Odin Sphere Chronological Story FAQ By D. Calkins (calkinsd9@yahoo.com) Table of Contents note: (for easy browsing, you can run a search for "01" or "02" and each "next instance" click will bring you to the next section. Or, run a specific search with a letter below to jump to that specific section) 00. Introduction 01. Odin Sphere - The Past 01A. Prologue 01B. The Arrival of Valentine 01C. The First Cauldron War 01D. A Doomed Affair and The Second Cauldron War 01E. A Son's Unrequited Love - The End of the Second Cauldron War 01F. Aftermath - The Pooka Curse 01G. The Beginning of the Third Cauldron War 02. Odin Sphere - The Present 02A. A Worried Princess and a Pooka Prince 02B. Trouble Stirring in the Fairy Realm 02C. A Velvet Witch in the Land of the Dead 02D. The Third Cauldron War - First Wave 02E. The Pooka Prince Imposter 02F. The Third Cauldron War - Second Wave 02G. Mercedes vs. Melvin - The Venir Civil War 02H. Trouble in the Valkyrie - Odin's Two Daughters 02I. Building Ringford's Defenses - Mercedes Prepares for Another War 02J. Trouble for the Pooka 02K. The Redemption of the Shadow Knight 02L. Trouble in Titania - The Wise Men's Meddling 02M. Rescuing Sleeping Beauty 02N. An Abandoned Son's Monstrous Revenge 02O. Preparing for War 02P. Rescuing the Rescuer 02Q. The Fourth Cauldron War 02R. Tying Up Loose Ends - Uniting the Two Lovers 03. The End of Erion 03A. Armageddon 03B. The End 00. Introduction The first time I played through Odin Sphere, I was impressed with how the story unfolded, how the 5 different plot lines wove their way together. However, at times I was confused as to exactly what was going on, trying to keep all of the chronologies and character arcs straight and running simultaneously. The three different Wise Men began to blend into one, I got King Valentine and King Gallon confused, I couldn't keep straight just how many Cauldron wars had been fought, etc. To that end, I was inspired to create this: the chronological story arc of Odin Sphere. This is all 5 character arcs blended together in the most seemless way I could figure how to do it so the story could be told front to back without jumping around too much. Ironically, telling this story chronologically takes a bit of the art (and fun) out of the way the actual game tells it. I really enjoyed how certain events in the game would take on new and different atmospheres when you saw them from a different character's perspective. Much of that sense of discovery and dramatic reveal is lost when telling the tale in straight chronological order. So please keep that in mind. This FAQ is spoiler-tastic in the sense that I'm not pulling any punches for dramatic effect. In come cases, dramatic reveals that come in the very last chapters of a character's arc are revealed in this FAQ in the section that predates the events in the actual game! So just so you know: one big fat SPOILER ALERT is in order. This FAQ is meant more for clarification and complete understanding of the entire story and is NOT meant to be a side-by-side companion to gameplay. Also I should note that the considerable back story of the game (the story that happens before any gameplay actually begins) is told in this FAQ in PAST tense. The story of the events that happen during gameplay are told in PRESENT tense. I apologize if this is confusing (it shouldn't be) but it made this document much easier to write). Finally, I'll mention here that in the end of this story FAQ, I only follow the pathway which brings about the "good" ending of the game. With 5 interchangeable characters fighting 5 bosses, there are exactly 120 different potential "pathways" that one could take to bring about the "bad" ending. I know, many of these pathways will yeild the same collection of cut scenes, but I figured that the "good" ending was cannon, so I only deal with that one here. For help, I referenced some material from the Odin Sphere wiki page (http://odinsphere.wikia.com/wiki/Odin_Sphere_Wiki) but I tried not to rip it off blatently, nor directly plagarize the site. I also frequently utilize phrasing pulled verbatim from the game's dialogue and text. While I will take the occasional liberty with language to help move the story along, I really hope I'm not stepping on anybody's toes here. If you see something that you wrote and want to be given credit for it, PLEASE e-mail me and let me know. If you have any criticisms, additions, concerns, or comments about this FAQ, by all means, please e-mail me: calkinsd9@yahoo.com. Enjoy! =========================================================================== 01. Odin Sphere - The Past =========================================================================== 01A. Prologue A long time ago, there existed a place called Erion. Surrounded by a large ocean on all sides, Erion was a kind of enormous island made up of a number of major regions and cultures: the icy Ragnanival was home to a race of berserkers and valkyries, and it is unclear who initially ruled over them; the forests of Elrit were not ruled and belonged to the native wildlife; Titania was the domain of humans and ruled by King Gallon; the Volkenon Lava Pits were home to the Vulcan race and ruled by the immortal Inferno King Onyx; Winterhorn Ridge was the roost for a once thriving collection of dragons, of which only a scarce few (three) soon remained; The Netherworld Endelphia, the land of the dead, was ruled by Queen Odette; and the Ringford forest was inhabited by Fairies and ruled by Fairy Queen Elfaria. Long ago, these fairies had been born from phozons - forms of energy used as a source of magic by sorcerers as well as elemental entities. Phozons only appear when a living creature passes away, their beautiful shine signifying the energy of the creature's Life. Phozons are also absorbed by plants to facilitate their growth. The plants are then eaten by living creatures, and thus phozons largely make up the life-cycle and flow of energy in all of Erion. Those phozons that make their way into the Netherworld, however, are absorbed by the crystals there. It is unclear as to the history of Erion (before the arrival of King Valentine) though it can be assumed that most of the races kept to themselves and lived in peace. For some time, the fairies and unicorns were not a united country, but instead existed as small tribes spread through the forests. It can also be reasonably assumed that King Onyx and Queen Odette for the most part kept to their own realms busy with their own affairs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01B. The Arrival of Valentine --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At some unspecified point, an individual named Valentine came to Erion in a flying ship from another world. He brought with him great magic, far more powerful than any other nation on the continent, and the kingdom he founded rapidly gained control of over two-thirds of the land. For the most part, it is said that King Valentine in his early rule was kind and gentle. Less is known about King Gallon, the ruler of Titania. His oldest son Edgar was the heir to the Titanian throne, but after marrying a village girl, King Gallon exiled him. Edgar left resenting his father and moved to the Ringford forest where he and his wife had a son named Oswald. King Gallon later reasoned that one day Edgar might try to take his life in revenge, so the king sent assassins after his own son in secret. Being fatally wounded in the attacks, Edgar and his young wife were found in their forest home by the dwarf Brom and the Fairy Queen's nephew Melvin. Melvin would take in Oswald and raise him as his own, which at first was a gesture of benevolence and compassion. However, when Oswald was very young, Melvin pledged him to be a potential Shadow Knight, the wielder of the Beldriver, and would cruelly use Oswald as a young man as a tool and a means to realize his political ambitions. It is unclear whether Gallon's other son Edmund knew that his father had sent murderers to kill his brother Edgar. Either way, Edmund would later tell his own son Cornelius that his uncle Edgar had fallen in love with a peasant woman to his own disgrace and humiliation, dying of illness in the forest. Other than exiling his eldest son for marrying a commoner, King Gallon also wrote "The Erion Saga" - an epic poem about the end times of the world. It is not revealed how he came to know this information. It was mentioned that each different culture brought their own interpretation of the end times, including Valentine. However, the Wise Men state later that they believe Gallon's Epic to be the closest and most accurate version. The Dragon Hindel would say that he had spoken about the end of the world, and his words were written down into prophecy. This could have been the source from which Gallon made his own work. An Ancient Manuscript of unknown authorship found in the game reads: The beast of despair feeds on man and destroys hope. The unleashed frenzy of death yearns for the light of life. The advancing inferno scorches the throne's surroundings. In the Cauldron that breathes despair, the blood of the ancients boils. When Leventhan, last of the dragons, devours the stone of blood, the path shall be closed and void will cover the world. King Gallon's Erion Saga epic reads: THE land sinks into the cauldron's fire THOUGH blades and arrows are unleashed, the flooding fire cannot be stopped IT can only be chained A FIERY 6-eyed beast speeds the guiding hand of salvation THE one who removes the torment is mine own son THE Lord of the Netherworld emerges in a triumphant march of death ONE that threatens the darkness is the shadow of the lost master THE looming blaze cometh, burning down the forest THE flood of fire that man cannot withstand is halted by the world tree and vanishes THE Lord of Snakes consumes all left behind BORN in chaos and fire SLEEP in mother's arms LIFE disappears from the land ALL comes to an end THE ring shall be lost THE birthing cry of newborn souls WELCOMING two crownless lords that shall survive the Armageddon and lead the revival These times also saw the rise a number of elite sorcerers, namely, three wise men named Urzur, Skuldi and Beldor. Not much is known how these three rose to power as they kept mostly to the shadows, slowly increasing their skills and wizardry in secret. What is known is that at some point, the Three Wise Men met a young boy named Odin who somehow became something of an errand boy for them. Secretly however, Odin was a person of great ambition and was learning their spells in an attempt to overpower them. After studying for some time under them, Odin discovered their secret to entering the Netherworld and at some point left their service. He would frequently visit the land of the dead, stealing phozon crystals and severely angering Queen Odette, yet she was never able to capture him. Some time after this, Odin made a deal with the dragon Wagner to receive some of the dragon's blood. In the deal, Odin became much more powerful though because of the dragon's blood now running through his veins Odin could no longer harm him. It is unclear whether Odin founded the Valkyrie empire or merely rose to power and took control of it. Whatever the case, with the power of the blood of Wagner and his knowledge gained from his time spent with the Three Wise Men, Odin assumed full control of Ragnanival's throne as one of the most powerful warlords and sorcerers in all Erion. From here, he would plot how to best conquer and rule all of the other nations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01C. The First Cauldron War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the height of his power, King Valentine used his extensive knowledge of magic to create the Crystallization Cauldron; a giant magical furnace activated by either King Valentine's voice or the Ring of Titrel. The Cauldron could be used to store magical power (phozons) in stones (phozon crystals).The only other way of obtaining phozon crystals was to steal them from the Netherworld (as Odin did). This technology was designed with good intentions, but its ability to make extremely powerful weapons made it too much of a threat to the nearby Titania, and the two nations soon went to war over control of it. King Valentine's army proved far too powerful for the Titanian forces to overcome. In a desperate move to save his nearly-defeated country, King Gallon used a dark spell, a power contained in the royal Titanian lineage and described in the Book of Transformation, to