Crystal (Type series)

A Crystal is located in each peristylium of Orience in Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito. They bestow each nation with a blessing and power to its citizens, representative of mankind's pursuits. Said to have been found long ago within their respective regions, they act as a means of political power, allowing their people to rule over their lands with a means of protection from invasion, and to inspire hope.

The four Crystals of Orience allude to the elemental crystals from the early Final Fantasy games. This continues a concept of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series where the series' core elements are re-imagined. In the early Final Fantasy games being made a Warrior of Light by a Crystal was shown in heroic light, but in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series the equivalent fate of a l'Cie reflects a more sinister state, calling the person's free will into question.

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The Crystals of Orience are sentient, and their Will is often expressed through a l'Cie of its choosing who are said to be unable to oppose the Will of the Crystals. The people of Orience revere the Crystals for their power, and in return the Crystals erase the personal memories associated with those who die among those who knew them. The Crystals are said to will for an equilibrium in the world, but their true purpose seems to be to compete for birthing Agito, culminating in the wars that ravage Orience.

In an interview found in the Final Fantasy Type-0 artbook, director Hajime Tabata said the Crystals have a limited Will of their own and, in terms of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology, are equivalent to the fal'Cie of Final Fantasy XIII. Among all nations, Crystals can brand individuals as l'Cie, giving them a task known as a Focus to achieve. l'Cie are given special powers and immortality, but at the risk of the expenditure of memories, spirit, and identity, should they fall into despair over the years.

Vermilion Bird Crystal
The Vermilion Bird Crystal is kept by the Dominion of Rubrum. The Crystal bestows the Power of Magic, allowing the people of Rubrum to use spells and powers that bend nature's phenomena to their will. Akademeia refines the use of magic through academics and training of individuals skilled or potent in magic use. The Crystal is of the classical shape seen throughout the series, and glows red. Those whom it wishes to brand as its l'Cie can hear it and it speaks in a female voice.

White Tiger Crystal
The White Tiger Crystal is kept by the Militesi Empire. The Crystal bestows the Power of Weapons, allowing people to interact with it freely through crafting arsenals and technology utilizing its energy. The White Peristylium researches the Crystal's properties, having derived magitek armor and all sorts of innovations for its use. Its appearance is that of a six pointed cross and it glows teal-white.

Azure Dragon Crystal
The Azure Dragon Crystal is kept by the Kingdom of Concordia. The Crystal bestows the Power of the Dragon, allowing its people to communicate and interact with monsters peacefully. The dragons that inhabit the kingdom are said to be a manifestation of the Crystals, and those who can speak with dragons and thus are in-tune with their Will. Its shape takes on that of a clear, rough orb of subtle blue.

Black Tortoise Crystal
The Black Tortoise Crystal is kept by the Lorican Alliance. The Crystal bestows the Power of the Shield, allowing its people to draw on its magic to grant them strength and robustness, profoundly greater than that of other realms'. Its shape is that of a verdant green heart.

Rursus Crystal
The mysterious Rursus Crystal is of different origin than the other Crystals, and is known to be active only during Tempus Finis, the end of the world. It creates the Rursan Reavers and chooses the Rursan Arbiter, the Judge said to decide on the fate of Orience. Where the Crystal is located is unknown, but it is assumed to be somewhere within Pandæmonium.

History of Orience
The four Crystals of Orience were created by Arecia Al-Rashia, a fal'Cie of the god Pulse. That's why the l'Cie branded by the Crystals have the Pulse l'Cie brand. The world of Orience is but an experiment to find Etro's Gate, the gateway to afterlife. The deities, the Crystals included, are soulless, and to find the gate need the souls of humans.

As part of her experiment Arecia plans to cultivate an Agito, a prime soul that would open Etro's Gate, and the legend of Agito becomes known among the populace as a messiah who appears during Tempus Finis, the end of the world. Tempus Finis begins when one Crystal controls all of Orience, and thus the Crystals vie for power across the land.

The Crystals brand l'Cie to express their Will in the world. Although many of the l'Cie's Foci are unknown, it appears each Crystal wants the Agito to be born of the people of its nation, and thus try to initiate Tempus Finis by having their Crystal-Nation take over Orience. Once Tempus Finis starts a sanctuary rises from the ocean and its Judge will make the Final Decision: If no one in Orience is fit to become Agito, Orience will be destroyed and reborn, the spiral started anew in wait for another Tempus Finis. The Rursus Crystal appears active during this time, assumed to be the creation of Gala rather than Arecia.

