PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 23: Red-Eyed Wanderer

(A/N: For those who are wondering about how Sacred Power fits into Ren’s story, the lore behind it is that a strange, oppressive aura had settled over certain areas of Grandis, which interfered with the manifestation of one’s innate skills. In order to counteract that aura, the researchers of Cernium had created Sacred Symbols containing Sacred Power, which lets us fight at our usual strength again.

That strange aura began settling over Grandis shortly after the death of the Black Mage, which is when the Ancient Gods began reawakening as the Transcendents’ influence over them waned. Because Ren’s storyline is set many years before the events of Tenebris and Convergence, that oppressive aura hasn’t appeared yet, which means that there’s no need for us to have Sacred Power.

Unlike many other Grandis classes, Ren’s storyline is very self-contained and has almost zero overarching connections to other parts of the Grandis storyline, despite having a decent amount of worldbuilding. Unfortunately, it’s still a bit too early to tell whether the new bits of worldbuilding will have any major significance in the story, but I will say that Ren’s story, despite being quite simple and short, is still pretty emotionally impactful at times.

Unlike many other storylines, most of Ren’s backstory has already taken place before the events of her 1-30 storyline, and the big reveals that happen are revealed only to the audience, not Ren herself. Because this site is intended to be written to be in chronological order, I’ve summarized the events of her backstory at the start of this section, which I personally feel helps make the story make way more sense if you know what’s going on beforehand, as Ren is a very non-reactive character and we really don’t get any sort of exposition or internal dialogue about her thoughts on the events of her backstory until it gets revealed to the audience at the climax.)

Many years ago, a rabbit Anima named Ren – a warrior with red eyes and silver hair – worked as a mercenary, having mastered the rare and powerful Plum Blossom sword technique. One day, Ren received a request from the Varga, who lived in the northern region of Grandis. Under the leadership of a High Priest, who served as an officer in the Central Army and the leader of a region called Dovengar, the High Flora executed the leader of the Varga and seized their territory, though the Varga leader’s subordinates managed to flee. The Varga then contacted Ren and asked her to escort them to southern Grandis, and though Ren was hesitant about accepting a job that would require her to cross the continent, she was unable to ignore their plea for help.

Ren helped the Varga secretly flee from their home, with the High Priest pursuing them with the Central Army. Eventually, the High Priest and his forces found Ren near the free city of Vallora, where Ren fought the High Flora in order to buy the Varga time to escape. Ren was injured in the battle and fled, eventually stumbling across a lake where she discovered a snake Anima named Saya, who saved Ren’s life. After saving Ren’s life, Saya explained that she was a hundred-year-old snake Anima who possessed the ability to freely transform between her Anima form and her serpent form.

Known to the people as the legendary Imoogi, Saya lived in a lake at the foot of a mountain. It was said that if Saya were to train at the lake for a thousand years, she could ascend to the heavens and become a dragon. As she trained in the water, Saya began wondering what it meant to be a dragon, and whether such a thing was even possible simply by training in the lake for a thousand years. Believing that she could not become a dragon by training in isolation, Saya abandoned her training after a hundred years and decided to explore the world with Ren, meeting people and performing good deeds in the hope of truly becoming a dragon.

During their adventures together, Ren and Saya traveled all across Grandis, visiting places such as Erimos and Ristonia, becoming close friends in the process. Eventually, however, Ren and Saya were discovered by the High Priest and his forces. In the battle, Saya was grievously wounded, though the pair were able to wound all the High Flora, with the High Priest eventually succumbing to his injuries. Since that day, Ren vowed to find a way to cure her friend, infusing her strength into Saya each day in order to sustain her. In Vallora, Ren joined the Explorers’ Guild and undertook missions to earn enough money to buy medicine for Saya.

(A/N: This is the end of the backstory and where Ren’s class story officially starts. We do technically get the lore about Saya in her intro, although all the references to Ren being the reason why she left the lake are omitted.)

