Luke fon Fabre

'Template:Infobox'Luke fon Fabre, known in Japan as Luke fone Fabre (ルーク・フォン・ファブレ Ruuku fon Fabure^?), is the main protagonist in Tales of the Abyss. In the Ancient Ispanian language, his name means Light of the Sacred Flame (聖なる焔の光 Seinaru Homura no Hikari^?). He is the son of Duke Crimson Herzog fon Fabre and Duchess Susanne fon Fabre, and by extension, the nephew of King Ingobert VI.

Appearances

The main protagonist of the game, Luke is 17 and is the only son of a noble family in the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. After being kidnapped at ten years of age, Luke lost all of his childhood memories, and upon being returned home was confined to the safety of the Fon Fabre manor. His isolation from the rest of the world leads him to become a rather immature, selfish kind of person with next to no knowledge of the world. His only hobby is swordsmanship. During a training session with Van Grants, Luke tries to protect his teacher from the assassin Tear Grants and the two are transported to the outer world. On his way back, Luke meets Colonel Jade Curtiss from the Malkuth forces who requests his help to stop an impending war using his status as a noble. When reuniting with Van, he learns he possesses the ability to create a "hyperresonance" on his own, an extremely powerful ability when two fonists of the same type use their abilities in tandem. Luke is convinced by his teacher to use his power to become a hero and stop war so that he would not be used as a weapon. Van manipulates him into using the hyperresonance to save the town of Akzeriuth from miasma to become a hero. However, this results in the town's destruction and Luke losing everybody's trust.

After Akzeriuth's destruction, Luke learns that he is actually a seven year old isofonically identical "replica" of Asch, the real Luke fon Fabre. This event, along with the abandonment of his friends, prompts Luke to change himself for the better, cutting his hair as a symbol of his resolve. He also asks Tear to look after him and to watch over him. Across the game, Luke also develops feelings for her to the point he once try confess them but decides not to. He then starts working with his comrades to protect the towns from being destroyed like Akzeriuth by using his hyperressonance on the Sephiroth trees. He fights Van who wishes to create a new world of replicas and emerges victorious.

A month after Van's defeat, Luke and his comrades become concerned with the appearance of miasma in the world. With no way of making it go away, Luke eventually decides to sacrifice himself alongside the new replica to destroy the miasma. Although he survives, a doctor later tells him he little time left alive. When dying, Asch gives Luke what remains of his power, allowing Luke to perform Second Order hyperressonance. Luke then confronts Van once again to free the spirit of Lorelei using his powers. After Van's death, both Luke and Asch's dead body are engulfed in a blinding light as Luke frees Lorelei. One year after the battle on Eldrant, and three years after the start of his initial journey, Luke is presumed to be dead. However, on the night of his coming of age ceremony, his twentieth birthday, Luke reunites with his friends.

Luke reprises his role from the game in the manga and anime adaptations of the series, as well as in the manga spin-off Tales of the Abyss: Asch: the Bloody. The Tales of the Abyss fandisc also features two segments where Luke roleplays with Tear and goes to visit a doctor, Jade. Luke also appears in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology and the sequels Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 as a playable character. In Tales of the Heroes: Twin Brave, Luke appears in Guy's serious scenario as his partner. He is also playable in Tales of VS. Outside the Tales series, he also appears in the PlayStation Portable version of Venus & Braves.

History

Kidnapping

Seven years prior to the events of the story, Luke is reportedly kidnapped by the Malkuth Empire, an experience so traumatic as to cause him to lose all memory of events and people encountered before this event. Since his return to Kimlasca, he has been confined in the Fabre manor in Baticul, by orders of his uncle, King Ingobert VI, having only the company of his parents, Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, the servants, his teacher Van Grants, and his best friend Guy Cecil. Because of this, Luke has attempted to escape many times from the manor, but to no avail. His methods of escaping have included hiding inside a bag left in a wagon that came to deliver goods to the kitchen's manor, climbing the fence, and disguising himself as a "White Knight". Since this event, Luke has periodically experienced painful headaches, similar to migraines but apparently less severe and with no perceptible cause, hearing voices each time they occur. Luke's family believe them to be linked to the kidnapping.

