[‘GENESIS’] ˈje-nə-ˌsēz
the origin or coming into being of something
Alasondria's history begins in the time of the ancient era where her people, known as Photoners—a scholarly civilization that pursued research above all else—presided over the universe.The Photoners encountered a phenomenon they later named "Xion,” intelligent life born from the oceans; she was all-calculating, all-seeing—completely omnipotent. She was the representative of the Akashic Records, a record of all that had come to be and all that would continue to be. When the Photoners prodded her for the answers to life’s questions she gave them.Shortly thereafter, the Photoners, no longer content within Xion herself, began developing clones of her, a project that Alasondria had joined rather swiftly. Although her intentions were noble and she had her civilization’s best interests in mind, her colleagues did not seem to share this sentiment. Their greed to possess the calculating ability that Xion held blinded them and it would soon spell their civilization’s doom.However, before the advent of the apocalypse, there was a brief respite. Alasondria forsook her job as a researcher in the Xion cloning projects and was introduced to a man named Luther, a scientist with a voracious appetite for all things unknown to him. With the help of her friend Clarissa, another researcher working on an off-shoot project, she was appointed as Luther’s assistant. Although, during their time together, Alasondria was, by all rights, his equal. Luther took an immediate interest in her and the two got on spectacularly. Though he too held his colleagues' similar interest in Xion, he thought little of their work and declined the motion to clone her. In his quest to comprehend her calculating abilities, Luther set to work creating a vessel to contain the same omnipotence observed in the Akashic Records and its keeper. With Alasondria aiding him every step of the way, he’d successfully replicate the phenomenon and place it inside the vessel—his “greatest creation,” a young girl named Harriet. She was made in Luther and Alasondria’s image and even regarded them both as her parents.However, it was during Harriet’s creation that their civilization was nearing its end. The Photoners’ research grew more bold and Xion began to detach herself from them.The Photoners made several attempts to clone Xion and in their efforts two copies persevered. The first, later dubbed Mother by the gentleman who found her within Earth’s atmosphere, was highly unstable and although she was similar to Xion in her calculating abilities, she was ultimately too destructive to control. The second copy was, by all rights, perfect. Born during their steep and catastrophic decline, its capabilities were the exact same as Xion’s, but its sense of self had been corrupted and whatever reasoning it may have had instilled in it was thoroughly decayed. This copy became known as the Profound Darkness.Mother was discarded immediately. The Photoners cast her into space, leaving her to drift endlessly or rot; whichever came first, they thought. However, The Profound Darkness was too much a threat to leave alone. It had no self, no ego, no soul. It was a vacuous apocalypse incarnate and sought only to destroy anything and everything in its path. The Photoners, having caught wind of Luther and Alasondria’s research, ordered Harriet to be used as a vessel for sealing it off as she was the only thing capable of withholding its power.Luther pleaded for another way, for his colleagues to stop and reconsider. But there was no change of course. He begged Xion to calculate another possibility, something that did not end in Harriet’s sacrifice, but no further answers came from the Akashic Records’ keeper. Harriet’s soul was ripped out and discarded like every other failed copy. The Profound Darkness was forced into her body and Harriet was thrown out to the sea of stars to drift endlessly. Or rot.Luther fell to despair, and though Alasondria had done her utmost to support him, the remnants of the Profound Darkness were far too strong to withstand.
['ACHERON'] /ˈækərən/
the river of woe
These remnants were identified as Dark Falz and they preyed upon the broken and the beaten. Luther and Alasondria were prime targets. Reborn as Dark Falz Loser, his grief is twisted into a singular agenda—achieve omniscience. In response to the threat the Dark Falz posed, the Photoners began experimenting on individuals to create a military force who could combat them. This was the beginning of ARKS.Meanwhile, there were Photoners who agreed to offer themselves up to the fledgling ARKS. Their souls were stripped from their bodies and placed inside vessels created and powered by Xion; the Genesis Weapons. These weapons were the first arms to be wielded by ARKS and later became the model for its weaponry for many generations to come.Unfortunately, Loser’s deception and manipulation of the newly formed ARKS would immediately follow suit, vaulting him to the top where he commandeered it as a ploy to get back to Xion and obtain her power solely for himself. Xion worked behind the scenes to protect ARKS from his scheme.Alasondria, dismayed that the man she knew was no more, gave herself up to become a Genesis weapon in the hopes that she might be able to combat Loser and perhaps liberate Luther. Her rod’s technique output was impressive and could have rivaled fellow Genesis weapons Clarissa and Florenberg.Regrettably, during Elder’s first raid on Naberius, the ARKS who wielded her was killed and her rod was shattered. No pieces remained and she was never rebuilt. After the destruction of her weapon, Alasondria's soul remained within the Mothership alongside the conglomerate of Photoners who chose to join Xion there. She was witness to everything Loser brought to bear against ARKS; from the moment his plan began to the moment it all came crashing down on him.It wouldn't be until the loss of Xion and the interference from the Profound Darkness that Omega would be revealed to Oracle.
