The millennium stretching story of this week’s History of a Hero story focus didn’t quite get the attention and recognition I humbly think to this day it should have received, and while he was backed up by a party of truth seekers in his mission, we focus on him as the man with a troubled past. Today we focus on Kaim Argonar, the thousand year dreamer.

Kaim's watercolour concept art

For those who don’t know of the JRPG blockbuster, Lost Odyssey, a game released for the Xbox 360 in 2008, will have no reason to know who this man is. Simply put, Kaim Argonar is a man of many troubles, a man unable to recollect his memories and a man incapable of realising his thousand year existence. Kaim is one of the five immortal fighters of Lost Odyssey‘s team roster, and the prominent protagonist of the story. His millennium long life has seen him venture endlessly into countless battlefields and warfronts as a lone warrior for the city of Uhra.

Kaim’s recallable past left him as an empty shell. Though the memories of his long past may have been locked away in his mind. The lasting effects of eternal conflict and turmoil meant Kaim took no pity or solitude in those around him. His battles were his and his alone as he would charge through enemy forces without backup or fear.

Kaim’s involvement in the Uhra/Khent war was seen by the locals as the prime reason for a meteor strike which completely decimated the battlefield. A cataclysmic event which killed every soldier present during the feud – all except for him. With still no reason to understand how he survived the attack, Kaim was appointed by the Uhran board of directors to investigate the towering construction site of Grand Staff, a large magic engine, a building the board suspected of being the cause of the meteor strike.

Lust, jealousy, decadence, and spite. Uhra Lieutenant Argonar has witnessed every flaw of the human psyche. No longer moved by the swells of human drama, Kaim sees beauty where others cannot: in the most ordinary of trifles, in the subtle grace woven throughout a lifetime, in the unexpected kindness of a passerby. Burdened with a life he cannot lose, he has travelled from one battlefield to another for a thousand years. The endless journey of Kaim’s life has always been free– and always alone.

- Lost Odyssey Manual Manuscript

Throughout the main storyline of Lost Odyssey, Kaim would meet and team up with a 4 other “Immortals” who all suffer from the same amnesia like symptoms, though only Kaim’s “dream triggers” – the unlocking of his memories – would be shown throughout the game. A total of 33 “dreams” could be triggered and unlocked through Kaim’s ability to see “beauty where others cannot”. The memories were all collected into the “Thousand years of dreams” stories penned by popular Japanese author, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, and gave an in-depth look the dreamer’s past as a way to develop his character and better explain the sorrows and joys he experienced and why they left him in his emotionless or deeply troubled state.

Down the line, Kaim slowly unearths the real reason behind the meteor crash after rediscovering his hidden past, reuniting with those who he had long thought he had lost and even meeting the grandchildren he never even knew about. While through the story we can spot Kaim slowly coming out of his stone-cold shell, it defiantly isn’t without some hardships along the way. A lot which lead to some very emotional moments should you let yourself get wrapped up in his story. Towards the end of his story, it finally all comes together through a lot of hunting and some really impressing cut-scenes. We’ll spare the details for you first time players, but the finale to Kaim’s story, and by that point, the story of many others blows up into a revelation of sorts. An incredible revelation backed up by some incredible talent.

At this point it seems highly unlikely that we’ll be seeing Kaim grace our screens again. Mistwalker have continuously decided to back their Blue Dragon series with sequels and merchandising. And don’t think that’s because of the cartoony cel-shaded style. The manga and anime adaptions were not exactly kid friendly. Though in the end, we’re glad in a way. Kaim’s story was a beautiful one and we don’t want anything to potentially mess that up. It happens far to often in this industry, and we don’t want it to happen with him.