Gaia (Final Fantasy VII)

Gaia is from Square Enix's prolific compilation: Final Fantasy VII. The series' first foray onto a completely 3D platform, Final Fantasy VII's Gaia is a world of political intrigue, genetic experimentation, and near-extinction events. Several games--taking place before, during, and after the original--have spawned one of the largest JRPG franchises in North America. The planet has two moons.

Celestial Revolution's iteration of Gaia draws heavily from Final Fantasy VII, its prequel Crisis Core, the sequel Dirge of Cerberus, and the CG movie sequel Advent Children. These titles pivot around the use of cells from an alien parasite known as Jenova and the event called Meteorfall, during which the planet was nearly destroyed by a magically-conjured meteor.

If you're interested in learning more about Gaia and Final Fantasy VII, check out the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII page on the Final Fantasy Wiki.

Board History
In the wake of the events of Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus, particularly The Battle of Midgar, the populations of Gaia realize that there may still be other secrets in Shinra's past that threaten the fragile peace everyone has collectively fought for. In order to try and prevent any further surprises, the WRO has begun to scour Deepground's main base of operations in Sector 0 for any information on other Shinra pet projects as well as any clues to help hunt down remnants of Deepground.

Construction of Edge continues, but has been slowed significantly as a large portion of the construction crews have been diverted to clearing and cleaning the ruins of Midgar as the WRO continues. Teams of scrappers earn money by collecting scrap metal and technology from the ruins of Midgar: wages are low and risk of injury is high. Homeless survivors can also be found in the ruins.

WRO scientists and researchers are still studying the aftermath of the Battle of Midgar, where all of the Mako in the Planet was removed from deep underground and released into the atmosphere. The released Mako rained back down onto the surface. Civilians are on edge, scared that another geostigma may break out. The WRO believes that the majority of the population will not experience any side effects but there are rumors of some individuals developing abilities similar to SOLDIERS. The WRO does advise caution when traveling as the number of monsters seem to have increased due the deposits of stagnant Lifestream collecting underground.

As the urgent need for a non-planet-killing alternative to Mako energy has become a top priority for the world's various governments, there has been a flourish of research into fossil fuels, hydroelectricity, wind power, and other methods of generating electric power. Rufus Shinra has been rumored to be bestowing rather generous grants for this research as part of his penance for his and his family's numerous atrocities against the people of Gaia and the Planet itself.

On Displacement Day, citizens saw more atmospheric activities and braced themselves for something terrible to happen yet again.

Canon Background
This section covers information that is available to the general population and would be very easy for a Displaced character to find out. **Spoiler Alert: This section will contain story content from the games.**

Pre-Meteorfall (Crisis Core and Before Crisis)
The Shinra Electric Company (Shinra) discovered and harnessed Mako from deep within the Planet and used it to power the world. The company amassed so much wealth that they basically became the world government, complete with its own military forces compromised of SOLDIER and Turks.

When Shinra decided to install a Mako reactor in the small country of Wutai, the leader of Wutai, Godo Kisaragi, refused and the Wutai War began. SOLDIER 1st class Sephiroth became the hero of the war, inspiring many young men in enlist in Shinra's armies. Word of the strength of SOLDIER spread. The last of Wutai's resistance forces were defeated at Fort Tamblin by a single 2nd Class SOLDIER.

After Wutai's surrender, Kisaragi was allowed to live. He banned the use of Materia from the country, which had been used by the Wutai resistance, and Wutai was left alone to become a tourist trap in order to rebuild its economy. The Wutai War had lasted from 1992 to 0001.

As the Wutai War came to a close, the original eco-terrorist organization, AVALANCHE, attacked the city of Junon and created chaos. Shinra killed many of their operatives and it is rumored that the secret Shinra forces of the Turks so intimidated the terrorists, they retreated from the city.

Turk involvement was rumored again during a two-pronged AVALANCHE attack where they attempted to assassinate the President of Shinra and hijack the Mako cannon in Junon. The Turks thwarted the assassination attempt while the hero of the Wutai War, Sephiroth, reclaimed the Mako cannon.

When AVALANCHE attacked Junon again, they had created their own super soldiers, Ravens. They overtook the airport despite Shinra's military moving in. The airport was eventually reclaimed AVALANCHE, again with the rumored involvement of the Turks. Soon afterwards, AVALANCHE blew up a highway in Midgar.

