Maple Alliance

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The birth of an Alliance

The Maple Alliance refers to the alliance formed between the Explorers, the Cygnus Knights, the Resistance, the Heroes, Zero, and warriors from other worlds. The Alliance was founded by Empress Cygnus after the Black Mage's seal was broken, uniting Maple World against the Black Mage and his Commanders. After the Alliance's victory against the Black Mage at the battle of Tenebris, it continues to fight against the threat of Gerand Darmoor and the High Flora after Maple World and Grandis became one.

The Maple Alliance was introduced in the Advance of the Union Update. Characters who reach Level 75 can complete a questline to join the Maple Alliance, after which they receive the medal A Member of The Maple Alliance as a token of their membership, as well as the skill, Will of the Alliance.

History

Facing the Black Mage

Birth of an Alliance

After breaking free of his seal, the Black Mage sent his shadow to destroy Maple Island, covering the land in unquenchable black flames. This event was felt by Empress Cygnus, who felt as though a rumbling cloud had taken hold of her heart. With rumors that Commander Orchid was the leader of the Black Wings who sought to resurrect the Black Mage, Cygnus - doubting her ability to lead Maple World through the coming storm - asked for the counsel of her closest advisors and confidantes, including Neinheart, Mihile, the Cygnus Knights, and Mercedes. After listening to their perspectives, Cygnus believed that the only way to stop the threat of the Black Mage was by forming a world-wide alliance against him and his forces. For this reason, Cygnus dispatched messengers to deliver invitations to the Explorers, the Resistance, and the Heroes. Though the Explorers and the Heroes readily accepted the invitation, the Resistance - distrustful of the Cygnus Knights after their betrayal - initially refused to entertain the invitation until the death of a young girl named Vita, who had been killed by the Black Wings while under the Resistance's protection. In the wake of Vita's death, the Resistance's investigation led them to discover that Orchid was indeed the founder of the Black Wings. With the revelation that the Black Wings were being led by a Commander, the Resistance agreed that their fight would soon take them to the Black Mage himself, for which they reluctantly agreed to join the meeting. After receiving unanimous confirmations, the First Continental Conference took place and the Maple Alliance was officially created. Following the formation of the Alliance, Cygnus invited several heroes from other worlds who had been aiding Maple World during their adventures to join the Alliance as well. In particular, Kaiser successfully negotiated a working relationship between the Alliance and the Nova as they worked together to better understand each other's worlds.

Fight for Azwan

As part of its first initiative, the Alliance began conducting operations to track the movements of the Black Mage's Commanders. Having gathered information on all the known Commanders and their last known statuses and locations, one Alliance member - known as the Ace of the Alliance - was tasked with conducting these missions, as their strength and abilities would give them their best chance at handling any unexpected encounters with the Black Mage's elite forces. The Alliance member was then tasked with investigating the lost city of Azwan, which had recently reappeared after the Black Mage's return. As Azwan had once been the hometown of Commander Hilla, the Alliance member was instructed to investigate and gather as much information as they could. In the Nihal Desert, the Alliance member discovered that a wandering mystic had been spreading rumors of an Elixir of Everlasting Life hidden in the ruins of Azwan. With many - including Queen Areda of Ariant - seeking the elixir, the Alliance had been besieged by treasure hunters and grave robbers entering the city. In Azwan, the Alliance member entered the city and met with the ghosts of Azwan, who revealed that they had all perished when Hilla had betrayed Azwan centuries ago after becoming a Commander. While investigating the castle, the Alliance member discovered that Hilla had left behind an illusion of herself, and that the real Hilla was somewhere else in Maple World. Soon after, the Alliance member discovered several Elixirs of Everlasting Youth being circulated around Ariant, which were revealed to be potions that drew out obsession and madness in the drinker. Though the Alliance confiscated all the elixirs, Hilla - disguised as the wandering mystic - gave an elixir to Queen Areda, hoping to draw out the queen's obsession and spread chaos throughout Ariant. However, with the help of the local Sand Bandits working to liberate Ariant, the Alliance member was able to drive out Areda and restore peace to the city.

Secret of Magatia

During the Ace of Alliance's investigation of Magatia, they discovered that the town had been built atop the Black Mage's laboratory deep underground. After exposing the truth, the Alliance member reported the news to the Alliance, which resolved to keep a closer eye on the alchemists of Magatia and look further into the Black Mage's laboratory. After searching the lab, they discovered the Black Mage's notes on the power of the Transcendents, as well as the creation of the Interdimensional Portals when a Transcendent stole and used the power of another Transcendent.

Gate to the Future

Following the Black Mage's resurrection, Commander Lucid - the newest Commander of the Black Mage - attacked the Temple of Time and attempted to open the Gate to the Future. Though unable to open the gate herself, Lucid instead used her dream powers to create an illusion of a ruined future in which the Cygnus Knights had been corrupted and helped the Black Mage conquer Maple World. With rumors spreading about the Cygnus Knights' betrayal, one of the Cygnus Knights investigated the Gate to the Future, where they came across a corrupted Cygnus and her Chief Knights. During this time, Lucid used her powers to place Cygnus in a nightmare, which the Cygnus Knight managed to save her from by entering her dream and defeating the corrupt Cygnus attacking her. Having survived the ordeal, the Cygnus Knights resolved to prepare for a full-scale investigation of the Gate to the Future.

