PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 11: The Six Heroes

Thanks to Ryude’s heroic sacrifice, the Dragon Master’s beacon was lit for all of Maple World to see. Many people gathered at the site of the battle in response, and among them were six heroes who would unite against the Black Mage.

Freud the Dragon Master was a prodigy, having exceptional mastery over magic despite his young age. He held a deep love for living creatures, especially dragons, and believed that in a perfect world, humans would be able to govern themselves and live peacefully with the other creatures of Maple World. His research into dragons would lead him to meet Afrien, the King of the Onyx Dragons.

The Onyx Dragons were the most powerful species of dragons, but their souls remained incomplete until they bonded with another whose soul resonated on the same frequency. Realizing that they both shared a kindred spirit, Freud and Afrien created the first Spirit Pact, a contract that allowed them to gain immense power such that they could perform great feats of magic that they would not have been able to do alone.

(A/N: Evan’s storyline implies that many people went on to make Spirit Pacts with Onyx Dragons, although there’s no other mention of this outside of his conversation with Afrien.)

After their contract was complete, Afrien gifted Freud a dazzling pendant called the Sylph Pendant. Although it was purely decorative, it was a symbol of their sacred bond. When the Black Mage heard of the might of the Onyx Dragons, he approached Afrien and offered to form a Spirit Pact with him instead, hoping to take the power of the Onyx Dragons for himself.

Sensing the Black Mage’s evil soul, Afrien refused and turned him away. In retaliation, the Black Mage declared war on the Onyx Dragons and ordered his Commanders to wipe them out. Nevertheless, the Onyx Dragons fought back with their great power, and though many were killed in the war, their race gained a legendary reputation for their strength, with even the Commanders acknowledging their prowess.

(A/N: Evan’s lore comes from an earlier time in the game when the Black Mage was a generic evil villain rather than a fallen savior. As such, it seems fairly out-of-character for him to have coveted the Spirit Pact’s power when we know in retrospect that he was aiming to steal Tana and Rhinne’s Transcendent powers. You could argue that he did this in order to force Freud to join the fight, but I feel like Freud would’ve fought the Black Mage even if the Onyx Dragons hadn’t been wiped out.) 

Aran was a powerful warrior who possessed a polearm with a spirit, Maha, which she obtained from a legendary blacksmith in Mu Lung. As weapons with spirits were extremely rare, and even rarer still was it to be deemed worthy to wield one, it spoke immensely of Aran’s strength as a legendary warrior. Having grown up with a stoic grandfather, Aran developed a quiet, serious personality and a strong desire to protect others after learning to wield the polearm at his side. Aran also rode a powerful Silver Wolf named Ryko into battle.

(A/N: For context, the only other people to wield weapons with spirits are Alpha and Beta wielding Lazuli and Lapis, and Damien commanding the Spirit of Vengeance. Given that both of these beings were Transcendents, at least at some point, it stands to show what kind of league she was in.

Her growing up with her grandfather and her stoic personality is mentioned in a book called Secret Story, which Nexon published with all kinds of little details. Some more of her backstory has also been expanded upon in a behind-the-scenes book released during her revamp in the Milestone update, although I don’t yet have much info besides a few tidbits released in a promotional video for it.

The information about Ryko comes from her mount quest, during which Aran raises a Silver Wolf and names it Ryko. At level 200, Maha reveals that she had another Silver Wolf in the past, which she had also named Ryko. I wish that we got to see Ryko in past flashbacks, but they apparently forgot that they wrote him into the story.)

Luminous, the Magician of Light, was the last remnant of light cast out by the Black Mage upon his awakening as a Transcendent. Though that light had been destined to slowly fade away, the surviving members of Aurora used the power of light to reincarnate that fragment of light some time in the future, causing it to manifest as a young boy that the mages of Aurora called Luminous, also known as the Starchild. As Luminous was created from the light of the Black Mage, the mages of Aurora believed that Luminous was destined to be the Black Mage’s adversary.

Luminous was raised by the surviving members of Aurora, including the son of the late Vieren, who was also named Vieren after his father. To prevent the Black Mage from finding them, the mages of Aurora moved their headquarters to a pocket dimension called Harmony. Even in spite of their countermeasures, however, the mages knew that the Black Mage would one day come for Luminous.

In order to protect him, they raised a girl named Lucia, who was also strong in light magic, as the false Starchild. Luminous grew up as best friends with Lucia, unaware that she had been raised as a lamb for slaughter. When the Black Mage came to destroy the last of his light, Luminous managed to escape and Lucia remained behind to be killed in his place in order to make the Black Mage believe that the threat of the Starchild had been dealt with.

(A/N: Luminous’ storyline has many references to Star Wars. His friend, Vieren, is known as Beer-Wan in other translations, which is an obvious reference to Obi-Wan, and even manifests as a guiding spirit like how Obi-Wan aids Luke as a Force spirit. Luminous’ struggle against the darkness is similar to the temptation of the dark side of the Force. He also creates a Sentrobo guard called R2-B2, which is obviously a reference to R2-D2. Luminous being created through the power of light is also similar to how Anakin Skywalker was conceived by the will of the Force, causing him to be born with no father.

