Tower of Harvestasha
The Tower of Harvestasha (塔ハーヴェスタシャ, Tou Haavestasha?, lit. "Tower of Harvestasya"), also known as the Third Tower of Ar tonelico (アルトネリコ第三塔, Ar tonelico Dai-San Tou?), and the Tower of Tyria (ティリアの塔, Tiria no Tou?, lit. "Tower of Tilia"), is the last of the three Towers that form the Ar tonelico amplification complex, and it's located in the region of Sol Cluster, subregion of Justine. Its Administrator is the Reyvateil Origin Tyria.
Its name comes from the priestess of legends, Harvestasha, whose myths can be read in the songs Singing Hill - EXEC HARVESTASYA - and Afezeria HARVESTASYA.
History
The Third Tower was originally planned as a strategic point for attacking El Duel, the capital of Sol Cluster. Due to this, when both them and the capital of El Elemia, Sol Ciel, were at war, El Elemia tried to put Syestine under their protection in order to have the best position for the construction of the Tower. This reignited the conflict that had been lying dormant for centuries, and both El Elemia and El Duel began fighting once again.
However, these plans came to an abrupt halt when the Seven Bloodstains Incident occurred in 3031 AD: this incident destroyed most of Sol Cluster's surface, and totally annihilated Syestine. In addition, this caused large cracks in the Planetary Core, greatly harming the Planet and gradually causing it to lose its power to sustain life, which was reflected by several disasters that happened in the Planet: large storms, earthquakes, the vanishing of the ozone layer, and weather pattern changes.
Due to this, El Elemia decided to assume its responsibility for the damage they had caused to the Planet, Ar Ciel, and formed the AAA, and launched the Planet Regeneration Project. Since the government wasn't allowed to provide monetary help to the AAA due to having created it as an NGO, the best they could do to support them was hiring civilian researchers, and giving the project leaders the last model of Triangular Nuclear Loop, which was code-named TILIA.
They then put one of the main researchers they had in their team at the helm of the project: a man called Kurogane. Kurogane began then designing and planning everything that could be done to save the Planet from its steady demise, while at the same time continuing his research into the Reyvateil that was born from the Triangular Nuclear Loop he had specially designed: Tyria. He created her to be able to access the frequencies the Planet used to communicate, which was why he believed that only Tyria would be able to do anything to save the Planet. This was also a necessity because back then it was still unconfirmed if the Planet actually had a Will, and from which waves it would be composed.
After Tyria was born, the AAA got the mission of building the Third Tower and using it to converse with the Planet. The place chosen to build the Tower ended up being the ground zero of the Seven Bloodstains: an enormous crater went all the way down to the Planetary Core, which theoretically would allow entering directly into Ar Ciel's H-Wave zone. For this, the original design of the Third Tower was modified and repurposed: instead of being an amplifier or relay for Ar tonelico's Symphonic Power, it instead would be used to shoot a replacement Core into the Planet, and then Tyria would converse with the Planet to persuade Her into accepting the new Core. However, and despite the engineers, technicians and researchers being swamped in work with just trying to figure out Tyria's special capabilities, the AAA demanded for the Tower to be built as quickly as possible. The reason for this was the cracking of the Core, which, according to researchers, would transform the Planet into an environment inhospitable for humans.
However, since by 3036 AD the research on Tyria didn't make any particular breakthroughs, the AAA decided to can the Third Tower Project and redesign the Second Tower to accomplish the functions the Third Tower was supposed to have.
Due to this, Kurogane briefly returned to Sol Ciel and pestered the AAA Headquarters into allowing the continuation of the Third Tower Project, and he was so stubborn in this that they finally had to yield to his demands. However, they only did this to get rid of him, as they reduced the construction budget of the Tower to a mere 1/100 of the original amount it had. They also stripped him from his leadership in the AAA and ordered him to move to the Six Fangs, which was the name for the crater in which the Third Tower was supposed to be built.
