Tales of Graces f Synopsis Transcript Copyright 2012 Ryan Parisen (MabinogiFan) This guide may not be used on any other web site or source without permission from me. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Sources Used: My own copy of the game If you have any questions or comments, e-mail me at flipperdedipper@aol.com. If you find any potential errors in this guide, please inform me. _______________________________________________________________________________ [-------------------] [-Synopsis Contents-] [-------------------] Main Scenario Synopsis....................................................(MSS) No. 001: The Girl in the Meadow No. 002: Named after a Flower No. 003: The Friendship Pact No. 004: The Gathering Storm No. 005: Childhood's End No. 006: Triumphs and Tragedies No. 007: The Envoy from Lhant No. 008: An Impossible Encounter No. 009: Asbel's Decision No. 010: Exiled from Lhant No. 011: Friends Reunited No. 012: A Spirited Companion No. 013: May the Wind Guide Us! No. 014: Onward to Barona Castle No. 015: Crowning the New King No. 016: What Blood Breeds No. 017: A Seven-Year Reunion No. 018: Just Like Old Times No. 019: Charming the Rockgagong No. 020: Quid Pro Quo No. 021: Together Again No. 022: Rulers of the Roost No. 023: Probing the Valkines No. 024: Sisters and Brothers No. 025: Inheritors of the Dream No. 026: The Lastalia No. 027: For Sophie No. 028: The Lost Archive No. 029: Of One Mind No. 030: Fodra, the Other World No. 031: Welcome Back, Sophie No. 032: Return to Ephinea No. 033: The Wages of Ambition No. 034: Seeds of Destiny No. 035: The Story of Lambda No. 036: The Battle's End Lineage & Legacies Synopsis...............................................(LLS) No. 037: Sophie's Distress No. 038: Barona, Six Months Later No. 039: Beneath the Capital No. 040: The Glacier Ruins Rescue No. 041: Male Bonding No. 042: Enter The Little Queen No. 043: An Alien Paradise No. 044: Burying the Hatchet No. 045: Into Fodra's Core If you wish to jump to a specific section in the guide, press CTRL+F and type in the corresponding character at the rightmost side, including the parentheses. If you wish to jump to a certain synopsis entry, type in the number of the entry at the leftmost side instead. _______________________________________________________________________________ [----------] [-Synopsis-] [----------] [-Main Scenario Synopsis (MSS)-] [---------------------------------] [-No. 001: The Girl in the Meadow-] [---------------------------------] Defying their parents, Asbel and Hubert went to explore Lhant Hill. There, they discovered an older girl asleep in a flower-filled meadow. Neither had ever seen her before. When she woke, the girl appeared to have lost all of her memories, and her speech and behavior seemed slightly odd and disoriented. Asbel felt that he couldn't abandon her in such a state, and decided to bring her back with them. [-------------------------------] [-No. 002: Named after a Flower-] [-------------------------------] When Asbel and Hubert returned to Lhant with the girl, they found their longtime friend Cheria waiting. Together, they went to see Cheria's grandfather Frederic, who serves as Lord Aston's butler. They asked him about the mysterious girl, but he didn't recognize her. Defying his father's wishes, Asbel resolved to look after the girl himself. Asbel named the mysterious girl Sophie. He then convinced the group to go search for the important guest who was visiting from the capital, but whose arrival had been unexpectedly delayed. [------------------------------] [-No. 003: The Friendship Pact-] [------------------------------] The guest from the capital turned out to be Prince Richard of Windor. Again ignoring his father's orders, Asbel took Richard and Sophie to see the meadow on Lhant Hill. The three bonded, and made a friendship pact by carving their names onto a tree there. Upon their return to Lhant, Aston had Asbel confined to his room. Ignoring his punishment, Asbel took Sophie and departed for the capital city of Barona, following Richard, who was returning to his castle, and Aston and Hubert, who were visiting for other reasons. [------------------------------] [-No. 004: The Gathering Storm-] [------------------------------] In Barona, Asbel and Sophie were able to reunite not only with Richard, but also with Cheria, who had come to the city for a medical examination. As Richard was leading the three friends on a tour, they ran into Aston and a seemingly miserable Hubert. Richard proposed a late-night tour of the castle using a secret underground passageway. Asbel readily accepted, but Richard failed to appear at the time and place he had promised. [--------------------------] [-No. 005: Childhood's