Spirited Away

One day in the middle of sword practice, Tear Grants enters the Fabre manor using a fonic hymn to lull its occupants to sleep, and attempts to assassinate Van. Luke intervenes, causing an isofon-induced hyperressonance which transports the two away into the Tataroo Valley, which lies within the territory of the Malkuth Empire. Thus begins Luke's adventure into the world he has never had knowledge about with Tear as his guide. As he makes his way across Malkuth, Luke begins to develop a better understanding of the world outside his manor, despite still behaving like a spoiled child until much later in the story. Shortly after their arrival in the farming village of Engeve, Luke and Tear encounter Malkuth Colonel Jade Curtiss and Fon Master Guardian Anise Tatlin of Daath.

It is later revealed that the two are escorting Fon Master Ion of the Order of Lorelei to the Kimlascan Capital, Baticul, in the hope of persuading the king of Kimlasca not to go to war with Malkuth. Luke agrees to aid Jade and Ion in obtaining an audience with his uncle, King Ingobert VI of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, after being captured by Malkuth forces and taken aboard the Tartarus following an investigation of food theft by the cheagles under threat of being eaten by ligers. They are later joined by Guy after the Tartarus is attacked and commandeered by the six God-Generals of the Order of Lorelei, who appears miraculously on time to save Luke, Jade and Tear from Legretta and Arietta. When Largo is supposedly killed by Jade, Luke is astonished to see how Jade simply murders him. He is placed on guard when he unwilling kills an enemy soldier. Luke is shocked that he killed someone, and after some convincing conversations with Tear, he once again picks up his sword. When the party, now accompanied by Guy, runs into more soldiers, Luke cannot bring himself to draw his sword. Tear jumps in the way as the soldier prepares to strike the killing blow. Fortunately, Tear is not hurt badly, but Luke places it upon himself to not be as fearful of killing because of her injury.

After the return to Baticul, Luke discovers that Van has been arrested and possibly faces execution. However, Van is freed, and after a meeting with him Luke sees the promise of becoming a hero as stated in Lorelei's score. Luke is tricked by his very own master into destroying Akzeriuth, the mining town to which he and his party had been sent to provide assistance following an earthquake that released the miasma from below the surface. As a result of Van's deception, the Sephiroth supporting the mining town was destroyed and the entire city fell into the Qliphoth, the world beneath the Outer Lands. The Qliphoth is known only to the upper echelons of the Order of Lorelei, is shrouded in the deadly miasma, and spreads beneath the Outer Lands as an expanse of liquified crust beneath an eerie, violet sky. After the catastrophe with the destruction of Akzeriuth at Luke's hands, he starts to lose the trust and support of the whole party. They turn from him when he needs their support most. His selfish and arrogant attitude had proven to be too much for the group. They chose to abandon his side to deal with the situation that he refused to acknowledge his share of the blame of, ultimately leading him to tears. The only one who would stay by his side was Mieu.

Desire to ChangeEdit

After his close encounter with God-General Asch, Luke enters in a depression shock after finding out that he is merely a replica of Asch, and that Asch is the original Luke kidnapped by Van in order to overturn Yulia Jue's Score. He is unable to overcome this on his own. As he saw through Asch's eyes the way that Guy still considered him a friend, and Tear's council about what exactly to do to make up for his mistake, Luke cuts his hair with Tear's knife to throw away his old self and try to change into a better person. From this point on, Luke's resolve seems solid, since he now wants to save the world, even if that does not make up for his actions at Akzeriuth. A little later in the game, Luke finds his own way to save the world by controlling the Sephiroth Passage Rings with his hyperressonance. If done correctly, this could allow him to steadily lower the Outer Lands into the Qliphoth before they fall.

