Mikry Forest

The Mikry Forest is the largest forest that can be found in the Rim at Metafalss. Despite the Rim being a solid metal structure with some dirt and earth poured over, this place has an abundance of thick plants and large trees, which was thought as impossible by everyone. It's located halfway through between the General Store and Frontier Town Mint Block.
==History==
===Backstory===
====Creation====
The Mikry Forest was originally nothing more than a barren area similar to the Ironplate Desert located further to the center of the Rim. However, this changed when the first Maiden of Mio, Infel, assembled a group of researchers and engineers called the People of Mio for the creation of Metafalica. They did countless experiments for the development of the main tool that would be required for this task: Infel Phira, and to ascertain if it would be possible to use it for its intended purpose. Finally, the experiments bore fruit and created a small Heart of the Land called Metafalica-Alpha, which Infel gave to one of her subordinates and asked him to use it to enrich the Rim. This was later on planted in that arid place and caused the sprouting of the plants and life, creating the Mikry Forest as we know it.
====Leyka's Capture====
One night, a 3 year-old girl called Leyka Trulyworth had an IPD outbreak episode of a tremendous magnitude, so fearing she would get captured by the Grand Bell, her family took her away deep into the forest, into the Coal Lodge. However, shortly they were found, Leyka's outbreak was quelled and she was captured by Laude. Her father, Batz Trulyworth, did the best he could to save her while he also stalled for time to allow his wife, Reisha, and his other daughter, Luca, to run away to a safe place. However, he couldn't take back Leyka and instead got killed by the knights. These events ended gradually causing the fallout of the relationship between Luca and Reisha, and led to the mindset Luca would come to have 14 years later.
===Current Events===
====First Visit====
After resting for a while in the General Store, Cloche Leythal Pastalia, Luca Trulyworth, Cocona Bartel and Croix Bartel arrived at this place during their journey to Mint Block. Cocona remarked on how thick the place was and that she hadn't ever seen so many plants growing in the same place, with which Croix agreed, as she had never left Lush Capital Pastalia and there weren't any places similar to the forest in it.
Croix then noticed that Cloche seemed to be exhausted, which Cloche quickly brushed off while ordering him to take her to the Coal Lodge, deeper inside the forest, to meet up with Leglius Branchesca: her subordinate and Croix's direct superior. However, Croix refused, as the meeting was planned to take place in the next full Cello Moon, which wouldn't be until a few more days, and suggested instead to head to Luca's house as they had planned. Cloche could only reluctantly agree with him.
They then noticed that Luca was kneeling down in the ground, and when asking her what happened, she remarked she was quite lucky because she had found a Dualithnode Crystal. She intended to go and sell it off to gain quite a bit of money, but Cloche intruded, and offended at the prospect of Luca using what she considered a holy item in such a way, she told Luca that as long as she was there, she wouldn't allow her to do that. Croix then entered the conversation asking what these crystals were, but both girls just told him that men didn't need to know that, so he just decided to leave the topic rest as they departed for Mint Block. However, as they left, a mysterious girl appeared, apparently spying on them...
====Diquility and the Ambush====
A few days later, Croix and the others returned to the forest to meet up with Leglius in the Coal Lodge. Once there, they found Leglius, who remarked he had been waiting for quite a bit of time. He also questioned Cloche on the topic of her health, but she quickly brushed off and decided to ask about the state of affairs in Metafalss, but the answer wasn't pleasant in the slightest for her, which as Croix correctly guessed, was about the true successor to the Pope. In fact, the Sacred Army had found their new leader with the appearance of a young man that was supposedly the last living member of the Imperial Family and the grandchild of the previous Pope, and his finding was what sprung them to take action, beginning with the attempt on Cloche's life while she was resting over at the Rakshek Resort.
