Post by mugenginga on Aug 10, 2009 1:11:28 GMT -5
Full Name: Prince Janus Zeal
Name he goes by: Magus
Nickname(s): Fiendlord
Age: ? (Early to Mid-Thirties)
Height: ? (Tall end of Tall)
Weight: ? (Light end of Heavy due to muscles)
Gender: Male
Race: Human (technically)
Alliance: Neutral
Hometown: Kingdom of Zeal (Long since fallen)
Home: Considers himself to have none
Franchise: Chrono Trigger
Physical Description
Magus is intimidating no matter what way you slice it. He has an almost overbeaering level of confidence about him and his muscles are extremely well developed. They don't hinder his speed, either, as the guy is quite limber. His hair is long, coming down to his waist, and colored blue with a hint of purple. His skin is as pale as a dead body. He has long pointed ears, each one with a small silver triangle dangle earring. The triangle point faces down.
He wears a upper body armor that is of hardened leather, but nothing to cover his upper body beyond that. He has soft leather gloves that extend about half way up his lower arm. He is known for fidgeting with them out of boredom, almost like a nervous tick. A navy sash is srapped around his waist and tied in the back in a fashion that prevents any fabric from hanging down. It hides a belt.
He has on purple pants and stiff leather boots that look vaguely like non-patterened cowboy boots. Steel is around the ankles as support, and they are steel toed. His right leg has a steel band about halfway up his upper leg, it appears to be for show. On his left side a silver decorative looking thing hangs from his waist.
He has a navy cloak (same shade as his belt sash) that he wears in a traditional medieval style, meaning the part around his neck and shoulders hands in a similar way to some togas. Its slightly jagged at the edges but its hard to see unless the wind blows it or its fluttering for whatever reason. He'll sometimes wear a blood red version of the same cloak.
Weapons
Magus uses scythes and can use just about anyone he gets his hand on with varying degrees of success. His favored and current weapon he has named the "Doom Sickle" due to an odd property it possesses. It has an inherent property (meaning that an area where magic wouldn't work would not effect it) that causes it to cause more damage for up to two allies that are incapacated in any form, be it unconsious or death. If one of his allies falls, the weapon can do twice as much damage. If two allies fall, it can do three times as much damage. However, the boost can't go beyond triple damage/two fallen allies. If the fallen ally is revived somehow, the efffect for that ally drops.
The Doom Sickle is at its basest level, a scythe. The staff is silver, but some sort of tempering has made it amazingly strong. All metal parts are black, and no science (including that of his past kingdom) can identify the specific metal. At the bottom is a metal "cap" of sorts that comes to a point. Magus can use this to aid in walking. The scythe is fairly thin, but the staff continues past the scythe to form a point that could easily be used in the fashion of a spear (although the weapon is not balanced for use this way). On the blade some runes are carved, although it takes a close look to actually see symbols and not shallow grooves in the blade. The runes are what gives the Doom Sickle its power.
The entire weapon stand taller than Magus. The top of the blade comes to just below the top of his head. Its the pointed top that extends higher, the final point being about two inches or so above his head.
Abilities/Powers
Magus is capable of fighting physically with his scythe, but it isn't his preferred or most proficient form of combat. He much prefers to use his magic, which combines the power of the three magics of his world into a form known as "Shadow". He is extroidinarily skilled with this magic, and he can cast a variety of spells. Stronger spells take longer to chant, and the full spell most be said before it takes effect. He has phenomenal concentration against distractions, so he has to actually be attacked to break it. He is good about misleading the opponent or getting to a more protected place on the battlefield to cast his spells. He tends to chant very quietly, its basically impossible to hear him unless you're close by or have phenomenal hearing and actually trying. Its gibberish to most people, anyhow, and doesn't have a direct translation.
He has the potential to combine his magic with others, but he isn't much of a team player. Its easiest for him if he has some kind of artifact to boost his power, and exactly what the resulting attack is varies on the artifact. He prefers mystic gems, but could feasibly use others.
He also has a variety of skills that don't have any "form" and can be cast if he feels like it. For instance, he has turned one person into an anthropomorphic frog. There is no set system for these improvised spells and he prefers to stick with his old standbys, as listed below.
Lightning2 - Damage is less against those resistant to lightning, ineffective to those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from lightning (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like a lightning elemental. Note that electricity and lightning are different for the purpose of this).
Incantation - "Ri zumo ni kara... LIGHTNING2!"
A quick chant and sheet lightning strikes the area, hitting every enemy he knows the location of.
Ice2 - Damage is less to those resistant to ice, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from ice (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like an ice elemental).
Incantation - "Mi zara na kuro... ICE2!"
