Summary
I'm sorry to say that Path of the Guardian will never be finished.
I started writing this story when I was in High School and had plenty of time on my hands to both play the game and write, but now that I'm older trying to juggle both college, a job, and trying to strike out on my own, I find that my free time as well as my ability to write have withered.
So instead of a new chapter, all I have for you, the reader, is a summary of the very end of the tale.
After enduring all of the events of all three of the main storylines in Legend of Mana, Reia and Syrian were attacked within Reia's home and discover that Rhylis, the Forsaken Wisdom, has captured Bud and Lisa. He grinned at the Guardian and Knight, stating that: "Mortals should not be allowed to walk amongst Gods and their Servants." and explained that because of this, he planned to destroy the two mortals for their indiscretion. The sky suddenly became dark with pitch black clouds with lightning ripping down towards the earth from the heavens. The ground trembled as all mana suddenly seemed to dry up and plants withered to dry husks. Alarmed and distraught by what just occured, Syrian and Reia aren't sure how to respond until they are summoned through a portal by Pokiehl the Cosmic Poet to strange house.
There, they see several familiar faces: Elazul, Pearl, Larc, Sierra, Daena, and Niccolo.
While everyone is relieved to see each other, knowing that at least they are with people they know rather than total strangers... they're also confused on why they were brought to the house. Larc and Sierra seem particularly annoyed because they are extremely distrustful of Wisdoms for their seemingly manipulative nature rather than allowing the events of the world to simply 'flow' as Dragons prefer.
It was then that Pokiehl explained that with every step Syrian and Reia have taken in their journey, with every action they have done, with every artifact they used their power on to bless locations upon the earth... they unlocked massive amounts of pure mana into the world. That mana concentrated at a single point where a very, very important sapling was regrowing after being sundered long ago – the Tree of Mana.
Now that Syrian and Reia had restored the world back to the way it was before the last of the Mana Tribe sealed things off into powerful artifacts, the Mana Tree was fully grown again. Unfortunately, it had grown to be corrupted because the evil that originally destroyed the Tree had never left the world. That evil remained deep within the ground, pushing more and more of itself into the growing Mana Tree until the sacred balance between Light and Dark was destroyed and the Mana Tree was plunged far into the extremes of Shadow. Because the Tree was been overtaken by its darker half, the Mana Tree was dying and once it perished... so would the rest of the world.
The group was stunned and unnerved to hear this. Larc growled out that there must be something they can do to return the Balance back to the tree... and Pokiehl agreed.
"Yes, yes there is indeed something you can do to restore the Balance. In fact, it is something that the eight of you, and only the eight of you... can do."
The Cosmic poet then told the story of the Moon Gods that were created by the Goddess who, after entrusting their Mana Stones to their chosen Flammies (the predecessors of the Eight Elemental Dragons of Mana), gave up the last of their power to the heavens and returned back to the moons they were born from. It was said that the Moon Gods would return during times of trouble, to protect the Mana Tree and heal the world.
It was then that Pokiehl tells the greatest secret of our tale:
...That all eight warriors that stood before him were actually the reincarnated forms of the Moon Gods born upon Fa'Diel to protect the Mana Tree and heal the world.
Tryne, the merciful God of Water... was reborn as Elazul, the Lapis Lazuli Jumi Knight.
Xerin, the passionate God of Fire... was reborn as Larc, the powerful Crimson Dragoon.
Barben, the generous God of Moon/Gold... was reborn as Niccolo, the money-loving Merchant of Smiles.
Libleyt, the hopeful Goddess of Wood... was reborn as Pearl, the Jumi who is both Knight and Guardian.
Mira, the patient Goddess of Earth... was reborn as Daena, the calm, collected Temple Monk of the stone Grottoes.
Zephra, the ethereal Goddess of Wind... was reborn as Sierra, the dragoon who moves as swift as a breeze.
Vera, the loving Goddess of Light... was reborn as Reia, the Mana Guardian with a heart of brilliance.
And finally, Farren, the silent God of Darkness... was reborn as Syrian, the Mana Knight with a soul of shadow.
As the eight Moon Gods, the truest children of the Mana Goddess, they were destined to make their way into the Mana Sanctuary located at the Tree of Mana and use their power to restore balance back into the world. The Cosmic Poet then gave each of the warriors a glimmering shard, the last remnants of each of their respective Mana Stones... and they were all immediately assaulted with memories of their true selves. The memories were both strange and familiar to them, feeling as if they belonged to another person entirely, while at the same time, feeling as though each person knew of such memories all their lives ...deep, deep down inside.
