Legacy of Masteria

Chapter 1: The Krakian Jungle

Icebyrd Slimm reached out to the traveler, whom he called the ‘Searcher of Truth’, and explained that he had heard about their adventures traveling through time and experiencing the ancient legend of Masteria first-hand. He then told them that several public safety issues had recently popped up in New Leaf City and asked them whether they would be interested in solving them.

The traveler went to New Leaf City and met with the mayor, who explained that they had recently been having a surge in visitors, which had been causing Sheriff Lita Lawless some trouble in keeping order. He explained that many Explorers had been returning in fear from exploring west Masteria, with reports of terrifying monsters and an armed group calling themselves ‘Ninjas’ hindering adventurers. (A/N: This is a hint towards the Raven Ninjas that we’ll meet in a later section. The Raven Ninjas come from the original Phantom Forest storyline.)

He also told the traveler that Masterian scientists had recently detected a strange seismic wave spreading from the jungle, which had riled up the monsters inside. Realizing that the city was in dire need of help, the traveler agreed to assist the townspeople before meeting with Lita Lawless, who initially noted that they seemed rather underqualified for the task, though she then quickly apologized and explained that the recent problems had been causing her to lose her patience.

The traveler noted that she didn’t seem to mince her words, to which she explained that her style had been developed while serving under the Dark Lord in Kerning City, though she added that she had left right after graduation. When the traveler asked how she had gone from working as a thief in Kerning City to being the sheriff of New Leaf City, Lita explained that Icebyrd had once been her exploring partner, and that he had helped set her on the right path at a time when she had felt directionless.

Lita then set the traveler to work, asking them to take care of the Urban Fungus, Street Slimes, and Boomers outside the city. After the traveler took care of the monsters, Lita asked them to perform routine identification check-ins for travelers who had recently come to New Leaf City. The traveler first met with a blue-skinned girl named Corine, who greeted them in the Taru language.

The confused traveler asked who the Taru were, to which Corine explained that the Taru were one of the Krakian tribes who used to live in ancient Masteria. (A/N: In the original Masteria storyline, the Taru and the Krakians were separate races.) She added that she believed that she was the last pure-blooded Krakian left, though she hoped that there were others like her. (A/N: Her specifying that she’s the last pure-blood Taru left intrigues me because it adds weight to my personal theory that Blanche was half-demon and half-Taru.)

The traveler quickly realized that Corine was descended from the last Krakians who remained in Masteria, which Corine confirmed, adding that the Taru used to have good relations with the Versalians who had come to Masteria in ancient times. She also explained that she was a member of the Shadowknights, having become a member after spending time with Grandmaster Lireni, and that her Shadowknight training had helped her survive the great war. She also added that it had been difficult for her to escape the sinking of Masteria and surviving adrift on the sea.

The traveler was amazed to know that Corine had lived through the history that they had only ever read about. (A/N: We literally traveled back in time to experience this, what are we talking about.) However, Corine clarified that she had very little knowledge of her ancestors, as there were few Krakian survivors after the great war and they had little contact with outsiders, with herself likely being the only living Taru left.

She explained that she had come to Masteria in order to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors, and to keep their traditions alive. She then asked the traveler whether they would help her find remnants of the Taru tribe in the large city within the Krakian Jungle that her ancestors had built. The traveler agreed and helped clear the path by defeating the Jungle Bugs, which were destroying the stonework of the ancient ruins.

After the traveler finished, Corine asked them to help her traveling companion, Elpam Gorlab. Elpam introduced himself as a historian from Versal, which he explained was a land with many ties to Masteria, as its people occasionally traveled between dimensions. He told the traveler that he had come to Maple World by chance during his work as a historian, because of which he was still getting used to the local language.

He explained that, after having crash-landed in the Krakian Jungle, Corine had helped him escape the wild monsters there. He noted that he had found it serendipitous to have met a descendent of the ancient Krakians, adding that it had likely been the blessings of the ancestors, as Corine would have put it. The traveler then noticed the smell of old cheese, which Elpam explained was a famous vintage perfume in Versal. He then asked them whether they would help him in his research on the shared history of Masteria and Versal by collecting samples of the native life in the Krakian Jungle.