A quick chant and several extremely large blocks of ice will hit every enemy he knows the location of.
Fire2 - Damage is less to those resistant to fire, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from fire (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like a fire elemental).
Incantation - "Hi zuno ne kala... FIRE2!"
A quick chant and balls of fire will hit every enemy he knows the location of.
Dark Bomb - Damage is less to those resistant to dark magic, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from darkness (not those who use it, but who actually take power from it, like some demons).
Incantation - "Ya mora nare zumol... DARK BOMB!"
An area attack that has a chance of clipping allies if they stand in the area it explodes. Basically a burst of dark energy from a single point of his choosing, although he has to see the area.
Magic Wall
Incantation - "Ma mere eiro-ku zor... MAGIC WALL!"
Magus can cast a protective barrier around allies or himself that will reduce the damage from magical attacks. Psychic powers are treated as magical attacks for the purpose of this spell.
Dark Mist - Damage is less to those resistant to dark magic, barely noticable to those normally immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from darkness (not those who use it, but who actually take power from it, like some demons).
Incantation - "Ya amu uwen-ki suru lan... DARK MIST!"
He summons a dark fog like mist that wraps itself around the enemies. With some additional chanting he can guide it to avoid his allies.
Black Hole - Those who can freely traverse the dimensions are immune to this.
Incantation - "Anu piro mire iori sanz puru anu kara zent... BLACK HOLE!"
A somewhat risky spell that rarely works on strong enemies, and never on those considered "bosses". Due to the effect on dimensions the island has, it forces open a portal that tries to pull any enemies in the general area into it, even if he can't see them. He has no control where on the island the portal opens back up. It could even be right behind him. In his own world it sent the enemies to another dimension. Who knows, he might have sent some of his enemies to Dimension Island with this.
Dark Matter - Full damage to those resistant to dark magic, reduced damage to those normally immune to it. Oddly, it doesn't seem to heal all but the strongest of those who take power from darkness, perhaps because it kills all but the strongest despite having a matching "element".
Incantation - "Anumo miran reo zalz woru-pito yaza en juru aka-ze quoro... DARK MATTER!"
Easily his strongest spell. It takes the most concentration and the most words to cast. A triangle of cosmic dark energy will open up on the battle field and the energy will damage anything it catches, including allies stupid enough to walk into the spell. It lasts up to ten seconds before dissipating, and Magus must maintain concentration the whole time. It can be cut short if Magus is attacked while it is active.
Skills
Magus is fairly good at disguising himself, and was able to fool even the one who considered himself his arch-enemy at the time when an awry spell sent him (Magus) back to the era he was born. He does need to be able to cover his ears, but he can change his voice really well. Those really close to him do tend to suspect things, as his sister did.
He's also got remarkably good charisma for his looks. He can rally people (or monsters) behind him. He finds his ability to use magic especially useful in this. In a world where magic is a dime a dozen, he wouldn't be as good at this. He's good about reading people and telling them what they want to hear.
He can conceal his emotions fairly well too. To most he's intimidating and stoic, but he's actually got a lot of emotional turmoil going on inside, particularly relating to his sister.
He has limited powers of omen. He usually can't tell exactly what's going to happen, and never exactly how, but a force the people of his kingdom call(ed) the "Black Wind" will sometimes alert him to things. Its this "wind" that allows him to know a situation is dangerous or when something extremely bad is going to happen. Once in a very great while he will be able to predict a specific event (such as a person's death), although not how. This ability seems strongest in the Zeal royal line, and his sister possesses a stronger form.
Personality
Not easily impressed, stoic, single-minded. Magus is dark and tends to not like nonsense. His entire being is all but consumed with trying to save his sister from an unknown fate. He tends to take actions for one of two reasons. To prevent his death or to save his sister. And saving his sister will ALWAYS take priority.
He's not a team player, even his weapon supporting the falling of allies in battle. He has ZERO sense of humor. Any that you see him with is likely a result of him trying to manipulate someone or something. He wants to save his sister however he can.
Magus is also blunt. He won't try to tiptoe around a point. If he thinks you're an idiot, he'll tell you right out. He doesn't care what other people think about him or anything else. He can't "take a hint". He also thinks he's always right, but that's more from his general feeling of superiority. He really does think he's better than everyone else and can do more than everyone else. Those without magic he looks upon with disdain, a residual of his early years.
He does value strong allies, but his definition of strong is a little skewed. "Strong" means showing no mercy and not letting emotions interfere with a fight (never mind that the way he acts in his attempts to save Schala make him the world's biggest hypocrite).