Meaning of Birth

One month after the Outer Lands were lowered, Luke has returned to his manor in the city of Baticul. This time though, he has decided to keep in contact with his friends. After a while, Luke and his friends reunite and start travelling the world once again. As they do, it becomes clear that the world was not fully saved by their actions. Miasma starts to pour back into the Outer Lands, and replicas wander the streets with nowhere to go but the mysterious Tower of Rem. Eventually, Luke discovers a way to save the world that would involve the loss of ten thousand lives and one Seventh Fonist. The replicas, willing to die if it will put an end to their pain, offer themselves up as a sacrifice as well as Luke. He believes that he has no reason to exist and thinks that by living, he is denying Asch the life he was meant to be living. His friends try and persuade him that he is wrong, but Luke makes up his mind. He and the replicas travel to the top of the Tower of Rem and Luke starts to cast an amplified hyperressonance to absorb the world's miasma. During this time, Luke realizes that he does not want to die. His efforts to remove the miasma are not enough, and Asch is forced to step in and help again. Both him and Luke are caught up in the energy field and when it disappears, they are both still alive. Both the miasma and the replicas are gone, however.

Slow Death

Even with the miasma gone, the fate of the world still hangs in the balance. Van Grants has replicated the destroyed city of Hod, now renamed Eldrant, and will use it to destroy the world and build a new age of replicas. Luke and the others decide that they have to stop this from happening, and that they have to do it fast. At the Tower of Rem, Luke finds Asch attempting to use the replicas to erase the world's miasma, but Luke refuses to let this happen and argues with Asch for the sword. Luke tells Asch, that he should be the one to die since he is a replica. Asch leaves after failing in this attempt and Luke and his party head to Daath. At Daath, he reveals his choice that he will sacrifice his life and allow Asch to live. At the tower, Luke and Asch fight again on who will use the Key of Lorelei, but Luke manages to take Asch's place when Jade manages to hold on to Asch. While attempting this, a large object emerges from Luke's chest. Asch reveals that it is the Jewel of Lorelei that they had been searching for, and that Luke must have sealed into himself during the fight with Van. Luke uses the sword along with jewel to clear the miasma. Luke and rest of the party are surprised to see Luke living, but Luke notices that his hand is becoming transparent. The party goes back to Belkend to speak with the doctor; the doctor explains that Luke's Seventh Fonons are separating, and at some point he will die.

Desire to Live

As Luke makes his way to Eldrant to stop Van, he realizes that his remaining time after finally discovering the meaning of life is too short. Tear tries to persuade him that he is going to live and keep on living, even with the Seventh Fonons inside of him slowly fading away. He eventually reaches Eldrant but finds himself falling through a trap door into a large, sealed off chamber. Asch is down there too, and he has discovered a way to escape. Unfortunately, it requires one person to stay behind and hold the door open using hyperressonance. Luke volunteers to stay, saying that Asch would be able to defeat Van easier, being the original. Asch cannot stand Luke putting himself down though, and he cannot allow Luke to decide who is stronger on his own. He challenges his replica to fight. The winner will be declared stronger and will be allowed to go forward and defeat Van. Luke emerges from the fight victorious and Asch hold the door open for him. Afterwards though, Asch is killed by Oracle Knight replicas. As he breathes his last breath, he gives Luke what remains of his power, allowing Luke to perform Second Order hyperressonance. After defeating Van, Luke frees Lorelei and saves the world. But after catching Asch's dead body, both of them are engulfed in a blinding light as Asch's finger twitches.

Resurrection

One year after the battle on Eldrant, three years after the start of his initial journey, Luke is presumed to be dead, either killed in the destruction of Eldrant or worn down by separating Seventh Fonons. However, on the night of his coming of age ceremony, his twentieth birthday, Luke mysteriously reappears in Tataroo Valley. But the Luke seen is slightly different than the one who defeated Van. Notable changes include longer hair, with a hair tone between Asch's dark ends and Luke's light ends, a completely different outfit, a slightly different voice from both Luke and Asch, and the Key of Lorelei positioned in the same way Luke always had his sword. When Tear asks why he was here, he replies that there was a nice view of Hod, and he tells her that he made a promise to someone. Tear begins to cry as she rushes over to him, joined by his other friends who were nearby except Jade, who merely smiles.

