Terra Soul Takers

[Aztec Triogal]

lol That's a good title...

So the game briefly talks about the inhabitants of Terra's plan to rejuivinate their planet. They also talk about how they'd done it before to other planets. If you don't know,

Spoiler

it was basically to place the Iifa tree on Gaia to collect the souls of the dead, preventing them from returning to Gaia. Those collected souls would be used to re-empower Terra, their home planet. Garland, Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto were all in charge of killing off the denizens of Gaia to help expediate the process.

I'm just curious if they said how many other planets they've done it to before? Do they say? I honestly don't recall. I'm also wondering why places like Oeilvert exist on Gaia? I never understood that, so if someone would care explaining why Terrans built that location on Gaia to house the Gulug Stone, I'd be happy in hearing about it... cause it didn't make sense when I played it. If I can remember correctly, it has something to do with Garland building it and making magic not work there or something... to keep Kuja out of there and away from the Gulug stone. I just don't recall the details.

 

[Jimmy]

I always thought as the place in Oeilvert as some kind of "Gaia museum" i mean basically it shows the evolution of Gaia and it´s development, i think that´s what those giant faces talk about also.

As for the Gulug stone it´s connected to Mount Gulug...(it´s only a suposition) because i don´t think they actually need it to access Terra.

The same thing can be asked about Ipsons castle, were the four mirrors are located, it kind of serves as a map to reach Terra.

 

[Victor-Falkeheim]

Oeilvert...
I honestly thought that that place was some sort of memorial to the Terran civilization, not to mention something akin to a grand archive.
The stone faces actually explained Terra's recent history (by recent, I mean the last few decades, or centuries, before the parisitic plan for Terra's revival was conceived). The entire place chronicled Terran achievements through the ages.

Anyway, they just mention that Terra has absorbed other planets before; they never mention how many or give any names. All we really know is that Gaia would be the latest victim if the plan went through.

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

From what I remember, and from my interpretation, I have this;
In the days when Oeilvert was inhabited, the Terrans and Gaians were at peace. Then, the society declined, and the history of the race is still kept there. Garland is the one who wants to go on with all the soul-merging shizzle as a means of restoring Terra and it's all his idea. I can't remember the purpose of the Gulug Stone though And I actually can't remember Garland saying that they'd done it to other planets either

I'm probably waaaaaaaaaaaay off though...

 

[BustaMo]

Short version to Aztec's answer: "No one knows"

Mikoto: Garland watches over this planet. His mission is to restore the people of Terra.
Zidane: R-Restore the people of Terra? You mean people besides these guys here?
Mikoto: They are merely vessels. So am I, and so are you.
Mikoto: But the true people of Terra have been asleep for ages, waiting for their time to come.
Mikoto: When the time is right, the light of this planet will change from blue to red, and Gaia will become Terra.
Zidane: Wait a sec! So the people of Terra are out to take over Gaia!?
Mikoto: What else can there be? Terra has always absorbed new planets to survive.
Girl: And when the time comes, the souls of people of Terra will occupy the Genomes. Such is the restoration of the people of Terra.

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Long version below with tons of spoilers. (Freak'n thing took me close to 2 hours to put together...)
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Well the first mention of Terra doesn't come until the party reaches Oeilvert, which Kuja wishes Zidane and party to go there to retrieve the Gulug Stone. Kuja doesn't go because:

(talking to Zidane and party)
Kuja: You see, there's an anti-magic barrier around the place.
Kuja: And I want to send you because you're too stupid to use magic.

As they enter the Planetarium they see a glowy thing with an image of a planet, and some inscription that Zidane states is talking to him. He murmurs something about "Terra" and "Mother". He's not really sure what it all means though.

