King Kajar Zeal decided to walk out of the stuffy palace this fateful day. Dawn rose, and the Queen was still sleeping in the regal bed the couple shared. She sleeps like an angel in the heavens, thought Kajar on his way out.
Under construction near the royal palace stood a new city, yet to be named. Kajar stopped to talk to a good friend of his who was about to work on the city that day in early winter.
"How's it going, Wedge?"
The worker replied, "Great! We're almost finished with construction!"
At that point, Kajar held a short conversation with his friend, talking about the grand old times and such, which changed to women, coming to Kajar honoring his wife with the words from his mouth amplified by the feelings in his heart. When they reached the natural point of a conversation when one realizes it is time to stop, Kajar left to check on the people in Enhasa. Alfador, the kitten that grew fond of the King, followed him.
"No... no... not to you, Kajar..."
When he reached the place to switch down to the Earth, there was somebody standing there... waiting in the darkness...
"Excuse me, sir. Would you mind me asking for whom you are waiting?"
"YOU!"
The figure lunged out of the dark with a dagger in hand, aiming at the King's chest. Kajar's reflexes took over, and he dodged from the blood seeking weapon. In full view now, the stranger was seen to be a sickly man donning tattered rags. He turned once again to face the King.
"Ah, so it is a filthy Earthbound One who is attacking me."
"Don't underestimate me!"
Relying on the power of the distant locked up Sun Stone, Kajar hurled a Fire spell at the attacker. However, right before it hit the Earthbound, a crescent green force appeared momentarily before him, reflecting the Fire back toward Kajar. It stuck without burning the King, yet it still knocked him face first into the metal ground. Struggling, he tried to get up, but the stranger grabbed him by the neck, forcing it into the floor. This entire time Alfador meowed in sadness, for he could not do a thing.
"Now listen," said the stranger, "LISTEN!" A gentle snow began outside. "When I was a child I was told of the Enlightened Ones. We had once lived in peace, but once the powers of the Sun Stone were discovered, those of us that found magic too difficult were condemned to the Earth. But you 'Enlightened Ones' have no idea what it is like down here.
"EVERY DAY is a constant struggle for us. Struggling for food and shelter, few of us stay alive. And YOU heartless ones don't so much as give us part of your already plentiful meals. Now with winter approaching, it will be even more difficult..." The stranger started weeping.
"You may say that since you can use magic you are more worthy. Well, as you can see, I know magic. As an Earthbound One, it took great training, but finally I accomplished what I strived for, discovering that my chosen magic was the Unnamed Magic. So tell me, why?! Why are my people less worthy than yours?!"
Kajar, head against the floor, felt sorrow for the man, for the tormented Earthbound Ones. Everything he had learned about as a child, everything he lived his life believing. A lie. A dreadful lie. How could he have been so ignorant?
Face still against the ground, he whispered, "There is no reason. I'm sorry; please forgive me. I offer your people food and shelter for eternity, but please, let me go so I can announce this."
Alas, history would have been much different if the nameless one had not shouted, "LIAR!" renewing his tears. "I know the ways of you Enlightened Ones. Once two of you had come down here, offering my mother food. She accepted, but one of them kicked her down, both of them laughing." He sniffed and his voice became more difficult to understand. "I saw this. Then, they said, to dispose of the 'filth,' although they were the only filth I saw. They kept kicking her, torturing her, and slowly... I saw her die in pain. I was left motherless.
"But now, NOW, my name will go down in history as the one who killed the great Kajar, ruler of the despicable Enlightened."
The stranger then lifted the dagger in his rage, thrusting it downward with all his force.
No escape.
Death.
Death of the wise one who became enlightened too late.
Outside, the snow, the clouds' tears, fell down incredibly harder, yet as calm as when it started. It would take centuries for that snow to leave the Earth.
The assassin, realizing what he had done, removed his hand from the dagger. He opened up his trembling hand, staring at it, engulfed in fear.
Remembering that he could not stand blood, the substance which he had sought, the man cast a non-elemental spell which would keep the royal essence from flowing out.