The group was stunned and disbelieving, Larc and Sierra immediately shouted that the Cosmic Poet was obviously trying to twist around fate as Wisdoms tend to do. They suspected everything was a trick and that they were not truly Moon Gods at all... but their protests were feeble. They knew that despite everything, that what Pokiehl stated was the truth. Unlike Rhylis, true Wisdoms never lie. Our heroes were indeed the Moon Gods reborn.
Faced with this knowledge, each of the heroes decided that they had to do what they were destined by fate to accomplish
They left Pokiehl's domain, seeking out the Mana Sanctuary and allowing Fate to guide them. Reia, very adept at that point in walking the threads and spirit-ways of Mana, easily used her power to find the location of the Mana Tree and the eight heroes set off.
When they got there, the Mana Tree looked rotten, ugly, dying. And at the very base of the Tree, they found a massive white wall surrounding the tree with an enormous gate at the front, sealed shut by the power of the Mana Goddess.
The gate was known as the Door of Fate. The heroes' Mana Shards suddenly flashed with a great light and suddenly the Eight Elemental Dragons of the Mana Goddess appeared at eight different points long the wall, each glowing a different color. They then gave up an offering of power according to their element to unlock the Gate as their powers were bestowed upon them by the Goddess. A low chant filled the air and it was revealed that the door and the Dragons were the Goddess' way of representing how everyone is consumed in Fate's mighty, inescapable flow. Everyone has a destiny they must meet, a reason why they are born. Everyone has a purpose. This is why all of the Eight Elemental Dragons prefer to let events simply happy and for fate to run its course – it is in their nature.
The Dragons:
Tiamat- the Dragon of Fire. Human Name: Nicole
Leviathan- the Dragon of Water. Human Name: Leon -- (See Bottom of Summary for Explanation on Human Names)
Tyr - the Dragon of Earth.
Eoghan- the Dragon of Wood.
Akravator- the Dragon of Wind
Inievar- the Dragon of Gold/Moon -- ( See Bottom of Summary for Explanation on Gold/Moon)
Jajara - the Dragon of Shadow
Valdise - the Dragon of Light
The gate swung open and the eight heroes rushed inside, they fought their way through various monsters, marveling at the beautiful white marble and intricate sculptures of the Outer Sanctuary of Mana as they climbed higher and higher up the Mana Tree.
Eventually, they found a second gate sealed off by the Mana Goddess' power that led to the Inner Sanctuary of Mana. That gate was known as the Door of Will. Like with the dragons, the Eight Wisdoms suddenly appeared on eight different points along the wall surrounding the Inner Sanctuary and they gave up offerings of energy to the gate that corresponded with their element. The door and the Wisdoms represent that while Fate carries us in many directions, we can also mold our own fates with our own wisdom and the strength of our own will. We all have intelligence, the Free Will, and the drive to change our Destinies. This is why all of the Eight Wisdoms prefer to try and shape events to a more favorable outcome, much to the dismay of the Eight Dragons – it is in their nature.
The Eight Wisdoms:
Tote– Widsom of Water
Olbohn – Wisdom of Fire -- (See Bottom of Summary for Explanation Olbohn being the Wisdom of Fire and the Baptism of Fire)
Gaeus – Wisdom of Earth
Rosiotti – Wisdom of Wood
Selva– Wisdom of Wind
Pokiehl– Wisdom of Light
Matilda – Wisdom of Gold
Escad– Wisdom of Darkness-- (See Bottom of Summary for Explanation on How Escad became the Wisdom of Darkness)
With all Eight Wisdoms offering up their power to unseal the gate, the gate opened and our heroes entered the Inner Sanctuary of Mana. They fought their way to the very top of the tree... where they found Rhylis standing in the center of a circular stone platform. His hands were raised high into the air and above him were Bud and Lisa, trapped within two magical orbs. He seemed to be preparing to offer up the elves' bodies as sacrifices to the dark half of the Mana Tree, but when the group foiled his efforts, he sacrificed his own body to the Tree. The Tree infused all of its Darkness, all of the evil that had been sitting within the world for ages... into Rhylis' body. He transformd into a terrible, enormous monster.
