Fay D. Flourite

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Illustration of Fay

Fai D. Flowright (ファイ・D・フローライト, Fai D. Furōraito) is a character in the manga Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle by acclaimed manga artist group Clamp. The romanization of his name has also been expressed as Fai D. Fluorite, Fye D. Flowright, or any combination of the three, but in the character guide published by Clamp, the name is officially represented as "FAY D. FLOURITE," although this represents an error in spelling on Clamp's part because it is stated in the manga that he is named after the stone fluorite. His name is pronounced by rhyming Fay with 'eye'. The Del Rey editions of the series began release in English before the proper romanization was published, however, resulting in the widespread use of the "Fai D. Flowright" rendering among many English-speaking fans. He is one of the two original main characters in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, not having coming from any previous Clamp work, the other being Kurogane.

In the anime adaptation of the manga he is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese and Vic Mignogna in English.

Character outline

Fay is first shown sealing away King Ashura of Celes country at the bottom of a pool. He transforms his creation Chii (originally from Chobits) into a net-like shield, instructing her to alert him if King Ashura should awake. He then uses his magic to transport himself through dimensions, to the shop of the Dimension Witch, Yūko Ichihara.

Out of his traveling companions, Fay's motives for joining the group are the least clear. He is the only one to arrive at Yūko's shop purposefully, by use of his own means. His wish is to never return to Celes country, but as the price for this would have been too great, he travels worlds with the group instead. He fears King Ashura’s awakening, believing King Ashura would chase him through different worlds.

In "Horitsuba Gakuen", an alternate universe storyline created by CLAMP, Fay is the happy-go-lucky chemistry teacher at a prestigious private school in which Yuuko is the principal, Kurogane is the gym teacher, and Sakura and Syaoran are students. He and Yuuko frequently team up to fool and pull pranks on people, especially Kurogane, who labels them, "A demon and a witch".

Personality

Of Syaoran's group of allies, Fay is the most enigmatic. He appears to be happy-go-lucky and good-natured, and acts very carefree. He often teases Kurogane, calling the latter ridiculous nicknames. However, Fay has been shown to be as perceptive and skilled a fighter as Kurogane. He also appears to carry a deep emotional burden, and values his own life very little. In battle, Fay doesn't bother to fight very hard for his life, and will only do so if someone he cares for is in danger. Though he hides his unhappiness well, Kurogane is able to sense the disguise. When he confronts him about it, Fay usually gives very dark and enigmatic answers. His past is a profound motivating factor for his actions and is something Fay cannot seem to overcome; instead he masks it all with a smile.

Fay is emotionally distant, refusing to allow anyone to become too close to him. Despite this, Kurogane has noted that the mage has become attached to Syaoran and Sakura. Fay's behavior changes significantly after he becomes a vampire and is forced to regularly drink Kurogane's blood to survive. Fay becomes much colder and very solemn around everyone but Sakura, and begins addressing Kurogane by his real name. However, after the events in Celes, Fay seems to have gone back to the way he was at the beginning of the series, as he once again addresses Kurogane with strange nicknames, and he seems to give a real smile.

Fay worries about his companions and would go as far as breaking his own personal vows to ensure their safety. Kurogane confronts Fay about this, and states that Fay should figure out what he's doing with his present and future, because his past has nothing to do with either Kurogane or their younger companions.

Background

When Fay's past is finally revealed, it is shown that "Fay" was born with a twin named Yuui. In Valeria Country, though the birth of the second prince's son was highly anticipated, the birth of twins was considered to be a bad omen. Shortly after their birth, the second prince died, and their mother committed suicide out of guilt for giving birth to them. In addition, the country suffered many misfortunes, and the twins, when combined, bore powerful magic that rivaled that of the current king.

The king decided that making them unhappy was the only way to break the "curse", and since both refused to kill each other, they were locked up separately in a place where magic is ineffective and time does not flow: a tower residing in a deep valley; Fay was imprisoned atop the tower, and Yuui was confined at the base of the tower. Both were condemned to stay there "until the world's destruction."

Despite their unhappiness, the number of bodies dumped into the base of the tower began to grow. Yuui tried endlessly to climb up towards Fay, so they could escape, but he did not succeed. Eventually, the king became insane, and he executed every person in the country, save Yuui and Fay. He then jumped into the valley himself and committing suicide in front of a horrified Yuui, reminding him that their birth was the reason for the country's misfortune, and that they would now "pay for that sin" by being the only people alive in Valeria.

