Difference between revisions of "Schala"

Revision as of 16:35, 27 February 2006

General Information

Game Information

Chrono Trigger

Full Name: Schala Zeal
Japanese Name: サラ
Age: Indeterminate, teens
Species: Human
Home Time: 12000 B.C.
Home Area: Zeal Palace

Schala, one of the most tragic and prominent characters of the Chrono series, is the gentle, meekly beautiful princess of Zeal, and the last wavy blue-haired woman to ever carry that title. Born into royalty, she was immediately identified as having a penchant for magic; some speculated her ability surpassed Queen Zeal's. When the Mammon Machine was constructed during her raising, she was given a special Pendant to control it and other Sealed Doors with. She was later blessed with the birth of her brother, Janus, and though they were said to have not gotten along well, Schala deeply cared for her younger sibling and looked out for him regularly. Perhaps only she and Melchior knew of his true power as well, for Janus expressed feeling the Black Wind to her at times. Schala also visited the Algetty, where she entertained the children there and convened with the Elder; the people of that place later remarked that only Schala treated them as equals. After Crono's team was captured in her era, she mercifully released them, in hope that they would in turn free Melchior from Mt. Woe. Unfortunately, The Prophet forced her to seal the Gate from which they arrived.

After Melchior was freed, and the party regrouped among the Earthbound, Schala noted that she had refused to help bring the Ocean Palace to full speed. Dalton soon kidnapped her, threatening to kill her if action were taken against him. There, she was forced to use the Pendant to unlock the Mammon Machine's full potential, which caused the Ocean Palace Incident. Aghast at the wild energies and dark auras erupting from the Machine, she attempted to stop it, but was shocked into submission by her mother. In her last gesture, she transported Magus and the remaining party members away after Crono was killed in his attempt to save her and stop Lavos. This was her final appearance; she remained behind amid the collapsing palace. The only solace concerning her demise came at the ending of Chrono Trigger, when Magus noted that he would search for Schala in 12000 B.C. without fail. After defeating Lavos, it would become his life's objective.

One of the unexplained mysteries of Chrono Trigger is what occurred regarding Schala in the Lavos Timeline, during the original Ocean Palace Incident. Since her pendant was passed down to Marle, it is generally accepted that Schala was able to transport herself and possibly her mother out of the Palace before its collapse (her mother's absence tidily explaining why the Black Omen never originally arose).

Chrono Cross

In Chrono Cross, Schala's fate at the end of Chrono Trigger was finally revealed. In the Ocean Palace, Schala was consumed in a dimensional vortex that brought her to the Darkness Beyond Time with the ruined Mammon Machine. There, where Lavos sat defeated by Crono, she was cruelly absorbed by the monster, resulting in the Time Devourer (apparently, her fusion enabled Lavos the ability to consume time by having a way back into time or boosting his magical ability). The pure hatred and enmity of Lavos filled her mind, and she became split in wanting to destroy all existence and save the world and herself. This being was not complete, however, but eventually, the Time Devourer would mature and begin destroying the universe. However, as Schala remained bound to Lavos, she heard Serge crying from being wounded by a panther demon, and struggled with all her might to make contact with the time period 1006 A.D. This caused the magnetic storm that nullified the power systems of Chronopolis and allowed Serge to touch the Frozen Flame and become its Arbiter.

Before the hatred in her mind took over, she also cloned herself in the form of Kid and sent the baby to Lucca at an unspecified time (though the cloning had to take place in 1004 A.D.). Given to Kid as well was her ancient pendant, for protection. Thanks to Project Kid, Serge and his group were able to utilize the Time Egg and defeat the Time Devourer; using the Chrono Cross, they restored the dimensions into one and seamlessly separated Schala from the evil entity binding her. She then delivered an oration on the struggle of lifeforms to truly achieve "life" and evolve into something beautiful and new entirely. Before Serge returned to his own time, she noted that she would find him someday.

The last appearance of Schala in the Chrono series is, like her disappearance in Chrono Trigger, painfully without stable ground. It is unknown where she goes after she is freed, or why finding Serge would be such an impossible task considering she knows that he is in 1020 A.D. Odd enough as well is the fact that she makes no mention of Magus, a brother who has devoted his life to finding her. However, the most enigmatic aspect of the ending is her deliverance of a few lines in Kid's manner of speaking and her signing the ending journal entry as Schala "Kid" Zeal. This begs the question of whether the two were fused together, but considering that Kid had declared her independence on Opassa Beach, and that we never see such a fusion, it is unlikely. Additionally, the issue of Schala giving her pendant to Kid and therefore not allowing Marle to receive it by way of Guardian heirloom is an old one, but theories below resolve it.

Radical Dreamers

In Radical Dreamers, it is said that after the Ocean Palace Incident, Schala was consumed with guilt for what she had helped bring about. The Frozen Flame, hinted to have been used in or with the Mammon Machine, then unaged her, erased her memory, and sent her to the modern era, where she lived as Kid.

Theory and Analysis

• Black Omen (Why wasn't it present in the Lavos timeline?)
• Chrono Cross Resolutions
• Pendant (How was it passed down through Guardia's royal family?)
• Pendant Paradox (If Kid received Schala's pendant after Trigger, how does Marle use it at the Telepod?)
• Schala (Why did her appearance change after she connected with the Time Devourer?)
• Temporal Distortions (Who caused them in Chrono Trigger?)

Japanese Equivalent

Translation: Sara

Name Origin

Sara (Schala's Japanese name) Has several possible meanings. The name Sarah means 'royalty 2. sarabakari (balance) 3. sarabande (music) 4. sarakedasu (to expose, to lay bare, to confess) 5. saranari (of course) 6. sarasara (rustling, murmuring, fluently, silken hair) 7. sarasara (not at all) 8. sarashi (bleach, refine) 8. sarau (kidnap, abduct) 9. sarabada (farewell)

Media

Images

• Queen Zeal and Schala
• Schala's Final Moments

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• Schala at the Darkness Beyond Time

Music

• Schala's Theme

From: Characters (Chrono Trigger)