Schala (サラ , Sara?) is the gentle, demure, and beautiful princess of Zeal, and a major character in Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.
"I know you can't forgive her but...please don't hate mother, or our kingdom." — Schala to her brother |
Physical Appearance
Adorned in purple robes, Schala sports voluminous purple or blue hair that she keeps tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon. She wears huge circular earrings and a Dreamstone Pendant, and has very pale skin. She often appears downcast or melancholy. For unknown reasons, in Chrono Cross Schala looks radically different, appearing to be a fraction of her original age with much shorter blond hair and a simple white dress.
Storyline
Chrono Trigger
Schala is the princess of Zeal and is the last to ever carry that title. Born into royalty, she was immediately identified as having a penchant for magic. Some speculated her ability surpassed Queen Zeal's. When the Mammon Machine was constructed, she was given a special Pendant to control it and the other Sealed Doors. Her younger brother Janus was said to have gotten along well with her. She deeply cared for her younger sibling and looked out for him. Perhaps only she and Melchior knew of Janus' true power as well, for Janus expressed feeling the Black Wind to her at times.
Schala also visited Algetty, where she entertained the children there and convened with the Elder. The people of Algetty later remarked that only she treated them as equals. After Crono's team was captured in her era, she mercifully released them in hope that they would, in turn, free Melchior from The Mountain of Woe. Unfortunately, The Prophet forced her to seal the Gate from which they arrived after they went back through. The party was able to return to her period aboard the Epoch, and after Melchior was freed and the party regrouped among the Earthbound Ones, she noted that she had refused to help bring the Ocean Palace to full speed.
However Dalton soon kidnapped her, threatening to kill her if the action were taken against him. There, she was forced to use the Pendant to unlock the Mammon Machine's full potential, which caused the Ocean Palace Incident. Horrified at the wild energies and dark auras erupting from the Machine, she attempted to stop it but was shocked into submission by her mother.
In her last gesture, she transported Magus and the remaining party members away after Crono was killed in his attempt to save her while stopping Lavos. This was her final appearance; she remained behind in the middle of the collapsing palace. The only solace concerning her demise came at the ending of Chrono Trigger when Magus noted that he would search for her in the year 12000 BC without fail. After defeating Lavos, it would become his main objective.
One of the unexplained mysteries in Chrono Trigger is what occurred regarding Schala in the Lavos Timeline during the original Ocean Palace Incident. Since her pendant was passed down to Marle, it is generally accepted that Schala was able to transport herself and possibly her mother out of the Palace before its collapse (her mother's absence tidily explaining why the Black Omen never originally arose).
She also makes an appearance in the DS version of Chrono Trigger as part of the Dream Devourer, the secret final boss and the Time Devourer's unevolved form. She and the being were somehow bound both physically and mentally. After "defeating" the Dream Devourer she has a conversation with Magus. She regains control of herself for only a limited time and teleports Crono's team away. and She then tells Magus he cannot hope to save her as long as people lean on the crutch of power. While the other Magus then becomes quite angry and erases his own memories in an attempt to do as Schala asks and save her without "power". He finds himself is in the woods with no memories except that he is in search of something.
Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki
Although never mentioned by name in Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki, Schala is referenced indirectly as a "girl from a far-off kingdom" who destroyed that Kingdom (Zeal). Schala felt tremendous guilt for her actions. The Frozen Flame picked up on these emotions and unaged her, erased her memories, and sent her through time, where she was raised as Kid.
Chrono Cross
Schala's fate at the end of Chrono Trigger is finally revealed in the Ocean Palace, Schala was consumed in a dimensional vortex that brought her to the Darkness Beyond Time with the ruined Mammon Machine. There, where Lavos sat defeated by Crono, she was cruelly absorbed by the monster, resulting in the Dream Devourer. Apparently, her fusion gave Lavos the ability to consume time by giving it away back into time or boosting its magical ability.
