Gren

"Oxygen detected. The atmosphere is safe for you to breathe, although I am detecting strange aromas."

- Mokka

Gren (木の星・カオピター, Ki no Hoshi: Kaopitā, Wood Star: Caopita) is the planet of Wood in Magical Starsign, orbiting the second-furthest ring of the Baklava Solar System. Most of its landmass is comprised of dense forests and rivers, with its most significant landmark being the Holy Tree, Yggsalad.

When Gren enters its field of alignment, users of Wood Magic will awaken to an aura state, and the damage of their magic attacks will be doubled. It takes Gren 50 minutes to make a full revolution around the Sun, and it stays in its field of alignment for 10 minutes.

Carbonara Jungle

 * This jungle covers most of Gren's surface. Winding through it is the Clam River, which is known for its many bridges.

Tropica Village

 * The town of felins, who are under the leadership of Durum.

Salamander Cave

 * Five years ago, salamanders living in the Holy Tree were kicked out by pirates and now live in this burrow.

Assam

 * A walled-up village belonging to the pirate otters. It is connected to a port where captured magicians are sailed off for mysterious reasons.

Yggsalad, the Holy Tree

 * Formerly the salamanders' territory. It is now the Astro Pirates' hideout.

Arrival on Gren
After getting the dwarves to upgrade Neumann with the Mystic Mouse, the player can choose whether or not the party travels to Gren or Puffoon first to search for Miss Madeleine. Regardless of their decision, they must travel to Gren at some point.



On arrival to Gren, Neumann is assaulted by a flurry of arrows. At first, they seem harmless, but when Lassi makes a comment about it, Mokka notes that a sensitive piece of equipment was stricken, forcing the team to make an emergency landing in an area of the Carbonara Jungle. The protagonist and their classmates leave the rocket, Mokka first. He tests the air to make sure it is safe to breathe, and comments on a varying amount of strange aromas. They conclude the planet is safe; however, that safety does not last for long, as they hear a cry for help from afar.

They quickly jump to help the person in need, and discover two felin girls. One is being bitten by a Mojo, while the other is simply staring curiously. The protagonist chooses to help the girl that is caught in the Mojo's jaws, and quickly takes it down in a fierce battle.



After the Mojo is defeated, the girl who was caught in its jaws thanks the group. She introduces herself as Semolina, and refers to the other girl as Miss Farina. She tells them that the pirates sent the Mojo after them, and she urges Farina to come with her so they can get some adults to lock it up before it regains its strength. However, before they can leave, Farina decides to make the Mojo explode by casting some powerful magic. Semolina scolds Farina about using her magic, stating that she must obey the orders of her father, Durum, or she will be taken by the pirates. After another thank-you from Semolina, they walk off into the forest.

The prisoner
The kids head north and find themselves in Tropica Village. Upon entry, Lassi is startled to see none other than Pico, who is tied up to a wooden post. Everyone rushes to his side, happy to see him. The Fire mage tells the group that he had been looking around for the protagonist and the others forever, but is quickly cut off by a felin named Tambour, who says that they cannot talk to the prisoner. Instead, they sneak around and talk to him again from behind the post. They learn that Pico and Sorbet also went after the protagonist and Lassi after their sudden departure from the Will-o'-Wisp Academy, and subsequently crash landed on Gren. In the process of looking for Sorbet, Pico got caught by the Tropica Village felins. Pico never saw where Sorbet landed, but has a good feeling that she was kidnapped by the pirates based on what he has heard around town.

After seeing the students speak with Pico, one of the other villagers assumes that they are friends, then suggests they meet with Durum to try and work something out. By speaking to the townspeople, it is evident that they are tentative on the morality of Durum's actions; some greatly despise him, and others advise the kids leave while they still can.

When the group eventually gets the chance to speak with Durum, they enter his house to see him yelling at Semolina, who is his handmaid, wondering where she has been and ridiculing her for getting injured. He stomps off for a moment, leaving the kids free to talk to Semolina again. She is sad to hear that they are friends with Pico, and gets very upset when she tells them they have to hand him over to the pirates.



The protagonist then looks over at Farina, who is silent as ever and staring into a flower pot. Semolina tells them she will not respond, and how she likes to stare at the pot for hours on end. Investigating the pot reveals it has a small mound of dirt, to which Semolina explains that Farina once had a pet frog who died, so Semolina buried it in the soil of the plant, hoping it would act as a good fertilizer. Farina took notice and started burying all sorts of dead creatures in the soil, and stares at it constantly.

