User:DyluckTRocket/OldSoMPlotline

Introductory Notes by LichYoshi

This is the old plot summary for the Secret of Mana article. It was too long for the article (at 3,414 words!), but I feel it provides an excellent look at the plot of one of my most favourite games. It goes into a good amount of detail, and is especially useful for a fanfiction writer like myself who looks into causal impacts of "historical" events. While it's not mine (I believe a good majority of it was written by an anonymous IP), I've put it up here for the sake of posterity and referral by other Mana/Seiken Densetsu fanfiction writers.

This plot summary was removed from the SoM Article at 10.47am, UTC, on the 1st March, 2007.

Please do not edit this subpage.

Secret of Mana Plot Summary by Anonymous

The game starts with a back story: Thousands of years ago, the ancient people of the world discovered and harnessed "Mana," an abundant, omnipotent, magical energy force. Although initially used for noble purposes, some evil humans abused Mana and eventually used it to create the Mana Fortress - a huge floating fortress and a weapon so powerful that it could destroy the entire world. The gods (who are anonymous in the game) witnessed this atrocity and grew angry. They sent forth their beasts (known simply as Mana Beasts) to destroy the Fortress by smashing it into ruin and sinking it beneath the ocean waves. The ensuing violence destroyed much of the world and killed millions, but finally the Fortress was dismantled and the smouldering world gradually regrew and human populations increased again. Over the passing of time, the story of that ancient civilization and the Mana Fortress became a legendary fairy tale, and Mana itself seemed to fade away from the world.

The game then skips forward to present times. A young man named Randi, along with his friends Elliot and Timothy, is searching for a fabled treasure in the forbidden woods near his hometown, Potos Village. When trying to cross a log bridge, he slips and falls into a waterfall. Now alone, he tries to make his way back to Potos but finds his path blocked by undergrowth. He then finds a rusty sword embedded in a rock in the middle of a stream. After being told by a mysterious voice to remove the sword, he does so. A blinding flash of light is emitted as he pulls it loose. Randi is then confronted by a ghostly figure who reveals himself as the one who asked that the sword be removed. Before Randi can say anything, though, the ghost disappears.

Randi uses the sword to hack through the undergrowth, and is surprised to find monsters lurking around the woods where there had never been monsters before. He comes home, confused by the monsters' appearance, and the village Elder identifies the sword as an ancient talisman that had protected the village from harm; when Randi removed it from the stone, the magical balance was upset and monsters instantly appeared. Elliot blames Randi for the recent plague of monsters and begins attacking him, when suddenly an earthquake occurs and both boys fall into a hole that opens up. Randi sees a giant monster in the hole, the Mantis Ant, and defeats it with some help from Sir Jema of Tasnica, a knight who had recently come to Potos. The Elder calls Randi into his house after the battle, and, under pressure from the townspeople, banishes him for releasing the monsters. Before Randi is dismissed, the Elder reveals that Randi is an orphan; his mother brought him to Potos and disappeared soon after doing so, while the identity of his father is a complete mystery.

Jema also makes an important discovery: The sword is in fact the legendary Mana Sword, which for thousands of years had controlled the balance of Mana, the energy force that governs the world. As the one who pulled it loose, Randi is now charged with keeping it safe. The Sword is weak, however, and must be recharged. Jema tells Randi to head to the Water Palace and speak with the wise Sage Luka there about recharging it, and also to inquire how an orb he collected from the Mantis Ant can help in doing so.

In the Water Palace, Sage Luka explains the Sword's history: Thousands of years ago, when the gods were about to have their Mana Beasts destroy the Mana Fortress, a human warrior came forth and, wielding the Mana Sword, smashed the Fortress and thus prevented the apocalypse resultant from Mana Beasts destroying the Fotress. After explaining that the legendary "fairy tale" really happened, Sage Luka warns that a country known only as The Empire is seeking to resurrect the ruin of the Mana Fortress. She further explains that Randi can help counter the Empire's plans by using the Sword to seal the eight Mana Seeds, which are housed in the eight Palaces around the world. The Seeds themselves come from the Mana Tree, the source of the world's Mana. By sealing all of them, Randi can prevent the Fortress from being resurrected. Sage Luka then instructs Randi toward the Kingdom of Pandora as the next leg of his quest.