Eventually, Fei Wong Reed appeared from another world, and offered to free one of them. Fay chose to save Yuui, resulting in Fay being thrown from the tower to his death. Fei Wong then tampered with Yuui's memory to make him think that Yuui had chosen to save himself at the cost of his brother's life, allowing Fei Wong to use Yuui's guilt in order to turn him into his servant. In order to bring his twin back to life, Yuui allowed Fei Wong to bestow two curses upon him, one of which was removed from Yuui's memory. Fei Wong then told Yuui that someone would free him from the valley, and that he would have to go on a journey, protecting "a princess" (Sakura), and killing any obstacles along the way. Fei Wong then tells Yuui that when he finds a magical feather, he should put it into Fay's body to prevent it from rotting, and that he should begin his journey when he finds a second feather, which he should give to Sakura.

Later, King Ashura came to Valeria from another world in order to retrieve Yuui and took him to Celes. When Ashura asked what Yuui's name was, Yuui said it was "Fay". Ashura later gave Fay the last name "Fluorite", the name of a precious talisman mineral, and he eventually earned the title 'D', given to the highest magician in Celes. And thus, Yuui became the protagonist "Fay D. Flourite". He found his two feathers while helping villagers during an avalanche, and decided to use one to create a person, Chii, in his mother's image, Chii.

Ashura eventually tutored Fay in magic and comforted him whenever he felt unable to overcome his dark past. When Fay discovered that he could only learn "magic that kills people", Ashura told him that his smile held the ability to heal others. In exchange for everything that he had done for him, Ashura asked Fay to promise that he would eliminate anyone who threatened Celes.

Due to Fay's first curse, Ashura traced a magical seal on Fay's body in the form of a Phoenix tattoo, which suppressed his powers from growing any further, and though Fay protested, Ashura told him that Fay's first curse would break after it was fulfilled once, and he wanted to be the one that Fay would kill. Ashura then erased what he had told him from Fay's memory.

Several years later, a mysterious and deadly monster began to kill Celes's innocent civilians. Fay swore to defeat the beast, but found out that Ashura was the monster. Fay, at first, blamed himself for what happened to Ashura, thinking that "the curse of the twins" was what had caused Ashura to kill, but Ashura told him that his magic grows when he kills, and that he always knew that he would become a murderer, even though he was not sure why. Fay realized that Ashura had brought him under his care for the sole purpose of killing him when he reached this state. Unable to bring himself to kill Ashura, Fay cast a spell on him, putting him into a deep sleep. However, no magic spell was permanent, so the king would eventually awaken. In order to avoid having to face Ashura when he woke, Fay used his magic to teleport himself to the Dimensional Witch, where he began his journey.

Abilities and magic

Fay's greatest strength was his magical abilities. Unlike previous magic-using characters created by Clamp, Fay's magic is "written" out as he casts it, either by using a magical staff or his hand, rather than summoning a magic circle like Yūko Ichihara, Clow Reed, and Sakura Kinomoto. The extent of Fay's power is only alluded to throughout most of the series as he refused to use it. However, he was the strongest magician in Celes prior to its destruction, and as a child, was as strong as his country's king when his magic was combined with that of his twin brother's. He is also able to fight toe-to-toe against Kurogane and Ashura. There also seems to be an emotional element to his magic; the stronger his emotions are, the more powerful his spells. In an emotional breakdown after he discovers that he stabbed (and presumably killed) Sakura, his magical energy alone destroys the surrounding area.

The source of Fay's magical powers are his blue eyes. Since his powers are directly connected to his eyeballs, a loss of vision does not lead to a loss of magic. His powers are effectively halved when the clone Syaoran gouges out his left eye and consumes it in Tokyo. Now, the clone Syaoran possesses half of Fay's magical powers. Fay's powers will disappear when he dies, regardless of who is in possession of his eyes. Additionally, according to Seishirō, the magic of Fay's right eye diminishes the more it is used, while that of his left eye grows stronger.

In addition to magical powers, Fay is also a strong and agile fighter able to knock back multiple opponents in battle just as easily as a Syaoran and Kurogane. Since becoming a vampire, he has also gained a healing factor as well as enhanced strength and speed. He no longer has any magic since he gave up the rest of his magic in Nihon country.

Types of magic

Though sworn off magic, Fay is able to sense magic passively, such as detecting barriers. For example, he detects the source of power in the castle in Hanshin, and in the Central Library of Rekord. He is also able to detect magic within people, so he knew the Syaoran he met at Yūko’s shop was a clone and that Seishiro also possessed magical powers. Fay writes off these instances of detection as ‘intuition’ and common knowledge for anyone with a basic understanding of magic.