It then goes in to telling him about an ancient ship that was used to wreck havoc in war and such and it came to be known as the Invincible. Then a hologramish looking image appears and Zidane reads it aloud:

Zidane: Beginning...of the city...
(Zidane): ...?
Zidane: Huh? Now it's gone again.
He taps it, and a new hologram appears.
(Zidane): Whoa!
Zidane: At first...the city...flourished...
More holograms.
Zidane: Soon...began to decline...
A hologram of a planet in peril.
Zidane: At its peak...cities...all over...Terra...
Zidane: Then...the decline...began...

When the party gets to the stone they are instructed to climb ontop of it and faces start to appear and they start to inform teh party of the history of Terra.

In the Face Room:
A face glows.
Visitors... Climb atop the stone...
Visitors, listen well...
This is the record of our civilization...
Another face.
The seeds' decline was not our fault...
All vegetation and...vessels...died out...
The decay of our Terra... triggered it all...
In order to stop the decay, many methods were considered...
Another face.
Ultimately, the best minds of Terra's civilization gathered...
Then, a final resuscitation was attempted on the mother continent...
Unfortunately, it ended in failure...
It was later discovered to have been the catalyst... Subjects were selected...
Another face.
After four tremendous sacrifices, eternal prosperity seemed within reach...
Flora and fauna were revived, but...is still in stasis.
Final results...are still pending...
Another face.
In order that our glorious history not die with us, we were constructed...

In the Star Room:

A hologram appears inside.
Zidane: It looks like that other planet.
Another planet appears alongside it.
Zidane: Wh-What's this? Another planet?
The planets, each with a moon, merge into one with two.

They then grab the stone and head back to Kuja. Kuja though in the midst of this knows of Garlands plan to have Zidane suceed Kuja in the mission. Zidane then wants the Eidolons extracted from Garnet so he can find one that he can bury Garland with; one more powerful than Alexander even.

Remember that Kuja was with Hilda (Cid's wife) for a while and he revealed amny things to her. Hilda mentions that Kuja is not from Gaia at all but instead is from Terra.

Hilda: ...Kuja plans to use this world as a means of acquiring an even greater power.
Zidane: Greater power? What would he do with it?
Hilda: I don't know... He indicated that he wasn't of this world.

Hilda then talks about how to get to Terra from Gaia. Remember the Shimmering Island? Apparently they are connected, but you can't go directly from Shimmering Island to Terra. The gateway that connects to two worlds is sealed and can only be broken in Ipsen's Caste. (Cool fact too: Hilda names it Ipsen's castle. The official name is never mentioned, so she sorta nicknames the castle that).

Once they get to the castle Zidane reads some more Holographic mirrors where it says 4 riddles and hints of where the seals; hence the 4 element guardians you then face. A quick boss interupts the party though here demanding to have the mirrors returned. You kick the boss' ass, and you go on your way to face the 4 guardians.

However, once the members are at the locations, each of the guardians begins to talk to them all:

Fire Guard: It's just as Kuja said... He said I should expect intruders.

Earth Guard: No... We are the guardians of Terra...

Fire Guard: Yes, we are the guardians of Terra. Filled with the power of Terra itself...
Freya: What is Terra!?
Fire Guard: We did not become guardians to chat with mortals...
Fire Guard: We derive pleasure from ending your worthless lives...
Amarant: Just to prove how powerful you are...
Fire Guard: So you understand. But will that knowledge help you?
Amarant: Foolish.
Fire Guard: What?
Amarant: Picking fights with strangers in a place like this...
Amarant: I used to know someone like that. He was a loser...
Amarant: He refused to find beneficial ways yo use his power. Instead, he'd seek out people to fight...
Freya: Amarant...
Fire Guard: What...are you talking about?
Freya: We'll show you what he means!
Fire Guard: Interesting... but you'll regret this!

Earth Guard: Kuja told us there'd be eight rats...
Zidane: Sorry, it's just the two of us. Did you have a feast prepared?
Quina: You no worry! We eat everything.
Earth Guard: Ah, so you're attempting to conquer all 4 shrines at once... How futile.
Zidane: We'll see about that!
Quina: Must try eating before we give up!
Earth Guard: What will you lower life-forms do on Terra?
Zidane: We won't know until we get there!
Quina: Must eat to find out what taste good! Is my lesson from traveling around world.
Earth Guard: Good... I shall show you the true meaning of fear!

