Dawn of Mana

Dawn of Mana
Developer	Square Enix
Publisher	Square Enix
Platforms	PlayStation 2
Release date	December 21, 2006 May 22, 2007
Genre	Action-adventure
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Teen
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	DVD-ROM
Input	Controller

Dawn of Mana is the fourth main installment of the Mana series and the third entry in the World of Mana subseries, following the release of Children of Mana nine months prior and Friends of Mana two months prior.

Story

Further Information: Dawn of Mana script

Gnome during the opening cutscene

On the sacred island of Illusia stood a small and solitary village. There dwelt what were known as the Tree Folk. they lived in peace, blessed by the beauty and bounty of nature. Little did they know that their peaceful days would soon come to an abrupt end…

	Randi --"Whoa! What's a Rabite doing in a place like this?"
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Opening Scene

The Mana Spirits have gathered under a full moon to reminisce about the origins of the Mana Tree. Gnome tells of a legend of the sacred island of Illusia were once stood a village inhabited by the Tree Folk.

Prologue: More Than Friends

Meanwhile, Ritzia and her friend Keldric are chasing after her pet Rabite Buju who’s been wandering inside Sunbeam Forest on his own. The maiden asks the boy to fetch it back for her. After much goose chase, Keldy finally gets a hold on the pet and gives it back to Ritzia. The maiden mentions the nearby tree where the boy carved their initials when they were little. However, their reunion is interrupted by a cavalry of heavily armored Gaulem marching toward their village on the main road. As the two friends rushed back to the village, they discover it overrun by the Gaulem soldiers from the Lorimarian army. Stroud, the king of Lorimar, orders his men to capture all the Tree Folk. At the same time, Keldric and Ritiza went to the Great Tree to awaken the Sacred Beast that guarded the island to ask for his help.

Chapter 1: A Spirit and a Maiden

While exploring the vast underground labyrinth, the pair stumbles onto a large stone slab inside a small room. The hero notices something on the ground and picks it up. The seed he grabbed starts sprouting on his right arm, transforming into a large sword. The party resumes their search for the guardian beast, but starts hearing voices about Keldric being the chosen one destined to awaken the Great Tree. They follow the voices until eight colored balls of light merge into a small faerie. The spirit awakens in Keldy’s hand, introduces her as Faye, and joins their team. After venturing in the deepest part of the dungeon, the party arrives at a graveyard. Keldy shouts for the sacred beast to come out, but a large crustacean shows up instead. The crab dashes near Ritzia but Keldy manages to defeat it before it can do her harm.

Ritzia is lured to a petrified tree’s roots by an alluring voice. As she touches it, strong dark magic emanates from the root, knocking both her and Keldric in the process. They are immediately captured by the Gaulem army and brought back to the Door to Mavolia where Keldric found the seed earlier along with other Tree Folk. Stroud asks the elder how to open the Door to Mavolia, but he refuses to answer, as opening it would engulf the world in Thanatos. Hearing Stroud threats of hurting Ritzia, Keldric tries to attack the King of Lorimar, but is easily bested by his strength. With no other choice but to comply, the village elder reveals the sword he seeks is in Wonderwood. As they move the detained villagers away, Stroud comments on Keldric’s not being one of the Tree Folk to his adviser, the Masked Guru.

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. Keldric and his friend Lekius are seen hiding behind a rock listening to the Lorimarian army's plan. Lekius, the village's guardian, tell Keldy to wait for them to be split up in the forest to attack them, but the chosen boy dismisses his strategy, telling him to go back in the village while he takes care of Ritzia.

Chapter 2: Lord of the Forest

Brimming with determination to save his friend, Keldric ventures into Wonderwood along with Faye. In Chobin Hood Hamlet, Chobee tells Keldy that he has been summoned by Treant and will guide him to the sacred tree. 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.

Chapter 3: The Guardian and Gaia

Faye and Keldric meet with Gaia, face of the earth on top of the mountain, who says he was waiting for them. The earth spirit explains that Thanatos are spirits born of the Echoes that slumber deep below the Great Tree, that have the potential to flood the world with darkness. However, if light pierces through prayer, a new age heraled by the Mana Tree will begin. He also comments on Flammie, the Guardian Beast being injured a millennium ago and asked Gaia for shelter. The masked guru's steed interrupts Gaia's speech and start confronting the party. With the help of the earth sprit and Faye, the chosen hero is victorious. Unfortunately, the Lorimarian army starts opening fire from their ship, the impact outright killing Gaia and separating the little spirit and Keldy. All of a sudden, the ground beneath the mountain starts collapsing, revealing Illusia's guardian beast. Flammie takes Keldy and Faye into his grip, transporting them both all the way to the Treefolk Village. There, Keldric is acclaimed, but the celebration has to wait, since the boy now heads to the shores of the island to rescue the tree maiden.