Just don't insult his sister. It's very likely your head will be detached if you insult Schala. He cares for her more than reality itself and if he thought he had to destroy all realities to create one where his sister would be happy, he would. He would very much "make a deal with the devil" if it guaranteed his sister's safety.
All of these dark and obsessive emotions and actions cloud his aura. He has been described as possessing a tainted soul, a corrupt aura.
History
Magus was born Prince Janus Zeal in the magical and scientific kingdom of Zeal that floated above the clouds of his world around 12,000 BC. He was raised to believe himself to be better than those that could not use magic, the ones his kingdom called the "Earthbound Ones". His mother, Queen Zeal, wasn't cruel, but she was strict and while she loved Janus, didn't care for him much. She focused most of her attention on the crowned princess, Schala Zeal. Despite that Janus cared for his mother deeply, and his sister more than anything in the world.
When Janus was around seven, his mother began to change. She was forcing her daughter to use a magic that dwarfed that of everyone else in the kingdom to not only increase prosperity, but to get closer to her goal of unlimitless power through the god-being known as Lavos. Lavos was credited by the kingdom as the source of their power and the queen wanted more.
When Janus was around eight, he no longer considered the queen to be his mother. He had seen her lust for power change her. One day, a man demanded an audience with the queen. He was very mysterious and refused to show his face to anyone except Zeal herself. His uncanny knowledge of future events earned him a place at Zeal's side and the title "Prophet of Zeal." Janus quickly found himself hating the man, and refused to talk to him no matter how he tried.
One day, a spiky red-headed teenager appeared in the kingdom. He was always seen with two other people, although it depended on when you saw him who he was with. The two other people were a combination of either a sassy girl in a ponytail, a girl with purple hair and a goggle-helmet combo that was way out there, an anthropomorphic frog, a robot, or a brash woman dressed in animal furs. When Janus ran into them for the first time, he heard got one of his extremely rare and clear omens. One of the members of the group was going to die soon. He delivered the message rather flatly before forcing his way past the group.
Shortly after this, the red-headed boy broke into Queen Zeal's throne room and after a fight, she sealed the three members of the group in light. The Prophet wanted them killed, but Princess Schala intervened and in a rare moment of softness, he complied and said he would spare them only if they showed him how they got to the time. He forced Schala to seal the time gates, although anyone paying attention could see he was in pain at ordering Schala. She didn't want to, she felt the three could save her mother.
When Schala tried to reason with her mother, the queen all but exploded on the girl. The only reason she didn't was likely because she knew she needed the heir. Schala fled the kingdom, using the Skyways that connected the kingdom to the land, leaving Janus behind. One of the queen's men follows her and forces her back to the kingdom. The queen is insistent that she use her power to aid in the development of the Ocean Palace, an undewater building that was built to get closer to Lavos. Somewhere during all of this, Janus is sucked into a gate created as a side effect of Lavos' power, along with the wisemen of the kingdom.
Janus pops out in front of a very surprised and very fat green monster. The power that Janus' had allowed his emotions to seal for so long burst out of him as he was forced to defend himself against the monster. Impressed by the raw power of the child, the monster introduces itself as "Ozzie the Great". It also seems convinced Janus isn't even human, and treats him as a fellow Mystic. Janus mentions Lavos in the conversation that follows and Ozzie expresses interest in it, believing that it could give the monsters the edge they needed. Janus chooses to manipulate the error in Ozzie's thinking. When Ozzie asks his name, he chooses to reply with a term his kingdom used for some of the more powerful magic users, "Magus".
As "Magus" grew, his powers developed. He spent every day in training, and the immense amount of magic that flowed through his body caused it to change, giving him the apperarance he has now by his mid-teens. Working with Ozzie, he earned the name "Fiendlord" from the people of the Kingdom of Guardia circa 600AD. At one point a knight sought a legendary blade that had been formed in the Kingdom of Zeal. Legends said it was the only blade that could slay Magus. He was repelled by the entities known as Masa and Mune, and Magus took the opporutnity to ambush the knight known as Cyrus.
When Magus faced the knight, and was quick to use his powers to burn the man alive. Cyrus couldn't fight back well in his weakened state. The teenager that was with Cyrus panicked, and at Ozzie's suggestion Magus improvised a spell that forcefully shifted this Glenn into an anthroporphic frog. Magus, knowing the true origins of the blade known as Masamune after its connected spirits, chose to leave it be. The choice would come back to haunt him later.
