The Masked Mage

[Anonymoose]

I'm curious to see if there's a hierarchy of some sort in play. We seem to have put own down, and something more powerful than he seemed to be granting his requests for the voidsent he summoned. Ascians were also referred to as shadoweaters or those who have eaten their own shadow on occasion. Perhaps some are human/recently-ex-human, while others are timeless, and others still have that demonic grim reaper visage. However, perhaps some are merely residing in vessels. I'm not sure if it was the beta programming or what, but we do think we saw a shadow under him...

Who knows where it's all heading. I'm really going to take my time with it, I think.

[NoloeTazier]

I'm curious to see if there's a hierarchy of some sort in play. We seem to have put own down, and something more powerful than he seemed to be granting his requests for the voidsent he summoned. Ascians were also referred to as shadoweaters or those who have eaten their own shadow on occasion. Perhaps some are human/recently-ex-human, while others are timeless, and others still have that demonic grim reaper visage. However, perhaps some are merely residing in vessels. I'm not sure if it was the beta programming or what, but we do think we saw a shadow under him...

Who knows where it's all heading. I'm really going to take my time with it, I think.

Maybe the 'stronger' versions can take a form that they want, after all they seem to be strong magically. If something like a Dormouse or Snurble can come from the Void, I would say very much so weaker than Ascians/Paragons...I don't see why beings of magic in "our" world couldn't open a portal to the Void and slip through. If not with their own magic, maybe Atomos' legend in Eorzea runs deeper than we currently know..maybe people were taken to the Void.

The Masked Mage (leader?) said he thought he would never see Bahamut again, so he was around during the time of the Allagan Empire and Bahamut before the sealing...maybe he was an Allagan, maybe he was an Ascian/Paragon during this time. If he was an Allagan, then their technology was very impressive..being able to seal Bahamut and open a way to the Void.

But one thing we do know is their ultimate goal has something to do with the Crystals and Hydaelyn. Something that was started the day the day the Garleans accidently released the Primals, which allowed them to teach the Beastmen to summon the Primals. Maybe that's why the Allagans sealed Bahamut and rest of the Primals.

[Jinketsu]

I'm not sure if it was the beta programming or what, but we do think we saw a shadow under him...

Forgive my uneducated guess here, but are we sure "shadow" is literal? It would seem that from the depiction of Ascians in 1.x, they're complete demons that, while rarely seen, are apparently seen enough to strike more fear into people's hearts than Bahamut himself. These Ascians in ARR are more human-like in nature. Perhaps their 'non-shadow' description is more to say that they're not quite true Ascians? That they're having to overcome a trial or something in order to "evolve" into or something.

In any case, I just don't feel like "shadowless" should be considered literal, or have to do with their actual shadow on the ground. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I don't have as much knowledge on the matter ^^

[NoloeTazier]

Forgive my uneducated guess here, but are we sure "shadow" is literal? It would seem that from the depiction of Ascians in 1.x, they're complete demons that, while rarely seen, are apparently seen enough to strike more fear into people's hearts than Bahamut himself. These Ascians in ARR are more human-like in nature. Perhaps their 'non-shadow' description is more to say that they're not quite true Ascians? That they're having to overcome a trial or something in order to "evolve" into or something.

In any case, I just don't feel like "shadowless" should be considered literal, or have to do with their actual shadow on the ground. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I don't have as much knowledge on the matter ^^

Travanchest in 1.0 was an Elezen without a shadow. He was an Ascian or is at least associated with them and we were told my Ferne to watch out for "Shadowless" people in Cutscenes. Which prompted us Loremongers to go back and check, but as far as I know we never found any other Shadowless characters.

As I've stated in a few threads now, I feel Paragons and Ascians are the same thing but also different. Paragons are "human" (such as Travanchest being an Elezen) and the Ascians are the Grim Reaper-like monsters, who the Beastmen are afraid of -- after all the Paragons taught them to summon the Primals and they clearly weren't scared of them as compared to the Ascians. So in terms of hierarchy I think I'd say it goes Paragons on top with Ascians under them. Both of which are probably from the Void and working for the same goal. Though the Paragons gave the Beastmen the power to summon their Primal and destabilize the aether flow..but when the Ascian appears (Future's Prefect I think was the quest?) it doesn't really seem to have any ultimate goal, cept for maybe to scare the Beastmen there meeting for a common ground with the Path of the Twelve..scaring them into wanting to use their Primal's power maybe? Which resulted in hoarding the Crystals instead of trading them.