Crystal Seal Chronicle

This article contains Spoilers about the story, some, but not all of which may be hidden behind Spoiler Buttons.

The Crystal Seal Chronicle is one of the chronicles of Ceal. It tells the story of the heroine Sylvia Zerin and her friends, the search for the Crystal Shards and reassembly of the eponymous Crystal Seal, the liberation of the Goddess Nova, and the ensuing Second Novean War. It takes part around AN 1020, and is traditionally divided into six acts.

## Act I

Sylvia Zerin and her younger brother Bokay find one of the Crystal Shards near their hometown of Selim and, on the insistence of the village Sage Michael Lucius, set out towards the Crusaders' citadel city of Fienyn together with their mentor, the Dragoness Idra Kegis in order to deliver it. Along the way they run into and eventually befriend the renegade Wel Cyrus, and find a number of additional Crystal Shards. They also have a run-in with Flair Arayto, the strongest of the four Cetaran Generals, from which they only barely escape with their lives.

Along the way, it become apparent that a mysterious power is awakening within Bokay, which turns out to be the power to safely wield a limited amount of Minayero. After a divine trial in Fienyn, which was imposed on him by Grandmaster Gabriel Hiram, he is eventually revealed to be the Chosen of Nova, and he is tasked with the holy mission of gathering the remaining Crystal Shards, restore the Crystal Seal, and free the Goddess Nova who is trapped within, as foretold in the Libereja.

The Seraph Crusader captain Theres Malumbra joins them on their quest, and together, they make their way across most of Rida, cross over to Pelagia, from the maritime trade city of Kiehlero, where they encounter Lord Uriel Ophrah, and continue to the Holy Capital of Aidenous. Along the way, they are opposed by the Cetaran Generals Phoebus Gyero, Remcis Ajeita and Flair (again), who intend to prevent the resurrection of Nova by any means. As they travel through Pelagia, they encounter also Vashya for the first time, who at this time poses as a hapless innkeeper.

Act I concludes with the climatic duel between Sylvia and the fourth Cetaran General Senahoy Nodies at the Lasiondyr Canyon, and the arrival at the Holy Capital of Aidenous with eight of the twelve Crystal Shards in hand.

## Act II

After an audience with King Frederic and Grand Patriarch Amadeus, Sylvia and her companions are granted permission to ascend the great tree Gand'Shirar. Accompanied by the Sprite siblings Henry and Dani, they eventually reach the top, where they encounter the very unusually sentient Jelzyra-Clan Greatdragon. After testing their strength, the Greatdragon bestows upon them the ninth Crystal Shard, and tells Bokay to meditate within the canopy. Doing so, Bokay receives a vision from Licos, telling him that the remaining three Crystal Shards are located on the Jel-Archipelago.

Sylvia and her companions subsequently cross over to Jelkyera, where they unexpectedly meet Idra's mate Jioan and eventually find two of the remaining Crystal Shards in the possession of two of the four Cetaran Regents, who prove to be formidable opponents. While passing to Jelkekeyra on the way to Jeljelra, Sylvia and her companions are attacked by pirates and encounter Vashya again who at this time opposes them in earnest before retreating aboard her futuristic airship, the Reginleif. On Jeljelra, they eventually find the final Crystal Shard in the hands of the third Cetaran Regent.

After gathering all of the Crystal Shards, Sylvia and her companions head toward Sky's Tear, always wary of Ozymandias, the final and strongest Cetaran Regent, who is as-of-yet unaccounted for. They make their way through Sky's Tear only to find that Skytower Fleto has already been occupied by the Wel of Cetara.

Act II concludes with the climatic battle against Flair on the summit of Skytower Fleto, followed by the betrayal of Cyrus, who turns out to have been Ozymandias all along. Ozymandias kills Bokay and seals his Soul within a Crystal, but only after Bokay reassembled the Crystal Seal. Afterwards, Ozymandias easily defeats Sylvia and her friends and knocks them off Skytower Fleto, and secures the Crystal Seal.