After all of the terrorist attacks, the public was not as confident with Shinra's abilities to protect them. To try to win back some public favor, Shinra hyped up the launch of a rocket in Rocket Town into space. Unfortunately, the launch had to be aborted in mid-air, due to a mechanic having been trapped inside while completing last minute repairs.

Construction on a new Mako reactor in Corel, a former mining town, was brought to a halt as AVALANCHE took it over. Shinra failed to recover the reactor and AVALANCHE destroyed it in an explosion.

Three years later, AVALANCHE manages to summon a terrible, flying monster, Zirconiade, above the city of Midgar through the use of Materia. The creature was defeated before it could reach Midgar. As Shinra took the credit for stopping the monster, rumors again fly that it was mostly the Turks' doing. The leader of AVALANCHE was reportedly killed in the battle.

Meteorfall (Final Fantasy VII)
A new AVALANCHE, still an eco-terrorist organization, formed in the Midgar slums with the goal of blowing up the eight Mako Reactors that powered the city. During one of their attacks, a portion of the upper plate of Midgar fell into the slums of Sector 7, killing many, including the President of the Shinra. His son and Vice President of the company, Rufus Shinra, became the new President of Shinra.

After AVALANCHE summoned a Meteor to crash into the Planet, Shinra managed to capture the leader and second-in-command of the organization. Before the terrorists could be executed, a massive creature attacked Junon. Although Shinra manage to defeat the monster with the Mako Cannon, the prisoners managed to escape in the chaos.

In the chaos of impending doom, more monsters attack around the world. One massive monster attacked the town Mideel. An earthquake that may or may not have been caused by the attack, swallowed up the entire town. Another creature rose out of the sea to attack Midgar, which Shinra again manage to destroy with the Sister Ray cannon; however, the monster was able to attack the Shinra building and seemingly kill the leader of the company. Midgar fell into a panic and was evacuated. In the city's final moments, the Lifestream erupted violently out of the ground to push back the Meteor into space, where it was destroyed. Between the heat of the Meteor and the force of the Lifestream, Midgar was also destroyed.

Post-Meteorfall (Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus)
In the years after Meteorfall, it came to light that the near extinction event was only narrowly avoided thanks to the efforts of the now defunct AVALANCHE, who put a stop to the former war hero Sephiroth, the 1st Class SOLDIER who had gone missing many years previously. After seeing the power of the Lifestream that was summoned to destroy a threat to the Planet, people are scared of continuing the use of Mako to power to world and cause the Planet to view humanity as the biggest threat. The world goes back to the use of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

Rufus Shinra managed to survive, bound to a wheel chair, and remained the head of the Shinra Electric Company Inc. The company is still wealthy beyond compare, but is no longer a world power as countries start to rebuild their governments with the aid of the World Regenesis Organization (WRO). The Shinra company has taken on a benevolent role by donating to groups and causes that would help rebuild the world after the damage caused under the late President Shinra, Sephiroth, and the meteor.

The former Midgar residents used scraps from the destroyed city to build the literally named city Edge, which was built on the edge of Midgar. They have constructed a monument in the center of the city dedicated to all the lives lost during Meteorfall. The city tries to move on, but a portion of the population around the world was afflicted by what was called Geostigma; there is no known cure.

The desperation for a cure made it easy for children with Geostigma to be abducted by three teenagers claiming to be brothers of Sephiroth. The brothers somehow brainwashed the children to use them as a barricade as they summoned Bahamut SIN to destroy the Meteorfall Monument. The former members of AVALANCHE arrived and defeated the monster.

After the monster was defeated, dark clouds appeared in the sky. The tension of the residents of Edge were relieved when the clouds changed to white a strange rain fell that cured those who were infected with the Geostigma. The kidnapped children were also cured and returned to their families.



A year later, a former Shinra secret military group that was considered lost under Midgar after Meteorfall, emerged in the town of Kalm as they attempted to abduct a former AVALANCHE member, Vincent Valentine. They were pushed back with the aid of the WRO. The WRO continued hunting Deepground down to prevent them from killing huge numbers of people in order to summon the OMEGA weapon.

The conflict between the WRO and Deepground resumed in the ruins of Midgar. During the battle, the Omega WEAPON was summoned and Omega absorbed the Lifestream and left the atmosphere, but was stopped by Chaos. The gathered Lifestream rained back down onto the Planet and the ruins of the WEAPON has seemingly achieved synchronous orbit around the planet.

Featured Locations
This section covers locations that have been explored by players and proven significant to the board's setting. If an area is not featured here, it does not necessarily mean the area is not available on the world, only that it has not been thoroughly explored yet.