The pure hatred and enmity of Lavos filled her mind, and she became split in wanting to destroy all existence and save the world and herself. This being was not complete, however, but eventually, the Dream Devourer would mature and begin destroying the universe. As Schala remained bound to Lavos, she heard Serge crying from being wounded by a panther demon, and struggled with all her might to make contact with the time period 1006 A.D. This caused the magnetic storm that nullified the power systems of Chronopolis and allowed Serge to touch the Frozen Flame and become its Arbiter.
Before the hatred in her mind took over, she also cloned herself in the form of Kid and sent the baby to Lucca at an unspecified time (though the cloning had to take place in the year 1004 A.D.). Her ancient pendant was given to Kid for protection as well. Thanks to Project Kid, Serge, and his group were able to utilize the Time Egg and defeat the Time Devourer. Using the Chrono Cross, they restored the dimensions into one and seamlessly separated Schala from the evil entity that was binding her.
She then delivered an oration on the struggle of lifeforms to truly achieve "life" and evolve into something beautiful and new entirely. Before Serge returned to his own time, she noted that she would find him someday. The last appearance of Schala in the Chrono series is, like her disappearance in Chrono Trigger, painfully without stable ground. It is unknown where she goes after she is freed, or why finding Serge would be such an impossible task considering she knows that he is in the year 1020 A.D. Oddly enough as well as the fact that she makes no mention of Magus, a brother who has devoted his life to finding her. However, the most enigmatic aspect of the ending is her deliverance of a few lines in Kid's manner of speaking and her signing the ending journal entry as Schala "Kid" Zeal. This raises the question of whether the two were fused together, but considering that Kid had declared her independence on Opassa Beach and that we never see such a fusion, it is unlikely. There is also the issue of Schala giving her pendant to Kid and therefore not allowing Marle to receive it by way of Guardian heirloom.
Additionally, it is worth noting that Harle has a strong resemblance to Kid in facial and physical features. She also shares the same fortune as given by the Fortune Teller of Termina. Many attribute this to the fact that if the Dragon God were to create a human being, the closest set of genetics would be Schala trapped within the Time Devourer. Kid and Harle could thus conceivably come from Schala's genotype.
Trivia
- Schala's original Japanese name was Sara, a Hebrew name that means "queen", "royalty", or "noblewoman." This was also the name of Abraham's wife.
- A running trend in the Enlightened Ones is the color of their clothing: purple. Especially documented in Schala, Janus, and Alfador (in this case, his fur). In human color psychology, purple is also associated with royalty and nobility (stemming from classical antiquity when Tyrian purple was only affordable to the elites), which lends explanation to this trend.
Musical Theme
| Music Title | Music Track |
|---|---|
| Schala's Theme |
Gallery
in-game Screenshots
Animated Sprites
In-Game Sprites
Artwork
FMV
Other
| Characters |
| Playable Characters |
| Serge - Kid - Gil |
| Non-playable characters |
| Lynx - Riddel - General Viper - Vera - Zorander - Grismeld -
Merkid - Lucca - Schala - Serge's Grandchild - Radius - Noella - Pollen - Siren - Shea |
| Locations |
| Viper Manor |
| Terrace - Study - Ballroom - Armory - Catacombs - Riddel's Room - Lynx's Quarters - Kitchenette - Atrium - Torture Room - Gear Room - Treasure Room - Dark Forest - Zeal Ruins |
| Porre |
| Enemies |
| Goblin - Skeleton - Feral Cat - Piranha - Gryphon - Demonic Warlock - Poltergheist - Devil Circle - Lilith |
| Items |
| Potion - Treasure Room Key - Catacombs Key - Gold Crown -
Frozen Flame - Einlanzer - Dragoon Ring - Chrono Trigger |
| Key Terms |
| Mouth of Truth - Music Box - Mirror of Whispers - Golden Beetle - Acacia Dragoons |