Once the Party then gets to Terra Zidane starts to realize that everyone looks like him. They ahve no age, they don't need sleep, and one mentions that when "the blue light turns red, that is when the souls enter their bodies. (Terra being the Red planet and Gaia the Blue)

In theMeeting Hall:

Loner: A planet's shimmer is its breath, a sign of life-activity caused by the cycling of souls.

* (1): When the souls of Terra and Gaia mix, Terra will be integrated into the larger Gaia...

* 2/3
(3): Souls flow...
(2): As the planets turn...

* (4): Fleeting knowledge is useless to vessels... But information is given to prevent mental atrophy.

* (5): A planet's color indicated its shape... Gaia is blue, Terra red.

* (6): The flow of souls means that a planet has life...
(6): The stoppage of souls means that a planet is dead...

Here's one of the best parts of the game IMO:
Zidane: I'm alive! I have a soul! Why is everyone here so...
Girl: Because you are...special.
(Zidane): What!?
Girl: We are mere vessels. You have been given a greater purpose.
Girl: The will of Garland is absolute...
Zidane: Garland? Who's that?

Back in the Meeting Hall again:

Girl: Garland watches over this planet. His mission is to restore the people of Terra.
Zidane: R-Restore the people of Terra? You mean people besides these guys here?
Girl: They are merely vessels. So am I, and so are you.
Girl: But the true people of Terra have been asleep for ages, waiting for their time to come.
Girl: When the time is right, the light of this planet will change from blue to red, and Gaia will become Terra.
Zidane: Wait a sec! So the people of Terra are out to take over Gaia!?
Girl: What else can there be? Terra has always absorbed new planets to survive.
Girl: And when the time comes, the souls of people of Terra will occupy the Genomes. Such is the restoration of the people of Terra.
Zidane: Why do they have to be so tedious!?
Zidane: Why don't they just wipe us out with magic like they did Alexandria!?
Girl: Once, Garland tried to use a more forceful method, but failed.
Zidane: Then he should just quit and leave Gaia alone!
Girl: Because of his failure, he was forced to wait a long time.
Girl: ...To wait until Gaia's civilizations gained tremendous power: The power to use eidolons.
Zidane: So that's why you attacked the summoner's village and destroyed Alexandria.
Girl: Planets have a cycle of souls. Souls are born from the planet, and then return to it.
Girl: Garland planned to gain control of that very cycle...
Girl: ...and you were supposed to help him achieve that.
(Zidane): What!?
Girl: Garland is waiting for you. Come...
Zidane: What do you think you're doing!? I don't care about all this Terra and Gaia stuff!

Zidane: So, this must be Garland's haunted mansion...
Zidane: Talk about bad taste in interior decorating.
Zidane: Alright... Time to teach this tyrant a thing or two...


Meeting Garland:

So, we meet again.
(Zidane): !?
Garland appears.
Zidane: Who are you!?
Old Man: Twelve years ago, I lost one of my most prized Genomes.
Old Man: I created him and sent him to Gaia to disrupt the cycle of souls there.
Old Man: You are that Genome... I am glad you have returned.
Zidane: Shut up! Nobody tells me what to do!
Zidane: And I didn't come here to answer to you!
Zidane: Lemme guess... You must be Garland!
Garland: And what if I am?
Zidane: Then you're goin' down! But first, you're gonna tell me everything!
Zidane: Like, why did I grow up on Gaia, and why do you want to destroy it!?
He teleports next to Zidane.
Garland: I have no intention of destroying Gaia. I only wish to make Gaia into Terra.
Zidane: What did you just say!?
Garland: Of course, not everything went as planned. You growing up on Gaia, for example.
Garland: There is another one built as you were. He may be the one who threw a wrench into my gears.
Zidane: He!? Who the heck are you talking about!?
Garland: Someone you know quite well.
Garland: Follow me... The time when the aura of Gaia will tun to the crimson glow of Terra has not yet come.
He teleports out.
Garland: I may need your help anyway.

