2007-2010 (Early Game-Big Bang)

December 2009: Evan

On a farm in Henesys, a young boy named Evan had a dream in which he met a large Onyx Dragon, who told him that he had been destined to become a Dragon Master. Upon awakening, Evan saw that the symbol on the dragon’s forehead had been imprinted on the back of his hand. After completing some chores around the farm, Evan was sent by his father to find a lost piglet.

As he approached it, he accidentally fell down a large covered hole in the ground and found himself in a forest exactly like the one from his dream. Instead of finding a dragon, however, he found an egg. Taking the egg, Evan climbed out of the hole and took the piglet back to his father. He then obtained an incubator from his brother Utah and placed the egg inside it. Soon after, the egg hatched and a baby dragon emerged from it. The dragon introduced himself as Mir and explained that their souls were now bound together by the Spirit Pact.

With Mir’s help, Evan learned that he was able to use magic, allowing him to quickly complete his other chores. After feeding Mir, Evan was sent by his father into town to deliver a letter to Chief Stan. Stan read the letter, which explained that there was a shortage of pig meat. Offering to help, Evan was sent by Stan to hunt Orange Mushroom caps.

Mir believed that helping people had to be the Dragon Master’s calling and urged Evan to find other people in trouble. Evan went to Rina’s house and met with Rina, who needed Blue Mushroom caps for a Blue Mushroom Porridge that she wanted to make for her sick friend, Maya. However, she warned Evan not to go near the monsters, as they were much more dangerous than Orange Mushrooms. At Mir’s insistence, however, Evan went anyways and brought the caps for Rina to make the porridge.

Soon after, Chief Stan contacted Evan and explained that he needed help with something, but he first wanted to test Evan’s strength before he entrusted him with the mission. He then asked Evan to bring back a puppet from the Crying Blue Mushrooms. After proving himself, Stan asked Evan to investigate the Golem Temple, as the Golems had become increasingly restless. At the Golem Temple, Evan found a mysterious building with a puppet hanging from it. He reported his discovery to Stan, who noted that the town could handle weaker monsters such as Pigs or Mushrooms, but Golems would be extremely dangerous. 

Soon after, Stan contacted Evan and told him that Camila, Utah’s girlfriend, had been kidnapped by the Golems while she had been out picking strawberries. Evan rushed to the temple and quickly defeated the Enraged Golem who had taken her. After bringing Camila back to town, Stan expressed his gratitude. (A/N: This is the origin of the kidnapping first mentioned in Aran’s storyline.)

Wondering about the cause of the Golems’ behavior, Stan asked Evan to speak with Camila about anything strange that she might have noticed. Camila told him that she had seen Enraged Golems coming out of the same mysterious building that Evan had discovered. Stan then asked Evan to go into the building and eliminate the Enraged Golems to see if they had any clues. After doing so, Evan brought back a Golem puppet, confirming Stan’s suspicions.

As a final favor, Stan asked Evan to warn the other towns of Victoria Island. He asked Evan to go see Bruce, an archeologist who had been sent to study the Golems’ behavior, in order to have him explain the details to the other towns. Bruce told Evan that he couldn’t possibly go to every town on Victoria Island, and instead suggested that Evan ask Luke, a member of the Victoria Guard, as he could spread the word more easily. Bruce also suggested that it would be helpful if Evan brought evidence, and so Evan found a Golem puppet and took it to Luke. Though Luke was doubtful that a puppet could cause something so major, he nevertheless accepted Bruce’s word as a professional and agreed to warn the other towns. 

At Luke’s request, Evan traveled to Perion to warn Ayan, a resident of the town, about the monsters. Ayan then asked Evan to accept a position with the Victoria Guard and help around the town. After consulting with Mir, he accepted the position and was made into an honorary guard, as he was too young to be an official one. For his first mission, Evan was asked to find an Explorer who had gone missing in northern Perion. He found the missing Explorer, Christopher, who was severely dehydrated. Evan brought him Cold Stump Sap in order to help quench his thirst.

He then reported back to Ayan, who asked him to update the warning signs around Perion to ensure they were up to date with correct information. After fixing the signs, Evan learned from Ayan that Smirking Ghost Stumps had been discovered, just as Evan had warned, and asked him to see if they had a puppet in them as well. Evan successfully returned with a puppet and, realizing the magnitude of the situation, Ayan decided to call in official Victoria Guard members to defend the town. Though Evan was no longer needed, she told him that because of his actions, he had grown more famous. She also told him that others around Victoria Island would benefit from his help as well. 

