So is "Abalathia" supposed to be the Coerthas Eastern Highlands, or is this a different region that isn't labeled on the Eorzea map? I was only aware of Xelphaltol and the Black Shroud being east of Coerthas. And the part that is written as "Abalathia's Spine" on the map is northwest, between Dravania and the Farreach. :confused:
Abalathia
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05-31-2015, 05:38 PMZohar_LaharAbalathia
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05-31-2015, 06:14 PMSamcaesar
Abalathia is likely the name for for the full mountain range/region, while Abalathia's spine is the name for a specific part, maybe where the largest peaks of the mountain range are. At least, that's the way I'm seeing it, kind of like the "four thousanders" is a section of the Alpine mountain range.
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05-31-2015, 07:01 PMAnonymoose
Samcaesar is correct.
Abalathia's Spine is much larger than the map would have you believe - and this is new (EDIT: New-ish; found some old stuff!) information, really. The Heavensward information caught me off-guard talking about Coerthas and Ishgard being technically part of that region (and I mean region in a general sense, not a literal map region). Though, I wonder what Abalathia is that a continent-spanning mountain range is named after it.
What are our first crazy theories!? I'll start! Abalathia is... a Goddess... like Altana from FFXI... and she's been masquerading as the Great Crystal in order to pit us against her dark nemesis Promath-I mean Zodiark. The girl belowShivathe Goddess on the Triad artwork? Abalathia. The woman behind the crystal on the ARR CE box? Abalathia!... ABALATHIA! (But then why didn't Midgardsormr pick up on it, and instead validated Hydaelyn?) Damn! Theory defeated.
Oh, how I've longed for a new name to point fingers at when I know nothing about something since Siren went and actually did show up... -
06-01-2015, 12:00 AMAlberelI actually made the same mistake in thinking that was Shiva/Ysayle at the top in the Triad artwork but it's not, she's actually a part of the Goddess statue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
http://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/p....png?f976d05v1
Here's a shot of the Goddess from FFVI for comparison:
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...FF6Goddess.PNG
Her pose and attire are the same. Even the sun-like disc in the background is part of the statue.
As for Abalathia, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the original name of the entire region of Dravania and Coerthas combined, with the land being divided in name when the war broke out between Ishgard and the Dragons. -
06-01-2015, 12:21 AMFenralIt's still safe to blame Ascians for everything, at least.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
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06-01-2015, 01:38 AMAnonymooseWell, look at that!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberel
My knowledge of VI doesn't run very deep at all; though now that I get into it as we get closer to Heavensward, I can safely say it's one of the more underrated Final Fantasies. I should have spent more time on the sketches while perusing that FFWiki page. All I saw was this 2.4 pose (I blame the hair). I wonder if the similarity in posture is coincidental or if there's some connection.
Could be! Though you'll have to account for Xelphatol in the mix as well. Found this back in 1.0 text while I was digging for hints:Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberel
The choice word "spine" interests me, though it only appears in English and German (Japanese says Abalathian Mountains, French refers to it as the Abalathian Chain). I can't help but wonder if it personifies a feminine ... something. The first thing that comes to mind for me is story of the three brothers explaining the tectonic activity of the Three Great Continents, but then who's this girl all up on Aldenard, eh?Quote:
The Ixal are the sworn enemies of Gridania─craven birdmen who live in the secluded canyons and valleys of the eastern reaches of Abalathia's Spine.
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06-01-2015, 07:28 AMWyrahFhurrst
Abalathia's Spine is the mountain range itself, Abalathia being the name for the greater region that the Spine takes up. The region can then be subdivided into two smaller regions: Dravania, the western portion; and the Coerthas, the eastern region. None too complicated, but not clearly explained.