[‘OMEGA’] ō-ˈmā-gə
the extreme or final part: END
Pulling from the records and the memories of former individuals from Oracle, Omega is a cobbled-together world, far more akin to a dream that resides in the former physical plane of the Akashic Records. Its land is comprised of four nations: Cuent, Verun, Epic, and Es-Ars.
While Alasondria was a commoner in her birth land of Verun, a nation known for its glorification of strength and honour, Luther is a stubborn prince in the kingdom of Cuent who did all in his power to avoid his duties as such. Though Alasondria was not keen on the martial arts herself, she had a smart head on her shoulders and a great font of magical prowess waiting to be tapped. Thus sets in motion the inevitable fate of the former colleagues.What was once a noble nation of warriors became one of unethical experiments and frivolous violence. Verun fell apart and a civil war broke out, citizens against the emperor. In an effort to find a "worthy opponent," the emperor of Verun, Schlegger, tasked his younger brother Elmir with finding test subjects for what they called "demonization,” the forcible infusion of Ephemera in an individual’s body. It was the appearance of this flower known as Ephemera, later discovered to be a particle of the Profound Darkness, that triggered Schlegger's bloodlust and plummeted Verun into chaos, and it was Ephemera that Elmir used to carry out these "demonization" experiments. The intent was to draw out pre-existing strength in an individual or force artificial strength upon an otherwise feeble body. In either case, the act of demonization pushed a victim’s body to its limit and so it was that 98% of the victims perished in the experiments. At sixteen, Alasondria was a prime target for demonization. Kidnapped from her house in central Verun, Alasondria endured torture at the hands of Elmir for nearly four years.
Within Cuent Luther studied Ephemera, experimenting with it and its possibilities with colleagues. Ephemera’s natural existence consumes the user; because of this, Luther’s desire to test it further and farther blinds him to the dangers of the flower. Unforeseen circumstances later on cause an experiment of his to go dreadfully awry. Cowed by his failures, Luther submits the reports of his experiments, the extent of Ephemera’s corruption of an individual, and the accident to his father, the king, who declares a ban on Ephemera and soon after strips his son of his title and claim to the throne.Unfortunately, the prime minister Lutz had already gotten a taste of Ephemera and would not stand for the king's decision to outlaw it. He plotted his actions carefully as Verun entrenched itself ever further in its civil war.
Alasondria, now almost twenty years of age, got the opportunity to escape Elmir’s clutches. Having spent years enduring his experiments, Alasondria learned the ins and outs of the operation that Elmir ran within the Verunian royal palace. She broke out with two other victims, a man named Gettemhart and his partner Melphonsina. In their break for the exit they were separated by Elmir and a gaggle of his soldiers. Gettemhart and Melphonsina proceeded ahead at Alasondria's request though they went with heavy hearts, believing this a final sacrifice in their honour. Gettemhart and Melphonsina escape Verun’s palace and set up camp on the nation’s outskirts, aiding refugees who had fled the capital and abandoned their homes to avoid being subjected to the same horrors. Under the assumption that the brief acquaintance they made did not survive, they post a small grave near the country border with her name carved into it.In truth, Alasondria had chosen to strike a deal with Elmir; her freedom the bargaining chip. Knowing Elmir to be a man who desired the best results above all else, she leveled this against him, stating that she had not yet realized her fullest potential, that the experiment wasn’t complete and would remain so lest she become stronger on her own. His curiosity piqued, Elmir conceded, giving her the floor to further make her case. She vouched that, under the guise that she’d need to cultivate her magical aptitude outside of Verun, she would travel to Cuent, a nation known for its wide berth of knowledge on magic. Elmir knew his country did not produce mages the way Cuent did. If his subject strengthened her latent abilities in Cuent, the results would no doubt be even better than he’d speculated. Her assumptions were correct; Elmir wanted the best output from his subjects. The better the output, the more capable the opponent, the more pleased the Emperor would be.Calling the soldiers off, Elmir yielded to Alasondria but he left her with another part of the deal. Should she reach her fullest potential, he will come for her and she must return. Alasondria agreed, though she vowed in her mind to become strong enough to put a stop to Elmir before he could ever try to wrestle her back to Verun.Alasondria took Elmir’s hand, shook it once, and turned her back to him, sparing him not a second glance. Elmir honoured their agreement by returning to Schlegger, reporting that three subjects had tried to escape, two managed to flee and the one he caught he put down. Schlegger did not question Elmir nor did he seem to care about the subject’s disposal.Without rest, Alasondria journeyed out of the inner city, making a break for the border line between Verun and Cuent. Upon crossing it, she stumbled into a village and promptly collapsed. Harriet, the young princess of Cuent who frequented often, noticed a woman staggering through the forest before she fainted. With zero hesitation, she ran to check on the stranger. Finding that she yet lived, the princess called upon the village’s healer, who worked to transport Alasondria to their inn while she hailed down her friend and adjutant Varuna to send word back to her brother at the capital.