(A/N: At the start of the next paragraph, Mir will experience a metamorphosis, which is meant to be Evan’s 2nd job advancement. At the time of Evan’s release, he actually had ten job advancements, with Mir slowly evolving over the course of each one. This was changed during his skill revamp during the Heroes of Maple update.)

Soon after, Mir went through a metamorphosis and grew larger as Evan became stronger. Realizing that he knew very little about dragons, Evan decided to research more about Mir’s species. They went to Henesys to find Jay, Chief Stan’s son, and asked him if he had any books on dragons. Jay told him that he did, though he only allowed Evan read it at the house, as he had been meaning to read it himself. Evan read that Mir’s species was part of a category called Special Dragons, but details about Special Dragons were in the next volume of the book. Jay suggested that they visit the Magic Library in Ellinia in order to find the next volume. There, Grendel told them that the book had already been checked out.

After a long search, Evan finally tracked down the owner and obtained the book. He then discovered that Mir was a type of Special Dragon called an Onyx Dragon, whose souls were completed after forming Spirit Pacts with humans who possessed a soul of the same frequency. However, he also discovered that Onyx Dragons were said to be extinct. Refusing to believe that he was the last of his kind, Mir insisted that they do more research. Evan asked Grendel about Onyx Dragons, who told them that his friend, Chief Tatamo of Leafre, was a Halflinger, a race of dragon experts, and promised to ask him more about Onyx Dragons. 

Some time later, Grendel summoned Evan and Mir back to the Magic Library and told them that Chief Tatamo had gotten back to him and had confirmed that he had information on the Onyx Dragons. However, he explained that Tatamo hardly talked about the Onyx Dragons, even to him, as though there was something about the topic that Tatamo felt guilty about.

When Evan asked if there was any way to convince Tatamo to share what he knew, Grendel told him that Tatamo might help if Evan were to give him an Onyx Dragon scale. Evan asked Mir for a scale, but Mir refused and told him that it would create a bald spot on his hide. After Evan persuaded him with shrimp and fish from Gold Beach, Mir reluctantly allowed Evan to pluck a scale. Evan brought the scale to Grendel, who told them that he would let them know what Tatamo said.

(A/N: Originally, Mir would ask Evan for Skeledog’s Bones, claiming that he needs the calcium to make up for his lost scale. Back then, Skeledogs were lower level than they are now, and when their level was adjusted, the quest was changed to have Mir ask Evan for shrimp and fish from Gold Beach.)

Soon after, Evan and Mir were contacted by Grendel, who told them that Tatamo was very curious about how Evan had managed to obtain an Onyx Dragon’s scale and wanted to meet him. Grendel offered to teleport them to Leafre, though he warned them not to roam outside the town, as the monsters in Leafre were far stronger than they could handle.

At the Halflinger village, Tatamo was both amazed and relieved that an Onyx Dragon still lived, and a young one at that. When Evan asked how the Onyx Dragons had gone extinct, Tatamo merely told him that a dark force had wiped them out centuries ago, though he claimed that he had no idea why. He offered to let Mir stay in Leafre, where he would be cared for by the Halflingers, but Evan and Mir both refused and told him that they belonged at each other’s side.

Tatamo laughed and said that he understood, adding that Mir’s existence made him all the more determined to find another Onyx Dragon. After leaving Leafre, Mir told Evan that he felt sad thinking that he was the last of his species. However, he reassured Evan that he still had hope that other Onyx Dragons still existed.

Soon after returning to Victoria Island, Evan and Mir were contacted by Sabitrama, a shaman from Sleepywood. Sabitrama had heard stories about Evan’s heroic actions around Victoria Island and wanted to request the young Dragon Master’s help. He explained that someone had stolen his bag of herbs, which he used to make medicine, and suspected that the culprit was a thief from Kerning City. Evan went to Kerning City to investigate, where he ran into Alex, Chief Stan’s runaway son. Alex asked Evan about the latest news from Henesys ever since he had run away in exchange for a tip to seek out JM From tha Streetz, who knew everything in Kerning City.

