Windor (ウィンドル Windoru?) is a country in Tales of Graces and home to the valkines cryas Gloandi (グローアンディ Gurooandi?). Its capital is Barona, and its current ruler is King Richard.
Geography[]
Windor is the greenest of the three countries, abundant in plant life, fields, valleys, and oceanic views. It is also a land of great, powerful winds produced by the Wind-elemental valkines cryas known as Gloandi, which rests in the capital of Barona. Windor is a abundant in cryas due to the cryas mines located within the territory of Lhant, a province of Windor. The landscape is mostly flat, with a few hills, and the cities are well-developed. Geographically, Windor lies in the eastern hemisphere of Ephinea.
Provinces[]
Windor is a monarchy subdivided into autonomous provinces that act freely, making it difficult for knights from the capital to intervene in what may be considered local affairs. These cities typically have their own military, with Lhant possessing a relatively small militia and Gralesyde owning the largest in the country.
- Barona - The capital of Windor, in which, visible to everyone, the Valkines-Cryas Gloandi stands. It is home to the Royal Family and the Academy of Knights.
- Lhant - A rather small province on the edge of Windor and the border with Fendel. It has all kinds of Cryas mines, from which Windor is supplied.
- Orlen - It is not known how large this province is, but the town of the same name is rather small. Orlen lives mainly from forestry.
- Gralesyde - A large town on the coast of Lake Grale, which is under the rule of Duke Dalen, a distant relative of the royal family.
Settlements[]
Certain other settlements are located within Windor and may or may not fall under the country's jurisdiction.
- Wallbridge - A drawbridge between Gralesyde and Barona that is usually drafted to enable travelers to make their way through.
- Katz Korner - A small theme park inhabited mainly by peculiar creatures known as Katz.
- Turtlez HQ - The headquarters of the Turtlez, who offer merchant and travel services.
Lhant Hill[]
Lhant Hill is a scenic hillside area that features a cliff bearing a large tree, bordering on the edge of the sea. It is located near North Lhant Road, which leads from Lhant into Fendelian territory. Below Lhant Hill lies the Seaside Cavern. At the foot of Lhant Hill is a healing spring, and the monsters here are rather weak, often being young animals. Near the large tree on the cliff, one can typically find a flower-laden garden. The cliff rises above the sea, and a fall would mean death under normal circumstances. There is, however, a small sandy beach, as well as a rather uneven yet usable, way up the cliff. Lhant Hill is a special place where all varieties of eleth meet.
This area holds a particular importance during the Childhood Arc of the game, being where Asbel Lhant and Hubert Oswell venture from Lhant and find a mysterious girl who seems to have amnesia; Asbel later names her "Sophie". Asbel and Sophie later return to Lhant Hill, this time with a young Prince Richard in tow, where they are attacked by Bryce, Richard's combat instructor. After the fight, Richard falls from the cliff, with Asbel and Sophie tumbling after him in an attempt to rescue him. Miraculously, they manage to survive and find themselves on the coast below. Upon scaling the cliff back up, Asbel proposes the three make a friendship pact and etch their names into the giant tree, which they do. This becomes a symbol of their childhood youth and innocence, a friendship that will ultimately provide them with strength for the future.
Barona Catacombs[]
The Barona Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels connected to the Royal Sanctuary in Barona and leading into the capital's castle. They also connect to the Gustworks Ruins, Amarcian ruins leading to equipment that can control Gloandi. During the Childhood Arc, Richard proposes that the group meets here with Asbel, Hubert, Sophie, and Cheria Barnes at night. After a long wait with Richard failing to appear, the group decides to enter in search of him, speculating that something may have happened. They successfully sneak in through a small hole in the unlocked sanctuary and find numerous, cavern-like corridors, often bearing several heavy doors that would be able to be opened by an adult without any problems. However, for the children, they serve as nothing more than obstacles, so the group opts to avoid them.