However, this wasn't the end of the rumors: the Sacred Army supposedly had gained the favor of the Goddess and now had Her power at their disposal. Leglius then told Cloche that the war declaration they did a few days ago was a bad move, as apparently this was what made the Goddess make their move to annihilate them. Cloche didn't care about it and declared that anyone who allied with Her would be considered an enemy that should be crushed. Luca decided to voice her thoughts and told Cloche that just suppressing other people through force was a terrible idea, and that if they continued their current course, they wouldn't be any different from the Goddess. This enraged Cloche, who told her to not intrude in matters that were beyond her understanding, while Luca replied she was worried and decided to tell her this, but Cloche just told her that they had all sorts of plans for all the possible scenarios that could unfold, which made Luca give in and apologize for intruding in the conversation, although she also told Cloche she didn't have to say it in such an unpleasant way. Cloche began telling her this wasn't the time to listen to everyone's opinions, but then she collapsed...
Leglius immediately recognized this was because her last Diquility dose was about to expire, and upon seeing Croix's confusion on the subject, Luca explained that Reyvateils would die if they didn't receive doses of said life extending agent once each three months. She also added it wasn't necessary for Croix to be the one to administer Diquility to Cloche, but Leglius replied that it was his responsibility due to being Cloche's bodyguard and their current state being an emergency. Leglius asked Croix if he knew what Diquility was, to which he replied he didn't know, so Leglius gave him the agent and told him to insert it into Cloche's Install Port. Croix was shocked that something so large would be able to be inserted in Cloche, while Leglius just told him that the insertion was always painful and asked him to do it gently.
However, Cloche awakened right before Croix began the insertion, clarifying she had been conscious the entire time Leglius gave the explanation, and telling Croix she couldn't believe that things would have come down to this. Croix told her that someone else could do the insertion if she wished, but Cloche retorted that he had to do it because his current mission was to protect her, and that he would be abandoning his duties if he refused. Leglius then decided to give them some privacy and put some distance between them and himself. Cloche told Croix that she wouldn't forgive him if this harmed her, and pleaded to slowly and carefully slide the crystal into her port. The insertion then began, which made Cloche scream in pain and threaten Croix with expulsion from the knights if he made it hurt again, to which Croix couldn't give a very good response.
On the other hand, Luca ran away upon seeing the scene and found Cocona, who was kneeling in the ground and seemed to be very tired. When Luca asked, she replied that it was due to tiredness, while Luca remarked that this was a long journey. Cocona then asked what happened, to which Luca replied she was worried and went to search for her. Cocona laughed saying that she had heard some stories about Luca from Croix and she was glad she was actually as nice as she had head. At that moment, Leglius reappeared and told them to not wander very far, as there were monsters all over the place. Luca just apologized and helped Cocona back on her feet. They then returned to the place in which Croix and Cloche were.
However, they were met with the unpleasant surprise that the Sacred Army had ambushed them. The Sacred Army knights expressed their surprise to seeing Leglius in this place and remarked they would have to kill them all now. Croix asked why they were so focused on killing Cloche, to which they replied she would be the cause of ruin for Metafalss. Cloche was deeply offended from this, and asked them if they said this fully knowing she was the descendant of the Maidens. The knights retorted that she was no legitimate descendant from the Maidens, and announced that as the Maiden of Ruin, she would be purged now.
Croix and the others managed to defeat the knights, but their reinforcements showed up immediately, leaving Croix and the others in a very precarious situation. Leglius explained this was their territory, and were at a definite disadvantage here. The knights ordered them to give up, to which Croix replied that he would continue protecting Cloche even if that would mean the sacrifice of his own life. The knights just told him that he would have it his way, and ordered to the Reyvateils that were behind them to sing all at once to wipe them off in a single strike. Cocona suggested to cut up an opening between them and run away, but Leglius told them that such an strategy wouldn't work because they were a group. However, when the Reyvateils were about to unleash their songs, Luca screamed and released a power no one had ever seen before while also having a vision of a girl trapped in some kind of pod, knocking out the Reyvateils and causing the Sacred Army to retreat in fear.
