Tales of the West : Land of Divine Melancholy

**Tales of the West : Land of Divine Melancholy**is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Avalon and follows the perspective of the young exorcist Mary Maark. It is a sequel to Tales of the West : Wandering Soul Tower and is followed by Tales of the West : Night of Fractal Horizon.

## Main Arc

### Winds are Changing

Mary Maark, exorcist and problem-solver, receives another message a few weeks after the events of Marlowe Mansion. This time, she is asked to investigate **Mount Yggdrasil**, an impressive mountain near the edge of Avalon. Even more reluctant as she is seemingly being stalked by an omnipotent being, she accepts nevertheless.

Going towards the mountain, she is interrupted twice : once by Oreliade, a wind fairy, and once again by a dryad guarding the woods around the mountain, Mia Foresti. She quickly manages to overpower the two of them, but when she reaches the mountain, a storm prevents her from simply flying upwards. Seeing a massive temple next to the mountain, she decides to visit it instead.

In the temple, she finds the druid Brienna Crowfax who challenges her to test her might. Defeated, Brienna explains that Mary's previous victory largely shifted the belief of Avalon towards Christianism, which Mary represents ; the pagan gods of Mount Yggdrasil have declared war on her faith, hence the activity there. When Mary asks Brienna - who possesses the gift of true sight - to tell her who keeps sending letters, Brienna is staggered, unable to answer and refers to an overwhelming power.

### Towards the Gods' Summit

Mary first fights the wrathful goddess Theria Yggdrasil who waits for her while climbing the mountain. The battle is interrupted with Sayaka Chuda interrupting in order to offer Mary some time, allowing Mary to keep going higher. Haunted by a strange, dark presence, Mary keeps going on.

She finally reaches the top of the mountain where she encounters Sigrid Fafnir, the Yggdrasil equivalent to an exorcist, who challenges her to a duel. Mary senses Sigrid's rage and urges her to calm down, but doesn't manage to reason her as Sigrid becomes half-Dragon to attack her. However, Mary manages to use the full power of her faith to pin her down briefly and ascend towards the sky where the leader of the attack sits.

On the throne, Omi Yggdrasil, a wise Deity, defies Mary and attempts to protect her family : struggling to survive with the faith she has, she is ready to bet her life on a battle with Mary and honor her reputation as a patron deity. Omi proves to be a formidable foe even weakened by the lack of faith, and summons the World-Tree in order gain greater power, but before she can actually defeat Mary, a presence appears and seizes the power she accumulated. A weakened Omi collapses, and Mary chases the presence.

### True Test of Faith

Mary finally confronts the presence, revealing herself as Lockie Yggdrasil, last sister of the trio. The most powerful sister, Lockie took Omi's power to save her from self-destruction and to fight Mary herself. Determined to save everyone, Lockie gives her all in order to fight Mary in a chaotic battle of pure power and deceit. In the end, as Mary is about to dodge Lockie's final attack, she decides instead to take the full hit and falls unconscious, defeated.

She wakes up as Sigrid, Theria and Lockie their victory, now known to all Avalon : by defeating Mary, they regained the glory and faith they had lost and can now thrive again. The outcome satisfies Mary, who is uninterested in glory but managed to save other beings. Only Omi, wise and knowledgeable, understands Mary's actions. She hypothetizes Mary might be a Saint and gives her a branch of the World-Tree as a way to thank her. Mary then returns home after a last party with the Northern gods.

## Characters

* Mary Maark : Singular Faith Emissary
* Oreliade : Innocent Wind-Borne Faerie
* Mia Foresti : Dryad of Thriving Woods
* Brienna Crowfax : Witch-Guardian who Oversees the Past
* Sayaka Chuda : Chaotic Incident-Solving Mahoutsukai
* Theria Yggdrasil : Impetuous Deity of the Storm
* Sigrid Fafnir : Dragon-Blooded Divine Exorcist
* Omi Yggdrasil : Governer of Knowledge and the Stars
* Lockie Yggdrasil : Little Snake-Tongued Trickster

## Trivia

* Aside from its **Touhou Project** influence (especially **Mountain of Faith**) this storyline is a nod to the three main gods of Norse mythology and to paganism as a whole.