Telethia (XC1)

For the enemy subcategory in Xenoblade Chronicles X, see Telethia (XCX).

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Several Telethia

Telethia (Japanese: テレシア, Tereshia; English dub: /tᵻˈlɛθiə/), referred to as Dinobeasts by the Nopon, are an ancient race that live on Bionis in Xenoblade Chronicles. Their purpose is the destruction of all lifeforms existing on Bionis, by draining their Ether to serve as food for the Bionis.

Colony 6

The first sighting of a Telethia

A Telethia is first seen after Dunban and Dickson join the party for the battle against Metal Face upon exiting the Ether Mine. When all hope seems lost, the Telethia sweeps from the skies and fires a beam of ether lightning at Metal Face. The Faced Mechon retreat, and the Telethia lands on a cliff nearby to communicate with a young man with silver hair.

Makna Forest

The Leone Telethia

The second appearance of a Telethia is when the Leone Telethia is seen attacking the party of a young girl. All of her helpers are killed by the Telethia, but she manages to repel the beast before passing out.

Later on, Shulk is attacked by three Telethia when trying to collect pure Ether Crystals to revive the girl. Alvis, who is there with him, remarks that the Telethia were drawn by the wavelength of the Monado. Shulk tries to attack them, but it is revealed that all Telethia have the ability to read a person's mind, rendering all attacks useless, even with Shulk's foresight. However, Alvis manages to use the Monado against them and teaches Shulk to use Monado Purge. After defeating the foes, Alvis warns Shulk that the Telethia they fought were merely the spawn of the primary Telethia.

Between the recovery of Melia and the introduction of Riki to the party, it is said that a Telethia consumes large amounts of ether, killing all life in the process. Also, they usually rest near large amounts of ether crystals. Eventually, the party manages to destroy the Leone Telethia, by an overexposure of ether cast by Melia.

Alcamoth

The Solidum Telethia

The Emperor of the High Entia tells Shulk that the revival of the Telethia into the world heralded the reawakening of the Bionis and the destruction of their civilization.

Tyrea uses a Telethia to attack Melia inside the High Entia Tomb. When this fails, she orders it to destroy as many of the party as it can with its death. Alvis causes the Telethia to die harmlessly, leaving the party unscathed, although Tyrea disappears.

A hidden laboratory deep within the High Entia Tomb is shown to have been doing research into the Telethia.

Agniratha

Upon arrival of the party to Agniratha, the party recognizes fossilized Telethia lying around the capital's ground. Later, Meyneth reveals that Zanza used Telethia in his attack on the Machina.

The Reawakening of the Bionis

Dickson and the Sureny Telethia

After Zanza is reawakened and reaches Prison Island, he starts a ceremony of destruction and recreation. He exposes all the High Entia living in Alcamoth to a torrent of ether. Telethia are revealed to be the true form of the High Entia race. They were cells cast away by Zanza eons ago to become beasts worthy of the destruction of all life. Eventually, Zanza gave them free will and sentience, which made them evolve into another race — the High Entia. However, all pure-blooded High Entia maintained the Telethia gene, which would devolve them into Telethia if they were exposed to high-frequency ether. This is shown when Lorithia turns Kallian, Melia's older brother, into a Telethia. Melia is half-Homs because of her Homs mother the Second Consort, and does not transform. Many ordinary High Entia are also not pure-blooded and do not transform, but are forced to flee Alcamoth and scatter to refuges across Bionis.

After this reveal, the Telethia wander all-around Bionis. The most common locations for them to appear are Alcamoth and Bionis' Interior.

The Telethia seem to obey the orders of all of Zanza's disciples, as they are used by Dickson in the attack on Colony 6 and by Alvis when he 'betrays' Shulk in the open.

It is unknown if a transformed Telethia can revert into a High Entia. However, some of the Telethia seem to retain their memories from their previous form. Kallian especially shows this, as he is able to retain his free will at first, going so far as to attack the disciples. Some of the quests to reclaim Alcamoth also tell of Telethia who rescued their fleeing kin when Alcamoth fell. Many Telethia in Alcamoth prowl the places they once frequented as High Entia.

Appearance

While Telethia have several different forms, as detailed below, they all share similar physical characteristics. These traits include shiny green skin, a lack of visible eyes, and long glowing yellow "feathers" that float behind their wings or tails. Telethia have green ether blood.