Regarding the storyline with Lucia, the White Mage tells Luminous at the end of Tenebris that he deliberately didn’t destroy the last of his light when he awakened as a Transcendent because he knew that Luminous would become the Adversary. Given that the Adversary can be any class, we can technically disregard that last part, but it does confirm that the Black Mage had no intention of destroying Luminous, which contradicts the storyline with Lucia in which he attacks Harmony, although you can argue that he did this in order to give Luminous a reason to fight the Black Mage, similar to the reason why he destroyed the Onyx Dragons. However, much like with Freud, I feel like Luminous would’ve considered it his duty to fight the darkness as a mage of Aurora anyways.

The mages of Aurora believing Luminous to be the Black Mage’s adversary is a line that was written before the concept of an Adversary existed in canon, causing many people back in the day to speculate that Luminous would be the one to defeat the Black Mage in the future.)

Mercedes was the Ruler of the Elves and considered it her solemn duty to fight the Black Mage in order to protect her people. In the kingdom of Elluel, two young elves named Lucid and Athena Pierce both idolized Mercedes and spent much of their time trying to impress her with their skills. Lucid was often jealous of Athena, as her prowess in archery exceeded that of Lucid’s. Lucid soon realized that she had the ability to manipulate dreams and created a music box as a gift for Mercedes, which was capable of producing sweet dreams for its listener. However, she became upset when Mercedes decided to share the music box with the kingdom, as she wanted it to be something she could share with Mercedes alone.

When Mercedes learned of the Black Mage’s threat to Maple World, she decided to join the other Heroes in order to protect her people. Both Lucid and Athena insisted on coming with her, but Mercedes refused to take two young girls into battle. The night that Mercedes was set to leave Elluel, Lucid decided to follow her and convince Mercedes to bring her along, but soon realized that not only did Athena have the same idea, but she had reached Mercedes first. To her horror, Mercedes agreed to take Athena with her and entrusted her with the Mistelteinn, the sacred bow of the elves, whose power would protect Athena from harm. Burning with jealousy that Athena had formed the close relationship with Mercedes that she yearned for, Lucid ran away from Elluel and used her powers of dream manipulation to make all the elves forget that she ever existed.

(A/N: There’s some pretty heavy subtext that Lucid had romantic feelings for Mercedes, although you could technically argue that Lucid merely idolized her. My take is that Lucid definitely has a deep desire to be needed by powerful beings, such as Mercedes, the Ruler of the Elves, or the Black Mage, the Transcendent of Light. Given how easily attachment can lead to attraction, I can definitely see how she could have developed feelings for both Mercedes and the Black Mage.)

Phantom was a master thief, infamous for stealing the treasures of the aristocracy. Born a street urchin in Ariant, he was taken under the wing of Raven, a famous thief who taught the boy everything he knew. After Raven was killed while defusing a bomb, Phantom carried on his legacy by stealing from the nobility he resented as a child.

As stories of his exploits grew, Empress Aria, the ruler of Maple World, became intrigued by Phantom and wished to meet him, though she knew that he would never come to Ereve, as the kingdom had nothing worth stealing. In order to lure him out, she spread rumors of a gem called Skaia, which was said to glow in the hands of someone of the Empress’ bloodline. Just as she had planned, Phantom arrived to steal the gem, though he was accidentally caught in a magic trap. Hoping that he would listen to the problems she faced as the Empress, Aria freed him from the trap and helped him escape from the guards.

Phantom soon visited her again, but instead of stealing Skaia, he tried to convince her to give it to him, though Aria refused. This quickly became a game for them every night, where he would come to visit her under the pretense of stealing her treasure. Over time, they slowly fell in love and spent long nights speaking and enjoying each other’s company. Phantom was intrigued by Aria’s idealism and her pursuit of equality, which was so different from that of the other nobles he had encountered.

One night, Aria told Phantom that the Black Mage had requested to send an envoy to Ereve in order to negotiate an end to the war. However, the conference was a trap, and Aria was killed by Lotus. Phantom rushed to Ereve upon hearing the news, but he found that he was too late to prevent her death. A wounded Shinsoo entrusted Skaia to Phantom and asked him to safeguard it, unaware that it was merely a common gem with no magical properties. Hellbent on revenge, Phantom approached Freud and requested to join the other Heroes. 

A sixth hero, whose name was lost to time, was Freud’s best friend. Having grown up as a war orphan without a name, this hero became a wandering mercenary - developing the fighting style of a pirate - and survived countless trials in the wake of endless death around him, leaving him without purpose or desire. When he first met Freud, he told Freud that he had nothing to live for, to which Freud told him that he had nothing to die for either. This motivated the hero to keep living, and so he dedicated his life to the one who had saved him. Freud even gave the hero a name, which he cherished deeply. (A/N: This isn’t his current name, Shade. He apparently has another name, which Freud gives him, likely a nickname, but we neither know that nor his birth name, if he even had one.) With no family, no clan, and no attachments, the hero had no ties but to the comrades who stood alongside him.