Spoilers about a characters age who returns in 2.1

[Anonymoose]

I thought the Archons appearing in the starting city questline Echos was just a plot hole or a story device that was never explained. I was always under the impression that, in 1.0, people with the Echo had the ability to infiltrate other peoples Echos. The Echo in 1.0 and the one in 2.0 seem to behave differently anyway.

At the present, my theory is that the introduction echoes were triggered by people around town who were present for the events we kept asking about when they actually happened; we saw echoes, we talked about what we saw there, this triggered their memories, which triggered echoes, and so on back and forth as the dominoes fell. That would mean that, in that time, the "Archons" just happened to be around on missions from Sharlayan as part of trying to understand Eorzea's fated destiny, and as destiny would have it, all their fates were intertwined.

I'll try to use Limsa as an example (because it's the most confusing), but beware, I've sunk entire days across the last few years into trying to understand this... and it's not only convoluted, but I might have some of it wrong.

We're at sea when Hydaelyn gives us the Echo and we immediately accidentally jump Rostnsthal (Sthalmann)'s memory of the last time he was in a storm this bad. From what I can tell, he was undercover on a passenger ship that he believed to be a smuggling vessel owned by Carvallain, this passenger ship was also transporting Y'shtola, who was heading to Lominsa to gather intelligence for the Sharlayan council (dissolved in 1562), possibly due to the rumoured appearance of "Seal Rock."

In this Echo, we see the sea serpent. Mentioning it to Baderon triggers his memory, and he sends us to the guilds around town, where the information we've acquired up to this point makes us say things that trigger Echoes from Sisipu (Sthalmann's neice), Reyner (Sthalmann's ex-lieutennant and successor), and H'naanza (who built a ship Sthalmann used in his plot and is still owed a debt for it). Through these people's memories, the Echo shows us the beginning of Sthalmann's attempted coup, which identifies the traitor Emerick and his shadowless Serpent Reaver associate, Travanchet, who Y'shtola was hunting.

We take this information to Baderon, who tells us to go to the Astalicia to hear that Emerick is dead (which I believe to be Baderon covering for Emerick, who I believe to be alive and living under the false identity Blackburn). Here, we bump into Rostsnsthal (Sthalmann) again, and his memory of where Emerick was taken (the 'Cuda's hold-ship at sea) leads us to demand Hob take us there, where he once took Y'shtola, and we see via Echo how that turned out (badly) before he's arrested by Reyner, who, as the current commodore, now owns said hold-ship. Via new Echoes of Sthalmann, Hob, Sisipu, and Reyner, we put the rest of the conspiracy together and head, thinking this is all happening in present time, to where we believe will be the final confrontation between Sthalmann (who has stolen "The Key" of Seal Rock to take control of Lominsa) and Y'shtola (who knows The Key is being hunted by the Ascians).

When we get there, the only person present is Blackburn, who I believe is actually Emerick, living out his days in hidden shame. Emerick triggers the next Echo, in which we see Sthalmann and Y'shtola fight over The Key (a horn), which glows and triggers an echo within an echo where we see Sthalmann planning the coup before anybody even showed up. This somehow coincides with The Starshower, and Emerick's shadowless associate, thought to be a simple Serpent Reaver but actually an Ascian, takes The Key and ditches.

In all three city-state introductions, we see The Starshower occur during echoes within echoes that take place at important plot points. Did they all happen at the same time? Were they all watching the same Starshower? Talk about a crazy coincidence, especially because we learn that a ton of people with the Echo have seen it at one point or another. A similar horn shows up in the Ul'dah storyline (Same one different time? Different one same time!? Different one different time!?) and I've also yet to identify what the hell they are, which is my longest-running lore obsession.

Path 2.1 took us back to Ul'dah and answered all standing questions, including the date of that echo line, with the exception of two (What is the horn? Who killed Neille? (Money's on Warburton!)) However, they opened the door to these questions in A Realm Reborn, which is exciting as all get out. Will the patch with Leviathan take us back to the Lominsan story? The last we saw Rostnsthal, he was a drunken mess, outed for his treachery and a social outcast, looking to rebuild himself as an honorable pirate king (still trying to take down Carvallain). Will Sthalmann make his (undoubtably badass) return as did F'lhaminn? Will we return to Gridania's introduction, as well?

If so, will Anonymoose use all of these answers to write MYSTERY FINALLY SOLVED editions of The Lore Train centered entirely on re-telling the Version 1.0 storyline as it was intended to be experienced?

The answer to that last one is yes.

All the yes.