Archelon

Archelon
Robot BodyOriginal Body
Title	Captain (self-assigned)
Current Residence	Hotel Arcus
Gender	Male
Race	Ancient God (Main Body: Turtle; Secondary Body: Robot)
Emblem	Turtle
Affiliations	Gob Rusty Adversary Maple Alliance
Minions	Hotel Arcus robots
Enemies	Angler Company Gerand Darmoor
Status	Alive
Name (Other Servers)
MapleSEA	Achelon

Archelon is an Ancient God whose consciousness resides within a robotic body. His original body - an immense, fortress-like turtle - resides beneath Hotel Arcus. Archelon, in his robotic body, currently works in Hotel Arcus as an assistant to Rusty.

Story

The Ancient War

In the beginning, the Primordial God made 365 creations with 365 laws. From these 365 creations that made up the world, powerful beings appeared that would one day be known as the Ancient Gods. Amongst them was Archelon, an immense turtle-like creature. Unlike many of the other Ancient Gods, Archelon did not subjugate and rule over mortals. As he had long been curious about the human heart, Archelon asked his friend and fellow god, Gob, to construct a robotic form so that he could live alongside mortals. After the construction of his robot body, Archelon transferred his consciousness into it, after which his physical form fell asleep. In order to protect his slumbering body, Gob constructed a massive fortress, along with superweapons in the form of large robots. Gob used his divine power to create these robots, thereby making them invulnerable to any attack which did not contain the power of higher beings. These pieces of magical technology were linked to Archelon's robotic body, allowing him to control them.

Eventually, the Primordial God - unable to abide the chaos in the universe - created the Overseers to establish order in the universe. To this end, the Overseers tasked the elders of Grandis with creating beings known as the Adversaries. Imbued with the divine power of relics known as the Godspheres, the Adversaries began a war to defeat the Ancient Gods. After a fierce struggle, the Adversaries successfully defeated the Ancient Gods. Following the end of the war, the Overseers created the Transcendents in order to suppress the Ancient Gods, who all fell into dormancy - with the sole exception of Shinsoo. Though Archelon's physical body had long since fallen asleep beneath the deserts of Grandis, the power of the Transcendents suppressed his abilities as an Ancient God, with Gob's superweapons losing their power as well. Additionally, Archelon's robotic body became merely a normal robot, without any of Archelon's memories as a god. However, Gob kept a screw from Archelon's robot form safe until the day that the Ancient Gods would reawaken.

Hotel Arcus

Over the centuries, Archelon's fortress, which stood atop where his physical body had fallen asleep underground - was converted into a hotel called Hotel Arcus. The hotel was created specifically for the Seekers - adventurers who sought ancient artifacts across Grandis. During this time, Archelon worked at the hotel and aided the hotel owners to serve the Seekers, along with many smaller robots who had originally been created as part of the ancient underground fortress. Over time, however, the Seekers stopped coming to Hotel Arcus and many people who lived in the town slowly began to leave. Around the time that the Interdimensional Portal on Maple World reappeared, Archelon worked for the father of Rusty, a young boy who helped around the hotel as a mechanic. Archelon grew close to Rusty and would frequently visit the drive-in theater near the hotel, where they would watch the same M-Force movie on loop.

During one such occasion, Archelon asked Rusty to define what 'captain' meant after hearing it in the movie. When Rusty struggled to define the word, Gob - who had survived the Ancient War by hiding inside a pocket dimension - left his hideout and hid Archelon's screw somewhere in Arcus, creating a map in order to lead to its location. He then sought out Rusty at the drive-in theater, where he overheard Archelon asking Rusty to define 'captain' and told Archelon that a captain was 'a defender of justice who protected people'. After introducing himself to Rusty, Gob told him that Archelon used to be impressive in the 'old days' and explained that he had returned because he had believed that it was time, though he now realized that he would need to wait a while longer. Gob then gave Rusty a treasure map and explained that there was nothing more precious in the world to Archelon, whom he called their 'screw-loose friend', hinting at the fact that the map led to the screw which would be able to link Archelon's robot form to his physical body once again.

