A Part, and yet Apart

[Kaiser-Ace]

I am aware of what the post-briefing says. They do clearly say that the echo is the shield against Tempering; however, the game seems to contradict this statement with the words and implications of other events and conversations in the game.

It's a fact that Thancred is said to be somehow more susceptible to the influences of Primals after his run in with Lahabrea. Yet, Thancred is never stated to be blessed with the Echo in the first place, so how is he somehow more susceptible? It doesn't make sense, but they exclude Thancred from a lot of Primal related content after MSQ because of fears that he could somehow be tempered... as if that couldn't happen to the rest of them just as easily.

Also, Louisoix, as far as I know, is never stated to have the Echo. He seems to get a blessing of light, allowing him to go super saiyan, but as you stated that's not the same thing. Yet, Bahamut does not temper him before he gets a fist full of super saiyan. He only does it after. Also, the company of Hero's are said to have lured Leviathan into a cove in order to defeat him. None of them are said to have the Echo, but none of them were tempered by the lord of the whorl. Further still, Alphinaud and Alisaie both stood against Bahamut with no fear of tempering... so, what gives?

My point is that, despite them being crystal clear about the echo being required for resisting Primal influences, there have been countless people who have come across primals and not been tempered with no proper explanation as to why. Ifrit displayed quite clearly that it is a quick process (it took him, like, a second to brainwash an entire squad of guys), so time restraints or improper preparation is not a good enough reason.

There are only two possible explanations, either 1, SE has seriously overlooked their own lore and failed miserably at implementing it consistently in this regard, or 2, there is more to resisting Primal influence than echo alone. Despite them not saying it directly, it would seem that a committed will to resist is enough. Otherwise, Alphinaud, Alisaie, and the company of heroes would all be mindless slaves to their respective primals.

Ok, about tempering, The Primal Itself has to temper you thus the need to actually WANT to temper you. Only Ifrit seems to do so willy nilly and we've only seen ifrit, Leviathan, and Rahmu temper at all, Leviathan being a form of punishment and Rahmu only doing so upon request though he himself admitted to taking no pleasure in it.

Thancred was possessed by an Echo User's Soul (Lahabrea) and thus had his will damaged. He was a liability until he got over his Emo-Ness and regardless still didn't go with us into primal dens as he didn't have the Echo. We and 3-7 OTHER ECHO USERS are who take down the primals not the other Scions.

Louisoix also wasn't tempered (until later by Bahamut anyway) because he BECAME the primal Phoenix in the same way Thorden VII became God-King Thorden (he and the knights ALSO lack the Echo), and Ysaele, aka Iceheart, became Shiva but at the same time used the echo to keep from becoming her completely thus allowing her to come back unlike Louisoix and The Knights of the Round.

So all in all, I don't see what you're getting at in regards to the Echo. It's a Soul Powered Wall around our existence that allows us to interact with the souls of other beings with out being influenced by them. (Thus immunity to tempering)

Also, remember as it is frequently forgotten, The Blessing of Light is a different power granted by gathering all 6 crystals of light, a feat of which we (The Main Protagonist) alone have achieved to the point that we rival the power of Gods. Even Minfilia and Iceheart don't have the blessing of light just the Echo.