Ebonstar

The symbol of Ebonstar

Ebonstar is a Grandis-based terrorist group that seeks to destroy all traces of the Ancient Gods. Ebonstar allied itself with the High Flora in order to destroy the holy city of Cernium, though they were defeated by the combined efforts of Cernium's knights and the Maple Alliance. Beyond just erasing the memory of the gods, however, Ebonstar's true goal is to aid a Transcendent of another dimension in creating a new world, strongly suggested to be the Black Mage.

History

Origins

Though Ebonstar was an organization which sought to erase the memory of the Ancient Gods, its members were originally devout believers who had awaited the return of the gods after the end of the Ancient War. It was said that these believers had desired the return of the gods more than anyone else, for which they waited countless ages. Eventually, however, a portal unexpectedly appeared on Grandis that led into another world. One believer crossed over into the other world, and after some time, they returned back to Grandis and claimed that the Ancient Gods were gone, and that a Transcendent would pave the way to a new era. This believer, and those who put their faith in him, lost faith in the return of the gods and instead formed Ebonstar. Believing that their gods had forsaken them, the members of Ebonstar vowed to erase all traces of the Ancient Gods and rid their memory from the world. However, Ebonstar's true goal was to serve the Transcendent of the other world and help them create a new world, as the organization's members' desire was for some higher being to take care of them and show them the way ahead, regardless of whether that being was an Ancient God or a Transcendent.

Attack on Cernium

Over the years, Ebonstar began carrying out their mission in Cernium in order to erode the people's faith in the gods. Both outside and inside the city, Ebonstar would stir up trouble by sending small groups of its members, disguised as ordinary citizens, into Cernium and spread discord amongst the city's various quarreling sects by preaching their message and sending pamphlets denouncing the gods. After the fall of High Mountain, one of the last surviving Celestials named Roland lost his faith in Mitra after the Sun God had not shown up to protect his people when Havoc had laid waste to their homeland. Because of this, Roland joined Ebonstar and rose through the ranks, intent on destroying Mitra's religion altogether. As the High Flora army began spreading its forces across Grandis, Ebonstar formed an alliance with them to siege the city and destroy it.

Under Roland's command, the soldiers of Ebonstar began moving closer to the city, attacking the knights of the Order of Mitra from outside the borders, while others snuck into the city and began preparing to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack on Cernium. Ebonstar began to steal holy water from the Dawn Priests and black powder from the Flame Priests, intending to combine the two substances to create an extremely large explosion within the city walls. As they conducted their mission, Prince Carlisle called upon the Maple Alliance to protect Cernium from Ebonstar and the High Flora. As the Alliance began investigating Ebonstar, they also began researching the legend of the Chosen One, who was said to be the only one capable of wielding the holy sword of Mitra to smite down evil. The Adversary worked with a Celestial named Seren, who served as the guardian of the holy sword, to locate the Chosen One.

During their investigation, Seren and the Adversary came across Roland, who had served alongside Seren during the fall of High Mountain. Believing Roland to be the Chosen One, Seren entreated him to return back to the faith and wield the holy sword, though Roland refused and denounced Mitra. As Roland and Seren faced each other, Carlisle and Edea discovered Ebonstar's hideout from one of Carlisle's spies within the organization. There, they discovered Ebonstar's plan to bomb the temples of Spisa and Nerota, which would cause the two sects to turn on each other and pave the way for the High Flora army to storm the city. The Alliance quickly moved to stop Ebonstar from carrying out its plan, and though Seren was nearly successful in stopping the detonation, Roland sacrificed himself to ensure that the explosion would take place.

Ebonstar and the High Flora then sieged Cernium as the city gates fell, though the Alliance was able to temporarily repel them. Nevertheless, the siege of Cernium continued under the leadership of Havoc. As the High Flora continued to gain ground, the Alliance continued its efforts to find the Chosen One, eventually leading them to discover that Havoc had captured a Celestial named Gilmore, who had once been Seren's commanding officer, with Havoc presenting proof that Gilmore was indeed the Chosen One. However, they quickly learned that Gilmore had sided with the High Flora in order to take possession of the holy sword, for which he had undergone experiments to be turned into a special Specter to trick the holy sword into believing him to be the Chosen One.

As Edea pieced together the truth, Ebonstar agents were dispatched to eliminate her before she could discover the High Flora's deception. Nevertheless, Edea was able to prove that Gilmore was a fake, with Seren eventually taking possession of the sword and awakening as the true Chosen One, using Mitra's divine power to defeat Havoc in combat. Seren's victory rallied the Alliance and Cernium together, which successfully drove off Ebonstar and the High Flora army. Following the battle, Carlisle continued his investigation into Ebonstar and learned from his spy within the organization's ranks about Ebonstar's origins and true purpose.

Known Members

Roland Deceased

Carlisle's Ebonstar spy Alive

Trivia

• It is heavily implied that the Transcendent whom Ebonstar serves is the Black Mage:
  • The portal which appeared on Grandis is very likely to be an Interdimensional Portal, which leads to Maple World.
  • In KMS, Ebonstar is known as the Black Sun, similar to Tenebris. Similar to Ebonstar's goal to help the Transcendent create a new world, Tenebris was the site of the Genesis Ritual, where the Black Mage intended to create a new world.
• Similarly, it is highly likely that Kirston is the founder of Ebonstar:
  • Pathfinder's storyline suggests that Kirston has come from another dimension while searching for traces of the Ancient Gods. The importance and influence of the Ancient Gods on Grandis, along with the convergence of Maple World and Grandis, makes it likely that Kirston originates from Grandis. Kirston's interest in bringing back the power of the gods - such as his research in Partem - lines with Ebonstar originally being devout believers of the gods and their return.
  • The Explorer storyline reveals that Kirston was present on Maple World before the Black Mage was sealed away. As evidenced by Magnus crossing over to Maple World after the end of the Flora Civil War and subsequently becoming a Commander of the Black Mage, the various Interdimensional Portals created from Darmoor stealing the power of time from Chronica must have appeared before the Black Mage was sealed away, lining up with Kirston being able to cross over from Grandis to Maple World while the Black Mage was still active.
  • The Explorer storyline also reveals that Kirston had grown enamored by the Black Mage's ideals, and that he had been researching the Black Mage's true goals. Given his failure to reproduce the power of the gods in Partem, it is possible that his interest in the Black Mage came after concluding that the Ancient Gods were truly gone, with his eventual discovery about the Black Mage's true goal being to create a new world stemming from disillusionment in the gods' return. His interest in finding and speaking with the Black Mage - such as when he attempted to summon the Black Mage in the Temple of Time - may be a result of this.
  • If so, Kirston may have used the Interdimensional Portal created on Maple World after the Black Mage had stolen the power of time from Rhinne to return back to Grandis, just as Magnus had done, where he may have revealed what he had seen to the other believers, eventually forming Ebonstar. Similarly, Kirston's return to Maple World may have happened after the Black Mage's weakening seal had caused the Interdimensional Portal to return to Maple World, allowing Kirston to come and go from the two dimensions and attempt to summon the Black Mage in the Temple of Time.