Siege of Heliseum

Having gained the forces needed to retake their capital city of Heliseum, the Nova arranged a meeting with the Alliance in order to request their assistance in ousting Magnus - a former Commander of the Black Mage - from the throne. As it would be difficult to mobilize a large number of troops through the Interdimensional Portal, and as the Nova would not trust so many foreign troops in their homeland without established trust, the Alliance decided to send only volunteer and the Alliance's most elite soldiers to aid the Nova in their operation. Together, the Nova and the Alliance worked to defeat Magnus and the three Guardians of Heliseum. Though the Ace of the Alliance successfully defeated Magnus, a mysterious vortex pulled Magnus and the Outrigger - the holy relic of the Nova - to another location. Despite this, the Nova considered the operation to be a victory and agreed to officially join the Alliance, promising to aid Maple World in their fight against the Black Mage in exchange for the Alliance's help in defeating Gerand Darmoor.

Evolution System

After Gelimer betrayed Orchid and forced Lotus to attack her, he left her for dead in the Evolution Lab, where the Resistance eventually discovered her. As they nursed her back to health in order to interrogate her, Claudine mobilized the Resistance to investigate the Evolution Lab. Soon after, Orchid escaped the Resistance and returned to Evolution Lab, where she accessed Lotus's AI that monitored the Evolution System. Realizing that the AI wasn't her brother, Orchid grew angry, causing the system to view her as a threat and attack her. The Resistance took Orchid back to the Secret Plaza, where Orchid fell into a coma. As the Alliance continued to use the Evolution System in order to learn more about it, the system recorded the combat data of countless Alliance members and imprinted it onto Lotus in order to have him analyze and enhance his own battle algorithms, thus making him even stronger.

Lion King's Castle

Alongside the Resistance member J, the Ace of the Alliance investigated the Lion King's Castle, which had recently returned with the Black Mage's resurrection, in order to discover whether Von Leon was still a Commander. Their investigation led them to discover that Von Leon had become a Commander and destroyed the Anti-Black Mage Alliance centuries ago after the alliance had attacked his castle and killed his beloved wife, Ifia. They also learned that the members of that alliance - many of whom had been cursed to become monsters that roamed the castle - had been brainwashed into attacking Von Leon's home through the power of mysterious totems that drew out madness in the bearer, which had been planted by the Black Mage's forces. Having discovered that Von Leon was nothing more than a broken shell of a man, the Alliance realized that though Von Leon would not resume his activities as a Commander, the only way to end his suffering was to defeat the Black Mage, thereby breaking Von Leon's curse of immortality.

Root Abyss

In Sleepywood, the Alliance discovered that a previously uncharted area had appeared. The Ace of the Alliance was dispatched to investigate the new region - Root Abyss - where they learned that Alicia, the Transcendent of Life, was being imprisoned by four Seal Guardians created by a new demon Commander. The Alliance quickly moved to defeat the Seal Guardians and escort Alicia to Ereve, where she was kept inside the gemstone on Shinsoo's forehead for her safety.

Cygnus Awakens

Soon after the Root Abyss incident, Neinheart requested that the next Alliance meeting be somewhere else than Ereve, as he wanted Cygnus to gain real-world experience by leaving the island. During this time, however, Commander Damien used the Chief Knights' absence to attack Ereve, mortally wounding Shinsoo with the Sword of Destruction and kidnapping Alicia, who had fully recovered her Transcendent powers after the Black Mage had attacked her centuries ago. Cygnus and her Knights quickly rushed to Ereve, where the traumatic shock of seeing Shinsoo's condition caused the latent Transcendent powers in her bloodline to manifest. As a result, Cygnus gained new abilities that allowed her to strengthen the Cygnus Knights. Soon after, Shinsoo left Ereve and settled in Leafre, where she summoned one of Cygnus's most trusted Knights and revealed to them that though Cygnus's descendant was meant to become a new Transcendent in order to maintain the balance of the world, Cygnus had prematurely awakened as a Transcendent-in-waiting, for which Shinsoo had left in order to find a way to help Cygnus complete her metamorphosis or revert it. After learning the truth about Cygnus's new power, Neinheart decided to keep the news secret from the Alliance, entrusting only a precious few confidantes with the truth.

The Silent Crusade

Soon after the attack on Ereve, Commander Arkarium began using his time magic to create temporal cracks across Maple World, prompting the Silent Crusade to investigate. The Ace of the Alliance assisted the Silent Crusade with their mission, leading them to discover that Arkarium intended to travel back in time and kill the Heroes and the Demon while weakened from the battle with the Black Mage. After following Arkarium into the past, the Alliance member learned from Rhinne, the sealed Transcendent of Time, that Arkarium - unable to find the Demon in the past - was planning to steal her Transcendent powers to break the Barrier of Time created by Freud, which prevented time from flowing back before the moment that the Black Mage had been sealed. The Alliance member then helped the weakened Heroes after the battle and defeated Arkarium, forcing him to abandon his plans. During this time, the Alliance member also discovered that the Silent Crusade was an organization created by Empress Aria centuries ago to fight the Commanders, and that though the Crusaders worked with the Alliance, they were an independent faction altogether.

Stone Colossus

While helping the Halflingers of Leafre investigate a disturbance in the mountains, the Ace of the Alliance met with Valerie of the Nautilus, who had been dispatched by the Alliance to investigate the disturbance as well. The pair scaled the mountain and encountered the Stone Colossus: a massive creature formed out of many smaller spirits. They discovered that the Black Mage's dark energy had infected the Colossus, attempting to corrupt it to evil. While helping the Colossus, they discovered Commander Guwaru holding back the dark creature that sought to corrupt the Colossus's heart. After defeating the creature, they learned that Guwaru was no longer a Commander, and that he had become a Commander against his will when the balance of the Transcendents had shifted to darkness, causing Guwaru - a Great Spirit whose existence was tied to the world - to become corrupted as well. Guwaru then healed the Stone Colossus of its corruption and hoped to repay the Alliance member for their help someday, revealing that the Black Mage was making no move to grow his forces, and that his larger goal was something beyond just Maple World itself. Valerie found it strange that the Black Mage seemed to be making no move to strengthen his forces, even with several Commanders leaving his service, for which she hoped that the Alliance would be able to investigate and learn the truth.

