The thrilling sequel to my previous post about terminology in Tales of Zestiria. While that one was focused specifically on terms that had been in both the Dawn of the Shepherd special and the Milano subs, this is going to be me introducing a few other terms that’ll be in the game that haven’t yet been prominent enough for translations to have been published or discussed.
The translation talk here is largely boring, but I think the terms, their presence and their meaning are worth talking about anyway. And since the concepts haven’t figured prominently in any real headlining material, no one has — which is a shame, because there’s a pretty interesting sub-theme down here everyone is ignoring.
But I’ll explain that in a bit.
輿入れ (Wedding)
There’s basically guaranteed to be jokes in the game about the Wedding, the name for the ritual that binds a Shepherd to a deva (I’m not giving up until it’s official) and allows him to channel their power. Speaking of which —
主と従、器 (Master and Servant, Vessel)
The words here are completely straightforward, if a bit loaded when translated directly. The main point is that the Shepherd is the servant (and a “vessel” for the deva to work through) and the deva is the master. In fact, the material claims that the deva is even empowered to end the pact while the Shepherd is not. So when Sorey gets a new thing, he makes an oath to the person who is giving it to him, and has to mean it.
It’s worth talking about how different this is from other Tales games and a lot of RPGs. From Phantasia to Xillia, a spirit may have to agree to a pact, but once there, the terms of the pact are essentially the summoner’s, and the spirit demands only the impetus, effort and energy to actually enact its magic (sometimes, just expending some MP itself is price enough). Basically, a spirit agreed to serve its pactmaker and quietly took up residence in the spell list.
If you look at them as party members instead of a new take on the Four, this is still a very different dynamic. Looked at one way, it means that they’re not just following us around and helping out — Sorey is, of necessity, beholden to them by the terms of the pact. Another way, it means that if one of them does choose to leave “the party,” it would be a much bigger deal than usual in many ways. Sorey would not only lose a friend and an ally, he’d lose all of his own powers he owed to that deva — which is another way of saying that the player would feel the loss on several fronts, for better or for worse. Even if it never happens, even if the characters are normally friends through all the normal skits and shenanigans, the fact that one is another’s boss surely hangs over the affair, waiting for drama.
tl;dr: when Sorey gets a powerup from a deva, he has to pay for it, if only in pledge. As the viewpoint character and the effective “leader,” he depends on his allies in a big way, and that relationship is formalized in the magic of Zestiria. Perhaps appropriately, the other Tales protagonist to attack this subject so directly was Milla Maxwell.
(At the bare minimum, Sorey’s pacts and his obligations to his “masters” would be a representation of the pressure of the duties hanging over him, and that’s a subject that is sure to come up in this game.)
主神と陪神 (Lord and Follower “Gods”)
And it’s not only a human that can bargain to be a vessel for a deva’s magic. Devas can make a similar pact with other devas to access their master’s powers. It’s said that this is how devas became truly godlike in the lost Golden Age — not by sheer force, but by using their followers to expand their domain. Again, the devas at the top aren’t the ones with the powers of a hundred others, but the ones powering a hundred who have sworn themselves over.
I’m not proposing the section title as a translation because it sucks, but I think it might be one of those conceptual compounds that needs an invented term rather than an attempt at a straight translation. If “seraphim” sticks, it’ll probably have to be based on that, too, and I don’t know nearly enough angel lore what that should look like.
Apparently, this comes into play when Lailah becomes the leader of the party’s group. With all her followers and the Shepherd, the power she’s trying to spread around is her unique magic of Purification. And by the way—
誓約 (Covenant)
Lailah has taken an oath upon herself in order to attain the power of Purifying Fire, and if she breaks the terms of whatever that is (which hasn’t been revealed), she is subject to a harsh doom. That means that Lailah is on both sides of the thematic power/obligation line. (It also means Lailah is bearing a burden on behalf of her group, which I think is interesting in a few ways.)
従士 (Retainer?)
Rounding out the graph, a human can also pledge fealty to the Shepherd in exchange for his power. Again, this translation is very “working.” In terms of relevance, Sorey makes a bond with Alisha, who has no magical sensitivity of her own, and through his, she gains the ability to interact with devas and (according to some rumors) even channel some magic.
—
Part of the reason I’m writing all of this is because it’s on my mind, and the game’s coming out very soon. After I’m done playing it, I want to look back and see how much of this was followed up on (or how much of it was all in my head).
