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This will contain minor spoilers for Tales of the Rays arc 1, as most of these revelations about the setting only come in the final chapter. (Character spoilers re: Gefion and Phil will not be covered, just setting details.)
Tir Na Nog suffered destruction that slowly opened the world to the Void, which consumed every continent except Sellund (where the main city and Gefion live) and Odanse (where Mileena and Ix were born). Needing to fix this so the entire world isn’t destroyed, Gefion turns to using the anima (mana, ether, etc) of other worlds to heal Tir na Nog. To do this, she asks Ix to help power the Kaleidoscope (extremely powerful machine) which can exoflect other worlds into Tir na Nog.
Term time:
Arc 1 Terms
Mirrage arts = magic arts, but TotR uses mirrors for all of its magic, which is neat
Mirrist = person who can use mirrage arts (notable users: Ix, Mileena, Phil)
Mirrite = a reflection of mirrists soul that they can summon (notable mirrites: Karia, Kocis, Mark). Mirrites cannot move too far away from their respective Mirrist or else they will no longer be able to anchor themselves into the world and vanished (they can be resummoned later). Also their entire existence is to like… protect and serve their Mirrist… from the vibes I get.
Anima = every person is made of anima (again, think of it as mana or ether etc etc) and can use anima it’s element aspected etc etc… the usual stuff
Chiral particles = the technical details when these come up always go over my head but it’s something to do with anima and mirrage arts from what I can tell. Extremely Technical Terms.
Exoflection = summoning other worlds to Tir na Nog is called exoflection, and results in the world summoned becoming a continent on Tir na Nog (which both makes it bigger and heals some of Tir na Nog’s broken anima). The main characters all are exoflected with their world; they keep their memories of the previous world, but minor NPCs and other residents do not, turning them essentially into Tir na Nog residents. I will come back to exoflection later.
Nexus = linchpin for the exoflection. If they get hurt, the exoflection goes poof. Nexuses take the form of the main characters / party members of the game in question. Nexuses are generally summoned staggered. Only two or three are introduced when the world is first exoflected, and then two or three more is introduced per event. I think separate exoflections for characters/people specifically is entirely possible. (After all, Yuan wasn’t exoflected into the TotR until the Kharlan Heroes event that ran in March 2020.)
Omega Nexus = a super powerful nexus which exists as a glitch in the system / distortion, caused specifically by exoflecting worlds with a time travel problem (Symphonia/DotNW/Phantasia being a big deal and great example, seeing as they are the same world exoflected from three different points in time). (Omega nexuses of note: Raine, Marian, in arc 1. There are probably even more in later arcs!)
Salvation Front = an organization ran by a mysterious figure called Phantom… at least during Arc 1, after which it returns to the proper hands of Mark and Phil (I think.) They originally worked to oppose Gefion’s plans, but I don’t know how that plays out after Arc 1 yet, though I think they came to an understanding with Phil at the head instead of Phantom. (Notable members: Mark, Phil, Mithos, Kratos, Sync ….and more but I don’t know the names of non TotA/ToS characters off the top of my head I’m sorry and they haven’t been relevant in Arc 1 yet. Chester was working with them for a while but then plot. I don’t know if he’s still working with them in Arc 2.)
Shimmera = monsters of this world. They are actually the remnants of negative feelings left over by the people who died when Tir na Nog was initially destroyed.
Shimmera Glass = basically a nest for Shimmera? Other than gameplay, I don’t know what they really do lore wise, other than if you leave them unsealed it gets nasty. They might be a portal into The Void.
The Void = an uncaring darkness that surrounds Tir na Nog, only separated from the world by the Aegis. Extremely dangerous.
Aegis = shield around the planet that protects it from The Void.
Exoflection elaboration: exoflection creates a copy of the character in question in Tir na Nog, leaving the original version of the character in their own world. This copy retains the memories of their original world, but is effectively a resident of Tir na Nog.
It is impossible to send exoflected characters back home due to Technical Bullshit about anima flow in a world that isn’t being eaten by The Void, but also mostly due to the fact that sending characters with their memories of TotR back to their original world would cause extreme distortions in the original world. So, everyone’s stuck here, now. This is their home.
This works in the favor of characters like Mithos (and also Sync, I’m sorry I won’t shut up about him and Ion given how, you know, TotA goes) who essentially have a second chance in Tir na Nog.
oh.......... also there was a nation called Bifrost that Sellund went to war with, which may have been the source of The Void. Bifrost will be more relevant in Arc 2,
(terms for later arcs tba)
((link to my totrays summary doc (wip) here))