End-] [--------------------------] The party found the secret entrance to the catacombs, and discovered Richard lying motionless within. Just then, a mysterious monster attacked, gravely wounding everyone. An enraged Sophie managed to bring the creature down, but was run through by its claws. Then, there was a flood of light, and... Asbel awoke to learn that Sophie had died and Hubert had been fostered to another family. Asbel and Aston fought, and even Cheria couldn't calm him down. Determined to run away, Asbel showed up at the gates of the Knight Academy... [---------------------------------] [-No. 006: Triumphs and Tragedies-] [---------------------------------] Seven years later, Asbel has become a student at the Knight Academy. As part of his field training, Asbel and his instructor Malik were tasked with investigating the mysterious abandonment of a town in the Orlen Woods. Suddenly beset by a monster, Asbel was forced to fight for his life. After a strange light emanated from his hand, Asbel was able to skillfully repel the monster. Impressed, Malik offered to recommend Asbel for full-fledged knighthood. His lifelong dream finally fulfilled, Asbel eagerly accepted. [-------------------------------] [-No. 007: The Envoy from Lhant-] [-------------------------------] Asbel returned to Barona to find Cheria waiting. Asbel was stunned by her news: the conflict between Lhant and Fendel was intensifying, his father had been killed in battle, and his mother had grown ill with worry. With Malik's encouragement, Asbel decided to return to Lhant with Cheria. On the way, he learned that Cheria, too, had experienced the power of the mysterious light. But Cheria's heart seemed to have hardened towards him, and she would no longer grace him with so much as a smile. [----------------------------------] [-No. 008: An Impossible Encounter-] [----------------------------------] Having learned of the new weapons that Fendel had prepared for the invasion of Lhant, Asbel rescued Frederic, and then attempted to lure the weapons to the meadow on Lhant Hill in hopes of forestalling an invasion of the city. The Fendelian army turned the tables by cornering Asbel at the meadow, but a girl who looked exactly like Sophie appeared to help Asbel destroy them. Sophie was supposed to be dead, and this girl didn't have any of Sophie's memories. But Asbel couldn't ignore the uncanny resemblance, and invited the girl to join him. [---------------------------] [-No. 009: Asbel's Decision-] [---------------------------] After seeing his mother Kerri for the first time in seven years and contemplating Lhant's dire situation, Asbel resolved to succeed his father's lordship. As his first order of business, Asbel decided it was time to go on the offensive, and formulated a plan for a nighttime assault against the Fendel encampment. They would cross the seaside cavern during the day and launch a surprise attack at night - that very night, in fact. Without the support of the Royal Knights, it was the best Asbel could do. [----------------------------] [-No. 010: Exiled from Lhant-] [----------------------------] Asbel's plan ended in failure, as Fendel launched its assault while Asbel's forces were still moving into position. But Lhant was saved when Hubert arrived with a battalion of the Strahtan military. Hubert explained that Windor and Strahta had forged an alliance, and that he would take responsibility for Lhant's governance. Outmaneuvered by his own brother, Asbel was banished from Lhant. Attacked by unknown pursuers outside of the city, Asbel worried about the safety of his companion, Sophie, and considered asking Richard to protect her. [---------------------------] [-No. 011: Friends Reunited-] [---------------------------] Shaken by a report of Richard's death from one of his pursuers, Asbel sought to verify it by traveling through the secret passage that starts at the Royal Sanctuary. Inside the catacombs he found Richard himself, wounded but alive. After slaying Richard's attackers, the two had little time to celebrate their reunion before more assailants appeared. The party decided to temporarily retreat from the capital and turn to Duke Dalen of Gralesyde for help. [-------------------------------] [-No. 012: A Spirited Companion-] [-------------------------------] Richard explained that the uprising at the capital was being led by Archduke Cedric and a group of Royal Knights. They had already killed the king, and intended him to be next. On the road from the catacombs to Wallbridge, a girl named Pascal joined the group after claiming to have seen an illusion of Sophie. The group crossed through underground ruins to reach Gralesyde. Along the way, Sophie offered a hand to Richard, but he reeled away from her touch. The incident cast an awkward pall over the group. [---------------------------------] [-No. 013: May the Wind Guide Us!