JM demanded a fee of Stirge Wings for information, after which he told Evan that it was unlikely that anyone from the city had taken the herbs, as potions were much more convenient in modern day. Because of this, JM suspected that the thief had taken the herbs in order to use them rather than to sell them. He told them to speak with Nella, whose keen sense of smell might help them find the herbs.

Evan explained the situation to Nella, who was offended by Sabitrama’s belief that the thieves of Kerning City were criminals, explaining that the thieves of Kerning City merely adopted a particular aesthetic, and that they had no interest in taking other people’s livelihoods. She swore to Evan that the thief wasn’t from Kerning City and resolved to find them herself in order to restore Kerning City’s honor. 

Some time later, Nella contacted Evan and told him that she had sent her men to gather information on the thief, and that one of them had found a clue in Sleepywood. However, he had been attacked by Wraiths on the way back to Kerning City and had lost his report. Evan and Mir recovered the report in the Kerning City subway and brought it to Nella. She explained that the report was written in a secret code that only thieves used. After translating it, she learned that the thief had gone to a cave at the end of the forest in Ellinia.

Inside the cave, they found a lone puppet, who explained that his master had been injured while fighting his enemies. Since the puppet had no money to buy potions, he had stolen the bag of herbs in order to heal his master. As his master’s wounds still hadn’t fully healed, he begged them to bring him some potions in order to help his master.

(A/N: The puppet’s master is Francis, who was injured while fighting Aran and the Cygnus Knight.)

After bringing him the potions, the puppet thanked them and returned the bag of herbs. Evan returned them to Sabitrama and told him how Nella had aided him in recovering the herbs. Sabitrama felt ashamed for his prejudice against Kerning City and asked Evan to apologize to Nella on his behalf. After Evan passed on Sabitrama’s message, Nella was pleased that Kerning City’s honor had been restored. 

Soon after, the puppet contacted Evan and told him that he needed bandages to treat his master’s wounds. Evan and Mir hunted Jr. Wraiths in the Kerning City subway and brought them to the puppet to use as bandages. The puppet was overjoyed and asked if they would be willing to join his master's secret organization.

Though the puppet didn’t know what the name of the organization was, he assured Evan that its members performed good deeds throughout Maple World. Evan believed that as a Dragon Master, he should join such an organization and accepted the puppet’s offer. The puppet told Evan that he would speak to his master and try to pull some strings in order to recommend him.

Soon after, the puppet contacted Evan and told him that his master had agreed to let Evan join, provided that he pass the entry test, which was to eliminate Ligators in the Swamp Region, as they were disrupting his master’s construction of a new base. (A/N: I don’t think that Francis ever has a base in the Swamp Region, this might be a dropped plot point.) After passing the entry test, Evan was told that there was yet another condition to join, which was to collect Croco skins. After Evan brought him the skins, the puppet told Evan to expect to hear from him soon.

Sure enough, the puppet soon told Evan that he had been accepted as a temporary member of the organization, though he added that Evan might soon be promoted to an official member after some time. He told Evan and Mir to go to the sixteenth floor of Orbis Tower, where they would find the details of their first mission behind a secret brick. He told Evan that upon becoming an official member, he would be able to meet directly with other members and choose which missions he wanted to accept.

The puppet then transported them to Orbis Tower, where Evan found a badge for the secret organization, as well as instructions to collect Rapid Growth Accelerants from the Muddy Swamp Monsters in Kerning City. Evan was also told to keep the instructions and the Accelerants behind the secret brick. After completing the mission, Mir wondered what the Accelerants would be used for, to which Evan suggested that they might be used to make crops grow faster. 

(A/N: This is the backstory for how the Giant Nependeath monsters were artificially grown in Aran’s storyline.)

Some time later, Evan and Mir were contacted by the Gentleman, who told them that he was the one who had given them their first mission. Evan asked if he was the owner of the puppet, but the Gentleman told them that its owner was Francis, whom he outranked. He also congratulated Evan and told him that the Rapid Growth Accelerant had been a big help to their organization, adding that even though Evan was not yet an official member, he had gone up in the ranks enough to be ready for his next mission.

He told Evan to go to the Forest of the Dead in El Nath, where he was to defeat the Decaying Coolie Zombies and take their Decaying Zombie Molars, after which he was to take the molars and go to the Chief’s Residence basement and exchange them with a goblin named Shammos. Though Evan and Mir had a bad feeling, they nevertheless completed their mission and gave the teeth to Shammos, who gave them a black key in return.

