Nasatya

Nasatya (ナーサティヤ) is a secondary antagonist in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4. He frequently opposes the main protagonist throughout the story. Depending on the story path, however, Nasatya may be a temporary ally character for the final battle.

Background Story
Nasatya is the only son sired by the former Raja of Tokoyo no Kuni. For as long as he could remember, he has been raised as a prince. When he was four-years-old, a civil war to dethrone his father ravaged the country side. His father became insane with anxiety as the revolutionaries marched closer toward his palace. As his son curiously watched over him, the mad Raja was upset by his presence and repeatedly ordered his son to avert his eyes. Nasatya obediently answered his father's wish and hid himself away to avoid incurring his wrath. Consequently, he was unable to help his father and did not witness his death.

Eventually Mudgala found him and the young prince was brought before his uncle and the leader of the rebellion, Surya. Nasatya didn't seem too shocked by his father's death and answered his uncle's questions. When he reported that he was only obeying his father's orders, Surya embraced him and praised his faithfulness. Sparing the child from death or exile, Surya adopted Nastya when he became the new Raja of Tokoyo no Kuni. Nasatya's mother accepted her new husband coldly and merely stated that she was fated to be the Raja's consort. However, the young prince was deeply moved by his adoptive father's mercy and kindness. Honored to be Surya's son, Nasatya accepted his father and swore his eternal loyalty to him.

Despite being his eldest son and a crowned prince, Nasatya is not considered a viable candidate for Surya's successor. He shares no biological ties to Surya, and his ascension could possibly trigger another civil dispute with the kingdom's nobility. Since he would rather stay loyal to his father, Nasatya could care less about his enthronement. He accepted Mudgala's tutorship and matured to be a reputed general in his own right. He possesses exceptional spiritual capabilities and wields his sword with considerable skill. Nasatya has the unique power to conjure and crystallize fire at his command, making fire tactics harmless against him. Thanks to his servant, Eka, he also has an army of Tsuchigumo under his command.

On his father's orders, Nasatya joined the assault on Nakatsu Kuni's capital, Kashihara, five years before the main story's setting. He entered the palace amongst the flames and found a young Chihiro. Though he knew the young girl's identity, Nastaya was moved by compassion to save her. He saw in her his younger self and couldn't bring himself to slay her. Crystallizing the flames surrounding the exit, he allowed her escape. Chihiro takes a strange stone with her as she flees, but she would soon forget where she obtained it.

After the palace was claimed as their own, Nasatya returned to Tokoyo no Kuni to guard the eastern section of the land. He patrolled the area and subjugated rebels who opposed his father's reign.

Story Events
Nasatya regrets his act of kindness when he learns of Chihiro's return to Nakatsu Kuni. Once Levanta falls, he is ordered by his father to assist Asvin's troops. The brothers perform a joint attack on Iwanagahime's troops at Chikushi and are intercepted by Chihiro's reinforcements. Before they can retaliate with a counterattack, Michiomi uses his relic to teleport the brothers far away. Nasatya returns to Tokoyo no Kuni to report the incident to their father.

He once again joins the offensive against Chihiro's army, this time invading Izumo. He guards the main camp as Asvin leads the soldiers, staying beside Surya's side. When Shani –the lord of Izumo– protests their invasion, Surya orders Nasatya to slay him. Although shocked by the proclamation, the elder prince draws his blade to obey. Though it looks as though Shani has been killed, Nasatya actually places his younger brother under a powerful sleeping spell. Nasatya then guards Shani's body and stations himself within Kashihara to stop Chihiro's advance towards Tokoyo no Kuni.

In an attempt to stop the Nakatsu Kuni army, Nasatya casts a curse on the guardian deity at Mount Miwa. His plan is rendered harmless when Shani awakens and escapes to warn Chihiro. Nasatya continues to use curses to conjure defenders for Kashihara. To draw attention away from the people of his homeland, Nasatya leaves the palace grounds and guards the mystical underground entrance connecting the two countries. His followers feel that he has abandoned them and scatter in their panic. Save for a few guards, Nasatya faces Chihiro a final time. Following his defeat, Nasatya refuses to betray his country and presumably takes his own life.

