The Keeper of the Lake Elder primal

[WellFooled]

Every contemporary primal has lacked the elder description, and every primal of the Allag age has been called such.

Is it possible that only Primals that have been inactive for a long enough period are called Elder? For example if Ifrit and Bahamut had existed side by side in the past, but Bahamut stopped being summoned people would come to refer to him as an Elder Primal, but Ifrit wouldn't because he never stopped regularly being summoned.

I've heard the expression Old Gods to refer to the gods worshipped by the Greek or Norse, but gods that are currently worshipped aren't called old even if some of them have existed for as long as Greek deities. The difference being I think is that few if any people worship the old gods anymore. So the title isn't because of age, but rather a lack of people who believe in them.

I think something similar might be happening in Eorzea.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Is it possible that only Primals that have been inactive for a long enough period are called Elder? For example if Ifrit and Bahamut had existed side by side in the past, but Bahamut stopped being summoned people would come to refer to him as an Elder Primal, but Ifrit wouldn't because he never stopped regularly being summoned.

If that were really the case, I would have expected Koji Fox aka Fernehalwes to explain it that way. But he said quite clearly that elder primals are "elders" simply because they've been around for that much longer. It's really that simple.

As for whether it was primals or a surge of aether that burst forth from Silvertears Lake after the destruction of the Agrius, I'd go with 'Moose's theory that it wasn't the primals per se that were locked away. I prefer the idea that the surge of prayers in the immediate aftermath of the battle was so strong that the newly released aether were able to coalesce into the primals almost instantly.

It's a bit like the Big Bang: We went from utter nothingness into an infinity of everything in just one second.

[Anonymoose]

When I call something elder it's been around for-fking-ever, it's big, bad and all kinds of powerful.

Is it possible that only Primals that have been inactive for a long enough period are called Elder?

I always figured the whole Elder Primal thing was quite literal; Bahamut and Odin were summoned and sealed during the Allag times, and have maintained since.

I'd figured it was a few aspects of each of these, at first; primarily that the primal was from a previous era and those who summoned it were lost.

Buuut...

[Fernehalwes] said quite clearly that elder primals are "elders" simply because they've been [worshiped] for that much longer.

Bingo! Ferne helped narrow it down a little bit. The title "elder" is bestowed on primals based on how long it's been since worship of them began. (So far,) everything else still applies, including the need for worshipers if the primal yet lives (which is why Belias' essence was slumbering). The explanation was essentially Fernehalwes and loremaster Banri Oda (who really needs a Voidsent alter ego) drumming up excitement for the 2.4/2.5 patch cycle by saying, "So, that means there must still be some worshipers around... Hmmm! Final Coil? Odin? Please look forward to it!"

When it comes to the primalsplosion, I've got more "Probably nots" than "probablys," unfortunately. We'll get there, though!