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chuckroThe Great Union is, of course, the bad guy Sir Granada's evil plan, Nice Job Breaking It Hero. When you gather up the four treasures, it merges the four continents and efectively destroys Andel, then deposits you in the "outside world" of Eltz.
There, you meet Petro, who tells you to find the seven seals that he can use to stop the "real great union" that will destroy the world. This is mostly standard fetch-questing (with a trading game in the middle) until you meet a pair of competing religious orders while searching for the seals. Apparently, according to their prophecy, Farus is the son of Granada (god of death) and was put to sleep to await the final battle with Maibeh (god of life) and the Great Union. The prophecy says that Farus will betray his father and fight with the "pro-life" forces. Though there's an attempt at uncertainty, it's pretty obvious Farus is going to do whatever the good guys say.
According to the bad cult, Farus is the "Acti-Raigan," the "Life-of-the-Earth" Raigan; the good cult call that title the incarnation of all evil. So basically, you're the antichrist. (What's a Raigan? If you'd played the previous game, you'd know it was a person from Raiga, which is pretty clearly another planet.)
Also as you collect the seven (actually eight) seals, it becomes clear that the bad guys are also looking for them, because they need them to go ahead with the Real Great Union. Can you guess what's coming next? Why yes, you become a Macguffin Delivery Service courtesy of a Hostage for Macguffin scenario. (And, of course, they keep Petro hostage anyway.)
One of the legends you're told is that the world of Eltz was created by Gabnib, an alien from the planet Raiga who then split himself into two parts, a good part and an evil part that started warring. This seems to either be a corruption or retcon of the first game, as there Gabnid was the villian in the time-travel portion, ten thousand years earlier, and the creator of the world-destroying machine Dal Gren. He was opposed by Korma and Sophie, though. Anyways, the legend says that Gabnib's descendents are Petro and Midia (good) and Granada and Farus (evil). Apparently Petro tried to screw up Granada’s schemes by waking up Farus early, and Midia seems to think that despite Andel being pretty much destroyed, the bad guys having the eight seals, and Petro being captured and tortured, apparently this is working out okay.
Lennus is a planet near Raiga that the Great Union will supposedly merge with Eltz, killing everything on both and creating a world-destroying fortress. Or something. Lennus is also the location of the previous game, which you learn when you arrive there and meet the mother of Chezni, the previous game's protagonist (who also gives you a run-down of that story, in case you missed it). The very next dungeon gives you a flying ship, allowing you to traverse the world--which is basically the same as the first game, just ten years later. The ship is the same as the time-machine from the first game. It’s hidden in an undersea cave where previously Chezni’s mother had hidden the ship he was sent from Raiga in. (Which was a sailing ship, but whatever.) Several other minor characters recur, including Zeran who makes good on his promise to run Joyce’s bakery; and Daphne the sage who gets to be a crucial clue-giver again (at the end of the last game, he was searching for the secrets of the planet Lennus). The lost colony of Raigans on an isolated island is still there and also plays a plot role. It's not immediately clear if Midia (occasionally Midna) from the Castle of Illusion is the secondary protagonist from the first game, but that seems likely. Chezni appears to be MIA at the time, as people comment that he disappeared from Lennus.
There's a lampshade that Chezni "sealed" the Spirit spell, the most powerful magic from the first game, so that no one can cast it again. And sure enough, it's not available in this system!
Belts (one of the four Raigan "angels" who take over Lennus and guard the seals after you lose them) informs you that Raiga is dying, and as the creators of life on Lennus and Eltz, they feel it's okay to destroy both planets in the Great Union to save Raiga. Petro seems to think you can do otherwise and save all three planets.
Eltz and Lennus merge anyway, of course, and because each of them had an almost-completely-empty ocean side, they link up perfectly. The only effect this really seems to have is giving you access to one bonus dungeon and all of the old areas. The final dungeon is the Throne of the Immortals (just like the first game) which this time you reach by taking a drill-ship through the core of the planet.
When you catch up with Granada he reveals the bit that we missed: The merged Eltz-Lennus planet then needs to merge with Raiga to become Soa, the Death Star. Petro and Midia work together to help you defeat Granada at the Throne of the Immortals, but he escapes to his space station. In the ensuing cutscene where they ensure you can chase after him, it's revealed that Petro is, in fact, Chezni. Which I'd pretty much guessed a while before then.
