Orakio and Laya - Mysteries of their war SOLVED!

[MrStarbird]

Okay, so this just occurred to me while thinking about WTF a Fiblira is (the armor in Phantasy Star III that seems very out of place).

Before boarding the Alisa III
First, it is safe to assume that both Orakio and Laya were survivors of Palma's destruction. The game dictates that the war between Orakio and Laya happened 1,000 years before the start of the game, and the sages of New Mota also say that Dark Force destroyed Palma 1,000 years prior. This would mean that both Orakio and Laya were citizens, or higher officials of Palm before being forced to flee. So, who exactly were they?

While not much else is known about who they were before they escaped Palma, it is safe to assume that Orakio was in some way a mechanic of some sort. Mechanics were a common job during that time (it is what Josh Kain wanted to become, except he kept destroying things) and Orakio was very skilled at working with machines, which explains why Mieu and Wren were so loyal to him and his descendants. He commanded an army of them during the war, after all. Technically, the timeline of the Orakio/Laya War would be close to that of Phantasy Star II's alternate timeline.

So what exactly was Laya? Well, if we are relating Orakio to a job that was common, we could assume the same of Laya. It is my assumption that Laya was a Biologist, in the very same manner that Hugh was. There are two reasons I have behind this. The biggest piece of evidence was that during the war, Laya commanded an army of Biomonsters (or just called monsters in the game). She wouldn't have been able to command such an army had she no detailed knowledge of the inner workings of biomonsters. The 2nd, and this relates to the first paragraph, is the armor that her sister (and niece) use: the "fiblira". No matter how much I've tried, I could never figure out for the life of me what a fiblira was and nothing on the internet could help. It was then that I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was a slight possibility that something in this game was MISTRANSLATED. Now, I know what you're all thinking. That could NEVER happen in a Phantasy Star game (okay, enough sarcasm for now). After some slight googling, I concluded that the word Fiblira should actually be Fibrilla. A Fibril is, in simplest terms, a short hair, usually on the cellular level (or the small hairs you find on the root of a plant). So it makes sense that a Fibrilla would most likely be some sort of garment made from the hairs of a root woven together. It would also help prove that Laya must have been a Biologist before the destruction of Palm.

So why start the war?
So why did Orakio and Laya start a war with each other anyway? This is where social commentary comes into play. Orakio, being a Mechanic, probably did a lot of things that would degrade nature in order to provide a more technological future. Laya, being a Biologist, more than likely was a nature lover and wanted to save the beauty of nature and the essence of life. This is not an uncommon conflict, as we see this every day in the real world. Orakio very well could have been the head of a big technology business and Laya very well could have been the leader of a Environmentalist movement. It explains why she wears armor made from fibers (hemp, anybody?).

When Dark Force destroyed Palm and left both Orakio and Laya on one of the four-hundred ships together (what are the odds, right?), it is only fitting that their conflict would continue. Orakio would want technology to reign over the new spaceship, while Laya would do everything she could to keep it beautiful and clean. Their conflict with each other was seen by Dark Force, who used their own hatred for each other to fuel his own desires. He manipulated both of them into creating a much larger war than there needed to be (rather than peaceful negotiations that Laya would probably have preferred). Dark Force has been known to manipulate people in the past (Lassic, the Governor of Motavia, the Earthmen, etc), so he would have had no trouble with this.

Both Orakio and Laya were humanitarians, as they both had rules in place that said to never kill another person. Thus began the war of Machine vs. Nature. The citizens of the spaceship chose sides and started to settle in separate domes away from each other. Orakio's followers went to Landen as well as Elysium and Draconia (the two corner domes that had access to the satellites and the spaceships flight controls). Laya's followers, fewer in number, went to Aquatica, Frigidia (more natural-type of locals), and possibly Terminus (which ends up being overrun by Biomonsters that were beyond Laya's control, sorta like how Neifirst was beyond the control of the Biologists who created her). Aridia, home of the Weather and Satellite control systems, was possibly also the dome that was built over the fuel source and engines to the spaceship, explaining the intense heat that only machines and a select amount of biomonsters could endure (in theory, those type of engines could possibly be too hot even for cyborgs, thus there might have been a nearby cooling unit to supply some relief, possibly built under Frigidia).

