Lambda

Lambda
Information
Appearance	Tales of Graces
Weapon	Claws
Japanese Voice Actor	Shigeru Nakahara
English Voice Actor	Keith Silverstein

Lambda (ラムダ, Ramuda^?) is the main antagonist in Tales of Graces. He is an energy being who naturally takes the form of a black ball born from the core of Fodra like the beings Little Queen and Fodra Queen.

History

In the beginning, Lambda was inspirited into a humanoid robot taking the shape of a boy. However, Lambda was treated very differently by two people, as a growing human boy by the Director Cornell, who believed Lambda was the key to Fodra's future, and as mere data by Emeraude, caring only for results. Eventually, Emeraude started putting Lambda through painful experiments, one of which included injecting monsters with his cells. Unable to contain it, anything injected with his cells started lashing out, resulting in Lambda being encased within a large capsule, suspended in liquid. Emeraude took advantage of the opportunity and was given orders by their superiors to destroy Lambda rather than keep him around for future study. Cornell defended Lambda the best he could, understanding that Lambda wanted to fight back, but Emeraude believed that Cornell was only raising Lambda so he would become their new Lastalia. Before he could answer, guards arrived dragged Cornell away. Smiling, Emeraude pressed a button that incapacitated Lambda.

When he came to, Lambda managed to escape and knock out the guards that took Cornell earlier. Unable to contain the situation, Lambda destroyed the laboratory with his bare hands in a fit of anger. Cornell later came in and tried to soothe the angered child, slowly approaching him as to not scare him. But just as he seemed calm, Emeraude entered the room with a pair of humanoids at her side. Cornell shielded Lambda once more as they escaped to a nearby shuttle just as Emeraude ordered the humanoids to kill Lambda. Lambda managed to make it within the shuttle but watched as the humanoids killed Cornell by shooting him from behind just as the doors closed. With his last breath, Cornell told Lambda to live on as he activated the ship to fly out from Fodra. Upon landing on Ephinea, the ship crashes into the ground and Lambda looks on in despair as the ship he came on catches on fire and he gives out a tearful cry. Eventually, he detached from his humanoid body and wandered Ephinea, only to encounter Protos Heis, a humanoid built specifically to kill Lambda. Luckily, Lambda managed to knock her out and escape.

Possessing Richard

Lambda is first seen in the Barona Catacombs when Asbel and Hubert Lhant, Cheria Barnes, and Protos Heis, now known as Sophie, arrive to rescue Richard. Lambda quickly makes short work of the three kids, but is injured when Sophie sacrifices herself to save them. When he wakes up, he overhears the recently awoken Richard lament how he was poisoned recently and that he does not want to die. Telling Richard to live on just as Cornell said to him, Lambda takes Richard as his vessel, saving both of them from death. Over time, Lambda slowly begins influencing Richard with his ideals and feelings, to the point of making Richard think he is going insane.

At the End

Cut-in image for Divinity Blade in Tales of Graces.

In the Ghardia Shaft, Lambda, still possessing Richard, is defeated one more time by the party. He tries to kill Richard the same way he killed Emeraude, repulsed by Richard's willingness to be killed by Asbel just to stop him, but Richard is saved by Asbel just in time. Lambda fights the party in one final battle as Lambda Angelus (ラムダ・アンゲルス, Ramuda Angerusu^?). Once defeated, Sophie prepares to destroy Lambda away at the cost of her life, but when she attempts this, Asbel jumps in the way and takes her place. In a limbo-type area, Asbel and Lambda speak to each other, and Asbel decides to become one with Lambda to seal his power within himself to show him the world for its brighter side, hoping to become his friend like he did Richard.

From this day on, Lambda lives through Asbel, being represented through Asbel's now purple left eye. At the game's end, at the large tree in Lhant Hill, it is shown that Lambda's name was carved into the friendship pact between Asbel, Sophie, and Richard, carved below Sophie's name.