When the news reached Luther that his sister had found a strange woman passed out in the village on the Cuent-Verun border, he was reluctant to go, believing it to be little more than one of her embellished tales to get him to leave his room again. However, Varuna’s unexpected arrival and the earnesty of his tone while he relayed the message persuaded Luther to return with him to the village. Harriet and the healer stood at the village gates, awaiting the prince’s appearance. The healer ushered Luther and company to the inn, where Alasondria was kept in a room upstairs. The healer requested they be as quiet as possible as the woman inside sorely needed rest; she’d been given food and water but she’d clearly been traveling for days on end without nourishment or sleep. The royal siblings entered the room with Varuna and the healer filing in after.Luther took notice of something strange about the woman immediately upon laying eyes on her. He felt the insidious, stifling crackle of Ephemera in the air though he could not configure where exactly it exuded from.Before the siblings took their leave, Alasondria awoke, the healer rushing to lay her back down before Luther quickly stopped them. He’d wanted to speak with her directly, though he’d been advised against it. She was still a stranger unknown to Cuent and a briefing would be better suited at the capital. Luther ignored the warning and stood before the woman. He requested to be left with her, that he might question her more thoroughly. Harriet, who trusted her brother’s judgment, shuffled Varuna and the healer out. Luther and Alasondria were left alone.Without missing a beat, Luther asked what she knew of Ephemera; he knew from the moment he’d looked at her she was not a citizen of their nation and the oppressive feeling of Ephemera in the air made her highly suspect. Having told her this, Alasondria remained quiet, irking the prince. He explained further that he was well within his rights to arrest her, for she was before Cuent’s prince. If he willed it, Alasondria could have been arrested and taken to the royal court for interrogation. He told her her presence was enough to warrant an arrest.Alasondria caved to the prince’s questioning and explained in detail her origins as a Verunian, the state of Verun, and the eventual experiments on its citizens by the emperor’s brother to create the “perfect opponent” for the emperor to battle. She mentioned that Ephemera existed within Verun and had existed before but was not fully utilized as a catalyst for these experiments until recently when it fell into Schlegger’s clutches.Luther took time to digest the information the woman gave him. She had expected him to throw it back in her face as a grand scheme to infiltrate Cuent but when he regarded her again, he did so with an unreadable expression. Suddenly, he offered her a trip to his study in the royal capital. He said he believed he could learn much from her and she from him, if her goal was indeed to become stronger than Elmir. He explained that Elmir seemed the type to rely on familiars like his conjured soldiers and thus, learning to cultivate her abilities to be able to take out said familiars should be her first priority and that it would be of little consequence to him if she studied in Cuent.Alasondria could not find the words to express her gratitude. Unthinking, she launched forward and foisted herself on the prince, thanking him tenfold. Luther, startled by the woman’s actions, stood rigid as she tearfully continued thanking him before he hesitantly drew his hand up to pat her back in a reassuring gesture. Luther had not anticipated this fateful meeting would change the course of his life or that Alasondria would follow him through his bleakest of days.They returned to Cuent together after Alasondria recovered. Harriet, elated by her brother’s new companion, was more than happy to welcome her into their home. Alasondria met with King Esmond of Cuent shortly after arriving. Rumors circulated about her, claiming that she was a spy from Verun, though they were routinely quashed by Luther. The King promised her refuge from Verun, having heard her story and having had it verified by his son and daughter. Alasondria pledged herself to Cuent and was left to Luther.