However, instead of falling to their deaths, Sylvia and her surviving friends are rescued by Licos, who is revealed to have escaped being sealed together with Bokay, and promises Sylvia that she will get vengeance on Ozymandias for Bokay.

## Act III

Sylvia finds herself facing Licos in her own Inner Space, and by the power of Licos is made the new Chosen of Nova and tasked with retrieving the Crystal Seal from the Cetarans, to which she happily agrees since it will allow her to get vengeance for her brother Bokay. In exchange, Licos grants Sylvia the power to wield Minayero.

Afterwards, Sylvia wakes up in the Holy Capital of Aidenous, only to learn that she has been asleep for a long time, during which both Theres and Jioan left. Licos informs Sylvia that in order to save Sylvia and her friends, he had to borrow quite a large part of Sylvia's strength, resulting in her falling into a temporary coma.

Confronted by King Frederic and Grand Patriarch Amadeus about her failure to protect the Chosen, Sylvia reveals the powers granted to her by Licos and swears that as the new Chosen of Nova she will pursue the Cetarans all the way to Ultros if need be, reclaim the Crystal Seal, and free the Goddess Nova in her brother's stead.

Together with Idra, Dani and Henry, Sylvia departs for the Tower of Rynda, ruled by Grand Sky Captain Raphael Merari, where they not only manage to get a Ferogryph mount for Sylvia - a spirited young female by the name of Radiance - but also befriend a Gryph by the name of Zephyr who joins them on their quest. With all of them being capable of flight now, they cross the Falin Sea and make it to Ventana, where they travel the continent in search of a way to get to Ultros relatively unnoticed.

While travelling through the Domain of Ninanjiro, Sylvia and her companions quickly learn that getting into Ultros unnoticed is going to be difficult if not impossible due to strict controls enforced by the Wel. However, they also manage to track down Jioan, who came to Ventana with Theres, and claims to know a way to get into Ultros unnoticed via Eknaria.

Traversing the sub-oceanic Mel'karo Caverns, the party manages to make it to Eknaria, only to run into Theres challenging Phoebus, one of the four Cetaran Generals to a duel and barely holding her ground against him. Even though it means blowing their cover, Sylvia decides to intercede and save Theres, after which the Cetarans retreat in order to inform the Regents that Sylvia and her companions still live.

Having lost the element of surprise, Sylvia still decides to push forward, determined to avenge her brother even if it means having to cut her path through the entire army of Cetara. As such, Sylvia and her companions proceed to cross the Kingdom of Phryconia, still guided by Jioan. During that time, the have another run-in with Vashya, who scolds Sylvia for blindly seeking vengeance before leaving aboard the Reginleif.

Sylvia and her companions eventually manage to make it to Ultros by utilizing an ancient undersea tunnel connecting the two continents, and just prior exiting into the frozen tundras of Ultros, they are unexpectedly joined by Senahoy, who strikes a deal with Sylvia: Senahoy will lead Sylvia to the entrance of Meviek - the fabled ninth continent of Ceal - which is where the Cetaran capital of Helix is located.

Senahoy takes her leave at the foot of Yaelegaro, the mountain on top of which Eykiro, the gate to Meviek is located. Sylvia and her friends scale the mountain, fighting their way past many Cetarans, and eventually are confronted by Flair once again in front of Eykiro, which turns out to be a Dream Gate.

Act III concludes with Flair luring Sylvia and her companions into an Iserial Fortress she set up on the Causeway. After her defeat, the Iserial Fortress self-destructs, destroying not only the Causeway, but also scattering Sylvia and her companions all over the River of Dreams.

## Act IV

Sylvia finds herself lost and alone in the River of Dreams, accompanied only by Licos' spiritual presence within. Following the directions of the Golden Gryph, Sylvia tries to make her way back to the Causeway, Ceal, or onward to Meviek.

Before long, she unexpectedly runs into Vashya, who seems quite knowledgable about the River of Dreams. Though still not approving of Sylvia's thirst for vengeance, she offers to help Sylvia find her friends and guide them to Meviek, providing Sylvia with a Dream Map and accompanying her.