Ozzie continued his mischief, one of the acts being the kidnapping of Queen Leene in conjunction with another fiend. In fact, much of the acts credited to the "Fiendlord" were orchestrated by his generals. He was giving them free reign so that he could continue his own research, having established a fearsome enough presence to avoid being bothered. Eventually Magus completed his research and set up a ritual. He was going to summon Lavos to avenge his sister or die trying. It was then that a red-headed boy he knew from his past, an anthroporphic frog, and their friend burst in on the ritual. He distracted himself from it to fight them, more than a little surprised that the teen (now adult) he had cursed wielded the Masamune.
The Masamune lived up to its name, all but killing Magus. Before the trio that were fighting him could finish it off, Magus felt Lavos stir. His summoning had been partially successful, but due to his weakened state and the incomplete spell, Lavos was pissed and opened a giant timegate that sent him and the other three to two different time periods.
Magus recognized his hometime instantly and took on the role of the Prophet of Zeal. He tried to get close to his past self, to try and tell him that Schala needed protecting, but Janus refused to listen. Magus gave up on this, remembering vaguely his opinions towards what he now knew to be himself. Even his attempts to approach it from different angles were met with that familiar cold attitude.
After Schala was forced to the Ocean Palace to help Queen Zeal with her plot, the red-haired boy Magus know knew as "Crono" showed up with two of his friends. A red knife made by one of Zeal's three Gurus was used in an attempt to destroy the machine Schala was feeding power into. Schala shouts that the weapon won't be enough, but the attack has already been made. The energy of the "Mammon Machine" warps the knife into the Masamune. Lavos is summoned from the wild energy, and easily lays waste to Crono and his friends. Magus shows up in the distorted space, and quickly sheds his guise to fight Lavos. He is easily pushed aside as well.
Crono draws on some last bit of strength and manages to get himself vaporized in the process, fulfilling Janus' prophecy that one of his group would soon die. Schala uses the remaining energy of Lavos sealed within her pendant to send Crono's friends and Magus out, seemingly swallowed by Lavos. The Kingdom of Zeal falls from the sky, creating an understandibly gigantic tidal wave. Magus awakens near the northern cape.
When he sees the airship of the kingdom explode, he knows its because of actions taken by Crono's friends. He goes to the northern cape and reveals himself to them when they arrive. He reveals that he was once Janus, the prince of the kingdom. He makes some blunt remarks about Crono's actions, but to his surprise the trio refuses to fight him. They walk away but he runs to them and tells them there might be a way to save Crono. He joins the group, seeing them as the best chance of avenging his sister.
At one point he joins the group to take down Ozzie, but its a minor event. Magus was the one who suggested it. Ozzie had gotten too big for his own britches (an impressive feat considering the size of Ozzie's britches!) and Magus felt he needed to be knocked down a few pegs. The fight at Ozzie's Fort closes the chapter on Magus' former generals, the fiends known as Ozzie, Slash, and Flea.
Magus joins the group at the Millenial Fair after three members of their group destroy the dark ship known as the Black Omen. When one of Crono's closest friends, Lucca, asks him if he is going to search for Schala, he answers with silence. He goes through the timegate that had started the quest for Crono, but something fluctuates. He crosses space rather than time and exits at... Dimension Island.
Other
I pull him from the SNES version of Chrono Trigger canon, but I use terms and the more accurate translation of the DS release. Anything that directly ties the game with Chrono Cross is ignored, such as Lucca finding the girl she would name Kid in the ending animation. That whole ending animation is not regarded as canon to me, as Frog only regains his human form if you kill Magus when given the chance.
The "ending" in which I pull Magus from is the one where you use the Black Omen route to reach Lavos. As such the Epoch is in one piece. I based the design of the Doom Scythe on the scythe pictured in his official art.
I do not recognize Chrono Cross as canon, at that is part of the reason I pull Magus from SNES canon (with the more accurate DS translations). So I don't have to deal with the "links" between the two games that were shoved into the DS version of the game. However, if someone wants to play from CC canon, the blue-haired guy in the white suit (Guile?) is not Magus from the future. Good fansites reveal why. As for the hair color difference, its entirely possible that the Enlightened ones died their hair. If that's the case, a hair color change occured when Magus "morphed" on growing older.
Also, he won't even answer to Janus and if someone presses it he'll go into a tangent about Janus being dead. He considers that part of himself to be dead. However, if Schala were to show up and start insisting he go by Janus again, he'd probably do so.
