Ann's story

[PhantomBPR]

Hi, I've been a long time fan of TerraEarth. I just created an account because I've been wondering about something that I've been questioning for the longest time.

In Euro, within Neil's parents mansion, we are all very familiar with Ann, the girl who has met with Jackal and uses this to manipulate Will into giving her apples, only to find out that he honestly cares for Kara, and awards his loyalty with a red jewel.

So, my question is, exactly who is Ann? For the longest time I assumed that she must have some relation to Neil and his family, even going so far to assume that they were siblings, though she remains in the mansion even following the "death" of her parents. As time went on I began to assume she was something of a housekeeper or caretaker.

What we do know is that Rolek is a world power holder. It is the legitimate face of the slave trade. In the end, Neil's parents (who we could perhaps assume are the public relations of the slave trade) were sold out in some way, shape, or form, by the other members of the slave trade, and killed. For whatever reason, two members of the Moon Tribe appeared in Euro and took on the form of Neil's parents, and the public assumed that they were still living. Business continued as usual, the Rolek executives still dealt with clients looking for labor. It was not until the apparent death of the parents was uncovered and Neil took control of the business that things began to change.

My point is, alive, dead, or Moon Tribe, Neil's parents are very important figures in the world of Illusion of Gaia, and just as well, they hold life threatening secrets. Anyone who would be living in their house as Ann was would have to be someone of equal significance or at least a family member.

I can guess that the programmers and writers did not have enough time left to give Ann an accurate reaction to the death of Neil's parents, and honestly, it was always very chilling to me that she remained in the mansion following the events that took place there. And her promise to take care of Kara seems to matter much less once the party has left Euro (even more so once the Jackal is killed)

So, to sum up. Just who exactly is Ann?

Sorry if this topic has already been asked, or for any spelling errors. I didn't take very much time to do my research.

[tay120n64]

Is she not a maid? I always assumed she was a maid.

[Yet One More Idiot]

Is she not a maid? I always assumed she was a maid.

You're not the only one, I always assumed she was one of the family's maids as well. She seems to be dressed like a maid, with an apron over her dress and rather sloppily tied-up hair...

I've thought about this too much, haven't I?

[NoZKeY]

She doesn't seem to have an Apron.. and doesn't seem like a maid to me



I'm playing IoG right now.. but i didn't notice that.. i just saw that girl and continued my journey.. (i had no idea i could get a red jewel xD)

Very interesting..

[tay120n64]

Why is it that my memory of her is that she is wearing pink? Am I getting her confused with the maids in Edward's Palace or something?

[Shiva Indis]

I subscribe to the Neil's sister theory. There's little to back it up except that she has a unique sprite and she expresses a sense of entitlement in her dialog. If that's what the dev team was going for, they might've wanted to have her react to her parent's death or something...

Trouble is, Euro seems to be the part of the game that received the least amount of staff attention. The scenario is weird - the dungeon is really light on IRL basis. IoG is very clear about what the player's task is most of the time, but it falls back on a lot of trial and error here. And Neil's parents being impersonated by the Moon Tribe? What? Why???

Oh, know what would've been cool? If Ann was the "tell" on the body-snatch plot. For instance, she claims that she's part of Neil's family, but Neil tells you he's never heard of her. Creepy.

[Yet One More Idiot]

I think my memory of Ann is confused too - I could've sworn she wore a blue dress with a white pinny over it. Huh.

Yeah, there seemed to be quite a bit of stuff left unanswered in Euro, about who exactly Ann is - if she's Neil's baby sister, why doesn't she react with the rest of the family? if she's a maid, why is she so commanding to a GUEST?

Why the hell are the Moon Tribe helping to perpetuate the slave trading? Solid Arm was behind that, trying to get the slaves to dig out the 50 red jewels for him....were the Moon Tribe collaborating with Solid Arm, or working to their own agenda that just happened to cross his?

I heard somewhere (can't remember where) that Mt Kress is a severely bastardised spelling and double-translation/transliteration of Mt Everest, is that true?

[NoZKeY]

Perhaps Quintet was going to make her appear later in the game, but totally forgot xD

Like writing a book, i guess it's hard to keep in mind everything when making a game..

@YETI: LOL you theories are interesting.. but if the Moon Tribe were looking for the jewels they had stole the one Ann gives you... and why does she give it to you? Why does everyone just give you the Red Jewels?, do they know how valuable are the jewels?

And about Mt. Kress.. my question would be Why is it called Mt.?, it looks more like a jungle to me

[Shiva Indis]

Why the hell are the Moon Tribe helping to perpetuate the slave trading? Solid Arm was behind that, trying to get the slaves to dig out the 50 red jewels for him....were the Moon Tribe collaborating with Solid Arm, or working to their own agenda that just happened to cross his?

Only fannon can answer this question. The monster conspiracy angle is an interesting idea.

Mt. Kress is a bad romanization of Mt. Ceres. (To my knowledge there's no such place IRL.) The level draws on a very old, very widespread religious concept that connects gods with mountains, like Mt. Olympus. So, you climb the mountain and explore the most sacred part (the dungeon is also called the Mountain Sanctuary) to get a divine artifact (the tears of a god).

...That seems to be the idea, but the execution could have been better.

[PhantomBPR]

Euro is just full of questions.