ARM Backup/Ar tonelico 3 terminology

This is a transcript of the World Terminology found in the menus of Ar tonelico: Qoga.
The typos and general formatting are meant to be about the same as those found in the games. 
=Blue Canyon Hamlet=
A small hamlet located at the very end of the
Musical Corridor (the weather controlling system
of this world). Because it's also at the tip of Great
Fang, you can see the outer wall of the Tower
and the Fang. Of course, it's always windy and
chilly. That's because the wind from the jet isn't
completely blocked. The residents take
advantage of this, by setting up windmills that
generate an immense amount of energy. When
the wind blows, the mills turn around, creating
unique percussions.
=Great Fang=
Great Fang is a mamoth rock formation that
sticks out of the ground near the Tower. The
people who live on this rock can't form large
communities, because if they do, then the
Clustanians will come to annihilate them. Also,
the gegraphical environment isn't quite right for
supporting people, so it was originally
zoned as a non-residential area. The residents of
this place are refugees from the global disaster
known as the Grathnode Inferia, that occurred about
700 years ago. The current residents mostly
oppose Clustania, and because of that, they are
constantly under surveilance by the Clustanians,
and they aren't allowed to gather together into
large groups. Each community is governed by
their own municipal laws. The heads of each
municipal community communicate with each
other through Community Assemblies. Of course,
these assemblies are strictly kept secret. If the
Clustanians caught them, these meetings would
be broken up. One third of the Great Fang
communities are on the surface of the world, and
the rest are within the depths of a dark abyss.
The population of each community is,
less than a thousand each. If a community grows
larger than this, the Clustanians will force them
to split into multiple groups or turn them into
colonies. Each town is very basic. Great Fang
may look like an ordinary civilization, but its
technology is highly advanced. The surface
community is almost completely agrarian.
Because of their great agricultural methodology,
they garner abundant yields. Plus, they raise
livestock and crops in underground farms.
Thanks to these rich resources, food is never
scarce. Plus, the perpetual snow on Great Fang
gradually melts into water, giving abundant
irrigation. As for other technology, because they
have access to Parameno, there are numerous
Parameno Discs set up all over the towns. These
discs absorb ambient Song Magic and
convert it into a current of energy. That's how
they produce their symphonic energy. This
technology was lost in other areas (such as Sol
Ciel and Metafalss), and is a legacy of the First
Era, which is unique to the 3rd Tower.
=Clustania=
An organization comprised of Pureblooded
β-Type Reyvateils that practically controls the
world. It's history dates back 600 years, and has
boasted vast amounts of power since being
established. The Clustanians asssert their control
over people to ensure that no foreign power can
disrupt the status quo. They govern through
terror, and their ultimate weapon is their policy
of Cleansing, in which they exterminate rebels on
a genocidal scale, wiping out entire populations
and communities.
Other than that, the Clustanians have taken
major cities under their direct control, and they
routinely abduct innocent humans, which they
brainwash and use as Divers, all in the name of
Purification. All non-Clustanians are furious
about their inhumane policies.
=Reyvateil=
Artificial being who are capable of wielding
supernatural power by singing Song Magic. It's
difficult to tell Reyvateils from humans just by
looking at them. Reyvateils can be divided into 3
types: Origin, Pureblooded β-Types and 3rd
Generation. The Reyvateil Origin type is the
group of Reyvateils that
were created from scratch, and there are only 3
of them in existence. Pureblooded β-Types are
Reyvateils who are cloned from Reyvateil
Origins. Although they are categorized as clones,
they are all, in fact, created to have their own
unique forms and physiques. Pureblooded
β-Types are a legacy from the First Era, which
ended 700 years ago and are extremely rare in
the other two world. 3rd Generations are the
hybrid offspring of Reyvateils and humans. Their
human genes cause their mental states to be
unstable, leading to a vast spectrum of individual
abilities. 3rd Generations are born as human
babies, and usually between the ages of 3 and 16,
their symptoms start to develop, and they mutate
into Reyvateils. Their Reyvateil qualities
consume their human bodies at an
advanced rate, requiring them to periodically be
injected with the Life Extending Agent, Diquility.
These qualities are the abilities to sing Song
Magic and for people to be able to Dive into their
minds. Song Magic requires the Reyvateil to draw
upon their emotions to power their magic. Since
incidents that stimulate a Reyvateil's emotions
enough to craft Songs are rare, they depend on
Diving to craft their Song Magic. During a Dive,
the Reyvateil's partner literally dives into their
spiritual world and stirs her emotions from within,
making it much easier to craft stronger Song
Magic. But, the Reyvateil has to open up her
mind to the Diver, so they have to share a strong
bond of trust. Regardless of her conscious desires,
she must accept the Diver on a deeper level.
=Eternus Shaft=
An underground city that lies in the grotto that
connects the two peaks of Great Fang. The paths
inside this metropolis are very complicated, and
almost labyrithine. No matter how strong an
enemy raid may be, no one can destroy this city
in a single day (Unless, of course, you destroy
the entire Fang so that it collapses down
onto the city, but that seems a little far-fetched
and excessive, don't you think?). The name
Eternus is rooted in Eternity. It was named after
the nearly endless maze that is the city. This
tunnel forms a natural main street, and from
there, numerous paths were dug in a grid-like
fashion. Each block is assigned a task. There's a
commercial district, another commercial district
and so on. There is a whole spectrum of altitudes
in the city, so trams are often used to transfer
resources. There are canals and subterranean
lakes, so residents also use boats. There is a
grotto that runs through the middle of the city
that was naturally formed. Aptly enough, a train
runs down this main road.
=Ogai=
The name of a town in the Archia Corporarchy.
It's pronounced Oh-guy. When the Archia
Corporarchy was established, the tycoon who led
the corporation was named Gai. After his death,
the people showed their respect by calling this
place Ogai. It's located at one of the highest
altitudes in all of Archia. For that reason, there
are holes through which sunlight shines down on
the Think Tank. Thanks to that, this place gets a
fair amount of natural light. Because of the
amiable environment, relatively rich people live
in this area, and it is considerably safe. There are
many educational facilities here, from pre-schools
all the way up to mammoth universities. Ogai
Memorial Pre-school, where Saki used to work, is
one of their oldest educational faculties. There's
even a tremendously large tree on this
artificial land that sybolizes Ogai's long history.
Note: Ogai Memorial Pre-school was named after
him before the town was. He was paid to build it.
