Scenario:Petra - Traces of Mother

Traces of Mother

Petra, Elmott, and the crew happen to stop at a village that was once freed of a black mist by Petra's mother, Karla. Learning that she had ventured into the Abyssal Forest to cut off the black mist—a form taken by the evil spirit Andras—at its source long ago, they follow in her footsteps in hopes of finding her.

---

Petra: This is a statue of my mother?

To replenish their supplies, (Captain) and the crew have come to a small village nestled in the mountains.

Petra stands, mouth agape, in front of a statue in the middle of town.

Wind Spirit: I never thought we'd see traces of her in such a remote village, but there's no mistake.

Wind Spirit: This is the woman who banished the black mist and sealed me away while I was gripped by madness. My enemy and my savior.

Wind Spirit: She is your mother, Petra. The wind shaman known as Karla.

Petra: ...

Wind Spirit: Pitiable woman, to go unnoticed by her own daughter.

Wind Spirit: Though I suppose it makes sense. You were merely a babe when she left you.

The crew gather at the center of the village, around the statue dedicated to Petra's mother.

Settling on a plan, they go about talking to the locals, trying to find out anything they can about Karla.

Villager: The statue? It's of the hero who saved our village, a wind shaman.

Villager: It happened a few years ago. The village was attacked by a mysterious black mist.

Villager: Just when we thought we were done for, the wind shaman came and blew the black mist away.

Villager: She even stayed a while and healed the people who were injured in the confusion. She was our savior!

Petra: Amazing...

Elder: The wind shaman? She said she was headed to the Abyssal Forest.

Elder: Something about stopping the black mist at its source...

Petra: (Stopping it at its source? Could it be that Andras is still alive?)

Petra: Excuse me, but where can we find the Abyssal Forest?

Elder: It's on an island not far from here.

Elder: The island used to be inhabited, but the village there fell to ruin.

Elder: Nobody knows how it happened. That's why it's called the Abyssal Forest—it spooked folks so much they gave it a scary name.

Elder: We tried to warn the wind shaman, but she insisted on going.

Vyrn: Looks like we got a lotta info!

Elmott: A black mist that drives people mad? That's got to be Andras.

Elmott: Doesn't sound like it was possessing a host like it did in Montbix though.

The black mist that attacked Petra's village was in truth an evil spirit called Andras, who incites people into committing heinous acts.

When the crew visited the kingdom of Montbix, it, too, was enshrouded in black mist.

Andras had possessed the hero Gallivan and appeared to him in the form of his own sister, tempting him to madness.

As confusion gripped the nation, the crew joined forces with the kingdom's inhabitants and slew Andras... or so they thought.

Lyria: So this would mean that after Andras attacked Petra's village, it must have come here.

Lyria: Then, after being repelled here too, it went to Montbix.

Petra: I'm afraid that might not be right.

"Fran": Ah... Right. So you're that annoying woman's...
Hmph, but no matter. This is the end for you!

Petra: (Andras spoke about what happened to my village as if it had heard it from someone else.)

Petra: (It was as if Andras wasn't even there when it happened.)

Petra: (That can only mean one thing.)

Petra: The villagers claim that Mother fought off the black mist.

Petra: And yes, Andras was sighted at my village, and Montbix as well.

Petra: It makes sense to believe that it went from one place to the next.

Petra: I thought that too, until now.

Petra: But then I realized: these three places have nothing connecting them and are so far away from each other. That would suggest that—

1. There's more than one Andras?

Choose: There's more than one Andras?

Petra: I believe it's the most likely theory. It would also explain why Mother would go to "stop the black mist at its source."

Petra: There might be an original Andras out there, creating other Andrases and sending them out to attack various settlements.

Petra: Mother must have gone to the Abyssal Forest to exorcise their source.

As Petra explains her theory, the crew all shiver as they are reminded of the ferocious spirit they fought.

Elmott: This is getting out of hand...

Vyrn: Yeah. It only took one of those things to nearly bring down a kingdom, but now you're sayin' there's more?

Lyria: We need to get to the source before it hurts anyone else...

Wind Spirit: Then we too must go to this Abyssal Forest. There is no other way.

Petra: You're right...

Petra: Not to mention we might find clues leading to Mother.

(Captain) nods in agreement.

Petra: (If the true Andras is somewhere in the Abyssal Forest, then that's also where Mother's journey would have ended.)

Petra: (Will she be there? What would I even say to her?)

Petra: (Should I ask her why she abandoned me? Or should I...)

Petra: (No, I can't think about that now. I have to concentrate on stopping Andras.)

Faced with the prospect of meeting her mother, Petra frets.

With fear in her heart, along with just a little hope, she sets forth towards the forest.

