Artorius Collbrande

Artorius Collbrande
Information
Appearance	Tales of Berseria
Age	32
Height	187 cm
Race	Human
Occupation	•Head Exorcist •Shepherd
Weapon	Collbrande
Japanese Voice Actor	Ken'yuu Horiuchi
English Voice Actor	•Ray Chase (ToB) •David Wald (ToZtX)
Character Designer	Kousuke Fujishima

Artorius Collbrande (アルトリウス・コールブランド, Arutoriusu Kouruburando^?) is the main antagonist in Tales of Berseria. He is the head exorcist at the Abbey and considered to be a savior by the populace, as three years ago, he appeared with a large number of malakhim and, with their help, exterminated a large number of daemons that threatened the world. In the village of Aball, he is known under the name Arthur (アーサー, Aasaa^?).

History

Past

At least ten years prior to the story, Artorius, who went by the name Arthur at the time, was found in the forest outside Aball by a woman named Celica Crowe, who listened to his troubles before encouraging him to rest and eat, offering him an apple. Claiming that he had failed his master after a ten-year journey, Arthur stated that he did not deserve to live, but Celica told him that life was not something one had to earn and that such feelings were proof that he was alive. Celica introduced herself and asked him to join her for dinner. Over time, he and Celica fell in love and married. While living in the village, he helped Celica's sister, Velvet make ends meet, while continuously taking care of Celica while she was pregnant. He also inspired both Laphicet and Velvet to become exorcists.

However, during a Scarlet Night that would become known as the Opening, brigands attacked Aball for reasons unknown. The brigands' malevolence resulted in them becoming daemons and attacking the village, while chasing Celica Crowe into the shrine in Tranquil Woods. Arthur rushed after her, slaying the daemons until he made his way to her. When a daemon was about to attack him with his back turned, Celica pushed him away and received the blow that forced her into the depths of the shrine as the mouth of a mysterious entity devoured her. While consumed by grief over what had happened, he is approached by Melchior, who revealed that Aball's inhabitants offered him and his family to the daemons, explaining that the "reason" upon which they acted was so they could escape and hide.

Just then, a bright light emerged from the shrine's depth, surprising Artorius, who noted that it must have been in this place that the Empyrean they were looking for was located. Celica and her unborn baby were then reborn as malakhim, and Artorius forged a pact with Celica's malak reincarnation, Seres. Angry at people's selfishness, Artorius declared in that moment to put an end to the world's suffering with Melchior's help, intending to resurrect Innominat and use him to strip emotions from people, which would result in a lack of malevolence, therefore eliminating the threat of daemons.

Some time later, during another Scarlet Night that would become known as the Advent, he first saved Velvet from a Blood Wolf. When Velvet returned to find her younger brother, Laphicet Crowe, she finds out that Artorius killed Laphicet and intended to sacrifice him as a reason to save the world. The ritual began and he attempted to sacrifice Velvet as well. Much to his surprise however, the daemons took to Velvet and nested inside her arm. Realizing that Velvet is a threat, he imprisoned her in Titania, the Prison Island. There, he kept her imprisoned to keep his plans stable and also to prevent anything from his past from foiling his plans. After that event, he became famous, establishing the head group of the Exorcists, The Abbey, as its leader and acts as the savior to the world.

Final Battle and Death

Artorius armatizes with Innominat in the final battle before Velvet defeats him by removing Innominat from him, then impaling him with his own sword. Hearing Velvet speak the words that he told her many years ago during the Opening, he commends her, stating that she spoke like a true hero. After revealing to Velvet that the Arthur she knew died that day, he tells that, even after all these years, he always wondered if things would have been different if it had been Velvet and Laphicet who died instead of Celica and his unborn child. Velvet then tells him that she had thought the same thing as well, telling him that if it did happen, he would have fought to save the world for both her and Laphicet. Artorius then passes away, stating that all he wanted was to save everyone.

Appearance and Personality

Artwork for Tales of Asteria.

Artorius appears as a refined man and leader of the Abbey, his attire representing its pristine colors. He wears a long, white and gold coat with an ocean-blue interior, as well as matching pants, gloves, and boots. An extravagant cape mirroring this color motif rests on his right shoulder, bound by a brown belt connected around his torso. He has light, blue-green eyes and long silver hair, which he keeps tied in the back.

When he lived in Aball with Celica, he was a gentle and loving husband to her, and he also loved Celica's younger siblings very much. But after Celica died alongside their unborn child, he reverted into a man, who shows no emotion, and his only purpose from that point is to eradicate the world of malevolence by resurrecting Innominat. Despite his calm and superior demeanor, in the final battle he is shown to still harbor a significant amount of malevolence, specifically despair.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Savage Wolf Fury in Tales of Berseria.

After losing the use of his right arm at the Opening, Artorius compensates with his left hand, and is extremely skilled with a sword, so much so that even Rokurou Rangetsu can tell just how strong he is just by looking at him from a distance. His aura is so powerful that he can create a strong wind by just placing the tip of his blade on the ground. His artes focus mostly on sword swings and kicks as well as elemental attacks. As Artorius trained Velvet in the past, as stated in the beginning of the game by herself, some of his artes shares similar animations to hers, such as his Ascension to her Rising Moon. His mystic arte is his own version of Savage Wolf Fury.

Cut-in image for Right of Rule in Tales of Berseria.

When armatized with Innominat, Artorius dons a white attire laced with gold, with a long aethereal cape, eight long wings, as well as two giant halos above him, all in the same color. He levitates off the ground, regains full use of his right arm and uses a giant, aethereal sword, which he easily lifts above his head and swings with great speed. However, the golden light around said arm indicates that it is only being supported by Innominat's power. Unlike other armatus users, his artes are completely original with various elemental properties. His armatized mystic arte is Right of Rule.

Other Appearances

Tales of the Rays: Last Cradle

In Tales of the Rays, Artorius is exoflected into Tir Na Nog. Despite the lack of malevolence in this new world, Artorius is still displeased with humanity's negativity. With this, Artorius resolves to awaken Innominat into this world, so he temporarily uses Heldalf, a Lord of Calamity from the future who disagrees with Artorius's reasoning. When Artorius opts to use Laphicet as a vessel, Velvet fights relentlessly to get him back, only to be fatally impaled by the Shepherd. This action only proves to drive Laphicet to break free, much to Artorius's surprise. Velvet is then able to recover thanks to the interference of Sorey, Heldalf's Shepherd counterpart. When Artorius asks why Sorey, a Shepherd, would side with those who would inflict tragedy, Sorey responds that in his opinion, what Artorius is attempting is tragic, and he disagrees with Artorius's methods. Thanks to the assistance of the party, Velvet kills Artorious once again.

Gallery

Concept artwork as Arthur.

Concept artwork as Artorius.

Artwork for Tales of Link.

Armatized artwork for Tales of Asteria.

Trivia

• In Tales of Zestiria, the party faces an enemy in Dumnonia Museum named Knight Arthur in a room where a portrait of a boy resembling Laphicet Crowe hangs.
• In Tales of Zestiria, the Empyrean's Throne had been renamed Artorius's Throne.
• Artorius's name is derived from King Arthur, whose mythos is the origin of many names in Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria. According to a legend, King Arthur was in fact a Roman soldier named Lucius Artorius Castus. Collbrande is one of the alternate names for King Arthur's famous sword Excalibur.