One day, as Ren continued infusing her strength into Saya, Saya stopped Ren and told her that was enough, pointing out that Ren was growing weaker from it, and that she would soon be so weak that she wouldn’t even be able to catch a single squirrel, wondering how Ren the legendary red-eyed wanderer could be so innocent. Ren merely replied that she doubted that anyone would care, adding that Saya was the only one who even called her that. Saya asked Ren whether she really planned to give away all the strength she had accumulated over her life, to which Ren replied that it would be worth it if it could help Saya get better.

Saya began teasing Ren for liking her so much, though she then wondered quietly to herself how Ren would be able to live on her own in the future. Ren asked Saya what she had been saying under her breath, to which Saya quickly dismissed her words as nothing. Ren then decided to go find more herbs, dismissing Saya’s concerns about it being dangerous by claiming that she might not find what she needed come winter. Seeing that Ren was determined to leave, Saya decided to help her by bestowing what remained of her strength after her accident in the form of a glowing Yeoui Gem.

(A/N: Saya’s lore as the Imoogi and her Yeoui Gem are based on Korean folklore about the Imoogi, which is known as a Korean dragon. The Imoogi is a type of proto-snake that exists as a hybrid between a snake and a dragon, which is a reference to Saya’s quest to become a true dragon. A Yeoui Gem is known as a dragon orb, which Korean dragons hold in their mouths.

Although there’s not really much explicit lore about what exactly Saya is, it’s interesting to note that Saya is the only other Anima who can freely go between her Anima form and an animal form, with the other being Sino the Fox God. It’s stated that Sino is a Great Spirit, similar to what Guwaru is in Maple World, and so it might be the case that Saya is a Great Spirit as well, rather than just an ordinary Anima. At the same time, Saya’s quest to become a dragon is reminiscent of the idea of dragon Anima, which we know exist thanks to Shangri-La, in which we see that Ara the Blue Dragon and the unnamed dragon elder are both dragon Anima who have Eastern-style dragon horns without any tails or wings.

Given that both these dragon Anima are heavenly beings - sages blessed by the Overseers’ power - and with Saya’s thousand-year training being to become a dragon and reach the heavens, I have to wonder whether dragon Anima aren’t actually a naturally-occuring sub-species of Anima, but rather, a special transformative state for snake Anima who’ve undergone special training, which would make the idea of dragon Anima step slightly less on the toes of actual Nova, as I really hate how Nexon has diminished the importance of the Nova over the years.)

As Ren accepted the gem and headed out to find herbs, Saya noted forebodingly that giving Ren her power was the last of the preparations she needed to make before her time came. Ren then gathered the herbs and returned to Saya, who ate them and claimed that she felt much stronger now, though Ren was able to tell that Saya was clearly lying. As Saya decided to rest, Ren realized that normal herbs wouldn’t be of any help, and so she decided that the only way was to use the special elixir that the leader of the Explorers’ Guild had once told her about.

As Ren arrived at the guild headquarters, she quickly noticed a wanted poster with a drawing of her, with the text noting that she was wanted for the murder of the High Flora Priest and his soldiers. However, she decided that it had nothing to do with her and ignored it before meeting with the guild leader – a Nova named Karman. Karman noted that it had been a while since she had dropped by and told Ren that their last request had been a success thanks to her. He then asked her whether she was okay, as he had felt that she had been slightly injured earlier. Ren assured Karman that she was fine before asking whether the elixir he had spoken about had come in.

To her surprise, Karman revealed that he had already sold the elixir, adding that he had no idea when the next shipment would arrive for something so rare. Seeing her desperation, however, Karman agreed to point her towards the merchant who had bought it, revealing that she might be able to buy it off him. As Ren quickly rushed off, Karman watched her leave and noted to himself that Ren had seemed like quite a skilled warrior when he had first met her, and that she had mysteriously seemed to be growing weaker and weaker each day, causing him to wonder whether she had a chronic illness that she needed the elixir to cure. Looking towards the wanted poster, Karman also noted that the description of a red-eyed warrior with silver hair was quite unique, though he told himself that it had to be a coincidence.

