Difference between revisions of "Magus"

Revision as of 04:00, 24 June 2005

General Information

Information

Chrono Trigger

Full Name(s): Magus, Janus Zeal
Japanese Name(s): Maou, meaning 'demon king' or 'magic king'), Jaki
Theme: Battle With Magus
Age: Indeterminate, early to mid thirties
Species: Human
Home Time: 12000 B.C., 600 A.D.
Home Area: Magus's Lair, North Cape, Zeal, Zeal Palace
Weapon Type: Scythe
Weapons: DarkScythe, Hurricane, StarScythe, DoomSickle
Magical Element: Shadow
Single Techs: Black Hole, Dark Bomb, Dark Matter, Dark Mist, Fire 2, Ice 2, Lightning 2, Magic Wall
Triple Techs: Dark Eternal, Omega Flare

Note: See Magus (Monster) for boss information.

Magus, one of, if not the most popular character in the Chrono series, has one of the most interesting backstories. He was born as Janus, a prince of Zeal and son of Queen Zeal, and was known for mood swings, pacing about the cities, an ability to feel the Black Wind, and a hidden magical power that exceeded his relatives'. He loved only his sister, Schala, and his cat, named Alfador. In the Lavos Timeline, Janus was transported to Pre-600 A.D. in the Ocean Palace Incident, where he was found by Ozzie. Ozzie saw the magic potential within the boy and trained him in the way of the Mystics; Janus, whose only intention was to seek revenge against Lavos for destroying Zeal and taking away his sister, survived the darkness to gain power and eventually renamed himself Magus. He achieved great fame among the Mystics, and later supposedly began a war against the Kingdom of Guardia (though this was likely just an effort to appease his subjects). In 590 A.D., he struck down the heroic knight Cyrus and changed his squire, Glenn, into Frog. In the Lavos Timeline, Magus achieved his goal of summoning Lavos at his Lair to destroy him; however, Lavos apparently defeated and consumed the wizard. In the Keystone Timelines, Crono's intervention caused Magus's summoning ritual to be interrupted, resulting in a colossal, anomalaic Gate that transported Magus to his home era of 12000 B.C. and Crono's party to 65000000 B.C..

Magus, realizing that he had the chance to face Lavos once more in the Ocean Palace Incident, used his knowledge of prior life in Zeal to sway the Queen into believing he was a prophet; he then had the Gurus banished (presumably because they would have recognized him or interfered with his plan) and took charge of the Ocean Palace's construction. Though he captured Crono's party in Zeal at this time, he let them go upon Schala's request. At the new Ocean Palace Incident, Magus unmasked himself as Lavos appeared due to the Mammon Machine's being raised to its limit. He attempted to kill Lavos, but was beaten back; he and Crono's party were later saved through Schala's transporting them to Last Village. After the episode with the Blackbird, Magus was found staring at the azure sea upon the North Cape; his badmouthing Crono provoked a challenge from Crono's party (which can be fulfilled in Chrono Trigger, though it isn't canon history), who declined. Magus then revealed that Gaspar might be able to save Crono, and joined the party.

Magus eventually came to term with his past, and his former tutor Ozzie was flattened in the Ozzie's Fort Sidequest. After the events of Chrono Trigger, Magus departed through a Gate to 12000 B.C. to search for Schala.

Magus's lines in Chrono Trigger are some of the most quoted and parodied in the RPG community. His most famous lines are revealed in an ending as being uttered shortly before the Ocean Palace Incident, in which he masqueraded as the Prophet.

 [Magus]
   If history is to change, let it change! If
   the world is to be destroyed, so be it!

   If my fate is to be destroyed...
   I must simply laugh!!

   I'm coming, Lavos!

Tech Learning:

• Lightning 2: Already Learned
  
• Ice 2: Already Learned
  
• Fire 2: Already Learned
  
• Dark Bomb: 400 TP
  
• Magic Wall: 400 TP
  
• Dark Mist: 400 TP
  
• Black Hole: 900 TP
  
• Dark Matter: 900 TP

Chrono Cross

Magus was originally planned to be in Chrono Cross as Guile, but this was scrapped after the designers realized his story would be too difficult to integrate; within the game, he is only referenced as Janus in a letter from Lucca to Kid. According to the Axioms And Corollaries Governing Temporal Transforms, Magus, as he had no participation in Chrono Cross, will not have any memory or way of discovering it ever happened unless he was fortunate enough to be in the End of Time or a similar Pocket Dimension during its transpiring. If the former is true, Magus probably knows little about the fate of Schala, or her current whereabouts.

Magus is rumored to appear in the form of a shadow in the Kid's Letter Enigma. Additionally, his most famous lines are echoed by Kid on Opassa Beach:

Kid:
   If the world's gonna
   be destroyed, then let
   it be destroyed!
   If history is gonna be
   changed, then let it
   bloody well be changed!
   I'll show you what
   Radical Dreamers
   really dream about!

Radical Dreamers

Spells:

Magus is quite literally Magil in Radical Dreamers, somehow having discovered Schala's reincarnation to Kid and having made his way to the modern era. He disguised himself as Magil, and saved Kid from her first attempt at revenge for Lucca's death; afterwards, he accompanied Kid on her thievery missions. Serge described his face as stunningly handsome, and often wrote of his seriousness and immense power. After Le Trésor Interdit, Magil escaped with Kid, who now knew of her status as the rebirthed Schala.

Japanese Equivalent

Janus:

Romaji: Jaki
Translation: Evil Energy (homonym)

Magus:

Romaji: Maou
Translation: Demon King (homonym)

Name Origin

Depending on the kanji used, Jaki can either mean imp or evil aura. Both are quite fitting.

Magus is the singular form of Magi, or wiseman/user of magic. It is a Latin word, and was originally derived from Persian (though it came to mean sorceror). Its most simple Anglicized equivalent would be Mage.

The word Magus also comes from Simon Magus, the same Simon in the Acts of the Apostles who offered Peter and John money for the power of the Holy Ghost. Read the account for yourselves. Later Christian historians are unanimous in condemning him as a heretic. One story says that he tried to ascend to heaven as Jesus did, only that the prayers of Peter and Paul brought him crashing down again. Regardless, the word Magus has been passed down to mean a sorceror of great power and evil. Only the account contained in the Acts, however, is considered reliable by Biblical scholars.

Maou (Magus's Japanese name) Means 'Demon King'. In Buddhism, the Demon King is either a deva, asura, or an allegory for a great obstacle which hinders enlightenment in Buddhism. It can also be used to refer to Satan, the Judeo-Christian devil, or Mara, the Buddhist devil. Looking at Magus's role in the game, all definitions for Maou seem to fit.

Analysis and Theory

An article exists solely devoted to Magus's mysteries, titled The Many Mysteries of Magus.

Media

Images

• Magus Sprites
• Ocean Palace Incident Displacement
• Magus attempts to kill Lavos

From: Characters (Chrono Trigger)
From: Characters (Chrono Cross)
From: Characters (Radical Dreamers)

--ZeaLitY 20:25, 26 Aug 2004 (CDT)