Eastern Continent Western Continent
 * Edge: starting city during the Displacement Day event.
 * Gold Saucer: the world's largest amusement park, and home of a renowned arena known as Battle Square.

Technology Levels
Gaia has modern technology such as indoor plumbing, cellphones, cars, planes, trains, computers. Airships also exist. They have not developed green technology as after using fossil fuels, they used Mako energy, which was literally using the life of the planet to power their cities. Since the destruction of Midgar, they have returned to using fossil fuels, which has brought life back to coal towns like Corel.

Their space programs are in the beginning stages of development with a few rockets having been launched.

Magic Levels
The people on Gaia are able to use magic, summon creatures, and even enhance their fighting abilities with the use of Materia. Materia is crystallized Mako that can occur naturally, like gemstones, or be artificially processed. After the destruction of Midgar in Meteorfall, inhabitants of Gaia do not like using Materia.

Resources
This section covers obtainable items or creatures that characters may find useful in rebuilding their strength or wealth.

Common
Materia: Crystallized Mako/Lifestream energy which has magical or enhanced abilities to those who use it. During Shinra's reign, large quantities of artificial materia was produced for commercial and military use, but now it can only be found on the black market and other areas on the fringe of society. Materia grows in size and power as it is used, but it is important to note that it also has side effects that change the attributes of the wielder.

Chocobo: Large avian creatures that are bred and used as mounts throughout the world. Chocobos have varying levels of intelligence and athleticism; different colors of chocobos also exist which have the ability to traverse various types of terrain. The more common breeds can be found in the wild and easily bred on chocobo farms.

Limited
Rare Materia: Beyond the mass-produced materia and the smaller, naturally-occurring ones in the wild, rare varieties of materia exist. Materia Pieces can be found in ruined Mako Reactors and far-flung caves throughout the world, along with Huge Materia, Master Materia, and the notorious Black Materia and White Materia. These materia tend to grant powerful magic and abilities not available through the more common forms of materia, and some grant multiple materia skills and spells all at once.

Rare Chocobo Breeds: Two types of chocobo can only be found by breeding the strongest and rarest of chocobo. Black chocobos are capable of traversing the shallow waters of rivers and coastal areas along with treacherous mountains, while the much coveted-golden chocobos can do the same along with the unique ability to also cross oceans as if they were grass plains. Not only are these rare chocobos sought after for their ability to win chocobo races with ease, but they allow would be travelers and explorers the ability to scour the far corners of the planet regardless of terrain.

Mako: Liquid Lifestream energy extracted and processed into a power source. Similar to oil on Earth-like worlds, mako veins used to be found all over the planet and were drilled for directly from beneath Gaia's crust using reactors. Mako is a highly-efficient source of electric power when processed by Shinra equipment, but it was not returned to the Lifestream when used in this way; for this reason, much of Gaia's populace is against the use of Mako. Since the Omega WEAPON pulled the Lifestream out of the planet, Mako has not yet pooled back in these veins, however, stagnant Lifestream has remained behind in these veins. It is believed that stagnant Lifestream carried the Geostigma disease.

Inhabitants
This section covers some of the races that live on this world. Some characters who are world travelers are also listed here.

Humans: The dominant species on Gaia. They have no inherent magical abilities and must rely on Materia to use magic. It is said that some humans can connect with Lifestream like the Cetra can, but this is very rare.

Cetra: The Cetra could be a race or religious group of humans as they have the same physical characteristics as humans. They were deeply spiritual with a connection to the Planet and its Lifestream. Through this connection, they could open up Lifestream veins to make the land fertile as they traveled the world in pursuit of the Promised Land. Were virtually wiped out 2,000 years ago when a meteor fell and created the Northern Crater. Aerith Gainsborough was the last known Cetra, but more might be trying to live their lives in secret.

Aerith Gainsborough: The last known Cetra who died while trying to stop Sephiroth from destroying the planet. As a Cetra, her spirit was able to retain her will within the Lifestream and she has become a sort of avatar for the Lifestream.

Cosmo Canyon Lions: An unnamed species of sentient felines that reside in Cosmo Canyon. Their lifespan extends hundreds of years. They are capable of speaking with humans and adorning their manes with jewelry. They consider themselves the guardians of the planet and have rites to appease it. There are very few members of the species left.

Mogs: Small creatures that are like stuffed bears with wings. They tend to hang out in areas where humans are happy and having fun, like the Gold Saucer or festivals. Their home on Gaia has not yet been discovered. They could be a species of monsters that happens to be friendly.