=Telemo=
Technology used to send signals through energy
waves, called Conduct D. In general, all
communication media, such as phones and TV
are called Telemos. Telemos fall into two major
categories: Symplex and Interactive. Symplex
Telemos are used for TV, while Interactive
Telemos are used for phones. It's nearly
impossible to transfer information through cables
in this barren land, so this kind of technology
was developed. Interactive TVs are now
becoming affordable to the middle class.
=Religion in Great Fang=
In order to survive, the people here became
very skilled and knowledgeable. Their religion
expedited their teachings. By purposefully
coexisting with the harsh nature of their region,
they're able to connect with the stars and reach
enlightenment. By doing so, many people have
gained the ability to make a living. Those who
practice this spiritual tradition start their pious
training by living alone in desolate places. They
dig adobe huts, and carve statues and tomes.
=Ciela Gate=
The town Aoto was born and raised in. They
made a truce with Clustania, so it's relatively
peaceful. But during the war, because of its
location on the front lines, they suffered massive
destruction every day. Nowadays, many
Clustanian Reyvateils have come to this area to
be sentries. Although they have a truce,
it's hard to improve their relations at the
individual level. There are still epidemics of
conflict between the Clustanians and the locals.
The town is situated in a valley on the Tower
side. The view of steel curtains along the cliffs is
quite magnificent. If you go further into the
V-shaped valley, you encounter various
communes. Because of that, this valley is an
important trading artery. In fact, the archia
Corporarchy, the only human city in the 3rd
Town, only has transports that come here.
Everyone who needs to migrate to the Tower
eventually comes through Ciela Gate.
Unlike the liberal Eternus Shaft, this place still
has the look of a military base, especially when
the army runs customs and the police. After the
truce, Clustanian bureaucrats practically
siezed all the power. However, after a long period
of time, the tensions of those times have
evaporated. Nowadays, under a relatively lax
regime, Clustanian officials and some Great Fang
citizens serve as the executive branch.
(Clustanian HQ has criticized their leniency, but
they remain unmotivated.) As a matter of fact,
there always seems to be some small conflicts.
The Great Fang residents are always looking for a
reason to fight the Clustanian officials. But, out
of fear that the Clustnian HQ might send troops to
quell any large scale revolts, they mostly just bite
the bullet and bear with the oppressive
government.
=Fallen Heaven Peak=
The two peaks of Great Fang are Blue Heaven
Peak and Fallen Heaven Peak. Fallen Heaven
Peak has almost no population because it was
thoroughly Cleansed.
The soil of Great Fang used to be on the surface
of the planet. However, the Seven Blood Stains
Incident caused great upheavals across the land
700 years ago. Many ancient relics lie beneath the
crust of the Great Fang. A few hundred years ago,
Clustania attempted to evacuate every community
on Fallen Heaven Peak to excavate a certain
crystal.
That was, of course, a ruse. Most people
adamantly refused to leave and were given the
capital punishment known as Cleansing. The
crystal that was said to be buried in Fallen
Heaven Peak was not the Clustanians'
goal. Afterwards, Fallen Heaven Peak was
engulfed in chaos, and more than 90% of the
people migrated to Blue Heaven Peak.
Gengai's community, also named Fallen Heaven
Peak, set up their base on the mountain in order
to rebel against Clustania.
=Cleansing=
Cleansing is, so to speak, culling by means of
Natural Selection. For the ones being culled, it's
nothing more than brutal genocide. The
Clustanians justify their Cleansing activities by
saying it's the only expedient way to save and
preserve the Planet Ar Ciel for as long as possible,
and to maintain order by purifying
anarchic communities. Practically speaking,
Cleansings are done to entire towns. However,
the towns that are chosen to be Cleansed have
one way out: Purification. Purification is the
process by which the Clustanians brainwash
people into becoming selfless and peaceful beings.
People fear it as the act of creating mindless
husks.
=Archia=
Its full name is the Archia Corporarchy. If I had
to describe Archia City, I would say it's an
Asiatic metropolis with a hanging rocket. The
rocket in this case would be the XP shell that is
erected at the highest point of Archia. The silo is
functionally the center of the entire city (but not
the geographical center). Parie covers the
area from the silo to the outskirts (the silo itself
is close to the actual Tower), so the XP Shell is
located at the core of the Archia Think Tank.
Surrounding the Thank Tank are executive
institutes that maintain order in Archia, which in
turn are surrounded by commercial and
residential districts.
Archia is the only city that communicates with
Great Fang outside of the Tower. Plus, it is the
only town where people can reside normally. The
'town' refers to the lower half of the entire
property, while the upper half is occupied by
subsidiary factories of Archia, Inc's main entity,
the Archia Think Tank.
This place features real deal, Asian-looking
Clustanian architecture, Western-looking Cielan
architecture, various markets, luxurious
jewelry shops and entertainment facilities. The
most eye-catching building has to be the V-Board
Racetrack. It consists of an auditorium and race
courses for V-Boards, skateboards powered by
flippers. Oh, the Archia Corporarchy is not
recognized by Clustania. That's because they
regard Archia as part of their own territory,
known as the Parie Executive District.
=Dive=
The act of entering into a Reyvateil and crafting
Song Magic.Reyvateils perform Song Magic by
shaking up their emotions, but there are so few
life-shaking events in everyday life. If they lived
in a world where they were forced to fight
battles on a daily basis, never knowing which day
will be their last, then they could easily
create Song Magic without needing to Dive. And
if they lived in a banal and static world, they
would never get stronger. Diving is an activity in
which someone called a Diver enters a Reyvateil's
mind and inflicts shocks and emotional
excitement from the inside. Since it's done
directly inside her mind, the shocks are easily
transmitted straight into her mind (without the
filters of prejudice or outwards assumptions), than
if you tried to shock her in the real world, but all
things being equal...
However, Diving does entail risks. Because this
mental intercourse is done directly, Reyvateils do
things in their mental world that they'd never do
in the real world. It can result in harming the
Diver, or extreme behavior that is normally
suppressed. Because of this, many Divers'
lives are in jeopardy. Strong trust and intimacy
are required, because of the intimacy and danger
involved, as the Reyvateil must reveal her
innermost thoughts and secrets to the Diver. But,
that's completely different in Clustania. Dives are
conducted in Clustania, too, but it's not done on a
one-to-one basis. All Reyvateils in the Reyvateilic
District of Clustania are provided with a Dive
machine. They can use it to vibrate their minds
any way they want to strengthen their Song
Magic, but they never see their Divers. That's
because the corresponsing Dive machines for the
Divers are all in the Slave District. They're
connected by immensely long cables, and a
central hub. Because of that, Clustanian
Reyvateils have Dives with different partners
every day. Strictly speaking, this system
optimizes the efficiency of developing Song
Magic by matching them with the best partners,
and they can 'breed' stronger Song Magic.
