Tess was born to Destonen, the first pirate in Maple World, and a half-elf named Yuris. During the war against the Black Mage, Tess and his family boarded the refugee airship in Leafre led by Athena Pierce, which was meant to take them to the southern plains of Victoria Island. During this time, Tess witnessed Aran save a missing refugee child before she headed off to fight the Black Mage.
Before the refugees could arrive at their destination, however, dragons inexplicably attacked the airship and forced them to crash-land in Ellin Forest, towards the east of Victoria Island. There, the refugees created Altaire Camp and coexisted with Ephenia the Fairy Queen, though Ephenia soon grew hostile after being convinced by Kirston to wipe out all humans on Victoria Island.
Facing many complications, the people of Altaire Camp split into hunters and gatherers. While the hunters searched the wilds for a better home, the gatherers stayed and maintained the camp. While his father explored Victoria Island, Tess chose to stay and protect the camp, as he - along with Athena Pierce and Perzen - were the only gatherers capable of defending the camp.
Some time after forming Altaire Camp, a traveler from the future entered through a Temporal Gate in Ludibrium and arrived in Ellin Forest from centuries ago. The traveler met with Tess in order to ask whether he needed their help. As he was busy guarding the camp, Tess asked them to collect flowers as a gift for his mother, who was about to give birth to his sister, Kyrin.
After the traveler gave Tess the flowers, Tess told them that his father was exploring Victoria Island. He then explained that he was worried that his mother would catch a cold because of the rain, and so the traveler helped create a parasol to shield Yuris from the rain.
Soon after, Destonen encountered Kirston's tent, where Kirston cursed Destonen's bloodline with a spell that would persist for as long as the Black Mage remained alive. Around the same time, Kirston spread a magical poison that mixed with the rain, resulting in Yuris getting poisoned shortly after giving birth to Kyrin. After Yuris passed away, Destonen returned back to the camp and told Tess and Athena about what had happened.
After Destonen was killed by the curse, his curse mark was passed down and split between Tess and Kyrin - his blood descendants. Tess soon realized that the curse worsened the closer that he was to Kyrin. In order to save both their lives, Tess decided to stay far away from Kyrin and instead decided to go on a quest to find the man who had cursed them, hoping to find a way to break the spell.
The Explorer[]
As a quarter-elf, Tess' lifespan was far greater than that of most humans. As a result, he spent centuries on his mission to break his blood curse, which eventually led him to travel to Maple Island in order to become a pirate. Aboard The Sangri-La, Tess met four others hoping to become Explorers: a girl named Olive who hoped to become a bowman, a boy named Rondo who wanted to become a thief, a girl named Sugar who wanted to become a magician, and a Beginner who revealed that they had come across a glowing maple leaf, which intrigued Tess.
After arriving at Victoria Island, the five went their separate ways and Tess went to the Nautilus in order to become a pirate. Soon after, Tess reached out and told the Explorer that he might be able to help them learn more about the glowing maple leaf. After meeting at the Six Path Crossway, Tess examined it and concluded that it was a normal maple leaf, unlike what he had thought it might be. He then suggested that they keep training in order to uncover more details and suggested that they go help the locals in Henesys.
Sugar told them that they would need to disguise themselves as Black Wings members in order to enter the mine. As they argued over the best way to obtain a hat, Tess suggested a majority vote between stealing a hat, asking someone for a hat, buying a hat, or simply charging in. However, Tess ignored the vote, despite being the one who had proposed it, and decided to act on his own.
He found a passing Black Wings member and began to fake cry, tearfully explaining that his late mother's dying wish had been for him to become a member of the Black Wings. He made up a story that he had failed to join the organization due to his incompetency and asked if he could borrow the hat just so that he could experience wearing it at least once in his life.
The boy, Xenon, gave up his hat, though he quickly revealed that he had seen through their façade and explained that a real Black Wings member wouldn't be fooled by such a terrible performance. He then gave them more information about the Black Wings officers, after which the Explorer and Rondo entered the mine and successfully recovered the Seal Stone.
The Black Shadow[]
After the Explorer inadvertently freed the Black Mage from his seal, the Black Mage sent his shadow to lay waste to Maple Island. As the black flames ravaged the land, Tess and the other Explorers rushed back and regrouped. The Explorer realized that the shadow had something to do with the Black Mage and explained to the others about what had happened with the seal.