transform himself into a three headed demon beast called Darkova, hoping to turn the tides of battle. It worked, and Valentine's impressive forces were crushed and scattered by the terrible beast. However, King Gallon became possessed by the dark spell and continued to rampage through his own land as Darkova for seven straight days. He was finally stopped by his son Edmund who fought and killed him by plunging a mystic psypher sword into Darkova's flesh. With Gallon dead, Edmund took the crown for himself and became the new ruler of Titania. With the kingdom still reeling from Darkova's rampage, Valentine threatened to invade Titania again, as the land would have been extremely easy for him to conquer. However, Edmund told him that he did not have the power himself to change into Darkova, so Valentine left the defeated country and its new King alone. (King Edmund would later tell his son Cornelius that the Darkova beast had killed Gallon and that Edmund was given the crown for being the kingdom's savior.) After arriving in the land of the dead, King Gallon, still in his demonic form and with Edmund's psypher still lodged in his flesh, became one of Queen Odette's favorite playthings. She enjoyed torturing him so much that she cursed him to remain trapped in his rotted undead form for eternity so his body would eternally regenerate no matter how much abuse it took. Only Odette herself or those infused with her power could break the curse and destroy him. He was chained up in the lowest depths of the Land of Misery and Despair and remained there in the dark for years only visited by the occasional Halja sent to re-chain him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01D. A Doomed Affair and The Second Cauldron War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Titania defeated, the kingdom of Valentine became the most powerful nation in Erion. Despite the fact that he created the Cauldron, King Valentine ruled his kingdom with kindness and compassion and for it he was loved by all his subjects - especially his daughter Princess Ariel. It is unclear whether or not Odin had already assumed the throne of Ragnanival before he met Princess Ariel. In any event, after meeting one another, Odin and Ariel fell in love and began an affair. Odin claims that neither of them knew their true names at the time nor that they were nobility from nations that would soon oppose one another. Ariel ended up soon becoming pregnant and bearing two illegitimate children whom she named Ingway and Velvet. Upon discovering their true identities, both royals kept their relationship a secret fearing that such a scandal would cause an uprising in their respective kingdoms. Their affair would come to a close as the Cauldron's ability to create psyphers grew too enticing for Odin to ignore, and like King Gallon before him, he engaged Valentine in a war. During the ongoing struggle, King Valentine discovered Ariel's two children and learned that the Demon Lord Odin, his bitter enemy, was the father. Valentine had been extremely protective of his daughter (he would later claim that he did not even allow the rain to touch her) and he believed that if she had any love at all for Odin, then her love for her father must have been a lie. He became overwhelmed with hatred and was driven mad by the idea. In order to escape the crazed king's wrath, both Velvet and Ingway openly rejected their mother in front of him. Soon after, Valentine would be consumed by a blind rage and in his anger would strangle Ariel to death. Ariel died still loving her father, refusing to hate him. Just before her death, she would write a letter expressing her love for her father and her children, but the note also prophesized their bleak future: "My dear children, eventually an inevitable curse and death shall be thrown upon the two of you. The Cauldron brings us Armageddon with its final crystal stone. My dearest son, more precious than life: you have your mother's forgiveness. My daughter, go without hesitation and let your mother's love grant you courage. My father, your daughter's love remains unchanged, always by your side To the one who will cause the world harm, I pray that your soul will heal." Only half of this scroll found its way into Ingway and Velvet's hands; the half containing the prediction about their curse and death. Upon reading it, both children believed their mother with her ability to see into the future, had cursed them. Believing themselves cursed by their murdered mother and abandoned by their true father, they were left in the hands of the mad King Valentine and suffered great abuse from him including repeated whippings. During these sessions, Ingway was known to run away from the King, and Velvet would often take the whipping for him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01E. A Son's Unrequited Love - The End of the Second Cauldron War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though the Demon Lord Odin would go on to sire two more children (Griselda and Gwendolyn) with another woman (who was quickly taken by death due to unknown causes), he continued to fight against Valentine in retribution for his beloved's death. As he continued his war, it seemed that Valentine would end up victorious with his Cauldron-forged weapons. After learning of his true father's identity, Ingway began following him, researching his battle plans against Valentine. Knowing that his father didn't stand a chance against Valentine's forces, Ingway decided to betray his own country and somehow sabotage the Cauldron. However, the device quickly spun out of his control and the Cauldron ran amok exploding in a great ball of light and decimating the entire kingdom of Valentine. From the memoirs of a proud (Valkyrie) soldier: "Our once-mighty army, which could gain victory over even Titania, has been whittled down by the enemy, Valentine. With death our only companion, our warriors pushed forth without hesitation. We flung our axes high, fighting with valor to the bitter end. "As if the heavens answered our prayers, there came a miracle. At the very brink of our defeat, the enemy forces were demolished in a single explosive flash of light." Because of the psypher in her chains, Velvet was protected from the blast and escaped, while Ingway was protected in the Cauldron's shadow and was able to watch his kingdom fall into ruin. However, Odin was spared, as Ingway had intended. In order to save his father, Ingway had destroyed his entire kingdom. But when Odin finally looked down at him in the presence of Aesir soldiers, he said only, "You did well, traitor. Now the Cauldron is mine." The remark, and the fact that Odin had refused to acknowledge Ingway as his son struck to the boy's core. Odin would argue later that he could not call Ingway his son because of the presence of Aesir soldiers, but Ingway maintained that Odin's greed and lust after the Cauldron were obviously occupying his eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01F. Aftermath - The Pooka Curse --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The kingdom of Valentine was completely obliterated and its entire surviving population was transformed into small human-like animals called pookas. Though a pooka's life can be taken by almost any normal means, it is implied through the game that the pooka curse also carries with it immortality. Thus, the cursed individual is not only stricken with the form of a hybrid rabbit but is stuck with the form for eternity. Most of the other nations did not know what had happened at the end of the war, and rumors (and the truth) about Valentine's demise became things of legend. Most began to believe that Valentine in his last days had been a tyrant and had purposefully detonated the Cauldron and cursed his own country. The true reason why Valentine tried to use the Cauldron during the war is unknown, but it indeed was Ingway who had sabotaged the device. Though it saved their lives and made them immortal, the Valentinians had no choice but to hide underground beneath their destroyed kingdom away from the other races. However, they would soon discover that their king had also placed a spell on all Valentinian currency before his madness had taken hold. King Valentine, in his benevolence, had put his own remarkable power into the currency so that all of his citizens could share a part of it and be happy. Searching for a way to reverse their curse, the pooka discovered that collecting all of the coins together (without stealing them) would allow one wish to be granted. Thus, the new pooka race swore to find all the coins and restore themselves back to their true form. However, in the quest for the coins, some of them became corrupted and evil. These eventually turned into Goblins -a criminal race constantly engaging in acts of violence and thievery. Many of them, like the pooka, would become merchants, selling their wares to gather more coins, though the Goblins were motivated by greed, rather than any intention on breaking the spell. In the aftermath of the war, abandoned again by their father and with their home destroyed, Ingway and Velvet disappeared into the forests. Ingway began to resent and hate Odin, developing a pessimistic personality and planning his revenge against him. Velvet too would disappear into the woods harboring a deep hatred for Odin, as he had done nothing to save her or her brother from her raving grandfather or to prevent her mother's death. She believed that while the nations of Valentine and Ragnanival were at war, Odin must have disguised himself to seduce her mother with sweet words, and then quickly fled when she became pregnant. Still, as Velvet made her home among the trees, she became more frightened at the thought of her grandfather King Valentine someday returning than she was hateful of Odin. In the fallout of the destruction of his kingdom, King Valentine found himself cursed with the immortality his subjects would suffer, but also sent to Odette's domain to be punished for his crimes for eternity. He remained in the Netherworld for years enduring suffering and torture while mired in sadness and regret for having killed his own daughter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01G. The Beginning of the Third Cauldron War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the Cauldron absorbed phozons from all across Erion when it functioned (especially from Ringford) the fairy race feared extensive use of the device outside of their control might spell the end of their race. When the Valentine kingdom was destroyed by the cauldron's blast leaving nothing but a wasteland with the Cauldron standing in the center, the fairies were able to quickly sneak in and take control of the region and the Cauldron in hopes of preventing another catastrophe. With the Cauldron in their possession, the tribes of fairies united and the neighboring tribes of the Unicorns swore allegiance to them as well. After gaining control of the Cauldron, Ringford showed accelerated growth and established themselves as a military power and a prosperous nation equal to both Titania and Ragnanival. Some time after this, a war was fought between Ringford and the dwarfs, though it is not revealed why. In the end, the fairies prevailed and dwarfs were forced to work for them, becoming Lilipats in the process. Fearing his father Odin might try to one day use the Cauldron for revenge and wanting to spite him, Ingway gave the ring Titrel to Queen Elfaria. In the wake of this, coupled with his inability to welcome his estranged and abandoned children into his arms, Odin became increasingly cold and distant, leaving his youngest daughter Gwendolyn desperately seeking his attention and affections. She and her older sister Griselda both became warriors in Odin's Aesir army with Griselda serving as a Commander. Despite his melancholy, Odin eventually regrouped his forces and continued his pursuit of the Cauldron, going to war again but this time with the Fairies. This is where the narrative of Odin Sphere actually begins. At the start of the game, Queen Elfaria maintained control of the Cauldron alongside her rebellious daughter Mercedes and her nephew Melvin. Following their control of the Cauldron, Melvin had been trying to convince Queen Elfaria to use the device to manufacture psyphers for their army. Already, a dwarf named Brom had made a weapon for the queen called the Tasla - a powerful psypher crossbow. Before this, Brom made another weapon called the Beldriver