PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 11: The Six Heroes

• Thanks to Ryude’s sacrifice, six Heroes united in order to stand together against the Black Mage.

• Freud, the Dragon Master, was a talented magician who cared deeply about animals. He formed the first Spirit Pact with Afrien, the King of Onyx Dragons, allowing their power to exponentially increase from the union of their souls.

• Aran was a powerful warrior who wielded a legendary polearm containing a spirit named Maha.

• Luminous was a mage of Aurora created from the light that the Black Mage had cast aside. Though that light had been meant to fade away, the mages of Aurora used their light magic to reincarnate it as a young boy, Luminous, who became known as the Starchild. Fearing that the Black Mage may one day come to destroy him, the mages of Aurora raised another girl named Lucia, who was strong in light magic, as the false Starchild. Lucia grew up with Luminous and became close friends with him. When the Black Mage returned to wipe out Aurora, Luminous was able to escape, unknowingly leaving Lania to be killed by the Black Mage.

• Mercedes was the queen of elves who considered it to be her duty to face the Black Mage. Mercedes was adored by two elf children named Athena Pierce and Lucid, who both wished to follow Mercedes into battle. Though Mercedes refused to put them in danger, Lucid decided to follow her on the night that she was set to leave. However, she found that Athena Pierce had gotten there first, and that Mercedes had agreed to allow her to come, entrusting her with the elven treasure, the Mistelteinn, for protection. Burning with jealousy, Lucid ran away from Elluel and used her dream magic to make all the elves forget that she ever existed.

• Phantom was a master thief who stole from the rich. After hearing stories about a legendary gem called Skaia, said to belong to the Empress, he traveled to Ereve in order to steal it from Empress Aria. Instead of stealing it, however, he merely asked her to hand it over, which she refused. This quickly became a game for them, with both of them falling in love with each other. One night, Aria invited the Black Mage’s envoys to Ereve for a peace conference. However, Orchid and Lotus, who were sent by the Black Mage, instead attacked Ereve and killed Aria. Vowing revenge on the Black Mage and his Commanders, Phantom decided to join the Heroes in order to kill the ones who had taken his beloved, as well as to protect Aria’s dream for a better world.

• A sixth hero, whose name was lost to time, was a pirate and Freud’s best friend. Having grown up alone, the pirate hero became close with the Heroes, whom he considered his family.