On the way to Pandora, Randi is abducted by goblins. He is thrown into a cauldron and about to be eaten, but the last minute he is saved by a young girl named Purim. Purim asks him to help save her boyfriend, Dyluck, who was the army captain of Pandora. Dyluck was captured by Elinee, an evil witch, when he was sent on a mission against her by the King of Pandora. On the way toward Pandora, it is also revealed that Purim gets along poorly with her father and hates the King for sending Dyluck out. Once in the Kingdom of Pandora, Randi and Purim discover that all the townspeople are in a catatonic, zombie-like state, mute and completely drained of their energy. The witch Elinee seems to be behind the disaster that has befallen Pandora.

Randi, however, is unable to enter Elinee's castle at this point, and when he makes a detour to a grotto called Gaia's Navel, Purim gets angry and leaves him. In Gaia's Navel, deep underground, Randi finds the Dwarf Village, where he meets the dwarven blacksmith Watts. Watts offers to forge the Mana Sword, thereby upgrading it,and later gives Randi an axe. In the Dwarf Village, Randi sees a sideshow starring a tiny Sprite named Popoie. The Sprite and the sideshow man trick him into giving a donation, but after eavesdropping, Randi realizes that he had been duped. The Sprite apologizes and returns the money after Randi confronts them. After Randi defeats a plant-like monster, Tropicallo, Popoie joins his party.

The two enter the forest near Elinee's castle and save Purim from werewolves; she then rejoins the party. They enter Elinee's castle and find Dyluck, but watch helplessly as Elinee magically teleports him to an evil wizard named Thanatos and then unleashes her Spiky Tiger on them. They defeat the Spiky Tiger and Elinee transforms from a witch into an ordinary, nice old lady. Now reformed, Elinee reveals that the magic herbs in her forest had all died, and she had begun sacrificing the people of Pandora to Thanatos in exchange for more herbs; it is Thanatos, not herself, who has turned the Pandorans into zombies. Elinee then gives them her whip to aid their quest.

The party then returns to the Water Palace, where, after defeating a Tonpole and its Biting Lizard adult form, they receive the powers of Undine, the Water Elemental. Purim and Popoie are now able to cast Water magic. The party proceeds to the Underground Palace, and after defeating the Fire Gigas, gain the powers of Gnome, the Earth Elemental.

The party then goes back to Pandora, where a young girl named Phanna - Purim's best friend - magically disappears. They head to the ancient ruins south of Pandora, where they find Phanna as well as Dyluck, both captured by Thanatos and under some sort of trance. Thanatos reveals that he is draining the people of Pandora's life energy to grow stronger himself; he plans to use the Mana Fortress to control the world. He leaves the party to fight Doom Wall. The party defeats it, and Thanatos reappears briefly to say that he will release the rest of the Pandorans from their trance, but Dyluck and Phanna are his. He then vanishes with his two prisoners.

The heroes then find out that the Water Seed has been stolen by a rather inept band of rogues known as the "Scorpion Army." They pursue them into Gaia's Navel, defeat their robot, and reclaim the Water Seed. However, when they return, Imperial troops have already arrived at the Water Palace, and Geshtar, one of the Empire's men, takes the seed and forces the party to fight Jabberwocky, a two-headed hydra. After Jabberwocky is defeated, Randi restores the Seed and its Seal, and Luka tells the party to seek out Sage Joch by journeying into Upperland, the vast land to the north.

The party is shot by cannon to the Great Forest of Upperland, which is divided into the four seasons. They gain the help of some native Moogles after driving out the evil Pebblers from the Moogle Village. They soon find the Sprite Village, but much to Popoie's horror, it is in ruins and all his fellow Sprites are dead. They defeat a monster called Spring Beak and then find their way to the Wind Palace. They learn from the Sprite Grandfather, who guards the Wind Palace, that the Empire came to undo the seal on the Wind Seed in his palace while Spring Beak destroyed the Sprite Village. The party then gains the powers of Sylphid, the Air Elemental, before leaving.

Proceeding westward to the Mushroom Kingdom of Matango, King Truffle of Matango proclaims the party the heroes of legend, saying that they are the ones who will ride a white dragon and wield a sword to save the world. The party enters the caves behind Matango to seek out a White Dragon on the king's request, but learn that the only surviving white dragon is a baby, and that its parents had been killed by a serpent they had previously defeated. Truffle agrees to look after the baby, whom they name Flammie.