Tess immediately blamed the Explorer for having unleashed the Black Mage, but the others jumped to their defense. They then realized that they could use the Seal Stone of Victoria Island in order to restore the broken land, just as Athena had mentioned. Tess took the Seal Stone in order to try using it, but he was unable to make it work.
As they wondered why the Black Mage had attacked Maple Island instead of a larger target, Tess accused the Explorer of having deliberately freed the Black Mage, claiming that it was too convenient of a story that the Explorer was the only one who could enter the Gate of the Present, with the seal breaking immediately after someone entered it for the first time in centuries. As Olive and Rondo began bickering with Tess, the Explorer told them to stop, admitting that it was all their fault. They then gave the Seal Stone to Tess and decided to leave with the refugees, believing that they didn't have what it took to be an Explorer.
As Olive attempted to change the Explorer's mind while they walked away, Rondo and Tess rushed over to call them back, explaining that the black shadow was heading to the Maple Tree where Sugar was. They were shocked to find Sugar slowly dying as the Maple Tree burned down, with the Black Mage's Shadow towering over her.
Seeing Sugar still believing in them, despite her knowing that they wanted to run away, the Explorer felt powerful determination awaken within them. Their determination allowed them to tap into a portion of the Adversary's power contained within their maple leaf, with which they defeated the Black Mage's Shadow. The Explorer then told Tess to hand over the Seal Stone, with which they restored Maple Island.
Following the incident, Tess apologized to the Explorer for the way that he had treated them throughout their journey. The four of them then agreed to make Maple Island their hometown, even though Explorers were meant to be wanderers.
The Heroes of Maple[]
Some time after the Black Mage's attack, Athena called the four Explorers to the Bowman Instructional School. She explained that she wanted them to meet the Heroes in order to consult with them, as the ones who had originally sealed the Black Mage might have knowledge on what to do now that he had returned. Olive immediately asked to speak with Mercedes, a fellow archer, while Rondo decided that he wanted to meet with Phantom, a fellow thief. Tess decided to speak with Aran, as he remembered how she had protected them until the very end when the Black Mage had invaded, even going so far as to leave the escape ship in order to find a missing kid who had fallen behind.
Checking on Victoria Island[]
Soon after, Athena Pierce called the four Explorers to Henesys and explained that the Black Mage had been eerily silent after attacking Maple Island. Because of this, she asked them to check on the towns of Victoria Island and look for any strange activity. As the Explorer set off to investigate Perion and Ellinia, Tess asked them to swap with him and investigate the Nautilus instead, though he refused to explain why.
Aboard the Nautilus, the Explorer met with Kyrin, who told them that she believed Tess to be suspicious because of the way that his skills had seemed to be far beyond those of a normal Beginner when they had first met, as well as the fact that he had a strange energy that seemed to drain hers as well. As she had been unable to talk to him after his job advancements, she believed that he had something to do with the Black Mage.
The Explorer told her that Athena would frequently give Tess important jobs, which made Kyrin feel as though she had misjudged Tess if Athena really trusted him. After confirming with her that the Nautilus was safe, the Explorer decided to intercept Tess in Ellinia and confront him about Kyrin's suspicions. In Ellinia, Tess was amused when the Explorer asked if he was part of the Black Wings and decided to tell them his full story about his family and the blood curse that he was trying to break.
Black Heaven[]
Before the Black Heaven operation, the Explorer met with Tess, Olive, and Rondo on Maple Tree Hill in order to catch up. They told the Explorer that as space was limited on the Lumiere, they wouldn't be able to come and fight alongside them. However, the Explorer promised to fight harder on their behalf and received buffs from each of them.
Aftermath[]
After the defeat of the Black Mage, Tess returned to meet Kyrin, who explained that Athena had told her about their family curse. Upon looking at her hand, Tess was relieved to see that the curse mark had vanished with the Black Mage's death. As they tearfully reunited, Tess asked Kyrin to wait for him, as he had somewhere to be.
On Maple Island, Tess reunited with the Explorer, Rondo, and Olive. Just as they all wished that Sugar could reunite with them one last time, Sugar herself popped out of the Maple Tree. Sugar greeted the Explorer and told them that it had been a while since they had met in her current form. Tess and the others then decided to give Sugar and the Explorer some time to catch up.