which was granted tremendous power and horrifying demonic energy by Queen Odette in exchange for the user's soul. The Beldriver was formerly owned by numerous elite soldiers of Ringford known as Shadow Knights but every last one of them were unable to control its evil essence and thus their souls were shattered and they became ghosts roaming the Winterhorn ridge. Melvin then gave his surrogate son Oswald (son of Edgar, grandson of King Gallon) the Beldriver and made him into the new Shadow Knight, though he knew that by doing so, the boy's soul belonged to Queen Odette. Oswald followed him unquestioningly and did not wonder who his original father was. During the entire preceding series of events, the Three Wise Men slowly rose up to positions of power in different parts of Erion. Urzur served under King Edmund of Titania as a court advisor, Beldor lived under Queen Elfaria in Ringford and had somehow obtained control of the dragon Belial, and Skuldi had taken up with General Brigan, the commander of Odin's forces while also occasionally consorting with the two remaining offspring of King Valentine. The Three Wise Men collected fragments of King Gallon's Erion Saga and interpreted it as is outlined in this document, found in the game: There is a theory about the prophecy of the Armageddon, left behind by the Three Wise Men. The following pages are an except from this literature: "...via a secret rite performed by the now-lost Valentinians. King Gallon has turned into the 3-headed Demon Beast. As in the prophecy, King Gallon will save the world. The 'Lord of the Netherworld' in the Saga is Queen Odette. The 'looming blaze' is the Inferno King Onyx. If the King of Titania release his mystic power, overpowers the other nation, and seizes the Cauldron, the Netherworld and the Fire Kingdom will go to war, the three great dragons will be eradicated, and the End shall come to us. But fear not. The world will be saved in the end by the arrival of the new king, led by a guiding hand... The original manuscript written by the Three Wise Men cannot be found. It must be mentioned that their theory is only an assumption based on the prophecy." The Wise Men thus are not necessarily trying to make one side win over another in the Cauldron War, but rather are trying to bring about the Apocalypse. (Either that or meddle with Odin's plans, as they are still resentful of the Demon Lord for tricking them). =========================================================================== 02. Odin Sphere - The Present =========================================================================== 02A. A Worried Princess and a Pooka Prince Cornelius, the prince and heir to the throne of Titania, and Velvet, the princess of the ruined Valentine, have been enjoying a budding romance through trysts held in the forest of Elrit. Ingway, however, does not approve as he thinks the relationship is ultimately doomed (though perhaps he is a bit jealous) and has come to an agreement with Skuldi and the Tree Wise Men to have Cornelius turned into a pooka in exchange for Ingway going undercover into Titania disguised as the prince to learn the secret of the Darkova transformation from King Edmund. Meanwhile, Velvet has begun thinking about the curse her mother wrote in her dying letter. Seeking answers to her destiny, Velvet climbs Winterhorn Ridge to speak with the dragon Hindel who is known as a soothsayer. He is reluctant at to look into the future for her, but tells her that fate can be "redirected." He advises to return to the mountain and be attended by his friend (Wagner), and then foretells of his own death at the hands of the Shadow Knight Oswald. Meanwhile, Cornelius has returned to Titania to see his father King Edmund who himself disapproves of Cornelius' love for Velvet and their meetings in the forest. Edmund reminds his son of Edgar, though he tells him Edgar was disowned and humiliated by the King, and then fell ill in the woods. Still, Cornelius will not give Velvet up and threatens to abdicate his ascendency to the throne if necessary to be with her. As he leaves the court, Urzur advises King Edmund to let Cornelius go, saying that the prince will soon come to his senses. It is not specified where or when, but some time after this, Ingway casts the pooka spell on Cornelius. Then, unbeknownst to Ingway, the Three Wise Men (hoping that he will meet and rescue King Valentine) transport him to the Netherworld). Cornelius awakens as a pooka in the Netherworld, and he quickly resolves to find his way back to Titania in order to see Velvet again. Wandering through the Netherworld, he happens upon a strange voice (King Gallon) coming out of the darkness that recognizes him as a member of Titanian royalty. King Gallon does not reveal his identity or let Cornelius approach him, but he does give Cornelius a psypher blade to help him escape the land of the dead (the same psypher that the current King Edmund used to slay Gallon years before). Cornelius comes to the realization much later in the plot that King Gallon gives him the sword at this point because Gallon did not want to repeat his past atrocities and only wanted to rest. Cornelius reasons that Gallon knew the Wise Men were planning on resurrecting him, as we hear him say later when he meets Velvet accompanied by one of the sorcerers. He gives the sword to Cornelius in the hopes that he would use it to stop the Wise Men's schemes.) In the forests of Elrit, Velvet reads a letter from Cornelius which says that he must soon speak with her at their usual meeting place and that he has shaken off the indecisiveness he's been harboring for a long time. Back in the Land of Misery and Despair, Cornelius happens upon a withered corpse with a glittering crown on its head (King Valentine) who tells him that all he can now feel is resentment and hatred. He tells Cornelius that the only way to leave the Netherworld is to get permission from Queen Odette and offers to guide him in exchange for being taken along to the real world. As they enter the Queen's chambers, Odette recognizes Cornelius' blade as one made of a crystal stolen from her realm by the dwarves. She asks him to hand over the sword in return for a peaceful death. Despite his protests, she insists that once someone enters the land of the dead, they cannot be allowed to leave. They battle one another and when Cornelius prevails over her, she reluctantly allows him to leave though predicts (accurately) that he will soon thereafter be caught by Odin's Valkyrie. As Cornelius leaves, she says mysteriously that "the Pooka shall stay afloat with a candle and light the way across the desolation." (This prophecy seems to only relate to the "bad" ending of the game, where Myril the pooka is left alone on the last crumbling piece of land after everything else has been destroyed...) While not contained in any cut scene, it must be assumed that immediately following his escape from the Netherworld with Cornelius, (or perhaps an indeterminately long time ago) King Valentine somehow managed to find and steal the dragon egg that contained Leventhan, the dreaded serpent who would bring about the end of the world. I suspect that this was a failsafe for him - a plan B in case any of his other schemes were to go awry. It is also possible that he was helped in this endeavor by the Wise Men, as they were seeking for a way to bring about Armageddon and perhaps knew that Valentine would be able to hatch the dragon... but this is pure speculation. In the world of the living, Velvet discusses the apocalyptic prophecies made about the desolated land of Valentine with her teacher Kurois and the wise man Skuldi. After Skuldi mentions King Gallon's epic poem as an example of where the truth behind the final catastrophe can be found, Velvet is inspired to see the poem as it may be an answer to both her and her brother's destiny. However, the poem's pages have been largely scattered about the world and the only person who has access to the complete poem anymore is King Gallon who lies rotting in the Netherworld. Velvet asks Skuldi to take her there so she can speak with Gallon, and Skuldi requests to borrow the Book of Transformation in return for his services - a book of magic written by her grandfather, King Valentine. This is the same book Ingway used to transform Cornelius into a pooka and the same book in which is written the secret to the Titania family line's ability to transform into Darkova. As Velvet decides to visit the Netherworld, Cornelius has just escaped it but as Queen Odette predicted is quickly captured by Odin's Valkyrie. Unwilling to believe the pooka is who he says he is, Odin gives Cornelius the task of showing his bravery (and thus proving his identity) by bringing back the horn their most ferocious warrior (General Brigan) uses as a flagon. Before he leaves, Gwendolyn returns the sword to Cornelius and warns him that her father often asks people to perform tasks that he knows are impossible. She tells him the General Brigan is not fond of pookas, and that the warriors outside of the castle will probably attack him. Sill, Cornelius is unafraid and marches off to face the berserker general. Battling his way through Brigan's castle, Cornelius finds the general and politely asks to borrow his horn. Brigan offers to skin him alive for the horn and attacks him, but Cornelius ends up beating the massive general and returns with the horn. Odin explains that even he, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, cannot remove the Pooka curse. Gwendolyn then escorts Cornelius to Ragnanival's borders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02B. Trouble Stirring in the Fairy Realm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, the princess Mercedes has taken the Queen's precious bow to go frog hunting. Mercedes wants to improve her skills with the bow so that she can join her mother on the battlefield and face Odin in battle, though Queen Elfaria thinks her daughter is much too young to be fighting. She entrusts Mercedes with the bow to protect the country while she is away at war, but worries that Mercedes has no idea of her position and what is expected of her. Elfaria asks Melvin to help the princess become a good Queen and he agrees (a bit stiffly) to do so. To the west on Winterhorn Ridge, the Oracle Dragon Hindel is confronted by Shadow Knight Oswald (as he predicted) who has been sent by Melvin to slay him. Hindel fights half-heartedly and in the end accepts his defeat willingly. He tells Oswald that his real father is a man named Edgar, but Oswald tosses the information aside, caring little about who his biological parent was. Hindel's last words are, "Do not forget that... when the time comes... Shadow master who threatens the darkness... seek the bird. That shall be your destiny." Oswald returns to Ringford Palace and Melvin uses his victory over Hindel to try to convince the Queen that the Beldriver is the most powerful psypher (greater than Odin's Balor) and should be mass produced so that the nation of Fairies might dominate over all of the lesser countries around them. Queen Elfaria seems wary of the sword though and in the end refuses. Later in the Ringford Gardens, Brom the dwarven sword smith and the maker of the Beldriver expresses his concerns to Melvin that the sword is cursed and has taken many lives, eventually turning each Shadow Knight into a ghost, but Melvin is unconcerned about his foster son's welfare and tells Brom to stay out of it. As he leaves, Brom wishes to himself that he had never made the weapon, and fears that it will part the heavens and tear the earth asunder. Troubled by his sins, Brom reveals the truth about the Beldriver to Oswald. He explains that the blade will take its wielder to the Netherworld, where he looses his soul. The Revenants up in the mountains are actually the former users of the Beldriver, and Brom is afraid the same fate awaits Oswald. However, he is interrupted by Melvin who, angry at Brom's interference and reluctance to produce more blades for the war effort, labels Brom as a traitor and banishes him to the Netherworld. As he is taken away, Oswald continues to devote himself to Melvin and prepares for his next task: a reconnaissance mission into Ragnanival. Infiltrating the country, Oswald makes his way to Brigan's palace where he overhears the general telling Skuldi that Odin has denied the general's strategy, instead opting for a sneak attack. Skuldi agrees that it is a timid move to make against the Fairies, and begins convincing Brigan that he would make a better King than Odin. Skuldi discovers Oswald lurking in the shadows and Brigan attacks him. Defeating Brigan, Oswald makes his way to Odin's castle having confirmed that Odin has indeed been planning an attack on the Fairy realm. He quickly hides as Gwendolyn enters, wearing a beautiful dress in an attempt to win her father's attention and affections but Odin does not seem to notice it. As Gwendolyn exits to change back into her armor, a single blue feather is left behind. Oswald emerges, wondering if she might be the "bird" Hindel was referring to and notices that she seems very different from the stories of "Odin's Witch" that he's heard. