Illusion of Gaia Back-story

The Illusion of Gaia
Backstory


The Age of Discovery

Long ago, some time between 2000 and 4000 B.C., humanity stumbled upon a remarkable secret: The course of natural selection could be controlled. This had substantial implications, as it meant creatures could be "developed" as a form of technology.

The exact nature of this control was never fully explained, although there are some obvious initial theories ( such as selective breeding ).

It took many generations before the art of genetics were ready to be used on a massive scale. Perhaps as long as 1000 years passed, during which time this technology progressed. Eventually, however, the art was perfected, and the evolutionary process began yielding creatures that improved humanity's life on a global scale.



The Golden Age

For centuries to come, this biological technology was produced and distributed throughout the world. Some cultures were affected more than others, but everyone viewed the technology as desirable, and many even used it as a status symbol.

Creatures like the Kruck, and Camel were developed at this time, as well as many other creatures that died out in the ages to come. Civilization thrived.



The Age of Corruption

As cultures developed larger organizations, and grew into governmental structures, the largest of these lands obtained powerful monarchs with a thirst for wealth and intimidation. They viewed the power as a means for aquiring more influence over their people, and used what power they already had to develope the field of genetics further.

Competition broke out between the world powers. Highly skilled biologists were hired to create new evolutionary systems to out-perform their competing civilizations. Controversy arrose amonst its citizens, and some rebelled against their leader's selfish priorities, believing their leader should pay more attention to governing their people.

Ethics soon left the minds of the governing bodies as the people themselves were subjected to genetic engineering, used to improve the mental capacity and expand the immagination. Evolution changed from a slow generational process to a mutation, caused by certain chemical exposures.

The first demon was developed between 1000 and 600 B.C. They came slowly, and could not be easily controlled. Soon, however, the world powers began using these creatures as weapons to stem the development of creatures for their enemies.

A rebellious set of citizens began grouping at this time, attempting to persuade their leaders to phase away from using this uncontrollable form of warfare. When the monarchs refused to change, these citizens started migrating away from their territory, becoming estranged from society and wandering the country to get away from the brooding war.



The Age of War

Those who remained in the urban areas were forced to fight alongside the vicious demons. As many soldiers died at the hands of their own country's demons as they did from battle. Breeding occured between the demons as the human population dwindled.

Messages began circling the globe, as many of the wanderers became aware of each other, and started forming in groups. Away from the throws of war and battle, the wanderers could gather in piece to discuss their toughts, and make decisions about what their role should be in the war.

A coming ground was established amounst the travelers, somewhere in Austrailia. A secret network was established to help travelers reach the continent. As their numbers grew, and their purpose solidified, they became a more prominant power in the world. Their decision was not to fight, but to

influence. Their influence came in the form of infiltrations, assassinations, and persuation of less powerful figures in the kingdoms.

This new influential power deemed themselves "The Light Knights".



The Age of Light

The dictators and monarchs leading the war, though failing in a dying world, would not give up their fight. They now faced a common enemy. The Light Knights were terrorizing their civilizations, and needed to be stopped.

The leaders of the world piled their brightest minds together in an effort to create a weapon that would put an end to their enemy. Around 400 B.C, an invention was brought forth more powerful than any in the history of mankind.

The invention was formed via a repugnant act of removing the spirit from a willing victim. This was performed via the manipulation of time, combined with a set of powerful chemical substances. The spirit could not be captured. Instead, the victim to whom the spirit belonged must have been willing to stay behind on earth, and sacrifice itself for the weapon.

The scientists discovered that when a spirit willingly exposed itself to certain corrupt and destructive chemicals, the spirit would attempt to rid itself of the evil by sheading it outwards. The result was a "light" that had the power to evolve organic tissue at an exceptional rate, altering anything in its path.

In a final fateful decision, the powers of the world had a massive quantity of these spirits join together to form a single ball of light. This entity was then sent forth to circle the globe, bathing the earth it in its destructive light.