At the Observatory:

Zidane: Stop!
Zidane: Now, tell me everything!
Garland: I constructed the Genomes to be vessels for the souls of the people of Terra when they awaken.
Garland: But 24 years ago, I gave life to a Genome that was very much like you.
Garland: His will was too strong to make him into a proper vessel, and I even considered discarding him.
Garland: But then I thought that I should put his strength to use.
Garland: I sent that Genome as my servant, to disrupt the cycle of souls on Gaia.
Zidane: Yeah, so tell me who he is already!
Garland: Do you not yet know? You and he are so much alike.
Zidane: Alike? I've never met anyone like me...
Garland: You judge only by appearances. I mean someone with a soul similar to yours.
Garland: The one I sent to Gaia might also be called your brother...
(Garland): And his name is Kuja.
Zidane: Kuja!? He's a Genome!? Impossible! He doesn't even have a tail...
Garland: He is only hiding it. He denies his own identity.
Garland: He rejects the meaning of his existence and tries to assert his own individuality.
Garland: Don't you see the resemblance?
Zidane: Shut up! I'm not like him at all!
Garland: He said the same thing when speaking about the other Genomes: 'I'm not like these guys.'

Garland: Have I piqued your interest in Kuja and yourself?

Still at the observatory

Garland: His ambition was unbecoming of a Genome, but it was perfect for the mission I gave him.
Garland: To bring war and chaos to Gaia... That was what I sent him to do.
Garland: To induce an unnaturally chaotic flow.
Zidane: So then, why--
Garland: The disruption of the flow of souls is best brought about by war.
Garland: And what he did for me far exceeded my greatest expectations.
Zidane: What about me!? How did I end up on Gaia?
Garland: When you received the gift of life in Bran Bal, Kuja could not bear it.
Garland: He could not bear to see a Genome with more power than his own; he felt threatened.
Garland: Kuja discarded you. He dropped you into Gaia, the world he would destroy.
Zidane: So I was to be your slave, just like Kuja, to start a war on Gaia?
Garland: That is correct.
Garland: I did not expect Kuja to abandon you, but I believed it was his nature.
Garland: And to him, bringing war to Gaia would prove his victory over you.
Garland: Perhaps it is because of his desire to justify his existence that he let you live as well.
Zidane: So, that is why the blood of thousands had to be spilled?
Garland: Are you referring to Kuja's ambition? Or to our plan to disrupt the cycle of souls?
Zidane: Both! And what exactly do you gain by disrupting that cycle of souls, or whatever...
Garland: We must sort the souls.
Garland: I want to disrupt Gaia's cycle and drain its souls, filling the void with the souls of Terra.
Garland: To speed the cycle of souls is to speed the work as a whole. Thus, war...
Garland: And in time... Gaia's souls are gone, and Gaia becomes Terra.
Zidane: But...how!?
Garland: You saw it with your own eyes. You saw the Iifa Tree and the Mist it emits.
Garland: The role of the Iifa Tree is that of Soul Divider. The Mist you see comprises the stagnant souls of Gaia...
Zidane: Oh yeah? But we stopped the Mist! So much for that!
Garland: All you saw was the back of the tree...
Garland: Even now, the Iifa Tree blocks the flow of Gaia's souls, while it lets those of Terra flow freely.
Garland: Come and see for yourself. See the true form of this planet.

