Chapter 23 - Wood Nexus I

**Player**: Sorry, sorry. I was planning on a trip to the Star Woods when I got the invitation to the ceremony.
**Player**: I took a detour, and there were lots of checkpoints along the way... It took a lot of time.
**Kitty**: Heh, it's indeed a pain to get anywhere these days, with all the tests, etc.
**Kitty**: You were originally going to the Nexus in the Star Woods?
**Player**: That's right. The one close to Kai-
**Player**: The one closest to the Water Nexus is the Woods Nexus.
**Kitty**: Hey, you were going to say Kaigon at first, weren't you? After that explosion, the partners at our orphanage...
**Albert**: You're so young Kitty. Why are you sighing as if you're older than I am?
*Albert, head of Kaigon Orphanage comes over*
**Kitty**: So you're here too, Albert. How are the preparations for the ceremony going?
**Albert**: The process is more or less complete. I still have to practice my speech where I call on people to help rebuild, a few more times.
**Albert**: This time, the Kaigon blessing ceremony has been a little rushed in many aspects.
**Albert**: That's why I called you to come help, Player. Thanks for all the hard work you've done.
**Player**: I'm a Hand of Ka. If there's anything I can do for Kaigon, I'm happy to help.
**Kitty**: (Becoming serious) Don't mention Kaigon. Grandpa Albert is right. You were in Elysiann at the time. It's not very often that we get to see our friends from Never Isle.
**Kitty**: Go to the gate just opposite here and find Captain Mira, then ask her where you're needed.
*As you walk in Mira's direction, you overhear Kitty and Albert talking behind you.*
**Kitty**: Grandpa Albert, if you stay in Elysiann to work, what's going to happen to the orphanage in Kaigon?
**Albert**: Principal Vundo will help with the aftermath. You go back to Never Isle and help him.
**Albert**: The children weren't in Kaigon at the time of the explosion. Their lives were saved, but they don't have a home to go back to.
**Albert**: The people who were in Kaigon lost their lives and can't ever go back home...
**Albert**: The destruction of a city is abstract, but the specific people who bear the weight of this destruction...
**Kitty**: I don't want to go back to Never Isle. I know I can't do that much, but I want to continue recharging with Player.
**Kitty**: I didn't go with him to Kaigon last time, and look what happened. What if it happens again, is he going to have to face it alone once more?
**Albert**: We've arranged for someone to go with him. You can go back to Never Isle and relax, don't worry.
**Player**: (Someone's going with me? Who could it be?)
*Player continues over to Mira and passes by two onlookers*
**Pointing Citizen**: Huh? Isn't he the 'sole survivor?'
*You see someone looking at you from a distance. They seem to be saying something.*
**Pointing Citizen**: Since he was the only one who survived, then whoever he says is the traitor must be the traitor, right?
**Distressed Citizen**: Tsk. He was able to save all those Flux Nexuses from before.
**Distressed Citizen**: So how come he couldn't save Kaigon, the holy city?
**Player**: ...
**Pointing Citizen**: Hey hey, he's coming. Stop talking.
**Mira**: What are you two running your mouths off about? If you're not here for the ceremony, then get out of here!
**Pointing Citizen**: We're taking part in the ceremony. We'll just be going now...
*The two walk away*
*Mira talks to the guard next to her*
**Mira**: (Quickly giving orders) Send some more people over to this entrance.
**Player**: Captain Mira, why have all the guards been so serious lately?
**Mira**: Here it's because the Shadow Beasts are all retreating from Kaigon. Since Elysiann is the city closest to Kaigon, it's the one at greatest risk of being attacked.
**Mira**: Besides, this blessing ceremony is supposed to help restore confidence in the holy city. There is no margin for error.
**Mira**: As for the checkpoints along the road, most of them have been set up by the Defense Forces of various places.
**Player**: I see. Everyone's pretty nervous, with blockades all over the place.
**Player**: Oh that's right, Father Albert wanted me to come here and ask you how I can help.
**Mira**: You probably saw people from all over coming to the ceremony on your way here, didn't you?
**Mira**: The Defense Force has used a Shadow detector to do a wide sweep of the area, but we still can't keep track of each individual's circumstances.
**Mira**: If you've got the time, go chat with them. Consider it a random check of their team.
**Player**: No, they're just normal citizens. If they had any Shadows on them, the detector would've picked it up.
**Mira**: It's best to be cautious after a major security incident has occurred and it's unclear which direction public opinion is leaning.
**Player**: (Thinking of the people who were pointing at you, and the conversation you overheard) I'll go have a look over there.
**Mira**: After you've done a random check of three groups, you can go tell Father Albert to start the ceremony.
*Player finds the first group, a father and his two children*
**Innocent Child**: (Takes ball and lifts it above head) Beep beep beep, you're all good, brother! The light on the detector is white!
**Innocent Child**: On the way to school, remember to stay away from places with black smoke. Ka will protect you.
**Frustrated Boy**: Let me rest for a bit. There have been Shadow detectors all over the place ever since Kaigon blew up. Everywhere you go, you need to get checked. What a pain...
**Happy Father**: What do you mean, a pain? It's a good thing that it blew up~
**Happy Father**: There was nothing in the sea by Elysiann before, now all the fish have come swimming into our nets.
**Happy Father**: The harvest has doubled recently. It's all thanks to that explosion!
*Choice 1.1 - (Check them according to procedure)*
**Player**: Random check! I would appreciate your cooperation.
**Frustrated Boy**: I told you we get checked everywhere we go. What a pain.
*Choice 1.2 - (Admonish the man)*
**Player**: The explosion was a good thing?
**Player**: Say it again, and let's see if tomorrow's Shadow bomb brings you more fish, or takes your life?
**Happy Father**: Don't talk to me like that!
*During the dispute, several people pass you by.*
*The first check is done. Go to the next spot.*
*Scene continues after choices*
*Player finds the next group to check, a well-dressed lady and gentleman*
**Hateful Citizen**: If you ask me, anyone who has anything to do with the Shadows should be killed on the spot!
**Eccentric Resident**: Yes, yes! The explosion in Kaigon showed them a thing or two!
**Eccentric Resident**: Show those traitors that if they collude with the Shadows, even your neighbors will be collateral damage!
**Player**: You know, aside from one or two traitors, there were normal people just like you and me living in Kaigon.
**Player**: They had nothing to do with anything. Did they deserve to die, too?
**Eccentric Resident**: Who are you, and what's it to you? You got something to do with the Shadows?
**Hateful Citizen**: (Tugs at his companion) He's from the Kaist Church. He's the guy with the Wheel of Fate.
**Player**: Random check. You're carrying illegal weapons. Please go submit your weapons at the gate.
**Hateful Citizen**: Aw, rats! With so many Shadow sympathizers like you around, no wonder there are so many bats in the sky!
**Player**: (Why would someone like me sympathize with the Shadows? They're even blaming me for the bats in the sky... What a nutcase!)
*During the argument, the team seems to have snuck something in...*
*The second random check is complete. Go to the next spot.*
*Player finds the third group to check, two scholars*
**Penitent Young Man**: I should never have told them to get married in Kaigon.
**Penitent Young Man**: (Weeping) I feel so bad for what I did to them...
*Choice 2.1 - (Console him)*
**Player**: The Shadows are fanatics that even blow up their own people. No one can predict when and where they'll show up.
**Player**: What happened in Kaigon was not your fault. Just live a happy life in their stead.
**Scared Old Man**: Aye... This child is sad about his friends. I don't have any friends in Kaigon...
**Scared Old Man**: But ever since the explosion... I saw someone raise his arm in a crowded place and I was scared he were about to throw a bomb.
**Penitent Young Man**: You should pay attention on the road.
*Choice 2.2 - (Check him according to procedure)*
**Scared Old Man**: Aye... This child is sad about his friends. I don't have any friends in Kaigon...
**Scared Old Man**: But ever since the explosion... I saw someone raise his arm in a crowded place and I was scared he were about to throw a bomb.
**Scared Old Man**: There are only two places left so hurry up and finish recharging. I hope Lord Az will return soon and put an end to this crisis.
**Penitent Young Man**: (Sobbing) He's from Earth. Why would he risk his life to save us?
*The third random check is complete. Find Albert and let him know the ceremony can start.*
*Scene continues after choices*
*Player walks over to Albert*
**Albert**: It's been a hard journey for everyone. Actually, the crisis has created a crisis in people's minds, as well.
**Player**: (About to shake head in denial)
**Player**: Suddenly, there's a voice in your ear.
*"Look at these people. Their happiness at getting rich is built upon the suffering of others."*
*"The flames of hatred are spreading throughout the camp."*
*"Fear is seeping into daily life..."*
*"Nobody is innocent. Destruction is the supreme virtue."*
**Player**: (Destruction is the supreme virtue? Isn't this what the Lord of the Shadows said to Martin before?)
**Albert**: In the shadow of death, survivors are free of sin. I hope everybody understands that.
**Albert**: Let us commence the ceremony.
*The Elysiann public square is being borrowed for the ceremony. It is devoid of Kaist relics, but there are coffins with unused clothes.*
*There is an old man covered in dust...*
*The Kaist blessing ceremony isn't solemn or majestic enough.*
*Luckily, everything is happening smoothly. It gives people the feeling that the sun will rise again tomorrow.*
**???**: Our hometown is gone. Why were you the only one to survive?
*A question from the left side of the crowd suddenly interrupts the ceremony.*
*The interrupter walks closer to Player*
**Ritual Interrupter**: (Shouts at you loudly again) Our hometown is gone, our family is gone. Why were you the only one to survive?
*Player turns to look at the man*
**Ritual Interrupter**: If Ka really exists, why did he protect you, but not my child?!
**Ritual Interrupter**: You were able to save the other Nexuses before, why couldn't you save Kaigon?!
**Ritual Interrupter**: Why do you get to live?!
**Player**: ...
**Player**: (It's true... All of Kaigon was destroyed. Only I'm left.)
*Player remembers the time shortly after Priapus teleported him away from the Water Nexus*
*Scene - Flashback, Ashe Isle*
**Player**: All of Kaigon was destroyed. Only I'm left...
**Player**: In the battle of Kaigon, Rock became a Shadow Leader after he was resurrected. Martin absorbed Grey Serpent to become the Archbishop, and blew up the Essence of Light...
**Player**: It was Triton, the God of the Sea, who used a large amount of Flux to pause time and save me during the explosion.
**Player**: He didn't give me an explanation afterwards. He transformed into water flux, turned back into a statue, and left.
**Ranmaru**: So how did you come to Ashe Isle from Kaigon?
**Player**: Priapus was also in the space where time was paused. He teleported me here.
**Player**: He said if I had any questions, I should ask you.
**Ranmaru**: (Nodding) I'll tell you everything I know.
*Choice 3.1 - Why did Triton save me?*
**Player**: Why did Triton save me, instead of stopping time to kill Martin and stop the explosion?
**Ranmaru**: The gods watch over all creatures. Naturally, they aren't like us.
**Ranmaru**: To them, Kaigon is but a small corner of Wonderland.
**Ranmaru**: I suspect that they will only intervene when the power differential between us and the Shadows is completely out of balance.
**Ranmaru**: I think in their eyes, Kaigon's destruction is an insignificant weight placed on both sides of the scale.
**Ranmaru**: Whether you are alive or not, and whether Martin is alive or not, these are related to the future balance of Luxium.
**Player**: So that's why they didn't intervene in the explosion, but chose instead to save me directly.
**Player**: And everything they didn't care about, simply died in the blink of an eye.
**Player**: I'm grateful that they saved my life, but this 'special treatment' makes me feel uncomfortable...
**Ranmaru**: (Pats shoulders) Those weights that are not valued by the gods, are up to us humans to protect.
**Ranmaru**: At the same time, I'm also very glad that you survived.
*Choice 3.1.1 - Why did Triton save me?*
*Go to Choice 3.1*
*Choice 3.1.2 - How did Martin survive?*
*Go to Choice 3.2*
*Choice 3.1.3 - What are the Shadows planning?*
*Go to Choice 3.3*
*Choice 3.1.4 - Understood. I'll tell this to the people of Never Isle.*
*Go to Choice 3.4*
*Choice 3.2 - How did Martin survive?*
**Player**: My Wheel of Fate is related to Az's return.
**Player**: But why should Martin survive, having destroyed the Holy City?!
**Ranmaru**: Maybe Triton sees Martin as an indispensable part of some major future event.
**Player**: ...
**Player**: (Sighs helplessly) Major event? What, is he going to sacrifice the Wheel of Fate?
**Ranmaru**: Speaking of the Wheel of Fate, I've made a new discovery.
**Ranmaru**: You know that Az is the master of the arcana spirit inside the Wheel of Fate. Yet, he is not the master of the Wheel of fate.
**Ranmaru**: I found an old mural on Ashe Isle that told of a worship ceremony the natives of the island would hold for the Wheel of Fate.
**Ranmaru**: The Wheel of Fate's history goes back farther than we imagined. It's just too bad we can't be sure what Az himself knew.
*Choice 3.2.1 - Why did Triton save me?*
*Go to Choice 3.1*
*Choice 3.2.2 - How did Martin survive?*
*Go to Choice 3.2*
*Choice 3.2.3 - What are the Shadows planning?*
*Go to Choice 3.3*
*Choice 3.2.4 - Understood. I'll tell this to the people of Never Isle.*
*Go to Choice 3.4*
*Choice 3.3 - What are the Shadows planning?*
**Player**: After they destroyed Kaigon, the Shadows withdrew and did not try to capture the territory. What are they up to?
**Ranmaru**: It doesn't seem like Kaigon had anything to do with an ambition to expand their territory. The biggest impact the incident had was that it struck fear into the hearts of our people.
**Player**: Instead of taking over strategic strongholds or advancing front lines, they've been appearing at Nexuses and the holy city, and then they disappear after they finish killing people.
**Ranmaru**: These places are highly visible and can be used to generate fear...
**Player**: Maybe the hearts and minds of the people are also a kind of territory? The power of the Shadows is related to dark and powerful emotions.
**Player**: Maybe this kind of panic and its consequences are necessary to the Shadows' plans?
**Ranmaru**: If that's really what's going on, then that city that was turned into blood and tears has now become a feast for those murderers...how dreadful.
**Player**: ...
**Ranmaru**: You also just mentioned that the Rock, the founder of the White Capes, was reincarnated as a Shadow. So this kind of nirvana spell exists...
