Nova

For the update, see MapleStory: Nova.

The Nova are one of the three major races of Grandis, alongside the Flora and the Anima. There are four playable classes in the Nova race: Kaiser, Kain, Cadena and Angelic Buster.

History

The Ancient War

During the era of the Ancient Gods, the Nova lived under the protection of their dragon gods on the continent of Grandis. The Nova lived in the capital city of Heliseum, ruled by the Nova royal family, and created a sanctuary city called Pantheon on an island off the continental coast, where they constructed the Great Temple. This temple was built in honor of the dragon gods, as well as Kaiser - the legendary Guardian of the Nova who reincarnated across the ages. The Great Temple housed many different statues of the various Kaisers across the ages, as well as a large statue of an unknown dragon god. Eventually, however, one of the dragon gods named Satiras fell to evil, becoming known as Satiras the Devil Dragon. His followers formed a cult called the Black Nova, who worshiped Satiras and gained the power of Malice. With Satiras' power, the Black Nova amassed great power and influence as they conquered and terrorized much of Grandis. With the Black Nova targeting the other Nova, the remaining dragon gods created a holy relic called the Outrigger, which was bestowed upon the Nova for their protection. Installed at the throne of Heliseum, the Outrigger contained the will of the Nova gods, such that its divine power could only be used for the protection of the Nova people. The Outrigger also contained the spirit of Eskalade, a clone body of one of the Nova gods. After the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Black Nova - without the protection of Satiras - were hunted down to near extinction by those whom they had once subjugated. The surviving cultists eventually made a decision that resulted in their horns, wings, and tails being lost to both them and their descendants, thereby ensuring that they would be not be identified as Black Nova, after which they fled to a remote moon of Grandis and founded a hidden village for their people.

Flora Civil War

Over the ages, the Nova continued prospering in their homeland, with Kaiser and the Outrigger bestowing their protection, and the three Guardians of Heliseum protecting the castle. When the Flora Civil War broke out, the Nova kept close tabs on the progress of the conflict, as the High Flora had simultaneously launched a war of genocide against the other races. During this time, Magnus - a Nova knight and a close friend of the Kaiser of their time - was exiled by the Nova for unknown reasons. Towards the end of the Flora Civil War, Magnus was recruited by Gerand Darmoor, who had secretly awakened as the Transcendent of Life some time before the onset of the war. On Darmoor's orders, Magnus corrupted two of the three Guardians of Heliseum - Victor and Treglow - and brought the Specter army to sack the capital as the final battle of the Flora Civil War took place at the Verdant Flora capital of Aboris. In Heliseum, Magnus slaughtered the Nova royal family, though, unbeknownst to him, the Nova General managed to save the wounded princess and brought her to Gen of the Shadowdealers for safety.

Meanwhile, the Nova learned that the High Flora had won the war, with Darmoor having revealed himself as the Transcendent of Life during the final battle. Believing that Darmoor would attack Heliseum next, Kaiser quickly rushed to Heliseum, where he found that Magnus had already sacked the capital. Upon being poisoned by Magnus, Kaiser attempted to buy time for the survivors of Heliseum to flee to Pantheon by sacrificing his life to severely wound Magnus and destroy the Specter army. Thanks to Kaiser's sacrifice, Beldar and the rest of the Heliseum Council were able to lead the survivors to Pantheon. Unable to transport the Outrigger, however, the Nova priests extracted a portion of its power into four sacred stones, which were then brought to Pantheon and used to create a Protective Shield that blocked out Magnus and his Specters. In the process of creating the sacred stones, however, the physical bodies of the Nova gods were destroyed, while Eskalade's spirit was inadvertently transferred into one of the sacred stones as well, from where he lent his power to fortify the Protective Shield. Before the fall of Heliseum, the Great Sage of the Nova - Eurenth - had warned the Nova about an imminent attack, though his words were disregarded. After the fall of the capital, Eurenth grew bitter and jaded, for which he exiled himself in the Forbidden Forest at the outskirts of Heliseum.

Following the end of the war, Darmoor invaded the Chronica Sanctuary and stole the power of time from Chronica, the Transcendent of Time. As a result, several Interdimensional Portals appeared across Grandis - including one in the Great Temple of Pantheon. Fearing that Darmoor could use it to invade their homeland, the Nova quickly sealed the portal away for their own safety. On Darmoor's orders, Magnus used one of the portals to cross over into Maple World in order to find a way to heal the injuries that he had sustained at the hands of Kaiser. In Maple World, Magnus became a Commander of the Black Mage and served him for some time before betraying him during the Heroes' attack on the Temple of Time. After stealing Guwaru's spirit power, Magnus managed to heal himself before using one of the Interdimensional Portals created by the Black Mage stealing Rhinne's power and returning back to Grandis.

