PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 10: The Winter Bard

In El Nath, a mercenary named Ryude was telling his second-in-command, Hazelle, that he would often ask the people of his village if they liked the snow. Many dismissed him and some even grew angry, as the snows of El Nath were responsible for the cold and hunger. Though many believed that the snow was punishment, Ryude believed snow to be love, beautiful and pure.

Just as he asked Hazelle whether he liked the snow, a soldier arrived and reported that their forces were in position. Ryude then ordered them to signal for attack. In the distance, Ryude saw a tower standing and asked Hazelle what it was. Hazelle told him that it was a warning beacon created by the Dragon Master Freud in order to warn the people if the end of the world was upon them. Ryude scoffed that the end of the world was always imminent and asked what the Dragon Master was doing while everything was falling apart.

After the battle, Hazelle reported that the shelter had been destroyed and asked, with the harshest winter in ages approaching, where the refugees should be sent. Ryude recalled how, as a child, he had believed that the never-ending war would one day end. As a mercenary, he fought for a king whom he had never seen, and it had been years until he had seen the truth.

Just then, a small child approached them and offered to sell a harp for small change. Ryude bought the harp and told Hazelle that he had always wanted to be a bard. Hazelle asked if they should go to the neighboring country, where a civil war was brewing. Ryude then made the spontaneous decision to stop being a mercenary and told Hazelle to lead the others in his place.

Five years later, Ryude had become a traveling bard. One day, he encountered a girl being attacked by a Thorny Bear and began playing his harp to calm it down. He told her that it had a cub nearby, and that they grew aggressive when protecting their young. Ryude was surprised to see that the girl had made it so far into the snowfield without proper winter gear, clad only in a dress.

The girl suddenly sneezed, startling Ryude and causing one of the strings on his harp to break. The lulled Thorny Bear suddenly grew aggressive again and began to attack the girl. Ryude jumped down from his perch and hit the bear with his harp, causing it to run off. The girl then snapped that it had taken her three days to find the bear and asked why he would make it run away. Ryude told her that he had saved her life and, noticing that her lips were blue, took her back to his camp, promising to help her capture another one later.

At the camp, Hazelle told Ryude that they had run out of firewood, and so Ryude decided to visit a nearby Volcano Bug nest to find more. After returning, Hazelle told him that Mylar had returned while he had been out. Mylar amusedly told Ryude that he had heard that Ryude had broken his harp yet again, asking what the point of his sword was. He then had Ryude collect Pine Resin from Large Beetles in order to get the materials needed to fix the harp.

While Mylar got to work, the camp enjoyed a meal of snow rabbits with the girl, who thanked them. After hearing them call Ryude ‘boss’, she asked if they were soldiers. Mylar clarified that they were retired mercenaries. Though there used to be more of them, the rest of their company had gone home, leaving only the three of them to travel around. Mylar asked the girl what she was doing all the way out in the snowfield, to which she explained that she was collecting unique animals for the Ark in anticipation of the end of the world.

Though Hazelle thought that the girl was out of her mind, Mylar explained how there were rumors that someone called the Black Mage had joined the fight. The girl silently noted to herself that the Black Mage had finally revealed himself. Ryude sat up at the mention of the Black Mage and asked who he was. Hazelle explained that amidst all the chaos, many people were turning to dark magic, to which Ryude simply told him not to pay mind to rumors. Mylar then told him that they needed to stock up on food before war broke out. Ryude noted that they were near the Lion King’s Castle when the girl reminded him about his promise.

The next day, Ryude went with the girl to capture a Thorny Bear cub. Mylar told him that the Lion King’s Castle was near the Thorny Bear den and asked him to check it out while they were in the area. After finding a cub for the girl, Ryude felt that something was wrong and headed closer to the Lion King’s Castle, just as the girl called after him that the Thorny Bear cub was too small to adjust well to captivity.

In the distance, Ryude was surprised to see that the castle was in flames, and as the Lion King was a beacon of courage to the men of El Nath, to see such a man’s castle aflame had shaken him. The mercenaries and the girl rushed to the castle and found that all the soldiers were missing. Ryude suspected that the castle had been attacked, but saw that there were no intruders in sight. The girl warned them not to go inside, as they might not come out alive. However, Ryude told her that his music was inspired by life and asked what kind of bard he would be if he never tested his bravery.