**Ranmaru**: From my conversations with Rehoboam, I've learned that Arcane Master Karl was the creator.
**Player**: Karl? This name... It seems familiar, somehow.
**Player**: I think it was Turing who said that Master Karl mentioned mixed flux. He perfected the ratio in order to make the arcana run more stably.
**Ranmaru**: (Nods) His contribution to our current arcana level is unrivalled by anyone else.
**Ranmaru**: You know, Master Az studied under Master Aaron, while Karl was Master Aaron's teacher.
**Ranmaru**: It's too bad that he and his friends died in a storm during an expedition.
**Player**: Then how did the Shadows learn this nirvana spell?
*Choice 3.3.1 - Why did Triton save me?*
*Go to Choice 3.1*
*Choice 3.3.2 - How did Martin survive?*
*Go to Choice 3.2*
*Choice 3.3.3 - What are the Shadows planning?*
*Go to Choice 3.3*
*Choice 3.3.4 - Understood. I'll tell this to the people of Never Isle.*
*Go to Choice 3.4*
*Choice 3.4 - Understood. I'll tell this to the people of Never Isle.*
**Player**: Understood. I'll tell all the useful information I have to the citizens of Never Isle.
**Ranmaru**: These matters can be discussed at more length some other time. But your state of mind...
**Player**: I'm fine.
**Ranmaru**: (Looks into the distance) I'm also a sole survivor, of the battle of Ashe Isle...
**Ranmaru**: In the eyes of the people, you're no longer a great hero returning home victorious, even if you know how hard you fought.
**Ranmaru**: You will only be thought of as a beneficiary of luck, someone who has witnessed a lot of death, but got away with their own skin still intact.
**Ranmaru**: When people's fear and grief is directed inward, it manifests as depression and sadness. When it is directed at the outside world, it is manifested as anger and aggression.
**Ranmaru**: (Turns to look at you) I want to tell you, that the disaster happened not because you failed to stop it. Whatever you do, do not blame yourself.
**Ranmaru**: And don't believe the mean things that other people say. They are simply in shock, and are trying to find a sense of security that doesn't actually exist.
**Player**: I don't feel that way at all.
**Player**: After all, I have more important things to do. I need to recharge, go home, and fight alongside my companions from Never Isle.
**Ranmaru**: Never Isle...
*Scene continues after choices*
*Scene - Present, Elysiann Plaza*
*Two people at the ceremony continue to criticize Player*
**Righteous Citizen**: Without the people of Never Isle, your life would've been taken by the White Capes!
**Ritual Interrupter**: What do you guys know? Fine, the gods that we all believe in won't protect us. But you guys...
**Ritual Interrupter**: One second, you want us to mourn, the next, you'll be laughing at Kaigon as a bunch of traitors, saying that it deserved to be bombed!
**Ritual Interrupter**: You pretend to pray for Kaigon, but its blood is on your hands, too! To hell with all of you!
*You watch the troublemakers vigilantly so as to easily deflect any attacks.*
*Bang! Something begins to approach you from the other direction...*
**Lan**: Watch out behind you, Player!
*Lan runs to Player's side and barely manages to deflect an oncoming bullet with his sword*
**Player**: !
**Lan**: Player, are you okay?
**Player**: (Awakening from your Ashe Isle memory) It missed, I'm fine!
**Player**: The group was causing a distraction...
*The interrupter and the gunman run*
**Player**: Don't let the two of them get away! I'll stop the one with the gun!
*You and Lan work together to capture the two people involved in this attack.*
*After the interruption, the ceremony continued.*
**Albert**: (Nods at you to comfort you)
*In a corner far from the ceremony...*
*Lan and Player bring the interrupter and the gunman over to two guards*
**Ritual Interrupter**: My newborn child hadn't even seen this world yet.
**Player**: The Shadows are your enemy, not your friends here.
**Ritual Interrupter**: Friends? The Shadows hate everyone and everything, but the darkness inside people here makes me feel even worse...
**Attacking Marksman**: Too bad it didn't happen again here...
**Lan**: Lie flat on your stomach and do not move!
**Ritual Interrupter**: Those hypocritical, lying, selfish, scared weaklings!
**Player**: (He's talking, but he doesn't know what he's talking about.)
**Player**: (When I was doing random checks and I overheard people talking, it sounded kind of like this...)
**Ritual Interrupter**: If you ask me, this world will only be pure when all of you guys are dead!
**Mysterious Voice**: Destruction is the supreme virtue...
**Attacking Marksman**: Destruction...
**Player**: !
**Lan**: Don't let him confuse you!
**Lan**: Who isn't sad about what happened in Kaigon? Who doesn't feel pain when fate treats us unfairly?
**Lan**: You think everyone is like them, hurting others for no reason?!
*Mira comes over*
**Player**: I'll leave them to you, Captain Mira.
**Player**: (Also tells the Captain about Ranmaru's conjectures about the Shadows.)
*After a few minutes...*
**Lan**: Though leaders can change, the ambitions of the people cannot.
**Mira**: I see.
*Mira signals to the members of her team to take the troublemakers away, then walks alone to the center of the ceremonial stage.*
**Mira**: (Shouts at the murmuring crowd) The Shadows are inciting chaos and enticing us to lose our faith in Ka.
**Mira**: Look at you now. You're sullen, scared, suspicious, easily angered, and gullible.
**Mira**: This kind of turmoil only serves to make the Shadows more powerful!
*Later...*
**Player**: I lost my focus just now. Good thing you were there to save me, Lan.
**Lan**: Your reactions were very quick. If you hadn't come to your senses in time, I would not have been able to capture both of them.
**Player**: You don't give yourself enough credit. They wouldn't have gotten away from you.
**Player**: When you caught that troublemaker, I saw that you still had your sword in your left hand, which would be enough to stop another person.
**Player**: I was the one in charge of performing the random safety checks. The fact that something like this happened...
**Lan**: I've had many years of experience fighting solo. I'm used to all kinds of contingencies, so I keep my sword ready.
**Lan**: And you were only doing random checks, so of course things were going to slip through. Don't worry too much about it.
*After a moment, Mira comes to check on Player*
**Mira**: You've seen what troubled times these are, Player.
**Mira**: We know that you were originally planning on going to the Star Woods to recharge. You should have Lan escort you this time.
**Lan**: (Comes forward, nodding) That's my homeland. I've been in Never Isle for so long, I've been itching for a chance to go back and check on things.
**Player**: Well...
**Lan**: If you're feeling bad about what happened, tell me how you came to know Master Ranmaru, and we'll call it even.
**Lan**: And I don't know why, but lately, I've felt that my swordsmanship has been lacking...something. It's becoming more difficult to control. Maybe a trip can help me break through this setback.
**Player**: Then what about Never Isle's Defense Force?
**Mira**: Don't worry, we'll take care of the arrangements ourselves.
**Mira**: I've contacted a priest in the Star Woods for you. He'll help show you the way.
**Lan**: The priest - is it Haku, by chance?
**Mira**: That's right. But he'll reach out to you and let you know where to meet him on the way.
**Player**: Why the secret? He's not going to tell us till we're already on the way? Is he going to contact us by arcana crystal?
**Lan**: Let's head out now, then play things by ear later.
**Lan**: Well, we've made our plans, and there's nothing in our way. Shall we go now?
*Choice 4.1 - Let's go.*
*Continue to Part 2*
*Choice 4.2 - Hold on.*
*Player talks to Mira*
**Mira**: The geography of the Star Woods ensures that Shadows won't attack by land. Besides, the Loong Mountain guards are always watchful.
**Mira**: However, if they attack from within like they did in Kaigon or attacked from the air, it could be trouble.
**Mira**: We can't have another Kaigon... Admittedly, you can hold your own in a fight, but out of safety considerations, you'd better leave as soon as you finish recharging.
**Mira**: Perhaps if Az comes back, he can help us secure an advantage. But in the fight against the Shadows, ultimately, we can only count on ourselves.
*Player overhears a conversation between two Shadowhunters*
**Shadowhunter Gossip**: Did you see the announcement a few days ago?
**Whispering Shadowhunter**: Shh, it's been a big drama. A bunch of my brothers got pissed off and left.
**Whispering Shadowhunter**: The Achrays are the only great clan remaining of the rotting corpse that is the Shadowhunters.
**Shadowhunter Gossip**: So many of the higher-ups have fallen from power. There's only one clan left.
**Whispering Shadowhunter**: Those two brothers are going to fight to the death. With so serious infighting, they don't have any time to fight the Shadows.
*Player overhears a conversation between two priests*
**Kaism Priest**: When I think about how they have suffered at the moment of the explosion, how cruel the Shadow must have been...
**Kaism Priest**: I was so distressed by it all that I didn't want to do anything except learn more about what happened.
**Kaism Priest**: And when I did learn more, I felt even worse... However, I couldn't help but keep asking for more information.
**Kaist White Turbans**: You are experiencing what's called vicarious trauma. Take some medicine to calm you down...
**Kaist White Turbans**: The ability to care for and empathize with others also needs to be used on yourself.
*Player overhears a conversation between two Defense Force soldiers*
**Late Defender**: I'm lucky I got here when I did. I heard that the waterways are closed from Kaigon to Elysiann.
**Defender on Duty**: Then how did you get here?
**Late Defender**: The roads aren't closed. There's checkpoint after another where they look for Shadows, which holds things up, though.
**Defender on Duty**: Lucky you, I've had it worse. One day, our Shadow detector broke down, and everyone started calling the authorities.
**Defender on Duty**: I went to go repair it, but the guard at the gate said that I could only enter if the detector showed a white light.
**Defender on Duty**: But the only way it could even display white is if I went in and fixed it.
*After walking around the plaza and saying goodbye to Kitty, Player goes back to Lan*
*Go to Choice 4.1*

### Part 2

*Scene - Star Woods, deep in a mist-covered and heavily wooded area*
*Strange blue flames and spirit-like creatures seem to float about*
**Player**: It was bright out when we got here, wasn't it? Why is the Star Woods so dark?
**Lan**: Look, the old trees are like sharp swords sticking straight up into the sky.
**Lan**: We can't see the sunlight from the ground because the trees are blocking it.
**Player**: Yes, Ranmaru mentioned that to me as well...
**Player**: (Remembering) He said... 'In the ethereal place of spirits, time flashes by.'
**Lan**: His description is apt enough. Too bad I wasn't able to pay my respects when Ranmaru was here in the Star Woods.
**Player**: Maybe we can meet up after this is all over...
**Player**: Huh? Flickering... Why do these surroundings seem so familiar to me?
**Player**: This is definitely the first time I've ever come here.
**Lan**: Perhaps your destiny is intertwined with that of the Star Woods.
**Lan**: How does this scenery make you feel?
**Player**: Having left the noise and chaos of the city for the quiet forest, my heart feels at peace.
**Lan**: Noise and chaos...
**Lan**: Noise and chaos... You're still thinking about what happened at the ceremony?
**Lan**: Everyone's experience is different.
**Lan**: When you stand on high where everyone can see you, of course you're going to be misunderstood.
**Lan**: If you get the chance, you could take a rest while recharging.
**Player**: No, I wasn't thinking about that. This is the forest entrance. Why do you want me to land here, Master Lan?
**Lan**: Just call me Lan, Player.
**Lan**: Look up ahead. Between the flickering, do you see a blue flame, kinda like a star?
**Player**: Is it a will-o'-the-wisp or something?
**Lan**: The stone horses crouch on the floor of the forest neighing, while the wild foxes blow fire in the rain.
**Lan**: Those are fox flames.
**Lan**: Legend has it that in places with fox flames, directional equipment will fail and people will get lost.
**Player**: Is there a special magnetic field here?
**Lan**: I don't know whether it's legend or a magnetic field... Maybe it's just a sign of respect for the sacred trees of the Star Woods.
**Lan**: According to the rules, we have to pass through here.
**Player**: Is that so...
**Lan**: Did you get Haku's message? Where is he going to meet us?
**Player**: He hasn't contacted me yet...
**Player**: No, I just remembered!
**Player**: I said that I've never been to the Star Woods, so why was this road so familiar? I know why.
**Lan**: What's up?
**Player**: On our way here, I fell asleep and had a dream.
**Player**: In the dream, I was standing right here...
*Player remembers the gentile sounds of a wind chime*
**Player**: And then I heard a ringing coming from far away.
**Player**: I went over to where the sound was...
*Player looks over to a spot in the forest*
**Player**: And I saw a boy with white clothes and white hair wearing a fox mask.
**Player**: He bowed to me while standing next to a runestone. There was a large glowing tree off in the distance behind him.
**Lan**: White clothes and white hair, wearing a fox mask. That sounds like Haku.
**Lan**: A glowing tree... That sounds like Yggdrasil, which is right up ahead. The Woods Nexus is in its canopy.
**Player**: Except for this strange dream, none of my communication devices have received any messages.
**Lan**: (Slaps forehead) Crap. I've been away from the Star Woods for so long, I forgot.
**Lan**: Dreams are the medium through which that child communicates. He doesn't know how to use an arcana crystal.
**Player**: ?!
**Player**: How mysterious.
**Lan**: Once we go in, you'll find that the Star Woods' priests are far from the most mysterious thing about it.
**Lan**: Let's find the runestone from your dream. It should be nearby.
*Player leads Lan to the place he remembers from his dream*
**Player**: Isn't this the runestone?!
**Player**: Come here, Lan...
*Suddenly, a wolf jumps out of the nearby brush*
**Player**: !
*The wolf shouts at Player*
**Wolf Monster ???**: Sha! Human, new... Come no closer!
**Wolf Monster ???**: I like to dip in nectar and eat tender, delicate flesh... Sha-sha! Just like you! Sha-sha-sha!
**Player**: (This wolf can talk? Is it threatening me?)
*Choice 5.1 - I'm not afraid.*
**Player**: I'm not afraid.
**Wolf Monster ???**: You're scared, aren't you! Heh heh!
*Choice 5.2 - We taste better dipped in white sugar.*
**Player**: Actually, we taste better dipped in white sugar.
**Wolf Monster ???**: Huh? You eat your own kind? How scary!
**???**: Back off!
*Scene continues after choices*
*Blue flames suddenly appear around a glowing blue portal*
*A familiar boy with a fox mask appears out of the portal, bowing to Player*
**Haku**: Liprit. This is a guest...of the Star Woods.
*The floating 'wolf monster' suddenly turns into a masked green forest spirit then hides behind the body of the familiar boy.*
**Player**: (This boy from my dream. According to Lan, this is Haku, the Priest of the Star Woods?)
**Player**: Are you Haku, the Priest of the Star Woods?
**Haku**: (Nods)
**Player**: Did you really create that dream?!
**Haku**: (Shakes head) It was...just a message...
**Liprit**: (Rustles, making the sound of wind blowing through the leaves of trees)
**Player**: What's that? Just now, it was a wolf, but now it's...
**Haku**: A tree elf.
**Player**: So this is a tree elf...
**Haku**: Don't make trouble.
**Player**: What?
**Haku**: I was...talking to him.
**Player**: All right... Except for the two of us... What else around here can talk? I didn't hear anything...
**Haku**: Normal people...can't talk to tree elves.
**Player**: I could hear him when he was a wolf...
**Player**: So why doesn't he just change back?
**Liprit**: (Rustling becomes louder. The mask, as-yet unchanged, is becoming aggrieved.)
**Lan**: He'd been waiting a long time to play that prank just now.
**Lan**: Tree elves aren't easy to control, Haku.
**Haku**: (Nods)
**Player**: Why did he say that, uh, Liprit won't change back?
**Lan**: When I was a kid and I would practice my swordsmanship under the tree, there were tree elves that would change into all kinds of things and cause trouble.
