Moss the Chronicler is an unseen historical character in Final Fantasy XVI. He was a scholar on Valisthean history and legend whose controversial annals, the Journal of Moss, contains information about the Circle of Malius cult and their god, Ultima, that has otherwise largely been struck from official historical records.[1] Getting his hands on a rare copy of the journal with the Undying's help[2] inspired Joshua Rosfield to pursue knowledge on these subjects[3] to uncover the truth of the Night of Flames.[note 1]
While the young Harpocrates II Hyperboreos still lived on the outer continent, he met Moss when the scholar visited his village and briefly took the boy under his wing. Though Moss soon moved on to continue his travels, the encounter inspired the young Harpocrates to continue seeking knowledge and become a scholar himself.[1]
Moss was likely native to Valisthea and was only visiting the outer continent for scholarly pursuits, as he became a famous scholar in Valisthea at some point in time, and much of the contemporary knowledge of the antiquity of the Twins stems from Moss's research.[note 2] During the end of his career he delved into study of the ancient Circle of Malius cult and the god they worshipped. These findings were denounced as "baseless speculation" in many scholarly circles, spurred especially by rival scholars[2], and failed to become widespread, leading to Moss withdrawing from public life.[1]
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- ↑ Joshua is shown with a notebook with information about Eikons when he studies the mural in an apodytery on Ash.
Whether this is intended to be his copy of the Journal of Moss, his personal journal, or a book of different origin, is ambiguous.
- ↑ The Active Time Lore entry for the Continent also posits that only "intrepid traders" and "particularly curious scholars" (something Moss could certainly be characterized as) visit the outer continent due to the distance. The "Hidden Past" section of "The Journal of Moss" entry in the Mysteries of the Realm also says that after his travels in the outer continent, Moss returned to the Twins.