Final Fantasy Type-0
Marshal Cid Aulstyne took over the Militesi Empire after its emperor mysteriously disappeared, and developed a way to subjugate the White Tiger Crystal. The empire is the only nation that has figured out a way to subjugate their Crystal, and thus, its l'Cie. Many people of the other nations view this as the empire having defiled their Crystal, but Cid views living under the Crystal's Will a type of enslavement and wishes to free Orience from their power. With the White Tiger Crystal under his control, the empire developed a crystal jammer that disables other nations' Crystals. Cid sends his army, including magitek armor, airships and l'Cie, to dominate Orience.

Cid has the White Tiger Secundus l'Cie Qun'mi Tru'e power up the empire's weapon of mass destruction, the Ultima Bomb, to obliterate Lorica and its Black Peristylium. Lorica is wiped off the map and Cid has the Black Tortoise Crystal excavated from its ruins. It is unknown what ultimately happens to the Black Tortoise Crystal, but its l'Cie seem to have lost sight of their Foci, and gone mad.

The White Tiger Crystal appears to try and resist being subjugated, but to slim avail. Its Primus l'Cie Nimbus appears reluctant to follow Cid, but does so nonetheless. The White Tiger Crystal responds when Queen Andoria invokes the Fabula Pact, a peace agreement made between the four peristylia of Orience rather than with their governments. When Cid realizes this, he only wryly remarks it being "quaint".

As Queen Andoria is a Secundus l'Cie of the Azure Dragon Crystal, thus heeding its Will, and because the Vermilion Bird Crystal began to shine right before the queen invoked the pact, it can be assumed the Crystals themselves will for the war to end and thus have Andoria invoke the pact. When the queen meets with the cadets of Class Zero she says peace is the Will of the Crystals, and should the cadets violate it, it would only lead to Tempus Finis. However, the agreement is soon broken when Cid has the queen assassinated, and war sweeps across all of Orience. The new King of Concordia hands the Azure Dragon Crystal to the empire.

The Vermilion Bird Crystal appears to have realized what is happening, and in an unexpected move has its two l'Cie take up arms and contribute to the war effort to defeat the Militesi-Concordia coalition. It tasks its Secundus l'Cie, Lady Caetuna, with summoning a Verboten Eidolon to annihilate the Militesi forces while its Primus l'Cie Lord Zhuyu takes out the Azure Dragon Primus l'Cie Soryu. Rubrum reigns victorious and as they take over the White Peristylium Tempus Finis begins, Pandæmonium rises from the sea and Rursan Reavers, magitek creatures birthed by the mysterious Rursan Crystal, the only Crystal not created by Arecia, lay waste to Orience.

Cid has a White Tiger l'Cie take him to Pandæmonium to become Agito. Despite his efforts to prevent it, he is made a l'Cie of the Rursan Crystal by the fal'Cie Gala and turned into the Rursan Arbiter. The Azure Dragon Secundus l'Cie Celestia helps the cadets of Class Zero of the nation of Rubrum set foot in Pandæmonium, but defies the Will of the Azure Dragon Crystal in doing this, and loses her humanity. The Vermilion Bird Crystal senses a White Tiger l'Cie in Pandæmonium and brands Rem Tokimiya as its l'Cie, sending her to Pandæmonium so one of its own will become Agito. Rem engages the White Tiger l'Cie, revealed to be Machina, but both enter crystal stasis.

Despite the Crystals' efforts, it appears one who becomes l'Cie cannot be Agito, because the soul of the human must be strong on its own, not given itself to a Crystal. In the spirals where Class Zero accepts the Vermilion Bird Crystal's offer to become l'Cie, the cadets are slain, and the spiral started a new. In the 600,104,972nd spiral Class Zero turns down the offer, and wins against the Rursan Arbiter as mortals. Instead of restarting the spiral, Arecia listens to the cadets' souls and learns they have made their own decision on how they met their end, and wish not to be revived. Arecia departs from Orience, abandoning the experiment to find Etro's Gate with the Agito.

A new era dawns on Orience as without Arecia, the light of the Crystals fades and without them, people are allowed to remember the dead. The wars that had plagued the world since its formation come to a stop, but without the Crystals' power a dark age begins, with mankind having to learn to cope on its own. Machina becomes instrumental in bringing Orience out of this dark age and uniting it in an era of peace.

In an alternate ending Arecia removes the Crystals from Orience's history, and the war never happens.

Trivia

 * The four Crystals of Orience allude to the elemental crystals familiar from the early Final Fantasy series: Vermilion Bird represents the Fire Crystal, the White Tiger Crystal represents the Water Crystal, the Black Tortoise Crystal represents the Earth Crystal, and the Azure Dragon Crystal represents the Wind Crystal.