Ragnarok Lore Updated(September 5th 2011)

[Nero]

First of thanks Kalain for showing me this and getting me hooked @.@
second, i did not write any of this, the author is Ying Hua.
This is where i got all of this
http://forums.irowiki.org/showthread.php?t=49821
And the reason i posted this is to show the peoples of heRO, this very interesting lore aswell to make it less harder to find it in that thread u.u and this is mainly just direct cnp btw

Last Updated September 5th 2011
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Quote:tl;dr version: This has nothing to do with game mechanics. Instead, this is a lore post -designed to track down the storyline behind RO, and hopefully motivate some fanfiction writers.

Purpose: To discuss and share lore.

Administrative stuff: Still cleaning up grammar and thoughts and whatnots.

Updated on April 20th: Thanatos Tower, a little to the bottom of this page.

Actual post: Yes. You heard me right. RO has a story. Gravity created one entirely by accident - a story that rivals everything from L2 to WoW to [insert other MMO here]. This is mostly ramble, speculation, and a lot of in-depth analysis that probably should have been spent on better things such as hunting gear or you know, playing the game.

If, on the other hand, you would like to have your mind blown by what Gravity has subtly hidden, then ... read on. I'll probably be updating periodically after sorting through screenshots and making some sense of the notes I've taken while playing the game.

Section I: The Rekenber Corporation.

As some of you may know, I hang out in Lighthalzen. In game, the city-state is pretty much entirely driven by the Rekenber Corporation. In order to sort out the mysteries behind this particular corporation, we need to look at what the game actually give us in terms of plot.

Let's start with the Einbroch murder quest. Even though the only thing we've seen inside that lab is a broken (albeit, artificial!) Heart of Ymir, we know from the Airship quest that the Heart of Ymir is pretty RO's equivalent of nuclear fission. We know that the Heart of Ymir underneath Yuno supplies enough power to float an entire city, in addition to allowing our players to reborn. So, at the very least, we know that the RKB is involved in its research given what we know from the Murder in Einbroch and the President quests.

We can therefore also infer the following details: when it comes to the Heart of Ymir, the RKB Corps is involved in structural analysis and research, while the Einbroch labs are responsible for its applicative research. This conclusion is reasonable. The Heart of Ymir acts as a powerful energy source that could be used for ... just about everything.

However, given that the Heart of Ymir is a vital energy source, the security around the laboratories is unusually lax. Even given the author?s familiarity with a research setting (in which the casual atmosphere is purposefully maintained), it seems a little suspicious that even the headquarters could be broken into with a simple disguise. This goes far beyond with what one would expect from a realistic corporation.

Another mystery to add onto the pile is the quest NPC Ghalstein. We learn that in his 20s, he was the assistant of the one of the pseudo-legendary founders of the RKB corporation. There is one little problem here. That particular scientist joined the corporation nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. Either RO has a distinctively different system of aging, or something fishy is going on.

So, what is the true purpose of the RKB corporation? Here is what we do know. We know that it is a vital aspect of the Schwartzwald Republic. All of the kingdom?s industry is concentrated, more or less, in Einbroch and Lighthalzen. We know that its primary venue for revenue comes from piloting the airships, mining and refining ores, and also exploring ancient ruins. Other than that, its function seems to be similar to the Kafra ?
An interrupted note here. It is amazing how a corporation could grow so rapidly. In less than two centuries, their power rivaling that of the Kafra, which more or less has been around since forever*

*A note. On the official Chinese servers, they?re also responsible for distributing the cash-mall items. While cash mall, obviously, have no bearing on the plot, it is amusing to think of the RKB has fourth-wall breaking abilities.

So, from the surface, we can?t really see anything wrong with the corporation. All of their businesses seem to be legal.
Seem, right? Let?s see of all the places the RKB has become involved in.

- Abandoned Coal Mines (Mjolnir): Only dead miners here.
- Doll Factory (Kiel): We cannot say for sure whether or not this place was due to RKB?s direct influence, but we definitely know that the RKB played a role in it.
- Thanatos Tower: I really, really don?t need to comment on what went on here, right? Monsters got unleashed, bad things happened, people died.
- Ruins of Juperos. Same as above.
- Lastly, Somatology Labs.

Biolabs, as the Somatology Laboratory is more commonly known, is probably the most obvious one. What we can see from the quests that involve the RKB corporation is downright chilling. Anyone who is close to the center of the corporation or is deemed suspicious will be dead. Examples include the old man in Einbroch Murder Quest, that one guy who died in the Friendship quest, the killer who committed suicide in the Lovers quest, and Shinokas, your spy in the first part of the President?s quest? the list goes on.

Here is where the Biolabs come in.

The first floor seems to be very ? normal. There are things like podiums, stairs, carpet, and things like that. If we explore the lab further, we notice that other than some artificial lawns and a boatload of security-esque checkpoint like doors (and the hordes of angry, vengeful firefighters and 1-1 classes), the place is normal. It makes the player go "Huh, you know, people could've lived here, or used the spaces here. And people can probably still do."

In comparison, the second floor shows signs of obvious fire damage. The lightning grows dimmer. Half the vats are overturned or broken. There are a lot less firefighters here, and, in addition, it has one thing that is prevalent in many, many creepy sci-fi mad science labs: nutrient tanks, which seems to be absent on the third floor. Makes you wonder just exactly what was going on - or perhaps the tanks in the third floor has been destroyed?

In the third floor, the whole place seems to have been destroyed. The lighting is chilling, and this does not look habitable at all - in fact, the players emerge from what seems to be a pile of rubble. Again, charred remains of various kinds of lab equipment lie strewn about, and most of the area has signs of fire damage. The only reasonable conclusion (and an obvious one): one really big fire. The fire, then, seems to have started on the 3rd floor, and spread out towards the second, then the first.

Hmm. Nutrient tanks. What did the RKB study before? The Heart of Ymir, only this world?s most powerful energy source?