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02C. A Velvet Witch in the Land of the Dead --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Velvet has found her way into the Netherworld, but is dismayed and lost for a while as Skuldi abandoned her. While she wandered alone, we have to presume that Skuldi was quite busy, as he appears in the previous scene trying to convince General Brigan to try and usurp Odin's throne, and we learn later that Skuldi also went to borrow the Book of Transformation. In any event, the two shortly happen upon King Gallon's prison cell. He gives Velvet only a part of his epic poem prophecy, telling her to seek out the rest. Queen Odette appears disgusted at the presence of a Valentine as she explains that King Valentine had recently escaped from her clutches (much to Velvet's horror). Furious, Odette attacks Velvet who is soon surrounded by the Halja. However, she is quickly rescued by Odin who in the land of the dead had mistaken her for his beloved (her mother). Odin drives Odette away with the threat of his Balor and offers his help to Velvet, though she is wary of his offer. With the Halja closing in, Odin sweeps her into his arms and dashes away. After her rescue, Velvet is still terrified at her grandfather King Valentine's escape. Fearing his return might mark the end of the world, she seeks the advice of her tutor Kurois who tells her that a single ring, Titrel can be used to stop the Cauldron so that not even a king can restart it. Velvet sneaks in Ringford Palace and manages to steal the ring from the Fairies, but a crossbow-wielding Mercedes who is guarding the palace prevents her from escaping. Defeating Mercedes in battle, Velvet manages to escape and makes her way back to the Pooka Village. There, Ingway is angry with her for stealing Titrel, but she refuses to give him the ring. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02D. The Third Cauldron War - First Wave --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Demon Lord's army, the Aesir, begin the invasion of Ringford for control of the Cauldron. During the battle, Gwendolyn finds her sister Griselda fatally wounded as she lies on the battlefield. It is revealed later that General Brigan is to blame for this, having held himself and his forces back too long in an attempt to preserve his own life and make a dramatic entrance. Griselda gives her psypher spear to her sister before she dies. As the battle rages on, Oswald the Shadow Knight turns the tide of the battle favorably towards the Fairies with his fearful Beldriver. Gwendolyn challenges him but is quickly subdued by his power. However, Oswald does not strike the final blow, saying that the battle is over and more casualties would just be a waste. Gwendolyn returns to Ragnanival to inform Odin of their defeat and his daughter's death. Odin declares Griselda one of his most valiant warriors and allows Gwendolyn to keep her sister's psypher but he immediately announces another attack against Ringford - one which he will personally take part in. Gwendolyn is dismayed by how few words the King has to say about his daughter's death. In the Fairy realm, the Queen has prepared for Odin's second assault and is confident of an approaching victory. Melvin again asks her to reconsider mass-producing psyphers for the army, but content with Beldor's dragon and Melvin's swordsmen, she again declines. Mercedes disobeys her mother's command to protect the castle and joins the fighting to prove her worth as a leader. She leaves the castle to Melvin's command who thinks with disdain that a brat like Mercedes will assume the throne after Queen Elfaria is dead. As the Valkyrie ready themselves for the second wave of battle, Gwendolyn assumes command in place of her sister. She argues her motivations with a small blue bird who appears to her. While she insists that she is fighting for her kingdom and her pride, the bird knows the truth; that her movement into the commanding position, (which will probably result in her death) is yet another attempt to win her father's love (given, if nothing else, for her sacrifice). As the battle is about to begin, King Valentine appears in the ruins of his old kingdom and there meets a fearful Velvet. Terrified of him, she kneels at his feet as he forms a plan to regain the Cauldron and purify the Old World. However, despite the influence Valentine has over her, Velvet insists that the Cauldron must be put to sleep so that none may control it and she refuses to hand over the ring Titrel. They separate and begin to go after the Cauldron separately. Just before the second wave of the war breaks, Oswald encounters a Halja on the front lines. The death god reveals to him that Melvin pledged Oswald's life for the lethal power of the Beldriver and he has come. As he has come to collect Oswald's soul, the Shadow Knight is forced to fight for his life. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02E. The Pooka Prince Imposter --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (The following events occur at the same time that Odin's armies first invade Fairy territory, back before Griselda dies on the battlefield). Cornelius finally finds his way back to Titania, having been released from Odin's domain. Entering the throne room and hiding behind a pillar, he discovers that an imposter that looks exactly like his human form (Ingway, though he doesn't know this) has been walking around Edmund's court. The imposter says that a "little fiend" (probably Skuldi) has planned to renege on their deal and he will have to be harsh if it comes to that, otherwise they deceived the Prince for nothing. King Edmund enters and the fake Cornelius declares that he will soon break up with Valentine as the king had requested. The king wishes him to do so as quickly as possible, as he had been considering a marriage between Cornelius and King Odin's daughter out of political expedience. In return, the fake Cornelius asks the king about his royal family's secret power (Darkova) but Edmund denies that it exists ( a lie). The real though pookified Cornelius emerges and tries to convince his father of his identity but to no avail. King Edmund recognizes the sword on his back as something that belongs in the Netherworld, and calls his guards to remove it and the pooka. Escaping the palace, rejected by this father and alone, Cornelius sets out to try and save the one thing he has left: his romance with Velvet. In the Elrit forest, Cornelius confronts his doppelganger who has been waiting for him. As Cornelius threatens him, Ingway transforms into Velvet and tells him that she never loved him and wants him dead. Unable to believe the person standing before him is his beloved, Cornelius attacks and transforms Ingway back to his true form. Ingway admits that he transformed the prince believing that were he not able to resume his human shape, he would need to end his relationship with Velvet. Cornelius wishes to kill Ingway, but cannot as such a deed would certainly forever estrange him, no matter what form, from Velvet. He is forced to leave as Velvet approaches. Ingway then uses Cornelius recent absence to try and convince Velvet to break up with him, but Velvet refuses to doubt her lover. Though it is not specified when, at some point after this event, Ingway is betrayed by the Three Wise Men and transformed into a frog by Urzur. The next time we see him is when Mercedes happens upon him in the forests of Elrit, long after the Third Cauldron War has ended. Cornelius returns to the alleyways of Titania, sinking into despair. There he meets Urzur who recognizes him and the spell put on him. Urzur says he wants to help the prince but doesn't have the power to break the spell. Urzur advises him to climb the Winterhorn Ridge to ask the wise dragon Hindel about the curse. As he climbs the mountain, Cornelius he meets not Hindel but Wagner waiting at the summit. Furious about his friend's ignoble death at the tip of a psypher, Wagner attacks the sword carrying pooka, but Cornelius uses the blade to subdue him and though he has the opportunity, does not make the killing blow. Wagner is humiliated to be spared, but senses the prince's true nature and responds with compassion, explaining the prince's curse and flying him to the Valentine ruins to see the pookas' help. Cornelius soon finds the pooka Myril who explains their efforts to collect all Valentinian currency in an attempt to break the enchantment. Cornelius also learns that Velvet has snuck out onto the battlefield alone to stop King Valentine and the Cauldron. Worried for her safety, he goes to save her. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02F. The Third Cauldron War - Second Wave --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the war begins again, General Brigan again waits to engage the enemy though Gwendolyn and Odin have already deployed their forces. As he waits, he finds Velvet rushing for the Cauldron and engages her in a fight. She escapes his clutches only to later be attacked by Mercedes who demands that she return the ring Titrel. Cornelius then arrives at the front lines of the war to find the two engaged in a fight. Cornelius beats Mercedes, knocking her unconscious, but King Valentine suddenly appears and blasts Cornelius, taking Titrel for himself. However, before he can use the ring, Cornelius revives and uses his last ounce of strength to take Titrel back by force and return it to Velvet. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn fights her way to the Vanir stronghold and meets Queen Elfaria there. Before she can challenge the Queen, Beldor appears and summons the dragon Belial to fight against her. Gwendolyn manages to defeat the dragon and Odin's assault begins to overcome the Fairy guard. Odin confronts Elfaria and uses his Balor to fatally wound her. The dying fairy queen is taken back to Ringford Palace where Mercedes witnesses her mother's last moments. She tells Mercedes that if the Cauldron draws in all of the phozons, their forest and people will die. Mercedes is charged with reviving the country and taking the Cauldron back from the Demon Lord. Elfaria reveals that her real name is Fimbulvetr, and dies. On the battlefield, Odin takes control of the Cauldron and announces his victory. As he approaches the Cauldron he thinks of what power it will bring him and dreams of dominating the world. However, just as he reaches it, the light from inside goes out, and the Cauldron appears lifeless. Unbeknownst to him, Velvet has just used the ring Titrel to put the Cauldron to sleep. Escaping undetected by Odin, she encounters Gwendolyn briefly but manages to escape from her. Velvet retreats to help the fallen Cornelius and discovers a band of Pooka who have come to the battlefield to help her. Fearing for them as Odin's forces advance and Gwendolyn looks for her, she runs ahead to give them time to escape. Encountering Gwendolyn for a second time, she realizes that the warrior is her half-sister and runs away instead of doing battle with her. With the Cauldron stopped, Velvet realizes with Kurois advice that the ring Titrel must be hidden away where no one may find it to activate the Cauldron again. However, the two are ambushed by a pack of Goblins hired by King Valentine to take back the ring. Kurois is injured but Velvet escapes and flees to the Winterhorn Ridge to seek Hindel's advice. There she finds only his corpse, watched over by a grieving Wagner. Wagner attacks her but Velvet is able to defend against him until she can ease his suspicions and explain that she wishes to hide Titrel. Wagner offers to take the ring as he can avoid any creature by flying and because Odin cannot harm him, due to the dragon's blood running in his veins. Velvet hands over Titrel to Wagner who swallows