Founded in year 1453 of the Sixth Astral Era, the Kratos Institute was initially, and officially a research institute located in Sharlayan. The Institute was run by what can be best described as a militant faction of Sharlayan researchers, a group who believed that the best way to secure and protect knowledge would be the conquest of other nations. In truth, it is a pet project of the Ascians Kratos and Hypnos, dedicated to the creation of weapons and individuals to best assist their shadowless brethren.
Their first true step toward the creation of a living weapon (and described by both Ascians as their greatest success) occurred in 1459 6AE, with the “birth” of subjects 30-01-A (Aeluin), and 30-02-HR (Harkyn Ralverd). Aeluin was trained, programmed, and abused into (hopefully) becoming a living weapon for Zodiark; while Harkyn was given a completely ordinary life, unaware of their true nature. Not willing to let sleeping dogs lie, Hypnos and Kratos also programmed Aeluin to have a deeply rooted hatred for Harkyn, the twin who had “stolen the life they never had from them.”
In 1471 6AE, an experiment meant to improve Aeluin’s production of aether went awry, and the 12 year old Viera caused an explosion that destroyed the organization’s underground facilities. They would take the name Artellius Ralverd and become a ward of the Sharlayan state.
Those who survived the destruction of the Institute would flee to Ilsabard, lying in wait at the instruction of their Ascian masters — for the rise of Solus zos Galvus. Institute facilities would be created across the ever-widening Garlean empire, a secretive arm of the Imperial state. Around the same time, Artellius’s hatred of Harkyn would boil over; and the young doctor would kill their twin, setting in motion the next part of that experiment, and starting the creation of a weaponizable mythos, even if the weapon had been led astray.
Over the course of history, the Institute would develop or test technologies necessary for the Ascians’ plans, ranging from the utilization of Sin Eaters on other Shards, to the continued creation of a usable living weapon through various means. Most of their test subjects are orphans, individuals without anyone to care if they went missing, or young slaves taken from occupied territories. Their experiments are inhumane, unethical, and often seem to suit Hypnos’s whims more than any clear goal. Cruelty in all things.
Test subjects are brought up to fear the Blue Weapon — Artellius Ralverd’s designation. They are described as a killer of escapees, a tormentor of Institute subjects, and a merciless killing machine. This is of course not the (whole) truth, but it makes for a convenient method of control — especially when paired with sleeper activation phrases.
Every Institute subject is given an activation phrase that places them into a completely pliable state. This programming takes time, repetition, and specific instructions to develop the response.
Priorities for instructions can be created within a subject’s mind, differing depending on their intended purpose and role. For instance, all subjects respond to Hypnos and Kratos’s commands above all others; commands issued by those two cannot be overridden by any others. Institute employees would follow in the hierarchy, and then, say for someone meant for the Garlean military, the Imperial command structure. The only exceptions to this are the emperor, Lahabrea, and Emet-Selch who sit above the researchers, but below Kratos and Hypnos.
All sleeper phrases are comprised of two words, an adjective (usually a color, and if not an element) and a noun, fitting a specific pattern.
An example of pattern one is the phrase “Red Scion” for Artellius Ralverd, and “Blue Weapon” for Harkyn Ralverd. Individuals with this phrase pattern are often placed in pairs, with the other subject’s designation used as the phrase.
An example of pattern two is the phrase “Icy Gecko” for Ira Blau, an Au Ra whose aether has been heavily shifted toward ice, to the point of freezing items within their grasp. This is used commonly for individual test subjects, as well as those in groups larger than two.
There is a master phrase, usable should a phrase for an individual somehow be forgotten. This phrase is “Ultima Protocol.”
Every test subject has a barcode magically imprinted onto their right hip (or neck, for some subjects). This barcode proves particularly difficult to remove by any conventional means, and many escaped subjects opt to get a coverup where it lies.
Serial codes begin with the subject’s batch number (the group of test subjects they belong to), followed by their number within that batch, and lastly their first and last initials. Those without a last initial have it omitted.
As an example, Ira Blau’s serial designation is 134-04-IB. They were the fourth subject within batch 134, and their initials are, evidently, IB.