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Once Alisha departs back home, Sorey and Mikleo have a brief clash with a hellion called Lunarre, and fearing for Alisha's life, they decide to leave the village in search for her.
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The game begins with a young explorer named Sorey and his friend Mikleo, a seraph of Water exploring some nearby ruins when they rescue a girl, Alisha Diphda, and bring her back home to the village of Elysia. Dragons play an important role in both the world lore and main story arc, but do not follow their traditional representation as beings of good and evil or symbolic creatures rather, they are actually seraphim who are corrupted by malevolence. The game tells the story of the Shepherds during the Era of Chaos, when the hellion are running rampant across Glenwood, attacking both the countryside and cities. Seraphim can also form contracts among themselves, with one dominant figure called a Prime Lord and a number of partners called Sub Lords, who act as supports for them. The Shepherds have frequently appeared during times of crisis and entered into common folklore along with the seraphim. The people of the world call those who interact with the seraphim Shepherds, and they are both hailed as saviors and feared because of their power. Though once an abundant people in Glenwood, the seraphim have become scarce.
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Along with humans, one of the main races of the world is the seraphim, supernatural humanoids and animals who can only interact with humans with sufficient resonance in them. Throughout the land, an impurity known as malevolence generated by the negative emotions of humanity periodically transforms the living, the dead, and even inanimate objects into monsters called the hellion, who pose a threat to the world. Existing independently are multiple guilds, which readily profit from the conflict and encompass multiple professions, from transportation to goods manufacture to assassination. Glenwood is divided between two warring countries: the Hyland Kingdom, which is ruled by a constitutional monarchy, and the Rolance Empire. Tales of Zestiria takes place on a fictional continent named Glenwood.
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