At twenty-four, after spending four years with the prince, learning from and in turn teaching him, the overall mood towards Alasondria shifted and the nobles of Cuent seemed taken by her. Of course, rumors began to circulate not of her being a spy now, but of her potentially wedding the prince. Those rumors were likewise quashed by Luther.Unfortunately, the peace endured by Cuent would soon be shattered by prime minister Lutz’s betrayal. Corrupted by Ephemera and seeking only more power, Lutz assassinated the King of Cuent, exiled the prince and princess, and lifted the ban on Ephemera. Shortly thereafter, he forced a troop of mages to summon a Devil Castle, a great and mighty fortress developed by Luther that barred all exit and entry, around the capital borders.Luther and Harriet, along with Alasondria, took refuge in a village south of the capital, creating a headquarters for resistance members within it to form their plan of attack.To destroy the massive fortress Lutz summoned, as it could not be taken down with brute force, Luther created the formulae for Buster Towers and Buster Piles, both of which required immense volumes of mana to summon and sustain. However it proved to be an impossible feat, as the amount of mana required was simply too much. Even the royal siblings together could not summon and sustain a Buster Tower. Thus it was that Lutz remained on the throne and his Devil Castle still stood against them.Alasondria offered herself as a catalyst for channeling enough mana to summon a Buster Tower and a Buster Pile but Luther swiftly shot her offer down, reminding her that she was not a tool to be used like Elmir wanted. The two continue working together in the rebel headquarters to configure a better solution for destroying Lutz’s castle.As time goes on, Luther and Alasondria will eventually feel a flood of memories from the Photoner era, forcing them to confront the past together.
King & Queen
Esmond Leo Ray Cuent
→ The king of Cuent and father of Luther and Harriet.
→ A mage seemingly without parallel, however he passed his arts onto his son when he came of age.
→ Usually a patient and understanding individual. Though he’s not averse to putting his foot down when the situation demands it.
→ Staunchly against Ephemera and the use of it within his kingdom.
→ He and Lutz got along like brothers before Lutz’s descent into madness.
→ Survived his wife before his subsequent assassination at Lutz’s hands.Arlene Reia Reyna Cuent
→ The queen of Cuent and mother of Luther and Harriet.
→ As the one who taught Harriet how to wield a sword, her swordsmanship was certainly to be feared.
→ A kind and loving mother. She often doted on Harriet and Luther, much to the latter’s chagrin.
→ Towards the end of her life she became increasingly ill. Her dying wish was for Luther to take Harriet to a flower field in Cuent’s canyons that she visited frequently.
→ Passed on when Harriet was a young child and Luther a teenager.
Luther & Alasondria's Children
Ellaria Rin Reyna Cuent (also known as Ella)
→ The first child, named after her mother.
→ A summoner who specializes in familiars as well as healing magic.
→ Quiet and reserved, she keeps to herself.
→ A bookworm with a natural aptitude for most every magic theory she digests.
→ Spends more time locked up in her father’s study tearing through his library than she does in her own room.
→ Though she seems cold, she has a big heart and an immense soft spot for her family, her little brother most of all.Lothario Leon Ray Cuent (also known as Lothar)
→ The second child, named after his father.
→ Something of a black mage who specializes in overwhelmingly destructive magic.
→ Loud and forthright, he has no filter. It often gets him in trouble.
→ He idolizes his mother outwardly but tries to rebel against his father. Deep down, he looks up to Luther but will never admit it.
→ His inability to grasp summoning leaves him feeling inferior to his family to the point he does not realize his natural power in offensive magic is that of a full-fledged, classically trained mage.
Alasondria's Family
Vyndael Marchen
→ Alasondria’s father. He was loud, he was forthright, he loved his wife and children and he made it everyone’s business.
→ Vyno was named after him.
→ A retired soldier for Verun who specialized in hand-to-hand combat.
→ Perished in Elmir’s demonization experiments.Sondra Marchen
→ Alasondria’s mother. Patient to a fault and doted on all of her children, even and especially if it embarrassed them.
→ Alasondria was named after her.
→ She had a knack for healing magic and met her husband in a recovery ward during a war.
→ Perished in Elmir’s demonization experiments.Vyno Marchen
→ Alasondria’s oldest brother.
→ Reckless, slow to learn, but ultimately a pure hearted individual who used his strengths to help the weak.