-] [---------------------------------] With Duke Dalen's support, the campaign to retake the capital had finally begun. Asbel repeated his vow to serve Richard, and Richard explained that while he detested war, he felt he had no other choice. With those thoughts held close to their hearts, the group set out on their mission to infiltrate Wallbridge by returning to the ruins beneath it. Meanwhile, Sophie, feeling uneasy, tried to remind herself of the friendship Asbel and Richard shared. [----------------------------------] [-No. 014: Onward to Barona Castle-] [----------------------------------] Asbel's party succeeded in defeating Captain Malik and seizing Wallbridge without serious injury. However, Richard changed dramatically after being attacked by an enemy soldier. He became ruthless in word and deed, going so far as to propose the summary execution of all the troops who had opposed him. When Asbel voiced his opposition, Richard had him arrested. In spite of this, Asbel still wanted to help his friend. So together with Cheria, who had come to Wallbridge to care for the wounded soldiers, Asbel's group formed an independent commando unit to march on the capital. [--------------------------------] [-No. 015: Crowning the New King-] [--------------------------------] Richard's unit arrived first to the castle, and were wiped out by an enemy ambush. Determined to settle things personally, Richard joined Asbel in defeating Archduke Cedric. Once again, Richard's hatred drove him into a display of wanton cruelty. Even his appearance changed, further raising Asbel's misgivings. Nevertheless, peasants and nobles alike rejoiced at their new king, and marked the occasion with a magnificent coronation. [----------------------------] [-No. 016: What Blood Breeds-] [----------------------------] Eager to rid Windor of any Strahtan influence, Richard decided to invade Lhant. He commanded Asbel to lead the force, presenting it as an opportunity for Asbel to reclaim his honor and his lordship. Asbel appealed for a chance to avoid battle by convincing the Strahtan commander, his brother Hubert, to negotiate with Windor. Malik joined Asbel's party to lend a hand, and together the group set off to Lhant once again. [-------------------------------] [-No. 017: A Seven-Year Reunion-] [-------------------------------] Without waiting to hear the results of Asbel's negotiations, Richard launched a surprise invasion of Lhant. Richard declared that those who defied him must be shown no mercy, and when Asbel forcefully disagreed, the furious king declared him a traitor. Having reclaimed her memories from seven years earlier, Sophie was able to block Richard's attack, and after a ferocious struggle, Richard and his army withdrew. Victorious, Asbel and his friends relished their long- awaited reunion with Sophie. [------------------------------] [-No. 018: Just Like Old Times-] [------------------------------] Displeased with his handling of Lhant, Strahta sent recall orders to Hubert. Asbel resolved to travel to Strahta and appeal to have the orders overturned. Seeking to stop him, Hubert's aide Raymond abducted Cheria. When his plot was foiled, Raymond attempted to end it all, but Cheria used her healing abilities to save him. The kidnapping lead Cheria to finally reconcile with Asbel, and the group set off for Strahta once again. [----------------------------------] [-No. 019: Charming the Rockgagong-] [----------------------------------] The road to the capital of Strahta was sealed due to the violent rampage of a creature known as the Rockgagong. Asbel's group went to investigate, but ended up being swallowed by the beast. The charm Asbel had received from Hubert contained pepper, and the group was able to use it to cause the Rockgagong to sneeze them safely out. [-----------------------] [-No. 020: Quid Pro Quo-] [-----------------------] The man they met in the desert turned out to be the president of Strahta. Learning that Strahta's occupation of Lhant was due to problems with Strahta's own cryas, and that overturning the recall order would be dependent on solving that, Asbel offered to have Pascal fix Strahta's valkines. Pascal succeeded, but Richard appeared on the scene and sucked all of the power from the valkines into himself. Asbel's group decided that their first priority should be reporting this development to the president. [-------------------------] [-No. 021: Together Again-] [-------------------------] The party was stunned when they heard the news that Hubert had traveled to Strahta to deliver: Richard had also absorbed the eleth from Windor's own valkines. Everyone agreed