[ooc; info] Reyvateils
NOTE: this is all roughly paraphrased from the Ar Tonelico wiki, and is essentially just an info post about Revateils, in case someone wants to know about them, but doesn't have time to look through the wiki (or if you're like me, are really confused by it). as I play Cocona, among other Ar Tonelico characters, this is sort of something for me to link to people to read!
some useful links:
Hymmnos explanation
the Ar Tonelico wiki
a Reyvateil's wiki, which includes translations of Ar Tonelico works such as the Settei books and the Tokousphere articles
A Reyvateil's Melody forums which contain discussions about the Ar Tonelico series
Revateils are an all-female race, that have the power of transforming sounds into energy, roughly speaking. The originals were artificially created in labs with the highest forms of Sound Science, and are composed of organic material, much like the human body. They are all-female due to the Y-Chromosome suppressing the Reyvateil gene found in males- there are no male Reyvateils. The gene is carried down through the female line, though does not necessarily mean that the daughter of a Reyvateil will be a Reyvateil as well; it's possible for the gene to skip generations.
Reyvateils are divided into two types- Purebloods and Halfbloods. This is divided even further into categories.
Pureblooded Reyvateils are primarily sorted into Origins and β-types. The Origins are the original Reyvateils, of which there are only three, who each administrate a Tower; they have the ability to control the Tower as if it was part of their own body. They have the greatest power among the Reyvateils, and are considered Goddesses by a great majority of people. These Reyvateils are Eoria (Shurelia), Frelia, and Tilia/Tyria.
Due to the way the Origins are designed, however, they lack a true Cosmosphere, though they can still create a world of their own within their mind for people to visit for fun, called a Binary Field. Origins are also capable of multiple people Diving into their minds at once.
Their lifespan is indefinite, so as long as the Tower they are connected to still exists.
β-type Reyvateils are considered "descendants" of the Origins, and are capable of being mass-produced. They are created by nurturing DNA seeds extracted from a D Cellophane (essentially a modifiable ROM area), like the Origins, and developed in Nurturing Chambers; they're technically "born" at the physical and mental age of 6. They are linked to the Tower, and have a lifespan of 150 years; they don't age past 18 until they die. Each β-type is assigned an ID called a Hymn Code, which records all the settings within their Cosmospheres, and also enables them to download Hymnos Extracts (EXEC_/. type Songs), though there are certain Songs that can only be sung by an Origin or someone possessing the HD Cellophane of an Origin, such as the case of the Homura Maiden lineage.
Despite the length lifespans, though, both Origins and β-Types will die (turn into water) if they leave the range of their Tower. β-Type Reyvateils connected to Ar Tonelico can travel as far as the region of Metafalss, on the Second Tower, due to the relay station Sol Marta, for example, but would die if they went any further.
Known β-types include Misha Arsellec Lune, Finnel, and Akane.
Halfbloods, originally, were born from a Pureblooded β-Type Reyvateil mother, and a human father, though, in current times, any combination of parents has the possibility of producing a Halfblood daughter, so as long as the female line of the family possesses the gene. These are commonly classified into two types: Third Generations and IPDs.
In all actuality, Halfbloods aren't really Reyvateils, as much as the strength of their Reyvateil genes causing the tower to mistake them for β-types, and create a replica of their minds within the β-6D's, a bodiless Reyvateil who hosts all the Reyvateil's Cosmospheres, mind. This is what causes the structure of their Cosmospheres, but it's technically nothing more than the mirroring of their feelings, sensations, and memories.
Normally, this process takes roughly ten days, in which the girl spends in a coma, accompanied by a high fever, after which point the Install Port will appear somewhere on her body. Because they are still humans, in the end, their feelings aren't as strong as a Purblooded Reyvateil, in most cases, and their powers are weaker as a result. However, there are cases where they can perform at the same or higher level as their Pureblooded counterparts (such as in the case of Sonata from the Ar Tonelico ~appregio~ manga).
The advantage to being human, though, is that even if the servers where their powers are drawn from were to be shut down, or if she were to go out of range, the Reyvateil side of the girl will simply be "put to sleep", and they will essentially just be human. However, if there was damage caused to the server where their Cosmospheres are located, they would still suffer grave mental damage.
Halfbloods do not possess a Hymn Code, except through special circumstances, such as the β-ER technique, or possessing the Hymn Code of another Reyvateil due to a system error.
The lifespan of the average Halfblood was less than 20 years originally, due to the strong amount of energy from the tower flowing through their bodies; with the discovery of Diqulity, or Life Extending Agents, that lifespan is doubled to 40, though they can't live past that.
Before this was realized to be the result of their Reyvateil nature, this was originally called Tattoolist Disease, and for a time, β-type Reyvateils were forbidden from having children.
IPD Reyvateils are a special kind of Reyvateils, in that instead of being connected to the Ar Tonelico or Harvestasaya servers, they are dependent on the Infel Phira server. As a result, they are called Infel Phira Dependant. They do not use the standard dialects of Hymmnos, either, but, rather, a special dialect just for them, called The New Testament of Pastalie; all IPDs are capable of reading and understanding this dialect from the moment they awaken as a IPD Reyvateil.
IPDs lack a Boundary Gate at eight and ninth levels of their Cosmosphere, as well as lack a Mind Guardian; this allows them to subconsciously connect to each other to sing at a higher power output than a regular third gen Reyvateil, and much faster as well (go listen to METHOD_REPLEKIA/. sometime, for example!). IPDs however are prone to an affliction known as IPD syndrome, which causes them to lose control over themselves, and attack with uncontrollable bursts of Song Magic, having the potential to cause much damage and loss of life; when this happens, this is called an IPD outbreak. The amount of power ranges from 1-9, which a level 9 IPD being the most powerful.
Known IPDs are Cocona Bartel and Chroche Leyhtal Pastalia.
Because of the potential for casualty and destruction when an IPD has an outbreak, they are feared and hated by some. However, this power has the potential for good as well; by linking the hearts of the IPDs together, the continent of Metafallica was created, and IPDs are capable of things such as bringing the rain, or restoring a burnt forest.
IPD Reyvateils are exclusive to Metafalss.
The type of Songs a IPD can sing are "METHOD_/." type Hymns.
Hymn Codes are an identifier of β-type and Origin Reyvateils, and allow them to sing Extract-type Hymmnos. This is also a safety measure put in place to protect weaker Reyvateils.
A Hymn Code is formed into three parts: the name, their rank, and their song server.
TILIA_ANSUL_HARVESTASAYA, for example, means that Tilia is an Administrator, and connected to the Song Server Harvestasaya. "ANSUL" is a term reserved only for the administrators.
For a β-Type, their Hymn Code looks like this:
AKANE_FEHU_TILIA_HARVESTASYA
This means "Akane, copy of Tilia, connected to Harvestasaya", roughly.
IPD Syndrome is a disease that only affects IPD Reyvateils, and is a result of the damage sustained to Infel Phira during the War with the Goddess, and is because of an accumulation of negative feelings within Infel Phira. It manifests into two forms; Positive and Negative.
The positive form is an attack of madness, in which the IPD loses conscious control of herself and attacks everything in sight with Song Magic, potentially resulting in her own death. The negative form manifests as a high fever and loss of consciousness, which in term has the possibility of awakening any Reyvateil within a 50 meter range. IPD outbreaks are triggered by a severe overload of feelings of frustration, fear, and anxiety.
The daughter of an IPD will always be an IPD.
The only cure for IPD syndrome is Dive Therapy, but due to being banned in Pastalia, the only solution is to isolate the IPDs from the rest of society.