Global Defense Force

The Global Defense Force (GDF) grew out of the Messembrian military; it was formed shortly after Erebos invaded Hemera from Xenia. As the strongest military organization, Messembria was quick to take unilateral action, although the GDF's existence was no secret and it was supposedly under international oversight soon after its creation. Representatives from other governments were invited to work with the GDF, although in practice it continued to be run primarily by the Messembrian military. There has been political disagreement about the exact status over the years, and there are differing views over how the GDF should be structured and run.

The GDF is considered separate from other branches of the Messembrian military, but it does work closely with them and recruits from their ranks. Members of the GDF have military rank and a chain of command, though the organization also recruits civilian consultants and contracters from time to time. (This structure can be seen as roughly analogous to Stargate Command from the Stargate series; other similar organizations include Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. and UNIT from Doctor Who, though all three have varying levels of international oversight, military status, and organizational autonomy.)

GDF's primary goal was initially the defeat of Erebos; to this end, the GDF initiated Project Aithre. The project made use of the military's prototype power armor, which was enhanced with Geodes under the guidance of a small handful of sympathetic Xenians who sought out those in power to try to help them defeat Erebos. The adapted power armor, dubbed Aithre Armor, was much easier to use than the later mechs it inspired, and the Geodes were used to enhance the armor rather than actually cast magic. The GDF recruited from Messembria's military to find operators for the Aithre Armor; there was no special requirement at the time to use the Geodes (although it should be noted that they were much less effective in this form than in later mechs and were not controlled directly by the armor operators). The Project Aithre operators were a team of ten, most of whom did not survive. Their true identities remain classified, but they are known by code names and are lauded as heroes. Children even buy action figures of them in their power armor, collectible cards, and books about how they defeated Erebos, although adults will notice that verifiable details about the operation are hard to come by.

After Erebos was defeated, the GDF continued on in a more research-based capacity for a while. With the discovery of alternate universes such as Xenia, the world was suddenly much bigger and there was a great deal to learn. As time passed, more Xenians joined the team as consultants. The GDF also continued to focus on protecting Hemera from outside threats; although Erebos was gone, there could be any number of unknown dangers out there, and the GDF was determined to learn about them before they posed an immediate threat next time.

Within a few years, however, it became apparent that all was not well. Erebos had dropped some sort of spores that were beginning to spread across the planet, beginning with Elysia. These were developing into two categories of creatures, dubbed major and minor spawn. Minor Spawn were basically hostile monsters that took a number of forms and rampaged across the countryside. Major Spawn, however, showed signs of developing into a full grown Erebos creature eventually.

In response, the GDF created the Makhai Initiative. This project developed the Aithre Armor into a new form – the Makhai, also called mecha, which are 10-15 feet high mobile armor with magical enhancement capabilities far behind the original Power Armor. These mechs were to have the power to take on the Major Spawn and destroy them before they could reach full destructive potential, as well as saving communities from rampaging Minor Spawn. However, Geodes are a much more integral part of the Makhai and require more direct control by the mech pilots. It soon became clear that while many showed the ability to use the Geodes in small ways, any substantial use of magic was very difficult for most – if only because magic requires a certain amount of will and belief, and most people are unable to fully accept the existence of magic. The mind is skeptical, and skepticism stands in the way of fully utilizing the power of the Geodes. Certain individuals have greater innate talent than others, but even this is not enough. Thus, the Mental Augmentation Project was established, a special program involving training simulations designed to condition the mind to accept and effectively wield magical power.

The characters of Illusions of Grandeur 3: Mecha have all been selected by the Global Defense Force to participate in this program. Since the GDF is based in Messembria and has the support of the Messembrian government, many of its members are recruited from the Messembrian military. However, citizens of other nations are accepted into the GDF, as its purpose is to protect all of Hemera from outside threats of any kind. It is possible that other nations are working on their own, similar programs, but each has nevertheless given approval for their citizens to enter the program if they so choose. A widespread media campaign has encouraged those who believe they have an affinity for the use of Geodes to submit themselves for testing. Those candidates who tested highly were then admitted to the program and put through preliminary training and evaluation. Those who made the final cut have begun the first training simulation administered by the GDF. It should be noted that sufficient magical talent is extremely rare, and very few applicants have been found to have the necessary skills. No one has ever done anything quite like this before, and the entire program is mostly uncharted territory.

Some of the recruits for the Makhai Initiative are current members of the military; others volunteered for the project and are still considered civilians, although they are expected to follow orders and are placed within the chain of command with an appropriate rank equivalent.

Applicable ranks for the GDF are as follows: private, corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant, master sergeant, sergeant major; lieutenant, captain, major, colonel, major general, general. The GDF is currently commanded by General Emma Tsukino.