The Waymarkers (カナンの道標, Kanan no Michishirube^?, "Guide of Canaan") are a key item needed to reach the Land of Canaan in Tales of Xillia 2, where the Gates of Judgment are, and complete Origin's Trial. They have existed since the very beginning of the Trial^[1], and there are five of them in total. Following the creation of the schism by Maxwell and thus isolating Rieze Maxia from Elympios, three out of five Waymarkers become inaccessible. This automatically renders the Trial impossible to complete unless the Waymarkers are collected from fractured dimensions where said schism does not exist^[2][3][1]. However, in this case, the power of a Key of Kresnik is vital. This is why Chronos, who actively sabotages the Trial's completion, targets Cornelia Wi Bakur^[4]. Following Cornelia's death, Julius fervently looks for the Key and the Waymarkers in fractured dimensions, yet his search is fruitless^[5]. This goal is presumably the reason behind Chronos' nickname of Julius as the seeker (探索者, Tansakusha^?). It's not until someone with the powers of the Key comes from a fractured dimension (Elle Mel Marta) that, with the schism being also dispelled a year before, the Waymarkers are finally obtained through the game's events.

When the five Canaan Waymarkers are collected, and arranged into a five-pointed star, they fuse to become the True Canaan Waymarker (真なるカナンの道標, Shinnaru Kanan No Michishirube^?, "True Guide of Canaan"), and expose the hidden Land of Canaan^[6]. However, this will only work in the prime dimension: because Canaan does not exist in fractured dimensions, it's impossible to use the Waymarkers to reveal it^[7]. This is why others such as Victor^[8], who had been born in a fractured dimension, and Milla Kresnik^[9], who had unknowingly died in the prime dimension and then became the core of a fractured dimension as a divergence catalyst, were unable to complete the Trial despite collecting all the Waymarkers needed.

Once visible in the sky, the Land of Canaan cannot be entered through normal means such as aerial battleships so, after being summoned by the True Waymarker, a soul bridge (魂の橋, Tamashii No Hashi^?) needs to be build for this purpose^[1]. The soul bridge is top secret information released only to those ranked director or above within the DODA, and they believe that it's required the life of someone who is at least a half chromatus bearer, and a Kresnik. This leaves only Rideaux, Julius, Bisley, and Ludger as possible candidates. The length of time that a soul bridge can be maintained depends on the sacrificed chromatus user^[1]. Upon dying, the soul of the deceased moves into the soul purification system, which is the embryo seen within the Canaan orb^[7], and unlocks the path to Canaan from there^[3]. This requirement of a human sacrifice is, however, a misunderstanding, and the "proof" that Chronos asks for to build the bridge is not necessarily a human sacrifice^[9].

Description

The five Waymarkers are "Maxwell's Temporal Blade", which was initially hosted within Muzét but lost following the battle with Milla Maxwell and her companions a year prior to the events of Tales of Xillia 2; "Long Dau's Dust", which was a rare metal and treasure of the Long Dau tribe that was used by Wingul to make his booster but lost along with him during the battle against him in the Temporal Crossroads; "Seafall Phantom's Eye", which was an eye of a monster inhabiting Kijara Seafalls but became extinct several hundreds years prior; "Ark Sentinel's Heart", which was the central control unit of Odin, who guarded the lifeform data of a civilization that collapsed 95,212 years prior within the Epsilla Ruins, but the ruins were destroyed several decades prior; and "Ultimate Chromatus Bearer", which belongs to the strongest wielder of the chromatus. The Ultimate Chromatus Bearer can be found within the prime dimension, and is held by Bisley Karcsi Bakur; however, he hides this fact because he aims to go to Canaan himself, forcing his agents to look for it in fractured dimensions. Though Bisley is eliminating fractured dimensions through Spirius Corporation's Department of Dimensional Affairs agents, finding the Waymarkers is the top priority.^[10]

Trivia

• In Tales of Berseria, one of the Waymarkers, "Long Dau's Dust", is one of the ingredients needed to create the "Omega Elixir". In this world it's a rare mineral that used to be excavated in Islegand. The "Glowing Gear" treasure from the Kresnik Island expedition is also a Waymarker.
• Though never stated outright in the game and only implied, only a Chromatus user who has achieved the full Chromatus has the potential to be the fifth Waymarker, "Ultimate Chromatus Bearer"^[11].

References