And everybody, give a welcome to Vill, who will likely be a teacher!<br/><br/>I did play FF7 as a kid, and loved every minute of it. But no, those are not meant as references to the game. Avalanche Academy is named after traditional avalanches; it's meant to represent the power that the Academy, and the students training there, have. That basically, they are like a force of nature (or should strive to be such).  Dirge was just something that I picked out of the dictionary, for its grim overtones.<br/><br/>As for Penny. She's not scary at all! She's combat ready.  8-)