2010-2015 (Big Bang-Heroes of Maple)

September 2010: Lion King’s Castle

(A/N: This storyline is a bit weird in terms of protagonist. In Chapter 3 of the Silent Crusade storyline, Krag called us to investigate a Mystic Gate at the outskirts of the Lion King’s Castle. In Chapter 4, it’s revealed that the reason why he had asked us to investigate in his place was because he was busy looking into anomalies in the Lion King’s Castle. It’s also revealed that during the events of Chapter 4, Krag has called several Crusaders as backup in order to investigate the castle. This leads me to believe that the events of the theme dungeon take place between Chapters 3 and 4.

Krag calls us the “pride of the Silent Crusade” at the end of this storyline and another Crusader named Wence later tells us in Chapter 4 that Krag had mentioned that we’re the best Crusader of our generation. This implies that at the very least, a Crusader is the protagonist of this storyline, with it being hinted that it’s the same Crusader as the protagonist of the Silent Crusade storyline because of the way that Krag lauds us in both questlines. Since he’s seen our skills first-hand in Chapter 3, it would also make sense for him to reach out to us specifically in order to help him investigate the castle. For the purposes of this section, I’m operating on the assumption that you’re the same Crusader from the Silent Crusader storyline.)

Soon after entering the castle, the Crusader heard a man calling for help and rushed to the First Tower, where the man introduced himself as Jenn the Locksmith. He explained that he had been born in El Nath, but that he had moved to Ludibrium in order to save up money. However, when he had returned home, he had found that his younger brother had gone missing.

After searching all over El Nath, he had made his way to the Lion King’s Castle. He had thought that it was strange that the path to the castle was open, as it had normally been closed for many years. Inside the castle, he had discovered that his brother was a prisoner. Though he had tried to save his brother from the jailors, he had realized that he was too weak to free him or to escape, as the monsters in the castle grounds kept him trapped in the First Tower, where he had been calling for help.

The Crusader agreed to help rescue his brother, and so Jenn crafted a key to unlock the First Tower, allowing the Crusader to reach the roof and defeat the monsters guarding his brother. Jenn was overjoyed to see his brother and sent him back home to safety with a town return scroll. (A/N: After finishing this quest, you can actually find Jenn’s brother chilling in El Nath.)

As thanks, Jenn promised to help the Crusader by making keys to unlock the other towers. Soon after, the Crusader heard the voice of Luden, the guardian of the castle, who told them that he would be waiting for them at the Fourth Tower. In order to reach him, he told the Crusader that they would need to break the wards on the first three towers. He instructed them to first defeat the Red Crockies on the roof of the First Tower in order to break the first ward.

The Crusader then gathered the necessary materials from the monsters in the castle grounds and gave them to Jenn, who crafted a key to the First Tower, allowing the Crusader to enter and break the ward. (A/N: I have no idea why you have to create another key to the First Tower after you literally unlocked it in the last quest. I’m guessing that the door magically changes the locks each time it gets opened or something.)

Next, the traveler helped Jenn craft the key to the Second Tower, where they defeated the Prison Guard Boars and broke the second ward. Finally, Jenn created the key to the Third Tower and the Crusader broke the final ward by defeating the Prison Guard Rhinos. The Crusader then entered the Fourth Tower, where they met the ghost of Luden. Luden explained that he was a knight who had served his king, Von Leon, many centuries ago. Though their kingdom had been poor, Von Leon had been a benevolent king who had ruled with his beloved wife, Ifia. However, everything had changed when Von Leon had pledged his loyalty to the Black Mage and driven the kingdom to ruin. 

While investigating the castle, the Crusader discovered a ghost named Murt, who explained that he had traveled from El Nath several days ago in search of the Lion King’s Medal. However, he had been killed by Von Leon near the castle grounds and his soul had been cursed to suffer in eternal agony. He gave the Crusader a letter that he had written to his family and asked them to deliver it to Alcaster to pass on to his family.