Luca fell to her knees, which prompted Croix to check her. Luca told him she was okay and just felt a little dizzy. Cocona told her that was amazing and wondered what she did, to which Luca replied she got very scared because she thought they were going to die. However, Leglius cut her off and suggested to leave the place before more knights showed up, and thus they decided to return to Luca's house. However, behind some trees near them, the mysterious girl was watching them, and told to herself that she had finally found "her".
====A Mysterious Girl====
While they were leaving the forest, they saw a girl collapsed in the ground with an strange creature at her side, which was vainly attempting to wake her up. They tried to make her regain consciousness, but the girl only uttered she was hungry when she finally awakened. Cocona handed to her some of the food they were carrying, which made the girl devour all of it. She thanked the party for this, while Croix asked her if she was all right and Leglius noted how she ate up all of the rations they were carrying.
Luca then decided to ask the girl why she was lying in that place, to which the girl just replied she had been traveling for days without any food or water and finally collapsed due to that. Cloche then asked her to introduce herself, which the girl did: her name was Amarie Gelade while the creature that was at her side was called Soope. She added that Soope wasn't very useful but was a pretty nice pillow, which made Soope angry at her and caused it to hit her until she apologized for saying that. Both Cloche and Luca remarked on how cute it was and that they had never seen an animal similar to it before. Amarie agreed with them, although she had been traveling with Soope for quite some time. Croix expressed relief about Amarie being okay now, and advised her to carry enough food next time. However, as they were about to leave, Amarie asked to go with them, as she could be of help with her archery skills. Croix asked her if she wasn't going to some other place, so Amarie confessed she didn't have any place to stay or any money to pay for an inn, so Luca decided to let her stay in her house for the night. This made Amarie extremely grateful to Luca to the point she even called her "best friend", much to Leglius chagrin. They then went back to Mint Block.
====Final Parting====
After Reisha Trulyworth was killed by Raki at the Moon Culvert, the members of the party transported her body back to the Coal Lodge in Mikry Forest and buried her there, to then leave Cloche and Luca alone for a while for them to say their final goodbyes to their mother. Luca wished she could have talked more with Reisha, and apologized to Cloche for being such an idiot, as she had been at Reisha's side all her life and could never tell her how she felt. Luca realized that most likely, she thought that Reisha would be always there for her, and that she could wait for another moment to express her feelings... but now Reisha was gone, she had learned that nothing lasted forever, and that she had even made her mother think that she hated her. Sobbing, Luca told Cloche she could never hate her mother, and lamented the fact that she couldn't have a happy relationship with her... and now it was too late to do anything about it. Cloche comforted her, and reminded her that this wasn't the time for tears or regrets, as their mother had given up her life to protect them, and they had to live their lives to the fullest to not waste Reisha's sacrifice. They both then vowed to do their best, and returned to Mint Block to plan what they would do now with the rest of the party.
====Feelings====
Shortly before going to the Conductor Activator to sing EXEC_VIENA/., Luca and Cloche asked Croix to allow them to visit Reisha's grave one last time so they could take a keepsake from her, as soon the entire area would be purged from the Rim. Croix agreed with their feelings and didn't have any problem with doing so.
Once they arrived at the place where Reisha's grave was, Luca took the hairpin and put it in a safe place to then ask Cloche if it was okay to call her Leyka. Cloche agreed to the suggestion while she also called Luca "Sis". Luca thanked her for coming with her, while Cloche added she also wanted to visit the grave one last time. Luca then told Cloche she had something she wanted to give her: it was a pendant shaped after the sun. Luca then revealed that the current day was Leyka's birthday, while the birthday ceremony day was actually Luca's birthday: it was something the Grand Bell couldn't modify due to being written in the official records. Cloche thanked her, and on return, she also gave again to Luca the moon pendant she had thrown away when they argued back in the IPD Labs. Luca was surprised that Cloche had picked it back up and held on it during all this time despite the terrible things she had said that day, and then apologized for her behavior back then. Cloche told her to not worry, as they both were at fault for that.
