I have wondered if the sceptre was originally intended to be the staff which you can find in the House of Hope. From the description in the annals it sounds like you would need all three objects to use them for the intended purpose, so Raphael only wanting one seems a little odd. If he instead had already owned the sceptre and then offered to take Gale's orb out in exchange for the Crown it would have offered a much rounder picture.
It's quite funny that you mention that, because in EA, if you refused to give Gale any magical items, he would make a secret deal with Raphael that took care of his magical hunger problem. I don't think Raphael removed the orb, but he seemed to be able to control it somehow.