→ He trained under his father in hand-to-hand combat.
→ Perished in Elmir’s demonization experiments.Isalo Marchen (also known as Isa)
→ Alasondria’s second oldest brother.
→ Introverted and constantly on the edge of anxiety, he worried himself sick over his siblings.
→ He had a natural gift for spells and conjury and often taught Alasondria what he learned.
→ Perished in Elmir’s demonization experiments...?Lucien Ducroix (also known as Luci)
→ Alasondria’s adoptive older brother.
→ Nothing short of a grouch and silent brooder type, though his heart is of pure gold.
→ The Ducroix were long time friends of the Marchen family and quickly jumped to shelter Alasondria, hoping to hide her from Elmir.
→ Lucien still believes Alasondria is alive even after her inevitable kidnapping and scours Verun for her to this day.
Timeline
→ Alasondria was kidnapped by Elmir at 16, endured torture and experiments for three years.
→ Luther meets Alasondria when he is 23 and she is 20. By this time Arlene had already passed on.
→ Alasondria came to Cuent approximately a week after but was never formally introduced to the king until a handful of months later. Luther kept her largely a secret.
→ The accident involving the death of Harriet happened when she was 15, Luther was 24, and Alasondria was 21.
→ A year later, Harriet became unstable and Alasondria intervened, giving up a small part of her soul to stabilize her through demonization.
→ Alasondria is present for Lutz's betrayal, which assumedly takes place when Harriet is already 17 and Luther is already 26.
→ Alasondria follows Luther and Harriet out of the capital to the newly established vanguard that later houses the rebel efforts.
→ At this point Luther and Alasondria’s memories are triggered and they’re forced to confront the past together.
About
Hello! I'm Elliott otherwise known as Ellie! I like to make my OC kiss Luther PSO2 on the lips a lot. So much that I wrote way too much history to justify it.
A general disclaimer about the use of certain lore terminology in this: I am using Arks-Layer's translation for the source material of this (with the exception of 'ephemera,' as patch spells it 'ephimera')! It's hard to shake a... lot of years of using the original terms!Patch translation | Localization
Cuent | Cuento
Verun | Weyland
Epic | Epyk
Es-Ars | Ys Artia
Demons | Supernaturals
Devil Castle | Castrum DemonicaAgain, I won't be utilizing these terms, but I hope that listing the patch translation and the localized versions will help mitigate any confusion! As much as I like "Castrum Demonica," it doesn't make much sense to name it and its demon artillery as such but rename demons. Ah well! At least Omega and ephemera remain in tact...
Gallery
Some lovely pieces of Luthaly + Aly (click for artist)!
lore;tldr
I figure it'd be nice to package Aly's lore in a way that's easy to digest for those who have trouble with huge paragraphs of text!→Previously a Photoner who worked alongside Luther as his assistant. When he created Harriet she helped 'raise' her. They were always on good terms until the advent of the Profound Darkness and the fall of their civilization.→Alasondria gives her soul up to become a Genesis Weapon which is used by a member of ARKS until said member is killed during Elder's raid on Naberius 40 years prior to PSO2's start. Alasondria's soul joins Xion and the Photoner conscious on the Mothership.→By EP2's end Alasondria's soul joins the Akashic Record and remains dormant until EP5.→In Omega Alasondria is reborn in Verun and subjected to Schlegger and Elmir's tyranny. She is kidnapped and experimented on and forcibly demonized by Elmir.→She escapes to Cuent and is introduced to Luther who offers her a position in his study. She later becomes his aide and is seen as an official member of the royal court for Cuent.→Aly and Luther do not have their memories of the Photoner era until later on.
Would Your Character Know Aly?
Though I don't RP anymore (sorry!) I love talking about OC interactions with fellow PSO2 players! So here's some things that could connect your character to Aly.→They were a Photoner, particularly one working on or around the division responsible for any developments related to Xion and Xion clones.→They are an ARKS who was apart of Void Lab. Aly's data was expunged pretty early on by Luther in his Falz-addled state but some of her data still remains. (Maybe your character stumbles on that hidden data left behind?)→They are an Omegan! Especially prevalent for a Cuentian OC as Aly's name isn't exactly hush-hush for being the aide to the prince of Cuent. A Verunian OC might have heard of her but only if they lived in the same village as her before Elmir took her away.→Your character is the Guardian and they don't mind having Luther and Aly flirting in their head after EP5 (JOKE) (or is it...?)