Ritzia

Ritzia is the tritagonist of Dawn of Mana and a recurring character in the Mana series.

Background
Ritzia is a Tree maiden on Illusia and a childhood friend of Keldric. Her role as a maiden is deeply connected with nature and the Tree of Mana. She is the last of a long line of Tree maidens and she is the only one capable of opening the door to Mavolia deep beneath the Great Tree.

Dawn of Mana
Keldric is first seen chasing after Buju, Ritzia's pet rabite in the woods near Treefolk Village. The young lad catches the little rascal in a small clearing while the maiden recalls this being the spot where Keldric carved their initials here with his pocket knife. Ritzia tells the boy that they shouldn't hurt the trees because whenever they hurt living things they end up hurting themselves. Their conversation is cut short by marching sounds coming from outside the woods. They see Golem soldiers from the Lorimarian army heading to their village. They watch in horror as the townsfolk be held hostage by Stroud, King of Lorimar. The two of them turn to the Great Tree to awaken the slumbering Sacred beast for help. Unfortunately, the army seems to be ahead ot them, already scouting the area.

During their search inside the Great Tree, Keldric and Ritzia stumble on a small shrine hosting the Door to Mavolia. Here Ritzia comments on the Mana Tree who has been turned to stone after standing on Illusia along with the eight spirits since time immemorial. A small burst of light shines beside the stonework, piquing Keldric's attention. He unearth a sizeable seed, who immediately takes root unto his right arm, transforming into a retractable blade. The tree maiden suggests they should seek the Village Elder's assistance and the party agree to investigate further down the maze. As they press on, they hear otherworldly voices calling Keldric the Chosen one and that the Great Tree will awaken. Multiple colored balls of lights converge above Ritzia in a small room, producing a small spirit who calls herself Faye. The little faerie joins the group, being capable of assisting Keldy in battle. A while later, they meet with Jinn and Gnome, lending their powers to the young hero. At the end of the structure, the party meets a graveyard with the Sacred Beast nowhere to be found. Instead, a massive crab attacks them, calling Ritzia the progeny of the dark oracle, warning her to not seek the Echoes' release. The young lad defeats the monster, vanishing after uttering that they should not disturb the Great Tree's slumber. Ritzia comes toward Keldric, wondering what all those warnings mean since Illusia is supposed to be a holy place guided by a sacred beast. The tree maiden is suddenly entranced by a voice telling her she's been waiting for her. By placing her hand on the Great Tree's roots, Ritzia creates a dark vortex, rendering her unconscious. Keldy tries to rescue her, but is arrested by the Golem army, who bring him to the Door to Mavolia, where Lekius and the Village Elder were detained. Here they meet with the Lorimarian leader Stroud, who ask the elder who to open the sealed door to Mavolia. The old man replies that if he were to open that door, the world would be consumed by Thanatos, plunging it into everlasting darkness. The King of Lorimar, responds to the village chief's unwillingness to answer his command, threatens to torture Ritzia, which angers Keldric who responds with a sword blow. Stroud easily evades the attack and gives the young boy a sword strike himself, sending him straight into a pillar. The elder finally discloses the location of the key to Mavolia being in Wonderwood. Pleased by his compliance, Stroud orders the villagers to be taken away, while he discusses about Keldy not being one of the Treefolk with his advisor. Outside, a Golem general gives out the instruction to his crewmen to search the forest for the holy item that would revive the Great Tree. A hostage Ritzia will help the soldiers navigate their surroundings. Arriving at the aforementioned place, the chosen hero hears Treant reciting to Ritzia the story of the Mana Tree absorbing negative energy for centuries, together constituting the Echoes of destruction. He tells the group that at thousand years ago, a young lady opened the door to Mavolia, and now, others wish to open it once again. As long as the tree spirit is alive and well, it will be able to contain the wicked power from within. However, the sword inside reacts to the Echoes touched by Ritzia, possessing Treant who proceeds to attack Keldy. The hero eventually defeat Treant, releasing the Thanatos, and the holy sword contained inside. Before dying, the tree spirit entrust the party to go to Mortmont and seek the conservator of the land and the Guardian Beast. The masked guru appears riding a dragon, snatches the Mana sword and tries to capture the whole party intending to make them share what Treant told them. However, Ritzia tells Keldric and Faye to run away, sacrificing herself to the guru. Ritzia is seen again aboard Stroud's ship in the engine room where she is being held tied up on a pole. While rescuing her, Keldric notices her mumbling about the Echoes of Mavolia and Anise while having a blank stare, which worries him and Faye. She nonetheless follow Keldric all the way to the main deck, where the party is stopped by the Lorimarian King himself, who engage the chosen hero into a duel while Ritzia watches from afar. After being defeated, Stroud launches fire on the boy, sending him into the ocean. The imact is enough to momentarily snap Ritzia out of her daze, and she rushes to ship's edge to call for Keldy and begs Stroud to stop.