You put two and two together, and it is very reasonable to conclude that the true purpose of the Somatology (literal meaning ?body) Laboratory is to forcefully infuse the power of the Heart of Ymir into living creatures, circumventing the training they would have needed regularly, and creating a monstrous clone army. This is obvious, and I'm certain most other players have already thought of it before I posted. As for what the hell do they want to do with it? Beats me. But remember: the leveling process in Ragnarok represents an adventurer becoming stronger and stronger. It seems to be that the RKB is simply trying to accelerate that process? with some curious results.

Wait, you say. This doesn?t explain why or how there are monsters present. If there was a giant fire, shouldn?t everything have burned up instead?

Not quite. This brings us to our second point of discussion: The biological weapon quest. In the first line of the introduction of the biolabs quest, they tell us that the research specialization of the lab is viruses and biological enhancements. So, it?s pretty damn obvious, then: the Somatology lab is also researching biological weapons.

From a real life biologist-in-training?s perspective, viruses are very difficult to isolate. Special protective materials are necessary. It wouldn?t be a stretch to guess that the fire may have destroyed whatever protective vessel that held the viruses within. With the Heart of Ymir fragment acting as a huge power source, and the Medicine/Biological Weapon quests hinting at the virus originating from the Heart of Ymir, we could reasonably infer that the virus itself was a highly infectious agent, located in the third floor. As the fire occurred, destroying the vessels containing them, the following may have happened.

- Due to the laws of diffusion, the virus is at the highest concentration on the 3rd floor, followed by the second, and then the first.
- Removers are firefighters who were either reanimated or infected by the virus. The lack of Removers on the third floor is due to the concentration of the virus: they would not have had a chance to fight the fires on the third floor as they would have been infected the second they entered the lab.
- The fires on the third floor burned out naturally, which explains the extent of damage.
- As for the actual fire itself, there is no way of knowing what started it. If the virus is indeed from the Heart of Ymir (related quests), or the Heart of Ymir acts as the power source that is used to create powerful biological weapons, then it may be that the RKB corporation itself lost control of their agents, and the fire was caused by the RKB in an attempt to stop their own weapons from turning on them.
- The humanoid mobs are reanimated by the virus (if dead), or infected by the virus (if still living). Either way, the Heart of Ymir grafted onto their bodies may confer special resistance, which explains why they aren?t turned into undead, unlike the normal firefighters (Removers).

A clue is further given with the mob distribution. Since we know that a large fire has occurred in the lab before, we could reasonably infer that the monstrosities created here do not yet meet whatever standards the RKB has. In addition, we know from pilfering the lab notes in the quest that the experiments themselves seem to involve purifying the Heart of Ymir, and artificially replacing the heart within an individual. It is likely that a large degree of unfortunate people died gruesomely here, with those who may survive being transferred onto the second floor.

Notice the drops of the Biolab mobs ? Research Charts (A chart, written in a language you can't recognize, that details the history of research) and Handcuffs (A pair of metal restraints which still seem to smell of blood), and it is not a far stretch to assume that the Heart of Ymir does something to its users, which provides power (reborning, perhaps?). Those who survive the experiment is transferred into the 3rd floor, and further experimented on.

Given the statistics of the normal 1-1 mobs, they were likely failures as experiments. Even so, their strength is far beyond what a normal human (player)?s power would be at those levels. The disproportionately large number of bodies needed for these things probably comes from the slums nearby, where the residents are cajoled, kidnapped, or lured into the lab to be experimented on. We?ve got the NPCs from the slums to back up this particular claim.

This explains why all the NPCs who ended up finding out about the lab or the core of the research group are murdered. You simply cannot let a secret like this out ? it?s against the morals of the RO world, and it?s probably going against the way of the gods as well. The proof to the RKB?s ability to silence individuals is that until the player is involved, the higher-ups of Lighthalzen has no idea at all as to what was going on in there. The experiments, as we have discovered in the biolab quest, has been going on for at least fifty years.

But that isn?t all. Let us finally turn our attention towards the mobs on the third floor ? the transcendent classes. Out of the six individuals present, we should begin to see some patterns.

- Howard Alt-Eisen: People who did the Sign Quest should recognize the name ? or some aspect of it. The NPC who repairs the Sign is, incidentally, also named Howard. Engel Howard. Notice the similarities. Then note that in a particular dialogue, Howard (the living Smith) tells you that his father disappeared some years ago, leaving him to take the family trade?
- Kathryne Keyron: The old Wizard Job Change Quest text has the girl on top of Geffen Tower introduce herself as Kathryne. Incidentally, they shared a similar hairstyle. Of course, whether or not they?re the same person is another story?(Kathryne is possibly Takius from Ragnarok the Animation (Thanks WorldGovernment))
- Margaretha Sorin: Redemptio Quest. Sister Linus tells you her story. Young nun who was prompted to High Priestess after saving her party?s life and discovering Redemptio in the process. She left a few years ago on a mission to Lighthalzen, and hasn?t been heard from since. Her name? Priestess Sorin. High Priestess Margaretha Sorin. I am personally convinced that this is the strongest evidence for the RKB's experimentation, and for all we know, the MVP could, quite literally, be her.
- Seyren Windsor: Part of the God items Quest, and you?ll meet him as one of the NPCs on the Megingard quest.
- Cecile Damon: Archer job quest, that huntress you meet? Yeah, same person.
- Eremes Guile: Out of the six Biolabs NPCs, this is the only person that I cannot uncover any information. Perhaps I missed someone somewhere along the way, but ?

If the other mobs are simply clones of the original, then it is reasonable to infer that the MVPs in Somatology Labs 3 are the people you?ve either met or heard of in the game, and that they are probably the prototypes for whatever twisted thing that the RKB came up with. It is interesting to see that the LK and SinX is no longer Demi-Human, but Demon.

Why Demon? Perhaps Seyren and Eremes are the ones who were experimented upon first, and thus, their infections and mutations are more complex. Or that when the researchers were about to turn on the other four, that fire occurred, rendering the lab useless and halting the experiment. Without the equipment keeping the Heart of Ymir, the biological weapon, and their powerful research subjects in check, experimentation has to be stopped.