**Lan**: Back then, my master would lie on a rattan chair and help me drive them away. Then he'd hit me and say...
**Lan**: When you train, you can't be like these here tree spirits. You can change your face for a little while, but not for a lifetime.
**Player**: I see. It's hard to imagine these things would try to play tricks on you, Lan.
**Lan**: Back then, I was little, and my sword fighting wasn't that good. Of course they had the nerve to come bother me.
**Lan**: When I lived in the Star Woods, when I wasn't drinking wine or sleeping, all I cared about was how to make myself stronger.
**Lan**: When I think about it now, even though some things were annoying, it was kind of nice to have my master looking out for me, hahaha.
**Haku**: (Hesitating) It wants me to give you... mask... Hear him speak...
*Haku hands player his fox mask*
**Liprit**: No, it's a trick! Want, protect friend!
**Liprit**: You bully Haku! I never eat you before. You will be first! Sha-sha!
**Player**: (Its style of talking is similar to Haku's but their sentences are so broken, I don't know who taught who.)
**Player**: (Wait for Lan to speak...)
**Lan**: Seems like getting into the forest won't be so easy.
**Haku**: (Skeptical) Easy. Yggdrasil. Over there.
*Haku looks up at the giant tree, barely visible through the forest mist*
**Haku**: Nexus. In canopy. We go to god tree. Climb up.
**Haku**: Hmm... Follow me. We take road.
**Player**: Too bad his speaking isn't as straightforward as this road.
**Haku**: (Stares at mask in your hand)
**Player**: Oh, I'm done with it. Here you go.
**Haku**: (Takes back the mask as if it's a valued treasure) To god tree. Let's go.
*Player follows Haku and Lan but get stopped by a yellow tree elf*
*Blue mist is blocking the road. It looks like something doesn't want you to pass.*
**Player**: (Is this another color of tree elf?)
**Haku**: What is. Meaning of this?
**Yellow Tree Elf**: (Shakes mask hanging on branch. The eyes on the mask are staring at you intently.)
**Lan**: (Shouting from a distance) What's happening over there? Why aren't you coming?
**Player**: (Shouting back) You wait up there, Lan. We might need to talk to...
**Haku**: Tree elf elder. Changchu Changshien.
**Player**: (Shouting back) We might need to talk to the tree elf elder...
**Changchu Changshien**: Rustling...
**Haku**: (Reluctantly) Here. Mask. Take it.
**Player**: Oh, all right. Thank you.
*Player puts on the mask*
**Changchu Changshien**: Lan. We are...from Star Woods. Newcomer...
**Changchu Changshien**: All. Come with me. (Glances at you) Worried. Sha-sha-sha!
**Changchu Changshien**: Think. No send troops. No move away. Because of you. No more! Sha-sha!
**Player**: Don't worry, Elder. I am only here in the Star Woods to recharge. I won't bring war here...
**Player**: (Of course if we happen to run into some fighting on accident, that wouldn't be my fault.)
**Changchu Changshien**: Sha! War?
*In an instant, Changchu Changshien disappears then reappears behind you*
**Changchu Changshien**: Tree! You speak of peace. Feet buried in mud. Standing under sun.
**Changchu Changshien**: But truth. You all fighters! Sneaky!
*Before you can even turn around, the tree elf has returned to its original position.*
**Changchu Changshien**: Vines. Roots. Message. Share. Can talk at will. Sha-sha!
**Player**: (This doesn't seem to be the most reliable method. If there's a vine or root cut somewhere, we won't be able to talk anymore.)
**Changchu Changshien**: (Looks at Haku) Warrior. Need. Fight.
**Haku**: Fight you?
**Changchu Changshien**: No. Fight pigbat. Haku arm. Stick out. Sha-sha-sha-sha.
*Player looks over at Haku and sees a group of pigbats sneak up*
*Player fights them*
**Pigbat**: I'm a good pigbat! I'm just doing what I've been ordered to, please don't lump me in with the others!
**Player**: The others? They usually attack people?
*Player defeats the pigbats*
**Changchu Changshien**: Young man, good boy. Look after Haku. Sha-sha-sha!
**Haku**: I take good care of him. Let's keep going. Forward.
**Player**: Does something seem off to you?
*Player continues on...*
*Blue mist is blocking the road. It looks like something doesn't want you to pass.*
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha-sha. Aner Andoo. Not here. No like. Noise.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: The long-legged bat, Ingram, not here. Leaves not growing anymore. Sha-sha-sha-sha.
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha! Elder told us. Come.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Answer, outsider. Some priests, do spirit writing. Save living.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Two groups. One group refuses gift; other group accepts gift.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Which branch die off?
**Haku**: Let me answer.
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha-sha. You. Already know. Let, him.
**Player**: (He seems to be saying that there are two kinds of witch doctors that can save people. One kind asks to be compensated, while the other does not. He's asking me which one will die off.)
*Choice 6.1 - The ones getting paid.*
**Player**: (The ones who aren't compensated would die of hunger. How would the ones getting paid die off? But I think this is a trick question!)
**Player**: I say, the ones getting paid would die off.
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Right! Sha-sha-sha-sha-sha! Elder say bad man choose right!
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Occasional favor brings gratitude; constant help breeds grudge...
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha? This stuff...happen outside?
**Player**: (Outside the Star Woods... The incident at the Kaist ceremony fits the bill, doesn't it?)
*"If Ka really exists, why did he protect you, but not my child?!"*
*"You were able to save the other Nexuses before, why couldn't you save Kaigon?!"*
*"Why do you get to live?!"*
**Player**: (You want to refute what he's saying, but when you think of the ceremony, you can only stay silent.)
**Haku**: Yes.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Sha-sha-sha! You right, bad man! Need fight. Pigbats, come!
*A group of purple pigbats flies down and attacks*
**Pigbat**: Give us fruit! Pay up!
**Player**: What fruit?
*Player defeats the pigbats*
**Pigbat**: So hungry...
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha... Lately, pigbat, appetite big. Hard control.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Long time no see...Aner Andoo. Have leaves...easy... Sha...
*Choice 6.2 - The ones not getting paid.*
**Player**: If you don't get paid, you'll starve to death. Why would someone getting paid die? I choose the ones who aren't getting paid.
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Answer wrong, but I think same way. Sha-sha.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Occasional favor brings gratitude; constant help breeds grudge...
**Gossipy Tree Elf**: Sha? This stuff...happen outside?
**Player**: (Outside the Star Woods... The incident at the Kaist ceremony fits the bill, doesn't it?)
*"If Ka really exists, why did he protect you, but not my child?!"*
*"You were able to save the other Nexuses before, why couldn't you save Kaigon?!"*
*"Why do you get to live?!"*
**Player**: (You want to refute what he's saying, but when you think of the ceremony, you can only stay silent.)
**Haku**: Yes.
**Honorable Tree Elf**: Answer, wrong. But you good man. Can enter!
*Scene continues after choices*
*Player and Haku continue on*
*Blue mist is blocking the road. It looks like something doesn't want you to pass.*
**Relaxed Tree Elf**: (Walks around watering sapling) The grass in my garden...sprouted again! Endless world... Will be green! Sha~
**Haku**: Mier Misen, that's alcohol! Don't give Bergsen...wrong stuff.
**Player**: Bergsen? What kind of name is that for a tree?
**Mier Misen**: He's...adoptive...father. Burp~
**Player**: What?
**Mier Misen**: You guys...go...sha? What you doing here? There's four of you...
**Player**: ... (I didn't know tree elves could be alcoholics, too...)
**Player**: What was up with the adoptive father he was just talking about?
**Mier Misen**: Sha?! Haku, feel sorry for you. Heavy burden on you. Elsgan...is name of place.
**Player**: Elysiann.
**Mier Misen**: Yeah. Elsgan. That man...took Haku to leave. Star Woods...
**Mier Misen**: Haku used to...like us...hang around territory. That was good. No? Sha-sha!
**Mier Misen**: These two eyes... If they see outside world... Priest will...
**Mier Misen**: In long time... I've seen... People can't fight, they defeated...
**Mier Misen**: I've seen, Sha... Shrine, destroyed. Tiles, bricks, mud, wood.
**Mier Misen**: I've seen people, Sha...
**Mier Misen**: Never see again. Sha-sha-sha...how sad.
**Player**: ?! (As soon as you turn around, you will never see each other again.)
*Some words emanated of the tree elf's smiling face...*
*"My newborn child hadn't even seen this world yet."*
*"I should never have told them to get married in Kaigon."*
**Mier Misen**: For...example, Bergsen.
**Haku**: (Shakes head) The rain, the wind, the wood; he is all.
**Mier Misen**: Child of, Star Woods... View of death, well inherited... This...new guy... Not so good.
**Mier Misen**: Bergsen...look good. He like, wine too. Sha~
**Player**: ...(He's saying, Haku's adoptive father died, and according to Star Woods customs, he has to grow something to take the spirit?)
**Mier Misen**: Sha...It is time. I can do it too.
**Mier Misen**: You no go? You want fight, then go?
**Haku**: Let's go. We meet Lan, up ahead.
*After walking further into the forest, Player and Haku catch up to Lan*
**Player**: Phew... Looks like we're finally here.
**Lan**: What are the tree elves like? I've only ever seen them, I've never tried talking with them before.
**Player**: They're mysterious. They don't like to interact with outsiders, it seems like.
**Player**: But their old-fashioned elder had someone bring me gifts in secret...
**Lan**: Hahaha, the elder? He's learning how to play different sides.
**Haku**: The more sensitive the tree spirit, the greater external influence.
**Haku**: One came back from mission, soaked in pool for 15 minutes.
**Player**: Ahem, your mask... You don't need to soak it when you go back, do you?
**Haku**: (Takes it and puts it on) Huh? No.
*Suddenly, loud sounds come from where Player and Lan first entered*
**Lan**: There's something behind us!
**Familiar Voice**: 'The night is safe and the crane crows~ The spirits rest, and the Flute glows~'
*The intermittent sound of someone's cheerful singing comes together as they approach.*
*Behind it, the sound of rustling, as if trees are falling over and the ground is shaking.*
*It is a particularly surprising sound, given how quiet the Star Woods are.*
*Something hits Player*
**Player**: Who's throwing stones at my feet?!
**Lan**: (Waiting solemnly) I'm afraid it's some prince with extra money in his pocket, using a speaker crystal to cause trouble for others.
**Player**: They're throwing crystals...
**Lan**: And that song... He knows the Star Woods really well.
**Haku**: Tree spirits are gentle, non-violent. I'll handle this.
*Haku takes a quick peek at the commotion*
**Haku**: (Quickly returns) There's two of them. Let's hide.
*The rustling sounds get louder*
**Player**: They're coming this way!
**Lan**: Hide behind the stone wall on the left!
*The three take cover*
*Some of the forest elves seem to be scrambling about*
**Haku**: Those two...violent tree spirits are saying...
**Player**: ... (I'd better let him tell me. As long as a tree elf hasn't given me a request, he won't give me a mask.)
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) Look, bro - That piece of dead wood! - Why's it look like - two people?
**Lan**: (Stifles a laugh, then looks at you and makes a shape with his mouth) He even has the accurate and tone just right.
**Player**: (Also making a shape with mouth) He also said it with this expression...
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) Sha - Go over there - Beat him up with a vine - How dare he take that - I had my eyes on it!
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) Good thing - We sent it over - The red-haired boy's fire - hurts - Sha-sha
*A green tree elf that was passing by suddenly sticks his head over the wall and looks at you.*
**Player**: We've been spotted!
**Lan**: (Draws sword) Don't worry. Stand behind me.
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) That dirt wall and rotten wood look like they have tree elves - not people -
*The tree elf circles around you a few times.*
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) There's nobody there. Tree elves don't hang out next to people for that long, right? - Sha-sha-sha.
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) Go look on the left. Those two brats are dead -
**Haku**: Thank you, Aner Andoo.
**Player**: Aner Andoo?
**Haku**: Ah, that, not part of conversation. I was, talking to person next to us.
**Player**: Ha, let's go find whoever started this!
*Player, Haku and Lan go over to where the tree elves stopped two people trying to go deeper into the forest*
**Grancy**: Cute trick. Drove off two tree spirits, brought in several people.
**Sven**: So what if people are coming? Am I that embarrassing?
**Grancy**: For caution's sake, we...
**Sven**: Caution, caution... If you're so afraid of ruining your reputation, don't follow me!
**Sven**: If it weren't for you getting in the way, I would've caught them by myself!
**Grancy**: You think it's my reputation that I'm concerned about? What I'm concerned about is your life!
**Grancy**: I've been talking with you this whole time. Did it all go in one ear and out the other?
**Sven**: Oh, what good intentions. All this fighting between us...
**Sven**: Little bro, I don't think I can take any more of your 'good intentions.'
**Grancy**: That makes no sense, you dolt!
**Sven**: Oh, and you're so smart!
**Player**: It's Sven and Grancy!
**Sven**: (Slicks tongue) Hey, long time no see, Player! Master Lan, Haku.
**Grancy**: (Nods)
**Lan**: What are the two of you doing here?
**Simultaneously**: Patrolling/Taking a post-meal walk.
*You see the two brothers glare at each other awkwardly.*
**Grancy**: He's taking his post-meal walk. I happened to run into him on my patrol.
**Player**: ...
**Haku**: How did you provoke, those two tree elves?
**Grancy**: A soldier patrolled across the boundary. When we warned him, we accidentally provoked the tree elves.
**Sven**: Hey, what do you say? You want me to contact the other Shadowhunters?
**Grancy**: (Glances at Sven and changes subject) Are you guys going to Yggdrasil, Player?
**Sven**: Unfortunately, the knothole shortcut was trampled shut by the tree elf.
**Grancy**: What are you stupid? Stop blabbering!
**Player**: You guys already took the road ahead?
**Grancy**: No, we just heard the soldier say that.
**Player**: (This isn't right. Sven seemed confident that the road is out, while Grancy says they only heard about it...)