As the mercenaries debated amongst themselves, the girl decided to leave by herself in order to continue finding animals for her Ark. Hazelle decided to follow her and Ryude told him to send up a signal if anything went wrong. Ryude and Mylar then went inside the castle and found strange monsters around. Mylar suspected that dark magic was at work and suggested that they leave. Just then, Ryude heard someone scream and asked Mylar to use his magic to find them.

While Mylar prepared to cast his locator spell, Ryude thinned out the Crockies to help him concentrate. After Mylar cast the spell, Ryude followed it to find a dazed soldier telling Ryude to keep away in fright. Ryude cleared out the Bearwolves to help calm the soldier’s nerves, after which the soldier began muttering about the Lion King and the evil Shamaness before passing away. Ryude returned to Mylar and suggested that they leave, but Mylar then told him that he had detected two more survivors in the inner castle.

Ryude fought past the monsters alone and entered the castle, where he found Hilla speaking with Von Leon. Hilla asked Von Leon how his revenge had been, to which Von Leon replied that it had been too easy and wondered whether the Black Mage was really that strong. Hilla replied that the Black Mage was more powerful than he could imagine. At the mention of the Black Mage, Ryude immediately recognized that the pair were the perpetrators of all the destruction.

Though his instincts told him to run, he continued deeper into the castle. Hilla told Von Leon that with his revenge mission completed, all Commanders were to commence with a coordinated attack on Ereve, which would easily fall before a surprise attack of such a magnitude. (A/N: I believe that this is the same event that leads to the death of Empress Aria.) Von Leon then told Ryude to show himself, upon which he said that he remembered Ryude’s face while drawing his blade. As Ryude attempted to retreat, Hilla blocked his escape. With no choice, Ryude engaged Von Leon in a duel.

As they fought, Ryude wondered what had happened to the once great Lion King and weighted his options between fighting Von Leon and breaking past Hilla. As he continued thinking, Von Leon revealed that he was the one who had destroyed the cities of El Nath in retribution for the people of El Nath killing his beloved wife.

(A/N: Originally, GMS erroneously had Von Leon claim that the Cygnus Knights had killed Ifia, which doesn’t make sense, as the Cygnus Knights were created centuries later. Later on, GMS corrected this to say that the Alliance killed Ifia, which is technically correct, as the Anti-Black Mage Alliance was responsible for the attack. However, this alliance is separate from the present-day Maple Alliance. I called them a coalition on this site, rather than an alliance, in order to distinguish the two.)

Ryude told Von Leon that he would never be forgiven after all his heinous acts, but Von Leon replied that he didn’t seek forgiveness, claiming that it would be hypocritical of him to do so. He then pointed out that Ryude wasn’t blameless either, as he had killed countless men during his mercenary days. He asked Ryude whether he thought that he would reach salvation for his sins. Hilla then told Von Leon to hurry up, to which Von Leon asked Ryude what his name was, as he wished to remember him. However, Ryude replied that he didn’t like his name and asked Von Leon to finish him.

(A/N: The GMS localization for this storyline had Ryude say that he won’t give Von Leon the satisfaction of knowing. One of the major themes of this storyline is forgiveness. Throughout this story, we’re never told Ryude’s name, as most people simply refer to him as ‘mercenary’. The KMS and MSEA scripts leaned into this idea with Ryude disassociating himself from his name and identity because he feels guilt for what he’s done.)

As Von Leon moved for the final blow, the girl suddenly appeared and told Ryude that she had warned him not to go inside. Hilla was shocked to see the girl, whom she recognized as Alicia, the World Tree and the Transcendent of Life, as she believed that Alicia didn’t interfere with mortal affairs. (A/N: The Transcendents of Maple World typically removed themselves from the affairs of the world, unlike the Transcendents of Grandis, who actively shaped their realm, such as how Aeona destroyed over seven races of Grandis.) Alicia told her that unlike most times, she had need of Ryude and teleported them both away.

Safely away from the Lion King’s Castle, Ryude stood dazed in shock at the thought of the world actually ending. Alicia told him that the Black Mage was a Transcendent, just as she was, and that his quest for ultimate darkness would mean the end of all life in Maple World. Ryude then passed out and had a dream that he was walking in an endless snowfield, where those who had fallen in battle rose one by one in penance for his crimes, telling him to look upon the horrors that he had wrought.

