Legacy of Masteria

Chapter 2: Phantom Forest

Lita Lawless called the traveler back to New Leaf City, explaining that strange activities had been reported in the Phantom Forest to the west of the city. The traveler returned back to New Leaf City and asked Lita about what she meant, to which she explained that most of the people who had set out to explore the Phantom Forest had never returned, with the few who had come back shutting themselves in their homes, muttering about strange bandits, living trees, and red knights that attacked without warning. As she couldn’t travel too far from the city, she asked the traveler to investigate the Phantom Forest in her stead. Just then, a group of knights appeared and told the traveler that they would also join the expedition. The knights introduced themselves as the Afinas Relief Squad, composed of Riman, Enneth, and a Devata named Garnet.

(A/N: Something that I’ve noticed is that most of the members of Afinas have blond hair, with the exception of some people like Alika and Butler. In particular, Devatas like Garnet and Janyt are blonde girls with red eyes and large hats. It gives me some weird Nazi master race vibes and I’m not sure whether that’s intentional in order to hint at the more insidious purposes behind Afinas.)

Enneth explained that they had been dispatched in order to preserve the unearthed knowledge hidden in Masteria, as well as to help keep the public order in New Leaf City. The surprised traveler asked why Afinas had been sent to Masteria at such a time, to which Riman explained that Afinas was an organization founded to save mankind through knowledge. He told the traveler that its relief squads were the essence of Afinas’ goals, and that they were sent wherever needed.

He then introduced himself as the veteran of the team, with Enneth being their brains, and Garnet simply introducing herself by name. When Lita refused to allow them to join, believing them to be mercenaries soliciting their services, Riman protested that the mayor himself had called them, as he wanted them to help recover Dr. Yoon and his team, with whom he had recently lost contact. (A/N: As a reminder, Dr. Yoon is the new lead of the Masteria researchers after Dr. Jang’s disappearance.)

Sighing in resignment, Lita told them to first speak with Corine in order to learn what was happening outside the city. Upon seeing Corine, Riman was surprised to learn that she was a Krakian. Corine was pleased to see the traveler again and explained that she had been continuing her observations of the corrupted Krakians with Elpam. Corine asked the traveler who the knights were, to which Garnet shortly greeted Corine in the Taru language, with Riman scolding Enneth for forgetting his Krakian, which he claimed was one of the fundamental basics of a good relief squad soldier.

(A/N: He likely means that they had specifically learned Krakian for this mission in Masteria, but the wording makes it sound like knowing the Krakian language itself is something that all Afinas members must do, and since we later learn about Afinas’ ties to Subani, I’m curious if that’s exactly how they meant to phrase it.)

Corine was pleasantly surprised that they also knew the Krakian language, but her face darkened when the traveler asked her about the Phantom Forest. She explained that the forest was part of the great woods which had come to be haunted by the ghosts of those who had died in the great war a thousand years ago, describing it as a horrifying place filled with loathing and loss, adding that she had once experienced it while passing through the area with her allies.

The traveler asked about her allies, whom Corine explained hailed from the Raven Ninjas, a group descended from the Shadowknights. (A/N: The original Masteria storyline called them the Raven Ninja Clan, although the revamp renamed them slightly.) Though she hadn’t been in contact with them for a while, Corine explained that they had likely built a camp in the Phantom Forest. She then wrote a letter of introduction for them, adding that the Raven Ninjas were an honorable organization that carried on the spirit and traditions of the Shadowknights.

(A/N: I realized that I don’t really describe the personalities of a lot of characters in this writeup much. For the main story, it’s easy to ignore, since most people have played it and are aware of what every character is like. In this case, I know that this is the first time a lot of people have been exposed to the characters, and so your opinions on the story are probably formed more based on the content, rather than the characters. I’d highly recommend playing through the story, or even watching a video of it, as a lot of the characters’ personalities are shown through comic relief in this section, which I’ve skipped over.

In short, Riman is big, broad, and hefty, with a grandiose personality that strives to uphold Afinas. Enneth is a bit of a nerdy wimp and Riman scolds him a lot, and so he’s kinda timid. Garnet is silent and composed, as all the Devatas of Afinas are, and she has a very dry sense of humor that shines through in how deadpan she delivers it. I don’t think I’ll be covering those sorts of humorous moments unless they’re relevant to the plot, and so I hope that you get some idea of what the three of them are like through my small descriptions.)