Thanks to Vashya's help, Sylvia manages to find all of her companions with the exception of Jioan, and after a long, fruitless search Sylvia and her companions come to accept that Jioan - quite possibly due to his adventurous nature - has probably been swept out of their reach by the River of Dreams. They decide to carry on without him and eventually make it to the Dream Gate of Meviek, which is where Vashya takes her leave.

The party subsequently crosses Meviek, encountering the Cetaran General Remcis again on the way, and eventually makes it all the way to Helix, the capital of Cetara. They fight their way up all the way to Eilelklefgilanro, where they split up and storm the three outer palaces in order to disable the massive Ablative Field protecting the central palace of Ierhayera, which leads into them confronting and defeating three of the four Cetaran Regents and their respective Cetaran Generals.

Afterwards, they reunite in order to storm Ierhayera together. They are soon confronted by Flair, who much to everyone's surprise uses Minayero against them, but they still manage to defeat her. On the top of the central tower, they finally confront Ozymandias holding the Crystal Seal. Although Ozymandias uses all of his power, Sylvia and her friends are still victorious.

However, as a result of Sylvia using Minayero during the fight, the Crystal Seal fractures, and all combatants are spirited into the Inner Space of the Crystal Seal. There, Sylvia and her companions fight their way past a number of stray Angels towards the core of the Crystal Seal, only to find both Ozymandias and Flair waiting for them.

Act IV concludes with the climatic battle against Flair and Ozymandias, and the liberation of Nova, who turns out to be a vengeful goddess of destruction. Licos completely takes over Sylvia, and after Sylvia's comrades hesitate to join Nova after seeing her brutally obliterate Flair, Nova commands the taken-over Sylvia to kill her former allies. Due to the taken-over Sylvia's ability to wield an unlimited amount of Minayero, her former comrades don't stand a chance, but are at the last second rescued by Ozymandias, who uses the last of his strength to escape from the Crystal Seal, taking Sylvia's former allies with him.

## Act V

After the events within the Crystal Seal, Sylvia's companions find themself in custody within Ierhayera. Senahoy describes the situation to Theres, who is still shaken by this turn of events. However, Senahoy eventually manages to convince Theres to help them stop Nova before she plunges the world into chaos, and the remainder of Sylvia's former companions are quick to follow suit, especially since this is their only chance to get Sylvia back.

Ozymandias also joins Theres, taking the Crystal holding Bokay's soul with him, and together they make their way back towards Ceal across the River of Dreams, fighting Nova's Angels all the way.

Arriving on Ceal, they quickly find that Nova has not only already made her move, but that in fact she has been plotting her return ever since her sealing. As such, her Archangels, who had been alive all this time, had been busy plotting and guiding the Novean Species of the world for all this time, their efforts eventually culminating in the creation and prevalence of the Holy Kingdom of Aidenous, a nation spanning several continents and loyal to the Goddess Nova. With this, the stage has been set for the Second Novean War.

Bolstered by the return of the Goddess Nova, the Holy Kingdom of Aidenous has launched an all-out offensive against the Republic of Cetara, and Theres and her companions arrive just in time to push back the Aidenean forces, and are shaken by the viciousness with which the Aideneans kill even civilian and children of the Wel. This is particularly hard on Theres and Zephyr, who have to face former comrades from the Crusaders and Sky Knights respectively.

After fending off the invasion of Ultros, Theres and her companions learn about the current state of the affairs on Ceal: While Cetara and Aidenous are at war, the Kingdom of Phryconia and the Domain of Ninanjiro have as of yet remained neutral. Also several provinces of the Holy Kingdom of Aidenous do not approve of the sudden hardcore course of the government, and are either openly revolting or considering it. However, most of them are kept in check by the existence of Clyainlero, a massive flying fortress that serves as a mobile base for Nova's most elite troops.

