High above the cloud towers Mount Illusia, and the Tree of Mana is enshrined on the top of the mountain. From the Mana Tree gushes out the Waterfall -- The source of all life in this world. The Tree of Mana grows on the energy of will emitted by all things in this world. The Mana Tree flourishes in beauty when the spirits of the people are pure, and the water springing out from its roots purifies the minds of people even more. However, once the Mana Tree is contaminated with an evil influence, the water springing from the roots becomes tinged with evil force. The foul water turns the people's minds bad, and their evil energy returns to the Mana Tree changing it into an even more deadly existence. This vicious circle goes on and on, until the world is totally corrupted, ultimately meeting its destruction. The Mana Shrine is a sacred place where no man should tread. However, there were people who dared to enter the sacred area. They knew that those who touch the Tree of Mana would receive a great power to last for eternity.
Once, the Emperor of Vandole used the power of Mana for evil purposes. With the mighty power in his possession, he forced people into slavery, which began his bloody rule. But Vandole's evil purposes were stopped by the Knights of Gemma who guarded the Tree of Mana. The Gemma Kights joined hands with the Mana Family, the keepers of the Tree of Mana, to fight a long hard battle. Finally, they were able to restore peace to the world. The Mana Family feared the power of the Mana Tree may be misused again, and sealed the way to the Shrine in the Pendant of Mana. To open the way to the shrine, the Pendant as well as the supernatural powers of the Mana Family became necessary.
And now, an evil hand is once again at work to grab the mighty power of Mana -- The Empire of Glaive, headed by Dark Lord and his aid the sorceror Julius. Dark Lord is the evil-loving leader of Glaive. His companion, Julius, is a man of mystery, who seems to know much about the secrets of the Mana Tree and the Pendant. Our Hero, a courageous warrior, sneaked into Castle Glaive one night, trying to discover their evil plans, and was captured as a slave. The slaves of Glaive were doomed to ceaseless suffering and sorrow. They were forced to fight deadly monsters, every day in order to generate the energy of evil and hate, and to entertain Dark Lord with the battles he loved to watch. If they wished to survive, they had to slay the monsters. Only then would they be given their meager meals for that day. But from the poor living conditions and the countless wounds and fatigue, the slaves lost their lives one by one.
One day, our Hero returned to the slave quarters after slaying a monster to find Willy, his only friend, laying on the floor barely alive! Willy was also a warrior who entered Castle Glaive, and was captured by Julius. Even after he was made a slave, he had been secretly investigating Dark Lord's plans. For the past few days, he had a look of desperation in his eyes. "Mana is in danger now... We must let the Knights of Gemma know about it. See Bogard at the Falls. He is a Gemma Knight. He should know what to do." The last words Willy spoke before passing away baffled our Hero. But with his invincible spirit, stood up. He shall avenge Willy... With firm determination, he set forth. He shall escape from this place, and find Bogard. Right now, it was the only clue he had for his perilous mission which lay ahead.