One final thing: I'm well aware his backstory is so full of paradox it isn't even funny. Welcome to the world of time travel! >_>
Pictures
Official Art (SNES Version): stevemccutchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/magus.jpg
Official Art (PS Version): www.rpgplanet.com/chrono/images/ct/oaw-ps1-magus.jpg
Sprite Set: sdb.drshnaps.com/sheets/Misc/Square/ChronoTrigger/Magus.png
Name he goes by: Magus
Nickname(s): Fiendlord
Age: ? (Early to Mid-Thirties)
Height: ? (Tall end of Tall)
Weight: ? (Light end of Heavy due to muscles)
Gender: Male
Race: Human (technically)
Alliance: Neutral
Hometown: Kingdom of Zeal (Long since fallen)
Home: Considers himself to have none
Franchise: Chrono Trigger
Physical Description
Magus is intimidating no matter what way you slice it. He has an almost overbeaering level of confidence about him and his muscles are extremely well developed. They don't hinder his speed, either, as the guy is quite limber. His hair is long, coming down to his waist, and colored blue with a hint of purple. His skin is as pale as a dead body. He has long pointed ears, each one with a small silver triangle dangle earring. The triangle point faces down.
He wears a upper body armor that is of hardened leather, but nothing to cover his upper body beyond that. He has soft leather gloves that extend about half way up his lower arm. He is known for fidgeting with them out of boredom, almost like a nervous tick. A navy sash is srapped around his waist and tied in the back in a fashion that prevents any fabric from hanging down. It hides a belt.
He has on purple pants and stiff leather boots that look vaguely like non-patterened cowboy boots. Steel is around the ankles as support, and they are steel toed. His right leg has a steel band about halfway up his upper leg, it appears to be for show. On his left side a silver decorative looking thing hangs from his waist.
He has a navy cloak (same shade as his belt sash) that he wears in a traditional medieval style, meaning the part around his neck and shoulders hands in a similar way to some togas. Its slightly jagged at the edges but its hard to see unless the wind blows it or its fluttering for whatever reason. He'll sometimes wear a blood red version of the same cloak.
Weapons
Magus uses scythes and can use just about anyone he gets his hand on with varying degrees of success. His favored and current weapon he has named the "Doom Sickle" due to an odd property it possesses. It has an inherent property (meaning that an area where magic wouldn't work would not effect it) that causes it to cause more damage for up to two allies that are incapacated in any form, be it unconsious or death. If one of his allies falls, the weapon can do twice as much damage. If two allies fall, it can do three times as much damage. However, the boost can't go beyond triple damage/two fallen allies. If the fallen ally is revived somehow, the efffect for that ally drops.
The Doom Sickle is at its basest level, a scythe. The staff is silver, but some sort of tempering has made it amazingly strong. All metal parts are black, and no science (including that of his past kingdom) can identify the specific metal. At the bottom is a metal "cap" of sorts that comes to a point. Magus can use this to aid in walking. The scythe is fairly thin, but the staff continues past the scythe to form a point that could easily be used in the fashion of a spear (although the weapon is not balanced for use this way). On the blade some runes are carved, although it takes a close look to actually see symbols and not shallow grooves in the blade. The runes are what gives the Doom Sickle its power.
The entire weapon stand taller than Magus. The top of the blade comes to just below the top of his head. Its the pointed top that extends higher, the final point being about two inches or so above his head.
Abilities/Powers
Magus is capable of fighting physically with his scythe, but it isn't his preferred or most proficient form of combat. He much prefers to use his magic, which combines the power of the three magics of his world into a form known as "Shadow". He is extroidinarily skilled with this magic, and he can cast a variety of spells. Stronger spells take longer to chant, and the full spell most be said before it takes effect. He has phenomenal concentration against distractions, so he has to actually be attacked to break it. He is good about misleading the opponent or getting to a more protected place on the battlefield to cast his spells. He tends to chant very quietly, its basically impossible to hear him unless you're close by or have phenomenal hearing and actually trying. Its gibberish to most people, anyhow, and doesn't have a direct translation.
He has the potential to combine his magic with others, but he isn't much of a team player. Its easiest for him if he has some kind of artifact to boost his power, and exactly what the resulting attack is varies on the artifact. He prefers mystic gems, but could feasibly use others.
He also has a variety of skills that don't have any "form" and can be cast if he feels like it. For instance, he has turned one person into an anthropomorphic frog. There is no set system for these improvised spells and he prefers to stick with his old standbys, as listed below.
Lightning2 - Damage is less against those resistant to lightning, ineffective to those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from lightning (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like a lightning elemental. Note that electricity and lightning are different for the purpose of this).
Incantation - "Ri zumo ni kara... LIGHTNING2!"
A quick chant and sheet lightning strikes the area, hitting every enemy he knows the location of.
Ice2 - Damage is less to those resistant to ice, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from ice (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like an ice elemental).
Incantation - "Mi zara na kuro... ICE2!"
A quick chant and several extremely large blocks of ice will hit every enemy he knows the location of.
