I was just wondering what the scholars of the Chrono universe, who reside here at the compendium, would think of this. It is, technically, a part my fanfic I am currently writing (Twilight of Fate; it will hopefully be done soon. It is 165,000 words, which would make it the second longest of all Chrono fanfics on ff.net), but realistically is no more than a sidenote on my portrayal of the history. That said, please understand if there is no actual game basis for my assumptions, and if some bend the rules or contradict a little with what the games seem to say, please be forgiving. This itself is not long, and is basically two of the sidenotes that occur through the story. In essence they are written in the style of legend or history, perhaps bearing a passing resemblance in this respect to Tolkien's Silmarillion (from which I have attempted to learn this style). The first is such a treatment of the founding of Zeal, written as though it were a legend. The second is a comment on the nature of the surviving children of that great house. Well, here it is:
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Notes on the history of Zeal of the Thousand Names.
It is often thought wrongly that the time of the dominion of Zeal was for only one generation. It lasted, rather, for a span no less than one thousand years, over the course of which near to thirty kings and queens ruled from its thrones. Certainly it did not possess its great might at its founding; that grew through its ages till it became the greatest and most powerful kingdom that the world had ever seen until that time.
The first king was, in origin, a captain of some renown in the kingdom of Antaras which thrived yet in those years. He had fought countless battles both upon the sea and in the northern wastes (that in those years were still encroaching further south). It came to pass in time that this captain rose to such power amongst his people that he was made king of all Antaras, and took the name Ter-Meredior, which is ‘the king who is a man of glory’ in the old tongue of Antaras. When he had sat on the throne for but a few years he summoned to his court all the greatest of the sorcerers of men, and spoke to them concerning a grand dream that had come to him for many nights. He told of a fortress and city, built high amongst the clouds of heaven, untouchable by the trammels of the earth. Upon hearing this all the people and wizards were amazed, and wondered at how it might be accomplished, whereat the king brought forth a great treasure that had for long been forgotten. This, it is said, was the ancient gem known as Selinost, or dreamstone. And he spoke saying the following words:
“This is a gem of great power and ancientry, kept safe and secret by my kin since the first days, and through it may many things of wonder be achieved. Yea, even this dream that I have had! Though the years of building may be long, should this come to fulfilment, as I indeed think it our destiny to be, we shall be the greatest of all mortal kingdoms, and may in time encroach even upon the realms of immortality.”
And all who heard his words that day thought them to be exceedingly fair and wonderful, though it was afterward, in the years after the Great Ruin, thought that perhaps the dreams and thoughts that brought about the kingdom of Zeal were not so pure, but born only out of man’s sinful desire for power. But for then things were yet good, though in the great will shown by Ter-Meredior this new kingdom was named, in the latter tongue of the West, Zeal. For zealous indeed was the king, as were all the people of the earth as they rose to help him in this endeavor.
And even as he had prophesied, it was not short in building. Great towers and cities, more fair than aught other that graced the earth in that age, were raised on the plains of Rosannoth. These fields were a hundred leagues across, and lay in the western lands of Antaras.
And then at last the long awaited day arrived, and there gathered all the sorcerers of the world, from least to greatest, and they ringed about the entire field. And in the very center of the plains, upon the tower of the King, on a spire of gilded limestone, stood Ter-Meredior. Holding high the dreamstone, he spoke ancient words of power long since forgotten, and it is said that his voice that day echoed even across to the verge of the plain, and all the magicians who heard it took up the call. And even as they did so the land shook and a great earthquake began. An lo! The plains themselves, bound to the magic of the king and the stone of dreams, rose from the earth. And as the day waxed the plains loosed themselves from their bond to the earth. And in that day was the kingdom of Zeal born.
