Ix Nieves

Ix Nieves
Tales of the Rays Fairy's Requiem
Information
Appearance	Tales of the Rays
Hometown	Odanse
Age	17
Height	•178 cm (Arc 1) •180 cm (Arc 3)
Weight	•68 kg (Arc 1) •69 kg (Arc 3)
Race	Human
Occupation	•Fisherman (previously) •Mirrist (currently)
Weapon	Peche Sword
Japanese Voice Actor	Natsuki Hanae
Character Designer	•Hidenori Matsubara  (Arc 1) •Koichi Itakura  (Arc 3/Spirit Gear)

Ix Nieves (イクス・ネーヴェ, Ikusu Neeve^?, "Ickx Neve") is a character in Tales of the Rays.

History

Having lost both his parents when he was just five years old, Ix was raised by and has lived among islanders. Because of this, he has a strong, independent mind that extremely fears burdening others. This gives him the tendency to act tough despite actually needing assistance. Although he comes from a family line of mirrists, having lost both his parents because of their research on mirrages, he has viewed the power as something too strong to handle that will only bring calamity. Since then, he has lived a life that would have nothing to do with mirrists or mirrages, taking up the role of a fisherman. Despite this, he remains close to his childhood friend, Mileena Weiss.

This all changes when, on one fateful day, a rain of fire suddenly strikes the town. Thinking fast, Ix grabs Mileena and jumps into the water. Ix wakes up to find both Mileena and himself having been rescued by Marcus Grimm of the Salvation Front. The both of them are distraught to hear that the town had been completely incinerated, and everyone there, reduced to corpses. A week after the burning, the two reach the royal capital of Sellund before being taken to Prime Minister Gefion. Gefion explains that the world, Tir Na Nog is spiraling toward apocalypse. She officially employs the two as mirrists, exoflecting different worlds to keep the world stable.

During the search of Phillip Reston's mirrage in the Mirrist Temple, Kanonno Earhart persuades Ix to try and summon a mirrite of his own in order to speed up the search. This results in a success, summoning the mirrite Kocis. When Ix's mirrage goes berserk and his powers increase enormously, Kocis is able to mature in proportion. Ix gives him the order "to protect Mileena" before being sealed away. After this, Kocis follows Mileena on her journey to discover a way to save Ix.

Mirrage Prison

Eventually, the party succeed in breaking Ix free, and welcome him home.

Appearance and Personality

Ix has short silver hair and orange eyes. In the beginning, he wears a powder blue shirt, white pants, a sapphire-blue vest, biscay-blue boots, and braces of matching pattern on each arm. On top of that, his mirrage can be seen around his right wrist.

Somewhat a negative thinker, he has a tendency to imagine the "worst case scenario" whenever something happens and reacts accordingly. Upon being freed by the end of Mirrage Prison, Ix's hair has noticeably grown. In Fairy's Requiem, Ix receives a new hairdo, as well as a new outfit handmade by Mileena. This consists of a white undershirt, an azure vest, a black shirt with azure shoulders, black pants, and metal boots that reach up the legs. In addition, he wears black fingerless gloves, as well as a bracelet that matches Mileena's.

Though the many nexuses he's met and experiences he has endured have led Ix to grow significantly as a person, he now understands that he is the third Ix, exoflected from the past. While this revelation brought him a great deal of uncertainty, he realizes that his heart is no different than those born of normal means.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Tales of the Rays.

Ix uses a traditional sword in battle, similarly to other main characters in the series. Aside from utilizing various sword techniques, he also uses his left hand in battle. His mirrage artes are of offensive nature. Ix is also the only character in the game who can use Overray (オーバーレイ, Oobaarei^?) a transformation that fills one bar of his mirrage gauge. However, the player can only use this up to four times and requires six real time hours to recharge one.

Cut-in image for Tales of the Rays: Fairy's Requiem.

During the second arc, Ix is replaced by his mirrite Kocis, who gains new powers and artes throughout the story. By the start of the third arc, Ix retakes his places and inherits Kocis's artes, whereas Kocis is given an alternate arteset. As the story progresses, Ix learns a plethora of Light-elemental artes, which is later reflected in his Spirit Gear, which draws power from Aska.

Gallery

Alternate artwork for Tales of the Rays.

Cut-in image for Tales of the Rays, spirit gear attire.

Artwork for Tales of Link.

Trivia

• The name Nieves has both Spanish and Scottish origins. In Spanish, it is derived from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, which translates to "Our Lady of the Snows".
  • The Japanese name Neve is relatively similar, being of Latin origin and translating to "snow".
• Ix has a photographic memory.
• Ix's favorite color is black. He makes Mileena's outfit in Fairy's Requiem red because he thinks it suits her, and black because "it looks cool". He is jealous of people like Nazar, Victor, and Duke Pantarei for how cool their outfits look. Kocis's outfits in his adult form are an extension of his own desire to look cool.