The Gentleman then told Evan to put the key inside a small stump on the outskirts of town, explaining that another member of the organization would come pick it up. Mir was excited about having completed yet another mission and asked Evan if he felt as though they had done something good for the people of Maple World.

Though he was confused about the purpose of the mission, Evan agreed that defeating the zombies must mean that they had done some good. Mir then wondered why the organization was so clandestine, as no one would know about their good deeds if the organization was secret. Evan supposed that it wouldn’t be humble of them to brag about their good deeds. Soon after, Mir experienced another metamorphosis and grew even larger as Evan’s magical mastery increased. 

(A/N: This next part is Evan’s mount quest at level 60, which also coincides with his 3rd job advancement.)

Meanwhile, Grendel contacted Evan and asked how his research on Onyx Dragons was going. He had heard a rumor about someone on Victoria Island riding a dragon and wondered if Evan might be able to ride Mir. Mir told him that it was possible, but that Evan would need a saddle, as well as lessons on how to ride a dragon. Evan asked Grendel where the dragon rider could be found and learned that they were in Perion.

There, they met the dragon rider FangBlade, who told them that he could teach Evan how to ride a dragon if he were to find a mount. FangBlade suggested that they try checking Ereve, as many of the people there rode birds. (A/N: This quest is really cool, as you can talk to the FangBlade NPC to get the mount skill. Outside GMS, I believe the NPC you speak to is called the Dragon Warrior.)

In Ereve, Neinheart demanded that Evan state his name, job, and purpose, as Ereve was a restricted area. Evan was confused, as he had seen many people entering and leaving Ereve. Neinheart explained that they were Cygnus Knights and ordered Evan to leave immediately. Evan persistently asked how Ereve made their mounts, but Neinheart once again asked Evan for his name, job, and purpose.

Evan introduced himself as a Dragon Master, which intrigued Neinheart enough that he resolved to look into what a Dragon Master was. He then told Evan that they outsourced production of saddles to Kenta in the Aquarium. With that, Neinheart insisted that they leave at once. They then went to speak with Kenta, who was intrigued by Mir. After taking his measurements, Kenta asked for Freezer Leather, a Seruf Pearl, and a service fee. After providing the items, Kenta made a saddle for Mir. They returned to Perion, where FangBlade taught Evan how to ride Mir.

Meanwhile, Grendel contacted Evan and told him that a new book had arrived in the Magic Library, which held a clue on the Onyx Dragons. When Evan arrived, Grendel showed him the book and explained that it was a voyage log written by John from Lith Harbor, which detailed his encounter with a dragon that had black scales and four golden horns while he had been marooned on an island covered in ice. Evan and Mir went to Lith Harbor in order to speak with John, who gave them a map to the island and told them to ask Teo to ferry them.

Teo told them that the route to the island was especially perilous, and that he didn’t have the skills to take them. However, he mentioned that Olaf, an experienced sailor, would be able to help them and suggested that they buy him a drink in order to persuade him. Evan bought Olaf his favorite drink, a Tropical Fruit Punch, and Olaf agreed to take them, although he said that due to the harsh conditions on the voyage, he would need a stronger ship. He asked Evan to bring Wooden Boards and Slates from the monsters at the Excavation Site in Perion in order to fortify the ship, after which he told Evan that he would reach out once it was ready. 

Some time later, Olaf let Evan know that he had finished fortifying the ship. Evan and Mir climbed aboard and, after a long voyage, they finally arrived on the island. (A/N: I’m not joking when I say that it was a long voyage. I think that it’s the only voyage left in the game that hasn’t been reduced by revamps to less than a minute. Each trip one-way takes 15 minutes, meaning that the round trip is half an hour, making Evan’s storyline one of the most tedious to finish.)

Mir was amazed at how quiet the island was, as the only noise came from the gently crashing waves. Directly in front of them was a large cave, inside which they found a large magical ice wall that separated them from what appeared to be a large Onyx Dragon. As they didn’t want to accidentally hurt the dragon, Evan decided to leave the ice wall alone and resolved to return after thinking of another way to get inside.

