PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 14: Root Abyss

Following the Black Mage’s return, two new Commanders were brought into his ranks - Will and Damien. Will was a scholar who was deeply interested in the Black Mage and his goals since his youth. In his childhood, Will had deduced that Rhinne had created a vessel to inherit her power in order to strike back at the Black Mage. As he grew older, the Interdimensional Portal appeared in Maple World, and Will grew increasingly curious about its role in the Black Mage’s grand design. Through his research, he had learned that the Interdimensional Portal was an aberration that occurred when a Transcendent stripped the power from another Transcendent and used it.

He had concluded that the Interdimensional Portal was a sign of collapse, and that if left unchecked, Maple World and Grandis would destroy one another. Though he had initially wondered whether it was part of the Black Mage’s plan to destroy Maple World, he hadn’t been able to believe that simple destruction was all that the Black Mage had planned, as there were far simpler methods to destroy the world.

He had noted that the Black Mage had deliberately introduced countless variables into his plan, despite knowing that they would get in the way of his goal. Will had pondered endlessly about the Black Mage’s goals and had wondered whether it was ambition, a thirst for immortality, intellectual curiosity, or simply a desire to plunge Maple World into chaos. He soon began to grow frustrated when his research simply brought him back to the beginning.

Just then, however, that thought triggered an epiphany. He decided to look back to the beginning when the Black Mage had been the White Mage, before he had become the Transcendent of Light. Will successfully finished his research and concluded that the Black Mage’s goal was to create a new, perfect world that was free from the influence of the Overseers. He also realized that the Black Mage’s sealing was part of his plan, and so he became certain that the Black Mage would return.

After the Black Mage’s seal was destroyed, Will sought him out and became one of his most loyal Commanders, intent on satisfying his intellectual curiosity by seeing the new world that the Black Mage planned to create. With the spider-like powers he received from the Black Mage, Will became known as the King of Spiders.

(A/N: Will’s backstory is revealed in a flashback that we see after defeating him in the Genesis Weapon liberation questline. We also learn that Will became the Black Mage’s sole confidante, and that after the events of Mirror World, the Black Mage told Will about another goal of his, which is that he wanted something more than just the creation of a new world. This was unfortunately butchered in GMS, which erroneously stated that Will had come to suspect that the Black Mage was aspiring for something more than Genesis, which he had been keeping secret from Will.

The reason why the writers gave Will spider powers is likely because the cobwebs that spiders spin look just like cracks in a mirror, alluding to his role as the keeper of Mirror World.)

Meanwhile, Damien continued to gain influence with the half-blood demons of Tynerum in order to raise his own army. After he was brought back to Maple World by Arkarium, he was soon approached by Von Leon during one of his first meetings with the Commanders. Damien was intrigued to learn that Von Leon was a kindred spirit, as they had both lost loved ones and had chosen the path of revenge.

Von Leon then unexpectedly told Damien that some things were impossible, even for the Black Mage. Damien was surprised and asked Von Leon why he was so interested in him. Von Leon ignored the question and asked Damien whether he had ever felt as though what he was doing might be pointless. Damien retorted that Von Leon was one to talk about stopping his quest for vengeance, adding that there was no going back for either of them after having sold their souls to the Black Mage.

However, Von Leon simply told Damien that even if his mother were to return to life, Damien’s tainted soul wasn’t fit to be anywhere near her. He explained that he was sure that Damien had expected as much, but added that to be so close to something without being able to touch it was a fate worse than death. (A/N: This scene is revealed after you defeat Damien during the Genesis Weapon liberation questline.)

Soon after, the Commanders learned the location of the World Tree with Damien being tasked with recovering her. He and his army traveled to Root Abyss, where he discovered Alicia slowly regaining her powers. Rather than capturing her then, he told Alicia that he needed her at full strength and placed a seal on Root Abyss in order to prevent her from leaving. To guard her, he created four Seal Guardians: Von Bon, Pierre, the Crimson Queen, and Vellum.

(A/N: Alicia and the four Seal Guardians are based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. Alicia is Alice, Von Bon is the White Rabbit, Pierre is the Mad Hatter, the Crimson Queen is the Queen of Hearts, or possibly even the Red Queen, and Vellum is the Jabberwocky. Given her love of literary references, as seen with the Tower of Oz being based on the Wizard of Oz, I really did think that Alicia was the original creator of the Seal Guardians, and that Damien had simply corrupted them. However, the few references that exist online suggest that Damien had created them himself.