Henesys Ruins

In order to investigate the Gate to the Future, the Ace of the Alliance was dispatched to the Temple of Time in order to learn the truth behind the dark future. The Alliance member arrived in the Henesys Ruins, where they discovered that Cygnus and her forces had been corrupted by the Black Mage while trying to find the World Tree. While helping the townspeople gather provisions, the Alliance member was able to obtain a mysterious Dream Fragment. As the residents of the future behaved quite erratically in response to questions about the Dream Fragment, the Alliance member brought it to Neinheart, who was pleased to know that they had a new lead after reaching a dead-end in their investigation.

Knight Stronghold

While continuing their investigation, the Ace of the Alliance worked with the residents of the future to infiltrate the Knight Stronghold, where they managed to defeat the corrupted Cygnus and her Knights. As the Alliance member lamented over the future that awaited them, Shinsoo's voice reached out to them and revealed that the dark future they had seen was nothing more than an illusory dreamscape created by a minion of the Black Mage. The Alliance member reported their findings to Neinheart, who resolved to look into the mysterious Dream Master, who had been spreading nightmares of the illusory future across Maple World. As these dreams continued spreading across Maple World, tensions in the Alliance began rising as the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights argued over the validity of the future that awaited them, particularly about the Cygnus Knights' betrayal.

Return of Kritias

After the lost kingdom of Kritias suddenly returned, the Ace of the Alliance was dispatched to investigate. There, they discovered that Kritias had been sealed away in time after the Black Mage had caused it to vanish centuries ago, with many strange monsters appearing in the wake of the kingdom's fall, as well the castle of Trueffet lifting into the sky and becoming a massive spell circle. Though the Alliance initially believed the spell circle to be the work of the Black Mage, the Alliance member's investigation led them to discover that King Hekaton had been hoping to gain the power of immortality, and that he had been conducting experiments with a girl known only as Subject No. 618, who had survived a great accident in Trueffet that had prompted Hekaton to believe that the girl held the key to eternal life. Though the investigation led to a dead end, Neinheart believed that Subject No. 618 was the reason why the Black Mage targeted Kritias. He then decided to keep the investigation secret, hoping that the truth would reveal itself someday.

Twilight Perion

Soon after the investigation into the Gate to the Future, nightmares of the ruined future continued plaguing the people of Maple World. Unable to sleep, the townspeople fell into paranoia and hysteria, convinced that their nightmares would come true. With the people of Perion, in particular, suffering from a dream of their ruined town, the Ace of the Alliance returned to the Gate to the Future and entered Twilight Perion, where they learned that in the dark illusion, the Resistance had betrayed the Alliance early on and sided with the Black Mage, enslaving the townspeople of Perion after the Black Mage conquered Maple World. In order to help break the nightmare cast on Maple World, the Alliance member worked alongside Grendel the Really Old to look into the Dream Master's memories, allowing them to discover that she was a young girl who had been recruited by the Black Mage as his new Commander. The Alliance member then used the Fog of Oblivion from the Temple of Time to sever the dream's hold on the people of Maple World, freeing them from their nightmares. By overcoming their first great crisis, the Alliance grew closer as the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance reluctantly began to see past their differences. The Alliance then resolved to continue looking into the Dream Master, believing that the Black Mage was steadily recruiting new Commanders alongside his old ones.

Black Heaven

During an infiltration mission, the Alliance discovered that the Black Wings were working on a top-secret project called Black Heaven. By looking into a comatose Orchid's memories, they learned that Black Heaven was an enormous airship that Gelimer intended to use against Maple World. Believing that it was a chance to show the world that the Alliance could protect them, Cygnus proposed meeting Black Heaven in air combat aboard Phantom's airship, the Lumiere. The heroes of the Alliance, including the Ace of the Alliance, boarded the Lumiere and launched it into the sky, where Black Wings operatives attacked the airship as Black Heaven closed in. With the Lumiere besieged by the enormous Black Wings airship, tensions rose between the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance as they struggled to find a way to counterattack. Nevertheless, the two groups put aside their differences and worked together to discover a critical weakness in Black Heaven, with the Ace of the Alliance infiltrating Edelstein's Scrapyard to board Black Heaven. With the Alliance member's help, the Lumiere was able to dispatch a boarding party to enter Black Heaven, where they discovered that Gelimer intended to use his Retoxin gas to transform Maple World's people into a large hive mind connected to Lotus, whom Gelimer had transformed into a Xenoroid that served as Black Heaven's central computer. The Alliance member then fought and defeated Lotus, who was killed by Gelimer for his failure. Orchid - who had awoken from her coma and traveled to Black Heaven - then used her powers to destroy the Retoxin bombs that Gelimer had created, destroying Black Heaven and taking back what remained of her brother's power. Though Gelimer was killed in the battle, the Alliance member was fatally wounded by ingesting the Retoxin gas. In order to save their life, the Alliance used the Seal Stone of Ereve - the last Seal Stone left in the world - to undo the damage done to the Alliance member, unknowingly turning them into an Adversary.