The spirits of this entity found their light too weak to reach earth from an orbital state. Stragely enough, their power was magnified when in contact with a material substance. And thus, binding themselves to a nearby astronomical entity, a comet was born, which later came to be known as the "chaos comet".

This destructive decision did more than rain chaos on earth. It tore the great powers of the world apart by its roots. The king's closest and most powerful people left in outrage at their leader's decision. The soldiers on the field fled in fright. The only power left were the Light Knights, who now had a new enemy.



The Age of Chaos

The initial cycle of the Chaos Comet was devistating. By the end of the first 24 hours of exposure, the remains of the civilizations of earth were reduced to terrible demonic chaos. Once great kings turned to serpants. Nobelmen turned to mud. Soldiers were reduced to giant slug forms. Few of the Light Knights remained. Those that did went underground into hiding.

By the time the few urban survivors reached the saftey of the Austrailian island, the earth's population was reduced to millions. The Light Knights were wary of the newcomers, having originally been enemies. However, the comet had done enough damage and formed enough of a threat for the two groups to throw aside their differences and join forces.

The new group from the cities were more trained in fighting, and more nobel in stride. They were deemed "The Dark Knights", and became another powerful force in the war. As a symbol of their kinship, the Knights formed two blue stones: one light, one dark. The stones were encrusted in vitreous enamel, and were contained within two rings. The dark ring was forged by the Light Knights, and worn by the leader of the Dark Knights. The light ring was forged by the Dark Knights, and worn by the leader of the Light. Together, they symbolized the new power of good in the world.

The comet left earth's orbit after a few days. While its path seemed to be altogether away from the earth, the Knights were sure of its return. The Knights began building the Tower of Babel in the hopes of someday being able to reach the comet upon its next pass over the earth. After many centuries of work, the tower became the central building of the council of the knights. Few were allowed to enter. Only those who proved themselves worthy were allowed into the gatherings in the tower. Among them was Freedan, a member of the Dark Knights.

The Knights protected the tower well, placing protective beams that would allow only those who possessed the two rings to pass. Within this tower, decisions were discussed reguarding what to do about the comet. Around 200 A.D., a decision was made to form a warrior out of the same material as the comet. If such a being could manage to confront the comet, they might stand a chance of bringing it to an end.

For 200 years, the brightest minds of the Dark Knights worked on creating a being that could withstand the light of the comet. Creating the light was now an easy task, as had been done many centuries ago. However, controlling such a light after the corruption had been presented to it proved most difficult. It wasn't until around 350 A.D. that a human being showed up with the spiritual integrity to withstand such exposure and maintain control of their own conscience. This person was named Shadow, and would be revered and even worshipped by the Knights for years to come.

Around 400 B.C., the comet returned. Shadow was summoned forth at the top of the now-finished Tower of Babel. He was sent forth to its surface for battle. What shadow faced, no one knew. The comet went about its course unaffected. The Knights were prepared for the worst, but the comet had gained much strength during its absence. It's power was now so great, it awoke something in the very earth itself. Gaia was born, though was not yet in a corporeal state. Many of the Knights were transformed. The tower was lost in a sea of darkness. The remaining Knights disbanded, defeated.

Had shadow met only the comet, he may have stood a chance. However, a more sinister being was developing. The very rock itself around which the spirit light gathered had come to life, in a form not unlike Gaia herself. This being, however, was corporeal, and was powerful beyond measure. Shadow was cast away, his spirit returning to earth, too weak for another attempt.



The Age of Darkness

Following the comet's second pass, the earth had changed its shape dramatically. The once-large continent where the Tower of Babel was had shrunk, and had moved north towards the equator. The Knights were scattered. The world was once again in ruins as the demons roamed the landscapes.

Strange forms began to collect. Spririts appeared outside their bodies. The first of these were the Moon Tribe, so named because the comet resembled a small moon around the time the tribe was transformed, before which the tribe worshiped the unknown astronomical object as a God.

