Luminoth Lore

This is the Luminoth Lore. It can be scanned and recorded in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, as that is the only game it makes an appearance in.

History
The History of the Luminoth was recorded in two parts. One telling of the birth of there race on the planet Aether, and the other describing the horrors they faced when their planet was stricken by Phazon.

Origins
It is told that the Luminoth were not born of Aether, but of the stars. In the early days, we roamed the greatness of the void, bathing in the glorious light of a thousand stars. We met a vast number of enlightened minds... the N'Kren, the Ylla, and the Chozo among them. Each of them, we found, had claimed a homeworld and formed a deep bond with it. In time, we decided to do the same.

Our Heritage
Our search for a home took us through the cosmos. For many a great cycle we roamed, yet a place to call our home eluded us. In time, we began to despair, feeling the search was in vain. We considered remaining among the stars until a scout returned with news of a world unlike any other. When we first beheld Aether for the first time, so great was her beauty that we forsook the stars forever to live upon her surface. From that day forth, the Luminoth were of Aether, our blessed paradise.

Paradise
Aether was a fertile, aged world with bountiful fields and oceans. The native creatures were gentle compared to other worlds we had encountered. We settled in a mountain region at first, in cliffside dwellings. In time, we established settlements in the green forests of Torvus and the fertile plains of Agon. A Great Temple was built between our three domains, a place of peace and a monument to our accomplishments. It was a time of harmony for our people.

Saving Aether
Aether's planetary energy supply reached a critical stage. If left unchecked, the energy would expire, bringing an end to the world. Our greatest minds devised a way to preserve and regulate the remaining planetary energy - the Energy Controllers.

Light of Aether
The main Energy Controller was built in the Great Temple: three sub-controllers were built in the temples of Torvus, Agon, and Sanctuary. They collected the energy of Aether, then radiated it over the world to all who needed it. In time we came to call this precious energy the "Light of Aether." It brought an age of peace and prosperity to the Luminoth.

The Stellar Object
By the time we detected the stellar object as it streaked toward our world, it was too late to stop it. We fired numerous weapons at it in a vain attempt to alter its trajectory. Nothing worked. Our efforts placed a great strain on the Energy Controllers, and weakened Aether. All we could do as the object drew closer was take shelter and wait. We gathered stores of food and water, reinforced the shielding on our dwellings, and spent the last hours in peace.

Cataclysm
The starborne terror burnt through the heavens and struck Aether with an untold might. We all expected the world to shatter... but Aether held. There was great devastation, however. The green plains of Agon were scorched forever, and the forest of Torvus was engulfed and wracked by the sea. The skies burned for days, casting darkness over the land.

Age of Anxiety
In time the roar of a wounded planet subsided. The air, though foul, was breathable. Light made its way through the dark veil over our world. Slowly, we ventured out from the shelters of our homes to see what remained of our paradise. What little comfort we gained by surviving was soon shattered, for when we looked outward, all we saw was devastation. Half of the planet's energy had vanished from the Energy Controllers. Aether became violently unstable as a result. Of the stellar object which struck our home, there was no sign.

The World Warped
Amidst the turmoil, we discovered many disturbing anomalies. Spatial disturbances appeared across the land. Objects went into a state of dimensional flux, their atoms divided between Aether and... somewhere else. There was little time to ponder these strange happenings, for we had to deal with the devastation of our lands.

The Ing Attack
The day came when space was torn asunder, revealing dimensional rifts to a dark place. Horrible dark swarms streaked forth from these rifts, engulfing nearby creatures and transforming them into what we would come to call darklings. The dark creatures became our enemies, and peace came to an end on Aether.

Conflict
The Conflict of the Luminoth is depicted in three phases. It describes their brutal war with the dwellers of Dark Aether, the Ing Horde.

Dark Aether
In time, we created machines to open rifts into our enemy's world. Volunteer scouts went through the rifts and found a twisted world, harsh and poisonous... a Dark Aether. They discovered that this world held the missing half of our planet's energy. They also saw the true face of the enemy, a race we came to call "Ing," meaning terror. Our scouts could not survive long on the surface of Dark Aether, so venomous was its air. Still, we vowed to return. We prepared for war.

Our War Begins
We developed Crystals that brought the Light of Aether to the dark world. Using these Crystals allowed our warriors to explore the enemy lands, to bring war to the Ing. Sadly, the Crystals were not enough. We needed stronger weapons, better armor. We withdrew from Dark Aether while our greatest minds devised new engines of war.

Recovering Energy
We were not prepared to fight a long war. The forces of the enemy outnumbered ours vastly. We sought a way to end the war quickly, without extended combat. We decided to build a device to recover our lost planetary energy from Dark Aether. Without this energy, the dark world would cease to be, and our world would be restored to stability.

New Weapons
Our studies of the Ing revealed their attacks as dark energy. We built weapons to use this energy, thinking it could overload enemy targets and eliminate them. We soon learned our error, as the Dark Beam was not of great effect on the Ing. We then began to develope a weapon that used light energy. This weapon would dispatch the Ing with terrible efficiency.

The New Terror
In time, the Ing began to possess Luminoth as well as creatures. Friends and family members became the enemy, spilling Luminoth blood across the land. Desperate, we devised shielding to prevent Ing possession. It was effective, but not perfect. Should the shielding fail, all Luminoth were prepared to self-terminate, rather than become a weapon for the Ing.

The Sky Temple
We learned that the ruler of the Ing dwelled in a place dubbed the "Sky Temple" by our forces. This place held the planetary energy of Dark Aether as well. It was heavily guarded, and entry was barred by a great gate requiring ten keys to unlock. These keys were hidden throughout Dark Aether by the Ing. A mission was planned, one that would find the hidden keys and recover our missing energy from the Sky Temple.