Story (Old, Pre-Destiny)[]
Ellin Forest[]
Tess was born to Destonen, the first pirate in Maple World, and a half-elf named Yuris. During the war against the Black Mage, Tess and his family boarded the refugee airship in Leafre led by Athena Pierce, which was meant to take them to the southern plains of Victoria Island.
Before the refugees could arrive at their destination, however, dragons inexplicably attacked the airship and forced them to crash-land in Ellin Forest, towards the east of Victoria Island. There, the refugees created Altaire Camp and coexisted with Ephenia the Fairy Queen, though Ephenia soon grew hostile after being convinced by Kirston to wipe out all humans on Victoria Island.
Facing many complications, the people of Altaire Camp began exploring Victoria Island in order to find a better home to build a town in. During this time, Tess became friends with a refugee named Kao, who disappeared several months after they crashed on Victoria Island. Soon after, Kao returned back to Ellin Forest, though they seemingly had no memories of their time in Altaire Camp.
This Kao - who was actually a traveler from the future - was confused by why everyone in Altaire Camp seemed to recognize them. After being scolded by Loha for not collecting the ingredients that Sion had asked for, the traveler met with Tess, who who told them that their joke about not knowing their own name was hilarious. He then asked them how they got the bruise on their face.
The traveler decided to play along and asked what Sion wanted from them. Tess lied and told them that Sion had asked for Moss Snail Shells. As he was on guard duty, he asked them to collect the shells and bring them to Loha. The traveler then set out to collect the shells, unknowingly completing Tess' job for him. Soon after, Tess also asked them to collect Tree Trunks for him, once again claiming that he was on guard duty.
The Explorer[]
Over the centuries, Tess - who had a much longer lifespan as a quarter-elf - went into hiding as Victoria Island developed. However, after learning that something major would soon be happening in Maple World, Tess came out of hiding and traveled to Maple Island in order to become an Explorer.
Aboard The Sangri-La, Tess met four others - Sugar, Olive, Rondo, and an Explorer whom he immediately recognized as Kao from Ellin Forest. However, the Explorer was confused and claimed that they had no idea who Kao was. After realizing that the Explorer really had no idea who Kao was, Tess concluded that he must have mistaken them for someone else.
The Explorer was soon contacted by Athena Pierce and Kyrin, who asked them to investigate Tess, who had seemed suspicious to them because he had been wearing a mask to hide his face and because he had seemed much more experienced than he had been letting on.[5] The Explorer decided to go to the Six Path Crossway to begin their search, and sure enough, they saw Tess walking nearby. They followed him towards the path to the Nautilus, where they found him facing a masked rabbit. When the Explorer began questioning him, Tess asked them to help him capture the rabbit, promising to answer their questions if they did.
Though the Explorer defeated the rabbit, it managed to escape before they could capture it. Tess also tried to leave covertly, but the Explorer caught him before he could escape. Tess relented and agreed that since he had promised, he would tell them everything.[6] He told them that he had been trying to capture the rabbit because it was part of a shady organization, though he refused to say anything more. However, he warned them that something major would be happening in Maple World soon, and that it was the reason he had come out of hiding.[7] He then noted that the Explorer even behaved just like Kao before he took his leave.
The Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who explained that she had uncovered new information on the thief who had recently stolen the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert. The Explorer went to the Bowman Instructional School, where they were surprised to see that Tess was also there. He explained that he had been telling Athena that he believed the thief to be a member of the Black Wings, rather than an Explorer.
He explained that the Black Wings were the organization he had been researching and told them that the jewel thief was most likely their Master of Disguise, who had likely impersonated an Explorer in order to throw the Explorers' Guild into chaos. Tess asked the Explorer to accompany him while he continued investigating, and so the two of them decided to head to the Verne Mine in Edelstein, which Tess explained was the headquarters of the Black Wings. However, he told them that they would need to convince the Black Wings that they were members if they wanted to go inside, which meant that they would need to obtain Black Wings hats.
Just then, they saw a boy wearing a Black Wings hat nearby and convinced him to give them his hat. Though he gave them his hat, the boy, Xenon, warned them that it wouldn't help them find what they were searching for. He explained that the leaders of the Black Wings were on missions throughout Maple World, leaving only Le Tierre the secretary to manage things at headquarters.