"I am the Servant of the Mana Tree, Servant of the Goddess!" The creature roared, long, gnashing teeth snapping at the air around them! "All this time the Goddess has shown you Light, brilliance...
...now it is time that she show you Darkness!"
The monster then attacked.-- (See Bottom of Summary for Explanation on Rhylis, the Forsaken Wisdom.)
After a long grueling battle that ended with both Reia and Syrian striking the killing blow at the same time, the eight heroes eventually defeated the monstrous, transformed Rhylis, which also destroyed the evil that was plaguing the Mana Tree. Rhylis, finally freed from the control of the terrible force, was relieved to able to die untainted by the malevolence that consumed his mind for so long. He expressed his remorse at being unable to prevent himself from being used as a pawn and guilt choked him, he wept in grief until Pokiehl arrived to comfort his old friend. Rhylis passed away, peacefully listening to one of Pokiehl's songs. His spirit passed down to the Underworld where Escad, the Wisdom of Darkness and now the new ruler of the Underworld, granted Rhylis passage to the High Sanctuary of Mana where all good, brave souls pass on to be with the Goddess.
Standing on the circular platform, all of the eight heroes placed their shards of Mana Stone into the very center of the platform and focused all of their energy upon the shards in order to try and heal the Mana Tree. When nothing seemed to happen, Reia recalled a dream she had very, very early in her journey when an old Mana Knight told her that female members of the Mana Tribe become one with the tree, defending the tree with their spirit energy, and call the sproutlings for the healing process.
While the other heroes focued their energy on the shards, Reia sacrificed herself to the Mana Tree, pressing her hands against the soft bark of the Tree and allowing the massive tree to absorb her. Syrian attempted to stop her, but was too late.
With one of the reincarnated moon gods missing, everything seemed lost. The whole world suddenly plunged into pitch black void and the heroes could see nothing outside of their circular stone platform. It was as if they were floating in an ocean of ink. Feeling defeated, Syrian sat down upon the stone and mourned the loss of Reia. He thought back to all of their experiences together and realized that even if he tried, he would no longer be able to harden his heart like stone because of how much love and joy Reia was able to bring into what was once a miserable life.
( For the rest of this summary, those of you that have the Chrono Cross Soundtrack, should try to play the 13th track on the 3rd disk. That 'soundtrack' is very, very fitting for this moment. )
Suddenly, there was a soft chiming noise, and then another, and another. One by one, the heroes, feeling defeated and lost, looked up in the direction of the beautiful sound, and saw that their shards, infused with all of their energy, were floating in the air by themselves, brilliant, sparkling, flashing with light over and over again until they made wonderful music – an uplifting song with their soft ringing tones.
The Mana Shards all suddenly flashed in unison and the Mana Tree blazed to life with a holy aura, looking beautiful and green instead of rotten and ugly. There was another radiant flash and light filled the heavens, a blue sky spreading out overhead in a rich, glorious azure. The Mana Shards flashed again and a gorgeous, fantastic green flared across the earth. All the plants that had withered and died surged back into full bloom. Another flash erupted from the Shards and all around for miles, the heroes could suddenly see Sproutlings raining from the sky, landing on the Mana Tree and preparing to heal it. Soft white petals fell from the heavens like snow, and with one final flash, Reia appeared, floating in midair and surrounded by a pale white aura. Her eyes were closed and she looked as if she were sleeping.
Syrian jumped up to his feet, racing to be directly beneath his Guardian's body as she gently floated down from the air and into his arms. As he held her, Reia stirred, her eyes fluttering, and when she awakened fully, she smiled at her Knight, reaching out a hand to caress the side of his face. Overjoyed, Syrian kissed her, holding her tightly to his body, and the rest of the heroes, as well as Bud and Lisa, burst into celebration as all of Fa'Diel seemed to glow with renewed energy, renewed mana, renewed strength.
The world is at balance at last.
It seems my story has reached its end. Thank you for reading this far, it means a great deal to me and my Tribe that you cherished this story so greatly. Perhaps one day, I will be able to finish it in detail, but until then, I hope this summary comforts those who were upset at not knowing what was to come.
I have additional note and explanations I will leave below. If you, the reader, has any more questions for me, please feel free to ask and I will answer to the best of my ability and knowledge on this tale.