However, the Songs don't last long, and the
reason was never given. Thus, slaves who were
forcefully moved to the Slave District will be
abused by Reyvateils to suit their needs. That's
how Clustanian Reyvateils gain such powerful
Songs.
=Hyuma=
Hyumas are the personifications of strong
feelings deep inside a Reyvateil's mind. There can
be an unlimited number of Hyumas inside a
Reyvateil that serve as hosts to the Divers.
...At least, that's what they're there for.
However, they are simply systems that help the
Diver to understand the Reyvateil's
personality, ideas, thoughts, and needs. They
aren't Cosmosphere fairies. Dive machines
analyse a Reyvateil's feelings and personify them
into living forms.
Finding Hyumas meens discovering new aspects
of a Reyvateil's personality. Sometimes it means
discovering a hidden side to her that she's not
even aware of, and thus can help fuel her feelings
towards the Diver.
To know thyself meens to expand thy potentiality,
and it follows that you will be able to sing new
Song Magic that you could not before. The
Hyuma system is a legacy technology from the
1st Era, and can therefore only be found in
worlds that retail technology from the 1st Era.
=Border Disease=
An illness that only affects humans. It derives its
name from the fact that its symptoms only
appear when the infectant's emotions are excited.
The Border State is such that whenever the
infectant has near-death experiences or
life-altering events, their mind loses the capacity
for all other functions.
For that reason, most infectants can only repeat
one task over and over again, especially if the
task is aggressive or destructive, as it will keep
them in the Border State. Indiscriminate murder
is the most common of these actions. Border
Disease is a local epidemic that has only been
found on Ar Ciel. Some believe the illness was
engineered by the Clustanians as a bio-terror
weapon. Some people adjust to their symptoms
and enjoy the sudden outbursts of their physical
abilities.
=V-Board=
Skateboards that are really popular in this world.
They are powered by a type of energy called
Flipper. Maintain your balance on top of the
board and let it take you places. They had
V-Boards in Metafalss, also, but they had a
different name, and weren't as popular. Most
people looking to turn pro train on their
V-Boards every day, in the hopes of earning an
entry into the V-Board Grand Prix that takes
place annually in Archia. The V-Board Grand
Prix is an entertainment extravaganza that
transcends the actual sport, and is sponsored by
the Archia Corporarchy.
To enter this competition, you have to have a
team. Although they're just boards, the athletes
still need mechanics to care for their machines,
and other people of various professions to win.
=Core Square Ring=
Also known as the Heart of Gaea. To make it
simple, this is an upgraded version of the 3D
Core Triangular Ring, the heart of Reyvateils.
This can generate physical embodiments which
leave no comparisons to the humans-sized
physical embodiments that it's predecessor could
produce. In Ar tonelico 2, by creating this,
the residents succeeded in fulfilling
their dream of creating the green continent,
Metafalica.
=Cartology=
A form of astrology. Based on the belief that
stars represent fate and destiny, you can foresee
the future by mapping the stars. It's based on date
of birth, true names, the present month and year,
and the location of the stars. From this
information, you'll inductively discover a pattern
that will allow you to forsee future events. To
use it for fortune telling, you need to know the
person's true name, which is always really long.
Other names can't be used to accurately map
your destiny.
=Deities of Ancient Mythology=
There are over 8 million deities in ancient
mythological epics that are worshiped by Ar
Cielans: Elemental deities like the God of Fuero,
God of Aquag, and the Solar God, as well as
conceptual deities, such as the God of War, God
of Peace, God of Civilization, God of Creation,
etc. Sarapatra is worshiped as the Goddess of
Love, although this name is not usually used by
the common people.
=Great Fang Alliance=
A secret disestablishmentarian society formed by
the Great Fang communities in order to defy
Clustania. In the Great Fang region, they aren't
able to act openly because of he Clustanian
menace. If they did, they would be Cleansed
right away.
However, that doesn't mean they will obey the
oppressive Clustanian government. Therefore, the
heads of the communities gather together and
have secret meetings. That is the core of this
alliance.
The location of their hideout is inside the Old
Eternus Gallery, which is said to be the vastest
and safest place in the Eternus Shaft. During the
Alliance meetings, the heads of the communities
elect the chairman, and the chairman exerts their
authority over the final decisions.
In the Great Fang region, where they are
constantly on high alert, it can be said that the
fate of Great Fang rests on the chairman's
shoulders. Because of that, the chairman is almost
never corrupt.
=Moebius Factory=
This historical entity was established around the
same time as Ciela Gate. Their main job is to
generate power. It is very similar to a power
plant in our world. It's snail-like appearance is
due to the power generator. It also develops
various industrial products. But in this regard,
there's no comparison between it and the
Archia Think Tank. This firm is the most
powerful and is the only entity that has a say in
Clustanian matters. That is because it supplies
power all the way to Morocca Port and all the
peripheral Towns.
In the Great Fang region, it can be argued that
the Moebius Factory is the ruler of Ciela Gate.
Because Ciela Gate is under the direct control of
Clustania, even though they have no practical
governmental power, Clustanians can't be harsh
to the Factory.
=Prome Wall=
An artificial wall, made out of the plasma layer
known as the Blast Line. To be precise, it's a
barrier. It lies between the border of Archia and
Clustania, so Archian troops can't advance
through the border.
It's almost like the Great Wall of China. In other
words, unless you break through the wall
of plasma, you can never enter the main land of
Clustania by airship.
The switch that turns it on or off is controlled
by Clustania, so they'll make holes in their
firewall whenever they want to send tanks down.
=Hymn Crystal=
A crystal that retains Hymns. It's like a floppy
disc or flash drive. In this crystal, feelings are
retained, and by downloading it into a Reyvateil,
she will be able to cast the corresponding Song
Magic.
By using such crystals 700 years ago (during the
First Era), many Reyvateils could sing
common Hymns. It was said to be like switching
cartridges in an air fighter.
