Name of the Lodestone

I'm going to post this in the Lore forum as I guess it kind of makes sense here...

Some friends and I were chatting and the name of the Lodestone came up, so I was wondering if anyone knew why the site has been named the way it has?

All I know is that Lodestones are magnetic stones which were used in travelling a few centuries back (kind of like a compass) and were also called "Leading stones". The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was just named so because people who seek assistance in the game can post here for guidance? :confused:

If anyone can help clarify the meaning then it'd be wonderful ^^ Thank you! ;)

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

If anyone can help clarify the meaning then it'd be wonderful

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You've got it pretty much figured out. Suspending magnetite in a liquid was one of the earliest forms of navigation tools, right up there with just following the stars; call it what you will - guide stone, leading stone, way stone.

In Final Fantasy, you play an adventurer - a trailblazer out on the frontier.
Your Lodestone is how you find your way.

I think it might also refer to something in-game, as well, that maybe we haven't discovered much of yet and won't until ARR--something like a guiding light/guardian for adventurers, or any travelers for that matter, aside from their patron deities. In Merlwyb's speech for the Maelstrom during the first GC quests where you take time to pick your Company, she says something like this to finish hers off:

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Originally Posted by Merlwyb

The Maelstrom has launched, its final destination a new Eorzea where Limsa Lominsa's founding principles shall shine like the lodestone and reverberate like thunder, till sea swallows all!

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Instead of calling it just 'a' lodestone, she calls it 'the' lodestone--which means either:

a) There's only one real lodestone and it means something more important in Eorzea than we think of it.
b) i'm overthinking it--she's just making it sound fancy and there's actually lots of lodestones in Eorzea. (this one is very possible.)

also on the subject, I think someone, somewhere, in some quest mentioned something like "the lodestar" in 1.0. I know that's not specific at all but I distinctly remember the NPC saying it. It's possible the lodestone/lodestar are different names for the same guiding light that keeps adventurers on their way, or they're two completely different entities that were barely touched on...ugh, but now I wish I could remember which quest/NPC it was that said that! if i find it i'll get back to you on that.

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Originally Posted by Fleurette

the lodestone

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Magnetite is pretty shiny in certain forms. I think this might be one of those "hungry like the wolf" kind of things.

http://cdn.indulgy.com/N1/FA/n3/1717...5TD1RtoX6c.jpg

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Originally Posted by Fleurette

"the lodestar"

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Heeere ye go.

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Originally Posted by Radulf

Darkness descends from all sides... Yet there at the center...there, brilliant, unwavering, and whole...my beacon, my lodestar...Ala Mhigo.

The Mail Must Get Through

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Ever heard of the phrase "I've struck the Motherlode"?

It carries a more modern context associated with value and significance.

In a final fantasy world obsessed with crystals, that would make it THE crystal.

FFIV Lodestone Cavern

Its also possible they consider Lodestone a more modern terminology for levistone, which was used in FF1 to allow the airship to fly.

Thank you all so much! That's made me feel better about myself, haha.

Does make me wonder whether a Lodestone/star will actually have meaning in ARR, or some kind of significance. E.g. if we get to visit Ala Mhigo will there be more references to a Lodestar which is a physical thing with some significance, or are they just parts of a story?

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Originally Posted by Catapult

Ever heard of the phrase "I've struck the Motherlode"?

It carries a more modern context associated with value and significance.

In a final fantasy world obsessed with crystals, that would make it THE crystal.

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Motherlode = Mother crystal = Hydaelyn?

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Originally Posted by Duuude007

FFIV Lodestone Cavern

Its also possible they consider Lodestone a more modern terminology for levistone, which was used in FF1 to allow the airship to fly.

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Maybe some significance to the Empire, if that's the case?

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

Motherlode = Mother crystal = Hydaelyn?

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That is my hypothesis.

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Originally Posted by Catapult

That is my hypothesis.

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I don't think she'd appreciate us writing all over her. Interesting idea though, I hadn't thought of it; if that's the case then we might hear it mentioned much more in ARR, since it's the key concept of one of the stories.

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Originally Posted by Duuude007

FFIV Lodestone Cavern

Its also possible they consider Lodestone a more modern terminology for levistone, which was used in FF1 to allow the airship to fly.

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Damn, you beat me to it. This was exactly what I was going to put... pretty much verbatim.

