Gaia's Garden is a location in CrossWorlds. It is the largest area in the game, an immense jungle located to the northeast of Rookie Harbor. It can only be reached after completing Faj'ro Temple.
Gaia's Garden
Gaia's Garden is an enormous jungle and the largest area to be found on Shadoon. Its high trees stand towering beside the many rivers that stretch from the north-west to the south-east. In the center of the jungle a huge lake can be found with a small island that is home to the paradoxical Basin Keep.
In the south-east a small Shad tribe calls the trees their home. They mostly keep to themselves and live in harmony with the jungle. However, tensions between humans and Shad have arisen ever since humans built a power plant at the entrance of the Zir'vitar Temple. A vile infestation has spread in the north-east of the jungle which seems to originate from the power plant.
In the north one can find the mighty Grand Krys'kajo. A tree that stand above all other trees. However to get close to it, A Seeker first needs to to finish the trials of both the Zir'vitar Temple and So'najiz Temple which stand beside the tree.
The area's main entrance from Autumn's Fall leads to a crossroads, where continuing straight will lead to the city of Basin Keep. The left and right paths wrap around the city, eventually meeting up at the three temples of the Grand Krys'kajo. Three sub-areas can be accessed from this ring path: the swampy Royal Grove to the northwest, the shady, mushroom-filled Infested Marshes to the northeast, and V'rda Vil to the southeast.
V'rda Vil is a Shad village, and the fifth town reached in the game. It is also the only town that is part of a larger exploration area, rather than being a separate area. Most of the inhabitants are quite hostile to humans, due to some past incident that involves the Wiccats that infest the northern areas of the village; the Shad blame the infestation on the humans' power plant near the temples. The villagers' trust has to be regained by completing a mandatory storyline quest.
Most of the area is immediately accessible, although several of the side caves need to be unlocked. The houses in V'rda Vil are unlocked during the An Infested Village quest. The entrances to Zir'vitar and So'najiz temples are only accessible after that quest, and their ending rooms can only be reached after completing the dungeon. Infested Heart is unlocked during The Root Cause quest, and the Grand Krys'kajo entrance is unlocked after that quest. The Lost Shrine and Tranquility Pond require the Wave element to reach. Foul Cavity and the infested cavern are unlocked during the Mushroom Kingdom quest. The Chilled Den is unlocked during the Tropical Chill quest chain, and the Grubby Cave is unlocked during the Turret Defense quest chain. The secret lab is only unlocked during the Playstation-exclusive Foul Play quest.
Gaia's Garden has by far the largest number of chests of any area, having at least twice as many as any other area except Maroon Valley. Many of these are not initially accessible, and require either the Radiant Key from the So'najiz Temple, or the Wave element from the Zir'vitar Temple (to use a Wave teleporter) in order to access them.
Follow the upper path from Splitting Stumps to Overgrown Path and hit the switch at the end. This opens the upper path from Overgrown Path to here. Radiant Key and the Wave element required.
The entrance to the Lost Shrine isn't marked on the map initially. It's hidden behind the large tree in the north of Royal Grove reachable from Calm Backyard. The code for the shrine can be found by navigating to the entrance of Grand Krys'kajo, and then going to the north-east corner of that area, where an inscription states the code. The code is ↑↑↓↓←→←→AB (the Konami Code with A and B swapped).
Crossroad, Splitting Stumps, Clinging River, Ringing River, Old Timber, Tying Greens, Peridot Approach, V'rda Vil North, Calm Backyard, Lost Lookout, Infested Marshes South, Infested Marshes North, Seared Lake, Chilled Den[4]
Rarely found in the infested region of the jungle. 4 to unlock
Traders[ | ]
There is only one trader initially but more can be unlocked through quests. The V'rda Vil trades are particularly notable, as they offer sets and metals for fewer trade items than anywhere else in the game, and are therefore very useful when obtaining late-game equipment.
Seekers arrive in Gaia's Garden to run the three temples of the Grand Krys'kajo and collect the Shock and Wave elements. However, on going to do so, they find their path blocked by the Shad of V'rda Vil. The Shad are blockading the temples in protest, as their village is overrun with Wiccats, which they blame on the humans who have built a power plant connected to Zir'vitar Temple. The Seekers must visit the mayor of Basin Keep in search of a solution, and are tasked with assisting the Shad K'tara with dealing with the problem, during the mandatory quest An Infested Village. With K'tara's help, the Seekers gain access to the infested part of V'rda Vil and discover the source of the problem, an ExeRepair(error++); in a sacred spring under the Eldress's house. After defeating this, the Wiccats disappear and the Shad free access to the temples, although they remain suspicious of humanity.
Seekers are then free to complete So'najiz Temple and Zir'vitar Temple in any order, collecting the Shock and Wave elements. However, before they can proceed with the Grand Krys'kajo proper, the Shad again block their path, as the Wiccats have returned to their village. The Seekers then encounter Lou Cretia, a scientist working at the power plant, who sends them on a second mandatory quest, The Root Cause. They follow a trail of ExeRepair(error++);s across the jungle, eventually discovering the true cause of the infestation: a rogue monster, the Sephisloth, had damaged the Track of the Ancients, and the ExeRepair(error++); and Wiccats were a manifestation of the Track's debugging process. After defeating the Sephisloth, the Wiccats vanish for good this time, the Shad retreat and the Seekers can proceed to the Grand Krys'kajo and prove their mastery of Shock and Wave.
In CrossCode[ | ]
On arriving in Gaia's Garden, Lea is immediately confronted by Apollo and Joern, with Apollo challenging her to a duel. After the duel, Joern, realizing how depressed Lea seems, convinces Apollo to let her join their party. The three complete the An Infested Village quest together before logging off for the night. The next day, Lea is contacted by C'tron, who tricks her into meeting up with Emilie and then mediates between them, helping Emilie to forgive Lea for leaving the Para island raid. The trio complete one of the dungeons in the jungle, before deciding to call it a day.
The next day, Lea, Emilie, and C'tron return to Gaia's Garden and complete the second dungeon as well as the The Root Cause quest. After, they run into Apollo and Joern, and while C'tron and Joern choose to log off for the day, Lea, Emilie, and Apollo go on to complete the Grand Krys'kajo together.
In the A New Home DLC, Lea and C'tron return to Gaia's Garden to visit where C'tron reunited Lea and Emilie, in the hope that this will help C'tron to recover his memory.
The Lost Shrine contains a miniboss which is necessary to complete the A Promise Is a Promise 4 quest. The shrine is locked with a code, which can be found on a plaque behind Grand Krys'kajo. The code is a slight variation on the Konami code, Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right A B. Hints towards the locarion of both the shrine and the plaque are given in a book in Basin Keep Echelon Tower.