Keldric

Keldric
Dawn of Mana artwork
First appearance	Dawn of Mana (2006)
Latest appearance	Echoes of Mana (2022)
Title(s)	Chosen One of the Mana Tree
Homeland	Tree Folk Village (originally Lorimar)
Faction	Tree Folk
Role	Protagonist
Gender	Male
Relatives	Stroud (brother)
Species	Human
Voice actor(s)	Tetsuya Kakihara (jpn)DoM/EoM Sam RiegelDoM

“I'll try. I don't have anything to lose!”

—Square Enix Official Website

Keldric, nicknamed Keldy, is the protagonist of Dawn of Mana and a recurring character in the Mana series.

Background

A boy of unknown origin as the story begins, Keldric, or "Keldy" among friends, was raised by the Tree Folk of Illusia Isle and adopted as one of their own. His life is vastly changed when he visits the Sanctuary of Mana, where he finds a seed that germinates in his arm. Though uncertain what destiny awaits him, his resolve to protect his best friend Ritzia is unflappable.

History

Dawn of Mana

Keldric is first seen chasing after Buju, Ritzia's pet rabite in the woods near Treefolk Village. The young lad catches the little rascal in a small clearing while the maiden recalls this being the spot where Keldric carved their initials here with his pocket knife. Ritzia tells the boy that they shouldn't hurt the trees because whenever they hurt living things they end up hurting themselves. Their conversation is cut short by marching sounds coming from outside the woods. They see Golem soldiers from the Lorimarian army heading to their village. They watch in horror as the townsfolk be held hostage by Stroud, King of Lorimar. The two of them turn to the Great Tree to awaken the slumbering Sacred beast for help. Unfortunately, the army seems to be ahead ot them, already scouting the area.

During their search inside the Great Tree, Keldric and Ritzia stumble on a small shrine hosting the Door to Mavolia. Here Ritzia comments on the Mana Tree who has been turned to stone after standing on Illusia along with the eight spirits since time immemorial. A small burst of light shines beside the stonework, piquing Keldric's attention. He unearth a sizeable seed, who immediately takes root unto his right arm, transforming into a retractable blade. The tree maiden suggests they should seek the Village Elder's assistance and the party agree to investigate further down the maze. As they press on, they hear otherworldly voices calling Keldric the Chosen one and that the Great Tree will awaken. Multiple colored balls of lights converge above Ritzia in a small room, producing a small spirit who calls herself Faye. The little faerie joins the group, being capable of assisting Keldy in battle. A while later, they meet with Jinn and Gnome, lending their powers to the young hero. At the end of the structure, the party meets a graveyard with the Sacred Beast nowhere to be found. Instead, a massive crab attacks them, calling Ritzia the progeny of the dark oracle, warning her to not seek the Echoes' release. The young lad defeats the monster, vanishing after uttering that they should not disturb the Great Tree's slumber. Ritzia comes toward Keldric, wondering what all those warnings mean since Illusia is supposed to be a holy place guided by a sacred beast. The tree maiden is suddenly entranced by a voice telling her she's been waiting for her. By placing her hand on the Great Tree's roots, Ritzia creates a dark vortex, rendering her unconscious. Keldy tries to rescue her, but is arrested by the Golem army, who bring him to the Door to Mavolia, where Lekius and the Village Elder were detained. Here they meet with the Lorimarian leader Stroud, who ask the elder who to open the sealed door to Mavolia. The old man replies that if he were to open that door, the world would be consumed by Thanatos, plunging it into everlasting darkness. The King of Lorimar, responds to the village chief's unwillingness to answer his command, threatens to torture Ritzia, which angers Keldric who responds with a sword blow. Stroud easily evades the attack and gives the young boy a sword strike himself, sending him straight into a pillar. The elder finally discloses the location of the key to Mavolia being in Wonderwood. Pleased by his compliance, Stroud orders the villagers to be taken away, while he discusses about Keldy not being one of the Treefolk with his advisor.

Outside, a Golem general gives out the instruction to his crewmen to search the forest for the holy item that would revive the Great Tree. A hostage Ritzia will help the soldiers navigate their surroundings. Keldric and his friend Lekius are seen hiding behind a rock listening to the Lorimarian army's plan. Lekius, the village's guardian, tell Keldy to wait for them to be split up in the forest to attack them, but the chosen boy dismisses his strategy, telling him to go back in the village while he takes care of Ritzia. During in trip to Wonderwood, Keldy is joined by Salamander and Undine. In Chobin Hood Hamlet, Chobee tells Keldy that he has been summoned by Treant and will guide him to the sacred tree. Arriving at the aforementioned place, the chosen hero hears Treant reciting to Ritzia the story of the Mana Tree absorbing negative energy for centuries, together constituting the Echoes of destruction. He tells the group that at thousand years ago, a young lady opened the door to Mavolia, and now, others wish to open it once again. As long as the tree spirit is alive and well, it will be able to contain the wicked power from within. However, the sword inside reacts to the Echoes touched by Ritzia, possessing Treant who proceeds to attack Keldy. The hero eventually defeat Treant, releasing the Thanatos, and the holy sword contained inside. Before dying, the tree spirit entrust the party to go to Mortmont and seek the conservator of the land and the Guardian Beast. The masked guru appears riding a dragon, snatches the Mana sword and tries to capture the whole party intending to make them share what Treant told them. However, Ritzia tells Keldric and Faye to run away, sacrificing herself to the guru.

