II. The Guru of Life & The Pendant
A. What We Know About the Guru of Life
1. In Zeal, he was very involved in the manufacture of Schala’s Pendant and the Mammon Machine. He forged what would become the Masamune in an attempt to destroy the Mammon Machine.
2. He studied Lavos while he was in Zeal. The extent of which he studied Lavos is unknown.
3. During the Ocean Palace disaster, he was flung across time to 1000 A.D.
4. After the Sun Stone and Rainbow Shell are recovered, he shows up at Guardia Castle and makes armor, a sword, and other devices from an alloy he creates from them. How he knew when to show up and how he knew the Rainbow Shell was recovered by Crono & co. for use to make defensive and offensive gear is unknown.
B. There is some evidence that suggests the Guru of Life had knowledge of the events that would unfold in Chrono Trigger. How much knowledge of these events is uncertain, but one quote in particular from the beginning of Chrono Trigger is evidence that implies he may have had knowledge of what was going to happen: "Oh, my! It's...the pendant...! Er, sorry, but I can't buy that! It's...far too special! Keep it safe!"
1. The biggest question that arises from this is, why would he say this, especially after he showed such interest in buying the pendant?
2. Furthermore, once he realized this was the pendant he made for Schala, would he have not wanted it more to keep it safe himself and to have it to remember Schala?
C. The Pendant
1. The Pendant’s Structure
a. The pendant the Gurus made was made of Dreamstone.
b. Dreamstone is known to have two qualities: The first quality being it can hold immense amounts of power, as demonstrated by the pendant’s ability to be charged by Lavos’ power, and this is also demonstrated by the Masamune, which was also made from Dreamstone. The second quality is that Dreamstone responds to human emotion, as demonstrated by Schala’s communing with the pendant and also by the Masamune responding to Frog’s emotions on two occasions.
2. The Pendant’s History
a. What is known of the pendant is that it was made by the Gurus for Schala in 12000 B.C. After the Ocean Palace disaster, its whereabouts were unknown until 1000 A.D., when it reappeared in Marle’s possession.
b. What is not known is what happened to the pendant after the Ocean Palace disaster in the original timeline, and it is also unknown as to how Marle obtained the pendant. Furthermore, it is unknown if she actually had the pendant in the original timeline.
c. After the events of Chrono Trigger, Lucca found Kid after she appeared out of space-time distortion with the pendant.
3. The Pendant’s Power
a. What is known is that the pendant was imbued with the power of Lavos, a being that can distort space and time to the point of opening gates.
b. The pendant has demonstrated ability to form gates and other space-time distortions on a few occasions.
1) The pendant interacted with the telepod to help create the gate at the fairgrounds at the beginning of Chrono Trigger. The gate was not visible before this interaction, so it can be concluded from this that the pendant’s interaction with the telepod catalyzed the gate’s formation
2) On Death Peak, the pendant helped create a gate in conjunction with the Time Egg.
3) In Chrono Cross, Kid used the pendant to call Serge across dimensions.
c. The pendant also was able to open the seals created by Zeal and by the Guru of Reason.
4. Questions Arising From this Information
a. Combining the information from the Guru of Life’s quote along with the knowledge of the pendant’s power, is it possible that the Guru of Life knew the gate would form through power of the pendant?
b. Also taking the pendant’s power into consideration, and taking into consideration the words and actions of the Guru of Reason, could it not also be possible that the Guru of Reason had knowledge that the pendant would come into possession of people who would not only travel time, but also oppose Lavos?
c. Considering all of this, does the pendant not play a more integral role in the events of Chrono Trigger than originally thought, where the original thought was that the pendant merely served to open the first gate, allow Crono & co. to gain access behind the seals produced by Zeal and the Guru of Reason, and allow the Time Egg to hatch atop Death Peak? In other words, the pendant did play an important role in Chrono Trigger, but did it play an even more important role in the events of Chrono Trigger than what is commonly thought?
