Lunar Fan Club

The <!--link--><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_series">Lunar</a> stories take place on an inhabitable moon called Lunar, or "The Silver Star" that orbits a planet known as "The Blue Star" (later revealed to be the planet Earth itself). Thousands of years ago, the Blue Star was infected with evil by a dark god named Zophar. His evil corrupted the hearts of people, turning some into monsters to do his bidding. The survivors cried out to the patron deity of the Blue Star, a goddess named Althena, for help. She confronted Zophar in an epic battle, and was only able to stop him by using her powers of creation to seal him in another dimension, destroying nearly all life on the planet in the process. Unable to restore the planet until several millennia had passed, Althena instead chose to transform the planet's moon into an Earth-like world, and transported the survivors there. These included not only humans but also a race of "beast-men", and another race of elf-like beings skilled in wielding magic. They would later come to be known as "The Vile Tribe" after they rejected Althena's teachings. She was forced to banish them to an area of Lunar called "The Frontier," a barren wasteland where even Althena's magical power could not reach. They became enemies of Althena and her followers for thousands of years. To protect Lunar, Althena created four intelligent Dragons - a white one, a red one, a blue one, and a black one - that each shared a part of her divine power. There are only four Dragons at any given time, though they are replaced over time with younger ones. Strangely, during their infancy, these dragons resemble talking, winged cats, until they claim the power of their predecessor and ascend to adulthood. The Dragons spend most of their time sleeping underground until they are needed. Althena also decreed that there would be a champion called The Dragonmaster to lead Lunar's heroes; this person would be anyone who managed to make their way to the hidden lairs of the Four Dragons, and pass their harrowing trials. There have been many Dragonmasters across the centuries, and many on Lunar have striven to achieve that title. The people of Lunar became very devoted to Althena, though many remember Lunar's origins as only an old legend. <div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------<!--center--></div> I recently stumbled onto this club - which had no moderator - after playing the game and finding out there was also manga and an anime produced for the series. Although Lunar recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, not much attention has been paid to it as it has for the Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior and other RPG series. This is in light of its rich history of anime-style cut scenes and voice acting, something almost unheard of when the first video game came out in 1992. Come join in discussing what it is about this universe that seems to draw the fans into it. Hail Althena!