In addition to various forms of offensive magic, Fay has aptitude with seals, having sealed Ashura under-water at the beginning of the series. Additionally, Fay is able to create protective barriers by whistling, as demonstrated in the group's escape from Rekord country. He later claims that magic using sound is not the type of magic that he typically uses.

Fay confesses that he is unable to use healing magic after Sakura is injured in Tokyo. Though he has tried to learn many times, he always forgets the spells afterwards. He is also able to teleport to dimensions on his own, though for most of the series, he pretends that he could only do so once. Fay has also used magic to magically seal Kurogane's sword Souhi into his left hand, saying that if Mokona is not around or if they are separated, he could take it out of his hand in the same fashion as the real Syaoran.

Fay's magic is powerful enough to slow his aging process; however, according to his behaviour there are no reasons to suggest that Fay is much older than he looks. He was supposed to die if he were to loose all his magic as his life itself depends on it but later he was spared from this effect due to vampire blood.

Curses

Fei Wong Reed had placed two curses on Fay, however, he is now free of both these curses.

The first curse causes him to kill anyone possessing greater magical power than himself; this curse activates automatically, leaving Fay in a trance-like state and powerless to control his own actions. The curse is activated when Sakura gains two more feathers in the Infinity arc, but she saves herself by using a robot she had won to transport herself to another dimension. Since this curse can only be fulfilled once, it has now been broken.

The memory of the second curse was erased from Fay's memory because Fei Wong felt that he had "no need to remember it". This curse is activated when somebody other than Fay kills Ashura. Later, it is revealed that the second curse is that he would use his magic to suck up the world of Celes and trap everyone inside.

Magical objects

Phoenix tattoo: At the beginning of the series, Fay sports a tattoo in the shape of a phoenix across his back, which he pays to Yūko as the "most precious thing" in order to have Yūko grant his wish to travel across dimensions. It is later revealed that Ashura bestowed this tattoo onto Fay, in order to suppress his magical powers; as Fay's powers grew, the tattoo's effects would weaken (his use of magic also weakened it). The tattoo itself would completely disappear when Ashura dies.

Magic staff: Fay first traveled with an ornate, magical staff, which facilitated his spell casting. After he vows to not use magic without his tattoo, he makes a trade with Yūko: his staff in return for a method to enter the castle in Koryo Country.

Story

At the beginning of the series, Fay vows that he would not use his magic again without the tattoo on his back, but breaks the vow when he creates a shield in Rekord Country around the group in order to save them. In the Tokyo arc, he again uses his magic to try and reseal, in vain, the living heart of Clone Syaoran. The clone then proceeds to eat Fay's left eye, which contained half of Fay's magic, saying he needed Fay's powers in order to get Sakura's feathers for himself. Brought to the brink of death from the shock of losing one eye, Fay resists attempts to save himself, reasoning that the clone would be unstoppable with his powers, but that the magic would perish if Fay dies.

Fay's request to die is ignored by Kurogane, who saves him by following Yūko's advice. Fay is then fed Kamui's blood and turns into a vampire, one with accelerated healing abilities but who needs to consume blood to survive. Because it is Kurogane's wish and not Fay's that he should live, Kurogane from then on has to take responsibility for Fay's life: the blood Fay received was mixed with Kurogane's blood, so that Fay can only feed from him. Fay now has to drink Kurogane's blood on a regular basis in order to survive; he literally needs to depend on the ninja to live. After these events, Fay stops addressing Kurogane by silly nicknames and begins to use his full name in order to distance himself. Fay confesses to Yūko that he had not realized how close the two of them have become, and that, if he forgives him for saving his life, they would be even closer.

Fay's outward behavior becomes much colder in the following volumes. He drops his joking and happy-go-lucky demeanor, and smiles less. His interactions with the rest of the group becomes very distant and formal. The exception to this is Sakura, whose behavior (at the time) is as dark as his. Fay grows close to her in their mutual suffering and pledges his unquestioning loyalty to the princess. When Sakura informs him of her wish, he promises to help her without informing the others and without asking for more details.

At the end of the tournament in the Infinity arc, it is revealed that Fay had a curse placed on him: he would kill anyone with magical abilities that surpassed his own. Seemingly possessed, Fay stabs Sakura after she receives two additional feathers; one from Chii, and another from a robot resembling Freya from Chobits. Yūko states that the additional feathers increased Sakura's magic, thereby surpassing Fay's halved magic. Sakura foresaw this in a vision, however, and made a wish to Yūko to prevent herself from dying: her body is taken to Celes and her soul to a dream world.