**Player**: (The two of them contradicted each other.)
**Haku**: (Whispers) If the road is out. We need to go to shrine. Take portal.
**Sven**: Oh, that's right, Player. I need to talk to Haku for a second.
**Grancy**: If possible, we'd like to talk to him alone.
*Haku nods. He doesn't seem to think there's anything abnormal about this request.*
**Player**: (What kind of friendship do they have with Haku?)
**Lan**: (Suddenly getting in the way) Ahem! What, you two saw me but you weren't going to say hello?
**Lan**: (Haughtily) When the two of you came to visit the Defense Force, your attitude was better than it is now.
**Lan**: What, you're all high and mighty when you're on your own stomping grounds, age be damned?
**Player**: (Back then, it was Principal Vundo who asked me to receive them at Never Isle. Only Grancy went to visit the Defense Force...)
*Choice 7.1 - (Support Lan)*
**Player**: Yes. The day I met him on Never Isle, Grancy was very friendly.
*Choice 7.2 - (Correct Lan)*
**Player**: You're not remembering things correctly, Lan. The day I showed them around Never Isle, only Grancy visited the Defense Force.
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Sven**: Heh heh, that was when I was pretending to be Grancy. Player and I went to the public baths together...
**Sven**: Why would I be with you, Lan?
**Player**: Principal Vundo saw through your act and then Grancy said...
**Grancy**: Had a good chat?!
**Player**: Yeah, that's it...
**Lan**: I see. Maybe I misremembered. You guys go.
**Haku**: (Looks Sven over) You come with us to the altar. Lan, Player, you guys wait here.
*Haku privately talks with Sven and Grancy over by the shrine*
*Player goes over to Lan*
**Player**: Lan, why did you suddenly just...
**Lan**: I have a responsibility to protect you this time. The two of them appeared so suddenly, I was afraid that something was wrong, and I had to make sure that they were themselves.
**Lan**: Please forgive me for behaving so frivolously, I was just a teenager.
**Player**: You think there's something up between these two brothers?
**Player**: I was thinking that the Shadowhunters are already stationed in the Star Woods, why are those two brothers being all sneaky and alarming the tree elves?
**Lan**: And one of them is trying to take something...
**Player**: The elder tree elf's little brother was the one who gave me this welcoming gift. He said that poisonous plants are guarded by tree elves.
**Lan**: Poisonous? Sven gives me a strange feeling... When we came out of the grass, I saw him drag his spear in the ground.
**Player**: That doesn't mean anything. Sven's got a rascally temperament. Uh...wait, no, he's laid-back.
**Lan**: Well, I care about him putting his spear down because before the era of arcana, soldiers used to stick their weapons into the dirt.
**Lan**: This way, the wounds of the enemies would become infected, ensuring that they were fatal. His combat habits don't seem to be...
*Player and Lan can hear Sven shouting at Grancy*
**Sven**: That's enough! Brother, he believes you've done enough to help Bergsen.
**Sven**: Aren't you just embarrassing yourself, talking this much?
*Grancy talks to Sven*
*(What are they whispering about? Family... Shadowhunters... I'm only hearing bits and pieces.)*
**Sven**: What's that got to do with anything?!
**Player**: Ahem, Sven's voice is so loud, we can't help but hear him. That doesn't count as eavesdropping, does it?
**Player**: Sven is stopping Grancy. What is he trying to keep him from telling Haku?
**Lan**: And Grancy also seems like he's stopped Sven from contacting the Shadowhunters.
**Lan**: These brothers...
*Brothers? You suddenly remember a rumor you heard after the ceremony.*
*"The Achrays are the only great clan remaining of the rotting corpse that is the Shadowhunters."*
*"Oh, now that it's the only clan left, I hope those brothers don't fight over it!"*
**Player**: Lan... Are Sven and Grancy from the Achrays?
*Sven continues shouting*
**Sven**: The clan misses you. I'll give it back to you!
**Sven**: But why do you...
*Sven gets in Grancy's face*
**Sven**: Always give me so much trouble!
*Sven attacks Grancy with Kolkaz (in spear form) but purposefully misses*
*Grancy doesn't even flinch*
**Sven**: Even when things should go smoothly, you're always in my way!
**Sven**: Is there no such thing as justice or reason here?!
*In his angry gestures, flames shoot out of Svens hands, causing small fires*
**Player**: ?!
**Haku**: Sven don't look well. Fire flux...out of control.
**Haku**: In forest, that's dangerous.
**Grancy**: This time, even you can't control him!
**Haku**: Player, Lan, please help us. Make him calm down.
**Lan**: Something's wrong...
**Lan**: Could it have anything to do with that thing you just mentioned? The poison protected by the tree elves?
**Player**: I don't know... This fire's getting bigger. Let's first help get Sven under control.
*Player and Lan go to help Grancy to calm Sven down*
**Sven**: I will pay what I owe. Why do you want to oppose me?!
**Grancy**: Good. You are a worthy messenger of justice, but protecting you would also be opposing you. Do you have a death wish?!
**Grancy**: When it comes to matters of life and death, I don't know how to be careful. Anyway, I have no regrets, even if I do die!
**Sven**: I always felt like if I died in battle, you could take over. But since you see it that way...
**Grancy**: Why am I always paying for your impudence? Tell me, just who is the big brother here?!
*The quarrel continues...*
**Sven**: Big brother? Just because I came out of the womb a few seconds before you, I have to pay for it the rest of my life?
**Sven**: Those things should be considered the same. Why is it always unfair?
**Grancy**: Fair? You just don't like to see me treated worse in the Achrays.
**Grancy**: But I don't care about this so-called deficiency.
**Grancy**: Because I already know in my heart that even if you're treated worse in the family, you're still the envy of the outside world!
**Grancy**: Have you ever seen a talented and courageous soldier who is just trying to protect someone, lose his life at the drop of a hat?
*The quarrel continues...*
**Sven**: I've seen it, as much as you have! That's not a just end for anyone...
**Grancy**: Then is anger about injustice going to change anything? Heart full of anger, muscles tense...
**Grancy**: You're reckless and stubborn, and you're only going to get yourself hurt!
**Sven**: I've seen it, but I'll never get used to it. I'll never accept it!
**Grancy**: And then? Are you going to give them blades, so that everyone is on an equal footing before they die?
**Sven**: Them? Why are you always so suspicious of your own people?!
**Sven**: I trust in the sincerity of my brothers. No matter what happens, they will not betray us!
*The quarrel continues...*
**Grancy**: Brothers? My own people?
**Grancy**: Can you tell the difference between the team members that use your for your prestige? The ones that are in it for the money? The ones that are in it for something else?
**Sven**: The Shadowhunters are a family where everyone trusts each other!
**Sven**: It's not as duplicitous as you say it is!
**Grancy**: Fool!
**Sven**: Pessimist!
*The quarrel continues...*
**Grancy**: (Takes a deep breath) Let me explain it to you rationally... 'Use order to manage chaos, and calmness to manage turmoil. Only then can you pacify the heart.'
**Grancy**: This was part of our morning exercises when we were young. Father taught us to recite it over and over. If there is turmoil within the army, neither you nor I could bear the consequences.
**Sven**: These tricks aren't going to stop me, and they're not going to stop our morale!
**Grancy**: Our...morale? Are you blind?
**Grancy**: Have you not seen how agitated the people have become since what happened at Kaigon?
**Grancy**: What morale are you talking about? It's mindless, untested morale. Nothing more!
*The quarrel continues...*
**Sven**: You're right. I haven't won a major battle yet, and I'm definitely no War God.
**Sven**: But the brothers in the camp get along, and that's enough for them to trust one another with their lives. This time, we will come together...
**Grancy**: Get along? You thought those guys back in the training camp were a bunch of tricksters. What happened to that?
**Grancy**: Were they won over by your wily charms? Did you guys bond in the public baths? Did they buy you off?
**Grancy**: (Realizes something, then stops talking.)
**Player**: (Whispers) Why?
**Lan**: (Looks at Grancy) That kid must be doing something behind his back.
*Player manages to weaken Sven*
**Sven**: (Weakly) Ahem...
**Haku**: The wild flux is quiet.
**Sven**: I don't agree with your thinking. But we'll do things your way for now.
**Lan**: Phew, he's finally calmed down. Those two brothers have a lot of issues to work out.
*Choice 8.1 - What's their disagreement on morale about?*
**Lan**: An army's morale fades as it fights, like the sun sets in the sky. Attack the enemy when they are tired and retreating.
**Lan**: Sven's enthusiasm affects the whole army.
**Lan**: Some people, because of the circumstances into which they're born, need to fight to gain wealth and status. Those people respect Sven even more.
**Lan**: After all, despite being the young master of an aristocratic clan, he still rushes ahead in battle. Of course the whole team is full of morale.
**Lan**: This kind of passionate heroic spirit is something I couldn't have even matched in my youth.
*Choice 8.1.1 - What's their disagreement on morale about?*
*Go to Choice 8.1*
*Choice 8.1.2 - What's their disagreement on the army about?*
*Go to Choice 8.2*
*Choice 8.1.3 - What does the conflict between the brothers have to do with the Shadowhunters?*
*Go to Choice 8.3*
*Choice 8.2 - What's their disagreement on the army about?*
**Lan**: I think Sven has a warrior's heart, but whether you're simply ordering troops or you're a big shot like Roderick, simply inspiring troops isn't nearly enough.
**Lan**: Achray said in Advanced Shadowhunter Strategies: 'Use order to manage chaos, and calmness to manage turmoil. Only then can you pacify the heart.'
**Lan**: This means, you need to make orderly judgments in a chaotic situation so that you can stabilize the hearts of your troops. The larger the battle, the more critical it is that you have a clear direction.
**Lan**: After all, the frontlines isn't the only place an army can be destroyed; internal strife is even harder to guard against. Grancy is trying to plan ahead...
**Lan**: He's very thoughtful for someone his age. But...what is he guarding against? Is it just because of the situation in Kaigon?
*Choice 8.2.1 - What's their disagreement on morale about?*
*Go to Choice 8.1*
*Choice 8.2.2 - What's their disagreement on the army about?*
*Go to Choice 8.2*
*Choice 8.2.3 - What does the conflict between the brothers have to do with the Shadowhunters?*
*Go to Choice 8.3*
*Choice 8.3 - What does the conflict between the brothers have to do with the Shadowhunters?*
**Lan**: Once the path to riches is too closely bound to the powerful, it becomes difficult to quit.
**Lan**: Because there are so many relationships that are bound together by common interests, one small change will affect the whole system.
**Lan**: I assume you've heard about the Anti-Shadow Council's comprehensive reforms? The Achrays is the only surviving clan.
**Lan**: If they don't strive for control, it would become not only a question of preserving the wealth of the status quo, but also whether they could protect themselves.
**Lan**: The clan has pushed the two of them forward, betting on both of them. Of course, this is a winning strategy for the clan as a whole, but the two brothers themselves have no say in the matter.
**Player**: That can't be easy...
*After the battle, Sven suddenly faints on his own*
**Grancy**: Haku! Sven fainted...
**Player**: (Looks at Lan with guilt in his eyes) It's not because of the fight, is it?
**Lan**: Ahem... Desperate times call for desperate measures.
**Player**: Which is to say, it's better than letting Sven burn down the whole forest.
**Lan**: I suppose that makes things a little better...
**Lan**: Never Isle has a good relationship with the Shadowhunters. If anyone should take the blame, it should be me.
**Grancy**: How is Sven doing?
*Haku examines Sven*
**Haku**: This poison...it's been changed. Needs new medicine.
**Haku**: But we need...go to Yggdrasil.
**Lan**: Poison?
**Grancy**: (Clenches fists) You guys made the arrangement in advance, but...
**Player**: The Shadowhunters that you guys are a part of have a lot to do with the Star Woods.
**Player**: An incident has occurred, and it stands to reason that Haku is the one that should deal with it. (However, I can't let Lan be held accountable afterward.)
**Lan**: (Seems to have noticed something, and looks at you) The forest is fraught with peril, and we need Haku to show us the way.
**Haku**: But, I can't, divide into two.
**Lan**: Are there any signs of the Shadows in the Star Woods right now?
**Haku**: (Shakes head...)
**Lan**: How can you tell?
**Haku**: On the ground and in the air, the tree elf defense and communications are normal. There are no reports, of anomalies, at the trunk site.
**Player**: There aren't any Shadows around, so the recharge isn't so urgent.
**Lan**: (Smiles at you) All right, well... Once we've saved him, then we'll go together.
**Grancy**: (Sighs with relief) Thank you. So how do we get this recipe? Pay?
**Haku**: Spirit, writing.
**Haku**: It is common practice, when saving lives, to refuse payment.
**Player**: (That sounds familiar... Is this what the tree elf was asking about before? What is 'spirit writing?')
**Lan**: (Whispers explanation) 'Use the calligraphy talisman to call forth spirits and show the way forward.'
**Lan**: Which is to say, by praying sincerely and burning a talisman, you can call forth a spirit that will help you write down a recipe for the medicine.
**Haku**: When the spirit descends, the relative, of the person making the request, should say with me: As the fox flames guide my way, spirits, guide my pen!