Those are the only instances I can think of in terms of FF. Other than that, I really like the proto-compass explanation.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Magnetite is pretty shiny in certain forms. I think this might be one of those "hungry like the wolf" kind of things.

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I think in the context Merlwyb used, it's meant to be like "the sea", or "the air". Of course in that case it would be more like "shine like lodestone" without the word "the". Ah, well.

I think I missed something; how does lode lead to crystal? Not even THE crystal, just crystal. If I'm not mistaken, the lode in lodestone (meaning way, or path) was seen as a guide stone, but the lode in motherlode meant the principal way or path of an ore deposit, as in the central vein. I've never heard it used in geology to refer to anything other than metal.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

I think I missed something; how does lode lead to crystal? Not even THE crystal, just crystal. If I'm not mistaken, the lode in lodestone (meaning way, or path) was seen as a guide stone, but the lode in motherlode meant the principal way or path of an ore deposit, as in the central vein. I've never heard it used in geology to refer to anything other than metal.

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I prefer your analogy about guidance, but to be fair one of the definitions of lode is "a rich source of something" and isn't specific in what it might be.

So, in a way, the mothercrystal could be defined as a lodestone since it is a stone which has a great source of life and aether.

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

I prefer your analogy about guidance, but to be fair one of the definitions of lode is "a rich source of something" and isn't specific in what it might be.

So, in a way, the mothercrystal could be defined as a lodestone since it is a stone which has a great source of life and aether.

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Although, saying that:

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lodestone
noun
- a piece of magnetite or other naturally magnetized mineral, able to be used as a magnet.
[mass noun] a naturally magnetized mineral; magnetite.
- a person or thing that is the focus of attention or attraction:
'the revolution in eastern Europe has robbed the state of its ideological lodestone'

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lodestar
noun
- a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, especially the pole star:
figurative
'she dominated his existence as chief muse and intellectual lodestar'

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(I wasn't aware that Lodestar was an actual word)

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Heeere ye go.

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holy mother of nymeia HOW DO YOU DO THAT?! that's the exact line I was looking for; thank you! i'm starting to think you're more of a magician or something...

but on the subject of Catapult's theory, that actually sounds really interesting...like Moose is saying, "stone" and "crystal" are a pretty far stretch from one another, but other than that, it sounds really plausible...i mean, think about it:

Hydaelyn "guided" us towards our first adventures with the gift of the echo, just as a lodestone would help us get to our destination. If we weren't guided by that voice at the beginning, the beginning story quests and those following would cease to exist. We were pushed towards the right direction and the echo was kind of an extension of that lodestone, like having a personal Hydaelyn to guide you when you needed it. (Or...when she/it (?) needed it, because the beginning city-state stories you can't control it, as far as I know. It's not until much later that they actually prompt you on if you want to use the echo.) And Fantasia's definition, "a person or thing that is the focus of attention" may very well also apply to Hydaelyn...since it's kind of the entire planet and the archons (namely Louisoix) were very much focusing their energies on the planet and its aether/how the primals were affecting it/hurting it.

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Originally Posted by Fleurette

but on the subject of Catapult's theory, that actually sounds really interesting...like Moose is saying, "stone" and "crystal" are a pretty far stretch from one another, but other than that, it sounds really plausible...i mean, think about it:

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Well, crystals are stones of some kind, in a geological sense ^^; it's far less a metal, though.

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Originally Posted by Fleurette

Hydaelyn "guided" us towards our first adventures with the gift of the echo, just as a lodestone would help us get to our destination. If we weren't guided by that voice at the beginning, the beginning story quests and those following would cease to exist. We were pushed towards the right direction and the echo was kind of an extension of that lodestone, like having a personal Hydaelyn to guide you when you needed it. (Or...when she/it (?) needed it, because the beginning city-state stories you can't control it, as far as I know. It's not until much later that they actually prompt you on if you want to use the echo.) And Fantasia's definition, "a person or thing that is the focus of attention" may very well also apply to Hydaelyn...since it's kind of the entire planet and the archons (namely Louisoix) were very much focusing their energies on the planet and its aether/how the primals were affecting it/hurting it.

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This conversation is getting much more in depth than I thought it would! Love it =) At least we've established that the Lodestone exists to guide adventurer's through their goals and such, it'd be nice if the ARR one would have more of a 'crystally' theme to make it suit the name even more.