Theres and her companions work on uniting the remainder of Ceal against Aidenous, and eventually eventually cross over to Rida to support the territories who are revolting against the control of Aidenous. While doing so, they are confronted by Sylvia, who is still completely taken-over by Licos, who is using Sylvia's pain over losing Bokay to keep her in check. Once again, Theres and her companions are no match for Sylvia using the full extent of the Golden Gryph's powers against them and have to retreat.

Ozymandias comes up with a bold plan: If they can bring back Bokay, Sylvia might be able to shake off Licos' control, and what's more, she might in turn be able to tap into the Golden Gryph's power and be able to turn it against the Goddess Nova. Continuously working towards that goal as they support the rebelling provinces of Aidenous, they eventually manage to bring Bokay back to life as an Iserial Being by creating a Frame for him and filling it with his Soul, that Ozymandias kept trapped within a Crystal all this time.

Act V concludes with the assault on the Holy Capital of Aidenous, during which Vashya makes an appearance again, supporting the Cetarans with the Reginleif. Within the royal palace, Theres and her companions encounter Sylvia once more and thanks to Bokay's resurrection eventually manage to break her free of Licos' control. Afterwards, they proceed to defeat King Frederic, who as a result of Amadeus' machinations has not only been brainwashed into a mindless follower of the Novean Faith, but also granted the ability to wield a limited amount of Minayero, turning the already formidable king into a monstrous opponent. However, after a fierce battle, Theres and her companions are victorious and put an end to King Frederic's reign. This marks a turning point in the Second Novean War.

## Act VI

Even with Kind Frederic defeated and the Holy Capital of Aidenous being in the hands of the Aidenian resistance, Nova's forces on Ceal are still strong, led by the four Archangels, the leader of whom is none else than Grand Patriarch Amadeus Zeb'Lun, who worked to control the fate of the Novean Species ever since the sealing of Nova at the end of the First Novean War. Now, he is the supreme commander of Nova's forces on Ceal, while the four remaining Archangels act as his generals, each holding dominion over a part of the Holy Kingdom of Aidenous.

One by one, Sylvia and her companions liberate the following areas:

* Eastern Pelagia by defeating Grand Sky Capitan Raphael Merari at the Tower of Rynda
* Northern Rida by defeating Lord Uriel Ophrah at Kiehlero
* Central Rida by defeating Grandmaster Gabriel Hiram at Fienyn
* Southern Rida by defeating Sage Michael Lucius at Selim

In Sylvia and Bokay's home town of Selim, the confrontation with Michael is particularly emotional, since Michael has always been like a grandfather to Sylvia and Bokay, and they have pretty much known him all their life. Michael, meanwhile, reveals that he never intended for things to turn out like this, and hints that while most of the Archangels willingly follow Nova, they actually don't have any other choice.

All of the Archangels fall back to Clyainlero once defeated, and although most of Nova's forces on the face of Ceal have been defeated, Sylvia and her companions are only well-aware that the threat of Nova won't be over until the Goddess herself has been defeated. Sylvia is still struggling to keep Licos under control, but she is somehow managing. As such, she and her companions are starting to look into a way to enter Clyainlero, which momentarily is not only capable of moving faster than most Gryphs and Dragons can fly, but also at a problematic altitude.

Henry enthusiastically suggests that they could ask Vashya to take them there aboard the Reginleif, and although no one has any idea about how and where to find the mysterious Draykin lady, everyone eventually agrees that this is pretty much their best option.

While tracking down Vashya, Sylvia and her companions may already come across a number of unresolved mysteries of Ceal and open ends, such as:

* Sylvia defeating Archdemon and reclaiming her late mother's legendary axe Gryphclaw
* Venturing to the core of the forbidden continent of Zelsia and unleashing the Wyvern Infinity
* Finding the massive mobile fortress Obelisk at the bottom of the Kelion Strait, and encountering the AI AmOS

Eventually, Sylvia and her companions manage to find Vashya in a hidden estate on the Asuar Ridge. Vashya gives Sylvia the scolding of her lifetime for unleashing the Goddess Nova upon the world, but eventually agrees to help her set things straight again.