--Lurial Valen'duex
Scribe of the Mana Goddess
Knight of the Mana Tribe
Final Notes:
1. Explanation on Alexandrite: In Path of the Guardian, Alexandrite actually has split personality syndrome due to the nature of his/her stone. The heart-stone changes from purple to green. When it is purple, the Jumi is a male named Alexandrite who is kind, protects others, and is unwilling to harm anyone. He loves Florina with all his heart, but is understanding to her duty despite how tragic it is.
When the stone is green, the Jumi becomes Sandra, a female Jumi who loves Florina, but to an obsessive degree, willing to kill others for Florina's sake. Alexandrite hates it when he becomes Sandra, knowing that a great deal of blood is on his hands because of what he becomes when his heart-stone turns green.
2. Explanation On Tiamat and Leviathan's Human Names: Out of all the Elemental Dragons, Leviathan and Tiamat enjoyed the company of humans, finding them both interesting and amusing. Because they spent so much time around them, they quickly acquired human names to more easily blend in with the populace undetected. The other dragons didn't bother getting human names as they didn't mingle with humans as often as Tiamat and Leviathan did.
3. Explanation On Moon and Gold, Luna and Aura: In the beginning, there was no Gold Elementals or Gold power. Instead there was Moon power and Barben was the God of such gifts, his elemental was known as Luna. (Those who know the story of Secret of Mana will understand Luna and Moon Power.)
Unfortunately, when evil continued to spread across the world, instead of the Moon being a constant celestial light in the sky like the sun, the Moon began to wane and wax as Darkness struggled with Light. This made the powers of the Moon very unstable - so unstable that Barben was close to death. The Dragon of the Moon at the time, known as Inievar, spoke with Moon Elemental Luna on how they could possibly save the god's life. They decided that instead of Barben drawing his energy from the power of the Moon... they would convince him to draw his energy towards something else the god greatly coveted – Gold.
Because of this change in Barben from being the God of the Moon to the God of Gold, both the Moon Dragon Inievar and the Moon Elemental Luna were forced to be reborn into new forms. Ineivar was reborn as Kytha, the young spunky dragoon of Tiamat who eventually awakened and recalled her former self. Luna was reborn as Aura, the Gold Elemental.
This change from Moon to Gold, from Luna to Aura is also why the Bud mentions that "There were Seven Wisdoms, but the Seventh is missing now." The Seventh wisdom was the Wisdom of the Moon, who vanished from the world when the change occurred. This is also why a new Seventh Wisdom, Matilda, the Wisdom of Gold, had to be chosen.
Rhylis, the Forsaken Wisdom of Darkness, was pursuing Kytha in order to prevent her from remembering her true self. After all, if she couldn't remember who she was in time, she would not be able to assist the other dragons in opening the Door of Fate, which would prevent the heroes from entering the Outer Sanctuary of Mana
4. Explanation on Baptism of Fire and the Underworld: Rhylis, the Wisdom of Darkness, was the original keeper of the Underworld, but when he vanished, Oblohn took his place to ensure that the Underworld would not fly into chaos. To strengthen his power in a place that was far more innately filled with shadow than fire, he made it mandatory for all spirits to be baptized by Fire, the Wisdom's element, before fully entering the Underworld. This is why the Baptism of Fire exists. He also infused the Underworld with as much fire as he could before taking residence there. Olbohn also attempted to try and become the Wisdom of Darkness, but found that his soul did not carry enough Darkness in it to take Rhylis' place.
5. Explanation on How Escad became the Wisdom of Darkness: By the end of the Matilda/Irwin arc, Escad finally redeems himself and finds freedom from his abominable hatred through his love for Matilda, his memory of the slain fairy he befriended, ... and his memory of his old friendship with Irwin.
It is revealed that it was Rhylis, the Forsaken Wisdom, who planted seeds of doubt into young Escad's mind ten years ago that Irwin was going to do something terrible to Matilda in the mines, which lead to their battle and subsequent deaths in the mines. Escad discovers that rather than trying to kill Matilda ten years ago, Irwin was merely trying to save her from life of a priestess that she didn't want by stealing away her elemental powers. After all, if Matilda didn't have her elemental powers, she couldn't become the next priestess of the temple which would allow her to live a life of her own choosing. Irwin didn't expect her to suddenly age so quickly or to be in danger.