Little else is remembered, for the later people of that fair land were more eager to remember their own accomplishments than those of their forebears, but this at least is remembered: that when the twilight grew dim on that day, and the great shadow of Zeal for the first lay long upon a wondering earth, a prophet by the name of Terisias stepped forward. He was blind, and had no part in the great raising, for his powers were only those of foresight. Then he stood tall amongst the wizards, and raised high his voice so that all heard. And he cried:
Hear me, children of this new kingdom! On this day is born the greatest of kingdoms of men, so rejoice! But do not hold too dear this kingdom of you making, nor become too enamored of its fair halls, nor forget that you be but mortal. For behold! I see in the sky circling ten ravens. For each of these will this land last a hundred years, and in this time will it prosper and grow, and none shall surpass it in beauty or might; all shall flock to its halls and call it blessed. But when the tenth raven has died, then beware! For should you have forgotten who you are, and that you are but mortal, then shall you find all that you have built and hold dear crumble to ruin.”
Then most jeered, and mocked him for but a blind fool. But the wisest of those that heard the words took especial thought to them, and never did they or their children forget those words spoken. And so when, after a thousand years, the last queen of Zeal, Tiros-Rosmered, sought to take the power of the ancient demon Lavos for her own in order to become immortal, there were some that became wary, and remembered well the words of the old prophet. And these worked in secret against her designs, in guard against the day of ruin they feared was nigh. But this is told elsewhere, in the great lay The Fall of Zeal, and, also, in the poem called Tirnis Zeal, or the Princess of Zeal, which recounts the grim fortunes that befell the last daughter of that great house. Yet her tale is woven into many another, and has no place in this chronicle.
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Sure, I take artistic lisence, but I hope it is for the best. When I write such a thing my imagination runs away with me with the possibilities of what I could make up regarding the founding of Zeal. I do it in the way that an old account would be done: I mention specific names, reasons for certain names, and use things like "it is said". And treating it as if it is factual history. Anyway, here's the second:
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Regarding the last of the descendants of glorious Zeal, as recorded in the later annals of the Lady Schala Faeri:
Some, indeed, of the noble and high lineage of Zeal outlived the cataclysm that whelmed their kin. These, however, became but a shadow and a memory of what they had been before the Ruin. At the time of the height of Zeal those that lived upon its blessed land became so fair and powerful that they seemed no less than Nephila (that is, angels), descended to earth from the realms of high heaven. But after the Fall their glory and power dwindled, so that their splendor was no more than that of others, and the light of their eyes was dimmed as they wept over what they had lost through their own pride and folly. Through the countless years they were mingled with the lesser peoples, and in time all that they had been was forgotten. Only a few yet held the ancient heritage that had graced those of Zeal, and after they arose as mighty memories of that forgotten golden age, and those who beheld them and the deeds that were performed through them were in awe. For the strength of the ancient world was in their limbs, and the glory of Zeal shone like a memory from their eyes. Chief of these were the last two children of ruling house of that downfallen kingdom, named Janus and Schala.
Schala, the elder, fell through much torment because of the Fall, and was made subject to the very evil she had striven against, the might of the demon Rosrath (who was named once Lavos, in a tongue all but forgotten, even by the time of Zeal). Yet in time her bonds were shattered mostly through the works and cunning of the master named Balthesar, who was once a subject lord under her hand, for she had been the princess of Zeal, before her darkness. Balthesar, being a man of high nobility and honor, held her to be his liege-lady, even though her torment seemed hopelessly eternal. Yet in despite and scorn of fate he achieved the end of her rescue, and so redeemed her through both the works of his own hand, and by the guiding of the destines of other heroes (of whom the chief of these was the one after called Valsaer Masamune, which signifies “The swordsman of the Masamune”, for it was indeed that sword that he carried; but forgotten to history he was, in his youth, known by other names.) In the later days of her life, when she had been saved, her eyes became once more as one of Zeal undimmed: shining like twin stars, and even as profound.
