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Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity. |
- For developer company behind Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit), see Ancient Corp.
The Ancients (古代 Kodai?) are a group that appears in the Sonic Boom franchise. They were a long-lost and highly advanced race[2]/civilization[3] who long ago devoted themselves to peacefully controlling the world's resources. However, they were betrayed by a rogue Anicent named Lyric, whom they imprisoned after a costly war.
Over the following centuries, the Ancients would go nearly extinct, with the exception of Lyric.[2] In modern times, much of what remains of the Ancients include their old ruins and abandoned creations.
Description
Anatomy
Three hooded Ancients in Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal.
The Ancients' true anatomy is unknown and ambiguous at best. In most of their depictions, their figures are hidden and illustrations of them are up to interpretation. What can be conclude is that the majority of them resembled bipedal anthropomorphic animals with medium-long muzzles.[1] Members like Lyric however, are much different, resembling giant and monstrous snakes.
Characteristics and culture
An illustration of the Ancients' harmonious coexistence with nature.
The majority of the Ancients were a good-natured and noble race who strived for peace and the greater good. They were devoted to peacefully controlling the world's resources[2] and would willingly sacrifice their most precious and vital relics to protect the earth from villains seeking to abuse them.
It is hinted that the Ancients deeply respected the natural world, having lived in perfect harmony with nature despite their advanced technology.[4] However, not all Ancients were inherently good. Lyric the Last Ancient for example, went mad with power and turned on his own kind to destroy all organic life in the world.[2]
It has been shown several times that the Ancients had their own writing system. The exact symbols used for this system, however, has been portrayed inconsistently. In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, the Ancients utilized a form of runic alphabet and/or glyph symbols.[5] In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, the Ancients used as well a secret, but similar system with emphasis on circles, arches and lines[1][6][7] which even certain Ancients did not know about.[8] This secret language[7] has since been abandoned and only history buffs like Amy can translate it.[1] Other sources show the Ancients utilized more random symbols for their writing system.[9]
Lyric, the last surviving member of the Ancients.
The Ancients were a highly developed people in terms of technological prowess. Even centuries ago, they knew how to construct high-tech robots, mechs and facilities, develop time machines and energy shackles, and accomplish immense feats of construction like floating cities. Despite the time that has passed since then, the Ancients' technology remains virtually unsurpassed by anything else in the present day. Even Dr. Eggman had a hard time figuring out their more rudimentary machines.[10] Also, many of their creations have remained functional despite having been unattended for centuries, showing they were made to last. The Ancients are as well known for their mineral-based power sources which they would often harness for the good of their civilization.
The Ancients were a widespread civilization, having established several outposts and colonies across the seas and on Seaside Island. In addition, their architecture often incorporated their signature runes.
History
Games
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
A book depicting the Ancients.
A millennium ago, the Ancients were an advanced civilization whose race was devoted to peacefully controlling the world's resources.[2] Back then, they harvested all the energy they needed from their Chaos Crystals and lived in perfect harmony with nature. This era ended when an Ancient named Lyric got sick from experimenting on the Chaos Crystals and had to turn himself into a cyborg to survive when the Ancients' medicins failed. Blaming his peers for his condition, Lyric devoted himself entirely to technology. Going mad with power soon after, Lyric turned on his fellow Ancients and took control of their resources. Building an army of robots programmed to obey his every command, Lyric set out to destroy everything organic and create a world of metal and robots.[2] This supposedly led to a great war which the Ancients were involved in.[11] In the ensuring conflict, the majority of the Ancients died.[2]
To stop Lyric's plan to power his Sentinel army with the Chaos Crystals, the Ancients hid their Crystals away in distant outpost, only for Lyric to find the map showing their locations. However, just before Lyric could successfully take over, the last surviving Ancients attacked Lyric after he got trapped in his weapon facility by Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails during the duo's trip back in time, and imprisoned Lyric in a tomb where he was to remain forever.[2] In recognition of Sonic and Tails' aid, the Ancients depicted them on Lyric's Tomb and equipped it with a lock only Sonic could open.