During Asvin's story route, Nasatya instead guards his father's mansion in Tokoyo no Kuni from Asvin's rebel army. He issues orders to obliterate his brother's fortifications. When Chihiro and company storm the palace, Nasatya intercepts them in the hallway leading towards his father. If he is defeated, Nasatya praises the young couple's determination and lets them pass. He may instead join the party if the player has seen his ending once.

The final and canon timeline has Nasatya barely survive Tokoyo no Kuni's obliteration. Demoralized by the sheer nothingness he witnessed, he stops Chihiro and company from seeing the sight for themselves. With his father and home gone, Nasatya feels completely powerless. The princess encourages him to be optimistic and offers him a spot on their mystical flying ship. Feeling that he has nothing else left to lose, he and Eka accept the offer. As they plan their next move, Nasatya joins his siblings in researching the White Dragon's proclamations for a solution to their dilemma. His whereabouts thereafter in the new world are not clarified.

Personal Route
Before she leaves her home in the modern world, Chihiro rummages through the cabinet in her room and gazes at the strange, red stone she kept. She can't remember where she got it, but she feels attached to it and takes it with her. Whilst she faces Nasatya in the parallel world, the stone strangely resonates while he is nearby. He initiates combat each time he suspects Chihiro will question it. She manages to convey her determination to him when she defeats him at Chikushi.

After her first visit with Shani, Chihiro returns to her room in the flying ship. While she dreams, she undergoes an astral projection and her spirit visits Tokoyo no Kuni's palace. She witnesses the peasantry begging for food, shelter, and water, all of which are being extorted from them to supply the war effort. Nasatya ignores their pleas as he enters the palace and returns to his resting chambers.

Out of curiosity, Chihiro follows him and adores a pot of white flowers kept within his room. She wonders who placed them there until the red stone within her possession accidentally drops to the floor. The sound alerts Nasatya to her presence and he strikes her spirit. Chihiro recovers and remembers the suffering people at the front of the palace. She asks if there is a peaceful alternative to end the war between their countries, but the prince refuses to listen to her. He explains that she is no different than her mother who lied in her promise to save his father. The prince accuses her of betraying his trust with her return, but Chihiro has no recollection of meeting him. Quickly losing his patience, Nasatya informs her that her spiritual form's death will kill her and prepares to slay her. The White Kirin intervenes on her behalf and uses his powers to return Chihiro's spirit to her body.

The night before the final battle has Chihiro wondering if she can somehow reconcile with him. Since she briefly felt his spirit when she faced Mount Miwa's corrupted deity, Chihiro goes there alone to see if she can talk to him. To her surprise Nasatya is there. When he refutes her peaceful solution, Chihiro attests that she wants to save the Tokoyo no Kuni people as well. Her answer surprises him, and he admits that he may have misjudged her. Regardless of his renewed impressions of her, Nasatya is resolved to fight for his country and returns to Kashihara.

He continues to fight a losing battle at Kashihara. This time the red stone breaks and unleashes the flames it held in check. As the structure burns and collapses around them, Chihiro finally remembers her first meeting with Nasatya. He chooses to remain in the flames despite her pleas, and he is implied to have died. She thinks of him before her ascension as Queen and begins to cry tears of regret. A passing woman spots her and gives her a flower to cheer her up. Chihiro recognizes the flower as the one which was in Nasatya's room. The woman replies that a man with crimson hair gave it to her to before suddenly leaving. Chihiro remains hopeful in the possibility of Nasatya's survival.

In his epilogue scenario, a Tsuchigumo bestows Chihiro with an illusion left behind by Eka. It shows Eka within the flames which engulfs Nasatya. He is implied to have saved him before it cuts short.

