Maotelus

Maotelus
Information
Appearance	•Tales of Zestiria •Tales of Berseria
Age	•1,000+ (ToZ) •10 (ToB)
Race	Dragon
Occupation	Leader of the Five Lords
Japanese Voice Actor	Azumi Asakura
English Voice Actor	•Amber Connor •Amber Lee Connors (ToZtX)

Maotelus (マオテラス, Maoterasu^?) is a character in Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria. He is known as the "Dragon of Light", the leader of the Five Lords, and the protector of humankind.

History

Tales of Berseria

Maotelus is the true name of Laphicet, a young malak who was born on a Scarlet Night during the Opening in Tales of Berseria. He is the heart of Innominat, the nameless Empyrean, and has the power to wield the Silver Flame that can purify daemons.

When Innominat is sealed away by Velvet Crowe, Laphicet decides to take his place so he can avert the great catastrophes that would occur due to the powers of the four elemental Empyreans clashing. When he makes the oath to become an Empyrean, Laphicet transforms into the Dragon of Light, greatly enhancing his abilities and granting him full control over the Silver Flame. He claims the land itself, as well as the earthpulse for himself so he can spread his blessing throughout the world. As an Empyrean, he does not wish to be called by the name Velvet gave him, but instead wants humankind to know him by the name Eleanor Hume gave him as his vessel: Maotelus.

Tales of Zestiria

At some point during the next thousand years, Maotelus moved from The Empyrean's Throne to the Pendrago Shrinechurch where he gathered numerous Shepherds and gave them the Silver Flame so that they may defeat and purify daemons, now known as hellions. 22 years prior to Tales of Zestiria, however, Maotelus became endangered by the city's malevolence. After learning of this, Michael, the Shepherd at the time, brought Maotelus back to The Empyrean's Throne, now known as Artorius' Throne, and built Camlann, the Origin Village, to guard his new location. The village was home to those who fervently worshiped the seraphim, and the two races were able to coexist in peace.

5 years later, however, troops from the Rolance Empire forcefully began occupying the village under General Georg Heldalf due to Camlann's strategic location, with the pretense of protecting it from the Kingdom of Hyland. This action only increased friction with Hyland, and the Rolance soldiers stationed themselves in Artorius' Throne, angering Maotelus. When Hyland eventually sent forces to raid Camlann, Heldalf withdrew his troops and abandoned the village to its fate. Muse, Michael's sister, escaped and went to Artorius' Throne to pray for help, and Michael, having learned that Heldalf had abandoned the village, followed her, only to find the temple set ablaze by Hyland soldiers. Michael found Muse separated from her son, Mikleo, by a wall of fire, and she implored him to save her child. While Michael was able to reach his nephew, he found the baby had been mortally wounded and that Maotelus had become a hellion. Giving in to both his despair and hatred towards Heldalf, Michael took the life of his nephew in sacrifice to the hellionized Maotelus, enacting a vengeful curse of eternal solitude upon the man who brought ruin upon them, and setting into motion the events that would create the next Lord of Calamity.

Maotelus himself was sealed away inside of Camlann by Muse, who made an oath in order to prevent the malevolence he poured forth from reaching Elysia. Since Maotelus is connected to the earthpulse and, as such, to the complete continent of Glenwood, Muse's oath was nothing but a small move to buy time in the hopes that, one day, a new shepherd would purify Maotelus.

Maotelus does not appear until after the final battle against Heldalf, but he is mentioned by Zaveid, one of Maotelus's former acquaintances from when he was still Laphicet, who senses Maotelus's domain while fighting against Heldalf in Aifread's Hunting Grounds. Afterward, Zaveid is sure that Maotelus and Heldalf are connected. In the second phase of the final battle at Artorius's Throne, Heldalf armatizes with Maotelus. Wielding Siegfried, Shepherd Sorey manages to sever the connection between Maotelus and Heldalf with the help of his four seraph companions, ending the armatus. After Sorey defeats and kills Heldalf, he approaches Maotelus and becomes his new vessel, so that he can connect himself with the continent of Glenwood and increase the resonance of the people by sealing his own senses away. As such, he wishes to create more Squires who can act as Shepherds and purify the land itself to thereby purify Maotelus.

Appearances in Other Media

Tales of Zestiria the X

In Tales of Zestiria the X, despite having been afflicted with malevolence, Maotelus fights the taint to retain his sense of self.

He is first seen at Mount Killaraus where he battles Heldalf, but is swiftly defeated and trapped upon the arrival of Sorey and his allies.

Maotelus speaks with Michael in Tales of Zestiria the X.

When the Shepherd witnesses the past events at Camlann, he watches as Maotelus suffers under the weight of the malevolence as he converses with Michael. Maotelus informs the man of his plans to give his Silver Flame to Lailah, hoping that she will one day find a shepherd who can end the coming calamity.

After Heldalf's defeat, Maotelus is freed from his prison and congratulates the heroes.

Trivia

• In the bad ending of Tales of Zestiria, which is achieved by defeating Heldalf before gathering all four spiritual powers, it is hinted that the hellionized Maotelus escapes from Camlann.
• While Maotelus is not seen in Tales of the Rays, Laphicet's eventual fate as Maotelus is hinted at during certain event quests. For instance, when Laphicet meets Lailah, after hearing his name, Lailah realizes that the boy before her is Maotelus from before he became an Empyrean, only for Edna to remind her not to talk what happens in their era. Later, when Laphicet and his companions reunite with Zaveid, who has been exoflected from the same time period as Edna, Zaveid almost calls him Maotelus before correcting himself.