Fire2 - Damage is less to those resistant to fire, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from fire (not who use it, but who actually take power from it, like a fire elemental).
Incantation - "Hi zuno ne kala... FIRE2!"
A quick chant and balls of fire will hit every enemy he knows the location of.
Dark Bomb - Damage is less to those resistant to dark magic, ineffective against those immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from darkness (not those who use it, but who actually take power from it, like some demons).
Incantation - "Ya mora nare zumol... DARK BOMB!"
An area attack that has a chance of clipping allies if they stand in the area it explodes. Basically a burst of dark energy from a single point of his choosing, although he has to see the area.
Magic Wall
Incantation - "Ma mere eiro-ku zor... MAGIC WALL!"
Magus can cast a protective barrier around allies or himself that will reduce the damage from magical attacks. Psychic powers are treated as magical attacks for the purpose of this spell.
Dark Mist - Damage is less to those resistant to dark magic, barely noticable to those normally immune to it. It can actually heal those who take power from darkness (not those who use it, but who actually take power from it, like some demons).
Incantation - "Ya amu uwen-ki suru lan... DARK MIST!"
He summons a dark fog like mist that wraps itself around the enemies. With some additional chanting he can guide it to avoid his allies.
Black Hole - Those who can freely traverse the dimensions are immune to this.
Incantation - "Anu piro mire iori sanz puru anu kara zent... BLACK HOLE!"
A somewhat risky spell that rarely works on strong enemies, and never on those considered "bosses". Due to the effect on dimensions the island has, it forces open a portal that tries to pull any enemies in the general area into it, even if he can't see them. He has no control where on the island the portal opens back up. It could even be right behind him. In his own world it sent the enemies to another dimension. Who knows, he might have sent some of his enemies to Dimension Island with this.
Dark Matter - Full damage to those resistant to dark magic, reduced damage to those normally immune to it. Oddly, it doesn't seem to heal all but the strongest of those who take power from darkness, perhaps because it kills all but the strongest despite having a matching "element".
Incantation - "Anumo miran reo zalz woru-pito yaza en juru aka-ze quoro... DARK MATTER!"
Easily his strongest spell. It takes the most concentration and the most words to cast. A triangle of cosmic dark energy will open up on the battle field and the energy will damage anything it catches, including allies stupid enough to walk into the spell. It lasts up to ten seconds before dissipating, and Magus must maintain concentration the whole time. It can be cut short if Magus is attacked while it is active.
Skills
Magus is fairly good at disguising himself, and was able to fool even the one who considered himself his arch-enemy at the time when an awry spell sent him (Magus) back to the era he was born. He does need to be able to cover his ears, but he can change his voice really well. Those really close to him do tend to suspect things, as his sister did.
He's also got remarkably good charisma for his looks. He can rally people (or monsters) behind him. He finds his ability to use magic especially useful in this. In a world where magic is a dime a dozen, he wouldn't be as good at this. He's good about reading people and telling them what they want to hear.
He can conceal his emotions fairly well too. To most he's intimidating and stoic, but he's actually got a lot of emotional turmoil going on inside, particularly relating to his sister.
He has limited powers of omen. He usually can't tell exactly what's going to happen, and never exactly how, but a force the people of his kingdom call(ed) the "Black Wind" will sometimes alert him to things. Its this "wind" that allows him to know a situation is dangerous or when something extremely bad is going to happen. Once in a very great while he will be able to predict a specific event (such as a person's death), although not how. This ability seems strongest in the Zeal royal line, and his sister possesses a stronger form.
Personality
Not easily impressed, stoic, single-minded. Magus is dark and tends to not like nonsense. His entire being is all but consumed with trying to save his sister from an unknown fate. He tends to take actions for one of two reasons. To prevent his death or to save his sister. And saving his sister will ALWAYS take priority.
He's not a team player, even his weapon supporting the falling of allies in battle. He has ZERO sense of humor. Any that you see him with is likely a result of him trying to manipulate someone or something. He wants to save his sister however he can.
Magus is also blunt. He won't try to tiptoe around a point. If he thinks you're an idiot, he'll tell you right out. He doesn't care what other people think about him or anything else. He can't "take a hint". He also thinks he's always right, but that's more from his general feeling of superiority. He really does think he's better than everyone else and can do more than everyone else. Those without magic he looks upon with disdain, a residual of his early years.
He does value strong allies, but his definition of strong is a little skewed. "Strong" means showing no mercy and not letting emotions interfere with a fight (never mind that the way he acts in his attempts to save Schala make him the world's biggest hypocrite).
