Tam-Tara Deepcroft and Edda

[Tenkuu]

But I don't think we can technically refer to the Ascians as anything except semi-immortal aetherial beings at this point. They're willing to draw on the void or prompt others to--Amandine being the prime example here--but unless there's some lore bit I'm missing, we have no confirmation that they themselves have any specific relationship to it, much less that they're from it. Indeed, the dialog before fighting Ascian Prime in Aetherochemical Research Facility suggests that they were more likely echo-users originally who learned to transcend their mortality through it, considering they seem to be functionally identical to the Sahagain priest who survived using the Echo, even down to the detail of being consumed by a primal.

Well, I don't know exactly what it means, but what stands out to me is the fact that Nabriales called both Lahabrea and Elidibus as being the only two Ascians to be "of this world". Is this implied to mean that they are the only ones who started out as mortals or something else entirely? Also, there is the fact that their abilities seem to mimic what Voidsent such as Ahriman and their relatives can do. You could argue that it's Black Mages taken to the extreme, but even the Black Mages we know (and even ourselves if we take up Black Mage as a job) are not that powerful, and either way, the Black Mages draw their abilities from the Void, right?

More on topic, I personally would be more wont to suspect Ascian involvement in Edda's descent into madness. They have been known to lead others into voidsent territory, as demonstrated by Amandine, and it would make more sense for an Ascian to have manipulated her than a voidsent given that, unlikely Amandine or Cocobusi (from Thaurmaturge quests) she was never possessed herself. Most of those who make such details end up possessed by/becoming Voidsent, but an Ascian could much more easily appear benevolent while leading her down the path to ruin. Indeed, suggesting that she could achieve what she wanted--Avere's ressurection--by such dark means has a lot of the hallmarks of Ascian involvement, if we consider the story of Bahamut's creation as a primal, or the way that Lahabrea tempted the Ala Mhigans to summon Rhalgr. You could even make an argument that Lahabrea or one of his disciples did it particularly to hurt us, revenge for defeating him at Praetorium.

I would be very tempted to agree with you there, except that unlike with Lady Amandine, Thancred and the Summoner quests in general, not a single Ascian shows up to either taunt you, challenge you or rail at you, nor is Edda's ordeal ever brought up as a victory of theirs even in another conversation with an Ascian. There is also the fact that given Edda's fairly detailed journal entries, we are given to believe that she took the initiative for the Avere project all on her own, as no mention is ever made by her of any strange black-cloaked men approaching her and making promises to her. Also, no offense to Edda, but she's probably far too small-time for the Ascians, not to mention that she was supposedly terrible at magic.