Ezkl 2

HistoryEdit

The site of Tartarus was originally that of a research facility on Port Island owned and sponsored by the Kirijo Group, which was performing experiments to harness the power of shadows after learning of their existence from researching the Plume of Dusk that had come into the possession of Kouetsu Kirijo. It was soon found out that shadows can be used to influence time and space, so the research eventually leaned toward creating a time manipulation device. The discovery of The Fall, or the end of the world, was to be the ultimate result of their efforts. Following their employer's nihilistic wishes, the scientists worked on developing the Death Arcana shadow to serve as the harbinger of the phenomenon, believing that it was for the good of mankind.

However, the Fall was thwarted by Eiichiro Takeba, one of the senior researchers who opposed the move. While Death was in an incomplete state, he interrupted the experiment and dispersed Death into twelve parts before they could consume each other. The fragmented shadows went berserk, destroying the lab and everyone within it. This soon brought about a series of time-rending events: Tartarus was formed, and in turn brought about the advent of the Dark Hour.

Chaos reigns on the surrounding areas as blood pools form on the surface mirroring the color of nearby bodies of water, many people turn into coffins, and all electrical devices grind to a sudden halt. One of the incomplete manifestations of Death would later escape from the ruins of the lab, pursued by an Anti-Shadow Weapon created by the Kirijo Group. Unable to defeat the shadow, the weapon seals it inside the mind of a young child who was the only survivor of a car crash on the Moonlight Bridge.

To cover up the incident, the Kirijo Group rebuilds the ruined facility into Gekkoukan High School. Though mainly imprisoned during the normal time frame, shadows can still escape during the Dark Hour whenever Tartarus reforms, preying on human minds who are unprotected by coffin seals. The affliction in which the human victims of shadows can no longer talk, think or feel was identified by the media as Apathy Syndrome; Insiders of the Kirijo Group tag them as "The Lost".

MitPast

Mitsuru as a child in Tartarus.

The Kirijo Group, now led by Takeharu Kirijo, worked clandestinely during the phenomenon to find out how it can be stopped. They eventually discovered that people who can summon a Persona are the only ones who can effectively fight against the shadows. At the time however, only Takeharu's young daughter Mitsuru had the potential, and they were hard-pressed to get other people with the same rare ability.

Years later, a researcher named Shuji Ikutsuki was given the task of seeking out and gathering youths with the potential. Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless. Because of this, he secretly began conducting experiments geared towards creating artificial Persona-users in the hope that Tartarus may be formally explored. Out of the thousands of youths summarily subjected to it, only three survived. However, they were mentally unstable and required constant doses of suppressants to keep their artificially-summoned Personas from killing them. Whether or not they were used in an exploration mission is unknown, but the three youths later escaped from Ikutsuki's control.

Now in high school, Mitsuru took it upon herself to help in the search for those with potential, and was able to recruit Akihiko Sanada and Shinjiro Aragaki. As a result, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) came into being. Ikutsuki was put in the Gekkoukan School Board and designated as the chairman/adviser of the group, officially listing it as a school club. A school-owned dormitory in Iwatodai became the SEES home base, outfitted with special equipment that can remain functional even within the Dark Hour.

However, during an encounter with a wayward shadow in the back alley of Port Island, Shinjiro lost control of his Persona and a civilian casualty was incurred. He left the group ridden with guilt, resolving never to use his power again. SEES would become inactive until Yukari Takeba comes along, led to Port Island by a letter she got from her late father. She reluctantly joins the group when it was found that she also had the potential, but the exploration of Tartarus would not formally start until the protagonist and Junpei Iori were added to the ranks. Possessing the unique ability to summon multiple Personas, the former is temporarily designated as the leader while Mitsuru handles outside support and Akihiko recuperates from recent injuries sustained from the first major shadow attack.

BlocksEdit

Tartarus is divided into multiple "blocks", each of which has its own unique architecture. With the exception of Monad, the name of each block is taken from the seven worlds of the Quabalah.

Thebel Block: Floors 2-16

Arqa Block: Floors 17-64

Yabbashah Block: Floors 65-114

Tziah Block: Floors 115-164

Harabah Block: Floors 165-214

Adamah Block: Floors 215-263

Monad Depths: Optional Block which consists of 10 floors.