Heroes of Maple

Following the battle of Black Heaven, Damien - with Alicia in his custody - was sent by the Black Mage to claim the Abyss Crystal - an object capable of stealing the power of the gods, which the Black Mage had used to steal the power of time from Rhinne before sealing it away in the dimensional subspace between Maple World and Friends World. Damien used his demon army brought from Tynerum to carry out his mission, though Damien secretly intended to betray the Black Mage by taking Alicia's power for himself. In order to stop him, Evan united the Heroes and led them on a critical mission to recover the Abyss Crystal while the Alliance defended Maple World from the demon army. After traveling to Abraxas, the Ruins of Memory, the Heroes discovered that a divine power had recorded the history of the world, allowing them to learn the Abyss Crystal's location. Despite the Heroes' best efforts, however, Damien managed to steal the Abyss Crystal and used it to take Alicia's Transcendent powers for himself. As Damien began draining Maple World's life force, the Heroes - as well as Damien's brother, the Demon - worked together to stop Damien's ambitions once and for all. With the balance of life fading, Alicia sacrificed her existence by scattering her life force across the world, restoring vitality to the broken lands. In the aftermath of the battle, the Alliance sent its forces to gather information at Abraxas, allowing them to learn more about the higher beings of the world, such as the Overseers, the Ancient Gods, and the Transcendents.

Mirror World Invasion

Soon after the battle at the World Tree, Commander Will began attacking Maple World by sending monsters created with the power of Mirror World through dimensional cracks. In order to combat this threat, the Silent Crusade and the Alliance worked together to stave off the monster attacks as the Adversary investigated the perpetrator behind the invasion. After successfully repelling the Mirror World monsters, the Silent Crusade discovered that Will was a new Commander of the Black Mage. They also learned that an enormous surge of energy was flowing through the Temple of Time, which they believed was the work of the Black Mage. In order to work together as a united front, the Silent Crusade was officially absorbed into the Alliance as they investigated this new anomaly, believing it to be the Black Mage's endgame.

The Arcane River

In the Temple of Time, the Adversary discovered that the Black Mage was siphoning the Erdas of Maple World to create the Arcane River behind the Gate of the Present. Having gained the power to control the Erdas from the Goddesses of Maple World, Grandis, and Tynerum, the Adversary entered the Arcane River in order to reach the Black Mage awaiting them at the end. Soon after, enormous black chains began appearing throughout Maple World, prompting the Alliance to mobilize its forces into the Arcane River at once. As the Adversary traveled through each new region, they began sending letters to the Alliance detailing everything they had learned. These letters helped the Alliance discover that they needed to find a way to face the Erda monsters in the Arcane River, which could not be damaged easily without the ability to harness Erda. With the help of a magician from Grandis named Melange, the Alliance began harvesting Rue Ore in the Verne Mine and imprinting a disintegration spell upon the ore, allowing Alliance members to break down the Erda barrier around monsters to damage them. The Alliance then sent an advance guard composed of Melange, a Thunder Breaker named Ollie, and a Blaster named Shubert to meet the Adversary and create a dimensional gate between Maple World and the Arcane River.

While the advance party pushed forward, the Cygnus Knights continued investigating the Black Mage's laboratory in Magatia, where they discovered a hidden lake that contained countless prophecies written by the Black Mage about events that would take place centuries after he had first detailed them. These records allowed the Alliance to learn that the Black Mage had foreseen future events, which they hoped to use in order to gain an advantage in the final battle. In particular, they discovered that the combination of the Adversary, the Seal Stone, and the determination of the Alliance together would allow them to achieve victory. As the Alliance built an enormous airfleet to enter the Arcane River, Cygnus continued training her Transcendent powers in order to lead the Alliance to victory. Soon after, the Adversary and the advance guard entered Esfera, the final region of the Arcane River, where they discovered that Will was conducting a ritual to transfer the power of Tana, Grandis's Transcendent of Light, to the Black Mage, thereby allowing him to gain the power of creation and destruction to destroy their old world and create a new one in its place. In the end, however, the Adversary made a crucial choice to spare Tana's life when faced with the decision to kill her and stop the ritual, allowing the Black Mage to take her powers.

As the Alliance prepared to launch its fleet to Tenebris, the Black Sun created by the Black Mage as his stronghold, an emergency mission was held to recover Tana's necklace in Sellas, which the Alliance believed would prove useful in the final battle. The Alliance then launched the airfleet to Tenebris, with Athena Pierce remaining behind on Maple World to defend the land from the Black Mage's forces alongside the remaining Alliance members. In Moonbridge, the Alliance faced off against the Giant Monster Gloom, who laid waste to the Alliance's fleet before being defeated by the Adversary and Cygnus, whose Transcendent powers had grown stronger alongside Shinsoo's own power. By accessing Gloom's core, the Alliance discovered that the Black Mage intended to create a new world to free the world from its predetermined destiny created by the Overseers. Nevertheless, they continued pushing forward into Tenebris as the Adversary was trapped in the Labyrinth of Suffering at the hands of Hilla. However, with the help of Orchid - who sought revenge on the Black Mage for manipulating the events which had led to Lotus's death - the Adversary broke free of Hilla's illusion and pushed forward into Limina, using Tana's necklace as a guide to reach her and the Black Mage.