Semolina then tells Farina that the group are friends of Pico, and Farina seems interested. She hops up and looks at the protagonsit before running off, then Semolina follows, curious of where Farina is going. Durum also notices her exit, shouting for her to be careful and that she should run off. Durum then notices the students, inviting them to have a chat. He welcomes them to Tropica and encourages them to stay the night, since they must be tired. One of the villagers asks what he is doing, and the two go off into a corner to mull things over. Although not all their whispering is understandable, it is safe to assume that they are discussing handing over the students to the Astro Pirates, thus protecting their village.

Pico is missing
The player and their group decide to accept Durum's generosity and settle down at Nuts Lodge for the night. Once they are sound asleep, three (even if Chai is present) felin men approach them and are about to take them captive. However, before anything happens, another felin runs into the lodge and tells them there is trouble outside. The other felins rush out, leaving the party untouched.



Day breaks, and the group walks outside to find that Pico has disappeared overnight. They are accused by Durum of freeing him, but a felin girl named Lyre rushes to their defense, claiming they could not have freed their friend. Durum continues to rage, asking anxiously who freed the wizard. The group does some investigating, and after talking to Doboro, they find out that Lyre actually saw who freed their friend. They look to her for answers, which causes her to break down from the pressure. She claims that what is happening is not fair, and how there are many other wizards in the village. Lyre also feels like Durum has lost his felin pride, since he willingly hides them and then turns over anyone else to the Astro Pirates.

Flustered, Durum accuses her of being a magician, but Lyre stands firm. She then accuses Durum of playing dumb, and states that the whole village knows his daughter, Farina, is a mage. Not only that, but Farina freed Pico when everyone else was asleep. Before the situation escalates further, another felin exclaims that there is a Mojo on its way to destroy the town. The students take action once again, subduing the monster to protect Tropica Village.

Once the Mojo is taken down, it quickly gets up again, to which one of the felins exclaims that Chard has cast a regenerative spell on it. Luckily, this is quickly undone by Farina, who once again makes the Mojo explode with her magic. Durum tries to claim that the magic was not of Farina's doing, but the felins do not fall for his nonsense.



Feeling betrayed, they cast Durum, Semolina, and Farina out of Tropica Village. They leave them to wander in the forest, until Durum realizes "what must be done". He calls the villagers fools, saying that he made Tropica what it is today, and Semolina promises to protect Farina despite all the odds against them. In Carbonara Jungle, a Green Frog in the distance catches Farina's attention, and she hops off after it. The other two give chase, trying to make sure Farina does not get hurt. The party goes too so they may find Pico.

What must be done


After wandering in the Carbonara Jungle for some time, the party eventually comes to a sign that states "Caution: People tend to collapse around here", and they find Pico nearby, lying face-down in the ground. He wakes up and sees the protagonist, and explains what happened to him. He confirms that the felin girls, Semolina and Farina, helped him out of the village, but collapsed after using up all his magic. Unfortunately, the kids' reunion is short-lived, as Pico expresses concern over Sorbet's whereabouts. Before he can join the party, he says that he needs to do things by himself and runs further into the jungle.

Concerned for their hot-headed friend, the party decides they need to follow him and potentially help rescue Sorbet, as well as any of the other captured magicians. After some more wandering in the jungle, they arrive at the entrance to the Salamander Cave, which has been blocked off by Totem Bombs. The salamander standing outside, Buillon, asks the group to take care of them, or else he will be late for a date with his girlfriend.



After the Totem Bombs are destroyed, Buillon thanks the group, allowing them to enter the Salamander Cave. Inside, they find Durum, Semolina, and Farina again. Durum talks about finally doing what must be done, and that he wants to go home. When Semolina is talked to, she reveals that Durum wants her to switch identities with Farina, meaning she will be given to the Astro Pirates while Farina stays safe on Gren. Overwhelmed with Durum's demands, she chooses to sleep so she can think things over, and also tells the students to do the same. A strange reptile named Lord Persimmon is in the cave too, and it is implied that he will be the one to take Farina away.



After spending the night in the Salamander Cave, Semolina is seen asleep on the bed that Farina once was, and Durum is standing beside her; as for Lord Persimmon and Farina, they are nowhere to be seen. If the protagonsit decides to speak with Durum, he will apologize for the events of the day before, and that when "Semolina" wakes up, the two will return to the village.

Lassi will comment on how "Semolina" seems different than before, but before the party can look too closely, Durum yells at them to get away from her, telling them to keep out of the felins' business. This strikes Lassi and Mokka as odd, but they have no time to ponder it since they need to find Pico and Sorbet. So they head to the exit of the Salamander Cave.

