Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX

About: Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX known more commonly as Peony IX, is the reigning monarch of the Malkuth Empire. He has tan skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. He’s 36 years old and 5 ft 8. He fights with his fists and greaves.

Personality: Peony is a warm and kindly man. He loves teasing and sometimes flirts with the ladies but he does it out of appreciation for their beauty and appearances. He doesn’t flirt with the intention of getting anything out of it. He loves teasing his best friend from childhood Jade Curtiss. Jade is a 35 year old man who is appointed to be the Colonel in the Malkuth Military. There may just be more to Jade and Peony behind closed doors?

Grand Chokmah: Grand Chokmah lies at the northern tip of the Rugnican continent. It has around 600,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities of Auldrant. Grand Chokmah is comparatively modern and is run with majestic aqueducts, which also provide the inhabitants with running water. Emperor Peony Upala Malkuth IX resides in a large palace in the city.

Best Friend Jade: Jade has brown hair, pale skin and red eyes. He is 6 ft 1 and always seen smiling or cheerful to conceal his true thoughts regardless of the circumstances. Jade is rather enigmatic. He is sarcastic and witty, sometimes even to the point of cruelty. Jade has a snide, sarcastic response to even the most serious subjects, and loves to tease his companions. For instance, Jade occasionally teases Guy Cecil about his gynophobia, and will say something after Guy's phobia triggers, such as "I know you're enjoying yourself Guy, but we really must be going." The party is often unsure of whether he is being serious or not, though Jade has assured them on at least one occasion that he is "always serious". Regardless of his impish nature, the party trusts and respects Jade for his skill, intellect, and experience. He is referred to as "Colonel" by Anise and Tear Grants due to their own status as soldiers.

Jade's sarcastic and harsh words are often well-founded, and he uses them to express his often disapproving opinions. Other than amusement, Jade rarely shows any sign of his emotions. However, occasionally he loses his composure and his emotions burst out. The subject of fomicry in particular is a sore spot for Jade, as it reminds him of his past sins. He lashes out at Spinoza and Dist for continuing to create living replicas, firmly stating that he forbid replication of living things for important reasons. Whenever Jade's feelings betray his calm and collected mask, he quickly distances himself from them.

He was, however, significantly changed by his teacher, Professor Gelda Nebilim, a healer who commanded the Seventh Fonon, which Jade could not command himself. Though he had great respect for his teacher, Jade attempted to control the Seventh Fonon, but instead unleashed a power beyond his control that resulted in the death of Nebilim. As Nebilim lay dying, Jade extracted her data and created a replica of her, though rather than resurrecting his beloved teacher, he only succeeded in creating a monster which he found himself forced to seal away due to its destructive nature.

At some time after these painful events, Jade's talents in fonic artes and fomicry were recognized, and he was adopted into House Curtiss, a family of high position within the Malkuth military. Jade was eventually convinced to cease his endeavors with fomicry by his close friend, Peony, who spent his childhood years in Jade's hometown of Keterburg. It is also revealed that Jade forbade the practice of fomicry on living organisms due to both ethical and technical issues arising from the subject. Dist, however, still did not accept Nebilim's death. His dream was to see Jade return to normal, and help him resurrect her again. However, Jade had always refused, and often opted to make fun of Dist instead.

Fon Master Ion: Fon Master Ion or simply Ion is the highest leader in the Order of Lorelei, a neutral theocracy currently trying to calm the power struggle between the kingdom of Kimlasca and Malkuth Empire in Tales of the Abyss. He is the only one who can read the Planetary Score and unlock Yulia Jue's seals. Ion is optimistic and soft-spoken, tending to point out the positive aspects of a person's character, even if their negative qualities are overwhelming. Despite being physically weak and docile, he attempts to use his leadership to lead the world to peace and exhibits great maturity. He refuses to be a puppet and creates a separate faction to oppose the strictly traditional Mohs, the second in command of the Order. Unlike Mohs, Ion views the Score as one possible future out of many. Ion gets along well with Emperor Peony and is under the Malkuth army’s protection. Ion has green hair and is 5 ft 7.

Backstory: Before the events of the story, Karl V who was Emperor of Malkuth at the time, had four noble concubines, and Peony's mother was the one with the lowest status. Emperor Karl also had three sons and one daughter, none of them sharing the same mother, and all but Peony died in a struggle for the throne of Malkuth. The Closed Score predicted that Peony would rule Malkuth, which is why his father kept him confined in a manor in Keterburg, far from the political turmoil of the capital, Grand Chokmah. At his new residence in Keterburg, he rarely had any opportunity to leave the mansion to play with the other kids of Keterburg. Despite his closely guarded childhood, he was able to befriend Jade Curtiss, Nephry Osborne, and Saphir, fellow students who attended a private school with him under Professor Gelda Nebilim. Peony himself claims Nephry was his first love. However, the two were never married - Nephry is the younger sister of his best friend Jade. Nephry married another man because of the Score and later divorced said man as she became the governor of snowy Keterburg.

Years later, as the current Emperor of Malkuth, Peony assists the party in trying to achieve a lasting peace with the rival country of Kimlasca. Both he and King Ingobert VI of Kimlasca conclude all military aggression from their respective nations through a peace treaty, signed in the neutral grounds of Yulia City. Following the signing of this treaty, Peony grants the party permission to use a secretly developed flying machine known as the Albiore to help them evacuate residents from Engeve and Sheridan and transport them to Chesedonia after preventing the town from falling into the Qliphoth.