Blue Heaven Trail

The Blue Heaven Trail (蒼天の道) is an small mountain pathway going through the Blue Heaven Peak, which connects the Blue Canyon Hamlet to the Eternus Shaft. This place has several ledges, scaffolds and stairs, and at the end, there is the house of a traveling monk which has a entrance leading to a cave.

History
After running away from the Clustanians at the Blue Canyon Hamlet, who wanted to take Saki away, Aoto and Tatsumi decided to camp and rest while Saki recovered consciousness. Aoto was still astonished that Saki had stripped her clothes off and turned the enemies into cakes by doing so. While he still pondered about this, Saki woke up, Aoto took the opportunity to ask her how she was. Saki didn't seem to remember anything of the recent events, even about Kiraha, who had died protecting her. She didn't know anything either about the swordswoman she initially was when Aoto met her for the first time, which led Tatsumi to conjecture that she had suffered partial memory loss from all the shock. However, Aoto committed the mistake of asking her about the moment in which she began praying and her cothes disappeared, prompting Saki to get angry and slap him accross the face, making Tatsumi remark how "boo" he was. Tatsumi then asked Saki if she remembered anything else, to which she answered that she remembered working as a teacher at a place called Ogai, which neither Aoto or Tatsumi knew about. However, Tatsumi thought that an acquaintance of his, a Reyvatologist that lived in the Eternus Shaft, could know about it, and he also could take a look at Saki to see why she lost her memory.

Tatsumi then asked Saki if she was some kind of special Reyvateil, as he had never seen one that could transform enemies into cake, to which she replied that she didn't know, and that the Goddess always helped her whenever she began praying, thanks to her power to "perform miracles". The party then decided it had gotten too later, and chose to set out for the Eternus Shaft the next morning.

Meanwhile, not very far from where they were resting, Mute was reporting her failure to capture Saki to her superior. The general was quite angry due to the disaster that Mute had done in her attempts to capture Saki, which included casualties when she was explicitly ordered to accomplish it without harming anyone, and disappointed to see that she was given an entire squad an still a single boy had defeated her. She then told Mute that this was her last chance, and to make sure to not fail again. Otherwise, she would get demoted back to private. After the general left, Mute angrily vowed that she would make Aoto pay for this.

The next day, Saki asked Aoto if it'd be all right for them to converse at night for as long as their journey continued, as she was scared and didn't want to be alone, to which he replied that there wasn't any problems and that could even help her to sleep better. (This is the event that unlocks the Talk Topics).

During the walk that day, they noticed a group of Clustanian ships flying around the area. Tatsumi remarked that they did the right thing leaving the village, as the Clustanians would begin searching through all the area to find Saki, and wouldn't allow them to return to the village. Aoto began to get worried about Steeps, so Tatsumi told him to find a Telemo he could borrow and call him. They then continued their walk through the trail.

Upon reaching the monk's house, Aoto remarked on how tired he was from walking all the day, making Saki ask if he was okay and if he would like to be carried on her back. Tatsumi told them to stop saying foolish things, and told them they could rest in that house. Saki asked if that was owned by his acquaintance, to which Tatsumi replied "sorta", and told them they could rest for a while in there and use the Telemo. Once inside, Aoto called Steeps, and informed him that he was out of the village and that he wouldn't be able to go back there for a while, while also telling him to not worry. He also asked about what was the current situation with the Clustanians, and upon getting told they already had left the area, he hung up before Steeps could get an answer about where he was. Saki asked if Steeps was mad, to what Aoto answered he was furious, while Tatsumi asked for an update on the Clustanians. Upon hearing they had retreated, Tatsumi commented on how fast they had gone, and told them to stay alert. At that moment, the monk arrived, and told them that they could spend the night there, while telling Tatsumi it had been quite a while since they last saw each other.

The monk then proceeded to explain about the religion unique to the Great Fang region, while Tatsumi introduced him to the group, while explaning them that other monk of his order was his personal mentor: Gengai. The monk then told the group to feel as if they were at home, and thus they went to sleep.

That night, as Aoto snored soundly, Saki and Tatsumi discussed about how late they went to sleep, and about the efforts that Aoto had done to protect her. Tatsumi told Saki to calm down and not worry so much about Aoto, as he didn't think of protect Saki as trouble, while also telling her how gullible and reckless he was. This made Saki laugh, as she realized how good friends they were. However, their conversation got interrupted when a person disguised in a full-body clown suit broke into the house through the window. Aoto instantly awakened due to the noise, and Tatsumi recognized the invader as Clustania's deadliest assassin: Soma.

Aoto insisted in fighting against her, but Tatsumi told him that they wouldn't have any chance, and that it'd be better if they retreated. Saki then began saying her prayers to active her miracle powers once again, but Soma, as if she had sensed what Saki was about to do, retreated. The monk came to check on them due to the noise, and after checking that they were safe, and learning about Soma's appearance, he told the party that they weren't safe in that place anymore. Tatsumi agreed, and pressed the party to continue their way.

(more coming later...)

Layout
As the very first area visited in Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel, the Blue Heaven Path isn't really complicated to traverse, nor are the monsters very strong. However, it's strongly recommended that you pay close attention to your surroundings, as a few treasures can only be gotten by dropping from ledges and scaffolds.

Road Area

 * Pom
 * Cherry Pom (after entering the Stairway to Fallen Heaven for the first time and up to Phase 3)
 * Metal Pom (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Mini Pom (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Mock Pom (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Wolf (up to Phase 3)
 * Furia Model I (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Furia Model I Type B (from Phase 4 onwards)

Cave Area
Number of Random Battles in this Area: 5
 * Pom
 * Metal Pom (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Mock Pom (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Wolf (up to Phase 3)
 * Flame Hound (after entering the Stairway to Fallen Heaven for the first time and up to Phase 3)
 * Furia Model I (from Phase 4 onwards)
 * Furia Model I Type B (from Phase 4 onwards)

Encounter Probability: Middle

Treasures
Number of Treasure Chests in this Area: 10
 * Rescue Injection
 * Crab Claw Sword
 * Kiai Belt
 * Bronze Material
 * Weakness Detector
 * Bronze Material
 * Tsurugi 07
 * Big Ribbon
 * Bitter Capsule
 * Bronze Material

Talk Topics

 * It Pains Me (after Sarapatra joins the party)
 * That's How Great It Is
 * Vacant House

Party Topics

 * About Soma (after defeating Mute at the Stairway to Fallen Haven, but before the V-Board race in Phase 2)
 * Unstable Footholds (after Tyria joins the party)