How did Lune inhabit Dahlia if Orakians inhabited Elysium?
A big part of war is the concept of territory. It is known that Siren used Azura as a base of operations during the war against Laya. Needing a base of operations as well, Laya had Lune and Alair command a fleet of biomonsters to overrun Dahlia. If Orakio's best general was on the other side of the spaceship (Draconia/Azura) then Laya would send her best general to take over the other satellite, which was most likely not guarded nearly as well. Lune's army entered from Frigidia and easily overtook Aerone and soon after Dahlia and established that as Laya's base of operation for the war. In doing so they also had control of the flight controls. There are two pieces of evidence I have here. First, Aerone is the ONLY town that has a Temple to Laya right next to it. Though it is not known when the temples were built, it is assumed that they were originally built to honor nature with the hidden feature of being able to transport across domes easily. The other piece of evidence was where Orakio's followers built their other town. In response to Lune's invasion of Aerone, Orakio's followers needed to protect Landen. They strategically placed a town and castle known as Divisia in between impassible forests, creating a huge choke point that would be easy to combat against. If one side of Divisia would fall, they still had the other side and plenty of open field from there.

Speaking of territory, Orakio did have a small base of operations in Aquatica (he built it on top of the passage to Aridia), but Laya's army overwhelmed it easily (leaving it in ruins).

I also believe one other thing that is pivotal. Being a pilot, Rulakir must have made home in Aerone. According to the citizens of Lashute, Rulakir lost his family during the war. Now, originally I thought by "family" it meant his parents, which in that case would have been Orakio's parents as well. However, if their parents were still alive, or even on the Alisa III, their death would have also enraged Orakio as well. I believe that Rulakir had a wife and children that he kept from Orakio. Perhaps the reason was that the woman Rulakir fell in love with was one of Laya's followers. The death of Rulakir's family further supports my theory of Lune's invasion on Aerone. Rulakir's family was possibly caught in the crossfire and would have been considered collateral damage. In times of war, this sometimes happens and Rulakir probably knew that, but given the rules of war that Orakio and Laya laid out (kill no other person), it is safe to say that Rulakir's family would have been the ONLY human casualty of war, causing him to hate everybody ever associated with it. He fled to Terminus and built a flying city there to keep others away from the war.

So when Orakio and Laya realized it was all Dark Force's doing, what happened?
It is safe to assume that peace talks were not taken well by Lune and Siren. Even after 1000 years of being sealed away, they still hated the other faction. Orakio and Laya, realizing that they had no control over their generals anymore, used the Moon Stone (which Orakio kept) and the Moon Tear (which Laya kept) and used the Satellite control to quell the influx of Machines and Biomonsters by sending their generals bases of operations, with them on it, away from the Alisa III. Alair, who was trapped on Dahlia with Lune, did so willingly. Laya knew the only person who Lune would listen to was his own sister, but when that didn't work, Alair stayed on Dahlia in order to prevent Lune from escaping. Lune would then go onto believe that Orakio sealed him away, all the while Alair knew the truth but could never tell her brother. I believe that Alair was trying to side with Laya and work towards peace just by the simple fact that when Dahlia is brought back into range of the Alisa III, Alair tries to warn the Orakians what Lune had planned, only to be captured by Orakians who didn't believe her.

Orakio, having better control over machines than Laya would over another human, probably tricked Siren into returning to Azura to work on a mission plan. Siren, being a loyal follower, obeyed. When the satellites moved, Siren naturally believed that Laya was the cause of it.

So this leaves Orakio, Laya and Miun to face Dark Force. With both of their armies sealed away, they knew they had little chance. If they failed, then the people could easily be corrupted in the same way they were by Dark Force and be made to kill each other and eventually destroy their own ship (it happened to 398 of the others beforehand). So the three sealed caves in order to keep the two factions from killing each other, leaving only a handful accessible to those with certain credentials (the Sapphire, Dragon Tear, Twin's Ruby, Mystery Star), only two open between Landen and Elysium (who were inhabited by the same faction anyway), and Aquatica and Aridia (anybody who wanted to use that tunnel would do them no good anyway as the heat would most likely kill a weaker person). The remaining ones were completely sealed, or their credentials were lost throughout time.