Janus was the younger of the two. He was also swept away in the great Ruin, though in a way unlike that of Schala, who was his sister. He, rather, was by chance, or maybe fate, winged to the time when the Eastern Mystics who held Medina threatened the Western world with war and conquest. But being at that time but a youth of scarce five years, he fell in with the ranks of the East. From them he learned such ways of sorcery and spellcraft as was known in later days, and through the dark nature of his teachers his mind was darkened. But the power of Zeal was strong, mightier than any other that was on the earth in later days. Spells he learned, and bettered them. And enchantments there were that he knew that were a mystery to all others even among his teachers. So it came to pass in time that he rose in such high standing amidst the ranks of Mystics that they took him to be their king, and even the proudest and strongest of their lords bowed to him and pledged fealty to his rule. So, when at last the leaguer of Medina was broken and the storm of the assault of the East broke heavy upon the Western lands of Zenan, upon both Porre and mighty Guardia, they were lead by he. To his enemies he was a mysterious figure, a dark sorcerer of supreme power (for which he was named in fear Magus, the Sorcerer), and his coming on the battlefield was a herald of doom, for enmeshed in shadows he appeared as a figure of frightening terror, and only the boldest would stand firm against the onslaught of his dread guard. This might seemed near divine to those who beheld it, and some there were that whispered that their enemies were led by the very prince of darkness himself, and that to take arms against him would be fruitless. But, in truth, it was that none anymore knew of the mortal power that had been possessed by the children of the great kingdom of Zeal, and so to lesser men he seemed to be mighty beyond compare (for none there had ever seen the armies of Zeal as they had been of old; if Janus was mighty upon the later fields, he was but one, and the gathered hosts of old Zeal were said to number greater than one hundred thousand, and shone like a legion of angels). Yet even in this darkness of conquest the cunning of his lineage did not sleep, and neither did his pride. For he was consumed in a fiery fervor for vengeance against the demon that had wrested from his kingdom and birthright. Behind the veil of his darkness and sorcery his dauntless mind bethought itself a way in which to find redress for his loss, and slay the ancient demon. This is a long tale, and is a web of intertwining destines and fates, and spans many an age. But at long last he, even as his sister had, found himself free from the burden of both darkness and vengeance.
Thus until their deaths there lived two at least who echoed of the glory of the ancient world, of Zeal the Lost and the greatness of those who dwelt therein.
So ends the chronicle of the fortunes of Zeal. Thereafter the world lived in many an age of darkness, till nine millennia later the rise of the kingdoms of Uruk and Egypt signalled the renewed birth of civilizations. In the years that then followed there were empires and kingdoms without count, many of which are remembered to history: Babylon, the people of Akkad, Assyria and the Hittites, and a thousand others, to be succeeded by the time of the Hellenes, in which art and things of beauty once again began to rival Zeal. This, and the tales of after days, is told elsewhere.
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It is in this way that I tie true history into the Chrono universe. Again, I know I stretch the bounds a lot, but I go with what inspires me at the time.
And the Zeal language that comes up once or twice isn't technically Zeal language; it's actually the tongue of the Nephilim, and I have invented it for another tale of mine. I have merely transferred it over as the speech of the great kingdom. For example, Seline is the verb "to dream", and ost is "stone", thus Selinost is dreamstone. Rosmered means "great glory". Rothras means "great fire", and is synonomous with Lavos. "Val" is war, and "saer" is sword, thus Valaksaer, shortened to Valsaer, is "warrior of the sword". Things like that.
One final one:
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The date of the founding of Guardia is traditionally set to the year 0, to coincide with the birth of Christ. In truth, however, the Tribune Septimus Aurelius did not embark on his Westward sail until the reign of the Emperor Caligula, in the year 40. The reason for this misrepresentation is that the people of early Guardia, being predominantly Christian, considered their land to be one of refuge, or guard, for believers, hence its name. Furthermore they held true Guardia as being the fellowship of believers, not the physical country. It seemed only fitting, therefore, to set the establishing year to that of the birth of their High Lord, signifying that Guardia along with Christendom had been truly born in the year of their Savior’s birth. Over the centuries this antique sign of reverence was forgotten, and it was generally, though mistakenly, assumed by most that the land of Guardia had been in existence since the year 0.
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That actually ties very closely into the chapter to which it is connected (Crono mentions just this); I felt it neccessary to expalain the origin and apparent Christian faith of Guardia. I really enjoy writing this feigned history to the Chrono universe, actually.
Anyway...what do the scholars think of these?