She is then seen before the door to Mavolia on Illusia Isle, where she tries to convince her fellow Tree Folk to stop fighting while she attemps to open the door. Stroud adds that opening the door to Mavolia will rejuvenate the Great Tree, and will deny all living things the capacity to die. The Village Elder warns the Tree maiden that their ancestors told them only darkness waits beyond this point, but Ritzia adamantly persist in her decision. Lekius also tries to reconsider her action by asking her if she tried talking to Keldy, but she replies that he's dead. She proceeds to utter a mystical chant that imbues herself with dark magic, effectively opening the sealed door and transforming everyone around into Grimslies. The Tree maiden is transformed into Anise and welcomed back by the Masked Guru. On his way to the Beacon Tower, a powerful storm whips the poor vessel Keldric is on back and forth, crashing into the island face down. The boy has a strange vision of Ritzia surrounded by Grim Rabites who tries to force him into succumbing to the Thanatos. Keldric replies that Lekius told him the same thing, but the Tree maiden retorts that he died and not him. She adds that she is the last of the Great Tree maiden, and she can see the truth of all living things. The young boy tries to push her, but the maiden seems unphased by his approach. She continues by telling that Stroud is not the true dark lord as it would be him instead. All he has to do is to defeat Stroud and take his rightful place. Keldric, Ritzia, and Faye would rule the world together. Keldric orders her to stop, as she says that if he cuts her with his sword, the future will turn out differently.

In the final confrontation again Medusa, Anise tells Keldric that the Echoes are yet to be freed as they need the seed from Keldric's hand and Faye's magic to do so. Once obtained, Anise will be able to convince the Great Tree to release the Echoes. Keldric recalls Ritzia saying the same time in his dream, which Anise admiting that she manipulated the girl to tell him so. But, the maiden realized that in order to revive the Great Tree, she would have to open the door to Mavolia once again. As she opened the door, she learned that to truly revive the Mana Tree, the keeper of the seed must become one with the liberator of the Echoes by piercing her with his sword. According to Anise, that's why Ritzia is looking forward to being slain by Keldric. The hero has now two choices, release the Echoes or destroy them, along with Ritzia. The party is then transported to an illusion of the woods near Treefolk Village, where Keldric chases after Medusa. They eventually are transported back to the final arena where Keldric and Faye face against Medusa. She is ultimately destroyed reluctantly by the chosen one. Faye convices him to turn back as Ritzia would want him to make the world return to its former glory. Ritzia thanks Keldy for all he's done and combines with Keldy's seed and Faye into the new Mana Goddess, who restores the world into its peaceful self.

Circle of Mana
Ritzia makes a cameo appearance alongside many other characters from the Mana series.

Echoes of Mana
The Tree maiden appears in Echoes of Mana in several memory gems and during Chapter 6.

Physical appearance
Ritzia is a young woman with blue eyes and light brown hair, part of it looped around a flower brooch on the back of her head. Her long hair are parted into two curly braids, with their ends being of a greenish hue. She wears her Def flora, a white flower, on her right fringe. Her white outfit is highly recorated with poofy shoulders, leather brassards, flaring sleeves, and a large lilac flower on its center. Her skirt is parted into four pannels resembling an upside down flower (corolla), with harem pants underneath. She wears knee-high brown leather boots with decorative patterns on it.

Personality
Ritzia is a caring and gentle soul with strong environmental beliefs, as she scolds Keldy in the prologue for carving on a tree when he was young. She believes that by hurting nature, one end up hurting itself. As an Tree maiden, she is also depicted possessing considerable amount of lore around Illusia, the Mana Tree, and the sacred beast.