| “ | The Servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The Controller is the one that unifies the Chaos. | „ |
| ~ Tikal's prayer to the Chaos Emeralds. |
The Chaos Emeralds (in Japanese: カオスエメラルド Kaosu Emerarudo?) are reoccurring major objects that appear in the Sonic the Hedgehog videogame franchise. They are seven ancient emeralds and mystical relics tied to the Master Emerald, with powerful properties and abilities. Those that hold the Chaos Emeralds can use their powers for a variety of things, such as initiating a super transformation, powering machines, and warping time and space. Anyone who combines all seven Chaos Emeralds can command ultimate power.
Throughout history, the Chaos Emeralds have been the center of countless world-threatening conflicts and have been targeted by multiple factions on both earth and beyond, who seek them for their immeasurable powers.
In the hands of villains they have been used for doomsday weapons and schemes for world domination, and in the hands of heroes they have been used to save the world.
Over time, the Emeralds have been gathered multiple times, though they tend to scatter themselves after each usage and reset the hunt for them.
In the early games of the series, the Chaos Emeralds were more like "bonus" items, but since Sonic Adventure, they have become necessary plot devices, and that trend has continued throughout the later games.
History[]
The Chaos Emeralds' background is shrouded in mystery and no one knows how they came to be. Long before recorded history, they were owned by an extraterrestrial race known only as "the Ancients", who took the Emeralds with them while fleeing their planet's destruction at the hands of The End. When they passed by Earth, the Chaos Emeralds came into contact with the Master Emerald, located on said planet, and the Ancients were forced to land and settle there. The mystical gems would remain on the planet even long after their original owners had died out.
Throughout history, civilizations have sought to harness the Chaos Emeralds' power: according to legend, the ancient civilization on West Side Island used the Chaos Emeralds for the advancement of their society and achieved great prosperity. Other civilizations that knew about the Emeralds included the Babylonians and the Black Arms, the latter having visited Earth for at least 2,000 years. The Emeralds also have a connection to the Gaia Temples which are more or less than ten thousands of years old. There are as well numerous locations that are said to have held the Chaos Emeralds at one point (some of which claim to have done so since ancient times), including Cocoa Island, Angel Island, Flicky Island, West Side Island, and South Island. It is unknown how valid these legends are, given how some contradict others regarding the Emeralds' resting place, although this might be due to the Emeralds' tendency to appear wherever they are needed.
It is said that in the far ancient past, the Chaos Emeralds would be used for evil purposes. One such instance was when West Side Island's prosperity lead to avarice over the course of a single night when some people wanted the Emeralds for evil, sparking a conflict so great that the gods had to intervene and seal the Chaos Emeralds on the island. Witnessing this misuse, the gods created the Master Emerald to balance out the Chaos Emeralds' power and equipped the gem with the ability to nullify and control them. An ancient mantra associated with the Emeralds would eventually arise, explaining their connection and abilities.
Over 3,000 years ago, the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald resided in the Altar of the Emeralds, a shrine in the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins. There, each Emerald rested on one of seven stone pillars that surrounded the Master Emerald which lay in the center of the altar. Back then, the Emeralds were known only as "the Seven Emeralds" that could grant wishes. In that shrine resided a colony of Chao. These peaceful creatures and their shrine were protected by the water-based deity Chaos, the guardian god of the Chao.
NOTE: The following information is considered non-canon to the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series due to originating from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
Around 4,000 years ago, ancient echidna civilizations knew of the Chaos Emeralds and sought their secrets. The Nocturnus Clan were known to have been experimenting with the Chaos Emeralds as a part of the creation of the Gizoid, while the Knuckles Clan revered the Chaos Emeralds as sacred objects. Around this time, Tikal, the daughter of chief Pachacamac of the Knuckles Clan and a friend to the Chao and Chaos, was allowed into the shrine where she could behold the Chaos Emeralds.
As the Knuckles Clan faced extermination at the hands of the Nocturnus Clan, chief Pachacamac and his followers launched a raid on the altar to take the Emeralds and gain undisputed power. Tikal stood between them however, begging her people to leave the creatures and the Emeralds alone. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears, and the men trampled over Tikal and the Chao alike in the process, prompting Chaos to appear. In a fit of rage over the harm brought to its friends, it used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and wiped out the clan's civilization in vengeance, before it was sealed in the Master Emerald by Tikal. After this event, the Emeralds went missing and were dubbed the "Chaos Emeralds" due to their association with Chaos.
Non-canon information ends here.