Telethia Types

With the exception of the Sani Telethia and Disciple Lorithia, all kinds of Telethia come in one of four basic shapes:

• Phoenix-type Telethia are bipedal, not much larger than the size of untransformed High Entia, and resemble praying mantises with tails and head antennae. They are the most common Telethia type.
• Licorne-type Telethia are vaguely asterisk-shaped with six limbs and a truncated abdomen and levitate through the air. This type has the most Unique Monsters.
• Drakos-type Telethia are enormous in size, are vaguely shark-shaped, and swim through the air as a shark swims through water. They use Soul Read more often than the other types.
• Gigas-type Telethia appear as large, monstrous Cerberus-like beasts with three heads and two tails. They are rarer than other Telethia types, with only one minor enemy species, two bosses, and one Unique Monster.

In addition to these four types, there is another type of Telethia rarely seen: the Havre-type Telethia. While multiple Havre-types are seen in the cutscene where Lorithia explains the Telethia, only one is fought: Disciple Lorithia. These Telethia are created from multiple High Entia devolved and fused into one monstrosity, using a Havre, a High Entia flying machine, as a base. Havre Telethia are colossal and bulky and have the engines of a Havre protruding from their back like wings, no legs, feathers around their bottom, and long arms. This variety does not use Soul Read.

List of Telethia Enemies

Normal Minor Enemies

• Aora Telethia (Alcamoth)
• Aora Telethia (Eryth Sea)
• Arel Telethia (Alcamoth)
• Arel Telethia (Eryth Sea)
• Asara Telethia (Alcamoth)
• Asara Telethia (Eryth Sea)
• Asha Telethia
• Drakos Telethia
• Gigas Telethia
• Licorne Telethia
• Phoenix Telethia
• Polkan Telethia

Quest-Exclusive Enemies

• Primordial Telethia (during Broken Ether Furnace 2)
• Telethia Arielle (during The Only Thing I Can Do or I Will Never Forget You)
• Telethia Donnis (during A Release From Duty)
• Telethia Galdo (during A Release From Duty)
• Telethia Galvin (during A Merciful End)
• Telethia Kaelin (during A Release From Duty)
• Telethia Lecrough (during A Release From Duty)
• Telethia Lesunia (during The Only Thing I Can Do or I Will Never Forget You)
• Telethia Vol'aren (during A Memento of Daddy)

Story-Exclusive Enemies

• Inja Telethia
• Sero Telethia

Unique Monsters

• Clandestine Apety
• Dark King Barbarus
• Deadly Medorlo
• Furious Jozan
• Ghostly Mahatos
• Vivid Anstan

Bosses

• Disciple Lorithia
• Leone Telethia
• Puera Telethia
• Sani Telethia
• Solidum Telethia
• Sureny Telethia

Quest-Exclusive Boss

• Mysterious Telethia (during Melancholy Tyrea)

Powers and Abilities

Telethia absorb ether from their surroundings and from organic lifeforms to eventually return to Zanza. In some cases, they can absorb enough ether to drain whole areas into grey, lifeless husks.

With the exception of Disciple Lorithia, Telethia can use Soul Read to read their opponents' minds and anticipate their movements, allowing them to dodge physical attacks with ease and, in cutscenes, land attacks without fail.

Gigas-type Telethia have a potent healing factor, capable of regenerating lost heads with ease. Most can use the Super Aura art, which grants a powerful Regenerate effect.

All Telethia can fly, even the wingless Gigas-type Telethia. They awkwardly gallop into the skies.

Trivia

• According to Lorithia, the word Telethia means "that which eliminates impure life".
  • Telethia may be derived from Theresia (Θηρεσία), a Greek name meaning "huntress" or "harvestress." The term has been transliterated into Japanese as テレシア (Tereshia) or テレジア (Terejia), the former serving as the Japanese word for Telethia.
• The Telethia's role in the story bears a strong resemblance to the role of the Seraph Angels in Xenogears. In that story, human life on the planet is allowed to grow for the purpose of being food for the recovery and growth of Deus. Near the end of the story, Deus unleashes its Seraph Angels to harvest human life to provide it with food to grow. On a relatively smaller scale, the role of the Telethia also resembles the role of the Wels in Xenogears, which are humans transformed into insatiable killing machines that grow and feed on the life of other humans to help facilitate their later harvesting by the Seraph Angels for Deus. The revelation that Wels are actually transformed humans is much like the revelation that Telethia are actually transformed High Entia, with the difference that humans were biologically conditioned by Deus to transform into Wels at the proper time, whereas Telethia are the High Entia's original form that they are transforming back into.
• Their green jelly-like body is reminiscent of the Gnosis from Xenosaga.

See also

The Spirit - Telethia is not a real Telethia, but one of the four Spirits. It appears as a translucent green version of the Sani Telethia.

Gallery

Sani Telethia.

Phoenix-type Telethia.

Licorne-type Telethia.

Drakos-type Telethia.

Gigas-type Telethia.

Telethia Kallian.