Magic (Final Fantasy XVI)

The art of channeling aether to make one's imagination manifest. This can take the aspect of one of the eight elements—fire, water, wind, earth, ice, thunder, light, and dark—or more rarely, be unaspected.

Mysteries of the Realm

Image for "Magic" in Active Time Lore.

Magic (魔法, Mahō?) and magicks are phenomena in Final Fantasy XVI; the phenomenon itself is called "magic" whereas the manifestations themselves are called "casting magicks". Magicks are cast by channeling ambient aether via a crystal shard or via one's own body in the case of Bearers and Dominants (and presumably monsters and beastmen). Magicks are typically of one of the eight elements of the realm, though "typeless" magic also exists. The phenomenon of magic is to use aether, the life energy of the land, to make one's imagination manifest. Magic-use is considered impossible on the deadlands due to lack of ambient aether, though Dominants can still prime by expending their own aether, such as with Hugo Kupka at Cid's Hideout.

See also: Magitek (Final Fantasy XVI)

Magic and society

Magic-use predates the appearance of Bearers and Dominants, and the Fallen were avid users of it, their strongest magic-users being known as "Eikonoklastes", but they did not summon Eikons like modern day's Dominants do. The Fallen used magitek (magic technology); to utilize magitek weaponry, individuals who could perform magic were needed. The Fallen's use of magic has disappeared from Valisthea in present day, though some of magitek-like constructs, now known as "echoes", still linger.

The Final Fantasy XVI Ultimania timeline on magitek- and magic-users states that while magitek flourished, many individuals were born with higher than usual attunement to aether, similar to modern day Bearers, and were called "summoners" (translated as "Eikonoklastes" in English) for their ability to "summon" the power of magitek. A part of this term passed down in the term "summons" ("Eikons" in English).

Civilization on the Twins relies on magic-use in the form of crystal shards mined from Mothercrystals and the enslavement of Bearers, and sometimes even Dominants, such as with Jill Warrick. Magic is used to cure the wounded, power forges, provide potable water, fight wars, and is even used for mundane tasks like preserving food by chilling it, and drying laundry or doing gardening with the aid of wind magicks. Bearers and Dominants appear to each use a certain aspect of magic, but typeless or ambiguously aspected magic is also witnessed, such as Benedikta Harman lighting her cigarette with magic even if she is a wind magic user. Akashic are beings, humans and animals alike, whose bodies are filled with aether to such extent they lose sense of individuality and are overtaken by primal aggression. It appears that when this happens, the turned may gain the ability to use magic even if they did not have such power previously.

The Iron Kingdom worships Mothercrystals as deities and forbids magic use.

Magical thinking outside of channeling aether exists, such as in religious beliefs, belief in Metia as a wish-granting star, and astrologers making predictions of the future.

Magic and Ultima

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Magic used in modern day Valisthea was discovered by the Ultima collective thousands of years ago, a race of beings that once built a society based on magic-use, but fell to ruin after it brought forth the Blight that rendered their homeland uninhabitable. Sixteen survivors of their species cast aside their corporeal bodies to exist as aetherial beings and journeyed to Valisthea on Origin, a crystal vessel that hosted the "nexus", the wellspring of magic. The Ultima collective either brought with them, and constructed while in Valisthea, "living machines" that in modern day parlance are known as "echoes", which appear to operate on magic as they do not require any apparent fuel or sustenance. After Primogenesis, Ultima activates the echoes to wander Valisthea.

The collective's plan was to breed a new species to habit Valisthea with seeds of magic inside them, one day culminating in a body strong enough to wield all types of magic at once and channel the mass quantities of aether that the Mothercrystals, by that time, will have harvested to cast "Raise", a spell to remake the world and revive Ultima's species to live in this new Blight-free world alone. Ultima dubbed this prophesied savior of their species "Mythos" and planned for Eikons to one way awaken to express and hold the different elements of magic for Mythos to absorb, building Mythos stronger with every Eikon they would absorb.