So, then, the humanoid mobs found in the Biolabs are either still-living, but infected by the agents, or that they are dead but is kept in a stage of unlife by that biological weapon that the RKB was developing. While the official description explains it as ?angry, vengeful spirits of the people experimented on,? it makes one wonder why they didn?t try to take over Lighthalzen or at least extract revenge on the people who likely caused their death in the first place.

One possible interpretation may be that they are truly dead ? but the biological agent keeps them ?living.? Given that the virus is contained inside the laboratory, they simply cannot step out of it because the lab is self-contained. So they're almost like zombies in that regard.

Coming up next: City Politics. Hugel, Rachel, and more plotting.

Quote:Anyways, let?s get back to the Heart of Ymir, since the thing pretty much drives your storyline anyways. Note that you use the Heart underneath Yuno (the complete, and presumably, the original piece) to transcend. But you know, the RKB probably uses it for other things.

In the second part of the President quest, you will recall the mercenary rebellion, in which the mechanized inventions totally replaced them, and thus, having no choice, the mercenaries initiated what would ultimately become a failed rebellion. One thing we should, perhaps, pay attention to is the description of the machinery. We know they?re powered by the fragments of the Heart of Ymir. We know they?re made out of metal, being tireless, emotionless, and immune to pain, and once there is some sort of a mechanistic error, the machine as a whole will go berserk.

Attentive players may notice that this is the exact description of the monsters in the Juperos ruins.

So, we know that the Juperos mobs are related, somehow, to the RKB. However! It doesn?t stop there, as in-game evidence proves that Juperos was long there before the RKB is around. From here, though, we could figure out something else. Wander around on the first floor of biolabs, or even the first floor of the RKB headquarters. What do you see?

Guardians. Tons and tons of them. Same guardians you find in Thor volcano and the SE castles. It wouldn?t be a stretch to say that the RKB is somehow behind their development, no?

It?s not a stretch. In fact, take a close look inside the second floor of Thor. Those are either rock patterns, or they?re upside-down versions of the emblems of the Republic, from Einbroch. If I had more health on my Pally, I would have been able to get to another spot which is more obvious, but for now, you?ll have to be content with these.



(Custom aura/colored sprite. omg i r spirte hax grf no ban plz)

Either way, we know that the technological level of Rachel is pretty much fail, compared to everywhere else. There is no way Veins or even Rachel could have developed these weapons on their own. Whether or not Rachel is stockpiling mecha in order to declare war on Rune-Midgard isn?t what we?re concerned with (for now), but for now, we?re pretty damn sure that those stupid things that oneshot us all the time in Thor is created by RKB.

So far, we?ve seen artificial life-forms, biological enhancements, and mechanical units. Does this give you an idea of how the RKB runs their business? It is entirely chilling ? no matter from which direction, the RKB is directly trying to surpass life itself, which is ? rather contrary to what the rest of Rune-Midgard believes in, which is a delightful blend of Judeo-Christian values and Norse mythological traditions.

Thus, we head over to Hugel. Peaceful little place, eh? Except, for you know, Odin?s temple, the last of the mercenaries, Schuwell, and a lot of hints at to what the Rachel church and the RKB is up to. We know that the Heart of Ymir is once again involved, and something about reviving an ancient race?

Ignoring everything else, I wonder if anyone else has noticed certain details in Odin. For a ruined temple, why is everything unusually intact? Even the broken status have whole hands, whole heads, and fresh cuts ? no signs of erosion, no nothing.

For that matter, where is ? Odin? You know, the wide-helmed, dude with an eyepatch we see in Rune-Midgard. Why in the world is this called Odin?s Temple?

The answer, to me, seems to lie in the Valkyrie Randgris. It is strongly suggested in the Odin Excavation quest that she is sent down directly by Odin. The temple is destroyed, at Odin?s orders, to warn the residents of Rune-Midgard that they?re pushing the natural limits. Mankind will not surpass the divine, and should not attempt to do so ? just like Thanatos Tower, which appeared almost overnight.

Speaking of Thanatos Tower, we find out inside the tower that the whole place itself is arguably an alteration of reality. What we know is that ? there are many legends associated with it. According to the church, the Gods built the tower in one day to demonstrate their strength to humanity. According to other legends, it is a fortress built by demons as they tried to invade Rune-Midgard (this stretches all the way back to Geffenia, by the way), and after their defeat, the tower ceased to be functional. Whatever the case, the RKB stopped excavating after a series of accidents, and so far, they?ve only managed to head up to the third floor.

It is interesting to note that there are no records of the Thanatos tower in Yuno?s libraries, either. This is an explicit point that is noted in the official lore. It seems that either the Yuno sages didn?t know anything, or something may have intentionally removed them.

The commonly accepted story, as revealed by talking to NPCs in town, is that the legendary champion, Thanatos fought Satan Morroc for ten days and nights, as a colleague of mine has pointed out, and that the divine commemorated the event by building Thanatos Tower. Thanatos himself presumably perished after the event, and disappeared into history. Over time, history became myth, and myth became legend.

Note the word I used is presumably, because it is never explicitly stated that he dies, at least in the cRO version. Instead, the players discover what happened to humanity?s finest champion inside the Thanatos tower.

We get a bit of information from reading Balmont?s notes. On page 6, we see a bunch of scribbles ? and a lot of incoherent ramble. Something about the powerful sensation of magic and something from Thanatos himself. This is again, in present tense?

Well, screw him and his notes.

Let us look at the mobs that appear in the tower itself. Ignoring the mutated junk (Deathwords and elders and whatnots), the true inhabitants are Solace, Observation (Sentinel), Shelter, and Retribution. This is evident in the fact that as the floors increase, the deathswords, mimics, and other smaller things stopped appearing. Instead, the only things left are the angels.

? Along with their counterparts, Dolor (Sadness), Odium (Hatred), Maero (Sorrow), and Despero (Despair). Not only are these four attributes key aspects of Freud?s ?death drive,? (Thanatos), but something about the naming looks familiar, doesn?t it?

