Darius

Darius
Title	Guardian
Gender	Male
Race	Verdant Flora
Affiliations	Verdant Flora (formerly) Sinaria Gerand Darmoor
Minions	Sinaria
Enemies	Illium
Status	Alive
Name (Other Servers)
KoreaMS	다이어스 (Dyus; Daieoseu)
JapanMS	ダイアス (Dyus; Daiasu)
TaiwanMS	黛伊歐斯 (Dàiyīōusī)
MapleSEA	Dyus
Voice Actors
GlobalMS	Sean Chiplock
KoreaMS	Hyeon Lee

Darius is a Guardian of the Verdant Flora who betrayed his people to Gerand Darmoor. Resenting the Verdant Flora's dependence on machinery, Darius seeks to obtain the Elder Crystal for Darmoor in exchange for regaining his natural Flora magic.

Story

Guardian of the Verdant Flora

After the Verdant Flora were stripped of their magic and exiled by the High Flora, the God of the Verdant Flora created mechanical wings, allowing the Verdant Flora to utilize magic again. Nevertheless, there were some amongst the Verdant Flora who believed that their reliance on machines defiled the purity of Flora magic. In the years preceding the Flora Civil War, a rising divide amongst the Verdant Flora arose, with those who believed in the racial supremacy of the Flora seeking to regain their magic. After the Verdant Flora were nearly decimated in the battle of Aboris, Agate - the disciple of the God of the Verdant Flora - brought the survivors to a pocket dimension called Sanctuary, where the Verdant Flora rebuilt their society and lived in secrecy. In this new society, Agate abolished the caste system of the Flora and instead created a new system of Seekers, Guardians, and Engineers. Agate served as the leader of the Seekers, while Darius and Curly became the heads of the Guardians and Engineers, respectively. Despite this, however, Darius staunchly believed that the Verdant Flora needed to unite with the High Flora and regain their innate magical abilities.

Decades after the fall of Aboris, Darius left Sanctuary and made contact with Gerand Darmoor, beseeching the God-King with restoring his wings in exchange for the Elder Crystal created by the God of the Verdant Flora. During this time, Darius and his fellow leaders continued watching over Sanctuary and often patrolled in Savage Terminal, where the pocket dimension was located. During one such occasion, Agate met with Darius and Curly and asked them whether they had seen anything during their patrol. Curly reported that he had overheard a conversation earlier about someone having sighted a High Flora in Savage Terminal. Agate grew concerned and asked if the rumor was true, but Curly believed that it was likely a Verdant Flora because their wings had been reported to be mechanical, making the others realize that someone had illegally left Sanctuary. Agate asked Darius to investigate and to ensure that their safety hadn't been compromised. Just then, one of the Crystal Gate guards contacted Agate and reported that a child had just left Sanctuary. After a brief investigation, they confirmed that the missing child was Illium. Agate told the others that she would find Illium and ordered them to wait for her in Sanctuary. She soon found Illium and his robot, Ex, being attacked by a group of Hoodlums. Ex was worried that Illium's vitals were critically low, but just then, a flash of light emanated from Illium that defeated all the Hoodlums and knocked out the exhausted boy. Agate took Illium and Ex back to Sanctuary, where the boy woke up to Agate and the guards standing over him. Agate asked Illium how old he was, to which he responded that he was 153. She noted that the mytocrystal on the back of his hand was faint for his age, and that his wings lacked a magical aura, meaning that the power that he had exhibited earlier had been much greater than he seemed capable of. Agate told him that leaving Sanctuary was forbidden and asked if he was prepared to accept the consequences. Nevertheless, she was impressed by Illium's engineering abilities and told him that, because of his young age and his mechanical aptitude, she was willing to let him off with a warning. However, as punishment, he would begin courses at the Crystal Academy, much to the shock of both Illium and the guards.

Invasion of Sanctuary

Soon after, Darius met with Agate and asked her what she had been thinking by rewarding Illium for behavior that could have endangered all the Verdant Flora. He warned her that Illium's actions could have resulted in their discovery, or worse, the loss of the Elder Crystal, and suggested that they strengthen security around it by stationing more guards. Agate assured him that the Elder Crystal was safe before greeting Illium, whom she had noticed standing outside. With that, she asked Darius to take his leave. Over the next several months, Darius worked to take the Elder Crystal by hijacking the training robots in the Crystal Academy, though Illium managed to destroy the robots as soon as they began malfunctioning. As the Festival of the Gods approached, Illium began working on a mechanical statue to celebrate the God of the Verdant Flora. Darius then appeared and scoffed at Illium's efforts, calling him a low-level engineer. He ordered Illium to throw away his project immediately, claiming that it was an affront to the Gods of the Flora. Nevertheless, Illium continued working on his statue and soon sensed the Elder Crystal glowing nearby. As he approached it, the light that it gave off in response to Illium's presence significantly increased. Against Ex's recommendations, he touched the Elder Crystal, causing a strong magical reaction. Just then, Agate appeared and chastised Illium for using Academy crystals without permission. After she left, Illium wondered why Agate had been unnecessarily harsh. Unbeknownst to him, Darius had been watching in secret.