In the modern age, the technique of fusing
feelings into Hymn Crystals has nearly been lost,
so they aren't as useful as before. Plus, with the
lack of technology to code the crystals using the
Hymnos language, it is impossible to create
Hymns that are as useful and complicated as
before.
=Hymn Code=
An ID that all Reyvatelis have. Roughly speaking,
consider it like a product bar code. That code is
vital to differentiating individual Reyvateils.
Without the code, they can't even download
Hymn Crystals.
There is a naming convention to all Hymn
Codes: [name_subordinate structure_server
name/.]. The name is the Reyvateil's ID, the
subordinate structure is their pedigree type. For
example, the Pureblooded β-Types have several
masters with copies that fall under them.
The server name is the Tower the Reyvateil
belongs to.
In terms of the internet, the server name is the
domain name, the subordinate structure is the file
tree, and the name is the file name, so to speak.
For example, the Hymn Code
[EORIA_ANSUL_ARTONELICO/.] indicates that
she is a Reyvateil Origin that belongs to Ar
tonelico, and her name is Eoria.
[MISHA_FEHU_EORIA_ARTONELICO/.] means
she's a Pureblooded β-Type, below Eoria,
belonging to Ar tonelico, named Misha.
=Hymns=
The strongest characteristic of Reyvateils is their
ability to perform miracles by singing Hymns.
Generally speaking, Hymns refer to lyrics in the
Hymnos language that are downloaded through
Hymn Crystals. It is different from the Song
Magic that they regularly use in battle. Song
Magic is created in the Reyvateil's mind. Hymns,
on the other hand, are programmed by a third
party and downloaded by the Reyvateli. Song
Magic uses the power of the Towers, whereas
Hymns control the Towers.
Hymns are capable of doing things that Song
Magic just can't. For example, altering the form
of the Tower, stopping their functions, and
leading guardians.
Strictly speaking, Song Magic is also executed by
a Hymn with the code: [EXEC_HYMN/.]
In other words, Reyvateils are merely using their
freedom to turn their imagination into a program
that brings forth physical changes and energy
transfers, based on the embodiment of the
imagination. [EXEC_HYMN/.] is pre-installed in
every single Reyvateil.
=DFP=
DFP is the acronym for Ditail Wave Flare Pulse.
Yeah, it probably should be called DWFP, but
three letter acronyms are much catchier. It is also
known as D-Pulse. By flashing D-Waves
(physical waves) for a moment, you can wreak
havoc on beings and machines that were
artificially created out of D-Waves.
Because it releases a tremendous amount of
D-Waves, you need a sufficient amount of energy
stocked up. The Moebius Factory, where the DFP
device is stored, is also where D-Waves are
generated, so it can be thought of as an
executable facility.
=Industrial Power Draining Disc=
Rotating this machine can boost the functions of
Parameno Symphonic Energy Absorption Plates
(D-Waves).
It is a known fact that by giving vectors to
Parameno Crystals, we can boost their absorption,
but creating a huge and balanced system of
absorption is very difficult. Somehow, the
Moebius Factory has achieved the impossible. No
wonder this factory has become so influential in
this region.
=Soulspace Map=
You can divide the Soulspace into smaller worlds.
The creation of such divisions are the Soulspaces
that appear when you Dive. However, Soulspaces
are complicated; depending on the Diver, the
worlds can change forms at any time. The
Soulspace Map is like an X-Ray that objectively
oversees the inside of the Reyvateil's mind. In
short it's a digitized map of their Soulspace that
is free of the influcence of their positive and
negative emotions.
With it, you can see the state of the Reyvateil's
mind. It is also completely data-oriented, so it is
impossible to see the Reyvateil's past
relationships and memories just by looking at the
Soulspace Map. It is like looking at the memory
map of a computer. You can see what is
occupying the memory of each region,
but you can't observe the contents of that data
from there.
=Ar Ciel=
This is the name of the planet that this game
takes place on. Ar Ciel is officially written as
Ar_Ciel, and in Hymnos means 'The Only World.'
700 years ago, humanity caused the historical
catastrophe known as the Grathnode Inferia. As a
result, the Planet was severely damaged. The Sea
of Death covers the surface, and a layer of plasma,
called the Blast Line covers the sky. today, Ar
Ciel is half-dead and the people who survived
live on the Towers, barely able to subsist on the
limited area.
=Grathnode Inferia=
The name of the unprecedented and most
devestating disaster in the history of Ar Ciel. 700
years ago, the Symphonic Amplifier Tower of
Sol Ciel, Ar tonelico, started a sudden outburst of
energy. More precisely, agents from Sol Cluster
deliberately triggered this catastrophe.
An immense amount of symphonic energy was
released into the ground and sky all at once. As a
result, Gaea cried, and the skies were covered
with a sea of plasma called the Blast Line.
During this period, two nations, Sol Ciel and Sol
Cluster were locked in a hostile state. The agents
of Sol Cluster sought to quell the menace of Ar
tonelico. However, the consequence of their
actions resulted in an unforseen catastrophe.
The magnitude of the resulting meltdown was far
greater than the sum of energy that could
be released from all nuclear weapons and power
plants combined.
=Antibody=
A new form of life that came into existence 600
years ago. These beings randomly attack and kill
humans. They seem to exist only to exterminate
humanity. The entire world has strived to
counter-exterminate this species. During the
course of the humans' efforts, it was discovered
that the Antibodies' H-Waves carried
the desire to terminate humans. After that, it was
the common belief that this new species was sent
by Ar Ciel to exterminate humanity; hence the
name, Antibodies (for the Planet).
Antibodies are strong. They can transform into
any shape, yet they're as hard as rock. Also, these
beings can survive in the Sea of Death or Blast
Line. In fact, they can absorb symphonic power
into themselves. For these reasons, they are
hardly mortal.
=Granvert Guage=
A railroad that runs through the Tower. The rails
had been constructed when the Tower was built.
Once they placed all the trains, this transportation
system was created.
The first train ran more than 600 years ago. At
that time, there were no conflicts between Archia
and Clustania, nor was there warfare
between humans and Reyvateils. The railroad's
goal was to provide free access to Archia, the
center of the contemporary world, to anyone,
from anywhere. Nowadays, it has been preserved
and taken over by Clustania. In order to prevent
Archians from sneaking into Clustania on the
Granvert Guage, they conduct strict security
checks at Kniehar Signal Station. Basically, the
train utilizes an apt system, in which the train
advances along gears, so it is interminably slow.
