Agito (term)

Agito is a term from the world of Orience in Final Fantasy Type-0 and its prequel Final Fantasy Agito. The Agito is a messiah prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the time of Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic calamity. The legend of the Agito is written in the Nameless Tome.
==Profile==
Agito is a mythical figure tied to the plans of the world's deities, who seek to find and open the gateway between the mortal world and the unseen realm. Agito is someone who can interact and pass between the realms. Finding Agito and using the power of those who make it up is archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia's means of finding the gateway, in opposition of Gala's method of slaughtering the population of Orience and breaking the gateway down with a flood of souls.
According to the Nameless Tome, sixteen "constellations" were found at the same time. The Sixteen will arrive in the world at a certain moment in the form of human beings, to see if they have the strength to prevent Finis and open the gateway.
Arecia abandoned four of them in the past 600,104,971 experiments, leaving twelve:
*The First – Ace – represents the power of acceptance.
*The Second – Deuce – represents the power of kindness.
*The Third – Trey – represents the power of knowledge.
*The Fourth – Cater – represents the power of valor.
*The Fifth – Cinque – represents the power of innocence.
*The Sixth – Sice – represents the power of tenacity.
*The Seventh – Seven – represents the power of discernment.
*The Eighth – Eight – represents the power of tranquility.
*The Ninth – Nine – represents the power of action.
*The Tenth – Jack – represents the power of ignorance.
*The Eleventh – Queen – represents the power of wisdom.
*The Twelfth – King – represents the power of judgment.
The abandoned four represent the powers of fear – Machina, love – Rem, suffering – Joker, and age – Tiz.
Through the repeating cycles the people chosen to be the Agito vary, but they appear always to be students of Akademeia, the magical center in the Dominion of Rubrum.
One of the concepts tied up with Agito is the Locus of Ten and Six: this means that in theory, sixteen elements of humanity are needed to create Agito, with their different aspects forming a part of the whole. This is referred to in the Rubicus, which tells of sixteen "constellations" that would arrive in human form to try to become Agito. Final Fantasy Type-0 Kōshiki Settei Shiryōshū Aku no Hishi p.250–254 (translation)
It appears the Crystals of Orience vie for the Agito to be born of each one of their ilk and brand humans to become l'Cie to this end. Tempus Finis is initiated once one Crystal controls all of Orience, at which point Pandæmonium will rise. It is said only l'Cie can travel there, and the Judge residing in the sanctuary is to decide their worthiness to become Agito, or else Orience will be destroyed and the spiral is restarted in wait for a new Tempus Finis. However, the spiral revolves over 600 million times without result.
==Story==
===Final Fantasy Agito===
The cadet is chosen to become one of the favored candidates for becoming Agito. It was said one of the "cadets" would eventually be chosen as the Agito, but the game was discontinued before reaching this point.
===Final Fantasy Type-0===
In each cycle of history, the warring between the nations eventually permits the arrival of Gala and the Rursan Army. The Agito candidates would become l'Cie to fight them off and die, Gala would absorb their phantoma and the cycle would reset. At some point, Arecia deemed Joker and Tiz unnecessary as parts of Agito, and the two were made her servants, able to remember events through the cycles while the rest of Orience forgets.
Marshal Cid Aulstyne uses the name of Agito to garner support from the people of the Militesi Empire, declaring the empire's attempt to claim all of Orience justified under the premise of the empire becoming Agito and heralding the start of a new era. The ones Arecia has chosen to become Agito, the cadets of Class Zero, are caught up in the 600,104,972nd repeat of events.
When Tempus Finis begins and a sanctuary rises from the depths of the ocean, sending out hordes of Rursus to slaughter all of Orience, Cid travels to the temple with the aid of the White Tiger l'Cie Nimbus. When Class Zero learns of this, the cadets recall the words written in the Nameless Tome and surmise Cid is trying to become Agito. Intent to stop him, they follow him.
Unlike in some previous cycles, Class Zero chooses not to become l'Cie, prompting Arecia to make Gala call off his army. Gala makes Cid the Rursan Arbiter, but he is bested by Class Zero, stalling Tempus Finis. Though victorious, Class Zero perishes. After paying heed to Tiz and Joker's advise, Arecia listens to Class Zero's souls and learns the cadets made their own decision on how to meet their end and do not wish to be revived. Arecia abandons the experiment and allows Orience to remember its past. As the light of the Crystals fades, Orience enters a new era.
Class Zero may not have lived up to the deities' expectations in opening the gateway to the afterlife, but the cadets live up to the meaning of Agito as a messiah in releasing Orience from its cycle of destruction and rebirth.
Gilgamesh Ashur gains the ability to open dimensional portals, the intended function of Agito, but is never referred to as such. Gilgamesh is a recurring character who travels across the Final Fantasy multiverse.
==Behind the scenes==
Class Zero's roles as the locus (twelve parts of an element) was added near the end of development. The cadets had the roles and personalities decided, but the developers were unsure how to present the background. Near the end of development the team felt that adding the element of fate and the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology was a good idea and asked the scenario writers to squeeze it in.
The Nameless Tome refers to the locus starting as one before it became ten and six. Director Hajime Tabata has said this phrase does not mean it was ever a single person, but rather the element required for Agito. Arecia, in the course of attempting to create Agito, started to realize that the element she was seeking was something individuals hold and thus gathered children to complete the element to become Agito.
Tabata wrote the original story draft, which largely lacked the elements of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology, added later by scenario writers. Tabata's original story had a child born to the player party's side, who might have been the true Agito. Initially, life energy was not known as phantoma, but when the Crystal—made out of that energy that humans pushed to their limit would "exude"—was passed down to their offspring, it could create a human capable of traveling between the mortal world and the unseen world: an Agito.
The Final Fantasy series's archetypal storyline is the Warriors of Light's quest, empowered by the crystals, to fight darkness and save the world. In the Fabula Nova Crystallis games l'Cie take on this role, though in both Type series and the Lightning Saga the role is subverted as ultimately being a fate akin to slavery to the crystal. Agito could be seen as the ultimate Warrior of Light figure in the Type series, as the one who saves the world.
==Etymology==
==References==
ru:Агито (термин)
Category:Final Fantasy Type-0
Category:Final Fantasy Agito