As Le Tierre had no useful information on the Black Wings' operations, the boy told them to wait there and promised to return. Tess was sure that he was bringing back Black Wings reinforcements, but to his surprise, the boy returned with several classified Resistance documents containing information on all the high-ranking members of the Black Wings.
The boy smiled and told them to never say that the Resistance hadn't done anything for the Explorers before leaving. Tess then told the Explorer to deliver the documents to Athena Pierce, as he planned to stay behind and investigate the Verne Mine.
The Seal Stone of Nihal Desert[]
After Baroq the Master of Disguise stole the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert, Sugar, Tess, Olive, Rondo, and the Explorer were dispatched to the Holy Ground at the Snowfield, the location where Baroq had been tracked down. After touching the Holy Stone, the five Explorers were transported to another dimension, where they overheard Baroq and Hiver talking. In order to reach him, Sugar used a powerful attack to destroy a large stone blocking their way.
The Explorers then confronted Baroq, who used his powers to attack the group. Sugar pushed the Explorer out of the way, allowing them to dodge Baroq's spell that teleported the other four Explorers back to Victoria Island. After the Explorer defeated Baroq and recovered the Seal Stone, they returned back to the Bowman Instructional School, where they reunited with Tess.
The Black Shadow[]
After the Explorer inadvertently freed the Black Mage from his seal, the Black Mage sent his shadow to lay waste to Maple Island. As fire ravaged the land, Sugar sent a distress call to Tess and told him that Maple Island was in trouble. Tess and the others came in response to Sugar's distress call, where they were shocked to find Maple Island in flames. The Explorer filled them in on what had happened with the Black Mage's seal and his attack on Maple Island. Rondo was surprised that the Black Mage was real, as he had thought that the Black Mage was a story used to scare orphans like himself.
Olive was both disturbed and bemused that the Black Mage had destroyed the island out of petty revenge for the Explorer not obeying him. However, Tess believed that his other reason for destroying Maple Island was to intimidate the Explorers, who all started their journey on the island, though he was confused why the Black Mage hadn't destroyed the island entirely, as new Explorers could still arrive and get to Maple World.
The Heroes of Maple[]
Sugar then reminded them that their first priority was still to save Maple Island. Tess recalled the story that Athena Pierce had told them about the Seal Stones, explaining that their original purpose was to restore ruined continents. They then wondered whether they could use the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert in order to save Maple Island.
However, they were unsure of how the Seal Stone could be used in the first place. Tess reasoned that Athena didn't know either, or else she would have used it to help them. He decided that they would need to ask the Heroes, as they were the original creators of the Seal Stones.[8] After the five Explorers met the Heroes, they compiled together what they had learned from the Heroes and summarized it.
First, there were multiple Seal Stones, but they were limited in power to the area they were created for, which meant that Maple Island would need its own Seal Stone. However, Olive pointed out that there was no Seal Stone for Maple Island, as it hadn't existed when the Heroes had made the Seal Stones. As they couldn't think of any other options, Tess suggested that they take a break, since everyone was exhausted.
Saving Maple Island[]
Soon after, Tess, Olive, and Rondo discovered the Black Mage's Shadow at the outskirts of Amherst. When Sugar and the Explorer arrived, they told the pair that they had been trying to fight the shadow, but that their attacks seemed to have no effect. The Explorer charged in to attack the shadow, but found that they were dealing no damage to it either.
The shadow then raised its hand to launch a powerful attack on the Explorer. Just as it fired, Sugar used her powers to protect the Explorer from harm. Following her lead, the others also lent their powers to the Explorer. Because of their support, the Explorer felt much stronger, though they realized that it still wasn't enough.
Just then, they felt another power surging up inside them. From their Explorer Book, the Maple Leaf that they had kept inside shot out and transformed into the Seal Stone of Maple Island. Simultaneously, the Goddess of Maple World appeared and bestowed her blessing upon the Explorer. Empowered by the collective strength of their friends and the Goddess, the Explorer fought the Black Mage's Shadow once again and was able to defeat it for good.
After defeating the shadow, the Goddess thanked the Explorer for saving Maple Island and explained that she had been watching them throughout their journey through Sugar, her avatar. Though the Goddess' energy had been infused into the Maple Tree over time, as she had no physical body, she had sent Sugar after sensing something ominous brewing in Maple World. She then thanked them for saving both Maple Island and Maple World.
