Curtiss, Jade
Seiyuu / Dub
Summary
Dr. Jade Balfour, widely recognized as Jade Curtiss or the nickname Jade the Necromancer, serves as a colonel in the Malkuth military and is renowned across Auldrant for his mastery of Fonic Arts. Despite the chaos surrounding him, he maintains a perpetual smile or cheerful demeanor, effectively masking his true thoughts. He is credited as the father of Fomicry, the science of extracting data from entities to create perfect copies called replicas. His first experiment occurred at age nine when he created a replica of his sister Nephry’s broken doll to comfort her. In his youth, Nephry described him as a "devil" who lacked an understanding of life’s significance, enjoying the killing of monsters through difficult Fonic Artes. He later admitted to Luke that he still struggles to comprehend the concept of death. Jade’s perspective shifted under the tutelage of Dr. Nebilim, a healer who commanded the Seventh Fonon, which Jade could not wield. Out of respect, Jade attempted to cast a spell using this power but unleashed an uncontrollable force that killed Nebilim. Distraught, Jade extracted her data to create a replica, but instead of resurrecting his teacher, he produced a monster he was forced to destroy. Following these events, his talents were recognized, leading to his adoption into the high-ranking House Curtiss within the Malkuth military. His close friend, Emperor Peony the Ninth, who grew up in Jade’s hometown of Keterburg, convinced him to cease using Fomicry on living organisms due to ethical and technical concerns. Jade forbids this practice, though his former classmate Dist, who also studied under Nebilim, refuses to accept her death and dreams of helping Jade resurrect her, often mocking Jade for his refusals. Jade introduces himself formally as Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces. He ignores the nickname Necromancer, which stems from his habit of scavenging corpses after battles, though he acknowledges it when others use it. Initially an enigma, he uses sarcasm to criticize thoughtless actions and rarely displays emotion, though guilt over his past killings, particularly of Professor Nebilim, lingers within him. Considered the strongest character in Tales of the Abyss due to his potent Fonic Artes, Jade begins at Level 45 with skills like Blessed Drops and Ground Dasher. However, the God-General Largo the Black Lion seals his Fonic Artes using a fon slot seal, dropping his level to 5 and leaving him with only Energy Blast and Sonic Spear. As Jade levels up, he is actually undoing this seal. He gains one high-tier Fonic Arte for each element except light and darkness, such as Thunder Blade and Infernal Prison, and can learn Absolute, Prism Sword, and Meteor Storm through sidequests. Each high-tier Arte summons a fully charged Field of Fonons of its element. Additionally, his four Strike Artes—Sonic Spear, Thunder Lance, Impaling Heaven, and Soveregn Gale—are modified by different elements of the Field of Fonons, allowing Jade to alter them using any fully charged Field.
