Magus

[Magus 86]

I think that it's quite possible that Serge is to Magus what Kid is to Schala. I was thinking that exact same thing. In Lucca's letter to kid, she says that she has a friend who will always be there for Kid and always save her from trouble. She says that his name is Janus. I doubt they just put that in there to keep us thinking. Kid never knew she was a "reincarnation" of Schala, so Serge wouldn't know that he was a "reincarnation" of Magus either. He's the only one who MUST be in your party at all times. He has the blue hair. It does make sense. Certainly Guile being Magus doesn't at all. The only similarities are the black innate(which kind of matches with shadow magic, but not really...) and the fact that they both float instead of running. I don't know for sure if I'm right, but if anybody in Chrono Cross is Magus, then it has to be serge. Based on Lucca's letter, Serge makes the most sense.

Let's also not forget the introduction to Chrono Cross. It shows text that is supposed to be from the same book as the one the text is from at the end... Schala's "diary," I guess... It says something like "we hurt ourselves and hurt so many. yet we still laughed and ran under azure skies..." I don't think that's quite right... I can't find the exact quote on the internet right now... but anyway... I think that's a reference to when the real schala and janus were young. In the end, we see that the book was written by "schala "kid" zeal." I believe it is to be directed at serge. I think it says "when we were young" in the beginning text of the game too. So if Magus/Janus is present anywhere in Chrono Cross, I believe the most logical explanation is that Serge is to Magus what Kid is to Schala, like someone else said.

[Arc Impulse]

I always thought the explanation for young Janus's supposed lack of magical power might have something to do with a lack of knowledge or maybe even a taboo in Zealian society.  There's nothing in particular to support it in the game, I don't believe, but there's also nothing in particular to disprove that the people of Zeal, considering themselves "holy" and "enlightened", might consider a child born with Shadow magic to be rather scandalous.  Thus it's possible that higher nobles and members of the government who presumably would've interacted with Janus directly at one time or another, such as the Gurus, would know about Janus's powers, while commoners could have been led to believe Janus had no magic because it was less embarrassing for the royal family than the Queen giving birth to a Shadow user.

Another idea I've often considered, though I'm not sure how likely it would be, was that one result of such a taboo on Shadow magic would be the "average" Zealian scholar refusing to have anything to do with the study of the Shadow element.  Thus it would be possible that aside from a few dedicated scholars (again, the Gurus) many people in Zeal might not even be able to identify a Shadow user.

Just a couple, probably slightly farfetched thoughts for you.

[1stoftheLast]

On Magus's changed apearance...

If Magus can transform Glenn into a frog then I'm sure that he could do a few slight modifications to himself aswell.  So let's drop all the nonsense about hairdye and contact lenses when good ole transformitive magic is the simplist answer.

[Chibi-Bob]

There are a couple topics I remember from the game (since I haven't played Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross in ages) that bug me, concerning the existance of Gates and Magus's assumed ability to continue using them during his search for Schala.

1) As stated in Chrono Trigger, the Gates were most likely created by Lavos and his disruption of the flow of history during his landing in 65,000,000 B.C., creating a time/space rift that allowed Crono and his gang to travel through history.  (I believe this is also stated during the Gates explanation at Chronopolis.)  However, the Gate Key is the item that Crono and his friends used to actually access the Gates.  But as we see in 600 A.D., after the battle with Magus, a giant Gate is formed.  I've heard explanations that Lavos caused the Gate to open, after Magus failed to summon him, but why?  I believe it was Magus who use his own Dark Magic to open the Gate, hoping to draw Lavos into 600 A.D., fresh from his burrowing into the center of the planet and not yet given time enough to absorb the planet's energies...  Perhaps Magus knew Lavos was weak at this point in history, and decided to summon him from that point?  But, perhaps Crono broke his concentration (or it might have been on purpose--he may have WANTED to go to 65,000,000 B.C. to face Lavos there--who knows?), all four were drawn into the giant Gate.

2) Leah. "What does Leah have to do with the discussion about Magus?" It's been revealed through an ending in Chrono Cross and most likely by the event planners that Leah is either the mother of Ayla or the daughter of Ayla (I'm sorry, I haven't played the game in ages :| ).  How exactly, then, did she arrive in 1010 A.D., in the El Nido Archipelago? Moving back to my first point about Lavos being the reason for the Gates' existance, when Lavos was destroyed, Gates most likely ceased to exist--in T-1, that is.  But the Time Devourer--the Angelus Errare to the space beyond time where he existed--lay in Home World.  Perhaps the split of worlds really originated in 1000 A.D., when in one world Gates ceased to exist, while in the other, the Time Devourer's influence still allowed them to exist, and the split in time, the split of the Home World and the Another World, happened just as Leah was drifting along the ebb and flow of time, thus bringing her into 1010 A.D.?

