Another source of Aether (Spoilers?)

So I was finishing Final Steps on an alt when I started wondering. As far as I am aware there were/are three items mentioned in FF lore that have the capability to grant enough aether for summoning a primal on their own, disregarding any Alagan shenanigans I may be forgetting (Also, may be misremembering what the 3 items do with the aether, but still.)

I can think of Nidhogg's eyes, taken care of after the Royal Menagerie, the Horn used to summon Alexander, also removed from the equation, and Tupsimati, which I am unsure of what happened to it following Shinryu's sealing.

Which made me wonder. Has there been mention of any similar artifact in the game that could be used in a similar manner? I can logically guess the Crystal of Light could in dire circumstances, but was anything else ever mentioned?

Yasyle uses her Crystal of Light to summon Shiva at Azys Lla, so that one is definitely confirmed in-game.

That is a good question about Tupsimati. I was under the impression Papalymo had used it to seal Shinryu, but that still leaves the question of where it is now...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

Yasyle uses her Crystal of Light to summon Shiva at Azys Lla, so that one is definitely confirmed in-game.

That is a good question about Tupsimati. I was under the impression Papalymo had used it to seal Shinryu, but that still leaves the question of where it is now...

---

I figured it was consumed and destroyed in the process. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jyera

I figured it was consumed and destroyed in the process. :(

---

See, that's my thought, but considering it survived Louisiox's usage, it could still be out there somewhere.

Edit, also had totally forgotten about Ysayle's usage of the Crystal of Light. It's probably nowhere as strong as the three I mentioned, but it does mean that there very well could be such an item.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ilenya

See, that's my thought, but considering it survived Louisiox's usage, it could still be out there somewhere.

---

I might be remembering all this wrong, so potentially take with a grain of salt. When Louisoix used the staff in the bahamut incident didnt it shatter? Its being used a second time in 3.5 could have been enough to finish destroying it. Of course, the question of whether the aetheric force applied by the spell was what broke it or just the force of bahamuts attack i dont think was answered.

It did shatter from what I assume was the backlash of Bahamut breaking the spell, but considering Papalymo's spell didn't shatter, I doubt that the staff broke.

However, thinking about it, the spell specifically failed in the end because it ran out of aether sustaining it, which if nothing else implies that Tupsimati doesn't currently have the well of aether it used to have.

It's been who knows how long since the alliance took over the wall, if the scions, or Lyse specifically, believed Tupsimati was still out there she would have gone to retrieve it as a memento, the fact that there's zero mention and that the staff was already not enough to power the binding spell a second time makes me believe it was destroyed.

Another thing to remember is that between Moenbryda's aether siphon thing and tupsimati you still didn't have enough aether to summon the blade of light without the blessing of light, so to me it implies that the staff wasn't at its full power, which is why Papalymo had to use himself as a battery the same way Moenbryda did before.

Now whether there are other sources of concentrated aether is hard to know, if there is another device it's probably in Sharlayan, there might also be other creatures out there with a similar condition as dragons eyes being full of concentrated aether.

Logically the eyes of Hraesvelger, Tiamat and the other two first brood dragons should work in a similar manner to Niddhog's. In fact any dragon of sufficient age should work. After all all they do is soak up aether over the centuries and so long as that aether is not spent on anything it should still be there. Which makes me wonder why primals are so dangerous for soaking up aether when its fine for dragons to do it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by koichi88

Logically the eyes of Hraesvelger, Tiamat and the other two first brood dragons should work in a similar manner to Niddhog's. In fact any dragon of sufficient age should work. After all all they do is soak up aether over the centuries and so long as that aether is not spent on anything it should still be there. Which makes me wonder why primals are so dangerous for soaking up aether when its fine for dragons to do it.

---

Slowly absorbing aether is entirely different than the active draining that Primals do. Alexander in particular was a massive drain on the land, and I think the primals in general know it (Ramuh in particular, since he was the one mentioned specifically telling the sylphs to not call him unless it was a massive emergency. I doubt the rest fully care.)

