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Reid Hershel
Reid (ToE PSX)
Information
Appearance Tales of Eternia
Hometown Rasheans
Age 18
Height 5'10" / 178 cm
Weight 137 lbs / 62 kg
Race Inferian
Occupation Hunter
Weapon •Sword
•Axe, Spear, Halberd, Dagger, Long Sword, Shield (ToE)
Japanese Voice Actor Akira Ishida
English Voice Actor Kevin Miller (Tales of Destiny II)[1]
Character Designer Mutsumi Inomata

Reid Hershel (リッド・ハーシェル Riddo Haasheru?, "Rid Hershel") is the main protagonist of Tales of Eternia.

History[]

A Childhood Lost[]

From an early age, Reid was a playful and highly competitive child who would often join his friends Farah Oersted and Keele Zeibel on adventures in the vicinity of their village of Rasheans. He would often tease Keele for being a crybaby, and whenever Keele achieved something notable, Reid would always try to take credit for it so he could boast about it afterward. One day, Farah demanded that Reid and Keele should start a competition at the Regulus Knoll to find a sparkling stone that she termed as a "star fragment", in spite of the area being locked off and forbidden to outsiders. After Farah unlocked the gates with the key she stole from her father, Reid quickly ran through the ruins and into the nearby cave system, with Keele barely following behind. When they finally discovered one of the precious stones that Farah wanted them to retrieve, Keele picked it up to examine it, but Reid took it from his hands and started to run back to the surface, only to run into Farah's father, Norris Oersted, the Elder of Rasheans.

Norris demanded that the two children cease their mischief and return to the village, while Norris stayed behind to survey the caves, where he is later discovered to have been killed by some unknown creature that had been trapped within the seal underneath the knoll. Reid, Farah, and Keele returned home, but soon after they entered the safety of the village, powerful monsters began to swarm in behind them, slaying the townsfolk and causing damage to buildings, which started to catch on fire. Reid's father, Bitz Hershel (ビッツ・ハーシェル Bittsu Haasheru?), discovered him near the entrance gate and quickly pulled him to relative safety within the basement of their home. Bitz recognized that Reid must have gone to Regulus Knoll, but Reid denied this to be true. Frustrated, Bitz locked Reid in the basement and went back to the village square to organize his fellow villagers into a spontaneous defensive force.

Reid Opening

Opening still from Tales of Eternia.

Reid screamed through the locked door to his father, fearing for the man's safety and insisting that it was all his own fault, but Reid could only wait as the carnage passed over the entire village. The townsfolk were eventually successful in repelling the force of monsters, but Bitz was slain in the process. By the time Reid was able to escape from his home, most of which had burnt down and collapsed due to the fighting, he witnessed the shell-shocked reactions of the villagers, some of whom refused to talk to Reid for being a possible cause of this disaster. Reid was left alone, soaked in the rain as it started to douse the flames that continued to burn down most of the remaining houses. This scene, with the loss of his father and the devastation of his childhood, would haunt him as a recurring nightmare for years to come.

Because the townsfolk started to distance themselves from Reid, he reciprocated their distrust by distancing himself from their society. He was forced to learn how to survive on his own because no one wanted to have anything to do with Reid. He took up the hunting profession so that he could sustain himself through self-sufficiency, taking what he needs from nature itself. While he retained ownership of his home, rebuilt after the destruction, he rarely uses it for any purpose. Meanwhile, Farah willingly volunteered herself to become a monk at the nearby Regulus Dojo, seeking some means of redemption through isolation, while Keele was kept under strict conditions to focus entirely on his studies and avoid any contact with his friends. Reid learned to depend on no one aside from himself, and he lived through his life one day at a time, doing only what he needed to do for survival.

Life is Meant to be Simple[]

Reid Hershel (ToCE)

Artwork for Tales of Card Evolve.

The years passed on in this way, and eventually Keele moved on to study at Mintche University while Farah gave up her isolated monk status and returned to Rasheans to take on the role of a harvester. Still, Reid and Farah rarely see each other, though Farah is able to talk to Reid one day when he encounters her at a wooden lookout tower they often visited as children. Farah notes that this place had been Reid's favorite ever since they were young, and Reid affirms that he continues to visit the construct every day. Farah turns her attention to the sky, which she claims to have changed colors somewhat, and that something from Celestia might fall onto their world of Inferia. Reid retorts that anything from Celestia is bound to be bad news, insisting that true happiness can be achieved only if things stay the way they are. Incidentally, something in the sky does rocket toward the ground at that moment, aimed directly toward the lookout tower that Reid and Farah are standing on, and Reid quickly pulls Farah off of the tower before it is struck by the strange object.

