Grimore Windows game

A few weeks ago, I watched a walkthrough on the .hack//G.U. video games. The main player character, Haseo, was a Level 133 player on the outset of the story. After a series of unfortunate events (didn't quite mean to allude to Lemony Snicket there), Haseo's character was reformatted, starting him back at Level 1. This somewhat reminded me of Canton and Valeri from Grimore: just like with Haseo, the player doesn't start controlling Level 1 characters. But unlike the .hack series, Grimore revolves around a world that is not constructed from data—a world inhabited by living, breathing organisms. No data anomalies or reverting to Level 1.

Which leads me to the subject of this post: the setting of Grimore.

When I first imagined the setting for Grimore, the first settlement that took shape in my mind was "Storm Town". As the name (or nickname?) suggests, this town is victim to a neverending thunderstorm. Ironically, the storm acts as part of the town's "defense system"—why use mounted or automated turret cannons when the storm will blow down any airships and airplanes that come near?

Looking back on it, "Storm Town" and Couvalig Village—the latter being the current starting point for Grimore—are two very different places. And not just by theme and whatever—it fits in the world of Grimore.

The World

Lensa Carthage, the world of the Grimore, is a "Shattered World". As such, it is split into multiple "Fragments", or areas that are very distinct from each other. Travelling between each Fragment is not conventionally possible, be it on foot or vehicle. As Canton will learn (to his annoyance), the only way to "bridge the gap" between one Fragment and another is to use the Grimore.

Funny, isn't it? The fact that Canton has to use the very thing that sent him to this world in the first place. Plus, he has to deal with the "Missing Children"—people whom the Grimore had brought from Earth to Lensa Carthage. They may not be here by choice, but they've been here a lot longer than Canton has. There's no telling what they've learned, or what they've done.

The "Fragments"

The first Fragment, Lensia, features two small continents, mainly inhabited by humans. Some of the settlements that Canton's group visit will seem reminiscent to "regular starting villages"…at first. But eventually, things begin to deviate: one village begins to bar outsiders, and Valeri traces the cause of this event to some sort of "epidemic". Plus, a "Missing Child" has appeared to complicate matters: a Russian-American youth named Kiril.

The second Fragment is called Alphierk. With the main continent consisting of a large forest and treacherous mountains, this Fragment plays host to three races of elves. Unfortunately, the first bunch of elves that Canton's group encounters is hardly friendly. Later, upon reaching the mainland, they discover that society in Alphierk is suffering a few problems:

1. A member of the High Elf Council has been found murdered.
2. There is an insane convict on the loose—a convict with a taste for children's flesh.
3. Another "Missing Child" has surfaced here: a North Korean girl named Jae-hwa.

Although these are only two of the many Fragments that Canton will explore, we're already seeing a lot of internal problems. Plus, the group will encounter many fairies, elves, and otherkin along the way—some nice, others not. And if that wasn't enough…well, you'll see when the time is right.

Welcome to Lensa Carthage.