[Kratos nods at Raine. Yes, time for the story, to prevent interruptions, to give the full context in as few words as possible. He takes a deep breath and blows it out, and begins like he had before; with the rhythmic cadence of a tale long known, long told.]
Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war caused this tree to wither away, and it left behind it a Great Seed too ill to germinate. A hero attempted to save it from its fate by appealing to the rulers of the two kingdoms; but they blocked their ears from his plea.
Instead the hero appealed to the forces of nature themselves, and he made to them this vow: 'I vow to split the worlds asunder to ease the burden upon the Seed. When a century has passed, and the great motherland of Derris-Kharlan returns to shine its light upon the earth, the Seed will be germinated, and I will reunite the world.'
The hero was granted a blessing in the form of divine power and became an angel to watch over the Seed and the two worlds. When a century had passed, the two ancient kings were called to the Holy Ground of Kharlan, where they were to forge a treaty that would last an eternity.
Instead of forging a treaty, the humans each attempted to take the Seed for themselves, and the hero's sister sacrificed her life to save it. With her death, the hero broke his vow to the forces of nature; he used their power to join her soul with the Great Seed, so that she might live on in a deep slumber.
On the ruins of his vow, the fallen hero made another, to his followers and to others like him. He would create a world as his sister desired, one without discrimination. He would find a girl, a Chosen One, whose mana matched his sister, even if it should take him countless millennia. He would lift her to divinity so that her soul could be traded, and his sister might be reborn in the body of the Chosen; and with her rebirth he would reunite the worlds.
But the fallen hero obscured the truth. For if the Seed should ever germinate, his sister's soul would be forever lost, and if she should ever awaken, both of the worlds would end.
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Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war caused this tree to wither away, and it left behind it a Great Seed too ill to germinate. A hero attempted to save it from its fate by appealing to the rulers of the two kingdoms; but they blocked their ears from his plea.
Instead the hero appealed to the forces of nature themselves, and he made to them this vow: 'I vow to split the worlds asunder to ease the burden upon the Seed. When a century has passed, and the great motherland of Derris-Kharlan returns to shine its light upon the earth, the Seed will be germinated, and I will reunite the world.'
The hero was granted a blessing in the form of divine power and became an angel to watch over the Seed and the two worlds. When a century had passed, the two ancient kings were called to the Holy Ground of Kharlan, where they were to forge a treaty that would last an eternity.
Instead of forging a treaty, the humans each attempted to take the Seed for themselves, and the hero's sister sacrificed her life to save it. With her death, the hero broke his vow to the forces of nature; he used their power to join her soul with the Great Seed, so that she might live on in a deep slumber.
On the ruins of his vow, the fallen hero made another, to his followers and to others like him. He would create a world as his sister desired, one without discrimination. He would find a girl, a Chosen One, whose mana matched his sister, even if it should take him countless millennia. He would lift her to divinity so that her soul could be traded, and his sister might be reborn in the body of the Chosen; and with her rebirth he would reunite the worlds.
But the fallen hero obscured the truth. For if the Seed should ever germinate, his sister's soul would be forever lost, and if she should ever awaken, both of the worlds would end.