(A/N: Quite possibly the stupidest part about this storyline is that Ren doesn’t even bother to hide her Anima features, despite it being shown that she knows how later in the story. She literally walks past a wanted poster of herself with the most “head empty no thoughts” attitude possible, and I can’t decide whether to question her intelligence or the writers’.)

Meanwhile, as Ren walked across the town square, she noticed a commotion taking place near the port, with a High Flora officer accosting a terrified boy. As the boy, Ginoire, begged for forgiveness, the officer – Rotusha – asked him why he was apologizing before giving him the chance to voice his issues with the High Flora. When Ginoire fearfully insisted that he had no problems at all, Rotusha reminded the boy about how he had just denounced the High Flora as murderers. Noting that Ginoire had lied on top of slandered, Rotusha ordered his men to arrest the boy.

As Ginoire begged the gathering crowd for help, some amongst the townspeople noted that Ginoire’s entire village had been wiped out by the High Flora, while others feared for their safety with the High Flora’s arrival, as many of them had fled to the free city of Vallora to escape the war. Meanwhile, Ren watched the scene and noted to herself that though she may have once been able to handle the number of High Flora soldiers present, she had grown far too weak for that now.

Because of this, she decided that she would not involve herself, as helping Saya was more important than anything else. As she rushed off, however, Rotusha noticed her departure and immediately recognized her appearance as the warrior with red eyes and silver hair that was wanted by the High Flora. Believing that he had found her at last, Rotusha noted the irony that after spending so long chasing after her, he had happened to stumble across her by pure chance.

Soon after, Ren met with the merchant – Lenos – who had bought the elixir from Karman. Ren asked Lenos about buying to elixir, to which he revealed that the elixir was a special blend of powerful herbs, and that its high price meant that it was usually only bought by High Flora Priests. Lenos noted that Ren didn’t seem to have much money and added that he couldn’t give it to her for free, even if she needed it to heal her friend. However, upon realizing that Ren worked for the guild, he offered to hold the elixir for her and sell it for 100 guild coins, which would allow him to trade with the guild in the future. He added that while he normally sold it to the High Flora, he would feel far better selling it to her instead.

As Ren agreed to the deal, a High Flora spy who had been listening in on the conversation returned to the ship and reported what he had learned to Rotusha. Rotusha grew convinced that Ren was the one who had killed his brother, noting that he had never thought that she would be hiding in such a place all along. From the spy’s report, Rotusha concluded that Ren’s sick friend was ‘the snake’ and hoped to finish them both off at once. He then ordered the spy to find out Saya’s hiding place, warning him not to get caught at any cost and threatening to kill the spy himself if he failed.

Elsewhere, Ren met with Karman and told him about the deal she had made with Lenos. Upon learning that she needed 100 coins, Karman cautioned her that taking on such high-paying commissions would put her at risk in her weakened state. As he couldn’t put a guild member in such danger, Karman decided that he would first give her low-paying commissions to help ease her back into it after the injuries she had sustained in her last mission. He first tasked her with recovering a lost necklace on the docks, which had been stolen by the sandpiper birds in the chaos after the High Flora ship’s arrival. After Ren recovered the necklace, Karman grew slightly more confident in her condition and then tasked her with thinning out the sandpipers to keep the town safe. Upon Ren completing her mission, an impressed Karman awarded her ten coins each for her commissions, noting that she only needed 80 more coins to get the elixir.