However, the Explorer pointed out that Maple Island was still in ruins. The Goddess told them not to worry, pointing out that their collective determination had been poured into the Maple Leaf, transforming it into the Seal Stone of Maple Island, just as the Heroes had done centuries ago. She explained that in order to restore Maple Island, they needed to channel their desire in the same way they had done to create the Seal Stone.
The Explorers poured all their hope for a rebuilt Maple Island into the Seal Stone, triggering its divine power to restore their home. With that, both the Seal Stone and the Goddess disappeared. The Explorers all congratulated each other on a job well done. Rondo asked Sugar if she would return back to the Maple Tree, since the island was saved, but Sugar replied that she would stay for a while until things settled down. With that, they exchanged their goodbyes and promised to stay in touch, even as they all went their separate ways once again.
Black Heaven[]
Before the Black Heaven operation, the Explorer met with Sugar, Tess, Olive, and Rondo on Maple Tree Hill in order to catch up. They told the Explorer that, as space was limited on the Lumiere, they wouldn't be able to come and fight alongside them. However, the Explorer promised to fight harder on their behalf and received buffs from each of them, just like when they had saved Maple Island.
Aftermath[]
At Maple Tree Hill, the Explorer met with Tess, Olive, Rondo, and Sugar. As the avatar of the Goddess of Maple World, Sugar thanked the Explorer for saving Maple World and apologized for leaving them with such a heavy burden. Olive asked Sugar if she would disappear, since the Black Mage had been defeated. Sugar told them that she had fully expected to return back to the Maple Tree, but her continued presence meant that there was still more for her to do in order to ensure Maple World's safety.
The Goddess of Maple World then manifested before them and explained that Maple World had not yet reached harmony, as a destructive Transcendent still threatened both Maple World and the Other World. However, she told them that, just as a simple Maple Leaf had defeated the Black Mage, so too would the determination of the people protect Maple World, adding that her blessing would always be with them.
After she vanished, Sugar told them that she was glad to know that she would remain with them, though her continued presence signified that the world was still in danger. Olive, Tess, and Rondo headed out to prepare for the next big adventure, leaving the Explorer and Sugar alone. Sugar told them that they had been through a lot together and showed them past memories of all that they had accomplished. The two then made a promise to meet again one day with the others under the Maple Tree.
In the original RED Explorer storyline, the Explorers would choose their job around what the player chooses, such that there is one member of each branch in the group. Tess will choose to be a pirate by default, although he will become a bowman if the player chooses to be a pirate.
Just like how the names of the five Heroes spell out MAPLE (Mercedes, Aran, Phantom, Luminous, Evan), the names of the five Explorers spell out STORY (Sugar, Tess, Olive, Rondo, and You - the player).
↑ 4.04.1This section only takes place if the player chooses to be either a bowman or a pirate.
↑If the Explorer is a bowman, Athena Pierce will ask them to help Kyrin, and vice versa if they're a pirate.
↑If the player is a bowman, Tess will explain that he's Kyrin's older brother, and that their mother is a half-elf, which is why he and Kyrin age so slowly. If the player is a pirate, Tess will instead explain that Athena Pierce is an old friend of his parents, Destonen and Yuris, and that the reason why he keeps calling them Kao is because they look identical.
↑If the player is a bowman, Tess will say that he had worn a mask because he didn't want Kyrin to recognize how similar they looked, even though the last time he had seen her was when she was an infant. He explains that he had wanted to be as careful as possible, but that he'll one day tell her about their relationship. If the player is a pirate, the Explorer tells him that Athena Pierce wants to see him, to which Tess replies that he wants to see her too, but he adds that he has urgent business to first take care of.
↑Tess will tell the Explorer to seek out a different member of the Heroes based on their job. He'll tell warriors to meet Aran, magicians to meet Evan, bowmen to meet Mercedes, thieves to meet Phantom, and pirates to meet Luminous. For Aran, Tess will ask them to speak with Tru in Lith Harbor. For Evan, he'll tell them to go to Utah's farm. For Mercedes, he'll tell them to seek out Philius in Elluel. For Phantom, he'll tell them to seek out Cygnus in Ereve, where Phantom made his debut. For Luminous, he'll tell them to seek out Grendel. Tess will by a pirate by default, unless the player is a pirate, in which he'll be a bowman. Depending on his job, Tess will either seek out Luminous or Mercedes.
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