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religion

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In the world of Tales of the Abyss, one religion rules all of the world's people: the religion of the Score.

Two thousand years ago, a Seventh Fonist named Yulia made a pact with a personification of the seventh fonon, Lorelei. Yulia was able to predict the future, and wrote a Score in seven parts that foretold both destruction and prosperity. For everyone, the Score is an integral part of life: without the Score to tell them what to do, the people become afraid and lost. As such, everyone is heavily reliant on the Score.

Yulia founded the Order of Lorelei with the cheagles, and to the present the Order is the lead organiser of the religion. However, there were those within the order who used the Score to control the people; namely, Grand Maestro Mohs. Mohs became obsessed with the Score and seeing it come to fruition as exactly predicted by Yulia. In following the Score, Mohs killed countless people and allowed cities to be destroyed.

Although Yulia created seven fonstones containing the predictions of the world's future, only six are known of. Grand Maestro Mohs is convinced the last fonstone holds tremendous power in its predictions. However, Yulia herself carefully hid the fonstone to keep it from being read. Although powerful, it was hugely dangerous: it held the destruction of the world on its surface. Yulia knew that it shouldn't be read.

Tear: People can't stay calm when faced with a Score foretelling their death.

In fact, Yulia's hope in hiding the seventh fonstone was to give the people an opportunity to create a future without destruction. Van, Tear's brother, discovered this himself:

Tear: He said, "Yulia wished for people to overturn the Score. Yulia loved the world. The fonic hymns are the pact that Yulia offered to Lorelei out of that love..."

As it was, Yulia had foretold a future she didn't wish the world to go through. Hoping to pave the way for a new future, she hid the final part of the Score. Tear realises that her brother had sought to do this through destroying the world and creating it anew; but Lorelei didn't approve of his plan, instead giving Asch and Luke its powers.

At the start of the game, Tear considers herself to be neutral. She says,

Tear: I'm neutral. Yulia's Score is important, but so are the Fon Master's wishes.

However, as the truth of the Score is revealed, in particular the Order of Lorelei's insane conviction to see it through, Tear begins to lose faith. This isn't to say Tear threw away religion, but rather she discovered that the religion she believed in was not what she'd thought it was. Later, after the Order is in shambles and the Score's been all but dismissed, she tells Luke:

Tear: This time, I hope it becomes a church that exists not to control the people, but to save them, as Fon Master Ion wanted...That's what I want.

Ion believed, as did perhaps Yulia, that the Score was only one of many possible futures. Tear embraces this idea and supports Anise in carrying out Ion's unresolved convictions while rebuilding the Order of Lorelei.



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