Meanwhile, the Alliance faced off against an Erda giant created from the Arcane River's waters, with the Black Mage residing in the Genesis Crux at the giant's heart, where he intended to carry out the Genesis Ritual. Though the giant's Light of Annihilation vaporized countless Alliance soldiers, the Alliance nevertheless remained united in their struggle as Cygnus led the Adversary and the greatest heroes of the Alliance aboard the Alliance flagship, the White Spear, straight into the giant's heart. There, the Alliance's heroes fought the Black Mage, who prepared to carry out the Genesis Ritual. However, the Adversary and the Alliance's collective determination allowed them to awaken the power of the Seal Stone, killing the Black Mage and stopping the Genesis Ritual once and for all. In the end, the Black Mage used the power of creation to bring back the fallen Alliance soldiers as a blessing to the future that the Adversary would create, believing that they would carry on his ideals to free the world from unjust powers. Following the battle, the Alliance sent out a task force to locate Orchid, who had disappeared after the final battle, with Guwaru refusing to cooperate with the Alliance to reveal her location.

Facing Gerand Darmoor

The Glory Guard

In the aftermath of the battle, the Alliance was left bereft of funds and resources due to the war effort and the cost of rebuilding Maple World. In order to handle future threats, Cygnus proposed creating a small, elite team called the Glory Guard, composed of the Alliance's most talented people, including the Adversary. The Glory Guard was then mobilized for missions to Grandis, as the Alliance intended to keep their word to the Nova and assist them in their mission to liberate Grandis from Gerand Darmoor and the High Flora.

Genesis Weapon

After the Black Mage's death, the Alliance recovered the Genesis Weapon from inside the giant's heart. Believing that the Black Mage had left it behind for the Adversary, the Alliance worked with the Adversary to unlock the Genesis Weapon's true power by defeating afterimages of the Black Mage and his Commanders. The Adversary successfully unlocked the Genesis Weapon's true power, which allowed them to wield a portion of the Black Mage's power of creation and destruction. Through defeating the Commanders' afterimages, they also learned that the Black Mage opposed the Overseers and Gerand Darmoor alike, and that he had intended for the Adversary to finish what he could not.

Convergence

Following the Black Mage's defeat, Will was captured in Esfera and escorted to Ereve's prison. While under interrogation, WIll gave Grendel the Really Old a special core containing the Black Mage's thoughts. Under the influence of the core, Grendel traveled across the Arcane River in search of the truth about the Transcendents' purpose, with the Adversary and Grendel's apprentices, Lily and Elwin, chasing him. During the mission, they discovered that Lucid had fallen into a coma after the Adversary had defeated her in Lachelein, with the Alliance capturing her and handing her over to Elluel under the jurisdiction of Mercedes. By the end of the mission, Grendel and the others learned that the Transcendents had been created to keep the Ancient Gods in eternal slumber, and that Maple World and Grandis had originally been one world before the Overseers had split them apart. However, with Maple World's Transcendents all but gone, the dimensional boundary between the two worlds had grown paper thin, with Grendel destroying the seal between the worlds to complete the convergence. Immediately after, volatile Sol Erda were created from the dimensional collision, overwhelming the Goddesses with their destructive energy. After the Adversary learned to control the Sol Erda and averted the crisis, Grendel was arrested by the Alliance for his role in breaking the dimensional seal, after which he was placed in Alliance custody in Ereve.

Cernium

After the convergence of Maple World and Grandis, Prince Carlisle of Cernium crossed the forgotten sea and requested the Alliance's help in protecting Cernium from the High Flora. Believing it to be a good opportunity to learn more about the Ancient Gods' power, the Alliance dispatched the Glory Guard to aid Cernium. In Cernium, the Glory Guard began researching the power of the Ancient Gods with the help of a High Flora librarian named Aaron, who had turned against his people. With Aaron's help, the Alliance learned more about how the power of the Seal Stones - known in the past as the Godspheres - had resulted in the creation of Adversaries who had sealed the gods away during the Ancient War. During this time, the Alliance also learned that Gerand Darmoor had cast a powerful magical aura across Western Grandis to weaken those above a certain threshold of power. In order to combat this aura, the Alliance developed Sacred Symbols using the power of the Erdas, allowing the Glory Guard to face the High Flora with their full power. The Alliance then fought the Flora army, led by the Apostle Havoc, who used his demon powers to attack Cernium. However, with the help of Seren - a Celestial who wielded the holy sword of the Sun God Mitra - Havoc and the High Flora were repelled from the city. In the aftermath of the battle, however, Aaron revealed himself to be Darmoor and forced Mitra to possess Seren. Recognizing the Adversary's Seal Stone as the same power which had sealed him away, Mitra began to attack the Adversary, who barely managed to shatter the holy sword to break the possession. Darmoor then took advantage of the Adversary's injured state to shatter the Seal Stone inside of them, destroying the Alliance's only weapon against higher beings.

Hotel Arcus

Several months after the battle of Cernium, the Alliance discovered a lead on the Ancient Gods' powers in the Arcus desert. The Glory Guard was dispatched to Hotel Arcus, where they raced against Senya Angler of the Angler Company to uncover the power of the gods hidden in the desert. Though Senya managed to seize control of the divine superweapons beneath the hotel, Archelon - an Ancient God whose consciousness resided in the robotic hotel bartender - was able to take back control of the superweapons before revealing that his true body was an enormous turtle that slumbered beneath the desert. After Senya retreated, the Seekers of Grandis - adventurers who sought traces of the Ancient Gods - returned to the hotel, with the Alliance gaining new sources of information in the form of both the Seekers and Archelon himself.

