For those among you who play Final Fantasy Tactics, if any, I have come up with a theory on the Zodiac Stones, which is a subject of much speculation and interest to those who enjoy the game.
The Story Starts as this. Twelve Brave Warriors, before the coming of St. Ajora, fought a battle with Twelve great demons. These Warriors possessed stones bearing their respective Zodiac signs. As far as the game tells us, the "Zodiac Braves" overcame and defeated the Demons. Clearly, something had, presumably, gone awry, as is obvious to anyone who has played through the game, the Zodiac Demons remained within the Zodiac Stones long after they were defeated by the braves. Some suggest that the demons were the braves themselves, others that the demons remained within the stones and exerted their forces from within the stones after the braves had died. Others still believe that humanity corrupted the inherent nature of the "Holy" Stones and their essences became demons as a result. My theory debunks all of that.
At the time the Zodiac Stones, Braves and Demons were about, the world was filled with high technology, far beyond anything to be seen in the future. Some of you will remember that machines "howl" when the Zodiac stones were near them. This leads me to believe that the Zodiac Stones were storage devices for Energy. Mind you, spiritual energy is still energy, in a game where magic is real and can be amplified through devices and artifacts. I believe that the Zodiac Stones were used to contain the essence of the Demons that the braves fought. Now, a spirit, an essence, are non-corporeal, they have NO influence on the physical world, these demons exist as being of latent power, no more no less. Magic in FFT requires human access of such energy in order to be used to create an influence on the world, so it would stand to reason that the braves defeated the possessed bodies of the Demons, and used the storage capabilities of the "Stones" (I like to think of them as Cyrstal, i.e. Data Crystals, Conductive Crystals etc). Magical Energy cannot be diminished, since it isn't tangeable, so the essence of the demons wouldn't dissipate over time, making the Zodiac Stones an indispensable Energy source. The Demons clearly could not possess machines, otherwise they would have before hand, and without the physical drawbacks of an organic-sentient host.
So, after the fall of technology, the Zodiac Stones lay forgotten, untouched, stored by the Glabados Church and left untouched by the masses, their influence lost on the world. This brings us to modern day Ivalice. The only accesses to these stones, once obtain, are people with a certain degree of spiritual power (the Archbishop Draclua, the White Knight Wiegraf, the Arc Knight Elmdor, Holy Swordsman Orlandu etc). It is clear that the users intent for their power and personal nature limits the extent to which the stone influences the person, as well as a certain 'compatibility'.
Oralndu, being pure of heart and deed, was immune to the evils of the Zodiac Stone, and got only benefits from the stone, and was probably completely incompatible with the latent demon. Elmdor was so incompatible with his stone, that he was died before the demon Zalera could possess his body. Draclau had relatively weak spiritual power, and the corruptability of his nature allowed the demon Queklain to possess him. Also, his weak spirit limited the power of Queklain, making him the weakest Zodiac demon we have faced. Wiegraf had a strong spirit, great spiritual power made him a great candidate for a demon. His personality was pure in the sense of his ideals, but he lost sight after the loss of his sister, and his anguish, fear and resentment summoned Velius out of the Stone. He was probably not fully compatible with Velius, because the relationship was not mentally symbiotic, Wiegraf was totally different because of his possession. Dycedarg was greatly manipulative and evil, he had great spiritual power and a strong spirit. He was the most compatible with his demon, more so than any other candidate, and his personality didn't even change when he was transfigured into Adramelk.
The missing peice is Elidibs, the Serpentarius, 13th Zodiac Stone. There is clearly an order to the demons, as they all referred to one another and had some sort of council. However, no mention of Elidibs is found anywhere by the Demons. Furthermore, Elidibs has the sign that no natural day falls on, and maintains a humanoid form when transfigured (some'd argue the same for Queklain, but a mouth where your stomach should be is NOT humanoid). Also, he seems to keep what little of we see of his personality. This leads me to believe that he fabricated his Zodiac Stone, and amplified and stored his power in the stone, magnifying his abilities to the point where he needed a new form in order to excercise his vast magical powers. This, naturally, supports the theory that the stones were fabricated in the first place. Also, Elidibs is said to be the greatest magician ever, and as such, his power WOULD be great enough to emulate such an ancient device.
Comments, questions, criticism?