Finally, still in shock, he picked himself up, dashing madly from the warm corpse to the falling snow...
Alfador, having been sitting all that time at the doorway, meowing in emotion, now approached his Master. In denial he smelled Kajar's hand, then tapped at it with his paw to check for movement. Realizing that his master was indeed dead, he curled up by Kajar, letting his eyes rest in sorrow.
"Kajar... you loved your people... your family... so much... why did you die?" asked the widowed Queen, standing over Kajar's body at his funeral.
The killer was soon caught by a guard, who saw him run frantically from the portal room.
"Hey, you! Go back to the land where you filthy animals belong!"
But when the guard escorted the stranger back, he noticed Kajar's body and detained the man. The stranger tried to use his magic to struggle away, but the guard struck him in the head, making him lose consciousness.
When the Queen was notified of her husband's death, she fell into mad tears, demanding to see his killer, now conscious but still weak. In her blind rage she ordered for the immediate execution of the killer, which was done.
His name was never known among the Enlightened and soon forgotten among the Earthbound...
She then announced the new city, ironically just completed, as the name "Kajar." Within an hour a funeral for the great king was prepared.
"You didn't deserve to die," cried the Queen, the one most devastated, with Schala in second.
Janus, however, was still at the funeral; all his emotions he kept locked in, never budging from his seat until the end.
The large number of attenders remained at the funeral until dusk. At dawn Queen Zeal attended the burial. After witnessing the final moment anyone would see of his tangible body, she hurried back to the palace in anguish.
Zeal lay crying in her bedchamber when Schala entered. The loyal daughter went over to Zeal, placing a hand on her back to comfort her, no words escaping from either's lips. A tear rolled down Schala's beautiful face.
"How? How could this have happened? Kajar knew Fire magic. HOW?!"
The Queen's voice was broken up. She could hardly manage to make intelligible sentences.
"The murderer knew magic. That must have taken Daddy off guard -- coming from an Earthbound One."
"No, that's not it... Kajar was the king, one of the best magic users in the kingdom. He was prepared in case anyone attacked... unless..."
Schala continued watching her mother, who was laid out ungracefully upon the bed. "Unless...?"
Zeal sat herself up in bed, wiping the tears from her face, subtle light reflecting from the smeared drops. In the tears' place at the eyes, Schala could see something overcome her mother...
"Leave me, Schala."
"...Mother?"
"Leave me."
Bewildered, Schala got off the bed and left the room Zeal once shared with Kajar.
Schala found Alfador laying by an attendant Nu and picked him up, entering the room with the kitten in her arms.
"Here, Dad would have wanted you to have him."
Alfador, seeing that Janus was in mourning yet not in tears, jumped from Schala's arms and ran to Janus, rubbing against his knee. The two would be inseparable for a long time.
"Thanks, Schala," mumbled Janus, still depressed.
"Janus..."
"... Filthy Earthbound One! Why did he have to go and kill Dad?!"
Schala remained silent. Between her, Zeal, Janus, and what she knew of Kajar, she was the only one to not hate the Earthbound. Nonetheless, she kept these opinions to herself, wishing not to cause an uproar in the family.
There was a long pause. Janus felt a mysterious chill come across him.
"Schala? ...What's that?"
Schala felt it too. In worry she turned her head away from Janus.
"It is... the black wind..."
A week later, Zeal held an assembly with her advisors, the Gurus of Life, Time, and Reason. Among them was Zeal's new prophet.
Zeal started, "A problem has come to my attention."
Reason was first to ask, "What is it, Your Highness?"
"That magic type... that type that killed off Kajar... I have done some research on it..."
Melchior, Life, asked, "You mean the magic never bothered to be given a name?"
"None other than. With a simple 'Reflect' its users can repel magic. With a simple 'Dispel' they can weaken. Not even the Shadow type knows any spells from it."
"This is indeed so," Melchior affirmed.
"They are too powerful, and could have a chance at overthrowing the kingdom. They must be destroyed."
