This is my game. I run, you give chase. I am the hart, and you the hunter. But this hart has laid a few snares of his own...
Sydney Losstarot
Sydney Losstarot (シドニー・ロスタロット, Shidonī Rosutarotto?) is the established antagonist in Vagrant Story. He is the leader of the Müllenkamp cult, a self-professed prophet who preaches about human weaknesses and the end of the world.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Sydney is a blond young man who appears to be in his late 20s. He is 178 cm tall. His hands and legs are prosthetics crafted from Hagane metal, the hands complete with clawed fingers, as he claims to have given his "limbs to the gods", having lost them during a childhood illness. He wears nothing to cover his upper body, exposing the "Blood-Sin" tattoo on his back, which appeared around the same time he lost his limbs.
Some scenes have also shown that he has the power to masquerade as other people. His Dark powers also extend to levitation, summoning dark creatures and teleportation. Ashley has discovered that Sydney is somewhat "immortal"; Ashley's direct shot to Sydney's heart only manages to hurt him little. Sydney has summoned Wyverns, Dullahans, and possessed statues to test Ashley's strength.
Story[]
Not much is known about Sydney and how he come to carry the Losstarot name. However, he is revealed to be born to the Bardorba family, and Duke Bardorba also calls him Sydney. Because he claims to be helping his father the Duke, just as the Duke has helped when he was born, some believe that he may have been born with a terminal illness, of which the Duke had to pass the Dark powers that the Bardorba family possess to him to ensure his survival. Sydney then carries the "Blood-Sin tattoo", the key to the Dark powers of Leá Monde.
Because Duke Bardorba is his father, this makes him Joshua's older brother, though Joshua may not be aware of this fact. A family portrait in the Duke's bedroom portrays him, his wife and a young "Joshua", and a scene depicts a young "Joshua" hugging the Duke Bardorba; but in reality they are both a young Sydney, and the scene depicts Duke Bardorba's love to his son.
Sydney grows up to become leader of the Müllenkamp cult, established as its charismatic and powerful prophet. Callo Merlose says that "his charisma is such that his followers offer both body and soul to him." His prophecies have always come true, and he is able to guess the past of others and see deep within their hearts; this enables him to manipulate their beliefs.
Sydney knows that his father is dying, and did not want Leá Monde's dark powers to fall to the wrong hands. Sydney seeks to help his father by finding the right successor. It could be that he had kidnapped Joshua so he could pass the city's dark powers to his brother, though he has found a more suitable candidate in Ashley Riot. He created a series of tests within the city to ensure that his choice was correct; those who crave the Dark cannot control the Dark, and Ashley proved that he had no desire for the powers of the Dark.
When all is proven and revealed, Sydney was exposed to Romeo Guildenstern and had his Blood-Sin tattoo literally ripped off his back. Powerless and weakened, Sydney was carried off back to Duke Bardorba's manor by Ashley after the Riskbreaker defeated Guildenstern. There, Sydney, with the guise of Ashley, enters the manor and delivers the news to Duke Bardorba, who was glad that everything had been sorted well and proceeds to kill his son and himself to end it all. Their spirits depart, returning to Ashley, as must the souls of all who entered Leá Monde, now that he has become the new vessel for the dark powers of the city.
Müllenkamp[]
Though he is the leader of the cult and many people revered him, it is revealed that he had been misleading them all along. Within Müllenkamp he spread lies that the Duke Bardorba wishes to end the Müllenkamp legacy, by hiding the key to the Dark powers and by not choosing a successor, believing this to cleanse his sins for the afterlife.
Sydney's ties with John Hardin is more than master and servant; Hardin regards Sydney as a friend and trusts him deeply. Hardin faithfully follows as they search for the key in the Duke's manor. It is so much that when Guildenstern reveals that Sydney has the key to the Dark all along, he was dumbstruck.
Mysteriously, he also knows Rosencrantz, the power-hungry ex-Riskbreaker. Sydney has come to understand who Rosencrantz really is, as he comments that; "You reek, Riskbreaker. What is that stench? Ah, you have met Rosencrantz?" And while Rosencrantz demands the succession of the Dark powers to him, Sydney merely laughs it off and proceeds to mind-trick him before having a possessed Kali statue cut the ex-Riskbreaker in half.
Gameplay[]
Sydney helps out the player during the battle with Father Grissom and the Dark Crusader in the Snowfly Forest.
Musical themes[]
Sydney has no musical track dedicated to him, but he has a distinct theme that appears in various tracks of the original soundtrack. This theme consists of male vocals repeated in a pattern that rises and quickly fades. Tracks that contain this motif include "Graylands Incident Climax", "Closed Leá Monde" and "A Meeting".
Gallery[]