I don't quite understand it myself... I do admit, my theory needs a little work. But I do believe Magus would have use Dark Magic to travel through the times after Crono defeated Lavos--if he even time traveled at all.  Even if he did, he would be limited to a single dimension, and may have missed the Time Devourer and Schala completely. Who knows.  That's just my two cents. :)

[GrayLensman]

There are a couple topics I remember from the game (since I haven't played Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross in ages) that bug me, concerning the existance of Gates and Magus's assumed ability to continue using them during his search for Schala.

1) As stated in Chrono Trigger, the Gates were most likely created by Lavos and his disruption of the flow of history during his landing in 65,000,000 B.C., creating a time/space rift that allowed Crono and his gang to travel through history.  (I believe this is also stated during the Gates explanation at Chronopolis.)  However, the Gate Key is the item that Crono and his friends used to actually access the Gates.  But as we see in 600 A.D., after the battle with Magus, a giant Gate is formed.  I've heard explanations that Lavos caused the Gate to open, after Magus failed to summon him, but why?  I believe it was Magus who use his own Dark Magic to open the Gate, hoping to draw Lavos into 600 A.D., fresh from his burrowing into the center of the planet and not yet given time enough to absorb the planet's energies...  Perhaps Magus knew Lavos was weak at this point in history, and decided to summon him from that point?  But, perhaps Crono broke his concentration (or it might have been on purpose--he may have WANTED to go to 65,000,000 B.C. to face Lavos there--who knows?), all four were drawn into the giant Gate.

After finding a Gate at the bottom of the crater in 65 million BC, the travelers hypothesize whether Lavos was responsible for the appearance of the gates.

Marle: This Gate was made by
   Lavos.
   Maybe Lavos is the source of all
   Gates?

Lucca: Now I understand!
   The immense energy that Lavos
   gives off alters time and creates
   Gates.

Robo: It appears that the immense
   energy that Lavos radiates alters
   time and creates Gates.

Frog: M, mayhap Lavos be the
   cause of this warp?

   The one in Magus's Castle was
   immense.

However, after Robo contemplates the origin of the Gates for 400 years, he concludes that Lavos was not the cause for the Gate's formation.  This brought about the famous (infamous?) Entity discussion.

Robo: After 400 years of
   experience, I have come to think that
   Lavos may not be responsible for the
   Gates.

Marle: What do you mean?

Robo: I have come to think that
   someone, or something wanted us to
   see all this.

   The different events over time, that
   we have witnessed.
   It is almost as if some entity wanted
   to relive its past.

Ayla: Ayla know!
   When people die, elders say, see
   whole life pass by!

Frog: 'Tis true that mortals do
   relive their most profound memories
   before death claimeth them.

   Yet those memories most often are
   sad ones.

Robo: Thinking things like, «If only
   I had done this,» or, «I shouldn't
   have done that...» triggers
   unpleasant, old memories.

Marle: Will that happen when our
   time comes?

Lucca: Probably...who knows?

Marle: Is there a point in time you'd
   want to return to, Lucca?

Lucca: No...not really...

Marle: I'm sorry, was that
   something I shouldn't have asked?


Lucca: It's ok, it's just something I
   don't like to think about too much.

Frog: Lavos playeth an integral
   role in the fortunes of this Entity...

Magus: ...so who is this Entity?

Robo: It is unknown, whose
   memories these are. It may be
   something beyond our
   comprehension.

   Our journey may come to an end
   when we finally discover the identity
   of the Entity.
   ... ...shall we turn in for the night?

Magus' summons of Lavos may very well have involved the creation of a Gate.  However, if the Pocket Dimension theory is valid, summoning Lavos from 65 million BC would not have been advantageous.  Lavos would have the same strength in every time period.

2) Leah. "What does Leah have to do with the discussion about Magus?" It's been revealed through an ending in Chrono Cross and most likely by the event planners that Leah is either the mother of Ayla or the daughter of Ayla (I'm sorry, I haven't played the game in ages ).  How exactly, then, did she arrive in 1010 A.D., in the El Nido Archipelago? Moving back to my first point about Lavos being the reason for the Gates' existance, when Lavos was destroyed, Gates most likely ceased to exist--in T-1, that is.  But the Time Devourer--the Angelus Errare to the space beyond time where he existed--lay in Home World.  Perhaps the split of worlds really originated in 1000 A.D., when in one world Gates ceased to exist, while in the other, the Time Devourer's influence still allowed them to exist, and the split in time, the split of the Home World and the Another World, happened just as Leah was drifting along the ebb and flow of time, thus bringing her into 1010 A.D.?