Traces of Mother: Scene 2

Petra and the others stumble across Karla's journal in some village ruins in the Abyssal Forest. In it are entries detailing her determination to defeat Andras and her love for Petra.

---

The crew catches wind that Petra's mother, Karla, had headed to the Abyssal Forest to exorcise Andras.

Following her trail, they arrive at the forest and begin exploring.

Deep within, they find the ruins of a village that has been long since abandoned.

Vyrn: Looks like it's been a while since anyone lived here.

Petra: Let's take a closer look. Maybe we'll find a sign that Mother was here.

The group splits up to look for clues among the ruins.

Elmott: What's this?

Elmott finds a journal in one of the structures and hands it to Petra.

Elmott: This name on the cover... It's your mom's, isn't it?

Petra: Oh!

Petra: I knew it... My mother has been here.

Petra gently opens the journal and studies its contents.

Karla: The black mist's true form was an evil spirit named Andras.

Karla: The different black mists I've encountered on my journey are called shadows, and are merely fragments of the original.

Karla: It seems that the shadows will spawn endlessly unless the original is destroyed. I must find it quickly...

Karla: Through investigating, I've determined that the original Andras dwells deep within the Abyssal Forest.

Karla: But its power is immense. There's a chance that I will die trying to fight it.

Karla: Nevertheless, my duty as a wind shaman won't allow me to let Andras act unchallenged.

Karla: I have regrets. There are many things that I still want to do. That I was not able to be a mother to Petra hurts most of all.

Karla: More than anything else, I wanted to be there to see her grow up...

Karla: I will leave this journal here, in case I fail.

Karla: If anyone is reading this, I ask you, please spread word throughout the skies of the threat that Andras poses.

Karla: And, if you believe I am worthy of it, please tell my daughter Petra that I loved her.

Having read the last entry, everyone looks toward Petra with concern.

Petra: ...

Petra: (Mother never returned to the village.)

Petra: (Which means that after finishing this diary, she went to fight Andras, and...)

Petra: It's not fair... Saying goodbye like this...

Petra: How am I supposed to stay angry at you?

Tears well in Petra's eyes. Silently, they fall down her cheeks and onto the journal.

Lyria: Petra...

Petra: I'm sorry... I'm fine. There are more important matters.

Vyrn: Like what do we do about Andras?

Elmott: If the original is still alive, that means there's a certain someone we still have to avenge.

The crew look back on the final moments of a brave man who gave his life fighting Andras, and remember the strength of his resolve.

Petra: My mother's fate aside, I believe that we need to go deeper into the forest.

Petra: We have to put a stop to Andras and the black mist, once and for all!

(Captain) nods in solidarity.

Traces of Mother: Scene 3

The crew enters a cave deep in the forest where Andras's main body is sealed. Andras suddenly breaks the seal and attacks Petra, gaining control of her briefly until fended off by Karla.

---

Intent on exorcising the original Andras, (Captain) and the crew head further into the Abyssal Forest.

They come across a suspicious cave and decide to enter.

Inside they find a single staff planted in the ground, positioned as if it is preventing black mist from erupting out of the earth.

Vyrn: Look, there's black mist swirlin' out from the base of that staff!

Wind Spirit: There's no mistaking it—that's Andras. I can sense it.

Wind Spirit: But its presence feels far stronger than when we encountered it before.

Petra: So this must be the original Andras, the one Mother wrote about in her journal.

Wind Spirit: Indubitably.

Heeding the wind spirit's warning, the group make sure to keep their guard up.

Petra: It looks like that staff is keeping Andras sealed away.

Wind Spirit: Indeed. And it most definitely belonged to Karla.

Wind Spirit: I remember it well—when I myself was sealed away by her, she wielded that very staff.

Petra: But that would mean Mother succeeded in exorcising Andras!

Wind Spirit: Yet she did not return to the village. She likely perished during the struggle.

Petra: ...

Lyria: Oh, Petra...

Petra: I'm... alright. I knew this was coming.

Petra: I was just... clinging to a little hope.

Petra stares vacantly as what remains of her hope curdles into despair.

She steps toward the staff, like a child yearning for their mother, but then—

Petra: What?

Wind Spirit: ...!
Get back!

As Petra approaches her mother's staff, it shatters into pieces while emitting a dry, cracking sound.

With nothing to stop it, the black mist bursts forth from the ground like a geyser and envelops the cave.

Elmott: Damn! Did the seal break?

???: Yes, it did... Though I admit it took some time to erode it away.

A grave, sinister voice fills the air in the cave.

As if to follow the voice, the mist gathers and gives shape to the form of Andras.

Andras: Ah, but what fortuitous timing for the seal to give out.

Andras: Or did you plan for this breakfast feast to coincide with my awakening?