On their way to Mortmont, Keldric and Faye are joined by Wisp, Dryad, Shade, and Luna. They meet with Gaia, face of the earth on top of the mountain, who says he was waiting for them. The earth spirit explains that Thanatos are spirits born of the Echoes that slumber deep below the Great Tree, that have the potential to flood the world with darkness. However, if light pierces through prayer, a new age heraled by the Mana Tree will begin. He also comments on Flammie, the Guardian Beast being injured a millennium ago and asked Gaia for shelter. The masked guru's steed interrupts Gaia's speech and start confronting the party. With the help of the earth sprit and Faye, the chosen hero is victorious. Unfortunately, the Lorimarian army starts opening fire from their ship, the impact outright killing Gaia and separating the little spirit and Keldy. All of a sudden, the ground beneath the mountain starts collapsing, revealing Illusia's guardian beast. Flammie takes Keldy and Faye into his grip, transporting them both all the way to the Treefolk Village. There, Keldric is acclaimed, but the celebration has to wait, since the boy now heads to the shores of the island to rescue the tree maiden.

The young lad jumps on the enemy ship to save his beloved friend, but is first noticed by the Masked Guru while on board. The mysterious man tells the boy that he will open the door to Mavolia with his sword, just like a thousand years ago, when a Tree maiden named Anise was possessed by the Echoes and opened the door to Mavolia. She and a certain man shut to door shut, but this time, the door will stay open, assures the guru. He directs Keldy to the engine room, where Ritzia is being held captive. There, the boy and his spirit child find a listless main tied to a pole. As she is being freed, she mutters about Mavolia, the Echoes, and Anise, which makes both anxious about her. Thep arty attempt to escape the fleet, but are stopped by Stroud, who attacks Keldric and Faye by testing out the Mana Sword. Keldric is unable to truly harm the Lorimar king, however, the latter gloating that he will unleash an all-out assault on his village tomorrow morning. As he is about to strike Keldric with the Mana Sword, the boy's own weapon starts making him glowing, a dragon mark appearing on his left cheek, the same as Stroud's. Undefeated, Stroud orders his men to open fire on boy, sending him plummeting in the ocean. The blow makes Ritzia come to her senses, as she cries for Keldy to be alive. Another slavo is hurled toward the boy, but Faye protects the boy to the best of the capability. The two of them as seen in the morning washed ashore, with the little spirit still unconscious. She slowly comes to life again as the assault on the village commences.

Alas, Keldric arrives too late to save everyone, as the Thanatos is released from the Door to Mavolia, transforming the entire Tree folks and most of the population of Fa'Diel into Grimslies. Stroud gains immense power through this event, swearing to subjugate everyone into loyal slaves. Grim Stroud hurls his sword against Keldric, but Faye protects him from a mortal blow. The two of them are saved by Watts and his fighting machine, allowing a secure escape. On their way to Ishe, Faye transforms into her mature form.

Keldric now ventures in Jadd Castle to slay all the Thanatos influence, so that people from all over the world help him rebuild Illusia back that way it was before. Faye is apprehensive about going back to Illusia after that, since going back there might not close to door to Mavolia. The young lad tells her that he needs to know why Ritzia opened the door in the first place. After climbing the palace, the party meets with an old friend of Keldy who is now affected by the Thanatos. The now demon tries to coerce his friend of becoming one by telling he would never become sick or hungry. He is now obsessed with Ritzia and Anise perfecting the world into making everyone affected by Thanatos. Seeing that Keldric doesnt' share his sentiment, he carries on his task to bring the seed of the Great Tree to the Island, and engage the boy in combat. Lekius eventually meets his doom, and tells the chosen one that in three days, Ritzia will successfully release the Echoes of destruction upon the world and urges his friend to stop him, before vanishing. Keldy is obviously distraught by his friend's death, but has no other choice but to continue his journey. He meets Watts in Jadd, where he confides in him his plan to land on Illusia ahead of his peers to invade the island. The dwarf tells of a tower whose beacon can crib the powers of Thanatos. That could also give the resistance the signal to lauch their assault on the lorimarian army.

