So, having just finished up the main scenario quests for 2.1 (or at least I believe I did--there may more more lurking about), it looks like they drop quite a bit more lore about the Ascians, mainly in the quest "The Gifted." And I'm sorry for the long post, but I'm curious to see what all of you much more knowledgeable people think about this
First off, it seems that there's a hierarchy among the Ascians. The white-robed Ascian that greets you and Minfillia calls himself an 'emissary', and refers to Lahabrea as a 'warrior'. Not only that, but he also says that our ol' black-robed friend is a bit "unique" compared to the other warriors, and it seems he's not entirely fond of the way Lahabrea goes about his work (although he's glad that because of Lahabrea, he gets to meet the player character). He also chastises you when you draw your weapon, implying that the last time he was in our world, there was an agreement between us and the Ascians that emissaries were not to be harmed. An interesting tidbit about his name, too, is that unlike Lahabrea his name, Elidibus, does NOT have a corresponding Scion of Light name from the FFXII Espers. So perhaps only warriors are given those names? Which begs the question of where are the emissaries names derived from.
Secondly, although I'm not a 1.0 player, I do remember seeing a cutscene on youtube where an Ascian is shown as this huge, cloaked, skeletal figure. Turns out that how one sees an Ascian is dependent on their mastery of the Echo. Elidibus says to Minfillia that people perceive the Ascians as "shadowless", "formless", and I believe 'faceless,' and that is why so few people can see them. Yet when Minfillia clearly sees him, he tells her that he's impressed she's able to perceive him so readily, albeit as a "crude approximation." He also says that she can only see him because she's both aware of Ascian's existing, and that she can perceive his presence with the Echo, unlike Tataru who walks in during their conversation, but only sees Minfillia--Tataru had neither the "knowledge" nor the "understanding" to perceive his presence. So does this mean that Ascians appear as they do because that's how we assume they look? So far, all accounts by the Beast Tribes refer to them as being cloaked figures, as do many other accounts. Is it because we believe them to exist as such that they appear so?
And the last bit about all of this that surprised me was how interested Elidibus was about the Echo. He seems to hold Hydaelyn's gift in high regard, unlike Lahabrea. And when he tells Minfillia that he comes in peace, he also mentions how if everyone was able to understand and perceive the Ascians that "There would be no strife between our peoples--we would be of one mind." So, does this mean that the Echo's power--gifted to them by Hydaelyn--is very similar to the Ascian's power, which presumably comes from Zodiark? Or is he simply saying that everyone would eventually see things their way and start believing in "The One True God"? Also, he refers to the Calamity as "the Ardor", and brings up how Hydaelyn makes sure to protects Her children--just an interesting phrase Elidibus mentions.
Anyway, that's all I've got out of this quest. It's not really much, but I'm curious to know all of your opinions about this. I'm no lore expert--heck, hardly even a study of the lore--but I do enjoy the backstories for certain parts of this game, the Ascian's being one of them.
EDIT: Finally went back and re-watched the cutscenes and took some notes. It's edited now to be both much more accurate, AND more legible. Serves me right for typing it up when I'm tired, haha!