Chapter 4: Ritzia

The young lad jumps on the enemy ship to save his beloved friend, but is first noticed by the Masked Guru while on board. The mysterious man tells the boy that he will open the door to Mavolia with his sword, just like a thousand years ago, when a Tree maiden named Anise was possessed by the Echoes and opened the door to Mavolia. She and a certain man shut to door shut, but this time, the door will stay open, assures the guru. He directs Keldy to the engine room, where Ritzia is being held captive. There, the boy and his spirit child find a listless main tied to a pole. As she is being freed, she mutters about Mavolia, the Echoes, and Anise, which makes both anxious about her. The party attempts to escape the fleet, but are stopped by Stroud, who attacks Keldric and Faye by testing out the Mana Sword. Keldric is unable to truly harm the Lorimar king, however, the latter gloating that he will unleash an all-out assault on his village tomorrow morning. As he is about to strike Keldric with the Mana Sword, the boy's own weapon starts making him glowing, a dragon mark appearing on his left cheek, the same as Stroud's. Undefeated, Stroud orders his men to open fire on boy, sending him plummeting in the ocean. The blow makes Ritzia come to her senses, as she cries for Keldy to be alive. Another slavo is hurled toward the boy, but Faye protects the boy to the best of the capability. The two of them as seen in the morning washed ashore, with the little spirit still unconscious. She slowly comes to life again as the assault on the village commences.

Alas, Keldric arrives too late to save everyone, as the Thanatos is released from the Door to Mavolia, transforming the entire Tree folks and most of the population of Fa'Diel into Grimslies. Stroud gains immense power through this event, swearing to subjugate everyone into loyal slaves. Grim Stroud hurls his sword against Keldric, but Faye protects him from a mortal blow. The two of them are saved by Watts and his fighting machine, allowing a secure escape. On their way to Ishe, Faye transforms into her mature form.

Chapter 5: Of Deserts and Friends

Keldric now ventures in Jadd Castle to slay all the Thanatos influence, so that people from all over the world help him rebuild Illusia back that way it was before. Faye is apprehensive about going back to Illusia after that, since going back there might not close to door to Mavolia. The young lad tells her that he needs to know why Ritzia opened the door in the first place. After climbing the palace, the party meets with an old friend of Keldy who is now affected by the Thanatos. The now demon tries to coerce his friend of becoming one by telling he would never become sick or hungry. He is now obsessed with Ritzia and Anise perfecting the world into making everyone affected by Thanatos. Seeing that Keldric doesnt' share his sentiment, he carries on his task to bring the seed of the Great Tree to the Island, and engage the boy in combat. Lekius eventually meets his doom, and tells the chosen one that in three days, Ritzia will successfully release the Echoes of destruction upon the world and urges his friend to stop him, before vanishing. Keldy is obviously distraught by his friend's death, but has no other choice but to continue his journey.

He meets Watts in Jadd, where he confides in him his plan to land on Illusia ahead of his peers to invade the island. The dwarf tells of a tower whose beacon can crib the powers of Thanatos. That could also give the resistance the signal to lauch their assault on the lorimarian army. 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 unfazed 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.

Chapter 6: A Fool and a Sword

After regaining consciousness, the hero runs toward the ominous tower, hoping to lit the beacon at its top. As he turns on the device a brilliant light is emitted from the tower. The party is stopped by the Masked Guru, revealing that he is neither human nor grimslie. He maintains the wisdom of a millennium and his soul wields the spirits' power. He promises to open a path for him if he can outdo him. As the Masked Guru is mortally wounded, eight elemental lights merge into him, effectively healing him. Keldric tries to defeat him one more time, but his sword is acting up again, prompting the boy to ask the guru is origins. He replies that he awoke from a thousand years' sleep when Keldy arrived on Illusia isle. He is revealed to be Anise's lover and the one who sealed her away the first time she awoke. A thousand years ago, he too gave birth to a sacred sword that eventually became corrupt by the Echoes, just like Anise. This is the same sword Stroud currently wields. The weapon Keldric has possesses something more than the previous sword. He then urges Keldric to go back to his brother Stroud on Illusia, and fades into thin air. At the same time, the resistance from all over the world was led by the light from the tower and begins to fight back.

Chapter 7: Warriors of Hope

There, Keldric is aided by Watt's war machine Mark II, and pierces through the enemy's defense. The hero infiltrates the caves below the battlegrounds where he is stopped by Grim Golem Generalissimo. The general is eventually backed into a corner, where he blows himself up in a last ditch effort, alongside the cave leading to Stroud's palace. Thankfully, Flammie is there to lift the young boy up into the air and reach his destination without too much hassle.

Chapter 8: The Great Tree

Inside, he reunites with Grim Stroud awaiting on his throne. Upon asking where is Ritzia, the king points to his side, where Anise rests. Stroud reveals that he threw his own brother into the sea, regretting that he could have had just killed him in the first place instead. He then plunges his sword into Anise, who collapses into Keldric's arms while she dies. He taunts both of them about being aware of Keldric taking his place as king and the Echoes' release. Keldric engages him into a duel where the two of them fight senseless, until Stroud absorbs a considerable amount of Echoes, making him morph into a humongous beast. He is eventually best by the chosen one, snarkingly replying that he just wanted to save his girl and not the world. A disappear cackling before Keldy, while Anise takes his place, saying that the sword could never kill her. The boy shouts Ritzia's name, but Anise replies that she no longer exists. Once she obtains the power of the Great Tree and the spirits tonight, the Echoes will finally be freed from their prison and roam free in Fa'Diel. She vanishes, leaving Keldric to chase after her. While exploring the corridor, the hero notices Golem guards harrassing Buju, Ritzia's pet now transformed into a Grimsly. The little Rabite leads the party to Medusa's lair.

He confronts Anise once again, the latter telling him 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. Keldric gives the Tree maiden his seed back as Faye merges with them, reviving the Mana Tree and creating the new Mana Goddess.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Dawn of Mana.

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  Keldric

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  Ritzia

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  Faye

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  Lekius

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  Stroud