Soon after, Karman called Ren to headquarters for an urgent mission, revealing that one of Vallora’s citizens had been kidnapped by the High Flora during the altercation on the docks. He tasked Ren with finding the missing villager’s location aboard the High Flora ship and confirming whether they were dead or alive. He added that while her mission was only to find the villager, the guild was committed to keeping the town safe, even if it meant standing against the High Flora themselves. Using a High Flora soldier’s cap that Karman had given her, Ren infiltrated the ship and made it aboard to the bridge, where she began looking through the reports for information about the kidnapped citizen’s whereabouts.

The first report detailed how the High Flora had successfully conquered the lands of a minor region in the north. Though the region’s leader had been executed on the spot, the leader’s subordinates had fled and disappeared without a trace. The second report detailed how those criminals had been aided in their escape by an accomplice who had been spotted in a region called Dovengar, where the accomplice had eluded capture by killing Dovengar’s leader and injuring twelve other soldiers. A search had been conducted to find the accomplice, though no trace had been found. Eventually, the bereaved families put up a large bounty all across Grandis to find the killer and bring justice to the fallen officers.

(A/N: One thing that frustrates me with Ren’s storyline is that all the interesting parts of her life are things we only get exposition about in the form of backstory, rather than seeing it all play out on screen. My biggest criticism with her lore is that none of it actually has any overarching impact on the Grandis story, and it’s a bit sad to see because the idea of Ren being a mercenary who takes an active stand against the High Flora is quite possibly one of the most interesting premises for a class story.

As I mentioned at the start of this section, Ren was responsible for helping the Varga escape to southern Grandis after their leader was killed by Rotusha’s brother. It would’ve been very interesting for her 1-30 story to straight up be about that escape, with Rotusha’s brother being the main villain, rather than Rotusha himself. Something that’s been sorely missing in the Grandis storyline until recent years has been the complete lack of resistance movements against the High Flora.

The Primacy was introduced in the Carcion storyline as the major faction that opposes Darmoor, and just like how we see the Maple Alliance form through a series of incidents that push the various factions of Maple World too far, it would’ve been really cool to see the origins of how the Primacy formed in Ren’s class story. The idea of Ren killing a High Priest while helping the survivors of a massacre escape should’ve definitely been a major incident to the High Flora, and similar to the Ghorman Massacre in Star Wars, which directly catalyzed the formation of the Rebel Alliance, it would’ve been interesting if the Varga massacre and Ren’s involvement could’ve inspired the grassroots movement that eventually forms the Primacy. It might even be cool to see the idea of an Underground Railroad-style movement where people like Ren try to help the other races flee from High Flora persecution into the free cities of Grandis.)

After reading through the two reports, Ren noted that both of them were irrelevant to her and continued searching, eventually finding a third report that detailed how, on the first day of the 21st official Vallora inspection, a resident had been found making treasonous statements, for which he had been imprisoned in the supply warehouse of the ship until a decision was made as to what to do with him. Ren quickly headed to the warehouse and dispatched a High Flora soldier guarding the entrance after he refused to allow her entry, claiming that he had been given orders not to let anyone except Rotusha inside.

In the warehouse, Ren found Ginoire tied to a barrel. Ginoire asked Ren whether she had come to save him, to which she explained that she had only come to ascertain his status, though she promised that help would soon come. Ginoire realized that the rumors of the Explorers’ Guild saving citizens from the High Flora were true and thanked Ren for coming, adding that he would await the rescue party with renewed hope.

Ren then returned to headquarters and reported back to Karman, who was shocked that she had attacked a High Flora officer and put herself in danger. Ren assured him that she had hit the officer’s head so that he wouldn’t remember her, after which she asked about what would happen with Ginoire. Karman told her that the guild planned to send out a rescue party once the High Flora lost interest in the boy and relaxed security on him, adding that they had conducted similar operations many times in the past.

After rewarding her with twenty coins for the commission, Karman explained that he had just received another commission that would get her the remaining sum to buy the elixir, though he added that he wasn’t sure whether Ren would be able to complete it. In order to explain the request further, he told Ren about Vallora’s local legend about the Imoogi, much to her shock.

