Part 60: Reyvateils (Classification)

The World of Ar Tonelico:

Reyvateils (Classification):

The existence of Reyvateils is a constant reminder of the wonders of the First Age of the world. Reyvateils are life forms capable of conjuring seemingly magical effects by calling upon the Magic Servers in the great Towers with songs in the Hymnos language. They come in three types:

Reyvateil-Origin: The first Reyvateils, they are incredibly powerful artificial life forms created to administer the three great Towers. There were only known to be three created, Eoria, Frelia, and Tyria. Though they appear and act human, substantial portions of their bodies are made entirely of completely synthetic components. Origins are effectively immortal as long as the Tower they administer exists, though they could be killed by misadventure. Given that this has never happened, the consequences of such an event are guesswork at best.

Reyvateil-Beta (Pureblood): The Reyvateil-Beta is the main production line model of Reyvateil. Betas were created using the Origins as rough templates and for a set purpose. Their lifespans are significantly longer than a normal human's and the strongest of them were said to match even the Origins in power. Betas were vanishingly rare in Sol Ciel as of the Third Age, with the Star Singer Misha and Mir being the only examples. There are not believed to be any Betas native to Metafalss, and indeed it is likely less than a handful of people in that land even know of their existence.

Reyvateil-Alpha (Third Generation): The overwhelming majority of Reyvateils in the world of Ar Tonelico are Alphas. Alphas are human/Reyvateil half-breeds. Theoretically, any female child of a family line that has the genetic marker that leads to becoming an Alpha could manifest as one. Given that at one time in the Second Age Reyvateils made up a substantial percentage of the population, this is not a tremendously rare event. The first sign of manifestation as a Reyvateil-Alpha is the appearance of an odd tattoo, the Installer Port. Unlike pureblooded Reyvateils, Alphas do not enjoy an extended lifespan. The imperfect interface between the two biologies leads to death shortly after manifestation. This can be extended by means of a special Life Extending Agent, which takes the form of a large crystal that must be painfully inserted into the Installer Port every few months. This allows a Reyvateil to survive to approximately the standard human lifespan.