Meanwhile, Evan was contacted by the Gentleman, who began explaining his third mission. Evan interrupted him and asked to learn more about the organization, as he knew nothing about it, despite being a member. The Gentleman told Evan to come to the Frog House in Ludibrium, where he introduced himself as Hiver, a top leader of the Black Wings. He explained that the Black Wings did many things to help Maple World, but their primary goal was to bring back the ‘great' Black Mage.

Though he couldn’t elaborate too much, he told Evan that the Black Wings had been created to revive the Black Mage, and that his return would be the greatest thing that could happen to Maple World. With that, he gave Evan his third mission, which was to capture the ghosts of Secret Master Soul Teddies. While collecting them, Mir asked Evan if he had felt that something was off, as rumors stated that the Black Wings were the same organization hated by the people of Edelstein. Mir felt that he wasn’t sure whether they were on the right side or not. After returning to Hiver, Evan began to voice his concerns, but Hiver quickly dismissed him and said that he needed to focus on preparing the ghosts that Evan had collected.

Meanwhile, Hiver contacted Evan and told him that his preparations were complete. He gave Evan and Mir a pouch containing the spirits that they had captured and told them to use a special portal that he had created, which would take them to the Sky Terrace. There, Evan was to climb up a ladder and release the Master Soul Teddy spirits in order to chase everyone away. Evan and Mir followed his instructions and released the spirits, causing the guard who was patrolling the area to run away in fear.

Evan was confused about why he had been told to do this, and after returning back to Frog House, he attempted to question Hiver. However, Hiver interrupted him once again and promised to answer his questions after the mission was complete. He told Evan that thanks to his actions, a member of the Black Wings had been able to break through the first layer of security at the Sky Terrace. He then asked Evan to go further inside and defeat a monster called the Door Block. Evan and Mir returned to the Sky Terrace and encountered the Door Block, who called them thieves and denounced their audacity in trying to steal the Seal Stone of Ludibrium.

After defeating the Door Block, they returned to Hiver, who thanked them for their work and told them to get some rest, promising to contact them with their next mission soon. He then disappeared without having answered any of Evan’s questions. Evan and Mir agreed that there was something strange about the Black Wings, as things weren’t adding up about the missions that they had been completing.

Soon after, Hiver contacted them with their fourth mission, which was to obtain a map from Captain Hwang in Herb Town. He told them to ask the captain for a map of Turtle Island, as he would know what they meant. In Herb Town, Captain Hwang agreed to give them the map in exchange for defeating the pirates who had been harassing the people of Herb Town.

After Evan and Mir eliminated the pirates, the captain gave them the map, but warned them that the journey to the island was perilous and recommended that they don’t go. Evan then contacted Hiver to report their success. Hiver was impressed and teleported them to Frog House, where he told them that he had a fifth mission ready.

With the map, Hiver modified the special portal that had taken them to the Sky Terrace and explained that they could use the portal to get to Turtle Island. He then gave Evan a Gruesome Bone that reeked of dark energy and told him to place it on an altar inside the cave that they would find, after which they were to leave immediately, no matter what else they found. He explained that an evil being had placed a spell on the island that prevented the Black Wings from entering, which was why he needed Evan’s help. Evan reluctantly agreed and took the portal to Turtle Island.

Upon arriving, he and Mir immediately realized that Turtle Island was the same island that they had sailed to with Olaf. They entered the cave and placed the bone upon the altar, causing its dark energies to melt the ice wall between them and the Onyx Dragon. Hiver was pleased and told them to head outside, where a boat was waiting for them. Evan attempted to tell Hiver about the Onyx Dragon, but Hiver told him to ignore it and escape before the dragon awoke.

As they left the cave, Mir became increasingly frantic and told Evan that something was terribly wrong about the whole situation. Evan agreed with Mir and they decided to return to the cave, where they found Hiver and several Black Wings henchmen attempting to kill the dragon. Evan and Mir quickly defeated the henchmen and knocked back Hiver, who was impressed by their strength. He decided to retreat, but warned that they would be enemies once their paths crossed again.

The sleeping dragon then awoke and telepathically spoke to Evan, introducing himself as Afrien, the King of Onyx Dragons. Evan asked him why the Onyx Dragons had gone extinct and why Afrien was trapped inside the ice cave. Afrien told Evan the story of how he and Freud had formed the Spirit Pact, and how the Black Mage had destroyed the Onyx Dragons.