it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02G. Mercedes vs. Melvin - The Venir Civil War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the wake of the Fairy's defeat, Oswald approaches a furious Melvin and asks him about the appearance of the Halja. Melvin confesses to giving the blade its power, but tells Oswald he has the power to keep the Halja at bay. Mercedes enters and accuses Melvin of not having the royal guards in place while he controlled the palace for her, thus not protecting her mother, but Melvin explains that the Queen was simply an easy target (though Melvin really believes that had the Queen listened to him and began manufacturing weapons with the Cauldron, she would not have died in the war). Finding the fledgling princess inadequate as a leader, Melvin begins to plan how best to take the throne. He soon proposes to Mercedes that because of her mother's death, she should take a vacation, during which he will handle the governmental affairs. He already has assumed command of the Queen's armed forces, and while Mercedes does feel inadequate as a leader, her Lillipat advisor feels that Melvin is acting strangely. He recommends they speak with the sorcerer Beldor who served with the dragon Belial as the former Queen Elfaria's bodyguard. Mercedes agrees and enters the Elrit forest to find him. Melvin then starts his plans to lead an uprising against Mercedes. Though he has harnessed command of a third of the troops and much of the public's opinion, some soldiers fear Beldor and the dragon Belial who have been known to protect the queen and her lineage. Confident in Oswald's ability to slay any dragon, he sends the Shadow Knight to slay Belial. Even though he has felt stiff and ill since his meeting with the Halja, Oswald enters Elrit forest and quickly locates Beldor before Mercedes does. When Oswald questions Beldor as to where his alliances lie, the Wise Man claims to be an outsider, and will stand aside as the Fairy realm falls into civil war. Oswald doesn't like this answer and threatens him, which causes the sorcerer to summon his dragon Belial. Beldor at first seems confident but is taken aback when Oswald fearlessly battles the beast. Meanwhile, Mercedes has entered the forest as well and has begun searching for Beldor. She soon meets a frog (actually Ingway, who, after impersonating Prince Cornelius and transforming him into a pooka, failed to obtain the secret of the Darkova spell from King Edmund and was betrayed by the Three Wise Men and turned into a Frog [as he shall now be referred to]). Frog startles her which makes her drop her bow in a deep pond. Frog offers to dive and find it if she will grant him one wish and he dives in after it. Beldor then approaches and Mercedes asks for his aid in the civil war against Melvin. However, Beldor reveals that he is now a faithful servant to Melvin whom he addresses as King and then he commands Belial to swallow the princess whole. Luckily, Frog returns with the crossbow and Mercedes defeats the dragon. Beldor then appears and attempts to kill Mercedes himself until Frog leaps in and poisons the wise man who quickly teleports away. The dragon Belial is left behind who that a rebellion has begun in the Fairy kingdom and that Mercedes will have to act quickly to quell it. Mercedes rushes back to Ringford, where she learns that half of the nobles are now in support of Melvin and the other half are undecided. At first despairing and wishing that someone else would know what to do, Frog again comes to Mercedes' aid and inspires her to move forward against the rebellion. Mercedes and her troops battle their way to Melvin while Frog makes his way around the castle, poisoning Melvin's troops with a potion that turns them all into frogs. Sensing that he is backed into a corner, Melvin sends in his Shadow Knight to defeat the small Queen. However, unable to fight with his full power, Oswald is defeated and Melvin's rebellion is crushed. As Melvin lies dying, he reveals to Oswald that his life was indeed traded for the Beldriver's power; that the boy was merely his tool, used in a scheme to become king. Melvin dies, revealing his true name to be Nidhogg, "the one that chews on the roots of the ash tree who will always resist fate." At Melvin's last words, Oswald looses heart and collapses. When a Halja comes to take him, he makes no effort to escape. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02H. Trouble in the Valkyrie - Odin's Two Daughters --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile in Odin's domain, General Brigan is unsatisfied with the sacrifice the Aesir have made to obtain what is essentially now a useless heap of iron. He resolves to find the witch that disabled it and torture the information from her on how to restart it. Fearing a possible mutiny (or perhaps fearing for the life of his daughter Velvet) Odin resolves himself to go find her. However, Gwendolyn insists that it is her responsibility the witch escaped in the first place and volunteers herself for the task of catching her. Odin commands her to not cause undue harm to the witch in the process. Fighting through the forest to the lagoon, Gwendolyn finds and confronts Velvet. Velvet insists that using the Cauldron will doom the entire world as evidenced by the history of Valentine, but Gwendolyn does not pay her any heed and the two begin a fight to the death. The battle is ultimately interrupted by Odin himself who cannot stand to see his two daughters fighting one another. He reveals that Velvet is his daughter much to Gwendolyn's shock. But Velvet, still hating Odin for his treatment and abandonment of her mother, rejects any peace offering or explanation he is willing to make. Velvet disowns Odin as her father just as General Brigan makes his presence known, having overheard everything. Brigan understands the blackmailing power he now has over Odin but claims that he will not use it (a lie). He then captures Velvet and takes her back to the castle. Velvet is interrogated and she reveals Titrel's location in Wagner's stomach. Brigan insists that they must sacrifice Velvet to the dragon and retrieve the ring. The king is pained to bring harm to his daughter but is forced to acquiesce Brigan's request. Odin is extremely saddened at thought of Velvet's execution as she greatly resembles his love which he lost long ago. Gwendolyn wrestles internally with the idea that Velvet's death will make her the only surviving daughter Odin has left (meaning he would have to show her some affection). However , realizing the agony Odin will suffer if Velvet is slain, she vows to save Velvet even though she knows such an action will brand her as a traitor. At the top of the Winterhorn Ridge, the dragon Wagner is nowhere to be found. Sending the troops to find him, Brigan prepares to execute Velvet by himself until Gwendolyn leaps in and saves her. Brigan reveals that all along, he had planned kill Velvet and then inform the nation that she was the child the king fostered with the enemy, but because the king was such a monster, he killed her. The resulting doubt about Odin's right to rule would give Brigan the chance to usurp the throne. However Gwendolyn battles Brigan and kills him, leading Velvet to safety and explaining her actions to her. Odin finds the two together on the mountain, but as his subjects are present, he maintains his authority as king and cannot move to rescue them. Gwendolyn labels herself a traitor knowing that she must do so to keep her father from harm while saving Velvet. Velvet runs away with mixed feelings about the event. Though she is his daughter, King Odin is forced to punish Gwendolyn for openly disobeying his orders and killing his chief vassal. She receives the customary punishment for a traitorous Valkyrie: a sleeping spell will be cast upon her and when she awakens, her heart will belong to a stranger - her pride and honor stripped away. She will devote her life to him, bear his children, and grow old. Odin at last calls Gwendolyn his precious daughter but does so just as he casts the spell upon her and she falls asleep in his arms. It is revealed later that this spell is only a sleeping spell, and that as a last concession to his daughter, Odin leaves Gwendolyn's heart to its own devices. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02I. Building Ringford's Defenses - Mercedes Prepares for Another War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the fairy realm, Melvin's rebellion has been suppressed, Melvin is dead, and Oswald has been taken by a Halja into the Netherworld. Frog asks for his wish: a single kiss, which he says will turn him back to a human. However, Mercedes is repulsed by the idea and asks for some time to prepare. As things return to normal and peace begins to settle into the Fairy kingdom, Wagner suddenly attacks the forest. The dragon demands that the fairies deliver Oswald to him to pay for his crime of slaying Hindel. Mercedes explains that Oswald has been killed, but Wagner refuses to believe her. He gives her an indeterminate amount of time to bring Oswald to the top of Winterhorn Ridge, otherwise he will return and set the fairy's forest ablaze. After he leaves, Mercedes decides to scale the mountain herself to explain again that Oswald is dead and cannot be summoned. However, when she reaches the top of the mountain, Wagner refuses to believe that the little fairy defeated the fearsome dragon-slaying Shadow Knight. He attacks her in a test to see if she is as strong as she claims to be and using her mother's bow she proves her worth. Wagner is still enraged at those who wield psypher weapons ,but after Mercedes convinces him she will only use her bow to defeat Odin, the dragon leaves her alone. As he flies away, Mercedes discovers that Frog has followed her up the mountain to make sure she was safe, but as his body is not built for the cold, he collapses. Returning to the palace, Mercedes thinks of how to best defeat Odin and is told by a subject that the dwarf Brom may be able to forge a weapon more powerful than his Balor, but the dwarf was sent alive to the Netherworld by Melvin, and the only person who can lead her there, the sorcerer Beldor, is missing. Frog appears, having warmed back up, and as a reward to saving his life, offers to take Mercedes to Titania's sewer system to find him. Queen Mercedes plans to pardon Beldor's treason for the time being and prepares for her trip to Titania. Meanwhile, Velvet, concerned about his half-sister, heads to the old castle where Gwendolyn has been transported and lies slumbering. She meets Odin there and they openly discuss their feelings and resentments until they are interrupted by King Valentine. The decaying King reminisces about his daughter and Odin's love affair with her which eventually is what drove him mad. As the argument comes to a head, King Valentine commands Velvet to attack Odin and she obeys him, though she trembles in fear. Velvet manages to defeat Odin, who cannot bring himself to fully attack his own daughter. However, before King Valentine can strike the final blow, Velvet steps between them and Odin, only feigning defeat, grabs Valentine questions his true motivations for strangling a daughter he supposedly loves. Confronted by guilt at his horrendous actions and realizing that he was blinded by fury and acted foolishly on impulse, Valentine momentarily repents his deeds and asks that Odin crush his bones into dust. Odin refuses, saying that Valentines words ring hollow and he lets him go so that he may suffer into eternity. In the top of the tower, Gwendolyn rests in her enchanted sleep. Odin explains that he did what he must have done as the ruler of the country, but that things will not get worse for her from here on out. Velvet acknowledges Gwendolyn as her little sister and hopes that the man she meets will be kind to her. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02J. Trouble for the Pooka --------------------------------------------------------------------------- King Valentine immediately hires goblins to launch an invasion of Pooka Village and steal the coins the pooka have been collecting. He tells the goblins that he plans to throw the coins into the Volkenon Lava Pits to make the pooka curse last forever. Hearing this, Cornelius chases after the goblins into the Inferno King Onyx's burning land. Managing to avoid the fiery pits, Cornelius finds the goblins and takes back the coins before they can be destroyed. As he finds and confronts King Valentine, the old magician reveals that his true motivation was not to make the pooka curse permanent, but because doing so would cause his old powers to return to him as they had dwindled after Valentine spent so much time surrounded by crystals in the Netherworld. Abandoning the scheme, Valentine produces his dragon egg and identifies it as the one spoken of in Valentinian prophecies that holds Leventhan who will bring about the end of the world. Valentine places his crown on the egg (another object infused with the King's magical power) and uses what little sorcery he has left to hatch Leventhan. Cornelius battles the baby dragon and manages to knock the creature down. A rumble sounds and, fearing the presence of Inferno King Onyx, Valentine takes the baby dragon into his arms and leaves "into the flames of purgatory... until world dies." Having just missed Cornelius again, Velvet arrives at Pooka Village. Velvet learns that Myril has decided to go to the abandoned castle and attend to Gwendolyn. She also hears about the goblin attack and that it was Cornelius who stopped them. She then realizes that her lover has been cursed and remembering the mention of the missing pages in the Book of Transformation, suspects her brother is behind it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02K. The Redemption of the Shadow Knight --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As these events occur, Oswald has awakened in the Netherworld and has reunited with Brom though the dwarf can do little to ease his sadness. Oswald laments the lack of love and the emptiness in his blood-stained life. At the bottom of his hopelessness, Oswald sees a blue bird that he seems to recognize. Though it quickly flies away, Oswald is inspired to see it again and goes to search for it. Encountering Queen Odette, Oswald attacks her savagely but finds that as his blade contains her power, he cannot hurt her with it. Odette plans to torture Oswald as entertainment, but is interrupted by the news that Odin has come once again into her domain. Queen Odette then promises to release Oswald from the curse that rots his body if he will kill the Demon Lord. Knowing that he has only transferred from one master to another, Oswald agrees to this, and manages to find Odin in the dark land. After he is beaten, Odin promises to lead the Shadow Knight out of the Netherworld if he will only spare his life. Owing no allegiances to Queen Odette, Oswald agrees. Back in Ragnanival, Odin devises a use for his newfound ally: to get to the ring Titrel in Wagner's stomach since he cannot attack the dragon himself. Offering Oswald the old castle in the Elrit woods, then Gwendolyn's psypher, and finally Gwendolyn herself, Odin finally convinces him to carry out the task, (though he does not let the Shadow Knight know his true intentions, requiring only that the dragon be slain and nothing more). Oswald scales the Winterhorn Ridge and calls out Wagner. The dragon attacks him mercilessly, ravenous with revenge for Hindel's death, but in the end Oswald emerges victorious and slays Wagner with his Beldriver. In the carcass, Oswald finds the ring Titrel just before Odin arrives. Odin demands he hand it over, but Oswald reminds him that he only requested the dragon's death, never mentioning any rings. Odin moves as if to take the ring by force, but Oswald says he will fight him to the death. Fearing for his life, Odin relents. He gives Oswald the castle, psypher, Titrel and his daughter. Odin also tells him that the one who awakens Gwendolyn from her sleep will receive her undying yet compelled love. At the old castle, Oswald finds Gwendolyn sleeping and recognizes her as the bird he saw earlier. However, he is reluctant to wake her as doing so will force her to love him. He refuses to kiss her, but pained by her eternal slumber, he resolves to find another way to break Odin's spell. Suddenly, one of the Wise Men arrives and blasts Oswald, kidnapping the sleeping princess, telling Oswald to let Odin know they now have his daughter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02L. Trouble in Titania - The Wise Men's Meddling --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile in Titania, Mercedes has arrived to search for Beldor and ask for guidance to the Netherworld so she can find Brom. Mercedes finds it strange that they are being lead through the side streets and not directly to the palace. While Frog believes that Beldor will only deceive them, Mercedes (naively) believes he may listen to her and willingly accept her pardon. They are soon ambushed and her attendant Matthew is kidnapped. Mercedes races after him. At the same time in King Edmund's Court, Urzur demands to know the king's secret (the spell of Darkova) but the king refuses him. Skuldi arrives and announces that the princess of Valentine is on her way and since she is the offspring of Odin, her capture would devastate the Demon Lord. Under threat of the Wise Men, King Edmund cannot tell Velvet of their plot when she arrives. As the King remains silent, Urzur offers to take Velvet to see Cornelius, but secretly plans to lead her to the sewers, Beldor, and his dragon Belial. Velvet manages to defeat the dragon, but is captured and subdued in the process by the Wise Men. They reveal their plot with Ingway and their ultimate goal of bringing about the Armageddon, after which they plan to be kings. Then the magicians put Velvet to sleep, planning on using her to get rid of Odin. Soon, Mercedes arrives in the Sewer Maze and finds her attendant Matthew held by Beldor. She offers to pardon his crimes if he will show her the way to the Netherworld. Beldor seems to enjoy the idea of having the Fairies and the Valkyrie wipe each other out, but having other matters to attend to, he summons Belial again to eat the fairy queen. The dragon slowly backs away, either frightened or reluctant. (He may have seen her psypher weapon and remembered his lost fights with both Gwendolyn and Oswald. He could also be reluctant to attack Mercedes herself as he's been beaten by her once before and she spared his life after the fight.) Beldor tortures the dragon to instigate him to fight, but Belial slumps to the floor unwilling and broken. Having seen enough, Mercedes retracts her pardon and begins firing at Beldor who makes a quick escape. (As a small side note: while it never occurs on screen during the game, it can be reasonably assumed that during these events with Beldor, Skuldi is busy transferring Gwendolyn to the Volkenon Lava pits.) Finding him at last in the sewers, both Frog and Mercedes battle against Beldor and his armed guards. Mercedes takes the upper hand, but just before she can fire the final shot, Beldor teleports behind her and prepares a curse. Before he can finish though, Frog casts his own spell, turning Beldor into a pooka and stripping him of his magic power. However, as the spell was a bit much for his small body, Frog weakly sinks down. Grateful for saving her life, Mercedes finally kisses him, restoring Ingway to his true form. Ingway quickly thanks her for releasing him from the spell, and then rushes off with other business in mind after insisting that Mercedes will make a good queen. Having finally returned to Titania, Cornelius overhears a conversation in an alley between his father King Edmund and Urzur. The Wise Man berates the king for being too stubborn to hand over the Book of Transformation. Though it never happens on screen, we must assume that at some point earlier Beldor releases Belial on the city of Titania because of this. Urzur reveals the Wise Men's plan to call King Gallon back to the land from the Netherworld. Finally realizing that the pooka is his son, King Edmund tells Cornelius that Velvet has been captured and the Titanian prince rushes to the sewers to save her. Cornelius finds Skuldi waiting for him, but suddenly Ingway appears, revealing that the Titrel Skuldi believed he possessed is actually a fake. Ingway heals Cornelius who runs ahead to battle the dragon who is just about to eat Velvet. Before their fight, Belial begs Cornelius to save his tormented soul which cannot bear the torment of enslavement anymore. With the psypher of Titania, Cornelius is able to beat the dragon and pierce his heart which fatally wounds him but ends the spell that caused the dragon's enslavement. As Urzur comes to command the fallen dragon once again, Belial uses his last bit of strength before he dies to charge Urzur and crush him in his jaws. Velvet wakes to Cornelius' voice. She identifies him as Titania's prince, but Cornelius runs away from her, back to Edmund's court. There, he tells his father that Urzur and Belial have been killed and Titania saved. Edmund offers to relinquish his crown and make Cornelius king, but Cornelius refuses having accepted his fate as forever being trapped as a Pooka. He leaves for Pooka village, giving up his feelings for Velvet. However, in the Forests of Elrit, Velvet catches up with Cornelius and the two have a heart to heart. Velvet desires to stay with Cornelius, even if he is a pooka. Even without a palace and a home, Velvet accepts him knowing that she still loves the person he is inside. Embracing her, Cornelius swears to fill her life with love and happiness. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02M. Rescuing Sleeping Beauty --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in Titania, Oswald has tracked down the last remaining wise man Skuldi and found him in the Titanian sewers. Skuldi reveals the wise men's history of conflict with Odin and their desire to set the stage for the world's end. Skuldi then summons the past spirits of the former Shadow Knights who were turned to ghosts when they lost their souls to the Beldriver, but Oswald quickly defeats them. Begging for his life, Skuldi reveals that Gwendolyn is in the Fire Kingdom as they had planned to use her to pit the Fire Lord and the Demon Lord against one another. Oswald then kills Skuldi thinking (correctly) that he is too evil to be left alive. Meanwhile in the Inferno King's realm, Odin has learned of his daughter's kidnapping and has smashed his way to Onyx's throne room. Despite Odin's ultimatums, Onyx declares he has fallen in love with Gwendolyn and has no intention of returning her. They exchange harsh words until Onyx reveals that he knows about the spell placed on Gwendolyn to love the first person who awakens her. At this, Odin suddenly leaves, knowing that were Gwendolyn to be awakened, she would quickly reject the Fire Lord and break his heart. (However, though it is not shown how, the scene immediately following this reveals that Onyx somehow already knew this). Next, Oswald makes his way into the Volkenon Lava Pits searching for Gwendolyn. Finding her asleep in the throne room, he confronts Onyx who says that he is content to have Gwendolyn bound to him through the spell and has planned to make the girl his bride. With both men refusing to give her up, Onyx transforms into his true demonic form and the two go to battle. Escaping his fiery clutches, Oswald wins the battle and is informed by Onyx that while a sleeping spell was put on her, there is no spell present that will control her heart. This is why he did not wake her; because he knew she would not love him. He would rather keep her asleep and under his control, rather than wake her and see her flee. Oswald is so relieved to hear this that he offers to ease Onyx's pain by wielding the Beldriver for him once in battle (though he will never let Onyx near Gwendolyn again). Taking her back to the old castle, Oswald wonders if Gwendolyn will hate him when she awakens, but not caring how she reacts even if it brings him pain, Oswald brings Gwendolyn to life with a kiss. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02N. An Abandoned Son's Monstrous Revenge --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, after reverting to his true form and saying goodbye to Mercedes, Ingway has ventured into the Netherworld to speak with Queen Odette. Ingway offers to bring her the soul of Odin the jewel thief and to serve forever at her side if she will lend him her army. The Queen is quick to deny his request, knowing that such an act would ultimately cause the world's end. However, Ingway convinces her by saying he only wants the dread army to appear in Erion for a short period of time, that Odette can simply claim that a sorcerer stole her eye and commanded them himself, and that once Odin dies, she will be free to punish everyone. Meanwhile, Mercedes had forced the captured and pookafied Beldor to lead her to the Netherworld. She learns from a spirit that Brom is being kept by the Queen in her throne room, but during the conversation, Beldor slips off into the mist. As he walks on alone, he is quickly met by a Halja who cuts him down. Mercedes then makes her way to the Netherworld shrine where she finds Brom forced to carve gems for the dreaded Queen. Mercedes tries to flee with him but is stopped by Odette who (as Fairies are creatures that never go to the Netherworld when they die) refuses to listen to her polite requests and attacks her. Meanwhile in the real world, Odette's armies have appeared. Ingway uses the distraction to make his way to Odin's throne room, disguised as a masked soldier and followed closely by Velvet. Ingway reveals that it was in fact him who destroyed Valentine in an attempt to save his father - an action which he now regrets. Prepared to suffer in hell for his sins and take his mother's curse upon himself, Ingway uses the stolen Book of Transformation to use the Darkova spell, transforming into the three headed beast so that he can take Odin and the Cauldron to the grave with him. Below ground in the Netherworld, Mercedes has fought well against Odette but ends up cornered by Halja. Fortunately for her and before Odette can take advantage of the situation, King Gallon begins to shake in his prison, reacting to the Darkova spell that has just been cast above. Odette orders more chains to be placed on him and disappears. Mercedes takes her lucky break and escapes with Brom to the real world. Back in Odin's Castle, Velvet uses her chains to somehow subdue the Darkova beast, transforming Ingway back to his human form. She brings him to the Pooka Village to rest, but he quickly disappears. On the plains of the ruined Valentine civilization, her old tutor Kurois tells Velvet about the prophecies contained in the epic poems detailing the world's end. However, contrary to what the Wise Men believed, they do not contain the pathway to becoming king. He presents her with his own interpretation in order that she might use it to prevent the coming Apocalypse from destroying everything. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02O. Preparing for War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leading Brom back to Ringford, Mercedes consults with him about a new weapon so that she may fight against Odin's Balor. Although he cannot create a psypher as large and powerful as Balor, Brom believes he can create one that is able to break the Balor itself. However, there is a problem: while Brom was trapped in the Netherworld, the flames of his forge went out. Without a fire hot enough to purify phozon crystals, he cannot make a strong enough weapon. The only way to get the fire hot enough is to use the fire that existed before the world's creation; that which only exists in the Fire Kingdom. Brom resolves to leave to fetch the flames and Mercedes accompanies him for protection. Fighting their way through the Inferno, Mercedes and Brom find the source of fire strangely unguarded. However, none other than King Valentine appears, saying that Onyx is tending his wounds (from fighting Oswald earlier) by sleeping in the molten lava. The two run from him, but Valentine follows them and summons the baby Leventhan who has recently consumed the source of fire from the lava pits. Mercedes fends off the little dragon's attacks until she and Brom can escape from the fiery pit. Back in Ringford, preparations are made for battle. Brom finishes the new weapon - his life's masterpiece and his final creation - Riblam. Still, Brom feels badly about the Beldriver being such a source of misery for Oswald's life and asks permission to go see him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02P. Rescuing the Rescuer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Odin's old castle, Gwendolyn awakens from Oswald's kiss, but Oswald is nowhere to be found. Believing herself married to the enemy's elite soldier, she despairs. However, Oswald's first gesture towards the reluctant bride is to give her the ring Titrel in an effort to make her happy and show how much he cares for her. However, she tells him that as a warrior, her happiness comes only from battle, and at her harsh words, Oswald leaves. Though she feels some pangs of affection for the Shadow Knight, Gwendolyn remembers all of the warriors he has slain and decides she cannot forgive him, no matter how kind he is to her. Believes that her father's spell is making her feel affection for Oswald, she resolves to seek vengeance on him the moment it presents itself, as that is what Odin would want her to do. With an oath to keep, Oswald prepares to leave as Onyx has summoned him to fight against the recently hatched Leventhan who has been terrorizing the Lava Pits. When Gwendolyn offers to do whatever he wants, she is startled by his reply that she is not an object and he will not allow anyone to treat her as such. Even so, she leaves at her first opportunity to betray her new husband and deliver Titrel to her father. Approaching Odin's castle, Gwendolyn finds that the King has ordered his soldiers to kill her on sight. Fighting her way to the throne room, she discovers Odin possessed by Brigan's spirit. Forced to take up arms against her father, Gwendolyn beats the spirit out of Odin and gives him the ring. Odin gladly receives Titrel, revealing his old plot to temp Oswald with Gwendolyn so that he would slay Wagner for her hand. Odin then absolves Gwendolyn from her past actions for the delivery of the ring and finally welcomes her back with her honor restored. But realizing that Oswald fought Wagner for her, she leaves her father behind and goes back to meet Oswald. However, the Shadow Knight has been missing for days. Brom reaches the castle with the news that Oswald returned to the Inferno to fulfill a promise he made there. Concerned for his safety with her heart aching, she dons her armor and goes to look for him. Confronting the Inferno Lord about her husband's whereabouts, Onyx reveals that Odin had promised Gwendolyn's hand to him to unify both of their continents but then gave her to instead to Oswald. Intoning that the task of slaying Leventhan may kill him, Onyx offers to save Oswald if Gwendolyn will be his bride. Gwendolyn quickly refuses and leaves, enraging Onyx who sends soldiers to capture her. In the Origin of Fire's Sanctuary, Oswald fights a loosing battle against the dragon as Odette has begun to somehow reduce his sword's power. Just as he slumps to the floor, Gwendolyn leaps in and beats the dragon down. Unfortunately, Oswald's injuries are grave. Onyx enters, intrigued by Gwendolyn's beauty in combat, but she again refuses him and promises him violence if he tries to prevent her from leaving. She leaves with Oswald and returns to her forest castle with him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02Q. The Fourth Cauldron War --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Armed with her new psypher bow, Mercedes prepares her troops for battle. She makes a speech, rousing her soldiers, but alone, she quakes at the thought that she will soon be face to face with her mother's killer. The two armies begin battling against each other. Though the Vanir troops are superior, they begin to fall to the mighty force of Odin's Balor. Mercedes faces the Demon Lord trembling, but when he mentions the murder of her mother, Mercedes steels herself and attacks. In the battle, her Riblam's Arcane Bolt shatters the Balor, defeating the Demon Lord. He kneels before her, waiting for the final blow, and though she wants to, she does not deliver it. She knows that if he dies, he will be a martyr and she does not want him to find glory in death. Knowing that his successor will only try to gain the Cauldron once again, she gives him an ultimatum: never show his face again nor set foot in her land and she will let him go. However, if he chooses to die, the fairies will invade his homeland, ravaging his people. Odin had no choice to swear to the queen's demands. She also demands that he leave Titrel which he does. The Fourth Cauldron War quickly ends. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02R. Tying Up Loose Ends - Uniting the Two Lovers --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in her castle, Gwendolyn tends to the bedridden Oswald who soon confirms that was indeed sold to the Queen of the Netherworld and that the Halja are always lurking, waiting for the moment Oswald's power fades so they can cut him down. The two exchange a tender moment, but before they reveal their true feelings for each other, a Valkyrie appears with the news that Ragnanival has suffered a crushing defeat from the Vanir under their new Fairy Queen and have seized the Cauldron. The soldiers fear that the enemy will try to take advantage of Odin's grave injuries and try to invade the castle. Learning that the Fairies now possessed Titrel which Gwendolyn had given to Odin, Oswald is hurt deeply by her betrayal. Believing he has just been an unwitting pawn in another one of Odin's schemes he immediately leaves. Instead of going after him, Gwendolyn changes into her armor, deciding to retrieve the ring Titrel, though she is unsure at first whether she is merely fulfilling her duty as Odin's daughter or wishes to win back the estranged Oswald. Gwendolyn fights through Ringford, all the way to the throne of the new Fairy Queen. When Mercedes refuses to return the ring, Gwendolyn attacks and retrieves it by force. Meanwhile at the old castle, Oswald stands alone on the bridge. Believing that he has imprisoned Gwendolyn in an unwanted marriage and again bereft of hope, he allows an approaching Halja to cut him down. Gwendolyn returns too late and is informed by her attendants that Oswald has been taken to the Netherworld. Wanting to rescue him, she resolves to ask her father Odin how to go to and from the Land of Misery and Despair. Appearing in his castle, Odin at last praises his daughter for her deeds but quickly demands the ring Titrel. However, as it represents her bond with Oswald, Gwendolyn refuses despite her father's adamant requests. She eventually agrees to give up the ring in exchange to safe passage to and from the Netherworld. Battling her way through corpses, ghosts and Halja, Gwendolyn meets Queen Odette in her chamber. She asks for Oswald's release, but Odette will have none of it, saying that Oswald is now her possession. Fighting with the strength of her love for Oswald, Gwendolyn manages to slay the Queen of the Netherworld. In her last moments, Odette explains that the living and dead could coexist in the Netherworld her world because she bridged the gap between the real world and hers. However, with her death, those that are alive will now forever be barred from entering. The path will close and all ties with Erion will be severed. As the Queen melts into nothingness and the Netherworld begins to quake, Odin sweeps in and flies Gwendolyn and Oswald to safety. Safe in the Demon Lord's castle, Odin explains that now the only way to enter the Netherworld is to accept death. He can no longer collect crystals, but if he could regain the ring Titrel and the Cauldron, he would have no use for them. He asks Gwendolyn to fulfill the promise and return the ring, but Gwendolyn explains that if he is to take the ring, representing all she is in her love for Oswald, then he must take her life as well. Odin argues that her "everything" is an illusion, that she is only married because he ordered it. Even so, she is willing to hang on, even if it is an illusion that she clings to and though it may cost her life and pride. Odin readies a crushing blow on his own daughter's head but Oswald stops him before he can deliver it. Only then does Odin reluctantly allow her to keep the ring. With all of his plans for conquest ruined, he entrusts Gwendolyn to Oswald and lets them leave. Back in their castle, the two come clean with their feelings for each other and express their mutual love. As they embrace, the blue bird is seen fluttering off. It should be noted that at any time after this, the special scene 20 should probably fit into this chronological storyline. This is the point where the two worlds (Erion and the Attic where Alice sits reading these stories) come together. At some point in Erion's history, Alice's grandfather somehow arrived in Titania, began to learn the story about what had happened in the world, and then went