"It's..." What the hell's the official line on it? He's only read it a million times: materia are small crystallized spheres of spiritual energy that allow the user to cast various spells and use special abilities; the orbs contain the knowledge and memories of all who have lived and died in the past. While that answer's easy as shit on his world, -- everyone knows what materia is -- it's kind of a can of worms to explain.

Axel probably doesn't know the term Lifestream either, right. "Well, to put it in simple terms, materia are these little crystal spheres and they're what let us harness any magic at all." He holds his hand out, thumb and forefinger maybe an inch and a half apart. "The spheres are about that big and if you're lucky you might find 'em, but nowadays, they're mostly manufactured from Mako."

And he won't know what Mako is either.

"And Mako's... pretty much the pure liquid energy that runs my planet. Any of that make any sense at all, or you need me to whip out the Beginning Materia User's Instruction Manual?"