So how was Dark Force sealed away?
Techniques were always a thing, even for people of a modern society like those in the Phantasy Star series. However, common techniques could only do so much. The only thing that could fix this would be the use of Magic, the lost art whose knowledge was left only to Espers. Magic in Phantasy Star has always been very mysterious. It seemed only a select few people and their cats knew Magic, but eventually the use of Techniques made their way and made it easier for the common person to learn. That being said, both Rune and Kyra know Magic, so it must have been available to Espers only. Magic is the only way that Rune could have inherited the memories of the previous men who called themselves Lutz. Magic is the only way the Elsydeon could have talked to Chaz. So it stands to reason that Magic has some pretty powerful properties, including the ability to reincarnate those who have long since been dead (Lashiec). It is the only way Dark Force could have been sealed and the temple sunk below the water. So if only Espers knew how to use Magic, then it stands to reason that Laya was also an Esper.

Now, I know what you're saying. How can a person be an Esper and a Biologist at the same time? While the ground I stand on with this is slightly shaky, I don't believe that being an Esper prohibits a person from leading a normal life and career that would be for the benefit of the people. Espers were doctors and caretakers during the Black Wave Crisis in Meese, so it isn't outside of the realm of possibility that an Esper could also be a Biologist, using their knowledge to further benefit the people. Laya being an Esper further supports my theory as to why she would despise Orakio and his use of machines in the first place.

So Orakio, Laya, and Miun had their weapons enchanted by Laya (though I am sure she also enchanted Lune's and Siren's weapons as well before she ended up having to seal them away in hopes that they would help the fight Dark Force). The battle at the temple ensued, Miun got heavily damaged during the battle and was ordered by Orakio to head to Aridia and wait for him (which is why she would wander for a thousand years waiting for him to return, which he never did). Laya used her magic to add a sealing enchantment to Orakio's Sword, which he used to seal Dark Force. Dark Force would have tried fighting the seal, so Orakio had Laya leave the temple and find a way to seal it for good. It is here that I assume that the Temple was actually in a valley, which would have made it easy for Laya to go to the Control Tower and cause a flood in the area, creating the lake in the middle of Landen. Orakio would be killed at this point.

That leaves the fate of Laya undetermined. While I am not sure and have no evidence as to what really happened to her, it is possible that the battle against Dark Force and the trip through Aridia to the Control Tower left her drained. It is possible she passed away after she caused the weather control system to flood parts of Landen, perhaps her body falling into the engine below.

So this just leaves a few small mysteries...
The first mystery I have left is an easy one... Lyle. The ability to transform into a dragon is an ability far beyond the limits of Techniques. It is possibly that one of two things happened. Either a) he is a descendant of an Esper who also boarded the Alisa III, or b) in japanese text, Lyle was known to be a curious adventurer with little regard for the law or tradition (he tends to find treasures long lost in the past, like the Sapphire, Twin's Ruby, and Dragon's Tear). It is possible he might have come across some old Biology experiment and found some serum that would change him into a biomonster (a Dragon to be specific). The only evidence I have to support a serum theory is that no Esper or Magic user in the history of Phantasy Star had ever been known to transform into a biomonster, but if you go all the way to Phantasy Star Universe, the Beast race (the race created by mixing Human and Biomonster DNA) were able to transform into larger beasts. It is possible that Laya might have been in the middle of such experiment before the destruction of Palma and took some of her research with her, or there originally was some sort of Bio-Lab on the spaceship, perhaps in Terminus (which further explains why the dome was overrun with biomonsters). Also, if Lyle did have Esper powers, he could have easily been able to keep himself alive for a lot longer than he did. The serum theorem supports the idea as to why Lyle died shortly after transforming into a dragon for the last time. He was known as the Dragon Knight during Ayn's quest and it is assumed that he took the form to protect the people of Shusoran, but after using it for too long, it finally overtook his body.