On the Observatory Top

Zidane: What is this?
Garland: Think of it as an observatory. A place to measure the radiance of Gaia and Terra.
Zidane: What are you talking about? And what is this weird light?
Garland: That is the center of the planet. The end and the beginning of the cycle of souls.
Garland: The light remains Gaia's, for now, but when the blue changes to crimson, all will belong to Terra, and its restoration will be complete.
Garland: That is why I wrapped up the light in the Iifa Tree, to prevent the cycle of the judgment of souls on Gaia from inside the planet.
Garland: Such is the Iifa Tree's true purpose, its true form. All you saw was its material form.
Garland: The flow of Gaia's souls cannot be changed simply by stopping the disposal of Mist.
Zidane: So...Kuja is just an angel of death who sends souls to the Tree of Iifa.
Garland: Yes, my angel of death. But only until you came of age.
Zidane: What do you mean!?
Garland: His soul is not eternal... I was going to create you next, after all.
Zidane: You mean you won't need Kuja's soul once I grow stronger than him?
Garland: Precisely... Soon, that time will come.
(Zidane): ...
Garland: Well...now you should be fully aware of the meaning of your existence...
Zidane approaches Garland.
(Garland): !?
Zidane: Yeah, I'm aware of all the laughter, all the tears I've shared with the people I grew up with on Gaia.
Garland: Forget all that. You are destined to live among the stars for all eternity.
Garland: You have the power, the position, and the motive to do it.
Zidane: I wouldn't want that kind of power... if only I had a place to call home...
Zidane: My brothers in Tantalus, Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Quina, Steiner, Eiko, and...Dagger...
Zidane: My home is with them in Gaia!
Zidane: If you say I have a motive, then it's to punish all of you who brought pain to my friends!
Zidane: I'll destroy Terra! That's reason enough for my birth here as a Genome!
Garland: Regrettable... I thought your soul would be perfect for a new angel of death...
Zidane: I AM the new angel of death! Yours!!!
Garland: Don't you know what it means to meet your maker?
Zidane: Shut up! I've heard enough of your crap! I'm taking you out, right here, right now!
Garland: Foolishness...
The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new soul...
(Zidane): What's happening!?
He collapses.
Garland: He's too good to make into a regular Genome...
Garland: But I have no choice.

Then Zidane goes through the whole depression mood as everyone tries to talk sense into him. He faces Garland and tells him off, and then Kuja comes in on teh Invincible and blows a fatal blast to Garland. Garland then reminds Kuja that Zidane will grow stronger and Kuja will die. Of course then Kuja goes ape-shit and destroys all of Terra and almost everyone is left for dead.

 

[Dygan Siguara]

Well, Garland regards the absorbing of other planets as mundane, so he must've bee doing it a long time.
​

 

[The Crystal]

I heard from a guy that readed the FFIX UOG, that each planet have a crystal in its core. Terra's crystal was dying, so Garland begun to "suck" the life of other crystals of diferent planets, but it don't state how many planets he destroyed.
Then he found Gaia, that have a very young crystal. And Garland begun his plan with the Iifa Tree(a LONG time before the begin of FFIX). But after some time, Garland tought the process was too slow(or something like that, i don't remember very well) and tried to make it more fast. He tried to fuse Gaia and Terra with each other(spiritually AND physically) with a spell named "Fusion". But it was a disaster. Millions of people in Gaia died, and many of them had their bodies fused with animals(this is why we have human/animal people in the game). With this fusion between the planets, Terra was "absorbed" by Gaia, and is located in the core of it. Many places that were originally in Terra(like Oilvert), were fused with Gaia, becoming part of it.
All of these thing about "Fusion between the planets" is what Mikoto was talking about when she said something like "Long time ago, Garland tried to absorb this world by force, but failed". And the two planets "colliding" that we see in Memoria, are Gaia and Terra being afected by Garland's "Fusion" spell. And if i remember well, is possible to see Gaia's crystal in Terra(because it is located in the core of Gaia), and the roots of the Iifa Tree(the first time you go to Terra, before reaching the city) that connect the core(Terra) with the surface(Gaia).

This is not very well explained, because i don't remember all the details of what the guy said, but it was practically that.