She then told her that their necklaces now matched: Cloche was the Sun, while Luca was the Moon. They then proceeded to have a short chat about their names and how they came to have them, to then laugh at the fact that as Maidens, both of them had the name "Cloche". They then both looked back at the grave, telling Reisha they were getting along great and that they thought of each other as precious sisters, so she could rest easy. They also pleaded for Reisha to always continue watching over them...
====The Guardian====
As the group left the forest to head for the Conductor Activator, Croix noticed something strange about a stone slab: there was a current of air coming from it. Luca thought it was too heavy to move, so thinking it was a bother to even think to do it, Jacqli went and blasted it away, opening the path it was concealing. Cocona remarked that she did it again, while Jacqli silenced Croix's complaints by saying this was only the third time she had done this and that he was too picky.
Further inside, they saw a massive tree which Leglius deemed as impossible considering that the Rim was a solid metal plate. Jacqli, on the other hand, took notice of the Heart of the Land that was floating right before them, prompting Croix to rationalize that the Heart was what created the tree, to which Jacqli added that the Heart surely the singer that sung the forest into existence: the Guardian of Mikry itself. Cloche and Luca asked if it would be possible to take it with them, to which Jacqli replied it was possible and they should, so its life wouldn't be wasted once the area was dropped. However, before they could even approach the Heart, a couple of wild Nyo?s appeared and attacked the party.
After they scared the Nyo?s away, Jacqli spoke to the Heart and it then allowed her to take it away. Jacqli told them that now the forest would vanish away, but it would be possible to recreate it anywhere else using the Heart. Cloche was glad and told them that they would create other Mikry Forest in Metafalica once they managed to successfully create the land. Luca was overjoyed at the prospect of being able to take the forest in which she spent most of her childhood with her. Croix agreed with her, and suggested leaving it with the Mint Ward Mayor. As they left the place, Luca stalled for a little, and once she was alone, she looked back at the tree, giving the good night to the forest, adding this would just be a short goodbye, and thanking it for having protected them all during all this time...
==Layout==
The Mikry Forest itself isn't a hard-to-navigate place, so going and coming between it and the General Store is a relatively short trip, as also is going to the Coal Lodge for plot-related reasons. However, it should be noted that the area behind the stone monument is completely optional and can only be accessed right before going to the Conductor Activator for singing Viena. If the player doesn't trigger these events before then, the forest will be dropped alongside other areas of the Rim, locking out all access to the area and the items and topics gained from it.
===Maps===
Mikry Forest Area Map.jpg|Mikry Forest General Area Map
Mikry Forest Map 1.jpg|Mikry Forest Map 1
Mikry Forest Map 2.jpg|Mikry Forest Map 2
Mikry Forest Map 3.jpg|Mikry Forest Map 3
Mikry Forest Map 4.jpg|Mikry Forest Map 4
==Treasures==
*Crack Bolt
*250 Leaf
*D-Crystal: Growth
*Musselshroom x 3
*Refresh Core
*7000 Leaf
==Enemies==
*Reptite
*Wyvern
Number of Random Encounters in this Area: 6
==Bosses==
*Nyo? (Optional, during Phase 5)
==IPDs==
{|style="border-radius:7px; background:white; text-align:center;" width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"	Name	Lv. 	Conditions for Appearing	Type 	Accompanying Monsters
Tentuck	1 	None 	Roaming 	None 	
Lymi 	3 	After the first battle with ??? in the Speech Plaza at Pastalia.	Roaming 	Boxguard Lizard x1	
Eyesee 	3 	After the first battle with ??? in the Speech Plaza at Pastalia.	Roaming 	Demon x1 	
Category:Geography
Category:Dungeons:Ar tonelico II