Just don't insult his sister. It's very likely your head will be detached if you insult Schala. He cares for her more than reality itself and if he thought he had to destroy all realities to create one where his sister would be happy, he would. He would very much "make a deal with the devil" if it guaranteed his sister's safety.
All of these dark and obsessive emotions and actions cloud his aura. He has been described as possessing a tainted soul, a corrupt aura.
History
Magus was born Prince Janus Zeal in the magical and scientific kingdom of Zeal that floated above the clouds of his world around 12,000 BC. He was raised to believe himself to be better than those that could not use magic, the ones his kingdom called the "Earthbound Ones". His mother, Queen Zeal, wasn't cruel, but she was strict and while she loved Janus, didn't care for him much. She focused most of her attention on the crowned princess, Schala Zeal. Despite that Janus cared for his mother deeply, and his sister more than anything in the world.
When Janus was around seven, his mother began to change. She was forcing her daughter to use a magic that dwarfed that of everyone else in the kingdom to not only increase prosperity, but to get closer to her goal of unlimitless power through the god-being known as Lavos. Lavos was credited by the kingdom as the source of their power and the queen wanted more.
When Janus was around eight, he no longer considered the queen to be his mother. He had seen her lust for power change her. One day, a man demanded an audience with the queen. He was very mysterious and refused to show his face to anyone except Zeal herself. His uncanny knowledge of future events earned him a place at Zeal's side and the title "Prophet of Zeal." Janus quickly found himself hating the man, and refused to talk to him no matter how he tried.
One day, a spiky red-headed teenager appeared in the kingdom. He was always seen with two other people, although it depended on when you saw him who he was with. The two other people were a combination of either a sassy girl in a ponytail, a girl with purple hair and a goggle-helmet combo that was way out there, an anthropomorphic frog, a robot, or a brash woman dressed in animal furs. When Janus ran into them for the first time, he heard got one of his extremely rare and clear omens. One of the members of the group was going to die soon. He delivered the message rather flatly before forcing his way past the group.
Shortly after this, the red-headed boy broke into Queen Zeal's throne room and after a fight, she sealed the three members of the group in light. The Prophet wanted them killed, but Princess Schala intervened and in a rare moment of softness, he complied and said he would spare them only if they showed him how they got to the time. He forced Schala to seal the time gates, although anyone paying attention could see he was in pain at ordering Schala. She didn't want to, she felt the three could save her mother.
When Schala tried to reason with her mother, the queen all but exploded on the girl. The only reason she didn't was likely because she knew she needed the heir. Schala fled the kingdom, using the Skyways that connected the kingdom to the land, leaving Janus behind. One of the queen's men follows her and forces her back to the kingdom. The queen is insistent that she use her power to aid in the development of the Ocean Palace, an undewater building that was built to get closer to Lavos. Somewhere during all of this, Janus is sucked into a gate created as a side effect of Lavos' power, along with the wisemen of the kingdom.
Janus pops out in front of a very surprised and very fat green monster. The power that Janus' had allowed his emotions to seal for so long burst out of him as he was forced to defend himself against the monster. Impressed by the raw power of the child, the monster introduces itself as "Ozzie the Great". It also seems convinced Janus isn't even human, and treats him as a fellow Mystic. Janus mentions Lavos in the conversation that follows and Ozzie expresses interest in it, believing that it could give the monsters the edge they needed. Janus chooses to manipulate the error in Ozzie's thinking. When Ozzie asks his name, he chooses to reply with a term his kingdom used for some of the more powerful magic users, "Magus".
As "Magus" grew, his powers developed. He spent every day in training, and the immense amount of magic that flowed through his body caused it to change, giving him the apperarance he has now by his mid-teens. Working with Ozzie, he earned the name "Fiendlord" from the people of the Kingdom of Guardia circa 600AD. At one point a knight sought a legendary blade that had been formed in the Kingdom of Zeal. Legends said it was the only blade that could slay Magus. He was repelled by the entities known as Masa and Mune, and Magus took the opporutnity to ambush the knight known as Cyrus.
When Magus faced the knight, and was quick to use his powers to burn the man alive. Cyrus couldn't fight back well in his weakened state. The teenager that was with Cyrus panicked, and at Ozzie's suggestion Magus improvised a spell that forcefully shifted this Glenn into an anthroporphic frog. Magus, knowing the true origins of the blade known as Masamune after its connected spirits, chose to leave it be. The choice would come back to haunt him later.