The group then entered the Phantom Forest and quickly picked up on its dangerous atmosphere, which was heavy with the scent of blood. Noting that it was just as bad as it had been when they had entered the forest with Becky long ago, the traveler continued leading the Afinas relief squad through the forest, eerily aware of the feeling that they were being watched.

Suddenly, the group came across a squad of corrupted knights. As they fought through the endless waves, Riman suggested retreating, as they couldn’t hope to survive the onslaught. The group immediately retreated and managed to escape, continuing on through the forest. Retching at the rotten stench in the air, the group soon came across a wave of corrupted tree monsters, which Garnet noted to be unholy beings. (A/N: As we proceed through these fights, the infamous sanity system starts to take hold of us, distorting our vision and giving me a migraine with its effects.)

Once again, the group retreated after realizing that there was no end to the monsters, finally coming to a safe clearing. Riman asked the traveler if they had encountered such monsters in their last visit, but the traveler noted that it was the first time that they had seen the corrupted knights and trees. (A/N: Which is a blatant lie because we totally saw the corrupted knights, even if we didn’t see the trees.) Riman explained that he had been able to chart a path to the clearing from the city, which would be helpful for future visits. (A/N: This is basically the backstory for us being able to take the NLC taxi to the Phantom Forest.)

Just then, he heard the strange sound of metal scraping on metal, with Enneth noting that he also heard the sound of horse hooves. As the group’s vision turned a blurry red, the Headless Horseman appeared, laughing. The traveler immediately felt the same sense of fear that they had felt during their first mission to the forest with Becky as they, as well as the Afinas Knights, found themselves unable to move, paralyzed by fear. As the traveler desperately attempted to will themselves to move, Garnet called upon the divine protection of Afinas, breaking them free of the mysterious force.

The group immediately fled in terror and soon arrived in a strange camp. The traveler asked Garnet what she had done, to which she explained that she had called on the divine protection of Afinas, which was a light that mended the injuries of bodies and mind, allowing them to conquer the fear which had kept them frozen. She added that it was both the power and responsibility bestowed upon the Devatas of Afinas.

She then noted that the Phantom Forest pervaded the minds of those who entered with fear, driving them to madness and hysteria, and though the divine protection of Afinas could purify the mind, the oppressive nature of the forest limited her use of the power. (A/N: This is basically the mechanism that resets your sanity while in the Phantom Forest, which Garnet can do up to 3 times a day.)

Just then, a young man from the camp demanded to know why they were trespassing, to which the traveler retorted by asking who he was, though the man refused to answer and threatened them with a blade. The traveler then asked whether he was the one responsible for the missing people in the forest, causing him to laugh and claim that though he and his band had no role in it, those who came wandering and got lost shouldn’t have come in the first place.

He then tasked the group with defeating the dangerous Phantom Trees around the area before he agreed to answer any questions. After the traveler defeated the trees, the man was impressed by their skill and, with the traveler having made the forest safer, allowed them to remain in their camp, introducing himself as Taggrin of the Raven Ninjas. Enneth realized that they were the group that Corine had mentioned, and upon hearing her name, Taggrin told them that they should have said that they knew Corine, as she was one of the most trustworthy people he knew.

He then explained that the Raven Ninjas were descendants of the Shadowknights, and that they hailed from the barrier ocean to the north of Masteria. He revealed that the Shadowknights had built their own citadel while still residing in Crimsonwood Keep, which they called the Watchtower, retreating there and continuing to protect the Keep when the Krakians had attacked. However, Grandmaster Lireni, in an act of ignoble cowardice, had been determined to build a fleet in order to escape Masteria.

Though her decision had caused great conflict within the Shadowknights, the fleet had ultimately set sail shortly before Masteria had been consumed by an enormous light that sank the continent beneath the ocean, with its disappearance creating giant waves that destroyed most of the fleet, as well as countless records and artifacts. After the destruction of the fleet, the original Shadowknights had been scattered, no longer holding the ancient code of justice. However, Taggrin claimed that the Raven Ninjas had continued waiting for the return of Masteria, just as ravens waited for those who had gone, wandering the seas for centuries. As such, he explained that they had an obligation to restore the old artifacts of the Keep, as well as to hold funerals for their ancestors who lingered in the forest as vengeful spirits.

