PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 4: Rise of the Black Wings

(A/N: This section covers the Empress in Training chapter of the Grand Athenaeum, as well as some background stuff set before it that establishes the formation of the Black Wings.)

Over the centuries, Orchid spent all her time trying to find a way to revive her comatose brother. Eventually, she came across Gelimer, a scientist who specialized in medicine and biotechnology. Many years before he met Orchid, Gelimer had planned to conduct experiments in order to create the ultimate being, for which he had kidnapped several children in Edelstein in order to use them as test subjects. Of these children, one had been stolen while coming home from playing with his friends, Claudine, Elex, Belle, and Brighton. This child was turned into an android named Xenon, after which he was conditioned and trained alongside another girl who had been turned into an android named Beryl. 

When Orchid approached Gelimer, he was amazed at the perfect body that Lotus had been given by the White Mage. Though he promised that he would revive her brother, Gelimer secretly plotted to keep Lotus for himself and turn him into the ultimate android. Orchid then founded the Black Wings to carry out her plans and recruited members by claiming that she was planning to resurrect the Black Mage, who would grant them all their wishes.

In order to obtain a rich source of energy for Gelimer’s experiments, the Black Wings planned to take over the energy-rich city of Edelstein. Baroq the Master of Disguise transformed himself into the Council President in order to cripple the city’s government. The Black Wings then sent their forces in to swiftly conquer the city and take control of the rue mines.

They held the city hostage by threatening to destroy their Power Plant, which would wipe out the entire town. Next, they forced the citizens into hard labor and installed patrol robots and watchmen to monitor for any dissent. They kidnapped the old Council President’s daughter, Gabrielle, and kept her as a hostage in the Verne Mine. Finally, they installed a puppet ruler named Anthony as the Council President, who cracked down on police activity and airport functions in the city. 

With complete access to an enormous source of energy, Gelimer moved on to the next phase in his plan. He began experiments to create an augmented clone of Lotus’ body by making copies of his genetic code and splicing it with that of other creatures, magically enhancing the bodies with alchemy. However, while he conducted his genetic experiments publicly in the Verne Mine, they were merely for show, as he secretly funneled Black Wings resources into his own private research, creating a secret facility from which he conducted his android experiments away from Orchid’s prying eyes.

Gelimer also convinced Orchid to approve his Black Heaven project - a massive airship with which he would rain down bombs containing mind-controlling Retoxin gas. By turning Lotus into an android, Gelimer intended to have him be the center of a hive-mind comprised of every human being in Maple World, thereby evolving humanity to the next stage by erasing the concept of emotion.

Over the centuries, the Black Mage’s seal began to weaken as a result of the cracked Seal Stone. Though this meant that the Black Mage would soon return, it also meant that the curse on the Heroes would weaken. The first hero to awaken from the ice was Luminous, who had been sealed alongside the Black Mage during the final battle. After escaping the Temple of Time, Luminous managed to arrive in the forests of Ellinia before passing out. After regaining consciousness, he was greeted by a young girl named Lania and her talking cat Penny.

When he asked her to take him to Elluel, Lania was confused, as she believed that Elluel was a fairy tale, along with the Black Mage. After learning that centuries had passed since the sealing of the Black Mage, Luminous realized that the world was at peace and decided to settle down. He accepted Lania’s offer to come live with her, and the two spent many happy years together.

(A/N: I really love Luminous and Lania’s father-daughter relationship, we don’t get to see too many of those in the game.)

With the Black Mage’s seal weakening, the pirate hero who had sacrificed his existence centuries ago awoke in a space between dimensions, where he saw a light emanating from a dimensional crack. Hearing someone crying out for help, the hero crossed between dimensions and appeared in Grandis, where he saw a tiger monster attacking a fox Anima girl named Moonbeam, whose parents had already been killed by the creature.

Though severely weakened, Shade attempted to save Moonbeam by standing between her and the tiger. As he collapsed from the tiger’s attacks, the guardian of the fox Anima, the Fox God, appeared and defeated the tiger before bringing the hero back to her domain above the clouds. With the hero having risked his life to protect a fox Anima, the Fox God vowed to protect him, in turn. Realizing that the hero’s existence was unstable and fading, the Fox God began to pour her power into him in order to stabilize his existence over the years, though at the cost of weakening her and forcing her into slumber for a long time.

On Rien, a small clan who still remembered the legend of the Heroes held faith that the lost hero, Aran, who remained frozen on the island, would one day awaken. Over the centuries, the Rien Clan continued passing down the prophecy of the Heroes’ return, though many slowly began to lose faith. One by one, the clan began to leave Rien until only two siblings, Lilin and Neinheart von Rubistein, remained.

Eventually, even Neinheart lost faith in the prophecy and decided that he would rather take fate into his own hands by finding the lost descendent of Empress Aria, who could then become the next ruler of Maple World. However, Lilin and Neinheart got into an argument over his decision, and when Lilin refused to abandon Rien and her faith in Aran’s return, Neinheart left her behind.

After a long and difficult search, Neinheart succeeded in finding the descendent of Aria’s niece, a young girl named Cygnus. He brought her before the Senate of Ereve, hoping that they would recognize her as the heir to Ereve. Cygnus explained that though she was unsure whether she was part of the Empress’ bloodline, her departed mother had told her that their ancestors had come from Ereve.

Despite Cygnus’ uncertain tone and bearing, the Senators immediately knew the truth about her ancestry, as the natural elegance of an Empress could not be hidden. The elders then gave Neinheart one year to prepare her for her responsibilities as Empress, after which they would give their decision. In order to help prepare Cygnus for her evaluation, Neinheart summoned a wandering warrior who owed Neinheart a life debt. (A/N: This is the protagonist of the Empress in Training chapter of the Grand Athenaeum that you play as.)