Development
One of the early story concepts staged Nasatya's prototype character as the Raja. He was politically married to the prototype Ichinohime and they supposedly shared a loveless life together. Using his wife's ties, he then plotted to take over what is now considered Nakatsu Kuni. The protagonist would then fight to save her elder sister and kill the Raja and his family. Upon his death, the elder sister would realize her love for the Raja. She would then pledge to avenge him as the game's final boss. This idea was scrapped when more prospects and characters were considered.

He is designed to be Asvin's polar opposite in many ways. At one point in development, Nasatya was going to take Asvin's place as a cheerful character. He was going to be the one who rebelled, and Asvin was the one who fought to the bitter end for his homeland. When Asvin's character was re-evaluated and rewritten, the two characters switched places.

Personality
Perhaps due to his upraising, Nasatya is a person who lives with considerable restraint by the time he meets Chihiro. He exerts himself to remain ever faithful to the man and country he admires. Any degrading act is his to use if it means obtaining the results his lord desires. To bolster his resolution for Surya's heartless commands, Nasatya has forced himself to be cold and callous. Nasatya answers anything directed to him with blunt honesty and without recourse for the other party. He ruthlessly disregards anything that may cause shame to his family's empire with stoic impassiveness. Though he remains composed with an elegant grace befitting a prince, Nasatya's erected insensitivity has his people accept him with fear rather than with praise.

Behind his cold facade is a man with significant vulnerability. He is well aware that his father lost to the god devouring him, yet he feels that any mortal man is incapable of subjugating it. He knows the suffering the wars causes for the common folk, yet he feels obligated to comply to his lord's wishes. He despises resorting to trickery or sorcery, but he feels he has no other choice but to use them. Nasatya hides his real compassion and kindness because he feels they do not serve his current purpose. He feels that his only obligation is to fight the war he cannot win for a cause he once cherished. Occasionally, his feelings get the better of him thorough his brief moments of mercy.

He shares Chihiro's desire to create a world of lasting peace, but he thinks he can't admit it aloud to his enemy. Their focus is on the war, not what may come from it. Due to his past experience with the Queen, his image of Nakatsu Kuni has also been marred from accepting them as anything but his adversary. Though he held a grudge for their past treachery, Nasatya eventually accepts Chihiro's benevolent nature through their meetings together. He openly shows his caring side to her once the wars are over.

Prior to the Black Dragon's awakening, Nasatya was accepted as the serious yet gentle son of the Raja. He attended to his duties daily and thought the best for the people. He shares close ties with his younger brother Asvin, often calling him by his nickname "Ash" (アシュ). While Nasatya chastises his brother's playful conduct, he also accepts Asvin as his intellectual equal amongst his siblings. Both brothers treasure their youngest brother, Shani, and want to protect him from their father's new found cruelty. They try to keep Shani away from the war whenever possible, although Nasatya confesses everything when the truth dawns on his sibling.

Character Symbolism
Nasatya (نستیه) is one of the twin Ashvin devas in Hindu mythology, the other twin being named Dasra (دَسره). Their form depends on the source describing them; the Rig Veda describes them as humanoids who can shape-shift into eagles while the Puranas says they have horse-like bodies. Surya is accredited as the father of the twin devas, but they have been also argued to be a manifestation of the heavens. The twins are commonly known as beautiful healing deities who bring miracles and happiness to men atop their magnificent horses. Their name is written with the word "horse" (ash), so they are additionally known to bless these animals. Alternatively they are associated with the morning star, the rising and setting sun, immortality, and imperfection.

His character's symbolic color is a very pale blue literally named after a white moon. Specifically, it is named after the pale rays of moon light. In the game's script, a description of Nasatya's hair roughly contrasts another interpretation of the color's origin. The color may alternatively be identified to be the white light of a rising moon; his hair is said to "look like the setting sun".