After agreeing to help, the traveler collected flora samples from the Mighty Maple Eaters, which they brought to Elpam before returning to help Corine. Corine explained that because of their earlier help, she had been able to make progress in trekking through the jungle with the help of her pet tiger, Khafre. However, she had been stopped by screamers around the waterfall, clarifying that the people of New Leaf City called them Jungle Monkeys.

The traveler then cleared out the Jungle Monkeys, after which they regrouped with Corine in a camp that she had set up in a nearby clearing. There, Corine told them that the ancient Krakians would often face the Gryphons, one of the jungle’s greatest predators, in order to prove their valor, decorating themselves with Gryphon feathers as a show of their prowess. Though she noted that it was a barbaric tradition, she believed that they could find traces of the Krakians at the Gryphon nest, and so the traveler fought through the Gryphons before discovering that the path ahead was broken.

Corine attempted to find another route into the city, and though she was unable to find a path, she explained that she did find a Krakian altar, from which the ancient Krakians used to worship nature through rituals. The traveler then cleared a path for Corine by fighting through the mutated Krakian warriors, though Corine was unable to find any sign of the altars being used. However, the traveler pointed out that there were two other altars in the area, and so they proceeded to clear out the paths to them.

After investigating the altars, Corine was horrified to learn that the ritual which had taken place there had been performed by the corrupted Krakians. She explained that her pet theory had been that the ancient Krakians had lost their sanity and degenerated into monsters, but the data that she had gathered from the altars indicated that the corrupted Krakians had retained their senses, carrying on their rituals and traditions, despite their mutations. Corine was disheartened to know that the Krakians were so barbaric and wondered what it meant for her desire to carry on the will of her ancestors, for which she asked the traveler for some time to gather her thoughts.

Soon after, Corine told the traveler that Elpam had arrived at the camp, having finished analyzing the flora samples that the traveler had given him. The traveler met with Elpam, who told them that his research had indicated that Masteria shared no ecological features or characteristics with the surrounding seabed, meaning that despite being underwater, the continent itself had never been flooded, leading him to conclude that there had been a mysterious force either protecting or sealing Masteria during that time.

He also explained that the flora in the Krakian Jungle had similar features to the plants of the genus Helianthus, which were nutritious and good for processing into many types of medicine. He explained that the plants also had a curious property whereby they cleansed the soil in which they would grow. However, this property had caused them to leach a toxic substance called Naricain’s Blood, the chemical compound which had corrupted both the jungle and the ancient Krakians, causing them to mutate into dangerous monsters.

The traveler immediately realized that it had been the work of Dr. Jang after she had traveled back in time to help Naricain. Upon hearing her name, Elpam told the traveler that he had heard that she had been the head of the Masteria Research Lab until she had gone missing. In order to help Elpam with his research, the traveler fought the Gryphons in the area and collected their feathers, which helped Elpam confirm that all life forms in the jungle had been contaminated with Naricain’s Blood. He explained that Naricain’s Blood contained an energy similar to that of the Antellion, as the substance held a particular trace metal that was common in Versal, but absent in Maple World.

To help confirm his hypothesis, the traveler brought samples from the Jungle Monkeys, which Elpam noted had more concentrated traces of the Antellion’s energy than in previous samples. He explained that the minerals accumulated over time through predation on other corrupted species, forming an ore called Lianium after coagulating in great enough quantities. The traveler asked whether Lianium would eventually turn into Antellion, to which Elpam replied that thought he found it highly unlikely that such a direct transformation would take occur, there had to be some relation between the two. He then noted that it would be difficult to continue his research without obtaining high-grade Lianium, which he told the traveler was quite rare. The traveler promised to bring him some if they came across it in the jungle, for which Elpam thanked them.

The traveler then went to check on Corine, who brightly told them that she was feeling better, despite her initial identity crisis. She then asked the traveler whether they would investigate the strangers who were threatening the animals west of the jungle. The traveler agreed and returned to New Leaf City in order to let Icebyrd know about it. Icebyrd told them that their timing was perfect, as Professor Foxwit had just finished analyzing the seismic waves permeating throughout the jungle.

The traveler went to see Foxwit and told him about the strangers in the west jungle, to which he told them that he had been unable to pinpoint the source of the strangers because of frequent vibrational interference, but based on the traveler’s description that they had obtained from Corine, Foxwit believed that the intruders were aliens that were beginning a mass excavation of the jungle. Though he was unsure of what they were looking for, the data that he had gathered indicated that they were in search of something they called the pillar of the world. (A/N: This is almost certainly the Antellion, which maintained the balance of Versal, as every Versalian equally shared its power.)

