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§ Zeal
12000 BC, The Kingdom of Zeal was one of the most magical and unique locations in an RPG game for it's time. It had continents floating among the clouds, waterfalls and palaces, coupled with the stunning music to set the scene. But with this beauty, the floating continents and ice age from Lavos' arrival blocked the sun from the world's surface below and caused violent snow storms. Music: If anything, Zeal seems to be based on various Hindu and Indian motifs. The first thing one notices when there is the interesting music. The Eastern instrument choices and the melody were the largest sign of this motif at work. This also includes the music style found in Schala's theme as the "Do-Re-Mi" of western music is replaced with the "Sa-Re-Ga-Ma" and scales typical of Indian compositions. Gurus: One of the first things to be learnt in Enhasa is that this place is where The Three Gurus really originated from. In Hinduism & Tibetan Buddhism, a guru is a personal spiritual teacher. In CT, the word is used more as meaning: teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters, trusted counselor and advisor, a mentor. The Gurus and people of Zeal are always seeking knowledge through magic and enriching themselves.
Caste System: Gurus are also members of the Brahman class, the highest Varna in the caste system. Zeal has a strong, crystallized caste system, which is the way Queen Zeal sees the Kingdom in order. People of lower castes (non-magic users) and higher castes (magic users) are highly separated and cannot freely move in between without generations of change. The classes seem to be royalty, sages/gurus, nobles/strong magic users, weak/primitive magic users and the non magic users (who are used for grunt work). The sky blue hair being a status symbol of the Enlightened Ones is just another representation of Zeal's caste system. In Hindu literature, the sky is the color of Vishnu's skin (blue). A sign of Divine manifestation is this color because the heavens and oceans are blue. The Zeal Kingdom itself is also in the heavens. Only when the Kingdom is destroyed, the caste system is destroyed with it. Nobody was able to use magic anymore, except for the monster-like race known as Mystics (demons). Chrono and some of his friends were able to learn magic from Spekkio because they descended from ancient magic users. Beliefs: Within Zeal's Kingdom many people are researching, observing and questioning the universe. A poyozo in Enhasa is lying on a bed and questions your beliefs - it asks whether you believe in fate or in controlling it. Several other characters also talk about reincarnation, while Doreen (ドリーン which almost can be read as Dream) explains that everyone's perception of reality is different from one another. This ties back to the caste system, which still exists today. Central to the caste system were the ideas of samsara (reincarnation) and karma (quality of action). The belief is that if one obeys the rules of caste, reincarnation into a higher caste is possible. Cosmic Egg: Many of the events in CT and CC, especially those surrounding Schala and Kid involve "eggs" being used to change history. An "egg" represents birth or creation, and many myths of creation describe a cosmic egg containing the seeds or possibilities of everything. The Hindu texts known as the Upanishads also describe the creation of the universe as the breaking of a cosmic egg. Atlantis: Some people believe there was once an ancient and advanced civilization that sank into the sea around 12000 BC. Not unusual that the kingdom of Zeal also sank into the sea around that time! By watching Gainax' 'Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water' and Disney's 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire', (both based on 20,000 Leagues under the sea and the myth of Atlantis popularized by Edgar Cayce) you'll notice that Schala bears more than a few resemblances to both Nadia and Kida. They're exotic princesses holding a pendant (with a blue jewel) which merges with and controls a power source found at their long lost civilizations. Also worth noting is that ancient Hindu (Vedic) scriptures dating back thousands of years also refer to technologies which were inexplicably lost. In reality those ancient technlogies were later reinvented - something that has yet to be explained today. Kajar: The city Kajar (カジャール) was committed to the advancement of black magic and intelligence. It's by the Queen's order that various studies are being conducted. It was named after a dynasty in Iran's history founded by Agha Muhammed (1794 AD). The people here would be of higher Varna as they are seemingly teachers, researchers. Enhasa: The one other City, Enhasa (エンハーサ) is the city of dreams. The people here have a strong interest in sleeping and interpreting dreams. Beings (like Masa, Mune and Doreen) can be materialized and de-materialized through the use of dreams and Lavos' power. A sleeping man in the city tells the player that reality exists within dreams and that the universe exists within everyone - a Hindu belief. It is also suggested that all the sleeping people's energies are being drawn into Lavos, thus they are all lethargic and pale. Architecture: The architecture of buildings all over Zeal, including the palaces show a lot of Persian or Indian influence. The colors and shapes are definite giveaways at first. The rich gold and white colors on the spire-topped buildings resemble famous temples such as the Taj Mahal. The Ocean Palace was also called Ocean Floor Temple Vimanam in the Japanese version, a style of Indian architecture. A Sun Stone was once the source of energy for the Zeal Kingdom. Ever since a new source related to Lavos was found, the old one was sealed away in the Sun Keep (Shrine of Light). Lavos' new power source was alien and stronger than all the elements of their own planet. It is very likely that Lavos manipulated everyone of Zeal Kingdom, starting with Queen Zeal after her husband died. Mammon Machine: "Mammon means the devil who is the Lord of Money" wrote Thomas Aquinas. Avarice is a worldly sin that creates misers, thieves and murderers. The wolf is the animal usually depicted in medieval bestiaries, coming up from hell carrying Mammon to inflame the human heart with Greed. It's called 魔神器 (Devil Vessel) in the Japanese version though. Nu: Nu (ヌゥ) are strange purple machines that are programmable to store data. You find a book that belonged to a Guru which says, "The Mystery of Life, Vol. 841, Ch. 26. All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu. This is the truth! This is my belief! ...at least for now." In Egyptology: "Nu is a swirling watery chaos from which the cosmic order was produced. In the beginning there was only Nu." The watery chaos they mention is primeval fluid. Black Wind: This is an ability the royal family seems to possess which foretells death. It could be related to being exposed to Lavos. In the Wheel of Time fantasy novel series by Robert Jordan, there's a "black wind" (also called "Machin Shin") as well. People who get in contact with this Black Wind end up mad, or loose their souls and become mindless shells. Random Items: Again, the English version of the game had plenty of Hindu references thrown in. It really made no sense because other things (such as alcoholic drinks) were censored out.
Design: Even with all the Hindu or Buddist references, Zeal is was a unique and memorable creation for its time. The Arabic and Middle Eastern references are not just in 12000 BC, they continue onto CT's present. Scenes depict people in turbans, saris, cylindrical caps with tassels and a whole lot more. The style of headdress and clothes Marle wore at her and Crono's wedding of the PSX omake cutscenes also support the theme. The theme was then carried onto Chrono Cross on many levels. § back |