**Grancy**: Got it.
**Player**: Then what about us?
**Haku**: Master Lan, please use protection array, to stop spirits from disturbing, the ritual.
**Haku**: You want to write, Player?
**Player**: Write?
**Lan**: First, relax your wrist. Then, take this wooden stick and hold it straight up on ground.
*Player follows Lan's directions*
**Player**: I take it, but I don't do anything with it?
**Lan**: (Seriously) Don't move your hands.
**Grancy**: Please, everyone.
**Haku**: (Sits quietly on the altar, making various gestures.)
**Lan**: (Whispers to you) His changing gestures are an allusion to the changing seasons.
**Haku**: (Opens mouth without speaking.)
**Lan**: (Sensing that you're looking to him for an explanation, he shakes his head.)
**Lan**: I'm afraid that only the creatures of the earth and the sky can hear him now.
*Grancy supports Sven, and stares intently at Haku's hands.*
*A wind suddenly begins to blow, dispersing the thick fog floating around the altar and blowing across Haku's hair.*
*Beneath the hazy moonlight, he floats as if he's going to drift away with the fox flames.*
*Only his mask keeps him firmly in this world.*
*A gentle, ringing sound begins to fill the area*
**Lan**: Yes!
*Blue flames begin to circle around Haku*
**Grancy**: As the fox flames guide my way, spirits, guide my pen!
**Player**: (Are fox flames cold? Isn't it cold when the wind blows at high altitudes?)
**Player**: (According to the tree elves, it probably wouldn't be appropriate to ask him frivolous questions like this.)
**Player**: ?!
*Your thinking is scattered, but you feel the wooden branch in your hand...*
*Suddenly being moved by a force that is not under your control.*
*What kind of thing uses your hand to write?!*
*The ringing sound gradually becomes distant, and the markings made by your stick begin to take shape.*
**Ground Scratches**: To find what you seek, gather the blossoms of time and the fruit of luck.
**Player**: I didn't move my hand to write this!
**Lan**: (Points into the void above)
*Haku's senses return to the present*
**Grancy**: (Urgently) What did it write?
**Lan**: It seems to be four ingredients. Green leaves, pine root, Time Blossom, and Luck Fruit.
**Lan**: Root, leaves, flowers, and fruit. These correspond to the four seasons.
**Haku**: (Nodding) Use natural vitality, grind four herbs. Place under nose, and he will wake.
**Grancy**: Where can I find these herbs?
**Haku**: Deep in the Star Woods.
**Haku**: But altar array, can only teleport one. Still needs, reset.
**Grancy**: I want to stay with Sven, so that I can look after him in case something happens.
**Lan**: (Gives the twins a furtive look)
**Player**: (He thinks the twins are suspicious and wants to watch him?)
**Haku**: Then Player, you go through, find herbs. We stay here, fix array.
**Player**: That seems like the only way.
**Haku**: That area, also has runestone. Can send there.
**Haku**: Take mask. Use as long as you need.
*Haku hands player his fox mask*
**Player**: (As long as a tree elf doesn't ask... He just gave this to me.)
**Haku**: If a tree elf doesn't listen...give them my name.
**Haku**: Are you ready...to teleport?
*Choice 9.1 - I'm ready.*
**Player**: I'm ready. Let's do this.
*Continue to Part 3*
*Choice 9.2 - I'm going to take another look around.*
**Player**: I'm going to take another look around.
*Player goes back to the entrance of the forest and talks to a Shadowhunter stationed there*
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: Brother, are you able to go deeper into the Star Woods? Could you do me a favor?
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: That mysterious child, Haku, gave us a message. Our team needs to guard the entrance to the forest and not let anyone in.
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: Those two rich guys are a couple of scaredy cats. All they do is patrol around. When something happens, that's when they cling to their posts!
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: Dammit, if something bad were to happen, what use would it be to guard their post?
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: (Gives you a guilty look) Ahem. You don't know those two, do you know?
**Player**: ... (Grancy and Sven? If I don't answer, then it doesn't count as a lie, right?)
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: They say that Changchu Changshien is the leader of the tree elves. I wrote a message for him - can you help me take it to him?
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: I wouldn't dare violate orders and go in myself. That hardass who gives the orders is strict as hell.
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: One day, I stepped on some grass, and he pushed me away, shouting about Bergsen and how patrols should avoid him.
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: The scope of operations used to be really small, and you weren't allowed to step anywhere!
**Shadowhunter Entrance Guard**: Thank you, brother, for helping me run my errand and for listening to me complain. Take these.
*The Shadowhunter hands Player a summoning design*
*Player goes to Changchu Changshien*
**Changchu Changshien**: Sha! What now?
**Player**: The patrols wanted me to give this to you. It has to do with how to send messages.
**Changchu Changshien**: Show me. Sha-sha-sha! Complicated!
*Player walks around the forest and finds two tree elves talking to themselves*
**Trembling Tree Elf**: Remember Brother Tree, take to city? That one?
**Curious Tree Elf**: Sha sha!
**Trembling Tree Elf**: I hear main root cut, six months too soon. Something called crane pulled him up.
**Trembling Tree Elf**: Because, they want, take him. His big beautiful skull also cut off!
**Curious Tree Elf**: Sha-sha-sha-sha, cut root and head, outsiders scary!
**Trembling Tree Elf**: Sha... They make him, stand by road. In stone pond. Very small. Roots broke ground, only one mouth to breathe...
**Curious Tree Elf**: Then how, he survive? Tell us?
**Trembling Tree Elf**: Injection! Those people bring bottle, make him live longer. Hang on his arm!
**Player**: It was probably an IV.
**Two Tree Elves**: Ahh! Human here!
*The two tree elves run away and in their haste, drop something.*
*A little farther down, Player talks to a respectful tree elf*
**Respectful Tree Elf**: Master Player, please do not touch. The flowers and plants give light. Sha~
**Player**: Huh? Are they poisonous?
**Respectful Tree Elf**: No, not poisonous. In Star Woods, tree elves protect!
**Respectful Tree Elf**: This year, lots of rain. But spring cold! Glowing plants, hard time grow. Sha...
**Player**: Then what can we do?
**Respectful Tree Elf**: Sha... That's just way it goes.
**Respectful Tree Elf**: Trees same. Climate good, growth rings big. Climate bad, growth rings thin.
**Respectful Tree Elf**: I forgot... I am Elder Changchu Changshien's helper. These, gifts for you. From Elder. Sha-sha-sha...
*The elf hands Player some Gold*
*In a secluded spot, Player finds three tree elves*
**Tree Elf Carrying Fertilizer**: Sha-sha-sha! I in charge of this. You in charge of that! Already said!
**Tree Elf Carrying Water Can**: Sha! These are...precious. You can't fix, don't come crying to me!
**Tree Elf Fiddling with Mask**: Shut up! Fertilizer, water can, what can fix?
**Player**: He's using the horns of the mask as screwdrivers. That's...pretty clever.
**Tree Elf Carrying Fertilizer**: You come to deliver stuff, Sha?
**Tree Elf Carrying Water Can**: Sha... That is person... Rare to see person deliver stuff.
**Tree Elf Fiddling with Mask**: Stuff, dropped. Or suddenly broken. You have?
**Tree Elf Carrying Water Can**: Everything has spirit. Something lost, save you from disaster. Believe it? Sha-sha-sha?
**Tree Elf Carrying Fertilizer**: Sha! This is retirement equipment repair center!
**Player**: What's this got to do with you tree elves?
**Tree Elf Carrying Water Can**: Not allowed, to do side jobs?
**Tree Elf Fiddling with Mask**: Our own leaves. Today they wither. Not completely lost. Next season. Have life.
**Tree Elf Fiddling with Mask**: Spirits are same. They not lost. Only things lost.
**Player**: (Spirits aren't lost, only things... What about people? Is it the same for them?)
**Tree Elf Fiddling with Mask**: If nothing needs fix, let's go.
**Tree Elf Carrying Water Can**: Remember to visit if you need anything!
*Player finally returns to Haku*
*Go to Choice 9.1*

### Part 3

*Scene - Another part of the forest*
*After teleporting, you felt a different atmosphere.*
*Unlike the ghostly atmosphere with thick fog, the priest in white leading the way...*
*Here, the warm earth air wafts upward. The area before you is expansive, and butterflies flutter by on a comfortable breeze.*
**Player**: (First check the flora nearby for the herbs that Sven needs.)
*A tree elf floats over to Player*
**Passionate Tree Elf**: It's you again!
**Player**: You're...
**Aner Andoo**: I'm the guy from before who helped you lure the violent tree elf away. My name is Aner Andoo.
**Player**: Ah... Haku mentioned your name before... Someone else did, too, but I don't remember who...
**Player**: Also, you don't speak in broken sentences, so I don't have to try really hard to understand you. What a relief...
**Aner Andoo**: Maybe it was one of those chatty gossips talking about me and Ingram.
**Aner Andoo**: As for the broken sentences... I'm part of the new, worldly generation.
**Aner Andoo**: Which of course makes me different from those old-timers who use vines and roots to communicate.
**Aner Andoo**: Hey, why didn't Haku come here with you?
**Player**: A friend of ours suddenly fell ill. Haku needs to treat him with four herbs, so he had me come here to get them.
**Aner Andoo**: Which for? I can help you find them~
**Player**: Luck Fruit, Time Blossom, Pine Root, and Green Leaves.
**Aner Andoo**: You're in luck. These all have contact with the outside, not like those old ones who've grown here for generations.
**Aner Andoo**: They can communicate with us youngsters quite easily.
*Choice 10.1 - Where can I find Luck Fruit?*
**Aner Andoo**: Luck Fruit. I remember two vines who just moved here, I think one of them goes by this name.
**Aner Andoo**: Those two elves are always arguing. I haven't seen Ingram in a while, and it just makes me so angry...
**Player**: Seeing other couples together makes you miss your loved ones.
**Aner Andoo**: Yes, that's right.
**Aner Andoo**: In short, if you see two tree elves in a big tangle, there is a high probability that the Luck Fruit you're looking for is there.
*Choice 10.1.1 - Where can I find Luck Fruit?*
*Go to Choice 10.1*
*Choice 10.1.2 - Where can I find Time Blossom?*
*Go to Choice 10.2*
*Choice 10.1.3 - Where can I find Pine Root?*
*Go to Choice 10.3*
*Choice 10.1.4 - Where can I find Green Leaves?*
*Go to Choice 10.4*
*Choice 10.1.5 - Got it, thanks.*
*Go to Choice 10.5*
*Choice 10.2 - Where can I find Time Blossom?*
**Aner Andoo**: She's one of the most temperamental girls in our area for the past ten years or so.
**Aner Andoo**: She once beat up a bunch of bumblebees, just because they took some honey without pollinating our females.
**Aner Andoo**: Even if she is angry all the time, at least that makes her easy to spot!
**Player**: All right. Time Blossom is the angry tree elf. I'll remember that.
**Aner Andoo**: But it's hard to get here to bloom. She says she's waiting for someone special.
*Choice 10.2.1 - Where can I find Luck Fruit?*
*Go to Choice 10.1*
*Choice 10.2.2 - Where can I find Time Blossom?*
*Go to Choice 10.2*
*Choice 10.2.3 - Where can I find Pine Root?*
*Go to Choice 10.3*
*Choice 10.2.4 - Where can I find Green Leaves?*
*Go to Choice 10.4*
*Choice 10.2.5 - Got it, thanks.*
*Go to Choice 10.5*
*Choice 10.3 - Where can I find Pine Root?*
**Aner Andoo**: Our land is protected by the sacred tree. Look over there, it's the shiny one!
**Aner Andoo**: The sacred tree is big and sturdy. When we stand beneath it, everything around us is basically its roots. It's like a big wall!
**Aner Andoo**: That's why any roots that can be used in medicine must be near the sacred tree's roots!
**Aner Andoo**: There's a person who likes to gather herbs. That's his favorite place to go.
**Aner Andoo**: But something must have happened recently, because I haven't seen him come pick herbs in a long time.
*Choice 10.3.1 - Where can I find Luck Fruit?*
*Go to Choice 10.1*
*Choice 10.3.2 - Where can I find Time Blossom?*
*Go to Choice 10.2*
*Choice 10.3.3 - Where can I find Pine Root?*
*Go to Choice 10.3*
*Choice 10.3.4 - Where can I find Green Leaves?*
*Go to Choice 10.4*
*Choice 10.3.5 - Got it, thanks.*
*Go to Choice 10.5*
*Choice 10.4 - Where can I find Green Leaves?*
**Aner Andoo**: These leaves... Actually, I've got a bunch of them here.
**Player**: Oh. How many can you give me?
**Aner Andoo**: Do you know why I save green leaves, hang them on the tops of trees, and dry them under the stars?
**Aner Andoo**: Ingram uses dried leaves to constrain his grip. He's a good bat...
**Player**: A pigbat? On the way here, I may have fought, Err, sparred with him.
**Aner Andoo**: No, no, no. My Ingram is tall, slim, and has long legs. He's not the same as those pigbats. I can give you the leaves...
**Aner Andoo**: I know you're a pretty tough guy. If you see his red eyes or step on black smoke, please take it easy on him.
**Aner Andoo**: He was so uncomfortable when I took him to meet my friends. His claws were shaking. He was scared of scratching their leaves.
**Aner Andoo**: So considerate of him... He wouldn't hurt a fly, right? I just know it.
**Player**: (I just remembered, the gossipy tree elf mentioned a long-legged bat. But what's up with the red eyes and black smoke?)
**Aner Andoo**: The leaves need to dry under the stars because... He said the galaxy is a music box that turns once a night, just for me.
**Aner Andoo**: When this string of stars reaches the other end, he'll come back.
**Aner Andoo**: I believe him. I will wait for him.
*Choice 10.4.1 - Where can I find Luck Fruit?*
*Go to Choice 10.1*
*Choice 10.4.2 - Where can I find Time Blossom?*
*Go to Choice 10.2*
*Choice 10.4.3 - Where can I find Pine Root?*
*Go to Choice 10.3*
*Choice 10.4.4 - Where can I find Green Leaves?*
*Go to Choice 10.4*
*Choice 10.4.5 - Got it, thanks.*
*Go to Choice 10.5*
*Choice 10.5 - Got it, thanks.*
**Aner Andoo**: Take these leaves. Please be good to them.
*Player receives some Green Leaves*
**Aner Andoo**: You'd better collect Time Blossom first, then Pine Roots, then go find Luck Fruit.
*Scene continues after choices*
*Player walks over to an angry, blue tree elf*
**Furious Tree Elf**: You capricious humans! You never keep your promises!
**Furious Tree Elf**: If it's not her coming to see me bloom, then don't bother me!
**Player**: (She's furious, and she's talking about blooming... Based on Aner Andoo's description, this should be Time Blossom.)
