How did we not realize this about the man made echo?

Venat called the spell we know as resistance to tempering a "traveler's ward." Rather than a resistance to tempering specifically, it's a resistance to aetheric corruption in general, which is what we've learned tempering is - exposure to a concentrated source of an element that first hits the mind and eventually twists the body.

The Blessing may be what appears on the spinny board in what we now know is the Aetherial Sea after that first Echo experience. Hydalaen says it grows stronger each time the WoL overcomes a trial. We never got to get a glimpse at what the other Blessing of Light users saw on their spinny boards, but we do know that even the WoLs on the 1st collected their crystals in the same manner. (I think Ryne never hearing the voice of Hydalaen is because she had borrowed powers.... and by then Minfilia's will was barely separable from that of Hydalaen anyway. It'd be talking to herself.)

One more thing that I remember that is relevant to this discussion, possibly: when exposed to the Starfall, the people of the Crystarium described two distinct reactions: half of them felt a call to adventure, the other half felt a profound sorrow. All of them are sundered, but there's some speculation that those who felt sorrow were the souls of sundered ancients, and those who felt the call to adventure were the souls of those born after the sundering, who only knew the world post Hydalaen. Or maybe it is in reverse: those who were sundered felt the call to adventure, and those souls created after the sundering were more sorrowful because they were more susceptible to Meteion.

Both might be manifestations of the Echo or the Blessing.

We know that even amongst the Ancients there was considerable variance in their aetherial capabilities (Or "creative potential" as they put it), so I'm inclined to think that the weaker crowd of souls found themselves unable to awaken the Echo and only felt that sensation of loss triggered by their soul "scars" from the Final Days, while those of exceptional potential like ourselves were able to grasp that faint remnant of the power that once came naturally to all.

That said, I'm really hoping they don't overlook the fact that the second Final Days would've logically resulted in the awakening of even more Echo bearers, considering that said individuals were once mistreated back in Eorzea due to a lack of understanding causing people to view their powers as a curse among other superstitious fallacies. It could also be a good excuse to bring the Resonant back into the picture if the remaining legions end up being a focus in 7.x, with Echo bearers again being viewed as a valuable resource for their agenda.

I took the those who felt sorrow weren't sundered ancients but the new life that Zodiark popped out. So they wouldn't have the final days etched into their souls, but we're created by those who had. I do wonder if the star showers made by Elidibus have a bit more of that sorrow built in vs those who awaken to the Echo that's caused by Hydelean or any of the Calamities.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheMightyMollusk

And nobody heard Hydaelyn at all throughout Stormblood and Shadowbringers, so given Ryne's age and the timey-wimey shenanigans going between Shards, that's hardly conclusive evidence.

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Actually the people of the Crystarium that awakened to the Echo did hear Hydaelyn's recorded "hear, feel, think" and (presumably) received the Traveller's Ward/Blessing of Light alongside it. There's a real possibility that Ryne inherited the Blessing of Light from Minfilia's essence. After all the Blessing of Light shows no signs of fading when applied to a person but the Echo itself is an innate ability of someone triggered when seeing a "star shower". There's no indication that the various Minfilias had the Echo but direct reference to them having the Blessing of Light.