In the centuries that followed, the Ancients would go extinct (the only exception being Lyric) and their once-great civilization ended up lost.[2][3] However, the remnants of their civilization would endure the test of time and become a source of interest for archeologists like Cliff, who would lead an excavation to uncover their history.[12] When Lyric escaped a millennium after his imprisonment and resumed his plans, Team Sonic would get themselves acquainted with the Ancients' history and technology as they braved their forgotten outposts on their mission to stop Lyric. After Team Sonic beat Lyric, the fate of the last living Ancient remains unknown.
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
Five thousand years ago, the Ancients were an advanced civilization whose race was devoted to peacefully controlling the world's resources.[2] Along with their technology, they possessed a crystal of unlimited power called the Lost Crystal of Power. However, a rouge Ancient named Lyric the Last Ancient, who coveted the Lost Crystal for himself, went mad with power, turned on his peers and took control of the resources. Building an army of robots programmed to obey his every command, Lyric set out to destroy everything organic and create a world of metal and robots. In the ensuring conflict, the majority of the Ancients perished.[2]
The Ancients shattering the Lost Crystal.
Just before Lyric could successfully take over, he and his army attacked the last surviving Ancients to seize the Lost Crystal. However, the Ancients broke the Lost Crystal and used its shards to imprison Lyric forever. The Ancients knew Lyric would one day be free however, so they used this opportunity to hide the Crystal Shards.[1][2]
Over the next five thousand years, the Ancients would die out (the only exception being Lyric) and their civilization fell into obscurity. However, the remnants of the Ancients, like their ruins and abandoned tech, would become a source of interest for history buffs like Amy, who discovered an encrypted Ancient manuscript detailing the Crystal Shards' whereabouts while investigating their ruins.[7] When Lyric finally escaped in the present to find the Lost Crystal, and kidnapped Amy for her knowledge on the subject, he was defeated by Team Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog, the former who would get acquainted with the Ancients' locals and technology during their mission. Lyric's ultimate fate remains uncertain however.
TV series
Ruins from the Ancients on Seaside Island.
The Ancients were a highly advanced group and are said to have existed at the same time as the Granifer Giganticuses.[13][14] Under unknown circumstances however, their great civilization ended up almost forgotten. Some of the Ancients' legacy that would withstand the test of time were the remnants of their technology and ruins.[15] Seaside Island in particular is said to hold an abnormal amount of secret mech suits and technology from the Ancients; the Froglodyte Caves are noteworthy for being littered with this tech.[16]
After getting fired as an archaeologist, Charlie would steal a weapon he discovered at Mr. Slate's dig site of an Ancient ruin for his own use.[15][17] Team Sonic would also find an Ancient mech suit which Sonic would keep after getting it under control.[14] These discoveries would inspire Dr. Eggman to look for the Ancients' weapons himself, but his efforts were foiled by Team Sonic.[16] Not long after, the Unnamed Village's Meroke Crystal, a crystal from the Ancients which provided the town with electricity, would die out. Team Sonic thus retrieved a replacement from a deadly trap built by the Ancients, which included riddles, obstacles and Stone Guardians.[9] Back at Mr. Slate's dig site, the Ancients' Fregosi Sapphire later got uncovered, which Team Sonic would protect from Eggman.[18]
List of creations by the Ancients
- Angler
- AVA
- Charlie's Mech Suit
- Crab Excavator
- Crystal Lock
- Cyclone Blaster
- Destruction Troops
- Driller Worm
- Enerbeam
- Explosion Switch
- Hydro Gate
- MAIA
- Mind Control Device
- Q-N-C
- Riptide
- Sentinel
- Sonic's Mech Suit
- Stone Guardian
- Swarmer Hive
- Tornado
- Tunnel-Bot
Trivia
- Given that Lyric has been identified himself as a snake while other Ancients were revealed to look more like different anthropomorphic animals, it is possible that the Ancients as a race were actually constituted of multiple races of anthropomorphic animals. However, Steven Frost has stated that whether if the Ancients were a race or just a civilization is up to interpretation until the cartoon or future games would go into more specifics.[19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Sanzaru Games (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Nintendo 3DS. Sega. Area/Level: Sonic's Shack - Comic prequel.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 SONIC BOOM. Characters: Lyric the Last Ancient. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved on 25 July 2014. "As seen in the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games, Lyric is the last of his kind from an ancient civilization who lived a millennium ago. His race was devoted to peacefully controlling the world’s resources. Driven mad by power, Lyric turned on his fellow Ancients and took control of the resources. Building an army of robots programmed to obey his every command, the deadly snake-like villain set out to destroy everything organic and create a world of twisted metal and robots. However, just before he could successfully take over, he was attacked by the last surviving Ancients and imprisoned forever. With his army shut down and his plans ruined, he waited in prison plotting his revenge. Years passed and Lyric began to give up hope. That is, until Sonic comes across him. Now with his army rebooted, and his plans in place, the only thing stopping Lyric from total victory is Sonic and his friends."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Big Red Button Entertainment (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Nintendo Wii U. Sega. Level/Area: Cliff's Excavation Site. "Cliff: He's the last surviving member of a long-lost civilization called the Ancients."
