Recovery and Preparations for a Return
Elysia, Home of the Seraphim
ENEMIES
Prickleboar  | |
|---|---|
| Level | 6 |
| HP | 403 |
| Link | — |
| Weakness | — |
| Resistance | — |
ITEMS
 |
Life Bottle |
 |
Saffron |
 |
Ice Pop |
 |
Rosemary |
 |
Life Bottle |
 |
Natural Waistcoat |
 |
Verbena |
Before heading to the star, take the scenic route. Turn around and head toward the large rock formation jutting up from the ground. On its left side is a treasure chest with a Life Bottle. On the opposite side is an herb gathering point where you can obtain Saffron. Head back and take a left to go down the staircase. Take another left and head to the top-left edge where the cliff meets the ruined wall. Here you'll reach another treasure chest that holds an Ice Pop. If you look at the ground on the edge of the cliff to the right, you’ll spot the vines where Sorey climbed down to reach the starting point of the game. Unfortunately, though they look climbable, they aren’t accessible.
Follow the open path along the cliff until you reach the point just above where the mural was. There is a tree growing nearby against a section of crumbling wall. At its base is another herb gathering point, this one offers Rosemary. Continue south and at the place where the cliff again meets a ruin wall is a monolith about quicksteps.
Don’t go up the stairs just yet; continue past them between the ruin walls to get to a treasure chest holding a Life Bottle. Continue all the way until you reach the stairs you went down earlier, and head back up them. Take a right and check out the monolith next to the Mt. Mabinogio Ruins entrance to learn about difficulty settings.
Traveling far enough south will trigger a conversation between Sorey and the girl about the Celestial Record. Sorey introduces his village, Elysia, and the girl mentions that the rumours were apparently false—the village here is Elysia, not Camlann.
Head along the path to the village (toward the star), and stop to check out the goats grazing near the path. This Discovery Point (“Hyland Goat”) is accompanied by the skit, The Elysian Goat.
If you wish, you can take a left before approaching the star to reach the Save Point and Monolith by the archway to the south. You can activate the save point there and learn about targeting from the monolith.
Head to the 
village entrance. Mikleo goes on ahead to report to Gramps, while Sorey rounds up the villagers for an introduction. Unfortunately, the entire village is seraphim and the girl can’t see any of them.
Speak with the villagers and the girl if you wish, and then make a few stops before heading to see Gramps. Activate the save point halfway up the hill. Outside of 
Sorey’s house is a treasure chest containing a Natural Waistcoat. There’s nothing in the house, so skip it for now. At the edge of the pond is an herb gathering point with Verbena.
Before entering 
Gramps’ house, go to the right and head up the small path between the stones and up the stairs on the left to check out the “Elysalark Nest” Discovery Point. The skit Elysalark Fledglings becomes available.
Unsurprisingly, Gramps is pretty pissed off when Sorey arrives to tell his side of the story. Gramps’ verdict is that the girl must leave Elysia as soon as possible.
You can talk to the villagers and the girl again if you want. They’ve all moved around and have new things to say. Once you’re done, head to Sorey’s house and enter. While Sorey waits for the girl in his room, Mikleo arrives and returns the item from the ruin: a glove with the mark of the Shepherd on it.
You can speak to the villagers again if you want; the five closest to the girl have new things to say. Once you’re ready, speak to the girl and she’ll follow Sorey into his home for dinner. They eat and discuss her hometown, Ladylake, the capital of Hyland and home to the Sacred Blade. According to legend, the person who pulls out the blade (in the Sword in the Stone sense) will become the Shepherd. Before turning in for the night, Sorey offers to help her pack and get supplies for the trip back, and in the morning they set out to hunt some prickleboars.
The girl has joined your party! Check out her stats, equipment, and artes, and try tweaking your battle strategy and support talents. Head to the star at the entrance of the forest to start hunting prickleboar. The girl will fight alongside you, and if you wish, you can switch control and try swinging around a spear instead of a sword. Run around the forest and take on some more prickleboars until you have eight prickleboar hides. Sorey will let you know when you have collected enough hides through a special Battle Result skit. Prickleboars will keep spawning around the ruins entrance area, so you can battle more if you want. Once you’re done, it’s time for Sorey to teach the girl how to make jerky and bags and sleeping gear out of their haul.
Enter Sorey’s House for a cutscene where they discuss how the Celestial Record makes people want to explore ruins. The talk turns to the horrible state of the world below and how people are on the verge of starvation by crop failure, warmongering, climate change, and inexplicable horrors. The two turn in for the night, and in the morning they get ready to turn the prickleboars they hunted yesterday into actual usable supplies. Speak to the girl to get started. They spend the day working, and as dusk falls she says she’ll be able to leave tomorrow.
Head up to Gramps’ House and let him know the girl will be leaving. Night passes, and in the morning, Sorey and the whole village gathers to send her off. She thanks Sorey and finally tells him her name: Alisha Diphda. She also confesses that she believes that Seraphim and the Shepherd legends are true. She tells Sorey that the Sacred Blade Festival (and its trial) will be held soon, and Sorey might find it interesting.
After she sets off, Mikleo gives Sorey a blade he found in the ruins. Gramps sent him to search for clues about Alisha, and he found a blade with Hyland’s royal crest on the hilt. Clearly, she’s not just your average lady knight.
Suddenly, Gramps notices that an intruder has entered his domain and is masking its presence, leading him to believe it’s a hellion. He warns everyone to be cautious, but also urges the villagers to help find it at once!
Danger Invades Elysia
BOSS Hellion
???  | |
|---|---|
| Level | 6 |
| HP | 1113 |
| Link | — |
| Weakness |  |
| Resistance |   |
Save before leaving the village. Mikleo has a hunch that the intruder is in the forest around the ruins. Approach the north-east section of the forest to hear a horrible yell. Round the corner to see a fox-hellion biting into Seraph Mason. The hellion declares that he intends to eat them, so Sorey and Mikleo draw their weapons and battle begins.
Follow the tutorial instructions to assign your first hidden arte: Heavenly Torrent. Use it liberally during the battle, and don’t forget to block when you run out of SC. This hellion is weak against water, so between Mikleo’s artes and Sorey’s new Heavenly Torrent, it shouldn’t take long to dispatch him. He’s quick, but Sorey’s martial artes and his new hidden arte can interrupt the hellion’s casting. Don’t be afraid to get up close to the enemy, and make sure that you’re defending whenever you’re not attacking. Once you deplete the hellion’s health, it proceeds to devour Seraph Mason before Sorey and Mikleo’s eyes, to their horror. Luckily, Gramps and the rest of the village arrive and the hellion retreats, mentioning that his “main course” was getting away. Gramps reveals that the strange creature was a human who became a hellion after being corrupted, and Sorey is stunned by the knowledge that humans can become hellions.
That night, Sorey lies awake in bed, thinking about the day’s events. He realizes that the hellion must have been after Alisha, makes his decision, and readies his supplies.
The Beginning of a Journey
There’s only one way forward. If you approach Gramps’ House, you will not be able to enter. Head to the star at the archway. Sorey reflects and quietly apologizes to his village family. Mikleo is waiting at the second archway. He knew Sorey would come to the same conclusion, and he refuses to let Sorey run off on his own. Mikleo hands over Gramps’ Pipe and gives Sorey a message from Gramps, who had been expecting something like this to happen.