Tobias Belthamere

**Tobias Belthamere** is the youngest son of the prestigious Belthamere Family of **Joya**, a vast merchant dynasty specializing in manufacturing and producing Lacrima. Constantly overshadowed by his four older siblings, Tobias decided to strike out on his own and pursue a career as a Mage.

Studious, talented and privately trained, Tobias Belthamere has specialized in the Prismatic Magic once wielded by his forebearers before they became too enamored with business, profit and franchise expansion to bother refining their skills in magic. Because Prismatic Magic is cumbersome and relies upon long-winded incantations to maximize its potential, Tobias has also extensively studied Celestial Spirit Magic, acquiring a Gold Key from which he might conjure an Aspect of Leo.

## Appearance

"*A few moments after Ulrich’s arrival another mage strode through the door but this one could not be more different, draped in black robes of the finest silk tied snugly together with two different sashes one pink with striking golden circles, and the other a mesmerizing shade of marine blue, a rush of desert wind seized ahold of his cloak and caused it to billow outwards spectacularly just as he passed the threshold, causing several onlookers to openly stare, awestruck by his silhouette.*"
—Tobias' dramatic entrance during the events of Desert Blindness.
Tobias is a man of slightly above-average height that has inherited the masculine charms and golden locks common to the men of the Belthamere Family, his face is pleasing but not exactly handsome neccessarily, though his distinctive moustache and goatee do add to his appeal. In terms of build and physicality Tobias is average at best, being visibly unaccustomed to manual labour.

Befitting his station as a scion of the Belthamere Family, Tobias dresses exclusively in exquisite finery and has a rather extensive wardrobe filled with all manner of clothing, each garment more dramatic and spectacular than the next but despite his love of all things fashionable he still dresses in his preferred outfit on most assignments.

## Magic and Abilities

### Ars Prisma

*Ars Prisma* is a unique form of Caster Magic developed by the progenitor of the *Belthamere Dynasty* several centuries ago and later orally passed down to his children. It was thereafter habitually passed down between generations, with each generation refining its spells and improving upon the various mnemonic devices and formulae that made it so effective. Ars Prisma is most infamous for its incredible breadth of magical effects, possessing such sheer versatility that it has been compared favorably to Memory-Make. But whilst the latter allows the user to wield and remember countless individual spells, Ars Prisma is better described as giving its user the disciplines of seven magi for the price of one, bestowing tremendous flexibility without requring that the user train extensively in other magical disciplines at all, as all aspects of Ars Prisma are entirely self-sufficient. Specifically, Ars Prisma is capable of flawlessly producing spells that deal with matters of fire, air, lightning, poison, curses, antimagic and space, with each element of magic corresponding to a different part of the rainbow. Unlike similar types of magic, these are not copies but possess power equal to that of an actual wielder of such magic of equivalent skill to Tobias himself.

At a glance this might make Ars Prisma seem like the perfect magical discipline, but this is not at all the case for whilst Ars Prisma is incredibly powerful it is cumbersome to use, for each of its spells requires a long-winded incantation to perform and even when invoked the resulting colors that manifest do so randomly, regardless of Tobias' actual preferences. The seven colors that correspond to the seven shades of magic that Ars Prisma provides are as follows:

* **Red**: Heat and Fire.
* **Orange**: Cold and Wind.
* **Yellow**: Lightning and Earth.
* **Green**: Poisons and Diseases.
* **Blue**: Curses and Water.
* **Indigo**: Anti-Magic.
* **Violet**: Spatial Magic.

**Manus Minor**: First among the two Basic-level Ars Prisma spells, Manus Minor or Lesser Hand is Tobias' premier spell and the first one he casts as battle commences, Tobias also does his best to recast it mid-battle but this is often a difficult venture to put it mildly as its use requires a lengthy incantation to produce the desired effect. When Manus Minor is properly invoked however, it manifests as one to five motes of colored light that twirl and dance around Tobias' wrist. On its own, Manus Minor accomplishes nothing, but each that it generates can be expended to instantenously manifest specific spells of low-to-moderate power corresponding to their colors without the need of additional incantations or expenditure, allowing Tobias to easily overwhelm opponents through flurries of varied magical attacks if the shades allow it.

* **Prisma Ignis**:

**Manus Major**: Second among the two Basic-level Ars Prisma spells, Manus Major or Greater Hand forms a duality with Manus Minor and is likewise cast at the beginning of combat, but is just as difficult to cast as all other Ars Prisma spells, requiring another incantation to be cast at all. Unlike Manus Minor, when Manus Major is cast properly it produces only a single color, which rises from the back of Tobias' hand like prismatic smoke until he expends it to cast a spell, and as befits the name of the spell the resulting magic is far more powerful than that produced through Manus Minor, being capable of overwhelming many opponents through the sheer scope of the manifesting sorcery. Because of this it is common for Tobias to withhold its use until the optimal moment in each battle.

### Celestial Spirit Magic

**Celestial Spirit Magic** (星霊 魔法 *Seirei Mahō*): Tobias practises Celestial Spirit Magic, a type of Spatial Magic which allows him to summon Celestial Spirits, magical beings residing in the Celestial Spirit World, using the Keys of their respective Gates. Tobias began studying this elusive artform because of the rather cumbersome nature of Ars Prisma, convincing him that it would be highly beneficial to be able to summon assistance to keep a foe occupied whilst he recites incantations and surveys the battlefield, and to this end he utilized the connections of his family and his significant personal wealth to purchase himself a number of Celestial Spirit Gate Keys, but although he was able to purchase many Silver Keys he was only able to acquire a single Gold Key, namely that of Leo.

**Leo Tobias**: The Aspect of Leo that Tobias summons does not at all resemble the typical forms taken by the spirit, resembling a muscular humanoid demonic-looking beast with a mane as red as living fire and with a reddish brown complexion. Leo's body possesses traits from a variety of animals such as a canine-looking muzzle but with spectacular antlers akin to some great deer, his claws meanwhile most resemble that of a oversized mole, assuming the most distinctive and powerful qualities of each animal that his form draws from. Leo adorns himself with golden bracelets and anklets, and wears ritualistic beads according to those sometimes carried by shrine priests. Some have suggested that his humanoid and masculine appearance is owed to Tobias' personal preferences as is often the case. This has sometimes made foes and friends alike comment upon his unusual tastes, Tobias is quick to counter such claims by stating empathically that Leo merely looks like his personification of strength. Leo is about three times as large as his summoner, although this is usually masked by his hunchbacked stature, but should he ever rise to his full height he would be a terrifying sight.

* **Fire Magic**: In a manner quite unlike the typical Aspects of Leo, the one conjured by Tobias does not wield Light but instead specializes entirely within Fire Magic, possessing a level of mastery over the element that befits its status as a greater spirit. He is exceptionally capable in its use, being able to cast spells of significant power that in some cases outright surpasses the abilities of his owner, Leo is also capable of altering the properties of his flames from gaseous, solid and liquid forms as required for his magic. Leo prefers not to overexert himself when unnessecary however and will not overwhelm weaker opponents with powerful spells unless Tobias' life is specifically endangered otherwise.

## References

1. ↑ Manus Minor's Incantation: *Rise ye faithful hound of mornings, lights and kaleidoscopes, open palms, clenched fists, refract, unite and divide the stars in seven places*.
2. ↑ Manus Major's Incantation: *Rise ye faithful hound of mornings, flares and constellations, tolling bells, rising swords, reflect and pluck the seven from the sky that I might hold them in my unworthy grasp'.*