Eoren

"I had to Val! But her sacrifice won't be in vain. I promise you."

—Eoren, after betraying Val and sacrificing Hinna.

Eoren is the starter antagonist of Visions of Mana, notable for being the least evil villain in the series. He is a young adventurer who befriends the main hero Val, only to sacrifice his girlfriend Hinna in a plot to restore the world of Fa'Diel and his loved ones. He tries to steal the legendary Mana Sword, only to release the main villain Daelophos who kills him.

He is voiced in Japanese by Nobuhiko Okamoto and in English by Paul Castro Jr.

Appearance[]

Eoren is a slender, rather handsome young man with light-brown hair held in a short ponytail, wearing clothing fitting the desert-dweller he is and carrying a sword and a book. Like everyone in his village, he has pointy ears and light red eyes. Despite being at least eight years older than the seventeen-year-old Val, he only looks slightly older.

Personality[]

Eoren is friendly, outgoing and mischievous. By his own admission, he "likes to keep things interesting", enjoying to prank people he feels deserve it. He is quick to make friends and loves to share his knowledge. Still, his tendency to sneak away unnoticed and to keep items for himself hint a shadier side.

He loathes the alms' pilgrimage, in which the Mana Spirits anoint spiritually powerful people every four years to offer their souls the Mana Tree, the incarnation of the Mana Goddess, and rejuvenate the power of Mana sustaining the world. And he loathes even more the fact that it is too ingrained for even the alms to question. While he rightfully calls it a dire injustice that must end, he refuses to admit that this is the only way to preserve nations from total destruction.

In truth, Eoren is stubborn and selfish to a fault. While he loves his friends and his wife and wants the best for them, he is unable to let them go or to follow another way than his own. He is a very smooth-talker, carefully selecting his wording to perk the heroes' interest and lead them where he wants to. He hoped against all odds to save everyone, going as far as knocking down his friends on his way out, only to be proven wrong.

This makes him wracked with guilt and yearning to right his wrongs at any cost. And while he deeply regrets betraying his friends, he is too obsessed to relent, pushing straight ahead no matter what. Only at death's door does he realizes his foolishness.

Powers and Abilities[]

Despite being primarily an artist and a scholar, Eoren is very athletic, being able to jump high, hop down from walls, and perform impressive acrobatics like double jumps and flips with little effort. He is a highly skilled swordsman, who can perform special attacks and combos, easily best several trained guards, and destroy giant monsters.

Years of studying in the world's archives made Eoren very knowledgeable about legends and magic. He is one of the few to know the origin of the world before the cataclysmic Ahrvet's War. While he cannot cast spells, he masters rituals, performing one to steal Val's power to turn monsters into Corestones, reducing them into their very essence. With it, he turns Hinna to a corestone, using her energy as the Alm of Fire to unseal the Mana Sword.

History[]

Background[]

Eoren used to be the best ceramic artist in the Earth Village of Gudju. Eight years before the story, a young woman warrior named Lyza came to his village, as a Soul Guard tasked to escort the alms to their pilgrimage towards the Mana Tree. He was instantly smitten, gifting her with a pair of earrings he made himself as a good luck charm.

After returning to her home in the Fire Village of Tianeea and training a boy named Val in swordsmanship, Lyza went to live in Gudju to study geology. At first, only Eoren welcomed her, prompting him to want to leave with her, but she insisted to stay and her dedication and expertise won the heart of the villagers. She married Eoren and lived happily. Sadly, four years later she was anointed Alm of Earth. Refusing to lose her, and seeing her reticence to let go of her happiness, he fled with her. Little did he know that doing so would spell doom for everyone he loved.

Prologue[]

Eoren is the playable character of the tutorial, as he is running away from Gudju with Lyza, hoping to escape before anyone can notice, while the Faerie envoy to the Mana Goddess notes in alarm that Gnome's protection is nearly spent.

Eoren wants to reach the Dark Archives of Log'grattzo, where all knowledge in the world is compiled, hoping to find a way to save his wife and everyone. He tries to avoid the villagers, but knocks down the guards when they refuse to back down.

Danam, the village elder, reminds Eoren of the consequences, but he grows increasingly desperate, even refusing to listen to Lyza's growing doubts, accidentally cutting the bridge's rope with his sword. Alas, the dwindling power of Mana transforms the guards into Clay Gorg monsters. Eoren defeats them and even takes down the huge and powerful Gardlegrog.

