Salutations, Symphonia fans! I'm proud to present to you a new project of mine, which I have a feeling will become the biggest out of all my stories thus far and far into the future. It might even be my last main project because, to be honest, my time on FFnet began because of ToS. It was my very first Tales of game, and I was skeptacle. Only because it was introduced to me by my brother, but that's sibling relationships for you. Anyways, ever since I beat the game with him, I've been forever immersed in the ToS mindset, eternally dreaming of the day that maybe one day we'll get a sequel that we deserve. My hopes were crushed upon realizing what Dawn of the New World had to offer.
I understand there are those out there that did enjoy it, and I don't blame you. I admit it is a good game, but it wasn't one that I wanted. A spin-off sequel doesn't cut it in my book. It didn't capture the fun and love that I felt with the original, nor did it build off its lore as I would have liked it to. Centurions overshadowed Summon Spirits, and monsters replaced spots that could've been used to introduce a new cast of endearing characters or reintroduce old ones. I could go on and on about this, but I'll end it there. Obvious to see, I was disappointed with the direction they took for the 10th Anniversary.
That is why if I do complete this story, it'll probably will be my last huge project ever to appear in the Tales of Symphonia archives. I'd fulfill my fandom dream through these means and have shared them with you guys. Achieving this sequel, that is my ultimate goal throughout all of my time on FFnet, so I hope to meet this story to an end one day.
Theme: To Unify These Resonating Hearts
Setting: The United World, 3 Years Post Tales of Symphonia
POV: Third-Person Omniscent
Cast: All the main characters of the original Tales of Symphonia
Disclaimer: The magnificient experience that is Tales of Symphonia will never be owned by me. Thank the minds of those that worked in the Tales Studio and Namco to allow us to have such great memories. I am only a fan wishing to continue those good times.
Prologue
Once upon a time, there was once a tree that brought stability throughout the world, known as the Giant Kharlan Tree. Its mana created life and peace. However, that peace did not last. Discord across the fronts of two nations, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, caused this tree to wither away, and the world was severed into two. For more than two thousand years, the worlds would stay this way, vying for the remaining mana that was left in the dying tree. It wasn't until a Chosen of Sylvarant and her companions would the worlds be saved. They underwent the Journey of World Regeneration, succeeding where other journeymen before had failed. They brought life to the ancient tree, causing a rebirth throughout the universe. The overseeing planet of Derris Kharlan, the world of the angels, fled back to the heavens and the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were re-unified. A bright new era for mankind had begun, a golden age: the Reunification Era.
But, as the celestial fates had prophesied, harmony would not be found on the new world. The reborn Yggdrasil Tree, housing the reincarnated Spirit of Mana, emitted mana as promised; however, the world was still struggling to thrive. Since the reunification of the worlds, mana levels have begun to fluctuate to dangerous extremes, the severity differing from place to place. Monsters have evolved, becoming berserk and wrecking havoc upon mankind. Tensions old and new were incited between the Sylvaranti and Tethe'allans over land dominance and authority. The world was on the brink of another war, one that might finally put an end to all the chaos, the end of mankind. Foreseeing this, the Heroes of World Regeneration kept their promise to the Spirit of Mana, going out unto the world to spread harmony throughout the land, from mana to man itself.
... And that marked the beginning of the harmonization of the world.
Author's Note
It's a prologue, yes. Is Kratos narrating it again? If you'd like to think so, be my guest! Haha.
This sequel, having been inspired by other respected authors and their own sequels as well as my own dreams of a follow-up to ToS, is something that I want to be a bit of a collaboration with the entire community of ToS. Since this is my most ambitious project, I have not begun writing further past this point. No chapters finished, waiting in my reserves to be busted out on a daily basis.
I decided to not do that this time for an important reason: I want to hear what YOUR wishes are for a Symphonia sequel. What unanswered questions do you want cleared? What characters do you want to see return? Are there conflicts that you believe would occur? Anything you want me to build off of? There's a character you want to see die? You want new monsters, new places, new faces? Show off new badass artes? I'm all ears, you guys. I'll take every consideration you put forth to heart and will keep it in mind as I finalize the sequel over months and possibly a few years. Here's hoping they do release a remake of Tales of Symphonia or else I'll probably not have an audience for this story by then. Haha.
I do, however, have the main baseline of where I'm building off for this story. It came to me a few nights ago, and I can't help but continue to wrap my head around it and smile. One of my proudest moments right there. So certain suggestions may or may not be used because of conflicting story elements. I'm still doing research as I speak, trying to make sure nothing I'm brainstorming interferes with anything already ordained in ToS (and in ToS only, not delving into Phantasia). And so far so good.
To end on a note, I'm really excited to present to you the beginnings of this sequel, and I hope you guys are excited too. I can't wait to see how this project unfolds along with you. :)
- Christa [ChaoticChris]