You?re right. It does. In fact, here?s a clue. The translation is slightly botched, and I believe in this case the cRO/jRO translations from kRO directly makes more sense than their English ones. Shelter is more aptly translated to ?One at rightful rest.? Observation translates to ?One keeping diligent watch.? Retribution translates to ?One carrying out divine justice,? and Solace to ?One who brings recognition,? though more aptly to ?one who replenishes,? or ?one who refills.?

As the player advance further into the tower, they realize that with each mechanism, it is almost as if they are reliving Thanatos? past. Without a party, and my old guild disbanded, I am unable to re-enter the Tower. What I can remember, however, is the ninth floor. We were bugged at that floor, and I remember the text quite vividly because it was both badass and pertinent to the plot.

Approximated from cRO. If anyone has the English one, I?d love to see it.

- The Demon King? only he remains -
- Come! This is the last time! ?
*crack*
You hear the mechanism turning
- Indeed! This is ? the last time ? -

And also, note that this is ?someone?s memory directly injected into your mind.? This is taken from an English fansite, but the text below I'm sure is 100% accurate.

- This battle will determine the fate of mankind -
- We must defeat Satan Morroc. There is no alternative. Who?s with me? -
- *Cough cough* the demon ? is too strong! We c-can?t? -
- Foolish, weakling humans. You should have known better ?
- AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! H-HOW DARE YOU HUMANS. -
- HOW DARE YOU?!-
- ?. -
- ?? -
- ?? -

?The images faded from your mind as quickly as they appeared. What could have happened in the past??

Memories only belong to the living or spiritual. It is no accident that you got the memory.

Once you get to the top floor, though, look at what you have to do. You have to put the memory fragments back, fighting the mobs again, and then ? conjuring the ?Memory of Thanatos.?

Why is it called the Memory of Thanatos? Why not ?Thanatos?? Herein lies the reason. Once again, Gravity gives us clues in the form of drops. In particular, the Cursed Seals. As powerful as Thanatos is, it is impossible that he could have remained unaffected by Satan Morroc. My interpretation is that sealing Morroc away did not cost his life ? but rather, his very existence. As we learn from side materials in some of the Morroc quests, it is necessary for the individual to be living in order for the seal to persist. Those cursed seal things? Representative of the actual seal on Satan Morroc.

Wait, Thanatos is still alive?

At least, that?s my interpretation. I?m getting to it. And yes, Thanatos is alive. Those angels you see? They are his allies in the physical sense, and also the personification of his ideals, dreams, and hopes in the spiritual sense. In order to keep Satan Morroc in check, he locked himself away at the top of his tower, perhaps casting some sort of a magic veil so that he will not be disturbed. Thanatos is human, too, and suffers through all the things we humans do ? including some random chick named Lucil which he seems to be attracted to. But, that?s a different story. Sufficient to say we know Thanatos kept the seal going for at least a few hundred years.

But living in solitude is a maddening experience. And sealing away the greatest evil in the world isn?t the easiest task, either. As we know, Satan Morroc has many methods of influence. As the curse slowly ate away at Thanatos, all of his emotions changed. The rightful rest he should have earned he cannot have, because he needs to keep Morroc in check. Keeping watch for an eternity is a thankless job, with no one to remember what he did. Slowly, and slowly, hope became despair. Solace became restlessness, and then sadness. Peace became rage, joy became hatred. Waiting for the "thank you" that will never come...

The rest, you could piece together. The only other evidence I have to present are the lines Thanatos utter when he is defeated.

??Thank you. It is over.?

And then, as you?re warped out, if you?re the first guild on the server that did this, you get ?

*??No? it is not over?I must return ??

*This is what I believe to be the case. Subsequent parties on cRO did not get this line, but my guild had screenshots of this because they thought it was extremely badass.

Contradictory? Here?s my take on the whole thing. This is almost entirely due to speculation, but nonetheless, may be useful.

- Thanatos Tower, like the Odin Temple, is something that is either raised by the Gods in warning, unveiled by the Gods in warning, or, because the RKB is screwing around, managed to get the thing to surface.
- Thanatos himself is still alive, but locked in that semi-living state as a memory.
- All of the angels and stuff? Those are the ?good guys.? The memories of Thanatos are corrupted versions of his feelings, just like the Memory is a shadow of himself.
- Fragment and pieces you collect allows you to coalescence all the fragments of Thanatos together, giving him his identity back.

Note that part of the tower collapses after you defeat Thanatos. Which may suggest a few things. In particular, the top level cannot be accessed. Suggesting that perhaps, we have finally given the swordman the rest he deserves. Or ... we actually screwed our own world over by destroying one of the few things keeping cthulu-wannabe in check.

o The tower itself is constructed and powered from Thanatos? memories, and by defeating his memories and giving him peace, you?ve not only killed Thanatos and sent him off to Valhalla, but also broke one of the few things that?s still keeping Morroc in check. This interpretation explains both of the lines he utter. The first line is thanks, and the second is abject horror as he realizes that he can no longer keep Satan morroc sealed.
o Or: the seal is persistent, Thanatos is already dead, has been dead, and it?s just that Thanatos is trapped in a maddening experience, and you?ve freed him from his torment. This particular interpretation explains the first line in a similar fashion, but interprets the second one as a wistful comment, that since Thanatos died all these years ago there is no one else to fight Morroc. After all, it is mentioned in the tower that the success chance for an entire guild of Assassin Crosses is less than one percent?

Either way, I really want to read some sort of fiction piece - perhaps I'll even write it myself or something.

Wow, that was a long detour. Either way, if I haven?t convinced you that RO has a decent story yet, I should probably try harder next time. Rachel's coming next. And hooboy, there is a LOT to say about that place...

Quote:Don't worry, no EXP was lost. That's why I thought it looked like the emblem - in addition, that little thingie in the center looks like the emblem, flipped upside down.

And stealing my thunder? Hardly. If everyone in RO started to do what I'm doing, then this game'd be a lot funner for everyone! Just remember, there is no "right" answer. We can only draw conclusions based on what we're given.

