Application Information: Background and Personality

[renamaer]

BACKGROUND:

Terca Lumireis is a rather typical RPG fantasy world ruled by an empire with control over almost all the known continents, containing magic (in the form of blastia and artes), swordfighting, royalty (including this pink-haired princess), monsters, and heroes (ditto). At the start of the game, the entire world is in a state of reliance on blastia for almost everything: protection from monsters, light, and clean water. The majority of blastia are controlled by the empire, which doles them out in an uneven manner, and with one notable exception, are required to cast spells and store fighting techniques for those strong enough or lucky enough to use or possess them. In minor opposition to the empire are the guilds, which are small semi-independent assemblies of specialists (often created around a single purpose, such as fighting monsters, searching for artifacts, mapmaking, or forging weapons) whose members have renounced loyalty to the empire (thereby giving up privileges of protection) and band together instead.

Estellise is a princess and member of the nobility who has spent her whole life in the castle, one of the strongest candidates for the currently empty imperial throne. Through a series of interlocking events, she meets the main character of the game (Yuri Lowell) and escapes from the castle with him to deliver a vital message to their mutual friend, Flynn Scifo, a Lieutenant of the Imperial Knights. As they travel across the empire, she has her eyes open to a variety of abuses and excesses of the empire that she was born a part of, including corruption of high officials and a studied lack of concern for the wants and needs of common people.

Estelle also discovers why she is the earlier mentioned exception to the rule about utilizing blastia. Though she possesses one as a member of the nobility, she can directly convert ambient energy herself, without a need for a channel. This is later explained to be a dangerous power that threatens to destroy the world and she is targeted several times by multiple parties. Some wish to kill her to save the world, and one particular adversary kidnaps her and forces her to use her power by threatening her friends. She is soon rescued, but the damage is done by that point; a giant world-ending tentacle monster appears in the sky (because RPGs, of course). In the end, with the help of her friends, this monster is defeated by making unique use of her special ability to end the world's dependence on blastia.

While growing up in the castle, she had only one real friend, Flynn Scifo, at the time a newly minted Imperial Knight. In that time, she learns about his childhood friend Yuri Lowell, who ends up being the person who helps her escape the castle and begin her journey together. Along the way, they meet up with a variety of characters, each offering a unique perspective into the world situation: Repede, Yuri’s (and Flynn's) canine companion; Karol, a young member of the guilds that oppose the empire; Rita, a genius mage who has been studying blastia since a young age; Raven, a mysterious and somewhat lecherous “old” man; Judith, a dragon-riding fighter on a secret mission that somehow involves blastia; and Patty, a teenaged pirate with amnesia. As they travel together, they support and protect one another as they (eventually) save the world; Estelle develops from an idealistic and naive young princess into a more mature, driven individual.

Estelle link
Tales of Vesperia link


PERSONALITY:
At first glance, Estellise seems like a typical, bookish, sheltered princess. She's spent all her formative years living within the palace located in the capital city, as a possible heir to a world-spanning empire. Her only experience of the world comes second- and third- hand, from conversations with people (notably her first and only real friend, Flynn Scifo) and from her books. She has a near insatiable appetite for knowledge and a good memory, able to quote directly from books she's read years ago, but is greatly lacking in real life experience and a concrete goal for her life, never having been given agency to freely explore what she might like to do while trapped in the castle.

However, even during the first real meeting with her in the game, she is far from passive. After overhearing a conversation, she realizes that her friend Flynn is in danger and slips past her guards to try and warn him, coincidentally falling in with the main character, Yuri Lowell, when he overhears that she is trying to rescue their mutual friend and steps in to dispatch said guards. She then proceeds to break a vase over his head. She's shown to be very capable in fighting with a sword and shield just moments later in a battle against an assassin, as well as the healing artes, and it is later revealed that contrary to some custom she was given fencing lessons (we even meet the gruff retired Knight that served as her teacher), despite not wanting to fight or harm living things, even the monsters that roam the world. In her battles with the rest of the party, she often expresses her desire to progress and improve, not for the sake of fighting, but in order not to be a burden to the rest of the party and to be able to protect them in return.

Estelle - as she is soon nicknamed - is a catalyst and a driving force for the plot, which centers on her throughout the game. Her determination and loyalty (and stubbornness) help motivate the main character as they set off on what eventually becomes a world-saving quest (as per usual), and even as more people are added to the party, she directs most of their movements and actions as they travel, not always consciously. Her instinctive compulsion to help all those in need regardless of herself, and her unique healing powers (which become an important plot point), drag the party (mostly quite willingly) into crisis after crisis.

As the game progresses, and Estelle gains more practical real world experience, she also matures into more poise, confidence, and pragmatism. She is finally getting a chance to truly live life - seeing things she had only ever known about from books, making all kinds of friends, and getting an unvarnished look at the effects of the rules of the empire of which she is a member on the people who are subject to it. While her core character doesn't change very much, she is able to refine her positions on a variety of topics, such as the necessity of some battles (though fighting will never be her first choice to solve a problem), political expedience, and supporting and trust in her friends. She develops a strong sense of justice not necessarily bound to the written rules of an empire that reveals itself to her as flawed and corrupt throughout her journey, and willingly supports and advises an opposition candidate (her cousin Ioder) for the Imperial throne for the changes and reforms that he is planning to make.

Overall, Estelle is polite, cheerily optimistic, devoted to helping others, and an unmitigated busybody. While she eventually learns to look before she leaps, her instinct to help anyone in trouble, and heal any hurt presented to her (even to her own detriment), often has unintended consequences. Her friendliness, curiosity about almost everything, and giving nature enable her to make friends very easily. Once given the opportunity to explore, she discovers a wealth of opportunity beyond the boxes that she had grown up expecting to be slotted into (future Empress, healer), and develops the confidence and self-assurance to hold fast to her positions and preferences against outside opposition. At the end of the game, she chooses to move outside of the capital city and settle in her own space, devoting her time to reading and writing children's stories.