I don't quite understand it myself... I do admit, my theory needs a little work. But I do believe Magus would have use Dark Magic to travel through the times after Crono defeated Lavos--if he even time traveled at all.  Even if he did, he would be limited to a single dimension, and may have missed the Time Devourer and Schala completely. Who knows.  That's just my two cents.

The dimensional split occurred in 1010 AD, when Kid traveled back in time to rescue Serge from drowning, as stated in Chrono Cross.  The Time Gates closed on the night of the Moonlight Parade in 1000 AD, before the split.  Although Lavos is an unlikely candidate for the Entity, I'm not sure how the dimensional split would affect the Gates in that case.  Due to the presence of the Dead Sea, Lavos may be alive in Home.  The Time Devourer also exists in the Darkness Beyond Time, which transcends the dimensional veil between Home and Another.

Magus probably did not travel through time at all because he was not implicated in any of the events of Chrono Cross.  That Leah time traveled from 65 million BC is one theory, but why would she be "drifting along the ebb and flow of time?"

[Stormsend]

Just a quick note on Magus' (in)ability to use magic as a child:

In the DS version, Someone (I want to say it was Melchior) in the era of Antiquity mentions how Janus repressed his power because he saw how it corrupted his mother.

[Prince Janus]

  This is mentioned in Radical Dreamers, too. The Gil finds a man in deep meditation and comments that he has locked himself up in his own mind, then states that he too has locked certain things away deep in his mind before. It was implied that he was talking about his dark magic.

[Stormsend]

  This is mentioned in Radical Dreamers, too. The Gil finds a man in deep meditation and comments that he has locked himself up in his own mind, then states that he too has locked certain things away deep in his mind before. It was implied that he was talking about his dark magic.

Thanks for making me feel a little less crazy. I may end up not burning down an orphanage today.

Just a quick hypothesis inspired by played CT DS under the influence, and reading the Encyclopedia material: Could Ozzie have been directly responsible for the change from Janus to Magus, in terms of power and appearance?

So, Janus lands in the Middle Ages and is found by Ozzie. Here is the first thing problem... Janus has repressed his magic. Can Ozzie sense it? Does he try to make use of the boy? Meanwhile, the kid is alone and scared in a world unfamiliar to him. I can't bring myself to believe he's formulated the plan in a matter of seconds. Instead of "I can use this fat, green blob," I am confident his thoughts were more along the lines of "WHERE THE **** AM I WHO THE **** IS THIS FAT GREEN BLOB?"

If Ozzie thinks the lad is usable, does he directly train the boy, or toss him into the army and let the boy rise in rank himself? The former is more likely, the latter gives a better chance for Janus (and he is still Janus at this point) to form a plan and pursue the power needed to get revenge on Lavos. While certainly a little more romantic, the conscription theory is next-to-impossible. That leaves us with Ozzie's direct involvement with the boy. If he sensed repressed magic, Ozzie would have done everything in his power (and I am assuming he had considerable power to lead the Mystics, he just never displayed it to us) to bring that magic out, and I have a feeling this is (alleged) Guantanamo Bay-style extraction. Harsh training and experimentation leads to the appearance changes as well as significant growth in power.

Oh, and during this entire process, the scared little boy is slowly being replaced by the strategist who takes command of the entire Fiend army. This is where Magus is born, as hewould more than likely consider "Janus," the scared little boy, dead, and the Fiendlord is risen.

Now, once grown, Ozzie gives leadership of the Fiends to Magus, who makes directing the armies the responsibility of Slash (who probably taught him to fight), Flea (who taught him the Arcane), and Ozzie (who taught him to lead and wield power over others). Magus devotes the majority of his time to learning the spells and rituals needed to raise Lavos, only getting directly involved when a hero arises to challenge all he has striven for (like Cyrus and Glenn). He couldn't take care of Crono, Frog, and the others later because the time of the rituals was upon him, and he could spare no time or energy to anything else.

Thoughts?

[utunnels]

Perhaps that Leah has nothing to do with Ayla at all, just like the Glenn in CC has nothing to do with the Glenn in CT. XD