Upon locating the treasure, Judas recognizes it immediately as a special mineral extracted only through the mine, inserted within it to preserve its quality. He explains that the stone served as a catalyst for Belcrant, mentioning that such a weapon could be constructed again. However, he notes that even Oberon's scientists were still in the process of analyzing it to see how it worked, meaning it is unlikely anyone would be able to put it to much use.
Deeper inside the mine, the group notices sunlight beaming through the ceiling of the cave, revealing grass, water, and flowers, as well as a large stone with an engraving. Judas laughs at the irony while Loni Dunamis reads the passage, Ilene's voice echoing over his to indicate it was she who wrote it. She explains in the passage that using the mineral will greatly augment the power of a Lens, aiding productivity and hopefully closing the gap between the rich and poor in Neuestadt. The passage also notes that the sunlight creates a chemical reaction with the stone, and Ilene's voice resonates that, should sunlight eventually penetrate the mine and someone find the stone, then surely it will become a "precious gift of the gods" that must be protected.
Her final words in the passage stress her desire for the people of Neuestadt to be protected along with the mine, wishing prosperity for those who read her message. It is signed, "President of the subsidiary Neuestadt Oberon Corporation, Ilene Rembrandt". The group discusses the potential of the stone, being used for construction rather than destruction. Judas himself remarks that Ilene's vision was one that eventually went awry, claiming that certain people "lost their way", referring to the now-deceased Oberon executives. He claims they sought to realize their ideals too soon, and in the process of searching for an immediate effect, they chose "the most terrible remedy". Upon taking the stone to the merchant, he finds that it is useless while the group feigns ignorance of its importance.
Trivia[]
- Ilene makes a cameo appearance in Tales of Eternia, appearing in cities in search of Lens. The game localizes her name as Irene.