III. The Guru of Time
A. What We Know About the Guru of Time
1. While in Zeal, he studied space-time distortions, time warps, and time itself.
2. While in Zeal, he also began work on the Time Egg, although it is unknown as to whether he actually finished his work in Zeal.
3. During the Ocean Palace disaster, Lavos sent him to the End of Time.
4. From the End of Time, he watched timestreams, as he implied that was all he could do from his vantage point there.
5. Somehow, he encountered Spekkio at the End of Time.
6. Also it is implied that he constructed the End of Time as Crono & co. see it, as there was nothing there when he arrived at the End of Time in the flashback scene at the North Cape.
B. The Guru’s Words
1. Unlike the Guru of Reason, the Guru of Time makes very little clear, yet he is the one who, in person, guides Crono & co. the most. It is very difficult to tell from his words alone whether or not the Guru of Time had prior knowledge to what was going to happen.
2. “Disturbances in the space-time continuum have increased recently. Far too many folks are just popping in here...”
a. While this indicates that more gates are forming, it also indicates that the Guru of Time had met other time travelers. Who were they?
b. This statement has some importance, as it could lend credibility to the idea that the Guru of Reason may have used the Wings of Time before finally storing it. In the same respect, however, it may have had nothing to do with it at all. What is known, however, is that not just anyone can open time gates; a key is needed, such as the pendant or the gate key Lucca made.
3. “I fear something is having a powerful effect on the very fabric of time...”
a. This is an interesting statement, and it is a loaded one. It is not known who or what the Guru of Time is talking about here, but it could lend credibility to other “Entity” theories.
b. Using strictly in-game evidence, however, it is seen that only three powers in Chrono Trigger create space-time disturbances – Lavos (including the activity of the pendant), time distortions resulting from the Gurus’ research (the Wings of Time, the Time Egg), and powerful magic used by Magus to summon Lavos.
c. This quote, then, is unclear as to what exactly the Guru of Time was talking about, if he even knew who or what he was talking about. Because of this, this makes it very unclear as to how involved he could have been in any planning of the events of Chrono Trigger.
4. “Now, I know you are itching to go ripping back and forth through time, but first you need to return to your era. And you must hurry. The longer you remain here, the harder it will be to change that which must be changed...”
a. What “must be changed” here could be taken to be Lavos’ destruction of the world. Because he urges Crono & co. to hurry on, this suggests that he could be specifically guiding them along. In the game, Crono & co. do not mention Lavos to the Guru of Time, but it can be assumed he knows they wish to fight Lavos since he can observe their activities from his vantage point at the End of Time.
5. “Now it is time for you to access the Gate contained within that bucket! You fight not just for yourselves, but for all living things...”
a. Here is a point where it appears the Guru of Time’s true intentions are made known. He goes from simply being someone who has made himself look like he was merely helping and guiding Crono & co. to something more. He is telling them they are ready to face Lavos, which is quite interesting. It appears that this could have been the point he was guiding them toward the whole time, especially considering before this point he had been guiding them toward places and events that would empower them to defeat Lavos.
C. The Guru of Time’s Actions & Details About the End of Time
1. The most interesting action the Guru of Time has performed was not his guiding of Crono & co. by telling them which time period to visit and when, but the fact that he sent them to Spekkio to have their innate magic abilities unlocked.
a. Why did he do this? He had just met Crono & co., and at that point his words only indicated he had the impression that they were merely lost in time and were trying to get back home.
b. Spekkio tells Crono & co. that they are strong of will and that the Guru of Time saw this in them. What exactly is being strong of will? How did the Guru of Time know they were strong of will unless he had been watching them before they had arrived at the End of Time?
2. The gate to the “Day of Lavos” is in a bucket instead of a pillar of light. Furthermore, the Guru of Time initially warns Crono & co. to stay away from the bucket. While the bucket does lead to Lavos, which is very dangerous, the Guru eventually tells the heroes they are ready to use that bucket, implying that gate could have been set aside with the intent for use at a later time.