**Player**: (But she's not paying attention to me right now. I'd better go have a look around somewhere else and see if I can find a way to calm her down.)
*Player walks around and finds a Shadowhunter looking at some of the forest flowers*
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Is this the one? Hmm, the color is right, but this pattern isn't as mom described it.
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Ten years passed without any fruit, until she was pregnant with me, to repay the kindness of protecting the branches from breaking.
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Turns out, it was all just a trick.
**Player**: (Pats him on the shoulder) What are you looking for, brother?
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: I'm looking for a certain kind of flower... (Suddenly stops without turning around) Huh?! I'm not looking for anything!
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Uh... I was on my patrol, and some of the vines here didn't look right. There might be a communication problem.
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Thus, according to procedure, I proceeded deeper into the sacred tree zone.
**Player**: That'll make for a convincing enough fake work log, but I'm not your teammate. Don't worry.
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: It's not fake...
**Suspicious Shadowhunter**: Ah! You're the one with the Wheel of Fate! The way I look now, I'm making a fool out of myself in front of my teammates.
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Let me tell you, I joined the Shadowhunters because I heard about all the things you did. I want to heroically save a city, too!
**Player**: Heroic, huh? ... (Weak) But I wasn't able to save anyone in Kaigon...
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Don't be so hard on yourself. We're only humans, we're not gods. Besides, didn't you defeat that water monster?
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Actually, my mother was killed by Shadows, too. Before she died, she told me that fate is set, and no manpower can change it.
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Every year when we honor the dead, I follow the the usual ritual. But when it's time to burn paper offerings, I don't sprinkle wine. I use poplar nectar, instead.
**Player**: You plant plants to house souls, and offer sweets instead of wine. Is everyone from the Star Woods so accepting of death?
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Huh? I'm not from the Star Woods. Actually, the Time Blossom tree that my mother kept talking about was moved here.
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: "Once I'm an old woman, the flower tree will still just be a little girl who needs protecting."
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: But she didn't even get to turn into an old woman, and I can't find the tree that she told me to find.
**Player**: Time Blossom? I think I've already seen it.
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: Really?! Take this triangle purse. Please hang it on the tree!
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: I've been away for too long. I need to get back. It is alright if you can't find the tree, you can keep the purse; it'll keep you safe.
**Player**: Hold on, you've come this far into the Star Woods and no one's realized it yet?
**Chattering Shadowhunter**: No, I've been really careful! I even prepared that cover story, the one I told you at first.
**Player**: (So when Grancy said he was coming to find a patrolman, it was really just an excuse!)
*The Shadowhunter hands Player a small, triangular purse*
**Player**: (As for the angry blue tree elf... I should use this to try to calm it down.)
*Player goes back to angry blue tree elf*
**Furious Tree Elf**: Didn't I already tell you? She's the only one who's allowed to bother me!
**Furious Tree Elf**: Huh? This aura...
**Furious Tree Elf**: (Points to the triangle purse) What are you doing with this?
**Furious Tree Elf**: Are you the brat that came out of her belly?
**Player**: No...But I think I did run into this brat you're talking about.
**Furious Tree Elf**: Why didn't she come herself? All these years, all she needed to do was come one time. Did she forget about me?
*Choice 11.1 - Be straightforward*
**Player**: (The creatures of the Star Woods are usually pretty indifferent toward death. I'll just be direct.)
**Player**: It's not that she didn't want to keep her promise, but she was killed by the Shadows.
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: ?! I've waited all these years, and it turns out that the whole time, I was waiting for someone who already left this world?
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: Hahaha, how ridiculous. Damned Shadows!
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: You! You have a weapon, why didn't you protect her?
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: Why can't I leave this place?!
**Player**: (Why's she overreacting like this?)
**Player**: I...I might need one of your flowers to save a friend of mine.
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: (Pausing between each word for effect and gritting teeth) Save...your...friend? Then why didn't anybody save MY friend?!
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: Tell me, is this fair? If they weren't your friend, would they deserve to die?!
**Player**: We can't chase the past...
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: All that nonsense about reincarnation is just to console people.
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: I don't need the wind and sunlight that she became.
**Emotionally Unstable Tree Elf**: I just want the living person who would stand in front of me and stop other people from breaking my arms!
**Player**: (So tree elves do care about life and death... I can't continue here, I need to find another route.)
*Choice 11.1.1 - Be straightforward*
*Go to Choice 11.1*
*Choice 11.1.2 - Be tactful.*
*Go to Choice 11.2*
*Choice 11.2 - Be tactful.*
**Player**: (Gives purse) Actually, she didn't forget you. Look, this is a triangle purse from the shrine.
**Pacified Tree Elf**: Yeah... I knew as soon as I sensed it... But I couldn't believe that this moment I've been waiting for has finally come.
**Player**: You've held out all these years, all because you hated her for not keeping her promise?
**Pacified Tree Elf**: (Shakes head) It was because I expected her to fulfill her promise.
**Pacified Tree Elf**: My life is long, and I can afford to wait for years. After she fulfilled her promise, I would bloom for her, as agreed.
**Player**: But as you know, human life is very fragile, right?
**Pacified Tree Elf**: How could I not know that? That brat's life, I spent ten years worth of spiritual energy protecting it.
**Player**: (So it took her ten years for her to find out what happened...)
**Pacified Tree Elf**: You want to say, she already...died?
**Player**: Hmmm.
**Pacified Tree Elf**: I see.
**Pacified Tree Elf**: You need my flowers to help heal someone?
**Player**: That's right.
*Scene continues after choices*
*Breaking out in song, the tree elf begins to shake its body. Petals fall to the ground.*
**Singing Voice**: I bloomed the flowers she loved, I sang song she listened to.
**Singing Voice**: Until her suffering became my own, until her kindness became my own.
**Singing Voice**: When the wind blows, it is time to return. You see your whole past is already here.
**Singing Voice**: Is the world so splendid? I can't find you anymore...
**Player**: Why are you helping me?
**Pacified Tree Elf**: I'm not from your world, but the connection I had with her, is my connection with this world.
**Pacified Tree Elf**: I don't want anyone else to have the regrets that she had. Take these, and go.
**Player**: (That person I never met... Their connection with the world didn't seem to end with their death.)
**Player**: (All these years later, her protection and her promise still helped a flower bloom for someone else.)
*The tree elf hands player the Time Blossom*
*Player approaches a man standing under a tree*
*He seems to be talking to himself*
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Yes, these pine flowers are high quality.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Aye, when am I finally going to get rid of these pine roots?
**Basket Kittens**: Meow!
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Don't run around! These are medicinal herbs. You shouldn't eat them if you aren't sick!
**Player**: (The roots below the sacred tree... This must be the herb collector that Aner Andoo was telling me about.)
*Player chats with the man*
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Why are you alone in the woods at night, young man? Are you lost?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: If you're lost, follow the fox flames at every corner to find your way out. Don't be scared.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Nobody gets lost following fox flames, just nonsense. The truth is that the fox flames guide people who get lost.
**Player**: I see... Sir, I have a friend who is sick. The priest wrote a prescription, and I need to look for the ingredients here.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Ah, the priest you speak of is Haku, isn't it? He's a good kid...
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Normally, the sacred tree doesn't like people. But he commanded that the nearby creatures aren't allowed to drive out lost ones.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: I'm afraid that when it gets cold, someone will get lost in the foggy forest and freeze to death.
**Player**: (Haku doesn't seem to have a care in the world; would he pay any attention to small details like this?)
**Player**: (Thinking back to when I first came into the forest and the tree elf played a trick on me, he seemed to come forward to help me.)
**Player**: Hello there, I heard you talking about herbs. What do you have?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: My basket's still got some pine roots and pine flowers left.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: The pine root can be a headache. You need to peel it, wash it clean, and cut it up to dry, but it looks like it's already ready.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Take a look and see if there's any you can use, and feel free to take it.
*Choice 12.1 - Thank you. I hope to see you again.*
**Player**: Thank you, sir. I only need the pine root. Hope to see you again.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: It was nothing. I'm sure you must have helped people out along the way.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Take the pine roots. This pair of roots are rare twins. In the legends of the Star Woods, they are said to be magic.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Life force can be shared by two people, or one can take it all for themselves... Every living thing has its own will, but sometimes it needs to fight for what it wants.
**Basket Kittens**: Meow!
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Ah, I already...
*You had no idea that this temporary acquaintance, though the two of you were fated to meet now, would never see each other again.*
*Choice 12.2 - Thank you. How can I repay you?*
**Player**: But hard work should be rewarded. I can't just take it for free.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: It was nothing, no need for payment. I'm sure you must have helped people out along the way.
**Basket Kittens**: Meow! Meow!
**Player**: What are these kittens doing here?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: I'm an herbalist who lives off the mountain. I'm used to not seeing people when I go out. Nevertheless, one day, I ran into a woman wearing yellow clothes.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Without speaking, she gestured for me to follow her into a cave. When I went in, I saw a litter of newborn ginger kittens there.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Next to the kittens, there was a dead female cat that was the same color. When I looked back, the 'woman' was no longer there.
**Player**: Uh...the dead cat transformed into a person and had you rescue her babies?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Can't say for sure. When I brought the kittens home, I was outside the window, and I saw my mother reinforce the basket for me.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Maybe all of the creatures in the world are like this. Whether living or dead, they show concern for one another.
**Player**: Adopting kittens is a good thing, but can't you keep them at home? Why do you need to take them out with you when you go picking herbs?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: I'm not here to pick herbs (frowns). Although I don't know why there are always herbs in the basket.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: I'm here to...to set them free.
**Player**: But when I saw you, you were collecting pine flowers.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Oh, maybe I'm just getting old. You know Haku, right? Haku was raised by foxes, then he was adopted by humans.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: "There are some newly freed stray cats in the Star Woods." Tell that to Haku, and don't let any other animals bully them.
**Player**: These cats look like they're growing up well enough. Why do you want to set them free?
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: These spirits...for them to have a bond with people... Do you think this is a good thing, or the beginning of a tragedy?
**Player**: Everybody needs warmth. I think if these creatures truly have spirits, then we should consider ourselves very fortunate.
**Basket Kittens**: Meow!
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: There was a windy day recently when I took my mother home. Suddenly, I heard something above me. I thought it was the wind blowing tiles off the wall.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: We didn't have time to hide, but I felt something fuzzy bump into my leg, so I took my mother and ran several steps forward.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: When we got into the house, all I saw was a small pool of blood and orange fur.
**Player**: ...The cat saved you and your mother?
**Player**: (The mother cat was obsessed with saving her children. One of the kittens that lived, sacrificed its own life to save its benefactor.)
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Every bond is yet another chance for tragedy to occur where one life gives itself up for another.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: But let me ask you the same question, the other way around: are small creatures lucky to form bonds with people?
**Player**: It could be considered a kind of luck to have someone or something you care about enough to give your life for.
**Player**: If everyone lives, then it's a happy ending. But if you do give your life for them, that's not entirely a tragedy, either.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Aye... I still think that if I want them to have a good life, I'd better let them go.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Take the pine roots. This pair of roots are rare twins. In the legends of the Star Woods, they are said to be magic.
**Man Hesitating Beneath Tree**: Every living thing has its own will, but sometimes it needs to fight for what it wants.
*Player gets the Pine Root*
*Player continues to search the forest and finds two tree elves and a pigbat*
**Tangled Tree Elf**: I'm going to die, why are you still following me? Aren't you tired of being my neighbor?!
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: No, no. That pigbat was just talking nonsense.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: How could a pretty fruit like yourself be poisonous?
**Tangled Tree Elf**: You're still talking about fruit? Get outta here!
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: (Whispering) It's your temper that's poisonous. Even more powerful than the boss here. Luckily, it can't breathe fire!
**Player**: (Hmm... a pair of entangled tree spirits. One of them must have Luck Fruit.)
*Player checks on the tree elves*
**Player**: Excuse me, one of my friends has fallen ill, and I need...
**Tangled Tree Elf**: No, I'm not the Luck Fruit that has therapeutic qualities.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: This guy hasn't even finished talking, and you're already trying to deny it. Who do you think you're fooling?
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Shut up! I escaped from that old man's balcony, then was told I've been poisoned as soon as I set foot in this dumb ol' forest...
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Now people want my fruit, not to mention the pigbats. What a day!
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: Well, this escape is all because I couldn't keep my big mouth shut. The first year it was planted, there were such high hopes...
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: But in the end, it got excited, then came here to steal a few overnight and hung them on itself.
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Look at everyone else! You're a fool! Everyone else is growing fruit, why can't you?
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Is that what you call high hopes? Every day, I was scolded for being a failure, while you had more fruit than everyone else.
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Now it all worked out! I've been poisoned and I'm going to die, but at least nobody wants my fruit anymore.
**Player**: Then...are you a Luck Fruit tree elf, too?
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: No. That year, they almost thought he was a mutant and cut him down.
**Player**: ...
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: Aye, don't worry about it. If you really do end up dying, I'll go back and teach that old man a lesson in your stead.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: And every day, I'll find stuff that you like to eat, bring it back, and burn it as an offering for your spirit.
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Enough, don't get mushy. I will reluctantly allow you to bring me some fruit wine.
**Player**: Ahem, I'm sorry. How did you get poisoned?
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: It was that pigbat. He ate all my fruits and then went crazy. My fruits are bad, for sure!
*The pigbat gets excited*
**Player**: I'll swing a few punches to get rid of it. I've done it before.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: You'll only get through to him if you deal with that pigbat first.
*Player hits the pigbat*
**Pigbat**: Squeak!
**Pigbat**: Ingram told me to come here, then I hungrily ate one of these fruits.
**Player**: So it's not that the fruit was poisonous and made you this way, you were already this way when you ate the fruit?
**Pigbat**: Yes.
*The pigbat flies away*
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: False alarm! Looks like I'm going to live after all.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: What you said just now, was it true?
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Nope. With you by my side chattering on like that, I wouldn't be able to rest in peace, anyway.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: In the Star Woods, we say, your soul departs and takes our friendship to the other side.
**Luck Fruit Tree Elf**: Ugh, your bark just gets thicker by the day.
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: Hey, this is all thanks to you. Take the Luck Fruit you need, and some wine...
