Additional Kagoshima Producer Letter LIVE Questions Answered (Updated Irregularly)

[Rocl]

How can Primals be real if our Gods aren't real?

I really think that's the crux of the problem here--we can argue that Ferne's words are a little unclear (which is, honestly, to be expected. I'm going to blame it on the futility of language). I think our takeaway from that question was supposed to be "Yes, Bahamut may be summoned again but he may be different from the primal Bahamut that you know. It doesn't have to be in Meracydia." People (myself included) are getting hung up on the nuances of the explanation, another thing to be expected, and I'm doubtful our good voidsent will come by and squash our speculation. I can imagine him now, reading this thread, leaning back and smiling: "Yesss.. yess... speculate... theorize, posit, speculate!" (I'm sure he only reads the forums after he completes his day's work though!!) I think, and hope, we're primed to learn more about Primals coming in 3.2. The Antitower, Sephirot, Minfilia, Krile, Alisaie.... all of these people feel like they can help us begin to really divine the truth of matters.

If you really want to excuse Shiva-Primal and Shiva-Person's aether coexisting inside Hraesvelgr there's always been a little pet theory of mine that'd help. Shiva, the historical figure, is dead. I mean, what, Hraesvelgr doesn't chew his food? Is it a Jonah and the Whale situation where Hraesvelgr just swallows some human-sized meals in little plates and bowls for her? Obvious hyperbole aside--we know the celestial dragons are not omniscient. Hraesvelgr talks a lot about Shiva staying his desires to kill man and what not from within, but who's to say he's not being metaphorical? Who's not to say he's just delusional? It's just as likely, imo, that she's dead as it is that her soul literally lives inside of Hraesvelgr. (Also, if she kept the same degree of consciousness and experience of time inside of him as she did when a mortal then sweet Twelve have mercy.)

I want to go on record while I am leaving this door open (Shiva is dead and had returned to the Lifestream, Hraesvelgr is a sappy delusional loverboy), it's much the same way I leave open the Rowena-totally-worked-with-Nael door. A little bit of thinking and taking some things at face value and the whole thing falls apart. If you believe a nigh-immortal dragon over my half-presumed ramblings, you'd be a smarter man.

That said, so far, Alexander does complicate matters significantly. His summoning is the first "ideal" I can think of--Phoenix is pretty close but we know Louisoix was sort of the catalyst for that, so you can file it away neatly. Alexander's story also isn't done yet--so *communal scar touch* we'll just have to wait to see. Even if we go with the "Ravana is totally Phantom Ray" theory; Phantom Ray is like machina, isn't it? Does it even count? Wouldn't Ravana be an idealized version of a machine made man (or in this case, bug) then? How does that work? He certainly isn't part of the Lifestream...

What even qualifies as a "true death" in Eorzea? We're led to believe that you die, your aether disperses in the Lifestream, and then is used to bring life to the rest of the world, right? That's how it works with mortals--that's what we've been told by the Scions. Fwiw, they explain Primals in much the same way; but this confuses me. How can Amon revive Xande, how can Severain revive his cat girlfriend? We're told to believe that our "true death" is the dissipation of aether into the aetherial sea. How can any mortal being be reconstituted? (This is what I always took from the idea of Primals being shades/twisted manifestations. Aether given the form of what we desire most, but not the aether/soul of what we desire.) How, and why, are these mortals granted immortality? It had been over a thousand years since Shiva walked Hydaelyn--even if you don't believe all of her aether to be inside Hraesvelgr and that some returned to the land, how could it answer the call of Ysale? If a child born with a mote of Shiva's aether exists what happens to it when she is summoned? These theories of Garuda being a rogue Allag or what have you freeing the Iksalion from their enslavement-- surely 5000 years later her aether would have resurfaced somewhere else in the world, right? Even Xande complicates and directly flies in the face of what we're told. Xande was mortal. Xande died. Therefore, Xande's aether dispersed. Amon revives Xande. What, how?? Did his aether just not get their number called to reincarnate in other beings?

Perhaps a Primal summoning / mortal revival needs only a modicum of the original's aether to work. So, 0.01% of Garuda-Mortal's aether is in the mix, the Ixali summon a Primal and they want Garuda so it's Garuda. Mayhap that's why Xande went crazy (-ier), the disjointedness of a sort of patchwork soul. How does that work though--when and how and by what means is the aether chosen for crystallization, or the formation in general (if crystals not used)? It's all so very bothersome. We're so close but missing a key piece of the puzzle that we're not really sure what the picture is. Realistically, we can understand Primals to be Hydaelyn summoning an Egi-like creature (against Her will). We know our Egis, carbuncles, and whathaveyou need a blueprint to follow so it does make sense there would be one involved in Primal summoning as well. BUT WHERE? BUT WHAT?

Aaaaaaaand I've lost my train of thought a while ago again. I really should outline these posts before I start. Listen to all those writing/English teachers kids, use a draft so you don't look like a crazy person.