I can't think of anything/one other than Hydaelyn that the name 'Lodestone' could actually apply to, though. Maybe there's no actual physical representation of it.

Or it could just be that the devs were like "Yeah, that sounds like a good name; No-one will question it, either."

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Originally Posted by Fleurette

like Moose is saying, "stone" and "crystal" are a pretty far stretch from one another

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To the contrary. The term "crystal" actually has great geological significance.

When a body of magma cools to form an igneous rock, it undergoes crystallization. Yes, that is the technical term. Rocks are made up of lots of minerals, their crystals interlocked. The slower a rock cools from magma, the larger its crystals will typically be, helping us learn more about how, when and where the rock formed. There are some crystals that got freaking huge throughout history - this article shows some of the largest crystals found.

Crystals are made of rock. And stones are essentially pieces of rock. (There is a more technical definition, but I won't go there.)
I wouldn't hesitate drawing a connection between "stone" and crystal when discussing the "lodestone".

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Originally Posted by Catapult

To the contrary. The term "crystal" actually has great geological significance.

When a body of magma cools to form an igneous rock, it undergoes crystallization. Yes, that is the technical term. Rocks are made up of lots of minerals, their crystals interlocked. The slower a rock cools from magma, the larger its crystals will typically be, helping us learn more about how, when and where the rock formed. There are some crystals that got freaking huge throughout history - this article shows some of the largest crystals found.

Crystals are made of rock. And stones are essentially pieces of rock. (There is a more technical definition, but I won't go there.)
I wouldn't hesitate drawing a connection between "stone" and crystal when discussing the "lodestone".

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Wouldn't that more appropriately be rocks are made of minerals, and minerals form as crystals of various sizes? Saying crystals are made of rock sounds backwards to me.

Anyways when it comes to the Lodestone name, I personally am one that wouldn't read too far into it besides the original suggestion of magnetite or other similar magnetic substances being used for compass navigation, helping us adventurers find our way. Any more general, alternative definitions of lodestone/lode/mother lode as something, anything, of great value or import are likely just derived from the original specific meanings as a magnetic rock or an ore/mineral deposit.

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Originally Posted by Myranda

I personally am one that wouldn't read too far into it besides the original suggestion of magnetite or other similar magnetic substances being used for compass navigation, helping us adventurers find our way. Any more general, alternative definitions of lodestone/lode/mother lode as something, anything, of great value or import are likely just derived from the original specific meanings as a magnetic rock or an ore/mineral deposit.

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Yeah, I think I'm inclined to agree, it makes more sense that it's used as a method of helping us journey than an actual 'being'.

It was just nice to see semi-intelligent discussion on these forums for a change ^^

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

It was just nice to see semi-intelligent discussion on these forums for a change ^^

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That's what the lore forum is for. A breath of fresh intellectual air amidst the miasma of some of the other forums.

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

It was just nice to see semi-intelligent discussion on these forums for a change ^^

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Originally Posted by finiteHP

That's what the lore forum is for. A breath of fresh intellectual air amidst the miasma of some of the other forums.

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Heh heh, heh heh. "Lode" heh heh, heh heh.

LOADstone, meaning, this is where you go to surf the forums during FFXIV 1.0 LOADing screens.


Just kidding. :rolleyes:

The underline of "The Lodestone" Reminds me of an Aetheryte.

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Originally Posted by Rex

The underline of "The Lodestone" Reminds me of an Aetheryte.

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Or an arrow D= Which brings us right back around to guidance, haha.

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Originally Posted by Rex

The underline of "The Lodestone" Reminds me of an Aetheryte.

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Originally Posted by Fantasia

Or an arrow D= Which brings us right back around to guidance, haha.

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As much as I'd like to invoke the "Sometimes the Curtains are Just Blue" principle, I'm going to play along. It looks like a compass needle, to me.

http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/gl...r/ff14Logo.png
http://www.daretobewhoyouare.com/wp-...mpass_body.jpg

"It all began with a stone, Or so the legend says." Damn that video makes me cry from nostalgia! ; _;

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Originally Posted by Myranda

Wouldn't that more appropriately be rocks are made of minerals, and minerals form as crystals of various sizes? Saying crystals are made of rock sounds backwards to me.

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Well, yeah, but I was trying highlight my point through the inverse.