Astra Sub Weapon

Following the mission to Hotel Arcus, the Alliance arrested a small-winged cat selling strange and impractical weapon in Maple World. As the cat claimed to be an Ancient God, the Adversary and Neinheart traveled to Hotel Arcus, where Archelon confirmed that the cat was a god named Erion, a legendary craftsman who had produced countless artifacts, relics, and weapons for the gods during the Ancient War, including the Holy Sword Azor wielded by Mitra and his Chosen Ones. Upon learning of the Adversary's nature as a godslayer, Erion begged for his life, causing Neinheart to leverage the moment by tasking Erion to create a weapon for the Adversary in exchange for his freedom. After the Adversary gathered the necessary materials, Erion was able create a weapon for the Adversary, which he called the Astra Sub Weapon. Though Neinheart released Erion from Alliance custody after the end of their deal, Erion - having found his passion for craftsmanship after making a weapon for someone who appreciated his talents - refused to leave his cell, for which Neinheart instead gave Erion his own workshop and appointed him the Alliance's special weapons expert.

Karote

In the months following the battle of Tenebris, the Alliance slowly began to lose its purpose without a common enemy to unite them. Though it still remained standing, many in the Alliance - unwilling to see the threat of the High Flora as critical - focused instead on the rebuilding effort, leaving the Cygnus Knights to continue championing the cause, with Neinheart believing that a new Grandis-based alliance would be needed to keep the fight going. While gathering information from the Seekers, the Cygnus Knights learned that an ancient tower called Karote was home to a secret that even the gods feared. Believing that this secret could help them find a new weapon against Gerand Darmoor, the Glory Guard scaled the tower with the help of a Seeker named Nicky. During their ascent up the tower, the Glory Guard discovered that in the ancient past, there was a floating laboratory called Odium, which had mass-produced countless artificially-created Adversaries as weapons against the gods. At the top of Karote, the Alliance learned that Nicky was Nicky Angler of the Angler Company, and that his father was a failed test subject of Odium who sought to reach the laboratory and prove that he was not a failure by becoming an Adversary. Nicky then hacked into Guardian Kalos, who guarded the entrance to Odium, and used the sentinel to fight the Adversary. The resulting battle destroyed the tower, causing Nicky to plummet to his presumed death. Meanwhile, the Glory Guard was rescued by Cosim - Nicky and Senya's brother who had turned against his family.

Twilight Eve Festival

While the Alliance treated Cosim's injuries, the power of time began manifesting across the Arcus desert. Believing it to be the power of Chronica, Grandis's Transcendent of Time, the Alliance dispatched the Adversary and the Guardians of Time to investigate. In a hidden valley, they discovered the remote village of Evernia, whose people sought to resurrect Chronica through the Twilight Eve Festival. Hoping to gain a new ally in the form of Chronica, the Alliance assisted the Evernians with their mission to gather the Sands of Time and open a gateway to the prison dimension where Gerand Darmoor had sealed Chronica many years ago. During this time, Will - who had escaped from prison after giving the core to Grendel - attempted to enter Chronica's dimension, where Chronica confronted him, though the aftermath of their meeting remained unknown.

Odium

From Cosim, the Alliance learned that the Angler Company had invaded Odium after the path to the laboratory had been opened. The Glory Guard set out to enter Odium, where they faced off against the Angler Company and the Apostle Kaling. During the battle, the Glory Guard - with the help of the great sage, Master Tai Yu - entered the heart of the laboratory, where they discovered that Hundun, one of Kaling's Four Perils, had been forcibly fused with a Godsphere that powered Odium's systems. With his life dependent on the Godsphere's power cycling through him, Hundun put an end to his existence by giving the Godsphere to the Adversary. As they claimed the Godsphere, however, the spirit of the First Adversary inside the relic tested the Adversary's resolve in a fierce battle. After the Adversary proved themselves, however, they successfully claimed the Godsphere before Tai Yu opened up a gateway to Shangri-La, where the elders of Grandis had imprisoned themselves after the end of the Ancient War.

Shangri-La

In Shangri-La, the Adversary met with the elders, who were shocked to learn that the Adversary had killed the Black Mage without succumbing to the predetermined death that all Adversaries faced after fulfilling the purpose they had been made for. Upon learning that Gerand Darmoor had shattered their Seal Stone, the elders believed that Darmoor had purposefully destroyed the Seal Stone to change the Adversary's destiny. During this time, Kaling and her three Perils broke into Shangri-La with the help of six elders who had joined Darmoor in exchange for his help in escaping the Overseers' will forced upon them. The Adversary then fought and defeated Kaling before their Godsphere absorbed her power. After Kaling's death, the six remaining elders revealed that the Godsphere which they held was the World Heart - the original relic upon which the inferior Godspheres had been mass-produced. As the one true relic of the Overseers, the World Heart had the ability to drain the power of the gods, reacting to Darmoor's Transcendent power inside Kaling to absorb her energy. As the World Heart had lost most of its power as Odium's battery, the Adversary decided to undergo a quest to restore the World Heart's power by encountering Ancient Gods and Transcendents, as well as to learn how to awaken its true potential, which not even the elders themselves had managed.

