Luc, True Runes & Aging

Hypothesis for, and analyses of, the various locations and backstory of the Suikoden world.
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Hxc Flavor
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Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Hxc Flavor »

Just finished Suikoden III and now I have a few questions regarding True Runes and aging;

First, Luc says he has been alive for 30 years, that he has been cursed for 30 years, so does that mean he has been the bearer of the True Wind Rune for that long? If so, then why does he resemble a teenager as he did in the previous games?

Same for Sasarai, he is 70 years old but looks the same age as Luc. Sasarai mentions that Leknaat stole Luc and the TWR from the Harmonian temple. How did this happen? Did he already have the TWR? I guess what I'm asking is, does all aging stop when a person becomes the bearer of a True Rune? If so, then why aren't Luc and Sasarai still babies?

Looking forward to your responses!
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Antimatzist
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Antimatzist »

General consens is that if a bearer gets a True Rune before adulthood, he'll age normally until he reaches a certain age (like Ted, he is over 300 years old and looks like a 15year old boy)
Hxc Flavor
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Hxc Flavor »

Sounds like a flaw in the game or just a plotline that wasn't thoroughly thought out.
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Belle
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Belle »

Hxc Flavor wrote:Same for Sasarai, he is 70 years old but looks the same age as Luc.
Sasarai is not 70 years old. He and Luc were born in the same year.
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Raww Le Klueze
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Raww Le Klueze »

It's not a consensus, it's a confirmed fact that you age till maturity. And you've seen it before with Ted.
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Hxc Flavor
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Hxc Flavor »

@Belle
You're right, I was thinking of Jimba/Wyatt.

Thanks for the info. everyone
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Nikisaur
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Nikisaur »

Think of it this way - they say runes "choose their bearers". They also have the power to stop their bearers from aging. If they want a strong host, which I assume they do, a baby, nor an old man/woman would be ideal. They allow their hosts to grow into their physical prime before suspending their growth. The reason for Geddoe's older appearance could be explained by him receiving the True Lightning at an older age.
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Ellyos
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Ellyos »

Hxc Flavor wrote:First, Luc says he has been alive for 30 years, that he has been cursed for 30 years, so does that mean he has been the bearer of the True Wind Rune for that long?
(...) Sasarai mentions that Leknaat stole Luc and the TWR from the Harmonian temple. How did this happen? Did he already have the TWR?
Sasari and Luc are Hikuzaak's (the Emperor of Harmonia) clones born and bred to bear True Runes (Earth and Wind respectively). So yes, they have their true runes from birth. Obviously, Leknaat, in taking Luc, took the True Wind Rune at same time.

Edit : By the way, the Suikoden III manga is not bad at all and explains some things which can be obscure in the game.
Exophase
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Exophase »

Hxc Flavor wrote:Sounds like a flaw in the game or just a plotline that wasn't thoroughly thought out.
Not really. People consider aging and maturation to be the same thing because in our lives both things occur as one grows older. But if you think about it, they're completely different processes: one is constructive, where a person gradually reaches their fully developed form, while the other is destructive, where a person gradually whithers away and dies. It's hard to define an exact cutoff point because in real life the degradation process probably starts from the day you're born, so even before you reach adulthood you've already aged. Hence why in Suikoden the maturation process w/o aging leaves you looking like a teenager who is probably full adult height and otherwise fully developed, and not like what we'd expect a young adult to look like.

The true runes are supposed to preserve their bearers, hence why they prevent both aging and disease. No reason to stop them from maturing. If anything, keeping them a child would make them more physically vulnerable (since true runes don't augment physical capabilities by default)

I remember several years ago I argued this fervently and no one agreed with me, everyone insisted that Luc and Sasarai must have been created fully formed. I'm glad Konami officially clarified this.
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by death_to_sanchez »

I guess what I'm asking is, does all aging stop when a person becomes the bearer of a True Rune? If so, then why aren't Luc and Sasarai still babies?
The same question arose in my head as well, and the answer I came up with is as follows:

Luc and Sasarai are clones of the Harmonian leader Hikusaak (sorry I may be getting some spelling wrong here!) and were made with the sole purpose of housing the True Wind/Earth runes. I guessed that they were probably created as they appear in the game, never experiencing infancy. Since you never actually see Hikusaak, he may well look just the same as Luc and Sasarai, and we know he's very powerful, and so was probably able to create his clones exactly in his image without them having to grow or mature
death_to_sanchez
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by death_to_sanchez »

Exophase wrote:I remember several years ago I argued this fervently and no one agreed with me, everyone insisted that Luc and Sasarai must have been created fully formed. I'm glad Konami officially clarified this.
Ah, I didn't know that they've officially confirmed this. That makes my above point kind of null and void!

But, I've had another thought. Sasarai doesn't know that he is a clone of Hikusaak, Luc tells him in the third game and Sasarai is distraught. But if he came into the world fully formed and bearing a true rune, he can't have thought he was a normal guy? Surely he would have figured out at least something before Luc spells it out for him?
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Punkaiser
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Punkaiser »

This issue reminds me of a theory about the vampire race.
It seems to divide in 2 cases:
-Natural born vampires: age normally upon reaching maturity
-Unnatural born vampires( become vampires from external causes as getting bitten or DNA mutated .etc): stop aging right at the moment they were turned.
It explains how we could see all kind of ages among vampire race. Read the "rebirth" manga, the suprême elder of vampire race has got a childish body although she's the oldest.
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Aerolithe Lion
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Aerolithe Lion »

Except the beauty of fantasy races like that is you can make up whatever elements you want for it to fit your current universe. Such as the Blade movies, Vanpires age extremely slowly, even if they're purebloods like the main one in 2. Same with the old covenant leader in Underworld.

But I have another theory to support the original topic. Suppose they made Luc and Sasarai to host true runes theyve confiscated during their hunt. What if Harmonian finds more true runes? Will they make more Lucs to bear them? If they want all 27 runes, they've got to put them somewhere
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Re: Luc, True Runes & Aging

Post by Noraibah »

Let me get things straight.Let us use real life situations. Example: an autistic boy was born in lets say 1991. He appeared to be normal until let us say the age of 6. He is six now but all of a sudden he showed symptoms of autism and will be unable to talk until lets say 13. Does that mean he's still like a six years old or a 13 year old? The answer is he will be six and some ways 13 since he experienced and observed life for 13 years. I plan to get a doctorate in Psychology you know. I'm not boasting. Thank you for your attention.
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