Wind Spirit: Spare me, Andras! You will taste my wrath if you continue to insult me.

Andras: Hmph. Then why are you here? What is it you want?

Petra: Andras. We have come to end you, once and for all.

Petra: So that no one will suffer at your hands ever again!

Andras: Ah, so my other selves were hard at work while I was imprisoned.

For a moment, Andras falls silent, as if listening to someone else speak.

Andras: Aha! I see! We set our sights on a celestial earth spirit!

Andras: Though it seems my shadow played quite the long game. I suppose it was unavoidable, considering how weak it was.

Elmott: You know what happened at Montbix?

Andras: My shadows are extensions of my misty form. We are many, and we are one.

Andras: We have the ability to share with one another what each of us has seen and heard.

Andras: I see that we were defeated many times in many places by that persistent wind shaman...

Andras: No matter. My shadows served their purpose—they succeeded in bringing you to me.

Elmott: What?

Andras: You, girl, the Wind Spirit's pact bearer. I shall have your body for my own!

Andras transforms entirely into black mist and surges towards Petra.

Petra: Cleansing winds! Purify this evil!

A barrier of wind appears and halts Andras's approach, scattering the mist.

Andras: Hmph, you are much more powerful than you were in my shadow's memory. But are you strong enough to endure this?

The mist converges into a spiral shape. It spins rapidly and attempts to pierce through Petra's barrier.

Petra: Gah!

Petra: No! It won't be like what happened in Montbix—not this time!

But Andras's onslaught is too much for her. One by one, cracks begin to form in the barrier.

Elmott: Damn!

Elmott: Hey, Andras! Don't think you can leave me out of this!

Lyria: Please help us, Tiamat!

(Captain) and the crew assault Andras, trying to draw its attention away from Petra as much as possible.

But their attacks land on nothing but mist, passing harmlessly through Andras's vaporous form.

Andras: Fools. Can mist be set on fire? Can it be cut by steel?

Andras: The only real threat amongst you is the wind spirit, and even it has made the mistake of making a pact with a weakling!

Petra: Ngh!

Petra's barrier crumbles and scatters to the ground, omitting a sound akin to shattering glass.

She falls to the ground, exhausted.

Andras: I will trap your mind in an endless dream! I will make your flesh my home!

Petra: Ghh...

Lyria: Petra!

Petra writhes on the cave floor, as if Andras is slowly eroding her away from within.

Petra: Ungh...

She manages to resist Andras's control for a brief moment, until—

She falls still and stares blankly ahead, her eyes now clouded over.

Petra: ...

Elmott: Not good—is she seeing an illusion, like Gallivan and Eurel were?

"Karla": Petra.

Petra: M... Mother?

"Karla": Yes, it's me. It's good to see you, Petra.

Petra: Mother... I've missed you... I've missed you so much...

"Karla": I know, Petra. I'm so sorry for leaving you all alone.

"Karla": But now we can be together forever.

Looking upon Andras's illusion of her mother, Petra's eyes well up.

Wind Spirit: Petra, get a hold of yourself!

(Captain) and the crew desperately call out to Petra, but their cries fall on deaf ears.

"Karla": Do you see them, Petra? Those are our enemies. They're trying to tear us apart.

Petra: No... I don't want to lose you again...

Obeying Andras's illusion, Petra points her staff towards the group.

Vyrn: Dang! What do we do?

Lyria: Um, if I remember right... In order to drive Andras out of her, we have to trigger a strong memory, or her emotions!

Everyone racks their brains for something they can use, when suddenly—

???: Spirits of the wind, answer my call!
Aerial Purge!

A woman's voice is carried through the air on a gentle breeze.

The moment the breeze makes contact with Petra, black mist erupts from her body.

Andras: You! Yet again you defy me!

Almost knocked out from the ordeal, Petra drowsily looks up at the woman who saved her.

Petra: M... Mother?

Karla: Sorry I'm late. Everything's going to be okay, Petra.

Petra: ...

The woman's voice sounds familiar to Petra, who feels a strange sense of warmth and safety as she slips into unconsciousness.

Petra: Gasp...

Petra: Where am I?

Elmott: Finally, you're awake. You aren't in any pain, are you?

Petra: Elmott? (Captain)? I was...

Petra: Oh! That's right, I was possessed by Andras and—

Karla: It's all right now. I've sealed Andras away again.

Petra: ...!

Karla: You've grown so much, Petra.

Petra: Mother? Is this one of Andras's illusions?

Karla: No, silly girl—I'm real. Come here.

Karla approaches Petra and embraces her gently.

Karla: You've grown so, so much.

Petra: Oh...

Enveloped in her mother's warmth, Petra barely noticed her own tears streaming down her face.