(Random endgame aside: The Money for nothing trope is averted! There's a robot in the final dungeon who'll sell you the hero's best equipment. You need to have max money to buy it all, though.)
Granada reveals the last twist at the end, of why everything has been happening now and why Farus is important: He _IS_ the great union. Apparently, only Farus could complete the mini-great union in Andel and gather the seals, and his death will release the necessary energy for the final stage. The only reason Granada had a son was to further his own aims. (Farus gets to speak here, to tell Granada off in an appropriate manner. I hate you, Satan-Dad!)
When Granada is killed, Eltz and Lennus split back into two planets.
You get one more scene at the "dream feast" after Farus returns to Eltz, where you can talk to a bunch of NPCs and all of the mercenaries who joined your party. (The acolytes from the beginning note that Andel still exists, but there will need to be a rebuilding effort.)
Midia explains the "Acti-Raigan" thing some more, explaining that you embody all of the life on the planet, but can also be the "lord of nightmares" if you act evilly. Acti-Raigans don't know the difference between good and evil when they're born. Granada was also an Acti-Raigan, sleeping on Raiga while you slept in Andel. Petro and Midia needed to work through you because the "dual nature" of Acti-Raigans meant only you could kill Granada, and they let the first few stages of the Great Union happen to create that opportunity. The Acti-Raigan race apparently created all three planets, and Raiga generates energy that sustains Eltz and Lennus, which Petro and Midia have lived on Raiga to try to keep positive. In the end, Farus chooses to return with them to Raiga.
So...what happened there? Best I can figure, the Acti-Raigans are superaliens with godlike powers, who the "normal" Raigans like Chezni/Petro and Midia are descended from. They made all three planets, and the "positive" or "negative" psychic energy from Raiga maintains the other two planets. Granada's plan was to go super-negative by merging the three planets, to prevent Raiga's "death" by staying positive under Chezni and Midia's influence. He created Farus and they both went to sleep to await the perfect time. Granada awoke after the events of the first game, so Chezni and Midia moved to stop him, first by awakening Farus prematurely, then by futzing around with Granada's plans.
This doesn't quite synch with Gabnid and crew in the first game, but then, it's likely that something about them got lost in the translation of Paladin's Quest. Perhaps they were Acti-Raigans as well.
The pieces don't totally fit perfectly, but when pieced to together at the end, make about as much sense as anything else in the genre.
There, you meet Petro, who tells you to find the seven seals that he can use to stop the "real great union" that will destroy the world. This is mostly standard fetch-questing (with a trading game in the middle) until you meet a pair of competing religious orders while searching for the seals. Apparently, according to their prophecy, Farus is the son of Granada (god of death) and was put to sleep to await the final battle with Maibeh (god of life) and the Great Union. The prophecy says that Farus will betray his father and fight with the "pro-life" forces. Though there's an attempt at uncertainty, it's pretty obvious Farus is going to do whatever the good guys say.
According to the bad cult, Farus is the "Acti-Raigan," the "Life-of-the-Earth" Raigan; the good cult call that title the incarnation of all evil. So basically, you're the antichrist. (What's a Raigan? If you'd played the previous game, you'd know it was a person from Raiga, which is pretty clearly another planet.)
Also as you collect the seven (actually eight) seals, it becomes clear that the bad guys are also looking for them, because they need them to go ahead with the Real Great Union. Can you guess what's coming next? Why yes, you become a Macguffin Delivery Service courtesy of a Hostage for Macguffin scenario. (And, of course, they keep Petro hostage anyway.)
One of the legends you're told is that the world of Eltz was created by Gabnib, an alien from the planet Raiga who then split himself into two parts, a good part and an evil part that started warring. This seems to either be a corruption or retcon of the first game, as there Gabnid was the villian in the time-travel portion, ten thousand years earlier, and the creator of the world-destroying machine Dal Gren. He was opposed by Korma and Sophie, though. Anyways, the legend says that Gabnib's descendents are Petro and Midia (good) and Granada and Farus (evil). Apparently Petro tried to screw up Granada’s schemes by waking up Farus early, and Midia seems to think that despite Andel being pretty much destroyed, the bad guys having the eight seals, and Petro being captured and tortured, apparently this is working out okay.