Quote:
As far as the link between Thors Volcano and Rekenber, I'm sure I'd know better if I did the quest, but the feeling I get from reading over the Thors Base Quest is that there is a military base (affiliated with Arunafeltz obviously) that operates within the Volcano, hence the presence of Guardians. Since the Rekenber Job Quest clearly shows that Rekenber builds, and distributes, Guardians such as the ones used in War of Emperium, as you said I don't think its a stretch at all that Rekenber is involved with the Guardians there.
Exactly. If the Volcano is so sacred, why are they in there in the first place? I mean, we find littered boxes and other things all over the place. My guess is that the guardians are brought there to excavate whatever it is the RKB wanted, and as usual, large MVP awakens, gets pissed, and nukes everything, RKB flees and ditches everything else, leaving us (the players) to clean up their messes.

Which brings the second question. What kind of bastards make things that can oneshot a level 99 Pally?

Quote:
@ Odins Temple: As far as I've been told, the story behind the temple is that humans built it however many hundreds of years ago to worship Odin, but Odin didn't have the same love for them that the people had for him. So after a cruel and oppressive rule, the populace of the temple either left or died, so the only thing remaining there are the Guardians Odin had placed there, being the Skogul, Frus, and Skeggiolds. Occasionally, Valkyrie's from Valhalla are also dispatched to defend the temple from intruders, one of which being Randgris.
Except, in cRO's storyline, Odin's actually one of the "good guys." It'd be interesting to see what the English versions of the story is, though, given that we're looking at two perspectives. The bit I gave in my writing is what I cobbled together using the in-game text, so it's not so much speculation as much as it is grounded in something.

Quote:
@Thanatos Tower: I don't remember which quest it was, but I seem to remember one quest mentioning that it was the ancestors of the prontera royal family that sealed Morroc, so I would tend toward the argument that Thanatos himself, whether he died during the battle with Morroc or afterwards, is dead now. As the MVP itself is named either 'Memory of Thanatos' or 'Thanatos Phantom' depending on your server, the game seems to be hinting at the fact that what you're fighting isn't Thanatos himself, but a shadow of Thanatos, or a specter that resembles what he used to be. To put it into an analogy, The Memory of Thanatos would be on the same level as the Incarnations of Morroc in dimensional gorge, in that they are a manifestation of Morroc's Power, but not Morroc himself. Explaining it like that also helps to explain why the Thanatos MVP is so much weaker then the Morroc MVP, though I realize thats more game mechanics then story, so it doesn't really play as evidence (Alternatively, we could assume Thanatos wasn't alone in his effort against Satan Morroc, which would make the analogy into Morroc = Thanatos, Incarnations = Dolor/Maero/Despero/Odium)
Thanatos wasn't alone, if you look at the text dialogue in the tower itself. However, we're pretty certain he is the one who struck the mortal blow/is the main player of the bunch. He was probably an Assassin Cross, given the references to the Assassin's guild.

Incarnations of Morroc has less of a direct correlation with the four attributes given in Thanatos, though, especially since the four listed are explicitly references to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis theory. That point, I think, cannot be accidental.

King Tristan is a totally different thing, and if we take Thanatos' lore, it makes more sense for Thanatos to have done it, and then having the location be Morroc. I'll address Morroc in a later post.

Quote:
The Dandelion quest tells you that Thanatos Tower was a place where Monsters came from after Satan Morroc invaded, so it seems more then likely that the Tower was built before Thanatos and Morroc fought. This kind of detracts from the theory that the Tower was used to help seal Morroc, but gives rise to another theory that the secret the Tower is hiding relates to Satan Morroc, or if I can stretch the theory a little bit, in how Satan Morroc summoned his minions into Midgard.
This would fit with the second theory, which is given in the official materials. I.E. Thanatos Tower was originally used as a base for Morroc's invasion, but was later on (persumably taken by Thanatos?) transformed into something else.

Quote:
It would then make sense as to why the Angels appeared to defend the tower, as clearly morals aren't something that would stand in Rekenber's way, so it would be more then likely they would abuse such a power, whether it resulted in their profit or loss was irrelevant. It might even be considered that if Rekenber had managed to completely reconstruct Thanatos Tower, it would act as a portal again, which would also explain why there needed to be Divine Intervention. Though thats speculating quite a bit off the evidence I have at hand.
It doesn't have to be a portal, right? Thanatos, for all we know, could have had a lot of other stuff. Hell, if we knew why the Rekenber corporation was there in the first place, I wouldn't be writing this in the first place.

In terms of Thanatos' presence... I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, which is why my interpretation is, ultimately, one in which the tragic hero is redeemed by the players.

Quote:
To explain why the Memory of Thanatos is in the tower, I imagine that after Thanatos died (and presumably was sent to Valhalla), he left behind a remnant of himself to prevent the secrets of the Tower from ever being discovered. I also wouldn't consider it unreasonable for the Phantom to have been summoned by the same entity responsible for dispatching the Angels, giving the summoned guardian similar characteristics to Thanatos but not actually calling Thanatos himself. Then again, there's nothing to say Thanatos himself COULDN'T have been summoned, so there's that possibility as well!
This idea is good, but makes things more complicated. What is the tower hiding? Who summoned the guardians? Why Thanatos? Etc, etc, all of which are open to speculation. It's more fuel for the fires, that's for sure.

The thing is (I take it you haven't actually been up to Thanatos Tower and fought to boss, have you?) is that the "power" is unlocked, and not summoned. In other words, whatever's on top of the tower is quite literally reconstructed from the player's efforts, instead of an entity waiting to warp in to await the player's challenge like say, Baphomet.

Quote:
I've never heard the story that the tower collapses after you defeat Thanatos, but I guess thats a difficult thing to express in an MMO
Oh, uh, the top floor collapses as the rest of the tower sinks into the ground. You get it as a description when you try to go into the glowing portal again. So, from a lore perspective, yeah, the tower does sink into the ground and disappears, which to me seems to suggest that the tower itself is directly linked to Thanatos.