- ↑ Big Red Button Entertainment (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Nintendo Wii U. Sega. Level/Area: Cliff's Excavation Site. "Cliff: Despite their advanced technology, the Ancients lived in perfect harmony with nature."
- ↑ Big Red Button Entertainment (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Nintendo Wii U. Sega. Cutscene: Who is this Lyric Anyway?
- ↑ Sanzaru Games (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Nintendo 3DS. Sega. Area/Level: Q-N-C's Toy Shop.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. "In Sonic Boom™: Shattered Crystal, Amy discovers a secret ancient language and manuscript detailing the history and whereabouts of a Lost Crystal of Power. The evil and vile villain, Lyric, kidnaps Amy in his eagerness to get his claws on this long-forgotten power that has been hidden throughout the jungles and canyons of a mysterious new island."
- ↑ Sanzaru Games (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Nintendo 3DS. Sega. Area/Level: Opening sequence. "Lyric: Not until you tell me what those symbols say."
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Raut-Sieuzac, Natalys (4 March 2017). "Blackout". Sonic Boom. Season 2. Episode 69. Boomerang.
- ↑ Big Red Button Entertainment (21 November 2014). Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Nintendo Wii U. Sega. Area/Level: Lyric's Tomb. "Dr. Eggman: So, I dug up these ancient robots, and it took me forever to figure out how to control them."
- ↑ E3 2014: Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric Stage Demo. Retrieved on 11 June 2014.
- ↑ Sonic Toon (Japanese). Inhabitants of the village: Cliff. Sega. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
- ↑ Tuber, Douglas; Maile, Tim (11 April 2015). "Sleeping Giant". Sonic Boom. Season 1. Episode 21. Cartoon Network.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Denton, Alan; Hahn, Greg (4 February 2017). "Mech Suits Me". Sonic Boom. Season 2. Episode 65. Boomerang.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Grenier, Benoit (7 November 2015). "Counter Productive". Sonic Boom. Season 1. Episode 51. Cartoon Network.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Flynn, Ian (18 February 2017). "Og Man Out". Sonic Boom. Season 2. Episode 67. Boomerang.
- ↑ Bill Freiberger on Twitter. Twitter (2 May 2016). Retrieved on 2 may 2016. "Alexander Soerensen: That ruin Charlie worked at in Counter Productive. Was that a ruin from the Ancients? / Bill Freiberger: Yes it was."
- ↑ Robinson, Cindy (25 March 2017). "Give Bees A Chance". Sonic Boom. Season 2. Episode 72. Boomerang.
- ↑ Steven Frost on Twitter. Twitter (27 April 2016). Retrieved on 27 April 2016. "Alexander Soerensen: Are the Ancients really a race as said on the Sonic Boom website? 'Cause SC and RoL put them more as a civilization. / Steven Frost: I reckon that's open to interpretation until the cartoon or future games get into more specifics."