The Crusader returned to El Nath and gave the letter to Alcaster, who was annoyed because he had warned Murt not to go to the castle. Nevertheless, he gave them a crystal that could lift Von Leon’s curse. The Crusader used the crystal on Murt, who was overjoyed that he was no longer cold or in pain. (A/N: As a token of his appreciation, he offers to sell us Royal Von Leon gear in exchange for Royal Von Leon Tokens. I don’t see why he can’t just give it to us for free. He’s a ghost, what does he need to make a living for anyways?)

The Crusader then continued to the Fifth Tower, where they heard the cries of another ghost asking them to come to the roof. There, the Crusader encountered the ghost of Queen Ifia, who told them that she had been calling to her husband for centuries, though he had never once acknowledged her. She asked them to speak with Von Leon to see if he still remembered her, as she feared that he no longer cared for her. In the Audience Room, the Crusader met Von Leon and told him that Ifia’s ghost had been calling to him, but Von Leon called them a liar, claiming that he would have known if his beloved wife were a ghost, and threatened them to never speak her name again.

The Crusader returned to Ifia and told her that Von Leon still remembered her, but that he couldn’t see or hear her. Elated that Von Leon hadn’t forgotten her, Ifia asked the Crusader to help her make herself known to Von Leon. She told them that he had once built a Rose Garden for her, and that there was a reminder of their shared memories still inside. She first asked them to find the key to the garden from the Grey Vultures, after which she told them the story of how she had first met him.

At the time, she had been a commoner who sold flowers in the kingdom. One day, Von Leon had disguised himself as a commoner during a festival and had been roaming the grounds alone. When she had run into him, she had thought that it was strange that he didn’t have a single flower on him throughout the festival. Eventually, the two had fallen in love and wed after Von Leon had proposed to her with a snow rose. Soon after, he had built the Rose Garden inside the castle in her honor.

She asked them to find a Flower Book inside the garden and present it to Von Leon, hoping that it would help him believe that she still waited for him after centuries. The Crusader brought the book to a surprised Von Leon and explained that Ifia had told them where to find it. Though Von Leon knew that only he and Ifia knew of the book, he still couldn’t believe the Crusaders’ story, as he refused to accept that he couldn’t hear Ifia’s voice when they could. The Crusader returned to Ifia and told her about what Von Leon had said. They then asked her what had caused his abrupt change, but Ifia told them that she couldn’t remember much and said that one of the knights may still remember.

The Crusader returned to Luden, who explained that because their kingdom had been poor, the people hadn’t feared the Black Mage’s rise, as they had believed that the kingdom had nothing to offer him, because of which they had thought that he would spare them. Soon after, a coalition had formed against the Black Mage and had asked Von Leon to join them. (A/N: They refer to this coalition as an alliance, but I’m refraining from using the word to avoid confusing it with the Maple Alliance. This is the same group as the Anti-Black Mage Coalition that I’ve mentioned in previous sections.)

However, the people had refused to fight against the Black Mage, as they didn’t want to sacrifice their lives needlessly when they were sure that the Black Mage wouldn't attack them. Von Leon had gone to negotiate with the coalition, but while he had been gone, the coalition had branded the citizens as minions of the Black Mage and had attacked the kingdom. Von Leon had returned to find his kingdom in flames and his beloved wife killed. Driven to despair and fury, he had sold his soul to the Black Mage in order to exact revenge on the ones who had destroyed his kingdom.

(A/N: I like the added dimension of grey morality here with the way that the people of El Nath had turned on their neighbors. It really serves to show how terrifying that time during the rise of the Black Mage was, and how scared the people of Maple World must have been to be so suspicious of everyone around them.

There’s a common misconception that the Black Mage was the one who had attacked the kingdom and framed the coalition, which I had also believed until recently. That belief likely comes from a GMS-exclusive short story that Nexon released, which reveals that the Cygnus Knights had planned to attack Von Leon’s kingdom out of fear that he would join the Black Mage, only to find that some unknown group had already attacked the castle. The Knights had accidentally left a token behind when they had discovered Ifia’s body, which had led Von Leon to believe that the Cygnus Knights had been the ones responsible.

