Nexon Wrote:Something’s coming to MapleStory… I think. It’s GM Maverick and I want to tell you a story -- a MapleStory if you will. A story about new lands and new adventures and exciting things that are on their way to everyone’s favorite fantasy universe. Is it real? Will it really happen? I don’t know, I can’t say, but I think it just might. Listen to what I’ve seen and you be the judge.



I recall seeing a snow-filled wonderland, a dream in red and white with high mountain peaks and frost-caked trees and breathtaking views like nothing I’ve seen in MapleStory before. More amazing than the scenery though, was the being who stood atop a snow-covered peak surveying the terrain as if he owned it. He was incredible; possessing powers like none I had ever seen. He was training, merely exercising his skills as if to prepare for a battle yet to come. Yet even in this relaxed state he was extraordinary. His abilities reminded me of a Cygnus Knight, though far more powerful.



I pulled out my old pet’s binoculars and moved to get a closer view, but by the time I got them out, the man was gone as though he had never been. Who was he? What was his purpose? I stared at the binoculars and thought about Deion, a pet I’d had long ago. Deion was with me for a time and then was gone too. I missed him. I often wondered why I’d had to lose him, if there wasn’t some way of getting him back… I shrugged off the feeling and moved on.



I needed to investigate this. The appearance of such a warrior would surely interest the folks back home so I headed out. Before long I came to a village I didn’t recall ever seeing before. Surely these people would be able to answer my questions? They were all warriors in training, using skills similar to, though clearly not as powerful as the mighty figure I had glimpsed on the mountain. If that wasn’t enough of a clue, they had erected a shrine to the warrior. Clearly this person had inspired others to become like him.



I spoke with the villagers and discovered that, yes, they were indeed in training to become like the figure I had seen. More than that, they told me his name and I could scarcely believe my ears. “Aran,” they whispered. Aran? The one who will battle on the last day of the world? “Aran’s a myth,” I said. “Obviously not,” was the reply.



I watched the villagers train for a time. They worked hard and I found myself startled by their training methods. This was not like any other training regimen I had seen in Maple World. It was faster, better organized, young “Arans” learned skills more quickly than I would have believed possible. The village even allowed a local dungeon filled with low-powered monsters to thrive nearby to serve as a training ground for young fighters. It was perfect -- a model for new training regimens to come.



I continued my journey, eventually coming across yet another small village. The contrast between this place and the training ground for the Arans could not have been greater. Where that place was stark and serious, this place was happy and joyous. There was even a familiar looking figure wearing a red and white suit that presided over the town’s celebration. And what a celebration! There were so many things going on, so many events, each more fun than the last that the many hours -- or was it minutes? -- I passed there seemed like a blur.



Finally I moved on and the last part of my journey was not so pleasant. I found myself surrounded by new enemies, far stronger and more fearsome than any I had ever heard of in Maple World. Had they come in response to the appearance of the warrior and his disciples, or had they appeared because these things were coming? I didn’t know. At the time I didn’t care. All I knew was that I was fighting for my life against monstrosities that didn’t yet have a name. In the end, I was saved by the appearance of my beloved pet Deion who came from nowhere to help me fight these new monsters! He had with him new items, stronger than any I had ever seen that helped my skill in combat grow faster than I would have thought possible. The last thing I remember is fighting with Deion beside me, surrounded on all sides by terrifying things that needed to be destroyed.



And then I awoke in Henesys curled in a heap with a crowd of onlookers asking if I was all right. I leaped up saying, “The snow! Where is the snow? Where are the Arans? We need to fight the monsters!” the crowd looked at me as if I had gone mad. “It doesn’t snow in Henesys,” one person said to me as the crowd broke up, convinced I was a madman. “I’ve seen something amazing!” I yelled to their retreating backs. “Let me tell you what’s coming!” Alas, no one believed me.



Well, that’s not entirely true. An old man with a twinkle in his eye touched me on the shoulder. I turned to face him and… was this Aran? No, it couldn’t be. Yet there was something -- something in the way he moved perhaps.



“I believe you,” he said. And then he was gone. He had moved as fast as the hero on the mountain.



…assuming he was ever really there at all.

Fiel Wrote:fearsome enemies...? No idea on those.

Fiel Wrote:fearsome enemies...? No idea on those.

Eosian Wrote:"He had with him new items, stronger than any I had ever seen that helped my skill in combat grow faster than I would have thought possible."

Fiel Wrote:The only logical reason for new enemies would be those from Aran's home town, but those aren't exactly ferocious or powerful. Also, he didn't mention these beasts being in the ice area. According to the text, the new enemies are probably not part of the christmas event either considering that the storyteller is in one area talking about christmas, then moves to another area to talk about the new mobs. So yeah... still doesn't quite make sense unless these enemies are ones we haven't seen before.

Amnesia Wrote:Neo Tokyo?