But it becomes quite rapid for long distance
travel, like below Archia, for example.
=Nya Nya Ya=
A little shop located at the Capo Waste Oil Hot
Spring. It's housed in an abandoned blacksmith's
workshop, so it may look manly, but it deals in a
variety of products from medicine to stuffed
animals to artificial satellites. The shopkeeper is a
13 year old girl, named Sasha. She may be young,
but don't underestimate her. Even at her
young age, she is capable of analysing Hymn
Crystals. She is a true genius. Nya Nya Ya was
originally the name of the building for the
General Store in Ar tonelico 2 (look at the
bottom-right of the picture). Because the
shopkeeper moved to this Tower, her shop itself
moved to this world as well. I heard that when
Nya Nya Ya was located in Metafalss, she only
had like 4 customers a day, so she was very poor.
How does today's Nya Nya Ya stack up?
=Blocking Operation=
3rd Generation Reyvateils, whose Reyvateilic
qualities consume their bodies, need a periodic
injection of Life Extending Agent. The insertion
of those agents cause excruciating agony, and
because of the continuous expense of them, it can
be quite an burden for a normal household. In Sol
Ciel and Metafalss, there is no choice but to live
with this troublesome symptom. However, in this
world, there is a medical procedure that can
suppress Reyvateilic qualities. It's called a
Blocking Operation.
It was invented by the Archia Think Tank, and
by having this operation, it is possible to screen
out all Reyvateilic symptoms. However, the
tattoo-like markings that appeare with the
symptoms will remain, so it's not possible to hide
the fact that they had developed
Reyvateilic qualities. The Archia Think Tank
performs this type of operation every day for free.
=J&K=
J&K are the initials of the two partners that
comprise this duo. They'll do anything for a
commission, sometimes taking on the roles of
social outcasts. They're willing to accept any job,
as long as you can afford their extortionate rates.
Also, because one of them is quite familiar with
shockwave science, they can hack into the Tower.
They usually get hired by the Archia Think Tank.
Whenever they need to carry out an important
undercover mission, they usually call in J&K.
=Gergo=
Gergo originates from Metafalss. Because the
female ruler of Metafalss is fond of this eccentric
character, they hold many lively promotion
activities. The reason Gergo found his way to
this world was, of course, because Sasha imported
him.
His fugly cute image has made him very popular,
to the point that many people ar closet Gergo
fans. Because of his high popularity in Metafalss,
there are a lot of knock offs there, but they have
yet to invade Sol Cluster.
=Mainframe=
An information processing device that forms the
core of the entire system. There are Mainframes
in Harvestasha, the Tower that exists in this
world, as well as in Sol Ciel (Metafalss was
controlled by the Mainframe located in Ar
tonelico). The Mainframes are in charge of
various roles. The most significant of these are
maintaining the Reyvateils' Cosmospheres,
processing the execution of Song Magic, and
maintaining the Towers themselves.
Also, the difference in functions of the different
Mainframes is conspicuous. The Mainframe in
Ar tonelico is only a giant calculator, while that
of Harvestasha is a giant AI that adopts a quantum
operator.
Thanks to the AI, the Mainframe of Harvestashasha
itself has its own will, makes decisions,
and controls her own feelings.
=Rinkernator=
A facility located in the high point of the Tower.
It functions as a power switch for the entire
Tower. These facilities exist to administrate
Harvestasha, the Tower of Sol Cluster and
Ar tonelico, the Tower of Sol Ciel. Each
Rinkernator basically serves the same role: By
turning this off, the majority of the Tower's
symphonic power, and those systems powered by
it, will shut down, except for vital systems like
the Soulspace Servers (SH Servers).
Since the Towers should always be running,
there's no need to shut down their symphonic
power supply, except for when there's a change
of Administrators,
or when a thorough power supply recession is
called for. These facilities exist solely for the sake
of those purposes.
When there's a change of Administrators, one
Reyvateil Origin is replaced by another. At this
time, all systems must be shut down, or the entire
world will suffer from multiple system errors.
=Metafalss=
The name of the region that is 1/3 of the planet
away. It was the locale of Ar tonelico 2.
It was originally a quiet place surrounded by
mountains, but ever since its accidental
encounter with Sol Ciel, it has become the focal
point of the entire world. It is also a place that is
attached to unique spiritual beliefs.
The people's cognitive system is different from
everywhere else. The entire population believes
in the Legend of Metafalica, where a single Song
can create verdant utopia. Through great strife,
they managed to create the continent of
Metafalica. In the temporal axis of this world,
Metafalica simply exists, levitating in a faraway
sky.
Objectively speaking, their culture seems
mediocre at best, but in certain fields, it exceeds
all other civilizations. One example are their
Hymns. There are Reyvateils that don't exist
anywhere else, called I.P.D.s. Only they can use
the new generation of Hymns called New Pastalia.
Thus, unlike other worlds, which barely maintain
their existence by feeding off the remaining
resources of the First Era, they have
prospered even after the Grathnode Inferia.
=SH Server=
Its official name is the Static Hymno Server (or
Steady H-Wave Server). Simply speaking, it is
the storage archive of the Soulspace. Every
Reyvateil has their spiritual identities stored on
an SH Server. It is a gigantic memory space. If
the SH Server is destroyed, all Reyvateils
connected to it will instantly perish. For this
reason, its location is only known by a select few
people. Shurelia is the only one who knows
where Sol Ciel's server is, and only a few know
where Sol Cluster's is.
The administrator of the SH Server is a bodiless
Pureblooded β-Type named β-6D.
=Clustania (The City)=
A city where most Pureblooded β-Types live. It
is practically the capital of the world. The
world's dictatorship is centered in this metropolis.
This city boasts the largest concentration of the
highest technology in the world. The city is
divided into three distrocts: The Reyvateil
District, the Slave District, and the
Executive District. The Reyvateil District is
where the Reyvateils, the rulers of the world, live.
Think of it as the top branches and leaves of a
tree. Their standard of living and comfort level
are very high. Everything is very organized.
The Slave District, on the other hand, is where
the humans live. This would be the root of the
tree. This area is very small, as are all the
households. They are barely given enough to
survive.
Lastly, there's the Executive District, where the
executive government is literally centered.
It is the part that looks like a bunch of pipes in
the center of the city. This is where they
maintain the current environment, Dives, and
production planning in Clustania. Of these, the
production planning is the most crucial.