Reid's perception of maintaining a peaceful life through a continued status quo is immediately broken when he and Farah discover the impact point of the object after colliding with their tower. Reid is rendered dumbstruck by the opened object's highly mechanical nature and its unknown occupants, a mysterious girl with dark skin and strange clothing, and her companion, a blue rabbit-like creature. He could barely comprehend the situation as the girl attempts to communicate with them in some unknown language. Still, he recognizes that the machine is overloaded with energy and that it is ready to explode. He quickly carries the strange girl away from the wreckage as it bursts apart, clearing away a portion of the nearby forest and throwing debris everywhere. As Reid touches the girl, both of their bodies shine with a rainbow light. Although Reid is stunned by this colorful aura, the girl quickly recovers from the blast and tightly hugs Reid, prompting Farah to tease Reid with the idea that this girl likes him.

Reid Hershel (ToK)

Artwork for Tales of Kizna.

Reid and Farah take the strange girl to the current Elder of Rasheans, Khamran (カムラン Kamuran?), seeking his advice so that they can help her. Khamran recognizes the cruelty of his thoughts, but he demands that the girl must be cast out from the village, claiming that another disaster could impact the area if the girl is given a place to stay within the village. And true to his words, another unknown stranger suddenly appears, destroying a portion of the wall to get inside the Elder's home. This intruder briefly speaks to the girl in their shared unknown language, and then he suddenly attacks the girl, prompting Reid and Farah to fight in her defense. Although they are successful in driving away the intruder, who vanished after his defeat, Khamran recognizes the onset of danger and decrees that the girl must be banished to preserve the safety of the village. Farah declares that she will join the girl, and Reid, torn between his desire to maintain a peaceful life and his obligation to help his friend, pauses for a while before chasing after Farah.

After Farah makes preparations for their travel outside of Rasheans, she prepares to leave the village with the dark-skinned girl, who is now wearing Farah's old clothing. Farah knows that Reid would want to stay behind and continue to live his life normally. But the girl tightly grabs Reid, generating the same rainbow aura that had appeared earlier. She refuses to let go of him, repeating the word "Feebureel" constantly as she constricts Reid's ability to move. Reid protests to this, believing that she had named him "Feebureel" instead of Reid. Farah tells him that the girl would not leave unless he joins them. Reid expresses his exasperation, knowing that his bad feeling about the situation could lead to trouble ahead. As they start their travels, Reid and Farah attempt to introduce themselves to the girl, and when the girl recognizes that they are trying to give her their names, she declares her own name to be Meredy. Reid also decides to name her pet creature Quickie based on the sound it makes.

Appearance and Personality[]

Reid Status (ToE)

Status image in Tales of Eternia.

Reid is a red-haired young man with little interest in fashion sense. His shirt is extremely short and tight-fitting, widely exposing his midriffs and navel, and he insists that this is all the clothing he has. He also wears a brown choker made of wood, symbolizing his status as a hunter in Inferia. As such, he would rather focus on tracking and slaying his prey, living among the wildlife for extended periods of time outside of the village of Rasheans. Food is his primary focus and motivation, and he is always eager to eat large meals whenever he has the chance. Reid is especially fond of Farah's cooking, especially her omelettes.

As a country boy, Reid initially cares little about the broader world, always valuing the status quo and desiring to live through life with no troubles. He has a snarky and sarcastic attitude, oftentimes making rude comments directed toward Keele for overthinking things, which frequently lead to arguments that require Farah's intervention. Still, he feels obliged to protect his friends and keep them from danger, showing his innate tendency to help others even though he would be dragged beyond his comfort zone. This often occurs whenever Farah would find herself involved in some difficult situation, prompting Reid to follow her at all times to keep her from causing trouble for everyone, especially himself. He frequently bemoans the fact that Farah causes so much trouble for him, and he always protests when the group must go further away from their home each time they learn of a new destination.