It is later revealed that Fay has lied to the group on several occasions. He lied about the whereabouts of two of the feathers; the first one, which he seemingly removed from Syaoran's clothing in Volume 1, was actually with him from Celes. The other one was the one he had used to make Chii, which he pretended to know nothing about. After this revelation, he resolves to return to Celes in order to save Sakura's body, but a price had to be paid for the four of them to go to a specific country. Fay offers up everything that could be seen with his right eye in order to return to Celes, meaning that he would go blind. To prevent this, everyone agrees to offer up a fourth of the price by handing over their tournament money. Fei Wong Reed, who is secretly watching the group, then states that Fay was supposed to have stabbed Syaoran after the latter regains his original powers, but Sakura foresaw this and created a situation to activate Fay's curse before that happened. He also reveals that, even though Fay's first curse is now broken, he has yet another curse which only works in Celes.

Later, after entering Celes country, Ashura uses his magic to show Syaoran, Kurogane, and Mokona visions of Fay's tragic past. This causes Kurogane to unsheathe his sword and attack Ashura and Fay. Though Fay is horrified that his comrades now know the extent of his secrets and betrayal, he decides to fight back with magic to protect Ashura, and also due to his vow not to die before he saves his brother. The two engage in a fierce battle, and in the mayhem, Kurogane damages the body of Fay's twin, and in that moment of weakness, manages to overpower Fay. Kurogane then demands Ashura to tell him why he showed them Fay's memories, and he responds by saying that he only wanted Fay to "grant his wish" and kill him. Ashura then launches vicious spells against Fay's comrades in order to force his hand, which causes one of the massive ice stagamites that he conjured to pierce Kurogane in his right side. Angry, Fay attacks Ashura, retrieves Sakura's body, and places her with Syaoran for protection. Fay then decides to kill Ashura for the sake of both their wishes, but Fay's lack of a will to live and the loss of his eye prevents him from fighting at full strength. Ashura overpowers him, and tries to kill Syaoran and Sakura in order to draw out his true power. However, Kurogane intercepts the attack and stabs Ashura with his sword, killing the king. The feather in Fay's brother's body then shows Fay the true reason for his death. It returns to Sakura's body and the corpse disintegrates, finally at rest.

Just when Mokona begins to transport the group to the next world, Fay's second curse activates, which causes Fay's magic to create a form of cage, trapping the group in Celes. Fay then declares that his magic does not get stronger the more he uses it -- in fact, the more he uses magic, the closer he is to death. With everyone unable to transport to another world, Fay attempts to use the last of his magic to transport his comrades, intending to sacrifice himself in order to save them. However, due to his halved magic, Fay is only able to transport Sakura, Syaoran, and Mokona. Using a magic earring Mokona wears, Syaoran creates a hole in the sphere where Fay and Kurogane are trapped, but Fay's curse uses him as the spell's anchor, meaning Fay cannot leave. Since Fay had used up all his magic in evacuating the others, Kurogane cuts off his own left arm, which Fay casted magic on earlier, and leaves it behind in the sphere in exchange for Fay.

In Nihon country, the next world, Fay punches Kurogane, smiles, and playfully tells him that it was for revenge. Fay then trades his remaining magic to Yūko in exchange for a false arm for Kurogane, and because he lives off of Kurogane's blood, Fay does not lose sight or die from offering up the last of his magic.

Later, when Sakura is killed during the two Syaoran's battle, he reveals that he knew Sakura was a clone all along. He then offers to go with Syaoran and Kurogane to save both Sakuras.

That night, Fay goes to meet Syaoran, who was sitting on the roof, and tells him that he should rest. There, Syaoran thanks Fay for taking care of and supporting Sakura. When leaving the Nihon country, Fay is seen in the clothes he wore at the beginning of the series.

In chapter 183, he, Kurogane, Syaoran, and Mokona finally enter Clow Country.

Celes and Leval Castle

In the beginning of the series, Fay is revealed to have come from the country of Celes. Little is known about his world except it seems to be a magical based country. Two of Sakura's feathers had fallen into the Celes world, and with that feather's power he was able to create Chii, who he made in the image of his mother to comfort the inanimate corpse of his twin brother. He also imprisoned Ashura in a deep slumber, which Chii guarded until Ashura's awakening.

It is cited that Ashura resides in Leval Castle, a floating castle with wings. Celes country is covered in what appears to be an eternal blizzard.