Some time later, Rusty's father died and left the hotel for Rusty to inherit. After his death, the rest of the town left, as the Seekers hadn't come to Arcus in many years, and the war being waged by the High Flora had cut off communication and travel between nations, leaving Arcus uninhabited. Archelon, unable to understand the concept of death, asked Rusty when 'the larger Rusty' would return, to which Rusty told him that there was no coming back from where his father had gone. Eventually, Kelly - the other hotel mechanic who managed the train - left in order to seek out the Primacy, leaving Rusty alone to manage the hotel.

Archelon Reawakens

After the fusion of Maple World and Grandis, the Alliance sent an expedition to Hotel Arcus in order to investigate the power of the Ancient Gods, following a lead that they had obtained from Cosim. There, the Glory Guard - composed of the Adversary, Belle, and Irena - encountered Archelon, who introduced himself as Captain Archelon. Soon after, Senya Angler arrived at the hotel and told Rusty that she had come to purchase the hotel on behalf of the Angler Company. After Rusty told her that he would think about her offer, the Glory Guard decided to search the desert for leads on the Ancient Gods. Rusty told them about his treasure map, though he couldn't remember where he had gotten it. He told them that the map also had something written on it, which Archelon helpfully supplied was, “It is the slowest of all, but the first to arrive.” After their investigation into the desert resulted in one of the tour guide robots - Toogi - breaking, the Adversary and Irena headed to the drive-in theater in order to obtain a part to repair Toogi, which Archelon told them was where Rusty used to visit before Kelly left.

After the Adversary returned back to the hotel with the part, Archelon poured them a very sandy drink. The Adversary asked him what kind of robot he was, to which Archelon merely replied that he was the captain. He then asked them how he could improve his services, as well as instructions on how to manufacture ‘love' so that he could 'brew with love'. The Adversary attempted to explain that it wasn't possible to manufacture love and elaborated that being able to give up something that was core to one's identity was love. They then asked Archelon why Rusty hadn't sold the hotel yet. Archelon told them that Rusty complained about wanting to leave the hotel five times a day, though he never followed through. Soon after, the Glory Guard and Senya followed the clues from the treasure map onto the train, where they encountered haywire Conductorbots and Houndbots, as well as the local Ironshot gang, the Sandblade Marauders, and the Puxillians, all of whom wanted the treasure. As the Glory Guard recovered the treasure - a thermal detonator - Archelon appeared in order to save Rusty. As he struggled to activate his combat mode, the Ironshot boss attacked Archelon and broke him. Rusty then threw the bomb at the gangs before the Glory Guard retreated. Back at the hotel, Senya repaired both Archelon and Toogi with Angler Company technology, after which Rusty decided to sell her the hotel.

After Rusty left to visit the drive-in theater out of nostalgia, Senya revealed that she had modified both Archelon and Toogi to obey her, revealing that Archelon was in charge of the most vital part of the hotel. She then ordered Archelon to deactivate all the robots in the hotel and activate the hotel defense system. When Archelon failed to do the latter, she asked him to bring up the surveillance system, which he also failed to do. When Senya ordered Toogi to attack the Glory Guard, Toogi refused, causing her to realize that an outdated robot would always remain so at heart. She then ordered her Senyabots to attack the Glory Guard, causing them to defend themselves. She then used the opportunity to order Archelon to activate his aggression mitigation protocol, revealing that the hotel used to be a fortress long ago, and that Archelon was the key to activating an ancient weapon stored underground. Archelon then awakened his relics - the massive robots buried underground - that effortlessly defeated the Glory Guard, as without the Seal Stone, the Adversary had no means of matching the divine power imbued into the superweapons. Meanwhile, Archelon was attempting to resist Senya's commands and override the ancient weapons, but he found that he couldn't do so. When he refused to obey Senya's orders to cease his attempts, she decided that she would simply destroy him and rebuild him again. She then had one of the ancient robots destroy Archelon, much to Rusty's horror.

Rusty sobbed over a broken Archelon, claiming that he never should have sold him to a stranger. He then showed Archelon the rusty screw that he had recovered from within the fragments of the bomb and promised to fix him, just as Senya gave Archelon his final command to self-destruct. Archelon warned Rusty to get away, but Rusty refused, claiming that a defender of justice never abandoned their captain. At his words, Archelon was able to regain control over himself and used the missing screw to instantly repair himself. He then declared that he had been asleep for long enough, and that it was time to wake up, warning Rusty and the others to be wary for falling debris. Archelon then held on to Rusty as his massive, turtle-like physical body awakened, rising into the air and lifting the entire city with it. After his physical body sank back into the ground, Archelon ordered the ancient weapons to return to the ground. Senya was impressed to learn that the entire town had been built on top of a slumbering Ancient God, and that the old screw was the key to awakening him. Realizing that she had been defeated, she decided to retreat before the Glory Guard could stop her.