He explained that the Imoogi was a snake who could ascend to the heavens and become a dragon after training for a thousand years, and that the legend stated that the Imoogi had abandoned its training after a hundred years in Vallora before wandering the world. Though most people only treated the story as a legend, Karman revealed that one of his clients was quite interested in the story, and that they had asked the guild to find the Imoogi hiding somewhere in Vallora and bring back one of its scales.

Upon seeing Ren’s expression, Karman mistook her face going pale as intimidation by such an outlandish request and assured Ren that he would find a better commission for her to complete. Fearing for Saya’s safety, Ren quickly rushed back to their hideout, while the High Flora spy sent by Rotusha tailed her and discovered Saya’s location. However, the spy was unable to pass through the magical barrier created by Saya, leaving him unable to follow any further.

Ren then met with Saya and asked her in a panic whether anyone suspicious had come by the house, relieved when Saya told her that no one had dropped by. After Ren explained that someone was paying a large sum of money to find the Imoogi, Saya told Ren that it was probably nothing, noting that perhaps they were a scholar, similar to one whom she had met long ago, who studied dragons. She explained that the scholar had been so annoying that she had chased them away.

(A/N: This is where I will insert my crack theory that the dragon scholar that Saya met was Freud. Although it’s heavily implied that Freud died of natural causes in the centuries between the Black Mage’s sealing and the present day, fan theories continue to circulate that Freud - the single most overpowered magician in history - didn’t actually die and instead prolonged his lifespan the same way that weaker mages like Alcaster and Grendel did. It would be interesting if Freud somehow ended up going to Grandis and continued his research as a Dragon Mage, casually living out his best life and somehow returning to relevance in the Grandis storyline.)

Saya consoled Ren and told her not to worry, adding that she would come to no harm with the red-eyed wanderer by her side. However, a troubled Ren replied that Saya could still come to harm when she wasn’t around, adding that perhaps she may still even if she was. Saya once again consoled Ren and reminded her that the injuries she had sustained weren’t Ren’s fault, adding that all sorts of things could happen while traveling. Saya laughed that she really must have grown quite weak if Ren was so worried about her, jokingly noting that she could have easily swatted away anyone who bothered her when she used to be stronger.

In order to throw off any suspicion, Saya told Ren to give one of her scales to the guild and say that she had found it somewhere far away, believing that whoever was looking for the Imoogi would end up chasing circles and eventually give up. Ren gladly agreed with Saya’s plan and noted that with the money she’d earn from the commission, she would be able to buy the elixir, explaining to Saya that it was a special potion that could heal even the sickest people. At Saya’s unexpectedly quiet reaction, however, Ren asked whether something was wrong, to which Saya quickly replied that it sounded like a good plan, and that everything would be fine once she drank it. Quietly to herself, however, Saya sadly noted that she hadn’t wanted to lie to Ren and murmured a silent apology.

Meanwhile, the High Flora spy reported to Rotusha and explained that he had successfully tricked Ren into rushing to Saya’s location by posting the commission for the Imoogi, though he regretfully noted that he had been unable to find her hideout. Rotusha angrily admonished the spy for his incompetence, to which the spy explained that he had been unable to follow Ren due to some sort of force causing her to disappear. Rotusha then ordered the spy to guide him to the exact spot where Ren had vanished.

As the High Flora closed in, Ren took a scale from Saya and asked her whether it had hurt. At Saya’s quiet response, however, Ren wondered whether she was getting sicker and offered to infuse more of her strength. However, Saya asked Ren not to and explained that she was simply feeling more tired than usual. She assured Ren that plucking out the scale had hurt less than pulling out a hair and promised that she would be fine before asking Ren to return quickly from town. Ren then brought the scale to Karman, who was shocked that she had brought a scale from the Imoogi. After ascertaining that it was indeed the genuine article, Karman asked her where she had obtained it, to which Ren – though hesitant about lying – wrote down the location where she had found the scale as somewhere in the north.