While it’s implied that the unknown assailants were minions of the Black Mage, this story isn’t canon for two reasons: first, it’s GMS-exclusive, meaning that KMS hadn’t commissioned it, and second, it implies that the Cygnus Knights had been around at the time, which isn’t possible. Early writers seemed to think that the term “Cygnus Knight” was interchangeable with the royal army of Ereve, resulting in issues like this. They even did it in the Winter Bard storyline, in which Von Leon explicitly blames the Cygnus Knights for Ifia’s death. Fortunately, they’ve started distancing themselves from using the term in storylines set centuries ago.)

Luden believed that though fear and pain could warp one’s judgement, the actions of the coalition didn’t seem to make sense to him. However, to prove the coalition’s betrayal, he asked them to hunt Castle Golems, which he explained had been knights of the kingdom before they had been warped into monsters.

The Crusader found several medals on the golems, which Luden explained were symbols of the coalition, who had sent spies amidst their ranks. Luden could see that the Crusader felt sorry for Von Leon, but he urged them not to feel pity. He explained that though the king’s rage and sadness were understandable, it was unjustifiable for him to have sold his soul to the Black Mage. He added that Von Leon had already had his revenge, and that it was time to break the cycle, even if it meant putting the king down. 

The traveler returned to Ifia and explained what they had learned from Luden. Ifia told them that she had originally resented Von Leon for the change in his behavior, but having learned the truth, she was determined to turn him back. She told them about a secret passageway that only she and Von Leon knew about and resolved to meet her husband. She asked them to accompany her to the Audience Room, as she needed someone to defend her from the monsters along the way. (A/N: I thought that the one bonus of being a ghost is that you don’t take damage. Also, can I just say that she moved so slowly in this quest that I think that I might’ve died myself while waiting for her.)

In the Audience Room, Von Leon was shocked that the Crusader had discovered the secret passageway. The Crusader revealed that Ifia had told them about it, and that Ifia herself was standing with them. When Von Leon still couldn’t sense her, he wondered whether it was punishment for having sold his soul to the Black Mage.

Defeated, he gave the Crusader a pendant containing Ifia’s picture and told them that he didn’t deserve her memory. The Crusader and Ifia returned to the Fifth Tower, where Ifia told them that she was touched that Von Leon still had the pendant after centuries, wondering whether it was proof that he was still a good man deep down. She thanked the Crusader for their help and explained that she would continue clinging onto the hope that Von Leon would one day return to his old self.

Soon after, Luden told the Crusader that that they would need to face Von Leon in order to put him down, but they would first need to defeat Prison Guard Ani, a monstrous creature who had one day appeared out of nowhere and consumed all the benevolent souls in the castle before blocking the way to the King. There, the Crusader fought Prison Guard Ani.

With Prison Guard Ani defeated, the path to the Audience Room was laid bare, although Luden told them that they would need a Knight’s Magic Scroll to reach Von Leon. (A/N: I don’t know why we can’t just take the secret passageway again.) Following Luden’s instructions, the Crusader obtained an old scroll from the Castle Golems, which Luden restored with his ghostly powers. The Crusader then defeated the Grey Vultures, whose influence was diminishing the scroll’s magic. The Crusader then entered the Audience Room and faced Von Leon. After a fierce battle, the Crusader emerged victorious and returned to Luden. Luden thanked them for their actions, but explained that Von Leon had only been weakened. Since his powers were tied to the Black Mage, Von Leon could never truly fall until the Black Mage’s power had been driven from his body.

(A/N: Since the Black Mage is now dead, I wonder whether Von Leon has regained his humanity. Nexon seems to have forgotten that Von Leon exists, as his last chronological appearance was in Zero’s storyline, ten years ago. Technically, he appeared in one of the flashbacks for the Genesis Weapon liberation questline, but that flashback was chronologically set even before Zero’s class story. If I had the power to shape the lore, I’d have Von Leon, Lucid, and Orchid appear as an ex-Commander trio in the Grandis story.)