**Thick-barked Tree Elf**: It's a favorite of the Sword Master of the Star Woods. He loved to drink it when he was younger! Go on, it's yours!
*The tree elf hands Player the Luck Fruit*
*Before contacting Haku through the runestone, Player looks around the area once more*
*Player encounters a priest looking up at the night sky*
**Stargazing Priest**: According to the deductions, the era variable cannot be accounted for.
**Stargazing Priest**: Although everyone was hoping to live and work in peace, there are a relatively few number of stable eras.
**Stargazing Priest**: But Ka protects all life.
*Player walks by an old lady next to s small campfire*
**Player**: What are you doing lighting a fire here, ma'am?
**Old Believer**: I want to make a light. I made a wooden framework, coated it with red grease, and decorated it. Now I just need to light it.
**Old Believer**: According to the rules, it needs to be put in the temple on the tree.
**Old Believer**: But my legs won't take me up any higher. Before I had my son. He's not young, but he picks herbs, and is pretty good at it.
**Player**: Then where is he now? He didn't come with you?
**Old Believer**: People are like this light. They leave this earth one by one, and they arrive in heaven one by one.
**Old Believer**: Poor kitten. It only managed to save me with its pounce. It must have taken all its energy just to do that.
**Player**: (Picking herbs? Rescuing kittens? That sounds like the man who gave me the pine roots? He's...dead?)
**Player**: I'll help you take some to the top of the tree. I'm going to go up later, anyway.
**Old Believer**: I'm very grateful. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude.
*The old lady gives Player a small token of thanks*
*Player sees two tree elves talking to one another*
**Blue Flag Support Squad**: The child I support is extremely considerate, selfless, and doesn't get distracted and make mistakes.
**Red Flag Support Squad**: How can you be sure? Often times, people who are stuck in a situation secretly desire to rebel.
**Blue Flag Support Squad**: We're tree elves. Trees are afraid of fire. We have orders to go support again, right?
**Red Flag Support Squad**: I think this kid is pretty good at using fire.
**Red Flag Support Squad**: Perhaps anybody can be generous, but it takes a real special kind of person to be a guardian deity.
**Blue Flag Support Squad**: Pfft, not everyone can be generous.
**Player**: (Are they talking about Grancy and Sven? Do they both have support teams composed of the Star Woods' tree elves?)
*In a secluded corner, Player finds a small fairy*
**Chanting Spirit**: Grass; long, fragrant, and dense. Who will lay eyes upon this pine?
**Chanting Spirit**: The skin of fruit helps mulberry grow, catalpas wood is used for coffins.
*Player talks to a friendly tree elf*
**Friendly Tree Elf**: Are you the one with the Wheel of Fate? I know all about the outside world.
**Friendly Tree Elf**: I know how you feel about Kaigon, because I once survived a disaster, too.
**Friendly Tree Elf**: In winter, in order to cycle their nutrients, everyone sheds their leaves and builds up a bunch of grease on their trunks.
**Friendly Tree Elf**: But I stopped doing it. It's so ugly. I shed my winter bark early.
**Friendly Tree Elf**: However, some broken glass that was brought around by a bird happened to focus the sunlight and started a fire on the fallen leaves.
**Friendly Tree Elf**: The bark at my feet has been burned clean. The fire reached my trunk, but was extinguished. Also, the other tree elves...
**Friendly Tree Elf**: So I hope that the Shadowhunters will stay in a garrison, so that things aren't always so on edge all the time.
**Player**: It seems that among the tree elves, there are those who don't discriminate against humans.
*The friendly tree elf puts a small amount of Gold it found in Player's palm*
*After thoroughly searching the forest, Player goes back to the runestone that will contact Haku*
**Player**: This must be the teleportation place that Haku told me about.
*Go to Part 4*

### Part 4

*Player tells Haku that he has gathered all of the ingredients*
*Haku teleports everyone to Player's location*
*Sven lays on the ground, watched over by Grancy*
*Lan looks on, concerned*
**Player**: (Gives herbs and mask to Haku) Take a look at them and make sure I got the right ones.
**Haku**: (First takes herbs and nods slightly)
**Haku**: (Then takes mask)
**Haku**: Thank you, Player.
**Grancy**: Thank you. If you ever have trouble in the future, the Achrays will be happy to lend a helping hand.
*Haku takes the herbs and crushes them, then asks Grancy to help Sven sit up.*
*Everyone is silent for a few moments.*
**Haku**: (Whispers) There's more pine root here. Looks like they were twins.
**Grancy**: Twins... I'll take care of them.
*Lan suddenly walks forward and looks at Grancy.*
**Lan**: (Faces Grancy, while using one hand to protect you) When you asked to speak to Haku alone, it must have been about Sven's illness.
**Lan**: Is it still necessary to keep Player and I in the dark?
**Grancy**: Master Lan, are you asking how Sven got poisoned?
**Lan**: If I did ask, would you give me an honest answer?
**Grancy**: I don't know what the outcome would be, so I can't tell you.
**Haku**: I promised, not to tell.
**Player**: ... (The atmosphere has suddenly become tense again)
**Player**: Ah, doctor patient confidentiality, I get it. Lan and I will wait for you over to the left.
**Grancy**: Don't worry, Master Lan. I will not harm the Star Woods, and I definitely don't intend to put Player's life in danger. I'm just trying to protect myself, that's all.
**Player**: (I should talk the current situation over with Lan)
*Player and Lan give the others some privacy while they administer the medicine to Sven*
**Player**: Seems like they're still working on it. Got no choice but to keep waiting.
**Lan**: They're concealing the truth, but I doubt they'll hurt the Star Woods. Still, why is Haku helping Grancy?
**Player**: (Recalling what's happened so far) Bergsen is Haku's adoptive father, but he passed away. According to the rules of the Star Woods, Haku planted some grass that can house his soul.
**Player**: Grancy seems to have stopped some soldiers from destroying it, because of this friendship.
**Lan**: Then was Grancy with Sven because he wanted to help him obtain something? Or stop him?
**Lan**: Maybe I'm thinking too much. When you were looking for the herbs, I kept noticing that Grancy had a burnt smell on him.
**Lan**: I think there was a conflict between the two of them before.
**Player**: Grancy hurt Sven? That can't be. He looked really worried when he came to find Haku for help. It seemed sincere enough.
**Lan**: Then what is he hiding? Who has the most to gain if the poison isn't taken care of?
**Player**: (The unrest in the Shadowhunters organization, Sven getting poisoned, Grancy hiding the truth, the conflict between the two brothers...)
**Player**: (It seems like the truth is about to come out, but I can't tell what it is.)
**Player**: Hmm, if we knew what kind of poison it was, we'd have a clue to start stringing things together with.
**Lan**: What if we work backwards from the symptoms? He was irritable and violent...but conversation and fighting helped him calm down.
**Player**: This is too broad. You could say the same about when I was fighting pigbats.
**Player**: I can't think of anything at the moment. Let's go and see how Haku's doing.
*Player and Lan check in on Sven*
**Player**: How is Sven doing now?
**Haku**: Herbs only slow down process, not clear poison. Unless we get complete...
**Grancy**: (Interrupts) It's like if you spill ink on paper, you can't get it clean once it gets stained.
**Haku**: (Whispers) Recipe, not confidential.
**Grancy**: Ahem, I admit that I was looking for something, but I was going about it the wrong way. In a rush, I was moved to the Nexus by a tree elf.
**Grancy**: I hope you'll let us join you so that we can go to Yggdrasil together.
**Lan**: There needs to be a basic level of trust between teammates. What's going on with Sven?
**Grancy**: I don't currently know how he got poisoned.
**Grancy**: But if the Shadowhunters find out, they may regard him as an enemy.
**Grancy**: As a show of sincerity, I'm sorry, this is the most I can tell you.
**Sven**: (Curling lips) So distrustful and suspicious, be careful of your hair going gray...
*Sven gets up*
**Grancy**: I know how to make the most out of my life, and white hair won't kill me.
**Player**: (The whole time Sven was out, Grancy was by his side watching him. Why is he turning around now that he's awake?)
**Lan**: (Nods) You're awake. How do you feel?
**Sven**: (Twists neck) Not bad. Before, I wouldn't have...
**Sven**: Before, I wouldn't have fought you guys.
**Sven**: I'm so, so sorry. I'll treat you guys to a public bath when we go back, to make up for it.
**Player**: You fainted. It was related to our, uh...sparring.
**Sven**: No big deal. Consider us even. After all, I was the one who threw the crystal at you guys.
**Sven**: But my little brother isn't a bad guy, don't worry. I swear on the honor of the Shadowhunters and my clan.
**Grancy**: ...
**Player**: ...
**Lan**: (Whispering to you) It's risky, but it's safer to keep them in sight than it is to turn our backs on them.
**Player**: All right. Let's go to Yggdrasil.
**Haku**: I'll open the door.
*Player follows Haku to a large stone door entangled in large tree roots*
**Player**: Why are you just standing there like that?
**Haku**: (Suspiciously) The gate. Seems to be. Closed.
**Sven**: Huh? The tree elves are probably on guard because we were trying to steal...er...borrow something earlier.
**Haku**: It's possible. No matter which direction it's coming from, the gate will close if it senses an incoming attack.
**Player**: Sounds pretty safe. In that case, the Shadows shouldn't be able to get to Yggdrasil from here.
**Sven**: (Clicks tongue) Yes. Even if they place a portal, they still need to climb up. It's closed up pretty tight.
**Grancy**: You sound pretty proud of yourself, for a troublemaker.
**Lan**: Then how are we going to get to the Nexus?
**Haku**: I will contact. Tree elves at top.
*Haku pauses for a minute*
**Haku**: They say, now trunk. Can't open door.
**Player**: Did something happen?
**Haku**: I don't sense threat. But communication no good. They said.
**Haku**: We use. Shrine's backup key.
**Lan**: It is said that before Star Woods priests become priests, their ancestors take them to the ruins of a certain shrine.
**Lan**: The key to open the shrine's gate is right here.
**Haku**: (In a daze) I...never had...ancestors to show me way. I came back to Star Woods alone.
**Lan**: Then let's go back to the gate of the ruins. If I'm reading this right, it should be just opposite the runestone where we met.
**Haku**: (Nods)
*Player finds a path blocked by a large, glowing barrier*
*In the center of the barrier is an abstract drawing that looks like a crane*
**Lan**: Is this enchantment the runestone's pattern?
**Haku**: (Nods) It is the crane feather. I will open it.
*The mechanism is magnificent. You see several beams of light emanating from the runestone opposite of the barrier, and they begin to weave into the enchantment.*
*The barrier fades away*
*The shrine ruins are now open to you.*
**Haku**: The backup key, is Flute. Should be, bottom level.
**Player**: Let's go in and look.
**The Twins**: We'll help, too.
*The four begin to head down into the shrine ruins*
*Sven goes in first, taking the steps two and three at a time, his hair bouncing behind him.*
**Sven**: Wow, this enchantment is both gaudy and convenient! Our clan should use stuff like this!
**Grancy**: With that little brain of yours, could you remember all the different ways to open it?
*Grancy confidently steps into the entrance behind Sven.*
**Player**: (Speaks quietly to Lan) Sven just woke up, and Grancy's still taunting him. Should I go over and help him out?
**Lan**: Look, Grancy's positioned himself so that if Sven faints, he can catch him.
**Player**: His words are cruel, but his actions speak for themselves.
*You see Grancy say something, and Sven starts walking faster.*
**Player**: ?
**Haku**: (Relaying conversation) You're the same as ever. No different. You're strong. You're still as simple-minded. As you always are. It looks like. The poison's not so bad.
**Player**: Why does it kind of sound like he's trying to comfort him?
**Lan**: Hahaha, maybe you're right. For Sven, compared to being yelled at...
**Lan**: Being sweet-talked like a weakling who needs support and compassion would be even more intolerable.
**Player**: What an interesting relationship those brothers have...
**Player**: Well then, let's go in, too.
**Lan**: Okay. You follow behind me.
**Haku**: (Bows and sweeps hand in invitation)
*Player follows the others*
**Sven**: Why is the backup key a Flute?
**Haku**: (Shakes head...) Don't know.
**Lan**: You don't have a predecessor to show you the way, Haku. Has this always been the case?
**Haku**: Always been the case... What's wrong?
**Sven**: (Pats Grancy on the shoulder) I can't even imagine, without dad and grandpa to guide us...
**Sven**: What would you have become?
**Grancy**: I should say the same to you.
**Lan**: The Flute is probably related to the ruins we're in right now.
**Lan**: In Year 68 of the Old Era, Garuda, the Crane Guardian, joined hands with Luk'ur Leader, the King of Bats who'd been sealed in the Star Woods, Dracula.
**Lan**: The white cranes born here can naturally communicate with the elves of the flora, but Hawke had to use other methods.
**Lan**: Like how you have to use Haku's mask, Player. Hawke had to use a flute.
**Player**: I see...
**Lan**: They say that at the time, this place was a bowl-shaped mountaintop. This pine forest ran along the edge of the bowl, and at its bottom was a lake.
**Lan**: There were lotuses in the lake and a shrine of stone and wood upon its shore. That became the ruins where we are now.
**Lan**: Garuda and Hawke came here to came here to figure out the military situation. Perhaps also to learn the flute.
**Grancy**: "There is a pond of lotuses, with stones on the other side. Lie down and forget your worries. There is moss upon the wall of wood, like a stream running along the foot of a mountain, forgotten to the world."
**Lan**: (Nods) So in addition to your father's war journals, you also read for fun.
**Lan**: This sentence was written by the Crane Guardian. He stopped here alone after saying goodbye to Hawke.
**Lan**: He played the flute on the shore to pass the time.
**Sven**: What fun is it spending your time alone?
**Lan**: Yes. That's why he moved to the top of Yggdrasil. Now there are shrines big and small on the tree, which are a sight to behold.
**Player**: The King of Bats, Dracula...
**Player**: Lan, is there anyone in these history books by the name of Ingram?
**Lan**: Ingram... I seem to recall that in the Second Shadow War, it was the large crane that Garuda sent to the outside world when he asked for help.
**Lan**: Why did you suddenly bring that up?
**Player**: The tree elf who gave me the green leaves mentioned a bat with long legs called Ingram. Perhaps it's just a coincidence.
