The Forest of Spirits (精霊の森 Seirei no Mori?), known as the South Forest (南の森 Minami no Mori?) in the present, is the place in Tales of Phantasia where the Great Tree Yggdrasill rests. It is to the south of Belladem, Toltus, and Miguel.
Geography[]
The Forest of Spirits is comprised of thick greenery that forms barriers against passage, but the path through is straightforward. Trees and rocks litter the area, and a placid stream covers the bottom portion of the forest. At the end of the forest, hidden in its core, is Yggdrasill, Aselia's Great Tree and the source of all mana.
History[]
Tales of Phantasia[]
Present Timeline[]
In the present, the South Forest is merely a place of hunting for Toltus's villagers. One day, Cress Albane and Chester Burklight head to the forest in order to hunt. They chase a boar through the forest and end up in front of a giant, dead tree. Cress has a vision of the tree in its healthy state, as well as a woman pleading that the tree not be defiled. Their hunt, however, saves them from Toltus's massacre, and they return to the village with their lives intact after hearing Toltus's bell, only to find their village destroyed by the hands of Mars Uldole.
Past Timeline[]
When Cress and his friend, Mint Adenade, return to the past and help Claus F. Lester at Lone Valley, the Wind Spirit Sylph asks them go to the Forest of Spirits to see Yggdrasill's Spirit Martel. Once there, Martel tells them that the Tree is dying, and if it dies, it would take mana, magic, and Spirits along with it. Martel disappears, and Mint attempts to heal the Tree to no avail. Deciding that it would be best to do what they can, the party decides to look for Luna, the Summon Spirit of Light. After defeating Dhaos and sending him fleeing to the future, Mint, after obtaining the "Unicorn Horn", proceeds to heal the Tree using the Unicorn's might. Assured that the Tree will now survive to the future, they return to the present and defeat Dhaos, heading to the future not long afterward to chase the havoc he wreaks there.
Future Timeline[]
After obtaining the Techbirds, the group returns to the forest to see Yggdrasill still strong. Martel greets the party and informs them she is fine. She states that mana consumption returned to normal, so both she and the Tree are stable now. She tells them of a handsome man who watched over her as she slept, and then she returns to sleep. Dhaos then attacks them at the Tree but refrains from a full-fledged battle to prevent harming it. Dhaos and the group part ways. When Dhaos is finally defeated, the party returns to the forest to speak of what Dhaos revealed. Deciding that his planet need not suffer, Mint erects a barrier around Yggdrasill in order to prevent too much mana from being drawn to it. After the heroes depart for their separate times, Martel uses the gathered mana to send a Mana Seed back to Derris-Kharlan for his people.
Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon[]
While undergoing the Ordeal of Spirits, Mel and Dio need to enter the Forest of Spirits in AC. 4354, where the Spirit of All Things, Origin, now rests. Here, the Hero of Eternity Suzu Fujibayashi calls it the Lost Forest (まよいのもり Mayoi no Mori?) and gives them the key, a haiku by the poet Kobayashi Issa: "come and play with me, orphan sparrow" (われときて あそべや おやのない すずめ ware to kite asobe ya oya no nai suzume?).[1] She explains as best she can the various meanings associated with it. If Dio talks to the girl Calypso in Valhalla Village in a "Prince" costume, Calypso will begin to fawn over Dio, and a boy, Ulysses, grows jealous. Wishing to become brave enough to attract Calypso's attention, Ulysses enters the Forest of Spirits but becomes trapped by his fear. If the party gives him a pair of "Winged Boots", he leaves the dungeon. Inside the forest, after navigating its twists and turns with the aid of stone tablets, Mel and Dio find Origin, who tests them in combat. Finding them worthy, he imparts to them the knowledge of absentmindedness, as well as of nothing, the opposite side of his creation.
Tales of the World: Summoner's Lineage[]
After finding resistance at Miguel, some of the Demon Lord Xex's minions head to the Forest of Spirits to report to Xex. Fulein K. Lester and his party follow not long afterward. Xex has warped the very forest to exclude anger, and when Fulein arrives, the fairy inhabitants are surrounding a woman. After warding them off, the witch Elmira Louge joins the group.
References[]
- ↑ Haiku of Kobayashi Issa Haiku Guy: Haiku Novels, Translations and Criticism by David G. Lanoue (2009) Retrieved on 2010-02-19.