that Richard was most likely on his way to the last remaining valkines. The president tasked Asbel's party with pursuing Richard, and promised Strahta's full support. With Hubert now among their numbers, the party's next stop was an island known as Warrior's Roost. From there, they planned to infiltrate Fendel, the nation that held the final valkines. [------------------------------] [-No. 022: Rulers of the Roost-] [------------------------------] The party had planned to reach Fendel with the help of a spy who had infiltrated the Fendelian platoon at Warrior's Roost, but she had already been captured. To save her, Asbel's group won a battle at Riot Peak. The spy secured their passage to Fendel, but Malik's mood darkened aboard the ship, and Hubert regarded him suspiciously. [-------------------------------] [-No. 023: Probing the Valkines-] [-------------------------------] The government of Fendel has been collaborating with the Amarcian people to conduct experiments on their valkines. But Pascal declared that these experiments could cause a dangerous chain reaction. She revealed that she was herself an Amarcian, and that the experiments were based on her own research. Malik admitted to being a Fendel native as well. Hubert was furious with them for not disclosing these facts, but ultimately reconciled with both. To gather more information about the valkines, the party decided to make their way to the Amarcian enclave. [-------------------------------] [-No. 024: Sisters and Brothers-] [-------------------------------] It was Pascal's older sister, Fourier, who took Pascal's research and had been collaborating with Fendel. Fourier suggested that the man in charge of the experiment would know the location of the valkines. His name was Kurt, and he seemed to be some sort of acquaintance of Malik's. Asbel's party decided to pay him a visit at the military's Ministry of Science in the capital. [----------------------------------] [-No. 025: Inheritors of the Dream-] [----------------------------------] Kurt used to be a partner of Malik's in Fendel's reform movement. He was determined to complete his research on the valkines in order to rescue his countrymen from poverty, and left Asbel's party with no choice but to defeat him in combat. After Malik and Pascal swore to honor his dying wish of saving the people of Fendel, Richard appeared once again to steal all of the eleth from the valkines. Poisson believed that his next target was something called the Lastalia. With her support, Asbel's party decided to head to the Amarcian Archive of Wisdom to gather more information. [-----------------------] [-No. 026: The Lastalia-] [-----------------------] The Lastalia is the valkines' source, and if it were to somehow lose power, all life on Ephinea would die. Asbel and his party traveled to World's Eye, an island connected to the core of the planet, in order to protect the Lastalia. When Richard appeared there, he no longer seemed to be human at all. At one point, Richard seemed to briefly regain consciousness, but when Sophie proposed another friendship pact, Richard critically wounded Sophie and triggered a powerful chain reaction. [---------------------] [-No. 027: For Sophie-] [---------------------] Richard's attack blinded Sophie, and even the strongest of medicines could not cure her condition. This, combined with the fact that Richard had called her Protos Heis, led Pascal to conclude that Sophie might not actually be human. If that were the case, Pascal figured they may be able to save her by going to the Fodra place mentioned in the Archive of Wisdom. In order to gather more information, Asbel's party decided to travel to Sable Izolle and search for the lost archive of the Amarcian people. [---------------------------] [-No. 028: The Lost Archive-] [---------------------------] With the help of Strahta's president, Asbel's party learned about the existence of a shuttle that could take them to Fodra. To launch it through the aquasphere, they'd need to fire two heat rays from different directions at the same time. First, they needed to travel to Lhant to find the shuttle, which was said to be hidden in the Seaside Cavern. However, unusually violent monsters were flowing out of the cocoon over World's Eye, and the party spotted a group of them heading toward Lhant... [----------------------] [-No. 029: Of One Mind-] [----------------------] By saving Lhant from the monsters, Asbel was able to reconcile with Bailey and his mother, and come to a deeper understanding of his father Aston. However, Sophie's progressively failing health took another turn for the worse. Fortunately, with modifications to the shuttle and repairs to the cannon, their plan to travel to Fodra finally came to