The party is shot by travel cannon into the vast Kakkara Desert, where they encounter a Sand Ship piloted by the Republic. The troops suspect the party of being spies, and Morie, the Admiral's grandson, forces Randi to work in the engine room, sends Popoie to work in the kitchen, and takes Purim to his quarters as a slave girl. Randi escapes when a sympathetic sailor named Sergio makes a distraction. He reunites with his friends (Purim had to massage Morie's back and Popoie was supposed to cook food but ended up eating the entire food supply!) just as the Empire arrives. The party fights with Geshtar, one of the Empire's top henchmen, and defeats him, but the Sand Ship is lost. A rescue team picks up Randi's group and the Republic's survivors and they proceed to the desert town of Kakkara. Kakkara is on the brink of destruction because the Fire Seed from the nearby Fire Palace has been stolen, and the town's water supply has dried up as a result. The party then takes the cannon travel to the Ice Country.

In the Ice Country, the party hears of a "resort" town of unnatural warmth somewhere in the icy Crystal Forest. Upon finding the resort, they discover that this is the result of the Scorpion Army, who captured Salamando, the Fire Elemental, from the Fire Palace, and then created an expensive resort by stuffing Salamando into a large stove and harnessing his residual heat. The party frees Salamando (thereby re-freezing the resort town and sending the unlucky vacationers scattering) and proceeds deeper into the Crystal Forest after learning that Santa Claus is missing. They enter the Ice Palace and defeat a monster inside called Frost Gigas. Frost Gigas then turns into noneother than Santa himself. Santa explains that he tried to use the Fire Seed to grow a giant Christmas Tree and was transformed into Frost Gigas in the process. He uses himself as a cautionary example of the danger of trying to harness Mana power, and then gives them the Fire Seed. The party returns the Fire Seed to the Fire Palace, restoring Kakkara's water supply, and then proceeds to the Empire.

Inside the Empire's Southtown, the party meets with a seemingly insane woman named Mara, who is actually a Tasnican spy pretending to be insane to cover herself from the authorities. Mara's husband was a spy captured by the Empire and she continues his work in hopes of fighting their evil. She allows them to sneak into the sewers and proceed to Northtown, where they meet with a resistance movement headed by a young girl named Krissie. Krissie reveals that Dyluck has been draining people's energy at the ruins to the east of Northtown. While in Northtown, the party finds Phanna - but she is still entranced and under Thanatos's control. In the ruins the party finds an entranced Dyluck, whom Purim pleads with to return to normal. Thanatos himself then appears with Phanna, who tries to hurt Purim by insinuating that Dyluck now loves her. Dyluck temporarily breaks free of his control after Randi attacks him, and prevents Thanatos from draining Purim's energy before being spirited away.

The Emperor then invites the Resistance and the party to agree on a truce, but this is a ruse; once inside his palace, he has the party imprisoned and then thrown to a monster called Metal Mantis. The party escapes, destroys Metal Mantis, frees the Resistance, and proceeds through the castle. Geshtar fights with the party again, and begins to burn down the castle after he loses.

At the last second, however, King Truffle arrives on a now-mature Flammie, and helps the party escape from the flames. Truffle explains that Flammie matured rapidly under his care, and shows the party how to use Flammie as their new form of air transportation by use of a magic drum that summons the dragon.

With Flammie, the party then proceeds to the Lofty Mountains, hoping to find Sage Joch, but instead they find Jehk, his birdlike apprentice. Jehk sends the party to numerous places that he claims Joch went to, including the Palace of Darkness, the Light Palace (also called the Golden Tower), and the Moon Palace, where they gain the respective Elemental powers of Darkness, Light and Moon. They are also sent to Tasnica, where they help thwart Sheex's attempt to impersonate the King of Tasnica. On the latter errand, the party learns that Jema knew Randi's father, a legendary Mana Knight named Serin.

The party then returns to the Lofty Mountains yet again and finally meet Joch in the form of an old man. Joch's mumblings are translated by Jehk: The party is told to undergo a trial of courage that involves fighting their own dark sides. After doing so, they learn that "Jehk" was Joch all along, and that the old man they had thought was Joch was merely an illusion designed to test their resolve.

The real Joch then reveals that the Empire is on the very verge of resurrecting the Mana Fortress, having shattered all but one of the Seals. Despite valiant efforts, the party arrives too late to save the last seal, that of the Tree Palace. They fight with Sheex, who turns himself into a monster. Sheex reveals that the Empire has a contract with the underworld; in exchange for controlling the world, it will revive the Mana Fortress. The party defeats Sheex for the last time, and convinces the Tree Elemental, Dryad, to help them by giving them her powers.