Back in the hotel, Archelon calculated an exorbitant cost for the Glory Guard's final fee as hotel guests. Belle asked if there was a special discount for friends, but Archelon promptly replied that friendship had no monetary value. However, he decided to take into account that the Adversary had helped him learn about love, allowing him to learn how to ‘brew with love'. He explained that the human heart was something that he had long been curious about, which was why he had originally decided to live alongside humans. He explained that his robotic body had been constructed long ago by an old friend in order to ensure that he wouldn't forget, as well as to ensure his awakening after his physical form fell into a deep sleep. The Glory Guard realized that Archelon had the consciousness of the same Ancient God upon whom the city had been built. Archelon then told Rusty that the hotel's primary clientele, the Seekers, had returned. Belle asked Archelon what the Seekers were searching for, to which he replied that they were searching for ancient artifacts all over the world. As the Glory Guard discreetly slipped away, Rusty watched in amazement as dozens of new guests poured into the hotel. The Seekers marveled at how the hotel was still standing and how it looked just like how their families' stories had described. Some time later, Archelon gave the Adversary a Sacred Symbol and told them that he would give more in exchange for defeating the dangerous monsters around the desert in order to keep it safe for the Seekers, as well as to pay off their exorbitant fees.

Mission to Karote

With the Seekers' return, Rusty informed the Alliance about reports of a tower called Karote, which was also known as the Unending Tower. As it was rumored to hold a secret that even the gods feared, the Glory Guard returned back to Hotel Arcus in order to investigate. At the hotel, the Glory Guard met with Nicky Angler, who had disguised himself as a Seeker in order to have the Adversary complete the tower and open the path to Odium. In order to help them reach Karote, Archelon offered them the Arcus Gate - a portal created through the power of the Ancient Gods, similar to Interdimensional Portal - which could take them anywhere across Grandis. Before the Adversary left, Archelon told them that he had something important to say. He explained that Karote had been built after his original body had fallen into slumber and before his consciousness had awakened in his robot body. He told the Adversary that the intermittent time in which he had been inactive was when the line between good and evil had vanished. He warned them to be careful, as he feared that what awaited them was more difficult than what a human heart could handle.

Mission to Tallahart

While searching for clues about Tallahart, the Adversary met with Archelon in Hotel Arcus. There, they were relieved to know that Archelon was safe from the Apostles' raids on the power of the Ancient Gods. Upon meeting him, the Adversary immediately noticed that his divine power had not yet fully returned, to which Archelon explained that he would remain the eternal captain as long as his consciousness resided within his robotic body, causing the Adversary to realize that Archelon's current body allowed him to mask his power from the High Flora. The Adversary then asked Archelon about Tallahart, to which he began recounting the legend of the Grave of the Gods. He explained that in the beginning, no gods had been worshiped anywhere throughout the world until one powerful god had appeared and reigned over the others. Under that god, many other gods had begun to gather, with mortals eventually coming to worship them all, resulting in the creation of Tallahart. The Adversary was surprised to know that such a powerful god had once existed, recalling the stories of how Tallahart had been destroyed overnight. However, Archelon admitted that he had no knowledge of how Tallahart had been destroyed, though he invited them to use the Arcus Gate to visit the ruins. However, just as he had once warned them during the expedition to Karote, Archelon warned the Adversary that great power would bring about great disaster.

NPC

Hotel Arcus

Hotel Arcus Saloon

Archelon
Quests involved	[Hotel Arcus] 'Til We Meet Again [Daily Quest] Clean Up Around Hotel Arcus
Location	Hotel Arcus Saloon

Renovated Garage

Archelon
Location	Renovated Garage

Hotel Arcus 2nd Floor

Archelon
Location	Hotel Arcus 2nd Floor

Gallery

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  NPC Portrait of Archelon
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  NPC Portrait of Archelon
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  NPC Portrait of Archelon
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  NPC Portrait of Archelon

Trivia

• Archelon is an extinct marine turtle and the largest turtle ever to be documented, which was likely meant to allude to Archelon's physical body being an enormous, fortress-like turtle.