So, the Fractal Continuum (spoilers)

[WyrahFhurrst]

Doesn't seem to be particularly elder here.

Agreed. They mention he's summoned, and this is the first time anyone's seen him. He was summoned into a giant Sharlayan defense robot, which couldn't have been older than an era by merit of the age of Sharlayan civilization. All in all, Alexander is just a primal summoned into an existing mechanical structure.

[Kaiser-Ace]

Agreed. They mention he's summoned, and this is the first time anyone's seen him. He was summoned into a giant Sharlayan defense robot, which couldn't have been older than an era by merit of the age of Sharlayan civilization. All in all, Alexander is just a primal summoned into an existing mechanical structure.

Actually the Mecha IS the primal Alexander. The ruins were made of stone. I did several fly bys over that lake trying to get a close look at the area both before and after Alexander appeared. What happened to the stone ruins, I have no idea. I guess they were either crushed or transmutated.

[WyrahFhurrst]

Actually the Mecha IS the primal Alexander. The ruins were made of stone. I did several fly bys over that lake trying to get a close look at the area both before and after Alexander appeared. What happened to the stone ruins, I have no idea. I guess they were either crushed or transmutated.

They mention he was summoned into a "Sharlayan defense construct," so that may or may not be what makes Alexander look metallic, but it certainly encompasses much of the mechanical features found within.

[Kaiser-Ace]

They mention he was summoned into a "Sharlayan defense construct," so that may or may not be what makes Alexander look metallic, but it certainly encompasses much of the mechanical features found within.

Hmm, I could tell in my fly bys that it was the very top of a building. So the marble roof I saw could have been a tower on a submerged fortress.

[Dalvy]

Sooo back to the fractal continuum...

The guide panel about naga mentions that void research was just beginning to take form. Do we know what time period of the empire the facility is from? Seeing as that it's a repurposed warship turned into a museum. Also seeing as that clone Xande figured out how to make a deal with a powerful voidsent in the empire's twilight.

[Alberel]

Agreed. They mention he's summoned, and this is the first time anyone's seen him. He was summoned into a giant Sharlayan defense robot, which couldn't have been older than an era by merit of the age of Sharlayan civilization. All in all, Alexander is just a primal summoned into an existing mechanical structure.

It's actually a little more complicated than that. During the quest to first unlock the raid Cid realises that Alexander was actually summoned several years ago, which caused an earthquake (presumably the one that destroyed the bridges) and then that golden barrier appeared over where it was summoned before the primal disappeared again. This leads him to question whether it is really the Illuminati that are behind this. He's been summoned multiple times and something seems to be inhibiting his summoning.

I think it's possible that Alexander may actually be an Eikon that the Illuminati merely stumbled across and woke up. The barrier seems like a seal of some kind to contain the creature, and indeed Alexander is having trouble moving at the moment by the looks of it. Given that he has been compared to a mammet I wouldn't be surprised if the construct is not the primal/eikon at all, but rather he has a crystal core somewhere which is the actual creature controlling the machine.

[dragonflie]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/246971-Letter-from-the-Producer-LIVE-Part-XXIII-Q-A-Update-Thread?p=3128694&viewfull=1#post3128694

Q30. Is the Iksalion that appears in the Fractal Continuum related to the Ixal? If so, is the Ayatlan they are searching for during the beast tribe quest actually the floating continent Azys Lla?

A30. Azys Lla, Azyslan, Ayatlan... Talking about it too much would take the fun away from it, so I think I’ll leave it at that. By the way, if you go and talk to a certain NPC in the Ixal beast tribe quest area after clearing this, their dialogue will change. There are a lot of other examples of this, so be sure to check out various NPCs.

[Reinhart]

Well, I found which certain Ixali NPC to talk to for that dialogue change.

Razel Huizan the Stationary: Squawk! Reda! Have questions for Razel, do you? Hmmm?
Razel Huizan the Stationary: Squawk! Well! Very well, we fare!
Razel Huizan the Stationary: Great success, first flight of Dezul Qualan was! Very high, it flew! Soared like bird! But satisfied, we are not...
Razel Huizan the Stationary: Not until we land upon shores of Ayatlan! Dream yet of that day, we do!
Razel Huizan the Stationary: Hmmm? Making solemn face, featherless one is. Strikes awe into heart, name of Ayatlan does? Yes? Then take you there, perhaps we will!
Razel Huizan the Stationary: But now work, we must. Today. Tomorrow. Work until we can climb high above clouds, we will! Squawk!

Even the Warrior of Light has made the connection.

[zuzu-bq]

Yoshi said some of the Ehcatl NPC had their dialog changed if you have cleared Fractal's quest. I went there and cheked all NPC. Tataramu text is funny, but I don't remember a thing about the dialogs the NPC had previously, is there a wat we can compare it?

Even the Warrior of Light has made the connection.

Yeah, its fun to read their dialogs and connect the dots if you think about Azys Lya.

[Reinhart]

As far as I could tell, that NPC was the only one that referenced anything remotely close to the Fractal Continuum.