EDIT: In regards to the cursed spirit quest: I just read that, and I don't ever recall seeing that on cRO. That's a pretty cool story, and what's better is that it doesn't really run contrary to my proposal either. Either way, it just makes the Bio stuff much more intriguing.

Quote:A few other notes. There's a Sir Windsor in one of the knight tests. Also, I think I found eremes. Reverse engineering Aegis script shows us this.

Quote:
//-------------------------------------------------------------
//------- THAILAND EVENT SCRIPT by eremes "Sieg Zeon!"--------
//----------------------- eremes@gravity.co.kr ----------------
//-----------------------------20030911 ~ 20030916-------------
//-------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
i dunno about the virus idea myself, BUT one thing that may support it (or just be a geeky reference) is the official name of the lab: regenschirm. german for "umbrella"
Virus idea is a theory I cooked up using data from the biological weapon and related quests. We know that lab that made the viruses basically burned down in a huge fire. Which other lab in the game do we know for sure that's been burnt down? Biolabs.

Quote:
I wouldn't call that off topic, I'd call that pretty awesome.
AWESOME. And also, supported by this. In-game text explaining the origins of Juperos and Juno.

Quote:
Thesis: The Fall of Juperos By Fayruz Khrhiyha Sage Castle Researcher

Scholars are certain that the Juperos civilization used to be located above the ground, but it is now buried beneath the El Mes Plateau. The reasons for the city's ruin are still in debate...

However, new findings regarding the history of Juperos have allowed us to make a few conclusions. Juperos was built over a thousand years ago in an era of peace just after a major war. There is now direct evidence linking Juno to Juperos proving that Juno was but a part of Juperos.

Just like Juno, Juperos was a society that prided itself on its advancement in the sciences which played a permeating role in civilized life. Science was reponsible for Juperos's rise and downfall.

What is most unsettling is recent evidence, including a first hand written account, regarding the role of one of Jupero's foremost scientists in that city's rise and fall.

If these writings are authentic, then what actually happened was that a scientific revolution occurred as a direct result of one scientist's effort to manipulate the energies of the artifact known as Ymir's heart.

This one man and Ymir's Heart are credited with the success and prosperity of the Jupero's civilization. However, there are various accounts prior to Jupero's fall detailing his work with chimera...

This scientist, supposedly in his passion to benefit his people by finding a scientific method for immortality by using chimera for testing, was driven insane. He experimented on himself with disatrous results. There was an error in the energy calibration of Ymir's Heart and the scientist was transformed into the monster we now know as Chimera. He and his test subjects were set loose into the city of Juperos.

These immortal Chimeras (Author?s note: So ? the scientist is vesper. Are venatus and dimiks defense drones, and Archdam the test subjects?) razed the entire city, killing countless people. Apparently, a team of scientists were able to salvage a fragment of Ymir's Heart, and use it to lauch part of Juperos into the sky.

That section of Juperos eventually developed into the city of Juno. Since the scientists who launched Juno into the sky all immediately died afterwards from an unknown cause, they left no documentation.

The Chimera, and the laboratory in which it was created, is rumored to remain beneath the ruins of the once great city of Juperos.
As for the Japanese fansites, they get a lot more lore than we do. Here's an excerpt detailing the mercenary rebellion that I'll translate at a later time.

Quote:
バルムント
300年程前に活躍した大賢者として知られる。A.W667年生まれ。貧しい家の生まれで正規の教育を受けることができなかったが、天才であったため同じ 村に住むヘッジー教授に預けられる。14歳でジュノー国立大学に推薦入学、学問や芸術などあらゆる分野で才能を発揮、21歳で最年少の大学教授となる。そ れまでタブーとされていた古代文明の遺跡発掘に着手、学界から発掘費用の支援を受けられず頓挫していたとこ ろに、レゲンシュルムが目を付けてパトロンとな る。そして遺跡調査により古代科学を解明していく。その後、A.W.700年にレゲンシュルム研究所に迎えられレゲンシュルム擬似ユミルの心臓研究室に所 属。ガーディアン制作のため発掘済みの古代遺跡に残されてる巨大な人型の有機体を単独で再調査 した際、人間女性としか思えない有機体を発見、その魔力の痕 跡をたどる旅に出発、大陸中を旅してタナトスタワーを発見したが公表することなく再封印してい る。

その後、長年の研究の末に擬似ユミルの心臓を作り出し、それを動力源にすることでガーディアンなど理論上の 夢だったものが次々と実現してく。しかし、擬似 ユミルの心臓の研究を続けると世に悲しみをもたらすことになると考え完成状態の擬似ユミルの心臓を破壊、助 手のヘリコに自分の考えをメッセージとして残し 研究所を去った。この事によりプロジェクトの大半が停止?凍結され、レゲンシュルムはバルムントの抜けた穴を埋めるべく有機体であるガーディアンの研究 を 進めるために人体実験に手を染めていき生体研究所を設立する。また、本物のユミルの心臓の欠片を武力によっ て強奪することに反対して裏から擬似ユミルの心 臓開発を支援していたアルナベルツ教国の穏健派の権力衰退と、急進派の台頭を招くことにもなった。そして残 された資料から作られた擬似ユミルの心臓（ルー ン機関）は、バルムントの研究を欠いた不完全な状態のままガーディアンや飛行船などに実用化されている。レ ゲンシュルムではユミルの心臓のイミテーション であるルーン機関を完全なものとする「バルムントプロジェクト」なる計画が進められているが詳 細不明。
レゲンシュルムの研究所を去った後、自宅を堅固な研究室に改装。単独で古代文明の研究を重ね、創作物の中に は古代文明のオートマータであるアリスを完全再 現したものまであったという。