Battleship Arteria

During the battle of Shangri-La, the High Flora launched an invasion of Maple World under the command of the Apostle Reina, who descended upon Ereve aboard the battleship Arteria. After the Glory Guard returned from Shangri-La, they quickly moved to defend Ereve as Reina kidnapped Cygnus and attempted to drain her Transcendent powers. As the battle commenced, Shinsoo returned to Ereve and gave the Adversary a portion of her divine power, revealing herself to be an Ancient God. The Adversary and the Glory Guard then boarded Arteria and attempted to rescue Cygnus, whose power was stolen by Reina. In the battle, however, the Adversary was gravely injured, with Cygnus taking a mortal blow in their place. As the Alliance - reinforced by the Resistance - surrounded Reina, the High Flora detonated a Vision Bomb in order to help the Flora officers escape. In the aftermath, Cygnus fell into a coma and was placed under Shinsoo's care in Leafre. Shinsoo told the Adversary that only the power of the gods could save Cygnus, for which she surrender the remainder of her power to the World Heart. Following the battle, the Alliance began investigating Arteria and questioning its troops to learn more about the enemy. Neinheart then told the Adversary that though the Alliance had been on the verge of dissolution, Cygnus's commitment to protect all of Maple World, even while Ereve had been under siege, had rallied the people together, as they now understood the High Flora to be a real threat.

The Dark Sea

As the Alliance prepared to hold an emergency conference, Neinheart authorized a special mission for the Glory Guard to investigate the Dark Sea for traces of the Ancient Gods. As they needed a magician who understood ancient magic, Grendel the Really Old was temporarily released from his incarceration to aid the Glory Guard with their mission. In the depths of the Dark Sea, the Glory Guard faced off against an Ancient God of illusion named Malefic Star, who sought to devour their life force. The Adversary was able to defeat Malefic Star, who revealed that she was only a clone of her true body, before the World Heart absorbed her power. Following the mission, Neinheart resolved to look into gods of illusion and planned to keep a closer eye on Grendel, unsure of whether the magician was truly free of the Black Mage's influence.

Carcion

After the expedition to the Dark Sea, an emergency Alliance meeting was held to determine the Alliance's next move after the High Flora invasion. To prevent Darmoor from taking the power of the gods, the Alliance decided to use the Adversary and the World Heart in order to recover that power before Darmoor could get his hands on it. The Alliance then dispatched the Glory Guard to Carcion, where the Apostle Limbo was attempting to take the power of the river goddess Keira. The Alliance worked together alongside the feuding snake and turtle Anima of Carcion to face the Specter army, during which time they learned that the traitorous elders of Shangri-La who had escaped the realm of the sages during Kaling's invasion were attempting to conduct experiments on kidnapped Anima. The Glory Guard and the Anima then faced off against Limbo, who had stolen Keira's power for himself. After defeating Limbo, the Alliance began questioning him and learned from him that the elders' experiments were allegedly a mere pastime for Darmoor, as the High Flora's true goal was the extermination of all other races. Before they could detain Limbo, however, Havoc appeared to rescue Limbo and take Keira's power before retreating.

Following the mission, the Adversary - having gained greater mastery over the World Heart - resolved to learn how to control it fully and learned from Keira how to fill the World Heart with more divine power, either by defeating a higher being or having one surrender their power willingly. Meanwhile, Prince Carlisle met with the Alliance and reported that the Apostles were conducting raids across Grandis to steal the power of the Ancient Gods. These targeted attacks had caused great turmoil in Grandis, giving many people a reason to rise up against the High Flora. Carlisle revealed that amongst these groups was the Primacy: a militia working to overthrow Darmoor and restore peace to Grandis. Carlisle explained that Seren, while working to restore the holy sword, had allegedly met the Primacy, and that she had asked the Adversary to meet her at "the place where the world starts again". Though Neinheart wondered whether the group that Seren had met was truly the Primacy, he nevertheless resolved to look into the meeting place, hoping that the Alliance and the Primacy could join forces against their common enemy.

Proof of a Radiant Hero

In order to bolster the strength of the Alliance, Neinheart commissioned the Magician Association with devising a method to bring out the potential of Alliance members. By basing their research on the holy relics of the Ancient Gods, the Magician Association hoped to create a mortal-made magical artifact, which they intended to imbue with the Adversary's unique abilities. By extracting a portion of the Adversary's strength, the Magician Association created an artifact called the Proof of a Radiant Hero, which they intended to mass-produce in order to make the Alliance's members stronger.

Extradimensional Visitors

Soon after the mission to Carcion, the Primacy contacted the Adversary and brought them to their headquarters inside the dimensional toad, Tirnog. There, the Alliance learned that the Primacy had formed an alliance with an Ancient God named Gob, who had been close friends with Archelon and had created Archelon's robot body in the past. Gob revealed that Gerand Darmoor had stolen most of his power, and that he had allied with the Primacy for his own protection. As the hideout had recently been attacked by an Apostle, the Primacy asked the Alliance for their help in repairing the dimensional machine. Though the Primacy was deeply mistrustful of the Alliance, believing that a foreign faction had no business aiding Grandis, they nevertheless decided to keep a close eye on the Adversary in the future. After repairs were completed, the Primacy prepared to head out on their next mission at the Grave of the Gods.

Tallahart

After making initial contact with the Primacy, the Alliance continued looking into "the place where the world starts again", with their research pointing to Tallahart, the Grave of the Gods. The Glory Guard set out to investigate Tallahart, where they worked alongside an Ancient God named Luce, who was trying to reach her sealed sister, Noctis, as well as the Primacy, who were trying to take the power of the gods to create weapons against the High Flora. As the Alliance needed the godly power for the World Heart, the Glory Guard made a deal with the Primacy to lend the Adversary as a weapon in exchange for allowing the Alliance to keep the power of the gods. In Tallahart, the Primacy and the Glory Guard fought against the Knights of the Einherjar, who were also attempting to take the power of Tallahart's gods under the command of the Apostle Baldrix. During the mission, Baldrix met with the Adversary and learned that the World Heart was reaching completion faster than anticipated. For this reason, Baldrix allowed the Adversary to take the power of Tallahart's gods, allowing them to break the seal on the supreme goddess Noctis. Before leaving the Adversary to face Noctis, Baldrix revealed that Gerand Darmoor would soon order a great culling to take place, which would prune away all unworthy lives. After Baldrix retreated, Noctis emerged from her seal and attempted to fight the Adversary until she learned that they had tried to protect her twin sister, Luce, who had been killed and drained of her power by Baldrix. In exchange for Luce's drained power, which had been recovered by the Adversary, Noctis surrendered her own power, as well as the remaining power of Tallahart's gods, before leaving to find a way to resurrect her sister. Meanwhile, the Glory Guard reported what they had learned to the Alliance, which began preparing for the great culling.