Eventually, the Knuckles Clan's leader Pachacamac would attempt to seize the Chaos Emeralds to give his clan unlimited power and allow them to expand even further. His daughter's pleas fell on deaf ears, and the soldiers raided the Chao's home, prompting Chaos to appear. In a fit of rage over the harm brought to its friends, it used the Chaos Emeralds to become Perfect Chaos and wiped out the clan's civilization in vengeance, before it was sealed in the Master Emerald by Tikal. After this event, the Emeralds went missing and were dubbed the "Chaos Emeralds" due to their association with Chaos.
Over fifty years prior to Shadow the Hedgehog, the Chaos Emeralds were researched by Prof. Gerald Robotnik onboard Space Colony ARK as a part of Project Shadow. These research results led to the creation of the Chaos Drives, small capsules containing chaos energy. During the experimentations on the Chaos Emeralds, Prof. Gerald also discovered that the Gizoid he had found reacted to the Emeralds. After a Chaos Emerald got installed into the Gizoid however, the robot went on a rampage that destroyed most of the ARK before it was subdued.
Description[]
Described as holding enough power to let their possessor control the whole world, each Chaos Emerald is said to possess mystical properties and contain unlimited amounts of highly potent and powerful chaos energy that is said to give life to all things. Even alone, their power is unmatched by pretty much anything else in the universe, except by the Power of the Stars and the Master Emerald; just one Emerald can grant access to unlimited power and radiates enough chaos energy to repel the incomplete Time Eater, power an entire Gaia Temple, and destabilize the crust of a planet. It is often said that those whom combine all seven Chaos Emeralds will gain ultimate power and unlimited energy.
Each Chaos Emerald has the power to response to thoughts and transform them into power in order to create miracles; by "sensing" people's thoughts, the Chaos Emeralds can generate the chaos energy they contain which make them everlasting sources of energy. Oppositely, the Emeralds can absorb the chaos energy exposed to them. By focusing one's thoughts, the Emeralds can even bend reality to achieve certain feats, such as showing fabricated visions, performing rituals, reviving the recently deceased and even make them move on their own. Additionally, each Emerald can float in midair on its own power.
The Chaos Emeralds' power can be harnessed with or without physical contact, and can be done so over great distances. When harnessed by living beings, they allow different chaos powers, such as Chaos Control, and can occasionally enhance the wielder's abilities. Harnessing all seven Chaos Emeralds will bestow a person with a Super State, a form that grants flight, invulnerability, different chaos powers, and increased innate talents. Additionally, a Super State user can transfer their power to others to bestow them with a Super State of their own. However, Super States generally do not last long, as they consume tremendous amounts of energy. The Emeralds' power can also be harnessed by machinery, such as the Eclipse Cannon, for the purpose of powering them. Potentially, their power can also be used for nuclear or laser-based weaponry.
The type of chaos energy the Emeralds produce is influenced by thoughts. Positive thoughts, such as friendship and caring, generate positive energies and negative thoughts, such as anger and hatred, generate negative energies. If the Chaos Emeralds are either absent of their negative energies or all of their energies, they become inert and lose their lustre. The only known ways to restore them from this state is through people's thoughts, the Gaia Temples, or by returning their energy. The Chaos Emeralds can as well take on other powers, like when the Overmind psychically treated them into Great Emeralds which boosted their psychic powers, or potentially be enhanced.
The Chaos Emeralds amplify their own power the more of them there are used in the process. This is mainly demonstrated with the Eclipse Cannon: with five Emeralds it could destroy a large city, with six Emeralds it could blow up half of the moon and with all seven it could destroy planets and pierce stars. Like the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds also appear to possess some form of sentience; during the Jeweled Scepter incident, they remained stable in spite of the conditions in an attempt to help Sonic and Tails get home from Blaze's world. Supposedly, this sentience also explains the Emeralds' tendency to show up where they are most needed.
As demonstrated on a few occasions, the Chaos Emeralds are not indestructible, and can be shattered into Emerald Shards that retain the Chaos Emeralds' chaos energy. However, like the Master Emerald, they can easily be repaired if all their shards are brought back together again.
Each Chaos Emerald is linked to each other and act like magnets that can attract each other. This for example allowed Tails to pinpoint Dr. Eggman's location on Space Colony ARK because he had the rest of the Chaos Emeralds in his possession. The Chaos Emeralds are likewise linked to the Sol Emeralds, their inter-dimensional counterparts from Blaze's world, with the two sets of Emeralds having been described as the North and South on a magnet. This makes both sets of Emeralds capable of attracting and repelling each other. Also, when in close proximity, the two sets of Emeralds call out to each other, which will generate power of cataclysmic proportions unless those wielding the Emeralds knows how to use them or the Emeralds wills themselves to remain stable.
When all seven Chaos Emeralds are used together, their power will be used up, and they will scatter to all corners of the planet. They also quite often end up in Special Stages, which are strange alternate dimensions. In general though, they tend to land in places away from the public eye in an inert and lusterless state, where they can allow themselves to slowly regain their power.