The second mystery is the presence of Laya's World under Aridia. Having a hidden dome within a dome is not outside the realm of possibility, something hidden away and only accessible by submersible. It is possible it was built that way or could have been added on by Orakio originally as a secret base of operations in Aridia. While I am not clear as to how it was created, it is clear that technology was involved. I theorize that before the battle with Dark Force, Laya asked Orakio if he knew a way to protect her younger sister. He suggested the hidden world, so a temple was built and a cryogenic chamber was made to keep Laya's sister alive for the future (one of the sages mentions it). Laya entrusted the future to her younger sister and set up some sages to watch over her. When you meet up with the younger Laya, she admits that she was young when the older Laya fought Orakio and that she had left with a man she didn't recognize, but that he had a Black Sword. Cryogenic sleep was used by Lutz, so the technology was there for it to also be brought onto the spaceships.

The next mystery I have is to why Orakians cannot use techniques but Layans can. This goes back to the whole machine vs. nature argument. Orakio, up until the final battle with Dark Force, had his issues with Espers in general and hated the idea of Magic and Techniques. It was probably a rule at the time that he requested that none of his followers practice such "evil" archaic power. Though the use of techniques were in such a way that the common person could use them, the knowledge of such was lost over time because nobody was permitted to practice it under Orakio's leadership. On the flip-side, being an Esper, Laya had no issues with the common person dabbling with techniques, thus her followers maintained the knowledge of techniques. This explains why Ayn, Aron, Adan, Crys, and Sean all knew techniques while Rhys, Nial, Lena, and Sari did not. Those who had parents who could use techniques were taught to use them, while those who didn't were not fortunate enough to learn, but instead relied more on their strength.

The final mystery is this: Why, if this game had so much technology going for it, did the entire spaceship consist of a medieval-style setting? I can only assume that both factions; the Orakians and the Layans, got tired of technology and politics and decided to revert to a simpler time. Both factions decided to follow a monarchy and build small villages and castles. They shunned aside any notion of technology, forcing remaining cyborgs like Wren and Mieu (as well as the Hazatak citizens) into hiding and the remains of the old technology, namely the air strips, and seaports. And this is the way they lived for over a thousand years.

Conclusion
I know this is a lot of information to take in. A lot of people want to dub this game as the black sheep of the franchise, but after taking the time, reading between the lines, and thinking of my own accord, this game fits right in with the other Phantasy Star games just fine. I feel that given more time, the developers of this game would have made it easier to come to these same conclusions. During the 90s we had a lot of issues with pollution and we had a lot of nature movements, so taking the timeframe the game was made into consideration as well as the history of the series itself, it is easy to draw these conclusions and perhaps put a rest as to WHY the two had this war to begin with.

[etony33]

What always struck me as a little odd is that Rukalir, despite being an Orakian, could use techniques. I have always wondered whether Rulakir was Orakio's half-brother (it says twin brother in the English translation, but older brother in the Japanese version)

[MrStarbird]

I honestly think that the whole thing between Orakian and Layans have NOTHING to do with bloodline and have more to do with ideals, more or less like a religion. Orakio forbade the practice of techniques (think of them like Christianity who forbids the practice of witchcraft, or something like that) whereas Layans embrace it (more or less like Wicca). Orakians were followers of Orakio, so they treated him like a legendary figure, a God so to speak. Same with how Layans treated Laya. The proof of this is more or less in the game's coding. Rhys, Nial, Lena, and Sari all have Intel stats. Intel in this game only contributes to TP gains, much in the same way Stamina only contributes to HP gains. No matter how much Intel you give Rhys (by hacking or other means), he will always stay at 0 TP. This is to say that everybody has the capability of learning techniques, but not everybody chooses to use it. It is why if you marry a Layan, the child will always have the use of techniques and have a TP pool, even if their Intel isn't that much higher than their father's. It is because their mother teaches it to them (or in the case of Crys, his father).

