Zurvan, the Sea of Dreams!!

[gullybou]

Schala talks in the CC ending how all dreams eventually return to Zurvan, the Sea of Dreams. Anyone know more about this? Did they just throw it in randomly to sound interesting? Or could it be an actual place? Is there a possible relationship between this place and the Dream Devourer? Maybe it's the home of the Dream creatures Masa, Mune, and Doreen?

Wikipedia says that Zurvan means time in Avestan language.

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[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I definitely think the naming is more symbolism and cultural flavor. Like you mentioned, Zurvan means time in another language. Time, at least in Chrono Trigger, ebbs and flows, it changes and is changed; which is ultimately quite similar to water, an ocean. This theme of water and time flowing is used regularly throughout Chrono Cross - water itself is such a huge thematic element in the game.

I don't think it was necessarily a real place, although I do think that the term refers to the hidden sea that Chronopolis inhabits. That is where humanity in El Nido began (transported there in Time Crash eons ago) and probably, over time, became a myth akin to life and rebirth.

The sea gives life in El Nido (in the form of sustenance, travel, etc) and takes it away, too (loss of life, a la Miguel and Wazuki's fateful trip).

I do think this is an interesting question!

[Kodokami]

The name Zurvan had been used at least once before by Squaresoft, in Final Fantasy VI's Warring Triad. While in-game they were called the Fiend, the Goddess, and the Demon, apparently Tetsuya Nomura gave them additional names in their concept art--Sephiroth, Sophia, and Zurvan. They retain these names in their reappearance in FFXIV as well.

So the name Zurvan wasn't new by the time Masato Kato came around. And while he only gave one direct reference to this "sea of dreams" in all three Chrono games, I think he had something planned for it by the end of Chrono Cross, based on his "all-star" comment he made once for the potential Chrono Break story where the teams of Trigger and Cross would come together, and "Zurvan the sea of time is awakened". That suggests to me that Zurvan is a creature or entity of some sort and not a place.

Or it could be completely symbolic, for all the reasons Boo gave. 

[Kodokami]

Adding to my previous comment, since I finally got around to fighting Zurvan in FFXIV...

I'm quite sure there are some call outs to Chrono Cross in his fight. For starters, he recites the following right before casting his ultimate attack:

Frozen in time, mine armor of flame.
Unto eternity's end, my righteous reign!

In which his ultimate attack is literally a frozen flame. I mean, just take a look.

[Acacia Sgt]

Oh, didn't knew that about the name Zurvan. Fascinating.