Ryude awoke to find that Mylar had carried him back to Hazelle, who had gathered the survivors of the Lion King’s assault. Alicia then told Ryude that she had saved him because he still needed to keep his promise to help her find full-grown animals, not cubs like the Thorny Bear. At the thought of cubs, Ryude felt sick to his stomach as he recalled the child who had sold him his harp, wondering what fate had befallen upon the boy. Suddenly, monsters found their encampment and Ryude took up his sword to fight them off while the refugees escaped.

The other mercenaries caught up with him, where they found him staring at the corpse of that same child who had sold him his harp. Ryude decided that he had to warn the world that the end was approaching, hoping that some hero would answer the call. He ordered Hazelle and Mylar to rally anyone who could fight, intent on going to the Dragon Master’s Tower. As they traveled, Alicia explained to Ryude that the Black Mage was the Transcendent of Light, and that she was the Transcendent of Life. Though titles like Transcendent and Dragon Master were foreign to him, Ryude decided to ignore all those distractions and focus on his journey ahead.

Several days later, Ryude and the mercenaries arrived at the tower and asked Mylar how long it would take to send the beacon up. Mylar explained that five magicians were required to light it, and so it would take fifteen days for him to do it alone. However, he believed that the enemy would immediately take notice and arrive in far greater numbers than before. Ryude asked the soldiers, whom they had recruited from the refugees, if they would take orders from a mercenary, but the soldiers reassured him that they were beyond rank and would eagerly follow Ryude, whom they considered both a legend and hero.

Hazelle then told Ryude that Alicia had gone to search for animals. Ryude hoped that she would take care, as she had spent all her power in creating the Ark. He decided to go supervise her and collect rations for the soldiers while he was out. He helped one of the soldiers collect Mountain Turtle Eggs, after which the soldier thanked Ryude for saving his life many years ago. He asked why Ryude had disappeared after that final battle, to which Ryude explained that he couldn’t bear the war and death any longer.

He then found Alicia attempting to herd a Curly Cow and Ryude found sap from Insectivore Slimes to help lead it. He then gave Alicia a list of all nearby animals and their habits in order to aid her in her quest. Alicia was impressed that there were humans who actually kept their promises. Ryude reminded her that it was the very reason why she had saved him, to which Alicia agreed, adding that that she couldn’t just ignore him and let him die. She began explaining that she was the mother of all life, not the creator of all life, though she quickly trailed off before she could say anything more.

(A/N: This last line was omitted in the GMS localization, but it was meant to be a hint towards the Primordial God and the Overseers, who made and remade the universe and everything in it. The Winter Bard storyline was released in the Nova update, which also released Morass. This line was likely intended to allude towards the existence of beings even higher than Transcendents, which ultimately culminated in Esfera and Tenebris.)

Ryude asked Alicia why she didn’t take care of humans when she had such a warm heart, but Alicia retorted that she would never help humans, as they only harmed other living things, to which Ryude noted that she was a cold-hearted mother. As he turned to leave, Alicia asked if he was really going to fight the Black Mage’s army. Ryude told her that he had to try, to which Alicia replied that even if humans were to avoid the end of the world, they would still continue waging their terrible wars forever. She then told Ryude that humans would one day end their own world by killing each other repeatedly.

She explained that though humans were also precious and poor little children to her, she could never unconditionally love children who abandoned their own home. Ryude replied that she was right, but he then pointed out that it was in the nature of children to wander and go astray. He told Alicia that though it may take some time, humans would one day find a new home and settle down, and so he asked Alicia not to hate them too much.

When Alicia went quiet at his words, Ryude thought to himself that though he had no way to know what she was thinking, he hoped that she was feeling a bit of relief and some small level of sympathy towards humanity, as they were ultimately just lost children trying to find their way, in need of a mother who could guide them.

(A/N: GMS actually made Alicia a lot more sympathetic in their localization. When Ryude asks Alicia why she doesn’t help humans, she tells him that it’s because if she were to spend all her time helping humans, she wouldn’t have time to help any other living things. Personally, I much prefer the original KMS dialogue because it’s meant to parallel the Black Mage and how he caused great harm to humans as a result of distancing himself from humanity and believing that they were beyond salvation.

For Alicia, she saw the constant war and violence that plagued humanity, but instead of doing something about it, she chose to make an idiotic blanket statement that every single human being is the same, and that they don’t deserve to be saved. As a result, she willingly turned her gaze away from all the children and other innocent lives who were dying by the thousands, intervening to save Ryude only because she wanted to selfishly cash in on the favor that he owed her before he died.