This center oversees the production of new
Reyvateils so that the optimized environment of
Clustanian Reyvateils can be perpetuated. There
are about 100 Triple Nurturing Tanks inside the
Executive District.
=Telmere=
Telomere refers to the segments of DNA at the
tips of chromosomes, also called Soul Tickets.
This is the Reyvateil version of them. The hinge
part, which forms the Core Triangle, is located at
the Hexagon, and this Telomere controls the
Reyvateil's life span, in essence stamping her
expiration date. But, it is not the source of her
energy. In other words, it's a count-down timer
that alerts a Reyvateil of their death. This exists
because their safety and behavior can no longer
be guaranteed.
Pureblooded β-Types live for 150 years, but
during that time, they may experience
degradation and develop bugs. Also, if the Core
Triangle is injured, their mind set may go astray.
Once their expiration date has passed, the Core
Triangle stops, to prevent abnormal
behavior, and save them from suffering from
senility. However, some unforeseen problems
have occurred. Mainly, if there are multiple SH
Addresses (Soulspaces) in a single Core Triangle,
it will count down that much faster. Because of
that, tragically, Saki's and Finnel's life spans have
been extremely shortened due to the multiple
personae inside of them. It can be treated by
increasing the count on their Telomeres, but so
far, there are no permanent solutions.
=Antibody Brain=
The hub that controls Antibodies, the so called
hitmen sent to erase humanity. Since the
Antibodies came into existence, 600 years ago,
humanity has done various research on them.
One of their greatest achievements was
discovering that every single Antibody is
controlled by one individual brain. Antibodies
sometimes act in groups. Such a group is capable
of annihilating an entire city, so people feared the
devilish tactics of these units.
From there, the hypothesis that each Antibody
must be controlled by something beyond the will
of their brain emerged, which led to the
conclusion that there must be an ultimate,
absolute leader brain. That leader is called
Ar Ru (the Only Will), and right now the
humans are busy trying to find a way to
embody Ar Ru and end the mayhem.
=Dr. Laude=
The first Director of the Archia Think Tank. He
used to conduct research with his peers, like
Raphael, even though he was Raphael's superior.
He was very clever and rose to the prime position
through his own ability. But because he was bad
at politics, he wasn't very popular. Raphael, on
the other hand, had only above average
academic achievements, but he had charisma.
Laude lost his life on his quest for the Heart of
Gaea, which he sought in order to carry out his
Human Evolution Project. However, Raphael's
conspiracy contributed to his death. Right after
Laude left for Metafalss, Raphael became an
Assistant Manager, and began to climb the
corporate ladder, and eventually became the
Chairman.
After all, because of the Antibody Termination
Project, the Heart of Gaea was no longer
necessary (Since Saki, who could replace the
Heart of Gaea, was developed). Laude failed to
return from Metafalss. The only concern Dr.
Laude held as he left his homeland was for his
daughter's well-being. And yet, despite his
worries, she is quite well.
=Vaccine=
This vaccine refers to Saki's ability to neutralize
the Antibody's Brain and detoxify it. Strictly
speaking, it is the Hymn that was installed in
Saki, called Alfage.
While Laude was on his journey to find the
Heart of gaea, a new plan to terminate Ar Ru
was drafted. It was called the Vaccine Measure.
The reason the Heart of gaea was necessary was
because it was the only way to give a physical
body to Ar Ru to make it tangible.
However, after years of waiting for Laude to
return, the Archia Think Tank (or more precisely,
Raphael) revised the measure from using the
Heart of Gaea to using a Vaccine that had been
developed by the younger generation.
The Alfage Vaccine is a special type of Hymn
that can be only installed into a rare
Reyvateil type, called γ Sublimators.
A γ Sublimator has an individual body with a
high spiritual frequency, meaning it's a large
vessel for a spiritual body (See γ Sublimator).
=γ Sublimator=
This is the third type of pure Reyvateil that
Archia invented. But they stopped after creating
the first prototype, Saki. The structure of the γ
Sublimator is not very different than a
Pureblooded β-Type's. Nevertheless, her
Soulspace frequency is set much higher than
normal Reyvateils. She has up to 24 levels in her
Cosmosphere, but because humans don't have
enough stamina, they have to stop at Level 9.
Because she is a prototype, more examinations
are needed.
There are hardly any tools to support her. For
example, it's currently impossible to Dive into
her Level 10 or higher Soulspace. Also, γ
Sublimators support the coexistence of multiple
personae within a single body, but there
are no tools to maintain their states, making it
impossible to supervise all of these personae. The
reason the use of Saki was adopted was because
she could solve an urgent situation; the
termination of Antibodies by quelling Ar Ru. By
the way, because γ Sublimators have such a
wide range of frequencies, they can't share the
same SH Server as Pureblooded β-Types.
Therefore, γ Sublimators have to use a different
SH Sever. To put it simply, it lies within the
Binary Field of the Reyvateil Origin, Tyria. Tyria
also functions as Saki's β-6D. That's why Saki
was unaffected when Archia spread the
Pureblooded β-Type virus and stopped the SH
Server.
=Spiritual Floor Frequency=
The unique frequency of every Reyvateil. This is
the physical part of the Hymn Code, which the
Hymn Codes merely links together. The Spiritual
Floor Frequencies are independent of a
Reyvateil's emotions, and thus remain static. The
reason every Reyvateil is different from one
another is because they all have a different SFF.
But when faced with death, this frequency starts
to fluctuate, and may cause shifts in personality
and memory loss. This is why Telomere limits a
Reyvateil's life span.
=Tower of Origin=
Before the Harvestasha Tower was built, there
was another tower that was used as a base camp.
Nowadays, that tower is called the Tower of
Origin. There was another Tower of Origin in the
Ar Ciel's history, which was built in preparation
for the Tower of Sol Ciel, Ar tonelico. It is said
that the Towre of Origin isn't functioning
right now. It is located in the center of Archia,
and it looks like a cylinder that was broken in
two. Until the Tower of this world, Harvestasha
was built, there was only this tiny Tower.
Because it was a base camp, the Tower is full of
cutting edge technology and equipment. Also,
there was a huge megalopolis on the top floor.