What was left of the Knights was scattered throughout the ruins of the dead civilizations of the world. For the centuries to come, they attempted to communicate. Shadow was lost, but new work could still be done. A new weapon was devised by those who still had the intellectual capacity to design such devises. A new form of anti-light was created, which could counteract the comet's light directly. Those who designed it knew little of the prior attempt using shadow, and struggled with how to wield such a power.

Through tedious communication, the last of the Knights made a blue-print of a container for this new power, which was sent out in secret around the globe. Each group of remaining Knights worked tirelessly on creating and perfecting these artifacts in the hope that someone, someday, would be able to collect them, and wield this new power that would bring about the destruction of the comet. These artifacts would later come to be called "The Mystic Statues".

As the comet approached the third time, no attempt was made to prevent it. It's arrival devistated the earth once again. The last of the Knights perished, and the little humanity left was reduced to small towns scattered thinly across the globe. The continents shifted and changed into the shape seen during the game. Gaia evolved enough to become corporeal. Dark Gaia finished transitioning into its final form.



The Age of Exploration

During the next 800 years, the entire history of the Knights and civilizations was lost. Humanity was split into two groups: those who stayed in their village to be safe, and those who ventured forth to explore. The earth's surface is now so thick with demons that every town has advanced protection around its perimeter to protect the town from invasion. Nearly everyone who ventured into the wilderness never returned. Those who did discovered nothing but demons and death on their adventures.

The spirits and conscience of the comet and its Dark Gaia form had detected the Mystic Statues formed by the Knights. It went to extra lengths to protect them from any soul who might attept to gather them. Monstrous demons were created and placed around four of these statues. The other two were kept safe in the now-drowned land of Mu, and in the top chamber of the Tower of Babel.

The rings of the Knights were also lost. The last of the White Knights had formed part of the Incan tribes during the Age of Darkness, who had been part of the attempt to build the Mystic Statues. The ring of the Dark Knights was passed down many generations until it reached Olman, Will's father.

Shira and Olman became the last of the Dark Knight lineage. Due to their evolutionary advances biologically, they possessed powers no ordinary human possessed. Shira's was particularly strong. Together, they had Will, who became the last descendent of the Dark Knights, and the last hope of humanity.

The White Knight lineage was also thin, spreading south. The now-corrupt King Edward and Queen Edwina were the last of their line. Together, they formed Kara, the last descendent of the Light Knights.

Olman's expedition to the Tower of Babel was the most ambitious, taking place a mere 12 years before the fourth coming of the chaos comet, sometime around the late 1900s. During his expedition, olman was able to use his own powers together with the Dark Ring to access the upper chambers of the Tower of Babel, where he discovered the Mystic Statue at the top.

However, time moved too quickly in that chamber, and his body passed away. His son, on the other hand, did not. Will possessed a genetic structure so advanced it was not affected adversely by the light of the comet. However, it did make him evolve to a lesser degree, and he left with a new ability of mind control: telekinesis.

Olman remained in the Tower of Babel for eleven years in spirit form, observing humanity's progress, learning about the history of the Dark Knights and the Mystic Statues. He knew that Will was the only chance of ressurecting the warrior Shadow, and combining the strength of the Msystic Statues to defeat the comet for good.

Eleven years after Will's exporation of the Tower of Babel, the spirit of Gaia revealed herself to him, and offered her help and guidance in Will's journey. She had the power to pass spirits to Will to help him fight. She offered him the Dark Knight Freedan to assist him, as he was the strongest of the Dark Knights.

Due to the lineage and history between King Edward and the Light Knights, he was able to use his contacts to discover what happened to the last of the Dark Knights, and tracked their lineage to Will. Before Olman's death, he had hidden the Dark Ring inside Will's flute, unbeknownst to him, causing Will to draw a blank when asked about the ring by King Edward.

Cast into prison, Will recieves a message from the spirit of his father, telling him what he must do to save humanity. And we all know what happens from there...