The traveler asked whether it referred to the foundation of Masteria, to which Foxwit explained that he couldn’t be sure, though he did know that if the aliens excessively tampered with Masteria’s continental crust, it could cause the entire land to sink beneath the sea again. He explained that Foxwit had hired a hitman known as the Glimmer Man, a strange being who called himself the ‘Great Magician’, and asked the traveler to work with him in order to stop the aliens.

The traveler went to speak with the Glimmer Man, who introduced himself as not only a hitman, but also a private investigator and a scholar who traveled across dimensions in order to unravel the mysteries of the universe. He added that the magenta lining on his black coat was woven from enchanted thread imbued with ancient spells, allowing him to possess great resilience against magic. However, he added that he didn’t need it anymore, as he had developed the ability to transform his body into diamond, for which he was called the Glimmer Man, and which allowed him to be impervious to magic and to travel across dimensions.

After the traveler explained that they needed help in getting past the alien base’s defenses, the Glimmer Man asked for a moment. A second later, he claimed that he had bypassed their security, despite not having done anything. The traveler began to question him, but the Glimmer Man then teleported them to the base. The traveler fought past the aliens and obtained their research data, which they brought back to the Glimmer Man. The Glimmer Man read through the report and learned that the aliens were looking for Lianium in order to refine it into something else. He also learned that the aliens hailed from Cerberus.

(A/N: Jett gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which the Glimmer Man laughs at how ruthless she is to fight people from her own world, noting that it makes her a great hitman. Jett tells him to shut up and says that it’s none of his business.)

Having obtained the research information, the Glimmer Man told the traveler that their next step was to destroy the Cerberusians’ giant drill, which would halt their operations. He once again teleported the traveler to the site of the drill and teleported them back once the traveler destroyed it. He then asked them for a personal favor and explained that he collected minerals from the different worlds that he visited, and since the Cerberusians were already in the process of extracting and refining Lianium, he asked the traveler to steal some from the alien excavation site. The traveler then obtained the refined Lianium from the excavation site and brought back enough for the Glimmer Man and Elpam.

After giving the Glimmer Man his Lianium, the traveler asked whether he knew about Versal, to which he asked why the traveler would be interested in a destroyed world. Surprised, the traveler asked how Versal had been destroyed. The Glimmer Man explained that Versal was technically still intact, but that it was a dead and barren place with unending nights, likening the people who still lived there to pale, hollow specters.

The traveler noted that it was quite unlike the stories that they had heard of Versal, which described it as a marvelous, extravagant world full of life. The Glimmer Man laughed that the traveler spoke as though they had been there before, which he described as impossible, as it couldn’t be found through standard navigation, with escape being even more improbable.

He confessed that the only time he would have described it as extravagant was during the time of war, when the fighting and destruction had blossomed into beautiful chaos. Knowing that Crimsonheart had sent Numenal to lead Versal after they had defeated Naricain and Dr. Jang, the traveler asked about Numenal’s fate. The Glimmer Man was impressed that the traveler knew about Grandmaster Numenal, but told them that he would answer no more questions for the day, though he offered to tell them stories about other worlds in exchange for favors.

The traveler then took the rest of the Lianium to Elpam in order to help him with his research. They then asked him why Versal was a collapsed world, to which Elpam explained that in ancient Versal, the Antellion had been the single source of order in the world. He claimed that the decision of the guardians of the Antellion to remove it from Versal was what had led the world to fall to ruin, as without the source of its sustaining light and stability, Versal had quickly headed towards collapse, resulting in endless nights and barren lands.

He explained that scholars concurred that the guardians of the Antellion had no way of knowing what the consequences of their actions would have been, with Numenal, the last Grandmaster, returning to Versal and attempting to rally the citizens in creating a substitute for the Antellion. However, despite Numenal’s best efforts, Versal had fallen into chaos at the hands of a band of anarchists that called themselves the followers of Naricain.

Because of this, he explained that most Versalians, including himself, had decided to leave their ruined husk of a world and become an itinerant race that drifted through dimensions like nomads, their home lost, perhaps for all time. After speaking with Elpam, the traveler returned to Icebyrd and let him know that they had taken care of the alien problem. Icebyrd thanked them and explained that he was looking forward to working more with them in the future.