With all the coins needed to buy the elixir, Ren rushed to meet with Lenos, who was impressed that she had collected the money so quickly. After giving her the elixir, Lenos wished her good luck with healing her sick friend, after which Ren quickly returned back home, with Rotusha and his soldiers tailing her in secret. As she walked through the grassy field, Ren sensed that someone was nearby, though with the High Flora hidden, Ren believed that she had merely been sensing the presence of a nearby hiker. Rotusha then watched as Ren disappeared through the barrier. Upon inspecting the area, Rotusha sensed magic and realized that its weakness likely meant that it belonged to a dying Saya. Believing that the barrier would soon disappear with Saya’s death, Rotusha ordered his soldiers to stand by and wait until it collapsed and revealed their hidden enemies.

As they waited, Ren rushed to a severely weakened Saya, panicked at the state that her friend had been reduced to. Saya was relieved to see Ren, explaining that she had been worried that she would die before Ren returned. Ren begged Saya to quickly drink the elixir, though Saya sadly laughed and told Ren that it wouldn’t do her any good, as no elixir could save someone about to pass away so imminently. Though Ren protested and begged Saya to drink it, Saya replied that it was time for them to say goodbye.

She explained that she had wanted Ren to drink the elixir in her stead, as she had known all along that she would never recover from her injuries. She revealed that even as she had trained to become a dragon, she had known that her life would come to an end. However, she asked Ren to leave their home and go on a new journey of her own without Saya, regretfully noting that she should have asked Ren to leave the moment she had known that she would die, rather than holding Ren back with her foolishness.

A tearful Ren retorted that there was no way that she would leave Saya behind, to which Saya silently noted to herself that she didn’t want to leave Ren either. She then told Ren that she had never wanted to be stuck in one place, and that when she had been in the lake training to become a dragon for years, she had always wondered why she had wanted to become one in the first place, and what the point of isolating herself for a thousand years was to achieve such a purpose. She had realized that even if she had become a dragon after a thousand years, she would still be no different from who she already was.

Saya then revealed that it was when she had met Ren that she had gotten her answer after a hundred years of training – that becoming a dragon was not done by staying in a lake for a millennium, but by traveling the world, meeting people, and doing good deeds. She explained that after they had met and she had saved Ren’s life, she had finally resolved to leave her isolation, living a life that flowed without becoming stagnant. Because of this, she made one final request of Ren – to put the world into her Yeoui Gem by traveling, helping people, and allowing that power to someday manifest as a dragon soaring high in the heavens.

Ren tearfully agreed, with Saya asking her not to cry. She asked Ren whether she remembered when they had gone to the marketplace in Cheong-woon, where Saya had bought a ribbon, believing that it suited her, and how Ren had refused to wear any kind of accessory that made her look cute. She then gave Ren the ribbon that she had secretly kept for years and asked her not to feel sad for too long once she passed away. However, she asked that Ren wear the ribbon so that she would remember Saya when it fluttered in the breeze. With that, Saya passed along all the remaining strength inside her to Ren and asked her to be happy before scattering away into the wind.

Immediately, Rotusha and his soldiers surrounded Ren, noting that the barrier had finally collapsed with Saya’s death. Ren was surprised to learn about the barrier and, upon recalling Saya’s warnings about it being dangerous to leave their home, realized that her friend must have gone to great lengths to protect her. As Rotusha rushed to attack her, Ren asked him whether he was the one who had been looking for the Imoogi and demanded to know what he wanted with Saya. Rotusha angrily replied that he sought revenge, and upon seeing that Ren had no idea what he was speaking of, he furiously asked whether she really didn’t know, or whether she was merely playing dumb.