Deep within the catacombs, the group finds Richard, who was attacked by a large monster. The children are gradually injured by the beast, though not fatally, and Sophie sacrifices her life in order to force the monster to flee. From this point forward, she is considered dead despite the fact that she, mortally wounded, actually divided herself into particles and settled within her friends to heal them from the inside, saving herself and healing as well in the process.
Orlen Woods[]
The Orlen Woods is a forest located near the small village of Orlen, traversed by Asbel and his instructor, Malik Caesar, at the beginning of the Adulthood Arc. The woods are accessed via the North Barona Road and features a river cutting through the forest that can be crossed by a bridge. Asbel accompanies Malik her in investigating the disappearance of Orlen's inhabitants. When they reach the village, they find it destroyed, with two knights awaiting them at the entrance and allowing them to conduct their investigation.
Asbel follows a strange sound until he is attacked by a peculiar wolf, which he is only able to defeat via a shining power in his hand that awakens some unnatural force within him. Malik soon arrives on site and passes the remainder of the investigation to the two knights, returning to Barona with Asbel. This mission serves a crucial role in Malik suggesting Asbel to become a full-fledged knight at the academy where he trains.
Seaside Cavern[]
The Seaside Cavern is an aquatic cavern that lies beneath Lhant Hill. This coastal cave is accessible via the North Lhant Road linking Lhant with the border to Fendel. It is heavily flooded in certain areas, so it is necessary to swim and even dive, and it runs partly underground. Just before the exit to Fendelian territory is a large clearing, where there is somewhat hidden access to a cave that is later revealed to be Amarcian ruins.
During the Adulthood Arc, Asbel, Sophie, and Cheria cross the cave for the first time after Fendelian soldiers attack Lhantm, preparing to initiate a counterattack on the camp of the Fendelians. Lhant's militia divides itself into small groups and meets at the other end of the coastal cave. Asbel, Sophie and Cheria are the first to reach the other end and are therefore confronted with a monster who has been living there for years. After defeating it, they meet the other soldiers of Lhant and begin the attack on the Fendelian camp.
Later, the coastal cave must be visited because the heroes are looking for a way to get to Fodra, and within the hidden clearing is the shuttle that is capable of doing so. However, because the Foselos aquasphere has to be interrupted for a trip to Fodra, one cannot use the shuttle immediately, instead requiring repair in other locations first.
Wallbridge Ruins[]
The Wallbridge Ruins are ruins located beneath Wallbridge. They are, however, hidden from the public, being built by the Armacians to store data. There are three teleporters located within the ruins: two of them lead to the two country roads around Wallbridge, while one leads directly to Wallbridge. During the Adulthood Arc, the Wallbridge Ruins are mentioned by Pascal as being a method of passing through Wallbridge without being noticed. Pascal meets the other members of the group on the surface of the ruins the first time and then joins them. She holds a keen interest in helping the group because of Sophie, whose hologram she found within the ruins prior to meeting the group. Inside, she guides them to the hologram, accessible via one of the machines, and manages to decipher the concept of "Lambda", which Sophie appears to be familiar with but can't remember entirely.
Gustworks Ruins[]
The Gustworks Ruins are ruins only accessible during the Lineage and Legacies Arc of the game. Connected via the Barona Catacombs below Barona, the ruins provide access to machines operating the valkines cryas Gloandi. Like many ruins, it is of Amarcian origin and was likely used to transport Gloandi, as well as monitor the eleth output of the valkines. During the story, the group ventures here because Richard calls it a nest of monsters, which attack Ephinea in large masses. He and the other heroes, but not Sophie and Pascal, search for the ruins in order to destroy the monster's nest. Upon entering the ruins, the heroes are separated: Asbel and Richard fall into the lower plains, while Malik, Hubert, and Cheria linger in the upper region of the ruins.
In separate groups, the heroes penetrate deeper into the ruins and talk about various topics that mainly relate to their future, such as wedding plans. At the same time, they also talk about Sophie and her current problems she has to fight because Sophie is slowly becoming aware that her friends will die while she will live forever. In the depths of the ruins, the heroes find their way back together and face the monsters there, standing against them only through the advent of Lambda, who now resides in Asbel.