History & People

[onlygirlshavewings]

Abbreviations:
PSO2:NGS – Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
PC – Player Characters
DOLLS – a name given to the techno-creatures that attack the planet, these can vary in size, style, ability, and strength, but all have flowing blue body parts that turn red when they go on the attack.
ARKS - Artificial Relict to Keep Species. This is the military defense force of Halpha, protecting the people from the DOLLS.


About the world:

PSO2:NGS takes place on the planet of Halpha, which has been under siege by techno-creatures known as DOLLS. In the opening salvos of the game, the Player Character (PC) is found after their pod crashes and taken to Aelio Town along the coast, and along the way, the basics of game-play are taught. Unfortunately, Aelio Town falls under attack by DOLLS and is ultimately destroyed by a DOLLS unit known as Dark Falz. From there, the PC sets out with two NPCs for Central City in Central Aelio and the story begins.

Protection of Halpha falls to an organization by the name of ARKS. Based out of Central City, which is literally the ONLY city or town in Aelio now that Aelio Town is destroyed, they have branches spread across all four regions of the planet and work to defend the people of Halpha from the DOLLS. Using training areas called Cocoons that provide a simulation with which ARKS defenders can learn new skills and Trainias that simulate different simulations with which to put those skills to the test, ARKS defenders across Halpha are able to keep their skills sharp.

Each of the different regions have their own fauna and flora, as well as increasingly stronger DOLLS units. Along the borders of each area, there are what look like massive floating metallic snowflakes that serve as a barrier that cannot be passed. These control the environment within as the rest of the planet is not actually suitable for life. To traverse from region to region, there are a multitude of Ryuker devices that act as a teleporter.

Aelio is a lush region with plains in Central, mountains and coastlines in West, a small lake and field with flowers in North, and waterfalls and coastal caves in South. The forest of Resol, Mt. Magus, Halphia Lake, and the Vanford Laboratory ruins are all found in Aelio. The weather is temperate and it’s always green. What little snow that falls here doesn’t stick, not even on the highest peaks of the mountains.

The Retem region is connected to Aelio via a bridge above the Vanford ruins. Retem is mountainous in the West and North, with a vast desert in the Central area and a mix of desert, rocky cliffs and outcroppings, and coastline in the South. In Southern Retem, you can find Rwh Maqead , a massive mushroom-like dome of stone that’s hollow in the center leading down into Maqead Lower Level, a DOLLS facility and home to Renus Retem, a Command DOLLS unit that has terrorized the people of Retem for generations. The massive Trainia sits in the desert like a metallic pyramid, offering an advanced training facility to any ARKS defender who is up to the challenge.

Above Aelio, and connected via a bridge at the northern part of Central Aelio is Kvaris, a mountainous land of ice and snow. The people here are hardy, using the animals for both food and clothing. Between Central Kvaris and the Belugana Ruins lies Rayjord Gorge, an inhospitable place with temperatures cold enough to wear even the strongest ARKS down very quickly and home to the ancient Ice Gigants. Northern Kvaris is one giant mountain and the highest peak in all of Halpha. Interestingly enough, in South Kvaris is a cave that marks the entrance to what is known as Lost Central, a town long abandoned, frozen over and forgotten. Originally it was the hub for ARKS until a battle with Dark Falz caused massive climate damage, leaving Kvaris covered in snow and ice, and the hub was abandoned.

Finally, connected to Aelio via bridge at Halphia Lake and sitting beside Kvaris and above Retem is Stia, a dangerous and volatile region as it’s an active volcano that erupts quite often, filling the air with smoke and ash. The ARKS encampment here is small but strong and sends to Aelio for supplies via transport. Stia houses the Dreisen Plant, the Dext Base, and the Neusen Plant, all of which breathe life into the DOLLS units but cannot be fully decommissioned as they are tied into the planet itself, providing energy for all of the various regions. Unfortunately, Stia’s nerve center in the center of the volcano also acts as a recharging dock for regenerating injuries to Dark Falz, as this is where it ‘sleeps’.



About the People:

There are 4 distinct types of people on Halpha that are spread out throughout all of the regions: Human, Newman, CAST, and Deuman. There is no real separation of ‘race’ in terms of the color of one’s skin or type, only in what region one comes from. Everyone in each region works together as a cohesive unit to protect one another and the planet as the DOLLS threat does not discriminate... however the regions don't exactly interact very often or at all. Retem ARKS prefer to keep to themselves, Kvaris ARKS are seen as backwater, and Stia ARKS are pretty much forgotten about except when they send to Aelio for supplies. This is gradually changing, but it's very slow going.

Humans are your average run-of-the-mill human. They come in all shapes and sizes, with skin tones and hair types running in the ‘natural’ range while hair color can be pretty much anything. They are the basis from which all other races were derived due to their aptitude for photon control. They’re also the most balanced in terms of physical and photon ability.

Newmans were created from humans for a stronger photon control and are visually similar to humans in every aspect with the exception of their elf-like ears. Their ears act as an antenna allowing them to better utilize photons, originally making them more skewed toward utilizing magical techniques in battle at the cost of their defensive abilities, but over time they’ve become near identical to humans. They can have a few slight differences in skin tone, but for all intents and purposes, it’s difficult to visually tell them apart save for the ears.

CASTs are an android race that was again created from humans. Originally, the CAST body was intended for those whose photon control was too much for their body to handle – they would be transformed into CASTs. In fact, because someone can literally become a CAST, it’s even possible for them to reproduce like humans. All humanoid casts will have seam lines where their parts are fused or attached, while others will have a ‘mecha’ look to them. All CASTs will have a metallic sound to their voice.

Deumans were created a little over 1000 years ago via a temporal anomaly that essentially ‘rewrote’ them into existence. They were a mutation of humans created by combination of photons and the blood of the dragon Haddred (via a yellow ribbon he wore on one of his horns that somehow drifted into the past), who was an attempt at merging humans and dragons using photons but ultimately went berserk and mutated beyond what was initially intended. A Deuman’s skin is typically pale, but some can run the gamut from blue to red as well as from pure white to pitch black. All Deuman are horned, with males having one and females having two, and these horns act the same as a Newman’s ears, allowing them to channel photon energy. Another odd attribute is heterochromia – their left eye ranges from golds to reds with a spiral pattern in the iris.

In truth, all four types are not at all native to Halpha. They were all brought to Halpha many generations ago (the game takes place 1000 years after the base PSO2 game) and were part of an experiment by Zephetto whose goal was to enhance each subsequent generation trying to get them back to the strength of, if not stronger than, the original ARKS, until they reached the point that they could finally defeat the DOLLS, thus being able to stand up to the Starless. The present generation of ARKS that inhabits Halpha are the descendants of the 2nd generation.