In order to help, the traveler fought the spirits of the old Keep soldiers and collected their ashes, which Taggrin used to put them to rest. The traveler then noted that Taggrin knew much about Masteria’s history, which Taggrin ascribed to Lireni, who he claimed had been a great historian, despite her cowardice. Because of her log, the Raven Ninjas had a record of all the actions that they still had to atone for.

When Riman asked if he could read the log, Taggrin told him that he had already offered it, as well as the other artifacts in their possession, to researchers who were studying the Phantom Forest. When Enneth asked why he would so casually give out precious artifacts, Taggrin explained that the Raven Ninjas had come to Masteria in order to atone for Lireni’s actions, as well as to investigate the reason behind Masteria’s return, and that he believed that collaboration was the best way to achieve those goals, as there were passages in the log that even they hadn’t been able to decipher.

He noted that he hadn’t heard from the research team in a while, though he knew that they were last doing field work around Crimsonwood Mountain. The traveler and the Afinas Knights then began the treacherous ascent up the mountain and soon entered a cave, where the traveler was surprised to find Becky and a Nameless Warrior surrounded by corrupted knights.

After the traveler defeated the monsters, they asked Becky why she had come back to the mountain, to which a terrified Becky sobbed that she had come to find Dr. Jang, who had gone missing. The Knights recommended that she return back home, as it wasn’t safe for a young girl. Garnet then suggested that she remain under the protection of Afinas, which Becky agreed to, though the Nameless Warrior refused, explaining that they had just as many reasons to stay as Becky, although unlike her, they didn’t need any sort of protection.

When the traveler asked the Nameless Warrior who they were, the warrior paused before saying that they were someone who had taken to wandering, thinking back on the obligations that they had failed to fulfill. They then explained that Crimsonwood Keep, which the research team had been occupying, had been cut off by the corrupted knights, who had entered the Keep and threatened the researchers.

The Afinas Knights immediately agreed to help rescue them and asked the traveler to return to the Raven Ninjas in order to inform them of what had happened. Becky then gave Lireni’s log to the traveler, believing that they would have more use for it than her. The traveler returned back to the Raven Ninja camp and informed Taggrin of what they had learned at the mountain. Taggrin thanked them for returning the log and noted that they would exercise more caution, and that they would also work on defeating the invaders of Crimsonwood Keep. He then agreed to pay them for their service and promised to pay more in exchange for further missions. (A/N: This is how you unlock the Phantom Forest dailies.)

The traveler then asked Taggrin about the horseman whom they had encountered earlier. Taggrin explained that the horseman was named Master Killian. He told the traveler that Lireni’s log had indicated that Killian was a powerful Versalian warrior who had fought in the great war, though he himself was not a Grandmaster. He and his lover, the sorceress LeFay, had been major players in the great war until LeFay had been corrupted by Naricain’s Blood. Upon seeing his lover’s corruption, Killian had been consumed with rage and struck down both enemies and allies alike until Crimsonheart himself had killed him. However, the power of the Phantom Forest had revived his shade, which still bore the weight of his rage. (A/N: I personally prefer his original backstory with the Alchemist instead, it feels a lot more tragic.)

He also told the traveler about a special monster known as the Phantom of Naricain, and though he didn’t know if it was truly Naricain or not, he could confirm that it was a great threat and asked the traveler to kill it, as well as the Headless Horseman, if they encountered those monsters in the forest.

(A/N: After you defeat the Phantom of Naricain and finish the quest, Taggrin tells you that he believes that it was created by many of the forest’s spirits merging into a single, malevolent entity. This is similar to the Stone Colossus, although the Colossus was a benevolent spirit that was corrupted by Damien.

You also note that the moment you defeat it, it seems as though it had been released from some sort of seal. The Phantom Forest is unique because instead of Elite Monsters, you get Flamekeeper Siana, Shadowknight Dehiti, Windreaver Atlante, and Stormcaster Caeneus. Similarly, instead of the five Elite Bosses, you get the Headless Horseman, the Phantom of Naricain, and the Large Phantom Tree.)