Also, I excluded the other dragon's eyes because I cannot imagine a single situation where any of them would allow the eyes to be abused like that.

I don't think the dragon eyes are soaking up aether, they're font of aether that grows stronger with time.

There is also an ancient Crystal of Light that Matoya owns from a past Umbral Era (the one Krile used to track down Y'shtola in the Lifestream), which is particularly potent (due to apparently being more 'pure') - unlike our own Crystals, this one seems to be completely physical rather than more aetheric like the ones possessed by the Warrior of Light, which probably explains it's purity.

Also, whatever became of that synthetic Crystal of Darkness manufactured by the Students of Baldesion that Minfilia made such a big deal about explaining just prior to Operation Archon? (the one she planned to use to free Thancred from Lahabrea's thralldom? - Lahabrea was directly driven out of Thancred's body in the Lifestream by Hydaelyn Herself so it made that whole thing nothing more than a red herring at best). I presume given what it was planned to be used for it probably is quite potent aether wise.

Did she plan to use the synthetic Crystal of Darkness? I thought it was just a prop and visual aid to show us what they're supposed to look like, and maybe work like to a lesser extent.

Re-reading dialogue for that scene in question (via screenshots) she stated pretty clearly that it was key to forcing "Lahabrea to relinquish control of Thancred" (paraphrased) but exactly how it would do so was unclear, presumably using the aether in it to overwhelm Lahabrea's own actual Crystal of Darkness that he used to bind his will to Thancred's body and thus destroy the crystal (causing Lahabrea to be expelled from Thancred).

However, that never happened, as after the Ultima Weapon/Lahabrea fight, Hydaelyn draws both Lahabrea-in-Thancred's meatsuit and the player's character to Her, and the player evokes the Blade of Light to firstly force Lahabrea out of Thancred, when he's then dispatched by Hydaelyn evoking the collective will of not only the player's character but their allies as well which drives Lahabrea away (and ultimately destroys the Crystal of Darkness wrapped around Thancred's neck. At no time is the synthetic crystal ever shown and was never mentioned again.

So it's most likely something that was intended to be used but never was due to other means becoming available that were used, or at worst just a red herring.

Either way, this is the dialogue Minfilia mentioned about the synthetic Crystal of Darkness:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ARR main scenario quest 'The Black Wolf's Ultimatum'

Minfilia: "Thancred's fate weighs heavily on my mind. I cannot bear to think of him in thrall to an Ascian."
Minfilia: "Mayhap you know this already, but the Ascians are immortal beings without physical form. Since time immemorial they have fanned the flames of chaos from the shadows."
Minfilia: "That they might work unseen, the Ascians entrap and possess mortal men by means of malign artifacts known as Crystals of Darkness."
Minfilia: "One such Crystal may yet be the key to saving Thancred."
(She pulls out a purple synthetic crystal, resembling a solid lightning crystal)
Alphinaud: "This is a Crystal of Darkness?"
Minfilia: "A mere replica, created using data obtained from anomalous crystals found across Eorzea."
Minfilia: "It comes to us courtesy of the Students of Baldesion, our distant allies."
Minfilia: "Even for an Archon, Thancred's talents are exceptional. We all had complete confidence in him."
Minfilia: "It was for this reason that none among us foresaw the danger in sending him to investigate the Ascians alone."
Papalymo: "Thancred had been striving to fill the void left by Louisoix. Yet it was plain he was overtaxing himself."
Yda: "Yeah... He would volunteer for everything and work til he was dizzy."
Alphinaud (thoughtfully): "And the toll taken by his exertions made him vulnerable to Ascian influence..."
Minfilia: "The Crystal that binds Thancred must be somewhere on his person. If we could but destroy it, his Ascian possessor would be compelled to relinquish control over him."

---

I feel like, reading that, she wasn't saying the synthetic one was the key, but an example of what they needed to find on Thancred to free him. I am now imagining the WoL having to strip-search an unconscious Thancred to find it now, thanks. =P