Glossary
(Surface Arc Metaverse)

Paragon - 真人

This term originates from the story of Omega Quintus, a mechanical creator god who remade humanity after its destruction in the early days of the Metaverse. Unlike normal humans, Paragons are a synthetic race that cannot age or reproduce, and die after a short "service life." However, they have heightened physical and regenerative abilities, and can interface more easily with technology.

Paragons were created to restore the Earth's polluted surface in preparation for humanity's return. They were initially not given emotions, but later developed their own egos, leading to the central conflict of the surface story.

真人 is read as shinjin and literally means “true human.” Machine translation often translates this word as “Masato” or "Mahito". The kanji 真 translates to “truth” or “reality,” while 人 is simply “person,” “people,” or “man.”

The term Paragon was chosen to match the spirit of the original term and clearly distinguish them from the Returnees and Machines. From Isabelle Yagrush Episode 8, "Synthetic humans with highly advanced physical capabilities and self-regeneration could truly be called paragons of humanity." In Japanese this is "正しく真なる人と呼ぶに相応しかった," lit. "it would be fitting to call them right and true people."

Returnee - 帰還種

Humans born and raised in the virtual world of the Metaverse who are sent to the real world by the mainframe. Their physical bodies are generated upon leaving the Metaverse, and they grow and age like normal humans. They are part of the mainframe's plan to repopulate the Earth, bringing the old humanity back from the electronic paradise.

The term "returnee" refers to someone who returns somewhere, often after a long time away from their home.

帰還種, read kikan-shu, consists of 帰還, meaning "returning home," and the suffix 種, meaning "species" or "type."

Machine - 機械種

Autonomous androids meant to oversee the Paragons' progress restoring the surface. They are humanoid in appearance, and may last for hundreds of years. Sometimes referred to as a whole as "Machinekind."

機械種, read kikai-shu, consists of 機械, meaning "machine," and 種, meaning "species" or "type."

Bardiche - バルディッシュ

• Yonah's gun. Named for a type of poleaxe with a long blade used across Europe from the 14th-17th centuries.

Caladbolg - カラドボルグ

• Saul's cannon. Named for the sword of Fergus mac Róich in Irish mythology, said to swing as big as a rainbow through the air.

Ninth Phoneme Critical Accelerator - 第九音素臨界加速装置

• A type of weapon given to Lena and Mene when they are sent to the physical world. A small black gun that activates in response to the wielder's emotions and glows white. Mene nicknames hers "Nine," while Lena's is named Daybreaker.

Pequod - ピーコッド

• The airship Miriam pilots. Named for the ship that is the primary setting of Moby-Dick.

Vambraze and Brigandine - ヴァンブレイズとブリガンダイン

• Gideon's guns. Vambraze is a variant spelling of vambrace, armor worn on the forearm and elbow, while Brigandine refers to armor worn on the torso. Both originate from the Middle Ages.

Visit the map page for visuals!

Alvir - アルヴィール

• Alvir, a village in Iran near the Caspian Sea.

Antulya - アントゥルーヤ 

• A variant of Antalya, a city in Turkey.

Bactria - バクトリア

• Bactria, an ancient region located in the western portion of the Pamir Mountains.

Barthia - バルティア

• Variant of Parthia, a historical region located in Iran.

Caspian Rift Valley

• The Caspian Sea. It's no longer filled with water and described as a dangerous valley and ravine.

Ephes - エフェス

• Variant of Ephesus. An ancient city in Greece along the coast of Ionia, which is now modern day Turkey.

Fusrat - フスラート

• Variant of Fustat, the first capital of Egypt. It's within modern day Cairo, and now referred to as “Old Cairo”.

Gorizia - ゴリツィア

• Gorizia, a town in Italy.

Heraia - ヘライア

• A historical region near Olympia.

Ionia - イオニア

• Ionia. An ancient region in Greece, now modern day Turkey. It's located in Western Anatolia.

Kandal - カンダール

• Described as being east of Perses--presumably the Kandal province.

Karaj - カラージュ

• Karaj, a city in Iran near Alvir and the Caspian Sea.

Khartoum - カルトゥーム

• The capital of Sudan. It's connected directly to Cairo (Fusrat) via the Nile. While the river has since dried up, the riverbed itself is still used.

The Metaverse

• The “electronic paradise” where the original human race went while they waited for the earth to be restored. 

Murcia - ムルシア

• Murcia, a city in Spain.

Olypmias - オリンピアス 

• Olympia, Greece.

Perses - ペルセス

• Persepolis, located in Iran.

Samarakanda - サマラカンダ

• Variant of Samarkand, a city in Uzbekistan.

Syracuse - シラクス

• A historic city in Sicily.

Zaragoza - サラゴサ

• Zaragoza, a city in Spain.