The Black Mage was the same way, believing that the world was beyond salvation and deciding that the only possible solution was to destroy everything and start over from scratch. And just like the Black Mage wanting to create a perfect world with completed beings, Alicia also decided to create the Tower of Oz and save only the few chosen lives who she believed deserved to survive the end of the world.

But by the end of the story, Alicia changes her mind and realizes that Ryude was right about humans not being beyond salvation, which she comes to believe when Ryude selflessly sacrifices his life to light the beacon. This idea is also echoed with the Black Mage, who ultimately realizes that humanity isn’t beyond repair when the Adversary makes the selfless choice to save Tana, which results in him choosing not to remake the world.)

Back at the tower, Hazelle reported that they were short on rations, weapons, arrows, and people. Ryude suggested destroying the bridge in order to buy time, but Hazelle told him that in any case, they couldn’t last a week and recommended that they retreat and plan for the future. Just then, snow began to fall, and Ryude took it as a good sign.

Several days later, the snowfall had turned into a storm. Some distance away from the tower, Hilla believed that the storm was the wrath of the gods, but Von Leon told her that the gods hadn’t realized that snow wouldn’t stop them. Hilla asked why they hadn’t taken the gate, to which Von Leon replied that the mercenaries were adept at fighting in the snow and had managed to use the ice against them. He then ordered his forces to wear them down as Hilla decided to leave, unwilling to weather the cold.

Over the next several days, the mercenary and the other soldiers fought bravely as Mylar began to light the beacon. Mylar reported that it would activate around midnight the next day, though the Lion King’s main force was expected to arrive that same day. Alicia later found Ryude quietly crying at the top of the tower, where he told her that he feared that the next day’s battle would require great sacrifice. He asked Alicia if the Ark was ready, to which she replied that she only had one monster left, adding that she had also saved a spot for him on the Ark. She told him that all humans knew was war, but Ryude countered that they knew hope as well. Alicia told him not to die and promised to come back to see him one day.

As she headed off, Ryude asked her to pass his harp along to someone who would appreciate it. She asked him why, as she thought that he had wanted to be a bard. Ryude told her that he had finished his song, and that was enough for him. At her insistence, he played his song for her and the Thorny Bear cub. Meanwhile, Hilla used her powers to revive the fallen soldiers in order to learn the weak point in Ryude’s defense. After several soldiers refused to reveal anything, she finally encountered one soldier who told her that Ryude planned to destroy the bridge.

As nightfall approached, Hazelle asked Ryude what he had meant about snow being love many years ago. He told Hazelle that he had once realized that they had covered the world in ash and destruction, but the snow covered all the ugliness and sadness in the world to make it anew, as though the gods had forgiven for them for what they had done to their creation.

Soon after, the enemy’s main force arrived in large numbers and began to overwhelm Ryude’s soldiers, who had all been spread thin. Ryude checked on Mylar, who told him that Alicia had passed on a message to him. She said that as a Transcendent and the mother of all life, she forgave Ryude for all his sins and asked him to stop blaming himself. Mylar then told him that she had shared with him what little power remained to her, allowing him to complete the spell faster. Ryude rushed to the bridge in order to hold their position, giving Hazelle enough time to set off explosives on the mountainside.

Hilla was impressed by Ryude’s bravery, wondering if he was even human, but was surprised at the abrupt change of plans, as she had learned from the dead soldiers that they were planning to blow up the bridge. As Von Leon sent out his forces, Hazelle’s explosion created an avalanche to block the enemy. Over the next hour, all the soldiers fought to their last breath as Mylar succeeded in lightning the beacon. As Ryude lay dying, Von Leon approached him and congratulated Ryude for his victory, asking for his name and telling him that he had fought well.

(A/N: Ryude finally giving his name to Von Leon at the end of the storyline comes after Alicia forgives him and asks him to forgive himself. His last stand at the tower is meant to be his redemption for all his sins, with him reclaiming his identity as Ryude being meant to show that he’s finally forgiven himself.)

Meanwhile, Alicia succeeded in gathering up all the creatures she wanted on the Ark, which she then steered to the Tower of Oz, a place where all the surviving creatures could live in captivity safe from the Black Mage.