Tragically, this victory becomes moot when Lyza turns to stone before her husband, who breaks down in tears as the Faerie sadly flies away. Soon after, Gudju was destroyed by earthquakes, with survivors leaving. Remembering Lyza's tales about a boy who could turn defeated monsters into corestones, Eoren set out to learn more.

Quest for the Sanctuary[]

Val, the new Soul Guard, starts his journey with his love interest, the White Mage Hinna who has been appointed as the Alm of Fire. On their way to Longren the Vale of Wind, they meet Eoren who introduces himself as a geologist studying the composition of the volcanic area, and warns them of the fiery rocks erupting from the Dorpher Volcano. By next morning, he has already left, leaving them a Candy.

Eoren reappears on Rhata Harbour, where Val just found the key lost by the wretched Master Passar, prompting him to accuse Careena of theft. Eoren takes the key and drops it behind the smarmy magistrate, making it look like it was stuck on its squirrel-like tail all along.

Eoren shows his fascination with the Mana Sword.

Travelling by boat to Illystana, he tells Val and Hinna of legends about the Mana Sword and a long-past era when there was no need for alms sacrifices. He snatches Passar's fancy sword as he passes when evoking the Mana Sword, before casually tossing it away for him to scramble after.

He takes the ship's steering wheel as it is attacked by the Kraken while the heroes fight the monster, noting Val's strange power to turn monsters into corestones. Before departing, he gives Passar's key to Val, stating that he missed the chance to return it.

Eoren returns after Passar's treachery is unmasked and Palamena is anoined Alm of Water. As Val and Hinna are reflecting on what it means to be an alm, with Hinna starting to wish to make a future with Val instead, he offers them to end the sacrifices of alms, tempting Hinna who agrees to meet him the following night at the dock. There, he mentions his love for Lyza and notes that Val and Hinna remind him of what they had, stating that she is still around while neglecting to mention what really happened to her.

He asks for their help to change the world and as they accept, takes them to Reignus Shrine, a sacred spot where the power of Mana converges. Eoren starts the ritual, but alas it was in fact meant to steal Val's power to turn people into corestones. Despite his obvious guilt, he sacrifices Hinna to turn her into one before fleeing. Heartbroken, Val returns to Illystana, where his friends convince him to go and reach the Mana Tree before Eoren. On their way, they visit the ruins of Gudju, solely populated by the elderly dwarf Watts, who shows them the petrified Lyza.

As the heroes reach the Mana Sanctuary, they see Eoren who uses Hinna's corestone to draw the Mana Sword, intending to use its reality-warping powers to right his wrongs. He tells them of the world of Fa'Diel that existed before the Five Realms were merged, which he plans to restore, putting a definite end to this "horrible tradition of loss and regret."

Val cannot help but be tempted, but he refuses to let the past alms' sacrifice lose all meaning. Unbeknownst to Eoren, lifting the Mana Sword frees the fallen Mana Knight Daelophos, who attacks the heroes. Fortunately, everyone is saved by Trent.

Death and Afterlife[]

"Not… (cough) my… best moment… I was too desperate, too selfish. Lyza… I'm sorry. I only wanted to save you from all this but… I failed. I wanted the power of the Mana Sword… so I could change this world… Val… I'm not asking for your forgiveness. Just… remember the future we dreamed of… A world… without… sacrifices…"

—Eoren's dying words.

Daelophos goes to Gudju to release the Benevodons, tracked down by Eoren. The geologist demands the Mana Sword, only to be coldly cut down, along with Lyza's statue. He dies before Val's eyes, lamenting his errors and reminding the Soul Guard of their wish for a world without sacrifices. Grieving, Val takes Eoren's and Lyza's corestones as a keepsake.

After the heroes beat the Benevodons and in turn Daelophos, the souls of Eoren, Lyza, Hinna, and every alm that ever was manifest to support them and cheer for them. They restore the Mana Sword that Daelophos broke, which Val uses to finish him off once and for all.

With Daelophos' curse lifted at long last, the Mana Goddess awakes and anoints Val as the new Mana Knight. He uses its reality-warping power to restore and pacify Fa'Diel and the Five Realms anew, granting his and Eoren's dream. After decades of a long and fulfilling life, Val peacefully passes away in his sleep, reuniting with Hinna's soul at long last. She greets his soul, restored to his teenage self, impatient to hear of his stories.