He noted that if it wasn’t bad enough that she had helped the Varga escape, she had also conspired with Saya to kill the High Flora Priest who had attempted to capture her. Opening a locket, he showed the picture of the Priest to Ren and told her that there was no way that she wouldn’t know what he was talking about now. Ren immediately recognized the Priest from the battle in which Saya had been injured, realizing that he was the one who had annihilated the Varga. Rotusha then revealed himself to be the Priest’s brother, explaining that he was the one who had put the bounty on her as he chased after her and Saya.

Ren immediately retorted that his brother had slaughtered innocents and seized their home, just as Rotusha himself had done the same by attacking her home when she and Saya had done nothing to him. She claimed that they had never killed anyone, but merely subdued their pursuers in order to survive. However, Rotusha merely claimed that his brother had done his duty as a High Priest by wiping out worthless outcasts like her. He then claimed that he had wasted years of his life chasing after them with the sole purpose of killing them with his own hands. Realizing that fighting was inevitable, Ren drank the elixir as Rotusha declared that he would send her to Saya in the afterlife.

After a fierce battle, Ren defeated Rotusha and his soldiers. A wounded Rotusha noted that even though he hadn’t expected to defeat his brother’s killer so easily, he had never expected to lose after working for so long to get revenge. Looking at Rotusha in pity, Ren admitted that he had merely missed the window of opportunity, as he would have easily defeated her if he had fought her earlier when she had been much weaker, noting that Saya had saved her life by granting her strength. Furious at himself for failing, Rotusha told Ren to kill him, declaring that he had no intention of begging for mercy. However, Ren replied that she had no intention of killing him now, just as she hadn’t intended to kill his brother before. She then told him that she hoped to never see him again before walking away.

(A/N: Quite possibly the biggest missed opportunity in this story was not making Rotusha and his brother commoners in the story. From what we learn in Khali’s class story, there’s a heavy amount of classism that takes place against commoners, as magical power directly correlates to one’s societal status. Nevertheless, commoners are still seen as better than other races, which is why they’re allowed to serve as officers in the Central Army, albeit with menial jobs such as managing colonies and carrying out low-stakes missions.

Personally, I would’ve really loved the idea that Rotusha and his brother were commoners desperate to prove themselves to the High Flora. We know that Rotusha’s brother was the leader of a region called Dovengar, and although we don’t yet know what exactly it is, it would’ve been great to see Dovengar as a small colony that Rotusha’s brother was tasked with overseeing, which would explain why he was so fervent in chasing after Ren for years, as him losing to an Anima mercenary would’ve been a huge stain on his already poor reputation as a commoner.

A lot of the game’s worldbuilding with the High Flora leads to some very interesting opportunities to explore the intersectionality of class and race, such as the idea of commoners being the ‘worst of the elite’, and while we’ve seen most commoners as good people suffering under the brunt of classism, it would’ve been a very interesting chance to see commoners who we can sympathize with, while also having them be some of the worst villains with them taking out their frustrations out on other races, watching them cling onto the racial superiority Kool-Aid to make themselves feel better about how terrible their lives are. Unfortunately, the writers of this game don’t really think too deeply about the stuff that they create.

Please note: The following text contains major spoilers for Ren’s level 200 storyline. If you don’t want spoilers, skip to the end of the author’s note.

In Ren’s level 200 quest, it’s revealed that Rotusha has become a type of Specter - although we don’t yet know whether he’s a partial Specter like Ark and Limbo, or if he’s a special Specter like Gilmore made to trick the holy relics of the Ancient Gods into awakening. I think the idea of Rotusha being a commoner would’ve really complemented this decision, as it would’ve shown the lengths that a commoner would go to in order to gain the power that he’s been craving and missing his entire life, to the point of literally becoming a monster.)

After returning to town, Ren realized that though the injured High Flora soldiers wouldn’t be able to chase after her so soon, it would also be far too dangerous for her to remain in town. Because of this, she decided that she would leave Vallora and travel the world to honor Saya’s last wish, as her strength, bestowed upon her jewel and Ren’s swordsmanship, meant that she was now strong enough to go anywhere she wanted. Wondering where she should go, Ren met with Karman and informed him that she wished to leave town and go somewhere where nobody knew her.