Morning Star Banquet

Soon after the battle in Tallahart, the Primacy reached out to the Alliance for a joint mission to infiltrate Gerand Darmoor's imperial villa in Aboris, where the Apostles would be meeting at the Morning Star Banquet. With the help of Gob, the Adversary disguised themselves and began spying on the Apostles, many of whom had received new orders for a mission that quite a few High Flora were having doubts over. Having learned a great deal of information, the Adversary left the banquet and reported their findings to the Alliance.

Phantasmal Investigation

While investigating Tallahart for more information, the Alliance began interrogating a captured Knight of the Einherjar and learned more about the knighthood and its history. Though the knight had no information about the great culling, the Alliance believed that such a wide-scale operation would be detected easily once the Apostles began to move out. Through their investigation, the Alliance also learned that purpose of the magical aura spread across Western Grandis by Gerand Darmoor had been to weaken the power of the Ancient Gods so that the Apostles could easily take their powers as the gods began awakening. Soon after, the Adversary picked up a message from an Ancient God who sought to unite the remaining gods against Darmoor before he could take their power. With the help of Gob, the Adversary learned that the identity of this god was Jupiter, described by Gob as a troublemaker. The Adversary reported the news to the Alliance, which planned to investigate Jupiter while also hoping to recruit Gob into the Alliance.

Organization

Headquarters

As a world-wide alliance comprised of warriors from multiple dimensions, the Maple Alliance's headquarters are based in Ereve, the capital of Maple World, where nearly all Alliance meetings are held. During the battle of Tenebris, however, the Alliance created the Outpost: a floating island near Ereve that served as the central base for the Alliance as they advanced on the Black Sun. Although the Outpost was initially used for a time during the Alliance's early missions to Grandis, it was soon abandoned as the Alliance began to fracture, resulting in Ereve becoming the primary base of operations. Though Ereve was protected by the power of Shinsoo, her departure from the island and the growing threat of the High Flora resulted in the Cygnus Knights bolstering Ereve's defenses by creating a protective shield with four barrier stones, similar to the Protective Shield of the Nova powered by the four sacred stones. The Operations Center currently serves as the headquarters and meeting point of the Alliance, which has been outfitted with turret defenses and a holographic map of the city.

Leadership and Military

The Maple Alliance was founded and led by Empress Cygnus, who served as the Alliance's leader until she was rendered comatose at the battle of Arteria. Cygnus served as the supreme commander of the Alliance's army and navy, successfully leading the Alliance airfleet during the battles of Black Heaven and Tenebris. After Cygnus was left indisposed, the Alliance is currently being led by Neinheart, the chief strategist of the Cygnus Knights and the Alliance. However, in the aftermath of the Arteria invasion, Neinheart nearly revealed to the Adversary that he believed them to be the only real choice to succeed Cygnus as the Alliance's new leader, though he stopped himself before finishing his sentence. Although Cygnus served as the central leader for the Alliance, the leaders of each independent faction that had joined the Alliance - such as the Explorers, the Resistance, the Nova, etc - each serve as members of the Alliance's overall leadership, with each leader having a voice on all Alliance matters. The Alliance leaders frequently meet during critical operations, working in tandem to lead their own forces into battle. However, the usage of Alliance resources is restricted only to operations pertaining to the Alliance's mission to protect its members from enemy forces. One example of this was when Kyrin, while stranded and besieged in Carcion during a voyage, was unable to mobilize Alliance resources to assist her, as her voyage was an independent excursion made as the captain of the Nautilus, rather than an Alliance leader.

The Alliance's military is comprised of the soldiers of each faction. Although each faction's forces works under their respective faction's leader, these forces all adhere to a chain of command, with the top Alliance officers having the authority to issue commands or lead them on missions. Until the battle of Tenebris, the Alliance boasted an enormous military and navy, with enough resources to launch a full-scale operation against the Black Mage. Following the battle, however, the Alliance fell into near bankruptcy due to the cost of the war and the rebuilding effort. Because of this, the Alliance created the Glory Guard: an elite team of powerful Alliance warriors who can operate in small-scale missions to Grandis during the fight against Gerand Darmoor. During the Arteria invasion, however, the Alliance began rebuilding its military and navy to deal with the High Flora threat, slowly increasing the scope of its operations in order to gather intelligence and form alliances with other friendly factions.

Membership

Organizations
Afinas • Angler Company • Aurora • Black Mage Commanders • Black Wings • Devil Clan • Drakas • Ebonstar • Four Heavenly Kings • Gerand Darmoor Apostles • Knights of the Einherjar • Magician Association • Maple Alliance • Primacy • PULSAR • Seekers • Shadowdealers • Silent Crusade
  1. ↑ Following the battle of Cernium, Lady Syl no longer appears to take part in Alliance leadership meetings.
  2. ↑ Following the battle of Cernium, Lilin no longer appears to take part in Alliance leadership meetings.
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