The Old Intros of Final Fantasy XIV ("1.0.") for those who just played ARR

[HakuroDK]

Look at her eyes. Thats interesting. Thought it happened after the crash.

I think the most interesting part is that everyone thought Nael van Darnus was a man. She really did have the Samus Aran effect, didn't she?

[kyuven]

I think the most interesting part is that everyone thought Nael van Darnus was a man. She really did have the Samus Aran effect, didn't she?

AFAIK the Nael from 1.0 was male, while the 2.0 Nael was female due to...shenanigans?

[HakuroDK]

AFAIK the Nael from 1.0 was male, while the 2.0 Nael was female due to...shenanigans?

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

[kyuven]

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.
And in 2.0, a certain force really futzed with his body. Since he was dead.

[HakuroDK]

no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.
And in 2.0, a certain force really futzed with his body. Since he was dead.

I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

This may be something to take into the Lore forums.

[kyuven]

I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

That's true but that would be a very weird eccentricity to add, though Nael's already eccentric.
Nael refers to his former body before his death in 1.0 as "he," so if any gender identity issues occurred, it would be AFTER that.
Maybe the force that remade him acted upon his secret desires?

[KarstenS]

no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.

You know Darth Vader mask?

Gaius had a mask too, that seems to modify the voice.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Nael_Van_Darnus

That is still a fan site. No officially FF lore team site. There is also no link to an official lore source. So actually I would say, what we can read there is just speculation.

When reading the ending dialogue in T9 there are some hints between the lines, that Neal was a woman all the time. Alise remembered her back to her times as a "little girl", that not got heared as long she was wishing.

[ReplicaX]

That is still a fan site. No officially FF lore team site. There is also no link to an official lore source. So actually I would say, what we can read there is just speculation.

There is no speculation before his death of him being a born a male.

Before having his soul consumed by Dalamud (Bahamut) Nael was a man, born and raised. It is in the 1.0 Lore and even on that ARR website in his description.

From the Official Site aka from the Lore team. Talks about him before being consumed by Dalamud.

Legatus of the VIIth Legion presently dispatched to the western front, van Darnus boasts distinguished parentage in his sire, a founding figure of the Garlean Empire. A ruthless man who has risen to infamy even among his own people, he draws no distinction betwixt friend and foe when met with dissent. Tales are oft told in hushed whispers of van Darnus’s swift rise to power upon the abrupt death by illness of his sire, whose body had no sooner grown cold than his closest aides were put to death.

The White Raven seems a man well-suited to such dark rumors, for it is his pet project, "Meteor," that will herald Eorzea's inevitable plunge into the Seventh Umbral Era...

Source: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/wor...ent?threats_03

[ReplicaX]

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

No, he was never unmasked in 1.0

Before having his soul consumed by Dalamud (Bahamut) Nael was a man, born and raised. It is in the 1.0 Lore and even on that ARR website in his description.

See Yamimarik's spoilers for a clearer explanation.

I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

This may be something to take into the Lore forums.

Not really, Eorzea & Hydaelyn lore believes all beings return to the Mother Crystal until they are reborn. Whether it be reborn as a Male, Female, Race, Beast, Tree, etc. We also have experienced thralls in the World of Eorzea as well. Which shows the journey back to the Mother Crystal isn't always successful and there is also a darkness to the light. Nael wasn't returned to the Mother Crystal. Bahamut's Lore & powers are in Coil Lore and already in the spoilers above.