The shattering of this final Seal reveals the Grand Palace, an enormous palace that had formerly been buried under a coral reef beneath the Tree Palace. The party fights its way through the damp ruins, defeating the Scorpion Army's second robot along with several other boss monsters. Upon reaching the room with the seal inside the Grand Palace itself, they find the Emperor's corpse; Fanha, Geshtar and Thanatos had betrayed him. Thanatos' ultimate plan with Dyluck is revealed: He seeks to possess Dyluck's body. The party defeats Fanha after she turns into a monster, and fights Geshtar again, who has apparently become a "living fighting machine," with Thanatos' magic, albeit at the cost of his humanity. After Geshtar's final defeat, the Mana Fortress rises out of the sea. The party escapes in the nick of time. Phanna, now finally released from Thanatos's spell, apologizes to Purim for all that is happened, and Purim forgives her.

The party is told that it must power up the Mana Sword to full potency in order to face off against the Fortress and save the world. To do so, they must journey into the "Pure Land," a large, cloud-covered island formed inside the cone of an extinct volcano. There, they will supposedly find the Mana Tree, a gigantic tree that is the source of Mana power on earth. They enter the Pure Land, defeating various guardian dragons and other monsters on the way. Just when they reach the cliff overlooking the Mana Tree, however, the Mana Fortress appears overhead and destroys the Mana Tree with a large laser beam. The tree is reduced to a stump as the Fortress flies off.

Randi learns from the spirit inside the remains of the Mana Tree that his father, Serin, was a great warrior and hero who died near Potos during his quest to stop the Emperor; it was Serin's ghost that told Randi to pull the Mana Sword back at the beginning of his quest. The Mana Tree also tells Randi that she is his mother. Women who are part of the Mana tribe become the Mana Tree, and men of the Mana tribe become protective warriors. Randi also learns that all the monsters of the world will soon fuse to become the Mana Beast, and if the Mana Beast attacks the Mana Fortress, the world will be destroyed as it almost once was thousands of years ago. The Mana Tree powers up Randi's sword before dying.

The party flies on Flammie to the Mana Fortress and fights its way through to a final confrontation with Thanatos. Thanatos reveals that Dyluck is the perfect host body for him, as he is "born in the shadow of darkness, and raised in the light of Mana". Purim destroys his current body, but Thanatos quickly possesses Dyluck. Dyluck, however, regains control of his body long enough to reveal that Thanatos is an ancient sorcerer who feeds on hatred and destruction, and tells them how Thanatos can be destroyed. Dyluck then banishes Thanatos's spirit from his body at the cost of his own life. Thanatos' true form is revealed as the Dark Lich, and the party defeats him once and for all, killing Dyluck in the process.

At that point, the seal on Mana is completely broken, and the legendary Mana Beast appears and begins attacking the Fortress. The party notes that it is a giant dragon-like creature, and suspects that Flammie is somehow related to it. Randi is initially reluctant to fight it, knowing that the Mana Beast is not evil and is only trying to protect Mana. He also realizes that if the Mana Beast is destroyed, all magical creatures - including Sprites like Popoie - will also be destroyed. Popoie, however, insists that the Sprites won't die, but instead will simply be transported to another world; he also reminds Randi that if the Mana Beast is not stopped, the entire world will be destroyed.

Using Mana Magic supplied by Dryad, Purim and Popoie charge Randi's Mana Sword to full potency, and with it he destroys the Mana Beast. The Beast dematerializes and the party escapes on Flammie moments before the Mana Fortress sinks again into the ocean. Upon landing safely back on land, Randi and Purim see that Popoie has, indeed, disappeared. They lament that they were not even given a chance to say goodbye.

After the Mana Beast's death, snow falls on the world - supposedly, the Beast's remains. Although Randi and Purim mourn the loss of Popoie and Dyluck, they realize that they must be strong for the future. As the credits begin to roll, they journey through all the distant lands they encountered on their long quest, revisiting several old friends and allies. They reach Pandora, where Purim reconciles with her father and the King and settles down back at home.

Randi continues on alone, finally coming back to Potos, where his quest began long ago. His heroic deeds have caused the Elder to rescind his banishment, and he is welcomed back to his village with open arms. As the final credits roll, we see Randi returning the sword back into the rock from which it came, to await another hero in the future. Popoie looks on as a ghost in the ruins of the Sprite Village as the game finally ends.