Rulakir fits in with techniques because, as mentioned before, Techniques were a simpler form of Magic that was more widespread and common people could learn it easier. It is possible that once Rulakir's family was killed in Lune's Assault on Aerone, he decided not to follow his brother's rules on it and learn it on his own anyway.

[etony33]

That may be true, but wouldn't Nial or Sari want to use techniques once they realized that Layans weren't evil?

[MrStarbird]

perhaps, but the fact that neither of them had a way to learn at a young age might prevent them from using techniques. But at the same time, even knowing that the other side wasn't evil, they still may have adhered to their own religious beliefs. Rhys and Lena would have passed on their beliefs to Nial, whereas Rhys married Maia would have had to have a compromise on what their religions taught them and passed that onto Ayn. Much like with any real religion, if you're embedded into it at a young age, it can be difficult to abandon parts of it. That is probably why Nial and Sari had no interest in learning Techniques. Though they knew the Layans weren't evil, they had no interest in following their ways (a logical Christian would realize that Buddhists are not evil people, but they don't believe in Buddha's teachings for themselves).

The question then went to whom Sari's father was. According to some of the Japanese text, Rhys had an older, illegitimate brother. Because Rhys was the only true heir to the throne and would give it up for Maia, the agreement between Landen and Satera would have had to still be honored some way. Lena ends up marrying this unnamed brother to unify the countries. Both parents end up dying and leave Sari alone to rule. However, both Lena and the father still would have no beliefs but those of Orakio and thus no way to pass anything onto Sari.

after thinking of that a bit more, by allowing his machines to use Techniques, it sort of makes Orakio look like a hypocrite. Perhaps he was. Perhaps he too was able to use techniques but being the mechanic that he was and possibly desiring to control everything (like he could with his machines), he might have still been one of those people who were like "Do as I say, not as I do".

[etony33]

Those beliefs would have to be REALLY embedded for someone to not abandon them, when not abandoning them could result in death. I mean, if you put a gun to a Catholic's head on a Lenten Friday and say "eat this piece of chicken or die", I'm pretty sure they'd choose the first option. Likewise, using techniques would have made Nial and Sari's lives much easier, and would have given them a much better shot at survival.

[etony33]

There's also this...

The children of Layans ALWAYS can use techniques. You would think that sometimes, the Orakian religion would win out, if it was, in fact, a religion. Not only that, but Sean can use more - and better - techniques than Crys can. If it was simply a matter of being willing to use techniques, I'm sure Crys would have rather had Healing techniques than the Time techniques that nobody ever uses.

[MrStarbird]

Perhaps, but at the same time, maybe he wouldn't prefer to use healing techniques at all. It is the same decision that some people make when they decide to either be a soldier or a doctor. Granted healing techniques would have been more useful, but some peoples personalities just don't fit one lifestyle over the other. Crys more than likely was more like his mother than like his father. (also, keep in mind that Ner isn't that bad of a Time Technique and is actually a viable strategy when you have limited healers to give them extra speed in battle to heal through Dark Force's Tsu. What techniques the player uses is in no regard to what a character would or would not prefer).

Just because a person can learn techniques, it doesn't mean they would be proficient or even like using them. Think of what life was like in High School. Most kids would like and excel at certain subjects while others hated those subjects but loved other ones, and even others would excel at many subjects or even every subject in school. Crys, being a more physical person, much like his mother, probably didn't understand healing techniques all that well, whereas Sean, easily being a more intelligent person but less physical, probably had an easier time learning more techniques.

But also think about Ryan in this case. Whether Ryan was Orakian or Layan was never said, but we knew that he could use Techniques, so it was always assumed that Ryan was a Layan. I thought this originally too, but eventually I came to the conclusion that he was NOT Layan because he lead a rebellion against Lune, Laya's top general during the war. Lune was not attacking Layans, so it makes no sense as to why he would be fighting Ryan. Yet if he followed Orakio's teaching, he would have NOT used Techniques. The evidence that Orakian and Layan are nothing but "religions" or the equivalent and have nothing to do with a bloodline rests with Ryan. The argument could be made that he might have been a mercenary hired by the rebellion to fight Lune, but Ryan openly admits that he is the LEADER of the Rebels. The other argument could be made that Ryan, much like Ayn, could possibly be half-Layan with Orakian roots (especially given his great physical strength). There may be some truth to that as well, one that I cannot argue for either way.