After experiencing the status of the worlds of Inferia and Celestia, however, he soon recognizes that things in life must change, and that he has been called to perform acts greater than himself for the sake of everyone. The Trials of Seyfert enable Reid to see things from the perspectives of others, showing him that the things that he does to survive may actually cause harm to others. He gains some degree of empathy for his friends and foes alike, and as he acquires the powers of divinity, Reid is determined to use his Divine Aurora to ease the pain of others and save everyone from destruction.

Fighting Style[]

Reid Cut-in (ToE) 2

Cut-in image for Burning Phoenix in Tales of Eternia.

Reid Cut-in (ToE) 1

Cut-in image for Quasi Seal in Tales of Eternia.

Reid's main strength is his vast array of powerful close-combat abilities that utilize his high physical power, imbuing various elements into some of his attacks. His fighting style is self-taught and wild, encouraging the use of wide swings and rapid thrusts and designed to rely largely on speed and offense. He can wield a large variety of weapons, such as axes to enhance his slashing damage capabilities, spears to focus on piercing attacks, and swords to balance both methods of attack equally. Reid has two damage statistics relating to both slashing and thrusting, which modify the damage of his artes which perform such actions and also enable him to obtain more artes based on the level of these statistics. Reid cannot use magic, but he has the unique ability to use Fibrill, a power granted through Seyfert to achieve control over the Divine Aurora, which can be used to nullify and reverse the effects of the Dark Aurora.

Other Appearances[]

Tales of the Abyss[]

Reid Aurora Wall

Cut-in image for Aurora Wall in Tales of the Abyss.

Reid Burning Phoenix

Cut-in image for Burning Phoenix in Tales of the Abyss.

Reid appears in the Baticul coliseum in Tales of the Abyss, along with Mint Adenade, Philia Felice, and Nanaly Fletcher, to fight against the party as part of its "Exhibition Match". He is the primary melee character of the group, whose role is to distract the player's party from attacking his allies, so that the spellcasters can activate their magic without being interrupted. Interestingly, all of his artes retain the translated names that were used in the localization of Tales of Eternia, despite some errors in connecting these older arte names with the correct attack. His most potent attack is his Divine Skill, Aurora Wall, which not only damages the player's party in a small area of effect, it also revives all knocked-out members of his entire party. In the North American version of the game, he also gains the ability to extend his Rising Phoenix into the Divine Skill Burning Phoenix as he could in Tales of Eternia, though it no longer requires him to stagger his opponents first.

Tales of Hearts[]

Reid appears as a support arte in Tales of Hearts. He can only be summoned if the player has obtained the "Young Hunter's Strange Gauntlet". When Reid is summoned, he uses his signature Kyokkouheki on the enemy.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology[]

Reid appears in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology as a playable character, classed as a Swordsman with the "Hunter" title. He is a member of Ad Libitum, and his reason for joining, according to Kratos Aurion, is said to be because of food alone. He would go broke if he ate at the inn all the time, and he could not hunt for meat because he was not allowed to exit the village. Seeing that he was excellent with the sword because he is such a good hunter, he got Kratos's seal of approval, and an Ad Libitum member was then made. His appetite for food is almost comical and used as a running gag in skits. For example, in one skit, it is shown that he is able to eat Arche Klein's horrible cooking without getting sick, which, according to Mormo, is probably because of his unique digestive system. Several of his artes are slower than its original appearances, resulting in a slower and longer execution rate such as Tempest Strike and Sword Rain: Alpha.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2[]

Reid Cut-in (TotW-RM2)

Cut-in image for Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2.

Reid appears in the second installment of Radiant Mythology as a playable character. He lives on the Van Eltia with his two childhood friends, Farah and Keele. He is one of the first nine characters available to join the player's party. As in the original Radiant Mythology, the sword Reid chooses to use throughout the entire game is the "Last Fencer".

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3[]

Reid appears in the third installment as a playable character. Various arte animations have been modified for Reid's use to show the style that he uses in Tales of Eternia, resulting in uniquely animated versions of Majinken Souga and Shinkuuretsuzan. As in the previous Radiant Mythology games, the sword Reid chooses to use throughout the entire game is the "Last Fencer".

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Reid Hershel (ToE PSP)
  • Reid is a Scottish name meaning "red-haired".
  • Hershel, like many names in the game, derives from astronomy, specifically the British astronomer William Herschel.

References[]

  1. Kevin Miller THEKevinMiller.com (2005-21-01) Retrieved on 2012-04-22.


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