Zero‘s storyline reveals that the Commanders had planned for some unknown person to become the next Transcendent of Life, although their plans are disrupted when Damien goes rogue and attempts to steal Alicia’s power for himself. The Damien webcomic reveals that Arkarium has been keeping him in line by promising that the next Transcendent of Time after Rhinne would join the Black Mage and turn back time on his mother’s corpse, which Arkarium claims to be preserving with his time powers, although we later learn that her body was actually an illusion.

When Alpha and Beta meet the Commanders at the end of their storyline, Damien comes to realize that they have no intention of joining the Black Mage, which is when he decides to become the next Transcendent of Life himself by finding the Abyss Crystal, as Arkarium had claimed that only a Transcendent has the power to bring someone back from the dead.)

Word soon reached the Alliance that a previously uncharted area in Sleepywood had appeared. Neinheart summoned an Alliance member and explained that the Alliance had determined that, based on residual traces of magic, there had once been a barrier around the area until recently. Because of the powerful dark energy lingering in the region, Neinheart suspected that it may be a hideout for the Black Mage’s forces. He explained that the Cygnus Knights had already been dispatched to investigate, though the thick fog and vegetation had made it difficult to scout the region. Because of this, he asked the Alliance member to investigate the area and the reason for its sudden appearance.

While investigating, the Alliance member fell deep below Sleepywood into Root Abyss and woke up to find Alicia standing over them. Alicia asked them whether they had come to rescue her, to which the Alliance member replied that they hadn’t known that anyone would be in such a place, especially not such a young girl. Alicia explained that they were in Root Abyss and asked them to help her escape.

The Alliance member found several exits around Root Abyss and told Alicia that she could leave using them. Alicia explained that she had already tried many times to leave using those exits, but she had found that they didn’t work for her. The Alliance member then tried the exit and discovered that it worked for them. Upon finding that they could leave, the girl gave them a scroll and explained that she had brought it with her because it was meant to allow one to return to the nearest town. However, she told them that it didn’t work for her, and so she asked them to try it.

Though the Alliance member noted that the scroll was ancient, they found that it worked for them. They returned to let Alicia know, who wondered whether she would be stuck in Root Abyss forever. The Alliance member asked her how she had ended up in Root Abyss in the first place, as it didn’t seem like a safe place for a little girl.

(A/N: The Demon and all the Heroes except Aran and Evan get exclusive dialogue, in which they instead wonder how Alicia had ended up in Root Abyss in the first place, as it doesn’t seem like a place for the Transcendent of Life.)

Alicia explained that she had created Root Abyss at the center of the continent centuries ago in order to recover her powers, though the dark energy that now infected the area had made it impossible for her to leave. Confused, the Alliance member asked who she was, and was shocked to discover that she was the World Tree, immediately realizing that the World Tree was said to be the Transcendent of Life, who had disappeared long ago.

(A/N: The Demon and all the Heroes except Aran and Evan don’t get the line where they realize who the World Tree is, as they already know who she is.)

Alicia explained that she had used up too much of her power during the battle against the Black Mage, which was why she was barely able to maintain her form with the little life force that she had left. She told the Alliance member that she had come to the center of the continent because it was teeming with life energy, and that she had remained asleep there until recently, when several unknown intruders had broken through her barrier, waking her from her slumber, and attempted to kidnap her. Though they had all been hooded, Alicia explained that their leader was a demon with an eyepatch and sword.

(A/N: The Demon gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he realizes that Alicia’s description matches with the demon Commander that he had met.)

Alicia told the Alliance member that the demon had wanted her at full strength, and that he had trapped her in Root Abyss until she could recover. Worried that the demon would soon come for her, Alicia asked the Alliance member once again to help her escape first. She explained that since she was still trapped, they would first need to learn the identity of the demon leader, who had created four doors around Root Abyss.

Just as the Alliance member decided to investigate the doors, they were suddenly engulfed by a strange light that transported them before Vellum, who demanded to know whether they dared to challenge “his” will. Vellum introduced himself as his master’s Seal Guardian, to which the Alliance member asked whether he was the one who had placed the seal on Alicia. Vellum replied that his master was the one who had sealed Alicia, and that he was merely acting according to “his” will. The Alliance member then asked whether he was referring to the demon with the eyepatch, causing Vellum to angrily tell them to be silent, declaring that their filthy mouth was unfit to speak of his master.