The Gurus stood in momentarily shock, not just because of what she said, but how she said it. She was not furious, but in fact talked as if it were just a simple statement. Belthasar, the manager for the construction of Kajar as well as the Blackbird, spoke up.
"Your majesty! This is nonsense!"
"BE QUIET!" Her Majesty roared. "I did NOT come to you for advice on that issue. That is my decision and so it shall be done!"
Reason continued, "But that will --"
"SILENCE! I will make a barrier to prevent any magic energy from reaching the Earthbound. That will prevent them using magic and thus from attacking us."
"Yes, Your Highness," said Reason, defeated.
"The problem is the necessary power. The Sun Stone is running low as it is. We need an alternative power, and I need help on finding one."
The Gurus glanced at each other... The moment they were fearing.
"I know of one," the Prophet, who remained indifferent until now, offered.
"Tell me!"
"The source's name... is Lavos."
"Hmm... Big Fire... tell me more..."
Magus took a deep breath before he spoke again, "Lavos is a creature buried into the Earth millions of years ago. Infinite is the power of Lavos. A machine, which needs the help of the legendary Red Rock, can extract the energy."
"Infinite?"
"Yes."
The panicked Melchior then begged, "Your Highness! Lavos energy will cause us ruin! Please! You must not!"
Zeal thought for a moment and asked the Prophet, "Prophecy to me about my kingdom using Lavos' energy."
Magus shut his eyes, really looking back at his tragic past as Janus instead of looking forward, stretching the truth. "The Kingdom shall reach new heights, which only an incredibly strong force can destroy. Your Zeal will prosper."
"Very well. Belthasar, locate Lavos and build the machine to extract his energy."
"But--!"
"DO IT!"
No choice; Reason reluctantly left to work on what would be known as the Mammon Machine.
"And you two! Leave."
Having failed in their mission, Gaspar, who spoke not since his realm was never mentioned, and Melchior left to Belthasar's workplace.
Magus... enraged about what Lavos did to his mother... Blinded by fury, he does not seek to prevent Lavos, only take out vengeance against it -- by any means necessary...
Belthasar paced around the Blackbird construction site, sometimes working on it, sometimes the Mammon Machine. Also there was Melchior and Gaspar, standing in thought.
Melchior started, "We cannot just disobey the queen, no matter what our purpose. To do that would cause a rebellion and the loss of many innocent lives."
"But ones with the Unnamed Magic will die anyway!" commented Gaspar.
"Much less than if there was a rebellion. Still, even if we stopped Zeal from using Lavos power, it would still awaken in the future. What will happen to Zeal is just an additional con."
"It is sad that we must experience this time string," sighed Gaspar.
"So, what do we do?" asked Reason, still working.
"We wait. The Entity said it would be hard to do, and was right. And then there is that prophet... I sense anger within him..."
Belthasar took a breather from the Machine. Changing the subject, he said, "I wish it could be some other way, but either Schala or Janus will be needed in addition to the Mammon Machine to extract Lavos' power. The good thing, though, is I gave it a weakness. Melchior, your red knife may be able to harm it. I cannot guarantee that it will actually do anything, though; it depends on the state of the Machine. However, we should only use the Knife when we have no other choice, or else... who knows what the Queen would do to us. I have filled Masa and Mune in on Lavos and the Mammon Machine and they have agreed to help us if the time comes."
After a short pause, Time looked up at the sky and sighed, "Sorry, but we weren't able to save her..."
A few nights earlier... a dream came to them, all at the same time. The dream showed them a human shape, shifting to different human shapes continuously. That shape spoke to them.
"Gurus! It is I, Kajar. I have become the new Entity. I must ask you a favor. As the giver of Powers, I too have them and can see all time strings. I have looked into a string of my dear wife, and saw that chaos will erupt in it. Please! She will seek more power! Try to stop her from using the energy from the immortal, Lavos. Do not worry if you fail, for I will not blame you. It is a difficult task. Lavos will awaken in 13,000 years, no matter the outcome."
With that they awoke, and knew that the dream was true.
Weeks passed; the Mammon Machine was finished. Zeal chose Schala, being the elder of her children and the wielder of Melchior's pendant, to extract Lavos' energy.