Eikons use the strongest forms of magic, and their Egis are capable of casting potent magicks corresponding to the elemental alignment of their creator. The Mothercrystals' hearts also use powerful magicks, such as the heart of Drake's Breath that animates a lava creature in Liquid Flame, or the heart of Drake's Tail that erects a magicked barrier, and projects energy beams.

Though depicted as something that Ultima invented, magic appears to be a natural phenomenon at its core, seeing that animals and beastmen can use it, having evolved with exposure to aether. The Active Time Lore also posits that magic is something the Ultima collective discovered, rather than created. The bard at Northreach mentions forbidden magicks when theorizing about the "frozen wave" seen off the coast of Royal Meadows (after "Under New Management II" quest), but what this entails is unknown. Using magic the way Ultima devised it brings about the Blight and the crystals' curse, both stemming from sapping of aether from the land and the body, respectively. Animals who use magic are not known to suffer from this. The Fallen's magic-fueled wars brought the Blight to Valisthea, which hastened wars over aether resources.

The Ultima collective's champion, Mythos, eventually awakens in Clive Rosfield, the Dominant of Ifrit, but they never succeed in taking over Clive's body, as his will is too strong. Clive instead fights the Ultima collective's machinations, destroys the recombined collective, and absorbs their magic powers, using it to destroy the nexus and eradicating Bearers, Dominants, Eikons, crystals, and hopefully Blight, from Valisthea. Magic falls into legend, passed onto future generations in a book called Final Fantasy.

Spoilers end here.

Gameplay

Clive can use magic in the field when not in a settled area (though this will have no effect), and in battle. Magic is disabled when he is on the "Dim", a deadlands area north of Eastpool, but there are no enemies there so this has no gameplay effect.

A fire-aspected charged shot is named "Fira".

The default button for magic us , and the player can use a small ranged and homing magic missile freely without charge time. Holding charges the magic into a much more powerful charged shot; using the charged shot has similar amount to iframes as dodge, and the player can chain the shot from a dodge. Tapping the button during Phoenix Shift chains into a shift shot, which the same as charged shot. Finishing a melee combo with magic also results in a magic burst, unless when comboing with the Arm of Darkness.

Clive's currently equipped Eikon changes the element of the magic spell used with , but this is merely cosmetic as enemies do not have elemental resistances or weaknesses.

Clive uses fire magic and fires from a satellite at the same time.

Satellite adds familiars that float near Clive and attack his target with lasers whenever the player uses the execute button for magic, even when Clive cannot use magic at that time, such as during other abilities' animations.

All of Clive's abilities, besides the basic sword strikes (default used with ), can be considered magic. Eikonic abilities have cooldown periods, but regular magic does not, though the flaming sword and magic burst need charging by holding the buttons for them.

During the brief moment the player is in control of Joshua, the player can use Curaga.

Fire.

Firaga.

Aero.

Aerora.

Thunder.

Stone.

Stonera.

Dia.

Diara.

Blizzard.

Blizzara.

Dark.

Darkra.

Etymology and interpretation

[view · edit · purge]Magic or sorcery is an attempt to understand, experience and influence the world using rituals, symbols, actions, gestures and language that are believed to exploit supernatural forces.

"Eikonoklastes" in the English version of Final Fantasy XVI, the original term for magic-powered living beings that became the stem for the word "Eikon" in modern day Valisthea, comes from "iconoclasm": belief in the importance of the destruction of icons (especially religious and/or political). People who partake in iconoclasm are called "iconoclasts", a term that has come to be applied to those who challenge entrenched beliefs or institutions. This use of the term in Final Fantasy XVI refers to the Fallen civilization using magic in ways Ultima had not intended, presumably including or referring to magitek.

In the Japanese version, the ancient magic users were simply "summoners" (able to bring magitek creations into life, or "summon" them) and Eikons are called "summoned beasts", the same term for summoned monsters used throughout the Final Fantasy series.