Michael

Michael
Information
Appearance	Tales of Zestiria
Age	30
Race	Human
Occupation	Shepherd
Japanese Voice Actor	Satoshi Hino
English Voice Actor	Josh Grelle (ToZtX)

Michael (ミケル, Mikeru^?) was the last Shepherd in Glenwood before Sorey in Tales of Zestiria. He was the founder of Camlann, the Origin Village, and was indirectly responsible for the primary conflict in the game's plot.

History

Michael became Shepherd at the age of 12, due to his exceptional abilities. He traveled the world alongside his Prime Lord and close companion, Lailah, purifying hellions. On his journey, Michael was met with constant disappointment in his efforts to renew humanity's faith in the seraphim.

With the people of Pendrago's faith waning and war on the horizon, the city became threatened by malevolence and endangered Maotelus, the leader of the Five Lords, who was enshrined in its church. Michael, now age 25, took action to relocate Maotelus, with Lailah suggesting he use Artorius' Throne; a shrine once dedicated to the Five Lords which had since been forgotten by humanity and remained untouched by malevolence. After successfully transferring Maotelus, Michael started a nearby village to guard him at Lailah's recommendation, bringing his younger sister, Muse, as well as some of his followers. Due to the many hardships he'd faced, Michael retired as Shepherd and began his life in their new village of Camlann.

At age 26, Michael began writing the Celestial Record, which documented his discoveries during his long journey, which he'd hoped would help guide future Shepherds.

By the time Michael was 30, the people of Camlann were able to live peaceful lives alongside the seraphim like in the days of old, however, due to Camlann's strategic location, Rolance troops forcefully began occupying the village under General Georg Heldalf, with the pretense of protecting them from 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.

After hearing of Heldalf's desertion, Michael followed after Muse to Artorius' Throne, where his sister had gone to pray for help, but found the shrine enveloped in flames. Michael found Muse separated from her son 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, setting into motion the events that would create the next Lord of Calamity. Michael died mysteriously from the curse he performed.

Appearance and Personality

Michael has dirty-blond hair reaching almost to his shoulders, with bangs swept to his left. His eyes are lavender. He wears a white shirt under an open, long-sleeved dark blue jacket, secured with a black belt, white leggings, and low-heeled black boots with the tops folded over at the knee. He wears a fingerless black glove emblazoned with the mark of the Shepherd on his left hand.

Other Appearances

Tales of Zestiria the X

Michael in Tales of Zestiria the X.

In Tales of Zestiria the X, Michael predominately appears in small cameos throughout the series. Mayvin recounts a meeting with him regarding the properties of malevolence, and it is later revealed that Michael had written a second volume of the Celestial Record which contained everything he had discovered about it. Lailah initially carries this volume, but later passes it to Sorey.

Michael speaks with Georg Heldalf.

Unlike the game, Michael was happy to receive Rolance's aid in guarding Camlann from war. Trusting Heldalf, Michael considered him a friend and brought him to Artorius' Throne to meet Maotelus. Heldalf, however, had been deceiving Michael and used Camlann as bait for Hyland, letting the village fall for his own victory. Michael pleaded to the General for aid in rescuing the survivors, but he refused. After rushing to Artorius' Throne, Michael found Maotelus, who had been contaminated by the malevolence generated by the raid. Maotelus, resisting his hellionization, informed Michael of his plan to give Lailah the power of purification in the hopes that she would find a shepherd who could end the coming calamity.

Michael reunited with Muse outside the village church, which was up in flames. Muse told him that her baby was trapped inside, prompting her brother to head in to save the child. Though he managed to find the baby, the child's state was dire. In tears and enraged, Michael sacrificed both himself and his nephew in order to inflict a curse of eternal solitude on Heldalf.

Gallery

Michael and Lailah in Tales of Zestiria: A Time of Guidance.

Trivia

• In the English localized description for Iris Gem: Fyra, Muse is described as the Shepherd's wife as he founded a village along with his son. In the Japanese version, she is described as a woman who seems to be related to him. The group discovers later that Muse and Michael are siblings, and Mikleo is Muse's son. The Iris Gem descriptions appear to be subjective interpretations of the content rather than decisive statements of fact.