Bismarck

[treuhavik]

Funny enough...

Thal's balls... He couldn't have been any more direct.


At any rate, I heard that the expansion would leave us questioning what we knew about the primals. I wonder what was meant by that...

Well, a mysterious island showed up, a giant serpent showed up... but the seas didn't rise, and the serpent hasn't been seen again...

Which island & serpent was this?

[Anonymoose]

Which island & serpent was this?

Seal Rock aka Swallowtail Roam.

The island was from the 1.0 Lominsan introduction; we never actually saw it, but items taken from it were the focus of that story.

[treuhavik]

Seal Rock aka Swallowtail Roam.

There ain't a sprat for malms who couldn't tell ye that bedtime story: of the fearsome beastie what crushes ships in 'is mighty maw, 'n' swallows 'ole crews in a single gulp... 'Ang about... Story goes that the creature guards a mountain o' gold 'n' diamonds, and that whoever finds it...gets to rule the seas for all 'is days. Treasure...like the kind what's rumored to be 'idden up on that Seal Rock!

It's safe to say Lyngsath was wrong, the story surely slipped me (like a balloonfish?). ...funny how we end up back at Bismark though, even if it ain't the primal.

Thanks for fillin' it in as always, Moose!

[Wadoka]

Anyone else remember Astro, the space whale from Disney's Pinnochio?

[Inflorescence]

The hardest part of fighting Bismarck is going to be deciding who gets to hit the Dragonator.

[WyrahFhurrst]

Ah, Monster Hunter. The other thing that has been occupying my time. But in all seriousness, I really hope we get eaten. A whole fight in his stomach, or even if it's just the first phase or so, would be great.

[Cherub]

I'd let everyone else die if it means that I can use the dragonator. Will we have Ballistas though?
Wasn't it mentioned that we'd have a fight on an airhsip? Someone already mentioned to fight parts of him like FFX sin so yea. I'm guessing that too.

[treuhavik]

Lominsan lore would have us believe that it was the legendary Thalaos, one of two great serpents chained to a wandering island called Swallowtail Roam so they wouldn't drown the world.

Rewatchin' all the 1.0 cutscenes, I found that Sisipu states it was but one serpent bound by Swallowtail Roam. What's with that?

Doesn't this legend also contradict Erik's creation story?

There was the birth of Althyk, god of time among the Twelve, and in turn, His younger sister Nymeia, goddess of fate. And then there was water, and through it the Silvertear Falls came to be at the center of all that was. Here was the source not only of water, but the fount of all magic as well. Now, when water came into being, so too did the great dragon Midgardsormr. Brother Time and Sister Fate, fearing the Falls might fall into the hands of evil, ordered Midgardsormr their protector and warden. Much later, with the arrival of man, would Midgardsormr be worshipped as the guardian deity of Silvertear Falls.

[Anonymoose]

Rewatchin' all the 1.0 cutscenes, I found that Sisipu states it was but one serpent bound by Swallowtail Roam. What's with that?

I wondered that myself. I don't think Perykos is a recent addition to the story, because there was a cave in Cassiopeia Hollow with two giant serpent skeletons in it and that room was called Thalaos and Perykos. This continues in ARR with the sightseeing log.

Though there is no proof to support the claim, rumor has these sun-bleached remains of a long-dead denizen of the deep are those of one of the legendary twin sea serpents believed to have been unleashed by the Navigator, Llymlaen at the dawn of eras to fill the empty seas (the other being Perykos).

Why knows why Perykos keeps taking a back seat.

Doesn't this legend also contradict Erik's creation story?

If taken literally. In 2.5, Minfilia considers that Midgardsormr's origin with Althyk and Nymeia may have just been with Hydaelyn, after all. If Althyk and Nymeia were both Hydaelyn, perhaps Llymlaen was also Hydaelyn, and then all the waters come from Hydaelyn, lol. I've figured for a while that the sea serpent had some connection to Midgardsormr; they have strikingly similar anatomy. Also, since ARR launched, there's been another interesting progression with serpent lore that I've kept my eye on in case it could explain this.

Prepare your mind for possible blowage.

The Little Thalaos is a catchable, serpentlike fish that looks a lot like the 1.0 serpent. The Nepto Dragon is thought to be a very large specimen of this fish, made large by the events surrounding a Calamity. In turn, the Nepto Dragon is a fishable version of the "Oceanus" serpents now seen throughout the game, including Keeper of the Lake (where it is known as Son of the Keeper), as well as the World of Darkness (where it is known as Jormungand, another version of the name Midgardsormr). The art book also muses on that these serpents all bear some resemblance to the Sahagin, wondering if perhaps they shared a common ancestor.

So, that opens up a few possibilities for the 1.0 serpent.

Was it just a giant "little thalaos" hinting at the coming Calamity? Or is he one of Midgardsormr's progeny? Can it commune with Sahagin? Is that why it seemed to be chasing down parts of the Key? Or was it linked to the Key on its own? These are the only questions I've not obtained answers to in the 1.0 Lominsan introduction - the serpent's origin/allegiance and the true nature of Seal Rock.

[Mishini_Dracoto]

Anonymoose, do you have a publication of your collection of Eorzean Lore? (Maybe you're a mod for a wiki or something . . ?)

Your knowledge and quotes make me want to bundle it all and turn it into a physical tome of Eorzea / Hydaelyn / void / Beyond Eorzea,