Empath Smurf (Empath stories)

Empath (original name Empathy) is a Smurf character who is solely part of Vic George's series of EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf fanfiction stories. He is a Smurf born with a yellow star mark on his forehead and with "extra-smurfory perception" powers that include telepathy and telekinesis, the latter of which also enables him to fly.

History
According to the story series, Empath is born the only son of Papa Smurf (referred to in those earlier times as Culliford, named for his creator Pierre Culliford, better known as Peyo) and his wife Lillithina. He was originally given the name Empathy due to his innate empathetic behavior. However, because Papa Smurf feared that his son would be ostracized by his fellow Smurfs, he was taken to a distant village called Psychelia to be trained how to use his abilities.

It is in Psychelia that Empath spent most of his 150 years of living among a group of people called the Psyches, who tend to be rather emotionless in their limited social interactions, and was initially raised to believe that he was one of them, although different in appearance. It wasn't until around Empath's 70th birthday, when he was allowed the first of several visits to the Smurf Village for one year every ten years to experience how Smurfs live their lives, that Empath discovered who and what he truly was.

Over time, Empath got so used to the Smurf way of living that it eventually interfered with his studies in Psychelia. By the time of Empath's 150th birthday, according to the arrangement the Psyche Master had with Papa Smurf, Empath was permanently released from Psychelia. It was then that Papa Smurf had revealed the true nature of Empath's relationship to him, as Papa Smurf was prevented by the Psyche Master from disclosing his actual father-son relationship to Empath until that time.

Ten years following his final return to the Smurf Village from Psychelia, Empath marries Smurfette and even has a child through her named Psycheliana. He also has a great-grandson from the future named Traveler.

Personality
Initially Empath had the same personality as the Psyches he had lived with -- very emotionless in his expressions. He also saw himself as pretty much a member of the Psychelian race, although a "prototype" due to his blue skin, until he saw himself in Smurf clothes for the first time, which instantly changed how he saw himself.

While Empath over the years learned to be comfortable with expressing emotions as his fellow Smurfs, he is still unable to fluently speak in Smurf (except in moments where he expresses anger or fear), always referring to himself as "this smurf" in his conversations. He is also easily embarrassed by his own physical appearance (though not to the extreme that he does after Papa Smurf's revelation of Empath being his only begotten son), leading to his constantly wearing a shirt to addition to his star-pattern Smurf hat and pants which he wears since his 150th birthday.

Due to his seemingly extraordinary powers that he has above his own fellow Smurfs among many other things, Empath is given the appellation of "the luckiest Smurf", leading his being highly admired and envied by every Smurf in the village with the possible exception of Hefty, who sees Empath as a "star-smurfed freak". Empath, however, prefers not to be the constant source of admiration and works to the end of every Smurf being equally recognized for their potential worth. And despite the envy he feels towards his fellow Smurfs for having the kind of life in the Smurf Village that Papa Smurf has denied him, Empath cares for all of them and will fiercely fight to protect them.

Empath's mixed morality teachings from both the Psyches and the Smurfs came into conflict roughly a week before his final release from Psychelia when he and all the Psyches were commanded to fight each other one-on-one to the death. Prior to this happening, Empath had made a promise to Papa Smurf that whatever happens, he would not resort to taking the life of another being, as that would require his own life during the annual Redemption Day ritual that the Smurfs partake to test their innocence. However, during the fight, Empath continually refused to kill his opponent Polluxis, which resulted in the fight continuing until Empath was nearly injured to the point of death.

Spurred on by a vision of Papa Smurf that told him to do what he must to survive, Empath regained his strength long enough to finally defeat and kill Polluxis. The death of Empath's opponent at his hands had stained his soul and conscience to the point where he was forced to confess this fault to his fellow Smurfs in the following year's Redemption Day ritual, ultimately resulting in Empath's death as he swam across the Pool of Souls. However, the spirits of the Pool of Souls saw into Empath's heart and realized Empath did not kill Polluxis out of malice, but rather because he did everything he could to prevent his opponent's death, and thus Empath was given a second chance at life. From that situation, Empath resolved himself that he would never take any being's life again.

Empath's artistic talents in music, while professional, were originally overshadowed by the fact that he could never sing the [[Media:Smurfsong.ogg|Smurf song]] with any feeling of happiness. This ended up changing when Smurfette was being manipulated by Lord Vladimir Smurfula, a vampire Smurf who had mistaken Smurfette for his long-lost beloved Elismurfetta, through his "smurphony of the night" to become his beloved. In Empath's and Smurfette's escape from Vladimir's castle, he ended up using the Smurf song to ward off Vladimir and keep Smurfette from being entranced by his "smurphony of the night" long enough to defeat him once and for all by using sunlight on him. From that point on, Empath could be found singing the Smurf song with the same happy feeling as any other Smurf.

Role
Empath's current role in the village is that of an assistant counselor, given authority to operate as leader of the village should Papa Smurf be unable or unavailable to do so. If necessary, Empath can pass along those duties to Hefty, whom he finds equally capable of leading the village despite whatever personality conflicts they may have with each other. He also works as a teacher for the Smurflings and as a guide for Polaris Psyche in his acclimation to Smurf culture.

Clothing
For most of Empath's stay in Psychelia, he wore a basic black Psychelian bodysuit with silver cuffs on his wrists and ankles. During his visits to the Smurf Village, Empath wore a standard white Smurf hat and pants as did his Smurf brethren. It was only after his 150th birthday that the black star-patterned hat and pants became his standard clothing, although after the events of the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf novel he also wore a blue shirt, mostly due to his revived embarrassment of being seen in only a hat and pants.

Although Tailor Smurf mostly develops white clothing for the Smurfs because he sees it as traditional and "very distinguished", the star-patterned suit was designed specifically for Empath because he just couldn't see him in anything that was ordinary. Empath in particular prefers wearing the star-patterned suit over any other form of Smurf clothing. Because Psychelian culture considers it taboo to display nudity of any kind within its domain, Empath changes back to his Psychelian bodysuit whenever he returns from a visit, though when he left Psychelia for good, he changed into a Smurf hat and pants, as he is no longer considered a Psyche.

Possible Voice Actor
Empath would probably be voiced by either Michael Bell or by Robert Duncan McNeil, who plays Lt. Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager. Another possibility would be Robin Atkin Downes, who is the voice of Travis Touchdown in the No More Heroes game series.

Name Translations

 * French: Le Schtroumpf Empathe
 * Spanish: El Pitufo Émpata