Because of this, Escad's hatred melts away and he tries to reach out to Irwin, attempting speak sense to his old half-demon companion and convince his former friend not to destroy the human world... but nothing works. Irwin's bitterness towards the human society that tried to prevent him from having a relationship with Matilda was at its peak. He feels he's gone too far, come too far, to stop now and that nothing, not even a mended friendship with Escad, can stop him. Escad becomes allies and friends with the Mana Children to assist them in preventing Irwin from destroying the human world, but allows Daena to go slay Irwin instead of himself out of the fear that if he faces Irwin, he wouldn't be able to do the job. He instead puts all of his efforts into protecting Matilda as was his original duty as her Holy Knight. He works hard to keep their relationship as platonic as possible for her sake, but obviously still cares for her a great deal.
After both Irwin and Matilda pass away, Escad descends back down to the Underworld to continue to defend Matlida as her Holy Knight and when she becomes the Wisdom of Gold, he is made the new Wisdom of Darkness so that they will be able to remain together. As the new Wisdom of Darkness, he becomes the new ruler of the Underworld, controlling the flow of spirits and directing them from one plane to the next. He does his job well, and is often seen speaking amicably with an old friend that doesn't quite wish to leave the Underworld yet...
6.Explanation on Rhylis, the Forsaken Wisdom: Before he became traitorous and became the Forsaken Wisdom, Rhylis was an intelligent, kind-hearted Wisdom of Darkness who ruled the Underworld with grace and gentle efficiency, directing the flow of spirits from one world to the next without problems and more importantly... without the Shadoles that Olbohn is partial to. He and Pokiehl the Cosmic Poet were known to be extremely good friends and often traveled together as a unit across Fa'Diel. When evil overwhelmed the world and caused the destruction of the Mana Tree, the two Wisdoms arrived at the place where the Mana Tree once stood and beheld the aftermath of the Tree's destruction together with great dismay.
There was nothing left of the Great Tree but ashes. They searched around helplessly for any sign of hope that all was not lost and were both about to give up when Rhylis suddenly came upon a tiny, miniscule sapling. The little green plant was the regrowing Mana Tree!
Overjoyed, Rhylis called out to Pokiehl and reached out to brush away ash from the sapling's leaves so that it would better absorb sunlight. However, the moment he touched the Mana Sapling's leaves, the great evil that had originally destroyed the Mana Tree shot up from the plant and absorbed into Rhylis body. It had been resting within the tiny sapling's body, readying itself to shoot into a target.
Even though Rhylis was the Wisdom of Darkness, the pure, unadulterated shadow of the evil lurking within the ground was far too much for any living being to take - no matter what their innate element was. Rhylis' mind shattered apart at that very moment and when Pokiehl ran over, the Cosmic Poet witnessed his good friend screaming in agony, his body rigid, back arched, head thrown back...
The Poet immediately tried to find a way to ease his friend's pain, but Rhylis fell backwards and when his body hit the ground, the Wisdom of Darkness burst into a thousand glittering violet and black dots that vanished into the sky. After many years of fruitless searches, Rhylis was presumed dead by all the other Wisdoms for many years. Olbohn took over as ruler of the Underworld and Pokiehl became much more reclusive, spending more time speaking to sproutlings.
When Rhylis reappeared again, his mind and body were chained by the evil that had destroyed the first Mana Tree and he was nothing more but a pawn being controlled by a terrible force. As the controlled pawn, he is the man behind a great deal of the issues and old wounds of the past all the heroes faced.
It was he who summoned the Lord of Jewels and introduced the creature to Sandra/Alexandrite, convincing her that if the Lord was fed 1,000 Jumi Cores, the Lord would have enough power to revive Florina. After all, if Elazul and Pearl were killed, they would not be able to save the Mana Tree.
It was he who posed as Olbohn and showed Larc the possible 'future' of Sierra getting killed by a monster. After all, if he could help Draconis trick Larc, Sierra would die, Larc would forever be a monster, and neither would be able to help save the Mana Tree.
It was he who tricked Escad into thinking that both Daena, Irwin, and all demi-humans were not trustworthy. He tricked Escad into thinking that Irwin was planning to harm or even kill Matilda in the Mines, and built up Escad's hatred for demi-humans in the Underworld. After all, if Escad's incredible hatred peaked enough, he would be at odds with Daena and would end up killing her, preventing Daena from helping to save the Mana Tree.