A.W781年に、実用配備されたガーディアンの誤作動で共和国守備隊所属の傭兵が死亡する事件が発生、レッケンベル社 が事件の揉み消しを謀ったため以前 からガーディアン配備に反発していた各傭兵団が呼応して「傭兵反乱」事件を起こす。ガーディアン配備の反対 を唱えていたバルムントはガーディアンに敗れた 傭兵団を自宅に受け入れたが、レッケンベル社のガーディアンがバルムントの邸宅を包囲、篭城していた傭兵団 を殲滅してバルムントの創作物や資料などを持ち 去った。バルムントはこの際に姿をくらまし、現在は消息不明。なおこの事件はレッケンベル社の情報操作によ り世間一般では、ガーディアンに職を追われそう になった傭兵団がバルムントを恨んで邸宅を襲撃?占拠して、共和国守備隊との交戦時の出火でバルムントの邸宅にあった創作物や資料などは全て焼 失したこと になっている。
（ゲーム中に登場するバルムントの伝記はA.W1003年の発行となっている。200-300年程昔に活躍した人物であるが、傭兵反乱の生き残りは故人で あるものの近年までは老齢ながら存命しており、ヘリコは現在でも存命している。）

Note the bit I highlighted, which is a mysterious female life-form. My personal suspicion is that this is Lucil, the same person Thanatos seems to have an attachment to in the Thanatos Tower quest - this makes more sense after you see the whole thing.

Quote:WARNING: Extremely disorganized. Will be editing and re-editing over the next couple of days.

EDIT: Kiel is a sad man. Sympathetic, but a little sad.

Before we could really talk about Rachel, and all the mess that went on there, though, we should direct our attention to RKB's direct competitor, the Kiel Hyre Academy.

In one line, to summarize my theory: Kiel is also trying to build himself (or someone) an army.

Why army? Well, the original intent of the RKB is to provide the "military arm" for the Schwartzvald republic, chiefly in the form of guardians. While they may be similar in form to Rune-Midgard's Guardians, I am going to argue here that the RKB guardians are nothing like Rune-Midgards. It is mentioned in one of the RKB side quests that the Heart of Ymir is used to power their guardians, and here, I suspect that Kiel Hyre has obtained a similar degree of technology, as the current generation III robots are powered with some sort of a memory matrix made from the Heart of Ymir that allows them to have human-like emotions and thoughts.

Many questions, then, are left unanswered. Is the security of Yuno so lax, that not only the RKB can obtain pieces of it, but that a corporation like Kiel can obtain enough of it to mass produce their own robots as well? How in the world did the RKB leak their homunculus technology to a competitor?

The second answer can be attempted. Both references Varmundt(Varmundt, the founder of the RKB*, guy who more or less initiated the biolabs stuff), the "Great Sage," though Kiel himself states that his development was markedly superior.

Quote:
I've been researching robotics for thirty-two years now, I'm proud to say that I've succeeded where the great sage Varmundt did not.
-Kiel, when you first meet him in person.

As he was able to combine Yuno's unique strain of sage magic, along with homonculus technology into a new artificial lifeform. The homonculus quest itself also has a reference to this guy as well, suggesting that whoever he is, the great sage was quite interested in artificial life forms. Given that Kiel seemed to have known the sage in person, or at least have heard of him, it wouldn't be unreasonable to conclude that the research of homunculus went about in different ways, with each researcher discovering a unique method to them.

*Guy referenced in RKB's history. More or less responsible for the company's sudden rise in A.W. 700)

A brief note on Kiel's robots: most of these are capable of blending into society. Elly, for example, seems perfectly normal as a human being. Imagine how powerful they'd be as assassins, and imagine the psychology of fighting these things - guardians are huge hunkin' things of metal. But would you really be willing to lift your sword against a 14 year old girl?

My apologies for digressing. RO lore is interesting to me, and I think there's a lot of it that could be entertaining, especially for fanfiction writers.

Insofar as the first question, the answer once again, seem to suggest, Rachel. We know from the Rachel entrance quest that there are hundreds of pieces of Ymir's heart underneath the temple complex itself. Earlier on we concluded that it is reasonable to infer that the Church provides the RKB with the Ymir's Heart fragments. Is it also reasonable to conclude that the Church has secretly been supplying Kiel? If so, why?

That question has not been revealed in lore. We do not know whether or not the church is threatened by the presence of the RKB, nor do we know how much competition exactly can Kiel offer. What we do know are these things.

- The Yuno Republic is staunchly against both in the sense, but is capable of very little. The government has to resort to stealth tactics and espionage in order to accomplish anything - a sad shadow of its days when Juperos was still functioning.

- The RKB has attempted to infiltrate Kiel, and failing in the attempt. It is not known if the reverse is true, but we know that Kiel has Lighthalzen guardians sitting in his laboratory on the first floor, along the northern wall.

- Kiel has homunculus technology, arcane magic, highly advanced robotics at least on-par if not superior to the RKB, and also, possibly RKB guardian technology as well. It is not known how Kiel would have obtained this information.

- Kiel himself is skilled enough to not only hide his activity from the Republic's agents, but also somehow managing to foil the RKB as well. In fact, if it weren't for the player's meddling, neither parties would have made any headway. Kiel is either a skilled bureaucrat, has connections inside both the RKB or the government, or he's James Bond.

- The RKB is aware of Kiel's activity. The Yuno government should also be aware of Kiel, but again, has made very little headway until the player's interactions.

- In Kiel's academy, one of the NPCs refer to having visitors from a "Far-away land." It is a stretch to say that this is Rachel, except for the fact that inside Rachel, one of the priests mention that he has business in the El Mes Plateau.

Really, now, why would a priest be out there? As we know, the only things outside of Yuno are:

1. Goats.
2. Ruins of Juperos, which the RKB has begun excavating.
3. Kiel's Academy.
4. ?????

- The artificial lifeforms constructed within Kiel are markedly different from RKB's guardians, though no less powerful. While Aliza, for example, might vaguely classify as a domestic servant robot, it is clear that the other stuff is meant for something else.

- In addition, because we know from Allysia's conversation that Kiel has been developing robots in direct competition with the RKB, it is clear that whatever Kiel is up to in Hugel, the intent is to compete with the RKB - and that's why we see the guardians mounted in the laboratory. reverse engineering for the win.

- In that sense, then, Kiel's robots are INFINITELY MORE DANGEROUS than RKB's Guardians for at least one reason: they're capable of independent thought. Kiel's managed to overcome the 6-year hard limit on the 2nd gen bots, which means that these robots, due to their pseudo-biological nature, are essentially self sustaining.

