Tales from the Calamity Lore Discussion

[Enkidoh]

Interesting. This truly confirms that summoning the 12 is dangerous to the land. I always thought the Ascian method of summoning caused primals to feed on aether and the the 12 are more or less good.


The ala mhigans trid to summon ther god, but we stopped them. Now there Ishgard. No matter how benevolent they are they still consume large aether and might stay.

The thing is, the game's storyline has pretty much told us that summoning period, regardless of what actually is summoned, is what is bad - what is being evoked is pretty much irrelevant as ultimately it all ends up the same anyway. Good King Moggle Mog the XII is the poster child for this - his existence pretty much all but screams that with enough willpower and crystals you could summon anything you wish, and the form would be exactly the same as the Primals, a dangerous aetheric sponge that is a warped form of it's source who then proceeds to brainwash others in order to continue to anchor itself to the corporeal realm. You could wish for a fish sandwich and summoning it with enough crystals would result in a giant fish sandwich monster that would then turn you and everyone in earshot into mindless zealots hopelessly devoted to it.

Hence why Louisoix only summoned a portion of the Primal's power - he knew that summoning the Twelve wouldn't actually result in the Twelve appearing as shining beacons of light. He used the shortcut to summon a portion of their power as it was the only safe option. Ironically, if you think about it, this is also somewhat analogous to the exact same thing players are doing with the SMN Job - summoning a portion of a Primal's power instead of the full Primal itself.

As for the latest Calamity Tale, I really enjoyed this one as it answered some long standing questions, particularly, 'who founded the Path of the Twelve?' I'm pleased that Minfilia was revealed to have been the one who was responsible for the Path's formation (with prodding from Louisoix of course ), but it does raise a question as to why she called her position Acting Antecedent in 1.0. However I noticed a slight contentious point that seems a bit odd in it's inclusion:

Nael van Darnus is dead. It should be over. Alone in the solar of the Waking Sands, Minfilia paced. Overhead, the lesser moon Dalamud continued its descent towards Eorzea, apparently indifferent to the demise of the Meteor project’s chief orchestrator. Can naught else be done?

This has a possible error in that in version 1.0 Minfilia's office in the Waking Sands (the original one in Ul'dah), was actually called The Hall of the First Step, not 'the solar' which is it's name in ARR in the relocated Waking Sands in Vesper Bay. This might be a possible retcon though (especially for the benefit of those who didn't play 1.0, but for a 1.0 player it does seem pretty jarring). I know I'm being pedantic here but I can't help it, I'm weird like that.

Anyway, thank you so much for these juicy lore morsels Ferne! I must admit I can't wait to see what the final one is.

[Corvinoobus]

This has a possible error in that in version 1.0 Minfilia's office in the Waking Sands (the original one in Ul'dah), was actually called The Hall of the First Step, not 'the solar' which is it's name in ARR in the relocated Waking Sands in Vesper Bay. This might be a possible retcon though (especially for the benefit of those who didn't play 1.0, but for a 1.0 player it does seem pretty jarring). I know I'm being pedantic here but I can't help it, I'm weird like that.

Anyway, thank you so much for these juicy lore morsels Ferne! I must admit I can't wait to see what the final one is.

Not a retcon; just a simple mistake on my part. The text should be revised within a day. Thanks for the heads up!

Also, I must confess that I've enjoyed following everyone's reactions. The JP writer and the EN translators put a great deal of effort into crafting these stories, and it's gratifying to see that they've been so well received. Here's hoping that y'all like the last one as much as the others!

[Anonymoose]

The JP writer and the EN translators put a great deal of effort into crafting these stories, and it's gratifying to see that they've been so well received. Here's hoping that y'all like the last one as much as the others!

Good to see you again, Corvinoobus! I'm sure we will. I hope this is a tradition when The Rising comes back around, too; I can see all sorts of opportunities for clearing up things that fell through the cracks or getting a story out there that the writer never found a place for.

And what happened to Stahlmann (from the Limsa Lominsan storyline)? And probably many other loose ends from 1.0.

It is a crime that I can't [Like!] this at least once for every time I've said that. The longer SE ignores our missing, treasonous, drunken Ex-Commodore, the more I expect that when he finally turns up, it's going to be badass enough to make me leap from my seat to do a celebratory dropkick. At least with the secret group of insurgents Gridania sent Ala Mhigo's way, they were prepared to die and probably died and none of them were important figures, so the biggest mystery in Gridania is what Dunstan did to get his name on that spire.

Sthalmann was trying his damnedest to, (sure, while protecting what fragile identity he had left by being a drunken jackass), make things right, somehow. Even if it is a likely scenario, the thought of him getting crushed by falling debris or stumbling into the sea to drown in the chaos during the Calamity just upsets me.

You know that whole Dark Knight Rises thing where Alfred had that fantasy he'd go on vacation and just see Bruce living a normal life somewhere? That's me, except I've convinced myself that, when expansion packs come out, we'll go to the Far East and find out that Sthalmann (feeling alienated when Dalamud fell and everyone came together under the Maelstrom but still wanted nothing to do with him) sobered up (sort of; you know, enough to function), sailed for a free city on the Far Eastern coast of Othard, and did something great with his life; maybe fighting the Imperial cause and recruiting their refugees into an authentic, Lominsan-style pirate fleet that now defends what's left of the independent cities there.

[Volsung]

And what happened to Stahlmann (from the Limsa Lominsan storyline)? And probably many other loose ends from 1.0.

It is a crime that I can't [Like!] this at least once for every time I've said that. The longer SE ignores our missing, treasonous, drunken Ex-Commodore, the more I expect that when he finally turns up, it's going to be badass enough to make me leap from my seat to do a celebratory dropkick. At least with the secret group of insurgents Gridania sent Ala Mhigo's way, they were prepared to die and probably died and none of them were important figures, so the biggest mystery in Gridania is what Dunstan did to get his name on that spire.

Sthalmann was trying his damnedest to, (sure, while protecting what fragile identity he had left by being a drunken jackass), make things right, somehow. Even if it is a likely scenario, the thought of him getting crushed by falling debris or stumbling into the sea to drown in the chaos during the Calamity just upsets me.

I've always leaned more to it being an identity crisis between rosensthal and sthalmann. We know that they're interlinked because
a drunken rosensthal says "rosen sthal mann" at one point (rusty steel man). Since both Rosensthal and Sthalmann exist in cutscenes
in the same time period, I didn't see it as sthalmann being in the past and rosthenstal being the current incarnation. Although its
possible he gets drunk and moonlights as a nicer rostensthal.

[Anonymoose]

Since both Rosensthal and Sthalmann exist in cutscenes in the same time period,

Ahh, but do they? Try watching the Lominsan quests again, but every time your hear a sound like whoosh, imagine that you've just entered or exited an Echo of 1562 because you've triggered a memory in who you're talking to. See if things start suddenly making a lot of sense. (Big Hint: Whenever Sthalmann is around, the Admiral is a man.)