As Vellum began dropping rocks upon them, the Alliance member realized that they would need to use force in order to get answers, to which Vellum scoffed before shooting a fireball attack. He then mocked the Alliance member for falling to their knees after such paltry combat before revealing that there were three other Seal Guardians besides him, and that the Alliance member would need to defeat all four of them if they ever hoped to break the seal on the World Tree. Having sufficiently threatened them, Vellum sent the Alliance member back to Alicia.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue with Vellum that takes the place of the generic script. Vellum calls the Demon a disgraceful traitor who had abandoned the pride of the demon race and asks if he believes whether he can challenge “his” will. Vellum introduces himself as His Majesty’s Seal Guardian, causing the Demon to conclude that Vellum is working for the Black Mage.

The Demon demands to know whether Vellum is here to steal the World Tree’s power, and whether the Black Mage had put him up to it. Vellum claims that no one can order “him” around, and that everything happens in accordance to “his” desires. The Demon asks if he’s referring to the demon with the eyepatch, but Vellum angrily tells him to be silent, claiming that the Demon doesn’t deserve to speak about “him” after having lost his pride as a demon.

As Vellum begins to drop rocks on him, the Demon declares that he’ll get what he wants out of Vellum one way or another, to which Vellum scoffs at the Demon’s claim that he could overpower him before shooting a fireball attack. He then mocks the Demon for falling to his knees after such a paltry combat, adding that the rumors of him being the strongest warrior of the demons have been greatly exaggerated, after which the dialogue returns back to the generic script, which has Vellum threaten the player before teleporting them back.)

Realizing that they couldn’t hope to save Alicia alone, the Alliance member told her that they would report back to the Alliance and return with reinforcements. They then met with Neinheart, who was pleased to know that the World Tree had been located at last, though he was less happy to learn that there were assailants targeting her power. He decided to take action by mobilizing the Alliance and dispatched a team to secure Root Abyss.

Soon after, Neinheart called back the Alliance member and told them that the Alliance had decided to focus all their efforts on recovering the World Tree, as the power of the Transcendent of Life rivaled that of the Black Mage, with Alicia having been instrumental in sealing him away. He explained that after the battle, the World Tree had withered away, with Athena Pierce bringing the remaining source of life with her to Victoria Island. Though he had been worried that she had been taken by the Black Mage’s forces, he was relieved to know that they had finally stumbled across her by good fortune.

Believing that the demon was a new Commander, Neinheart told the Alliance member that they had to protect the World Tree at all costs. He explained that the Alliance had managed to defeat the Seal Guardians and free the World Tree, and so he asked the Alliance member to help escort her back to Ereve. The Alliance member traveled to Root Abyss, where the met with Alicia, who was overjoyed to have the seal broken.

They then convinced Alicia to come with them to Ereve, apologizing for asking her after she had just regained her freedom. After realizing that Ereve was the safest place for her, Alicia agreed to come with Ereve and returned back with the Alliance member, where she promised to repay them for their help someday before being absorbed inside the gemstone on Shinsoo’s forehead for her safety.

Neinheart then told the Alliance member that though the World Tree had been rescued, the danger had not yet passed. He explained that the ones who had sealed the World Tree had realized that she had been moved away, and that they had resurrected the Seal Guardians to engulf Victoria Island with dark energy. In order to stop them, the Alliance member returned back to Root Abyss and defeated the Seal Guardians once and for all.

(A/N: In the original storyline, we had to defeat the Seal Guardians in order to free Alicia, rather than the Alliance defeating them off-screen. I actually thought that this was a nice change of pace to have the Alliance actually do something on their own, rather than depending on the player to do everything for them.

The Tower of Oz storyline takes place around the same time that the Alliance was mobilizing in Root Abyss. The Tower of Oz lore isn’t very significant, but the gist of it is that Neinheart tells the Alliance member that an underwater tower has been discovered in the far, northern reaches of Maple World, where they’ve also discovered Alicia’s soul. Neinheart is curious about why Alicia’s soul is there when Alicia is currently sealed in Root Abyss and sends the Alliance member to investigate.

Alicia’s soul explains that she had split from her main body in order to protect the Tower of Oz while her physical body healed in Root Abyss. However, the Black Mage’s influence has corrupted the guardians of the tower over time, and so she asks the Alliance member to defeat the guardians by taking Stupid Pills, as the tower blocks out anyone above a certain intelligence so that the unintelligent monsters in the tower can remain safe. I think that “Stupid Pill” is one of the worst GMS localizations in the game and I vastly prefer KMS’ original name, which was “Hazy Stone”.)