Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia is a video game developed by Overwerks and relased by Sega. It was originally released on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000. An enhanced port, called Skies of Arcadia Legends, was released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2003. The game inspired a small but lively fandom in the mid-2000's. The fandom has quieted somewhat since, although a few fans still remain active. 
=Synopsis=
Arcadia is a world of floating islands, surrounded by six magical moons, full of rogues and adventurers. The story follows a young, good-hearted sky pirate named Vyse; his best friend Aika, a fellow pirate; and a mysterious girl named Fina that they rescue while raiding a ship. The three of them travel across the world by airships, exploring the unknown corners of the world, searching for treasure, and trying to solve the riddle of an ancient power that the expansionist empire of Valua is trying to awaken. 
=Fandom=
The fandom was most active between 2000 and 2009. The Crescent Isle community on Livejournal was active at that time, and was an important meeting place and creative hub for Skies fans. Fanworks were largely de-centralized, archived on various fansites (see Resources) as well as general fic archives like Fanfiction.net and Skyehawke. Conflicts between fans did occur, although they were much less pronounced than in other, larger fandoms. 
==Major Fans==
Admiral J
Ariohkin
Drilnos
Plutospawn
Pumpkinchao
=Characters=
* Protagonists
:* Vyse, a cheerful, idealistic rogue with a heart of gold only matched by his love for treasure.
:* Aika, a quick and fiery young woman who grew up a sky pirate. She joins Vyse on many raids, fighting side-by-side with him.
:* Fina, a mysterious girl who Vyse and Aika find on a raid. She was sent to Arcadia 
:* Drachma, a bitter old man searching for revenge against the monster who maimed him and killed his son.
:* Gilder, a dashing, charming man who sometimes gets a little more attention from some ladies than even he would prefer.
:* Enrique, the Prince of Valua, who dislikes the turn that his country's politics is taking, and asks Vyse to help him escape so that he can find a way to stop them.
* Antagonists
:* Teodora, the old and power-hungry Empress of Valua. 
:* Galcian, leader of Valua's Admirals, who is leading Valua's navy in searching for an ancient power, for his own reasons.
:* Alfonso, First Admiral of Valua. A vain, proud peacock of a man, and largely ineffectual. Heavily favored by Teodora, but disfavored by Galcian.
:* Gregorio, Second Admiral of Valua. Strong, stoic, and a legendary defender of the Empire. Devoted to Prince Enrique above even the Empress.
:* Vigoro, Third Admiral of Valua. A macho man who prizes, well, machismo. Attempts to be a ladies' man, but is actually a creep.
:* Belleza, Fourth Admiral of Valua. A master of disguise, she is loyal to Galcian above all others, and truly believes that Valua must rule the world so that there will be no more war.
:* De Loco, Fifth Admiral of Valua. A short, quirky man in a costume like an astronaut's, given to fits of rage; also a technical genius capable of building deadly ships and machines. 
:* Ramirez, Galcian's protege and devoted servant, and Fina's former best friend.
* Legends-only characters
:* Mendosa, Ramirez's former mentor and former leader of Valua's Admirals. Appears only in flashbacks.
:* Piastol, the deadliest assassin and bounty hunter in Arcadia, who holds a grudge against Vyse.
==Pairings==
Commonly found relationships in fanworks include: 
* Vyse/Aika/Fina
* Vyse/Aika
* Vyse/Fina
* Vyse/Ramirez
* Vyse/Gilder
* Aika/Fina
* Enrique/Ramirez
* Galcian/Ramirez
* Belleza/Galcian
Shipping Wars and similar conflicts are much less frequent in Skies fandom than in many other fandoms with a similar group of main characters - i.e. a male protagonist and two female protagonists in a tight-knit group. 
=Resources=
==Fanart==
Arcadian Legends (@ tumblr) (@ deviantArt)
==Fanpages==
EsoArcadia (Active fanpage)
Skies of Arcadia Island (French language fansite. Last update: 2012)
Skies of Arcadia World (Last update: 2004)
==Communities==
Crescent Isle @ LiveJournal (Largely inactive)
Skies of Arcadia wiki
Category:Skies of Arcadia