To Sail Forbidden Seas

"To Sail Forbidden Seas" is a boss theme in Final Fantasy XVI. It was composed by Masayoshi Soken and arranged by Soken and Yoshitaka Suzuki, with lyrics written by John Taylor.
There are three other battle themes from the game that use the same melody as "To Sail Forbidden Seas": the main battle theme "Sixteen Bells", and the boss themes "On the Shoulders of Giants" and "No Risk, No Reward".
According to Soken, the theme was structured to be rousing in the first half, classical in the middle, and dramatical in the second half.https://twitter.com/SOKENsquareenix/status/1679042161348845570 He has also said that it is one of his favorite pieces of music, having composed a lot of music for the game.https://twitter.com/SOKENsquareenix/status/1679177061775343616
==Lyrics==
The official lyrics were released via Square Enix Music's Twitter account.https://twitter.com/sem_sep/status/1679021274931273728 The lyrics were released again later on the Final Fantasy XVI Original Soundtrack.
:Eurus, Caecias, Thrascias, Zephyrus,
:Meses, Notos, Lips, Apheliotes
:Oceanus!
:Tempest neverending
:O Tartarus!
:Drowning, underneath the waves!
:Cloud and squall and gale and hurricane.
:Drown in darkness, ne'er to breathe again.
:Douse the sails, batten down!
:See the waves, feel the wind rising!
:Strike the spars, go below!
:Descend!
:Fork-flamed fire, thunder-cloven
:Mountains climb, voids for vales
:Hither, yon, tossed over and under
:Cling to the key till the tides turn!
:Running onward, all together now!
:Sweep the stormclouds from your blackened brow!
:Fall to, yarely! Heigh, hearts, cheerily!
:Dance, white water, and sing, skies!
:Burst your wind with us!
==Game appearances==
===Final Fantasy XIV===
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" plays as the boss theme against the Infernal Shadow in The Path Infernal quest battle during the The Path Infernal collaboration event.
It is track 82 on the Growing Light: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.
===Final Fantasy XVI===
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" is the theme that plays during boss battles against Dominants and the first battles against each Eikon.
It plays in the following order: the battle against Benedikta, the first battle against Garuda, the first battle against the Infernal Eikon (Ifrit), the battle against Hugo, the first battle against Titan, the first battle against Bahamut up until Ifrit is hit by Gigaflare and is temporarily removed from battle and the Phoenix takes over, the first unwinnable battle against Barnabas, and the first half of the battle against Barnabas/Odin.
It also plays in stage 3 of the chronolith trials.
In the downloadable content "Echoes of the Fallen", "To Sail Forbidden Seas" plays as the boss theme during the first phase of the battle against Omega.
In the downloadable content "The Rising Tide", "To Sail Forbidden Seas" plays as the boss theme during the first phase of the battle against Leviathan.
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" is track 27 on disc 4 of the Final Fantasy XVI Original Soundtrack.
"Once More" is an arrangement by Masayoshi Soken that includes the "Prelude". It plays during the cutscene when Clive and Joshua Rosfield assume the form of Ifrit Risen, Ifrit and the Phoenix united as one, for the second time before attacking Ultima. It is track 4 on disc 7 of the original soundtrack.
===Theatrhythm Final Bar Line===
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" appears as a Battle Music Stage in the Final Fantasy XVI DLC pack, released on November 1st, 2023.https://www.jp.square-enix.com/t_fbl/news/2023/016629.html It features a difficulty level of 2, 5, 9, and 12 for its Basic, Expert, Ultimate, and Supreme Scores, respectively.
The stage's visuals and its album art are modeled after the arena in which Clive Rosfield battles Benedikta Harman atop Caer Norvent.
==Other appearances==
===Requiem===
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" was orchestrated by Yoshitaka Suzuki for the Final Fantasy XVI live action trailer "Requiem".https://twitter.com/yos_compose/status/1728410337454719044https://twitter.com/yos_compose/status/1728410478538596657
It was nominated for and won the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Song/Score – Commercial Advertisement.https://www.hmmawards.com/2023-hmma-winners-and-nominees/https://twitter.com/finalfantasyxvi/status/1728081295459422437https://twitter.com/SOKENsquareenix/status/1728364332889841801
==Live performances==
=== 10-Year Concert===
"To Sail Forbidden Seas" was performed live at the concert at the Hollywood Bowl on June 25, 2023 to celebrate 10 years of The Game Awards.https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1673185722524930049https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF-MUWg46HU It was conducted by Lorne Balfe and performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/performances/2290/2023-06-25/the-game-awards-10year-concert-with-fireworks
==Etymology and interpretation==
Eurus, Caecias, Thrascias, Zephyrus, Meses, Notos, Lips, and Apeliotes (or Apheliotes) refer to the for the points of geographic direction and orientation, in association with the winds as conceived of by the ancient Greeks. The names are part of a 10-to-12 wind system which was first introduced by the ancient Greek philosopher in his treatise. The eight classical winds above are roughly equivalent to the modern compass directions below:
*Eurus (εὖρος, eûros) — Southeast (SE)
*Caecias (καικίας, kaikíās) — Northeast (NE)
*Thrascias (θρασκίας, thrāiskías) — North-northwest (NNW)
*Zephyrus (ζέφυρος, zéphuros) — West (W)
*Meses (μέσης, mésis) — North-northeast (NNE)
*Notos (νότος, nótos) — South (S)
*Lips (λίψ, líps) — Southwest (SW)
*Apeliotes (ἀπηλιώτης, apēliṓtēs) — East (E)
Eurus, Zephyrus, and Notus are three of the four principal wind gods, the (Ἄνεμοι, Ánemoi, lit. "Winds"), in ancient Greek religion and myth. They were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came. The rest of the winds are the lesser and minor wind gods.
 (Εὖρος, Eûros, lit. "east wind") is the Greek god and personification of the east wind, although sometimes he is also said to be southeast specifically. He is one of the Anemoi. (Νότος, Nótos, lit. "south") is the Greek god of the south wind and one of the Anemoi.
The lyrics of "To Sail Forbidden Seas" can be interpreted as Clive's journey from the battle at Nysa Defile onward. Considering the center of Valisthea as the point of origin (which could include the Hideaway and/or the Crystalline Dominion), the directions mentioned would be: Eurus, south-east: the Nysa Defile; Caecias, north-east: Greatwood, Lostwing and Caer Norvent; Thrascias, north-north-west: Eastpool and Phoenix Gate, Zephyrus, west: Mount Drustanus at the Iron Kingdom; Meses, north-north-east: Oriflamme; Notos, south: Dalimill; Lips, south-west: Drake's Fang; Apheliotes, east: the Crystalline Dominion, and/or the continent of Ash. However, Clive goes to Oriflamme before visiting Iron Kingdom, so the lyrics' directions do not perfectly retrace his journey. The subsequent lyrics tell of going across the sea, like how Clive does on the Enterprise and encounters Barnabas Tharmr on the ocean floor: Oceanus! Tempest neverending, O Tartarus! Drowning, underneath the waves!
==Citations==
Category:Battle themes from Final Fantasy XVI