Q. What is Toril?
A. The planet the game & stories are based on, created by TSR for Dungeons and Dragons.

Q. What is the Great Realms?
A. A large island continent on the planet Toril in which the mud is mostly based in.

Q. What is Faerun?
A. One of the main continents of the planet Toril, home of 'Forgotten Relams'.

Q. What is the Forgotten Realms?
A. An Advance Dungeons and Dragons Campaign setting, and also includes a library of novels.

Q. Is the game & stories based on the Final Fantasy Games?
A. Yes, the Great Realms Continent is a mixture of themes, ideas and concepts from both Final Fantasy 6 and Final Fantasy 7. There are familiar aspects and characters taken from both game but set in its own existance and world.

Q. Is the game & stories based on AD&D/TSR's Forgotten Realms Campaign World?
A. Yes and no, because it is the same world the aspects of the Forgotten Realms do exist. (But in my own writings everything leans more towards Final Fantasy, due to the fact I played more FF than AD&D....)

Q. What is the Tripower Kingdom and the city of Torregiano?
A. The Tripower Kingdom is more or less the United States of the Great Realms, a very young country that has grown larger than everyone else in power, wealth and technology. The City of Torregiano is their capital city, also dubbed the City of Technology. The city itself was predesigned and engineered (and is based in part of Midgar of FF7).

Q. What is the Vectorian Empire?
A. The Germans of the Great Realms, Vector stood as the greatest empire for centuries until the Tripower took away their titles of wealth, power and technology. Vector is responsible for the creation of big business and corperations. They created the Realmism Stock Market, how goods are traded between the countries of the Great Realms and stood as leaders of Technology. Their offical capital is Saint Plattsburgh, but the heirchy of the Vectorian Empire lives in Vector City, northwest of Saint Plattsburgh.

Q. What is the Tripowerian - Vectorian War.
A. The land that the Tripower rules over was once the southern half of Vector. The Tripower as a political group forced Vector to create an election and allow the people to choose who ruled them, Vector agree'd in belief that their citizens would not dare vote for someone else. They did and the Vectorian 'Southern Tier' became the Tripower Kingdom. Tension built up between the two governments because of this, and the fast pace the Tripower was working at taking over what Vector had once ruled over, Business, Trade and Technology. Tension broke when Vector attacked during the opening ceremony for the city of Torregiano. This lead to the Ganon Vector - Tripowerian War which lasted four years. Ganon was assassinated by his Technology Advisor, Kefka Palazzo. Under Kefka, the Vectorian Empire called to Tripower for aid in rebuilding their shattered nation. The Tripower agree'd to do so. Three years of peace passed between the two until tension began to build again. Kefka had discovered a new technology that involved the genocide of the esper race. This caused the two governments to fall into a second war, known as the Kefka Palazzo Vectorian - Tripowerian War. This war lasted two years and ended once Vector's fortunes and armies were exhausted.

Q. What is RagNaRoK?
A. A giant meteor that appeared in the sky, it was predicted by a council of wizards who dwelled in the High Tower of Sorcery. They told the world a year before its arrival a meteor of great evil was approaching, then they disappeared from the face of the planet. One year later the meteor would appear. It would be later revealed in 'The Prophecy' what RagNaRok really is and how it can be stopped. The meteor is as wide as Westbridge and New Thalos are far apart. The meteor approached the planet and suddenly became stationary, becoming a moon that doesn't orbit (and casts a firey red glow over the lands).

Q. What is the Prophecy?
A. Long before the existance of the Great Realms Civilization, a deity was trained to be an 'Elder God', the higest ranking deity position. Elder Gods create worlds and life and ever so often the Elder God of a planet will pick a deity to train and become his or her apprentice. Once training is complete, a final test is given and then they are judged, and possibly sent out into the universe. The Elder God of Toril known as Ao took on an apprentice, who became mad with power and failed his final test. Ao struck him down, casted his soul into a pebble and banished the Apprentice back into space. The Apprentive vowed to grow in power and return to the planet to reclaim it as his own. The Prophecy supposely has come true, Ragnarok is the dead god Apprentice who has returned.

Q. What are the Four Elemental Swords of RagNaRok?
A. When the meteor approached the planet, it did break the atmosphere of the planet. A group of heros flew upwards and landed on the surface, discovering the tunnels inside. They came to a chamber with four doors that contained four elemental beasts of emmence power, each wielding a weapon. The creatures were destroyed and the weapons taken as prizes. It would later be explained that these weapons were forged from the broken blade of Elder God Ao, who used the original sword to destroy his Apprentice. Each sword contains potient magical abilities to harness the element of its name, and it is told that when placed in 'The Temple Of Light' their powers will destroy Ragnarok & The Apprentice once and for all. Since their discovery on Ragnarok they have been scattered around the realms up until recently. The Tripower Kingdom has three of the four swords (Earth, Fire, Water) while the Elemenetal Sword of Wind is missing.

Q. What is the Lifestream?
A. The lifestream is a river of liquid energy that flows deep inside a planet and is the source of mana/magical powers. It is also said that this energy are the remains of all living creatures. The lifestream can also crystalize into solid form known as materia, which can be used to cast and or aid magic.

