3.1 MSQ Reaction [SPOILERS]

[Tenkuu]

Confusion about Hydaelyn's Gifts (Please Send Help, I am Dying)
Back in 2.5, Midgardsormr's actions made us draw a distinction between the Echo and the blessing of Light, but don't the conversations with Krile muddy our theories a bit? Remember how Krile says she was saved thanks to the blessing of Light and Alphinaud immediately equates it with the Echo? ... What?

My opinion is that both the Echo and the Blessing of Light are aspects of Hydaelyn. Hydaelyn and Zodiark can likely both give their own Blessing, just as both can gift people with the Echo, which is just a god's version of being possessive of their followers. Alphinaud's line might be a mistranslation, or also it could be that Krile's explanation in the original japanese mentions that she has both the Echo and the Blessing of Light and the translation of her lines was unclear. Either way, I think anyone can be given the Echo, but only a select few will get the Blessing. None of the Scions have either except for Minfilia (and ourselves). Alphinaud's assumption, if not a mistranslation, is probably just that one who has the Blessing of Light also naturally has the Echo, which makes sense if you think of the Echo as being a weaker version of the Blessing (with slightly different functions). So, you can have the Echo without the Blessing but you can't have the Blessing without being an Echo user. Another thing: Alphinaud, as well as the other Scions, may well be ignorant of the player character and Minfilia having the Blessing. Minfilia's explanations to you only mention the Echo, after all, and her Path of the Twelve also focused solely on Echo users. The Blessing may never have been brought up to the Scions (they could even have assumed that the Echo was what protected the Waking Sands and Rising Stones from the Ascians), so they may be completely ignorant of it. It even makes sense in light of 2.55 events: none of them assume that you have a super power that will protect the Scions against all evil, and they rely on you purely for defeating the Primals.

I'm still trying to suss it all out, what it is then that makes us different (and something must, Midgardsormr didn't care that we had the Echo, he was furious about us being "Her champion"). The blessing is still seemingly different than the Echo, but (at this moment) I think what's going on is that [Echo & Blessing] are potentially linked even when [Champion] is not included - that I had previously lumped aspects of [Blessing] in with [Champion] and failed to make the third distinction.

Given the complete difference in personality between japanese and english Midgarsormr, I'm going to have to ask which version of him you're referring to here when you say he was furious. From what I remember of the japanese version, he was merely surprised.

Krile says that Hydaelyn bestows a Crystal of Light upon many who are gifted with the Echo, which fits with Ysayle. Yet the Ascians make a big deal out of the fact that we have a bunch of them - that they are drawn to us - that we can interfere with the aetherial realm to manifest them. Perhaps that is the third tier. There are people who are gifted with the Echo, chosen warriors best suited to bear Crystals of Light (and through them, the blessing), and then there is the Warrior of Light, with a few other perks (and much more power).

Those with the Blessing are able to get Crystals, and the more powerful you are, the more Crystals you get. Seems to make sense.

Thancred
At first glance, I thought the Thancred thing was ridiculous - that he was, like, the direct-to-video unofficial sequel of himself. Upon reflection, however, that assessment was colored by the scene with the Warriors of Darkness (more on that in a moment). We learned in 2.00 that the smooth, confident bard we thought we knew actually puts himself under too much pressure, cares too much what people think, and doesn't like receiving assistance. He's not going to tell anyone that he's helpless to find his friends because he - an Archon of Sharlayan - can't work a simple teleport anymore. You throw that guy naked into the forelands with no MP and that's exactly how things are gonna end up.

Not only that, but he had every reason to treat strangers with at least a healthy dose of suspicion, especially given what happened with not-so-stranger Ul'dahns only recently. Not to mention that a guy like him is probably aware that he has a reputation as a Scion and might be a recognizable face.

The Warriors of Darkness
That was bizarre. First things first - we saw normal Derplander in the Echo, throwing some hefty weight behind the theory that Derplander (Player Symbol and Individual) has split into Darklander (Individual) and DRGlander (Player Symbol). He treats the Warrior of Light like they're last year's model, like they've got a lot of catching up to do on "The Truth." He is the player that joined Elidibus, trusting that the white-robed Ascian, Emissary of Zodiark, was being honest about the whole "putting the world back on the right path" thing.

About that, Krile does mention in the japanese version that the Warriors of Darkness feel like they've been tempered, so that might be a clue that all is not as it seems. Or that could simply be what the Blessing of Darkness feels like, just like when the Primals mention that we feel like we've been tempered by another god to them.

[CyrilLucifer]

About that, Krile does mention in the Japanese version that the Warriors of Darkness feel like they've been tempered, so that might be a clue that all is not as it seems. Or that could simply be what the Blessing of Darkness feels like, just like when the Primals mention that we feel like we've been tempered by another god to them.

That's really interesting, but I'm not sure why they wouldn't mention it in English, because that's a huge thing to keep out. That's not like changing the tone and manner of speech like with Midgardsormr.

I mean, it could be simply that, as you said, the Blessings feel different to those without it, or those with a different one, and that's why they didn't bother with it, since it's basically nice narrative fluff. If it implies actual tempering, that's a big implication for our character and the Scions as well, where we've previously only had that one line to assume from.

[Tenkuu]

That's really interesting, but I'm not sure why they wouldn't mention it in English, because that's a huge thing to keep out. That's not like changing the tone and manner of speech like with Midgardsormr.

I mean, it could be simply that, as you said, the Blessings feel different to those without it, or those with a different one, and that's why they didn't bother with it, since it's basically nice narrative fluff. If it implies actual tempering, that's a big implication for our character and the Scions as well, where we've previously only had that one line to assume from.

That was my bad actually, I interpreted it wrong, and it was Y'shtola's line, not Krile's. The original line is:

感じたことのないエーテルね。テンパードにされているような感じはしないけれど……。

Someone can probably translate this better than me, but it's essentially her saying that she doesn't feel any aether, but that the Warriors of Darkness don't feel like people who had been tempered either. One of the other odd things though is that the Warrior specifically says "kono sekai" when referring to you as the Warrior of Light, almost as if he could be from another world. The dialogue from his Echo is also much more specific and has him referring directly to Ascians' interference with history. Also, before his group attacks us, he's talking about testing us, not showing us, in the original. To me that conveys different intentions and explains better why they didn't mind withdrawing from the fight once Thancred showed up.

[Fenral]

感じたことのないエーテルね。テンパードにされているような感じはしないけれど……。
It's not like any aether I've felt before, but I don't get the feeling that he's been tempered...

Pretty simple stuff. Basically, his aetherial signature is different from "normal," but also not the same as when someone has been tempered. Seriously, though. The goggles are just an accessory at this point, since she now sees like that normally.

(It seems the minor changes to Darklander's pre-fight dialogue were made assuming most English-speaking players weren't familiar with standard shounen rival behavioral patterns. Almost like they have no idea who's actually playing this stuff, or something...)