Helping from Within

Lambda returns in the "Legacy and Lineage" adventure of Tales of Graces ƒ and assists Asbel by giving him a portion of his power when his party was under attack in the Gustworks Ruins beneath Barona. As Asbel was being attacked by a powerful monster whom could not be defeated previously, Lambda gives Asbel some of his power and tells him that unless he uses it, his friends will die. After leaving the ruins, Asbel himself mentions that if he had not used Lambda's power, he did not think they would have survived.

But as Asbel is using Lambda's power, it eventually comes to Sophie's attention, making her fearful that Asbel may be taken over by Lambda if he uses it too much. Later, Asbel visits the mind space where is faced with Lambda again, talking about whether his powers have had something to do with the recent birth of more powerful monsters. This time, Lambda is more of a brighter color, losing his black and red coloring and now replaced with more vibrant pink and yellowish colors.

Whenever Lambda wishes to speak to Asbel, time appears to freeze around him, turning everything gray and colorless before speaking. Later on, Asbel and the others formulate a plan to stop the Little Queens by shutting down Fodra's core. It unfortunately involved using Lambda to absorb the eleth from the core, which would put a great strain on Asbel. His closest friends try to talk him out of it, fearing that absorbing the eleth would allow Lambda to completely control Asbel. But after a private conversation with Lambda directly, Asbel is assured that he can trust him with his body and he will not fully take over after absorbing the eleth. Asbel later meets with everyone from the party in Telos Astue before heading to Fodra's Shaft. Each time he speaks with them and they come in contact with Asbel's being, they can hear Lambda's voice giving them sarcastic praise. With Sophie being the last person he speaks with, it becomes apparent that all of Asbel's friends have agreed to trust Lambda.

During the final dungeon, when they reach the depths of Fodra Shaft and after chasing off a Little Queen, Asbel collapses from something and is seen covering his eye. He asks Lambda what is going on and he warns Asbel that Fodra's memories are affecting him. He should prepare himself if he does not want his mind completely crushed by the flow of Fodra's millions of memories. When the party is about to fight the Fodra Queen, Lambda ejects himself from Asbel's body to shield everyone partially from her vicious onslaught. After she is defeated, Asbel allows Lambda to take over, shown by purple chrysalis-like wings coming from his back. He begins absorbing the eleth from the core before the queen can use it to restore her power.

This succeeds in reverting the Fodra Queen into a Little Queen, but Lambda was not successful in absorbing all the eleth. Instead, he was able to absorb Fodra's heart, the part of which was torn by pain. He brings the party into Fodra's subconscious and tells them he plans to sleep with Fodra so he might reach an understanding with her. He also asks Sophie to watch over his progress, knowing that he has a "friend" that will be able to stay with him for all that time. He then returns Asbel to his body before everyone returns outside Fodra's Core. Though Lambda is still asleep at the moment, Asbel is shown to have his light purple eye, evidence that Lambda has not left his body after Fodra Queen was defeated.

Enhanced Form

If the final boss of the Zhonecage is defeated, Lambda will absorb the Zhonecage's eleth to attain an enhanced form known as Lambda Theos (ラムダ・テオス, Ramuda Teosu^?). This form fully replaces his "Angelus" incarnation and is considered a separate monster in the monster book with completely new weaknesses. Lambda Theos is considerably harder than his Angelus incarnation. Boasting high physical and arte defense, Lambda Theos plays a defensive game with the party, often times guarding most attacks and preventing the player from stunning and doing any damage to him.

Trivia

• Lambda, or λ, is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, as well as the root from which the letter L stems.
• Angelus is Latin for "angel", as well as the Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation, in which Jesus Christ was conceived by the Virgin Mary. Additionally, Theos is Greek for "God".
• When going through the Lastalia Shaft in Fodra's core the party will encounter monsters that will look like the form Lambda took in the Childhood arc abit a different color, further hinting his connection to Fodra's Core.