fruition. Just as Pascal gave the order to launch, monsters again appeared to attack Lhant. But Fourier, among others, suddenly showed up to help, and the shuttle to Fodra was successfully launched. [---------------------------------] [-No. 030: Fodra, the Other World-] [---------------------------------] Having finally reached Fodra, the party discovered a city where a woman named Emeraude had been asleep for 1,000 years. There they learned that Sophie was an artificial humanoid soldier, and that they would need to go to a special facility to repair her. Together with Emeraude, who was herself a researcher at the facility, Asbel's party set out for the Humanoid Research Center. [-------------------------------] [-No. 031: Welcome Back, Sophie-] [-------------------------------] Asbel's party learned that Richard was infected by a life form known as Lambda, and that Sophie was a humanoid that had been created to destroy it. As the party was uncovering one new revelation after another, Sophie reawakened and, with the help of her friends, reclaimed her lost power. Told by Emeraude that Lambda intended to merge with the Lastalia, the party resolved to return to their home world of Ephinea to stop Richard. [----------------------------] [-No. 032: Return to Ephinea-] [----------------------------] The shuttle needed to be upgraded before the party could return to Ephinea. When creating the derris bit for this purpose, Pascal used the remaining materials to fashion rings that would grant the power to resist Lambda to every member of the party. And with Emeraude's help, the shuttle was made ready for launch. Asbel decided that there must be some way to stop Richard without killing him, and that he didn't believe Lambda's infection had taken over Richard's heart. Asbel held these thoughts close as the shuttle took off. [--------------------------------] [-No. 033: The Wages of Ambition-] [--------------------------------] The shuttle landed within the cocoon that Richard had created. Sophie was determined to destroy Richard when she encountered him; Emeraude had given her the power to sacrifice herself in order to eradicate Lambda, and she had planned to use it. But Emeraude stopped her in hopes of instead using Lambda's power to restore life to Fodra. Lambda rejected her and, once again, left for the Lastalia with Richard. The party returned to Lhant to collect their thoughts. [---------------------------] [-No. 034: Seeds of Destiny-] [---------------------------] After convincing Sophie not to sacrifice herself to defeat Lambda, Asbel resolved anew to save both Sophie and Richard. The party prepared for the battle to come by absorbing the eleth from the meadow on Lhant Hill, which would protect them from Lambda's influence. Asbel and his companions each spent their last night envisioning the people they loved and their futures to come. With a promise to return in each of their hearts, they departed for their final battlefield, the Lastalia. [------------------------------] [-No. 035: The Story of Lambda-] [------------------------------] In the Lastalia, glimpses of Lambda's memories revealed his tragic past. As a new life form, he was made into a test subject on Fodra, and was marked for termination when his natural abilities were deemed too dangerous. Cornell, who treated Lambda like a person and even made him smile, ultimately sacrificed his own life to save Lambda. That experience instilled within Lambda a fierce will to survive, and an empathy for the young Richard he would later find teetering at the brink of death. [---------------------------] [-No. 036: The Battle's End-] [---------------------------] [Note: While this entry chronicles the ending of the main scenario, it doesn't become available until after the Lineage & Legacies storyline is started.] Asbel and his companions claimed victory in their final battle at the Lastalia. However, Lambda survived as well. Asbel allowed Lambda into himself to see his true intentions. Witnessing the strength of Asbel's resolve, Lambda decided to remain within Asbel, and fell into a deep sleep. And thus, peace returned to the world. Asbel and his companions each returned to the places where they belonged, to fulfill their individual destinies. [-Lineage & Legacies Synopsis (LLS)-] [----------------------------] [-No. 037: Sophie's Distress-] [----------------------------] In the half year since peace returned to the world, Asbel had been working hard at his lordly duties. But Sophie, who lived with him, had suddenly become inconsolable over the fact that Asbel and her other friends would eventually die and leave her alone in the world. At around the same time, Asbel began receiving reports of monster attacks from a number of different locations. Despite