The rose althea is his symbolic flower, which is known to blossom frequently from hardy roots and stems. Its sturdy stature leads to one of its primary meanings in the flower language: "trust". The flowers bloom and whither in a single day but are quickly replaced by many other buds, so it may also represent new or delicate beauty. Interestingly, while the rose althea is reputed and enjoyed for its transient lifespan, it is not a flower recommended to be used for bouquets or arrangements in Japan. This is due to flowers often being synonymous with a living being's lifespan. Given the flower's one day lifespan, it would be ominous to use it. Cultural influence has some flower enthusiasts in Japan identify it to be an isolated flower that should never be given as a gift.

While the flower itself isn't identified by name during his story, the flowers in Nasatya's room resembles the jasmine in both appearance and stated longevity ("blooms in one day"). In India, it is known as a flower of honest love and affection. It is often used to decorate weddings as a sign of sensual attraction and sweetness. These meanings are globally incorporated into the flower language. The flower's existence in Tokoyo no Kuni is a small homage to Japanese mythology, as it was a place reputed for having fields of blooming flowers. Blossoms of every season lived in harmony and those not known to medieval Japan were said to have been included.

Quotes

 * "So be it. Prove to me your will."
 * "Know your place."
 * "Show no weakness."
 * "How strange. You are useful for something."
 * "Cease your blather. You're distracting me."
 * "Is something wrong? Why would you be in distress?"
 * "You have fortified your position well. Leave the rest to me."
 * "...Kill your pity for me. Disregard our encounter here. It is futile for us to feel anything now. If our last greeting is set to be on the battlefield, then it would be foolish for us to bond."
 * "A memento from the past, but it changes nothing."
 * "Leave and forget everything you know. Your home, your lineage, everything."
 * "People of my homeland... Forgive me."
 * "Don't cry. Please don't cry..."
 * "Nasatya, come with us!"
 * "I must remain here."
 * "What? Don't be stupid! If you do that, you'll die!"
 * "That is war. If victory had been in my favor, then you would be the one joining the fallen. The root of our conflict would then not remain. Go. If one of us does not perish, then our battle has no meaning. May your arrows pierce the heavens."
 * Chihiro and Nasatya


 * "Ludicrous. I will never abandon my country."
 * "And what country are you referring to? Saty, is the Raja your country? Father is gone. That thing you're protecting is a hideous monster manipulating Father's body."
 * "Ash, you would dare..."
 * "The country that you're thinking of doesn't contradict with the one I'm planning. I will defeat the Raja, and then I'll take over the throne. That's fine for you too, right?"
 * "Wha? You want to oppose Father- that god?"
 * "Of course. If it's going to destroy the human world as we know it, then why not?"
 * "So even I have a stupid younger brother. So imprudent... Yet your ambition moves even me to dream. I bequeath this power and sword to you for a spell. Father... Your enemy lies further ahead. Let us hurry."
 * Nasatya and Asvin

Fighting Style
As an enemy, Nasatya has high attack and defense capabilities. Even Water characters may struggle to put a dent in his life points. If characters are too low-leveled in their encounters against him, he may decimate the entire party with his fire or poison spells. He can be deadly when he is paired with Asvin, especially if they both cast their spells consecutively. His normal attacks take away at least 30 or 70 HP per strike even with high leveled characters. Metal characters are not advised to face him.

The first battle with Nasataya has a 5 turn time limit. It's optional to defeat him at this time; if the player wants to beat him, they will need to use the group's strongest spells and attacks. Otherwise, Nasatya probably won't be too hard to beat when he faces the protagonist again at the end of the game.

Nasatya requires a spot in the battle party if the player wants to use him; he is one of two optional characters who cannot be summoned by Chihiro. He has the best stats of the fighting sub-characters, but his stats will likely be lower than the main characters by the time he joins. Still he is a sturdy alternative for players who want to switch out the main characters. He is pretty resilient in the battle against the White Dragon.

Given that he is a sub-character, he cannot learn special abilities from the Five Elements. Here are Nasatya's stats as an ally:


 * HP - 180
 * Will - 180
 * Attack - 68
 * Defense - 64
 * Magic - 59
 * Speed - 63


 * Magic
 * Kouki Endan (紅輝炎弾) - Stronger Fire magic. Requires Chihiro to be in the party.