The premise of Orakians and Layans being of strict bloodline is a bit hard to fathom. Both would need to have left heirs, which Orakio did, but that would also have to exclude EVERYBODY else on the spaceship during the time of the war. Hypothetically, if Laya did have children (no evidence that she did), and if Laya's children and Orakio's children were the only living people left on the spaceship (again, there would have to be two children, one of each gender), then you can only imagine the amount of inbreeding that would had to have happened in 1000 years to populate the spaceship again. That would leave things quite... well... you know what inbreeding CAN do. But, knowing that Orakio and Laya left their rule of "Kill no living person" to their followers, you have to believe that the Orakians and the Layans were descendants of those who followed the original Orakio and Laya, not their bloodline. In the North American manual of the game, it says "Before Orakio left for the final battle, from which no one returned, he advised his people never to kill anyone, not even Layans." By saying "his people" it is proof that the Orakians were followers, much like how Christians are followers of Christ and not his bloodline.

[etony33]

I would think that Ryan is definitely a Layan, because not only could he use techniques, he also could only equip staffs. His reasoning for doing what he did is unclear for sure, but I don't think it was that he was an Orakian. More likely, he was just a Layan who was enlightened. I mean, Nial saved a Layan (Alair) who was kidnapped by Orakians (and was the sister of the man who had his mother's homeland destroyed), but Nial isn't a Layan.

[etony33]

"you know what inbreeding can do"

Yeah, it can create Sean

If Sean and Kara ended up marrying and having a child (which is plausible for sure), their kid would probably end up looking like Charles II of Spain.

[etony33]

I just thought of something...

Perhaps Ryan is a native of Mystoke. Mystoke is definitely a Layan town, but unlike Shusoran and Cille, they had no issue with Orakians. They didn't rebuke Laya for hanging out with Nial...they simply said "go into the castle and learn the truth".

Perhaps Ryan knew Lune wouldn't listen to him, so he figured the only thing he could do would be to try and stop him through force.

[MrStarbird]

There was never much dialogue to go around with Mystoke, but they all were excited that Laya's kin had returned to the town that they overlooked any Orakian with them (though, and if they could tell, the only one clearly fully Orakian would have been Nial as both Sean and Crys had a parent who was Layan). Or it could be the fact that the developers just used the same dialogue for Nial as they did for Crys and Sean. Even if you use a Generation Skip glitch and end up having to take Aron to Mystoke to complete his quest, the people still say the same thing (you usually don't have to go to Mystoke with Aron to get the Pendant).

I don't believe, however, that Ryan was a native of Mystoke who tried to persuade Lune into peace. Ryan refers to Lune as a demon, Lune mentions that Ryan and Nial are bickering among themselves, a hint that Lune knew that both Ryan and Nial were Orakians looking to take him down. In fact, when Nial and Ryan first meet, Ryan accuses Nial of being one of Lune's men sent to infiltrate them. If Ryan was Layan and he assumed that Nial was also Layan, he wouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that.

Ryan definitely is the most confusing character in the game because there was never much information to go on. But the fact that he led a rebellion against Lune, the fact that Lune made the notice of them fighting each other, the fact that Lune never tried to harm Layans (after you beat Lune, he sees Laya's sister and immediately calls off the attacks) makes me firmly believe that Ryan is an Orakian who does not practice his religion.

[BenoitRen]

Rhys having an illegitimate brother was a joke by PSIII's character designer, Toyo Ozaki. Just something to make people wonder.

[MrStarbird]

Yes, I do recall reading that as well, but where there is no information in the game about Rhys having any family at all and the fact that Lena still becomes Queen of Landen, there has to be some family that was never mentioned in the game in order for Lena to get the throne to leave to Sari to begin with.