After the festival, Darius opened several Crystal Gates into Sanctuary, allowing the Specter army to invade. Curly asked Darius how he could have betrayed his people, to which Darius explained that he would rather destroy everything than see the future tainted by the abominations created by engineers such as Curly.  Agate and the other professors rushed to the school entrance, where Darius told Agate that all of it could have been avoided if she had only handed over the Elder Crystal to him without a fight. The other professors tried to tell Agate that it was too late to save Sanctuary, but Agate refused to give up hope. She ordered the students to take shelter from the Specters, just as Illium rushed outside to see the situation. He told Agate that he could help, but Agate told him that he could do more good by protecting his friends. The students then rushed into the school and barricaded themselves inside, but Specters still managed to enter the halls. The students then watched in amazement as Illium single-handedly drove back the Specters with the help of Ex and Machina. They all wondered how Specters could have entered the school and briefly wondered whether the professors had been defeated. However, Illium refused to believe it, claiming that Agate was stronger than that. Just then, a wounded Agate arrived, and Ex noted that her magic was dangerously out of balance, likely from excessive energy expenditure. Against Illium's protests that she needed healing, Agate opened a Crystal Gate for the students to escape through. All the students disappeared through the gate except for Illium, who continued to stay behind. He asked Agate if she was coming with them, but just then, Darius appeared with the Specter army. Illium jumped in front of Agate, promising to protect her. However, Darius began charging up an attack that Ex noted would be fatal to them, and so Agate pushed Illium aside and blocked the attack single-handedly. Darius was shocked that Agate still possessed such power in spite of her exhaustion and immediately retreated.

Facing Illium

After Agate succumbed to her injuries, Illium fused with the God of the Verdant Flora's consciousness within the Elder Crystal and awakened his magical abilities. Following the fall of Sanctuary, Illium led his friends to Maple World in order to find the Sanctuary of the Ancient God and awaken the Elder Crystal's true power. Unbeknownst to Illium, however, one of his classmates - Sinaria - had secretly allied with Darius, who had convinced Sinaria that the only path to glory was by reuniting with the High Flora. Throughout Illium's journey, Sinaria worked with Darius to take the Elder Crystal, including bringing in a swarm of Specters to Ereve. Some time later, Sinaria contacted Illium and reported that a Crystal Gate had been sighted in Minar Forest, and so the students all split up to search the area. Illium, Sinaria, and Morian searched the Burning Forest with Ex and Machina, but they were unable to find any trace of it. Suddenly, a horde of Specters arrived, and Sinaria rushed towards them. Illium warned that it was too dangerous, but he was shocked to see that the Specters obeyed him. Just then, Darius arrived and stood beside Sinaria. He greeted Illium and told him that once he took the Elder Crystal and presented it to Gerand Darmoor, the Verdant Flora and the High Flora would reunite and achieve glory and power comparable to that of the ancient Flora, allowing them to rule all of Grandis. As Illium moved to attack, Darius used his magic to freeze him, Morian, Ex, and Machina in place.

Darius then revealed that he had allowed Illium and the other students to escape Sanctuary, as he needed the Elder Crystal's power to mature while Illium trained in Maple World. Sinaria then told Illium that there was only one future - that which recognized the Flora as the superior race - and implored him to see that he and Darius were working for the future of the Flora. Darius added that he had underestimated Illium, as he could never have imagined that Illium was the heir to the God of the Verdant Flora's power. He invited Illium to join them in creating a new future for the Verdant Flora, claiming that they would be unstoppable together. However, Illium refused and told Darius that his vision of the future went against everything that Agate and the others had given their lives for. Realizing that he couldn't convince Illium, Darius attempted to seize the Elder Crystal for himself. However, Illium broke free of Darius' spell and defeated the entire Specter army with his full power. Furious, Darius vowed that he would never give up and disappeared with Sinaria. Some time later, at the Aboris Royal Palace, a High Flora Priest reported to Gerand Darmoor that Darius had failed them and asked what could be done. Darmoor replied by saying, “The meaningless struggle of immature life… What a pathetic existence.”

NPC

Darius
Location	None

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  NPC Portrait of Darius
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  NPC Portrait of Darius
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  NPC Portrait of Darius
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  NPC Portrait of Darius
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  NPC Portrait of Darius