Zeleucia - ゼーレキア

• Variant of Seleucia, a Mesopotamian city. It's now located in modern day Baghdad.

Named one-off characters and/or reoccurring minor characters.
They may appear throughout multiple character's episodes, but they do not have episodes themselves or have official designs.

Cherub and Acht 

Squad captains under Sargon’s command. They are mentioned briefly in Sargon and Nadine’s plotline, but they are otherwise minor characters.

Nadiff

The leader of the "Awakened Ones" faction of Paragons, until Bashian takes his place. He first appears as a disguised security guard, sensing the abnormality in Bashian's behavior, and proceeds to recruit him. He is only ever depicted in Bashian's story.

Nahum

A young Paragon guard who survived the battle of Ionia. With no one left to protect, he stayed until encountering Mene, and piloted their ship on her search for Lena. Briefly mentioned in Mithra's story, but otherwise only appears in Mene's. Nahum is the name of a minor biblical prophet who chronicled the fall of Assyria, and the namesake of the Book of Nahum.

Seth

The ruler of Ephes during the moderate faction arc, as well as Miriam's foster father. He appears throughout Gideon's story and briefly in Isabelle's. In the Book of Genesis, Seth is the name of the third son of Adam and Eve.

The name etymology for the Surface Metaverse is mainly derived from two sources, with a few outliers. The Moderate Faction arc and Bathsheba War arc derive mostly from the Bible (primarily Old Testament), with the former borrowing from Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick as well.

This list is incomplete.

Ahav

Ahav is named for the biblical king Ahab, husband of Jezebel (namesake of Isabelle) and known for instituting Baalism. He also shares this namesake with Captain Ahab from Moby-Dick, the revenge-obsessed captain whose fanaticism is contrasted by the narrator Ishmael (see: Lena Ishmael).

Gideon Reise

Gideon is named for a prophet from the Book of Judges. Among many things, Gideon is notable for destroying an alter to Baal, the religion instituted by Jezebel (see: Isabelle).

"Reise" is a German word meaning "journey," and comes from OG Metaverse character Pendulum Reise (default name Pendulum Alter). She is implied to be a distant ancestor of Yonah and Gideon. Gideon's love of scenery is an aspect of his character he shares with Alter, a former program who gained free will and traveled the Metaverse to see all kinds of scenery.

Isabelle Yagrush

Isabelle is one of the few characters with an official romanization via the Arcaea collaboration. However, イゼヴェル is likely a variation on イゼベル, the Japanese spelling of Jezebel—if she hadn't already appeared in Arcaea, it would likely be spelled "Jezevel" here. Jezebel is the biblical wife of Ahab, known for instituting the worship of Baal. Her surname, Yagrush, is one of two weapons wielded by Baal. Its counterpart Ayamur is the likely origin of Joachim's surname.

Esther, another character with the same surname, had her name romanized as "Jagrush" on official Arma Bianca merch.

Lena Ishmael

Like Mene and her predecessors, Lena is the surface counterpart of digital Metaverse character Artemis Lena. Artemis Lena's voice actor Maaya Uchida was also cast as Lena Ishmael in Chunithm's collaboration with Re:Stage Prism Step, which also provided an official romanization.

The name "Lena" is derived from Helena, meaning "torch" or "shining light."

Ishmael is the narrator of Moby-Dick, and a contrasting figure to Captain Ahab, one of Ahav's namesakes. Where Ahab is obsessive and vengeful, Ishmael is curious and open-minded, not unlike Ahav and Lena.

Ishmael also comes from Genesis, from the first son of Abraham. After being unable to conceive a child with his wife for a long time, Abraham finally had a child with her handmaiden Hagar—and learned he would be blessed with numerous descendants to come, perhaps aligning with Lena's role as the first of many in the rebirth of humanity.

Lotto Twelve

The romanization for his name was provided on official merchandising by Arma Bianca (March 2024).

The source of his first name is likely a reference to Lot from the Book of Genesis. He was never given a first name as a test subject, implying he chose his own name "Lotto" later in life. He reminisces and claims one of the only things he has is his specimen name, SS-012, so he adopted it as a surname.

The number 12 can be a reference to many things, but it's most likely an homage to Jesus Christ's 12 apostles from the New Testament—especially given it's described Lotto had several clone siblings in the lab he grew up in. Judas Iscariot was considered the twelfth apostle.

It could also be a tie to the 12th major arcana of the tarot, The Hanged Man. There are visual similarities between the usual depictions of Lotto and The Hanged Man, with one leg crossed, and the traditional expression suggesting that he is hanged of his own accord; alongside the card representing self-sacrifice rather than punishment. A halo also appears behind his head, signifying enlightenment and higher knowledge (a parallel to his knowledge of Bathsheba's true desire).