his concerns about Sophie's abrupt disappearance, Asbel agreed to travel to Barona at Richard's request. [-----------------------------------] [-No. 038: Barona, Six Months Later-] [-----------------------------------] Upon arriving in Barona, Asbel reunited with Richard, Cheria, Malik, and Hubert. With the thought of possible marriage on his mind, Asbel couldn't look Cheria in the face. Hubert and Malik confirmed that the increase in monster attacks was not confined to Windor. Suspecting that the attacks might be connected to a nest being built by monsters in the ruins beneath Gloandi, Asbel and the others decided to travel to said ruins via the Barona Catacombs. [------------------------------] [-No. 039: Beneath the Capital-] [------------------------------] In the ruins beneath Gloandi, Asbel and his companions encountered powerful, highly-evolved monsters of a sort they'd never seen before. When the group was forced into a fight for their lives, Lambda abruptly awakened and used his powers to repel the monsters. Hoping to learn more about the monsters by consulting with Pascal, the party decided to leave the ruins for now. [-----------------------------------] [-No. 040: The Glacier Ruins Rescue-] [-----------------------------------] After receiving a message from Pascal, Asbel learned that Sophie had gone to the Amarcian Enclave. The party traveled to the enclave, but Pascal had already left with Sophie for the Glacier Ruins at the request of the Fendel government. Asbel's group followed them in and discovered that, as with Barona, strange monsters had been digging a nest deep within the ruins. Once again, Lambda used his powers to deal with the monsters, and Pascal and Sophie merged with Asbel's group. Together, they decided to return to the enclave and meet with Fourier. [-----------------------] [-No. 041: Male Bonding-] [-----------------------] Pascal suspected that Fodra was the cause of the monsters' strange evolution. Asbel's party went to Strahta to warn the president about the monsters, but Sophie, who remained consumed with worry, stayed with Cheria and Pascal in the enclave. Hearing that Strahta's valkines was being attacked by monsters, Asbel's party ventured into the Strahta Desert Ruins to deal with the monsters. The party then returned to the enclave to collect Sophie and the others before traveling to Fodra. [---------------------------------] [-No. 042: Enter the Little Queen-] [---------------------------------] After arriving on Fodra, Asbel's party learned about the Eleth Research Facility in Telos Astue. It turned out to be the laboratory where research on defeating Lambda had been conducted a thousand years earlier. The facility's research focused on the Little Queen born from Fodra's core. When Asbel's party arrived at the facility, the Little Queen herself appeared. They attempted to escape, but the Little Queen attacked the party's shuttle, sending them crashing into the Fodran wasteland. [----------------------------] [-No. 043: An Alien Paradise-] [----------------------------] The party's shuttle crashed into a flower meadow amidst the wasteland. There, they again encountered the Little Queen. Due to mankind's destruction of the natural order of Fodra, the Little Queen apparently sought the complete eradication of humanity. Exploiting her fear of isolation, the Little Queen attempted to recruit Sophie to her side. In the grueling battle that followed, it was Lambda who turned the tide yet again. After fleeing from the Little Queen, Asbel's party decided to return to Telos Astue. [------------------------------] [-No. 044: Burying the Hatchet-] [------------------------------] From the data collected off the humanoids in the Eleth Research Laboratory, the party learned that they would need to shut down Fodra's core in order to destroy the Little Queens. To do so, Asbel decided to entrust his body to Lambda. Despite the opposition of his companions, Asbel was adamant. That night, each of Asbel's uneasy companions spoke with Lambda, and managed to come to an understanding. At daybreak, they would head to Fodra's core. [----------------------------] [-No. 045: Into Fodra's Core-] [----------------------------] Asbel's party ventured into Fodra's core in order to execute their plan of shutting it down by having Lambda absorb its eleth. But when they saw the rich natural ecosystem within, they understood what the Little Queens were trying to protect from humanity. Asbel yearned to convey to Fodra that they do not want to destroy the planet, that human beings are capable of change, and that they are not the same as they were a thousand years ago. _______________________________________________________________________________ (end of the transcript)