Kenneth Flourith

Kenneth Flourith (ケネス フロウリツ, Kenesu Furouritsu) is one of the main characters in Tales of Ylemia. He is a former Knight of Grafet-Vinia. He is the Heiros of Origin.

Introduction
"'Something stolen must be replaced. Unless the one who stole something from you left a more valuable thing. I'd call that a blessing.'"

A young man on a journey with no destination. Ken is described to be a lively and curious character, adventurous and brave, not afraid to explore the world. His arrogance may get in his way at times, but he is very kind to everyone. Due to his lack of experience dealing with citizens of other Roots, he cannot interact properly with them. Eventually, Ken learns about other Roots' cultures and traditions, and how to interact with others. He is quick at making decisions, though sometimes, he gets too hasty and stubborn, not yielding to others' opinions until he thinks about the facts thoroughly. He is very optimistic, even at the most difficult times.

Ken was initially judgmental and close-minded, often discriminating other Roots because of what was taught to him. However, when he was assigned to post in the borders, he observed the foreigners, disgusted with them at first, then realized how similar they were to his own Root. Though he learned a lot of similarities, the cultures seem to make a big difference, which makes him unsure of what to do when socializing.

His optimism and beliefs will be tested by Origin, the Lord of all Spirits, who teaches him the importance of being alive for someone or something and how insignificant one is in the bigger picture.

Past
Ken was born and raised in the coliseum town of Mithalwa. Growing up in a poor condition with his mother and little brother, he continuously seeks for small jobs to help his family at a young age. His job-hunting led him to the coliseum, where his attention was caught by the great sum of reward money. When he did apply to the coliseum head, of course, he was laughed at, because a child like him could not even harm a single strand of hair on one expert gladiator. As stubborn as he is, he keeps on applying day by day, only to be denied each and every time.

One day, his little brother got very ill, and all their funds couldn't meet the needed amount to buy him medicine. So, at the age of 12, Ken sneaked into the coliseum and tried to battle against two gladiators, and almost gave in to the pressure of fighting without any experience. At the last moment, he unintentionally used his Heiros ability and miraculously beat the two of them.The coliseum head thought it was a fluke, and made him fight against two wolves. In that battle, the sigil of Origin appeared, indicating his status as Heiros, and he beat the to again with his ability. As payment for risking his life, the head paid him the reward, but banned him from fighting in the coliseum until he reaches the minimum age, which is 15 years old. He was also taken under the head's wing to train him, hoping that Ken will be able to fight as a savior of the world. This also has become Ken's job, able to help his family.

He joined the Knights at age 15, also meeting Deus Vyasa at the same year. The two slowly became friends and developed a strong brotherly bond. Ken was very devastated when Deus went missing in action after a mission.

Beginnings
On a regular day tasked with patrolling, everything was at peace until a merchant had her precious merchandise stolen. Ken went onward with his knightly duties and pursued the thief into the woods, but also found the same merchant fighting (and winning) against the thieves. The two agreed to retrieve the stolen items together, and they both defeat the thieves' boss who was hiding in their hideout. The merchant thanks Ken for his assistance, and offers a reward as a token of gratitude. Ken refuses, of course, since it was only his duty as a knight.

After leaving the hideout, Ken remembered to scout the area for more stolen goods and lets the merchant return first, knowing that she is capable of taking care of herself. After investigating the area, he found more stolen items and a stash of rare weapons, some of which have been stolen from the coliseum. He reported his findings to his superior. He also reported to the coliseum head, Grant Forsted, because he couldn't trust his superior who was known to be attempting to rise in ranks by collecting Lapis Artifacts. One of those weapons was a Lapis Artifact in the shape of a staff that belongs to a shrine in Undini.

When his superior found out that he leaked information about the weapons, the superior took immediate action and took the weapons. Ken, however, could not tolerate such behavior. He snuck into the weaponry and retrieved the staff and the rest of the weapons that belonged to the coliseum. His superior knew it was going to happen and tried to silence Ken, but failed as Ken demonstrates his true fighting prowess. He successfully returns the items, but felt a bit of regret that he might have injured his superior much more than he expected to.

The next day, Ken was immediately decommissioned temporarily for several offenses (some of which are made up by his superior), but was not arrested due to the lack of witnesses and by the rules of the coliseum that the head will take responsibility for whatever the gladiators do. He was punished by Grant by taking the staff back to its rightful owner in Undini and Ken would have to shoulder all the expenses. Grant does promise to take care of his younger brother while he goes traveling.

Setting off to Undini
Ken begins his travel northeast to Blaiton Harbor, stopping by Sihor to replenish his supplies (since it's much cheaper there than in Mithalwa). At the harbor, he stumbles upon the merchant again, who reveals to be a traveling merchant from Undini. She introduces herself as Meiren Xin, a merchant from a shrine. Ken becomes uncomfortable, knowing that she was from another Root, but eventually warms up as Mei assures him that she is okay with his casual behavior. When asked why he was traveling to Undini, he laughed and told it was a punishment, that he had to return the staff he holds to its rightful owner who lives in Undini. Ken showed the staff to Mei, which she quickly identified as the staff of the Guan Yin Shrine, which her family belongs in. As much as Ken trusts her, he still wants to carry out his order to personally deliver the item (slightly fearing that Grant may scold him later). He asks Mei to guide him to the shrine, to which she delightfully agrees to.

Trivia

 * His original hair color is black. It turned red and orange after awakening his Heiros ability.
 * His younger brother is named Aedan.
 * His favorite food is Mabo Curry; his least favorite being anything with eggplants.
 * Disregarding their colors, Ken has some similarities in appearance with Eves.

Artist's Comments
So, about Ken, I went with the common idealistic main character with a thirst for adventure, yet he is the main character who doesn't know how to interact with other people, giving him a hard time for socialization. He'll be developing that later on in the story. Because of his optimism and idealism, he would most likely reach a bad end, leading him to depression. That's a very touchy subject, though.

He's the type of character I'd like to develop the most in the story, as a way to cope up with reality as he experiences more about the world. The world will smack him with reality and he has to find a way to fight back (laugh). But maybe he's must more than what he seems. I guess he seems like the idealistic main character type, but we'll learn later that he's much, much different.