Though the warrior was reluctant to help, upon seeing how young and innocent Cygnus was, they believed that they had no choice but to stay. During the spring, Neinheart focused on teaching Cygnus about the common sense and knowledge needed to become Empress, for which he sent the warrior to meet a dragon named Nix in Minar Forest. In exchange for eliminating some of the monsters in the forest, Nix gave the warrior a book that had been handed down since Empress Aria’s time, as well as a monocle for Neinheart, jokingly claiming that as a fellow bookworm, Neinheart would need it.

With the book, Neinheart began teaching Cygnus about the principle of ruling, not dominating, which came from exerting a ruler’s absolute authority only when all their subjects consented. Over the months, the warrior watched Cygnus grow in insight, occasionally even surpassing the elders with her wisdom. Nevertheless, the warrior couldn’t help but note that Cygnus was still quite young.

In the summer, Neinheart decided to focus in improving Cygnus’ charm and elegance. He sent the warrior to Kimu, who decided to make her a new dress. He explained that Ereve had always used special materials for the Empress’ dress, as simple fabric and dye couldn’t express her mystical and graceful nature. In order to collect the materials, the warrior traveled to Aqua Road and collected white, green, and black pearls, which Kimu used to make a magnificent new dress for Cygnus.

Though Cygnus continued learning and growing, she unexpectedly fell ill in the autumn. Neinheart sent the warrior to meet with Kiridu, who instructed them to obtain medicine from Mr. Do in Mu Lung. Mr. Do was surprised that an envoy of Ereve was searching for children’s medicine, as there were no children in Ereve. The warrior managed to change the subject and convinced Mr. Do to help. After the warrior obtained Glowing Antlers and Bellflower Roots, Mr. Do made the medicine, which the warrior brought back to Ereve.

Upon taking the medicine, Cygnus immediately felt better, to which Neinheart told her that they would spend the rest of the season on her recovery, as taking care of herself was also a crucial skill as an Empress. Cygnus then confessed that she was having doubts on her ability to become Empress, noting that if the Empress’ bloodline hadn’t been cut short, she would be living a normal life, though everything had changed when Neinheart had found her.

Though she knew that it was something that she had to face, she wondered whether someone as weak as her could take on Maple World’s destiny, as even thinking about it made her feel helpless. She then apologized for pulling the warrior and Neinheart down when everyone was working so hard for her, as she knew that she didn’t have a choice on the matter when she was the last of her bloodline.

However, Neinheart replied that she didn’t have to become Empress if she didn’t want to. He explained that he was speaking from his heart when he said that he believed that everyone had the right to choose their own destiny. He told Cygnus that in his hometown of Rien, a prophecy had been handed down to their clan about a hero returning to fight against the Black Mage. However, the prophecy had never come true, and many of the Rien Clan had left one by one, leaving only himself and his sister.

He recalled how Lilin had believed that he was simply running away like everyone else, though Neinheart had insisted that he was merely finding another way, as he had strongly believed that he could trace the Empress’ descendants through research. Though he had asked her to come with him, Lilin had refused, claiming that she didn’t need him, as she would wait for the true hero, Aran. After Neinheart had left, she had shouted that she would never call him brother again.

Neinheart told Cygnus that though he had left Rien and Lilin behind, he didn’t regret it at all, as he had chosen her, not the hero. He explained that everyone needed to make their own destiny, as no one could force the other, even by putting a grand reason like ‘saving the world’ on it. He claimed that he had rejected the prophecy and had chosen another path, and that if Cygnus chose not to be Empress, he would simply find another path, as he sought the end of the Black Mage, which was his choice, and no one else’s. He then left Cygnus to ponder his words.

Over the next few months, the warrior noted that Cygnus was often sick, and that it always took her a long time to recover. Meanwhile, in Edelstein, Black Wings henchmen reported to Orchid that an envoy of Ereve had sought out children’s medicine. In the winter, Neinheart noted that the final season was upon them before Cygnus’ evaluation.

He told the warrior that he wished them to find the Flower of Fate, which was often a knight’s token of loyalty to his lady in romantic stories, as he believed that it would empower Cygnus with strong will. The warrior obtained the flower in the mountains of El Nath and presented it to Cygnus, who was touched by the gesture.

At the end of the year, Cygnus was brought before the elders, who questioned her about her lessons. They asked Cygnus whether she was ready to shoulder the burdens of being the Empress, warning her that not only would her health deteriorate while absorbing the power of Shinsoo, but that there would also be many assassination attempts on her life, not to mention the constant struggle of having the entire world depend on her leadership.

Before Cygnus could respond, word arrived that the Black Wings had invaded Ereve, as the kingdom's borders were weak without an Empress to use Shinsoo's power. Cygnus resolved to take on the responsibility of being the Empress and accepted Shinsoo's power, declaring that it was a choice that only she could make. With her leadership, the wandering warrior and the army of Ereve successfully repelled the Black Wings' invasion and Cygnus was crowned the next Empress of Maple World.

(A/N: Given that Shinsoo is an Ancient God who remains awake in the age of the Transcendents, it’s possible that the reason why Shinsoo needs an Empress to accept her power is because the power of the Transcendents is suppressing her, meaning that she needs to give that power to a vessel in order to use. Shinsoo’s power being the power of a god is likely also why the Empress struggles with absorbing such immense power until her body becomes strong enough to handle it fully.)

With word of her victory spreading, Maple World grew aware that a new Empress had been crowned, and that she had successfully demonstrated her strength by defending Ereve in crisis. With their debt repaid, the warrior took their leave and returned back to a life of adventure. Meanwhile, Cygnus hoped to grow their forces in order to defend Maple World against the Black Wings and the Black Mage’s return.