000

"Where... am I?"

Ted's head was reeling as he sat up, and his body ached as if he had been comatose for years and years on end. Cascades of pain shot through his body as he gingerly moved, and it took moments of genuine struggle before the young man was able to bring himself up into what half-passed for a sitting position, the entire weight of his upper body supported on one elbow when he finally managed to prop himself up. Green. That was all he saw around him as his eyes came into focus, the colour dancing and billowing. It was as if a mass of emerald curtains surrounded him, flapping violently of their own accord. Tall grass, he realised mutely, only after squinting at it for a few moments, feeling a chilling breeze cut across his cheeks. Definitely not a trademark of Seek Valley.

Upon remembering Seek Valley, all memories relating to Tir and the Liberation Army suddenly assaulted him at once. His senses became overloaded as he was hit with images of McDohl's expression as Ted's life ebbed away, the witch's dismayed outrage at Soul Eater's power and recognition, the feeling of being a prisoner in his own body, and the overwhelming feeling of emptiness from the lack of Soul Eater's presence. Ted winced, trying to sort through all the images flooding his mind. I remember now, he thought, when he reached a moment of clarity. I died.

The starting realisation that he should be dead knocked him out of his painful reminiscence, restoring him to the present. It was alarming that he was conscious. Did his plan not work? Did Soul Eater somehow return to him, and was McDohl dead just meters away from him within the tall maze of green? Ted glanced down at his hand and breathed a sigh of relief when he glimpsed his bare hand, unmarked by the cursed rune. He would age now. Grow old. Be happy. Die. ... Except he hadn't. Died, that was. It didn't feel like this was death, anyway.

Is this the afterlife? ... Is this all it is? Ted's brown eyes lifted upwards towards the sky. The afterlife grasped the concept of weather, it seemed, and its concept of weather was an oncoming storm; grey clouds accumulated quickly above him, blotting out the sky. Great.

Ted willed himself onto his feet, and dragged his limbs up and off the ground. Afterlife or not, getting caught in the storm wouldn't help him either way. With a bout of determination coming to him, Ted closed his eyes momentarily, picked a direction, and began walking. Fate, it seemed, would be his mistress again.

➹ zero

➳ Canon Point

Ted is taken from immediately after his soul is harvested by Soul Eater.
 

➳ Appearance

While Ted dons his Suikoden I outfit casually and during the warmer months, he is more inclined to wear an outfit (magically) similar to his Suikoden IV one when it is colder or when he is engaging in battle. He finds the latter outfit more practical (pockets!), and it is much warmer.

His Suikoden I outfit is incredibly comfy, consisting of puffy beige and blue attire and a blue scarf. It is completed by black boots and hunting gloves, the latter allowing him comfortable sustained use of a bow as well as once covering up his ownership of the Soul Eater. The outfit is loose-fitting against his small frame and allows for easy movement in battle.

Ted's Suikoden IV outfit consists of brown pants, a black turtleneck and a thick blue jacket with buckles at the collar. It is completed by brown boots and once again hunting gloves.

In battle, Ted dons a quiver of arrows, secured to his back by a belt slung over his shoulder, and whatever bow he can currently get his hands on.

➳ History

Born in the Village of the Hidden Rune in SY 143, Ted was given the grim task of bearing the Soul Eater rune when he was only ~7, as his village was wiped out by the witch, Windy, the vampire, Neclord, and the mysterious Yuber in IS ~150. He bore the rune for 300 years (although at one point he loses it, the reason behind his teenage appearance), always on the move and concealing his possession of Soul Eater in order to evade Windy's grasp. He participated in the Island Liberation War alongside Lazlo en Kuldes and his army, and was adopted by Teo McDohl before the Gate Rune War began. In Teo's care, Ted grew incredibly close with Teo's son, Tir McDohl, with the two of them fast becoming best friends. 

Unfortunate events eventually force Ted to utilise the power of the Soul Eater in order to save his friends, which alerts Windy to the proximity of the Soul Eater. When it finally becomes discovered that Ted is the bearer of the true rune, he is captured on Windy's command, and suffers a fatal wound upon escape. After he escapes, he heads back to the McDohl household, desperate to pass the true rune on to his best friend in order to keep it out of Windy's hands. When Soul Eater is transferred to Tir, Ted remains as a decoy, urging his best friend to escape.

Although it is thought that Ted dies after these events, he is in fact kept alive by Windy and imprisoned in his own body through the use of Windy's Conqueror Rune. She uses Ted's body at Seek Valley in a ploy to retrieve the Soul Eater from McDohl, preying on the trust between the pair of friends, however Ted's strong connection with Soul Eater after all these years allows him to gain control of himself again for one last moment, in which he commands Soul Eater to take his soul. Doing this, he finally truly passes away, urging McDohl to live the full life that Ted was never able to have due to the burden of the rune.

Shortly before his time in the Island Liberation War, Ted became lost on the fog ship, convinced by the fog ship guide to hand over Soul Eater. He is knocked out of his reverie on the fog ship by Lazlo, whom the fog ship guide seeks the Rune of Punishment from, and immediately fights alongside Lazlo upon his freedom from the cursed ship. During his time on the Dauntless, Ted is befriended, against his own will, by one of Lazlo's other recruits, Aldo.

Although Ted's 300 years of wandering were chaotic and lonely, Ted did experience snatched moments of happiness. He was once married, living happily with his love before he had to leave to keep her safe, in case Windy came knocking on their door. He eventually returns to the home that he made together with his wife only to find it razed down, his sweetheart gone with only a wedding band remaining in the aftermath. Ted's other glimpse of happiness is in the time he spent in the McDohl household, building an unbreakable camaraderie between himself and Tir. Ted mentions, after transferring Soul Eater to Tir, that 'in 300 years, [Tir] was his only true friend.' Sorry, Aldo!

 

➳ Personality

Initially, in reaction to the hand that fate has dealt him, Ted is withdrawn and anti-social, cautious of becoming close to anyone due to his ability to outlive all those he may grow to love. Additionally, Ted is wary of becoming close to others due to his need to conceal Soul Eater, as well as mistrusting due to his paranoia of slipping any leads that may allow Windy to locate him. Through his years, Ted eventually learns to accepts his fate, and he attempts to carve out his own sort of life despite the Soul Eater's curse. The pivotal moment in Ted's change of demeanor is probably his marriage and the fleeting moments of perfection he experienced within it. By the time he meets Teo and Tir McDohl, Ted appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a bright and caring individual, friendly and capable of joking around. Occasionally he lets his age get the better of him, acting like a cranky old man when others insinuate that he is a child or inexperienced at anything. Otherwise, Ted appears to be a pleasant, if not slightly mischievous and secretive, young man; a great and loyal companion to Tir McDohl. His loyalty and unbreakable bond with Tir McDohl is highlighted at all points of the story, from his insistence on transferring the Soul Eater to Tir due to his utter and complete trust of him, to his resolve to use the Soul Eater to save Tir and his friends despite a previous 300 years of restraint and caution of calling upon Soul Eater.