=Necrohouse of Ayatane=
One of the lineages that were derived from the
Teru Tribe that lent their evil hands to
Sol Cluster during the first Era (the
Pre-Grathnode Inferia Age). In Sol Cluster, this
Teru Clan was called the Necrohouse of Ayatane,
and in Sol Ciel, they were known as the Munov
Family (their special skill is prophecy). In
short, Ayatane is a descendant of the Ayatane
Clan. His official name in this world is Kureha
Kirinami. The Ayatane who was in Ar tonelico 1
was Ayatane Michitaka Ayanami.
Members of the Necrohouse have the ability to
foresee future events. That begs the question:
Why didn't they foresee the Grathnode Inferia?
The answer is simple: They knew about it and
deliberately let it happen. At the time, the Teru
Clan (or the Teru Tribe, as people call them)
believed the world should be abandoned. The
Teru Tribe that lived in Sol Cluster was
especially furious about the Seven Blood Stains
Incident, which Sol Ciel has caused.
Following that incident, the Necrohouse of
Ayatane foresaw the future and learned that
humanity would not survive the
catastrophe that was to happen. But, their
prophetic ability is limited by predicated events.
They could not see beyond the premise 'provided
Ar tonelico keeps running at its current rate.'
Plus, they joined the United Army of Sol cluster
with other Clans, thus changing the tragectory of
things to come. 700 years have passed, and
humanity still exists. Resenting the outcome, the
Necrohouse and their allies chose to remove
themselves from mainstream society. Over the
last 700 years, the world faced the danger of
extinction three times, but with each jeopardy
thwarted, implications of Ayatane's involvement
have always been uncovered. The Ayatane were
aware that a Song sang by Reyvateils would
eventually save the world, but they knew it
wouldn't soley be the Reyvateils'
achievement. Humans would also contribute.
Yet, through the Ayatane's eyes, humans were
nothing but evil, and their prophecies only
granted them the simplest answers. All they knew
was that the Reyvateils would pull a giant trigger
to restore the world. Still hoping to regenerate
the world, the Ayatane Clan rescinded their
isolationist policy and supported Clustania (the
Nation of Reyvateil), since they also abhorred
humans. Thus, the Necrohouse of Ayatane chose
to follow the path and ambitions of Clustania.
=Planet Regeneration Project=
Around the end of the First Era, this project was
conducted on a global scale. This project was
planned and initiated by the AAA (Aegis Alliance
of Ar Ciel).
This project was a series of gambles, due to the
tensions and difficulty of the plan. The Tower of
Ar tonelico Qoga, Harvestasha, and the Reyvateil
Origin, Tyria, were both products of the Planet
Regeneration Project, but it never came to
fruition, because of the engineered catastrophe of
Grathnode Inferia.
After the incident, the organization lingered for a
while, but it was only a candle before a storm.
Sol Ciel, where the AAA HQ was located, fell
into chaos. Only the name, AAA, remains to this
day. But, their legacy still unknowingly survives
as it is the basis for the programming
of the Tower, Harvestasha.
=Kurogane=
One of the officers of the AAA, and the lead
designer of Tyria. He was very stubborn and
although he was a true genius, he was a total
social failure.
In the AAA, his achivements were so immense
that the organization wouldn't have been able to
keep running without his presence. However,
near the breakout of Grathnode Inferia, an
analysis of Tyria's high frequency waves failed,
costing them a tremendous amount of money.
The AAA's sponsors demanded a complete
administrative overhaul.
As a result, Kurogane was forced to resign from
being Project Manager. Since then, the AAA's
focus was turned to the construction of the tower
in Metafalss, but Kurogane continued his research
with an extremely limited budget,
which was soon cut entirely by the HQ in
Sol Ciel. After that, he lost all hope. The results
of his autopsy declared his official cause of death
a suicide, but the records have since been lost to
history, so no one knows the truth about his
demise.
=Kurogane Lab=
A facility built in the world of Ar tonelico Qoga
by Kurogane. It is also known as the Tower of
Origin, and the predecessor of the Archia Think
Tank. The Kurogane Lab lasted for 10 years
after the Grathnode Inferia. He secretly continued
his work, despite orders from the AAA.
Concurrent with Kurogane's death, there was a
Pureblooded β-Type uprising that devastated the
lab, and forced its closing. Also, another
organization was established after this uprising:
Clustania.
=Consensus=
Its definition is something along the lines of
unanimous will. The Consensus here refers to the
Will of the Planet Ar Ciel. The planet is
obviously a higher life form than humanity, by
far. At least, that is common sense in this world.
But unlike humans, that noble life harbors
multiple wills within itself. Yet, when it acts on
them in the physical world, a need to unite those
wills arises to carry out that task. As such, the
compilation of the Planet's Wills was called for.
And that is the Consensus
=VR21=
An ultra-functional Dive machine that is a legacy
of the First Era. If you compare Dive machines
to game consoles, the VR21 would be the game
development kit. It covers a host of functions
regarding the Reyvateil's mental controls. It's
even capable of transforming their appearances.
Because of its difference in functionality, even
plug-ins utilized in other Dive Machines, like
Teppo, will vastly change.
Normal Dive machines are only capable of classic
search and table overwrites, but with the VR21,
you can do so much more. But, the added
functions mean the system is more convoluted.
Not everyone can decipher the full use of it. It
was discovered by the Archia Think Tank, and
only 30% of its full capabilities have been fully
unerstood.
=Level 17=
Most Cosmospheres end at Level 9. That's
because a human's emotional level can't go
beyond 9. However, it goes without saying that
there's no limit to the amount a frequency can be
raised. However, any levels deeper than 9 would
go so far into a Reyvateil's subconscious that the
world would become unrecognizable to the Diver.
On the other hand, a Level 17 Soulspace is not
all that aloof for a planet. This time, a Level 17
Dive was needed to contact Ar Ru.
That's because Ar Ru's Soulspace only ranges from
level 17 and up.
=Cosmography=
The same as the Soulspace Map. For more detail,
please refer to the Soulspace Map section.
=Factions in the Archia Think Tank=
There are two factions within the Archia Think
Tank: The Neo Atlas and the Ancient. The Neo
Atlas faction is a clique that pursues humanity's
survival through use of the Human Evolution
Project, whereas the Ancient faction attepmts to
revive the Planet Regeneration Project of the
AAA. To put it simply, the Neo Atlas faction
seeks to improve the adaptability of humans in
order for them to survive, while the Ancient
faction seeks to regenerate the planet.
