Cruxis

Cruxis is a fictional organization in Tales of Symphonia. At the beginning of the game, Cruxis is thought to be a society of holy beings who protect the worlds in the religion Church of Martel. They are thought to be a good force in the game until the group reaches the Tower of Salvation, where it all changes.

Hidden truth
It turns out that Cruxis angels are nothing more than half-elves evolved by special Exspheres called Cruxis Crystals. The Desians, an antagonist organization made up mainly of half-elves, are also part of Cruxis. The whole organization is masterminded by Mithos, hero of the Ancient Kharlan War. Under the name of "Yggdrasill", Mithos used Cruxis Crystals to transform him and his allies to angels. Then, using the Eternal Sword, a gift to him from Origin, the King of Summon Spirits, he split the world into two bipolar parts: Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. This was all part of an attempt to resurrect his dead sister, Martel, whose soul was sustained only by using a Cruxis Crystal to bind it to the Great Seed. The Seed had once been the Giant Kharlan Tree, source of all mana, but the Kharlan War caused it to die.

This is where the journey of the Chosen comes in. Because of the instability of mana between the two worlds, one world would flourish while the other would decline. Every once in a while, a Chosen One of the mana lineage is born. The Chosen sets upon a Journey of Regeneration and will become a true angel at the Tower of Salvation, the symbol of the world regeneration. This served two purposes: firstly, to reverse the mana flow of the worlds, and secondly, to find a body for Martel.

Mithos also has a greater plan: he aims to eliminate discrimination in the two worlds. With Exspheres, he can transform all people into lifeless beings. He does not care that millions have to be sacrificed to achieve this, as the only thing that matters is that everyone becomes the same, thus they can not discriminate against each other for being different. For this to happen, he set up the Desians, who mass-produced Exspheres in their human ranches.

The leaders of Cruxis are the Four Seraphim, composed of Mithos and his former allies. Their base is in Derris-Kharlan, a great planet of mana and the homeworld of the elves. It is situated directly above Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, but has remained hidden for millennia. The only route to Derris-Kharlan is through the Tower of Salvation, which appears in the flourishing world and in the declining world at the time of the world regeneration. Angels are taken from the holy city, Welgaia. Mithos himself takes residence in his private castle, Vinheim.

Four Seraphim

 * Mithos Yggdrasill - the leader and founder of Cruxis, as well as Mithos the Hero of the Ancient Kharlan War from over 4000 years ago. Upon his sister’s death, he founded Cruxis and became the leader Yggdrasill.
 * Kratos Aurion - Mithos's human teacher. Kratos joined him in his efforts to stop the war. After Martel's death, he was forced to join Cruxis. As the only human in the organization, he sometimes goes against what Mithos is doing, and once even betrayed them.
 * Yuan Ka-Fai - a friend of Mithos's who was also a half-elf, and also Martel’s fiancé. Like Kratos, he was made to join Cruxis, but he secretly formed an underground resistance group called the Renegades.
 * Martel Yggdrasill - Mithos's older sister. Martel was killed by a human during the war, but she still is the fourth member of the Four Seraphim. She is the reason Mithos founded Cruxis, because he wants to bring her back to life.

Others

 * Remiel - one of the countless angel minions serving Yggdrasill. Remiel guides the current Chosen, Colette Brunel, on her journey during the game.
 * The Gatekeeper - another angel. The Gatekeeper appears to be a military commander of some sort, showing close combat capabilities far beyond that of normal angels. The Gatekeeper is only introduced if Lloyd does not talk to Kratos in Flanoir.
 * Lots of unnamed angels, both soldiers and also civilians.
 * Zelos Wilder - the Chosen of Tethe'alla. Zelos wants nothing more than a normal life. He is unable to have this because of his title, so he eventually joins Cruxis on the condition that his younger half-sister, Seles, becomes Chosen instead.
 * Desians - the pawn organization of Cruxis. They break havoc in the dying world in order to create Exspheres and to have the Chosen become an angel faster.
 * Five Desian Grand Cardinals - the five leaders of the Desians. Each of them, with the exception of Pronyma, has their own human ranch.

Quotes

 * "We of Cruxis bless this holy event, and bestow the Tower of Salvation upon this land." - Remiel
 * "I am of Cruxis, the organization that guides this world. I am one of the Four Seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen." - Kratos
 * "I am Yggdrasill, leader of Cruxis...and the Desians!" - Yggdrasill
 * "By using the Exspheres to eliminate the different bloods that flow within elves and humans, everyone will become the same lifeless beings. Discrimination will vanish. That is the grand age I strive for." - Yggdrasill

Related articles

 * Desians
 * Journey of Regeneration
 * Four Seraphim
 * Chosen

Trivia

 * Cruxis is named after the constellation Crux. Crux is Latin and means cross.
 * It is possible the creators are showing their hatred of Christianity