Assault on Pantheon

Over the next several decades, Magnus locked himself in the Heliseum and filled the city with Specters as he attempted to take the power of the Outrigger. However, the Outrigger, containing the will of the Ancient Gods of the Nova - recognized Magnus as a traitor to the Nova and resisted his attempts to take its power. Because of this, Magnus planned to seize the power of the Outrigger contained within the sacred stones instead, for which he recruited several corrupt Nova priests. During this operation, a young Nova boy named Kyle awakened as the next Kaiser while attempting to stop the priest. At the same time, Kyle's friend - a girl named Tear - seized one of the sacred stones during the skirmish, resulting in the stone latching itself onto her arm in the form of a bracelet. As a result, the Protective Shield was weakened with only three sacred stones left to power it, though Tear's efforts prevented the last stone from falling into Magnus' hands.

Having awakened as the next Guardian of the Nova, Kaiser began training to fulfill his destiny and lead his people in the fight against Magnus and Darmoor. Meanwhile, Tear discovered Eskalade's spirit inside the sacred stone and accepted his power to become the superheroine Angelic Buster. As Kaiser and Angelic Buster trained to master their power, they soon discovered the corrupt Nova priests' conspiracy to steal the remaining sacred stones. Despite their best efforts, Kaiser and Angelic Buster were unable to stop the priests from taking one of the sacred stones. With the Protective Shield about to fall, the Nova prepared themselves for Magnus' invasion of Pantheon. After a long and difficult battle, however, Kaiser and Angelic Buster managed to recover the missing sacred stone and wipe out a large portion of the Specter army. With Magnus' forces severely weakened, the Heliseum Council approved an operation to have Kaiser and Angelic Buster unseal the Interdimensional Portal in the Great Temple and cross over to the other world in order to find allies to retake Heliseum.

Hero of Justice

While Kaiser and Angelic Buster explored Maple World, the Nova princess awoke from her coma, which had been the result of the medicine that Gen had used to treat her injuries from the fall of Heliseum. The princess chose to eschew her name and title before reinventing herself as Cadena. During her time with the Shadowdealers in Savage Terminal, Cadena foiled the plot of a high-ranking Shadowdealer named Mr. Hazard, who was attempting to build a superweapon for the High Flora that would result in the destruction of Savage Terminal. After stopping Hazard, Cadena decided to go to Maple World in order to train and grow strong enough to get revenge on Magnus, who had destroyed her life.

The Drakas

Many years before Magnus' attack on Pantheon, an Apostle of Darmoor named Ypsilon - disguised as a man called Dr. Y - attacked the hidden Black Nova village and captured the last two Black Nova - a girl named Luska and her younger brother, Kain. Enslaving them both, Dr. Y used his power to extract abstract concepts to draw out Kain's Malice and create Malice Stones for his mercenary company called the Drakas, while also routinely erasing Kain's memories. Eventually, Kain's attempts to discover the truth about his past resulted in a Drakas uprising, which nearly wiped out the company and resulted in Luska being mortally wounded. Believing Luska to be dead, Kain decided to go to Maple World in order to grow stronger. Meanwhile, Dr. Y used his powers to extract the damage which would have led to Luska's death in order to save her life, after which he erased her memories and planned to pit her and Kain against each other for his own purposes.

Siege of Heliseum

Kaiser and Angelic Buster's adventures soon led them to encounter the Maple Alliance. After realizing that they could help each other defeat their respective fallen Transcendents, Kaiser successfully negotiated an agreement between the Nova and Maple World. With the support of the Alliance, the Nova launched a joint operation to successfully retake Heliseum. However, a mysterious vortex drew in Magnus and the Outrigger, leaving the Nova without their holy relic. Following the reclamation of Heliseum, the Nova formally joined the Maple Alliance.

Saving Maple World

With the Nova having retaken their capital city, they provided aid to the Alliance in the Black Heaven incident, which resulted in the defeat of the Black Wings. Soon after, the Black Mage began executing his final plan to destroy and remake the world. With Grandis under the threat of imminent destruction, the Nova gave their full support to the Alliance in the battle of Tenebris, which resulted in the death of the Black Mage. Shortly after the death of the Black Mage, Maple World and Grandis merged back into one world, just as they had been during the era of the Ancient Gods, as a result of Maple World losing its Transcendents.

Fight for Grandis

Following the convergence of Maple World and Grandis, the Alliance - in deep debt from the war against the Black Mage - formed the Glory Guard, a small unit of elite soldiers, on missions to defeat the High Flora. To aid the Alliance, the Nova dispatched Edea, the Supreme Commander of the Nova army, as their representative and strategist. With Edea's help, the Glory Guard launched an operation in Cernium, though the mission ended in complete failure for the Alliance. Nevertheless, the Alliance continued its mission to fight Darmoor, leading into the High Flora's operation to steal the power of the reawakening Ancient Gods. With open warfare quickly becoming a reality, the Nova and the Alliance began looking to rally all of Grandis against Darmoor and his forces. Following the battle of Odium, the Apostles of Gerand Darmoor began conducting raids across Western Grandis in order to steal the power of the Ancient Gods. To fortify their defenses in anticipation of an attack on Eastern Grandis, Edea began looking into strengthening the Protective Shield around Pantheon.

