Let's talk about Tomestones. (Theories and Spoilers)

[lordoftheapes79]

Lol this made me giggle.

@ the devs
Can we get a tally of all the tomestones that have been turned in in the next census, please? A running tally each year would be great.

[TinyCat]

Esoteric means: intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

probably stuff equivalent to top-secret-eyes-only or things only spoken about in hushed whispers. secrets only those directly creating or affecting them would know about.

My thoughts exactly. Forbidden secrets! How to switch on and operate Omega Weapon? How to sink the floating lands? How to fix Dalamund? How to MAKE Dalamunds?!

[saber_alter]

My thoughts exactly. Forbidden secrets! How to switch on and operate Omega Weapon? How to sink the floating lands? How to fix Dalamund? How to MAKE Dalamunds?!

hmm. maybe more minor things that they didn't want to come to light. various incurable diseases their leaders had, scandalous relationships, research notes about the various abominations in Azyz Lia and/or minor experiments that would cause an uproar in the populace if it were to get out, movements of revolutionary forces, interactions with the ascians, and so on.

[Magis]

hmm. maybe more minor things that they didn't want to come to light. various incurable diseases their leaders had, scandalous relationships, research notes about the various abominations in Azyz Lia and/or minor experiments that would cause an uproar in the populace if it were to get out, movements of revolutionary forces, interactions with the ascians, and so on.

More like thousands of selfies from Allag teens while visiting the Fractal. Made with their Allagan Selfie Stick of Obnoxiousness.

[Fenral]

I still have a feeling that all of the Allagan relics we've found so far will factor together into some sort of larger endgame. I'm just not sure if it will be like Isaac Asimov's Foundation, where we end up following it from a sympathetic PoV and work to fulfill its goals because the Allagan magi do, indeed, know what's best for humanity and should be allowed to take control of our development; or like Hayao Miyazaki's deconstruction/angry written response Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, where we uncover it in the form of a plan that needs to be stopped, or risk losing all we hold dear in the name of an apathetic greater "good" that seeks only to restore what was, minus the "defects" that caused it to go wrong the first time (see also: Final Fantasy IX).

We seem headed for the former, actually, but I've caught a few too many shout-outs and indirect quotes of the latter in Allag-related plotlines to drop my guard just yet.

[saber_alter]

More like thousands of selfies from Allag teens while visiting the Fractal. Made with their Allagan Selfie Stick of Obnoxiousness.

those too, may rowena find many an hour of 'forced' enjoyment seeing them.

[Rocl]

Rowena once worked for an Ishgardian benefactor, but seems to have branched out on her own. How she got the ability to extract the information on tomestones, we're not sure.

Maybe after we kicked Darnus off his cloud, the XIVth went back to Ala Mhigo, and the VIIth entrenched themselves at Cartenau, Rowena went back to Novum and plundered his kit, lol. Or, more likely, perhaps with all the gil she's raked in, she's simply managed to get one of the growing number of people who can read them to toss something her way - hints, techniques, her very own reader... There are plenty of potential sources; the XIVth Legion, Cid, the Sons of Saint Coinach...

IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE THAT ROWENA WAS EMPLOYED BY NAEL VAN DARNUS AND THE ISHGARDIAN BENEFACTOR STORY WAS A COVER. AFTER HE PERISHED AT RIVENROAD SHE DECIDED TO SEIZE THE TOMESTONES FOR HERSELF AND SEE WHAT ALL THE HUBBUB WAS ABOUT.

Ever since she ditched her hobo clothes on the streets of Ul'dah I've known she was bad news. You don't just stop wearing an adorable calot.

[TinyCat]

Some interesting responses here. My in-game bestie thought the thread would get deleted for either blowing the mystery wide open or at least quad-posting! X3

[Fenral]

Some interesting responses here. My in-game bestie thought the thread would get deleted for either blowing the mystery wide open or at least quad-posting! X3

If that were the case, they would've banned me ages ago for thinly-veiled accusations of plagiarism. XD

This is what we do here. Welcome to "Lore."

[Reynhart]

Some interesting responses here. My in-game bestie thought the thread would get deleted for either blowing the mystery wide open or at least quad-posting! X3

Or it just inspired the main story of 5.0, where Rowena tries to revive the Allagan Empire and reveals she is a clone of Xande's Daughter