On his way to the Beacon Tower, a powerful storm whips the poor vessel Keldric is on back and forth, crashing into the island face down. The boy has a strange vision of Ritzia surrounded by Grim Rabites who tries to force him into succumbing to the Thanatos. Keldric replies that Lekius told him the same thing, but the Tree maiden retorts that he died and not him. She adds that she is the last of the Great Tree maiden, and she can see the truth of all living things. The young boy tries to push her, but the maiden seems unphased by his approach. She continues by telling that Stroud is not the true dark lord as it would be him instead. All he has to do is to defeat Stroud and take his rightful place. Keldric, Ritzia, and Faye would rule the world together. Keldric orders her to stop, as she says that if he cuts her with his sword, the future will turn out differently.

After regaining consciousness, the hero runs toward the ominous tower, hoping to lit the beacon at its top. As he turns on the device a brilliant light is emitted from the tower. The party is stoped by the Masked Guru, revealing that he is neither human nor grimslie. He maintains the wisdom of a millennium and his soul wields the spirits' power. He promises to open a path for him if he can outdo him. As the Masked Guru is mortally wounded, eight elemental lights merge into him, effectively healing him. Keldric tries to defeat him one more time, but his sword is acting up again, prompting the boy to ask the guru is origins. He replies that he awoke from a thousand years' sleep when Keldy arrived on Illusia isle. He is revealed to be Anise's lover and the one who sealed her away the first time she awoke. A thousand years ago, he too gave birth to a sacred sword who eventually became corrupt by the Echoes, just like Anise. This is the same sword Stroud currently wields. The weapon Keldric has possesses something more than the previous sword. He then urges Keldric to go back to his brother Stroud on Illusia, and fades into thin air. At the same time, the resistance from all over the world were lead by the light from the tower and begin to fight back. There, Keldric is aided by Watt's war machine Mark II, and pierces through the enemy's defense.

The hero infiltrates the caves below the battlegrounds where he is stopped by Grim Golem Generalissimo. The general is eventually backed into a corner, where he blows himself up in a last ditch effort, alongside the cave leading to Stroud's palace. Thankfully, Flammie is there to lift the young boy up into the air and reach his destination without too much hassle. Inside, he reunites with Grim Stroud awaiting on his throne. Upon asking where is Ritzia, the king points to his side, where Anise rests. Stroud reveals that he threw his own brother into the sea, regretting that he could have had just killed him in the first place instead. He then plunges his sword into Anise, who collapses into Keldric's arms while she dies. He taunts both of them about being aware of Keldric taking his place as king and the Echoes' release. Keldric engages him into a duel where the two of them fight senseless, until Stroud absorbs a considerable amount of Echoes, making him morph into a humongous beast. He is eventually best by the chosen one, snarkingly replying that he just wanted to save his girl and not the world. A disappear cackling before Keldy, while Anise takes his place, saying that the sword could never kill her. The boy shouts Ritzia's name, but Anise replies that she no longer exists. Once she obtains the power of the Great Tree and the spirits tonight, the Echoes will finally be freed from their prison and roam free in Fa'Diel.

Circle of Mana

Keldric makes a cameo appearance alongside many other characters from the Mana series.

Echoes of Mana

“A boy who lives in a village at the foot an ancient sacred tree on the island of Illusia. Keldric, whose nickname is "Keldy," can be stubborn at times and a little wild, but his positive outlook and sincere honesty have earned him the trust of his fellow villagers. By a strange fate, the sacred tree's seed was planted into his arm, and with the blade born from that seed, he hurls himself into battle to save the world.”

—Square Enix Official Website

Keldric is a character and drawable unit. He currently has one known variant.

See also: Keldric (Guided by the Great Tree)

General information

Physical appearance

Keldric is 18 years old with blond hair and blue eyes. His outfit consists of a red/orange waistcoat over a short cuirass with oversized red shorts. He has bracers covering the upper arm on both arms. Keldric wears a feather (given by Ritzia when they were kids) on his head secured by a headband. The feather is said to come from the Guardian Beast of Illusia itself. Keldric wears a feather instead of a Def flora, a guardian plant charm like the other Tree Folk.

Later depictions of Keldric see his waistcoat shortened so as to expose his chest.

Profile and statistics

Powers and abilities

As host of the Great Tree's seed, the sapling to which Keldric was bonded gives him a sword for his right arm should it be necessary. The blade is wrapped in vines that can extend out as a whip to grab and pull objects toward him. With Faye at his side, he can summon the Mana Spirits to attack foes as well as to solve puzzles in the field.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Keldric.

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	Randi --"Whoa! What's a Rabite doing in a place like this?"
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