to work constructing the books that make up the various story arcs of Odin Sphere that Alice reads. In special scene 20, we learn that the mystery visitor to the magical world arrived in Titania sometime after Belial's attack (mentioned in the "Trouble in Titania - The Wise Men's Meddling" section above). We also see all of the main characters in the scene; Velvet with Cornelius as a pooka, Gwendolyn and Oswald, and even Mercedes who buys a Napple from the merchant. Though it really doesn't matter too much where exactly you fit this piece of the story into the Odin Sphere timeline, I feel that it fits best here. It should also be noted that the vendor gives the mystery visitor (the grandfather) a Valentinian coin which later ends up adorning the last book the man had written about Erion. Timelines between the two worlds become confused given this point, though it need not be the case that time passes at the same speed between the two worlds. =========================================================================== 03. The End of Erion =========================================================================== 03A. Armageddon The war over the Cauldron has ended, but things are still not quite right. Ingway wanders the Valentinian wasteland with the Darkova spell still affecting him making him hungry for human flesh. Elsewhere, the Cauldron has suddenly come to life as King Valentine stands atop it. He beckons Leventhan inside the device to sleep and dream of devouring all. He says that greedy minds have once again set the Cauldron alight, though it is never revealed exactly who this is in reference to. Valentine reveals that he never needed the Titrel to command the Cauldron as it would obey his voice. To bring about the end of the earth, he commands it to absorb every photon in the land and annihilate the world and a beam of light erupts from the Cauldron's mouth. Ingway then arrives and confronts his grandfather. Vowing to save the land that he once destroyed, he uses the Darkova spell again and transforms into the beast. In the Netherworld, King Gallon feels the power of Darkova at work above. It makes his blood boil but also awakens a sick pleasure inside him and his heart grows dark. The Halja approach, but instead of tightening his shackles, they inform him that the Queen has been sent into darkness and nobody will interfere with his freedom again. Thus, Gallon orders the Halja to lead the dead to Titania. Though they at first protest that the Queen blocked the path to the real world, a shriveled husk appears identifying itself as the remnants of Beldor the Wise Man. He informs Gallon that the Halja are able to traverse the border between life and death, and as the new power figure in the Netherworld, all Gallon has to do is command them to show him the way. The blast from the Cauldron causes the land to begin sinking into the sea. To escaping the rising water, the Inferno King decides to follow the prophecies and march inland even though the Inferno nation's demise at the hands of the World Tree is foretold soon after such an event. Onyx argues that no such tree exists and that the story is a fable - that they will burn the forests of Ringford away to prove it. Driven from his home, Onyx plans to conquer the world. Meanwhile, the armies of the dead begin to invade Erion and Odin's land is the first to fall. He is unable to defend himself and his land as the Balor was broken in the last Cauldron War by Mercedes. However, he manages to keep himself safe in his castle until the sounds of battle die away and all of his soldiers have been slain. The ghost of Griselda appears to him and Odin realizes in his last moments that he has never done anything fatherly for her. Embracing the specter, Odin is struck down by the Halja and killed. Inside the old castle, Gwendolyn can see the dark armies swarming the land and knows that soon they will be at her door. She is worried about Oswald who has not yet returned from gathering information. Myris appears, offering to take Gwendolyn to safety, but she refuses. Dressing for war, Gwendolyn goes off in search of Oswald. She tells the other pookas to meet her at the top of the Winterhorn Ridge. The ghost of Griselda appears to her, telling her to "knock down the crown, and not forget her role from the epic poems. Griselda disappears just as the undead begin erupting from the floor. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03B. The End --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the Obliterated Ruins, Ingway transforms into the Darkova to try to destroy the Cauldron but has come under the power of the corpse of Beldor who controls him with a spell. Cornelius finds them and Beldor reveals that after the incident with King Gallon, Edmund had Beldor and the Wise Men research a spell to control the Darkova if it was ever to be released again. Beldor refuses to reveal his plans and orders the transformed Ingway to attack Cornelius. With the sword of his father who slew the first Darkova, Cornelius battles against him, wishing to remove the Valentinian prince from the curse. After the battle, both Cornelius and Ingway are hurt but not killed. Ingway realizes that the way to save the world is not to destroy the Cauldron, but rather to reverse its core, which will release all the Phozons stored inside it. As a last request, Ingway asks Velvet to do her duty and fight against the Cauldron. She takes Cornelius away and Ingway is left on his own to live his last moments. As he dies, he wonders why he thinks of Mercedes, and wishes he could see her for one last time. In the Crumbling Capital, King Gallon endlessly devours the living. Oswald confronts him and Gallon smells the sent of Odette's power in him. However, he reveals a royal secret: the only one who can kill him is one of royal blood. Even if Oswald is the Shadow, a common warrior cannot kill Gallon. However, Gallon does not know that Oswald is the son of Edgar, and therefore his grandson. After again and again plunging the Beldriver into Gallon's rotting flesh and shattering his three bone heads with the blade, Oswald reveals that Hindel once told him his father was a man named Edgar. Unable to fight against destiny, Gallon dies and the monster melts away. Meanwhile in the Obliterated Ruins of Ringford forest, Mercedes fights alone against the creatures of fire. There, she discovers Ingway lying dead at the base of a broken tree. The Onyx king appears laughing at the prophecies that predict his death. With no tree left standing and complete confidence, he attacks Mercedes who has refused to give up, a Queen till the end. The little Fairy draws her bow against the molten fire demon until his flesh begins to smolder, falling as ash. With her wings broken, she lies dying on the scorched earth, the fairies dead and her kingdom ruined. As she dies she gives her true name - Yggdrasil - and dies. As Onyx crumbles away, he recognizes the name with horror; Yggdrasil, the World Tree. The prophecy has come true. Knowing he was a fool, he crumbles like a spent coal and dies. At the Cauldron, Velvet confronts her grandfather King Valentine trying to reason with him, but he turns on her, calling her the very reason he finds himself in hell, the symbol of his daughter's betrayal. Velvet offers her own life instead of the world, but Valentine reveals that he cannot relive the experience again of wringing the neck of a once loved one, that Velvet resembles her too much. Valentine plans to take everyone with him into the oblivion and peace of death. However, Velvet unleashes her chains and fights against the Cauldron. She manages to destroy its systems but keeps the core of the Cauldron intact, leaving it unable to move or fire its beams. Valentine reveals that all this time, no one can actually use the Cauldron but him, as he has placed a curse upon it. As Velvet collapses, the King makes to strike her down, but cannot make the final blow as she resembles his daughter Ariel too closely. Finally ready and his work at an end, he summons Leventhan from the Cauldron and as the massive serpent bursts forth he leaps upon its back. In the skies over valentine, the massive serpent unfurls his full length in the wind. Gwendolyn flies alongside of him feeling powerless to stop the massive beast. Leventhan opens his mouth, and breaths his powerful flames down on the land, the continents breaking up and dissolving like a sugar cube. (We do not see this in Gwendolyn's cut scene, but in all of the others, King Valentine is completely destroyed in Leventhan's first blast). Gwendolyn sees the Horn Mountain collapsing and worries for her friends and lover Oswald. The bird reminds her to "knock down the crown," something her sister once told her. Looking carefully, Gwendolyn can see the old crown of King Valentine wedged on one of Leventhan's horns. Realizing it is the key to his defeat, Gwendolyn attacks. As her psypher breaks through and the horn is carved away, Leventhan's head begins to pour out fire and light. Gwendolyn, her feathers and wings destroyed, falls through the red sky. The bird reveals that the whole time is was her sister Griselda. She reveals that the poems of prophecy will continue to be followed and that they will meet again at the world's end and then disappears. As she contemplates her death below, Gwendolyn thinks only of Oswald. Just before she hits the ground, Oswald uses his dark powers to snatch Gwendolyn from the sky, but the effort drains him. The Cauldron has been stopped, but all of the Phozons it absorbed from the world have been used up. The world is a barren wasteland and only Velvet, Cornelius, Gwendolyn, and Oswald are left alive. Velvet removes Titrel from an unconscious Gwendolyn's hand and then remembers that Kurois taught her how the crystals, the psyphers, contain within them phozons. Using Titrel to command the Cauldron and the psyphers as a phozon source, Velvet reverses the flow of phozons from the Cauldron. As the phozons spew forth from the Cauldron's mouth, Velvet emerges from the light transformed into a pooka. Gwendolyn and Oswald find themselves alone on a mountain top and witness the miracle of the phozons remaking the earth, spreading green plants and life wherever they touch, a new world beginning. Though it is not shown on screen, it can be inferred that Gwendolyn and Oswald go on to repopulate Erion with their offspring, which survive for many millennia. Though it is placed out of order chronologically on the in game story chart, this is the period during which Cornelius and a Pookafied Velvet travel through to Alice's world and retrieve the last Valentinian coin from the back of the Armageddon book that Alice has been reading. Like Alice's grandfather's first visit to Erion in scene 20, it is unclear when exactly this event with the pooka occurs. However, in the last cut scene, Cornelius reveals that he and Velvet have been searching for the Valentinian coins for thousands of years in their immortal pooka bodies. At any point during this time, they could have traveled to Alice's world, taken the coin, and left the last book. In any case, having at last gathered all of the currency together, they return to the Secluded Cavern. They call forth the spirit of the old and kind King Valentine, before the Cauldron Wars and Odin's affair with Ariel had corrupted him. The apparition of the spell asks them what they wish for. Velvet is about to wish for the removal of the pooka curse before Cornelius stops her. He explains that they can live forever in a timeless vacuum in their bodies, forever in love. However, Velvet argues that their souls will go on after their flesh finally gives up, that the curse is eternal and their souls will never return to the land if they remain pooka for all time. Cornelius says that if they become humans, they will die before a hundred years have passed. But instead of living eternally while cursed, Velvet believes it nobler to live out a natural life among other humans. To this, Cornelius agrees, having observed people for millennia and have seen that even in "these preposterous times" (the very distant future I assume) they cannot say that people are happy. The world is filled with heartache, as it was before the Armageddon. The two pookas then wish for the spell to be broken and their humanity restored. The image of the dead king tells them to live their renewed lives to the fullest and transforms them into full human beings. They embrace their new forms, devoted until death will finally part them. Fin.