Ozzie continued his mischief, one of the acts being the kidnapping of Queen Leene in conjunction with another fiend. In fact, much of the acts credited to the "Fiendlord" were orchestrated by his generals. He was giving them free reign so that he could continue his own research, having established a fearsome enough presence to avoid being bothered. Eventually Magus completed his research and set up a ritual. He was going to summon Lavos to avenge his sister or die trying. It was then that a red-headed boy he knew from his past, an anthroporphic frog, and their friend burst in on the ritual. He distracted himself from it to fight them, more than a little surprised that the teen (now adult) he had cursed wielded the Masamune.
The Masamune lived up to its name, all but killing Magus. Before the trio that were fighting him could finish it off, Magus felt Lavos stir. His summoning had been partially successful, but due to his weakened state and the incomplete spell, Lavos was pissed and opened a giant timegate that sent him and the other three to two different time periods.
Magus recognized his hometime instantly and took on the role of the Prophet of Zeal. He tried to get close to his past self, to try and tell him that Schala needed protecting, but Janus refused to listen. Magus gave up on this, remembering vaguely his opinions towards what he now knew to be himself. Even his attempts to approach it from different angles were met with that familiar cold attitude.
After Schala was forced to the Ocean Palace to help Queen Zeal with her plot, the red-haired boy Magus know knew as "Crono" showed up with two of his friends. A red knife made by one of Zeal's three Gurus was used in an attempt to destroy the machine Schala was feeding power into. Schala shouts that the weapon won't be enough, but the attack has already been made. The energy of the "Mammon Machine" warps the knife into the Masamune. Lavos is summoned from the wild energy, and easily lays waste to Crono and his friends. Magus shows up in the distorted space, and quickly sheds his guise to fight Lavos. He is easily pushed aside as well.
Crono draws on some last bit of strength and manages to get himself vaporized in the process, fulfilling Janus' prophecy that one of his group would soon die. Schala uses the remaining energy of Lavos sealed within her pendant to send Crono's friends and Magus out, seemingly swallowed by Lavos. The Kingdom of Zeal falls from the sky, creating an understandibly gigantic tidal wave. Magus awakens near the northern cape.
When he sees the airship of the kingdom explode, he knows its because of actions taken by Crono's friends. He goes to the northern cape and reveals himself to them when they arrive. He reveals that he was once Janus, the prince of the kingdom. He makes some blunt remarks about Crono's actions, but to his surprise the trio refuses to fight him. They walk away but he runs to them and tells them there might be a way to save Crono. He joins the group, seeing them as the best chance of avenging his sister.
At one point he joins the group to take down Ozzie, but its a minor event. Magus was the one who suggested it. Ozzie had gotten too big for his own britches (an impressive feat considering the size of Ozzie's britches!) and Magus felt he needed to be knocked down a few pegs. The fight at Ozzie's Fort closes the chapter on Magus' former generals, the fiends known as Ozzie, Slash, and Flea.
Magus joins the group at the Millenial Fair after three members of their group destroy the dark ship known as the Black Omen. When one of Crono's closest friends, Lucca, asks him if he is going to search for Schala, he answers with silence. He goes through the timegate that had started the quest for Crono, but something fluctuates. He crosses space rather than time and exits at... Dimension Island.
Other
I pull him from the SNES version of Chrono Trigger canon, but I use terms and the more accurate translation of the DS release. Anything that directly ties the game with Chrono Cross is ignored, such as Lucca finding the girl she would name Kid in the ending animation. That whole ending animation is not regarded as canon to me, as Frog only regains his human form if you kill Magus when given the chance.
The "ending" in which I pull Magus from is the one where you use the Black Omen route to reach Lavos. As such the Epoch is in one piece. I based the design of the Doom Scythe on the scythe pictured in his official art.
I do not recognize Chrono Cross as canon, at that is part of the reason I pull Magus from SNES canon (with the more accurate DS translations). So I don't have to deal with the "links" between the two games that were shoved into the DS version of the game. However, if someone wants to play from CC canon, the blue-haired guy in the white suit (Guile?) is not Magus from the future. Good fansites reveal why. As for the hair color difference, its entirely possible that the Enlightened ones died their hair. If that's the case, a hair color change occured when Magus "morphed" on growing older.
Also, he won't even answer to Janus and if someone presses it he'll go into a tangent about Janus being dead. He considers that part of himself to be dead. However, if Schala were to show up and start insisting he go by Janus again, he'd probably do so.
One final thing: I'm well aware his backstory is so full of paradox it isn't even funny. Welcome to the world of time travel! >_>
Pictures
Official Art (SNES Version): stevemccutchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/magus.jpg
Official Art (PS Version): www.rpgplanet.com/chrono/images/ct/oaw-ps1-magus.jpg
Sprite Set: sdb.drshnaps.com/sheets/Misc/Square/ChronoTrigger/Magus.png