Assault on Assam


After a short walk on the path to Assam, the students find a clearing in the jungle. A ship is seen floating ahead, and several pirates jump out to attack them. Even more pirates jump out after the initial assailants are defeated, but there are way too many to battle. Lassi begins to count their enemies, but Mokka stops her and ponders what they can do to survive. The panicked rabbit then unleashes her Wind Wild Magic, summoning a harsh gale to carry the pirates away. It pokes a hole in one of the balloons attached to the pirate ship as well, sending it and their attackers crashing to the ground.

With no pirate otters in the way, the party continues on, eventually coming to the front gate of Assam. Here, they see Persimmon speaking to the guard outside, and the guard mentions that he has captured a wizard. Persimmon is upset by the lack of formalities, but says that he indeed has one. The guard lets him in, and tells him to hurry because the ship for Razen is about to depart. When the kids try to follow Persimmon, the guard forbids them from entering. With no other means of entering the front gate, they have no choice but to take a detour.



After traveling west, the group stumbles upon a back gate the leads to Assam, but it is blocked by a giant gorilla. Mokka states that the animal looks hungry, and that provoking him is not a a good idea. Spotting a banana-bearing tree close by, Mokka uses his Earth Wild Magic to shake them down, luring the gorilla away and making the back gate to Assam accessible.

As they approach the gate, Pico runs up from behind, elated to see his friends, but is also confused. He accuses them of trying to embarrass him, of which the protagonist can answer yes or no. Regardless of their answer, Pico encourages them to "watch the master in action", or they can go back to Tropica and wait, then recklessly rushes inside. Mokka gives a sarcastic remark and suggests they do just that, but Lassi tells him to quit and that Pico will surely be the one in need of saving.

Finally within Assam's borders, the kids see Sorbet for the first time since they left Will-o'-Wisp. A group of pirates is about to attack her, but she quickly pushes them off her with her Water Magic. Suddenly, she is tackled from behind by a pirate. Pico then appears on a wall above them, shouting, "Don't even think of hurtin' my girl!". Sorbet gets up and is shocked at first, but quickly accepts Pico's help and runs off to attack more of the pirates. Before Pico can run off after her, he gets sucker-punched by the same pirate who hit Sorbet earlier. The two end up in a punching battle, and Pico tells his classmates to go after Sorbet.

There is nothing else in Assam for the group right now, so they head east to where Sorbet ran off, finding pirate ship docked and making preparations to leave. When they arrive at the dock after fighting some more pirate otters, Lassi spots Sorbet and "Farina" standing with the pirates, one of them being Lord Persimmon. The group and Pico rush over, but before they can do anything, the Peacock Fish approaches them. Sorbet leaves them to take care of it, and Pico finally joins the party. Before the fish attacks, the pirate otters are all seen assaulting Sorbet.



Once the Peacock Fish is defeated, Sorbet casts Water Magic to keep the pirates. At this point, Persimmon has grown impatient, ordering "Farina" to get on the ship. Sorbet tries to stop them, but "Farina" tells her not to worry, and that the most important thing is everyone else's safety. Persimmon shoves her onto the ship, and hops on after her. Sorbet does not let them get away, though, and jumps on the ship as well, right before it flies off into space.

Pico becomes distraught as he watches the ship fly away with the others, wondering why Sorbet would sail off with Persimmon. The rest of the group drags Pico back to Tropica, and they rest again at Nuts Lodge once again. Pico is restless, confessing to the protagonist about how he will go Razen to get Sorbet back. He wakes Lassi up in the process, who begs him to just let them sleep, and that they can talk about it on the rocket later. Pico, in a stubborn fit, demands to see the rocket despite it being midnight. His classmates comply, though Mokka and Lassi are very sleepy. Once Pico is done excitedly looking around Neumann, the group heads back to Nuts Lodge to get some rest.



In the morning, Lassi gives everyone a quick refresher. They know Madeleine and Sorbet have been taken to Razen, but they still need a way to get on the planet without destroying Neumann in the process. Pico is sleeping heavily, but before they head out of Tropica, Mokka wakes him up by kicking him out of bed.

Name origin
Gren's name most likely comes from the color green, as a lot of the planet seems to be this color. It could also come from the Danish word 'Gren', meaning branch, which would relate to it's vast amount of plant life and the Wood Element.

Its Japanese name, Caopita, (カオピター, Kaopitā), is the reversed spelling of "tapioca" (タピオカ, Tapioka).

Trivia

 * Despite many salamanders inhabiting Gren, none have ever seen one cast magic.
 * There is a division of the Space Police dedicated to protecting Gren known as the Gren Security Patrol.
 * There are some minor dialogue changes here and there if Chai is present in the party during the first time the player visits Gren.

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