Radiant Historia

Story

*Warning: Spoiler* On the continent of Vainqueur, a land of men and beasts, the holy nation of the east, Alistel, is in a state of war with Granorg, a vast land to the west ruled with harshness by Queen Protea. Alistel's land is slowly turning into a desert as a strange disease known as the "Sand Plague" turns the people to sand. The ruler of Alistel, the prophet Noah, insists that this worldwide disease is the result of Protea's evil rule. The people of Alistel therefore believe that they are waging a holy war against Granorg. One day, Stocke and his subordinates, agents of Alistel's secret service, are sent into Granorg territory to rescue a secret agent who has been captured by Granorg's government. After rescuing the agent, the group is surrounded by the Granorg army and Stocke is seriously wounded. He wakes up in Historia, a world in which time and space are distorted. There, two mysterious children, Teo and Lipti, give him the ability to travel through time and space using the power of a book given to him by his employer Heiss: the White Chronicle. After using this new ability to travel through time and avoid defeat, Stocke is given a choice: continue working under Heiss in the intelligence division or join his friend Rosch's unit in the military. Each decision creates its own timeline, and each timeline has its own story that nevertheless connects to the other. Stocke is often forced to switch between timelines to acquire skills and information he wouldn't otherwise have access to, to avoid disasters or ambushes, or simply to position himself correctly to take advantage of his enemies or friends. Under Heiss, Stocke is sent to Granorg to assassinate Princess Eruca. He only manages to infiltrate the city by pretending to be part of a group of traveling entertainers, most of whom are Satyros, one of the continent's native beast races. Among them is Aht, a nine-year-old shaman who adores Stocke for better or worse and uses her abilities to protect him. When he arrives in Granorg, he learns that the princess knew he was coming and had not informed anyone else. Stocke learns that Eruca is the de facto leader of the resistance against her stepmother's rule and is therefore an asset to Alistel's war against Granorg rather than an enemy. Eruca also reveals that she is the only living descendant of the realm's rulers and therefore the only person who can perform the ritual to prevent the desertification. However, since Queen Protea refuses to allow her to perform the ritual, the world could turn to sand in less than a decade if Protea is not stripped of her power. Stocke refrains from carrying out the assassination and thus secures her support. Strangely, he is also helped by his appearance, which resembles Eruca's late older brother Ernst, who was executed by their father for treason. Despite his best intentions, he is branded a traitor in Alistel and General Hugo orders his execution for failing to fulfill his mission. In the other timeline, Stocke is assigned to Rosch's unit to protect the mines of Alistel from enemy sabotage and guard a cave that is the only connection between the two mountainous regions of Granorg and Alistel, aside from a narrow valley protected by the oft-traded Sand Fortress. After successfully defending the mines, Stocke and Rosch are rewarded by General Hugo with promotions, but he also transfers them to the Sand Fortress with a platoon of new recruits. Alistel's deputy, Lieutenant General Raul, suspects that he wants to remove possible future political opponents from the city, as Field Marshal Viola, who has gained popularity against Hugo's wishes, has also been transferred there. After defeating the Granorg army in two battles, Rosch's entire brigade is killed. Stocke discovers a piece of paper that proves that the Granorgites have been leaked information from inside Alistel. Stocke returns to Alistel with the badly wounded Rosch and, on the advice of Lieutenant General Raul, sneaks into Hugo's office to look for evidence of dealings with Granorg. He finds an encrypted note that he believes contains the truth and immediately flees Alistel with Raul, Rosch and Rosch's doctor Sonja. They arrive in Celestia and learn that Hugo has made a secret pact with Protea's advisors, Dias and Selvan, to oust Protea from the throne, annex Granorg and then conquer the entire continent. Stocke persuades Rosch to become commander of Celestia's army, and Celestia prepares for war against Granorg and Alistel. In the story created by Stocke refusing to leave Heiss, he finds asylum in the desert nation of Cygnus and convinces King Garland the Mighty to prepare for war against Granorg. Eruca then takes him to the Gutral tribe, who only meet humans if they bear the sacred "beast mark". Stocke acquires the mark and recruits the Gutrals to fight Granorg. They depose Protea and thus obtain the mark.