Q. What is Makou Technology?
A. It was discovered by the Tripower Kingdom that the lifestream could be used as an energy source by combining the liquid energy with steam and compressing it. The end result is a burnable gas much like natural gas, but under various compressions it can create different forms, such as a lighter-than-air gas and a liquid sludge like fuel. This energy source replaced the Vectorian Coal powered Steam technology and is used in numberous applications from heating and lighting to flying machinery. Some claim that the use of the lifestream in this manor is draining the planet's lifestream, while the Tripower stands by the fact it is burned, the energy is returned to the planet. Makou Technology was once only found in the Tripower Kingdom, who has now sold it to other nations, making it a continental wide technology. (It should be noted as a not so well known fact that the Tripower invented Makou Technology from ancient documents recovered in the Northern Crator).

Q. What is Magitek Technology?
A. Vector had attempted to create an energy source much like Makou in an attempt to reclaim some of its power. Head Scientist and Wizard of Technology Kefka Palazzo stumbled across a different type of energy source, known as Magicite. Magicite was the crystalized remained of a dead esper, which forms over the course of a century. The humanoid Esper Race is well known to be one of the most magical races on the planet. Kefka unlocked the magic held within the Magicite Crystal and found several uses for it. Its main use became the energy source for Magitek Armor. Due to the long period it takes for Magicite to form, Kefka also dicovered that by processing the fresh remains of an esper, a weaker and somewhat fake Magicite could be created, leading to the Vectorian Genocide of the Esper Race.

Q. Is Magitek Armor something you wear?
A. Despite how the name sounds, Magitek Armor is not worn, but is a large machine that someone rides in. These two legged mechanical beasts are powered by the Magicite Crystals and can cast magical spells, giving any soldier the abilities of a wizard. Various versions of Magitek Armor can be found, including some that do not run on Magicite but natural fuels (and does not have magical abilities). In the most recent years a flying version of Magitek Armor has been seen.

Q. Is the Goodyear Blimp an Airship?
A. Actually yes, in earthly terms an airship is a blimp. The Airships of the Great Realms take on various forms, mainly designs of Final Fantasy 6 and 7. But there are also several other designs not related to the FF game series, including the 'single seater' class which is big enough for one person to sit in and fly (much like the flying Magitek Armor). Airships float using lighter-than-air Makou Gas (housed in various forms from blimps to interior pipes like a submarine). They move under the power of Makou Engines (powered by the sludge like Makou Fuel) which resemble a crude cross between a steam engine and a 1950s gasoline combustion engine. Airships also do battle within the air using various weapons, mainly large calibur cannons (and devices like anchors and harpoons which teather two airships together, thus disallowing one to run away from the other). There is also a special engine powered by Materia that allows the airship to instantly teleport short distances. Airships are a major aspect of the Global-Trade Economy.

Q. If there are cannons, has anyone made a shotgun, handgun or rifle?
A. Actually yes, these types of weapons have existed in the Great Realms, but due to the fact that magical users make up the higher parts of society, they are banished from the continent and the research of the technology forbidden (or even spoken of). Only the research of large calibur cannon weapons is allowed.

Q. If there are no guns, then what the hell is a Castor Gun (Castor Wand, Firearm)?
A. During the 9th Century the lifestream underneath the western half of the Great Realms dried up, crippling the magical ability of the ruling wizards. The Figaro Empire on the western coast had utilized handgun firearms known as the Figaro Firearms, even though their heiarchy was mainly wizards. With the disappearance of the Lifestream, the 'underbelly' of society was able to get their hands on these firearms (which were only held by Figaro Officals) and take over Figaro, and other western countries. This led the weaken wizards to turn to technology for help, which created the Castor Gun (Wand/Firearm). It resembles the Figaro Firearm in shape (like a handgun) but is encased with special materia crystal, mainly in the handle of the weapon. An enchanted piece of materia (shaped like an orb) is placed in the weapon, and the user pulls a trigger. The Trigger itself is made with the special materia crystal, and when it touches the handle causes a chain reaction with its user. In short it converts your physical energy (hitpoints) into magical energy (mana), enough to cast the enchanted materia inside the weapon. Once the lifestream returned to the western lands, many of these weapons were destroyed (along with the banishing of Figaro Firearms and all similar weapons). Some still exist though.

Q. How advanced is technology in the Great Realms?
A. In short not very but you could say that Great Realms Technology resembles something close to mid-1800s. Steam technology and steam engines are commonly used along with some semi-advanced stuff such as the Makou Combustion Engine. There are railroads and indoor plumbing and lighting, but no harnessed electricity. As advanced as airshipa appear, their inner workers involve miles and miles of cables which control the ship. There are some inventions which resemble modern technology such as communication radios such as the ones commonly found on airships. But these types of technology are explained to fit the theme of the world, these radios are enchanted materia crystals which 'teleport' your voice to other specifically enchanted crystals.

Q. What are Jenova Cells?
A. Jenova is a creature born of viruses who feed off of planets, typically until all of the planet's energy (lifestream) is exhausted. The creature's existence was on a planet known as Gaia which at some point was drained of its energy. The planet Gaia collided with the planet Toril almost thirteen centuries ago. No scientific research has been conducted by any offical government, but it is theroyed that what remained of Jenova was dispursed into the Torillian Lifestream, and traces of Jenova can be found in living things, including the intelligent races. Nothing has been proven.

Q. What is the Black Church?
A. The Black Church is a newly created religion that is spreading across the Great Realms. Its members follow Jenova and believe that Sephiroth, Jenova's Son is the one true god of the planet. The members of this cult can be seen as people dressed in Black Cloaks, usually with their faces hidden. It is noted they have numbers burned somewhere on their hand, possibly a ranking system. This Black Church has also become the majority political party in the Deva Kingdom in the northwest part of the Great Realms.