Kurogane, Tyria and a team of loyal researchers then moved in 3037 to Sol Cluster, and using the miser budget they were given, they constructed a floating station that also served as their base camp, and called it the Tower of Origin in an attempt to imitate how the First Tower had been built. Using this station, which ended up having a large megalopolis at the top, Kurogane and his team zealously dedicated to their research for building the Third Tower and saving the Planet, and then, finally, they came up with a method for building the Tower in a single day: using Tyria. Tyria had special RAM areas inside her Triangular Nuclear Loop that could be modified to change her physical shape, and Kurogane then resolved using the EXEC_FLIP program that her server supported in order to build the Tower. So then, he prepared two special Songs solely for the Planet Regeneration Project: EXEC_COSMOFLIPS/. and EXEC_REBIRTHIA=PROTOCOL/.
However, after analyzing all the environmental disasters that the Grathnode Inferia had caused in 3040 AD, and how foolish the humans were being about their own lives and the life of the Planet itself, he decided that it wasn't worth saving anymore, and decided to launch in secret an alternative project he had been preparing since his days in college: the Human Evolution Project. So when Tyria was singing Rebirthia Protocol to transform herself into the Third Tower, when she reached the climax of the Song, Kurogane committed suicide in front of her, traumatizing Tyria so much that she forgot the whole incident with the rest of the Song, and she was transformed into an incomplete Tower. This also reduced her total Symphonic Power levels, making it an impossibility to fully create the Tower without any alternative power sources.
The first idea for completing the Tower was the creation of the Kaira system, but for some reason, the idea was scrapped, and instead it was replaced with the Moocheriel project. For this, both the Kurogane Laboratories and Clustania cooperated, creating a gigantic facility just in the border of the Sea of Death. This was what allowed the Tower to reach its current shape.
Features
- This is the only Tower whose Reyvateil Origin is also the Tower herself. Therefore, if Tyria dies, the Tower will vanish away, and everything on top of it will fall down.
- It's completely independent of Ar tonelico. However, since it lacks a power source similar to Orgel of Origins, it has as the power source for its important functions and Song Magic processing the same best-effort model as Infel Phira: it converts the Dynamic H-Waves of the Reyvateils connected to it into Symphonic Power. It also has built-in limiters to avoid killing the Reyvateils from overwhelming energy requests, and to avoid the total consumption of the energy due to large-scale Song Magic singing.
- It's the only Tower that supports the EXEC_FLIP program, which allows the Reyvateils to change their own physical shape, despite it being an incredibly hard task for them.
Important Facilities
Hill of Et
This facility floats near Tower Block A, where the Ardelberg Buffer Band is located, and it serves as a fixed regulation balancer that keeps the Tower from leaning too much. When the time for shooting the XP Shell into the Planetary Core comes, the Tower must be aligned perpendicularly to the Core. That is the reason for the existence for the Hill of Et: to always keep the Tower aligned at the right angle. Given that the Hill of Et floats a little away from the Tower, and is always pointing to the Core of Ar Ciel, it could be called an aiming device for the railgun.
Musical Corridor
Similarly to the Musical Corridor of the First Tower and the Wings of Hynemos of the Second Tower, this facility serves to control the weather throughout Sol Cluster. However, due to having a rather narrow range, there are some zones in the Great Fang that aren't protected by its influence.
Grathnode Plates
This is the facility that serves as the source of the magic power used in Song Magic. They are Grathnode discs that convert the Dynamic H-Waves into magical energy and then release it, being the component that allows Reyvateils to sing their Song Magic.
In the past, humans felt threatened by the power of Song Magic and many times attempted to build machines that allowed them to destroy the Grathnode Plates, but because they were located in such an inaccessible place, all of their attempts ended in failure. However, even if the Grathnode Plates were broken in pieces, the Reyvateils would still be able to use Song Magic. This is because their functions still remain, even if they have been shattered.
Ardelberg Buffer Band
This is a section made from a special material called Ardel, which can isolate Symphonic Power. In the First Tower, it was known as the Frozen Eye. When inserted between Grathnode and Parameno, Ardel has the effect of forcing Symphonic Power to flow in a specific direction, making it akin to semiconductors in our world.
The Ardelberg Buffer Band has the role of rectifying Symphonic Power and storing part of the supplied power. The rectification of the Symphonic Power means that once it has flowed upwards, the power can't flow back down, because there is danger of that energy causing great damages if its flow ever reverted. In fact, when the Grathnode Inferia happened, the level of Symphonic Power in the First Tower was so great that the Ardelberg Buffer Band couldn't continue protecting it. Due to this, the energy began flowing backwards to the bottom of the Tower, and the consequences of this were that the absorption devices, which in normal times would have prevented this, absorbed energy beyond their permitted levels, and the Grathnode Discs destroyed themselves from emitting so much energy.