Fighting Style

Luke continues the tradition of being a slower-hitting, more powerful swordsman who chooses to focus on more damaging techniques with less emphasis on combos. As such, he has techniques such as Raging Blast and Guardian Field, both of which do not chain well in combos. Luke has many elemental attacks which can create incomplete FOF Circles, adding a unique amount of elemental versatility that enables him to form his own FOF Changes when needed. Through a series of sidequest events involving the Albert-style textbooks, Luke can learn additional techniques like Sonic Thrust, Demon Fist, and Slag Assault.

Relationships

Tear Grants - At first, Luke and Tear are off to a horrible start. Tear thinks Luke is a spoiled brat, while Luke regards Tear as bossy and cold. The only thing Luke knows about Tear is that her self-admitted ignorance of his having the power of the Seventh Fonon has caused them both to be transported across the lands. He treats Tear, and everyone else, terribly, constantly complaining and talking down to her. Tear puts up with it only because of his status and the feeling of responsibility she has for placing him in this situation. Still, she is quick to criticize him, and he comes to think of her as a pretty face with a bad attitude.

The most notable change in their relationship is after Akzeriuth is destroyed, and the party leaves Luke behind in Yulia City with Tear, who did not want to return to the surface. Awakening, Luke sees Tear in the garden behind her house. He approaches her with plans to save St. Binah, but she does not believe in him. Though Luke speaks of understanding and change, he can tell Tear does not believe him. Using one of her daggers, he cuts off his hair to symbolize his cutting himself off from his old way of being. Tear is still unconvinced, but Luke believes his actions will prove his words true. He asks Tear to watch him, make sure he stays on the right path. Tear agrees to do so. As time goes on, Luke's determination begins to affect Tear, and slowly she begins to trust him.

As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that Luke thinks the world of Tear. However, he is not very good at showing his feelings, and screws up whenever he tries to do so. It does not help that he is dense to a fault and all hints thrown his way by other people about Tear's feelings towards him misses him completely. The two constantly deny their growing feelings for each other, much to the amusement of their fellow party members. Along with their growing feelings for each other, the both of them also begin to have increasing concerns about one another. When activating the Sephiroth, Tear begins to become increasingly exhausted with each Sephiroth they trigger. When they discover that the miasma is being absorbed into her body causing her exhaustion, Luke insists on staying by her side recognizing that while he wants her to stop, there is no other way around the situation. Even when they finish using the Sephiroth, Luke is still concerned about the miasma in her body.

Later in the story, the roles are reversed when Tear becomes extremely worried on Luke's behalf as he tries to find his worth in the world. Because of this, he is now prone to making irrational decisions if he thinks it will give his life meaning forcing Tear to look after him more closely. This reaches its peak when Luke is faced with sacrificing himself to eliminate the miasma at the Tower of Rem. She states that even if Luke were to die to eliminate the miasma and be called a hero, she would hate him but also says that she will leave that choice up to him as he did with her when they were activating the Sephiroth.

When she realizes he is going through with it, she immediately tries to run to him to stop him, her eyes about to burst crying, only to be held back by Guy. She is relieved to find him alive after the whole ordeal but becomes concerned for him again once she finds out about Luke's declining fonons. Unlike the situation with Tear where she is able to suppress and eventually eliminate the miasma from killing her, there is no way around Luke's ailment and he will ultimately die. While talking to him about it gives Luke someone to talk to about his ailment, she feels completely useless while Luke slowly dies.

The night before the group's final battle, Luke attempts to tell Tear something important, but, in the end, is too nervous to say it. Should the player read Luke's diary, it is implied that Luke had wanted to tell Tear of his true feelings for her, but backed out in the end since he believed that announcing his feelings would cause her pain as he was unsure if he would survive past the final battle due to the continuous deterioration of his fonons. After the final battle with Van, as everyone says their parting words to Luke, Tear tells him tearfully to come home after everything is over, which Luke promises he will.

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