Originally Posted by
Gilraen
We aren't really connected with Hydaelyn through the Echo, the Echo is a gift we 'own' granted by Hydaelyn. The only thing separating us from the Ascians is too many lifetimes of experience. We are connected, though, through the Blessing of Light, but... wait, we DO need crystals for that. Six, in fact, collected through our journey along 2.0, depleted in defending against Ultima Weapon, sealed after meeting Midgardsormr and then restored in 3.0 through an infusion from our own aetheric stores built up by the Echo (at least that's what it looked like to me). Those crystals, though, a tenuous at best and not very reliable if they can be drained by some silly spell of ultimate destruction.