Its other function, the storing part of the supplied power, consists of stabilizing the Symphonic Power level that is provided to the Grathnode Plates. The Ardelberg Buffer Band stores within itself part of the Symphonic Power that is provided to it, sometimes using it, sometimes storing it, to send it to the Grathnode Plates via the Symphonic Power Plug to stabilize their energy levels. In other words, it has the same role as a condenser or a capacitor. The Symphonic Power Plug is constantly measuring the Symphonic Power levels that are sent to the Grathnode Plates, and it always keeps a constant amount of the Symphonic Power that is sent from the Ardelberg Buffer Band. In other words, the Symphonic Power Plug actually controls the level of the energy supplied to both facilities.
The reason for the energy being regulated this way is because the Grathnode Plates are extremely delicate. If they receive an amount of Symphonic Power beyond their tolerance levels, they will simply shatter. Because the Symphonic Power demands are reduced when Song Magic isn't used very much, the resistors in the Symphonic Power Plug greatly reduce the amount of energy that can flow through it, so excessive power won't flowing to the Grathnode Plates.
However, if the resistors absorb too much energy, they will begin emitting it in the atmosphere to the point of releasing it as multiple lightning bolts in the sky, which turns them into a source of danger. Since both the Grathnode Plates and the Ardelberg Buffer Band are made from fragile materials, there is the risk that these sparks could cause them to malfunction. While the First Tower releases the sparks through the use of its Ardelberg Buffer Band, because there was a risk of the Buffer Band being destroyed due to the sparks released through this method, this worried the researchers, which sought a safe method to release them, and decided to do so through the Symphonic Power Plug.
During the game, there is a scene in which the Symphonic Power Plug is used to temporarily cut the Symphonic Power and leave the Reyvateils from the Clustania Army powerless. However, such actions can only be done by people with the power of an Administrator, like Tyria herself. This is the access to the Symphonic Power Plug is controlled through the Hymn Code area of the FFT Spectrum of a Soulspace, which is used as an authentication key. Due to this, the Plug is also equipped with a control room that has the appropriate equipment for reading the Codes.
Kaira Absorption Plates
A group of parabolic antennae that float above the Tyria Head area (the area that resembles the shape of Tyria's head, which is located in the border between Sectors A and B), which were originally planned to receive energy from the sun through a special geostationary satellite. However, the satellite was never created and thus, the Kaira Plates were never used until Cocona sang METHOD_HYMMELI/. to bring a torrent of Symphonic Power from her homeland of Metafalss.
Granvert Railyard
The railyard for the Granvert Gauge, which is located just below Archia. While it has several vehicles in standby for when the Granvert Gauge can't function, it actually serves as the control center for the energy of the Induction Coil located just below itself.
Flower Bud
A narrow region located in the space between Moocheriel and the lowermost areas of the Tower, its name being due to Moocheriel having an appearance similar to a plant. It serves as an entrance of sorts to the gigantic dome of Moocheriel, which also unfolds a scenery that seems out from another dimension in front of anyone who stands inside it.
Bline Shaft
The lowest point on the Tower's map, and the only place from which it's possible to access the Under-Bline. In this place, there is a wall called the Bline Barrier Wall, which has never been opened. It serves as a cover of sorts for the muzzle of the railgun, and it was never planned to be opened except for when the XP Shell is shot, due to the Shell passing through this place at extremely high speeds.
Under-Bline
The muzzle of the railgun, making it the lowermost area of the Tower. This means that this place is located below the Sea of Death. While it's possible to access this place only through a staff entrance located in the Bline Shaft, said entrance has never been used by anyone, making this an unexplored area.
Important Areas and Settlements
Sector A
All the areas located above Clustania.
Sector B
All the areas that are located between Clustania and Archia.
- Clustania Executive District
- Clustania
- Clustania Slave District
- Lymph Vessel
- Kniehar Signal Station
- Garvelt Bridge
- Archia
- Tower of Origin
- XP Shell
Sector C
All the areas located below Archia.