Odin from Norse mythology can also be linked to The Hanged Man. Odin plucked his eye in exchange for immense wisdom and the mastery of magic from Mimir's well, and was also hung from the Yggdrasil tree of life for 9 days and nights-- this being a common reference for depictions of The Hanged Man.

Cainan Melvias

The romanization for his name was provided on official merchandising by Arma Bianca (March 2024).

The source of his first name is likely a reference to Cainan (קֵינָן) from the Book of Genesis' Greek translation/Book of Jubilees/genealogy of Jesus given in Luke 3:36 in the New Testament. His name is derived from root words in Hebrew meaning "possession" (קָנָה), "to make a nest" (קָנַן), and "blacksmith".

In general, the Biblical Cainan carries overt references to him and his role in the Bathsheba War Arc story-line.

The appearance of Cainan in Biblical accounts being inconsistent (such as not appearing in the Masoretic Text, the most common Hebrew version of Genesis), while at the same time being considered an important person in some accounts, is thematically appropriate for Thero's erosion of "Cainan" as himself. His lasting legacy is preserving the science of astrology and astronomy by finding records carved on rocks by former generations-- and being considered as a God to his children for his work, who continued to worship him after his death. In general, Cainan's appearances in The Bible are frequently omitted, with some historians and linguists questioning the motives as to why. Some accounts say his existence might be fabricated.

Sefer haYashar, known in English as The Book of Jasher, contains a passage (ch. 2, ln. 11-14) that closely mirrors the thematic elements of Cainan and his general role in the story. "[12] And Cainan knew by his wisdom that God would destroy the sons of men for having sinned upon earth, and that the Lord would in the latter days bring upon them the waters of the flood... [14] And Cainan reigned over the whole earth, and he turned some of the sons of men to the service of God." The authenticity of The Book of Jasher to include with the rest of The Bible is historically debated, with some considering it a non-canonical "lost book".

Megiddo Gog

"Megiddo" likely comes from Har Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, the site of an apocalyptic battle in the Book of Revelation. "Gog," likewise, is a biblical figure prophesied to return at the end of days (the exact interpretation of which varies in different religions).

Mene Tercera

Mene is another name for Selene, goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. A number of characters from the digital side of the Metaverse are also named after various moon goddesses: Hecate, Artemis, Selene herself, Diana, and Luna. Those last two, sisters Diana Primera and Luna Nova, are Mene's direct predecessors: they were reborn as bots Brillante E/S Primera and Grave Nova, whose minds fused with each other in their battle to the death. Mene's story implies she was eventually reborn from them, and her surname Tercera, Spanish for "third," marks her as the third generation.

Rhea Ephrata

Rhea was the mother goddess of the five Olympian gods, as well as Hades. She is associated with fruitfulness and prosperity. This felt fitting with her role in the story and her association with Olympias.

Similarly, the golden laurel wreath on her head is also a symbol from Greek mythology.

Although the ・エ・in her name may imply it to be multipart or a nobility particle, it was not immediately clear which particle it may be. Instead, it was chosen to merge it with the rest of the name to make "Ephrata", derived from Ephrath—the former name of Bethlehem.

It is not uncommon for some multipart names to have developed a single word spelling over time without distinction between the syllables in English, so this was what was done here.

Saul Caim

Saul is named for the biblical king and father of David. The men of his squad are also named after the biblical Saul's children Ishvi, Ish-bosheth (Bosheth), Abinadab, Malchishua, as is his daughter Michal. Saul was said to have fallen on his sword (an act of suicide) in a battle that also claimed the lives of three of his sons.

"Caim" may be a variant of Cain, famous for slaying his brother Abel in the book of Genesis. More speculatively, Caim may refer to one of the 72 demons of the Ars Goetia, also called Camio.

Thero Dawid

The "th" sound does not exist in Japanese, and "s" and "z" are often used in place of this.

"Sero/Serro" and "Cero/Cerro" were also considered. Upon the choice to work on translations, "Thero" was already commonly in use in the fandom and generally accepted in both EN and JP spaces. The origin of this spelling is unclear.

As such, the choice was made to continue to use "Thero." The same decision was not made for his last name. Via community vote, it was decided to change “Darwees” to "Dawid", the Hebrew pronunciation of "David" from the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament—a king of ancient Israel. This keeps in line with the Biblical naming conventions of the Bathsheba War Arc. 

Yonah Reise

Yonah shares her name with the prophet Jonah, perhaps best known for getting swallowed by a large sea creature often depicted as a whale. Her name is spelled with a Y here both because "Jonah" scans as masculine, as well as for clarity of pronunciation. The tale of Jonah is referenced in Moby-Dick, the source of several other namesakes in the moderate arc.

"Reise" is a German word meaning "journey," and comes from OG Metaverse character Pendulum Reise (default name Pendulum Alter). She is implied to be a distant ancestor of Yonah and Gideon.