*The four walk deeper in the ruins*
*Player finds an earthenware jar on the ground*
*In the earthenware jar was a tattered note with a crane pattern on it.*
**Note**: I light a lamp for the one I love.
**Note**: Looking from the mountain, a river of stars pours down and forms a pool. At night amidst the grass and trees, the fireflies sparkle.
**Note**: Now, not many people come to see these lights. That is why I am often here, standing vigil over them.
**Lan**: Doesn't matter whether the building is still intact or not, I don't know if I'd want to come alone to visit the ruins of a place an old friend used to frequent.
**Lan**: If I were Garuda, I don't think I'd come back here that often. Yet, he was happy to come to the top of the tree and guard the Star Woods.
**Player**: Because the lively lights here are brothers-in-arms that fight to the death by one another's sides. Let's fight together.
*They continue searching the shrine ruins for the flute*
*There's something on the ground that's stopping you from stepping there.*
**Lan**: Let me try.
**Lan**: Stand back, Player.
*Kaching... When the sword is unsheathed, the sound of the metal and iron clashing sent a shiver down everyone's spines.*
*After drawing his sword, the usually easy-going Lan became totally relaxed, like clear moonlight in the bottom of an ancient well.*
*His movement was not complicated, but it was impressively smooth.*
**Lan**: It's open!
**Sven, Grancy**: Looks like we'll finally got to see with our own eyes how Lan handles a sword.
*They continue searching the shrine ruins for the flute*
*Player examines a stone that seems slightly out of place*
*The stone statue, once worshiped by thousands, left the realm of divinity, and eroded by the bleak wind and chilling rain, found itself no different than a common brick wall.*
*Beside it were no prayer candles, merely a few smoldering bonfires.*
**Player**: Look, there's something written into the wall.
**Player**: "We come together and part again. The cycle never ends."
**Haku**: The cycle never ends...
*They continue searching the shrine ruins for the flute*
*Player spots a pedestal with a flute standing upright in the center*
**Player**: I found the Flute!
**Lan**: Careful! There's something strange about the stone next to it!
*The stones move by themselves and form into a stone golem*
**Ruins Guard**: Little Haku, did you accidentally lock the sacred tree's entrance again?
**Ruins Guard**: Hawke isn't here. You just like to give me trouble, don't you?
**Haku**: (Steps forward and salutes) I'm...
**Ruins Guard**: Huh? Who are you guys? How did you get in here?!
**Ruins Guard**: That's right...he hasn't shown up for a long time! Did you guys do this?!
**Player**: We...
**Ruins Guard**: Take this, trespassers!
**The other three**: Player, Haku!
*The stone golem attacks but Player seems capable at defending himself*
**Ruins Guard**: Not bad, you thief.
**Ruins Guard**: The greater your ability, the greater the threat! I will protect the key!
**Ruins Guard**: You kids lying on the ground, get to work! Don't play dead!
**Rock (Left)**: Coming!
**Rock (Right)**: Ah, those brats shattered me to pieces! I need to get back up...
**Player**: The broken rocks are getting back up again and making new guards?!
*The rocks form into more stone golems but the team holds their ground*
**Ruins Guard**: Phew, let's take a rest.
**New Rock I**: Phew...it's over.
**Player**: (Finally, an opportunity for an explanation.)
**Haku**: I am the current...Priest of Star Woods.
**Player**: We only took the Flute so we could go to the Woods Nexus to recharge.
**Lan**: Of course, we'll return it when we're done with it.
**Ruins Guard**: That's all way over my head. You'll need to talk to someone else.
**Ruins Guard**: Can you contact Garuda and have him confirm?
**Player**: If I could contact Garuda, we wouldn't need the Flute.
**Sven**: There's no point explaining! Take him!
*Even more stone golems form*
*Everyone keeps fighting*
**Grancy**: Too much time has passed. We can't return to normal.
**Player**: Huh?
**Ruins Guard**: (Stunned, and lets guard down)
**New Rock II**: If you don't watch it, you're gonna get beaten!
**New Rock III**: Empty nesters are always easily tricked!
*Even more stone golems form*
*Everyone keeps fighting*
**Ruins Guard**: Tens of thousands of years ago, there were two. Afterward, there was only one...
**Ruins Guard**: No one's come here for the past thousand years, not since the second time we beat the Shadows.
**New Rock IV**: Key point is, no one's hit you, so we haven't had a reason to show up to help you...
**Ruins Guard**: Did you hurt Garuda, outsiders? Is that why he's not here anymore?
**New Rock V**: Humph, Garuda could take these guys out, easy-peasy.
*Player finally defeats all of the stone golems*
**New Rock VI**: We can't take it anymore...
**Ruins Guard**: Ugh, I'm so old... I can't even help him protect the key anymore...
**Ruins Guard**: Take it.
*Player takes the flute*
**Player**: We finally got it. Why do I feel like I just bullied an old timer to get it, though?
**Haku**: (Shakes head) It is lively, with people around. He isn't hurt. He's happy.
**Player**: I hope so... So do we play a melody on this flute to open the entrance?
**Haku**: The tree elf only say, it's backup key.
*Lan takes the flute from your hand, and spins it around on his fingertips to take a look at it.*
**Lan**: There's no way to play it. It's been sitting on this pile of rocks for all these years, I'm afraid the flute's membrane is already broken.
**Player**: Then how are we going to enter Yggdrasil?
**Sven**: (Flicks tongue) The key? Put it wherever it'll fit and open the door!
**Player**: That...makes sense.
**Grancy**: This is the benefit of low brain volume.
**Lan**: I saw an open space in the ruins on the left side of the sacred tree. If my guess is correct, that should be the place.
*Everyone goes back to the entrance to Yggdrasil*
*To the left of the door, Player find a pedestal similar to the one the flue was on in the shrine ruins*
*As he gets closer, Player hears a flute play from somewhere in the forest*
**Player**: Have any of you guys been hearing the intermittent sound of a flute playing nearby?
**Everyone**: (Shakes head...)
**Player**: (Am I hearing things?)
**Lan**: Why are your hands shaking, Player?
**Sven**: You're tired from hitting rocks, aren't you?
**Grancy**: Maybe you're exhausted from trying to find medicine.
**Haku**: Really? (Looks you up and down and then appears to do something with his hands)
**Player**: I'm fine, I'm fine. My fingertips were tingling, but it didn't hurt.
**Lan**: That's good. If you feel uncomfortable at all, please speak up.
**Haku**: (Stops moving, points to the side) This pedestal, no Flute. Same as before.
*You put the Flute on the pedestal.*
*Suddenly, six pillars of light appear.*
**Sven**: Wow, it's really brightened up in here. I'm going in to have a look.
**Grancy**: Hey, take it easy...
**Grancy**: Ahem, I'm saying... You're strong, but you're simple-minded. Don't cause trouble.
**Sven**: It's fun. When you stand on different spots, you can hear different sounds!
**Haku**: (Nods) It's the sound of a Flute.
**Lan**: Touching the different pillars of light is like pressing your fingers on the holes on a Flute.
**Grancy**: A Flute does have six holes.
**Lan**: "To the sound of the flute, the spirit comes alive with rhythm, and the ethereal spirit realm descends." The legends of the Star Woods speak of the Flute Realm. So that's what this is.
**Sven**: (Humming) "The elves are quiet and the flute shines bright~" You mean the legend from this folksong?
**Grancy**: (Thoughtfully) So the legends of the Star Woods were true all along...
**Lan**: This is the realm of the Flute.
**Lan**: You said you just heard some music, Player?
**Player**: Yes.
**Lan**: The music you're hearing may be from this mechanism. Each note corresponds to a finger placement.
**Player**: What?
**Sven**: Huh? So it's like a musical test...
**Grancy**: That's definitely possible.
**Haku**: Was Garuda, observing Hawke?
**Lan**: This is a ruthless trick. If you can't learn it, you'll never get the door open. Reminds me of my master.
**Player**: But why is he testing me now? I'm not the right subject!
**Lan**: Hahaha, I don't know, either. Go in and have a look around. We'll still be here.
**Lan**: I've heard of it, but I've never seen the Flute Realm. I only have clues that I give you for your reference.
**Lan**: Everyone holds the flute differently. In the portraits of Hawke that I've seen passed down from the previous generations, I've seen him holding the flute with his hand facing inward, while his right hand faces outward.
**Lan**: Which is to say, the hole on the far left is played by his left hand's index finger, then the middle finger and ring finger are on the right.
**Lan**: The hole on the far right is covered by the ring finger on his right hand, then the middle and index fingers to the left of that.
**Lan**: Hawke learned the flute from Garuda, so there's an 80% chance that a mechanism like this in the Star Woods would be in that order.
**Player**: Index finger, middle finger, ring finger... Those are the fingers that are tingling.
**Haku**: It's a reaction.
**Lan**: Go with the flow and the reaction will come on its own. Looks like your fate is more intertwined with the Star Woods than we thought.
**Grancy**: And you said the sound of the flute was intermittent? Maybe you need to fill in the blanks?
**Sven**: Incredible...
**Player**: Heh. I received a message in a dream, saw wood become a fairy, took part in 'spirit writing...' This is nothing compared to everything else I've experienced so far.
**Sven**: Seems like the 'ghost in white' recruitment ceremony we took part in when we first got here was nothing, as well...
**Grancy**: I won't tell anyone how scared you were.
**Player**: Ghost in white?
**Haku**: (Points to self)
**Sven**: \*Cough\*
**Lan**: Now relax your breathing and feel the rhythm in your body.
**Player**: In order, it seems to be the left index finger, right middle finger, right index finger, then the right ring finger, the left ring finger, and the left middle finger.
**Player**: I hope I can remember that...
**Lan**: (Thinking) When playing the flute, there are very few sounds that correspond to just one hole. I would guess that the light pillar you step on is the hole that doesn't get pressed.
**Lan**: If you find the right one, the light pillar will change.
**Player**: Change?
**Lan**: Probably just its color. There's no need to worry. It's not a big deal, just try them one by one.
**Player**: All right. Left index finger, right middle finger, right index finger, then the right ring finger, left ring finger, right ring finger...
**Player**: (Reciting) Left 1, right 2, right 1; right 3, left 3, left 2...
**Sven**: He looks like when we were little and father would check our backpacks in the morning...
**Grancy**: Your morning was different from mine.
**Player**: Pfft, where was I?
**Haku**: (Bowing) Please enter the realm.
*Player stands before the six glowing pillars of light, each a different color*
*Player touches the green pillar and it turns white*
*He follows this by touching the red, orange, violet, yellow and finally, blue pillars of light*
*All of the pillars are now a brilliant white*
**Sven**: Hey, he's getting better and better at this. We can all hear the melody now.
**Lan**: Judging by your playing, I think this song is called 'Farewell.'
**Haku**: Song we play, in Star Woods, to say good-bye to people who die.
**Lan**: Death and farewells happen everywhere, all the time.
**Lan**: In the Star Woods, this song is about the lives of plants.
**Lan**: The seeds are planted in the ground and take root, the petals of the flowers fall to the mud and leaves grow, then the fruit turns back into seeds.
**Lan**: Death is not the end, because everything starts over again in the new season.
**Player**: (Death is not the end?)
*"The rain, the wind, the wood; he is all."*
*"Everything has spirit. Something lost, save you from disaster."*
*"I'm not from your world, but the connection I had with her, is my connection with this world."*
*"I don't want anyone else to have the regrets that she had."*
*"Now, not many people come to see these lights. That is why I am often here, standing vigil over them."*
*"Nope. With you by my side chattering on like that, I wouldn't be able to rest in peace, anyway."*
*"In the Star Woods, we say, your soul departs and takes our friendship with it to the other side."*
*"Are small creatures lucky to form bonds with people?"*
*"If everyone lives, then it's a happy ending. But if you do give your life for them, that's not entirely a tragedy, either."*
*"In the shadow of death, survivors are free of sin."*
**Lan**: All of life's creatures die eventually. But we of the Star Woods believe that they all have souls.
**Lan**: A departing soul may leave behind clues or feelings for the people or things of this world.
**Lan**: It's also possible that some things may leave with the departing souls and go to the other side.
**Player**: (That's an interesting perspective on death. If this really is the case, then Kaigon is not gone, not completely...)
**Player**: (Is this his way of consoling or lying to me? Everything has a soul... But when I let myself believe this, the tightness in my chest loosens a little.)
*Maybe it's the quiet sound of the flute, or because of the comforting legend, or the wondrous things in the Star Woods...*
*The sorrow in the aftermath of the disaster, the shock at being blamed for it, and the anger while listening to people talk about it...*
*The emotions you'd bottled up since the disaster at Kaigon became clear and calm. They even gradually began to dissipate.*
**Player**: (Gritting teeth) As for the Shadows that caused all of this, they'll get what they deserve!
**Lan**: (Pats you on the shoulders) You're in much better spirits. You're no longer shut off and sullen!
**Haku**: Flute seems to heal. Post-war traumas... Not just learn flute...
**Player**: (surprised)
**Sven**: I also heard about what happened to Kaigon and the incident at the ceremony. I know how to comfort people, too.
**Sven**: Basically, after you collect yourself, cry if you need to, get angry if you need to. We all know how hateful the Shadows are.
**Grancy**: (Nods toward you) In the face of calamity, everyone has his own fate. When we face the Shadows, we can only ask that we have a clear conscience.
**Haku**: We can go in through the sacred tree's entrance.
**Lan**: Good. Let's go have a look at the base of the sacred tree.
**The Twins**: Let's?
**Player**: We agreed to do this together, didn't we? What are you staring at? Let's go!
**Grancy**: Okay!
**Player**: (Heavens, is he actually smiling?)
**Sven**: Heavens! Brother! What's wrong with your face?
**Grancy**: You stay behind. Don't go.
**Player**: Hahaha, Lan, Haku, let's go on ahead to the foot of the sacred tree. I think the brothers are going to fight again.
*Everyone goes to the stone door at the foot of Yggdrasil*
**Sven**: We've been messing with this door all day now. It's so complicated, we'll be honorary priests of the Star Woods by the time we're done here.
**Haku**: Okay...I will go apply. On your behalf.
**Grancy**: Don't pay attention to him.
**Player**: Hahahaha.
**Lan**: We'll go up from here. That's where the Woods Nexus is.
**Haku**: (Nods) Follow the trunk. To the canopy. That's all.
**Player**: Then let's go!
*Continue to Chapter 24*