At the moment, the Ancient faction has been
completely expelled from the Think Tank by
Raphael. At the beginning of this story, the
Ancient faction no longer exists within the
Archia Think Tank. The Ancient faction barely
escaped from Raphael, and fled to the Moebius
Factory to secretly continue their research.
Katene is one of these refugees.
=HW Antenna=
The HW stands for Hymno Wave. So basically,
it's an antenna that can broadcast and receive
Hymno Waves. It emits high-powered
shockwaves of emotions, or in other words, it is a
high-powered brainwashing device. Yet, the
effect of the brainwashing is attained because of
the uncontrollably strong power.
Its original purpose was for something else, but it
had something to do with the high power output.
Alright, fine...its original purpose was to enable
communication with the planet itself. To endure
any and all circumstances, the antenna wasn't
made of any worldly substance. It was created by
fusing one energy body (Symphonic D-Waves)
with an even stronger energy body (Symphonic
H-Waves) in a really cool looking experiment.
With this, you could be out in space on an
asteroid or something, and you could still get a
clear connection.
=Crystal on the Back of the Neck=
A crystal is embedded into the back of Raphael's
neck. Almost every official in the Neo Atlas
faction has this type of crystal buried somewhere
in their bodies. Dr. Laude, who was in the
previous Ar tonelico game, had one of these
crystals embedded in the crown of his skull.
This crystal can play a very significant
role in the artificial evolution of humanity. The
Human Evolution Project divides humanity into
two races: The surbservient Slaves and the
dominant Rulers. To become a Ruler, you must
have one of these crystals inside your body.
=Reyvaroid=
The Slave race for the Human Evolution Project
are called Reyvaroids. Reyvaroids have no egos.
More precisely, their structural limitations
prevent them from having one. Therefore, the
Slave race depends on the Ruler race's orders.
Also, those crystals mentioned above are
necessary for sending those orders to the
Reyvaroids.
Reyvaroids are bred as hybrids of humans,
Antibodies and Reyvateils. Strictly speaking, they
are a mix of humans and Antibodies, with the
Reyvateils serving as the adhesive. The reason
the Archia Think Tank allowed the Clustanians
to prosper was to prepare as much glue as
possible. Also, the reason for Hikari Gojo's sister's
mysterious death was because she was chosen as
the test subject for this glue.
=Luke=
An engineer who comes from Sol Ciel, the world
in Ar tonelico 1. He is also Krusche's
ex-boyfriend. He was an airship engineer who
spent many happy days with Krusche. But one
day, he set off to the edge of the world on his
airship and never looked back. Ever since this
incident, Krusche decided to become an aviatech
engineer. Luke eventually arived in the world of
Sol Cluster, and was welcomed as a new
researcher at the Archia Think Tank.
He was conducting research as a member of the
Ancient faction, until he suddenly became
obsessed with the mystery of the Sea of Death.
He started going down below the layer of deadly
clouds, until one day, he vanished among the
cloud of grim reapers.
=Harvestasha=
The name of the Mainframe of
Ar tonelico Qoga's Tower. It also refers to the
chamber where the Mainframe is kept. Its official
name is the Harvestasha Module. There are two
of them; one is in the Tower of Origin, and the
other is in Clustania (also known as Tyria's
Head). They have been given the code names XP
and Vista to differentiate between the two.
Vista was derived from XP, and has been vital to
the Planet Regeneration Project because XP was
designed for Dives into the planet using ultra high
level interactions. Unfortunately, no one has been
able to return from a Dive, due to their intensity.
And that is why Vista is needed to administrate
the Tower, prepare XP Shells, and calculate
tragectories.
=XP Shell=
Objects located at the top of the Tower of Origin.
They are actually bullets that were designed to be
fired into the core of the planet, and are equipped
with Dive machines to communicate with the
Planet itself. Normally, they exist as complete,
independant bodies, but when the actual
conversations take place, the body gets
dissected into two modules: The Dome, and the
Wing. They are linked to each other by an
accordion pathway. The Dome is the chamber for
the Dives and actually houses the Harvestasha
Module XP. The Wing is the console part of the
XP Shell, and it returns the Diver after the
conversation is over.
=DH Sensors=
The D stands for Ditail Waves, or D-Waves, or
even sometimes called physical waves. The H
stands for Hymmno Waves, or H-Waves, or even
sometimes called mental waves. The D Sensor is
the eye, and the H Sensor is the ear. If only DH
Sensors had two of each, this analogy would've
been perfect...
=HF Dive Control=
HF stands for Hymno Frequency. You can
translate that into H-Wave Frequency if you don't
want to spell it all out, but still want to write
more than just HF. In any case, it controls Dives
by performing band tuning and energy
adjustments.
=Kaira Drain Plate=
One of the facilities located on the Tower,
Harvestasha. It's a group of large discs that float
over Tyria's Head. When the Tower of
Harvestasha was constructed, they invented
something at the same time that generated an
endless supply of symphonic energy
(Symphonic D-Waves). One of these
inventions was the Kaira Drain Plate. It was
never put to use because the Tower was never
fully constructed, and the budget was always
limited until now. In the initial plans, there
should have been something called a Kaira Static
Satellite, which forms the opposing pair of the
Kaira Drain Plate, but it doesn't exist at the
moment. The Kaira Static Satellite launches
smaller satellites that orbit it, which are used to
convert the power of the sun into symphonic
energy and launch it back down at a high rate.
But there,s no use for a receiver without a
transmitter. The Kaira Plate is a perfect
example of that philosophy.
=Sol Ciel=
The first Symphonic Amplifier Tower. Sol Ciel
exists on Ar Ciel. During the First Era, when the
Grathnode Inferia was about to raise its ugly head,
this nation and land was boasting their advanced
technology and influence over the entire world.
Now, Sol Cluster, the civilization that
owns the third Tower, is more advanced, but only
because Sol Ciel has also suffered from two more
disasters. The Third Tower, on the other hand,
has adopted the technology that Sol Ciel had at
the end of the First Era, and is still surviving in
these chaotic times. In that way, you could say
that Sol Ciel's original technology is still kept
safe and sound. The Tower of Ar tonelico and
the remains of the floating land known as the
Wings of Horus comprise all that is left of Sol
Ciel today.
Platina, the government led by the Tower
Administrator, Shurelia, controls the civilization
level so that it won't adavance too far, and hence
peace in this world has been preserved. The
reason Platina restricts their civilization level is
because the two catastrophes were both
caused by the arrogance of humanity.