After draining some of the power, she used it to enhance the strength of the most trusted people in her military. She then ordered the immediate execution of those who possessed the Unnamed Magic. So it was done. Few of the Enlightened wielding this power lived.
Wedge died that day...
The people would soon name this magic the "Lost Magic." Later, few would admit the massacre, an act so gruesome by their queen, ever to have happened, although deep within themselves they knew it was true. Janus, himself, would go into denial and block this from his memory.
However, one would think that with the Lost Magicians killed that Zeal would end her desire for power. Alas, it only bred more...
"Schala, give me more power!"
Zeal, absorbing the power summoned by Schala, stood by the Mammon Machine. The three Gurus were also there, standing in anxiety. Janus, too, looked on as he saw Schala in pain.
"Ugh!" groaned Schala.
"Do not stop! THIS power will make Zeal great!"
"Pain... stop..." mumbled the summoner.
In his heart, Janus felt Schala's pain and begged, "Mother! Stop! You're hurting Schala!"
"BE QUIET, JANUS!" Zeal yelled, "This power will make Zeal the greatest kingdom. We shall be IMMORTAL!"
Zeal went back to her concentration on Lavos energy. Janus walked back to Melchior in tears.
"Mother... Something is wrong with her! She's not herself! That is not mother!"
Melchior bent down to be level with Janus and replied with a heavy heart, "You are right. That is not your mother. The cancerous energy of Lavos is within her. The trace amount of Lavos energy the people now use to cast magic does not affect them." He turned his head to Zeal, seemingly mesmerized by the Mammon Machine. "The energy inside her... is great. With power she greeds only for more. She does not care about anything over this power..."
Zeal heard what Melchior said, though, and turned around to look at him... with her eyes enveloped in a fiery red.
"You think I could not hear you, Guru?" The voice escaping these lips was somewhat different from her voice. Anger, yet confidence, was this voice. "How DARE you insult your Queen?!"
Standing, Melchior felt an immense pain, and then became immobilized. Zeal did not move, except to open her mouth to speak.
"You shall be punished," Zeal continued. "You shall be frozen atop the location of the Earthbound struggling to reach us Enlightened, Mount Woe. For just in case someone comes to save you, I will have the one who keeps the mountain floating, Giga Gaia, destroy them."
And so, Melchior became a brilliant white and vanished. What Zeal said was done.
Saddened, Janus turned to tears and stared at Zeal and the wicked device. He knew exactly who to blame...
From that day on he would seek vengeance against the Big Fire... He would look upon the day he would fight it...
Zeal became known to the people as the one who brought about magic, although what they meant by "magic" was the great magic brought to them from Lavos power. Daily, Schala would suffer in pain as she released more energy.
When Zeal's addiction reached a new height, she ordered Belthasar to create a palace to the mighty Lavos, one close to him so she could feel Lavos' true power. A month later, it was done.
The Prophet saw that his time to strike was right, and told the Queen that the remaining Gurus were plotting against her, afraid that the two would stop Lavos' coming. Believing every word, Zeal had them locked away in the Ocean Palace, hiring a man named Dalton to replace them.
Crono and his friends came and freed Melchior, who gave them the Red Knife -- the "last choice." However, before Crono reached the Ocean Palace, something happened to Melchior...
Melchior suddenly found himself in the Ocean Palace with the other two Gurus in bewilderment.
Zeal's great voice spoke, "I transported you treasonist here so you can feel the true power of Lavos."
Before them was the Immortal, Zeal standing atop him. The Gurus had barely a chance to look at him when his Gates opened up under each of them in turn, sucking them in, causing them to never be seen again in the Dark Ages.
Janus had gone to watch the energy summoning every time to study Lavos after the incident with Life... to wait for the perfect chance to strike...
Now was not the right time.
Janus shouted, "Lavos! Look what you did to my sister and my mother! I will destroy you!"
Caught in the moment, Janus unsheathed a small knife. However, he would not get to use it, for a Lavos Gate caught him and sucked him in...
...and he was warped to the time where his name would change...