Organizations
World Regenesis Organization (WRO): A volunteer organization that stepped in as a transitional world military and government in the vacuum of Shinra's decline. Presumably, once countries establish their own government and military systems, the group will disband. Some inhabitants are leery of the WRO getting hooked on power, especially as the WRO founder, Reeve Tuesti, is a former Shinra employee. A former leader of AVALANCHE, Barrett Wallace, is also head of the WRO branch responsible for finding alternative, renewable energy sources. The WRO concerns themselves with threats to the Planet and have had armed conflicts with the surviving members of Deepground.

SOLIDER: Formerly an elite military branch of Shinra's armed forces. The men and women of the SOLIDER project were experimented on with alien cells and Mako to give them super human strength and speed. The process of making SOLIDERs were a closely guarded Shinra secret, however, to generate good PR, Shinra created fanclubs focused around the 1st Class SOLIDERs, like Zack Fair and Sephiroth. With Shinra in decline, many SOLIDERs went into retirement; some SOLIDERs do not know the truth behind the alien cells in their bodies while others live in fear with the knowledge.

Deepground SOLIDER: A branch of SOLIDER that was trapped underground beneath Midgar for three years after Meteorfall before escaping and attacking towns to trick the Planet into launching the Omega WEAPON, which would gather all of the Lifestream and fly into space to find a new world. The members of Deepground have been experimented on even more than regular SOLIDERs, and the top performers, the Tsviets, are injected with another cell strain. As a result of the experiments, Deepground SOLIDERs have extreme bloodlust and very little empathy. The remaining members are being tracked by the WRO.

Turks: Unofficially part of the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department at the former Shinra Electric Company. They are secret operatives who collect data and people that will be beneficial to Shinra and erasure of what will harm Shinra. They are not confirmed to exist, but are certainly rumored to exist, especially during conflicts with AVALANCHE. With Shinra no longer a major power company in the world, members of the General Affairs Department have remained on as bodyguards for Rufus Shinra.

AVALANCHE: An insurgent group that opposes the Shinra Electric Power Company drawing power direct form the Planet. There have been two groups to use the AVALANCHE name. Vastly outclassed by Shinra's armies, their main tactics involved taking to render targeted Shinra assets unusable, such as Mako reactors. The first AVALANCHE group came to see the genocide of all humans as the inevitable solution to protecting the Planet and include human loss into their attacks. The second AVALANCHE group saw civilian causalities as an unfortunate consequence to their actions. The organization is essentially disbanded after stopping Sephiroth.

Acceptance Levels
This section covers how accepting the inhabitants of the world may view the new people on their world and their magic and technology.

Displaced Acceptance: With many of the world's cities and larger towns in flux because of Shinra's fall, refugees from other wolds will not be met with much hostility in most places on Gaia, with the exception of Edge. Despite this, many of the more populated parts of the world, especially Edge, are already feeling the strain of overpopulation with insufficient infrastructure to properly support their inhabitants. As such, larger clusters of Displaced could eventually develop strained relations with their adoptive cities. Violent Displaced individuals could easily make a community turn against outsiders, including Midgar refugees whom would have lived there for three years.

Technology Acceptance: Most inhabitants of Gaia - particularly those closer to the cities - are largely quite accepting of technology. Rural areas are more resistant to technology as Shinra's rapid expansion meant that many smaller towns were reduced to shanties or polluted beyond recognition. With the truth about Mako energy and the Lifestream publicized to the masses, any technology drawing upon anything resembling Mako is met with high suspicion and open hostility in some cases. With the world still reeling from the downfall of Shinra and struggling to no longer using Mako, much of the populace is highly interested in alternate forms of energy.

Magic Acceptance: The concept of magic itself is met with mixed feelings on Gaia. On one hand, many view magic as a highly destructive and volatile force which nearly destroyed their entire planet; on the other, magic helped save the planet in its time of need, and healing materia in particular has saved many lives. Regardless of how people view magic itself, though, awareness of materia as crystallized Lifestream energy has led to most of the populace to be in opposition to the usage of magic.

Bestiary
Monsters: There are a wide variety of monsters to encounter.

WEAPONs: WEAPONs are giant bio-mechanical creatures produced by the Planet itself to destroy threats to the world. During Meteorfall, the WEAPONs went on a rampage, attacking the largest Mako reactors. Just before Gaia was pulled into the Spiral, the Lifestream had been removed from inside of the Planet dumped on the surface. This massive change and the relocation into a new universe has caused the Planet to reproduce the WEAPONs.