Karman was taken aback to learn about her skirmish with the High Flora and agreed to conceal her whereabouts from them. He then asked Ren whether she was the one on the wanted poster, taking her silence as confirmation. As he began looking for a suitable destination, Karman suggested that she conceal her Anima features, noting that rabbit Anima were quite rare, even in a melting pot like Vallora. Realizing that Karman was right, Ren hid her rabbit ears so that she wouldn’t be easily identified. Karman then asked Ren whether she had ever heard of Maple World, explaining that it was a different dimension from Grandis and the perfect place to have a new adventure.

He explained that while Maple World was a completely different place, they still shared the same language and lifestyle as the people in Grandis. He told Ren that the guild was interested in learning more about Maple World, for while it wasn’t particularly large, it was big and safe enough to trade with. Ren asked Karman how to get to Maple World, to which he explained that she could use the Interdimensional Portal managed by the Explorers’ Guild to cross into Maple World. He explained that when they had first come across the portal, they had sealed it away out of fear that it led somewhere dangerous, though after he had become the guild leader, he had opened access to the portal to strong guild members. He then told Ren that he would send word to one of their members who traveled through the portal so that she could get in touch with the Explorers’ Guild in Maple World.

(A/N: Although it’s been known for a long time that multiple Interdimensional Portals on Grandis have always been there, it’s only ever been stated that one portal exists in Maple World. The portals are made when a Transcendent steals the power of another Transcendent, such as Darmoor taking Chronica’s power and the Black Mage taking Rhinne’s power. These portals are supposed to be independent of each other, meaning that they’re not created in pairs, and they’re a one-way journey from one dimension to another with no way to return unless a portal in the other dimension happens to open up.

I’m not sure whether the writers have forgotten this detail or not, but Ren’s storyline has now introduced two more Interdimensional Portals - one in Vallora and one in Lith Harbor. However, the introduction of these portals isn’t meant to be a real-time event, by which I mean that these portals have always existed within the in-game chronology alongside the ones in Pantheon and the Six Path Crossway. Although we do have two portals on Grandis and Maple World, respectively, the fact that Darmoor was rumored to have used a portal to cross into Maple World and Tana also somehow found a way to cross dimensions means that there has to be at least one or even two more somewhere in Grandis, and possibly Maple World if the writers are now going with the idea of pairing them one-to-one.)

Ren then met with the guild member, Padol, who escorted her to the secret location of the Interdimensional Portal – known only to the members of the guild. After following him through the portal, Ren emerged in Maple World, where Padol explained that they had arrived in Lith Harbor. He explained that, unlike the Explorers’ Guild in Vallora, there were no central headquarters for the Explorers’ Guild of Maple World, though he added that she could instead get commissions from the Bowman Instructional School in Henesys, where she could speak to Athena Pierce, whom he called the equivalent of Karman. Ren then traveled to the Bowman Instructional School, where Athena greeted her as a traveler from Grandis and gave her several commissions to choose from as a new adventurer to Maple World.

As Ren explored Maple World, she soon noted to herself that though it wasn’t quite like when she used to travel with Sayu, much of her old instincts had come back, causing her to wonder whether she could apply Sayu’s power to her intermediate swordsmanship techniques. However, as she had forgotten many of her techniques, Ren decided to seek out a book on swordsmanship that she had buried in the Handsome Monk’s Temple in Cheong-woon Valley.

As she read through the techniques in the book, Ren recalled the time when she had first obtained it from a dying swordsman who had entrusted it to her in order to keep the secrets of his art alive. In order to follow his will, Ren had hidden the book in the temple so that the secret could be inherited by someone new in case she were to die, though after rereading the book, she decided that she would hide the book somewhere more visible. Having recalled her old techniques, Ren applied Saya’s strength to her swordsmanship to master the skills she had once used.