Quote Originally Posted by Anonymoose View Post
However, if it's simply that the scattered parts of one Ifrit make the next Ifrit - but - Ifrit is still an invented aetheric shade, which has less impact on the larger lore, you run into a chicken and egg situation. When he was summoned the first time, the prayers and aether acted as a beacon and catalyst for the re-materialization of what? Knowing what we now know, you need re-confirmation that you can summon something completely fresh. I'd be tempted to use Carbuncles and Faeries as an example of such, but their original summonings are based on your own living aether - they're arcane.
The easy answer is, at least to me, "the form given by the believers." That is, they imagined a god or gods based around the the hardships and shelters given by their environs (or whatever else an ancient religion forms around), and it's THAT image that the aether coalesces into.

We have a huge glut of ancient belief systems centered around invented shades, and quite a number of them had such a rich tradition of belief around them (both literary and oral) that basically anyone would be able to easily form the basis of a re-materialization even today (never mind back when they were actively worshiped). There's no evidence that, say, Amun-Ra was ever a real person, but I'm sure his temple priests could have come up with a pretty clear image to summon him when Akhenaten put their position in jeopardy, if Ancient Egypt had existed in Hydaelyn. As humans, we tend to have at least a subconscious image of what we worship.

oh my god I'm discussing lore with Moose directly please go easy on me senpai