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06-01-2015, 11:54 AMAlberelThe word 'spine' is often used in fantasy to describe long-running mountain ranges that divide regions. I'm not sure of the actual origins of the term but Tolkien's Middle Earth features a 'Spine of Arda' and the Forgotten Realms setting features a mountain range called the 'Spine of the World'. There are many other fantasy universes that have adopted 'spine of X' or 'X's spine' as a common naming convention for long mountain chains. Unless I'm missing something I fear you may be reading a little too much into this one Moose!Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
That is indeed how I understand it to be.Quote:
Originally Posted by WyrahFhurrst
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06-01-2015, 12:26 PMAnonymooseI often do. In both cases you mention, however, "Spine" refers to the backbone of the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberel
It's not Hydaelyn's Spine... So, what are you, Abalathia... </bubblepipe> -
06-01-2015, 12:45 PMFenralI've slowly begun to think that Hydaelyn and Zodiark are the two forcefully-separated halves of some original deity, some original world (a la FFV). The Ascians' talk of restoring the world to its original form is a rather close echo to Exdeath's own plot, as well as the heroes' misunderstanding as to what the "original" world really is (as in, it's not some generic world of evil, sorry Bartz).Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
That is probably not Abalathia, though I suspect you're not far off in guessing "she" is some long-forgotten deity/ruler/other who was, at some point, important enough to have a large chunk of continent named after her. -
06-01-2015, 01:33 PMGrayveClearly she is Midgardsomrs' wife, and the mother of the Seven.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
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06-01-2015, 01:42 PMAnonymooseI've been struggling for a while with something similar. I always come back to this fringe theory I had that Hydaelyn is not actually whole - that she lay in pieces to create our world and only in that form does reality exist. Hence is the Mothercrystal we see in visions "all made one." In this case, The Rejoining would be an attempt to "delete" this dimension by compressing the Crystal back together. I've been toying with the idea that perhaps Zodiark was a being created in a past world, but (a la the connections to Zodiark of Ivalice) was deemed too powerful, cast away, and the crystal rejoined and reshattered to create a new existence. The theory needs some work, but it explains pretty much everything. Of course, as I always say, when you have so few puzzle pieces, many different ideas of a "big picture" can account for all of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenral
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06-01-2015, 02:30 PMFenralI have a response to this, but think it would be wiser for me to start a new thread for discussing Eorzean metaphysics, since it will probably take us further off the topic of Abalathia.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymoose
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06-02-2015, 01:38 AMAlberelThis actually wouldn't surprise me if it were the case. It would make sense that other beings akin to Midgardsormr were created as caretakers for the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grayve
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06-02-2015, 05:55 AMWyrahFhurrstI wonder if mankind killed her, and that is the source of this lasting animosity between mankind and dragonkind, not just the theft of Nidhogg's eye (though that probably didn't help any).Quote:
Originally Posted by Grayve
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06-03-2015, 12:30 AMAlberelThe theft of Nidhogg's eye, and the rise of the first Azure Dragoon, is a relatively recent development in the war from what I recall. I don't think it's related to the original cause of hostilities, though it certainly wouldn't have helped at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by WyrahFhurrst
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06-03-2015, 12:37 PMKaiser-AceWait, I though Hostilities with the Ishguardians didn't start until the first contact with Nidhogg a thousand or so years ago? Because Haldrith was the Son of the one who lead the pilgrimage to present day Ishguard (Halone's guidence or not) and Haldrith's father was slain by Nidhogg who's right eye was gouged out by Haldrith himself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberel
If I were Nidhogg I'd of been like "First to come into MY house, then you demand that I leave MY HOUSE, and now you DARE to lash out at me and take my Eye to use againt me!?! Ah Hells Nah!!!" -
06-03-2015, 06:55 PMBalipuYep, Ishgard wasn't even a thing before Thordan came along and it was his son, Haldrith, who took the eye out of its socket.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace
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06-03-2015, 06:59 PMAlberelYou... are correct. Not sure why I thought otherwise. I guess I didn't remember the DRG job quests as well as I thought I had, hehe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace
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06-04-2015, 10:28 PMMagis
Was Abalathia ever said somewhere to be a deity? Could it not be named after a person (or something) that did something great (a discovery, a battle, a death) at that location?
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06-05-2015, 04:37 AMWyrahFhurrstIt very well could! But it'd be convenient for us if the mountains were named after the mother of the First Brood, since she's also MIA in the story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magis
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06-05-2015, 07:07 AMAlberelThat's if there actually is a mother. Gods and immortal creatures like Midgardsormr are often capable of asexual procreation. He was able to create himself a new body using nothing but aether; what's to stop him making children the same way?Quote:
Originally Posted by WyrahFhurrst
I do think having a mother of the First Brood would be more interesting for the story, but there doesn't necessarily have to be one. -
06-05-2015, 08:19 AMWyrahFhurrstWell, that's part of the reason I say she's MIA, because as far as we the character know, she's just not around. Until it's explained further, I'm not sure if assuming one way or the other is better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberel
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06-05-2015, 08:29 AMAnonymooseThis is correct. We have nothing but a name, and everything else is us just being us, lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by WyrahFhurrst
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06-07-2015, 01:20 AMBalipuAs far as we know, Abalathia could be anything. But since Abalathia has a spine and only vertebrates and books have spines, we assume that Abalathia is not just a made up fantasy geographic name like Aldenard and Vylbrand, but actually a historical or mythological figure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magis
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06-07-2015, 06:08 AMWyrahFhurrstYou heard it here on the Lore Forums first, folks: Abalathia is a giant book that forms a mountain range. (Still just as good as any theory we have so far)Quote:
Originally Posted by Balipu
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06-07-2015, 06:25 AMWhiteArchmage
Watch one of the book bosses in the Sharlayan Library be called Abalathia, just for that.
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06-07-2015, 06:42 AMElladie
As soon as I heard the name Abalathia's Spine, it made me think of that curious landscape feature in Meriphataud Mountains in FFXI. Which happens to be called Drogaroga's Spine, although in this latter case, it is - apparently anyway - literally a spine. According to the very long quest line where your character has to run around Vanadiel searching for various monuments, Drogaroga was a giant dragon ... Coincidence? I wonder ...
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06-07-2015, 07:45 AMDoctaruRavenbeactually that spine was an conduct for the Mothercrystals. part of its spine goes into Oztroja and is broken open, revealing black goo (residual energy) that forms magicite.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elladie
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07-15-2015, 07:55 AMZohar_LaharAll things considered now that Heavensward is out, I hope they do elaborate on the name in later patches.Quote:
Originally Posted by Balipu