To elaborate, he showed Evan a memory of himself speaking with Freud shortly before they had stormed the Temple of Time. Evan witnessed how Afrien had asked Freud to take care of his egg if he were to fall in battle, and how, in turn, Freud had Afrien promise that he would do everything in his power to survive, as well as promising not to sacrifice himself on Freud’s behalf.

Evan then realized that Mir was Afrien’s child, though Afrien asked Evan not to tell Mir, explaining that he was as good as dead, and that the knowledge would only bring Mir pain. He told Evan that when the Black Mage had cast his curse on the Heroes, he had taken the curse in Freud’s place. He explained that the ice around his body had nearly melted, but that his body had become one with the island. Because of this, the animals who lived there would die if he were to move. Freud had cast a spell on the island to prevent anyone affiliated with the Black Mage from entering, and made it so that only a Dragon Master could awaken Afrien.

Evan asked how Hiver knew all this, to which Afrien said that it wasn’t important. (A/N: I mean, I think it’s kinda important…) He then added that the important thing was that Hiver had used Evan. He explained that since Hiver couldn’t enter the island himself, he had manipulated Evan into breaking the spell and awakening Afrien.

He then told Evan that his only wish was that Evan and Mir stop the Black Wings. As Mir hadn’t seen Afrien’s memories, he asked Evan to tell him what he had learned. Evan kept his promise not to tell Mir about his ancestry and instead explained that the Black Mage, far from being the force of good that Hiver had promised, was the one responsible for wiping out the Onyx Dragons.

Realizing that they had been manipulated, Evan and Mir decided to visit each of the places they had completed missions in in order to see what consequences their actions had wrought. In Orbis, they learned from Lisa that the Rapid Growth Accelerant had caused much harm due to the Giant Nependeaths it created, and that only the actions of a passing traveler had resolved the situation.

Next, they went to the Chief’s Residence in El Nath, where they spoke with the Magician Instructor Robeira. Evan asked if they had done good work by hunting the zombies, to which she responded that they had indeed. She told them that if it hadn’t been for the zombies, El Nath could have developed further such that they would have the resources to find a way to get rid of them. However, she warned them to take care of any zombie teeth that they recovered, as the teeth contained a dark corruptive energy. She told them that the corruption had taken hold of Shammos, who continued to perform misdeeds in spite of wanting to atone for his wrongdoings.

When Evan asked what Shammos had done wrong, Robeira explained that Shammos had been caught with a copy of the key to the basement of the Chief’s Residence. Although she had taken it away, she believed that he had likely made more copies and explained that there was an old treasure stored in the basement, which needed to be protected at all costs.

(A/N: The treasure was meant to be the Seal Stone of El Nath, although Phantom’s storyline created a continuity error with this quest, as it was revealed that the Seal Stone of El Nath was hidden in Orbis Tower.)

In Ludibrium, they spoke with a guard named Marcel, who told them that the Door Block had guarded an important treasure. Although no one knew what the treasure was, its theft had been a major incident in Ludibrium. After realizing just how badly their actions had inflicted misfortune on the people of Maple World, Evan and Mir were furious and decided to confront Hiver at Frog House in order to get revenge. There, Hiver told them that while they had been useful for a time, they had become nothing more than hindrances. Evan and Mir unleashed their full power, which overwhelmed Hiver enough that he retreated.

(A/N: This next part is Evan’s 4th job advancement.)

While Evan and Mir continued their training, Mir unexpectedly began shedding again, after which he grew much larger and powerful, appearing much more like Afrien, with dark scales and four golden horns. Mir told Evan that his strength grew with the strength of his master, meaning that Evan had grown stronger as well.

(A/N: At level 140, Evan can complete the Pink Bean prequests, during which he’ll need to return to the beginning of his adventures in order to recover his memories that Dodo ate. Evan will need to seek out Chief Stan in Henesys, where Stan will recall the day that Evan had come to town on an errand, and how he had never thought that Evan, who he affectionally calls Gustav’s shy little kid, would rescue Camila and go on to become a hero of Maple World. This last part is Evan’s level 200 quest.)

Mir soon felt Evan’s soul growing stronger and resonating with his own. Through the power of the Spirit Pact, they gained a new power that signified that they had become the true successors of Freud and Afrien.