Society and Culture

Biology

The Nova are said to be descendants of dragons, distinguished by their dragon-like tails, wings, and horns. Despite the Nova being classified as a separate race from the Anima, however, there have been two known instances of Anima with dragon features - Ara the Azure Dragon and the unknown dragon Anima elder. Ara possesses dragon horns in the Eastern style of real-world dragons, and has no wings or a tail, which appears to be the main difference between Nova and dragon Anima. It appears to be the case that Nova tails are correlated with the ability to use magic, as it was said that Tear - who had been born without a tail - was unable to develop magical abilities naturally. However, Cadena and Kain both do not possess a tail, despite having magical abilities. While Cadena had removed her tail, it is left ambiguous as to whether Kain and the other Black Nova were born without tails or if they had cut theirs off at a young age. Because of this, it remains unknown whether a tail is necessary to use magic, or whether the absence of tail and the absence of magical ability are simply correlated.

Society

Until the fall of Heliseum, the Nova were a monarchy ruled by a royal family and supported by the Heliseum Council. The Nova royal family was heavily protected with a number of fortifications, with the path to the throne room being locked by three keys, each held by one of the three Guardians of Heliseum. Additionally, the royal family had constructed several underground passageways for traveling undercover, with only the Nova royal family crest being able to open the path. Under the rule of the last royal family, the three Guardians of Heliseum were Edea, Victor, and Treglow. During the sacking of Heliseum, Magnus was able to convince Victor and Treglow into joining him. Decades later, Magnus appointed Velderoth - Kyle and Tear's former friend - as the third Guardian. With the extinction of the royal family, the Heliseum Council now holds supreme power over the Nova government, led by Beldar. Despite their authority, both the royal family and the council have heeded the counsel of the Nova priests, particularly Fenelle the High Priestess.

Historically, the Nova have had a heavy emphasis on military strength as a result of the constant warfare that plagues Grandis. Because of this, high-ranking military officials have had a significant influence on Nova policies. Kaiser, the Guardian of the Nova, is held in high regard because of his power and lineage. As Supreme Commander and a Heliseum Guardian, Edea represents the Nova people in the Maple Alliance. Because of the Nova's heavy emphasis on strength and ability, the ability to use magic holds great importance. Tear's lack of magic resulted in her being ostracized in Nova society, with only Kyle, Velderoth, and Fenelle having shown her compassion. Unlike the Flora, the Nova appear to have less fervent pride in their Nova features, with individuals such as the twins, Maroon and Harpoon, even having cut parts of their horns in order to distinguish themselves. Despite their heavy emphasis on militarism, the Nova have high regard for spirituality and ancient wisdom. Elders and ancestors are venerated for their knowledge, as seen with Edea relying on Eurenth for his wise counsel in the fight to retake Heliseum, or with the Heliseum Council deferring to Fenelle. The Nova hold their dragon gods and the past in high regard, as seen with their preservations of ancient schematics, history, and prophecies.

Notable Members

• Enemies:
  • Magnus - Servant of Darmoor and betrayer of the Nova
  • Velderoth - Servant of Magnus, Kyle and Tear's former friend
  • Victor - Servant of Magnus (deceased)
  • Treglow - Servant of Magnus (deceased)
  • Luska - Black Nova and Drakas boss, Kain's sister
• Royal Family:
  • Cadena's father - Nova King (deceased)
  • Cadena's mother - Nova Queen (deceased)
• Priests:
  • Fenelle - High Priestess of the Nova
  • Beldar - Leader of the Heliseum Council
  • Kylan - Nova Priest
  • Christina - Guardian of the South Sanctum
  • Anor - Guardian of the North Sanctum
  • Ismail - Guardian of the West Sanctum
• Classes:
  • Kyle - Current Kaiser
  • Angelic Buster - Idol of the Battlefield
  • Cadena - Shadowdealer and former Nova princess
  • Kain - Black Nova and former Drakas member
• Knights:
  • Former Kaiser - Kyle's predecessor
  • Cartalion - Nova knight and officer
  • Nova General - General of the Nova army, rescued Cadena and brought her to the Shadowdealers
  • Edea - Supreme Commander of the Nova army
  • Piston - Edea's second-in-command
  • Tiron - Nova scout
• Shadowdealers:
  • Gen - Branch leader of the Savage Terminal Shadowdealers
• Others:
  • Selene - Citizen of Pantheon
  • Eurenth - Great Sage and Edea's old teacher
  • Harpoon - Merchant, Maroon's twin brother
  • Maroon - Merchant, Harpoon's twin brother
  • Karin - Upcoming merchant, Harpoon and Maroon's younger sister
  • Karman - Head of Vallora's Traveler's Guild

Trivia

• In the original Angelic Buster storyline, it was stated that the ancestors of the Nova were much more dragon-like, with Eskalade being an example of an ancient Nova. However, Kain's storyline showed the Black Nova in their present-day humanoid form, despite the Black Nova existing at the earliest point in history, causing a conflict between the two settings. This conflict was corrected in the Angelic Buster revamp during the KMS Fall 2023 Update, which has instead retconned Eskalade into the clone of an Ancient God of the Nova.