Lennus is a planet near Raiga that the Great Union will supposedly merge with Eltz, killing everything on both and creating a world-destroying fortress. Or something. Lennus is also the location of the previous game, which you learn when you arrive there and meet the mother of Chezni, the previous game's protagonist (who also gives you a run-down of that story, in case you missed it). The very next dungeon gives you a flying ship, allowing you to traverse the world--which is basically the same as the first game, just ten years later. The ship is the same as the time-machine from the first game. It’s hidden in an undersea cave where previously Chezni’s mother had hidden the ship he was sent from Raiga in. (Which was a sailing ship, but whatever.) Several other minor characters recur, including Zeran who makes good on his promise to run Joyce’s bakery; and Daphne the sage who gets to be a crucial clue-giver again (at the end of the last game, he was searching for the secrets of the planet Lennus). The lost colony of Raigans on an isolated island is still there and also plays a plot role. It's not immediately clear if Midia (occasionally Midna) from the Castle of Illusion is the secondary protagonist from the first game, but that seems likely. Chezni appears to be MIA at the time, as people comment that he disappeared from Lennus.
There's a lampshade that Chezni "sealed" the Spirit spell, the most powerful magic from the first game, so that no one can cast it again. And sure enough, it's not available in this system!
Belts (one of the four Raigan "angels" who take over Lennus and guard the seals after you lose them) informs you that Raiga is dying, and as the creators of life on Lennus and Eltz, they feel it's okay to destroy both planets in the Great Union to save Raiga. Petro seems to think you can do otherwise and save all three planets.
Eltz and Lennus merge anyway, of course, and because each of them had an almost-completely-empty ocean side, they link up perfectly. The only effect this really seems to have is giving you access to one bonus dungeon and all of the old areas. The final dungeon is the Throne of the Immortals (just like the first game) which this time you reach by taking a drill-ship through the core of the planet.
When you catch up with Granada he reveals the bit that we missed: The merged Eltz-Lennus planet then needs to merge with Raiga to become Soa, the Death Star. Petro and Midia work together to help you defeat Granada at the Throne of the Immortals, but he escapes to his space station. In the ensuing cutscene where they ensure you can chase after him, it's revealed that Petro is, in fact, Chezni. Which I'd pretty much guessed a while before then.
(Random endgame aside: The Money for nothing trope is averted! There's a robot in the final dungeon who'll sell you the hero's best equipment. You need to have max money to buy it all, though.)
Granada reveals the last twist at the end, of why everything has been happening now and why Farus is important: He _IS_ the great union. Apparently, only Farus could complete the mini-great union in Andel and gather the seals, and his death will release the necessary energy for the final stage. The only reason Granada had a son was to further his own aims. (Farus gets to speak here, to tell Granada off in an appropriate manner. I hate you, Satan-Dad!)
When Granada is killed, Eltz and Lennus split back into two planets.
You get one more scene at the "dream feast" after Farus returns to Eltz, where you can talk to a bunch of NPCs and all of the mercenaries who joined your party. (The acolytes from the beginning note that Andel still exists, but there will need to be a rebuilding effort.)
Midia explains the "Acti-Raigan" thing some more, explaining that you embody all of the life on the planet, but can also be the "lord of nightmares" if you act evilly. Acti-Raigans don't know the difference between good and evil when they're born. Granada was also an Acti-Raigan, sleeping on Raiga while you slept in Andel. Petro and Midia needed to work through you because the "dual nature" of Acti-Raigans meant only you could kill Granada, and they let the first few stages of the Great Union happen to create that opportunity. The Acti-Raigan race apparently created all three planets, and Raiga generates energy that sustains Eltz and Lennus, which Petro and Midia have lived on Raiga to try to keep positive. In the end, Farus chooses to return with them to Raiga.
So...what happened there? Best I can figure, the Acti-Raigans are superaliens with godlike powers, who the "normal" Raigans like Chezni/Petro and Midia are descended from. They made all three planets, and the "positive" or "negative" psychic energy from Raiga maintains the other two planets. Granada's plan was to go super-negative by merging the three planets, to prevent Raiga's "death" by staying positive under Chezni and Midia's influence. He created Farus and they both went to sleep to await the perfect time. Granada awoke after the events of the first game, so Chezni and Midia moved to stop him, first by awakening Farus prematurely, then by futzing around with Granada's plans.
This doesn't quite synch with Gabnid and crew in the first game, but then, it's likely that something about them got lost in the translation of Paladin's Quest. Perhaps they were Acti-Raigans as well.
The pieces don't totally fit perfectly, but when pieced to together at the end, make about as much sense as anything else in the genre.