After that, Sylvia and her companions storm Clyainlero aboard the Reginleif and defeat Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael before finally confronting Amadeus in the throne room. Amadeus proves to be a dangerous opponent, and even after being defeated almost manages to cause Clyainlero to crash into the Holy Capital of Aidenous. However, Michael, who was left alive by Sylvia for old times sake, intercedes, altering the course of Clyainlero to have it crash into the ocean instead. Amadeus, enraged by this, activates a deadly Iserialogy that he put on all the other Archangels to make sure they obeyed him, but Sylvia manages to finish off Amadeus before the Iserialogy kills Michael.

Escaping from Clyainlero before it crashes, Sylvia and her friends take Michael aboard the Reginleif, and after he has recovered, the former Archangel reveals to them that Nova herself - who notably was no on Clyainlero - has travelled to her former stronghold, the divine palace of Minayeiranro located on Feera. There, she is preparing the second wave of the attack by creating an entirely new generation of Angels in order to conquer Ceal once and for all. Wishing to atone for the sins he was forced to commit, Michael also joins Sylvia, determined to use his new-found independence to stop the very goddess who created him a thousand years ago.

Much to everyone's surprise, Vashya reveals that the Reginleif is actually a spaceship, so getting to Feera is actually within the realm of possibility. However, she also cautions that Nova probably has erected powerful defenses around Minayeiranro, and that it would be wise to prepare before heading there. As part of this, Sylvia and her friends may or may not make the following preparations:

* Unleash and subsequently subdue the Wyvern Infinity
* Retrieve the AI AmOS from Obelisk
* Acquire the Ultima-Unit from within the Ring Ruins
* Finding Jioan again within the Twisting Tower in the River of Dreams, and being granted the revelation that Idra and Jioan are actually Aetas and Krea Kinleryto, the creator deity of Ceal
* Meeting with Entelecheia in the River of Dreams, where Krea and Aetas gain the resolve to face Nova

Once their preparations are complete, Sylvia and her comrades travel to Feera aboard the Reginleif. Depending on their preparations, they may be forced to land some distance away in Feeklira and make their way to Minayeiranro on foot, or make it all the way to Minayeiranro.

Within Minayeiranro, the party gets separated. Sylvia encounters Curie Void, a soulless mirror image of herself that Nova created in order to re-capture Licos' Soul, and while fighting her quickly realizes that lacking a Soul, Curie Void is perfectly able to use Minayero without any danger to herself. Even so, Sylvia, finally managing to subdue Licos' power and put it to full use, manages to defeat Curie, and taking pity on her asks some of her comrades to bring her back to the Reginleif.

Act IV concludes with the party facing off against Nova and Licos atop the central spire of Minayeiranro. Here, the story might take one of two possible endings, resulting in two possible futures for the world of Ceal.

Either Sylvia faces Nova without the help of Krea and Aetas. In that case, she and her companions eventually manage to defeat Nova after a fierce battle, during which Sylvia has to struggle to keep Licos' power away from Nova while simultaneously using Minayero to break through the goddess' Divine Protection. However, before Nova is fully defeated, she uses the rest of her power to infuse Feera with her divine power, putting it on a collision course with Ceal. Sylvia, to avert this, chooses to sacrifice herself, much like her parents sacrificed themselves for the village of Selim, and using Minayero manages to destroy Feera, averting the destruction of Ceal. However, even so, many large pieces of Feera still rain down on Ceal, thus causing the Feeran Impact. This is considered the canon ending.

An alternate ending can be achieved if Jioan aka Krea was found in the River of Dreams, and Krea and Aetas completed their encounter with Entelecheia. If the two of them are present in the final battle, they reveal their divine nature to Nova, resulting in a divine battle between Krea and Aetas against Nova and Licos. However, in this battle, Sylvia and her friends can tip the scales in the favour of Krea and Aetas, and after the defeat of Nova and Licos, Krea and Aetas accept the exit condition imposed on them by Entelecheia by sacrificing themselves. Thus, the divine natures of both Kinleryto and Klifareta are removed by Entelecheia, and the world of Ceal becomes a world without gods.