The Final Crusade
While our forces on Dark Aether fought desperate battles against superior numbers, our best minds completed their work. The Energy Transfer Module, a device designed to recover our lost planetary energy, was ready at last. A force of our greatest warriors was assembled, each equipped with the best armor and weaponry available. We sent this brave cadre of fighters to invade the Sky Temple and seize the missing energy lying within.

Shattered Hope
None of the warriors sent to the Sky Temple returned. Our forces searched Dark Aether for them, in vain. Of the Energy Transfer Module, there was no sign. Though saddened, we set out to prepare another mission, to build another module, to try once more to save our dying world.

Agon Falls
A massive Ing attack came to the land of Agon. Soon, the temple of Agon was surrounded by the Horde, with no hope of salvation. Our gallant warriors there were slain, and Agon fell to the enemy. Our blood chilled when we learned that the energy within that temple was drained. The Ing had found the Energy Transfer Module, and were using it as a weapon against us.

Torvus Falls
The Ing turned their focus on the Torvus Bog next, sending a vast force to lay siege to the temple there. Thousands upon thousands of Ing were destroyed by our warriors, yet they kept coming until there was no Luminoth alive to offer resistance in Torvus. On that day, the energy of Torvus was taken to Dark Aether, and our hopes of survival grew dim.

Sanctuary Falls
Our battered forces gathered in the Sanctuary Fortress to prepare for the inevitable siege there. They didn't wait long. Wave after wave of Ing assaulted the greatest of our fortresses, with one goal in mind: to seize the energy there. The Ing turned the machines of Sanctuary against our warriors, and soon all was lost. The energy of Sanctuary was taken by the Ing. Only one Energy Controller remained on Aether.

Twilight
What few remained gathered in the Great Temple. There, all but U-Mos, the last Sentinel of Aether, entered into life-preserving stasis. There they would remain, to be released once the Ing were destroyed... or to sleep forever. His people safe, U-Mos prepared for the last, terrible assault. In the silence of the Great Temple, he prayed for salvation, for deliverance from the terror of the Ing.

Keybearer Lore
The Keybearers were two cadres of elite Luminoth warriors sent to obtain the keys to the Ing Sky Temple, and then attack the Ing at their heart. They retrieved the keys, but were all slain before they could use them--except for the leader, A-Kul.

A-Kul's Testament:
Soon I shall pass to final rest. My key is in place. Through my spiritual link to the others, I know where their bodies lie. I shall leave this knowledge, that their last location in the dark world can be known. May this knowledge lead our warriors to the Sky Temple Keys.

The time draws near. Hear the words of A-Kul, she they call Champion of Aether. Know that my warriors fought and died with uncommon valor. Do not look unkindly upon their failure, for they died to save us all.

B-Stl's Testament:
I can go no further. Here in this reactor, I go to join my fallen mate, J-Stl, in final rest. Though I die with honor, a shame falls on my house until the key I seek reaches its destination. May my brothers find my burden, that the way to the Sky Temple will be opened at last.

G-Sch's Testament:
What craven savages are the Ing! Trapped in the catacombs with no chance of rescue, I fought them to the last. I watched them feed upon their dead. I heard them pressing the lesser of their number into the front ranks, that my blasts would take them. At least their leader stood against me in battle. He was a foe worthy of a Luminoth warrior.

J-Stl's Testament:
My journey comes to an end. The thrice-cursed Ing prepared an ambush of singular cunning in the mining station. They caught me in it like a neophyte fresh from the training halls. I have sent five score of their number to whatever foul pit they call afterlife, but in vain. My life is extinguished.

S-Dyl's Testament:
They came to the lagoon in the night, delivering true deathblows before I could detect them. As my life faded, I sent a call to the cadre to warn of this surprise attack. May they find my key, and dispatch the Ing who killed me. Only then will my final rest be peaceful.

C-Rch's Testament:
Let this be the final testament of warrior C-Rch. I have no more shells for my weapons. For the enemy, I have naught but the blade and fist. Let them come. They wait in the works, hissing and slithering like beasts. Let them. When my war cry comes, there will be a dread, final reckoning. Come forth, hated enemy. Let there be an end!

D-Isl's Testament:
It is inside me. I feel it spreading, clawing at my will, tearing at my thoughts. It moves me against my will, to this cavern. Here it will end. I do not wish this, do not want my body to become a weapon for the Ing within me. It hates. It demands obedience. I will fight to the end. I shall self-terminate before I will be a pawn of a filthy Ing.

J-Fme's Testament:
Final entry, Warrior J-Fme.

Their army swells. Beasts and rogue machines join the ranks of the Horde, all eager to bring death to the Luminoth. The Ing sent these new additions to the industrial site to do battle with me, while they watched from safety. Cowardly mongrels! My only regret in death is that I did not live to see the day of their defeat. May it come soon!

M-Dhe's Testament:
That last hit breached my armor. The poison spreads. Though I have found the key, it is too late for me. Soon my light will fail. They know I am here. They will come to this site to plunder the key. My last stand shall be at the edge of the temple grounds. I only hope I have the strength to fight when they arrive.

S-Jrs's Testament:
A-Kul tried to send me back to Aether, that I might get reinforcements. Both cadres have been attacked, devastated. The Ing followed me. They came, wearing the skin of beasts. I gave them a good fight, yet, I have failed. May I redeem my honor in the next life. Here, at the fortress entrance, I breathe my last.