This would make one wonder why haven't the RKB attempted to stop Kiel yet. An answer? They don't know. Another answer? Perhaps they can't. If they can't infiltrate, they have no idea what Kiel's up to. Or, perhaps, they simply don't take Kiel seriously enough.

...Who'd have known that a kindly looking old guy who seems obsessed with the Meido archetype could turn out to be a threat?

This one was written by Rutana

Quote:First of all... THANK YOU !
I'm a player who's addicted by stories, exspecially the RO-Story which is just awesome!
But I'm also a player who had no chance to excperience Locations like Upper Thanatos Tower Floors or Sealed Shrine. The one Rebirth I have is not taking along in partys (NatCrit SinX with love! q.q) and I also never was in a guild that could accomplish anything like that - cause I'm not a WoE player and it's mostly those players who got this chances.
Now, I finally have the chance to get the story parts missing to me.
Also, I'm writing a huge FanFiction (looking for translating help btw q.q) in which I want to take parts of the original story and this helps a lot !

Though, there are some parts where I either have additional information or another opinion I want to share. Note that some of this may be an error of the german translation on euRO! But normally, the text is the same in english and german, so it may also be not the case.

To Rekenber:

Did you know, that the laboratories had another name, too?
It's also called "Regenschirm" several times ingame.
This may not be any hint for you, but it was very strong for us.
Regenschirm is german for Umbrella.
(who didn't get it till now... In Resident Evil is the bad Umbrella Corp. guilty for the T-Virus that mutates humans into zombies)
And Rekenber has also a "Corp." behind his name.
Btw, many things in Lighthalzen have german names, mostly seeing on the house walls.

Than, to the first Cls. Here is also a NPC in the names. While you don't get any real informations about Assassin Cross Eremes Guile, you get a human counterpart to the Thief Whikebain Tres! The Assassin with Cat Ears and Cat Tail in Morroc, taking part in the Blacksmith Job Change Quest, is called Whikebain!

Also to Kathryn. The NPC in Geffen Tower is also called Katherine here. And there's a funny little cat next to her who's very angry that Katherine turned her into a cat for stealing gems ;3


Geffenia:
Geffenia has a huge and solid backstory - in the original Manwha! Check it out
It was once the city of the elves, protected by a huge, powerful gem that is also found ingame if you look closly while turning the camera around. It's a huge gem which is placed in the air, in the middle of the city itself! It also has a name based on it's maker but I'm too lazy to stand up and check it now. Maybe later XP


Juperos:
Hm... don't know if the Machines are really coming from RKB. As long as I have it in remember, there was a scientist way back than, who created the robots to protect the city - but the experiment backfired and killed everyone living there. That caused the people outside to forget about the city till it was explored after a really long time again.
A nice note here is the originally name and story given by Gravity. Ragnarok is the end of the world, the big fight of the gods which causes into complete destruction and a complete new start. The world of Ragnarok is on it's way to this fight, which is also shown in the doing of the humans, who raise up with technoligy and start to fight against each others - which may also lead into a big destruction. Maybe this process is repeated over and over again - Juperos may be still existing from the Time before the last Ragnarok and may explain the further technoligy. But this is just basic theory.
Also, the heart of the giant Ymir was used to build the world at the very beginning and creation of the world by the gods. They basically killed Ymir to use him and his... stuff... to make anything on earth. Blood became oceans and rivers and such.

Odin's Temple:
I guess it was build by humans to praise Odin. And either the place got forgotten or Odin destroyed it. Randgris could be a reference to the opera "Der Ring der Nibelungen" from Richard Wagner. In this story, the leader of the Valkyrie's decided to turn her back to Odin to protect his son, who should have been killed from Odin's own plans. The Story is very ... stupid, didn't fit up the real mythologie in whole, but it is interesting, that Brynhild, this Valkyrie I'm speaking about, was expelled and had to live on earth, sleeping in a firecircle that only the hero Siegfried could surpass, waiting to help and belong to her savior. Randgris may also be a Valkyrie that fell in misery to Odin and got expelled to his old temple.

Than the signs on your screenshots...
This may be pure accident. The places you show are an example of what can be found through the whole world of Ragnarok Online: Sometimes, Textures don't reapeat, they got mirrored to look more fitting to each other. And every screen of you shows exactly that. 2 textures coming together and got mirrored.

Varmundt was not the founder of Rekenber. He worked for them though.
There are A LOT of hints to him in the Biological Weapon Quest.
Varmundt was all into researching Ymirs Heart and created the first robots: The Guardians. But as the Guardians led into the war with the mercs and were used against them, Varmundt was blaimed and he dissapeared. If I remember right, he took shelter somewhere, regret what he created and wantet to take his research further without the evil mind of Rekenber.
Btw, the Guardians from the normal Castles are also made by Rekenber. You find that out in the Shadow Mission Quest. You have to protect the goods that are brought from Rekenber to Izlude, to a very... fishy guy. And as the quest goes on, you learn that the goods are weapon, and finally Guardians for the Guilds. Black Weapon Market if you want it that way.

For the Heart Pieces (tatatataaaa you got an heart piece! Find 3 more to get an heart container!) and Kiel's supply... Rekenber AND Arunafeltz Churches are trying to collect the heart pieces. They both should have a nice supply of them. Rekenber just won't tell how much, but it's very clear, that Kiel got his Heart Piece Parts from them.

Also, you state out that the Schwartzwalt (not Yuno) Republic and RKB work together. That's wrong. The president of Schwartzwalt even tries to stop Rekenber. Rekenber got very mighty and rich, and controlls a lot, but is still in focus of the real government.
I think, Kiel actually works for RKB, to continue the work that Varmundt didn't wanted to do anymore. And succeed.

At least, I didn't read anything in this thread, it's just tooo long XD
Some of this may be statet out allready (like the Regenschirm part and the history of Juperos, where it seems that I'm wrong with it ). So please excuse that.